Chapter XI: Section I (2)

Also in Baghdad, where the Imam Musa reposes, was a fire-temple called _Shet Piráyi_ (decoration): and in the place where rest the remains of the great Imam _Abu Hanifah_, of Kufah, was a temple called _Húryar_ (sun’s friend): also in Kufah, on the site of the mosque, was a fire-temple called _Roz-Azar_ (the day of fire): and in the region of Tús, on the site of Imam Resa’s shrine, was a fire-temple called _Azar Khirad_ (the fire of intellect)――it was also known by many other appellations, and owes its erection to Faridún.――Also when _Tús_, the son of _Názar_,[280] came to visit _Azar-i-Khirad_, he laid near it the foundation of a city which was called after his name.[281]――In Balkh, where is now the sanctuary of the Imam, formerly stood a temple called _Mahin Azar_ (great fire), now known under the name of _Nóbahár_. In Ardebil,[282] the ancient _Dizh-i-Bahman_[283] (Bahman’s fort), Kai Khosrú, on reducing the citadel, constructed there a fire-temple called _Azari-Káus_,[284] which now serves as the burial place of the shaikh Sufi Ud-Din, the ancestor of the Safavean princes:[285] they also assert that there were fire-temples in several parts of India: as in _Dwaraka_,[286] was the temple of Saturn, called _Dizh-i-Kaivan_ (Saturn’s fort), which the Hindoos turned into _Dwaraka_: and in Gya also was an idol temple, called _Gah-i-Kaivan_, or “Saturn’s residence,” which was turned into Gya.[287]――In Mahtra also was an idol temple of Saturn, the name of which was _Mahetar_, that is the chiefs or _mahetar_ resorted thither; which word by degrees became _Mahtra_.[288]――In like manner several places among the Christians and other nations bore names which show them to have been idol-temples. When the _Abadian_ come to such places, they visit them with the accustomed reverence, as, according to them holy places are never liable to abomination or pollution, as they still remain places of worship and adoration: both friends and foes regarding them as a Kiblah, and sinners, notwithstanding all their perverseness, pray in those sacred edifices. Rai Gópí Nath[289] thus expresses himself:

O Shaikh! behold the dignity of my idol-house;
Even when destroyed, it remains the house of God!

There is not on record a single word repugnant to reason from the time of Mahabad to that of Yasan Ajam; and if they have recourse to allegory, they then express its figurative nature. From these princes to the Gilshaiyan there are many figurative expressions, all of which they interpret. For example, they say that the tradition of Siamak being slain by the hand of a demon implies, that in successive battles, through ignorance of himself and God, he unwittingly destroyed this elementary body; thus, wherever, in the language of this sect, mention is made of a demon, they always understand a man of that description, as has been explained in the _Paiman-i-ferhang_, or “Excellent Code.” They also maintain that, in some passages, the rendering the demons obedient, and slaying them, is a figurative mode of expressing a victory gained over the pleasures of sense, and the extirpation of evil propensities: in like manner, whatever is related about the appearance of angels to virtuous and holy persons, is the revelation and vision of good spirits, whilst in a state of sleep, transport, recovery from excess, or abstraction from the body; which states are truly explained in this work. They say that Zohak’s two serpents, _do-mar_, and ten fires (vices) or _deh ak_, imply irascibility and sensuality: the devil, his carnal soul, and in some places his disposition――the two pieces of flesh which broke out on Zohak’s shoulders in consequence of his evil deeds, appeared to the human race like serpents, the pain caused by which could only be alleviated by the application of human brains. They also say that the celebrated _Simúrgh_[290] (griffin) was a sage, who had retired from the world and taken up his peaceful abode in the mountains: he was therefore called by this name, and was the instructor of _Dastan_, the son of Sám; so that Zál, through his instruction, attained the knowledge of the occult sciences. As to the current tradition about Kai-Káus attempting to ascend to Heaven, and his downfall, this occurred, according to them, during his sleep, and not when he was awake. Kai Nishín, his brother, who had retired from all intercourse with mankind, thus interprets the adventure of Káus: “The four eagles are the four elements; the throne, the predominating passions; the lance, their energy and impetuosity in the desire of sensual gratifications; the thighs of flesh, their various pursuits of anger, passion, lust, and envy; their ascent implies that they may be subdued by religious austerities, and by the aid of their energy be made the means of ascending to the world on high and the supreme Heaven; their fall, instead of reaching Heaven’s eternal mansions, intimates that if, even for a short period, we become careless about repressing evil propensities, and desist from the practice of mortification, the passions will return back to their nature, or wander from the eternal paradise, the natural abode of souls:” the hemistich, “_during one moment I was heedless, and he was removed from me a journey of a hundred years_,” is applicable to such a state.

Rustam’s[291] bringing back Kai Káus to his throne from the forest into which he had fallen, means, his bringing back intelligence into the king’s soul, and turning him back from the desert (lit. meadow), of natural infirmity: Kai Kaus therefore, by direction of Kai Nishin, his younger brother, but his elder in purity of faith and good works, remained forty days in retirement, until in the state of sleep, through the awakening of his heart, he beheld this heavenly vision. They also assert, whatever modern writers have declared, relative to _Khizr_[292] and Iskander, having penetrated into the regions of darkness, where the former discovered the fountain of life immortal, means, that the Iskander, or the intellectual soul, through the energy of the Khizr, or reason, discovered, whilst in the state of human darkness, the water of life, or the knowledge of the rational sciences, or the science which forms the proper object of intellect――as to what they say about Iskander’s returning back empty-handed, by that is meant, that to expect eternal duration in this evanescent abode being altogether absurd, he consequently could not attain that object, and therefore departed to the next world. What they record about Khizr’s drinking of that water, means, that the perfection of intellect exists not through the medium of body, and that reason has no need of body, or any thing corporeal, either as essence or attribute.

In some passages they interpret the tradition after this manner; by Khizr is meant the intellectual soul, or rational faculty, and by Iskander the animal soul, or natural instinct; the Khizr of the intellectual soul, associated with the Iskander of the animal soul, and the host (of perceptions) arrived at the fountain-head of understanding, and obtained immortality, whilst the Iskander of the animal soul returned back empty-handed.[293] It must be remarked, that this sect explain after this manner, whatever transgresses the rules of probability, or cannot be weighed in the balance of comprehension; in short, all that is contrary to reason. They also say purification is of two kinds; the _amighi_ or true, and the _ashkari_ or apparent: the first consists in not defiling the heart with any thing; in not attaching it to the concerns of this treacherous world, emancipating it from all ties and prejudice, maintaining no connection with any object whatever, and washing away all bias from the soul. The _Ashkari_, or apparent, consists in removing to a distance whatever appears unclean; consequently this purification is effected with water which has undergone no change of color, smell, or taste: that is, which is free from bad color, smell, or taste; if otherwise, rose-water and such like are more to be commended. Ablution requires a _kur_, or a measure of lustral water; that is, according to them, the measure for a man, is that quantity into which he can immerge his head; for an elephant, a quantity proportioned to his bulk; and for a gnat, a single drop of water. They reckon it meritorious to recite the prayers and texts of the _Shat Dasátír_, relative to the unity of the self-existent Creator, the great dignity of intelligence and souls, with the pains of the superior and inferior bodies; after which they repeat the benedictions of the seven planets, particularly on their days, and offer up the appropriate incense. The worshipper after this recites the praises of the guardian of the month, and those of the days of the month; for example, if it be the month of _Farvardin_,[294] the believer repeats benedictions on that angel, and then on each of the regents of the days of that month: particularly the regent of that day called by the same name as the month: which day is also regarded as a festival.[295] For instance, in the month of _Farvardin_, he utters benedictions on the angel _Farvardin_, who is one of the cherubim on whom that month is dependent; if it be the first day of the month, called the day of _Hormuz_ (the angel who superintends the first day of the month), the believers address their benedictions to _Hormuz_; and act in a similar manner on the other months and their respective days. According to them, the names of the months are called after the names of their lords; and the appellations of the days are according to the names of their respective regents: consequently, as we have said, the believer adores the lord of the month, and on festivals, pays adoration to the angel who is the lord of the month and the day.[296] According to the Abadian, although in a month, the name of the month and of the day be the same, this coincidence makes not that day dependant on the month, but on the regent who bears the same name with him, consequently it is necessary to celebrate a festival. In the same manner, on the other days of every month, salutations are paid every morning to the regent of the day: also during the _Sudbar_, or the intercalary days, they offer up praises to their angels. They also regard the angels of the days as the ministers to the angels of the months, all of whom are subject to the majesty of the Great Light――in like manner the other stars (planets) have also angels dependent on them: they also believe that the angels dependent on each star (planet) are beyond all number: and finally, that the angelic host belonging to the solar majesty are reckoned the highest order. Besides, on the period at which any of the seven planets passes from one zodiacal mansion to another, they make an entertainment on the first day, which they regard as a festival, and call it _Shadbar_,[297] or “replete with joy.” Every month also, on the completion of the lunar revolution, on ascertaining its reappearance from astronomical calculation, they make great rejoicings on the first day: there is in like manner a great festival when any star has completed its revolution, which day they call _Dádram_,[298] or “banquet decking.” Thus, although there is a festival every day of the week in some idol-temple or other, as has been before stated, relative to the day of _Nahid_, or Friday, in the temple of this idol: yet on the day of the Sun, or _Yakshambah_ (the first day of the week), there was a solemn festival at which all the people assembled. In like manner they made a feast whenever a star returned to its mansion or was in its zenith.

They believe it wrong to hold any faith or religious system in abhorrence, as according to them, we may draw near to God in every faith: also that no faith has been abolished by divine authority――they hold that, on this account, there have been so many prophets, in order to shew the various ways which lead to God. Those who carefully investigate well know, that the ways which lead to heaven are many; nay more than come within the compass of numbers. It is well understood, that access to a great sovereign is more easily attained through the aid of his numerous ministers; although one of the prince’s commanders be on bad terms with his confidential advisers, or even should all the chiefs not co-operate with each other; yet they can promote the interest of their inferiors: therefore it is not proper to say that we can get to the God of all existence by one road only. But the insurmountable barrier in the road of approaching God is the slaughter of the Zindíbar, that is, those animals which inflict no injury on any person, and slay not other living creatures, such as the cow, the sheep, the camel, and the horse: there is assuredly no salvation to the author of cruelty towards such, nor can he obtain final deliverance by austerities or devotions of any description. Should we even behold many miraculous works performed by the slayer of harmless animals, we are not even then to regard him as one redeemed; the works witnessed in him are only the reward of his devotions, and the result of his perseverance in the practice of religious austerities in this world: and as he commits evil, he cannot be perfect in his devout exercises, so that nothing but suffering can await him in another generation (when born again): such an instance of an ascetic endued with miraculous powers is likened in the Shat Dasatir[299] to a vase externally covered with choice perfumes, but filled internally with impurities. They also maintain that in no system of faith is cruelty to innoxious animals sanctioned: and all human sanction for such acts proceeds from their attending to the apparent import of words, without having recourse to profound or earnest consideration――for example, by putting a horse or cow to death is meant, the removal or banishing from one’s self animal propensities, and not the slaughtering or devouring of innoxious creatures. They state the later historians to have recorded without due discrimination that Rustam, the son of Dastan (who was one of the perfect saints), used to slay such animals: whereas tradition informs us, that the mighty champion pursued in the chase noxious animals only: what they write about his hunting the wild ass, implies that the elephant-bodied hero called the lion a wild ass; or “that a lion is no more than a wild ass when compared to my force.” In the several passages where he is recorded to have slaughtered harmless wild asses and oppressed innoxious creatures, and where similar actions are ascribed to some of the Gilsháíyán princes, there is only implied the banishment of animal propensities and passions: thus the illustrious Shaikh Farideddin ât´ár declares,

“In the heart of each are found a hundred swine;
You must slay the hog or hind on the Zanar.”[300]

They hold that, from the commencement to the very end, the chiefs of the Persian Sipásíán, far from slaughtering these harmless creatures, regarded as an incumbent duty to avoid and shun, by every precaution, the practice of oppression or destruction towards them: nay, they inflicted punishment on the perpetrators of such deeds. Although they esteem the Gilsháíyán prophets, pontiffs, and princes, exceedingly holy personages, yet in their opinion, they come not up in perfect wisdom and works to the preceding apostles and sovereigns, who appeared from the Yassánián to the end of the Máhábádíán race.

They assert that some innoxious animals suffer oppression in this generation by way of retribution: for instance, an ox or a horse, which in times long past had, through heedlessness, wantonness, or without necessity, destroyed a man: as these creatures understand nothing but how to eat and drink, consequently when they obtain a new birth, they carry burdens, which is by no means to be regarded as an act of oppression, but as a retribution or retaliation for their previous misconduct. They are not put to death, as they are not naturally destructive and sanguinary: their harmless nature proves that they cannot be reckoned among the destroyers of animal life: so that putting them to death is the same as destroying an ignorant harmless man: therefore their slayer, though he may not receive in this world the merited punishment from the actual ruler or governor, appears in the next generation under the form of a ferocious beast, and meets his deserts. A great man says on this subject:

“In every evil deed committed by thee, think not that it
Is passed over in Heaven or neglected in the resolutions of time;
Thy evil deeds are a debt, ever in the presence of fortune,
Which must be repaid, in whatever age she makes the demand.”

They also hold the eternal paradise to be the Heavens; and regard the solar majesty as lord of the empyrean; and the other stars, fixed or planetary, as his ministers: thus a person who, through religious mortifications and purity of life, attains righteousness in words and deeds, is united with the sun and becomes an empyreal sovereign: but if the proportion of his good works bear a closer affinity to any other star, he becomes lord of the place assigned to that star: whilst others are joined to the firmament on high: the perfect man passes on still farther, arriving at the æthereal sphere, or the region of pure spirits; such men attain the beatific vision of the light of lights and the cherubinic hosts of the Supreme Lord. Should he be a prince during whose reign no harmless animals were slaughtered in his realms; and who, if any were guilty of these acts, inflicted punishment on the perpetrators of the crimes, so that no such characters departed this world without due retribution; he is esteemed a wise, beneficent, and virtuous king: and immediately on being separated from the elements of body, he is united with the sun: his spirit is identified with that of the majesty of the great light and he becomes an æthereal sovereign. Prince Siamak, the son of Kaiomors declares: “I beheld from first to last all the Abádíán, Jyáníán, Sháíyán, and Yassáníán monarchs: some were cherubim in the presence of the Supreme Lord; others absorbed in the contemplation of the Light of Lights: but I found none lower than the sphere of the sun, the vicegerent of God.” On my asking them concerning the means of attaining these high degrees, they said: “The great means of acquiring this dignity consist in the protection of harmless animals, and inflicting punishment on evil doers.”

According to this sect, labouring under insanity, suffering distress on account of one’s children, being assailed by diseases, the visitations of providence, these calamities are the retribution of actions in a former state of existence. If a person should fall down or stumble when running, even this is regarded as the retribution of past deeds: as are also the maladies of new-born babes. But whatever happens to a just man, which is evidently unmerited, this is not to be looked on as retribution, but as proceeding from the oppression of the temporal ruler, from whom, in a future generation, the Supreme Ruler will demand an account.

According to their tenets, the drinking of wine or strong liquors to excess, or partaking of things which impair the understanding, is by no means to be tolerated: which may be proved by this reflexion, that the perfection of man is understanding, and that intoxicating beverages reduce human nature, whilst in that state, to a level with the brute creation. If a person drink strong liquors to excess, he is brought before the judge to receive due castigation; and should he, during that state, do injury to another, he is held accountable for it, and is punished also as a malefactor.

Among this sect it is permitted to kill those animals which oppress others, such as lions, fowls, and hawks, which prey on living creatures: but whatever animals, whether noxious or innoxious, suffer violence from the noxious, duly receive it by way of retribution: when they slay the former, or noxious animals, that is regarded as a retribution, because in a former existence they were oppressive and sanguinary creatures: and in this generation the Almighty has given them over to other more sanguinary animals, that they might shed the blood of the sanguinary bloodshedder: so that when noxious creatures are slain, it is by way of retribution for having shed blood: the very act of shedding their blood proves them to have been formerly shedders of blood: it is not however allowed to put them to death until they become hurtful: for example, a young sparrow cannot, whilst in that state, commit an injury; but, when able to fly, it injures the insects of the earth; and, although this happens to the insects by way of retributive justice, yet their slayers become also deserving of being slain, as in a former generation they have been shedders of blood. For instance, a person has unwittingly slain another, for which crime he has been thrown into prison; on which they summons one of the other prisoners to behead the murderer: after which the judge commands one of his officers to put the executioner to death, as, previous to this act, he had before shed blood unjustly. But if a man slay a noxious animal, he is not to be put to death, because that person taking into consideration the noxious animal’s oppression, has inflicted retribution on it: but if a brave champion or any other be slain in fighting with a noxious creature; this was his merited retribution; and it is the same if an innoxious animal be slain in fighting with a noxious creature: for example, in a past generation the ox was a man endued with many brutal propensities, who with violence and insolence forced people into his service and imposed heavy burdens on them, until he deprived some of them of life: therefore in this generation, on account of his ruling propensities, he comes in the form of an ox, that he may receive the retribution due to his former deeds, and in return for his having shed blood, should be himself slain by a lion or some such creature. But mankind are not permitted to kill the harmless animals, and these are not shedders of blood: and if such an act should be inadvertently perpetrated by any individuals, destructive animals are then appointed to retaliate on them, as we have explained under the head of the ox.

The best mode to be adopted by merciful men for putting to death destructive creatures, such as fowls, sparrows, and the like, is the following: let them open a vein, so that it may die from the effusion of blood: there are many precepts of this kind recorded in the _Jashen Sudah_ of the _Móbed Hoshyár_: but philosophers, eminent doctors, and durveshes who abandon the world, never commit such acts: it is however indispensably necessary that a king, in the course of government, should inflict on the evildoer the retaliation due to his conduct. The Móbed _Hoshyár_ relates, in the _Sarud-i-Mastán_, that in the time of Kaíomors and Siamak, no animal of any kind was slain, as they were all obedient to the commands of these princes. So that one of the _Farjúd_, or miraculous powers possessed by the Yezdanian chiefs of Iran, from Kaíomors to Jemshíd, was their appointing a certain class of officers to watch over the animal creation, so that they should not attack each other. For instance, a lion was not permitted to destroy any animal, and if he killed one in the chase, he met with due punishment; consequently no creature was slain or destroyed, and carnage fell into such disuse among noxious animals, that they were all reckoned among the innoxious. However, the skins of animals which had died a natural death were taken off, and in the beginning used as clothing by Kaíomors and his subjects: but they were latterly satisfied with the leaves of trees. Those who embrace the tenets of this holy race attribute this result to the miraculous powers of these monarchs, and some profound thinkers regard it as effected by a _talisman_; whilst many skilled in interpretation hold it to be an enigmatical mode of expression: thus, the animal creation submitting to government implies, the justice of the sovereigns; their vigilance in extirpating corruption and evil, and producing good. In short, when in the course of succession the Gilsháíyán crown came to Húshang, he enjoined the people to eat the superabundant eggs of ducks, domestic fowls, and such like, but not to such a degree that, through their partaking of such food, the race of these creatures should become extinct. When the throne of sovereignty was adorned by the presence of Tahmúras, he said, “It is lawful for carnivorous and noxious creatures to eat dead bodies:” that is, if a lion find a lifeless stag, or a sparrow a dead worm, they may partake of them. In the same manner, when Jemshid assumed the crown, he enacted: “If men of low caste eat the flesh of animals which die a natural death, they commit no sin.” The reason why people do not at present eat of animals which died in the course of nature, is, that their flesh engenders disease, as the animal died of some distemper: otherwise there is no sin attached to the eating of it. When Jemshid departed to the mansions of eternity, _Deh Ak_,[301] the Arab, slew and partook of all animals indifferently, whether destructive or harmless, so that the detestable practice became general. When Faridún had purged the earth from the pollution of Zohák’s tyranny, he saw that some creatures, hawks, lions, wolves, and others of the destructive kind, gave themselves up to the chase in violation of the original covenant: he therefore enjoined the slaughter of these classes. After this, Jraj permitted men of low caste, that is the mass of the people, to partake of destructive creatures, such as domestic fowls (which prey upon worms), also sparrows and such like, in killing which no sin is incurred: but the holy Yezdanians never polluted their mouths with flesh, or killed savage animals for themselves, although they slew them for others of the same class. For example, the hawk, lion, and other rapacious animals of prey were kept in the houses of the great, for the purpose of inflicting punishment on other destructive animals, and not that men should partake of them: for eating flesh is not an innate quality in men, as whenever they slay animals for food, ferocity settles in their nature, and that aliment introduces habits of rapacity: whereas the true meaning of putting destructive animals to death, is the extirpation of wickedness. The Yezdanians also have certain viands, which people at present confound with animals and flesh: for instance, they give the name of _barah_, “lamb,” to a dish composed of the _zingú_, or egg-mushroom; _gaur_, or “onager” is a dish made out of cheese: with many others of the same kind. Although they kill destructive animals in the chase, they never eat of them; and if in their houses they kill one destructive animal for the food of another, such as a sparrow for a hawk, it is done by a man styled _Dazhkím_, or executioner, who is lower than a _Milar_, called in _Hindi_, _Juharah_ or “sweeper,” and in modern language _Hallál Khúr_, or one to whom all food is lawful. But the dynasty preceding Gilshah, from whom the Yezdanians derive their tenets, afforded no protection whatever to destructive animals, as they esteemed the protection of the oppressor most reprehensible. In the time of the Gilsháíyán princes, they nourished hawks and such like, for the purpose of retaliating on destructive animals; for example, they let loose the hawk on the sparrow, which is the emblem of _Ahriman_; and when the hawk grew old, they cut off his head and killed him for his former evil deeds. The first race never kept any destructive creatures, as they esteemed it criminal to afford them protection; and even their destruction never took place in the abodes of righteous and holy persons.

Among the Sipasíyan sect were many exemplary and pious personages, the performers of praiseworthy discipline: with them, however, voluntary austerity implies “religious practices” or _Saluk_, and consists not in extreme suffering, which they hold to be an evil, and a retribution inflicted for previous wicked deeds. According to this sect, the modes of walking in the paths of God are manifold: such as seeking God; the society of the wise; retirement and seclusion from the world; purity of conduct; universal kindness; benevolence; reliance on God; patience; endurance; contentedness; resignation; and many such like qualities――as thus recorded in the _Sarúd-i-Mustán_ of the _Móbed Hushyar_. The _Móbed Khodá Jáí_, in the “Cup of _Kái Khusró_,” a commentary on the text of the poem of the venerable _Azar Kaivan_, thus relates: “He who devotes himself to walking in the path of God, must be well-skilled in the medical sciences, so that he may rectify whatever predominates or exceeds in the bodily humours: in the next place, he must banish from his mind all articles of faith, systems, opinions, ceremonials, and be at peace with all: he is to seat himself in a small and dark cell, and gradually diminish the quantity of his food.” The rules for the diminution of food are thus laid down in the _Sharistan_ of the holy doctor _Ferzanah Bahram_, the son of _Farhád_: “From his usual food, the pious recluse is every day to subtract three direms, until he reduces it to ten direms weight: he is to sit in perfect solitude, and give himself up to meditation.” Many of this sect have brought themselves to one direm weight of food: their principal devotional practice turning on these five points: namely, fasting, silence, waking, solitude, and meditation on God. Their modes of invoking God are manifold, but the one most generally adopted by them is that of the _Múk Zhúp_: now in the _Azanan_ or _Pehlevi_, _Múk_ signifies “four,” and _Zhúp_ “a blow;” this state of meditation is also called _Char Sang_, “the four weights,” and _Char Kúb_, “the four blows.” The next in importance is the _siyá zhúp_, “the three weights” or “three blows.” The sitting postures among these devotees are numerous; but the more approved and choice are limited to eighty-four; out of these they have selected fourteen; from the fourteen they have taken five; and out of the five two are chosen by way of eminence: with respect to these positions, many have been described by the _Móbud Sarúsh_ in the _Zerdúsht Afshár_: of these two, the choice position is the following: The devotee sits on his hams, cross-legged, passing the outside of the right foot over the left thigh, and that of the left foot over the right thigh; he then passes his hands behind his back, and holds in his left hand the great toe of the right foot, and in the right hand the great toe of the left foot, fixing his eyes intently on the point of the nose: this position they call _Farnishin_, “the splendid seat,” but by the Hindi Jogies it is named the _Padma ásan_,[302] or “Lotus seat.” If he then repeat the _Zekr-i-Mukzhub_, he either lays hold of the great toes with his hands, or if he prefer, removes his feet off the thighs, seating himself in the ordinary position, which is quite sufficient――then, with closed eyes, the hands placed on the thighs, the armpits open, the back erect, the head thrown forward, and fetching up from the navel with all his force the word _Nist_, he raises his head up: next, in reciting the word _Hésti_, he inclines the head towards the right breast; on reciting the word _Magar_, he holds the head erect; after which he utters _Yezdan_, bowing the head to the left breast, the seat of the heart. The devotee makes no pause between the words thus recited; nay, if possible, he utters several formularies in one breath, gradually increasing their number. The words of the formulary (_Nist hesti magar yezdan_, “there is no existence save God”) are thus set forth: “Nothing exists but God;” or, “There is no God, but God;” or, “There is no adoration except for what is adorable;” or this, “He to whom worship is due is pure and necessarily existent;” or, “He who is without equal, form, color, or model.” It is permitted to use this formulary publicly, but the inward meditation is most generally adopted by priests and holy persons; as the senses become disturbed by exclamations and clamors, and the object of retirement is to keep them collected. In the inward meditation, the worshipper regards three objects as present: “God, the heart, and the spirit of his Teacher;” whilst he revolves in his heart the purport of this formulary: “There is nothing in existence but God.” But if he proceeds to the suppression of breath, which is called the “knowledge of _Dam_ and _Súmrad_,” or the science of breath and imagination, he closes not the eyes, but directs them to the tip of the nose, as we have before explained under the first mode of sitting: this institute has also been recorded in the _Surud-i-Mastan_, but the present does not include all the minute details.[303]

It is thus recorded in the _Zerdúsht Afshár_; the worshipper having closed the right nostril, enumerates the names of God from once to sixteen times, and whilst counting draws his breath upwards; after which he repeats it twenty-two times, and lets the breath escape out of the right nostril, and whilst counting propels the breath aloft; thus passing from the six Kháns or stages to the seventh; until from the intensity of imagination he arrives to a state in which he thinks that his soul and breath bound like the jet of a fountain to the crown of the head: they enumerate the seven stages, or the seven degrees, in this order: 1st, the position of sitting; 2d, the hips; 3d, the navel; 4th, the pine-heart; 5th, the windpipe; 6th, the space between the eyebrows; and 7th, the crown of the head. As causing the breath to mount to the crown of the head is a power peculiar to the most eminent persons; so, whoever can convey his breath and soul together to that part, becomes the viceregent of God. According to another institute, the worshipper withdraws from all senseless pursuits, sits down in retirement, giving up his heart to his original world on high, and without moving the tongue, repeats in his heart Yezdan! Yezdan! or God! God! which address to the Lord may be made in any language, as Hindi, Arabic, etc. Another rule is, the idea of the Instructor: the worshipper imagines him to be present and is never separated from that thought, until he attains to such a degree, that the image of his spiritual guide is never absent from the mind’s eye, and he then turns to contemplate his heart: or he has a mirror before his sight, and beholds his own form, until, from long practice, it is never more separated from the heart, to which he then directs himself: or he sits down to contemplate his heart, and reflects on it as being in continual movement. In all these cases he regards the practices of the suppression of the breath as profitable for the abstraction of thought: an object which may also be effected without having recourse to it.

Another rule is, what they call _ázád áwá_, or the “free voice;” in Hindi _Ánahid_; and in Arabic _Sáut Mutluk_, or “the absolute sound.” Some of the followers of Mohammed relate, that it is recorded in the traditions, that a revelation came to the venerable prophet of Arabia resembling “the tones of a bell,” which means the “Sáut Mutluk:” which Hafiz of Shiraz expresses thus:

“No person knows where my beloved dwells:
This much only is known, that the sound of the bell approaches.”

The mode of hearing it is after this manner: the devotees direct the hearing and understanding to the brain, and whether in the gloom of night, in the house, or in the desert, hear this voice, which they esteem as their _Zikker_, or “address to God.” Azizi[304] thus expresses himself:

“I recognise that playful sportiveness,
And well know that amount of blandishment:
The sound of footsteps comes to my ear at night;
It was thyself; I recognise the hallowed voice!”

Then having opened the eyes and looking between the eyebrows, a form appears. Some of those who walk in the path of religious poverty among the followers of Mohammed (on whom be benedictions!) assert that the expression _Kab Kausain_, “I was near two bows’ length,” alludes to this vision. Finally, if they prefer it, having closed the eyes for some time, they reflect on the form which appeared to them on looking between the eyebrows; after which they meditate on the heart; or without contemplating the form, they commence by looking into the heart; and closing both eyes and ears, give themselves up entirely to meditation on the heart, abandoning the external for the internal: whoever can thus contemplate obtains all that he wants; but

“The anguish of my friend strikes at the portal of the heart;
Command them, O, Sháni! to purify the dwelling of the heart.”

Finally the searcher after the Being who is without equal or form, without color or pattern, whom they know and comprehend in the Parsi under the name of “_Izad_,” in Arabic by the blessed name of “_Allah_,” and in Hindi as “_Para Brahma Náráyaran a_,”[305] contemplates him without the intervention of Arabic, Persian, Hindi, or any other language, keeping the heart in his presence, until he, being rescued from the shadows of doubt, is identified with God. The venerable _Maulaví Jami_ says on this head:

“Thou art but an atom, He, the great whole; but if for a few days
Thou meditate with care on the whole, thou becomest one with it.”

They hold that reunion with the first principle, which the Sufees interpret by evanescence and permanence, means not, according to the distinguished Ishrakian[306] or Platonists of Persia, that the beings of accident or creation are blended with him whose existence is necessary, or that created beings cease to exist; but that when the sun of the first cause manifests himself, then apparently all created beings, like the stars in the sun’s light, are absorbed in his divine effulgence; and if the searcher after God should continue in this state, he will comprehend how they become shrouded through the sun’s overpowering splendor, or like the ecstatic Sufees he will regard them as annihilated: but the number of Sufís who attain to this state is exceedingly small, and the individuals themselves are but little known to fame. This volume would not be sufficient to enumerate the amount of those lights (precepts) which direct the pilgrim on his course, but the venerable _Azur Kaiván_ has treated at large on this head in the _Jám-i-Kai Khusró_.

It is, however, necessary to mention that there are four states of vision; the first, _Núníar_,[307] or that which is seen during sleep: by sleep is meant that state when the subtile fumes arising from the food taken into the stomach mounting up to the brain, overpower external perceptions at the time of repose: whatever is then beheld is called in Farsi _Tínáb_, in Arabic _Rúyá_, and in Hindi _Svapna_.[308] The state beyond this dignity is _Susvapna_,[309] in Arabic _Ghaib_ or “mysterious,” and in the popular language of the Hindoos _Sukhásváda_[310] or _Samádhi_[311] (suspending the connexion between soul and body), which is as follows: when divine grace is communicated from the worlds on high, and the transport arising from that grace locks up external perceptions, whatever is beheld during that state is called _Binab_ or “revelation:” but that state into which the senses enter, or _Hóshwázhen_, “a trance,” which is expressed in Arabic by _Sahú_ or “recovering from ebriety,” and in Hindi by _Jagrat_,[312] “awaking,” and _Pratyaya_ “evidence,”[313] means that state in which divine grace being communicated, without the senses being overpowered, it transports the person for the time being to the world of reality: whatever he beholds in this state is called _Bínáb_ or _Mâainah_ “reality.” The state higher than this is the power of the soul to quit the body and to return to it, which is called in Farsi _Nívah-i-chaminah_, in Arabic _Melkát Khalâ-baden_, and in Hindu _prapura paroksha_.[314]

They affirm that the bodies occupied by some souls resemble a loose garment, which may be put off at pleasure; so that they can ascend to the world of light, and on their return become reunited with the material elements. The difference between _Sahú_ and _Khalâ_ is this: _Sahú_ means, being absorbed in meditation on the communication of divine grace, so that, without a relaxation of the senses, the person may, for the time being, actually abide in the invisible world: whereas _Khalâ_ means, that the individual, whenever he pleases, separates himself from the body and returns to it when he thinks fitting. The spiritual Maulavi thus says:

“Shout aloud, my friends! for one person has separated himself
from the body;
Out of a hundred thousand bodies, one person has become
identified with God.”

According to this sect there are seven worlds: the first is absolute existence and pure being, which they call _Arang_[315] or “divinity;” the second is the world of intelligences, which they call _Birang_ or “the empyreal;” the third is that of souls, called _Alrang_ or the angelic; the fourth that of the superior bodies, or _Nirang_; the fifth, the elementary or _Rang_; the sixth the compounds of the four elements, or _Rang-a-Rang_: but according to the Sufís all bodies, whether superior or inferior, are named _Málk_ or region; the seventh is _Sarang_, which is that of man or of human beings: but in some Parsi treatises they term these seven regions the seven true realities: however, if the author were to describe minutely the articles and ceremonies of this sect, their details would require so many volumes, that contenting himself with what has been stated, he now proceeds to describe some of their most distinguished followers of later times.

[228] Here begins the translation of David Shea.

[229] _Serúsh_ or _Serósh_, is derived from the Zend, and
signifies properly _sí-roz_, that is “thirty days, a month.”
To the adorers of the stars, Serósh is the name of an angel
who presides over the 17th day of the month; according to
their religion, he is moreover the most active of the
celestial spirits; as king of the earth, he passes every day
and every night three times through his empire; his throne
is the summit of the world; all light, all intelligence, he
purifies and fertilizes the earth, blesses and protects
mankind, strikes the evil spirits; in short, he is adored
equal to the supreme being. (_See Zend Avesta, par Anquetil
du Perron_, _I._ 2. P. _pp._ 80, 156, 228, 404, 415; _II._
320, 330, 223, 235, 237).――A. T.

[230] The text given by Gladwin (_see the New Asiatic
Miscellany_, _vol. I. p._ 93), and the manuscript of Oude,
have no negative before خجسته; the sense would
therefore be: “if his words had been plausible, but the
deeds bad.” The edit. of Calcutta gives the sense as
above.――A. T.

[231] Gladwin translates this passage as follows (_ibid._,
_p._ 94): “If a deserving soul produces good words and
deeds,” which is in accordance with the text he followed,
and with that of the edit. of Calcutta; but Shea’s
translation is justified by the manuscript of Oude, which
has: بي پسنديده اقوال فرّخی افعال.――A. T.

[232] According to Gladwin, after باره once followed in a
series by هزار the same word is to be always understood――thus
يک هزار باره فردرا is not a thousand _fard_, but one million
_fard_. This word is not in the Burhan:――I have therefore
followed Gladwin’s authority. But in the Desátir, or “Sacred
Writings of the ancient Persian Prophets in the original
tongue,” published at Bombay in 1818, the following passage
occurs in the commentary of the Vth Sasan (English transl.
p. 36): “They call a thousand times a thousand years a
_ferd_; and a thousand _ferds_, a _werd_; and a thousand
_werds_, a _merd_; and a thousand _werds_, a _jád_; and
three thousand _jáds_, a _wád_; and two thousand _wads_, a
_zád_;” etc.――D. S.

[233] هيربد “Hirbed” (see Thomas Hyde, _Veterum Persarum et
Parthorum et Medorum Religionis Historia, Oxon ii._ 1760, p.
369-372) was called a priest of the fire-worship; according
to oriental authors, a priest of the ancient Persians was in
general, called formerly مغ, ‘magh,’ or موغ ‘mogh,’ that is
“excellent,” hence Magus, a Magian. The Magi are mentioned
by Herodotus, and, according to Aristotle, were more ancient
than the Egyptian priests. Clitarchus and Strabo, contemporaries,
the one of Alexander, the other of Augustus, speak of the
Magi. The latter says (lib. XV.): Εν δε τη Καππαδοκία, πολύ
ἐστι το τῶν Μάγων φῦλον οἱ καὶ Πύρεθοι καλοῦνται· “In
Kappadocia is a great multitude of Magi, called also
Pyrethi.” (See Selden, De Dis Syris syntagma, Lipsiæ, 1662,
p. 317, 318). An order superior to this class of priests was
the بد, ‘mógh bed,’ or وبد, ‘mobed,’ a ‘prefect, or judge of
the Magi,’ of the learned priests, or of the worshippers of
the sun, in a general sense, a wise man, adorer of the sun.
A third order of Persian priests was called تور, ‘dastur,’
or ‘superintendant.’ (See also _Zend-Avesta_, translated by
Anquetil du Perron, t. II, pp. 516, 517, 553, 555.)――A. T.

[234] ब्रह्मन् “Brahman.”

[235] Gladwin “Mahuristar.” We read in the Commentary upon
article 145 of the Desatir, English translation, p. 27: “In
Pehlevi the Huristars are called _Athurnâns_――They are the
Mobeds and Hirbuds whose duty is to guard the faith, to
confirm the knowledge and precepts of religion, and to
establish justice.”――A. T.

[236] क्षत्त्रः, क्षत्त्रियः, क्षत्त्री, ‘kshatra, kshatriya, kshatri,’
a man of the military class, from क्षद् to divide, or eat,
rather from क्षेत्रं, _kshétram_, ‘field,’ which they are to
protect. This last from क्षि, _kshi_, ‘to dwell.’

[237] छत्रं, ‘_chhatraḿ_,’ a parasol, an umbrella, from छद
‘chhada,’ to cover.――A. T.

[238] “The Núristárs in Pehlevi are named _Rehtishtáran_,
and are the princes and warriors who are called to grandeur
and superiority, and command, and worldly sway.” _Comment.
upon art. 145 of the Desatir_, p. 27.――A. T.

[239] विश, वैश्य, ‘_viś_, _vaiśya_, ‘a man of the mercantile
tribe,’ from विश, ‘viś,’ to enter.――A. T.

[240] “The Suristars in Pehlevi are denominated _Washteryû´shán_,
and are devoted to every kind of business and employment.”
_Comment. upon the Desatir_, p. 27.

[241] शुद्र, _śudra_, a man of the fourth or servile class,
from शुच, _such_, to purify.――A. T.

[242] “The Ruzistars are in Pehlevi styled Hotukhshan, and
are artisans and husbandmen.”――_Comm. upon the Des._

[243] The names _Huristar_, _Nuristar_, _Suristar_, and
_Ruzistar_, of the four classes of the people, are to be
found in the Desatir (artic. 145, English translation, p.
27), from which work the author of the Dabistan is likely to
have taken them, as various other information. As this
division of a nation is undoubtedly suggested by the natural
state of things, it has been attributed to more than one
ancient king, and by Ferdúsi, in his Shah-namah, to Jemshid,
under four denominations belonging to the ancient Persian
language. These are as follows: 1ᵒ ان, _Amuzian_; 2ᵒ
يساريان, _Nisarian_; 3ᵒ دی, _Nasudi_; 4ᵒ خوشی, _Ahnu
khushi_, corresponding to the learned, the warriors, the
husbandmen, and the mechanics. The first of these names,
_Amuzian_, is easily recognised in the Persian ختن,
_amokhten_ (Imp. اموز _amuz_), “to teach, to learn;” the
second _nisarian_ is the same with ساری, _nisari_, the
common Persian word for a warrior; the third, _nasudi_, is a
Pehlevi noun (see Hyde, p. 437); the fourth, _Ahnúkhúshí_,
appears composed of [اهنو, _ahnu_, “provisions, meat” (to be
traced to आह्निक, _ahnika_, “daily work, food”), and of
خوشی, _khushi_, “good, content,” or from ستن _khástan_, “to
ask.” Upon the four classes of the people see also _History
of the early kings of Persia, translated from the Persian of
Mirkhond, entitled the Rauza-us-safa”_ by David Shea, p.
108-113.――A. T.

[244] The text of Gladwin has انير, _destânir_, the edition
of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have _Dasátir_. The
single volume published under that name at Bombay (see note
page 14), if genuine at all, can be considered but as a very
small part of the great work, said to comprehend all
languages and sciences.――A. T.

[245] This faith is also called _Fersendáj_, and the great
Ábád himself _Ferzábád_, and _Búzúgábad_, (Dasát., Engl.
Transl., p. 27, 58, 187).――A. T.

[246] _Burz_, with the Arabic article _Al-burz_, is a
mountain in Jebal or Irak Ajemi, not far distant from, and
to the north of, the town Yezd in the province of Fars,
where, from very remote times to our days, a great number of
fire-temples existed. Alburz belongs to a fabulous region;
this name is given to several mountains, among which the
great Caucasus is distinguished from the _tirah_, or
“little,” Alburz.――A. T.

[247] This word reminds of जिन, _jina_, or जैन, _jaina_,
from जि, _ji_, ‘to conquer’ or ‘excel,’ a generic name of
distinguished persons, belonging to the Jaina sect of
Hindus.――A. T.

[248] This is evidently the Sanskrit word यशस्, _yaśas_,
“fame, glory, celebrity, splendor,” and यशस्वान, _yaśasvan_,
“famous, celebrated.”――A. T.

[249] Gladwin has مور, _nimur_; the edition of Calcutta and
the manuscript of Oude have تيمور _timur_.――A. T.

[250] Gil-shah, “Earth-King,” also “the King formed of
clay.” According to the _Mojmil-al-Tavarikh_ (see Extracts
from this work by Julius Mohl, Esq., Journ. Asiat., February
1841, p. 146), he was so called, because he governed the
then not inhabited earth. Gil-shah is one of the names given
to the first man or King; in the _Desátir_ (pp. 70, 131) he
is called Giomert, Gilshadeng; by others Kaiomars (see also
_Rauzat-us-Safa_ of Mirkhond, translated by D. Shea, p.
50).――A. T.

[251] This number differs considerably from the chronology
of other Asiatics. Here follow the periods enumerated in the
_Epitome of the ancient History of Persia, extracted and
translated from the Jehan Ara_, by Sir Wil. Ouseley (p.
71-74).

The Peshádian ruled (the mean of 4 different data) 2531 years.
Kaiánián ―― ( ―― 4 ―― ) 704 ――
Ashkánián ―― ( ―― 11 ―― ) 352 ――
Sásánian ―― ( ―― 7 ―― ) 500 ――
――――――――――――
TOTAL 4087 years.
――――――――――――

As Yezdejird’s reign terminated 651 or 653 years of our era,
the beginning of the Peshdádíán, according to the Dabistan,
is placed 6024-651=5373 years before J. C.――A. T.

[252] Adopting the just computed period of 4087 years
between Yezdegird and the 1st of the Péshdadíán, Kaiomars
would have begun to reign 3436 years before Christ;
according to the Shahnamah, it was 3529 years before our
era; Sir W. Jones places him 890 years B. C. (see his Works,
vol. XII, 8vo edit. p. 399).

[253] Síyamak the son of Gilshah or Kaiomors, was killed in
a battle against the Divs.
ACCORDING ACCORDING
TO FERDUSI: TO SIR W. JONES:
[254] Húshang began to reign 3499 years B. C.; 865 years B. C.
[255] Tehmúras ―― 3469 ―― ; 835 ――
[256] Jemshíd ―― 3429 ―― ; 800 ――

Jemshíd, also called Jermshár in the _Desátir_ (pp. 88,
89), according to Ferdusi the son of Tehmúras, according to
the _Zend-Avesta_ the son of Viverghám, brother or son of
Tahmúras. He, or rather his dynasty, ruled 700 years the
Persian empire. He is believed to have been the first who
amongst the Persians regulated the solar year, the
commencement of which he fixed at the vernal equinox, about
the 5th of April (see _Zend-Avesta_, by Anquetil du Perron,
vol. II, p. 82). He is also distinguished by the epithet
_Sad-wakhshur_, which signifies “hundred prophets;” to him
is ascribed the book _Javedan Khirad_, “eternal intelligence,”
which is said to have been translated into Greek, with other
books, by order of Alexander (see _Desátir_, English transl.
pp. 79, 153, 163).――A. T.

[257] Zohak, the son of a sister of Jemshíd, usurped the
throne of his uncle and sovereign, according to Ferdusi,
2729 years B. C.; according to Helvicus, 2248; according to
Jackson, 1964; but only 780 years B. C., according to Sir W.
Jones who, in general, fixes the ancient Persian reigns much
lower than other chronologers. Zohak is also called
_Pivar-asp_, or _Bivar-asp_, from the circumstance of his
always keeping ten thousand Arabian horses in his stables,
for _Bivar_, says Ferdusi, from the Pehlevi, in counting
means in the Dárí tongue, ten thousand (see Rauzat-us-safá,
Translat., p. 123; and also Mojmel-al-Tavarikh). The empire
which Zokah founded is identified by some historians with
the Assyrian monarchy of Semiramis, or with a Semitic
domination in general. It lasted, according to the Orientals,
1000 years; according to Ctesias, Diodorus Siculus, Justin
and Syncellus 13 or 1400, according to Herodotus only 520
years.――A. T.

[258] Kiblah signifies that part to which people direct
their face in prayer, the temple of Mecca to the devout
Muhammedans; in a general sense, it means the object of our
views or wishes.――A. T.

[259] The text has گس, _Kerges_, a bird, feeding on
carcasses, and living one hundred years.――A. T.

[260] Bahram is also called _Manishram_ (Desátir, Engl.
transl. p. 79).

[261] Nahid appears also under the name of _Ferehengíram_
(ibid., p. 90).

[262] Tir, also _Temirám_ (ibid., p. 102).――A. T.