Lesson 2: Judge not the work of the pure by your own

Do not measure the actions of the pure by your own standard, even though shér (lion) and shir (milk) are written the same way (in Persian).

The whole world has gone astray for this very reason of measuring the pure against themselves, and few came to know the friends of God (the abdal or substitutes).

They presumed themselves equal to the prophets and assumed the friends of God were just like them.

They said, “We are human, and they are human; they and we are both bound by sleep and food.”

Yet in their spiritual blindness, they did not see the endless difference between themselves and the friends of God.

For instance, both species of zanbur fed in the same place, yet one (the hornet) gave a sting, and the other (the bee) gave honey.

Both deer species fed on the same grass and water, yet one produced dung and the other pure musk.

Both reeds drank from the same water source, yet one remained hollow while the other filled with sugar.

Look at hundreds of thousands of such outward resemblances, yet know that the difference between them is as great as seventy years of road apart.

One (the misguided and deniers) eats, and from it filth and impurity are discharged; the other (the prophets and the friends of God) eats, and his entire being becomes the Light of God.

One eats, and of him only envy and miserliness are born; the other eats, and of him only the light of the peerless One shines forth.

One is pure, fertile soil while the other is barren and corrupt; one is a pure angel while the other is a devil and a wild beast.

It is no wonder if they both appear alike in outward form, for bitter water and sweet water share the same clarity.

Who but a person of true taste can discern the difference? Find such a one, for only he can distinguish sweet water from the brine.