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Chapter 15
Brahmin
Power and love become separated as you arrive at the next chapter. A Sufi Shaykh, or mentor, is seen lecturing a philosophical Brahmin.
The sermon of the Shaykh
O wanderer in the lofty sky! Pledge yourself to be true, for a little, to the earth. I do not bid you to abandon your idols. Are you an unbeliever? Then be worthy of the badge of unbelief. O inheritor of ancient culture, do not turn your back on the path your fathers trod! If a people’s life is derived from unity, unbelief too can be the source of unity. You who are not even a perfect infidel are unfit to worship at the shrine of the spirit. We are both far astray from the road of devotion. You are far from Azar, the sculptor father of the idol-breaking prophet Abraham. I am far from Abraham.
Himalayas and Ganges
The river Ganges, starting as a little stream of running water amid the snow-clad Himalayas, taunts the mountain that it is devoid of movement.
The mountain replies, “Your water holds a mirror to me but within my bosom there are a hundred rivers like you. Your graceful gait is an instrument of death, for whoever goes from self is bound to perish. O you, who have made yourself an offering to the ocean, be self contained like the rose in the garden and do not run after the florist in order to spread your perfume!”
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A chapter about the role of collective life in the development of an individual's personality shows that speculation without action weakens the bond between the individual and the society.
