The Dabistán, or School of manners, Volume 1 (of 3): translated from the original Persian, with notes and illustrations
Religion
The Dabistán, or School of manners, Volume 1 (of 3): translated from the original Persian, with notes and illustrations
Iran -- Religion; Religions
_Mahmud Beg Timan_, so called from the Timan tribe of Arang in Lahore,
joined himself also to Farzanah Bahram, the son of Farhad, and as the
precepts of that sage were entirely congenial to his mind, he
commenced his religious profession under him, and became one of the
Yekanah Bin, “seer of one God,” and “knowing God:” thus without the
aid of books he attained to the knowledge of the Lord, and
notwithstanding the absence of written volumes, discovered the actual
road. In the year of the Hejirah 1048 (A. D. 1637), whilst in Kashmir,
coming out of his cell one day, he saw before him a wounded dog,
moaning piteously; as the animal was unable to move, he therefore sold
the only two objects he possessed, his carpet for prayer and his
rosary, with the proceeds of which he purchased remedies for the dog.
That same year, he said to the author: “On the first day of turning my
heart to the mental invocation of God, I had scarcely performed it ten
times, when an evident influence was manifested: at the moment of the
first part, called _nafi_, of the sentence, my human existence
disappeared; at the time of the second, called _asbat_, a determined
sign of divine grace became visible: my sentence was this: ‘There is
no God, but God.’”[341] After this manner, several of this sect, by
the diligent practice of faith, attained to the knowledge of God.
_Musa_ and _Harun_ were two Jews, to whom Farzanah Bahram, the son of
Farhad, gave these names: they were distinguished by a profound
knowledge of their own faith, and highly celebrated among the Rabbins,
who are a particular sect of Jewish teachers. On their introduction
into Bahram’s society, they were fascinated by his manners, and
through his system of faith acquired the knowledge of themselves. They
applied themselves to commerce, and neither in buying or selling did a
falsehood proceed from their lips, as is the custom of merchants. They
have thus recorded: “To whomsoever Bahram, the son of Farhad, uttered
a single word about the path of religion, he became immediately
fascinated by his manner: also whoever beheld him felt an attachment
to him; even the hardened infidel who approached him, humbled himself,
and we have often witnessed such events: for example, the _Mulla
Muhammed Sáid_ of Samarkand, who was our intimate friend, through
excess of prejudice hurried once to revile him: at that moment, Bahram
had retired from Lahore into a burying-ground: when the Mulla
approached, he found himself irresistibly impelled to run forward and
laid his face on Bahram’s feet: and on Bahram’s addressing a few words
to him, immediately embraced his faith. I afterwards questioned the
Mulla about the exact nature of this conversion from infidelity, and
he replied: ‘I no sooner beheld him than I fell at his feet; and when
he addressed a few words to me, I became enraptured with him.’ The
Mullah always styled Bahram ‘the plunderer of hearts.’”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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