Likewise He saith, “Go straight on then as thou hast been commanded.”(85) Wherefore, this course is incumbent on those who dwell in the presence of God. I do as bidden, and I bring the message, Whether it give thee counsel or offense.(86) Albeit I have received no answer to My letters and it is contrary to the usage of the wise to express My regard anew, yet this new love hath broken all the old rules and ways. Tell us not the tale of Laylí or of Majnún’s woe— Thy love hath made the world forget the loves of long ago. When once thy name was on the tongue, the lovers caught it And it set the speakers and the hearers dancing to and fro.(87) And of divine wisdom and heavenly counsel, [Rúmí says]: Each moon, O my beloved, for three days I go mad; Today’s the first of these—’Tis why thou seest me glad. We hear that thou hast journeyed to Tabríz and Tiflis to disseminate knowledge, or that some other high purpose hath taken thee to Sanandaj.(88), (89) O My eminent friend! Those who progress in mystic wayfaring are of four kinds. I shall describe them in brief, that the grades and qualities of each kind may become plain to thee. The First Valley If the travelers seek after the goal of the Intended One (maqsúd), this station appertaineth to the self—but that self which is “The Self of God standing within Him with laws.”(90) On this plane, the self is not rejected but beloved; it is well-pleasing and not to be shunned. Although at the beginning, this plane is the realm of conflict, yet it endeth in attainment to the throne of splendor. As they have said: “O Abraham of this day, O Friend Abraham of the Spirit! Kill these four birds of prey,”(91) that after death the riddle of life may be unraveled. This is the plane of the soul who is pleasing unto God. Refer to the verse: O thou soul who art well assured, Return to thy Lord, well-pleased, and pleasing unto Him.(92) which endeth: Enter thou among My servants, And enter thou My paradise.(93) This station hath many signs, unnumbered proofs. Hence it is said: “Hereafter We will show them Our signs in the regions of the earth, and in themselves, until it become manifest unto them that it is the truth,”(94) and that there is no God save Him. One must, then, read the book of his own self, rather than some treatise on rhetoric. Wherefore He hath said, “Read thy Book: There needeth none but thyself to make out an account against thee this day.”(95)