I Give Praise To Thee, O My God, That The Fragrance

Sources: Prayers And Meditations

I give praise to Thee, O my God, that the fragrance of Thy loving-kindness

hath enraptured me, and the gentle winds of Thy mercy have inclined me in

the direction of Thy bountiful favors. Make me to quaff, O my Lord, from

the fingers of Thy bounteousness the living waters which have enabled

every one that hath partaken of them to rid himself of all attachment to

any one save Thee, and to soar into the atmosphere of detachment from ll

Thy creatures, and to fix his gaze upon Thy loving providence and Thy

manifold gifts.



Make me ready, in all circumstances, O my Lord, to serve Thee and to set

myself towards the adored sanctuary of Thy Revelation and of Thy Beauty.

If it be Thy pleasure, make me to grow as a tender herb in the meadows of

Thy grace, that the gentle winds of Thy will may stir me up and bend me

into conformity with Thy pleasure, in such wise that my movement and my

stillness may be wholly directed by Thee.





Thou art He, by Whose name the Hidden Secret was divulged, and the

Well-Guarded Name was revealed, and the seals of the sealed-up Goblet were

opened, shedding thereby its fragrance over all creation, whether of the

past or of the future. He who was athirst, O my Lord, hath hasted to

attain the living waters of Thy grace, and the wretched creature hath

yearned to immerse himself beneath the ocean of Thy riches.



I swear by Thy glory, O Lord the Beloved of the world and the Desire of

all them that have recognized Thee! I am sore afflicted by the grief of my

separation from Thee, in the days when the Day-Star of Thy presence hath

shed its radiance upon Thy people. Write down, then, for me the recompense

decreed for such as have gazed on Thy face, and have, by Thy leave, gained

admittance into the court of Thy throne, and have, at Thy bidding, met

Thee face to face.



I implore Thee, O my Lord, by Thy name the splendors of which have

encompassed the earth and the heavens, to enable me so to surrender my

will to what Thou hast decreed in Thy Tablets, that I may cease to

discover within me any desire except what Thou didst desire through the

power of Thy sovereignty, and any will save what Thou didst destine for me

by Thy will.



Whither shall I turn, O my God, powerless as I am to discover any other

way except the way Thou didst set before Thy chosen Ones? All the atoms of

the earth proclaim Thee to be God, and testify that there is none other

God besides Thee. Thou hast from eternity been powerful to do what Thou

hast willed, and to ordain what Thou hast pleased.



Do Thou destine for me, O my God, what will set me, at all times, towards

Thee, and enable me to cleave continually to the cord of Thy grace, and to

proclaim Thy name, and to look for whatsoever may flow down from Thy pen.

I am poor and desolate, O my Lord, and Thou art the All-Possessing, the

Most High. Have pity, then, upon me through the wonders of Thy mercy, and

send down upon me, every moment of my life, the things wherewith Thou hast

recreated the hearts of all Thy creatures who have recognized Thy unity,

and of all Thy people who are wholly devoted to Thee.



Thou, verily, art the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing, the

All-Wise.