(182) Ho! seek aid of Him, not of another than Him Seek water in the ocean, not in a dried-up channel. On cleansing the inward temple of the heart from self-conceit and reliance on carnal reason. When the body bows in worship, the heart is a temple, And where there is a temple, there bad friends are weeds When a liking for bad friends grows up in you, Flee from them, and avoid converse with them. Root up those weeds, for, if they attain full growth, O beloved, this weed is deviation from the "right way," You crawl crookedly, like infants unable to walk.

(66) Know who Christ is, and acquire him as a friend, for this is the friend who is faithful. He is also God and Teacher. This one, being God, became man for your sake. It is this one who broke the iron bars of the Underworld, and the bronze bolts. It is this one who attacked and cast down every haughty tyrant. It is he who loosened from himself the chains of which he had taken hold. He brought up the poor from the Abyss and the mourners from the Underworld. It is he who humbled the haughty powers; he who put to shame haughtiness through humility; he who has cast down the strong and the boaster through weakness; he who, in his contempt, scorned that which is considered an honor, so that humility for God's sake might be highly exalted; (and) he who has put on humanity.

(42) O ye Compassionate Ones, ye possess the wisdom of understanding, the love of compassion, the power of [doing] divine deeds and of protecting, in incomprehensible measure. Ye Compassionate Ones, (such-and-such a person) is passing from this world to the world beyond. He is leaving this world. He is taking a great leap. No friends [hath he]. Misery is great. [He is without] defenders, without protectors, without forces and kinsmen. The light of this world hath set. He goeth to another place. He entereth thick darkness. He falleth down a steep precipice. He entereth into a jungle solitude. He is pursued by Karmic Forces. He goeth into the Vast Silence. He is borne away by the Great Ocean. He is wafted on the Wind of Karma. He goeth in the direction where stability existeth not. He is caught by the Great Conflict. He is obsessed by the Great Afflicting Spirit. He is awed and terrified by the Messengers of the Lord of Death. Existing Karma putteth him into repeated existence. No strength hath he. He hath come upon a time when he hath to go alone.

(28) Since my bashfulness is destroyed, I will publish secrets; How long must I bear this trepidation and anxiety? Formerly I was covered by modesty as by a veil, Now I will leap from it under Thy coverlet! O comrades, our Beloved has closed up all paths; We are as lame deer, and He as a raging lion. Say what remedy is there but resignation When one is fallen into the hands of the raging lion?"

(2) A friend of God who was dying began to weep and those with him asked why. ' I weep as the spring clouds,' he said, 'because the time has come when I should die and I am disturbed. Seeing that my heart is already with God how can I die?' One of those present said: 'Since your heart is with God you will die a good death.' The Sufi replied, ' How can death come to him who is united to God! As I am already with him, my death appears to be impossible.'

He who is content to exist as a particle of the great whole loses his egoism and becomes free. Be in contentment with your friend, like the rose in the calyx.

(4) Listen, my son, to my advice! Do not show your back to enemies and flee, but rather, pursue them as a strong one. Be not an animal, with men pursuing you; but rather, be a man, with you pursuing the evil wild beasts, lest somehow they become victorious over you and trample upon you as on a dead man, and you perish due to their wickedness.

(181) Silence is this horse of wood, This Silence which causes you annoyance You say, "How strange the spiritual man is silent!" He answers, "How strange you have no ears! Though I utter cries, you hear them not; Sensual ears, however sharp, are deaf to my cries." The spiritual man, as it were, cries in his sleep, Uttering thousands of words of comfort; While the carnal man at his side hears nothing at all,

(24) Thou seest thy relatives and connexions and speakest to them, but receivest no reply. Then, seeing them and thy family weeping, thou thinkest, 'I am dead! What shall I do?' and feelest great misery, just like a fish cast out [of water] on red-hot embers. Such misery thou wilt be experiencing at present. But feeling miserable will avail thee nothing now. If thou hast a divine guru, pray to him. Pray to the Tutelary Deity, the Compassionate One. Even though thou feelest attachment for thy relatives and connexions, it will do thee no good. So be not attached. Pray to the Compassionate Lord; thou shalt have nought or sorrow, or of terror, or of awe.

(92) My ardour arises not from joy or grief, My condition is different, for it is strange. Deny it not ! God is all-powerful. Argue not from the condition of common men, For mercy and severity, joy and sorrow, are transient, And transient things die; "God is heir of all." "Tis dawn! O Protector and Asylum of the dawn! Make excuse for me to my lord Husamu-'d-Din! Thou makest excuses for c(Universal Reason and Soul; Soul of souls and Gem of life art Thou!

(51) I said, "'Tis best to veil the secrets of 'The Friend.' That is better than that the secrets of 'The Friend' Should be noised abroad in the talk of strangers." He said, "Without veil or covering or deception, Speak out, and vex me not, O man of many words! Strip off the veil and speak out, for do not I Enter under the same coverlet as the Beloved?" I said, "If the Beloved were exposed to outward view, Neither wouldst thou endure, nor embrace, nor form. Press thy suit, yet with moderation;

(3) Remove yourself from these things, O wretched soul! Bring your guide and your teacher. The mind is the guide, but reason is the teacher. They will bring you out of destruction and dangers.

(14) From now on, then, my son, return to your divine nature. Cast from you these evil, deceiving friends! Accept Christ, this true friend, as a good teacher. Cast from you death, which has become a father to you. For death did not exist, nor will it exist at the end.

(9) When the desire for silence comes, not a single thought arises; he who is looking inward suddenly forgets that he looks. At this time, body and heart must be left completely free. All entanglements disappear without trace. Then I no longer know at what place the house of my spirit and my crucible are. If a man wants to make certain of his body, he cannot get at it. This condition is the penetration of Heaven into Earth, the time when all wonders return to their roots.

(1) Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say What was this forest savage, rough, and stern, Which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is little more; But of the good to treat, which there I found, Speak will I of the other things I saw there. I cannot well repeat how there I entered, So full was I of slumber at the moment In which I had abandoned the true way. But after I had reached a mountain's foot, At that point where the valley terminated, Which had with consternation pierced my heart, Upward I looked, and I beheld its shoulders, Vested already with that planet's rays Which leadeth others right by every road. Then was the fear a little quieted That in my heart's lake had endured throughout The night, which I had passed so piteously. And even as he, who, with distressful breath, Forth issued from the sea upon the shore, Turns to the water perilous and gazes;

(31) And also Reason and Spirit, a hundredfold." I said, "O thou who art far from ' The Friend,' Like a sick man who has strayed from his physician, Importune me not, for I am beside myself; My understanding is gone, I cannot sing praises. Whatsoever one says, whose reason is thus astray, Let him not boast; his efforts are useless. Whatever he says is not to the point, What can I say when not a nerve of mine is sensible? Can I explain 'The Friend' to one to whom He is no Friend?

(18) O Arjuna! With your whole being, take refuge in the Lord; by His grace, you will obtain supreme peace and the eternal abode (i.e.) liberation.

(8) Therefore, at all times, constantly remember Me and fight. With your mind and intellect absorbed in Me, you will surely come to Me.

(2) I lie helpless as a dead person, and I arrive at the lair of the Lion who defieth slaughter, ... following the road by which I set out

(51) Cut off these evil doubts and cast them away, Therefore thou hast chosen harsh friends and companions; The good friend goes up to highest heaven, Evil friends sink beneath the bottom of the earth, Whilst thou art left alone in the midst, forlorn, Even as the fires left by the departed caravan." O brave friend, grasp His skirt, Who is removed alike from the world above and below; Who neither, like. Jesus, ascends to heaven, Nor, like Korah, sinks into the earth;

(2) Do on then, I pray thee, fast. Look now forwards and let be backwards; and see what thee faileth, and not what thou hast, for that is the readiest getting and keeping of meekness. All thy life now behoveth altogether to stand in desire, if thou shalt profit in degree of perfection. This desire behoveth altogether be wrought in thy will, by the hand of Almighty God and thy consent. But one thing I tell thee. He is a jealous lover and suffereth no fellowship, and Him list not work in thy will but if He be only with thee by Himself. He asketh none help, but only thyself. He wills, thou do but look on Him and let Him alone. And keep thou the windows and the door, for flies and enemies assailing. And if thou be willing to do this, thee needeth but meekly press upon him with prayer, and soon will He help thee. Press on then, let see how thou bearest thee. He is full ready, and doth but abideth thee. But what shalt thou do, and how shalt thou press?