Peace, one and all…
There are things you desperately want now
that you will curse in the end, saying,
“You looked like a glamorous city,
but really you’re a ruined village.”
Turn away from that city of desires now,
before you end up unloading in the wilderness.
Renounce it now while you still possess a hundred gardens,
before you are completely lost in the tangle of desires.
The Prophet said, “If you desire Paradise from God,
desire nothing from anyone else.
When you desire nothing from anyone,
I am your guarantee for the Garden and the vision of God.”
Masnavi 6.330-334
Merciful One! O Changer of Hearts! Cleanse our eyes, inwardly and outwardly, that we might never lose sight of our highest aspirations in You. May we place our trust firmly in You. May You always be our first word, and sincerest recourse. May Your blessed name be always upon our lips, and buried deeply within the folds of our hearts. Light the way for us, O Best of Guides, O You who are our only Hope, that we might leave every unworthy, ruined village now, in this life. May we all reach the goal. By the love You bear for Your beloved Prophet (as), and by the yearning hidden deep within our needy hearts. May You be our foundation, our provision and our eternal destination, O Hope of the Destitute!
Dem-i Hazret-i Mevlana…
