Slacken not your effort in worshiping God;
Look upon every breath as your last.
You know not what will happen tomorrow;
So be prepared today for the future.
Conditions in the world have not changed,
But marvelous have been the visitors to this world.
From the garden of this world have departed millions of nightingales [beings];
Hundreds of thousands more will come and go.
Atma, the soul, is one; varied are the bodies indeed
Like the many sons of one Father cherished.
Behold there, on the meadow of love,
Many a rider of variegated colors flourishes.
Without adversity there is no rest.1
In hardship and sorrow be grateful and at peace.
In distress, always keep content;
Have patience, and at all times be at ease.
Continuously washing your clothes is a waste of time;
Instead, purify your heart with the thought of God divine.
Behold, at the feet of one God in form,
Every moment hundreds of souls lie in sacrifice.
Do not take forbidden intoxicants;
Better to live a life of honor and esteem.
Learn to live in the unique intoxication
Of the early morning love of God.
God is matchless, one in all! See Him in your heart.
See Him also as the God manifest,
the God concealed, the God within you
and the God without.
O Man, in your boast you lost the status of an angel.
Pride has reduced you to a devil.
O Huma, in this world of passing show,
Behold, like you, innumerable players come and go.
Once a stranger came to Manzil-e-Meem and narrated his long list of problems to Baba. He begged Baba to bless him, and bowed to the Master. After he had gone, Baba remarked:
People coming to see me almost always ask me to bless them. These simple souls do not know that Masters really neither bless nor curse anyone. The fulfillment of their worldly desires gained by approaching a divine personality is in direct proportion to the faith they manifest toward him, and their prayers are answered by the divine powers active around him.
A Perfect Master works in the spiritual domain. Those on the planes can be said to bless, for it is their spoken word that brings about the desired result. When approaching a Perfect Master with the object of deriving material benefit, one would be better off requesting him for his curse, because a blessing from him — if at all he gives it — is likely to uproot one's sanskaric links from his worldly surroundings with a view to making him One like the Master.
Footnotes
- 1.The meaning of this line is that tranquility can only be attained by facing, accepting and passing through the difficulties in life.