Original content

English translation

There was a renowned Sheikh among the great ones That great and fortunate man saw in a dream That he was walking on a path, shining like the moon An angel appeared before him on the path Then said to him, 'Where are you heading?' He said, 'My destination is the presence of God.' That angel told him, 'Have some shame after all, You are occupied with so many affairs and businesses. You have all these properties and estates, And yet you desire the pure Divine presence? You hold your own worldly affairs dear, You must also bear the burden of proximity to Truth. With all these anchors hanging from you, How can you become mingled with the light of Truth?' The next day, the man was devastated by that sorrow, He completely gave away and lost everything he had. A piece of felt, from which he made a garment, He kept that and gave away all the rest. When that pure-hearted man slept the next night, That angel appeared in his path again. He said, 'Look here, where do you intend to go like this?' He said, 'I intend to reach the proximity of the Lord of the Worlds.' He said, 'Finally, will you go there foolishly? Will you go there with such a ragged piece of felt? Do not go there with felt, O seeker of Truth, Coarse cloth to the presence of the Lord of the World? A needle became a veil on the path for Jesus, By making a felt garment, you make a coat of armor for yourself.' The next day, the man lit a fire, Brought that piece of felt and burned it. In short, the next night he saw in a dream, That the angel hastened toward him. He said, 'Where is your destination, O renowned one?' He said, 'Near the sovereign God.' That angel said, 'O one so pure in devotion, Since you have detached yourself from everything you had, Now you sit, do not move from this place; Because when you sit, the King will come. Since all your striving has been toward the Truth, The Truth Himself will undoubtedly come to you now. Purify yourself of whatever you have and lose it, So that the Truth may welcome you in purity. Until the point of your dervishhood shines forth, Your selflessness will not arise from proximity to God. The point of poverty is ahead of everyone, Soul-consuming poverty is the cure for all. If you do not take pride in poverty like the Messenger, Your religion is polytheism and your virtue is meddling. Poverty has four pillars like the Kaaba, Its fifth cannot be shown as anything but the essence of Truth. In the time of Mustafa, all these four, Were always apparent among the companions. They are hunger, risking one's soul, abasement, and exile; When these four pass, the fifth is proximity. None of them had peace without hunger, No one was after bread or fame. All the companions became self-sacrificing, They became lovers, men, and reckless. All the honor they had came from abasement, Consequently, every part of them became the Whole. All left their homeland for exile, They detached their hearts from their origins and existence. Consequently, in poverty they became sultans, They became the best creatures of the two worlds. In the desert where the wandering dervishes of the path, Put their feet in the stirrup of that place, The masters, out of love for their turbans at that time, All flee into their houses from the midst. If you are the bird of love and a man of the path, Seek a hundred thousand eyes from the door of Truth. So that with each eye you may look for a lifetime, You will see yourself of cowardly essence. Every moment you have another new denial, At the root of every hair is another belt of unbelief. Then, when you have looked with so many eyes, Seek a hundred thousand ears once again. So that with each ear, day and night, You may clearly hear from the presence of Truth: 'O you of cowardly essence, there is no admittance here, The love of Truth has no business with the coward.' A true man is needed, who has neither head nor foot, All are lost in him, and he is lost in God. If there is a single atom of ego in your poverty, You will not see the face of safety eternally.