“When I passed in rapid flight from material bodies, I drew near a pure and happy spirit; With the eye of spirit I beheld spirits: My spirit was moving amidst kindred spirits: In every sphere and star I beheld a spirit; Each sphere and star possessed its peculiar spirit; Thus in the three kingdoms of nature I beheld a common spirit, As their spirit was mutually communicated to each other. I attained the knowledge of all existences. And was associated with the great Serósh Ramah. [316]But when I reached a great elevation, Splendor from the Almighty gave me light; As the radiance increased this individuality departed; [317]Even the angelic nature and the principle of evil disappeared: God only existed, there was no sign of me (or of my individual existence): [318]I no longer retained intellect or recollection of spirit: [319]I discovered all my secrets to be but shadows; I then returned to the angelic intelligences, And from these intelligences I came back to the spirit; And thus at last to bodies also summoning me. In this manner I became powerful, wise, and sublime, Until I descended from that high degree―― Upon the road by which I had gone up, I returned to my body With a hundred divine favours[320] deriving splendor from that assemblage; The dignity of the Supreme Lord is too exalted For intercourse with his servants to be worthy of him. By his effulgence intellect becomes (illumined) like the earth or sun; He is elevated too high for his servants to hold intercourse with him: If the spirit receives illumination from him, It becomes beside itself, and its speech is ‘I am without intellect’―― The world is a drop which proceeds from the ocean of his existence;[321] What is the dropping dew? it is Himself (God); Thou art not the dropping dew, but only a drop among the drops of it. I know not what to say, as the result of all is deficiency: Through love he confers bounties on his servants; As it is proper to raise up the down-fallen His love renders the mendicant a man of power. The world is but a ray emanating from the sun of his face: The just Creator addressed me in kind words, And conferred on me the splendor of an Ized; None but He can duly praise Himself, As He cannot become the object of speech or hearing.”