Hold Fast (6/7/2020)

Hold Fast (6/7/2020)

Without the pure water from the sea of Love,

our pearl would turn into stone.

If there were no world to be found inside of our soul,

our soul and that world would shrink and confine us.

Pain from the Beloved polishes your heart and soul.

Hold fast to it and it will clean away all of your dirt and rust.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai #1, paghe 176.

Make Sure You Learn This Sign (2/9/2020)

Make Sure You Learn This Sign (2/9/2020)

Something is striking like lightning.

I wonder if that is my heart captivating the Beloved.

What is shining from that corner?

Is that the ruby mine?

 

What is around that pearl?

Is it the Moon or a star?

It is suspended like a lamp made of divine light.

 

I wonder. Is it soul’s lamp or perhaps a sacred, bejeweled flag?

Could it be that candle which has no end to its light?

 

O heart, raise your head. Your eyes are sharp.

Rub your eyes and look carefully.

He is all that you can see.

 

When you can scatter pearls from Him,

no one will be able to see a trace of you.

Make sure you learn this sign.

It should be a symbol between us.

 

When you see His blaze and brightness,

go under His wing and be annihilated,

because the valuable egg also stays under the chicken.

 

When we come forward, He disappears.

But, if we stay away, He appears.

 

He stands, moves and appears.

But, He doesn’t stand, move or appear in place or time.

He is totally timeless and spaceless.

 

When you move water,

His light, which is reflected on the water, also moves.

That is the way you can see Him.

But, He is in the sky.

 

He is not this, not that.

He is the goodness of religion and God.

If you still dare to say He is someone else,

go ahead and say it.

Divan-i Kebir, Volume 15, Ghazal 29, verses 353-362, pages 69-70.

O Heart, Be Brave (1/26/2020)

O Heart, Be Brave (j1/26/2020)

He is such a Beauty that He teaches endearing behaviors

to the Moon and Venus all night long.

Both of His eyes cover the eyes of the sky with magic.

 

O religious ones, save your hearts,

because I have merged so much with Him

that my heart cannot join me to anyone anymore.

 

First, I was born from Love.

Then, I gave my heart to Him,

just like the fruit that comes from the branch.

In the end, it hangs onto that branch.

 

I am running away from my shadow,

because it is hiding the light.

How could someone who runs away from his own shadow be settled?

 

His hair says, “Where is that acrobat who plays with rope?

Have him come back soon.”

His face, which resembles a candle, says,

“Where is the moth? Have it come and burn itself.”

 

O heart, be brave in the game.

Submit yourself.

When His candle flares up, throw yourself into it.

 

Once you feel the pleasure of His burning,

you will not be able to get enough of it.

Even the fountain of life

will not be able to separate you from that fire.

Divan-i Kebir, Volume 15, Ghazal #28, verses 346-352, pages 67-68.

Death is Reaching Out to God (12/8/19)

Death is Reaching Out to God (12/8/19)

There is a new life in death for the man of faith and justice.

From death, peace and calm come to clean souls.

Death is reaching out to God, not out to fear and cruelty.

The one who refuses to die with that death will die every day.

That is the greatest of all troubles.

Rubailer (2016), Page 101, #2.

Both Worlds Are Submerged in Him (11/24/19)

Both Worlds Are Submerged in Him (11/24/19)

If you want the Beloved to show His face to you, turn inside.

Give up your flesh and walk to the Essence.

He is such an Essence

that He is surrounded by layers of curtains.

He is submerged in His own Being,

and both worlds are submerged in Him.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 97.