Page:Alchemyofhappiness en.djvu/117

Rh You should know also that in the world of spirits, God had ennobled man with beauty and its qualities, and had made him sufficiently acquainted with Himself and His attributes; and the spirits continued for a long time participating in enjoyment in the land of affection, intoxicated and in ecstacy with the cup of love and the wine of celestial union. Afterwards in accordance with divine wisdom and by soverignsovereign [sic] decree, they fell from that exalted world to this lower world,—from the world of union to the world of separation. In this world of trial, having entered into bodies and become entangled with the things of sense and with worldly occupations, and shut out from the spiritual world, they forgot its intimate friendships and the joys of its society. Being so far distant from that world, the being and character of God became completely veiled from the view of some, and the love and union which had existed in their hearts from all eternity disappeared. None the less however, it is still the case, that when man sees beauty and perfection, the spirit cannot help admiring it. But as the intimacy and friendship which had formerly existed have been clouded over, and the animal impulses, passions and lusts have become predominant, they imagine that the love of pleasure belongs to the delights of religion, and regard it as a necessity of the soul.

The spirits of some men, however, in becoming attached to a body, retained the divine guidance, and the spiritual world in consequence was not concealed from their view, nor did they forget its friendly society or the attributes and qualities of its holy spirits. And as the glory of the infinite being and his attributes was not veiled from their eyes, their desire for the blessed union and longing for the vision of beauty increased daily. In accordance with this, it is related by Soheil Testeri (may God's mercy be upon him!) that "from the moment that the blessed God in the world of spirits and the assembly of holy union 14