own brothers, the younger ones as one's own children. None to be asked
for anything, but each to be helped. Life to be rendered agreeable to
all. Not to oppose others except at the call of religious duty. To
associate with those strong in religion, integrity and moderation. Not
to mix with those opposed in religion and temperament. To avoid the
company of a youth. (The desire in the young for the company of their
elders aids the development of their intelligence and knowledge. The
desire in elders for the company of youths leads to sin and folly)....
=Sûfîs=, when conversing with one another, never say, "This is mine,"
"That is thine;" "I wish it were so," "I wish it were not so." It is
the verdict of the Masters of Knowledge that God does not approve of
the use of words denoting I-ness.
If thou wouldst know the Unknown, taste the nectar of Grace and
transcend the seven heavens, then close the five senses, and pass from
the perishable to the Imperishable. They asked Master =Shiblî=, "Who
is a Knower, and how is he to be distinguished?" He said, "He is deaf,
dumb and blind." They replied, "These are the marks of an unbeliever."
He rejoined: "The unbeliever is deaf to the voice of truth, dumb for
the utterance of truth, and blind to the vision of truth; whereas the
Knower is deaf, dumb and blind to all save Truth."--_Letter 70._
SERVICE.
Service is an essential duty for the disciple. Its gains are superior
to those of worship. It kills the desire-nature; it breeds humility and
good manners; it destroys pride, impurity and inertia, quickens the
soul and illumines the inner and the outer man.
They asked a Great One, "How many ways are there to God?" He said:
"There are as many ways as there are atoms in the universe. But the
best and the shortest is Service. I have reached the Goal by treading
this Path, and recommend it to my disciples." ...
_Rules of Service_: To put aside one's own desires, to render oneself
agreeable to others, ... and to regard one's powers and possessions as
intended for the use of others....
As the wealthy are to serve with their wealth and the learned with
their knowledge--so the disciple is to use _all_ his activities for the
service of others....
All Great Ones began with Service, which gradually lifted them to the
rank of Masters.--_Letter 71._
[The following Notes gleaned from other works of the Author are added
as bearing on the subject.--_Trs._]
The outer conduct of an occultist should be in accordance with the
mental capacity of the people surrounding him. He should speak what
concerns them only, and not of his own relations with God. Master
=Yahiâ= observes: "When with others, I say 'My Lord'; when alone, I
say 'My Beloved'; when united, I say 'I'." Obey the Law, whatever your
stage or position. Such is the approved mode of conduct, as recommended
by the Masters of Wisdom.--_The Series of 28 Letters,--Letter 21._
A certain Great One was told that the chief of a certain town spent
the whole night in prayers. He replied that the poor fellow had missed
the way and undertaken the work of others. On being questioned again,
he added that that man's path of duty lay in feeding the hungry,
clothing the naked, comforting the distressed, and fulfilling the
wants of the needy; and that keeping up all night in prayer was the
duty of a recluse. Each man ought to work according to his position in
life.--_Fawâed-i-Ruknî._
THE TRANSMUTATION OF EVIL QUALITIES.
The purification of character by the transmutation of evil qualities
into virtues is to be ever striven for as an essential duty. If
neglected, it must breed dangers and difficulties.
Man has all the qualities found in the animals. His resurrection will
be determined by his predominant quality, not by his outer body on
earth--_i. e._, he will turn into the form of the corresponding animal.
For instance, the predominance of anger, lust, pride or flattery in
earthly life, produces severally the forms of the dog, the hog, the
lion and the fox, on the day of resurrection. Similarly of other
qualities....
Many men will be seen in bestial form on the day of resurrection, and
many beasts in human form. The dog of the Cave-Recluses[15] will rise
in the form of man, owing to his human qualities. Mount =Ahud= will
have a rock drawn out of it, and will stand in the rank of the Pure
Ones in human form.... Those endowed with the inner eye know that all
beings, even the mineral, pray. "Every particle of dust in the air
is full of the Light of Divine Love. All atoms in the universe are
centres--active or potential--of Divine Love."
[15] The reference is to the seven sages who, with a dog, retired to a
cave to avoid the persecution of a tyrant, awoke after a sleep of 300
years, and slept again to awake on the day of resurrection.--_Trs._
Such a difficult task lies in front, and none take to it save the Wise.
So thou shouldst not be heedless, but slowly and steadily discipline
thyself so as to overcome a part of thy animal nature--it is indeed a
mighty achievement to overcome it in its entirety.
He who wishes to know the nature of his resurrection should see what
is the predominating quality in his life: his resurrection will be
determined by this quality. It is not difficult to know thus much.
Similarly, if a man wishes to know whether God is pleased or displeased
with him, he should look at his life. A life wholly devoted to
righteousness must please God: righteousness is the indication of His
pleasure. A life wholly given to vice must displease God: vice is the
indication of His displeasure. A life partly righteous and partly
vicious is to be valued according to the predominating element in it.
If the earthly life is not turned to account, there shall be no
progress on the other side. If a man who has not transmuted [on earth]
the evil qualities in his nature, is taken to heaven at his death, and
all celestial boons are bestowed upon him, those qualities will not
change. He will have only the houris, the palaces, the roast cocks and
the stream of running water, but will be too weak to realise the real
object--the Goal of the _inner_ man, and the ideal of all the disciples
and of the Master. How insignificant are all other gains where That is
lost! How immaterial is any loss, where That is gained!
Frequent ablutions and baths remove sloth and drowsiness.
The Divine Vision on resurrection day depends on the Divine Grace, not
on merit. No eye deserves His Vision, no ear His Voice, no intellect
His Knowledge, no feet His Path.... Self-reproach is necessary for a
seeker.--_Letter 72._
AVARICE.
To work for show, and desire the rank of a saint, is not the mark of
piety. Thy deeds are all tainted with desire. Purity consists in the
spirit of Service, not in avarice. The one is not compatible with the
other. But we want bribes to serve the Lord.
O brother, cast off avarice. God does not owe anything to any one, and
His gifts on earth or after death are gratuitous. Do all your works for
His Service, not in the hope of gaining heaven or shunning hell....
He who aspires to work in His Service should be careful of the purity
of his motives, which is a function of the heart. An act without pure
motive cannot soar from the region of sham to the sphere of Service....
A prayer worth the name is one performed with the fervour of the heart,
and not with the lips only. The motto of monotheism, "There is no God
save =Allâh=," if repeated as a talk at moments of sale and purchase,
can not be regarded as a declaration of Divine Unity.... God says: "My
shrine is not a place of sale and purchase. Thou goest to market with
the object of gaining something thou hast not. But if thou comest to My
Shrine, come with the distinct understanding that thou losest all and
returnest a pauper." =Khwâjâ Ahmad= had a vision of God, Who told him:
"=Ahmad=, all men ask Me for something, save =Bâyazîd=[16] who asks for
Myself alone."--_Letter 73._
[16] A great Muhammadan saint.
THE EVIL OF THE WORLD.
The world and all things therein are to be avoided, save as needed for
the Lord's sake. The world may be classed under three groups:--
(1) The first group is purely worldly, and cannot serve His Cause. It
consists of:
(_a_) Vices. Their commission in the mind or with the body does
not serve His Cause.
(_b_) Too much of lawful enjoyments. This is the root of all
failures and sins.
(2) The second group is purely divine, but may be turned to selfish use
by an impure motive, _e. g._, meditation, prayer and asceticism, if
practised with the object of gaining the respect of the people.
(3) The third group is apparently worldly but really divine, _e. g._,
eating for the sake of the Divine Service; marriage with the object
of begetting a child who shall repeat "There is no God save =Allâh=";
making a small fortune with the object of peacefully serving God.
In short, the world is that which gratifies the cravings of desire in
the present, and is of no use after death; that which may help on the
other side of death is not worldly.... He who appropriates the world
to the limit of _bare_ necessity (food, garment and a dwelling-house)
breaks his bonds; whereas he who seeks luxurious living exposes
himself to endless troubles....
The Great Ones have remarked that the lowest stage of purity shows
itself as an inner craving for well-being after death and a diminution
of worldly desires, ending in a gradual estrangement from this world,
and the realisation of other worlds....
The work is harder than you imagine. All worldly pleasures are sorrows
and sufferings.--_Letter 74._
RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD.
Service of the Lord is impossible without renunciation of the world.
When thy body works for the world and thy heart longs for it, how canst
thou serve Him? The heart is one; it cannot attend to two things at the
same time. The world and the Lord are wide apart as east and west. The
more you approach the one, the farther you recede from the other....
Renunciation is twofold:--
(1) Human renunciation, _i. e._ the renunciation which can be achieved
by a man. It consists of three stages:
(_a_) Ceasing to seek for the worldly objects one has not.
(_b_) Casting off the worldly objects one has.
(_c_) Ceasing to entertain worldly desires in the mind.
(2) Superhuman renunciation, which consists in complete indifference
to the world. It can be accomplished, with the help of the Divine
Grace, by one who has achieved success in all the three stages of Human
renunciation. The second is the true renunciation with many Sages.
The expulsion of worldly desires from the mind is a most difficult
task. You will find many cases of _apparent_ renunciation, with an
_inner_ longing for the world. But when you cease to seek for what you
have not, and cast off what you have, the Divine Grace will enable you
to drive out worldly desires from your mind. Relinquishment of the
world will not give _real_ renunciation, so long as the heart still
craves for the world. The Prophets were master-ascetics. One of Them
was Solomon, who possessed the sovereignty of all the worlds, and was
certainly an ascetic.
_Conclusion_: The separation of the heart from worldly cravings,
in spite of the possession of worldly objects, is superior to the
separation of the body from worldly objects, in spite of the worldly
cravings that remain in the heart.
Renunciation is the basis of all virtue and progress, and, as such,
is the first condition of discipleship. =Ahmad Hambal= (Peace on Him!)
says that renunciation is threefold:--
(_a_) Abstinence from what is forbidden by the Scriptures. This is
the lower renunciation.
(_b_) Abstinence from over-indulgence in lawful pleasures. This is
the higher renunciation.
(_c_) Renunciation of that which separates man from God. This is
the highest renunciation.--_Letter 75._
THE FINAL DOOM.
There are two classes of travellers, the noble and the wicked. Each
class has its peculiar speed, path, and doom.
Noble souls are divided into ordinary noble ones, and the more
advanced. The former attain heaven and the heavenly ranks by following
the ascetic practices prescribed by Religion. The more advanced
approach Purity by following the path of Devotion.
The wicked, too, are divided into ordinary wicked ones, and the more
degraded. The former include some of the believers, leading a sinful
life, disobeying the divine injunctions, and addicted to sensual
pleasures. They tread the path of transgression and go to hell. The
latter are the unbelievers, solely attending to sensual pleasures and
earthly gains, and wholly disbelieving in Religion and the disembodied
life. They risk the permanent for the sake of the transient, and
finally lose this world as well as the next. The former suffer in hell
temporarily, but finally escape it by virtue of their faith, albeit
imperfect. The latter eternally suffer in hell owing to total absence
of faith.
There are different gradations in hell, as there are grades of
unbelief or hypocrisy. There are thinkers and blind followers
amongst unbelievers as well as amongst believers. As the faith of a
thoughtful believer is superior to that of an ordinary believer, so
the sufferings of a thoughtful unbeliever are intenser than those of
an ordinary unbeliever. Ordinary unbelief is inherited from ancestors
and surroundings, and is punished in the first infernal region.
Intellectual unbelief does not rest upon tradition, but upon researches
carried on for long years, self-denial and discipline of the lower
nature, all intended for and ending in scepticism and atheism.--_Letter
68._
THE SOUL (=RÛH=).
People differ in their opinions on the Soul--some call it a body,
some an essence, some an accident; some regard it as eternal, others
as created. Orthodox =Islâm= declares its existence, but is silent on
its nature and quality. God says: "If questioned on the Soul, say, 'It
is from the Will of God.'," =Abû Bakr Qahatî=, however, holds that
the Soul is beyond the category of created objects. [The Author does
not subscribe to this view, and enters on a controversy to show its
heresy.--_Trs._]--_Letter 79._
[The following notes from _The Series of 28 Letters_, may be added as
bearing on the subject.--_Trs._]
In search of peace, and fervently longing for spiritual fragrance,
a pilgrim came to the Soul and said: "Thou art a reflection of the
Glorious Sun, unfading; all the attributes of the Absolute One lie
verily in Thee. Transcending Reason and understanding, Thou eludest
description and predication. There is no creature above Thee, there is
no Beloved beyond Thee." These lines from Master =Farîd Attâr=, and the
hints underlying them, ought to be carefully pondered over--so that
one may realise that there is no existence outside the Self, and that
whatever one seeks is to be sought within the Self. If an authority
be needed, one may read from the =Qurân=: "He is within thee, though
_thou_ mayest not see." Again, this couplet is worth perusal: "Adam
first ran towards all the atoms of the universe, but he did not find
God so long as he found not the Way within himself."--_Loc. cit.,
Letter 24_.
The connection of the Soul with the body compares well with that of God
with His universe: for the Soul is neither within the body nor without
it, neither united with it nor separated from it. Soul and body belong
to two different planes of existence; yet for all that there is not
an atom in the body but is pervaded by the Soul.... The Soul retains
its innate purity, linked though it be to the body for myriads of
years.--_Ibid, Letter 3._
THE HEART.
There is a treasure buried in the heart of the knower. It is LOVE. A
single jewel out of it is worth a thousand heavens. The guardian of
heaven is an angel named =Rizwân=, whereas the guardian of the treasure
of Love is GOD Himself.
Know that thy merit is measured by what thou seekest.... If thou
worshippest to obtain heaven or avoid hell, thou worshippest thy own
desires. If thou seekest or fearest an object, thou art the worshipper
of that object. Thy real value depends on what is in thy heart. If thy
heart is attached to GOD, thou art a divine man....
=Junnaid=, when ill, prayed for his recovery. A Voice answered him,
"Dost _thou_ come in between Myself and Thee?"
Thou walkest every morning to office and comest back at dusk. Where is
the difference between thee and the fire-worshipper and the Jew? Thy
prayers are for increase of wealth, and thy pilgrimages for popular
approbation. All thy acts are similarly tainted with name and form. The
real end of life is yet veiled from thee.--_Letter 80._
=NAFS=, THE DESIRE-NATURE.
Some say the desire-nature is a substance, placed in the body, similar
to the Soul. Others say it is a quality of the body, similar to life.
But all take it as the source of evil qualities and acts. These evils
are grouped into: (a) sins, (b) qualities, _e. g._ pride, envy, anger.
The former pertain more to the _outer_ man, the latter more to the
_inner_ man. The former are purified by ascetic practices, the latter
by =Taubâh= (or Turning)....
It is said that the desire-nature and the Soul are both mysterious
entities in the body, corresponding to demons and angels, hell and
heaven in the macrocosm;--the one being the centre of evil, the other
the centre of Good. There is no help against the desire-nature save in
ascetic practices.
Man is the epitome of the whole Universe, and is composed of the Soul,
the desire-nature and the body. He bears the characteristics of all the
worlds. The earth, water, fire and air of this world appear in his body
as the four humours: blood, phlegm, melancholy and bile. Other worlds
are not less vividly marked in him. The Soul leads him to heaven, being
its image; the desire-nature leads him to hell, being its image.
=Bû Alî= saw his desire-nature in the form of a hog. He wished to kill
it, but it said to him, "Do not trouble thyself: I belong to the Army
of God, _thou_ canst not annihilate me."
=Mohammad Nûrî= speaks of his desire-nature coming out of his throat
in the form of a miniature fox. "I knew it was the desire-nature, so I
put it under my feet and began to trample upon it. It grew the larger
and the stronger. I said, 'Pain and torture destroy all things, but
they simply aid your growth!' It said, 'This is due to the fact of my
constitution being the other way: what is pain for others is pleasure
for me.'"
=Abul Abbâs= saw it in the form of a yellowish dog. When he attempted
to turn it out, it came underneath the skirts of his garment, and
disappeared.
=Abul Qâsim= saw it in the form of a serpent.
Another Dervesh saw it in the form of a mouse, and asked who it was. It
said, "I am the death of the heedless and the salvation of the Divine
Friends. If I were not, they would turn proud of their purity and noble
deeds."
These stories go to show that the desire-nature is a corporeal
being--not a quality--albeit it is endowed with qualities. It should be
subdued by ascetic practices, but it cannot be completely destroyed in
its essential nature. There need not be any fear from its existence,
when it has been subdued by the disciple.... This dreary forest cannot
be crossed save with the help of the Divine Grace and under the
protection of a Master of Compassion.--_Letter 81._
DESIRE.
'Desire' is a term covering all the qualities of =Nafs=. It prevents
union, tortures the disciple, and stands against the seeker. It is to
be opposed and not to be gratified. "He who follows it is ruined; he
who opposes it attains his object."
Desires are twofold: (_a_) those connected with the senses and sex;
(_b_) ambition of power and fame. The victims of the former resort to
brothels without seriously affecting the well-being of others. The
victims of the latter resort to holy places, and become the pests of
the world. They isolate themselves from society and mislead others. He
who seeks the allegiance of his desires is far away from God, be he
above the sky; he who renounces his desires is in close touch with God,
be he in a heathen temple.
Master =Ibrâhîm= says: "I went to see a Jewish monk in Turkey, who had
confined himself in a temple for seventy years. He opened a window
and said he had not shut himself up there to secure the position of
an ascetic, but to break the dog within him and restrain it from
harming the world at large. I praised God for showing the right path
to his misguided devotee. He went on, '=Ibrâhîm=, how long will you
seek men?--Seek the self, and watch it when found. The desire-nature
constantly puts on many a semblance of divinity, and invites man to his
ruin.'"....
It is said of Master =Abû Alî= that he wished to cut off his genital
organ, as the root of lust, when his eyes fell on it while bathing.
A Voice whispered to his soul, "By My honour, no organ is better or
worse than another in My eyes. If you lop it off, I can put in each
hair of your body the whole lust of your genital organ." It is no use
destroying the organ: it is a vehicle for carrying the divine command.
But a man can transmute its quality, God helping.--_Letter 82._
DISCIPLINE OF THE DESIRE-NATURE.
The desire-nature is the worst foe. It is very difficult to be armed
against it, since, firstly, it is an _internal_ foe, and it is almost
impossible to guard the house against a thief co-tenant; and, secondly,
it is a _lovely_ foe, and a man is blind to the defects of his beloved,
whose shortcomings take on the appearance of merits. Such being the
case, the desire-nature may ere long hurl a man unawares to the lowest
depth of degradation. If you ponder well, you will find it at the
root of all the troubles that beset man in the past or may beset him
in the future. This being the foe, one should intelligently strive to
overcome it. It is improper to overcome it _all at once_, as it is
a vehicle and instrument of the Soul; nor is it proper to let it go
wholly unbridled, in view of the probable dangers. So the disciple
needs a middle course, and it is this: You should strengthen it to
the extent of enabling it to perform its duties; you should weaken it
to the measure of preventing the chance of its leading you astray.
Anything besides this rule is objectionable. It is reported in sacred
tradition that on seeing =Abdullâh Masûd=, who had by ascetic practices
weakened his body, his feet having become incapable of motion, his
eyes having sunk in their sockets, =Mohammad= said, "O =Abdullâh=, be
warned! Thy desire-nature has claims on thee." So the conclusion is
that the desire-nature should be disciplined by knowledge, so that it
may neither overcome (nor disobey) thee, nor be itself destroyed.
The middle course consists in restraining the desire-nature by
temperance. There are three ways of thus subduing it: (_a_) withholding
gratification; ... (_b_) imposing religious observances; (_c_) invoking
the Divine help for mastery over it. If you follow this threefold
method, the desire-nature will be amenable to discipline.--_Letter 83._
DISCIPLINE OF THE DESIRE-NATURE. (_Continued._)
The discipline of the desire-nature is recommended by all creeds
and nations, and is known by Sages as a means of developing the
supersensuous faculties.... But thy business lies with the discipline
only, it is God's to grant supersensuous faculties. Thy labours cannot
bear fruit without His Grace. Avoid as much as possible the thought of
personality and its activities, and never follow the promptings of the
desire-nature. It is thy existence that veils Thee. Had there been the
veil of a single activity, it could be uplifted by another opposite
activity. But _the whole_ of thyself being a veil, thou canst not be
fit for the Divine Vision, unless and until _thou_ vanish completely.
It should not be forgotten in this connection that the discipline of
the desire-nature means the transmutation of its qualities, not the
destruction of its essential nature--for _that_ is impossible. But its
existence need not be regarded as dangerous after it has been subdued
by the inner Ruler.
Fasting is recommended by all nations and creeds. It helps the
receptivity of the heart, the purity of the intellect, and the health
of the body. Regulation of food is an important work. It is food that
imparts strength and weakness, purity and foulness to all the organs of
the body. It must be pure in quality and moderate in quantity.--_Letter
84._
ALIENATION FROM THE DESIRE-NATURE.
Alienation from the personality is the first step to acquaintance with
God. The one is a necessary condition for the other. All aspirants
find fault with, and impose tasks on, the desire-nature, so that this
wall of separation be pulled down, and a way be found to the Divine
Sanctuary.