Chapter VIII: Self-Examination and Self-Accounting
16. 0 baser self, Alas for you ! Are you not ashamed that you adorn your outer figure for the people and are preparing yourself to fight against God by incurring great sins in private ? You are ashamed of the people, but not of your Creator. Does He look to you with an eye of hatred? You advise the people and call them towards God, while you are yourself fleeing away from God, You remind the people of God while you are forgetful of Him. O baser self, don't you know that you are a great sinner, or more despised than stool and urine of men? Stool and urine cannot purify another object. When your mind is not pure, how can you expect to purify others? Alas for you! Had you known your own nature, you would have surely known that for your sins, calamities befall on the people.
1 7. 0 baser self, Alas for you! You have made yourself a beast of burden of the devil. He conducts you wherever he wishes and makes you a laughing stock of all. Inspite of this, you feel satisfied for your works, while there are so many calamities in them that if you get yourself released completely from him, still you will have got no profit in your hands. How can you remain satisfied with your works when your sins are great and numerous? Allah showered His curse on the devil only for one sin inspite of his divine service for 20 million years. He ejected him from paradise on account of one sin only though he was His chosen servant.
18. O baser self Alas for you! How great is your treachery, how great is your ignorance, how great is your courage for sins. How long you will break your promise. What, will you keep yourself engaged in worldly purists inspite of your many sins and faults? Will you not leave the world? Don't you look at the inhabitants of the graves, how they amassed property and wealth, what fine and lofty buildings they built, how high hopes they entertained? But all these have gone in vain. Their wealth have vanished like heaps of sands, their buildings have turned into cremation grounds. Don't you take lessons from these things? Do you think that they are called to the next world, while you will live forever in the world? Far from it, you are wasting your life since the day you were born. You are building lofty mansions in the world, while your grave will soon be prepared in
368 THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES Vol-IV
this earth. Don't you fear that your life will be confined to your throat while the ambassadors of your Lord with their huge and ugly figures will appear before you and will give you good news of punishment? Your repentance at that time will be of no use.