Discourses of Rumi

FIHI MA FIHI V 411Therefore, do not think that happiness andpleasure come from secondary causes, for thoserealities are merely on loan. It is He who bringspain or gain, for all pain and profit come fromHim. Why do you cling so tightly to secondarycauses?“The best words are those that are few andtelling.” The best words convey a lesson withoutgoing on and on. Though in the Koran the Sura,“Say, He is One,” is short, still it is superior to theSura of “The Cow”, which is much longer,because of the message it contains. Noahpreached for a thousand years and four peoplerallied around him. We all know how longMohammed preached, yet the people of so manyclimes believe in him, and so many saints and“pegs” appeared because of him. A lot or a littleis no way to judge. The true object is the lessonreceived.With some, a few words may convey the lessonbetter than many. In the same way, if the fire of astove is too fierce you cannot even approach it, sohow can you gain any benefit from it? But thereare a thousand advantages with a feeble lamp.