He hath through all eternity been free of the attributes of human
creatures, and ever will remain so. No man hath ever known Him; no soul
hath ever found the pathway to His Being. Every mystic knower hath
wandered far astray in the valley of the knowledge of Him; every saint
hath lost his way in seeking to comprehend His Essence. Sanctified is He
above the understanding of the wise; exalted is He above the knowledge of
the knowing! The way is barred and to seek it is impiety; His proof is His
signs; His being is His evidence.(41)

Wherefore, the lovers of the face of the Beloved have said: “O Thou, the
One Whose Essence alone showeth the way to His Essence, and Who is
sanctified above any likeness to His creatures.”(42) How can utter
nothingness gallop its steed in the field of preexistence, or a fleeting
shadow reach to the everlasting sun? The Friend(43) hath said, “But for
Thee, we had not known Thee,” and the Beloved(44) hath said, “nor attained
Thy presence.”

Yea, these mentionings that have been made of the grades of knowledge
relate to the knowledge of the Manifestations of that Sun of Reality,
which casteth Its light upon the Mirrors. And the splendor of that light
is in the hearts, yet it is hidden under the veilings of sense and the
conditions of this earth, even as a candle within a lantern of iron, and
only when the lantern is removed doth the light of the candle shine out.

In like manner, when thou strippest the wrappings of illusion from off
thine heart, the lights of oneness will be made manifest.

Then it is clear that even for the rays there is neither entrance nor
exit—how much less for that Essence of Being and that longed-for Mystery.
O My Brother, journey upon these planes in the spirit of search, not in