The idea of mourning is distasteful to the world in general. People say, 'Let us enjoy ourselves and be happy; there is plenty of sorrow in the world without choosing to mourn,' and they strive after happiness in whatever way they can. But these passing and momentary joys do not give lasting happiness, and the people who pursue them are either asleep or dead. The soul's true happiness lies in experiencing the inner joy, and it will never be fully satisfied with outer seeming pleasures. Its connection is with God, and nothing short of perfection will ever satisfy it. The purpose of life is to become aware of our imperfections and to mourn for them. The whole universe in miniature is within man, and as the earth is composed of land and water, so the mind of man is like land and water, the water is under the land, and the land above the water. The land represents the thoughts and imaginations, while the water represents the feelings. And just as the water rises and falls, so it is with the emotions and feelings of man. The people who only know the lighter side of life, and who are afraid to have their feelings touched, represent the land through which the water has never pierced. If one wishes to see a foreign country, the water has to be crossed, and so it is with those who wish to fare forth to the world unseen. They have to cross the river of feeling, and the land needs to be pierced in order that the waters may rise.

Shiva is sometimes pictured with the sacred river flowing out of his head, showing that man becomes Shiva-like when his thoughts come not only from the head, but from the heart also. It is the thoughts that spring from the depths of the heart which become inspirations and revelations, and these come from the hearts of awakened souls, called by the Sufis, Sahib-i Dil. The bringers of joy are the children of sorrow. Every blow we get in life pierces the heart and awakens our feelings to sympathize with others, and every swing of comfort lulls us to sleep, and we become unaware of all. This proves the truth of these words, 'Blessed are they that mourn.'

Thought is the more solid form of feeling, and needs to be melted in order to become water. All water is the same, but when it is bitter or sweet to the taste, it is because some element of earth has become mixed with it. And so it is with the emotions, in the water of feeling, which have come in contact with things of the earth.

There are two classes of people in the world: those who like comedy and those who like tragedy. Those who like tragedy are the wise and thoughtful. Not because they like what is tragic, but because they experience life through the pain of tragedy, and they want to keep this experience at the cost of pain.

Everybody has an ideal in life, and that ideal is the religion of his soul, and coming short of that ideal is what we term sin. The thoughtful and serious-minded man repents in tears for his shortcomings, and thus proves himself to be alive, while the shallow man is angry at his fall, and is ready to blame those who seem to him to have caused it. He is apparently dead. This shows that it is blessed to mourn over our imperfections, and by so doing we are striving after perfection, and thus fulfilling the command of Christ, 'Be ye perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect.'

checked 18-Oct-2005