[Sunlight] "Loving one's shaykh"

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Oh mouthpiece of God! Oh eye of the Realities!
Oh thou who deliverest the creatures from this ocean full of
fire!
Thou art a very ancient shaykh, a king
unparalleled! Take the spirit by the hand and free it from the
affliction of its attachments!
In the way of self-sacrifice, thou huntest for
spirits. Alas, which of these spirits are worthy to be thy prey?
Who indeed is the creature to brag of love for
thee? Oh, the light of the Creator's Majesty is in love with thy
beauty.
You say, "What am I to do, for I am the prey of
his love? I am distressed and lovesick"-- oh, thou art a skillful
physician!
Thy gentleness says, "Come forward!" Thy
severity says, "Go back!" Let me know at once, which of them
speaks the truth?
Oh sun of the spirits! Oh Shams of Tabriz, sun
of God! Every ray of thy sunbeams is a subtle and eloquent
spirit!

-- Ghazal (Ode) 1310
Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

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[Sunlight] "Loving one's shaykh"