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English translation

One day, Alexander saw in a book That the Water of Life is a heart-illuminating water Anyone who drinks of it becomes the sun And his life's existence becomes eternal Additionally, there is a drum and a kohl container Both of which possess subtle wisdom I heard from a learned teacher That the kohl and the drum belonged to Hermes If someone suffered from severe colic And struck that drum with his hand, it would cure him Anyone who applied a pin of that kohl Would see from the fish (supporting the earth) to the foot of the divine throne Alexander conceived an extreme desire For these three wishes to come true for him He roamed the world with a vast army Until one day he finally reached a mountain He had a sign, he split the mountain there After ten days and ten nights he found a chamber He opened its door and there was an arch in the middle In it was that drum and the kohl container He applied that kohl and his eye became such That the throne and the earth immediately became visible to his state There was a commander standing before him Who happened to place his hand upon the drum A loud wind (flatulence) escaped from him Out of shame, he tore it (the drum) in a fit of pride Although Alexander remained silent That enigmatic drum was torn apart In short, for the Water of Life He went to Hindustan and the darkness like Saturn Why should I repeat this story to you? For you have heard this story a hundred times When he became helpless on that dark path Both the army and the king remained bewildered A solid piece of ruby appeared In which the bewildered man stared He saw thousands of ants in every direction Each going a different way He thought that that piece of ruby Had become manifest for his helplessness (to guide him) A voice proclaimed: 'This burning candle Is glowing for the host of ants, So that by its light, the lost ants May become aware of their own place.' Alexander became completely hopeless there That a stone had become a jewel for the sake of an ant He came out of the darkness with a bleeding heart His heart experiencing a different state every moment He traveled two stages in place of one Until he finally came to the dust of Babylon Alexander had written that when At the time of death they take him from the path A pillow should be made of his chainmail And an iron bed spread beneath him The walls of the chamber should be of emeralds And its ceiling of red gold In Babylon, colic appeared in him From its pain, he descended into the desert He did not have enough patience on his way For anyone to erect his royal pavilion They spread a beautiful armor beneath him And placed his head in sorrow upon a knee A crowd stood around him They joined together golden shields When Alexander saw himself thus In that colic, he saw his own death clearly He wept profusely, but what use was it For he had ruthless death following closely A sage from the disciples of Plato Who was a companion to Dhul-Qarnayn (Alexander) Sat down and said to the king of the world 'That drum which Hermes made, Because you placed it in the hands of the unworthy You have fallen into the hands of such a disease. If you had not shown it to anyone When would you have been afflicted with this sorrow? Under the horoscope in which he made that drum present When will that time ever appear again? Since you did not recognize its immense value You cast it far away from your eyes. If it had been as dear to you as your life You would have also attained a draught from that spring. But do not grieve, listen to a couple of words Which are better than the Water of Life, if you drink them: Such a kingdom and so much governance Are all dependent upon a wind of impurity. Such a kingdom in which you lived See until now what its foundation is upon. Why should such a kingdom have a foundation? For whether it exists or not, it is but wind. Do not eat sorrow from this, do not lose yourself For a wind goes out from below. As for that Water of Life which you sought Even though you have washed your hands of it at this time, Reflect, do not twist yourself too much For that is profound knowledge, and nothing else. If that knowledge were to manifest in form It would be the Water of Life without turbidity. God has given you much of this knowledge Since you have known it, die free and aware.' When he heard these words from his master His heart bled, but he gave up his soul in joy. Do not grieve much, O son, you too For that Water is knowledge and the unveiling of secrets. If it becomes radiant upon your soul Your heart will become a seer of both worlds. If you know the path of knowledge and essence That is your Water of Life. If you are not the knower of that path In that vision you will be nothing but a devil. Your miracles will appear devilish All your light will appear dark.