WHAT
SHOULD
THEN
BE
DONE
O PEOPLE
OF
THE
EAST?
The West has put mankind in grievous pain,
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and, through it, life has lost all charm.
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What should then be done, O people of the East ?-
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that the life of the East may once again brighten up.
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A revolution has occurred in the East’s heart,
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night has passed away, and the sun has risen.
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Europe has fallen prey to its own sword ;
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it has laid the foundation of secularism in the world ;
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it is a wolf in the garb of a lamb,
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every moment in ambush for a prey.
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The difficulties of mankind are due to
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it, it is the source of all the hidden anguish of man.
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In its eyes man is nothing but water and clay,
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and the caravan of Life has no goal.
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Whatever you see is the manifestation of God’s light;
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the knowledge of things is a part of God’s
-secrets.
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He who sees God’s
signs is a free man,
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the basis of this
wisdom is God’s order: “Look.”
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Through it the believer is more successful in life than the
non-believer
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and more sympathetic towards others.
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When knowledge illumines his mind,
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his heart grows more and more God-oriented.
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Knowledge of things is like elixir to our dust,
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alas! its effect in the West is different.
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Its (the West’s) reason and thought have no standards of
right and wrong,
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its eyes know no tear, its heart is hard as
stone.
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Knowledge, through it, has become a disgrace for all,
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Gabriel, in its society, has become Iblis.
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The wisdom of the Franks is an unsheathed sword,
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ever ready to
destroy the human species.
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In this world of
good and evil, intoxication of knowledge
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does not suit mean
natures.
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May God protect us
from the West and its ways,
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and from its
secular thinking;
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the Westerners
have changed true knowledge into magic,
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nay, rather into
unbelief.
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A hundred
mischiefs have raised their head on all sides,
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snatch away the
sword from the hands of this highwayman.
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O you who know the
distinction between body and soul,
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break the spell of
this godless civilisation.
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Breathe the soul
of the East into the West’s body,
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that it may afford
the key to the door of Reality.
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Reason under
heart’s guidance is godlike;
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When it frees
itself from the heart, it becomes satanic.
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At every moment
life is a struggle,
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the situation in
Abyssinia affords a warning;
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the law of Europe, without any doubt,
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allows wolves to kill sheep.
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We should set up a new order in the world,
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there is no hope of relief from these plunderers of the dead.
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There is nothing in Geneva except deceit and fraud,
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this sheep is my share, that is yours.
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There are many subtle ideas of the West which cannot be
expressed in words,
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a world of mischiefs and disorders lies hidden in them.
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O you who are enamoured of colour, rise above colour;
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have faith in yourself, deny the Franks.
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The strings of gain and loss are in your hands,
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the honour of the East depends on you.
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Bring all the ancient nations together;
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raise the flag of sincerity and rectitude.
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The life of the votaries of truth depends upon their
possessing power,
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and the power of every nation depends upon unity.
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Wisdom without power is deceit and enchantment,
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power without wisdom is ignorance and madness.
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Ardour, harmony, sympathy and compassion-all come from Asia,
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both the wine and the cup are Asia’s.
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We taught love the way of ravishing hearts
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and the art of creating man.
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Art as well as religion came from the land of the East
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whose sacred dust is the envy of the heavens.
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We revealed to the world all that lay hidden,
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the sun is from us and we are of the sun.
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Every oyster has its pearl through our spring rains,
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the majesty of every ocean is due to our storms.
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We have discerned our souls in the songs of the nightingale
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and the blood of Adam in the veins of flowers.
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Our thought, seeker of the secrets of Existence,
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was the first to strike the note of life
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We had in our breast a wound of passion,
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made by us into a lamp to illumine the pathway of life
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You are the trustee of religion and culture,
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bring out the White Hand from under your sleeve.
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Rise and solve the problems of the nations,
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put out of your head the intoxication of the West.
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Set the pattern for the unity of Asia,
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snatch yourself away from the hand of Ahriman.
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You know the West and its deeds,
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how long will you remain tied to its strings?
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The wound, the lancet and the needle are all West’s,
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ours is the pool of blood and the expectation that incision
will be stitched up.
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You know that kingship is power to rule,
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but power, in our times, is mere commerce.
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The shopkeeper is a partner in political power,
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trade brings in profit and political power brings in tribute.
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If a ruler is also a shopkeeper,
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you will find good on his tongue, but evil in his heart.
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If you can assess him properly,
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you will find your coarse cloth finer than his silk
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Pass off his workshop unmindful of everything,
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do not buy his fur in winter.
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His principle is: to kill without striking;
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death lurks in the movement of his machines;
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do not exchange your mat for his rugs
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and your pawn for his queen;
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his pearl is blemished, his ruby impure,
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the musk of this merchant is from the navel of a dog.
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Sleeping on his velvet will rob you of your eyes,
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and its beauty will rob you of yourself.
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You have made a muddle of your affairs,
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do not build up your prestige on his basis;
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a wise person would not drink wine from his pitcher,
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and anyone who did would drop dead in the tavern;
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while negotiating a business deal, he is all smiles and sweet
word,
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we are like children and he is a sweetmeat seller.
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He fully knows the heart and look of the buyer,
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O God! is this commerce or magic?
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Those dealers in merchandise take away all the profit,
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we buyers are all blind.
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O free man, sell, wear and eat
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only that which grows out of your own soil.
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Those pure of heart, who are aware of themselves,
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have themselves sewn their simple garments.
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O you unaware of the deeds of the present age,
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see the skilfulness of the people of Europe.
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They weave out of your wool and silk,
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and then offer them to you for sale.
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Your eyes are taken in by their appearances;
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their colour and glamour turn your head.
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Alas for the river whose waves did not fret,
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and which bought its own pearls from the divers!
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