CREATION

Page 2

On Creation and the Nature of Creation :

In the Name of God the Merciful, the PitifulIN the name of the Lord of both wisdom and mind, To nothing sublimer can thought be applied, The Lord of whatever is named or assigned A place, the Sustainer of all and the Guide, The Lord of Saturn and the turning sky, Who causeth Venus, Sun, and Moon to shine, Who is above conception, name, or sign, The Artist of the heaven's jewellery! Him thou canst see not though thy sight thou strain, For thought itself will struggle to attain To One above all name and place in vain, Since mind and wisdom fail to penetrate Beyond our elements, but operate On matters that the senses render plain. None then can praise God as He is. Observe Thy duty: 'tis to gird thyself to serve. He weigheth mind and wisdom; should He be Encompassed by a thought that He hath weighed? Can He be praised by such machinery As this, with mind or soul or reason's aid? Confess His being but affirm no more, Adore Him and all other ways ignore, Observing His commands. Thy source of might Is knowledge: thus old hearts grow young again, But things above the Veil surpass in height All words: God's essence is beyond our ken.

Discourse in Praise of Wisdom :

Speak, sage! the praise of wisdom and rejoice The hearts of those that hearken to thy voice, As God's best gift to thee extol the worth Of wisdom, which will comfort thee and guide, And lead thee by the hand in heaven and earth. Both joy and grief, and gain and loss, betide Therefrom, and when it is eclipsed the sane Know not of happiness one moment more. Thus saith the wise and virtuous man of lore Lest sages search his words for fruit in vain:- "What man soever spurneth wisdom's rede Will by so doing make his own heart bleed; The prudent speak of him as one possessed, And 'he is not of us' his kin protest."

In both worlds wisdom recommendeth thee When gyves are on the ankles of the mad; It is the mind's eye; if thou dost not see Therewith thy journey through this world is sad. It was the first created thing, and still Presideth o'er the mind and faculty Of praise - praise offered by tongue, ear, and eye, All causes it may be of good or ill. To praise both mind and wisdom who would dare? And if I venture, who would hear me through? Since then, O man of wisdom! thou canst do No good by words hereon, proceed, declare Creation's process. God created thee To know appearance and reality. Let wisdom be thy minister to fend Thy mind from all that self-respect should shun, Learn by the words of sages how to wend Thy way, roam earth, converse with every one; And when thou hearest any man of lore Discourse, sleep not, increase thy wisdom's store; But mark, while gazing at the boughs of speech, How much the roots thereof are out of reach.

Of the Making of the World :

The first thing needful for thee is to know The sum of primal elements which He, Who maketh all things, made from naught to show The greatness of His own supremacy. Those elements are fourfold; at their birth No time elapsed and labour had no share; Fire shone above, and in the midst were air And water; underneath was dusky earth. Fire was the first its virtue to unfold; About it moisture ceased and dryness came; Then fire where'er it failed made way for cold, And moisture followed cold. Even so the frame Of this our Wayside Hostelry was made. When these four primal elements combined, They wrought, each on the rest, till every kind Of products as we see them was displayed. The turning vault of heaven showed its face, Exhibiting new wonders day by day, The Seven Planets then began their sway In yon Twelve Houses; each one took its place, Foreboding good and ill, and giving fit Return to every one that hath the wit To read. The heavens, fettered sphere to sphere, Moved as their making to completion came, And then this earth, with mountain, desert, mere, And upland, shone as 'twere a lamp aflame.

The mountains reared themselves, the streams gushed out, While from the soil the herbs began to sprout. Our earth was not vouchsafed a lofty stead; Obscurity and gloom prevailed around, But stars displayed their wonders overhead And light grew more abundant on the ground; Then fire arose and water sank, the sun About the world its course began to run. The herbage and the various kinds of trees Grew up as fortune would. No faculties Have they but growth. Thus fixed they were the prey Of all the animals that passed, while they, The roamers, aim at safety, nourishment, And rest; with such a life they are content. With sluggish wits and tongues that never spake, They browse upon the briar and the brake, Acknowledging no end as wrong or right And not required to offer reverence To Him who, having wisdom, justice, might, Hath not withheld one single excellence.

Of the Nature of Man :

A farther step-man cometh into sight; Locks had been made; he was the key of each. With head erect and cypresslike in height, Submiss to wisdom and endowed with speech, Possessed of knowledge, wisdom, reasoning, He ruleth other creatures as their king. Observe awhile with wisdom for thy guide Doth "man" imply one nature, one alone? Thou know'st it may be but the feeble side Of mortal man, wherein no trace is shown Of aught beyond, and yet two worlds agree - A mighty partnership - to furnish thee. By nature first, in order last, art thou; Hold not thyself then lightly. I have known Shrewd men speak otherwise, but who shall trow The secrets that pertain to God alone? Look to the end, act ever rightfully And toil, since sloth and knowledge ne'er agree; But if thou wouldst escape calamity, In both worlds from the net of bale be freed And in God's sight a righteous man indeed, Then to yon swiftly turning dome thy gaze Direct, that cause of anguish and relief, A dome not fretted by the lapse of days And unaffected by our joy or grief; It stayeth not to rest but turneth still, Not perishing like us but undecayed There both the term and process are displayed, There are revealed to thee both good and ill.

Of the Nature of the Sun :

Of ruby is yon azure dome, not made Of air and water, dust and smoke; 'tis all With lamp and torch in many a spot arrayed Like gardens for the New Year's festival. Within the dome a gladdening Gem behold Revolving; thence the light of day is spread, And every morning like a shield of gold It raiseth from the East its shining head; The earth is clad in robes of spreading light, The sun declineth and there cometh night; Day ne'er o'ertaketh night, nor night the day, Most regular in all their movements they. O thou my Sun! hast thou for me no ray?

Of the Nature of the Moon :

Though night be dark there is a light assured See that thou use it not unworthily. Two days and nights its features are obscured, Worn soothly by revolving; presently 'Tis seen again but pallid, thin, and backed, Like one who by the pangs of love is racked. Then if the gazer far away secure A glimpse thereof; 'tis quickly lost to sight; But on the following eve it seemeth more And yieldeth unto thee a larger light. In fourteen days it waxeth full and bright, In four teen waneth till its course is run, Diminishing as night succeedeth night And drawing nearer to the blazing sun. Such was the nature given by God's decree And will be, while the moon itself shall be.

Source :

http://www.heritageinstitute.com/
zoroastrianism/shahnameh/
page02.htm