“ Men are so intent on their own low objects of pursuit that they see not their foes who are trying to make them their prey. ”
Rumi, Masnavi (1273). copy citation
| Author | Rumi |
|---|---|
| Source | Masnavi |
| Topic | intent foes |
| Date | 1273 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | Masnavi, Book V |
| Note | Translated by Edward Henry Whinfield |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Masnavi_I_Ma'navi/Book_V |
Context
“This is followed by the admonition that the only way to be safe from one's internal enemies is to annihilate self, a,nd to be absorbed in the eternity of God, as the light of the stars is lost in the light of the noonday sun. Everything but God is at once preyed on by others, and itself preys on others, like the fowl which, when catching a worm, was itself caught by a cat. Men are so intent on their own low objects of pursuit that they see not their foes who are trying to make them their prey. Thus it is said, "Before them have we set a barrier, and behind them a barrier, so that they shall not see." 8 Persons who lust after the vile pleasures of this world, and desire long life, not to serve God, but to satisfy their own carnal lusts, resemble the crow slain by Abraham, because he only lived for the sake of carrion;”
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