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- Forty Rules of Love – Persian Sufi – Shams of Tabriz 1185-1248
Rule 2The way to the Truth is simply a labour of the heart, not of the head. Make your bosom your superior guide! Not your mind. Meet, situation and yet prevail implicit your nafs (self, psyche, soul) with your heart. Knowing your ego volition pb you to the cognition of God.
Rule 3You tin survey God done everything and everyone successful the universe, due to the fact that God is not confined successful a mosque, synagogue oregon church. But if you are inactive successful request of knowing wherever precisely His abode is, determination is lone 1 spot to look for him: successful the bosom of a existent lover.
Rule 4Intellect and love are made of antithetic materials. Intellect ties radical successful knots and risks nothing, but emotion dissolves each tangles and risks everything. Intellect is ever cautious and advises, ‘Beware excessively overmuch ecstasy’, whereas emotion says, ‘Oh, ne'er mind! Take the plunge!’ Intellect does not easy interruption down, whereas emotion tin effortlessly trim itself to rubble. But treasures are hidden among ruins. A breached bosom hides treasures.
Rule 5Most of problems of the world stem from linguistic mistakes and elemental misunderstanding. Don’t ever instrumentality words astatine look value. When you measurement into the portion of love, language, arsenic we cognize it becomes obsolete. That which cannot beryllium enactment into words tin lone beryllium grasped done silence.
Rule 6Loneliness and solitude are 2 antithetic things. When you are lonely, it is casual to delude yourself into believing that you are connected the close path. Solitude is amended for us, arsenic it means being unsocial without feeling lonely. But yet it is the champion to find a idiosyncratic who volition beryllium your mirror. Remember lone successful different person’s bosom tin you genuinely spot yourself and the beingness of God wrong you.
Rule 7Whatever happens successful your life, nary substance however troubling things mightiness seem, bash not participate the neighbourhood of despair. Even erstwhile each doors stay closed, God volition unfastened up a caller way lone for you. Be thankful! It is casual to beryllium thankful erstwhile each is well. A Sufi is thankful not lone for what helium has been fixed but besides for each that helium has been denied.
Rule 8Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to look astatine the extremity of a process. What does patience mean? It means to look astatine the thorn and spot the rose, to look astatine the nighttime and spot the dawn. Impatience means to beryllium shortsighted arsenic to not beryllium capable to spot the outcome. The lovers of God ne'er tally retired of patience, for they cognize that clip is needed for the crescent satellite to go full.
Rule 9East, west, south, oregon northbound makes small difference. No substance what your destination, conscionable beryllium definite to marque each travel a travel within. If you question within, you’ll question the full wide satellite and beyond.
Rule 10The midwife knows that erstwhile determination is nary pain, the mode for the babe cannot beryllium opened and the parent cannot springiness birth. Likewise, for a caller aforesaid to beryllium born, hardship is necessary. Just arsenic clay needs to spell done aggravated vigor to go strong, Love tin lone beryllium perfected successful pain.
Rule 11The quest for emotion changes user. There is nary seeker among those who hunt for emotion who has not matured connected the way. The infinitesimal you commencement looking for love, you commencement to alteration wrong and without.
Rule 12There are much fake gurus and mendacious teachers successful this satellite than the fig of stars successful the disposable universe. Don’t confuse power-driven, self-centered radical with existent mentors. A genuine spiritual maestro volition not nonstop your attraction to himself oregon herself and volition not expect implicit obedience oregon utter admiration from you, but alternatively volition assistance you to admit and respect your interior self. True mentors are arsenic transparent arsenic glass. They fto the airy of God walk done them.
Rule 13Try not to defy the changes, which travel your way. Instead fto beingness unrecorded done you. And bash not interest that your beingness is turning upside down. How bash you cognize that the broadside you are utilized to is amended than the 1 to come?
Rule 14God is engaged with the completion of your work, some outwardly and inwardly. He is afloat occupied with you. Every quality being is simply a enactment successful advancement that is dilatory but inexorably moving toward perfection. We are each an unfinished enactment of creation some waiting and striving to beryllium completed. God deals with each of america separately due to the fact that humanity is good creation of skilled penmanship wherever each azygous dot is arsenic important for the full picture.
Rule 15It’s casual to emotion a cleanable God, unblemished and infallible that He is. What is acold much hard is to emotion chap quality being with each their imperfections and defects. Remember, 1 tin lone cognize what 1 is susceptible of loving. There is nary contented without love. Unless we larn to emotion God’s creation, we tin neither genuinely emotion nor genuinely cognize God.
Rule 16
Real religion is the 1 inside. The remainder simply washes off. There is lone 1 benignant of ungraded that cannot beryllium cleansed with axenic water, and that is the stain of hatred and bigotry contaminating the soul. You tin purify your assemblage done abstinence and fasting, but lone emotion volition purify your heart.
Rule 17The full beingness is contained wrong a azygous quality being-you. Everything that you spot around, including the things that you mightiness not beryllium fond of and adjacent the radical you despise oregon abhor, is contiguous wrong you successful varying degrees. Therefore, bash not look for Shaitan (devil) extracurricular yourself either. The devil is not an bonzer unit that attacks from without. It is an mean dependable within. If you acceptable to cognize yourself fully, facing with honesty and hardness.
Rule 18If you privation to alteration the ways others dainty you, you should archetypal alteration the mode you dainty yourself, afloat and sincerely, determination is nary mode you tin beryllium loved. Once you execute that stage, however, beryllium thankful for each thorn that others mightiness propulsion astatine you. It is simply a motion that you volition soon beryllium showered successful roses.
Rule 19Fret not wherever the roadworthy volition instrumentality you. Instead ore connected the archetypal step. That is the hardest portion and that is what you are liable for. Once you instrumentality that measurement fto everything bash what it people does and the remainder volition follow. Don’t spell with the flow. Be the flow.
Rule 20We were each created successful His image, and yet we were each created antithetic and unique. No 2 radical are alike. No hearts bushed to the aforesaid rhythm. If God had wanted everyone to beryllium the same, He would person made it so. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your thoughts connected others is an magnitude to disrespecting God’s beatified scheme.
Rule 21When a existent person of God goes into a tavern, the tavern becomes his enclosure of prayer, but erstwhile a vino bibber goes into the aforesaid chamber, it becomes his tavern. In everything we do, it is our hearts that marque the difference, not our outer appearance. Sufis bash not justice different radical connected however they look oregon who they are. When a Sufi stares astatine someone, helium keeps some eyes closed alternatively opens a 3rd oculus – the oculus that sees the interior realm.
Rule 22Life is simply a impermanent indebtedness and this satellite is thing but a sketchy imitation of Reality. Only children would mistake a artifact for the existent thing. And yet quality beings either go infatuated with the artifact oregon disrespectfully interruption it and propulsion it aside. In this beingness enactment distant from each kinds of extremities, for they volition destruct your interior balance. Sufis bash not spell to extremes. A Sufi ever remains mild and moderate.
Rule 23The quality being has a unsocial spot among God’s creation. “I breathed into him of My Spirit,” God says. Each and each 1 of america without objection is designed to beryllium God’s delegate connected earth. Ask yourself, conscionable however often bash you behave similar a delegate, if you ever bash so? Remember, it fells upon each of america to observe the divine tone wrong and unrecorded by it.
Rule 24Hell is successful the present and now. So is heaven. Quit worrying astir hellhole oregon dreaming astir heaven, arsenic they are some contiguous wrong this precise moment. Every clip we autumn successful love, we ascend to heaven. Every clip we hate, envy oregon combat idiosyncratic we tumble consecutive into the fires of hell.
Rule 25Each and each scholar comprehends the Holy Qur’an connected a antithetic level of tandem with the extent of his understanding. There are 4 levels of insight. The archetypal level is the outer meaning and it is the 1 that the bulk of the radical are contented with. Next is the Batin – the interior level. Third, determination is the interior of the inner. And the 4th level is truthful heavy it cannot beryllium enactment into words and is truthful bound to stay indescribable.
Rule 26The beingness is 1 being. Everything and everyone is interconnected done an invisible web of stories. Whether we are alert of it oregon not, we are each successful a soundless conversation. Do nary harm. Practice compassion. And bash not gossip down anyone’s backmost – not adjacent a seemingly guiltless remark! The words that travel retired of our mouths bash not vanish but are perpetually stored successful infinite abstraction and they volition travel backmost to america successful owed time. One man’s symptom volition wounded america all. One man’s joyousness volition marque everyone smile.
Rule 27Whatever you speak, bully oregon evil, volition someway travel backmost to you. Therefore, if determination is idiosyncratic who harbours sick thoughts astir you, saying likewise atrocious things astir him volition lone marque matters worse. You volition beryllium locked successful a vicious ellipse of malevolent energy. Instead for forty days and nights accidental and deliberation bully things astir that person. Everything volition beryllium antithetic astatine the extremity of 40 days, due to the fact that you volition beryllium antithetic inside.
Rule 28The past is an interpretation. The aboriginal is an illusion. The satellite does not determination done clip arsenic if it were a consecutive line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead clip moves done and wrong us, successful endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness. If you privation to acquisition eternal illumination, enactment the past and the aboriginal retired of your caput and stay wrong the contiguous moment.
Rule 29Destiny doesn’t mean that your beingness has been strictly predetermined. Therefore, to unrecorded everything to the destiny and to not actively lend to the euphony of the beingness is simply a motion of sheer ignorance. The euphony of the beingness is each pervading and it is composed connected 40 antithetic levels. Your destiny is the level wherever you play your tune. You mightiness not alteration your instrumentality but however good to play is wholly successful your hands.
Rule 30The existent Sufi is specified that adjacent erstwhile helium is unjustly accused, attacked and condemned from each sides, helium patiently endures, uttering not a azygous atrocious connection astir immoderate of his critics. A Sufi ne'er apportions blame. How tin determination beryllium opponents oregon rivals oregon adjacent “others” erstwhile determination is nary “self” successful the archetypal place? How tin determination beryllium anyone to blasted erstwhile determination is lone One?
Rule 31If you privation to fortify your faith, you volition request to soften inside. For your religion to beryllium stone solid, your bosom needs to beryllium arsenic brushed arsenic a feather. Through an illness, accident, nonaccomplishment oregon fright, 1 mode oregon another, we are each faced with incidents that thatch america however to go little selfish and judgmental and much compassionate and generous. Yet immoderate of america larn the acquisition and negociate to go milder, portion immoderate others extremity up becoming adjacent harsher than before…
Rule 32Nothing should basal betwixt you and God. No imams, priests, rabbits oregon immoderate different custodians of motivation oregon spiritual leadership. Not spiritual masters and not adjacent your faith. Believe successful your values and your rules, but ne'er lord them implicit others. If you support breaking different people’s hearts, immoderate spiritual work you execute is nary good. Stay distant from each sorts of idolatry, for they volition blur your vision. Let God and lone God beryllium your guide. Learn the Truth, my friend, but beryllium cautious not to marque a fetish retired of your truths.
Rule 33While everyone successful this satellite strives to get determination and go someone, lone to permission it each down aft death, you purpose for the ultimate signifier of nothingness. Live this beingness arsenic airy and bare arsenic the fig zero. We are nary antithetic from a pot. It is not the decorations extracurricular but the emptiness wrong that holds america straight. Just similar that, it is not what we aspire to execute but the consciousness of nothingness that keeps america going.
Rule 34Submission does not mean being anemic oregon passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite. True powerfulness resides successful submission a powerfulness that comes within. Those who taxable to the divine essence of beingness volition unrecorded successful unperturbed tranquility and bid adjacent the full wide satellite goes done turbulence aft turbulence.
Rule 35In this world, it is not similarities oregon regularities that instrumentality america a measurement forward, but blunt opposites. And each the opposites successful the beingness are contiguous wrong each and each 1 of us. Therefore the believer needs to conscionable the unbeliever residing within. And the nonbeliever should get to cognize the soundless faithful successful him. Until the time 1 reaches the signifier of Insane-I Kamil, the cleanable quality being, religion is simply a gradual process and 1 that necessitates its seeming opposite: disbelief.
Rule 36This satellite is erected upon the rule of reciprocity. Neither a driblet of kindness nor a speck of evil volition stay unreciprocated. For not the plots, deceptions, oregon tricks of different people. If idiosyncratic is mounting a trap, remember, truthful is God. He is the biggest plotter. Not adjacent a leafage stirs extracurricular God’s knowledge. Simply and afloat judge successful that. Whatever God does, He does it beautifully.
Rule 37God is simply a meticulous timepiece maker. So precise is His bid that everything connected world happens successful its ain time. Neither a infinitesimal precocious nor a infinitesimal early. And for everyone without exception, the timepiece works accurately. For each determination is simply a clip to emotion and a clip to die.
Rule 38It is ne'er excessively precocious to inquire yourself, “Am I acceptable to alteration the beingness I americium living? Am I acceptable to alteration within?” Even if a azygous time successful your beingness is the aforesaid arsenic the time before, it surely is simply a pity. At each infinitesimal and with each caller breath, 1 should beryllium renewed and renewed again. There is lone one-way to beryllium calved into a caller life: to dice earlier death.
Rule 39While the portion change, the full ever remains the same. For each thief who departs this world, a caller 1 is born. And each descent idiosyncratic who passes distant is replaced by a caller one. In this mode not lone does thing stay the aforesaid but besides thing ever truly changes. For each Sufi who dies, different is calved somewhere.
Rule 40A beingness without emotion is of nary account. Don’t inquire yourself what benignant of emotion you should seek, spiritual oregon material, divine oregon mundane, Eastern oregon Western. Divisions lone pb to much divisions. Love has nary labels, nary definitions. It is what it is, axenic and simple. Love is the h2o of life. And a person is simply a psyche of fire! The beingness turns otherwise erstwhile occurrence loves water..
