Suhrawardi - Three Treatises on Mysticism.pdf - Platonic Philosophy

34
sible that sometime this state does come to one who is without
ascetic discipline, but he remains unaware.
If one waits for it in the days of 'Id-festivities when men
go to places of worship, and when raised voices and loud
glorifications and harsh clamours take place and sounds of
cymbals and trumpets prevail
if he is a man of intelligence
having a sound nature and rememorizes the divine states, he
will
at once find this effect which is
very pleasant.
And likewise it is
in battles when men come face to face
and the clamour of the warriors rises and there is
neighing
of the horses and the sounds of the drum and the military
band become louder, and men engage
in fight and unsheath
swords: If some one has a little
not a man of [ascetic]
state provided
purity of heart,
even if he is
discipline, he will come to know of this
that at that time he rernemorizes the divine
states and brings to mind the souls of the departed and the
observation of [Divine] Majesty and the rows of the high
assembly.
Similarly, if somebody sits on a galloping horse arid
makes it run very hard 1 and thinks that, he is
leaving the
body aside and becoming extremely reverent and going to
the presence of [Divine] Existence in the state of the soul
exclusively and to be included in the rows of the saints an
effect like this state will also appear to him, although he is
not a devotee of discipline. And here there are secrets which
only a few can understand in these days.
When these lightnings come to men they affect the brain
to some extent, and it 2 may also appear in the brain and
shoulder and back, etc; so that the vein begins to pulsate and
1. The use of d>j* as an adverb of a verbal noun is very old
is not commonly found now-a-days, com p. also the use of ?:*** in the
same way.
2. i. e. the effect.