VII     

When He Himself reveals Himself, Brahma brings into manifestation   

That which can never be seen. 

As the seed is in the plant, as the shade is in the tree, 

as the   void is in the sky, as infinite forms are in the void-- 

So from beyond the Infinite, the Infinite comes; 

and from the   Infinite the finite extends.   

The creature is in Brahma, and Brahma is in the creature: 

they   are ever distinct, yet ever united.

He Himself is the tree, the seed, and the germ. 

He Himself is the flower, the fruit, and the shade. 

He Himself is the sun, the light, and the lighted. 

He Himself is Brahma, creature, and Maya. 

He Himself is the manifold form, the infinite space; 

He is the breath, the word, and the meaning. 

He Himself is the limit and the limitless:

and beyond both the   limited and the limitless is He, the Pure Being.

He is the Immanent Mind in Brahma and in the creature.   

The Supreme Soul is seen within the soul,

The Point is seen within the Supreme Soul, 

And within the Point, the reflection is seen again.

Kabîr is blest because he has this supreme vision!

VI

The moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it:
The moon is within me, and so is the sun.
The unstruck drum of Eternity is sounded within me; but my deaf  ears cannot hear it. 

So long as man clamours for the "I" and the "Mine",  his works are as naught:
When all love of the "I" and the "Mine" is dead, then the work of the Lord is done.

For work has no other aim than the getting of knowledge:
When that comes, then work is put away. 

The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower withers.
The musk is in the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it wanders in quest of grass.

V

Tell me, Brother, how can I renounce Maya?

When I gave up the tying of ribbons, still I tied my garment

  about me:

When I gave up tying my garment, still I covered my body in its

  folds.

So, when I give up passion, I see that anger remains;

And when I renounce anger, greed is with me still;

And when greed is vanquished, pride and vainglory remain;

When the mind is detached and casts Maya away, still it clings to

  the letter.

Kabîr says, "Listen to me, dear Sadhu!  the true path is rarely

  found."

IV

Do not go to the garden of flowers!

O Friend! go not there;

In your body is the garden of flowers.

Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus,

 and there gaze on the Infinite Beauty.

III - Hope For Him

O friend!  hope for Him whilst you live, know whilst you live,

  understand whilst you live: for in life deliverance abides.

If your bonds be not broken whilst living, what hope of

  deliverance in death?

It is but an empty dream, that the soul shall have union with Him

  because it has passed from the body:

If He is found now, He is found then,

If not, we do but go to dwell in the City of Death.

If you have union now, you shall have it hereafter.

Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru, have faith in the true

  Name!

Kabîr says: "It is the Spirit of the quest which helps; I am the slave of this Spirit of the quest.

II 

It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs; 

For the priest, the warrior.  the tradesman, and all the thirty-six castes, 

alike are seeking for God. 

It is but folly to ask what the caste of a saint may be; 

The barber has sought God, the washerwoman, and the carpenter--

Even Raidas was a seeker after God. 

The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner by caste. 

Hindus and Moslems alike have achieved that End,

where remains no mark of distinction.

I

O servant, where dost thou seek Me?

Lo! I am beside thee.

I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor

in Kailash:

Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and

renunciation.

If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt

meet Me in a moment of time.

Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."

Hafiz says

" 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 says

“No one could ever paint a too wonderful picture
of my heart or God.”  

Hafiz says

"That Beloved has gone completely Wild - He has poured Himself into me!
I am Blissful and Drunk and Overflowing."

Give me ecstasy, give me naked wonder, O my Creator!

Give birth to the Beloved in me, and let this lover die.

Let a thousand wrangling desires become one Love. (1)

One Whisper of the Beloved

Lovers share a sacred decree –
to seek the Beloved.
They roll head over heels,
rushing toward the Beautiful One
like a torrent of water.

In truth, everyone is a shadow of the Beloved –
Our seeking is His seeking,
Our words are His words.

At times we flow toward the Beloved
like a dancing stream.
At times we are still water
held in His pitcher.
At times we boil in a pot
turning to vapor –
that is the job of the Beloved.

He breathes into my ear
until my soul
takes on His fragrance.
He is the soul of my soul –
How can I escape?
But why would any soul in this world
want to escape from the Beloved?

He will melt your pride
making you thin as a strand of hair,
Yet do not trade, even for both worlds,
One strand of His hair.

We search for Him here and there
while looking right at Him.
Sitting by His side we ask,
"O Beloved, where is the Beloved?"

Enough with such questions! –
Let silence take you to the core of life.

All your talk is worthless
When compared to one whisper
of the Beloved.

A Stone I died

~

A stone I died and rose again a plant;
A plant I died and rose an animal;
I died an animal and was born a man.
Why should I fear? What have I lost by death?

The Chance of Humming

THE CHANCE OF HUMMING

A
man
standing on two logs in a river
might do all right floating with the current
while humming in the
now.

Though
if one log is tied to a camel,
who is also heading south along the bank –at the same pace-
all could still be well
with the
world

unless the camel
thinks he forgot something, and
abruptly turns upstream,
then

uh-oh.

Most minds
do not live in the present
and can stick to a reasonable plan; most minds abruptly turn
and undermine the

chance

of

humming.

That lives in us

THAT LIVES IN US

If you put your hands on this oar with me,
they will never harm another, and they will come to find
they hold everything you want.

If you put your hands on this oar with me, they would no longer
lift anything to your
mouth that might wound your precious land-
that sacred earth that is
your body.

If you put your soul against this oar with me,
the power that made the universe will enter your sinew
from a source not outside your limbs, but from a holy realm
that lives in us.

Exuberant is existence, time a husk.

When the moment cracks open, ecstasy leaps out and devours space;
love goes mad with the blessings, like my words give.

Why lay yourself on the torturer’s rack of the past and future?

The mind that tries to shape tomorrow beyond its capacities
will find no rest.

Be kind to yourself, dear- to our innocent follies.

Forget any sounds or touch you knew that did not help you dance.

You will come to see that all evolves us.

If you put your heart against the earth with me, in serving
every creature, our Beloved will enter you from our sacred realm
and we will be, we will be
so happy.

The Way Things Should

THE WAY THINGS SHOULD

What will
our children do in the morning?

Will they wake with their hearts wanting to play,
the way wings
should?

Will they have dreamed the needed flights and gathered
the strength from the planets that all
men and women need to balance
the wonderful charms of
the earth

so that her power and beauty does not make us forget our own?

I know all about the ways of the heart – how it wants to be alive.

Love so needs to love
that it will endure almost anything, even abuse,
just to flicker for a moment. But the sky’s mouth is kind,
its song will never hurt you, for I sing those words.

What will our children do in the morning
if they do not see us
fly?

At the Twilight

At the twilight, a moon appeared in the sky;

Then it landed on earth to look at me.

Like a hawk stealing a bird at the time of prey;

That moon stole me and rushed back into the sky.

I looked at myself, I did not see me anymore;

For in that moon, my body turned as fine as soul.

The nine spheres disappeared in that moon;

The ship of my existence drowned in that sea.

Confused and Distraught

Again I am raging,
I am in such a state by your soul that every
bond you bind, I break, by your soul.
I am like heaven, like the moon, like a candle by your glow;
I am all reason, all love, all soul, by your soul.

My joy is of your doing, my hangover of your thorn;
whatever side you turn your face,
I turn mine, by your soul.
I spoke in error;
it is not surprising to speak in error in this state,
for this moment I cannot tell cup from wine, by your soul.
I am that madman in bonds who binds the
"divs"; I, the madman,am a Solomon with the "divs",
by your soul.

Whatever form other than love raises up its head from my
heart, forthwith I drive it out of the court of my heart,
by your soul.
Come, you who have departed, for the thing that departs
comes back; neither you are that,
by my soul, nor I am that, by your soul.

Disbeliever, do not conceal disbelief in your soul, for I will recite
the secret of your destiny, by your soul.
Out of love of Sham-e Tabrizi,
through wakefulness or nightrising,
like a spinning mote I am distraught, by your soul.

Come, Come, Whoever You Are

Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow

a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.

If A Tree Could Wander

Oh, if a tree could wander

     and move with foot and wings!

It would not suffer the axe blows

     and not the pain of saws!

For would the sun not wander

     away in every night ?

How could at ev'ry morning

     the world be lighted up?

And if the ocean's water

     would not rise to the sky,

How would the plants be quickened

     by streams and gentle rain?

The drop that left its homeland,

     the sea, and then returned ?

It found an oyster waiting

     and grew into a pearl.

Did Yusaf not leave his father,

     in grief and tears and despair?

Did he not, by such a journey,

     gain kingdom and fortune wide?

Did not the Prophet travel

     to far Medina, friend?

And there he found a new kingdom

     and ruled a hundred lands.

You lack a foot to travel?

     Then journey into yourself!

And like a mine of rubies

     receive the sunbeams? print!

Out of yourself ? such a journey

     will lead you to your self,

It leads to transformation

     of dust into pure gold!

Soul Receives From Soul

Soul receives from soul that knowledge,
therefore not by book nor from tongue.

If knowledge of mysteries come after
emptiness of mind, that is illumination of heart.

Be Lost In The Call

Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?

Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you've never seen the face.

Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.

Until the juice ferments a while in the cask,
it isn't wine. If you wish your heart to be bright,
you must do a little work.

My King addressed the soul of my flesh:
You return just as you left.
Where are the traces of my gifts?

We know that alchemy transforms copper into gold.
This Sun doesn't want a crown or robe from God's grace.
He is a hat to a hundred bald men,
a covering for ten who were naked.

Jesus sat humbly on the back of an ass, my child!
How could a zephyr ride an ass?
Spirit, find your way, in seeking lowness like a stream.
Reason, tread the path of selflessness into eternity.

Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.

O You Who've gone on Pilgrimage

O you who've gone on pilgrimage -
              where are you, where, oh where?
Here, here is the Beloved!
              Oh come now, come, oh come!
Your friend, he is your neighbor,
             he is next to your wall -
You, erring in the desert -
              what air of love is this?
If you'd see the Beloved's
              form without any form -
You are the house, the master,
              You are the Kaaba, you! . . .
Where is a bunch of roses,
              if you would be this garden?
Where, one soul's pearly essence
              when you're the Sea of God?
That's true - and yet your troubles
              may turn to treasures rich -
How sad that you yourself veil
              the treasure that is yours!

I Was Dead

i was dead
i came alive
i was tears
i became laughter

all because of love
when it arrived
my temporal life
from then on
changed to eternal

love said to me
you are not
crazy enough
you don't
fit this house

i went and
became crazy
crazy enough
to be in chains

love said
you are not
intoxicated enough
you don't
fit the group

i went and
got drunk
drunk enough
to overflow
with light-headedness

love said
you are still
too clever
filled with
imagination and skepticism

i went and
became gullible
and in fright
pulled away
from it all

love said
you are a candle
attracting everyone
gathering every one
around you

i am no more
a candle spreading light
i gather no more crowds
and like smoke
i am all scattered now

love said
you are a teacher
you are a head
and for everyone
you are a leader

i am no more
not a teacher
not a leader
just a servant
to your wishes

love said
you already have
your own wings
i will not give you
more feathers

and then my heart
pulled itself apart
and filled to the brim
with a new light
overflowed with fresh life

now even the heavens
are thankful that
because of love
i have become
the giver of light

Ghazal 314

You who are not kept anxiously awake for love's sake, sleep on.
In restless search for that river, we hurry along;
you whose heart such anxiety has not disturbed, sleep on.
Love's place is out beyond the many separate sects;
since you love choosing and excluding, sleep on.
Love's dawn cup is our sunrise, his dusk our supper;
you whose longing is for sweets and whose passion is for supper, sleep on.
In search of the philosopher's stone, we are melting like copper;
you whose philosopher's stone is cushion and pillow, sleep on.
I have abandoned hope for my brain and head; you who wish for
a clear head and fresh brain, sleep on.
I have torn speech like a tattered robe and let words go;
you who are still dressed in your clothes, sleep on.

Ghazal 119

I don't need

a companion who is

nasty sad and sour

the one who is

like a grave

dark depressing and bitter

a sweetheart is a mirror

a friend a delicious cake

it isn't worth spending

an hour with anyone else

a companion who is

in love only with the self

has five distinct characters

stone hearted

unsure of every step

lazy and disinterested

keeping a poisonous face

the more this companion waits around

the more bitter everything will get

just like a vinegar

getting more sour with time

enough is said about

sour and bitter faces

a heart filled with desire for

sweetness and tender souls

must not waste itself with unsavory matters

Translated by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Fountain of Fire Cal-Earth, September 1994

There Is A Candle In Your Heart

There is a candle in your heart,
      ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul,
      ready to be filled.
You feel it, don't you?
You feel the separation
      from the Beloved.
Invite Him to fill you up,
      embrace the fire.
Remind those who tell you otherwise that
      Love
      comes to you of its own accord,
      and the yearning for it
      cannot be learned in any school.

Be With Those Who Help Your Being

Be with those who help your being.
Don't sit with indifferent people, whose breath
comes cold out of their mouths.
Not these visible forms, your work is deeper.

A chunk of dirt thrown in the air breaks to pieces.
If you don't try to fly,
and so break yourself apart,
you will be broken open by death,
when it's too late for all you could become.

Leaves get yellow. The tree puts out fresh roots
and makes them green.
Why are you so content with a love that turns you yellow?

Whoever Brought Me Here

All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
and I intend to end up there.

This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,
I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?

Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here, will have to take me home.

This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.

The Lovers

The Lovers
will drink wine night and day.
They will drink until they can
tear away the veils of intellect and
melt away the layers of shame and modesty.
When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don't even exist.
Become this,
fall in Love, and you will not be separated again.

I Am Part Of The Load

I am part of the load
Not rightly balanced
I drop off in the grass,
like the old Cave-sleepers, to browse
wherever I fall.

For hundreds of thousands of years I have been dust-grains
floating and flying in the will of the air,
often forgetting ever being
in that state, but in sleep
I migrate back. I spring loose
from the four-branched, time -and-space cross,
this waiting room.

I walk into a huge pasture
I nurse the milk of millennia

Everyone does this in different ways.
Knowing that conscious decisions
and personal memory
are much too small a place to live,
every human being streams at night
into the loving nowhere, or during the day,
in some absorbing work.

Panj Mehal Panjaan Wich Chanaan

-

-

-

-

Panje maihal, panjaan wich chaanan,
Deevaa kit val dharee-e hoo.

Panje maihar, panje patwaaree,
Haasil kit val bharee-e hoo.

Panj imaam te panje qible,
Sajdaah kit val karee-e hoo.

Je sahib sir mange Baahoo,
Hargiz dhill na karee-e hoo.

-

Within me are five great mansions- All five brightly lit;
What need have I of another lamp?

I am no longer accountable To the five lords and tax collectors,
Who barricade the inner path.

Five prayer leaders call the faithful To the five mosques within.
What need have I of another mosque?

IF the Lord calls for your head,
O Bahu, do not hesitate; offer it at once

Jo Dam Ghafil So Dam Kafir

-

-

-

-

Jo dam ghaafil so dam kaafir,
Murshid eh parhhaaiaa hoo.

Suniaa sukhan gaeeaan khul akheen,
Chit maulaa wal laaiaa hoo.

Keetee jaan havaale Rabb de,
Aisaa ishq kamaaiaa hoo.

Maran ton agge mar gae Baahoo,
Taan matalab noon paaiaa hoo.

-

My Master taught me a lesson:
“Any moment you are negligent in remembrance of God is a moment spent in denial of God.”

These words opened my eyes to reality,
And I fixed my attention on the Lord.

I then placed my soul in his protection-
Such was the love I cultivated in my heart.

Having thus bequeathed my soul to him, I died before death – to live in him.
Only then did I attain the goal of life, O Bahu!