saith Tabriz

Both ecstasy and sobrie­ty in love!                                                         






             

The oblivion is of two kinds;

one is forget­fulness of the world

which makes us forget first about the memory

then about the future world;

 the other way of oblivion is preoccupation

with thoughts of the future world,

so that one forgets oneself as well,

 and one plays with the world

 as a cat plays with a mouse.

Through association with a man of God,

he has obtained a position - that of Shaykh, 

what after thir­ty years of prayer could never obtain.

 The third way of forgetfulness is love for God,

so that man forgets both this world

and the future world;

 this is the meaning of the saying:

"This world is forbidden to men of the future world,

and the future world is forbidden to men of this world;

and both, this world and the future world,

are forbidden to men of God (A saying of the Prophet);

 that is, that he should forget everything but God;

Mawlana (Rumi) enjoys ecstacy in love;

for him there is no sobriety in love,

but for me there is both ecstasy and sobrie­ty in love.

For me there is no such oblivion in drunken­ness;

how does the world dare to conceal me with a veil

 or to be concealed from me with a veil?






















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