The Immortal People

[Mario]

For our next selection from the MIT AIP lecture (see THE SECRETS of LIFE and DEATH) given on January 8, 1986, we have a story called "THE IMMORTAL PEOPLE."

As I had mentioned in the preamble to "THE SECRETS of LIFE and DEATH" the Daheshist sister (one of the inheritors of the Dahesh estate) entered the following introductory paragraph:

" The following story describes the spiritual ascension from a lower sphere or world to a higher and better one. And the way to do that is by deserving it."

THE IMMORTAL PEOPLE

Assadullah walked the streets of the city of Sparkling Light. His hair was long and reached his feet. It glittered like gold in the rays of the six suns that shone over that far-flung city in endless cosmic space. As things were, black hair turned to gold when a man reached five hundred years of age. He would then realize his is old and that he carries on his shoulders the weight of hundreds of years.

Assadullah was a strong man full of energy. He was clever and well read, and authority on the arts and cosmic literature. When the people planet Sadalayim tried to invade the Cit of Sparking Light he defended it bravely, his war machines destroying more than one thousand men as if they were useless toys.

His head was crowned with the sacred Eucalyptus. Banquets were held in his honor. The planet Esmandion directed its violet rays on him surrounding Assadullah in recognition of his bravery. He breathed the odor of the lights on that planet, and his soul was in ecstasy. He was drawn by that light. In a moment he had entered it like a victor.

One normally needed a million light years to travel from the City of Sparkling Light to the planet Esmadion. But those to whom that planet sent its violet rays would find themselves roaming in that fantastic planet in no time at all. Assadullah was welcomed by the beauties from over there with singing and dancing. But one of them in particular attracted him. He bowed before her and kissed her white hand. She then leaned over and encircled him with her arms and gave him the kiss of marriage which in that planet is indissoluble. It is eternal, for love in that planet is everlasting over the ages. It is required from those who are tided by that sacred bond to be born again by their love after a thousand years. After that his mother becomes his wife throughout the ages to come.

When Assadullah married Baha' al Rabi' he was barely five hundred years old, a hot blooded youth. The span of life in the city of Sparkling Light was a thousand years. Therefore he cannot have his fill of his beloved before five hundred years. He prayed God to make him forget her so that he wouldn't have to live those long years in sadness and despair, while the flame of her love burned within him making his life intolerable.

Anyone from there was forbidden from marriage with a girl from Esmandion before the thousand years were over. Then he would travel to Esmandion. As soon as he reaches there his spiritual fluids would undergo a change getting in harmony with this world. Then he could marry his beloved.

Assadullah longed so much for his sweetheart that he tried to hug her but it was like hugging the air. He was astonished. "How is it then," he asked himself "that she kissed me and I felt her kiss. And now I try to hold her and I find myself holding the air, even though she was near me."

"The laws of this planet," he heard an invisible voice say, "allow you, as a hero, to feel her kiss because she is going to be your wife and your love when your days are over in the planet Esmandion, and your beloved shall give birth to you, and when you grow up and become strong she will be your wife and you will be her beloved husband."

Assadullah grew sad, even though he was given a resounding welcome and the scenes he saw were beautiful. Throughout his wonderings in that city of fine arts he felt dejected because could not remain near his love. He stayed in that strange world for twenty years.

The inhabitants of Esmandion never go to sleep, and of the night they only know the name. For they bathed in constant sunshine, flooded with light wherever they went. When they walked they would draw a star with their fingers over their foreheads and they would rise in the air and walk as if they treaded on the ground.

He was dazzled by the trees in that enchanting planet. Each leaf was a different color, and each tree bore a variety of fruits. They were delicious to the taste, melting immediately in the mouth. If he tried to pick a fruit that appealed to him but the fluid of which was harmful to him, it would say to him in its mellow voice: "Don't. For I am intended for others who deserve punishment for their bad deeds."

Punishment in that planet fell harshly on those who disobeyed its rules. Assadullah was astounded when he entered the Wood of Paradise and saw the Peacock Tree with its huge branches, full of every kind of bird, all singing together, making one forget his cares. Hours, weeks, and months ceased to exist under the spell of that enchanting wood. So that the twenty years soon went by and Assadullah returned to the City or Sparkling Light, carried on the rays of violet.

Drums were beaten in joy and millions rushed to receive the hero who was returning from a distant planet. The years went by while Assadullah waited for them to end so that he may join his beloved. He frequently thought of suicide in order to put an end to his life so that he can join her, but the inhabitants of that strange cit cannot commit suicide. Even if a person threw himself from the top of the mountain he would stand up again, unhurt. Death comes only after a thousand years of a man's life are over. For this reason a man counts the seconds until then, wishing they could cease for only then would happiness begin.

And since all beginnings have an end, the 500 years that remained of Assadullah's life went by. He was now one week short of 1000 years.

(To be continued in the MEMBERS ONLY section. See Doctor Dahesh's writings)