In search of a Saki....

Where art thou O Saki, where are thou?
Come forth for my soul yearns for that wine,
That ruby wine tasted by the pure in paradise.
Come O Saki pour thy wine into the vessel of my soul,
Wherever thou art, I shall search and find thee,
And having found thee shall never let thee go,
Until my thirst is quenched and my being drenched
In that wine which we drank in the pre-eternal dawn,
And shall drink again in the beatific eve of our earthly life.

From the collection 'Poems of the Way' by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

(Saki means spiritual master)

Die before you die....

Go die, O man of honor, before you die,
So that you will not suffer the pangs of death,
Die in such a way as to enter the abode of light,
Not the death that places you in the grave,

Rumi

My Madonna....

I haled me a woman from the street,
Shameless, but, oh, so fair!
I bade her sit in the model's seat
And I painted her sitting there.

I hid all trace of her heart unclean;
I painted a babe at her breast;
I painted her as she might have been
If the Worst had been the Best.

She laughed at my picture and went away.
Then came, with a knowing nod,
A connoisseur, and I heard him say;
"'Tis Mary, the Mother of God."

So I painted a halo round her hair,
And I sold her and took my fee,
And she hangs in the church of Saint Hillaire,
Where you and all may see.

Robert W Service

Whatever...

Whatever you have in your mind -
forget it....
Whatever you have in your hand -
give it...
Whatever is to be your fate -
face it...

ABU SA'ID...

person of the heart....

Become a person of the heart
or at least the devotee of one;
Or else, you will remain
like a donkey stuck in the mud

If one has no heart,
one has no benefits;
In wretchedness, one
will be famous in the world.

Rumi...

want to do something useful?

Fasting is a way to save on food.
Vigil and prayer is a labor for old folks.
Pilgrimage is an occasion for tourism.
To distribute bread in alms is something for philanthropists.
Fall in love:
That is doing something!

Ansari.

Song of Love.....

SONG OF LOVE

I am the lover’s eyes, and the spirit’s

Wine, and the heart’s nourishment.

I am a rose. My heart opens at dawn and

The virgin kisses me and places me

Upon her breast.

I am the house of true fortune, and the

Origin of pleasure, and the beginning

Of peace and tranquility. I am the gentle

Smile upon the lips of beauty. When youth

Overtakes me he forgets his toil, and his

Whole life becomes reality of sweet dreams.

I am the poet’s elation

And the artist’s revelation,

And the musician’s inspiration.

I am a sacred shrine in the heart of a

Child, adored by a merciful mother.

I appear to a heart’s cry: I shun a demand:

My fullness pursues the heart’s desire:

It shuns the empty claim of the voice.

I appeared to Adam through Eve

And exile was his lot:

Yet I revealed myself to Solomon, and

He drew wisdom from my presence.

I smiled at Helena and she destroyed Tarwada:

Yet I crowned Cleopatra and peace dominated

The Valley of the Nile.

I am like the ages –building today

And destroying tomorrow:

I am like a god, who creates and ruins:

I am sweeter than a violet”s sigh:

I am more violent than a raging tempest.

Gifts alone do not entice me:

Parting does not discourage me:

Poverty does not chase me:

Jealousy does not prove my awareness:

Madness does not evidence my presence.

Oh seekers, I am Truth, beseeching Truth:

And your Truth in seeking and receiving

And protecting me shall determine my

Behaviour.

Khalil Gibran, from Tears and Laughter

A woman saint on her love of God....

Mechthild of Magdeburg expresses her spiritual experiences as below:

In overcoming the world

Renouncing all desires

And defeating the ego

The soul comes to God.

If the world gives blow

It causes no sorrow;

If the flesh gives her a kick,

The spirit does not fall sick.

Though the devil may dare

The soul does not care.

She loveth and loveth

And knows nothing other.

You will only feel free

If love possess you:

All your teaching is useless,

For I cannot be loveless.

I want to be imprisoned by love:

I cannot live without love:

Where it is, there I must go,

In life or death I dont know.

It is the foolishness of the fools

Who live without sorrow and heartache.

You and I..

Early in the day it was whispered that we should sail in a boat, only thou and I, and never a soul in the world would know of this our pilgrimage to no country and to no end.

In that shoreless ocean, at thy silently listening smile my songs would swell in melodies, free as waves, free from all bondage of words.

Is the time not come yet? Are there works still to do? Lo, the evening has come down upon the shore and in the fading light the seabirds come flying to their nests.

Who knows when the chains will be off, and the boat, like the last glimmer of sunset, vanish into the night?

Gitanjali....

Mercy...

Let mercy be you Mecca:
Instead of fasts use humility:
Seek no other paradise than abiding by the Word of your teacher;
For houris, seek in your paradise
The fragrance of the light
That streams from the Lord;
Seek no other palace or pleasure than devotion to God.
To practice truth is to be a Qazi (Muslim Judge)
To purify the heart is to be a Haji (a Muslim who has undertaken
the pilgrimage),
To shame the devil is to be a Mullah (a Muslim cleric).
To praise God is to be a Dervish ( a Sufi mystic known for ecstatic dancing).

Let your first prayer be God's praises,
Your second inner peace,
Your third humility, your fourth charity,
Your fifth subduing the five senses to God.
While you live, remember God.
Instead of washing your hands before prayer
Get rid of your evil deeds.

Guru Nanak.

Veil..

What's all this tale about the veil?
Fred and Gail shout and hail
Straw as hero
For his hail of fire on Aïsha's attire.
Did Straw want Aïsha to show
Herself from head to toe?
Let Gail wear a mini-skirt
For her flirt.
And let Aïsha wear on her face
Or on her hair
Whatever piece
That would bring her peace
Vis-à-vis God and vis-à-vis Man.
Oh, man!
Why d'you wish her to disclose
Her beautiful eyes and nice nose
Or her lips or her hips
If that belongs to her?
Come on, Sir!
That body you want her to show
Is a diamond dearer than the glow
Of the face of Marilyn Monroe!


Mohamed Ali LAGOUADER Morroco,
http://hikayatblady.blogspot.com/

Through the Looking Glass....

A boat, beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July..

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear...

Long has paled that sunny sky;
Echoes fade and memories die;
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die.

Ever drifting down the stream..
Lingering in the garden gleam
Life, what is it but a dream?

Lewis Carroll...

Chinese way to peace....

If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.

Lao-Tse, Chinese Philosopher, 6th Century BCE.