God « Jahane Rumi

15Mar/101

I am a child of love

I profess the religion of love,
Love is my religion and my faith.
My mother is love
My father is love
My prophet is love
My God is love
I am a child of love
I have come only to speak of love

- Jalaluddin Rumi

Tagged as: child, God, Love, mother, poem, Poetry, Religion, Rumi, sufi 1 Comment

25Feb/100

His form has passed away and he has become a mirror (Rumi)

Sunlight has recently offered two versions/translations of Rumi's Mathnawi story of the dervish Bayazid Bestami

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BESTAMI

That magnificent dervish, Bayazid Bestami,

came to his disciples and said,

"I am God."

It was night, and he was drunk with his ecstasy.

Tagged as: Barks, Bayazid, Bestami, dervish, Divine, God, light, Mathnawi, mystic, Nicholson, poem, Poetry, Rumi, story, sufi, translation Continue reading

20Feb/100

Ask us about the lion of God

This caravan is not bringing our baggage -- it has

none of the fire of our Friend.

Though the trees have all turned green, they

have caught no scent of our spring.

Your spirit may be a rosegarden, but its heart

has not been wounded by our thorn.

Your heart may be an ocean of realities, but its

boiling does not compare with that of our shore.

Although the mountains are very steady -- by

God, they do not have our steadiness.

The spirit drunk with the morning wine has not

even caught a scent of our winesickness.

Venus herself, the minstrel of heaven, has not

the capacity for our work.

Ask us about the lion of God -- every lion has

not our backbone.

Show not Shams-I Tabrizi's coin to him who

has not our fineness!

-- Ghazal (Ode) 695

Translation by William C. Chittick

"The Sufi Path of Love"

SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

Tagged as: God, Lion, poem, Poetry, Rumi, Shams, sufi No Comments

10Feb/103

The Destruction of Holy Sites in Mecca & Medina – Destroying Islamic Heritage

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.

In 1802, and army led by the sons of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (the founder of Wahhabism) and Muhammad ibn Saud occupied Taif and began a bloody massacre. A year later, the forces occupied the holy city of Mecca. They executed a campaign of destruction in many sacred places and leveled all the existing domes, even those built over the well of Zamzam. However, after the army left, Sharif Ghalib breached the truce, inciting the Wahhabis to re-occupy Mecca in 1805.

In 1806, the Wahhabi army occupied Medina. They did not leave any religious building, including mosques, without demolishing it, whether inside or outside the Baqi’ (graveyard). They intended to

Tagged as: Baqi’, Divine, God, Hajj, heritage, History, Islam, Mecca, Medina, Muslim, Prophet’s Mosque, Saudia Arabia, Sura al-Baqara, Syrian, Uhud, wahabi, Wahhabism, worship Continue reading

16Sep/091

Out, Out, Damned Atheists – Karen Armstrong weighs in on God

By Lisa Miller | NEWSWEEK

Published Sep 11, 2009

From the magazine issue dated Sep 21, 2009

The latest salvo in the war between the atheists and the believers comes from the doyenne of religious intellectual history, Karen Armstrong. Her tone is one of high-minded irritation. Her argument is compelling. To oversimplify: "faith" and "reason" are not like political parties. You don't join one after having been convinced via argument of its validity. What the Greeks called logos and what they called mythos define two different aspects of the world and our experience in it: the knowable and the unknowable. You can believe in both. The bridge between them, Armstrong submits, is not the snarky badinage or righteous browbeating that has so defined faith-versus-reason debates of late, but practice. By practice she means not the occasional yoga class but genuine, difficult, repetitive practice, which over time gives the practitioner—even the reasonable practitioner—glimpses of the transcendent or the divine. Call it God.

The Case for God, which comes out this month, is Armstrong's 19th book, and it rides the crest of a wave of books meant to dismantle the arguments of the atheists Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins. Armstrong is uniquely qualified to write on this subject, for having been a Roman Catholic nun, she then rejected faith. "For many years, I myself wanted nothing whatsoever to do with religion," she writes. "But my study of world religion during the last twenty years has compelled me to revise my earlier opinions…One of the things I have learned is that quarreling about religion is counterproductive and not conducive to enlightenment." Armstrong shows that for most of human history, "faith" and "reason" were not mutually exclusive and that even today all kinds people believe in a God that in no way resembles the God the atheists despise. "Jews, Christians, and Muslims all knew that revealed truth was symbolic, that scripture could not be interpreted literally, and that sacred texts had multiple meanings, and could lead to entirely fresh insights," she writes. "Revelation was not an event that had happened once in the distant past, but was an ongoing, creative process." This critique has not been articulated often or clearly enough: the new atheists are, in effect, buying into one particular modern, Western fundamentalist notion of God in order to make God look ridiculous and knock him (or her or it) down. For them to fail to concede that what William James called "religious experience" is far more complex than what certain contemporary believers preach is extremely disingenuous.

Tagged as: agnostic, Armstrong, atheism, Divine, God, Islam, Karen, Religion Continue reading

24May/091

Mir Taqi Mir’s discovery of Simurgh

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.

Excerpted from here

Tagged as: couplet, Divine, ghazal, God, India, Mir, Poetry, reality, shair, Simurgh, Taqi, Urdu 1 Comment

13Apr/091

Bauls of Bengal

Found this translation and music video here

The famous Bengali author Rabindranath Tagore was influenced by Bauls. He translated the following Baul verse into English in his book The Religion of Man. The quote highlights the mystic Sufi focus on celestial love:

Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?
He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from land to land.

I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,

which is to light my life,
which I long to see in the fulness of vision
in gladness of heart.

Tagged as: Baul, Bauls, Bengal, Bengali, God, Music, mystic, Religion, Tagore 1 Comment

10Apr/097

On Krishna and Ranjha – the syncretic Punjab

I am posting an article by Manzur Ejaz that was published by The Friday Times. This is a great piece:

Fascination with the naughty butter-thief Krishna in the Punjab remained the undercurrent of the cultural milieu for so long that Waris Shah’s Ranjha appears to be a reincarnation of Krishna in many aspects. Khawaja Ghulam Farid, the great Sufi poet, also considered Krishna a sacred prophet of the Hindus like all other prophets. But the question is how did the dark skinned Lord come to dominate the land of the fair Aryans who believed that a dark man ‘seen seated in the market-place [is] like a heap of black beans.’

Tagged as: caste, God, Greek, Hecules, Heer, History, India, Krishna, Pakistan, Punjab, Ranjha, Shah, spititualism, Vedic, Waris Continue reading

3Apr/095

GOD-FORSAKEN RELIGIONS

A poem by Cecil Rajendra

Any religion
that sidelines
excludes
any one.

Any religion
that does not
open doors to
every one.

Any religion
that targets
fingerpoints
some one.

Any religion
that claims
it’s “the one
and only one”.

Any religion
whose language
is “we” / “they”
and not “us”.

All such religions
run against God
who is Oneness
& abhors divisions.

Tagged as: God, one, poem, Poetry, Religion Continue reading

24Sep/080

This Love — Quatrain from Rumi

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

Tagged as: Divine, God, Love, mystic, Poetry, Rumi, sufi, Sufism Continue reading

8Sep/083

O my Lord, if I worship you

Today I was directed to this excellent blogsite devoted to Rabia Basri's poems - found this bold poem by Rabia, an early Sufi from Iraq and one the better known women Sufi poet:

O my Lord,

if I worship you
from fear of hell, burn me in hell.

If I worship you
from hope of Paradise, bar me from its gates.

But if I worship you
for yourself alone, grant me then the beauty of your Face.

Tagged as: God, mystic, Mysticism, poet, Poetry, Rabia, rabia al basri, sufi, Sufism 3 Comments

30Apr/085

Sufi Qawwali – Mehr Ali and Sher Ali

Sadi has written a wonderful post here - I am cross posting it here.

Couple of nights back (24, April, 08) came an unanticipated opportunity to watch and listen to two of great contemporary pakistani sufi Qawwali singers at famous UCLA Royce Hall. The concert was titled, Qawwali Music of Pakistan: Sufi devotional music.Among the audience was both americans and sub-continental audience. What was striking, is Qawwali's ability to transcend language with its sheer power and captivating devotion. The nature of improvisation makes each Qawwali, even if its sung by the same group of singers, very unique and every new listening is a new experience.Sometime the depth of the verses, fused with the presentation takes audience to an otherly high which was felt last night too. At times there were goosebumps and surges with the strong emotion that is created in Qawwali performance. The Sufi Qawwalis are considered as zikr or Divine remembrance if listened with spiritual understanding and depth.:: What is Sufi Qawwali? | Qawwali is derived from the Arabic word qaul, literally meaning "saying" but has taken on the meaning of "belief"or "credo" in South Asian languages. Qawwali is spiritual in essence; it is the devotional music of the Sufis to attain trance and mystical experience - originating in the 10th century and blossoming into its present form from the 13th century onwards.

Tagged as: chant, Divine Remembrance, God, Mehr Ali, Music, mystic, mystical, order, Pakistan, qawwali, Sher-Ali, South Asia, sufi, zikr Continue reading

1Dec/0715

Einstein on Religion and Science

Came across this brilliant quote from Einstein:

In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope which in the past placed such vast power in the hands of priests.

The excerpt from The New Horizon blog was a great discovery. Writing about articles on science and religion by Einstein it stated, and quite rightly:

Any Scientific minded person who considers himself as a religious or an atheist, should read these wonderful articles of Albert Einstein.

Tagged as: Albert Einstein, atheism, atheist, Einstein, God, personal God, priests, religious 15 Comments

8Jul/078

Sufi Zikr – inspiration for a painting

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.

View entry >>

Tagged as: Al-Kareem, Allah, Ar-Raheem, Ar-Rahman, calligraphy, canvas, Divine, God, Hu, inspiration, Islam, oil, oil-on-canvas, painting, Rumi, sufi, Sufism, zikr 8 Comments

20Jun/073

Enough of learning, my friend! – Bulleh Shah

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

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai

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..."

Nizamuddin Auliya – for Marta Franceschini

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 completely the perspective 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.

Tagged as: Amir, Auliya, dargah, Delhi, Divine, God, Hazrat, India, Islam, Khusrau, Love, Mehboob-i-Ilahi, Muslim, mystic, Nizamuddin, Nizamuddin Auliya, Peace, Saint, shrine, sufi, Sufism 1 Comment

30Jul/062

The Universalism of Kabir

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)

A miniature painting of Kabir, c.1825

Tagged as: Allah, Bhakat, Bhakti, Divine, God, Guru, India, Kabir, mystic, Peace, Pir, Raheem, Ram, SouthAsia, tolerance, universal 2 Comments

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West Bengal in turmoil – end of an era? - 2 emails
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Jahane Rumi In search of the unsearchable: O, my soul! where would you find your house?

I am a child of love

His form has passed away and he has become a mirror (Rumi)

Ask us about the lion of God

The Destruction of Holy Sites in Mecca & Medina – Destroying Islamic Heritage

Out, Out, Damned Atheists – Karen Armstrong weighs in on God

Mir Taqi Mir’s discovery of Simurgh

Bauls of Bengal

On Krishna and Ranjha – the syncretic Punjab

GOD-FORSAKEN RELIGIONS

A poem by Cecil Rajendra

This Love — Quatrain from Rumi

O my Lord, if I worship you

Sufi Qawwali – Mehr Ali and Sher Ali

Einstein on Religion and Science

Sufi Zikr – inspiration for a painting

Enough of learning, my friend! – Bulleh Shah

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai

Nizamuddin Auliya – for Marta Franceschini

The Universalism of Kabir

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