When a glimpse of Our image is caught in man, when heaven and earth are sought in man, then what is there in the world that is not in man? If one only explores him, there is a lot in man.

If you will go forward to find Us, We will come forward to receive you.

Give Us all you have, and We shall give you all We possess.

In man We have designed Our image; in woman We have finished it.

In man We have shown Our nature benign; in woman We have expressed Our art divine.

God is the answer to every question.

Make God a reality, and God will make you the truth.

God made man, and man made good and evil.

If the Almighty God chooseth, He hath power sufficient to turn thy shield into a poisoned sword, and even thine own hand into the hand of thine adversary.

Give all you have, and take all that is given to you.

Your great enemies are those who are near and dear to you, but your still greater enemy is your own self.

Whichever path you choose, the right or the wrong, know that there is at the back always a powerful hand to help you along it.

O peace-maker, before trying to make peace throughout the world, first make peace within thyself!

Man! Thou art the master of life, here and in the hereafter.

Out of space there arose light, and by that light space became illuminated.

If your fellow-man does not pay you his debts, forbear patiently; someday every farthing will be paid you with interest.

Put thy trust in God for support, and see His hidden hand working through all sources.

Alankaras: The fanciful expression of an idea.

Indifference! My most intimate friend, I am sorry I have always to act against thee as thy opponent.

My modesty! Thou art the veil over my vanity.

My humility! Thou art the very essence of my vanity.

Vanity! Both saint and sinner drink from thy cup.

Vanity! Thou art the fountain of wine on the earth, where cometh the King of Heaven to drink.

Peacock! Is it not thy vanity that causeth thee to dance?

My bare feet! Step gently on life's path, lest the thorns lying on the way should murmur at being trampled upon by you.

My ideal! I imagine at moments that we are playing see-saw; when I rise up, thou goest down below my feet; and when I go down, thou risest above my head.

My self-dependence! Thou makest me poor but at the same time rich.

My beloved ideal! When I was looking for thee on the earth, wert thou not laughing at me in heaven?

My feeling heart! I so often wish thou wert made of stone.

My limitation! Thou art as a mote in the eye of my soul.

Money! Thou art a bliss and a curse at the same time. Thou turnest friends into foes and foes into friends. Thou takest away anxiety in life and at the same time givest it.

Waves: We are Upsaras of the ocean. When the wind plays music we dance; earth's treasure is not of our seeking; our reward is Indra's one glance.

Time! I have never seen thee, but I have heard thy steps.

Time! In my sorrow thou creepest; in my joy thou runnest; in the hours of my patient waiting thou standest still.

Time! Thou art the ocean, and every movement of life is thy wave.

Sky! Thou art a sea whereon the boat of my imagination sails.

My thoughtful self! Reproach no one, hold a grudge against no one, bear malice against no one; be wise, tolerant, considerate, polite and kind to all.

My independence! How many sacrifices I have made for thee, and yet thou art never satisfied.

My simple trust! How often thou has disappointed me, yet I still go on following thee with closed eyes.

My moods, what are you? -- We are the waves rising in your heart.

My emotion, where do you come from? -- From the everflowing spring of your heart.

My imagination, what are you? -- I am the stream that feeds the fountain of your mind.

Boulas: A kindled word.

Heaven and hell are the material manifestation of agreeable and disagreeable thoughts.

All the good deeds of a lifetime may be swept away in the flood caused by a single sin.

A learned man without will power is like a head without a body.

All that one holds is conserved; all that one lets go is dispersed.

A pure conscience gives one the strength of lions, and by a guilty conscience even lions are turned into rabbits.

The only thing that is made through life is one's own nature.

Be either true or false, for you cannot be both.

Truth is a divine inheritance found in the depth of every human heart.

It is only out of consideration for others that the kingly soul obeys the law; otherwise, he is above the law.

He who can live up to his ideal is the king of life.

The God who is intelligible to man is made by man himself, but what is beyond his intelligence is the reality.

The closer one approaches reality, the nearer one comes to unity.

A lifetime is not sufficient to learn how to live in this world.

Man looks for wonders; if he only saw how very wonderful is the heart of man!

Many evils are born of riches, but still more are bred in poverty.

Do not weep with the sad, but console them; if not, by your tears you will but water the plant of their sorrow.

The spirit of controversy is fed by argument. Reform has a scope in every period.

When man touches the ultimate truth he realizes that there is nothing which is not in himself.

Reason is the illusion of reality.

Death is preferable to asking a favor of a small person.

Lull the devil to sleep rather than awaken him.

Movement is life; stillness is death.

There is no action in this world that can be stamped as sin or virtue; it is its relation to the particular soul that makes it so.

Reality itself is its own evidence.

It is of no use to try and prove to be what in reality you are not.

Pleasure blocks, but pain clears the way of inspiration.

A biting tongue goes deeper than the point of a bayonet, and cutting words pierce keener than a sword.

The human heart must first be melted, like metal, before it can be molded into a desirable character.

The mystic does not wait until the hereafter, but does all he can to progress now.

Power demands subjection; but if you cannot resist power by conquest, win it by surrender.

The fountain stream of love rises in the love for an individual, but spreads and falls in universal love.

He who makes room in his heart for others, will himself find accommodation everywhere.

Each human personality is like a piece of music, having an individual tone and a rhythm of its own.

One should take oneself to task, instead of putting one's fault on another.

A tender-hearted sinner is better than a saint hardened by piety.

The way to overcome error is, first, to admit one's fault; and next, to refrain from repeating it.

The human heart is the shell in which the pearl of sincerity is found.

Rocks will open and make a way for the lover.

Man makes his reasons to suit himself.

Singleness of mind ensures success.

Love of form, progressing, culminates in love of the formless.

When man rises above the sense of duty, then duty becomes his pleasure.

The external life is but the shadow of the inner reality.

The secret of all success is strength of conviction.

Those who try to make virtues out of their faults grope further and further into darkness.

When envy develops into jealousy, the heart changes from sourness into bitterness.

A worldly loss often turns into a spiritual gain.

Patient endurance is a sign of progress.

The ideal is the means, but its breaking is the goal.

Many feel, a few think, and fewer still there are who can express their thoughts.

The value of sacrifice is in willingness.

Nothing can take away joy from the man who has right understanding.

Do not fear God, but regard carefully His pleasure and displeasure.

Optimism is the result of love.

He who is a riddle to another is a puzzle to himself.

When the miser shows any generosity he celebrates it with trumpets.

A sincere man has a fragrance about him which is perceived by a sincere heart.

If you are not able to control your thought you cannot hold it.

All that detains man on his journey to the desired goal is temptation.

Fatalism is one side of the truth, not all.

Keep your goodness apart, that it may not touch your vanity.

When man denies what he owes you, then it is put on the account of God.

A refined manner with sincerity makes a living art.

The longing for vengeance is like a craving for poison.

The truly great souls become streams of love.

God is the central theme of the true poet, and the portrait which the prophets paint.

He whose love has always been reciprocated does not know the real feeling of love.

True belief is independent of reason.

Wisdom is like the horizon: the nearer you approach it, the further it recedes.

When the soul is attuned to God, every action becomes music.

It is the spirit of hopelessness that blocks the path of man and prevents his advancement.

The unselfish man profits by life more than the selfish, whose profit in the end proves to be a loss.

Sincerity is like a bud in the heart of man, that blossoms with the maturity of the soul.

Success is in store for the faithful, for faith ensures success.

No one will experience in life what is not meant for him.

It is not possible to be praised only and not to incur blame at any time. Praise and blame go hand in hand.

To be in uncongenial surroundings is worse than being in one's grave.

Science is born of the seed of intuition, conceived in reason.

Truth alone is success, and real success is truth.

The key to all happiness is the love of God.

By accusing another of his fault you only root him more firmly in it.

Death is a tax the soul has to pay for having had a name and a form.

Before trying to know the justice of God, one must oneself become just.

To whom the soul truly belongs, to Him in the end it returns.

In order to realize the divine perfection man must lose his imperfect self.

When the cry of the disciple has reached a certain pitch, the teacher comes to answer it.

The best way of living is to live a natural life.

Do not take the example of another as an excuse for your wrongdoing.

People who are difficult to deal with are difficult with themselves.

All situations of life are tests to bring out the real and the false.

The true seeker will never stop half-way; either he finds or he loses himself entirely.

It is sympathy rather than good food that will satisfy your guest.

The hereafter is the continuation of the same life in another sphere.

The man who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

Not only man but even God is displeased by self-assertion.

Those who live in the presence of God look to Him for guidance at every move they make.

It is not by self-realization that man realizes God; it is by God-realization that man realizes self.

If you wish to follow the path of saints, first learn forgiveness.

Be sparing of your words if you wish them to be powerful.

As the flower is the forerunner of the fruit, so man's childhood is the promise of his life.

The gardener uses roses in the flower-bed and thorns in making the hedge.

Love which manifests as tolerance, as forgiveness, that love it is which heals the wounds of the heart.

The greatest love in life is often that which is covered under indifference.

Indifference and independence are the two wings which enable the soul to fly.

To offend a low person is like throwing a stone in the mud and getting splashed.

The self-made man is greater than the man who depends upon another to make him.

False politeness is like imitation jewelry, and false kisses are like imitation flowers.

The unsociable person is a burden to society.

Divinity is human perfection and humanity is divine limitation.

The wise show their admiration by respect.

Many admit the truth to themselves, but few confess it to others.

It is the twist of thought that is the curl of the Beloved.

Do not accept that which you cannot return, for the balance of life is in reciprocity.

Those whom their individuality fails seek refuge in community.

Taking the path of disharmony is like entering the mouth of the dragon.

Satan comes in most beautiful garbs to hide from man's eyes his highest ideal.

Life is an opportunity, and it is a great pity if man realizes this when it is too late.

Behind us all is one spirit and one life; how then can we be happy if our neighbor is sad?

The human heart is the home of the soul, and upon this home the comfort and power of the soul depend.

Resignation is of no value except after a deed is done and cannot be undone.

Love is the Divine Mother's arms; and when those arms are outspread, every soul falls into them.

The greatest tragedy of the world is the lack of general evolution.

There is nothing that is accidental; all situations in life work towards some definite end.

Forgiveness belongs to God; it becomes the privilege of mortal man only when asked by another.

Before you can know the truth you must learn to live a true life.

Life itself becomes a scripture to the kindled soul.

Every moment of your life is more valuable than anything else in the world.

He is an unbeliever who cannot believe in himself.

Love is a weapon that can break all obstacles on one's path in life.

Self-pity is the cause of all the grievances of life.

What is given in love is beyond price.

It is our perception of time which passes, not time itself; for time is God, and God is eternal.

Man learns his first lesson of love by loving a human being; but in reality love is due to God alone.

That person becomes conqueror of life who learns to control his tongue.

Optimism comes from God, and pessimism is born of the human mind.

The mystic begins by marvelling at life, and to him it is a phenomenon at every moment.

You need not look for a saint or a master: a wise man is sufficient to guide you on your path.

The man who cannot learn his lesson from his first fault is certainly on the wrong track.

There is a pair of opposites in all things; in each thing there exists the spirit of the opposite.

A clean body reflects the purity of the soul, and is the secret of health.

It is the purity of the soul itself that gives the tendency towards cleanliness of body.

A pure life and a clean conscience are as bread and wine for the soul.

Righteousness comes from the very essence of the soul.

Reserve gives dignity to the personality; to be serious and yet gracious is the way of the wise.

When even our self does not belong to us, what else in the world can we call our own?

All things in life are materials for wisdom to work with.

Overlook the greatest fault of another, but do not partake of it in the smallest degree.

There is no source of happiness other than the heart of man.

Not until sobriety comes after the intoxication of life does man begin to wonder.

A life with a foolish companion is worse than death.

The pain of life is the price paid for the quickening of the heart.

Endurance makes things precious and men great.

The fulfillment of every activity is in its balance.

The heart of man is a temple; when its door is closed to man, it is also closed to God.

Faithfulness has a fragrance which is perceptible in the atmosphere of the faithful.

Spirituality is the tuning of the heart; one can obtain it neither by study, nor by piety.

A person's morality must be judged from his attitude rather than from his actions.

Right and wrong depend upon attitude and situation, not upon the action.

In the belief of every person there is some good for him; and to break that belief is like breaking his God.

Reason is a flower with a thousand petals, one covered by another.

He who does not recognize God now, will sooner or later recognize Him.

Fighting against nature is rising above nature.

Success is achieved when free will and circumstances work hand in hand.

A sincere feeling of respect needs no words; even silence can speak of one's respectful attitude.

Simplicity of nature is the sign of saints.

The heart is the gate of God; as soon as you knock upon it, the answer comes.

Every impression of an evil nature should be met with a combative attitude.

There is no greater phenomenon than love itself.

Those guilty of the same fault unite in making a virtue out of their common sin.

Life can be full of blessings when one knows how to receive them.

Where the body goes the shadow goes also; so is truth followed by falsehood.

Life in the world is false, and its lovers revel in falsehood.

Nothing false will succeed, and if it apparently succeeds, it can only bring a false benefit.

All that produces longing in the heart deprives it of its freedom.

Possibility is the nature of God, and impossibility is the limitation of man.

It is the exaltation of the spirit which is productive of all beauty.

One virtue can stand against a thousand vices.

Wickedness manifesting from an intelligent person is like a poisonous fruit springing from a fertile soil.

Failure in life does not matter; the greatest misfortune is standing still.

Consideration is born in the heart and developed in the head.

Indifference is the key to the whole secret of life. Life is differentiated by the pairs of opposites.

There is nothing we take in this bazaar of life that we shall not sooner or later have to pay for.

A diamond must be cut before its light can shine out. Beyond goodness is trueness, which is a divine quality.

A guilty conscience robs the will of its power.

The answer that uproots the question from its ground is truly inspired.

A jest lightens the intelligence and clears away the clouds of gloom that surround man's heart.

If man only knew what is behind his free will, he would never call it "my will," but "Thy Will."

The service of God means that we each work for all.

If you wish to probe the depths of a man's character, test him with that which is his life's greatest need.

It is the lack of personal magnetism that makes a man look for magnetism in others.

Love develops into harmony, and of harmony is born beauty.

Devotion is proved by sacrifice.

It is God who, by the hand of man, designs and carries out His intended plan in nature.

As fire can cook food or burn it, so also does pain affect the human heart.

Every desire increases the power of man to accomplish his main desire, which is the purpose of every soul.

The word which is not heard is lost.

Consideration is the sign of the wise.

Faith in oneself must culminate in faith in God, for faith is a living trust.

Man's attitude is manifest in the expression of his countenance.

Happiness alone is natural and is attained by living naturally.

The mind must be one's obedient servant; when it is a master life becomes difficult.

Every experience, good or bad, is a step forward in man's evolution.

It is no use saying you know the truth; if you knew the truth, you would keep silent.

The trust of the one who trusts another and does not trust himself is profitless.

Human suffering is the first call we have to answer.

Sin is the fuel for virtue's fire.

The first lesson that the seeker after truth must learn is to be true to himself.

Subtlety is the art of intelligence.

People build four walls around their ideas, lest their minds escape out of the prison bars.

It is easy to become a teacher, but difficult to become a pupil.

The soul is either raised or cast down by the effect of its own thought, speech, and action.

Love rises in emotion and falls in passion.

As poison acts as nectar in some cases, so does evil.

The whole course of life is a journey from imperfection to perfection.

Every virtue is but an expression of beauty.

Every soul has its own way in life; if you wish to follow another's way, you must borrow his eyes to see it.

The answer is in the question; a question has no existence without an answer.

The one who lives in his finer feelings lives in heaven; when he puts them into words, he drops down to earth.

Man's personality reflects his thoughts and deeds.

Reason is learned from the ever changing world, but wisdom comes from the essence of life.

Finding apt words to express one's thought is like shooting at a target.

A true life enables man to realize God.

The whole of life is a chemical process; and the knowledge of its chemistry helps man to make life happy.

The domain of the mystic is himself; over it he rules as king.

The water that washes the heart is the continual running of the love-stream.

The moment a person becomes straightforward a straight way opens before him.

No one can be human and not make a mistake.

A humiliated conscience dims the radiance of the countenance.

The development of one's personality is the real purpose of human life.

Man expresses his soul in everything he does.

Out of the shell of the broken heart emerges the newborn soul.

In beauty is the secret of divinity.

There is no better companion than solitude.

He who realizes the effect of his deed upon himself begins to open his outlook on life.

Life is what it is; you cannot change it, but you can change yourself.

To be alone with one's self is like being with a friend whose company will last forever.

Speech is the sign of living, but silence is life itself.

He who keeps no secret has no depth; his heart is like a vessel turned upside down.

Wisdom is attained in the solitude.

Every desire in life has its answer; if it were not so, creation would not have gone on.

He to whom life's purpose is clear is already on the Path.

In the complete unfoldment of human nature is the fulfillment of life's purpose.

What God makes man mars; what man makes God breaks.

All things are good; but all things are not good for every person, nor right at all times.

If in truth we shall not build our hope, in what shall we build?

Life is progress, and ceasing to progress is death.

Truth is hidden in the heart of nature; therefore, man naturally hides all that is precious.

The false ego is a false god; when the false god is destroyed, the true God arrives.

The lover of nature is the true worshipper of God.

One who worships God and despises man worships in vain.

We give way to our faults by being passive towards them.

When a person does not listen to us, we must know it is because we ourselves do not believe.

When a defect becomes common, it is considered as the normal state by the generality.

Love in its beginning lives only on reciprocity, but when fully developed it stands on its own feet.

The present spirit of humanity has commercialism as its crown and materialism as its throne.

Without humor human life is empty.

To see life as a whole is beyond the power of the generality.

All aspects of life meet and share in common in that one central point which is the divine Mind.

Patient endurance is the strongest defense.

All that is good and worthwhile is difficult to obtain.

The more you make of your gifts, the less becomes the value of something which is priceless.

Lack of understanding of human nature brings about all conflicts and disagreements.

The more a man explores himself, the more power he finds within.

The secret of life is balance, and the absence of balance is life's destruction.

All that is from God is for all souls.

It is not our situation in life, but our attitude towards life that makes us happy or unhappy.

Gain by the loss of another is not profitable in the end.

Speaking wisdom is much easier than living it.

Charity is the expansion of the heart.

All that is not plain is a puzzle; therefore, wisdom is a puzzle to the ordinary mind.

Chalas: An illuminated word.

The spiritual guide performs the role of Cupid in bringing the seeking souls closer to God.

The Sufi's tendency is to look at everything from two points of view: from his own and that of another.

The true religion, to the Sufi, is the sea of truth, and all different faiths are as its waves.

The pure truth not every man can see; if he can, he needs no more teaching.

The Creator is hidden in his own creation. Natural religion is the religion of beauty.

The same light which is fire on earth and the sun in the sky, is God in heaven.

All surrender to beauty willingly and to power unwillingly.

The creation is not only the nature of God, but also His art.

Vanity is the impetus hidden behind every impulse, that brings out both the worst and the best in man.

Time and space are but the length and breadth of the infinite.

It is presumption on the part of man when he demands in words an explanation of God.

Among a million believers in God, there is scarcely one who makes God a reality.

The God-ideal is the flower of creation, and the realization of truth is its fragrance.

A true worshipper of God sees His person in all forms, and in respecting man he respects God.

The hidden desire of the Creator is the secret of the whole creation.

Vanity is the sum total of every activity in the world.

Beauty is the object which every soul pursues.

Beauty is the life of the artist, the theme of the poet, the soul of the musician.

A charming personality is as precious as gold and as delicious as perfume.

A dancing soul shows its graceful movements in all its activities.

A charming personality is like a magnificent piece of art with life added.

Life is the principal thing to consider, and true life is the inner life, the realization of God.

The soul of Christ is the life of the universe.

The mother was the stepping-stone of Jesus to Christhood.

God speaks to the prophet in His divine tongue, and the prophet interprets it in the language of man.

The evidence of prophecy is the personality of the prophet.

The true sword of Mohammed was the charm of his personality.

As the whole of nature is made by God, so the nature of each individual is made by himself.

When the personality of an artist is absorbed in his art, it becomes art itself.

Vanity is a mask over the hidden object that attracts every soul.

Vanity is the crown of beauty, and modesty is its throne.

Without modesty beauty is dead, for modesty is the spirit of beauty.

All beauty is veiled by nature, and the greater the beauty the more it is covered.

The beauty which modesty covers, art gently uncovers; while respecting the human tendency. it unveils the beauty which human conventions hide.

Modesty is the veil over the face of the great, for God Himself is most modest, who is seen by none except those intimate with Him.

God lives in nature and is buried alive under the artificial forms which stand as His tomb, covering Him.

Nature is the very being of man; therefore, he feels at one with nature.

In the country you see the glory of God; in the city you glorify His name.

True art does not take man away from nature; on the contrary, it brings him closer to her.

A good reputation is as fragile as a delicate glass.

A good reputation is a trust given to a man by other people, so it becomes his sacred duty to maintain it.

Either take good care of your reputation, or do not care for it at all.

The man who has no reputation of his own has no regard for the reputation of another.

A man without a character is as a flower without perfume.

In the sense of honor there is a divine spark hidden.

Love is the net in which hearts are caught like fish.

While everybody asks, "Why?" of his neighbor, the mystic asks this question of himself.

The man of wealth is often merely the doorkeeper of his treasure house.

Every person inherits from his ancestors not only his body, but his mind also.

The wretched always look for some excuse to be miserable.

Man is pulled from four sides in life: by nature, circumstances, law, and the ideal.

The child born on earth is an exile from heaven.

You must never joke with a fool; if you throw a flower at him. he will throw back a stone.

No tie can bind you if your heart is free.

The stilling of the heart is the true alchemy which turn mercury into silver.

In all directions of progress the ideal is the compass that shows the way.

Great personalities are few in the world, and fewer still those who know them.

No person living on earth can come up to your ideal, except some hero of a story of the past.

The one whom you expect to be your ideal will prove to be your ideal some day when he has gone past.

The true ego is born of the ashes of the false.

If by accident you step into the mud, it is not therefore necessary to keep on walking in the muddy path.

Matter is a state of spirit.

A living word is life itself.

The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels.

The whole world's treasure is too small a price to pay for one word that kindles the soul.

Sympathy breaks the congestion of the heart.

A real success is proved by its durability.

An action is a reaction of thought.

Reason is the master of the unbeliever and the servant of the believer.

When a desire becomes a steady thought, its success is assured.

No sacrifice is ever too great to be offered in the cause of liberty.

Of what use is your sense, O sensible one, if it causes you to mourn over the opportunity you have lost?

Stand through life firm as a rock in the sea, undisturbed and unmoved by its ever-rising waves.

If you fail yourself, everybody will fail you.

Love climbs the mountain of life step by step.

The discovering of error is the uncovering of the light.

The truth, sincerely spoken, must certainly calm the heart of the listener.

A fruitless life is a useless life.

Gold is that which proves to be real to the end of the test.

To make God intelligible you must make a God of your own.

Truth alone can succeed; falsehood is a waste of time and a loss of energy.

What begins with deception continues and ends in deception.

The wise say in one word what the foolish cannot explain in a thousand words.

Spiritual attainment is the true purpose of every soul.

The more people you can get on with, the wiser you prove to be.

If you wish for relief in life, rise above complexity and conventionality.

It does not matter what you have lost, so long as you have not lost your soul.

One single moment of a sincere life is worth more than a thousand years of a life of falsehood.

Burning words rise from a flaming heart.

His own attitude becomes an obstacle on the path of the pessimist.

Lack of patience starves virtue to death.

Success gives an appearance of reality even to false things.

The seeming death is the real birth of the soul.

Worrying about the faults of others is an unnecessary addition to the worry we have over our own faults.

He who is the master of his own domain is the ruler of life. To repress desire is to suppress a divine impulse.

The "Yes" or "No" of a reserved person has more weight and influence than a hundred words of a talkative person.

A truth that disturbs peace and harmony is worse than a lie.

No one can sustain disharmony in life, though many ignorantly maintain it.

It takes a thousand lies to prove one false statement true; but in spite of all, the lie will prove false in the end.

That person becomes a conqueror of life who learns to control his tongue, both as to what it should say and what it should not say.

When it is difficult for the wise to judge the action of the worst sinner, who but a fool would be ready to judge a holy man?

Preaching needs art; speaking only is not sufficient; there are many who can speak the truth as a smith would hammer on the anvil.

Initiation is taking a step forward in a direction which one does not know.

Means sufficient for the simple needs of everyday life are a greater boon than the riches that add to life's struggle.

The first step in intuition is to understand the symbolical meaning of different things, and the next is to express them symbolically.

It is not a particular religion that can produce spirituality in man; spirituality depends upon the tuning of the soul.

For everything there is a time, so there comes a time for the unfoldment of the soul; but the period of that development depends upon the speed of the progress man makes through life.

In order to arrive at his ideal, man must first realize his follies, and next, try to become better, believing that he can change.

All things in their beginning must be guarded from the sweeping winds of destruction, as the young plant must first be nurtured in a glasshouse.

When it is difficult even for the worldly man to live in this world, how much more difficult must it be for the spiritual one!

The ignorant believer, by his claim of belief, causes a revolt in an intelligent person, thereby turning him into an unbeliever.

A selfish person cannot imagine anyone being unselfish; therefore, he always suspects the unselfish one of falsehood.

Truth is the light which illuminates the whole of life; in its light all things become clear, and their true nature manifests to view.

As water is the cleansing and purifying element in the physical world, so love performs the same service on the higher planes.

It is very difficult to evolve oneself and at the same time keep in tune with the unevolved; it is like being drawn from above and pulled from below.

God's majesty is seen in nature, but even the greatest grandeur of human life reveals Him only in miniature.

The way of the Sufi is to experience life and yet to remain above it; to live in the world and not let the world own him.

Man as a human being is capable of loving one, but his soul as the light of God is capable of loving not only the world, but even a thousand worlds; for the heart of man is larger than the whole universe.

When man has to choose between his spiritual and his material profit, then he shows whether his treasure is on earth or in heaven.

Life is an opportunity, not only of accomplishing one's desires, but of fulfilling even the deepest yearning of the soul.

Nobility of character is as inborn a quality in man as is the fragrance in the flower; it cannot be learned or taught.

It takes but a moment to drop down from heaven to earth; but for rising from earth to heaven, even a long lifetime may be insufficient.

True happiness is in the love-stream that springs from one's soul, and the man who will allow this stream to flow continually, in all conditions of life, in all situations, however difficult, will have a happiness that truly belongs to him.

A good person proud of his goodness turns his pearls into pebbles; an evil person full of remorse may make jewels of common stones.

One word of the truly inspired answers a hundred questions and avoids a thousand unnecessary words of explanation.

If you live in the vision of the past, dream on, do not open your eyes to the present. If you live in the eternal, do not worry about the morrow. But if you live for the time to come, do all you can to prepare for the future.

The bare truth alone is not sufficient; truth must be made into wisdom. And what is wisdom? Wisdom is the robe of truth.

If you walk on the path of light and yet seek the darkness, it is like being pulled by the two poles of the earth; you are torn between them, and can go in neither direction.

Love in its fullness is an inexpressible power which speaks louder than words; there is nothing that man is too weak to do when it gushes forth from his heart.

Joy and sorrow are each part of the other. If it were not for joy, sorrow would not exist; and if it were not for sorrow, joy would not be experienced.

Man wonders about his past and future; how wonderful would life become to him if he only realized the present!

Every moment of life is an opportunity, and the greatest opportunity is to know the value of opportunity.

It is the spirit of discipleship that opens the vision; its attainment is most necessary in one's journey along the spiritual path.

When it is so very difficult to prove truth to be true, how much more difficult must it be to prove true what is false!

Purgatory is that state which mind experiences between the birth of thought and its materialization.

It is the darkness in our own heart which, falling as a shadow on the heart of another, becomes doubt in him.

Truth conceived by the mature soul is expressed as wisdom.

Selflessness is pleasing not only to man but to God.

It is better to refuse than to accept anything unwillingly.

No love-offering can be more precious than a word or act of respect, for the highest expression of love is respect.

You must find your ideal in yourself; no ideal in life will prove lasting and true except the one you yourself make.

All that lives is spirit, and all that dies is matter.

Believe in your own ideal first if you wish others to believe in it; unless you respect your ideal yourself, others will not respect it.

Power most often costs more than it is worth; the man who attains power, not knowing its proper use, loses it in the end, for all that is held by power will some day revolt.

Man proves himself to be great or small according to the importance he attaches in life to the greater or smaller things.

Goodness and wickedness both exist in human nature at the same time; only when one is manifest the other is hidden, like the lining inside the coat.

Through matter the soul attains to its highest realization; therefore, the physical body is a necessity for the fulfillment of its purpose.

There is no end to reproaches; not only those at a distance or those near to one, but even the members of one's body will some day reproach one for not having received proper care and full attention.

There are many ideas which intoxicate man; many feelings act upon the soul as wine, but there is no stronger wine than selflessness.

The absence of generosity means that the doors of the heart are closed; nothing from within can come out, and nothing from without can enter in.

There is nothing on earth or in heaven which is not within the reach of man. When God is within his reach, what can be beyond it?

The seeking of every soul in this world is different, distinct, and peculiar to himself; and each can best attain the object of his search in God.

Man's individuality is proved by his wisdom and distinguished by comparison; God, being perfect, is unintelligible to man.

The expression of sentiment is an outlet for the energy of the heart, which if conserved would be a power in itself.

If a desire is not fulfilled it means that the person did not know how to desire; failure is caused by indistinctness of motive.

The personality of the prophet is the divine net in which God captures the souls drifting in the world.

A clever person with a biting tongue is like a serpent with its poisonous fang; his sarcastic remark is more hurtful than a scorpion's sting.

Let not your reputation fall into the monkeys' hands; they will look at it curiously, will mock at it, laugh at it and snatch it from each other; in the end they will tear it to pieces.

Do not entrust the devil with your secret; if you do, then he who is meant to be your slave will become your master.

Self-confidence is the true meaning of faith, and in faith is the secret of the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of every desire.

With trust in God, with good will, self-confidence, and a hopeful attitude towards life, man will always win his battle, however difficult.

Silence in modesty speaks louder than bold words. The cracker cries aloud, "I am the light," and is extinguished in a moment; the diamond, shining constantly, never says a word about its light.

It is not by the servility of those around him that the king is exalted; it is in the honor in which they hold him that his kingship exists.

All things existing have their opposite, except God; it is for this reason that God cannot be made intelligible.

We each create our own God, but only His form we imagine, not His life, thus making many gods out of the one single Being.

God alone exists, whether thought of as one God or as many gods, for all numbers are simply an extension of one.

When the human heart becomes conscious of God, it becomes like the sea: it extends its waves to friend and foe.

True spirituality is not a fixed faith or belief; it is the ennobling of the soul by rising above the barriers of material life.

Truth is purifying, it is most lovable and peace-giving; but what is truth? Truth is that which cannot be spoken.

Gamakas: The feeling of a poet's heart, keyed to various notes.

I consider myself second to none since I have realized in myself the One alone.

All things that may seem to be exalting my position, they indeed lower me in my eyes; the only thing exalting for me is the forgetting of myself entirely in the perfect vision of God.

There is nothing that I consider too good for me, or too high to attain to; on the contrary, all possible attainments seem within my reach since I have attained to the vision of my Lord.

There is nothing that I feel too humiliating for me to do; and there is no position, however exalted, that can make me prouder than I am already in the pride of my Lord.

Neither does love exalt nor hate depress me, for all things to me seem natural. Life for me is a dream that changes continually, and when I withdraw my real self from the false, I know all things, and yet stand remote; so I rise above all changes of life.

It makes no difference to me if I am so praised that I am raised from earth to heaven, nor if I am so blamed that I am thrown from the greatest heights to the depths of the earth. Life to me is an ever-moving sea in which the waves of favor and disfavor constantly rise and fall.

To fall down does not break me or discourage me; it only enables me to rise to a still higher sphere of life.

I could not have enjoyed virtue's beauty if I had not known sin.

Every loss in life I consider as the throwing off of an old garment in order to put on a new one; and the new garment has always been better than the old.

I have learned more by my faults than by my virtues; if I had always acted aright, I could not be human.

My intuition never fails me, but I fail whenever I do not listen to it.

Patience is the lesson I had given to me from the moment I stepped on the earth; ever since I have tried to practice it, but there is more to be learnt.

I blame no one for his wrongdoing, but neither do I encourage him in that direction.

In bringing happiness to others I feel the pleasure of God, and for my negligence I feel myself blameworthy before Him.

Every soul stands before me as a world, and the light of my spirit falling upon it brings clearly to view all it contains.

Nothing seems either too good or too bad. I know no more distinction between saint and sinner, since I behold the one single Life manifested in all.

I consider my action towards every man as my action towards God; and the action of every person towards me I take as an action of God.

So long as I act upon my own intuition I succeed; but whenever I follow another's advice I go astray.

I work simply, not troubling about results. My satisfaction is in accomplishing the work which is given to me, to my best ability, and I leave the effects to the cause.

Life in the world is most interesting to me, but solitude away from the world is the longing of my soul.

I feel myself when I am by myself.

By respecting every person I meet I worship God, and in loving every soul on earth I feel my devotion for Him.

There is nothing in life which pleases me more than pleasing others, but it is difficult to please everyone.

I am ready to learn from those who come to teach me, and willing to teach those who wish to learn.

I regard every obstacle on my path as an incentive to success. I would have either heaven or hell, but not purgatory.

I do not intend to teach my fellow-men, but to show them all I see.

Hail to my exile from the Garden of Eden to the earth! If I had not fallen, I should not have had the opportunity of probing the depths of life.

At the moment when I shall be leaving this earth, it is not the number of followers which will make me proud; it is the thought that I have delivered His message to some souls that will console me, and the feeling that it helped them through life that will bring me satisfaction.

I have not come to change humanity; I have come to help it on.

If anyone strikes my heart, it does not break, but it bursts, and the flame coming out of it becomes a torch on my path.

My deep sigh rises above as a cry of the earth, and an answer comes from within as a message.

I am a tide in the sea of life, bearing towards the shore all who come within my enfoldment.

Gayatri: Prayers.

Saum
Praise be to Thee, Most Supreme God,
Omnipotent, Omnipresent, All-pervading, the Only Being.

Take us in Thy Parental Arms,
Raise us from the denseness of the earth.
Thy Beauty do we worship, To Thee do we give willing surrender,
Most Merciful and Compassionate God,
The Idealized Lord of the whole humanity.

Thee only do we worship; and towards Thee alone we aspire.

Open our hearts towards Thy Beauty,
Illuminate our souls with Divine Light,
O Thou, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty!

All-powerful Creator, Sustainer, Judge and Forgiver of our shortcomings,
Lord God of the East and of the West,
of the worlds above and below,
And of the seen and unseen beings,
Pour upon us Thy Love and Thy Light,
Give sustenance to our bodies, hearts and souls.

Use us for the purpose that Thy Wisdom chooseth,
And guide us on the path of Thine Own Goodness.
Draw us closer to Thee every moment of our life,
Until in us be reflected Thy Grace, Thy Glory, Thy Wisdom, Thy Joy and Thy Peace.
Amen.

Salat
Most gracious Lord, Master, Messiah, and Savior of humanity, We greet Thee with all humility.
Thou art the First Cause and the Last Effect, the Divine Light and the Spirit of Guidance, Alpha and Omega.

Thy Light is in all forms, Thy Love in all beings:
in a loving mother, in a kind father, in an innocent child, in a helpful friend, in an inspiring teacher.

Allow us to recognize Thee in all Thy holy names and forms;
as Rama, as Krishna, as Shiva, as Buddha.
Let us know Thee as Abraham, as Solomon, as Zarathushtra, as Moses, as Jesus, as Mohammed,
and in many other names and forms, known and unknown to the world.

We adore Thy past; Thy presence deeply enlighteneth our being,
and we look for Thy blessing in the future.
O Messenger, Christ, Nabi, the Rasul of God!

Thou Whose heart constantly reacheth upward,
Thou comest on earth with a message, as a dove from above when Dharma decayeth,
and speakest the Word that is put into Thy mouth,
as the light filleth the crescent moon.

Let the star of the Divine Light shining in Thy heart
be reflected in the hearts of Thy devotees.

May the Message of God reach far and wide,
illuminating and making the whole humanity
as one single Brotherhood in the Fatherhood of God.
Amen.

Khatum
O Thou, Who art the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
The Lord of heaven and earth,
Open our hearts, that we may hear Thy Voice,
which constantly cometh from within.
Disclose to us Thy Divine Light,
which is hidden in our souls,
that we may know and understand life better.
Most Merciful and Compassionate God,
give us Thy great Goodness;
Teach us Thy loving Forgiveness;
Raise us above the distinctions and differences which divide us;
Send us the Peace of Thy Divine Spirit,
And unite us all in Thy Perfect Being.
Amen.

Dowa
Save me, my Lord, from the earthly passions and the attachments which blind mankind.
Save me, my Lord, from the temptations of power, fame, and wealth, which keep man away from Thy Glorious Vision.
Save me, my Lord, from the souls who are constantly occupied in hurting and harming their fellow-man, and who take pleasure in the pain of another.
Save me, my Lord, from the evil eye of envy and jealousy, which falleth upon Thy bountiful Gifts.
Save me, my Lord, from falling into the hands of the playful children of earth, lest they might use me in their games; they might play with me and then break me in the end, as children destroy their toys.
Save me, my Lord, from all manner of injury that cometh from the bitterness of my adversaries and from the ignorance of my loving friends. Amen.

Nayaz
Beloved Lord, Almighty God!
Through the rays of the sun,
Through the waves of the air.
Through the All-pervading Life in space,
Purify and revivify me, and, I pray,
Heal my body, heart, and soul. Amen.

Nazar
O Thou, the Sustainer of our bodies, hearts, and souls, Bless all that we receive in thankfulness. Amen.

Ragas: The human soul calling upon the beloved God.

Thy light hath illuminated the dark chambers of my mind;
Thy love is rooted in the depths of my heart;
Thine own eyes are the light of my soul;
Thy power worketh behind my action;
Thy peace alone is my life's repose;
Thy will is behind my every impulse;
Thy voice is audible in the words I speak;
Thine own image is my countenance.
My body is but a cover over Thy soul;
My life is Thy very breath, my Beloved, and
My self is Thine own being.

Thou pourest wine into my empty cup wherever we meet,
on hills and dales,
on the tops of the high mountains,
in the thick forests and in the barren deserts,
on the shores of the roaring sea and
on the banks of the gentle river; and
there ariseth in my heart
the unearthly passion and the heavenly joy.

Thou hast won my heart a thousand times over;
Thou comest veiled under many and varied guises,
and in every guise Thou art unique.
Who is not attracted by the splendor
Thou hast so skillfully produced on the face of the earth?
In this beauty fair Thou shinest, adorned in myriad garbs.
Thine own is all the beauty,
and Thou shinest and yet are not Thyself attracted by it.
Thou in this stage of life actest as friend and foe, and
Thou alone seest the play performed so wonderfully.
I sought Thee so long, my Beloved, and
Now I have found Thee at last,
O Winner of my heart, and
In finding Thee I have lost myself.

Let me feel Thine arms around me, my Beloved,
While I am wandering away from home.
Let my heart become Thy lute.
Hearing Thy song my soul cometh to life.
Let my virgin soul dance at Thy court, my Indra;
The passion it hath is for Thee alone.
O, let me lean my head on Thy breast;
Thine arms enfolding me, my feet touch paradise.

Wherever I look, I see Thy beloved face, covered under many different veils.
The magic power of my ever-seeking eyes lifted the veil from Thy glowing countenance, and
Thy smile won my heart a thousand times over.
The lustre of Thy piercing glance hath lighted my darkened soul, and
Now I see the sunshine everywhere.

In the brightness of day and in the darkness of night what didst Thou not teach me!
Thou hast taught me what is meant by wrong and what is called right.
Thou hast shown me the hideous face of life, and
Thou hast unveiled before me life's beautiful countenance.
Thou hast taught me wisdom out of utter darkness of ignorance.
Thou has taught me to think after my thoughtless moments.
Thou playest with me, my Beloved Lord and Master, hide and seek!
Thou closest mine eyes and Thou dost open them.

When we are face to face, Beloved,
I do not know whether to call Thee me, or me Thee!
I see myself when Thou art not before me;
When I see Thee my self is lost to view.
I consider it good fortune when Thou art alone with me, but
When I am not there at all,
I think it the greatest blessing.

Thy whisper to the ears of my heart moveth my soul to ecstasy.
The waves of joy that rise out of my heart form a net in which Thy living Word may swing.
My heart patiently awaiteth Thy Word, deaf to all that cometh from without.
O Thou, who art enshrined in my heart, speak again to me;
Thy voice exalteth my spirit.

When Thou art before me, my Beloved, I rise upon wings, and my burden becometh light; but when my little self riseth before my eyes I do drop to earth, and all its weight falleth upon me.

My soul is moved to dance by the charm of Thy graceful movements, and
My heart beateth the rhythm of Thy dancing steps.
The deep impression of Thy sweet countenance,
O Winner of my heart,
Covereth all visible things from my sight.
My heart repeateth a thousand times the melody Thou playest on Thy flute;
It setteth my soul in harmony with the whole universe.

I dare not think of raising mine eyes to behold Thy glorious vision; I sit quietly by the lake of my heart, watching in it Thine image reflected.

Thou givest me Thine own love and Thou winnest my heart with the charm of Thy beauty. When I approach Thee, my Beloved, Thou sayest to me, "Touch me not."

I cling to Thee with a child's faith, bearing Thy most lovely image in my heart. I sought refuge in Thy bosom, Beloved, and I am safe, feeling Thine arms around me.

How shall I thank Thee, my King, for Thy bountiful gifts?
Every gift Thou givest me, my generous Lord, is invaluable.
A tongue of flame arose from the spark in my heart by Thy gentle blowing.
Thou dost hear my softest whisper;
Thou hast taught me Thine own tongue
and to read the character written by Thy pen.

I call Thee my King when I am conscious of my bubble-like self; but when I am conscious of Thee, my Beloved, I call Thee me.

How shall I thank Thee for Thy mercy and compassion, O King of my soul?
What didst Thou not unto me when I was walking alone through the wilderness, through the darkness of night?
Thou camest with Thy lighted torch and didst illuminate my path.
Frozen with the coldness of the world's hardness of heart I sought refuge in Thee,
and Thou didst console me with Thine endless love.
I knocked at Thy gate at last when I had no answer from anywhere in the world,
and Thou didst readily answer the call of my broken heart.

I searched, but I could not find Thee;
I called Thee aloud, standing on the minaret;
I rang the temple bell with the rising and setting of the sun;
I bathed in the Ganges in vain;
I came back from Ka'ba disappointed;
I looked for Thee on earth;
I searched for Thee in the heaven, my Beloved,
but at last I have found Thee
hidden as a pearl in the shell of my heart.

I would willingly die a thousand deaths if by dying I could attain Thy most lofty presence.
If it were a cup of poison Thy beloved hand offered,
I would prefer that poison to the bowl of nectar.
I value the dust under Thy feet, my Precious One, most of all the treasures the earth holds.
If my head could touch the earth of Thy dwelling-place,
I would proudly refuse Khusru's crown.
I would gladly sacrifice all pleasures the earth can offer me,
If I could only retain Thy pain in my feeling heart.

One moment's life lived with Thee is worth more than a life of long years lived in Thine absence.

My lifelong sorrow I forget when Thou castest Thy glance upon me. Time is not for me; one glimpse of Thy glorious vision maketh me eternal.

It is Thou who art my pride; when i realize my limited self, I feel myself the humblest of all living beings.

O Thou, the seed of my life's plant, Thou wert hidden so long in my budlike soul; but now Thou hast come out, O my life's fruit, after the blossoming of my heart.

Let me grow quietly in Thy garden as a speechless plant, that some day my flowers and fruits may sing the legend of my silent past.

Thy music causeth my soul to dance;
In the murmur of the wind I hear Thy flute;
The waves of the sea keep the rhythm of my dancing steps.
Through the whole of nature I hear Thy music played, my Beloved;
My soul while dancing speaketh of its joy in song.

Thy smile has brought my dead heart to life again; my life and death depend upon the closing and disclosing of Thy magic glance.

O give me one more cup, O Saki, which I will value more than the whole life I have lived.

Sura: God speaking through the kindled soul.

Blessed is he who has found in life his life's purpose.

Blessed is he who rests in the abode of his soul.

Blessed is he who hears the call from the minaret of his heart.

Blessed is he who sees the star of his soul as the light that is seen in the port from the sea.

Blessed are the innocent who believe and trust.

Blessed are they who patiently strive in the cause of truth and do not weary.

Blessed are they who fear lest they cause another the slightest hurt by thought, word, or deed.

Blessed are the unselfish friends and they whose motto in life is constancy.

Blessed are they who cover the scars of others even from their own sight.

Blessed are the proud in God, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are they who make willing sacrifices in kindness.

Verily, the heart that cherishes the love of God will be crowned with glory on the last day.

Verily, the heart that repeats constantly the Sacred Name is exalted.

Verily, the heart that reflects the divine Light is illuminated.

Verily, the heart that is responsible to the divine Word is liberated.

Verily, the heart that receives the divine Peace is blessed.

Verily, blessing is for every soul; for every soul, whatever be his faith or belief, belongs to God.

Verily, to be envied is he who loves and asks no return.

Verily, it is truth that every soul is seeking.

Verily, the one who is hopeful will succeed in life.

Verily, life is one continual battle, and he alone is victorious who has conquered himself.

Verily, all that leads to happiness is good.

Verily the man who considers human feelings is spiritual.

Verily, the man who holds the world is greater than the world; he whom the world holds is smaller.

Spiritual attainment is attuning oneself to a higher pitch.

As the shadow is evident yet non-existent, so is evil.

It is the tongue of flame that speaks the truth, not the tongue of flesh.

Faith reaches what reason fails to touch.

There is a limit to the precautions one takes in the affairs of one's life; and the horizon of the limit is one's trust in God.

The sunglass reflects the heart of the sun; the contemplative heart reflects the divine qualities.

The period of one's spiritual development depends upon the rhythm of one's life.

All things which one seeks in God such as light, life, strength, joy and peace, these all can be found in truth.

Truth is the evidence of God, and God is the evidence of truth.

There is as much likeness between falsehood and truth as there is between the person and his shadow, the difference being that while the former has life the latter has none.

Verily, when man rises above the earth, the earth is at his feet; but when he falls beneath the earth, the earth is over his head.

Verily, the soul has no birth, no death, no beginning, no end. Sin cannot touch it, nor can virtue exalt it; it has always been and always will be, and all else is its cover like a globe over the light.

When man closes his lips, God begins to speak.

There is no teacher save God; we all learn from Him.

The soul in its journey onward strikes a plane where it exclaims, "I am the truth."

It is preferable to all wealth we earn in life, and all friends we have attracted through life, if our conscience says at the moment when we are passing from earth, "Thou art true."

Spiritual attainment is to become conscious of the Perfect One, who is formed in the heart.

Self-will is the strength of the spirit; but when the false ego expresses self-will, a soul, instead of rising, fails. The spirit becomes entitled to have self-will when the soul is evolved. "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

Talas: The rhythmic expression of an idea.

Silence serves as a lock on the lips of the excitable; as a barrier between two hearts severed from one another; as a shield for the wise amidst fools; as a veil over the face of the unlettered before the well-versed.

Some are masters of success and some its slaves: the one who walks through life regardless of success, him it pursues; he who pursues success, him it eludes.

Love from above is forgiveness; from below, devotion.

One who returns more good for less good, is a good man; one who returns less good for more good, is selfish; one who tries to be even in the exchange of good, is a practical person; but the one who returns good for evil is a saint.

One who returns less evil for more evil, is ordinary; one who tries to be even in returning evil, is wicked; one who returns more evil for less evil is a devil; but the one who returns evil for good, for him there is no name.

He who guards himself against being fooled by another is clever; he who does not allow another to fool him is wise; he who is fooled by another is a simpleton; but he who knowingly allows himself to be fooled shows the character of the saint.

If you wish people to obey you, you must learn to obey yourself; if you wish people to believe you, you must learn to believe yourself; if you wish people to respect you, you must learn to respect yourself; if you wish people to trust you, you must learn to trust yourself.

Man proves to be genuine by his sincerity; to be noble by his charity of heart; to be wise by his tolerance; to be great by his endurance throughout the continually jarring influences of life.

He is brave who courageously experiences all things; he is a coward who is afraid to take a step in a new direction; he is foolish who swims with the tides of fancy and pleasure; he is wise who experiences all things, yet keeps on the path that leads him to his destination.

The warden of the prison is in a worse position than the prisoner himself; while the body of the prisoner is in captivity, the mind of the warden is in prison.

Life is a fair trade wherein all adjusts itself in time. For all you take from it, you must pay the price sooner or later. For some things you may pay in advance; for some you should pay on delivery; and for some later on, when the bill is presented.

Master is he who masters himself; teacher is he who teaches himself; governor is he who governs himself; and ruler is he who rules himself.

He who is afraid of vice is subject to vice; he who is addicted to vice is its captive; he who acquaints himself with vice is the pupil of vice; he who learns his lesson from vice, who passes through it and rises above it, is master and conqueror.

The simpleton eats more than he can assimilate, collects a greater load than he can carry, cuts the branch of the tree upon which he is sitting, and spreads thorns in his own path.

He who says, "I cannot tolerate," shows his smallness; he who says, "I cannot endure," shows his weakness; he who says, "I cannot associate," shows his limitation; he who says, "I cannot forgive," shows his imperfection.

He who has failed himself has failed all; he who has conquered himself has conquered all.

Happy is he who does good to others, and miserable is he who expects good from others.

Love that is progressive is like the sweet water of the running river, but love that does not progress is like the salt water of the sea.

There are two kinds of seekers after God: those who make Him and those who mar Him.

Every thought, speech and action that is natural, sound and loving, is virtue; that which lacks these qualities is sin.

It is foolish to be deceived by others; it is wise to see all things, to understand all things, and yet to turn the eyes from all that should be overlooked.

It is man who causes his own death; his soul is meant to live forever.

Life is captivity, from which death is the release.

Belief in God is the fuel, love of God is the glow, and the realization of God is the flame of divine Light.

The first birth is the birth of man; the second birth is the birth of God.

What Brahma creates in years, Vishnu enjoys in a day and Shiva destroys in a moment.

Success leads to success, and failure follows failure.

It is easy to tie a knot of attachment, but it is difficult when you wish to unravel it.

Good praises good, but evil fights evil.

Fighting with another makes war, but struggling with one's self brings peace.

Snakes breed under the throne and scorpions multiply under the crown.

If you are subtle and intelligent, that is natural; but if you are simple and wise, that is a mystery.

We must forget the past, control the present, and prepare the future.

Mountains can be broken through, the ocean can be crossed, a way may be made through the air; but you cannot find a way to work with a person who is hardened in character, deep-set in his ideas, and fixed in his outlook on life.

What science cannot declare, art can suggest; what art suggests silently, poetry speaks aloud; but what poetry fails to explain in words, music can express.

He who does not miss the opportunity of doing some good is good; and he who seizes upon such an opportunity when it occurs, is better still; but he who always looks out for an opportunity for doing good, is blessed among men.

He who appeals to the human intellect will knock at the gate of the human brain: he is a speaker. He who appeals to the human emotions will enter into the hearts of men: he is a preacher. But he who penetrates the spirit of his hearers is a prophet, who will abide in their souls forever.

Passion is the smoke, and emotion is the glow of love's fire; selflessness is the flame that illuminates the path.

He who has spent has used; he who has collected has lost; but he who has given has saved his treasure forever.

He who knows not the truth is a child; he who is seeking truth is a youth; but he who has found truth is an old soul.

Be contented with what you possess in life; be thankful for what does not belong to you, for it is so much less care; but try to obtain what you need, and make the best of every moment of your life.

The rock can be cut and polished; hard metal can be melted and molded; but the mind of the foolish person is most difficult to work with.

From the body of love comes reciprocity; from the heart of love comes beneficence; but from the soul of love is born renunciation.

Make your heart as soft as wax to sympathize with others; but make it hard as rock to bear the blows that fall upon it from without.

The path of freedom leads to the goal of captivity; it is the path of discipline which leads to the goal of liberty.

The present is the reflection of the past, and the future is the re-echo of the present.

Strength increases strength, and weakness brings greater weakness.

Translation is the reincarnation, and interpretation is the transmigration of the idea.

He concerns himself in vain who thinks, "Why are not others what they ought to be?" But he who concerns himself with that he is not what he ought to be, is right.

He who fights his nature for his ideal is a saint; he who subjects his ideal to his realization of truth is the master.

To an angelic soul love means glorification; to a jinn soul love means admiration; to a human soul love means affection; to an animal soul love means passion.

He is living whose sympathy is awake, and he is dead whose heart is asleep.

What you create blindly your intelligence destroys, and what your reason creates is destroyed by your ignorance.

Man is his own example; if he be false, all is false to him, and if he be true, all is true to him.

Tanas: The soul speaking with nature.

Sun-dew, why is it that every insect dies instantly when it kisses you?
--I like him so much that I devour him.
Sun-dew, where did you learn this philosophy?
--Once upon a time a voice said to me, "I am the love and I am the life, and whosoever cometh to me, I embrace him and turn him into my own being."

Celandine, what is your meaning?
--I am a little light of the earth.

Rosebud, what didst thou do all night?
--With folded hands I was praying to heaven to open my heart.

Water-lily, what do you represent by your white garb?
--The purity at the heart of this lake.

Tulip, why have you opened your lips?
--To tell you what I have learned in the silence.
What did you learn?
--To make of myself an empty cup.

Orchid, what do your petals represent?
--Graceful movements of the dance.
What does your dance express?
--The earth paying homage to heaven.

Little daisies, why do you keep so close to earth?
--Because earth is the home of all mortal beings.
Little daisies, what gospel do you preach?
--Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Little daisies, for what are you here?
--To reflect heaven on earth.
Little daisies, what is your daily duty?
--To console the hearts that are trodden upon.

Little daisies, what are you doing here in the church- yard?
--We worship God by bowing at the feet of His creatures.

Cactus, why are you fringed with thorns?
--I am the tongue of the malicious man.
Cactus, why is your stem so thorny?
--I am the hand of the evil-doer.
Cactus, why have you thorns on your leaf also?
--I am the heart of the wicked, who take pleasure in hurting others.

Beautiful gorse-bushes, what are you here for?
--We are little lanterns on your path.
But where do you get your prickly thorns from?
--Flowers from above, thorns from below.

Rose-bush, what are you, friend or foe?
--I am both, for my flowers are the caress of a friend and my thorns the sting of a foe.

Wheat-grains, why do you grow so close together?
--Unity is our strength; that is why you seek in us your life sustenance.

Palm-tree, what do your outstretched hands signify?
--I raise my hands heavenward when I pray, and then I pass the blessing on to the earth.

Pine-trees, what are you?
--We are the phantoms of sages who preferred vigil in the forest solitude to life in the world.

Pine-trees, what do your branches signify?
--Hands stretched out from heaven to bless the earth.
Pine-trees, for what are you made?
--We are temples erected for the worshippers of God in nature.
Pine-trees, tell me your life's secret.
--We are the shadows of souls on the cross, awaiting patiently the hour of their liberation.

Dry wood, why do they burn you?
--Because I no longer can bear fruit.

Thunderstorm, what gives you this emotion?
--My passion for the earth.

Full moon, where will you be going from here?
--Into a retreat.
Why do you take a retreat after fullness?
--To make myself an empty vessel in order to be filled again.

Church-bell, what do you repeat?
--The sacred Name of God, which resounds through my whole being.
Church-bell, what do you proclaim?
--I proclaim that every head which resounds like mine, spreads abroad the Message of God.
Church-bell, what makes you move?
--The Word of God.

Incense, what were you whispering at the church service?
--No prayer can reach God unless it arises from a glowing heart.

Incense, what did you preach at the church?
--He who endureth pain in the cause of others must rise from the mortal world to the spheres of immortality.
Incense, what does your perfume signify?
--My perfume is the evidence of my self-sacrifice.
Incense, tell me what moral is veiled in your nature?
--When my heart endures the test of fire, my hidden quality becomes manifest.
Incense, tell me the secret of your being.
--I am the heart of the lover of God, whose deep sign rises upward, spreading its perfume all around.

Money, what do you signify?
--I am the seal of hearts; a heart once sealed by me will love no one but me.
When you leave, what becomes of your lover?
--I leave behind a mark on my lover's heart which remains always as a wound.
Money, what do you like most?
--Changing hands.
Where is your dwelling-place?
--In the heart of my worshipper.
Where do you accumulate?
--Where I am warmly welcomed.
Where do you stay?
--Where I am adored.
Money, whom do you seek?
--Him who seeks me.
Money, whom do you obey?
--Him who has risen above me; I become his slave and lie as dust at his feet.

Devil, where do you find your location?
--In doubting eyes, in a sharp tongue, in a gossiping mouth, in inquisitive ears, in idle hands, in restless feet, in a vicious body, in a crooked mind, in a bitter heart, and in a darkened soul.
Devil, how do you express yourself?.
--In winking eyes, in sneering smiles, in cutting words and in false tears.

Why, what are you?
--I am the cry of the hungry mind.
Why, what do you signify?
--I am the knocker on a closed door.
Why, what do you represent?
--The owl which cannot see during the day.
Why, what is your complaint?
--The irritation of mind.
Why, what is your life condition?
--I am shut up in a dark room.
Why, how long will your captivity last?
--All night long.
Why, what are you so eagerly waiting for?
--The daybreak.
Why, you are yourself the cover over the answer you want.

Match-stick, what did you say when I struck you?
--Why?

Sayings

Gayan: Song

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