|
RELIANCE
ON OR TRUST IN GOD
Such
reliance upon God should not be
misunderstood: it does not mean
ignoring cause and effect
completely. It means, rather, that
one should think of causes as a veil
to the hand of Power: in observance
of them one seeks to act in
compliance with Divine Will, which
is a sort of worship in action. That
desire and seeking is, however, not
sufficient to secure a particular
effect. The achievement, we must
understand, in accordance with right
belief, is to be expected only from
God, the All-Mighty: we believe in
Him as the sole producer of effects,
and therefore we should be always
grateful to Him.
The
likeness of one who trusts in God
and of one who does not is in this
way:
Once
two men boarded a ship with heavy
burdens on both their heads and
backs. One of them put his burden on
the deck immediately after they
boarded the ship, and sat on it in
order to watch over it. But the
other, both stupid and arrogant, did
not put his burden down on the deck.
He was told to unburden, to relieve
himself, of his heavy load but he
answered: “No, I will not leave
it, as it may be lost. Anyway, I am
strong enough to carry it.” He was
told again: “But this reliable
royal ship which is carrying you and
us is even stronger, and can hold it
better. You will most probably get
tired, feel dizzy and fall into the
sea together with your burden. Your
strength will fail. Then with your
doubled back and brainless head, you
will no longer be able to bear that
burden which is getting heavier
every moment. Besides, if the
captain sees you in this state, he
will either say that you are insane
and expel you from the ship or he
will think, “That man is an
ingrate or even a traitor. He does
not trust or suspects our ship, and
makes light of us,” and he will
order you to be put in prison. Also,
you will be marked out and made fun
of by everyone. To the perceptive,
your vanity reveals your weakness,
your arrogance reveals your
impotence, and your pretension
betrays your humiliation: as a
result, you have become a
laughing-stock-look, how everybody
is laughing at you!
These
words were enough of a warning for
that poor man. He put his load on
the deck, sat on it, and said to his
companion: “May God be pleased
with you! I have obtained relief;
more, I have been saved from
imprisonment and becoming a
laughing-stock.”
Now,
man, who does not put his trust in
God! Come to your senses, as did the
man in the parable, and put your
trust in God so that you may be
delivered from begging from the
whole creation and trembling in fear
in the face of each happening. You
will also be delivered from
self-conceit, from being ridiculous,
from the pressures of this life and
from the torments of the Hereafter.
Belief
and Trust in God Provides Remedy
for all Wounds of the Heart
Lord! Heedlessly not trusting in
You, but in reliance on my own
power and will, I looked around
in all six directions, searching
for a cure for my pains. Alas, I
could find no cure for them.
However, it occurred to me: ‘Isn’t
it enough for you that you have
pains as cure?’
In heedlessness I looked to past
time on my right to find solace,
but yesterday appeared to me in
the form of my father’s grave
and past time as the huge tomb
of my forefathers. It filled me
with horror rather than
consolation.(*)
(*)Belief
shows that huge, terrifying
tomb to be a familiar and
illuminated meeting place
for the gathering of
friends.
Then, I looked to the future on
the left. I could find no cure.
Rather, tomorrow appeared to me
in the form of my grave and the
future as the large tomb of my
contemporaries and the
forthcoming generations; it gave
me no feeling of familiarity but
of fright.(*)
(*)Belief
and the peace provided by
belief show that frightful
large tomb to be a feast of
the Most Merciful in
delightful palaces of bliss.
Since no good appeared from the
left either, I looked at the
present day, and I saw it like a
coffin, carrying my desperately
struggling corpse.(*)
(*)Belief
shows that coffin to be a
place of business and a
glittering guest-house.
As I could find no cure from
that direction either, I raised
my head and looked at the top of
the tree of my life. I saw that
its single fruit was my corpse;
it was looking down at me from
the top.(*)
(*)Belief
shows the fruit of that tree
not to be a corpse, but
rather that the spirit,
which is to be favored with
eternal happiness in an
eternal life, has left its
worn-out home to travel
among the stars.
Despairing of that direction
too, I lowered my head. I looked
and saw that the dust of my
bones underfoot had mixed with
the dust of my first creation.
Giving no cure, it rather
increased my pains.(*)
(*)Belief
shows that dust to be the
door to Mercy and the
curtain over the windows of
the hall of Paradise.
Turning away from that direction
too, I looked behind and saw a
temporary world with no
foundation revolving in valleys
of nothingness and darkness of
non-existence. Not relieving my
pains, it rather added to them
the poison of more gloom and
terror.(*)
(*)Belief
shows that world revolving
in darkness to be the
missives of the
Eternally-Besought-of-All
and sheets of Divine
inscriptions which, having
completed their duties and
expressed their meanings,
have left their results for
a new existence in place of
themselves.
Since I saw no good from that
direction either, I cast my eye ahead
of me. I saw that the door
of my grave stood open at the
end of my way, behind which the
highway leading to eternity
caught my eyes from afar.(*)
(*)Since
belief shows the door of the
grave to be the portal to
the world of light, and that
way to lead to eternal
happiness, it provides a
salve, a cure, for my pains.
Thus, rather than consolation
and a feeling of familiarity, I
received only horror and a
feeling of desolation from these
six directions. Further, apart
from an insignificant free will,
I have nothing with which to
resist or oppose them.(*)
(*)Belief
provides a document for
relying on an Infinite Power
in place of the will-power,
which is like the smallest
indivisible part of matter;
indeed, belief itself is
such a document.
That human weapon which we call
free will lacks power, its range
is short, and it is inaccurate.
Apart from serving as a tool in
the achievement of a man’s
deeds [which God creates], it
cannot do anything, it cannot
create.(*)
(*)Belief
causes the will-power to be
employed in the name of God,
and makes it sufficient
against everything it may
face, as in the case of a
soldier who, employing his
insignificant power on
behalf of the state, can
perform deeds thousands of
times greater than his own
power.
It can neither penetrate the
past nor discern the future, and
with regard to my pains and
ambitions-concerning these, it
is of no benefit.(*)
(*)Since
belief gives its reins not
into the hand of the animal
body but to the heart and
the spirit, it can penetrate
the past and the future. For
the sphere of life of the
heart and spirit is broad.
The arena where the will-power
is active is brief present time
and the passing present instant.
Despite all my needs and innate
weakness, destitution and
helplessness, and while being in
a wretched state due to the
terrors and loneliness coming
from the six directions, I have
infinite desires and ambitions
extending to eternity, and
inscribed on the page of my
being by the Pen of Power and
embedded in my nature.
Indeed, whatever there is in the
universe, there are samples of
it in my being. I am connected
with all of them, I work for
them. The sphere of need is as
extensive as the eye reaches.
In fact, wherever the
imaginations goes, the sphere of
need extends that far. Rather,
whatever I do not possess, I am
in need of it. What I do not
possess is without limits.
Whereas the extent of my power
is as narrow as my arm reaches.
This means that my wants and
needs are of infinite quantity.
Whereas my capital is as little
and insignificant as an atom.
So, what does that insignificant
will-power signify in the face
of these mountains of needs that
can only be obtained with
millions? They cannot be
satisfied by it. Therefore, I
should search for another
solution.
The solution is this: To give up
one’s will-power, and never
relying on one’s own power, to
submit oneself to the Divine
Will and seek refuge in His
Power in adherence to the
reality of trusting in Him. ‘O
Lord! Since this is the way of
salvation, I give up my free
will in Your way, and abandon my
ego. So that Your grace may help
and support me out of compassion
for my impotence and weakness,
and Your Mercy may take pity on
me because of my want and need
and be a support for me, and
open its door to me.’
Whoever finds the boundless sea
of Mercy, does not rely on his
own free will any more than on a
drop from the water seen in a
mirage. Whoever resorts to Mercy
does not resort to his will.
Alas! We have been deceived. We
have thought the worldy life is
constant, and have lost it
thoroughly because of this
thought. Indeed, this passing
life is but a sleep; it has
passed like a dream. This
unbounded life too flies like
the wind.
An arrogant man who relies on
himself and supposes he will
live for ever, will certainly
die. He advances toward death
speedily. The world too, which
is man’s house, falls into the
darkness of annihilation.
Ambitions are time-bounded, but
pains endure in the spirit.
Since this is the reality, come,
O my wretched soul, which is
fond of living and desirous of a
long life, which loves the world
deeply and is afflicted with
countless ambitions and pains!
Awaken and come to your senses!
Consider that while the firefly
relies on its own dim light and
always remains in the boundless
darkness of the night, the
honey-bee finds the sun of
daytime and observes its
friends, the flowers, gilded
with the sunlight because it
does not rely on itself. In just
the same way, if you rely on
yourself and your being, your
own self-confidence, you will be
like the firefly. Whereas if you
dedicate yourself, your
transient being and your body in
a self-sacrificing way in the
way of the Creator Who gave it
to you, then you will find, like
the honey-bee, an endless life
of being. Dedicate it, for your
being, your body, is a Divine
trust to you.
Also,
it is the Creator’s property; He
gave it to you. So use it in His way
unhesitatingly and without placing
anybody under obligation; sacrifice
it so that it will gain permanence.
For a negation negated is an
affirmation. Thus, if our non-being
is negated (in favor of Being), our
being finds true existence. The
All-Munificent Creator buys His own
property from you. In return, He
gives you a high price like
Paradise. Also, he looks after it
well for you, and increases its
value. He will return it to you in a
form both perfected and made
permanent. So, O my soul! Do not
wait! Do this business which is
profitable in five respects, and, as
well as being saved from five
losses, make a fivefold profit in a
single transaction.
|
|
