Hafiz

God was full of Wine last night,
So full of Wine

That He let a great secret slip.

He said:

There is no man on this earth
Who needs a pardon from Me -
For there is really no such thing,
No such thing
As Sin!

The Beloved has gone completely Wild-
He has poured Himself into me!

I am Blissful and Drunk and Overflowing.

Dear world,
Draw life from my Sweet Body.

Dear wayfaring souls,
Come drink your fill of liquid rubies,
For God has made my heart
An Eternal Fountain!

Will Oldham

I'll Be Glad

By Will Oldham (aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy)

I'll go anywhere that you do
And if you don't go before
Lord, I don't want to go
Without you anymore

Meet me in a pillar of fire
Shade me with a big white cloud
Lord, wherever you go
You'll always have me around

You will give my body rest
And never let me thirst
So I'm not going anywhere
If you don't go there first

And when I see you beckoning
Me, that's how I'll know
Lord, following your lead
Is the only way I'll go

When you get your flock together
Please take me along
Lord, I'm too weak to travel
I'll be glad you're strong

And I'll lean on your arm

Kabir: "A Great Pilgrimage"

A Great Pilgrimage

Kabir (c.1440-1518)

I felt in need of a great pilgrimage

so I sat still for three

days

and God came

to me.

Follow, Seek, Love

By W. H. Auden

He is the Way.
Follow Him through the land of Unlikeness;
You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures.

He is the Truth.
Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
You will come to a great city that has expected our return for years.

He is the Life.
Love Him in the World of the Flesh;
And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.

Source: from “For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio”

Sufi prayer, author unknown

O blaze of the world you are dear, you are dear
O beholding the beloved, keep near, keep near

I am the creation, I am the house
I am the trap and the mouse
I am wise and mad, stay here, stay here

I am the secrets you can’t see
Cloak and turban are both me
I am the cloister and the monk, do appear, do appear

I am mortal, I am old
Chains and shackles my feet hold
I make plans, don’t disappear, don’t disappear

I am the noon, I am the eve
Fire of love with my heart receive
I am the candle giving light, stay clear, stay clear

I am the prayer and the angel in flight
I am the fire, I am the light
I am the Promised Land, so dear, so dear

I am here, I am to be
Alpha and Omega are in me
I am aware of the others, keep near, keep near

I am the acquaintance and the friend
The lover and beloved in the end
I am the flower and the thorn, don’t fear, don’t fear

I am the season and temporal train
I am the minor, I am the main
I am the mind and the story, be here, be here.

Hafiz, "It is Unanimous"

IT IS UNANIMOUS
Hafiz
It is unanimous where I come from.
Everyone agrees on one thing:

It’s no fun
When God is not near.

All are hunters.
The wise man learns the Friend’s weaknesses
And sets a clever trap

Listen,
The Beloved has agreed to play a game
Called
Love.

Our sun sat in the sky
Way before this earth was born
Waiting to caress a billion faces.

Hafiz encourages all art.

For at its height it brings Light near
To us.

The wise man learns what draws God
Near.

It is the beauty of compassion
In your heart.

Written by the 13th century Persian poet, Hafiz.

Hafiz

GREAT POEMS

O Master, You are so gracious. After all these years You still
Remember who I am: the one who wears the dust of Your door like a crown.

Tell me, who taught You to be so generous to Your slaves?
Don't worry, I won't tell those spies who are watching Your every move.

O Holy Bird, please bless this path I'm on,
For I'm new to this traveling, and it's a long way I have to go.

O morning breeze, take my prayers to the Master,
And tell Him that each day I am on my knees at dawn.
I yearn for the day when I will leave this house and head out on the road.
When that day comes, friends will wonder where I've gone.

O give me the secret map to the place where I can drink wine with You,
For in that place only can I be drunk, and in my drunkenness be free.

Only great poems can capture the hearts of those who don't read;
So poets, sing! Let the God-of-Oceans fill your mouth with pearls.

O Hafiz, if you are seeking the pearl of union, do this:
From tears, make yourself an ocean and then dive!

Hafiz (1310-1369),Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved: Poems of Hafiz

Happy New Year

Text of this ecard written by Heather Havey, as a prayer for you all:
May we experience delight, joy, astonishment, mystery, & beauty, for these fill hearts with peace. these are gifts & examples of nature - God as form.

May we experience love & care -
these are gifts & examples of essence - God as formless.

Earth is a mirror of God; so are you.

May we listen to rivers, thank oceans, learn from animals, play with dogs, swim with fishes, serve birds, behold wilderness, feel wind, plant trees, grow food, watch life grow, replace lawn with wildflower & garden habitats, honor organic, choose no poison, build bat & bee homes, encounter willdness, remember the miracles & beauty of all forms, & enjoy the silence that designs & guides it all.
All life is sacred, including you.
~ Lalita (Heather Havey)
© 2004-2009 Peace Through Kindness

Rabindranath Tagore

Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, First fill your own house with the fragrance of Love.
Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God, First remove the darkness of sin from your heart.
Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer, First learn to bow in humility before your fellow men,
Go not to the temple to pray on bended kness , First bend down to lift someone who is downtrodden.
Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins, First forgive from your heart those who have sinned against you.

----Rabindranath Tagore, The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore

Langston Hughes

Being walkers with the dawn and morning,
Walkers with the sun and morning,
We are not afraid of night,
Nor days of gloom,
Nor darkness–
Being walkers with the sun and morning.

- Langston Hughes, The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes

Behind jealousy is egoism

There was a devout religious man who took great joy in cultivating a
garden full of beautiful flowers and fruits. Even though he was
steeped in spiritual knowledge, he had developed a strong touch of
egoism within him. The moment egoism developed, jealousy also
entered. When egoism and jealousy make their appearance, hatred
automatically joins them. God took a personal interest in this errant
devotee. God saw that this person, although he had all the proper
religious outer trappings, had nevertheless, filled his heart with
poison. God decided to correct him by teaching him a lesson. The Lord
manifested himself in the form of an old mendicant and took a stroll
by that garden.

The old mendicant went to a recently planted tree and greatly
extolled the beauty of that tree. Noticing the garden owner nearby he
asked him, "Who is the gardener responsible for cultivating such a
fine tree?" The proud owner puffed himself up and said, "Sir, it is I
who have brought up this entire garden. I grew this tree and I raised
all the other trees that you see here, as well. By my own efforts I
developed all these pleasing paths and made this beautiful garden. I
alone look after everything here. There is no hired gardener. I am
the one who draws the water. I spread the manure. I pull the weeds
and I remove the pests. I clean the paths. I am developing these
beautiful flowers and fruits, doing all these things for the sake of
giving joy to others." In this way he went on repeating I... I... I.

Appearing to appreciate the beauty of the garden, the old mendicant
continued to dwell there for awhile, while the owner busied himself
nearby, grooming his garden. After some time the mendicant left. A
little bit later a cow entered the garden. She was so weak that she
was about to fall and destroy the plants that were there under her
body. The owner of the garden saw that this cow was about to spoil
his beautiful garden. So he took a small stick and threw it at the
cow to chase her out. But the moment the stick touched the cow, the
cow fell down and died. Now, in his religion, cows are considered
very sacred, and should never be molested or harmed. Having thrown
the stick from which the cow dropped dead, he would now have to
suffer the great sin of killing a cow. He was aghast at this terrible
turn of events.

It was not very long afterwards that the same old mendicant came back
into the garden. Walking along the path where the cow had strayed, he
saw the dead cow and was shocked. He sought out the owner and urged
him to quickly come to the spot. The mendicant asked, "Who killed
this cow? Who committed this outrage?" When the owner did not answer
immediately, the old mendicant asked more directly, "Tell me, do you
know who killed this cow?" The owner replied, "Surely it was the will
of God. Without the will of the Lord, would she have died just like
that? Unless she was meant to die, would she fall down and expire
just because a little stick touched her?"

The moment the old mendicant heard this he told the man, "Previously
you told me how it was you alone who was responsible for raising this
whole garden, how you alone planted and nurtured all these plants and
put in all the paths. You were taking credit for all the good things
that have happened here. But for anything that is wrong and
inauspicious you put the blame on God. You are an arrogant, self-
serving fool, so puffed up with your own importance that you won't
even acknowledge the Creator's hand in bringing forth all the beauty
that is here. You are taking credit for that which belongs to God.
You are even jealous of God. If not for the will of God, there would
be nothing in your garden."

At this point, the old mendicant revealed his true identity. He
said, "I am the Lord himself. I have come to destroy your egoism."
The erring devotee fell at the Lord's feet in contrition. The devotee
realized how ego had stolen into him, had gained a foothold, and then
had completely taken him over. Now, he understood the deeper meaning
of the spiritual teachings that he had been mouthing for so long. He
realized that everything is imbued with the divinity, and therefore,
he should see the divinity everywhere and live his life with the
knowledge that down to the minutest detail, everything is under the
control of the divinity.

Robert Bly Reads Kabir

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

~Thomas Merton, The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton

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.

~ Rumi

Beloved, what do you want of me?
I contain all that was, and that is, and shall be,
I am filled with the all.
Take of me all you please --
if you want all of myself, I’ll not say no.
Tell me, beloved, what you want of me --
I am Love, who am filled with the all:
what you want,
we want, beloved --
tell us your desire nakedly

~ Marguerite Porete (1260-1310), quoted in Women in Praise of the Sacred

THE LITTLE 'I' FUSED

I sat alone on a block of stone
On the banks of the Ganges or Bhagirathi.
Mother Ganges blessed me.
I meditated on OM and its meaning -
The Word that is the symbol of Brahman.
The little personality was lost.
The mortal limit of the Self was loosened;
But there was infinite extension.
I entered into the Nameless Beyond;
I realised the quintessential unity of Bliss.
No words can describe the thrill of joy,
The mananinous mystic experiences,
The supremest and divinest height of felicity!!
The little 'I' fused into the incandescent brillance.
Two became one now.
It was all Tejomaya Ananda -
One mass of transcendental Light Bliss.



-- Sri Swami Sivananda

Translated by Gertrude Lowthian Bell 1897

" NOT one is filled with madness like to mine
In all the taverns! my soiled robe lies here,
There my neglected book, both pledged for wine.
With dust my heart is thick, that should be clear,
A glass to mirror forth the Great King's face;
One ray of light from out Thy dwelling-place
To pierce my night, oh God! and draw me near "

- Hafiz

Without Brushing My Hair

The

Closer

I get to you, Beloved,

The more I can see

It is just You and I all alone

In this

World.

I hear

A knock at my door,

Who else could it be,

So I rush without brushing

My hair.

For too

Many nights

I have begged for Your

Return

And what

Is the use of vanity

At this late hour, at this divine season,

That has now come to my folded

Knees?

If your love letters are true dear God

I will surrender myself to

Who you keep saying

I

Am.

~ Hafiz, The Garden of Heaven: Poems of Hafiz (Dover Thrift Editions)

30. Rumi, Mathnawi
Water said to the defiled, "Hurry come to me."

The defiled replied, "But I feel ashamed before the water."

Water said, "But without me how will you wash your shame? How will your filth be removed?"

Shame hinders the faith of the tainted who hide from the water.

The Mathnawi of Jalalu'Ddin Rumi (Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rimi)

[Laila is "Divine Reality" in some of the Sufi traditions]

There is no sleeping when you see the face of Laila.
She fills the world,
And yet all the world is but a scent from Her fragrance.
She says...
"I live in everything,
But I return to be one.
I want you to be like me,
To be one, to be Laila,
In everything, in every moment, in every face.

~Sidi Shaykh Muhammad, Music of the Soul (Sufi Teachings)