The days of absence and the bitter nights Of separation, all are at an end! Where is the influence of the star that blights My hope? The omen answers: At an end! Autumn’s abundance, creeping Autumn’s mirth, Are ended and forgot when o’er the earth The wind of Spring with soft warm feet doth wend The Day of Hope, hid beneath Sorrow’s veil, Has shown its face –ah, cry that all may hear: Come forth! The powers of night no more prevail! Praise be to God, now that the rose is near With long-desired arid flaming coronet, The cruel stinging …
Category: Philosophy
A wonderful story told by Rumi on the art of pure reflection and mystical beauty in the sufi way of being. The Prophet said, “There are some who see me by the same light in which I’m seeing them. Our natures are one. Without reference to any strands of lineage, without reference to text or traditions, we drink the life-water together.” Here’s a story about the hidden mystery : The Chinese and the Greeks were arguing as to who were the better artists. The king said, “We’ll settle the matter with a debate.” The Chinese began talking, but the Greeks …
People like to wonder, and this is the kernel of science. – Ralph Waldo Emerson The story of two comrades who went to war and the near death experience of one of them During the Second World War, the Austrian poet and writer Karl Skala (1924–2006), went to Russia with his troops. He and his comrade, Hannes, caught under artillery fire, took refuge in a fox inn. Hannes got hit and died there. Skala recounts that heavily wounded as he was, he experienced that they were both rising up high in the sky, and found themselves looking at the battlefield …
Late one moonless night The Sîmorgh first appeared She let a feather float down through the air, And rumours of its fame spread everywhere. The Canticle of the Birds written by the mystical poet Farîd-ud-Dîn ‘Attâr (1146-1221) tells the story of the birds, who one day gather together to discuss who their Sovereign King is and where she dwells. All kinds of birds had a common yearning to meet their Sovereign. Among them, the little bird Hoopoe, chosen and sanctified by King Solomon, knew that the name of the Sovereign is Sîmorgh (means thirty birds in persian, si thirty morgh birds …
Karen Armstrong’s reward winning TED Talk on golden rule of becoming compassionate and its intrinsic rewards, you can watch here : You can read more on compassion here: Seeking Small Acts of Goodwill
Marcelo Gleiser, the award-winning professor of physics, explores the moving cosmos in his book The Dancing Universe : From Creation Myths to the Big Bang : Physics is a game played with nature. He proclaims that science and spirituality are tightly knit. Here is what they have in common : The laws of causality govern both. In each domain, everything happens with a cause. We must use reason to understand both. Observation and experience are necessary to understand a happening. They aim to integrate their knowledge to real life scenarios. Their quest is reaching the Truth. He cites from …
Greek philosophers and Rumi on how to keep the soul happy What makes us happy ? When and how are we happy ? Where ? With whom are we happy ? Such questions about happiness are asked at least once in a lifetime. We do evaluations and measurements of our happiness; occasionally we may reach a conclusion : somewhat happy, sometimes happy, more or less happy in the past, at present, or will be happy in the future… We get to remember the times we were at the peak or we may fantasize a possible future happiness. Sometimes we measure …
A sacred Indian myth on the presence of guidance, the inner battle and how to put skill in action. Bhagavad Gita – meaning the Song of God is an epic scripture of 700 verses written in Sanskrit. Considered a spiritual masterpiece transcending all Indian philosophical doctrines and convictions, it dates back at least 300 years before Christ. Set up on the battlefield, it is composed of dialogues between Prince Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna on the eve of war between two huge armies – Pandava brothers and their cousins who have cheated the Pandavas of their rightful kingdom. Prince Arjuna, …
Rose petals let us scatter And fill the cup with red wine The firmaments let us shatter And come up with a new design The first post of this blog opens with Hafez (c. 1320, Shiraz -1389, Shiraz), the master of mystical Persian poetry who composed some 500 ghazals in praise of his Beloved. Early Years Born in Shiraz as Khajeh Shamseddin Mohammad, he later took the pen name Hafez (Hafiz) meaning the memorizer for he had memorized the Qu’ran in his teens, as well as the many works of Saadi, Attar, Rumi and Nizami. The details of his …
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