'Whene'er a knife you take, it's not meant for assault.
God notes the deeds you do: He overlooks no fault.
That knife was never forged at a tyrant's behest,
Not to 'Mtoxicate was the grape juice expressed.
Jesus beside the road beheld a figure slain.
Finger on lip, he gazed distraught with grief and pain.
'Whom didst thou kill? He said, 'that slain hast been through hate,
And he who murdered thee meet also the same fate.'
Lift neer a scornful finger.- speak no angry word,
Lest swift and forceful retribution be incurred.'

'Account him no man, who is faithless and false,
Though Adam as father he claim;
Though Mary his mother be, none ranks with Christ,
Whose name is above ev'ry name.'

'Withhold thy gaze from others'faults and defects,
But note the faults that thine own mirror reflects!
In all men much there is to praise and to blame:
The blame ignore; the praise then only proclaim!
The peacock's feathers gleam with colour and gold.
Its legs, which are uncomely, none need behold.
The Christ pursued on foot His usual way,
And through a market place He passed on that day.
Nearby a dog had died, and lay still and prone,
Its former beaut could no longer be shown.
Some casual bystanders saw with disgust
The corpse decaying and the hair full of dust.
Said one, 'This gruesome sight without any doubt
Is like the noxious smoke a snuffed light gives out.'
Another said,'This horror might cause in us
Poor vision or heart failure quite disastrous.'
Each one in turn invective cast, merciless;
Each scorned afresh the lifeless corpse, pitiless.
When came the turn of Jesus freely to speak,
Said He, 'The view of its wide mouth makes it clear
Its teeth than pearls are whiter, and so appear.'
Seek not others'faults, nor thy virtue extol;
Lament thine own defects, and poor self control.'

'The house of 'Isa was the banquet of men of heart.
0 afflicted one, quit not this door.
From all sides the people ever thronged,
Many blind and lame, halt and afflicted,
At the door of the house of 'Isa at dawn,

That with his breath he might heal their ailments.
As soon as he had finished his orisons
That holy one would comc forth at the third hour.
He pondered those impotent folk sitting,
Troop by troop, at his door in hope and expectation.
He spoke to them saying.- 'O stricken ones,
The desires ofyou all have been granted by God,
Arise, walk without pain or affliction,
Acknowledge the mercy and beneficience of God.'
Then all, like camels whose feet are shackled,
When you loose their feet on the road,
Straightway rush in J'OY and delight to the halting place,
So did they run upon their feet at his command.'

'A compiler of the traditions, thus related, in talk -
That, in the time of 'Isa (on him be peace!)
A certain one had squandered his life.-
Had passed it in ignorance and error.
I heard that 'Isa entered from the desert;
He passed by the cell of a certain 'A bid
The recluse came down from his room (cell);
He fell, hard on the earth, at His feet.
In this corner, the old sinner weeping.
Saying: 'O hand seizer! (helper) come to the complaint of my state. '
And, on that side - the Abid, head full of pride,
His eye-brows gathered together, on the sinner from afar.
Knew he not that in the Court of the Independent One (God)
Helplessness is better than pride and presumption

At this threshold of God, thy weakness and thy wretchedness
Are better than thy devotion, and self-beholding.
The sinner, God-t@aring,
Is better than the Saint, dcvotion-displaying.'

'That man a liege of Christ I hold to be,
Who from all ties and trammels is set free.
To whom the Holy God is fane and shrine,
Whose home the Spirit, ageless and divine.
Such men of Christ's pure Spirit have received,
Who was Himself of Holy Ghost conceived.
Thou also hast from God the soul inmost,
Which is the sign in thee of Holy Ghost.
Whoever earth's entanglements decries,
Enters the Holy Presence in the skies.
Whoever on angelic pureness bent,
Like Christ, ascends the starry firmainent.
So Jesus said, who now is heaven's light,
'The Father's Voice is calling from the height.
Dear son, go thou to thy Father's heart!
Others have gone; remain not thou apart!'

'In th e garden sky I sa w th e n e w m oon reaping
And minded was I of my own life's field:
What harvest wilt thou to the sickle yield
When through thy fields the moon-shaped knife goes sweeping?...'

'If thou, like Christ, be pure and single-hearted,
Who once ascended far beyond the sky,
Thy life will shine with beams of light, whereby
The sun will brighten by thy light imparted.'

'Long years my heart had made request
Of me, a stranger, hopefully
(Not knowing that itself possessed)
That jamshid's chalice I shall win
And it would see the world therein.'

'And if the Holy Ghost descend
In grace and power infinite
His comfort in these days to lend
To them that humbly wait on it,
Theirs too the wondrous works can be
That Jesus wrought in Galilee,'

'Once in a church I saw a Christian maid.
'Thou who dost hold my heart in thrafl!'I said.
'Thou whose unraveled girdle is entwined
With every hair of mine, and forms one braid!

Till when from faith in Unity astray?
Triune to call the One, art not afraid?
How can as Father, Son and Holy Ghost
The onc true God be fittingly arrayed?'
Parting her lovely lips, sweet words she spoke,
Smiling and laughing, answered undismayed,
'If of God's Unity thou art assured,
Call us not infidels, nor us upbraid!
Iii triplc mirrors God in endless love
Has his resplendent countenance displayed.
Silk will not three things be, though it appears
Sometimes as satin, damask or brocade!'

While thus in colloquy we were absorbed,
This noble chant the church bell loudly played,

'God is but one: there can no other be.
One is the Lord, and there is none but He.' 17

'One Holy Person of the Trinity,
The Christ of God, the Light of Heavn and earth,
As man appeared among the sons of men;
Concealed his glory, majesty and worth.
The angels in the world above rejoiced;
The vault of heaven rang with joy and mirth.
To shepherds watching in the fields at night
They brought the tidings of his holy birth.
From a pure virgin by Divine command
Appeared the light that lighteneth man's days.
A brilliant star proclaimed the glad event:
In the far heaven shone its ardent blaze.
The Persian Magi saw, the effulgent star,
Illumining the sky like solar rays.
Towards Bethlehem withoyful steps they sped
To offer Him their precious gifts andpraise.' 18