Mind over Matter - revisited

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

Aku berikan DiriKu kepadamu!

Allah mewahyukan kepada Nabi Isa a.s.: Wahai Isa! Hati-hatilah, jangan sampai Aku terlepas daripadamu! Yakni, jangan sampai engkau memilih yang lain daripada Aku, lalu engkau kehilangan Aku! Nabi Musa a.s. berdoa kepada Allah: Ya Allah! Berilah aku sesuatu anugerah! Allah menjawab: Aku berikan DiriKu kepadamu! Kemudian Nabi Musa a.s. memohon lagi: Ya Allah! Berikan aku sesuatu pemberian! Allah menjawab lagi: Aku berikan DiriKu kepadamu! Sehingga berulang empat kali, Nabi Musa a.s. meminta kepada Allah s.w.t, namun jawaban Allah sama belaka, iaitu: Aku berikan DiriKu kepadamu!

Nyatalah kini, bahawa makrifat hamba akan Zat Tuhan yang menciptanya itu adalah anugerah utama yang diberikan kepada para Nabi dan Rasul, para shiddiqin dan salihin. Itulah kumia yang terbesar yang harus diminta oleh seseorang hamba, sebagaimana yang disarankan oleh Syekh Abdul Qadir AI-Jailani, maka perhatikanlah apa yang disarankannya itu!

Allah Ta'ala mencipta alam dan segala yang terisi di dalamnya, termasuk makhlukNya yang berupa jin, manusia dan Malaikat adalah untuk disembah. Setiap yang disembah itu mestilah dikenali terlebih dahulu, dan kalau masih belum dikenali mestilah dicari sehingga dapat dikenali. Lantaran itu, maka Zat yang disembah itu adalah umpama 'perbendaharaan yang tersembunyi', yang mesti dicari lalu dikenali sebelum disembah. Kalau Dia gagal untuk dikenali, bagaimana dapat pula disembah..

Jadi maksud dari 'perbendaharaan yang tersembunyi' itu ialah hakikat Zat Allah yang menciptakan makhlukNya untuk dicari dan dikenali, lalu disembahi sebagai Tuhan Maha Pencipta.

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

A wonderful Sufi quote:

"In fact, what separates man from divine Reality is but a thin partition: God is infinitely close to man, but man is infinitely far from God. This partition, for man is a mountain; man stands in front of a mountain which he must remove with his own hands. He digs away the earth, but in vain, the mountain remains; man however goes on digging, in the name of God. And the mountain vanishes. It was never there."

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

The Power of Silence

A story is told about a woman who went to a healer and said to him, 'My husband is very bad tempered. Every evening when he comes home he scolds me and there is quarrel that ends in a very disgraceful manner. Can you give me a remedy for it?' The healer said, 'Certainly,' and gave her seven pieces of candy, explaining, 'These are charmed pieces of candy. When your husband comes home, put one of these in your mouth.' When I did so, and that evening there was no quarrel: such a miracle, after ten years of continuing quarreling! The next day the woman went to the healer, thanked him a thousand times and told him that he had done such a miracle. She said, 'I do not know what to do to thank you. I want you to give me a big box of that candy which might last for some time.' the healer answered, 'The candy is not necessary, silence is needed.' This teaches us that often we quarrel only because of our speech. Silence is a great peacemaker. 'Blessed are the peacemakers.'

The Art of Being - Inayat Khan

"For the ignorant there is no better rule than silence and if he knew its advantage he would not be ignorant."

Saadi

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

Learn to be still

It's just another day in paradise
As you stumble to your bed
You'd give anything to silence
Those voices ringing in your head
You thought you could find happiness
Just over that green hill
You thought you would be satisfied
But you never will-
Learn to be still

We are like sheep without a shepherd
We don't know how to be alone
So we wander 'round this desert
And wind up following the wrong gods home
But the flock cries out for another
And they keep answering that bell
And one more starry-eyed messiah
Meets a violent farewell-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still

Now the flowers in your garden
They don't smell so sweet
Maybe you've forgotten
The heaven lying at your feet

[Solo]

There are so many contradictions
In all these messages we send
(We keep asking)
How do I get out of here
Where do I fit in?
Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for you to awaken
And someday you will-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still

You just keep on runnin'
Keep on runnin'

©1994 By Don Henley and Stan Lynch and the Eagles

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

If...

IF YOU CAN DISENTANGLE
yourself from your selfish self
all heavenly spirits
will stand ready to serve you

if you can finally hunt down
your own beastly self
you have the right
to claim Solomon's kingdom

you are that blessed soul who
belongs to the garden of paradise
is it fair to let yourself
fall apart in a shattered house

you are the bird of happiness
in the magic of existence
what a pity when you let
yourself be chained and caged

but if you can break free
from this dark prison named body
soon you will see
you are the sage and the fountain of life

Rumi poem translated by Nader Khalili

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

THE ROSE GARDEN OF LOVE

Even if the two worlds were prison cells
They would be orchard gardens for me,
When the Friend bestows His favor
On me, I am not sad, I do not grieve.

If I were the slave of the Friend
I would flower like an opening rose,
I would be the nightingale singing of love,
I would live in the rose garden of love.

My eyes have seen the Beloved's face,
And my face is dust to the friends of God,
But for those who understand
My words, they are sweet sugar cane.

If you give up the claims of the world
And fly up all the way to the Beloved,
If you drink the wine of love,
You will certainly be drunk with enchantment.

If I cannot see You, both this world
And the hereafter are prison cells
For my eyes. Whoever knows Your love
Must surely be the purest and the best.

My inner self has never tired of Your love,
My tongue speaks of You in spite of myself,
Yunus, may these words of yours
Be an epic tale for all the worlds.

Poem by Yunus Emre (AD. 1240 - 1320)

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

Prophets and the Martyrs will envy them !

It is reported by Sayidina Omar r.a, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said:

“Surely, some of God blessed servants are neither Prophets nor Martyrs; they are special People, who on the Day of Reckoning, the Prophets and the Martyrs will envy them for their ranks and nearness to their God.”

“A Companion asked,

“O Messenger of God (pbuh), who are they, and what kind of deeds do they perform so that we may love Them as well?"

Messenger of God (pbuh) said,

“They are People who love one another in God, even though they have no consanguineous (of the same blood or origin) ties, money to exchange or worldly business to barter with. I swear by God on the Reckoning, their faces will be effulgent lights and they will be raised on Pulpits of Light. They will not be subject to fear when the creation is seized by the awesomeness of the Day of Resurrection, nor will they be subjected with sorrow when the rest of creation will be seized by it." He then recited from Surah Yunus: 62, أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ “Surely, God’s Deputies (Aulia) are not subject to fear (both in this world and the next, for they will always find My help and support with them) nor shall they grieve”

So who are these people and what are their characteristic?  You may find some of the answer from our earlier posting...
Who is these so call Aulia-ul-Allah (In Malay)
Realities of those who knows (In Malay)

Even though we may not be one of them, at least we must have the firm believe that they do exist on this earth, around us, even today. Only their identity is kept secret from us.

أَوْلِيآئِى تَحْتَ قُبَابِي لَا يَعْرِفُهُمْ غَيْرى My friends are under My Dome where no one recognize them except me."

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

Knowledge is to understand who you are.

Knowledge is to understand
To understand who you are.
If you know not who you are
What's the use of learning?

The aim in learning is
To understand God's Truth.
Because without knowledge
It is wasted hard labour.

Do not say: I know it all,
I am obedient to my God.
If you know not who God is
That is sheer idle talk.

Twenty-eight syllables
You read from end to end.
You name the first `alpha''
What can it possibly mean?

Yunus Emre says also
Let me receive what I need.
The best possible thing
Is to find perfect peace.

Poem by Yunus Emre (AD. 1240 - 1320)

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

To be a Lover

"Even if it be after thousand years, these words will reach those for whom they're intended" - Rumi

Whoever claims to be a lover
Does not think of passion or desires,
Whoever comes to the house of love
Has no interest in anything, no attachment to anything.

Whoever is a true lover no longer
Remembers this world and the hereafter,
Whoever expects titles and struts
With arrogance is not a true lover.

Arrogance and honor belong
To love of this world,
Whoever loves the titles of the world
Never talks about love.

Whoever talks about love with his tongue alone,
Does not know what love is,
So here is my explanation,
Love is exalted in a priceless way.

It is slanderous to call someone a lover
Who does not renounce love of the world,
Love does not come to an inner heart
Filled with arrogance and love of the world.

Love does not accept arrogance
Or love of the world:
These are not my words, love itself
Does not find them correct.

Let those whose hearts taste love
Forget about everything except love,
No other vehicle but love
Will reach the presence of the Friend.

Let those who are true lovers
Walk the path with love,
Whoever uses the eye of the inner heart
Never stumbles into traps along the way.

Let those who call Yunus a lover
Be careful, do not imitate him,
Many will be lost because
Our destination is far away.

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

You are my Soul

"Even if it be after thousand years, these words will reach those for whom they're intended" - Rumi

Starting today this blog would start posting a series of poems by Yunus Emre, the turkish National poets. All these poems would carry the same theme, ie devine love, i found it really beautiful and simple. But the most important is the hidden message it carrying with each of the poems. The message is clearer for some while for others it might still find it hard.

There was an earlier posting of a poem by the same author. To take a look at them please click here

You are the soul of my soul, and
I have no peace without You,
If You are not in paradise, I swear
I will never even look up there.

Wherever I look my eyes see only You,
Whatever I say my words are only You,
My only desire is to be Your witness,
And yet I have no desire.

Traveling on my way to You,
I have forgotten myself already,
Whatever I say, whatever state I'm in,
Without You, I have no peace.

If You kill me and bring me back to life
Seventy times, like Cercis, just
Take me back to You again,
I have lost all my pride in Your love.

Yunus falls into Your love too,
So reveal Your face to him,
You are my only Beloved, my heart
Is in love with nothing but You.

Poem: By Yunus Emre

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

Jangan remehkan amalan yg ikhlas!

أَنَّ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ

سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ قَرَصَتْ نَمْلَةٌ نَبِيًّا مِنْ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ فَأَمَرَ بِقَرْيَةِ النَّمْلِ فَأُحْرِقَتْ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ قَرَصَتْكَ نَمْلَةٌ أَحْرَقْتَ أُمَّةً مِنْ الْأُمَمِ تُسَبِّحُ

Dari Abu Hurairah r.a. katanya: Saya mendengar Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: “Seekor semut menyengat salah seorang Nabi. Nabi itupun menyuruh mencari sarang semut itu lalu dibakar. Allah lalu menurunkan wahyu kepada Nabi itu: “Sesungguhnya hanya seekor semut yang menyengat engkau dan engkau bakar salah satu umat yang bertasbih kepada Tuhan!” Riwayat Bukhari

Walaupun yang dianiaya itu hanyalah seekor semut yang kecil pada pandangan manusia tetapi ia tetap salah satu ciptaan tuhan yang Maha Agung, bukan sahaja semut akan tetapi semua makhluk tuhan lain juga begitu. Mereka yang mengerti akan hakikat penciptaan dengan sebenar-benarnya (sifat ini biasanya dimiliki oleh para kekasih Allah iaitu orang-orang yang arif), mereka akan lebih mengasihi dan menghargai semua ciptaan Allah berbanding dengan orang lain.

Disebutkan bahawa Allah mewahyukan kepada Nabi Musa as.: Tahukah Kamu mengapakah Aku mengangkat engkau sebagai Nabi yang terus mendengar kalamKu? Jawab Musa: Engkau yang lebih mengetahui. Bersabda Tuhan: Ketika Aku larikan semua kambing Nabi Syuaib yang kau pelihara itu, sehingga dengan susah payah engkau mengejar kambing-kambing itu untuk mengembalikannya, tetapi kemudian setelah kembali semuanya engkau tidak merasa jengkel marah, maka itulah sebabnya.

Dalam Hadith lain diceritakan, seorang pelacur yang memberi minum kepada anjing, tiba-tiba Allah bersyukur kepadanya dan mengampunkan semua dosanya. Demikianlah kehormatan dari kurnia-kurnia besar dari Allah itu, tidak dapat dicapai oleh manusia, dan selalu diberikan oleh Allah secara tiba-tiba, supaya tidak ada orang berbangga dengan amal perbuatannya.

Kasihani lah dirimu dan semua makhluk tuhan disekeliling mu, semuga Allah mengasihimu dan membuka bagimu jalan bagi mengetahui pelbagai rahsia penciptaan dan kehidupan. Tidak dibukakan oleh Allah melainkan kepada mereka yang sangat beruntung di dunia dan akhirat.

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

The invitation

The Invitation

(Oriah Mountian Dreamer)

It doesnt interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.

It doesnt interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesnt interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by lifes betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

It doesnt interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
Yes.

It doesnt interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesnt interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesnt interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

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

Life Quotes - Unfoldment of the heart

By unfoldment of heart

"The facts can be put into words but not the truth, for God is truth, the soul is truth, the real self of man is truth."

"We generally confuse truth with fact, and we often use the word fact for truth. When we look at it from the mystic's point of view we find that words are too intricate ever to explain what is truth. ... Truth is that which cannot be pointed out, because all things that can be compared have their opposite, but neither God nor truth has an opposite. Names are to point out forms, and words are to distinguish one thing from another, while definitions come from the pairs of opposites or at least from differences. That which is all-pervading and is in all things and beings, that which every word explains and yet no word can explain, is God and is truth."

(...) "And truth can neither be studied nor taught nor learned; it is to be touched, it is to be realized; and it can be realized by the unfoldment of the heart."

Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

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

Life Quotes - Opening of the heart

If we could live our lifes bases on this principle we could become one of the happiest man on earths, life full of joys and freedom.

Stepping Into Freedom

"When we can acknowledge and accept our own shadows, our negative self-judgment lightens. When our negative self-judgment lightens, our negative judgment of others lightens simultaneously, and compassion for the pain of others arises."

Joan Hoeberichts

You Open Yourself

"When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You're able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And, you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently."

Pema Chödrön

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

He Said

السعى لاكتشاف السر - من أنا؟

Today poem is by Rumi, notice what he said at the end of the poem where he claimed that the only way to benefit from this life is by keeping true to ourselves. We cannot be true to ourselves unless we know who we really are. This require us to know our true identity, and our true life purpose in this world. And yet when come to providing the answer to this questions, as usual Rumi can only give a vague idea about them...it is up to us to really search for the answer.

Those who seek will find them..وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ - And those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right. (Al-Ankabut: 69).

If we cannot find the answer to it, it only meant we are not serious enough, not hard enough with our searching and pursuit for the answer. Only those wo really seek will find them. Those who found them will remain silent and say very little..except to those who is ready to hear the truth.

As narrated by Abu Huraira:  I have memorized two kinds of knowledge from Allah's Apostle . I have propagated one of them to you and if I propagated the second, then my pharynx (throat) would be cut (i.e. killed). Source from here: Volume 1, Book 3, Number 121:

The second type of knowledge is the secret knowledge, knowledge of the path to know our trueself. A road that could only be traveled by the brave one with a fearless heart.

HE SAID

He said, "Who is at my door?"
I said, "Your humble servant."
He said, "What business do you have?"
I said, "To greet you, 0 Lord."
He said, "How long will you journey on?"
I said, "Until you stop me."
He said, "How long will you boil in the fire?"
I said, "Until I am pure.
"This is my oath of love.
For the sake of love
I gave up wealth and position."
He said, "You have pleaded your case
but you have no witness."
I said, "My tears are my witness;
the pallor of my face is my proof.'
He said, "Your witness has no credibility;
your eyes are too wet to see."
I said, "By the splendor of your justice
my eyes are clear and faultless."
He said, "What do you seek?"
I said, "To have you as my constant friend."
He said, "What do you want from me?"
I said, "Your abundant grace."
He said, "Who was your companion on the journey?
I said, "The thought of you, 0 King."
He said, "What called you here?"
I said, "The fragrance of your wine."
He said, "What brings you the most fulfillment? "
I said, "The company of the Emperor."
He said, "What do you find there?"
I said, "A hundred miracles."
He said, "Why is the palace deserted?"
I said, "They all fear the thief."
He said, "Who is the thief?"
I said, "The one who keeps me from -you.
He said, "Where is there safety?"
I said, "In service and renunciation. "
He said, "What is there to renounce?"
I said, "The hope of salvation."
He said, "Where is there calamity?"
I said, "In the presence of your love."
He said, "How do you benefit from this life?"
I said, "By keeping true to myself
Now it is time for silence.
If I told you about His true essence
You would fly from your self and be gone,
and neither door nor roof could hold you back!

Poem by: Maulana Jallaluddin Rumi
Source of picture is from here

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

اَلْطَرِيْقُ اِلَى الله - The way to God

اَلْطَرِيْقُ اِلَى الله هُو كَثِيرُ - وَلَكِنْ أَقْصَرُ وَأَسْهَلُ هُوَ خِدَمَةُ الْآخِرِيْنَ ، وَلَا يَزْعُجُ الْآخِرِيْنَ ، وَجَعَلَ الآخِرِيْنَ سَعِدًاء

One day a man asked a sheikh how to reach God. “the Way to God” the sheikh replied, “are many as they are created beings.  But the shortest and easiest is to serve others, not to bother others, and to make others happy.

If you wish to draw near to God, you must seek God in the hearts of others. You should speak well of all, whether present or absent. If you seek to be a light to guide others, then, like the sun, you must show the same face to all. To bring joy to a single heart is better than to build many shrines for worship, and to enslave one soul by kindness is worth more than the setting free of a thousand slaves. The true man of God sits in the midst of his fellowmen, and rises up and cats and sleeps and buys and sells and gives and takes in the bazaars, and marries and has social intercourse with others, and yet is never for one moment forgetful of God.

The above is from the saying of Abu Sa'id, a great sufi and poets, Shaikh Abu-Said was one of the earlier Sufi poets. He lived more than two centuries before Jelaluddin Rumi yet, like Rumi, much of his mysticism follows a similar path of annihilation in divine Love.

From my own small experience and knowledge there is a great truth in what has been said. Many others have said about the same things, for example Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty said "A sin committed does not harm an individual so much as looking down upon one's own fellow human beings".

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

The question of destiny ?

The question of destiny is a very complicated matter to understand ..

However, I like and adopted the view of Syaikh Ibnu Atho'illah, the author of a famous book "Kitabul-Hikam", on this subject, he said: الغافل اذا اصبح ينظر ماذا يفعل، والعاقل ينظر ماذا يفعل الله به

Those people who fail to fail to understand that the true meaning of tauhid which is that everything is running according to terms destine by God, in the morning is worring about what he should be doing that day whereas a person with sound understanding of tauhid would see only what Allah had destined for him that day.

ابن عجيبة said in his kitab إيقاظ الهمم شرح متن الحكم:
الغافل هو الجاهل بالله ولو كثر ذكره باللسان والعاقل هو العارف بالله ولو قل له ذكر اللسان

الغافل - are those who are do not know Allah even though they do a lot of zikrullah with their tongue whereas العاقل are those who know Allah even though they do less of zikrullah with their tongue..

وقول عمر بن عبد العزيز : أصبحت وما لي سرور إلا فى مواقع القدر
And the saying of Umar bin Abdul Aziz: In the morning i would rejoice with nothing except with what Allah had destined for me.

May God opened our hearts to the proper understanding of destiny.. It is most important key to peacefull living..

(p/s : I am testing my new found skill - typing with arabic keyboard and at the same time enhancing my knowledge of arabic..)

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

Saved by a Poem

Kim Rosen, author of "Saved by a Poem: The Transformative Power of Words" speaks about loving -- and fearing -- poetry and how poems can be a powerful medicine to heal and transform individuals and our world.

Many of the great Sufi mystics in the past such as Rumi, Attar, Hafiz, Yunus Amre, Saadi, Mahmud Shabistari,Ibn Arabi, Omar Khayyam and many others have been able to encapsulate and share their spiritual experiences through them. Many of the most truly important sufi message and secret are reveal through them. Reading these sufi poems can uplift our own consciouness.

However some of this "life secret" could only be understood with the help of the wise and enlightened being.

Many of these poems could be found on the internet. One of such site is The Poets Seeres.

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

Kindness

----Kindess-----
Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.
Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

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

Presence

--- PRESENCE ----
This we have now
is not imagination

This is not
grief or joy.

Not a judging state,
or an elation,
or sadness.

Those come
and go.

This is the presence
that doesn't.

It's dawn, Husam,
here in the splendor of coral,
inside the Friend, the simple truth
of what Hallaj said.

What else could human beings want?

When grapes turn to wine,
they're wanting
this.

When the nightsky pours by,
it's really a crowd of beggars,
and they all want some of this!

This
that we are now
created the body, cell by cell,
like bees building a honeycomb.

The human body and the universe
grew from this, not this
from the universe and the human body.

--Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks)

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

Listening

---LISTENING ----
What is the deep listening? Sama is
a greeeting from the secret ones inside

the heart, a letter. The branches of
your intelligence grow new leaves in

the wind of this listening. The body
reaches a peace. Rooster sound comes,

reminding you of your love for dawn.
The reed flute and the singer's lips:

the knack of how spirit breathes into
us becomes as simple and ordinary as

eating and drinking. The dead rise with
the pleasure of listening. If someone

can't hear a trumpet melody, sprinkle
dirt on his head and declare him dead.

Listen, and feel the beauty of your
separation, the unsayable absence.

There's a moon inside every human being.
Learn to be companions with it. Give

more of your life to this listening. As
brightness is to time, so you are to

the one who talks to the deep ear in
your chest. I should sell my tongue

and buy a thousand ears when that
one steps near and begins to speak.

— Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273)
The Glance: Songs of Soul-Meeting
translated by Coleman Barks
Viking Penguin, NY (1999)

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

You give but little - Khalil Gibran

"You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have--and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.

And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights, is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers... and you are all receivers... assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the freehearted earth for mother, and God for father."

( "On Giving": Kahlil Gibran )

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

James Allen Quotes - As A Man Thinketh

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

Nothing Lasts Forever

----Nothing lasts forever -----
No one lives forever.
Keep that in mind,
And love,

Our life is not the same old burden,
Our path is not the same long journey,
The flower fades and dies,
We must pause to weave,
Perfection in music,
Keep that in mind,
And love.

My beloved,
In you I find refuge.
Love droops towards sunset,
To be drowned in golden shadows,
Love must be called from its play,
And love must be born again to be free,
Keep that in mind,
And love.

My beloved,
In you I find refuge,
Without seeing my love,
I cannot sleep.
Lets us hurry to gather our flowers,
Before they are plundered by the passing winds,
It quickens our blood,
And brightens our eyes,
To snatch kisses that would vanish,
If we delayed.
Our life is eager,
Our desires are keen
For time rolls by,
Keep that in mind,
And love.

My beloved,
In you I find refuge.
Beauty is sweet for a short time,
And then it is gone,
Knowledge is precious,

But we will never have time to complete it,
All is done and finished,
In eternal heaven,
But our life here is eternally fresh,
Keep that in mind,
And love.

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

Gift of Love (9 of 10)

---The Mirror -------
(Read by : Debra Winger)
We are the mirror as well as the face in it.
We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity.
We are pain and what cures pain both.
We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.
I want to hold you close like a lute so we can cry out with loving.
You would rather throw stones at a mirror?
I am your mirror, and here are the stones.

---- Look at Your Eyes ----
(Read by: Noah Hutton/Debra Winger)
I am so small I can barely be seen.
How can this great love be inside me?
Look at your eyes, they are small but they
see enormous things.

---- Looking for Love ------
(Read by : Rosa Parks)
God is within
My heart is in harmony with my head
my spirit soars as a bird in search of new sky,
The innocence of my life releases the God I love everywhere.

---- Some Kiss ------
(Read by : Coleman Barks)
There is some kiss we want
with our whole lives,
the touch of spirit on the body.
Seawater begs the pearl
to break its shell.
And the lily, how passionately it needs some wild darling!
At night, I open the window and ask the moon to come
and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me.
Close the language-door
and open the love-window.
The moon won’t use the door,
only the window

----The Freshness----
(Read by : Coleman Barks)
When it's cold and raining,
you are more beautiful.

And the snow brings me
even closer to your lips.

The inner secret, that which was never born,
you are that freshness, and I am with you now.

I can't explain the goings,
or the comings. You enter suddenly,
and I am nowhere again.
Inside the majesty.

----- My Beloved -----
(Read by : Chris Barron)
Know that my beloved is hidden from everyone
Know that she is beyond the belief of all beliefs
Know that in my heart she is as clear as the MOON
Know that she is the life in my body and in my soul

---- The Hunt -------
(Read by : Deepak Chopra)
The Lover comes, the Lover comes!
Open the way for him!
He’s looking for a heart,
Let’s show him one.
I scream
“What you come to hunt is me!”
He says laughingly,
“I’m here not to hunt you but to save you.”

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

Gift of Love (8 of 10)

-----The Agony and Ecstasy of Divine Discontent-----
(Read by : Sonja Sohn)
In the orchard and rose garden
I long to see your face.
In the taste of Sweetness
I long to kiss your lips.
In the shadows of passion
I long for your love.

Oh! Supreme Lover!
Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.

By Allah!
I long to escape the prison of my ego
And lose myself
In the mountains and the desert.

These sad and lonely people tire me.
I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your love
And feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I’m sick of mortal kings.
I long to see your light.
With lamps in hand
The sheikhs and mullahs roam
The dark alleys of these towns
Not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,
The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises
But stand mute
With the agony of wishing in my heart.

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

Gift of Love (7 of 10)

----The Mythical Lover -----
(Read by : Gautama Chopra)
My love for you has driven me insane
I wander aimlessly the ruins of my life , my old self a stranger to me
Because of your love I have broken with my past
My longing for you keeps me in this moment , My Passion gives me courage
I look for you in my innermost being
I used to read
the myths of love
Now I have become
a mythical lover

--- I am and I am Not ----
(Read by : Deepak Chopra)
I'm drenched
in the flood
which has yet to come

I'm tied up
in the prison
which has yet to exist...

Not having played
the game of chess
I'm already the checkmate

Not having tasted
a single cup of your wine
I'm already drunk

Not having entered
the battlefield
I'm already wounded and slain

I no longer
know the difference
between image and reality

Like the shadow
I am
And
I am not

---The Agony of Lovers----
(Read by : Laura Day)
The agony of lovers
burns with the fire of passion.
Lovers leave traces of where they've been.
The wailing of broken hearts
is the doorway to God."

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

Gift of Love (6 of 10)

--- Surrender ------
(Read by : Deepak Chopra)
In love...nothing is eternal, but drinking your wine.
There is no reason for bringing my life to you,
other than losing it. I said, I just want to know you,
and then disappear. She said, knowing me does not mean dying.

----Defeated by Love-----
(Read by : Sussan Deyhim)
The sky was lit by the splendor of the moon,
so powerful I fell to the ground.
Your love has made me sure
I am ready to forsake this worldly life
and surrender to the magnificence of your being.

--- Lost in the Wilderness ---
(Read by : Deepak Chopra)
Oh lovers, where are you going? Who are you looking for?
Your beloved is right here. She lives in your own neighbourhood.
Her face is veiled. She hides behind screens calling for you,
while you search and lose yourself in the wilderness and the desert.
Cease looking for flowers, there blooms a garden in your own home.
While you go looking for trinkets, your treasure house awaits you in your own being. There is no need for suffering, God is here!

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

Gift of Love (5 of 10)

---Dying to Love ----
(Read by : Robert A.F. Thurman)
Die! Die!
Die in this love!
If you die in this love
your soul will be renewed.

Die! Die!
Don't fear the death
of that which is known
If you die to the temporal
you will become timeless

Die! Die!
Cut off those Chains
that hold you prisoner
to the world of attachment

Die! Die!
Die to the deathless
and you will be eternal

Die! Die!
and come out of this cloud
When you leave the cloud
you will be the effulgent moon

Die! Die!
Die to the din and the nouise
of mundane concerns
In the silence of love
you will find the spark of life

--- The privileged lovers--------
(Read by : Deepak Chopra)
The moon has become a dancer at this festival of love. This dance of light, this sacred blessing, this divine love beckons us to a world beyond, that only lovers can see with their eyes of fiery passion. They are the chosen ones who have surrendered. Once they were particles of light, now they are the radiant sun. They have left behind the world of deceat-full games. They are the privileged lovers who created new worlds with their eyes of fiery passion.

--- Precious Love ----
(Read by : Deepak Chopra)
Oh God!
I have discovered love!
How marvelous!
How good!
How beautiful it is!

My Body is warm
from the heat of this love
How secret!
How deep
How obvious it is!

I offer my salutations
to the stars and the moon
to all my brothers and all my sisters
I offer my salutations
to the spirit of passion
that aroused and excited this universe
and all it contains

I have fallen
unable to rise
What kind of trap is this?
What chains have tied my hands and feet?

It is so strange
and so wonderful
this loving helplessness of mine

Be silent
do not reveal the secret
of my precious love

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

Gift of Love (4 of 10)

--- I am yours -----
(Read By: Robert John Burke)
Because the idol is your face, I have become an idolater,
Because the wine is from your cup, I have become a drunkard.
In the existence of your love, I have become non existent.
This non existence linked to you is better than all existence.

--- Behine the Scenes ----
(Read by: Blythe Danner)
Is it your face that adorns this garden?
Is it your fragrance that intoxicates this garden?
Is it your Spirit that has made this brook a river of wine?
Hundreds have looked for you, and died searching in this garden,
where you hide behind the scenes.
But this pain is not for those who come as lovers.
You are easy to find here.
You are in the breeze and in this river of wine.

--- Looking for Your Face ---
(Read by: Jared Harris)
From the beginning of my life
I have been looking for your face
but today I have seen it

Today I have seen
the charm, the beauty,
the unfathomable grace
of the face
that I was looking for

Today I have found you
and those who laughed
and scorned me yesterday
are sorry that they were not looking
as I did

I am bewildered by the magnificence
of your beauty
and wish to see you
with a hundred eyes

My heart has burned with passion
and has searched forever
for this wondrous beauty
that I now behold

I am ashamed
to call this love human
and afraid of God
to call it divine

Your fragrant breath
like the morning breeze
has come to the stillness of the garden
You have breathed new life into me
I have become your sunshine
and also your shadow

My soul is screaming in ecstacy
Every fiber of my being
is in love with you

Your effulgence
has lit a fire in my heart
and you have made radiant for me
the earth and sky

My arrow of love
has arrived at the target
I am in the house of mercy
and my heart
is a place of prayer

----The Meaning of Love ------
(Read By: Goldie Hawn)
Both light and shadow are the dance of Love.
Love has no cause, it is the astrolabe of God's secrets.
Lover and loving are inseparable and timeless.

Although I may try to describe love,
when I experience it, I am speechless.
Although I may try to write about love, I am rendered helpless.
My pen breaks, and the paper slips away
at the ineffable place where lover loving and loved are one.
Every moment is made glorious by the light of Love.

--- Aroused Passion---
(Read By: Deepak Chopra)
Oh God
Let all lovers be contents
Give them happy endings
Let their lives be celebrations
Let their hearts dance in the fire of your love

My sweetheart
you have aroused my passion
Your touch has filled me with desire
I am no longer separate from you

These are precious moments
I beseech you
Don't let me wait
Let me merge with you

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

Gift of Love (3 of 10)

Jelaluddin Rumi, the 13th century mystic poet, was truly one of the most passionate and profound poets in history. Now, today his presence still remains strong, due in part to how his words seem to drip of the divine, and startle a profound rememberance that links all back to the Soul-Essence. Born in what is present day Afghanistan in 1207, he produced his master work the Masnawi which consists of over 60,000 poems before he died in 1273.

--- The Alchemy of Love -----
(Read By: Deepak Chopra)
You come to us
from another world

From beyond the stars
and void of space.
Transcendent, Pure,
Of unimaginable beauty,
Bringing with you
the essence of love.

You transform all
who are touched by you.
Mundane concerns,
troubles, and sorrows
dissolve in your presence,
Bringing joy
to ruler and ruled
To peasant and King.

You bewilder us
with your grace.
All evils
transform into
goodness.

You are the master alchemist.

You light the fire of love
in earth and sky
in heart and soul
of every being.

Through your loving
existence and nonexistence merge.
All opposites unite.
All that is profane
becomes sacred again.

-------Caught in the Fire of Love ----
(Read By: Martin Sheen)

My heart is on fire
In my madness I roam the desert
The flames of my passion
devour the wind and the sky
My cries of longing,
my waves of sorrow are tormenting my soul
You wait patiently
looking into my intoxicated eyes
You accept my passion
with the serenity of Love
You are the master of existence
One day I shall be a Lover, like You

---- THE AWAKENING --------
(Read By: Deepak Chopra)

In the early dawn of happiness
you gave me three kisses
so that I would wake up
to this moment of love

I tried to remember in my heart
what I'd dreamt about
during the night
before I became aware
of this moving
of life

I found my dreams
but the moon took me away
It lifted me up to the firmament
and suspended me there
I saw how my heart had fallen
on your path
singing a song

Between my love and my heart
things were happening which
slowly slowly
made me recall everything

You arouse me with your touch
although I can't see your hands.
You have kissed me with tenderness
although I haven't seen your lips
You are hidden from me.

But it is you who keeps me alive

Perhaps the time will come
when you will tire of kisses
I shall be happy
even for insults from you
I only ask that you
keep some attention on me.

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

Gift of Love (2 of 10)

--- The Lover's Passion ----
(Read By: Deepak Chopra)
A lover knows only humility, he has no choice.
He steals into your alley at night, he has no choice.
He longs to kiss every lock of your hair, don’t fret, he has no choice.
In his frenzied love for you, he longs to break the chains of his imprisonment, he has no choice

---Do you love me----
(Read By: Demi Moore)
A lover asked his beloved,
Do you love yourself more
than you love me?
The beloved replied,
I have died to myself
and I live for you.

I've disappeared from myself
and my attributes.
I am present only for you.

I have forgotten all my learnings,
but from knowing you
I have become a scholar.

I have lost all my strength,
but from your power
I am able.

If I love myself
I love you.
If I love you
I love myself.

---- Come to me --------
(Read By: Deepak Chopra)
I am your lover, come to my side,
I will open the gate to your love.
Come settle with me, let us be neighbours to the stars.
You have been hiding so long, endlessly drifting in the sea of my love.
Even so, you have always been connected to me.
Concealed, revealed, in the unknown, in the un-manifest.
I am life itself.

You have been a prisoner of a little pond,
I am the ocean and its turbulent flood.
Come merge with me,
leave this world of ignorance.
Be with me, I will open the gate to your love.

---Desire-----
(Read By: Deepak Chopra)
I desire you more than food or drink
My body my senses my mind hunger for your taste
I can sense your presence in my heart
although you belong to all the world
I wait with silent passïon for one gesture one glance
from you."

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

Gift of Love (1 of 10)

"The innocence of my life releases the God I love everywhere." These are the words of Rumi, 13th-century poet and founder of the Whirling Dervishes of Sufism, as spoken by the mature and melodious voice of Rosa Parks. Her voice, American history, those words, intense longing: Power. In celebration of the human spirit, The Gift of Love is a recitation of the love poems of Rumi by Dr. Chopra and celebrity friends, including Madonna, Goldie Hawn, and Robert A.F. Thurman. Sensual Middle Eastern-influenced music backs the reading and provides breaks between sections such as "Love Drunk" and "The Light of Love." The Gift of Love is sincere and potent stuff, unafraid of the deep physical, spiritual, and mental hunger that Rumi's words not only taste, but roll about the tongue and swallow whole. --Paige La Grone

--- My Burning Heart ----
My heart is burning with love
All can see this flame
My heart is pulsing with passion
like waves on an ocean.

My friends have become strangers
and I’m surrounded by enemies.
But I’m free as the wind
no longer hurt by those who reproach me.

I’m at home wherever I am
And in the room of lovers
I can see with closed eyes
the beauty that dances.

Behind the veils
intoxicated with love
I too dance the rhythm
of this moving world.
I have lost my senses
in my world of lovers...


--- Bittersweet-----
In my hallucination
I saw my beloved's flower garden
In my vertigo, in my dizziness
In my drunken haze
Whirling and dancing like a spinning wheel
I saw myself as the source of existence

I was there in the beginning
And I was the spirit of love
Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
And the memory of love
And only the sorrow

I yearn for happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy
And my love says:

Look at me and hear me
Because I am here
Just for that

I am your moon and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden and your water too
I have come all this way, eager for you
Without shoes or shawl

I want you to laugh
To kill all your worries
To love you
To nourish you

Oh sweet bitterness
I will soothe you and heal you
I will bring you roses
I, too, have been covered with thorns

---Intoxicated by Love----
Because of your love
I have lost my sobriety
I am intoxicated
by the madness of love

In this fog
I have become a stranger to myself
I'm so drunk
I've lost the way to my house

In the garden
I see only your face
From trees and blossoms
I inhale only your fragrance

Drunk with the ecstasy of love
I can no longer tell the difference
between drunkard and drink
Between Lover and Beloved

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

Here I am

"The original words of Rumi are so deep, so perfect, so touching, that when one man repeats them hundreds and thousands of people are moved to tears. They cannot help penetrating the heart. This shows how much Rumi himself was moved to have been able to pour out such living words. - Hazrat Inayat Khan

Here is another example of Rumi masterpiece entitled "Here I am"

--------- Here I am -------------

All night, a man called “Allah”
Until his lips were bleeding.
Then the Devil said, “Hey! Mr Gullible!
How comes you’ve been calling all night
And never once heard Allah say, “Here, I am”?
You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what?
I’ll tell you what. Nothing!”

The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.
Depressed, he threw himself on the ground
And fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked,
“Why are you regretting praising Allah?”

The man said, “ I called and called
But Allah never replied, “Here I am.”
Abraham explained, “Allah has said,
“Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”

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

I've Come To Take You With Me

"I've Come To Take You With Me
Even if i must drag you along
but first must steal your heart
then settle you in my soul.

I've come as a spring
to lay beside your blossoms
to feel the glory of happiness
and spread your flowers around.

I've come to show you off
as the adornment in my house
and elevate you to the heavens
as the prayers of those in love.

I've come to take back
the kiss you once stole
either return it with grace
or i must take it by force.

You're my life
you're my soul
please be my last prayer
my heart must hold you forever.

From the lowly earth
to the high human soul
there are a lot more
than a thousand stages.

Since i've taken you along
from town to town
no way will i abandon
you halfway down this road.

Though you're in my hands
though I can throw you around
like a child and a ball
i'll always need to chase after you..."

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

The way to the Beloved

/ Photo by A-Daly /

Abu Said Khair once said:

"The shortest way to the Beloved is through selfless service and generosity to all of the Beloved's creatures."

"If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved, love everyone. whether in their presence or absence, see only their good. if you want to be as clear and refreshing as the breath of the morning breeze, like the sun have nothing but warmth and light for everyone."

In a similar notes Sa'di Shirazi had said

"Higher spiritual life is nothing but service of humanity, It is not the rosary, or prayer carpet, or woolen robes."

Shaikh Abu Said Khair (967 - 1049) was one of the earlier Sufi poets who lived more than two centuries before Jelaluddin Rumi. He lived in Mayhana in what is modern day Turkmenistan, just north of Iran and Afghanistan in Central Asia.


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

Though you are wise

Today peom is by Lalla, a great saint and mystic from the Kashmir province of India. She lived in the 14th Century. Her poems, formed an important part of Kashmiri language and culture and are still very much revered today.

--- Though you are wise ----

Though you are wise, be as a fool;
Though you can see, be as one blind;
Though you can hear, be as one deaf;
Patiently bear with all you meet,
and politely talk to eveyone.
This practice surely will lead you
to the realisation of the Truth.

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

Yang lebih baik dari anak dara!

Apabila Tuhan membukakan bagimu suatu jalan untuk bermakrifat (mengenal padaNya), maka jangan menghiraukan soal amalmu yang masih sedikit, sebab Tuhan tidak membukakan bagimu, melainkan Ia akan memperkenalkan diriNya kepadamu. Tidakkah kau ketahui bahawa makrifat itu semata-mata pemberian kurnia Allah kepadamu, sedang amal perbuatanmu hadiah daripadamu, maka di manakah letak perbandingannya antara hadiahmu dengan pemberian kurnia Allah kepadamu – Mutiara kata Shaikh Ibu Atho’illah dari kitab Al-Hikam.


Makrifat (mengenal) kepada Allah dengan sebenar pengenalan adalah kemuncak keuntungan seorang hamba (tidak dapat dibandingkan dengan ganjaran atau kedudukan lain didunia ini walau apa pun jua. Maka apabila Tuhan telah membukakan bagimu suatu jalan untuk berserta keinginan yang kuat untuk mengenal kepadaNya, maka bersyukur dan bergembiralah. Dan tidak usah kau hiraukan berapa banyak amal perbuatanmu meskipun masih sangat sedikit amal kebaikanmu dan masih terasa jauh perjalananmu. Sebab makrifat itu suatu kurnia pemberian langsung dari Allah, maka ia sekali-kali tidak tergantung kepada banyak atau sedikitnya amal kebaikan.

Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda dari riwayat Abu Hurairah ra. Allah berfirman: Apabila Aku menguji hambaKu yang beriman, kemudian ia tidak mengeluh kepada pengunjung pengunjungnya, maka Aku lepaskan ia dari ikatanKu dan Aku gantikan baginya daging dan darah yang lebih baik dari yang asal, dan ia boleh memperbaharui amal, sebab yang lalu telah diampuni semua.

Diriwayatkan lagi: Allah telah menurunkan wahyu kepada salah seorang Nabi s.a.w. Aku telah menurunkan bala (berupa ujian) kepada seorang hamba maka ia berdoa, dan tetap Aku tunda permintaannya, akhirnya ia mengeluh, maka Aku berkata kepadanya: Hambaku, bagaimana Aku akan melepaskan daripadamu rahmat yang justru bala itu mengandungi rahmatKu.

Kerana dengan segala kelakuan kebaikanmu engkau tidak dapat sampai ke tingkat yang akan Aku berikan padamu, maka dengan bala itulah engkau dapat mencapai tingkat dan kedudukan di sisi Allah.

Suburkan lah keinginan dirimu untuk bermakrifat (mengenal) Allah kerana disitulah letaknya keuntungan hakiki. Kelazatan ibadat orang yang makrifat kepada Allah disebut di dalam kitab-kitab sufi sebagai sebuah pengalaman ibadat yang tiada bandingannya. Kalau hendak dibandingkan juga ia terlebih lazat dari ketika bersatu dengan anak dara yang baru dikahwini. Sebab tu mereka ini dapat duduk berjam-jam (hatta berhari-hari dan setengahnya berbulan-bulan hatta bertahun-tahun) berzikir dan bermunazat tanpa rasa penat, mengantok dan letih..Mungkin sukar untuk digambarkan.

Adaptasi dari Terjemahan Al-Hikam oleh H.Salim Bahreisy

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

Love of the Prophet!

The first time I read a book on the life of the prophet was in 1984. The title of the book was "MUHAMMAD, THE BENEFACTOR OF HUMANITY" by Nayeem Siddiqi. It is considered one of the best book on the life of the prophet pbuh. There were so many exemplary stories told in the book about the life of the prophet and his sahabah but there was one story that really moved my heart. After 26 years i could still remember it very well. It is about the love of the prophet pbuh by the Ansar. The story goes like this.

When Prophet Muhammad pbuh entered Mecca a large quantity of booty- 24,000 camels, 400,000 goats 4,000 measures of silver – was collected at Ja’arana and as usual one-fifth of it was taken by the prophet pbuh for collective use and for relieving poverty the rest was distributed.

The Quraish was given a larger shared which angered some of the Ansars at the prophet's generosity at the cost of those who had staked their lives to support him and fought his battles.

Some Ansars were saying “We are called for help in adversity but the fruit of victory goes to others.”

When the Prophet heard this he called together the Ansars and asked them if the rumours were true. The Ansar confessed that there was such talk but only among irresponsible youths.

Then the Prophet said:“Is it not true that you were in the wrong and God gave you right guidance through me? That you were divided and God united you through me? That you were poor and God made you prosperous through me?’ At every sentence the Ansar cried, “Truly, we are greatly indebted to God and His Prophet.”

The Prophet again said, “No, you should say, O Muhammad! When people denied you we believed in you. When you were abandoned by the Quraish we sheltered you. When you came to us in poverty we gave you every help. And at every sentence I will say, ‘Yes, it is true.’ But O Ansar! Do you not like that while others take with them camels and goats, you take Muhammad with you.” This statement by the prophet moved the Ansar so much that torrents of tears began to wet their beards and they emotionally cried out, “We want only Muhammad and nothing else.” When the Prophet quietly explained to them the reasons which necessitated sympathetic treatment of the Quraish they really understood it.

They realized it, that there is nothing in this world equal to the love of the prophet. The Ansar know it very much in their heart. The worldy richness, even when the whole world turn into gold and presented to them it still cannot match their love for him. That is why they cried out “We want only Muhammad and nothing else.”

The prophet one day was reported cried out yearning for his ummah when he was sitting with his companions who asked him about the reason, he said" I yearn for my brothers "They said "Are not we your brothers?" He said :"No,you are my friends, my brothers are those who embrace Islam without seeing me "

Now even though prophet Muhammad is no longer with us, we can still shows our affection and love toward him by saying much salawat to him...

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

Give me your big Smile !

Today I stumble upon an awesome video on the internet with an amazing soundtrack that will put a smile on your face today. It’s the story of a parking attendant who makes people smile. And becomes famous for it.

Until… he walks into the DMV and falls for a women who doesn’t believe in smiling.

It is really funny, inspiring and will leave you beaming. I am sharing this with you all. You should watch it now! (Todate more then 3.3 million people around the globe have already watched this on YouTube)

Share this video with your loves one.



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

How could I ever thank my Friend?

This is another good poem by Saadi (1207? - 1291) entitled "How could I ever thank my Friend?". His real name was Sheikh Muslihu'd-Din, was a descended from Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. Saadi is probably the first Persian poet to have been translated into European languages. A German version of the Gulistan appeared in 1654. There is a real good deals of sufi message was told by Saadi in this poem in a very nice and subtle ways.

How could I ever thank my Friend?
No thanks could ever begin to be worthy.
Every hair of my body is a gift from Him;
How could I thank Him for each hair?
Praise that lavish Lord forever
Who from nothing conjures all living beings!
Who could ever describe His goodness?
His infinite glory lays all praise waste.
Look, He has graced you a robe of splendor
From childhood's first cries to old age!
He made you pure in His own image; stay pure.
It is horrible to die blackened by sin.
Never let dust settle on your mirror's shining;
Let it once grow dull and it will never polish.
When you work in the world to earn your living
Do not, for one moment, rely on your own strength.
Self-worshiper, don't you understand anything yet?
It is God alone that gives your arms their power.
If, by your striving, you achieve something good,
Don't claim the credit all for yourself;
It is fate that decides who wins and who loses
And all success streams only from the grace of God.
In this world you never stand by your own strength;
It is the Invisible that sustains you every moment.

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

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

Don't complain the Beloved is listening

"Don't complain the beloved is listening", that is the title for one of the sufis poem by the great Jalaluddin al Rumi. Unfortunately i could only lay my hand on the translated title without the poem's body. I have tried in vain to search for the translated version but unable to find any. Nevertheless the title alone is enough for us to understand the intended message of the peom, i guessed. 

As servant of Allah it is a great sins for us to complain about our life, for when we complains we are implying that Allah don't know what best for us and at the same time we are saying Allah being unjust (zalim) to us. So long that we keep complaining about our lifes, complaining about others mistreating us, complaining  about our misfortune and ill fate we remain in the disgrace of not knowing our true self.

Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.) once said "A person who has firm faith and believes in Allah doesn’t complain of others behaviour"

 
Next time before we complain we should remember that.....

If you think you are unhappy, look at them

If you think your salary is low, how about her?

If you think you don’t have many friends...

If you think you suffer in life, do you suffer as much as he does?

If you complain about your transport system, how about them?

The above was, (as i was told) from an email that was voted as the best email of the Year...I could understand why...because it touch everybody's heart. Does it touch yours?

Here is another opportunity for us to feel blessed,  for Allah has created us with complete arms and legs..not like Nick Vujicic.

Say Subhanallah and Alhamdulillah.



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