Teach me how to love

Sheikh Hasan Juri, the leader of the Sarbadaran movement in the 8th century of Hijri, says: In the year when I moved to Jundishapur, I heard a word from Khawaja Mohammad Mehtab that he would whip me to the grave.

I saw him sitting under the summer sun, spinning yarn and humming a song. I told him, O man of God, teach me to love so that I can worship God with love..

Mehtab said: First, tell me, has a good calligraphy ever made you crazy?
I said: No
▪︎ He said: Has the blooming of a flower in the garden of your house ever relieved you of countless sorrows?
I said: No
▪︎ He said: Have you ever been delighted by a pleasant and charming voice?
I said: No
He said: Has a beautiful face ever changed you so much that you don’t know the way out of the well?
I said: No
He said: Have you ever sung in the rain?
I said: No
He said: Have you ever looked at the sky waiting for snow, to reduce it on your face and the heat inside?

I said: No
▪︎ He said: Has the laughter of a sweet child ever taken you to a trance?
I said: No
▪︎ He said: Has a poem or a verse or an eloquent speech ever made you so unconscious that if you are sitting you stand up and if you are standing you sit down?
I said: No
He said: Have you ever seen the clarity of water or the height of a cedar tree or the softness of a petal or the effort of an ant? I said: No
He said: Have you ever laughed because someone else is smiling and cried because someone else is crying?
I said: No
He said: Have you ever looked at an apple or a pomegranate for more than the time you spend eating it?
I said: No
▪︎ He said: Have you ever fallen in love with a book or a character or a writing or a teacher?
I said: No
▪︎ He said: Have you ever stretched your hand over yourself and flirted with your eyes, ears and eyebrows?
I said: No

He said: Get away from me, you can teach a stone to love, not you!