вЂњFast in the bonds of intellectual proofs, drifting over the dark and stormy sea of understanding, a Moses un-illumined by the Sinai of Love, ignorant of Love and of Love's passion! He discoursed on skepticism and Neoplatonism, and strung many a brilliant pearl of metaphysics. This was not very different from the Brahmin you saw a while ago.

вЂњHave you heard how Mawlana Rumi gave lectures on philosophy at Aleppo?вЂќ He asks you, and goes on to describe the state in which Rumi used to be prior to meeting his mentor, Shams Tabriz. This is not the way of the Sufi, and the Old Man intervenes again. That is your state, where reason is isolated from other faculties, like a sword taken out of sheath for worldly gains: Whoever shall draw the sword for anything except God, his sword is sheathed in his own breast. вЂњSufismвЂќ was a metaphor for opening the door of the world with the key of religion, and their antithesis was the Brahmin who had cut himself off from the society, and had become ensnared by his own thought. Here is a potential which you can sense, but which still defies complete understanding. The story of the young man and Hajveri, and the parable about a bird and the diamond, were about your moral strength.

вЂњJosephвЂќ still remains a mystery, but in the chapter on Ali, you had felt that it must be connected with mastery over oneвЂ™s own physical existence, which comes through вЂњeducatingвЂќ the вЂњself.вЂќ Now you can see that you followed rules, exercised control and this virtual reality sprung up from the seed of your imagination, showing that the education of the self has three stages: obedience, self-control and Divine Vicegerency, and setting forth the inner meanings of the names of Ali (вЂњWhosoever in the world becomes a master over oneвЂ™s own clay turns back the sun from the westвЂќ). The process itself is a refutation of the SheepвЂ™s Doctrine as well as the philosophy of Plato: your very passing through the Garden is a thing concerning the true nature of poetry and the reform of Islamic literature. You are now gaining control over the forces of the Garden by becoming familiar not only with its form but also the principles on which it has been structured, showing that when the self is strengthened by Love, it gains dominion over the outward and inward forces of the universe. Your presence in the Garden was realized through your quest and you didnвЂ™t weaken it by asking for a readymade answer, showing that the self is strengthened by Love and showing that the self is weakened by asking. This happened because you had an вЂњidealвЂќ, which was to find Joseph, showing that the life of the self comes from forming ideals and bringing them to birth. This is what the heading of the first chapter told you: вЂњthe system of the universe originates in the selfвЂ¦вЂќ If you take the Garden as a universe in miniature, this entire system originated in the вЂњselfвЂќ. We are usually defined by our knowledge, experience and specific biases, so what were you after suspending these? You were just your вЂњself.вЂќ Poetry remains an arrangement of words as long as it is approached through mind but when your вЂњselfвЂќ interacted with it, poetry became this garden: words became a world, and the world is real enough for you to interact with it. Upon arrival, you left behind all previous knowledge and sentiment. All except Joseph revealed their meanings in the chapter on Love, but now you may see that they became connected with you as well. The clues you brought with you were: (a) Rumi and Iqbal (b) Kings (c) Joseph (d) Sufism and (e) Time. He is dropping hints about why this part of the enclave is called вЂThe Secrets of the SelfвЂ™ and what has been happening here, вЂњsecretlyвЂќ, to you.

To collect sparks beneath the ashes, and become a flame and dazzle the world.вЂќ вЂњTo sink into yourself like the pearl, then to emerge from your inward solitude. вЂњSince I am acquainted with the harmony of Life, I will tell you the secret of Life,вЂќ says the Old Man of the Desert. His speech is captivating, so that you may even withhold such questions as whether precepts written for вЂњIndian MuslimsвЂќ also apply to you or for what times were they written. Mir Nijat Naqshband, or the Old Man of the Desert, appears instead. Some precepts written for Indian Muslims by Mir Nijat Naqshband, the Old Man of the Desert It concludes Part 1 (out of 7) of the narrative. This is the 17th chapter in the revised online version of The Republic of Rumi: a Novel of Reality.

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