Page:Masnavi I Ma'navi.pdf/115

STORY I.] THE SUFP'S BEAST. 67 Evil influence of covetousness (p. 112).

Would you have eyes and ears of reason clear,

Tear off the obstructing veil of greed!

The blind imitation of that Sufi proceeded from greed:

Greed closed his mind to the pure light.

Yea, 'twas greed that led astray that Sufi,

And brought him to loss of property and ruin.

Greed of victuals, greed of that ecstatic singing

Hindered his wits from grasping the truth.

If greed stained the face of a mirror,

That mirror would be as deceitful as we men are.¹

If a pair of scales were greedy of riches,

Would they tell truly the weight of anything?

The Prophet saith, "O people, through singleness of mind,

I ask of you no recompense for my prophesying;*

I am a guide; God buyeth my guidance for you,

God giveth you my guidance in both worlds.

True, a guide deserves his wages;

Wages are due to him for directing you aright.

But what are my wages? The vision of The Friend.

Abu Bakr indeed offered me forty thousand pieces of gold,

But his forty thousand pieces were no wages for me,³

How could I take brass beads for pearls of Aden?"

I will tell you a tale; hearken attentively,

That you may know how greed closes up the ears.

Every man subject to greed is a miser.

Can eyes of hearts clouded with greed see clearly?

The illusion of rank and riches blinds his sight,

Like hair dropping down before his eyes. 1 The Turkish commentator trans- lates thus. The Imcknow copy reads Ba sati for Ma sti. 2 Koran xi. 53. 3 Abu Bakr made over all his goods to the Prophet in aid of the expedition to Syria,