CHAPTER FOURTEEN

O soul: Indeed, the dreams of this world are nothing "true" in relation to the things of this world; likewise, the things of this world are nothing "true" in relation to the World of the Intellect, which is the True Thing and the True Abode.

I have explained these meanings to you, O soul, so that you do not rejoice in what you witness in the world of the senses. Otherwise, you would be like a sleeper who saw beautiful, delightful, and fleeting things in his dream and leaned upon them; then, when he awoke, he grieved and felt anguish over parting with those things he saw in his sleep. Due to the weakness of his intellect and the lack of his [spiritual] work, he might even return to sleep out of longing for what he saw in his dream. If this has become clear to you, O soul, then know that if the soul, while in the world of generation, is witnessing its bliss, pleasures, and joy, it will—upon departing from it—suffer the most intense pain and feel the greatest anguish. In reality, it only returns to [this world] seeking those things it used to witness, out of longing and delight in them.

But whenever the soul, while in the world of generation, is witnessing its misery, sorrows, and constriction, it finds—upon departing from it—the greatest pleasure and the most perfect joy and rest.