A Tale on Knowing the Heart

The learned sheikh, the sun of the saints, the leader of the faith, the purest of the pure. The one through whom Ardabil became famous, and by whose beauty Ardabil was filled with light. Comfort to seekers, one who melts their souls, keeper of secrets, king enthroned in humble need. From the very start he set out on his journey, searching, asking after a guiding master. When he reached the famous city of Shiraz, Sheikh Saadi became his close companion. A discerning man asked the sheikh: 'You whose beauty lights up both body and soul, in this wilderness of longing, what is your goal? And what is all this endless ache of the heart?' Then, royal falcon of high resolve, he told Sheikh Saadi a story of his own. When Saadi heard that tale he was left bewildered, amazed at the height of the sheikh's resolve. He said to the sheikh: 'You who are rich in meaning, whose head is raised high by your own resolve, that station you have described, Saadi's bird has never nested there. From these words a pain has settled in my heart; I am helpless before this vast secret. Yet if you ask, from my own poems and from my inner mine I can offer you a few insights.' Out of pure pain the sheikh replied: 'Our soul is cut off from all but the Beloved. In my heart I hold many verses from God's own book; I have no concern for anyone else's book. We have given our love to His pain, and turned away from the world and from the self. My soul has gone mad with love for the Beloved, and grown a stranger to the thought of any other.' At these words Sheikh Saadi wept bitterly and said to the sheikh: 'You great and renowned one, you have chased the ball of good fortune with your mallet and carried it off in the field of joy. From God you hold a kingdom without end, its decree: 'God guides whom He wills.' The lion-hearted men, free of all craving for water and earth, made the house of the heart this pure. With sincerity of heart these men have worked, choosing His pain over both worlds. The heart that is busy with Him day and night is inevitably drowned in the vision of His face. If in your heart there is nothing but the pain of the Beloved, guard it well, for that alone is your soul. A single grain of sorrow for the Beloved, my son, is sweeter than the kingdom of both worlds entire. Whoever holds even a grain of His pain in the heart stands honored by His remembrance until the Day of Judgment. If you have no dealings with the self and Satan, then in the land of the heart there is no other dwelling.'