By the law of loving-kindness,
this I have decreed:
any mystic’s claim that is based on intellect
is void.
Perfection captivates
and absorbs imperfection;
he who is not offended by imperfection
is, in truth, perfected.
The seeker of shores
will never drown in the ocean of love;
one who seeks dry land
is not a lover.
Although on the way of the lover
there is none but the Beloved,
rapture and attraction, effacement, extinction
and sobriety are also states to be experienced.
The eye of discrimination is blinded
by the light of union;
he who imagines himself united with the Beloved
has no discernment.
The wine drinkers are drunk and enraptured
with the cupbearer at their side.
Here, anyone who remains sober
is guilty of negligence.
O Nurbakhsh, we spent our days
in the worship of wine
since we learned that life without wine
is lived in vain.