The Masnavi, Book One (Oxford World's Classics)

The harm in being venerated by people and standing out
Your cage-like body is the spirit’s thorn
Fed by deceit from those you come upon:
One says, ‘I’ll be your con
fidant my friend,’
1860
Another, ‘I’m your partner till the end.’
The next, ‘No one can ever take your place,
To match your beauty, virtue, and sheer grace.’
Another says, ‘Both worlds belong to you,
And all our souls feed o
ff your great soul too.’
When he sees people drunk with him, he’ll lose
All self-control, for self-conceit he’ll choose,
Not realizing thousands just like him
Satan threw in a stream where they can’t swim:
The world gives 
flattery which men desire––
1865
Eat less, for it’s a morsel full of 
fire!
It’s
fire’s unseen, it’s taste though you can tell
And then its smoke will rise as if from hell;
Don’t say, ‘I’ll never be so gullible’ ––
Through your desire you’re always vulnerable.
And should one mock you in the public’s gaze,
Your heart will burn with shame for several days,
Although you know he speaks from disappointment
That his high hopes did not 
find their fulfilment;
Still its e
ffect will linger inside you––
1870
The same applies when you hear praises too,
The Escape of the Merchant’s Parrot
115

---

And this e
ffect will slowly take its course
To be your arrogance and error’s source;
To praise’s faults, like sweets, we all stay blind,
They’re known through bitterness they leave behind,
Just like a potion or a pill you take,
Then su
ffer irritation for its sake:
Eat sweets, then feel their taste soon disappear ––
Short-term e
ffects can’t last––this should be clear.
But they still take e
ffect, though far from view––
1875
All things through opposites are shown to you:
Sugar’s e
ffects persist far from your eyes
To form boils nurses then have to excise!
The self becomes like pharaoh with such praise,
Be self-abased, don’t choose that tyrant’s ways!
So strive to be like slaves and not like kings,
Be struck like balls, don’t be the bat which swings!
Or else, when all your beauty fades from view
Your sycophants will then grow tired of you;
That group who falsely praised you will be found
1880
Calling you ‘devil’ when you come around,
On seeing you arrive such men will say:
‘A corpse has risen from the grave today!’
Just like the beardless youth whom they call ‘lord’
*
To trap him with deceit when they applaud,
But when his beard grows with his infamy
Vile demons will feel shame at what they see.
The devil seeks a human he can curse,
He doesn’t come to you, for you’re much worse!
While you were human he would still come up
1885
And o
ffer you his evil drinking-cup,
But now you’re like a devil through and through,
You good for nothing –– Satan 
flees from you!
The ones who used to hold on to your hem
Flee from what you’ve become –– you’re worse than them!
The Escape of the Merchant’s Parrot
116

---

Explanation of ‘What God wills happens’
What we’ve said is a basis, not the end,
But for God’s favours we’re worth naught, my friend!
Without God’s grace and that of his élite
Angels would earn a blotted record-sheet.
O God, whose grace ful
fils our every need,
1890
Remembering someone else is a misdeed,
For so much guidance You’ve bestowed on us
It hides our 
flaws and utter wretchedness!
The drop of knowledge which You gave before
Unite now with your ocean, please, once more!
The drop of knowledge in my soul please free
From lust and from my body’s tyranny,
Before the soil should soak it deep inside,
Before the wind should spray it far and wide,
Though if they snatch it You’d be capable
1895
To take it back, for it’s redeemable:
The drop which spilled or vanished in the air
To 
flee Your power how could it thus dare?
Though it should enter deepest non-existence,
When You call, it will run back through the distance,
Opposites kill each other just like men,
But Your decree can make them live again,
From nothing to existence, Lord, You can
Each moment send another caravan.
Logic and thought each night, especially,
1900
Become annihilated in Your sea,
But new true beings once again at dawn
Raise up their heads like 
fish and are reborn.
Thousands of leaves are vanquished every fall
Into the sea of death, which conquers all,
And draped in black as though he mourns, the crow
Laments the garden’s grass was forced to go,
The village-chief, however, will dictate
To non-existence : ‘Give back what you ate:
The Escape of the Merchant’s Parrot
117

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Black death give up what you ate like an ass
1905
Of plants, medicinal herbs, the leaves, and grass!’
Collect your thoughts now, stop meandering,
Each breath, within, your fall’s replaced by spring!
Your own heart’s garden is so fresh and green,
There cypress, rose, and jasmine can be seen;
The crowd of leaves now hides the branch from view,
The scores of roses hide the palace too.
From Universal Intellect this came,
As rose and hyacinth it smells the same:
Without a rose can you detect rose scent?
1910
When there’s no wine can you see wine ferment?
Scent is your leader and your perfect guide
To heaven –– it will lead you deep inside,
Scent is a balm for eyes which gives them sight:
Jacob’s eyes opened, darkness turned to light;
Bad smells can blind a person instantly,
While Joseph’s scent enables one to see ––
Since you’re not Joseph, be like Jacob –– cry!
*
Love’s tumult will be seen then in your eye.
Listen to this advice from Sana

i,*
1915
Find freshness in your withered frame like me:
‘Your airs presume a face just like a rose,
Since you don’t have one, don’t strike such a pose:
A face that’s plain turns ugly when it’s vain ––
Even blind eyes should not endure such pain!’
In front of Joseph, don’t assume such airs,
Like Jacob sigh in need and say your prayers.
The parrot’s dying showed her neediness ––
Now make yourself a corpse, feel even less,
That Jesus’s breath might serve as your cure
1920
And make you like itself so blessed and pure.
Don’t claim in spring on stone some verdure grows,
Be soft like soil to raise a lovely rose ––
The Escape of the Merchant’s Parrot
118

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For years you’ve been a stony-hearted man,
Try being like the soil now if you can!