During the reign of an Eastern sovereign, he remarked that the learned men of his time differed widely in their estimate of the Deity, each ascribing to Him different characteristics. So he had an elephant brought in secret to his capital and placed in a dark chamber; then, inviting those learned men, he told them that he was in possession of an animal which none of them had ever seen. He requested them to accompany him to the chamber, and, on entering it, said that the animal was before them, and asked if they could see it. Being answered in the negative, he begged them to approach and feel it, which they did, each touching it in a different part. After returning to the light, he asked them what they thought the animal was really like. One declared that it was a huge column, another that it was a rough hide, a third that it was of ivory, a fourth that it had huge flaps of some coarse substance; but not one could correctly state what the animal was. They returned to the chamber, and when the light was let in, those learned men beheld for the first time the object of their curiosity, and learned that, whilst each was correct in what he had said, all differed widely from the truth.
Though a pantheist, Jalaluddin lays great stress on the fact of man's sinfulness and frailty and on the personality of the Devil, as in the following lines:—
Many a net the Devil spreads, weaving snare on snare, We, like foolish birds, are caught captive unaware; From one net no sooner free, straightway in another We are tangled, fresh defeats aspirations smother; Till upon the ground we lie, helpless as a stone, We, who might have gained the sky, we, who might have flown. When we seek to house our grain, pile a goodly store, Pride, a hidden mouse, is there nibbling evermore; Till upon the harvest day, lo, no golden heap, But a mildewed mass of chaff maggots overcreep. Many a brilliant spark is born where the hammers ply, But a lurking thief is there; prompt, with finger sly, Spark on spark he puts them out, sparks which might have soared Perish underneath his touch. Help us then, O Lord! What with gin and trap and snare, pitfall and device, How shall we poor sinners reach Thy fair paradise?
Again, in contradiction to logical pantheism Jalaluddin lays stress on man's free-will and responsibility, as in the following illustration:—
On the frontier set, the warden of a fort, Far from his monarch and his monarch's court, Holds the fort, let foemen bluster as they may, Nor for fear or favour will his trust betray; Far from his monarch, on the empire's edge, He, with his master, keeps unbroken pledge; Surely then his lord his worth will higher own, Than their prompt obedience who surround his throne; In the Master's absence a little work done well Weighs more than a great one when his eyes compel; Now is the time to show who faith and trust will keep, Once probation over, faith and trust are cheap.
However much individual Sufis may have fallen into Antinomianism and acted as if there was no essential difference between good and evil, the great Sufi teachers have always enjoined self-mortification, quoting the saying, "Die before you die." This dying is divided by them into three kinds: "black death" (suffering oppression from others), "red death" (mortifying the flesh), and "white death" (suffering hunger). Jalaluddin illustrates this by the following parable:—
A merchant from India a parrot had brought, And pent in a narrow cage, sorrow-distraught With longing for freedom. One day the good man Determined to try with his wares Hindustan; So he said to his parrot, 'What gift shall I bring From the land you were born in—what curious thing?' The parrot replied, 'There are kinsfolk of mine Flying blithe in those woods, for whose freedom I pine; (Oh, the green woods of India!). Go, tell them my state— A captive in grip of implacable fate— And say, "Is it justice that I should despair While you, where you list, can flash swift through the air, Can peck at the pineapples, bathe in the springs, And spread in the sunlight your green-gleaming wings?" His message the man took, and made his word good When he came where the parrots flew free in the wood; But no sooner the message was given than one Like lead to the earth fell as dead as a stone. The merchant upbraided himself, 'It is clear This parrot of mine was a relative dear, And the shock has been fatal; myself am to blame.' When his journey was finished and homeward he came, His parrot inquired, 'Hast brought me a crumb Of comfort in sorrow where, caged, I sit dumb?' The merchant said, 'No; 'twas a pity you sent, For the message you gave proved of fatal content; As soon as I gave it one shuddered and fell Stone-dead, as if struck by some magical spell.' No sooner that bird's fate it heard, than his own On the floor of its cage fell as dead as a stone. 'Alas!' cried the merchant, 'my own bird I've killed— My own pretty parrot, so Allah has willed!' Sadly out from the cage the dead body he drew, When, to his amazement, straight upwards it flew And perched on a tree. 'Lo! the message,' he said, 'My friend sent—"Die thou, as I make myself dead, And by dying win freedom." Farewell, master dear, I caught the plain hint with intelligence clear. Thyself reckon dead, and then thou shalt fly Free, free, from the prison of earth to the sky! Spring may come, but on granite will grow no green thing; It was barren in winter, 'tis barren in spring; And granite man's heart is, till grace intervene, And, crushing it, clothe the long barren with green. When the fresh breath of Jesus shall touch the heart's core, It will live, it will breathe, it will blossom once more.'
The last couplet is a good illustration of the different ways in which Christ is regarded by the Sufi poets and by Mohammed in the Koran. In the latter, it is true, He is acknowledged as the Word of God and the Spirit of God, but His work among men is done, having been entirely superseded by the coming of Mohammed, the last and greatest of the prophets. Jalaluddin on the other hand, as in the above couplet, speaks of Christ as still exercising healing influences. Elsewhere he says, referring to the Gospel narrative of Christ's entry into Jerusalem (not mentioned in the Koran), and taking the ass as the symbol of the body pampered by the sensualist:—
You deserted Jesus, a mere ass to feed, In a crowd of asses you would take the lead; Those who follow Jesus, win to wisdom's ranks; Those who fatten asses get a kick for thanks. Pity keep for Jesus, pity not the ass, Let not fleshly impulse intellect surpass. If an ass could somewhat catch of Jesus' mind, Classed among the sages he himself would find; Though because of Jesus you may suffer woe, Still from Him comes healing, never let Him go.