states which the seeker passes through, all of which have their technical terms.

In addition, the aspirant must pass through the seven ascending planes of consciousness, in which these states are experienced. The Quran says:

Blessed is He . . . who created seven heavens one upon another. (v. 67)

And the Sufi master Attar in his Conference of the Birds states:

"There are seven valleys on the way. When you have passed through these seven      valleys, you reach the Presence Chamber."

The planes of consciousness have been thoroughly and concisely explained in our own day by Meher Baba, in God Speaks , as a logical succession of experiences gathered by the mind progressing from finite consciousness towards infinite consciousness. Significantly, Baba describes the experience of these planes with couplets from ghazals of Hafiz:

"It is not known where the real abode of the Divine Beloved is:

 Only this much is clear, that I hear the sound of bells (from the travelling caravan)."

The above describes the First Plane, in which the predominant experience is celestial music, "which Hafiz refers to as bange jarasi (the ringing of bells)", says Baba. The Second Plane is referred to by Hafiz:

"How should I reveal to you that last night in the tavern, intoxicated and unsteady as I was,

Great good tidings were brought to me by the angel of the hidden world."

This plane is characterized by perfumes and fragrances. The Third Plane is meant by Hafiz when he says:

"What perturbation and distress this musician with knowledge of (spiritual) states and stages (muqamat) is causing the listeners (lovers), by interpolating in the midst of his performance (ghazal), the words of the Divine Beloved."

This in fact was one way in which the ghazal was used by the Sufis. Those with knowledge of these states would sing ghazals referring to them in the assemblies of Sufis, contributing to the ecstatic states of the devotees. It might be noted in passing that the Arab word mutrib (musician), also means dervish teacher, and is the root from which the word "Troubadour" is derived.

There is a state between planes, called mugam-i-hariat , in which the pilgrim is "dazed" (hariat means enchantment). There are documented cases of those in this state who remain motionless for years, and Hafiz says of this state:

"Make me so dazed and intoxicated that, on account of this state of forgetfulness, I should     be oblivious of what came into my mind and what passed out of it."

There are poems characteristic of each of these planes. The last before attainment of Infinite Consciousness (or "God-realization of the Seventh Plane") is the Sixth Plane, where the pilgrim sees nothing but God "face to face":

"We have seen the face of the Beloved reflected in the cup (of our heart). Oh ignorant one,      no notion have you of the Bliss that we imbibe therefrom."

This then was the function of the ghazal for the Sufi, as a means to express his experience and beliefs in a culture whose religious and secular authorities were hostile to them. Not only did the understanding of a shared imagery serve to reinforce their own experiences, and the faith of those who joined them, but it