Part 6

O thou that hast grown from earth, like a rose, Thou too art born of the womb of Self. Do not abandon Self! Persist therein! Be a drop of water and drink up the ocean! 1390 Glowing with the light of Self as thou art, Make Self strong, and thou wilt endure. Thou gett’st profit from this trade, Thou gain’st riches by preserving this commodity. Thou hast being, and art thou afraid of not-being? 1395 O foolish one, thy understanding is at fault. Since I am acquainted with the harmony of Life, tell thee what is the secret of Life-- To sink into thyself like the pearl, Then to emerge from thine inward solitude; 1400 To collect sparks beneath the ashes, And become a flame and dazzle men’s eyes. Go, burn the house of forty years’ tribulation, Move round thyself! Be a circling flame! What is Life but to be freed from moving round others 1405 And to regard thyself as the Holy Temple? Beat thy wings and escape from the attraction of Earth; Like birds, be safe from falling. Unless thou art a bird, thou wilt do wisely Not to build thy nest on the top of a cave. 1410 O thou that seekest to acquire knowledge, I say o’er to thee the message of the Sage of Rúm:[97] “Knowledge, if it lie on thy skin, is a snake; Knowledge, if thou take it to heart, is a friend.” Hast thou heard how the Master of Rúm 1415 Gave lectures on philosophy at Aleppo?-- Fast in the bonds of intellectual proofs, Drifting o’er the dark and stormy sea of understanding; A Moses unillumined by Love’s Sinai, Ignorant of Love and of Love’s passion. 1420 He discoursed on Scepticism and Neoplatonism, And strung many a brilliant pearl of metaphysic. He unravelled the problems of the Peripatetics, The light of his thought made clear whatever was obscure. Heaps of books lay around and in front of him, 1425 And on his lips was the key to all their mysteries. Shams-i Tabríz, directed by Kamál,[98] Sought his way to the college of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí And cried out, “What is all this noise and babble? What are all these syllogisms and judgements and demonstrations?” 1430 “Peace, O fool!” exclaimed the Maulavi, “Do not laugh at the doctrines of the sages. Get thee out of my college! This is argument and discussion: what hast thou to do with it? My discourse is beyond thy understanding, 1435 It will not brighten the glass of thy perception.” These words increased the anger of Shams-i Tabríz And caused a fire to burst forth from his soul. The lightning of his look fell on the earth, And the glow of his breath made the dust spring into flames. 1440 The spiritual fire burned the intellectual stack And clean consumed the book of philosophy. The Maulavi, being a stranger to Love’s miracles And unversed in Love’s harmonies, Cried, “How didst thou kindle this fire, 1445 Which hath burned the books of the philosophers?” The Sheikh answered, “O unbelieving Moslem, This is vision and ecstasy: what hast thou to do with it? My state is beyond thy thought, My flame is the Alchemist’s elixir.” 1450 Thou hast drawn thy substance from the snow of philosophy, The cloud of thy thought sheds nothing but hailstones. Kindle a fire in thy rubble, Foster a flame in thy earth! The Moslem’s knowledge is perfected by spiritual fervour, 1455 The meaning of Islam is _Renounce what shall pass away_. When Abraham escaped from the bondage of “that which sets,”[99] He sat unhurt in the midst of flames.[100] Thou hast cast knowledge of God behind thee And squandered thy religion for the sake of a loaf. 1460 Thou art hot in pursuit of antimony, Thou art unaware of the blackness of thine own eye. Seek the Fountain of Life from the sword’s edge, And the River of Paradise from the dragon’s mouth, Demand the Black Stone from the door of the house of idols, 1465 And the musk-deer’s bladder from a mad dog, But do not seek the glow of Love from the knowledge of to-day, Do not seek the nature of Truth from this infidel’s cup! Long have I been running to and fro, Learning the secrets of the New Knowledge: 1470 Its gardeners have put me to the trial And have made me intimate with their roses. Roses! Tulips, rather, that warn one not to smell them-- Like paper roses, a mirage of perfume. Since this garden ceased to enthral me, 1475 I have nested on the Paradisal tree. Modern knowledge is the greatest blind-- Idol-worshipping, idol-selling, idol-making! Shackled in the prison of phenomena, It has not overleaped the limits of the sensible. 1480 It has fallen down in crossing the bridge of Life, It has laid the knife to its own throat. Having fire, it is yet cold as the tulip; Having flame, it is yet cold as hail. Its nature remains untouched by the glow of Love, 1485 It is ever engaged in a joyless search. Love is the Plato that heals the sicknesses of the mind:[101] The mind’s melancholy is cured by its lancet. The whole world bows in adoration to Love, Love is the Mahmúd that conquers the Somnath of intellect.[102] 1490 Modern science lacks this old wine in its cup, Its nights are not loud with passionate prayer. Thou hast misprized thine own cypress And deemed tall the cypress of others. Like the reed, thou hast emptied thyself of Self 1495 And given thine heart to the music of others. O thou that begg’st morsels from another’s table, Wilt thou seek thine own kind in another’s shop? The Moslem’s feast is burned up by the lamps of strangers, His mosque is consumed by the Christian monastery. 1500 When the deer fled from the sacred territory of Mecca, The hunter’s arrow pierced her side.[103] The leaves of the rose are scattered, like its scent: O thou that hast fled from thy Self, come back to it! O trustee of the wisdom of the Koran, 1505 Find thy lost unity again! We, who keep the gate of the citadel of Islam, Have become unbelievers by neglecting the watchword of Islam. The ancient Saki’s bowl is shattered, The wine-party of the Hijáz is broken up. 1510 The Ka`ba is filled with our idols, Infidelity mocks at our Islam. Our Sheikh hath gambled Islam away for love of idols And made a rosary of the _zunnár_.[104] Our spiritual directors owe their rank to their white hairs 1515 And are the laughing-stock of children in the street; Their hearts bear no impress of the Faith But house the idols of sensuality. Every long-haired fellow wears the garb of a dervish-- Alas for these traffickers in religion! 1520 Day and night they are travelling about with disciples, And ignoring their religious duties. Their eyes are without light, like the narcissus, Their breasts devoid of spiritual wealth. Preachers and Súfís, all worship worldliness alike; 1525 The prestige of the pure religion is ruined. Our preacher fixed his eyes on the pagoda And the mufti of the Faith sold his decision. After this, O friends, what are we to do? Our guide turns his face towards the wine-house. 1530

FOOTNOTES:

[96] This appears to be a pseudonym assumed by the author.

[97] Jalálu’ddín Rúmí.

[98] Bábá Kamáluddín Jundí. For Shams-i Tabríz and his relation to Jalálu’ddín Rúmí see my _Selected Poems from the Diváni Shamsi Tabríz_ (Cambridge, 1898).

[99] Abraham refused to worship the sun, moon, and stars, saying, “I love not them that set” (Koran, ch. 6, v. 76).

[100] See note 81 on l. 1040.

[101] In the _Masnaví_ Love is called “the physician of our pride and self-conceit, our Plato and our Galen.”

[102] The famous idol of Somnath was destroyed by Sultan Mahmúd of Ghazna.

[103] The pilgrims are forbidden to kill game.

[104] See note 90 on l. 1258.

XVII

_Time is a sword._

Green be the pure grave of Sháfi`í,[105] Whose vine hath cheered a whole world! His thought plucked a star from heaven: He named Time “a cutting sword.” How shall I say what is the secret of this sword? 1535 All its brilliance is derived from Life. Its owner is exalted above hope and fear, His hand is whiter than the hand of Moses. At one stroke thereof water gushes from the rock And the sea becomes land from dearth of moisture. 1540 Moses held this sword in his hand, Therefore he wrought more than man may contrive. He clove the Red Sea asunder And made its waters like dry earth. The arm of Ali, the conqueror of Khaibar, 1545 Drew its strength from this same sword. The revolution of the sky is visible, The change of day and night is perceived. Look, O thou enthralled by Yesterday and To-morrow, Behold another world in thine own heart! 1550 Thou hast sown the seed of darkness in thy clay, Thou hast imagined Time as a line: Thy thought measures length of Time With the measure of night and day. Thou mak’st this line a girdle on thine infidel waist; 1555 Thou art an advertiser of falsehood, like idols. Thou wert the Elixir, and thou hast become a peck of dust; Thou wert born the conscience of Truth, and thou hast become a lie! Art thou a Moslem? Then cast off this girdle! Be a candle to the feast of the religion of the free! 1560 Knowing not the origin of Time, Thou art ignorant of everlasting Life. How long wilt thou be a thrall of night and day? Learn the mystery of Time from the words “I have a time with God.”[106] Phenomena arise from the march of Time, 1565 Life is a part of the contents of Time’s consciousness. The cause of Time is not the revolution of the sun: Time is everlasting, but the sun does not last for ever. Time is joy and sorrow, festival and fast; Time is the secret of moonlight and sunlight. 1570 Thou hast extended Time, like Space, And distinguished Yesterday from To-morrow. Thou hast fled, like a scent, from thine own garden; Thou hast made thy prison with thine own hand. Our Time, which has neither beginning nor end, 1575 Blossoms from the flower-bed of our mind. To know its root quickens the living with new life: Its being is more splendid than the dawn. Life is of Time, and Time is of Life: “Do not abuse Time!” was the command of the Prophet. 1580

Oh, the memory of those days when Time’s sword Was allied with the strength of our hands![107] We sowed the seed of religion in men’s hearts And unveiled the face of Truth; Our nails tore loose the knot of this world, 1585 Our bowing in prayer gave blessings to the earth. From the jar of Truth we made rosy wine gush forth, We charged against the ancient taverns. O thou in whose cup is old wine, A wine so hot that the glass is well-nigh turned to water, 1590 Wilt thou in thy pride and arrogance and self-conceit Taunt us with our emptiness? Our cup, too, hath graced the symposium; Our breast hath owned a spirit. A new age hath been endued with our beauty 1595 And hath risen from the dust of our feet. Our blood hath watered God’s harvest, All worshippers of God are our debtors. The _takbír_ was our gift to the world,[108] Ka`bas were built of our clay. 1600 By means of us God taught the Koran, From our hand He dispensed His bounty. Although crown and signet have passed from us, Do not look with contempt on our beggarliness! In thine eyes we are good for nothing, 1605 Thinking old thoughts, despicable. We have honour from “There is no god but Allah,” We are the preservers of the universe. Freed from the vexation of to-day and to-morrow, We have pledged ourselves to love One. 1610 We are the conscience hidden in God’s heart, We are the heirs of Moses and Aaron. Sun and moon are still bright with our radiance, Lightning-flashes still lurk in our cloud. Our essence is the mirror of the Divine essence: 1615 The Moslem’s being is one of the signs of God.

FOOTNOTES:

[105] Founder of one of the four great Mohammedan schools of law.

[106] The Prophet said, “I have a time with God of such sort that neither angel nor prophet is my peer,” meaning (if we interpret his words according to the sense of this passage) that he felt himself to be timeless.

[107] The glorious days when Islam first set out to convert and conquer the world.

[108] The _takbír_ is the cry “_Allah akbar_,” “Allah is most great.”

XVIII

_An invocation._

O Thou that art as the soul in the body of the universe, Thou art our soul and thou art ever fleeing from us. Thou breathest music into Life’s lute; Life envies Death when death is for thy sake. 1620 Once more bring comfort to our sad hearts, Once more dwell in our breasts! Once more let us hear thy call to honour, Strengthen our weak love. We are oft complaining of destiny, 1625 Thou art of great price and we have naught. Hide not thy fair face from the empty-handed! Sell cheap the love of Salmán and Bilál![109] Give us the sleepless eye and the passionate heart, Give us again the nature of quicksilver! 1630 Show unto us one of thy manifest signs, That the necks of our enemies may be bowed! Make this chaff a mountain crested with fire, Burn with our fire all that is not God! When the people let the clue of Unity go from their hands, 1635 They fell into a hundred mazes. We are dispersed like stars in the world; Though of the same family, we are strange to one another. Bind again these scattered leaves, Revive the law of love! 1640 Take us back to serve thee as of old, Commit thy cause to them that love thee! We are travellers: give us devotion as our goal! Give us the strong faith of Abraham! Make us know the meaning of “There is no god,” 1645 Make us acquainted with the mystery of “except Allah”! I who burn like a candle for the sake of others Teach myself to weep like the candle. O God! a tear that is heart-enkindling, Passionful, wrung forth by pain, peace-consuming, 1650 May I sow in the garden, and may it grow into a fire That washes away the fire-brand from the tulip’s robe! My heart is with yestereve, my eye is on to-morrow: Amidst the company I am alone. “Every one fancies he is my friend, 1655 But my secret thoughts have not escaped from my heart.” Oh, where in the wide world is my comrade? I am the Bush of Sinai: where is my Moses? I am tyrannous, I have done many a wrong to myself, I have nourished a flame in my bosom, 1660 A flame that seized the furniture of judgement, And cast fire on the skirt of discretion, And lessoned with madness the reason, And burned up the existence of knowledge: Its blaze enthrones the sun in the sky, 1665 And lightnings encircle it with adoration for ever. Mine eye fell to weeping, like dew, Since I was entrusted with that hidden fire. I taught the candle to burn openly, While I myself burned unseen by the world’s eye. 1670 At last flames breathed from every hair of me, Fire dropped from the veins of my thought: My nightingale picked up the spark-grains And created a fire-tempered song. Is the breast of this age without a heart? 1675 Majnún trembles lest Lailá’s howdah be empty. It is not easy for the candle to throb alone: Ah, is there no moth worthy of me? How long shall I wait for one to share my grief? How long must I search for a confidant? 1680 O Thou whose face lends light to the moon and the stars, Withdraw thy fire from my soul! Take back what Thou hast put in my breast, Remove the stabbing radiance from my mirror, Or give me one old comrade 1685 To be the mirror of mine all-burning love! In the sea wave tosses side by side with wave: Each hath a partner in its emotion. In heaven star consorts with star, And the bright moon lays her head on the knees of Night. 1690 Morning touches Night’s dark side, And To-day throws itself against To-morrow. One river loses its being in another, A waft of air dies in perfume. There is dancing in every nook of the wine-house, 1695 Madman dances with madman. Howbeit in thine essence Thou art single, Thou hast decked out for Thyself a whole world. I am as the tulip of the field, In the midst of a company I am alone. 1700 I beg of Thy grace a sympathising friend, An adept in the mysteries of my nature, A friend endowed with madness and wisdom, One that knoweth not the phantom of vain things, That I may confide my lament to his soul 1705 And see again my face in his heart. His image I will mould of mine own clay, I will be to him both idol and worshipper.

FOOTNOTES:

[109] Salmán was a Persian, Bilál an Abyssinian. Both had been slaves and were devoted henchmen of the Prophet.

THE END

_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Obsolete, archaic, inconsistent and unusual spellings have been maintained from the original text. The only changes to the text were:

- In footnote 38, “Jalálu’ddín Rúmí” was originally “Jalálu’ddin Rúmí.”

- The line number on line 995 was missing.

- On line 1300, “Pleiades” was originally “Pleiads.”

- On line 1428, “Jalálu’ddín Rúmí” was originally “Jaláluddín Rúmí.”

- In footnote 97, “Jalálu’ddín Rúmí” was originally “Jaláluddín Rúmí.”

- In footnote 98, “Jalálu’ddín Rúmí” was originally “Jaláluddín Rúmí.”

I also changed internal cross-references from notes and pages to line number (or section of the Introduction) and footnote number.

Footnote 76 gives the meaning of the name Murtazá as “he whom with God is pleased.” This translation is awkward, so awkward that it appears to me likely that it is wrong, _i.e._ “with whom” rather than “whom with.” However I checked other sources, and the meaning as stated is correct, although “he who is pleased with God,” or “he who is content with God,” or “he for whom God is sufficient” might be easier to read.

Footnote 90 includes a word in Greek. When the original book has text in another alphabet, I include both the text in the other alphabet and a transliteration, because some reading platforms are not able to display the other alphabet.

Footnote 98 refers to another book by the translator: _Selected Poems from the Diváni Shamsi Tabríz_. This is the title as published, although elsewhere in this work the author is referred to as Shams-i Tabríz.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Secrets of the Self, by Muhammad Iqbal