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The Secret Rose Garden

By Florence Lederer

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His Capabilities and His Destiny

MAN: HIS CAPABILITIES AND HIS DESTINY
TO THE SUFIS

You are bound by a chord
To the soul of the creatures before you,
Therefore they are subject to your dominion,
And the soul of each is hidden in you.
In the midst of the world you are the kernel,
The centre of the world.
. . . The world of reason and mind is your fortune,
Earth and heavens your garments.
. . Your natural powers are ten thousand
Transcending limits and reckonings.

"I" AND "YOU"
"I" AND "you" are but the lattices,
In the niches of a lamp,
Through which the One Light shines.

"I" and "you" are the veil
Between heaven and earth;
Lift this veil and you will see
No longer the bond of sects and creeds.
When "I" and "you" do not exist,
What is mosque, what is synagogue?
What is the Temple of Fire?

REFLECTED FORMS OF HABIT
REPEAT an action several times
And you master it;
Habit makes dispositions
As fruits become ripe by time.
By practice man learns a trade,
By habit he collects his thoughts.

Remember at the last day
All your habits and actions
Will be clearly seen,
For the garment of the body
Will be stripped. And the form left
Will reflect your vices and virtues,
As objects are reflected in pure water.

Again, your dispositions will be embodied,
Made manifest as lights and fires;
For all phenomenal limitations will be removed.
You who are pure from earthly form,
Illumined by the Truth,
Will appear all heart,
From your stainless love.
Then will you be possessed by intoxication,
Scattering in confusion the two worlds.

THE LOWEST NECESSARY
IF there were no sweepers in the world
The world would be buried in dust.

A FAITHFUL SERVANT
To become a faithful servant,
Cultivate faith and sincerity,
Renew your belief every instant
While unbelief dwells in your heart.

Abandon the wish to be seen of men,
Cast off the blue-patched robe
Of the dervish
And bind on the Magian girdle.

Be a believer, be a believer, be a believer!

"FAR" AND "NEAR"
IF He sheds His Light on you,
You become near to Him
And far from your own existence.
For by nearness to Him
You become far from yourself.

What profit is there to you
In your non-existent existence?

THE SAGE
VIRTUE and equity,
Courage and temperance,
Are the four qualities of the sage.

He is not over-cunning or a fool,
His appetites are under control,
From cringing and boasting he is free,
And from foolhardiness and cowardice.

All virtues lie between
Excess and defect,
A narrow path betwixt
Hell's bottomless abyss,
Fine and sharp as a sword blade,
Which permits no lingering
Or turning round.

Equipoise is the summit of perfection,
Becoming like a simple essence.

As the rays of the sun
Shine upon the earth,
So the Light from the Spirit World
Shines brightly on him
Who has attained this equilibrium.

THE PROPHET AND THE SAINT
THE prophet, resplendent in his perfection,
Is as the sun's bright light,
And the saint, concealing his saintship,
Is as the subdued light of the moon.
By fellowship, the saint
Is intimate with the prophet,
And finding entrance to that secret chamber,
He loves and is beloved by the Truth.

THE FIRST AND THE LAST
THE two worlds produced the soul of Adam,
Which, though first in thought, was created last.

In man's self is disclosed the final cause,
For there is none beyond him.

O first, who are also the substance of the last!
O hidden, who are also the essence of the manifest!
You, who day and night are wondering about yourself,
Think of self no more,
For the end of such thought is confusion.

ANNIHILATION OF PHENOMENA
THE heavens and the stars
At the appointed time will disappear.
A wave will strike the earth,
And lo! it vanishes.

Only the Truth will remain Unchangeable.

And you at that moment,
Passing from this dream-life,
With self discarded,
Will be one with the Beloved.

Oh! Master, ponder on your coming and your going,
And the thousand existences that lie before you!

THE WRITTEN FAITH
READ the writing on your heart,
And you will understand whatever you desire,
For on the day he kneaded the clay,
He wrote on your heart, by grace, the faith.

THE PERFECT MAN
IN spite of his inheritance,
The perfect man is a slave
And does the work of a slave.
The law is his outer garment,
Though his inner is the mystic path.
He is famed for knowledge and devotion,
But he is far from all these,
For he is absorbed in the contemplation of the One.
. . . When his pilgrimage is over
He receives the crown of Khalifate.