The Asian Age: The Arabian Peninsula, the cradle of Islam, is being demolished by hardliners. In countries such as Saudi Arabia almost all of the Islamic historical sites are gone, but this is not the first time they have been destroyed.Another fine poem by Rumi – translation followed by the original
In the world there are invisible ladders,
leading step by step to the summit of heaven.
There is a different ladder for every group,
a different heaven for every path.
Each one is ignorant of the other’s condition in this wide kingdom which
has no end or beginning. (more…)
Rumi once again…
Be off and know
That the way of lovers is opposite all other ways.
Lies from the Friend
Are better than truth and kindness from others.
For Him
The impossible is commonplace,
Punishment is reward,
Tyranny is justice,
Slander is the highest praise. (more…)
Tha woh to rashke hoor-e-behesti hameen mein Mir!
Samjhe na hum to fahm ka apne qusoor tha
(That hoor from paradise was part of my being.
I blame it on my utter lack of comprehension of the Ultimate Truth).
Mir, like other great Urdu poets, has seen Simurgh.
This Love is the king,
yet a throne cannot be found.
It is the essence of the Koran
yet a verse cannot be found.
Any lover hit by the Hunter’s arrow
will bleed all over,
yet a wound cannot be found.
– Version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva
“A Garden Beyond Paradise”
Bantam Books, 1992 (more…)
I sent this poem to Fahmida Riaz a few days ago to comfort her. Little did I know that there would be another death of a close one; and I had to read it again to console myself!
Autumn Rose Elegy
It’s a habit of yours to walk slowly.
You hold a grudge for years.
With such heaviness, how can you be modest?
With such attachments, do you expect to arrive anywhere?
Be wide as the air to learn a secret.
Right now you’re equal portions clay
and water, thick mud.
Abraham learned how the sun and moon and the stars all set.
He said, No longer will I try to assign partners for God.
You are so weak. Give up to grace.
The ocean takes care of each wave
till it gets to shore.
You need more help than you know.
You’re trying to live your life in open scaffolding.
Say Bismillah, In the name God,
As the priest does with knife when he offers an animal.
Bismillah your old self
to find your real name.
From “The Essential Rumi”published by Castle Books.
This is a painting that I revisited and converted its earlier abstract form into a calligraphic experiment. Now the challenge was that in addition to the lack of training in oil painting, I was also a novice in calligraphy. Anyway, the image inside Rumi’s tomb that I posted on this blog earlier as well as the three attributes of the Almighty helped me in putting this together. The letters in the centre are Hu (affirmation of the Divine presence and a Sufi chant) and its mirror image. In Rumi’s words:
Eternity is the mirror of the temporal, the temporal the mirror of pre-eternity – in this mirror those
two are twisted together like his tresses..(translated by Arberry).
This was truly inspirational as I remembered the lines with a brush in my hand. Another little flash was the three words that I have remembered abundantly thanks to a guide. Alas, I am out of touch with him.
The three words, familiar and lyrical, on the right side of the painting represent the key attributes of Allah : Ar-Rahman(the Beneficient), Ar-Raheem (the Merciful), Al-Kareem (the Generous).
Muslim mystics have chanted these names since centuries in the quest to attain inner peace and closeness to Divine consciousness.
With this little feat, I am sort of feeling peaceful myself.
Enough of learning, my friend!
Enough of learning, my friend!
To it there is never an end
An alphabet should do for you,
It’s enough to help you fend.
You’ve amassed much learning around,
The Quran and its commentaries profound.
There is darkness amidst lighted ground.
Without the guide you remain unsound.
Learning makes you a Sheikh or his minion,
And thus you create problems trillion.
You exploit others who know not what,
Misleading them with wild opinion.
You meditate and you say your prayers
You go and shout at the top of the stairs.
Your cry reaching the high skies,
Its your avarice which ever belies.
The day I learnt love’s lesson,
I plunged into the river of divine passion;
An overwhelming gale, I was confounded and lost
When Shah Inayat cruised me across.
Source: here
More on Bulleh Shah here and here
Punjabi version is below (more…)
If you are seeking Allah
If you are seeking Allah,
Then keep clear of religious formalities.
Those who have seen Allah
Are away from all religions!
Those who do not see Allah here,
How will they see Him beyond?
Let us go the land of Kak
Where love flows in abundance,
There are no entrances, no exits,
Every one can see the Lord!
There is no light nor day
Every one can see the Lord!
Those who love the Lord
The world cannot hold them.
Palaces do not attract them,
Nor women nor servants
Nothing binds them:
The renouncers leave everything behind.
A message came from the Lord:
A full moon shone
Darkness disappeared
A new message came from the Lord:
It does not matter what caste you are
Whoever come, are accepted.
Where shall I take my camel,
All is Light…
Inside there is Kak, mountain and valley,
The Lord and the Lord: there is nothing but the Lord.
(translated from Sindhi by D. H. Butani)
Legacy of Shah Latif is a recent book on Bhitai’s life and works. In a recent book review, Anwar Abro writes:
“Two and a half centuries after his death, the celebrated Sindhi philosopher-poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689-1752 AD) continues to inspire and influence the lives and activities of the peace-loving mystic souls of Sindh. Intellectual activities, social, political or ideological discourses are considered meaningless without the recitation of his poetry. Shah Latif has become an essential part of the day-to-day life of the people of Sindh so much so that everyone wants to find out more about his life, his principles and beliefs and discover the true interpretation of his mesmerisingly meaningful poetry…”
read more here
Picture above right is courtesy Himal Magazine
My post on the pictures of Nizamuddin Auliya’s dergah (shrine) attracted a visitor whose devotion to the great Nizamuddin is quite touching. Marta wrote:
“…picture of the Dargha is next to my bed, first thing I see in the morning and last in the evening. …. No one ever loved me like he does. To experience the power of his love is something impossible to express with words, something that has changed complitely the prospective of my life.”
Commenting further on the pictures, Marta said:
“…..The best gift for Christmas. I am not muslim, nor christian, or anything else, but however my heart is full of love for God which, I am sure, is One and Overwhelming. And does embrace me all time long. If my presence doesn’t offend anyone in your site I will be glad to come back again, and possibly talk to anyone close to the Great Chisthy Saint.”
Her full comment can be found here
I visited this remarkable place recently spending my evenings and all the spare time at the shrine. I have met more and more people at the dergah including a devotee who also runs the Sufi Inayat Khan Center nearby. I will write more about that later.
Now that I have had some time to sort out my pictures, I am posting a few more here. These are dedicated to Marta and I hope she will find them inspiring again…
And this is the last one – the renovated mosque that looks ethereal in the night time.
Troubled by the ongoing middle east crisis, the destruction of Lebanon and the acrimony generated by the tragic Mumbai blasts, I am reminded of this poem by Kabir:
Allah and Rama
If Khuda inhabits the mosque,
then whose play-field is the rest of the world.
If Rama lives in the idol at the pilgrim station,
then who controls the chaos outside?
The East is Hari’s domicile, they say,
the West is Allah’s dwelling place.
Look into your heart, your very heart:
That’s where Karim-and-Rama reside.
All the men and the women ever born,
Are nothing but Your embodied forms:
Kabir’s a child of Allah-and-Rama
They’re his Guru-and-Pir
(translated by Vinay Dharwadker in Kabir: The Weaver’s Songs)
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