The Third Flash

[Emotion and spiritual pleasure have become mixed in this Flash to an  extent,  and  since  their  exuberance  does  not  much  heed  the principles  of  the intellect or the scales of thought  nor conform to them, it should not be weighed up on the scales of logic.]

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Everything shall perish save His countenance; His is the command, and to

Him shall you return.(28:88)

The two phrases, “O Eternal One, You alone are Eternal! * O Eternal One, You alone  are  Eternal!”  both  express  the  meaning  of  the  above  verse,  and  state  two important  truths.  It was because of this that some of the chiefs of the Naqshbandi Order compiled some special invocations based on repetition of the phrases, and held it to be a concise set of Naqshi supplications. Seeing that the two phrases express the verse’s meaning, we shall explain several points concerning the significant truth they state.

FIRST POINT

The first time “O Eternal One, You alone are Eternal!” is recited, like a surgical operation it severs the heart from everything other than God. It is as follows:

By virtue of his comprehensive nature, man is connected with almost all beings. Also  included in his nature is a boundless capacity to love. For these reasons he nurtures love towards all beings. He both loves the huge world as though it were his house, and he loves  eternal Paradise as though it were his  garden. However, the beings  he  loves  do  not  stop,  they depart,  and  he  constantly suffers  the  pain  of separation. That boundless love of his becomes the means of boundless torment.

However, the fault in suffering such torment is his, for he was given a heart with an infinite capacity to love in order to direct it toward One possessing infinite undying beauty. By misusing it and spending it on transitory beings, he has done wrong and suffers the punishment for his fault through the pain of separation.