Death and Spirituality

Peace, one and all…

I found this fascinating discussion of death and spirituality on You Tube recently, and wanted to share it here.

Bernard McGinn: Mystical Language in Meister Eckhart and his Disciples

Peace, one and all…

An interesting lecture by Bernard McGinn on the mystical language of Meister Eckhart and his disciples.

Nothing Remains But The King

Peace, one and all…

‘The Master said: ‘It is good if you are helpless all the time and at every moment, and see yourself as helpless in the state of capacity just as in the state of incapacity.  For above your capacity, there is a greater Capacity, and you are vanquished to God’s will in every state.  You are not divided into two halves, now capable and now helpless.  Pay regard to His Capacity, and know yourself to be helpless always, without hand and foot, poor and utterly incapable.  What indeed is the plight of feeble man, seeing that lions and tigers and crocodiles, all are helpless and tremble before Him?  The heavens and the earths likewise are helpless and subject to His decree.

He is a mighty Emperor.  His Light is not as the light of the moon and the sun, in the presence of which a thing abides in its place.  When His Light shines forth unveiled, neither heaven remains nor earth, nor sun nor moon; nothing remains but the King’
(Mevlana, Fihi ma Fihi 3)

The Extent To Which We Know Peace

Peace, one and all…

‘The extent to which we are in God is the extent to which we know peace, and without God there is no peace.  Only if something is in God does it have peace.  In so far as we are in God, thus far we have peace.  And so we can judge whether we are in God or not, and if so to what extent we in Him, by noting whether we possess peace or not.  For where we are without peace, there we cannot have peace, for the absence of peace comes from the creature and not from God.  There is nothing in God of which we should be afraid, but rather all that is in Him is to be loved.  Nor is there anything in Him which may be the cause of sadness’
Meister Eckhart Talks of Instruction

Tu Karimi Man Kamina: Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Peace, one and all…

 

Koi Bole Ram Ram Koi Khudhaae

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share a beautiful qawwal, sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.  The lyrics comes from a hymn of Guru Nanak and is found in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures.

Enjoy and may all that you do this day be blessed with goodness.

To Hold Your Hand, To Let Go Of Your Foot

Peace, one and all…

Do not become attached to what life gives you here,
for in time you will give it to someone
to hold your hand,
or to some dog
to let go of your foot.
(Jami)

The Inward Companion Who Gives You Breath

Peace, one and all…

The inward Companion who gives you breath
Gives you hope of reaching the sacred place.
Until the last breath, feast upon His breath,
For He gives you that from generosity, not amorous playfulness.
Mevlana, Quatrain 1818

You Are That

Peace, one and all…

If you are in search of the soul’s home, you are the soul.
And if you are in search of a mouthful of bread, you are that bread.
If you understand this secret distinction, you will understand
That anything for which you search, you are that.
Mevlana, Quatrain 1734

You Want Me To Give Up Drinking?

Peace, one and all…

You want me to give up drinking? What a stupid idea.
I have at least enough reason to reject such nonsense.

After beating the drum and strumming the harp on the path of wisdom
should I go back to dried-up piety? No thanks.

Go easy on those who abstain win from wine,
no one reaches love without the benefit of guidance.

I’ve become the slave of the one who released me from ignorance,
everything he does reveals the face of true communion.

I didn’t know where the path to the tavern would lead,
if I had I would have tossed my baggage sooner.

The stuck-up abstinent and pious or the wine-drunk poor one,
which of these enjoys your favour?

I couldn’t sleep last night, worried by the words of the preacher:
if Hafiz gets drunk, there’s going to be trouble.
Hafiz Shirazi

Ates-i Ask

Peace, one and all…

A beautiful ilahi, orignally by Yunus Emre.  The Turkish lyrics are posted below (as I found them on the You Tube page).  Enjoy, and may all you do this day be blessed.

Gelin gidelim efendim Allah yoluna
Feryat edelim efendim Allah yoluna (x 2)

Bir yılı bir gün efendim Gelecek ol gün
Süregel yüzün efendim Allah yoluna

Derdine bakma efendim Yolundan kalma
Hiç şerik koşma efendim Allah yoluna

Yunusun sözü efendim Kül olmuş özü
Kan ağlar gözü efendim Allah yoluna

Ey âşıkan ey âşıkan illallah Hû
Aşk mezheb ü dindir bana illallah Hû

Gördü gözüm dost yüzünü illallah Hû
Yas kamu düğündür bana illallah Hû

Yûnus seni din edindi illallah Hû
Din nedir îmân edindi illallah Hû

Aşka bugün yarın nolur illallah Hû
İşi nedir önden sona illallah Hû

Deaf To All Counsel

Peace, one and all…

Your lovers have come drunk from alast,
their heads giddied by the wine of alast.
They drink on, deaf to all counsel,
for their worship of wine goes back to alast (see Quran 7:172).

Najm al-Din Razi Daya, The Path of God’s Bondsmen

But Aren’t Your Feet Unbound?

Peace, one and all…

Your thinking is bound, but aren’t your feet unbound?
You have finally seen that movement is also a secret.
In movement, constriction truly becomes expansion.
The water of the well and the water of the stream are distinguished in this way.
Mevlana, Quatrain 1719

Michael Sells: The Angel and the Muse: Inspiration, Revelation, Prophecy

Peace, one and all…

Ibn Arabi Symposium 3: William Chittick – The Wisdom of Animals

Peace, one and all…

The third installment from the Ibn Arabi Symposium.  This lecture is by William Chittick.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

How Many A Noble Sun

Peace, one and all…

How many showers of favour were rained down
so as to make the ocean strew its pearls!

How many a noble sun has blazed to teach
the clouds and oceans generosity!
Masnavi 1.510-511

The Key To Blessings Is In Movement

Peace, one and all…

Get up and circle round that Polestar of Salvation,
Like pilgrims around the Ka`ba and upon the plain of Arafat.
How did you become stuck to the ground like mud?
In the end, the key to blessings is in movement.
Mevlana, Quatrain 1718

If You Walk on the Way

Peace, one and all…

If you walk on the Way, the Way will be opened to you.
And if you become non-existent, you will be led to real existence.
If you become humble, you will not be contained in the universe.
And then you will be shown to yourself – without yourself.
Mevlana, Quatrain 1836