Tell no one what you've seen...

A Light Within His Light

I circled awhile with each of the intelligences,

the nine fathers that control the levels

of spirit-growth.

 I revolved

for years with the stars through

each astrological sign.

I disappeared into the kingdom of nearness.

I saw what I have seen, receiving nourishment

as a child lives in the womb.

Personalities are born once,

a mystic many times.

Wearing the body-robe, I've been busy

in the market, weighing and arguing prices.

Sometimes I have torn the robe off

with my own hands and thrown it away.

I've spent long nights in monasteries,

and I have slept with those who claim to believe

nothing on the porches of pagodas,

just traveling through.

When someone feels jealous, I am inside

the hurt and the need to possess.

When anyone is sick, I feel

feverish and dizzy.

I am cloud and rain being released,

and then the meadow as it soaks it in.

I wash the rains of mortality

from the cloth around a dervish.

I am the rose of eternity, not made of

water or fire or the wandering wind,

or even earth. I pay with those.

I am not Shams of Tabriz,

but a light within his light.

If you see me, be careful.

Tell no one what you've seen.

Ghazal (Ode) 331, 

Version by Coleman Barks,

 "Say I Am You" 

Maypop, 1994

The One Who Sees

today like everyday
I'm in no sober mood
don't open the door
to my thoughts
begin the music instead
for the one who sees
only the beloved's face
there are a hundred
ways to pray
to prostrate
or to be humbled
to the ground

Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame, Cal-Earth Press, 2001 

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

Version by Coleman Barks
Open Secret, Threshold Books, 1984

You are the guy...

The Places You'll Go (excerpt)

Theodore Geisel

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
 You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own.
 And you know what you know. 
And YOU are the guy
 who'll decide where to go.

~ Dr. Seuss ~

(Oh, the Places You'll Go!)

Isn't this like our dreams?

FROM BOX TO BOX

Don't weep.

The joy that has gone

will come round again in another form

Have no doubt about this!

A child's first joy

comes from its mother's milk;

After the child is weaned

his joy comes from drinking sweet wine.

This supreme joy has no resting place

It enters one form then another,

from box to box - an eternal movement

between heaven and earth.

Here it comes, pouring down from the sky,

seeping into the earth,

and rising up again as a bed of roses.

Now it is water, now a plate of rice,

Now the swaying trees, now a horse and rider.

It lies within these forms for awhile

then bursts forth to become something new.

(The Mystic's Dream by PinkyPinkee on deviantART)

Isn't this like our dreams?

The body sleeps

while the soul moves on

to take other forms.

You say,

I dreamt I was a cypress, a bed of tulips,

the blossoms of roses and jasmines.

Then the soul returns, and you wake up

the cypress is gone, the roses are gone.

I tell you truly,

everything you now see

will vanish like a dream.

I do not mean to trouble you, O friend,

with words so bold as these.

Perhaps you will only listen to God.

He speaks more gently than I.

But how will you ever hear Him with

All that blathering going on?

Everyone is speaking about golden bread

yet no one has ever tasted it!

O my soul, where can I find rest

but in the shimmering love of his heart?

Where can I see the pure light of the Sun

but in the eyes of my own Shams-e Tabriz?

Version by Jonathan Star 

"A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi"

Bantam Books, 1992

Always be happy....

Four principles of spirituality

The First Principle states:

 "Whomsoever you encounter is the right one"

(Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter by David Lean)

This means that no one comes into our life by chance. Everyone who is around us, anyone with whom we interact, represents something, whether to teach us something or to help us improve a current situation.

 

 

The Second Principle states:

 "Whatever happened is the only thing that could have happened"

Nothing, absolutely nothing of that which we experienced could have been any other way. Not even in the least important detail. There is no "If only I had done that differently…, then it would have been different…". No. What happened is the only  thing that could have taken place and must have taken place for us to learn our lesson in order to move forward. Every single situation in life which we encounter is absolutely perfect, even when it defies our understanding and our ego.

 

 

The Third Principle states:

"Each moment in which something begins is the right moment"

Everything begins at exactly the right moment, neither earlier nor later. When we are ready for it, for that something new in our life, it is there, ready to begin.

The Fourth Principle states:

 "What is over, is over"

(by mouseek on deviantART)

It is that  simple. When something in our life ends, it helps our evolution. That is why, enriched by the recent experience, it is better to let go and move on.

 

 

Think it is no coincidence that you're here reading this.

If these words strike a chord, it's because you meet the requirements and understand that not one single snowflake falls accidentally in the wrong place!

Be good to yourself.

Be in love with your whole being.

Indian Spirituality

(Source unknown)

2012...

IT IS NEW YEAR !

LET'S HAVE A DREAM...

GO HERE !

(Image credit : EmAmine Photography)

i’ve come again

like a new year

to crash the gate

of this old prison

i’ve come again

to break the teeth and claws

of this man-eating

monster we call life

i’ve come again

to puncture the

glory of the cosmos

who mercilessly

destroys humans

i am the falcon

hunting down the birds

of black omen

before their flights

i gave my word

at the outset to

give my life

with no qualms

i pray to the Lord

to break my back

before i break my word

how do you dare to

let someone like me

intoxicated with love

enter your house

you must know better

if i enter

i’ll break all this and

destroy all that

if the sheriff arrives

i’ll throw the wine

in his face

if your gatekeeper

pulls my hand

i’ll break his arm

if the heavens don’t go round

to my heart’s desire

i’ll crush its wheels and

pull out its roots

you have set up

a colorful table

calling it life and

asked me to your feast

but punish me if

i enjoy myself

what tyranny is this

Translation by Nader Khalili

“Rumi, Fountain of Fire”

Cal-Earth Press, 1994

When Engineers go to hell..

An engineer dies and reports to the Pearly Gates.

Saint Peter checks his dossier and, not seeing his name there, accidentally sends him to Hell.

It does not take long before the engineer becomes rather dissatisfied with the level of comfort in Hell.

He soon begins to design and build improvements. Shortly thereafter, Hell has air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators. Needless to say, the engineer is a pretty popular guy.

One day, God calls Satan and says with a sneer:

“So, how are things in Hell?”

  Satan replies:

“Hey, things are going great. We’ve got air conditioning, flush toilets, and escalators. And there’s no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next.”

“What!” God exclaims: “You’ve got an engineer? That’s a mistake — he should never have been sent to Hell… send him to me.”

“Not a chance,” Satan replies: “I like having an engineer on the staff, and I’m keeping him!”

 God insists:

“Send him back or I’ll sue.”

Satan laughs uproariously and answers: 

“Yeah, right. And where are you going to get a lawyer?”

If you like the Engineer series, click below for previous posts:-

• When An Engineer Stands In As A Doctor
• The Engineer Again?
• The Engineer (3) - The Many Takes
• The Engineer (2) - Engineer vs Management / Accountant
• The Engineer (1) - Getting to Know One
• Watch and You Will See