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

No-place,
*
Beyond the dreams that travellers can chase,
Not somewhere which the mind can comprehend
From where a telling clue might once descend;
By him the world and 
No-place are controlled
Like those four rivers ruled by heaven’s fold;
*
Cut short the explanation, turn around,
God knows what’s best, don’t make another sound!
Let’s now resume what started earlier
1595
About the bird, the merchant, India:
The merchant then said ‘Yes’ to her request
To give her message there at her behest.
The merchant sees the parrots of India in the countryside
and delivers the message for that parrot
He entered India, travelled deep inside,
Then saw some parrots in the countryside:
He drew his steed back, shouted to the birds,
To keep his promise he passed on her words ––
One of the birds shook violently then dropped,
She fell just like a corpse, her breathing stopped!
The Escape of the Merchant’s Parrot
99

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He then repented that he’d brought the news:
1600
‘I’ve killed this creature, what is left to lose!
Was she one of my parrot’s relatives,
The same soul which in separate bodies lives?
Why did I tell them when she’s out of reach?
I’ve burnt the poor thing’s heart with my crude speech!’
The tongue and stone on iron are the same:
What leaps out from your tongue’s tip is a 
flame––
Don’t strike the stone on iron for you’ll roast
For telling stories or just for a boast!
We’re in a 
field of cotton in the dark
1605
So don’t you carelessly create a spark!
In darkness tyrants choose to shut their eyes
And with their words allow the 
flames to rise:
A world can be destroyed by what is said
And foxes turn to lions thus instead.
Spirits like Christ’s breath give new life to you,
First as a wound, then as a plaster too,
If spirits were unveiled, it would be known
Their speech is just like the Messiah’s own.
If you want something sweet to say, hold on!
1610
Don’t grab them greedily before they’re gone:
Through self-restraint the clever men reach higher,
Sweets are what simple children all desire ––
You can ascend to God with self-control,
Choose sweets and you’ll sink farther from the goal.
Commentary on the saying of
Attar: ‘You have an ego, heedless
one, drink your own blood while on earth, for if mystics drink
poison it will become an antidote’
*
The mystic is not harmed one bit if he
Should drink down deadly poison knowingly:
When you have true health why choose abstinence
Though others su
ffer if they touch it once:
The Escape of the Merchant’s Parrot
100

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The Prophet said, ‘Wise man, just turn aside,
1615
Don’t challenge one who’s sought out as a guide!’
With Nimrod in you, don’t approach the 
flame,
Become
first Abraham to do the same––
You don’t know how to swim or sail in there,
Don’t dive in vainly just to show you dare!
He can pull out a red rose from the 
fire,
From loss he can send pro
fits soaring higher,
His touch turns earth to gold in just a 
flash,
While gold imperfect men touch turns to ash:
God has accepted him, so understand
1620
In all he does his hand is like God’s hand,
The hands of others are the devil’s own,
In their abuse and lies it’s clearly shown;
Ignorance turns to knowledge with pure men,
It’s ignorance with in
fidels again,
A sick man spreads to others pain and grief,
A perfect man turns sin to true belief ––
While standing don’t
fight someone on a steed,
Step back, there is no way you can succeed!