"Now he knows his whole being. Knowing it, he knows that it was God who initiated the whole search: 'I could love him because his love has stirred my heart in the first place.'

"And this sutra also states the very fundamental of Sufism, of the path of love: Love never tries to conquer, yet it conquers. Hate always tries to conquer, but never conquers. Hate is impotent to conquer; it aspires, it is very ambitious, but it is doomed to fail. Love has no idea of conquering, love has no idea of dominating, love has no idea of becoming the first in the world. Yet love becomes the first, the conqueror.

"Jesus says: Those who are the last in this world will be the first in my kingdom of God. And vice versa.

"Lao Tzu preaches the way of water, the watercourse way. He says: The rock is strong, is in every way trying to conquer, is aggressive, resistant, but ultimately is defeated, is destroyed, becomes the sand and disappears into the ocean. Water is very humble, non-pretentious, non-resistant, has no motivation for conquering anybody or destroying anybody, is always ready to bow down, to surrender. But whenever there is a conflict between water and rock, the rock is ultimately defeated – water, never.

"Sanai is saying:

Love's conqueror is he
whom love conquers.

"To conquer in the world of love – and the world of love is the world of God – to conquer in the world of love, one needs to be in a very deep total surrender. One needs to be conquered by love. And when love conquers you, you are enthroned, you are crowned, you are victorious. But only when love conquers you.

"Never resist. Resistance is doomed to fail, because resistance dissipates your energy.

"Lao Tzu again says: Don't be like a big strong tree – because when the storm comes and the great wind blows, the big tree will resist, and because of that resistance, will fall down. The fault is not of the great wind, the fault lies in the great tree's egoistic resistance: it does not want to bend, hence it dies.

"And look at the grass."