Greetings
In reference to Gnostic references, (not the Christian heretical consideration)
-- Marifa, Sleepers, Seeker, etc . . .
Once in a country where all men were like kings, there lived a family, who were
in every way content, and whose surroundings were such that the human tongue
cannot describe them in terms of anything
which is known to man today. This country of Sharq seemed satisfactory to the
young prince Dhat: until one day his parents told him:
"Dearest son of ours, it is the necessary custom of our land for each royal
prince, when he attains a certain age, to go forth on a trial. This is in order
to fit himself for kingship and so that both in repute and in fact he should
have achieved--by watchfulness and effort--a degree of manliness not to be
attained in any other way. Thus it had been ordained from the beginning, and
thus it will be until the end.
Prince Dhat therefore prepared himself for his journey, and his family provided
him with such sustenance they could: a special food which would nourish him
during an exile, but which was of small compass though of illimitable quantity.
They also gave him certain other resources, which it is not possible to mention,
to guard him, if they were properly used. He had to travel to a certain
country, called Misr, and he had to go in disguise. He was therefore given
guides for the journey, and clothes befitting his new condition: clothes which
scarcely resembled one royal-born. His task was to bring back from Misr a
certain jewel, which was guarded by a fearsome monster.
When his guides departed, Dhat was alone, but before long he came across someone
else who was on a similar mission, and together they were able to keep alive the
memory of their sublime origins. But, because the air and the food of that
country, a kind of sleep soon descended upon the pair, and Dhat forgot his
mission. For years he lived in Misr, earning his keep and following a humble
vocation, seemingly unaware of what he should be doing.
By a means which was familiar to them but unknown to other people, the
inhabitants of Sharq came to know of the dire situation of Dhat, and they worked
together in such a way as they could, to help release him and to enable him to
persevere with his mission. A message was sent by a strange means to the
princeling, saying: "Awake! For you are the son of a king, sent on a special
undertaking, and to us you must return."
This message woke the prince, who found his way to the monster, and by use of
special sounds, caused it to fall into a sleep; and he seized the priceless gem
which it had been guarding. Now Dhat followed the sounds of the message which
had woken him, changed his garb for that of his own land, and retraced his
steps, guided by the sound, to the country of Sharq.
In a surprisingly short time, Dhat again beheld his ancient robes, and the
country of his fathers, and reached home. This time, however, through his
experiences, he was able to see that it was somewhere of greater splendor than
ever before, a safety to him; and he realized that it was the place commemorated
vaguely by the people of Misr as Salamat: which they took to be the word for
submission, but which he now realized meant--peace.
as collected by Idries Shah
Enjoy
ZenDervish
Kirk
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