Discourses of Rumi

90 V DISCOURSES OF RUMIes the Kaaba is better than the pilgrim who is stilltravelling in the desert. The one in the desert fearsthey may not pass the many landmarks and reachthe Kaaba, while the former has already reachedtheir destination. One certainty is better than ahundred doubts.The Amir said: “Those who have not arrivedstill have hope.”Rumi answered: What is the hopeful personcompared to one who has arrived? There is a vastdifference between fear and attainment. Whyshould I speak of such a difference when it isobvious to all? What I am speaking about isattainment, since there are many differencesbetween the stations of attainment.It is possible to indicate the various stages offear and the stations of fear, but the stations ofattainment have no indication. In the world offear everyone decides what they will devote tohonor God. One person gives through physicalefforts, another donates their wealth, anothersacrifices their life. One worships with fasting,another with prayer, another by ten prostrations,another by a hundred. These stages are very dif-