The Rose Stands Alone

Peace, one and all…

The wrecked heart has snared itself in your braided hair…
Slay it with a glance! A heart so trapped deserves it.

If you should give what our heart desires…
pour it into our hands, your gift is its own reward.

Such a rose doesn’t need exotic perfumes
but keeps a stash of fragrance deep in its pocket.

Ah, beloved, in the dark night alone
I burn myself up like a blazing candle.

I warned you songbird, at your first glimpse of love:
watch out! The rose stands alone and won’t be moved.

Forget the cheap lords of this passing world -
the treasure of your soul is a palace of its own.

Scorched to the core, Hafiz continues to flirt and tease
but in keeping the covenant he’s fidelity itself.
Hafiz Shirazi

I Am, If I Am Yours Alone

Peace, one and all…

‘Blanquerna said: ‘It is true, O Lord God, that there is no other god except You alone.  To You alone I offer myself to serve You.  From You alone I hope for forgiveness, for there is no other liberality nor mercy to forgive except Yours.  Humble I am if I humble myself to You.  Lord I am, if I am Yours alone.  I have victory over my enemies if I suffer for You.  With all that I am, a guilty sinner, I give myself to You alone and Yours alone I am.  Of You alone I beg forgiveness, in You I trust, and for You I endure trials.  Whatever may happen to me, let it all be to the one end of Your praise, honour and glory.  I will have no other Lord, for You alone I fear, from You alone comes my strength, for You I weep, for You I burn with love’
Ramon Lull, The Art of Contemplation 4:6

Our Exile and Homecoming

Peace, one and all…

You are not really a hunter, seeking Me,
instead you are My slave and lie at My feet.
You devise means to attain to My presence
but you are helpless either to leave or to seek Me.
The search for Me causes you anguish;
last night I heard your heavy sighs.
It is within My power to end your waiting,
to show you the Way and grant access.
So that you may be released from this whirlpool of time,
and may at last set foot on the treasure of union with Me,
but the sweetness and delights of the resting-place
are in proportion to the pain endured on the journey.
Only when you suffer the pangs and tribulations of exile
will you truly enjoy the homecoming.
Masnavi 3.4152-4158

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

As Long As You Don’t…

Peace, one and all…

As long as you don’t feel pain, you’ll never reach the remedy.
As long as you don’t give up your life, you’ll never reach union with the Beloved.
As long as you don’t go into the fire, like Abraham the Friend of God,
You’ll never reach the Fountain of Life, like Khizr
Mevlana, Quatrain 1721

Envious of Your Dust

Peace, one and all…

You are nothing, but your ‘nothing’ is better than existence.
You are drowned in loss, but your ‘loss’ is all gain.
You say, ‘There is nothing in my possession except dust’.
But all the heavens are envious of your ’dust’.
Mevlana, Quatrain 1814

Every Sorrowful Heart

Peace, one and all…

Imam Zayn al-Abidin (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Indeed, God loves every sorrowful heart and loves every grateful servant’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1329

No Matter How I Complain and Cry

Peace, one and all…

Ay, no matter how I complain and cry,
Love does with me as she pleases.
I wish to give her every day,
praise and honour.
Ay, Love, would that your eyes could see my commitment!

Speaking of this gives me courage,
since first there was at your high stage,
your attractive fragrance.

Ay Love, you have never lied,
in what you showed me in my youth.
That for which I yearn; what you are able to give.
Be medicine!

Ah yes, you Love, who are the guardian of all,
for love’s sake, give me what gladdens me most,
because you are the mother of all virtue,
lady and queen.
Hadewych, Lyrics 41

When I Try Him

Peace, one and all…

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (Quddus Allahi sirruhu) said:

‘Among what God, the Exalted, revealed to Prophet Moses: ‘I have not created anything as dear to Me as My believing servant, so when I try him I do so for his own good, and I make him prosper for his own good, and I shield him for his own good.  And I know best what improves My servant, so let him endure My trial and be thankful for My favours, and be content with My decree, and I will record him among the righteous’
The Scale of Wisdom, 911

Soother of the Anxious

Peace, one and all…

He is the aim, the sought after, the begged and hoped for.
His name is the cure for the love-struck.
He is the soother of the anxious and the treasure of hope.
From Him the love-struck obtains what he yearns for.
Isma`il Anqarawi

Should Toil Come to You, or Rest

Peace, one and all…

As the wine merchant cares for the needs of the drunk
God forgives sin, and wards off pestilence.

Bringer of wine, be fair and fill up the poor man’s cup
so his craving won’t spill over and fill the world with grief.

For those of us stung by loss and craving wine
either fine wine or reunion will remedy our pain.

And yet, from those sufferings, the word of peace may come,
if the pilgrim stays devoted to the covenant of faith.

 Seeker, should toil come to you, or rest,
trace those to no one else; both have come from God.

In sweatshops where there’s no room for thought or understanding
why do the ignorant make needless work?

Singer, strum the lute: ‘No one perished before his time’.
Whoever doesn’t hum along is sadly ignorant.

Wasted with desire for wine, Hafiz was scorched by love -
where is the breath of Jesus, to raise us back to life?
Hafiz Shirazi

 

We are the places where God hides

Peace, one and all…

We are the places where God hides
and sometimes shows Himself
in a glance
or a whisper,
a belly laugh
or a cry from the heart
which says
‘do not leave me too long out here
in case I lose You’

But you will never ever lose Him.
You are the fish in His sea,
the Sea of Him.
And when He wishes
He will pull you in.

Rahmani Christopher Ryan

The Raging Pain of Love

Peace, one and all…

The raging pain of love is a rich loan;
whoever acknowledges this
would ask for nothing else.
Those who were two, at first,
are made one by the pain of love.
Hadewych, Lyrics, 28

The Journey of the Fool

Peace, one and all…

‘Indeed,  we  offered  the  Trust  to  the  heavens  and  the  earth  and  the  mountains,  and  they declined  to  bear  it  and  feared  it;  but  man  [undertook  to]  bear  it.  Indeed,  he  was  unjust and  ignorant’ (Quran 33:72)

New Year’s Eve Message from Mooji

Peace, one and all…

I wanted to share this beautiful and timely New Year’s message from Mooji.  May it be of benefit to all who pass by.

Other useful links

• Satsang with Mooji
• Satsang with Mooji (audio site)
• Satsang with Mooji (You Tube Channel)
• From Love
• Amma.org

The Angel of Death

Peace, one and all…

‘The Angel of Death, who is set over you, will take your souls.  Then to your Lord will you be returned’ (32:11)

The Deeper That Sorrow Carves…

Peace, one and all…

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,
the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup
that was burned in the potter’s oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit
the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
(Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet)