The Splendour of God, by Eric Hammond, [1909], at sacred-texts.com
Of the Beloved and his Beauty
What lover seeks to dwell save in the Home of The Beloved? What seeker can repose far from the Desired One?
A sincere lover finds life in the presence of The Beloved, and dies in separation. His breast is void of patience, and his heart is beyond endurance. He forsakes a hundred thousand lives, and hastens to the Mount of The Beloved.
Only one step separates thee from the plane of Nearness and the Exalted Tree of Love. Plant the first foot, and, with the other, step into the Kingdom of Eternity and enter the Pavilion of Immortality. Then hearken to what has descended from the Sea of Glory.
Pass by the low degrees of fancy, and soar to the heights of Certainty. Open the eye of Truth, that thou mayest behold the Radiant Beauty, and say, "Blessed be God, the Most Excellent of Creators!"
Listen truly: Mortal eye shall never perceive the Everlasting Beauty; and the dead mind
delights only in lifeless clay; for like sees like and has affinity with its own kind.
Be blind, that thou mayest behold My Beauty. Be deaf, that thou mayest hear My Sweet Melody and Voice. Be ignorant, that thou mayest enjoy a portion from My .Knowledge. Be poor, that thou mayest obtain an everlasting share from the sea of My Eternal Wealth.
Be blind, that is, to all save My Beauty. Be deaf, that is, to all except My Word. Be ignorant, that is, of all but My Knowledge. Thus shalt thou enter My Holy Presence with pure eyes, keen ears, and a mind undimmed.
Close one eye and open the other. Close the one to the world and all that is therein; and open the other to the Holy Beauty of The Beloved.
Be not satisfied with the beauty that is mortal; discarding the Eternal Beauty; and attach not thyself to the world of clay.
O Son of Passion! The people of wisdom and insight struggled for years, and failed to attain to the meeting of the Exalted One; while thou hast arrived at home without hastening, and hast attained the goal without searching.
Yet, after gaining these, thou wert so veiled with thyself that thine eyes did not behold the Beauty of The Beloved, and thy hand did not reach to the Hem of the Friend's garment. Marvel at this, O possessors of insight.
O My Friend by Word! Reflect a little! Hast thou ever heard of the beloved and the stranger dwelling in the same heart? Therefore, send away the stranger, so that The Beloved may enter His Home.
If thou desirest Me, desire no other than Me. If thou seekest My Beauty, withdraw thy glance from the people of the world; for My Will and the will of another are like fire and water which cannot be contained in the same mind and heart.
Break the cage, and, like unto the bird of love, soar into the atmosphere of holiness; leave the self, and rest with heavenly souls upon the sacred plain of God.
Walk ye in the path of the good pleasure of The Friend. His good pleasure is ever in His creatures. That is; a friend should not enter the home of his friend without his good pleasure, nor interfere with his possessions, nor prefer his desire to that of his friend, nor seek preference in any condition. Consider this, O ye people of thought.
Alas! Alas! O Lovers of Passion! With the swiftness of lightning ye have left the Spiritual Beloved, and to Satanic thoughts have ye attached your minds. Ye worship fancy, and call it a fact; ye are gazing at a thorn, and call it a flower.
Not an unselfish breath have ye breathed, nor hath a breeze of self-denial come from the garden of your hearts.
Ye have cast to the winds the merciful Counsels of The Beloved, have effaced them from the tablet of your minds, and have become as low animals feasting in the pastures of lust and desire.
Why are ye heedless of the remembrance of The Beloved? and why are ye far from the Presence of The Friend? The Absolute Beauty is established upon the Throne of Glory, under the Peerless Canopy; while ye are engaged in contention according to your own desire.
The fragrances of holiness are wafted, and the breezes of generosity are blowing; but ye have lost the power of scent, and are bereft of them all. Alas for you, and for them who follow in your steps and walk after your ways!
O Heedless Ones! Think not that the mysteries of hearts are concealed; nay, rather know with certainty that they are inscribed in clear type, and are openly manifest in The Presence.
Truly, I say, all that ye have concealed in your hearts is before Us, clear, manifest and open as the day; but the cause of concealment is from Our Generosity and Mercy, not from your merit.
O Son of Man! I have shed a dew from the past Ocean of My Mercy upon the dwellers of the world, and have found none approaching; because all have attached themselves to the impure water of wine, and have left the immortal, delicate Wine of Unity; they have turned from the Chalice of the Immortal Beauty, and have
been content with the mortal cup. "Evil is that with which they are contented!"
Close not thine eye to the peerless Wine of the Eternal Beloved, and open not thine eye to the turbid and mortal wine.
Take immortal cups from the hand of the Cup-bearer of Oneness, and thou shalt become all consciousness, and hear the inaudible Utterance of Reality. Say, O worthless ones! Why have ye turned from My Eternal, Holy Wine, to mortal water?
How is it that thou wilt not touch thine own garment with hands soiled by sugar; while, with thy mind soiled by the filth of passion and lust, thou seekest companionship with Me, and desirest to be directed to the dominions of My Holiness! Alas! alas! for that which ye have desired!
Thou art like a jewelled sword concealed in a dark sheath, by reason of which its value is unknown to the jewellers. Come forth from the sheath of self and desire, that thy jewels may become open and manifest before the world.
Guidance hath ever been by words, but, at this time, it is by deeds. That is; all pure deeds must appear from the temple of man, because all are partners in words, but pure and holy deeds belong especially to Our friends. Strive with your life to be distinguished among all people by deeds. Thus we exhort ye.
O Son of Desire! How long fliest thou in the
atmosphere of self? I have granted thee wings that thou mightest soar in the holy atmosphere of realities, and not in the air of Satanic fancies. I favoured thee with a comb, that thou mightest comb the locks of My Head and not to wound My Throat.
The bride of wonderful Significances, who was concealed behind the veils of words, hath appeared through Divine Providence and Heavenly Bounties, like unto the radiance of the Beauty of The Beloved.
I testify, O Friends, that the Bounty has become complete, the Evidence is accomplished, the Argument manifested, and the Reason affirmed.
What will your endeavours show forth from the degrees of devotion?
The source of Love is to advance to The Beloved and to abandon all else save Him, and to have no hope save His will.
No peace is ordained for thee save by departing from thyself and coming to Me! Verily, thy glory should be in My Name, not in thy name; thy trust upon My Countenance, not upon thine own; for I will to be loved above all that is.
My Love is My Fortress. Who enters therein is rescued and safe; whoever turns away from it is led astray and perishes.
God, singly and alone, abideth in His Own Place, which is Holy above space and time,
mention and utterance, sign, description and definition, height and depth.
O my God! O my God! Adorn the heads of Thy chosen ones with the crown of Love, and their temples with the garniture of virtue.
(Supplication.) O my God! Make Thy Beauty to be my food, and let Thy Presence be my drink. Let my trust be in Thy Will, and my deeds according to Thy Command.
Let my service be acceptable to Thee, and my action a praise to Thee. Let my help come only from Thee; and ordain my home to be Thy Mansion, boundless and holy.
Thou art the Precious, the Ever-Present, the Loving. O Thou, My Beloved! Grant unto me Thy Sign of Assurance to guard me from the doubts of the wandering. Thou art my Helper, the Powerful, the Mighty.