Sun-Reflections (from The Secret Rose Garden)
by Mahmud ShabistariEnglish version by Florence Lederer
Original Language Persian/Farsi
Sun-reflections from the unseen world
are all the object of this mortal sphere,
as curl, down, mole, and brow on a fair face,
for Beauty absolute reigns over all.
...When the ears first hear these words
they seem to denote sensual objects.
But as there is no language for the infinite,
how can we express its mysteries
in finite words?
Or how can the visions of the ecstatic
be described in earthly formula?
So mystics veil their meanings
in these shadows of the unseen,
the objects of the senses.
...As a nurse to an infant,
so is the infinite to the finite.
...Once these words were used in their proper sense,
but now are concealed lest the vulgar should profane.
Annihilation, intoxication, the fever of love
are the three states of the mystic,
and those who abide in these states
at once comprehend the meanings
veiled in these words.
 | -- from The Secret Rose Garden: Mahmud Shabistari, Translated by Florence Lederer / Edited by David Fideler |
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