The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great ParadoxOmar Khayyam
IslamicSufism
The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great Paradox
Omar Khayyam
Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat; Persian poetry -- Translations into English; Sufism
[21]What if the Sun of the Moon should question WHY? What if the
Stars of the World should ask, where did you die, for what, when
and why?
Friends, deep in the hearts of all a Voice exclaims, cease, why,
what, whence, and where, the solution thus, is never found.
Dismiss the I, dismiss the YOU, with you and I dismissed, the
UNIVERSE is THOU, in which is found neither what, why, whence,
where nor how.
[21] The moral to this paragraph is simply waste not your time in
questioning, but act, and thus through action the knowledge you will
gain.
33
Then waste not thy life in the letter of dispute, argument is death
to the voicing of the Truth.
Religion debate with none. For it but tends to widen out the breach
and thus defeat its ends.
Let thine acts declare the life within, happiness doth express the
soul that dwells therein.
While SADNESS that BITTER FRUIT which has been here maintained, is
the VINE from which all LIFE its being drew,
Ah friends, this is an error sad indeed, for HAPPINESS WAS THE GRAPE
from which the WINE OF LIFE WAS PRESSED, NOT SORROW'S PRICKLY PEARS.
34
From those FAIR POINTS the [22]FIVE GREAT TRUTHS, by which we're
raised by MASTER HANDS,
Their SECRETS then within the MAN are placed, GUARD WELL! For once
REVEALED NO MORE CAN THEY BE HID!
Thus born of FIRE the CAUSE of LIFE SUPREME, in EARTH your soul was
cast, in AIR thy thoughts took wing.
And from the BROODING WATERS, KNOWLEDGE took shape and came, as the
means of man's DELIVERANCE from BIRTH and from the GRAVE.
This TRIPLE KNOWLEDGE has been told how EARTH the BODY is, and FIRE
the SOUL, AIR is LIFE'S THOUGHTS, and the WATERS the SACRED LORE
CONTAIN.
EARTH the INFANT, FIRE the YOUTH, the WATERS ENLIGHTENED MANHOOD, and
AIR the CARRIER to the GREAT UNKNOWN BEYOND THE GRAVE.
Of which DEATH IS THE MESSENGER, NOT THE STING, and the GRAVE the
SEPARATION OF LIFE'S ELEMENTS, AND HENCE THE VICTORY OF ALL LIVING
THINGS.
[22] Here refers to our intellectual senses, or Intuition, Perception,
Retention, Imagination and Analization, which raise us from our lower
or physical conditions, and exalt us into our spiritual or higher
nature.
35
Thus in the earth thy roots of life are struck, and from thy mother
receive their nourishment.
Quickened into BEING by that CAUSE DIVINE, TO BE! WHO hands to thee
the clay [23]to mould, Oh FRIEND, to mould?
[23] All beings are created equal, and each for himself must
individualize his work or actions.
36
And this all here may know, how came the FIRST GREAT LIGHT to earth,
that KINDLER of LOVE'S FLAME, that CONSUMER of earthly HATE.
When thou hast received one ray of this IMPERISHABLE LIGHT then thou
art saved [24]THOUGH THY TEMPLE IS DESTROYED.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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