Chapter VI: Part I: Texts (2)

This is the Self. Not the mere body or the faculties of the brain, but the Highest Self. And that must be meditated on, or worshipped, with a constant meditation. _Hymn of praise_, then, means that we accept the existence of that Self and aspire to or adore Him. Therefore, it is said again, in the same Upanishad:

“In the beginning Brahman was all this. He was one, and infinite. * * * The Highest Self is not to be fixed, he is unlimited, unborn, not to be reasoned about, not to be conceived. He is, like the ether, everywhere, and at the destruction of the Universe, he alone is awake. Thus from that ether he wakes all this world, which consists of (his) thought only, and by him alone is all this meditated on, and in him it is dissolved. His is that luminous form which shines in the sun, and the manifold light in the smokeless fire. He who is in the fire, and he who is in the heart, and he who is in the sun, they _are one and the same_. He who knows this becomes one with the One.”

Now “to know” this, does not mean to merely apprehend the statement, but actually become personally acquainted with it by interior experience. And this is difficult. But it is to be sought after. And the first step to it is the attempt to realize universal brotherhood, for when one becomes identified with the One, who is all, he “participates in the souls of all creatures;” surely then the first step in the path is universal brotherhood.

The hymn of praise to Brahm (which is Brahman) is the real object of this magazine, and of our existence. The hymn is used, in the sacrifice, when verbally expressed, and we can offer it in our daily existence, in each act, whether eating, sleeping, waking, or in any state. A man can hardly incorporate this idea in his being and not be spiritually and morally benefited.

But we cannot fully explain here, as it is to be constantly referred to in this magazine.—[ED.]

THEOSOPHICAL ACTIVITIES.

ARYAN THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK.—This branch has established the nucleus of a library to consist of Theosophical, Metaphysical, Occult, Aryan, and other literature. It already numbers about fifty volumes, some of which are loaned pending further accumulations and the acquirement of a proper place to keep them. It is hoped that this will grow to be of great value. A fund for the purpose has also been started. During April the contributions have been: A Friend, $5; Mr. B. X., $3: C., nine books: _Hist. of Witchcraft in Salem_; _Zend Avesta_; _What is Theosophy?_; _Mother Clothed with the Sun_; _Footfalls on the Boundaries of Another World, &c._; from Dr. Seth Pancoast, _Red and Blue Light_.

The books will be loaned to resident members upon giving receipt for a definite period. Donations of books or money towards the fund, can be sent to THE PATH, or the Pres’t of the A. T. S., box 2659, New York City.

Several other books are promised and will be in hand before next month.

The Branch is actively engaged in spreading Theosophical literature, and now has requests for books from all parts of the U. S. It has reprinted Mrs. Sinnett’s “Purpose of Theosophy” very cheap in form, but well done, and has other reprints in mind. Since last month, permanent quarters have been obtained, where the library will be established. Private meetings are also held from time to time among the members, for study and discussion.

Mr. C. H. A. Bjerregaard finished his course of lectures on “Historic and Individual Cycles.”

All inquiries should be addressed to the Secretary, Box 2659, New York City.

* * * * *

CINCINNATI.—Since our April issue the members here have been steadily at work, and among other things accomplished, is the printing of Dr. Buck’s essay upon the “Secret Doctrine of the Ancient Mysteries.”

* * * * *

BOSTON.—Interest in Boston continues unabated. A member of the Aryan Branch of New York has been spending a month in Boston, discussing the philosophy and ethics to be found in theosophical literature, and it is to be hoped that the work done will be permanent, founded as it is in ethics and not upon phenomena.

* * * * *

BULLEL.—Brother Krishnarao B. Bullel, a Bombay member, who has been studying medicine in New York, and who constantly attended the meetings of the Aryan Branch, graduated from the Homœopathic Medical College, of New York, with honors. He sailed for home on April 14th, on the steamer America, intending to stop in London. He carries back with him the best wishes of his American brothers, and a good report of the progress of the Cause here.

* * * * *

OLCOTT.—Col. H. S. Olcott has lately been in Ceylon looking after the work there. Rev. Mr. Leadbeater was with him, and will remain on the Island, where Theosophy is very strong, to work for the Society. A theosophical paper, in Singhalese, was started there some years ago, and still flourishes. The Colonel has just recovered from a slight attack of fever contracted in his journeys, but his vigor remains unabated.

* * * * *

EXPOSURES.—In reply to several inquiries made here, and also sent to London from the U. S., we beg to say that it is true that the Society for Psychical Research sent a prejudiced expert to India, who exposed nothing except his own bias. Among other things, he thought he had proved that the writing of alleged adepts was only Mme. Blavatsky’s disguised hand. But since then, a well-known German member has submitted specimens of adept writing, together with Mme. Blavatsky’s, to one of the best calligraphic experts in Germany, who certifies that the messages which have been impugned were not written by her.

Mme. Blavatsky is now in Europe, for her health, but she may be expected to return very soon to India, spy-theory and missionaries, to the contrary notwithstanding.

* * * * *

THE AMERICAN BOARD OF CONTROL.—The general and routine work of the Society in America, is under the jurisdiction of the _Board of Control_, of which the Secretary is Elliott B. Page, 301 South Main Street, St. Louis, Mo.

A resolution has been passed by this Board, which is binding on all members, that no publication shall be issued as a Theosophical one, without previous consent obtained from the officers of the Board. This is wise, as it will tend to prevent unauthorized declarations of so-called Theosophical doctrine from being laid at the door of the Society. All members, therefore, intending to make publication, should address the Secretary of the Board.

YOGA VIDYA or the Knowledge of Yoga, is the name by which in India psychic practices, or astralism, or seeking after astral-body formation, or inducing clairvoyance and the like, is most commonly known. At the same time, True Yoga, called _Raja Yoga_, is a different thing. In the March _Theosophist_ a member writes giving the name of one who will instruct in these practices, and the Editor replied:

“We cannot endorse the writer’s opinion as to the benefits of Yoga Vidya. For one or two who succeed in it, hundreds fail and wreck both body and mind, through its dangerous practices, and even if physical results are obtained they are not invariably followed by spiritual illumination.”

It certainly thus appears that our Society is not in favor of such practices, no matter if some of its members indulge in them.

ADMISSION TO THE SOCIETY is open to any person of full age, who is in sympathy with its objects, willing to abide by its rules; and is obtained by signing an application which sets forth the above in a form which is provided. This must be countersigned by any two active members in good standing. The entrance fee is $5 and one belonging to a Branch should also pay the annual dues thereof. Applications can be made to Presidents of Branches or other officers. Persons may become members of Branches or unattached members of the General Society.

* * * * *

All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought pain follows him as the wheel follows the foot of him who draws the carriage.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him.—_Dhammapada._

Receive this law, young men; keep, read, fathom, teach, promulgate and preach it to all beings. I am not avaricious nor narrow minded; I am confident and willing to impart Buddha knowledge, or knowledge of the self-born. I am a bountiful giver, young men, and ye should follow my example; imitate me in liberality, showing this knowledge, and preaching this code of laws and conduct to those who shall successively gather round you, and rouse unbelieving persons to accept this law. By so doing ye will acquit your debt to the Tathagatas.—_Saddharma Pundarika._

OM.

FOOTNOTES:

[37] _Sacred Books of the East_, Vol. I, lxv.

[38] _Sacred Books_, &c., Vol. I, lxvii.

[39] _Hist. of Sans. Lit._, p. 155, note.

[40] From the negatives _en_ and _am_, and the noun _Soph_ “end or terminus.”

[41] See _Kabbalah_, published by R. Worthington, 770 Broadway, N. Y.

[42] See _Kabbalah_, Page 47.

[43] Trans. Bomb. lit. Soc. Comp. the Dabistan.

[44] The Dabistan: The prophet is a person who is sent to the people as their guide to the perfection which is fixed for them in the presence of God, according to the exigency of the dispositions determined by the fixed substances, whether it be the perfection of faith, or another.

[45] It is to this state the Sufis refer Mohammed’s words: “I have moments when neither prophet nor angel can comprehend me.”

[46] From the Dabistan. Comp. Zeitschrift d. morgl. Gesellsch. 16 art. by Fleischer Ueber die farbigen lichterscheinungen der Sufis.

[47] J. P. Brown, Dervishes pp. 333.

[48] Bagavad-Gita, ch. 13; id. ch. 10.

[49] Path, No. 1. p. 24.

AUM

The great All, which is constantly in motion, and is constantly undergoing change in the visible and invisible universe, is like the tree which perpetuates itself by the seed and is incessantly creating the same identical types.—_Book of Pitris._

Nothing is commenced or ended. Everything is transformed. Life and death are only modes of transformation which rule the vital molecule from plant up to Brahma himself.-_Atharva Veda._

THE PATH.

VOL. I. JUNE, 1886. NO. 3.

_The Theosophical Society, as such, is not responsible for any opinion or declaration in this magazine, by whomsoever expressed, unless contained in an official document._

Where any article, or statement, has the authors name attached, he alone is responsible, and for those which are unsigned, the Editor will be accountable.

A HINDU CHELA’S DIARY.[50]

In the month of December he arrived at Benares, on what he hoped would be his last pilgrimage. As much as I am able to decipher of this curious manuscript, written in a mixture of Tamil—the South Indian language—with Mahratta, which, as you know, is entirely dissimilar, shows that he had made many pilgrimages to India’s sacred places, whether by mere impulse or upon actual direction, I know not. If he had been only any ordinary religiously disposed Hindu we might be able to come to some judgment hereupon, for the pilgrimages might have been made in order to gain merit, but as he must long ago have risen above the flowery chains of even the Vedas, we cannot really tell for what reason these journeys were made. Although, as you know, I have long had possession of these papers, the time had not until now seemed ripe to give them out. He had, when I received them, already long passed away from these busy scenes to those far busier, and now I give you liberty to print the fragmentary tale without description of his person. These people are, you know, not disposed to have accurate descriptions of themselves floating about. They being real disciples, never like to say that they are, a manner quite contrary to that of those famed professors of occult science who opportunely or inopportunely declare their supposed chelaship from the house top.

* * * * *

* * * “Twice before have I seen these silent temples standing by the rolling flood of sacred Ganges. They have not changed, but in me what changes have occurred! And yet that cannot be, for the I changeth not, but only the veil wrapped about, is either torn away or more closely and thickly folded round to the disguising of the reality. * * * It is now seven months since I began to use the privilege of listening to Kunâla. Each time before, that I came to see him, implacable fate drove me back. It was Karma, the just law, which compels when we would not, that prevented me. Had I faltered then and returned to the life then even so far in the past, my fate in this incarnation would have been sealed—and he would have said nothing. Why? Happy was I that I knew the silence would have not indicated in him any loss of interest in my welfare, but only that the same Karma prevented interference. Very soon after first seeing him I felt that he was not what he appeared exteriorly to be. Then the feeling grew into a belief within a short time so strong that four or five times I thought of throwing myself at his feet and begging him to reveal himself to me. But I thought that was useless, as I knew that I was quite impure and could not be trusted with that secret. If I remained silent I thought that he would confide to me whenever he found me worthy of it. I thought he must be some great Hindu Adept who had assumed that illusionary form. But there this difficulty arose, for I knew that he received letters from various relatives in different parts, and this would compel him to practice the illusion all over the globe, for some of those relatives were in other countries, where he had been too. Various explanations suggested themselves to me. * * * I was right in my original conception of Kunâla that he is some great Indian Adept. Of this subject I constantly talked with him since—— although I fear I am not, and perhaps shall not be in this life worthy of their company. My inclination has always been in this direction. I always thought of retiring from this world and giving myself up to devotion. To Kunâla I often expressed this intention, so that I might study this philosophy, which alone can make man happy in this world. But then he usually asked me what I would do _there_ alone? He said that instead of gaining my object I might perhaps become insane by being left alone in the jungles with no one to guide me; that I was foolish enough to think that by going into the jungles I could fall in with an adept; and that if I really wanted to gain my object I should have to work in the reform in and through which I had met so many good men and himself also, and when the Higher Ones, whom I dare not mention by any other names, were satisfied with me they themselves would call me away from the busy world and teach me in private. And when I foolishly asked him many times to give me the names and addresses of some of those Higher Ones he said once to me: ‘One of our Brothers has told me that as you are so much after me I had better tell you once for all that I have no right to give you any information about them, but if you go on asking Hindus you meet what they know about the matter you might hear of them, and one of those Higher Ones may perhaps throw himself in your way without your knowing him, and will tell you what you should do.’ These were orders, and I knew I must wait, and still I knew that through Kunâla only would I have my object fulfilled. * * *

“I then asked one or two of my own countrymen, and one of them said he had seen two or three such men, but that they were not quite what he thought to be ‘_Raj Yogs_’ He also said he had heard of a man who had appeared several times in Benares, but that nobody knew where he lived. My disappointment grew more bitter, but I never lost the firm confidence that Adepts do live in India and can still be found among us. No doubt too there are a few in other countries, else why had Kunâla been to them.

* * * In consequence of a letter from Vishnurama, who said that a certain X[51] lived in Benares, and that Swamiji K knew him. However, for certain reasons I could not address Swamiji K directly, and when I asked him if _he_ knew X he replied: “If there be such a man here at all he is not known.” Thus evasively on many occasions he answered me, and I saw that all my expectations in going to Benares were only airy castles. I thought I had gained only the consolation that I was doing a part of my duty. So I wrote again to Nilakant: “As directed by you I have neither let him know what I know of him nor what my own intentions are. He seems to think that in this I am working to make money, and as yet I have kept him in the dark as regards myself, and am myself groping in the dark. Expecting enlightenment from you, etc.” * * * The other day Nilakant came suddenly here and I met Sw. K. and him together, when to my surprise K at once mentioned X, saying he knew him well and that he often came to see him, and then he offered to take us there. But just as we were going, arrived at the place an English officer who had done Kunâla a service in some past time. He had in some way heard of X and was permitted to come. Such are the complications of Karma. It was absolutely necessary that he should go too, although no doubt his European education would never permit him to more than half accept the doctrine of Karma, so interwoven backward and forwards in our lives, both those now, that past and that to come. At the interview with X, I could gain nothing, and so we came away. The next day came X to see us. He never speaks of himself, but as ‘this body.’ He told me that he had first been in the body of a Fakir, who, upon having his hand disabled by a shot he received while he passed the fortress of Bhurtpore, had to change his body and choose another, the one he was now in. A child of about seven years of age was dying at that time, and so, before the complete physical death, this Fakir had entered the body and afterwards used it as his own. He is, therefore, doubly not what he seems to be. As a Fakir he had studied Yoga science for 65 years, but that study having been arrested at the time he was disabled, leaving him unequal to the task he had to perform, he had to choose this other one. In his present body he is 53 years, and consequently the inner X is 118 years old. * * * In the night I heard him talking with Kunâla, and found that each had the same Guru, who himself is a very great Adept, whose age is 300 years, although in appearance he seems to be only 40[52]. He will in a few centuries enter the body of a _Kshatriya_[53], and do some great deeds for India, but the time had not yet come.”

[_To be continued._]

SUFISM,

OR THEOSOPHY FROM THE STANDPOINT OF MOHAMMEDANISM.

_A Chapter from a MS. work designed as a text book for Students in Mysticism._

BY C. H. A. BJERREGAARD, _Stud. Theos._

In Two Parts:—Part I, Texts; Part II, Symbols.

The spirit of Sufism is best expressed in the couplet of Katobi:

“Last night a nightingale sung his song, perched on a high cypress, when the rose, on hearing his plaintive warbling, shed tears in the garden, soft as the dews of heaven.”

(CONTINUED.)

SUFI ECSTASY.

MOTTO: “Highest nature wills the capture; “Light to light!” the
instinct cries;
And in agonizing rapture falls the moth, and bravely dies.
Think not what thou art, Believer; think but what thou
mayest become
For the World is thy deceiver, and the Light thy only home.”
(_Palm Leaves._)

ABULFAZL (A.D. 1595):

O Lord, whose secrets are for ever veiled,
And whose perfection knows not a beginning!
End and beginning both are lost in thee;
No trace of them is found in thy eternal realm.

My words are lame; my tongue, a stony tract;
Slow wings my foot, and wide is the expanse.
Confused are my thoughts; but this is thy best praise—
_In ecstacy alone I see thee face to face!_

SHEMS TEBREEZ:

What advice, O Musselmans? I don’t know myself; I[54] am neither
Christian nor Jew, nor am I a fire-worshipper nor Musselman.
I am not from the East or West, nor am I of land or fire.
I am not from the country of Iran, nor am I from the land of
Khoorassan.
I am neither of water nor air, nor am I of fire or earth.
I am not of Adam or Eve, nor am I of the inhabitants of paradise.
My place is no place, my sign is without sign:
I have neither body nor soul,—what is there then? I am the soul of
my Beloved.[55]
When I took out my heart, the two worlds I saw as one. He is the
first, He is the last, He is the manifest. He is the secret.
Except Him, and that I am Him, I do not know anything else.
O thou, Shems Tebreez, why this rapture in this world?
_Except with rapture and enthusiastic ardour, this work cannot be
effected._

ECSTASY: THE HEART AS MEDIUM.

All the earth I’d wandered over, seeking still the beacon light,
Never tarried in the day time, never sought repose at night;
Till I heard a reverend preacher all the mystery declare,
Then I looked within my bosom, and ‘twas shining brightly there.
(_E. H. Palmer, Orient. Myst._)

Who so knoweth himself, knoweth the Godhead.—Thy soul is the sufficient proof of the existence of the Godhead: When by reflection thou hast penetrated to that deep within, thou shalt discover there the Universal Worker of his work. (_D’Herbelot—Persian Paraphrases._)

Wouldst know where I found the Supreme? One step beyond self.—Behind the veil of self shines unseen the beauty of the Beloved.—(_Aphorisms._)

Soul of the soul! Neither thought nor reason comprehend thy essence, and no one knows thy attributes. Souls have no idea of thy being. The prophets themselves sink into the dust before thee. Although intellect exists by thee, has it ever found the path of thy existence? _Thou art the interior and the exterior of the soul._—(_Attar._)

They who see God are ever rapt in ecstacy. * * * (_The Mesnevi._)

ECSTASY: NATURE AS MEDIUM.

The varied pictures I have drawn on space,
Behold what fair and goodly sights they seem;
One glimpse I gave them of my glorious face,
And lo! ‘tis now the universal theme.
(_E. H. Palmer, Orient. Myst._).

Recognise the mark of Deity in every place, and never place the foot without its own limit. The world is the image of the Godhead.—(_Buslami._)

* * * * *

RABIA LEGENDS.

—The widow _Rabia_[56] is reported having said “an interior wound consumes my heart; it can only be cured by communion with a friend.[57] I shall remain sick till the day of judgment when I shall reach my end.”—

—It is told of _Rabia_, that once when requested to marry, she answered: My being has for a long time been in marital communion; hence I say that my ego is long ago lost in itself and arisen again in Him (in God); since then I am entirely in His power, yea, I am He. He, who would ask me for a bride, would ask me, not from myself, but from Him (God). _Hassan Basri_ (a famous Mohamedan Theologian) asked her how she had reached this state. She answered: In this way, everything which I had found I lost again in Him (God). When questioned as to by which mode she knew Him, she made answer: O, _Hassan, you_ know Him by certain methods and means, I know Him without modes and means.—

—_Ibn Chali Kan_ tells about Rabia that she often in the middle of the night went up upon the roof and in her loneness cried out: O, my God! Now is silenced the noise of the day, and the lover enjoys the night with the beloved, but I enjoy myself in my loneness with Thee; Thou art my true lover.—

—It is told of her that once while journeying to Mecca on seeing the Kaaba she exclaimed: What is the Kaaba to me? I need the Lord of the Kaaba! I am so near God that I apply to myself his words: He who approaches me by an inch, him I approach by a yard. What is the Kaaba to me?—

—_Feri’d Eddin Attar_ tells about her, that she, once while crossing the fields, cried out: Deep longing after God has taken possession of me! True, Thou art both earth and stone, but I yearn to behold Thee, Thyself. The high God spoke to her in her heart, without a medium: O, Rabia! Do you not know that once when Moses requested to see God, only a grain fell from the sun and he collapsed: Be satisfied with my name!—

—Once asked if she beheld God while worshipping Him, “Assuredly,” said she, “I behold Him, for Whom I cannot see, I cannot worship.”—

—Once when Rabia was sick three famous Theologians called upon her, namely _Hassan Basri_, _Malik Dinar_, and _Schakik Balchi_. Hassan said: The prayers of that man are not sincere who refuses to bear the Lord’s chastisements. Schakik added to that: He is not sincere who does not rejoice in the Lord’s chastisements. But Rabia, who detected selfish joy even in those words, replied: He is not sincere in his prayers, who does not, when he beholds his Lord, forget entirely that he is being chastised.—

—On one occasion Rabia was questioned concerning the cause of an illness and replied: I allowed myself to think on the delights of paradise, therefore my Lord has punished me.—

* * * * *

ACTS OF ADEPTS.[58]

_Munsoor Halaj_ attained victory of the body, by incessant prayer and contemplation. He used to say “_I am the Truth._”

The following story is told of him. He observed his sister go out frequently at night, and wondering what it meant, he resolved to watch her and see where she went. He did so and found that she went to a company of celestial spirits, who gave her of their nectar or immortal beverage. Thinking that a drop might be left in the cup after his sister had drank from it, he took hold of it and did, much against her warning, get a drop of the divine fluid. Ever afterwards he went about exclaiming “I am the Truth!” This was too much for the observers of the canonical law and they sentenced him to be impaled alive. When they came to take him, he told them, that he did not fear them, they could do him no harm, and when they were putting him on the stake, he disappeared from them and appeared in a sitting posture in the air at a small distance over the stake. This was repeated several times. His spirit ascended to heaven and asked the Prophet if it be right that he should suffer. The Prophet advised him to suffer, otherwise there would be an end to formal religion. On this Munsoor Halaj’s spirit descended and permitted the body to take the course of nature. When about to be impaled, he called a disciple of his, told him the secret and that his voice, “I am the Truth” would be heard, when they after burning him, should throw his ashes into the sea; and that the sea would rise and overflow all the land, if they did not take his godhra[59] and place it on the rising waves. It so all happened.—

A Sufi poet has explained the cause of Munsoor’s death, to lie in the fact, that he revealed a mystery.

Of _Shems Tebreez_ the following story is told. He raised a King’s only son from death by throwing his mantle over him and ordering him “Rise by my order.” For this he was summoned before the ecclesiastical court and sentenced to be flayed alive. When the sentence came to be executed, no knives could cut him, his body was invulnerable. It is related, that he ascended in spirit to heaven and the Prophet directed him to undergo his punishment, which he subsequently did. He directed the doctors of Law, himself, how to begin to cut the skin from his feet, or rather made the incision himself. When they had thus flayed him, he requested his own skin, be given to him as the letter of the law was fulfilled, and they gave it to him. Of this he made his Khirqeh or derwish’s habit, threw it over his shoulders, and went away.

After that the doctors of law ordered everybody to give him nothing to eat, drink, &c. He thus remained for some days without food, &c. At last he found a dead ox and cut out a piece, but as no one dared give him fire, he ordered the sun to descend from the firmament and come nearer to broil his meat. The sun obeyed—but the prince and people fearing the consequences implored him to relieve their sufferings by ordering the sun to return to its station. He granted their request.

* * * * *

TEXTS FROM REPRESENTATIVE SUFIS.

_Al-Ghazzali_ (Abu Hamid Muhammed ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al Ghazzali,) surnamed Hujjatu ‘l-Islam (“the proof of Islam”). He was born at Tus A. D. 1058 and died A. D. 1111.—

The following are his own words: “I said to myself: the aim of my life is simply to know the truth of things; therefore I must ascertain what _knowledge_ is. * * I then said to myself ‘the only hope of acquiring incontestable convictions is by the perceptions of the senses and by necessary truths.’ Their evidence seemed to me to be indubitable. I soon began to examine the objects of sensation and speculation to see if they were beyond doubt and doubts crowded in upon me, that my incertitude became complete. * * I abandoned the senses, therefore, having seen all my confidence in their truth shaken. * * * Perhaps, said I, there is no assurance but in the notions of reason, viz., in first principles. * * * Upon this the senses replied: ‘What assurance have you that your confidence in reason is not of the same nature as your confidence in us? May there not be some other judge superior to reason? The non-appearance of such a judge is no proof of his non-existence.’ * * * I came to reflect on sleep, how during sleep we give to visions, reality and consistence, and have no suspicion of their untruth. On awaking we see they were nothing but visions. What assurance have we that all we feel and see and know when we are awake does actually exist?”

Al Gazzali had now come to disbelief and distrust of the world of sense. He gave his wealth away, left Bagdad and retired into Syria, to the desert, where he spent two years in solitary struggle, combating his passions, purified his heart and prepared for another world. _He attained freedom._ Afterwards he said: “The life of man passes through three degrees. The first or infantile state is that of pure sensation; the second is that of understanding, and the third that of reason, where the intellect perceives the necessary truths, &c. But there is a fourth state, beyond these three, in which man perceives the hidden things, that have been, and that will be and the things that escape both the senses and reason. This state is Freedom.”

* * * * *

AL GAZZALI: ALCHEMY OF HAPPINESS.

CHAP. I. On the knowledge of the soul, and how knowledge of the soul is the key to the knowledge of God.

O seeker after the divine mysteries! Know thou that the door to the knowledge of God will be opened to a man first of all, when he knows his own soul, and understands the truth about his own spirit, according as it has been revealed, “he who knows himself knows his Lord also.”

If you wish, O seeker of the way! to know your own soul, know that the blessed and glorious God created you of two things: the one is a visible body, and the other is a something internal, that is called spirit and heart, which can only be perceived by the mind. But when we speak of the heart, we do not mean the piece of flesh which is in the left side of the breast of man, for that is found in a dead body and in animals: it may be seen with the eyes, and belongs to the visible world. That heart, which is emphatically called spirit, does not belong to this world, and although it has come to this world, it has only come to leave it. It is the sovereign of the body, which is its vehicle, and all the external and internal organs of the body are its subjects. Its special attribute is to know God and to enjoy the vision of the Beauty of the Lord God.—They will ask you about the spirit. Answer, “The spirit is a creation by decree of the Lord. The spirit belongs to the world of decrees. All existence is of two kinds, one is of the world of decrees, and the other is of the world of creation. To Him belong creation and decree.”

—That spirit, which has the property of knowing God is called the heart; it is not found in beasts, nor is it matter or an accident. The heart has been created with angelic qualities. It is a substance of which it is difficult to apprehend the essence. The law does not permit it to be explained, but there is no occasion for the student being acquainted with it at the outset of his journey.

—Know, O seeker after the divine mysteries! that the body is the kingdom of the heart, and that in the body there are many forces in contrariety with the heart, as God speaks in his Holy Word.

—Know, O student of wisdom! that the body, which is the kingdom of the heart, resembles a great city. The hand, the foot, the mouth and the other members resemble the people of the various trades. Desire is a standard bearer; anger is a superintendent of the city, the heart is its sovereign, and reason is the vizier. The sovereign needs the service of all the inhabitants. But desire, the standard bearer, is a liar, vain and ambitious. He is always ready to do the contrary of what reason, the vizier, commands. He strives to appropriate to himself whatever he sees in the city, which is the body. Anger, the superintendent, is rebellious and corrupt, quick and passionate. He is always ready to be enraged, to spill blood, and to blast one’s reputation. If the sovereign, the heart, should invariably consult with reason, his vizier, and, when desire was transgressing, should give to wrath to have power over him (yet, without giving him full liberty, should make him angry in subjection to reason, the vizier, so that passing all bounds he should not stretch out his hand upon the kingdom), there would then be an equilibrium in the condition of the kingdom, and all the members would perform the functions for which they were created, their service would be accepted at the mercy seat, and they would obtain eternal felicity.

The dignity of the heart is of two kinds; one is by means of knowledge, and the other through the exertion of divine power. Its dignity by means of knowledge is also of two kinds. The first is external knowledge, which everyone understands: the second kind is veiled and cannot be understood by all, and is extremely precious.

—In the second, by the power of thought, the soul passes from the abyss to the highest heaven, and from the East to the West.

The most wonderful thing of all is, that there is a window in the heart from whence it surveys the world. This is called the invisible world, the world of intelligence, or the spiritual world.

—The heart resembles a pure mirror, you must know, in this particular, that when a man falls asleep, when his senses are closed, and when the heart, free and pure from blamable affections, is confronted with the preserved tablet, then the tablet reflects upon the heart the real states and hidden forms inscribed upon it. In that state the heart sees most wonderful forms and combinations. But when the heart is not free from impurity, or when, on waking, it busies itself with things of sense, the side towards the tablet will be obscured, and it can view nothing. For, although in sleep the senses are blunted, the image-making faculty is not, but preserves the forms reflected upon the mirror of the heart.

—In death, the senses are completely separated and the veil of the body is removed, the heart can contemplate the invisible world and its hidden mysteries, without a veil, just as lightning or the celestial rays impress the external eye.

—If a person calls into exercise, in perfection, holy zeal and austerities, and purifies his heart from the defilement of blamable affections, and then sits down in a retired spot, abandons the use of his external senses, and occupies himself with calling out “O God! O God!” his heart will come into harmony with the visible world, he will no longer receive notices from the material world, and nothing will be present in his heart but the exalted God. In this revelation of the invisible world, the windows of the heart are opened, and what others may have seen in a dream, he in this state sees in reality. The spirits of angels and prophets are manifested to him and he holds intercourse with them. The hidden things of the earth and heaven are uncovered to him. * * * Probably the knowledge of all the prophets was obtained in this way, for it was not obtained by learning.

—When the heart is free from worldly lusts, from the animosities of society and from distractions by the senses, the vision of God is possible. And this course is adopted by the Mystics. It is also the path followed by the prophets.

—The heart of man while in the spiritual world knows its Maker and Creator: it had mingled with the angels and knows for what service it was created.

—To whomsoever this revelation has been vouchsafed, if it directs him to reform the world, to invite the nations to turn to God, and to a peculiar way of life, that person is called a prophet, and his way of life is called a law; and that influence which proceeds from him, which transcends what is ordinary, is called a _miracle_. If he has not been appointed to invite nations, but worships in accordance with the law of another, he is called a _saint_, and that which proceeds from him, which transcends what is ordinary, is called a _manifestation of grace_.

—The knowledge of God, which is the occasion of the revelation of truth, cannot be acquired without self-denial and effort. Unless a man has reached perfection and the rank of a Superior, nothing will be revealed to him, except in cases of special divine grace and merciful providence, and this occurs very rarely.

—You have now learned, O student of the divine mysteries, the dignity of the heart through knowledge.

—Now listen to the heart’s dignity through divine power and the greatness of which it is capable.

—When God wills it, the angels send forth the winds, cause the rain to fall, bring forth the embryo in animals, shape their forms, cause seeds to sprout in the earth and plants to grow, many legions of angels being appointed to this service. The heart of man, being created with angelic properties must also have influence and power over the material world; * * * and if the animal and ferocious qualities should not be dominant, if it should look upon a lion or tiger with “majesty” they would become weak and submissive. If it should look with kindness upon one who is sick, his infirmity might be changed to health. If it should look upon the vigorous with majesty, they might become infirm. The reality of the existence of these influences is known both by reason and experience.

—In whomsoever these influences are shown to have power, if he occasions misery in the exercise of this power, he is designated a sorcerer.

—The heart has dominion and control through three channels. One is through visions;—the second is through the dominion which the heart exercises over its own body;—the third source of dominion of the heart is through knowledge.—Some persons have all things opened up to them by the will of God. This kind of knowledge is called “infused and illuminated” as God says in his Word: “we have illuminated him with our knowledge.” These three specialities are all of them found in certain measure in some men, in others two of them are found, and in others, only one is found: but whenever the three are found in the same person, he belongs to the rank of prophets or of the greatest of the saints. Man cannot comprehend states of being which transcend his own nature. No person can understand any individual who belongs to a scale of rank above him.

—The path of mysticism is sought for by all men, and longed for by all classes of society, yet those who attain to the end are exceedingly rare.

—The body is but an animal to be ridden by the heart, which is its rider, while the heart’s chief end is to acquire a knowledge of God.

CHAP. II. On the knowledge of God.

—In the books of former prophets it is written, “Know thine own soul, and thou shalt know thy Lord,” and we have received it in a tradition, that “He who knows himself, already knows his Lord.”

—Everyone in the sphere to which he attains, is still veiled with a veil. The light of some is as of a twinkling star. Others see as by the light of the moon. Others are illuminated as if by the world-effulgent sun. To some the invisible world is even perfectly revealed, as we hear in the holy word of God: “And thus we caused Abraham to see the heaven and the earth.” And hence it is that the prophet says: “There are before God seventy veils of light; if he should unveil them, the light of His countenance would burn everything that came into His presence.”

CHAP. III. On the knowledge of the world.

—Know, that this world is one stage of our life for eternity. For those who are journeying in the right way, it is the road of religion. It is a market opened in the wilderness, where those who are travelling on their way to God, may collect and prepare provisions for their journey, and depart thence to God, without sorrow or despondency.

—The world is delusive, enchanting and treacherous.

—The world will be brought to the great assembly at the last day, in the form of a woman with livid eyes, pendent lips, and deformed shape, and all the people will look upon her, and will exclaim, “what deformed and horrible person is that, whose aspect alone is severe torture to the soul.” And they will be answered, “It was on her account that you were envying and hating one another, and were ready to slay one another. It was on her account that you rebelled against God, and debased yourselves to every sort of corruption.” And then God will order her to be driven off to hell with her followers and her lovers.[60]

The Lord Jesus (upon whom be peace!) declares that the world is like the man who drinks sea water. The more he drinks, the more his internal heat increases, and unless he stops, he will destroy himself by drinking.

CHAP. IV. On the knowledge of the future world.

—Know, beloved, that we cannot understand the future world, until we know what death is: and we cannot know what death is, until we know what life is: nor can we understand what life is, until we know what spirit is.

—The following is an illustration of the duration of eternity, so far as the human mind can comprehend it. If the space between the empyreal heaven to the regions below the earth, embracing the whole universe, should be filled up with grains of mustard seed, and if a crow should make use of them as food and come but once in a thousand years and take but a single grain away, so that with the lapse of time there should not remain a single grain, still at the end of that time not the amount of a grain of mustard seed would have been diminished from the duration of eternity.—

AL GAZZALI ON PRAYER.

—Prayers are of three degrees, of which the first are those that are simply spoken with the lips. Prayers are of the second kind, when with difficulty, and only by a most resolute effort, the soul is able to fix its thoughts on Divine things without being disturbed by evil imaginations; of the third kind, when one finds it difficult to _turn away_ the mind from dwelling on Divine things. But it is the very marrow of prayer, when He who is invoked takes possession of the soul of the suppliant, and the soul of him who prays is absorbed into God to whom he prays, and his prayer ceasing, all consciousness of self has departed, and to such a degree, that all thought whatsoever of the praying is felt as a veil betwixt the soul and God. This state is called by the Mystics “absorption,” for the reason that the man is so absorbed, that he takes no thought of his body, or of anything that happens externally, none of what occurs in his own soul, but, absent as it were from all such matter whatsoever, is first engaged in going _towards_ his Lord, and finally is wholly _in_ his Lord. If only the thought occurs that he is absorbed into the Absolute, it is a blemish; for that absorption only is worthy of the name which is unconscious of itself. And these words of mine, although they will be called, as I well know, but foolish babbling by raw theologians, are yet by no means without significance. For consider, the condition of which I speak, resembles that of a person who loves any other object, as wealth, honor, or pleasure. We see such persons so carried away with their love, and others with anger, that they do not hear one who speaks to them, nor see those passing before their eyes; nay, so absorbed are they in their passion, that they do not perceive their absorption. Just so far as you turn your mind upon your absorption, you necessarily turn it away from that which is the object of it.”

Again he says: “The commencement of this is the going to God, then follows the finding Him, when the “absorption” takes place. This is, at first, momentary, as the lightening swiftly glancing upon the eye. But afterwards confirmed by use, it introduces the soul into a higher world, where the most pure, essential essence meeting it, fills the soul with the image of the spiritual world, while the majesty of deity evolves and discovers itself.”

_Omar Khayyam_ (Ghias uddin Abul Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim Al Khayyam) was born in Khorassan “the focus of Persian culture” and is supposed to have died A. D. 1123.

He was not affiliated with any Sufi order, but large parts of his works are full of true Sufi philosophy and are recognized as such.

The first part of the following quotations are taken from the translation by E. H. Whinfield in Trübner’s Oriental Series. The second part is extracted from B. Quarritch’s ed. 1879.

Motto: There is a mystery I know full well,
Which to all, good and bad, I cannot tell;
My works are dark, but I cannot unfold
The secrets of the “station” where I dwell.

(66)—to attain unconsciousness of self
Is the sole cause I drink me drunk with wine.—
(108) They preach how sweet those Houri brides will be,
But I say wine is sweeter—taste and see!—
(120) Ten powers, and nine spheres, eight heavens made He,
And planets seven, of six sides, as we see,
Five senses, and four elements, three souls,
Two worlds, but only one, O man, like thee.—
(124) What lord is fit to rule but “Truth?” not one.
What beings disobey His rule? not one.—
(131) Thy being is the being of Another,
Thy passion is the passion of Another.
Cover thy head, and think, and then wilt see,
Thy hand is but the cover of Another.—
(148) Allah hath promised wine in Paradise,
Why then should wine on earth be deemed a vice?—
(225) When the fair soul this mansion doth vacate,
Each element assumes its principal state,—
(266) They go away, and none is seen returning,
To teach that other world’s recondite learning;
’Twill not be shown for dull mechanic prayers,
For prayer is naught without true heartfelt yearning.—
(285) Life’s fount is wine, Khizer[61] its guardian
I, like Elias,[62] find it where I can;
’Tis sustenance for heart and spirit too,
Allah himself calls wine “a boon to man.”—
(340) Man is the whole creation’s summary,
The precious apple of great wisdom’s eye;
The circle of existence is a ring,
Whereof the signet is humanity.—
(351) The more I die to self, I live the more,
The more abase myself, the higher soar;
And, strange! the more I drink of Being’s wine,
More sane I grow, and sober than before!—
(369) This world a body is, and God its soul,
And angels are its senses, who control
Its limbs—the creatures, elements, and spheres;
_The One_ is the sole basis of the whole.—
(376) Some look for truth in creeds, and forms, and rules;
Some grope for doubts or dogmas in the schools;
But from behind the veil a voice proclaims,
“Your road lies neither here nor there, O fools.”—
(400) My body’s life and strength proceed from Thee!
My soul within and spirit are of Thee!
My being is of Thee, and Thou art mine,
And I am Thine, since I am lost in Thee!—

* * * * *

(31) Up from Earth’s Centre through the Seventh Gate
I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn[63] sate,
And many a Knot unravel’d by the Road;
But not the Master-knot of Human Fate.—
(32) There was the Door to which I found no Key;
There was the Veil through which I might not see:
Some little talk awhile of _Me_ and _Thee_
There was—and then no more of _Thee_ and _Me_.[64]—
(33) Earth could not answer; nor the Seas that mourn
In flowing Purple, of their Lord forlorn;
Nor rolling Heaven, with all his Signs reveal’d
And hidden by the sleeve of Night and Morn.
(34) Then of the _Thee in Me_ who works behind
The Veil, I lifted up my hands to find
A Lamp amid the Darkness; and I heard,
As from Without—“_The Me Within Thee Blind!_”—
(35) Then to the Lip of this poor earthern Urn
I lean’d, the Secret of my Life to learn:
And Lip to Lip it murmur’d—“While you live,
Drink!—for once dead, you never shall return.”—

(36) I think the Vessel, that with fugitive
Articulation answer’d, once did live,
And drink; and Ah! the passive lip I kiss’d.
How many kisses might it take—and give![65]—

(44) Why, if the Soul can fling the dust aside,
And naked on the Air of Heaven ride,
Wer’t not a Shame—wer’t not a Shame for him
In this clay carcase crippled to abide?—