Selected Readings

Representative passages from the manuscript’s four-part journey, preserving its comparative style and poetic voice.

Part I – Foundations of the Inner Path

Chapter 1-1: Five Passions of the Mind

These five elements are: lust (Kama), anger (Krodha), vanity (Ahankara), greed (Lobha), and attachments (Moha).

Anger (Krodha)

Kodha / KROHD-dah — ANGER, one of the destructive FIVE PASSIONS OF THE MIND; tantrums, fury, mental carcinoma, slander, evil gossip, backbiting, profanity, faultfinding, jealousy, malice, impatience, resentment, mockery, destructive criticism, and ill will. The antidote is one of the FIVE VIRTUES: FORGIVENESS AND TOLERANCE.
— Harold Klemp, A Cosmic Sea of Words: The ECKANKAR Lexicon
Break your anger; do not break the arrow,
For the eye of your anger sees the lion as blood.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
The rough-tempered one who wears the woolen garments of a Mullah has not caught the scent of love;
Tell him a secret of ecstasy so he may abandon sobriety.
— Hāfez
Anger and lust make a man cross-eyed;
Steadfastness transforms the soul.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī

Greed (Lobha)

Lobha / LOHB-hah — GREED; one of the FIVE PASSIONS OF THE MIND; miserliness, lying, hypocrisy, perjury, misrepresentation, robbery, bribery, and trickery of all sorts. The antidote is one of the FIVE VIRTUES: CONTENTMENT.
— Harold Klemp, A Cosmic Sea of Words
Greed makes one blind, foolish, and ignorant;
Death becomes easy for the foolish.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
No one has ever died from contentment;
No one has ever become a king through greed.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī

Attachment (Moha)

Moha / MOH-hah — Delusive ATTACHMENT, infatuation, procrastination, worries, anxieties, and business complications; the opposite of DETACHMENT; one of the destructive FIVE PASSIONS OF THE MIND.
— Harold Klemp, A Cosmic Sea of Words
Having seen the back of the world, look at the face of the world;
Turn your back on yourself (little self) so that the world may reveal itself.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Do not attach your heart to the world and ask with God-intoxication.
For the grace of the cup and the tale of the victorious Jamshid.
— Hāfez
The trees are burdened because they have attachments;
How blessed is the cypress, which is free from the burden of sorrow.
— Hāfez

Vanity (Ahankara)

Ahankara — VANITY, one of the FIVE PASSIONS OF THE MIND; the antidote is one of the FIVE VIRTUES: HUMILITY.
— Harold Klemp, A Cosmic Sea of Words
The one who is full of himself (full of vanity), not even a hundred thousand prophets can make them empty.
— Shams al-Dīn Tabrīzī, Maqālāt-e Shams
Hāfez, do not let go of humility, for envy
Destroyed the honor, wealth, heart, and faith of the arrogant.
— Hāfez

Lust (Kama)

Wine is not the only cause of the intoxication of the mind;
Whatever is lustful blinds the eyes and ears.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Not everyone can be called insightful;
Loving is one thing, and self-indulgence is another.
If a person can overcome the lust of the ego,
They become truly human; otherwise, they remain an animal.
— Saadi
Part I – Foundations of the Inner Path

Chapter 1-2: Ego

ego — The realization of one’s self as a HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS; the personality; the mental self, the “I.” When we rise above it, we become the INDIVIDUAL SOUL.
— Harold Klemp, A Cosmic Sea of Words: The ECKANKAR Lexicon
“And remember this — all selfish desires and thoughts defeat their own purposes. We must become the conscious coworker of the universe in order to gain the greatest that God can give! … The ego of man thinks, ‘What can I make another person do for me?’ … If one desires to conquer he must turn his life to letting the Divine Will rule.” — Paul Twitchell
Whoever dies within him his ego,
The sun and clouds obey him.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Abaa Yazid Bastami saw his ego as fat and said, “Why are you so deceived?” It replied, “By something that you cannot remedy! And that is when people come to prostrate to you, and you see yourself deserving of that prostration!” He said, “You are dominant! In the end, I cannot defeat you.” If Abu Yazid had known, he would never have said “I am.”
— Shams Tabrizi
When you are with your ego, the beloved seems like a thorn to you,
And when you are without your ego, what else do you need from the beloved?
In the moment you are with your ego, you are the prey of a mosquito,
And in the moment you are without your ego, you become the hunter of elephants.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Ego and Satan are one body,
They have shown themselves in two forms.
If one seeks the food of the ego, it leads to ruin,
But if one seeks the nourishment of the soul, it brings joy.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
How can you escape ego without the cup of HU®?
O you who have become content with the name of HU®, while missing the HU.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Part II – Spiritual Practice, the Master, and Inner Discipline

Chapter 2-1: HU®

The sacred sound HU is presented in the book as a point of comparative interest between classical Persian mystical practice and certain modern contemplative traditions. The chapter gathers verses that speak of the divine name, the breath of God, and the power of sacred sound.

How can you escape ego without the cup of HU®?
O you who have become content with the name of HU®, while missing the HU.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Knowledge that does not come from HU® is a burden.
Knowledge not born of HU® directly does not stay, just like the color of henna.
But if you carry this burden well, they will take up the burden and grant you joy.
Do not carry the burden of knowledge for mere desire, so you may see the storehouse of knowledge within.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Note: HU® is a registered trademark of ECKANKAR. Its appearance here is for comparative and educational purposes only. This work is not affiliated with or endorsed by ECKANKAR.
Part IV – Realization and Integration

Chapter 4-1: Self-realization

Self-realization — the entering of Soul into the SOUL PLANE; the first PLANE of the heavenly country, and beholding Itself as pure SPIRIT, stripped of all materiality; Soul recognition on the ATMA Lok, the Fifth Plane.
— Harold Klemp, A Cosmic Sea of Words
“Man is a god clothed in rags, a master of the universe, going about begging a crust of bread. He is a king, prostrated before his own servants, a prisoner, walled in by his own ignorance. He could be free. He has only to walk out of his self-constructed prison. None hold him, but himself.” — Paul Twitchell
What concern do you have with the eternal nature of the world?
Seek to understand your own eternity — are you eternal or temporal?
Spend the few years you have to investigate your own condition,
Why waste them investigating the eternity of the world?
— Shams al-Dīn Tabrīzī, Maqālāt-e Shams
For years, the heart sought the Cup of Jamshid (metaphor for Soul’s Eye) from us,
Yet it was asking of strangers for what it already possessed.
The pearl that lies beyond the shell of space and time,
Was sought by the lost on the shore of the sea.
— Hāfez
You know what is permissible and what is not,
But first, look closely at whether you yourself are righteous or not.
You know the value of every item,
But not knowing your own worth is pure ignorance.
The essence of all knowledge is this:
To know who you are on the Day of Judgment.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
We have realized that we are not this body,
Beyond the body, we live with God.
Blessed is the one who knows their true essence,
Building a palace in the eternal safety of the Divine.
— Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī

These are selected excerpts. The full book contains extensive commentary, additional poems, and comparative analysis.

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