There is no work among beings that is not a meaningful embodied word and does not make read many of the Glorious Maker’s names. Since beings are words, words of power, read their meanings and store them in your heart. Cast meaningless words onto the winds of transience fearlessly. Don’t needlessly busy yourself with looking behind them.
The worldly mind worships externals, its chains of thought and its capital consisting of objective knowledge, but these lead to nothingness and non-existence, so it cries out despairingly in its bewilderment and frustration. It seeks a true path leading to reality. The spirit, however, has withdrawn from “those that set” and the ephemeral, and the heart has renounced its metaphorical beloveds and the conscience turned its face from transitory beings. So, like Abraham, my wretched soul, you too seek the assistance of “I love not those that set,” and be saved.
How well Mawlana Jami expressed it! For his self was kneaded with love and intoxicated with the cup of ardour:
Yakī khwāh(1) Yakī khwān(2) Yakī jū(3) Yakī bīn(4) Yakī dān(5) Yakī gū(6) [^7]
[^7]:Only this line is Mawlana Jami’s. (Author)
That is,
1. Want only One; the rest are not worth wanting.
2. Call One; the others will not come to your assistance.
3. Seek One; the rest are not worth it.
4. See One; the others are not always to be seen; they hide themselves behind the veil of ephemerality.
5. Know One; knowledge other than that which assists knowledge of Him is without benefit.
6. Say One; words not concerning Him may be considered meaningless.
Yes, Jami, you spoke the truth absolutely. He alone is the True Beloved, the True Sought One, the True Desired One, the True Object of Worship.
For, in a mighty circle for the mentioning of the divine names, this world together with all its beings and their different tongues and various songs declares, “There is no god but God;” together they testify to divine unity. Binding the wound caused by “I love not those that set,” they point to an Undying Beloved in place of all the metaphorical beloveds, attachment to whom has been severed. ∗ ∗ ∗