You Have No Idea

Peace, one and all…

This short and edifying tale comes from Mevlana (Rumi):

‘One day Jesus was walking in the desert with a group of insincere and self-absorbed seekers.  They begged him to tell them the secret name which he used to bring the dead back to life.  Jesus said, ‘If I tell you, you will use its power wrongly’.  They swore they would use the knowledge humbly and wisely and went on begging him.

‘You have no idea what you are asking for,’ Jesus said, but he told them nevertheless.

Soon afterwards, the group was walking in a part of the desert where the ground was heaped with whitening bones.  ‘Let us see if the word works,’ they said, and they uttered it.  Immediately, the bone heap clothed itself with flesh, transformed into a wild beas, and tore them to pieces’
(Mevlana Rumi, Table Talk, trans. Andrew Harvey).

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Abdur Rahman Interviewed!

Peace, one and all…

I’ve recently been interviewed by the Splash Hall Poetry Forum (to which I regularly contribute).  If you follow the link, you can find out a little bit more about me!  There’s even a photo!  So, if you can stand the sight of a very bald head, then feel free to stop by.

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman

Have Mercy

Peace, one and all…

Have Mercy 

Have mercy upon your ego, my friend,
and lead it but gently towards the light.

Take pity on that outer shell of you,
for all it knows of this life is separation and woe.

When it offers you all the passing infatuations of the world,
offer it selfless Love in return.

When it thrusts the cold blade of fear into your heart,
offer it instead, steadfastness and hope.

It is only the frightened husk of you that feels this way,
sick and weary of troubles.

It is only half of your face
that stands obscured amidst the gloom.

But, soon my friend, the moon will rise in glory
and you shall be comforted by the argent flame of its Love

(Abdur Rahman, May 21st 2007)

 

Blank Page

Peace, one and all…

Blank Page

Book open, pen ready,
as though the blank page were a tongue
waiting for the coming of speech.

Heart needing, eyes lifting,
as though the blank page were a magic carpet
and I, a traveller in need of flight.

Become the pen, Beloved
and write your Name quickly
upon the weary tablet of my heart,

lest I fall unshriven
into the swirling, beguiling
narrowness of me.

(Abdur Rahman, May 21st 2007)

When I Began to Love You

Peace, one and all…

Oh Friend, when I began to love You,
my intellect went and left me.
I gazed at the rivers.  I dove into the seas.

But a spark of Love’s fire
can make the seas boil.
I fell in, caught fire, and burned.

A soul in love is free of worries.
With love all problems left me.
With love I became happy.

When the nightengale saw the face
of the red rose, it fell in love.
I saw the faces of those who matured,
and became a nightengale.

I was a dead tree fallen onto the path.
When a master threw me a glance
and brought me to life.

Yunus, if you are a true lover,
humble yourself.
Humility was chosen by them all.

(Yunus Emre, trans. Shaykh Kabir Helminski & Rafik Algan)

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman