Aslam

;'; without utensils for cooking, without bed for sleep and no order was placed for delicious food. When night came, they used to stand on their legs, prostrate over their faces, let tears to flow down their cheeks from their eyes and talk secretly with their Lord for their salvation. When they worshipped, they became humble in expressing gratefulness and prayed for its acceptance.
When they committed sins, they became sad and prayed for forgiveness to God. They remained always in that condition. By God, they were also not free from sin and got no salvation without God's forgivencess.

THREE STAGES OF RENUNCIATION

(1) First stage. This is the first and the lowest stage of renunciation. Such a man withholds his hand from a work which has got no connection with religion but cannot free himself completely from attachment of the world. He tries to keep his mind aloof from worldly things and makes such efforts.

(2) Second stage. The scond and the middle stage of renunciation is like that of a man who gives up one coin for getting two, and he thinks that there is value of the coin he gives up, but still more valuable are the two coins he hopes to get in future.

(3) Thrid stage. This stage of renunciation is highest as in this stage, a person gives up his world in preference to the next world, even he forgets renunciation as he takes the world as nothing. He is like a person who gives up coppet to get gold and does not think it a change.

One Example. He who renunciates the world for the next is like a person (to a man experienced in spiritiual illumination)
who meets with a dangerous dog in front of the royal palace. He throws a bit of bread before the dog which began to eat it. In the meantime, he enters the palace and takes up the affairs of administration in his hand as a minister. The devil is a dog in .
front of God's palace. Throw the world to him and enter the palace. If a man is given an age of one hundred years and abundant wealth and treasures of the world, these things are insignificant to him in comparison with the everlasting happiness of the next world, as a bit of bread is insignificant in comparison with an empire of the world. There can be no comparison of a thing which has got no end with that thing

1 78 THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES Vol-IV

which has got an end. The world will end though it is prologed for thousands of years. Earthly pleasure can not be compared with the everlasting pleasures of the next world. Life is short and mixed up with pleasures and sorrows of this world. So where is its comaprison with the ever lasting happiness of the next world?