One Who Is Real Is Humble

There is only one virtue and
one sin for a soul on this path;
virtue when he is conscious of God,
and sin when he is not
-  Muhammad Abu Hashim Madani

I have learned a great deal of understanding from reading the poem by the great Sufis of the past like Jalaluddin Rumi, Yunus Emre, Mahmud Shabistari and Saadi. The poems are are so valuable as an alternative source of knowledge and I greatly adored them. The poem below is by Yunus Emre (1238-1320), one of my favourite poets. He was a contemporary of Rumi, who lived in the same region, Anatolia.

To be real on this path you must be humble--
If you look down at others you'll get pushed down the stairs.

If your heart goes around on high, you fly far from this path.
There's no use hiding it--
What's inside always leaks outside.

Even the one with the long white beard, the one who looks so wise--
If he breaks a single heart, why bother going to Mecca?
If he has no compassion, what's the point?

My heart is the throne of the Beloved,
the Beloved the heart's destiny:
Whoever breaks another's heart will find no homecoming
in this world or any other.

The ones who know say very little
while the beasts are always speaking volumes;
One word is enough for one who knows.

If there is any meaning in the holy books, it is this:
Whatever is good for you, grant it to others too--

Whoever comes to this earth migrates back;
Whoever drinks the wine of love
understands what I say--

Yunus, don't look down at the world in scorn--

Keep your eyes fixed on your Beloved's face,
then you will not see the bridge
on Judgment Day.

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears - Glenn Clark