The Scented Garden

12 Introduction Abdullah is blamed. Mildly blamed, for none would dare express downright disapproval of so exalted an adept ; but it is no doubt for this reason that the Bagh-i-muattar is only allowed to circulate in private, even among Persians themselves ; bes- towed rather upon the already accomplished mys- tic than upon the mere inquirer into the ‘ hikmat ’, and denied existence to the question of the infidel. Perhaps owing to some curious trick of my brain, I found myself (one fine day) in the state which, as far as I can gather, Hindu writers call Samadhi. (Compare the experiences of Burton in the Bombay Presidency, as hinted by Lady Sisted in her admirable sketch of his Life.) Hindus claim that advanced Yogis can always recognize at sight those who have attained this condition, just as the Freemasonry of Paederasts makes the formality of introduction superfluous among free companions of the Craft. I must say that I attribute nine tenths of Bur- ton’s success with natives of Arabia, Africa, and Hindostan to his mastery of their mystic systems, not only as a theoretician, valuable as that is, but as a craftsman. In my own case I am convinced that Mahbub would never have entrusted me with his precious MS. but for the fact that he recognized me as one of the ‘ illuminati ’. Such a secret as that of Samadhi is absolutely safe, because one knows it cannot by any possibility divulge the same. It is a real, not an artificial secret. One could expose Freemason — it has been done repeatedly by idiots who did not understand what it meant — by pub- lishing the rituals and so on. But the secret re- mains and ever must remain the property of those worthy of it ; nor does it necessarily follow that that highest living mason has a knowledge the- reof. But the clothing of the secret, so to speak, can be studied ; and for those whom the glorious garment may fit such study is truly illuminating.