In short he entered the service of the great philosopher Azar Kaivan and his eminent disciples, being associated with them in the doctrine of self-knowledge; from the commencement of night to the rise of the world-illuminating sun, he slept in the attitude of _Murdah Khasp_. Now the terms _Muráah Khab_, _Murdap Khasp_, and _Sáónós_, are terms applied by the Sipásían to the following mode of sleeping: the devotee rests (having thrown his legs beneath him) on his knees, pressing to the ground both heels as far as the great toe: and applying the extremities of the knees to the earth, he keeps his seat on the same; he is then to lie on his back, keeping the points of his fingers on his head; after this, he is to look intently between the eye-brows, and carry into practice the _Habs-i-dam_, or imprisonment of the breath. The Durvesh Subahani, one of the great Sufees, used to say: “Such was the sleep of the prophets.” They also say: “The prophets of old used to sleep on their backs, with their faces directed towards the Heavens:” which is the same as the position before described. Hoshyar had attained to the power of suppressing the breath for one watch (three hours). Shaikh Saadi says: “They who restrain the soul from sensual pleasures Surpass in heroism both Rustam and Zál.” Hoshyar was not scrupulous about what he ate; never turning away his face from whatever was set before him: he however most diligently shunned the practice of cruelty to living creatures, and avoided superfluities and excess of every description. Hafiz of Shiraz on this head says: “Addict not thyself to cruel pursuits, and do whatever else thou pleasest; As in our law there is no sin except that of cruelty.” In the year of the Hejirah 1050 (A. D. 1640) he was delivered from the bondage of body in the capital named _Akbar Abad_.[330] The Mobed says: “Truly the body is a narrow sepulchre which entombs every spirit, When that tomb is entombed, thou beholdest a wall, that _really_ is no wall; When the tomb is entombed, the living spirit is freed from its prison. Alas! O Mobed, the sovereign of the body knows of no restriction.” The Mobed Hoshyar, who was conversant with the visible and invisible worlds, master of the esoteric and exoteric doctrines, was the interpreter of the _Jashn-i-Sadah_ (the festival of Sadah),[331] from which work his superior talents are evident: he derived his descent from the sage _Jamasp_.[332] In the year of the Hejirah 1036 (A. D. 1626) the author of this work met him in the delightful region of Kashnim. He used to support himself on the extremities of his fingers, so that his body came not into contact with the ground, in which position he continued from midnight until dawn. On the subject of penance Hafiz says: “O, my heart! couldst thou but acquire a knowledge of religious austerity, Thou wouldst be able to abandon women like smiling torches.”