Page:The Spirit Of Oriental Poetry.pdf/47

 AS BHAKTAS SEE THINGS 37 In the same way Onlar Khayyam rapturously con- tented himself with a small pension and said. "My floor is paved with sins! He is so great that His Mercy waits on me to wash me pure ! ” Such a man can have no excitement beyond the joy of a tranquil soul. We need not deny a man like Omar the physical aid to the soul's cxuberance if he needs it so vitally, but, essentially, the lotus blooms for its blossom and Khayyam lives for his soul and not for his flesh Hafiz, Tabiez and Omar fell into the habit of taking thc wine cup to Icep up thar strength of faith With them, wine is as simple a food as mulk and nice is to the Brahmin They are subtle and delicate in their worship of the Divine. Wie 15 to support them 11 the victory of faith Their nerves are over-strung by appreciation of the Beautiful, and when there is a physical bieakdown, they need wine to help themselves up again. It is a kind of staff on which they leun, The general tone of Hafiz and Khayyam is soft, like the music of the cxpanse of Moonlight, sweet as honey, soothing and charmed The haunting beauty of Persian poetry is alan to the Buddhist poetry of Japan. Shams Tabrez, on the other hand, is free, positive and self-realized. He has not the hazy hfelessness of the Hindu Vedantist, such as we find in Tagore, but the vitality of Tulsidas and Surdas of the Hindi Poetry. Persian poets, in general, are like the roses of Persia, fleeting companions, evanescent but glowing. They are Gods that have no shadow. The "wine-drenched" Khayyam burns within with the Light of the Face of the Beloved. With him the fire of wine is a symbol of a life of incessant prayer and inspiration.