Three Extra Poems from Rumi: Bridge to the Soul. Journeys into the Music and Silence of the Heart

Hello Friends,

I got really positive responce to the book review I posted just prior, so I decided to post three bonus poems yeah for you viewing pleasure.

 

 

EARSIGHT

Do you want the sweetness of food

or the sweetness of the one

who put sweetness in food?

 

There are amazing things in the ocean,

and there is one who is the ocean.

 

Think of a carpenter’s alert comprehension

when he builds a house.

 

Now think of the one

who creates the consciousness.

 

It takes skill to extract oil from a nut

Now consider how sight lives in the eye.

 

There is a night full of the wildness

of wanting. Then dawn comes.

You take my hand in yours.

 

There are those who doubt

that this can happen.

 

They pour powdered gold into barley bins.

They follow donkeys to the barn.

 

Enough words. Friends,

You can make the ear see.

 

Speak the rest of this poem

in that language.

 

Here is the second

WHAT FEAR OF LOSS

 

When we are with you, what fear of loss

could we possibly have?

 

You change every grief to gold.

you give us the key

to each world we come to.

 

You sweeten the lips of those we love,

and you open their mouths in desire.

 

You are beyond all guessing,

yet within each guess.

 

Hidden, yet beginning

to be revealed.

 

We have fallen into the sugar shaker.

We are the ground beneath you..

Let someone else describe the sky.

 

Hold us in silence

Don’t through us back

into some discussion.

 

Finallyhere is the third poem

 

THE ONLY OBLIGATION

 

Today a new madness

is trying to set us free,

tearing open our sacks.

 

Some nameless Bedouin

has bought Joseph again

for eighteen coins.

 

A narcissus sprouts through the ground.

Our souls, having pastured all night

on jasmine, leap up for dawn.

 

The world is new, and you

have been chosen to say this poem

because you are the one with the love bites on you.

Your love has brought us to this silence,

where only obligation

is to walk slowly through a meadow

and look.

Book Review Rumi Bridge to the Soul- Journey into the Music and Silence of the Heart

Hello Friends,

How are you?

I am really enamoured by this book. I have been reading it often, off and on like I read poetry books, when I want to pass time on the train or when I need some inspiration. The essence of this book can be summed up in a way, or rather I  should say, the essence of this book is alluded to by this quote by Nietzsche

“What is great in man is that he is a bridge, and not a goal”.

This book was written in celebration of Rumi, a man who for the last few hundread years has been a bridge through his life and works for that which cannot be but into words but felt in the heart. This book contains a brief description of the trip taken by Messrs. Coleman Barks and Robert Bly to Iran to receive an honorary PhD and plaque of appreciation, respectively. In addition the book contains ninety new never before translated poems which are amazingly moving and touching. The details of the trip, the poems, the silence, they end in and the heart’s music they allude to are in a way, one swaying being.

  

 

The trip for both gentlemen is filled with bridges to the realms of the heart. The tomb of Hafez, a poem of Saadi, the people of Iran, and penultimately the Khajou bridge itself. This bridge has been described beautifully by Barks in with the following terms

 “At night the Khajou brdge holds lighted niches and watersounds together, an auditory and visual multiplicity within unity. The bridge contains several layers of human interaction, which are not concealed from each other. The Khajou Bridge and the ghazals of Rumi are similar expressions of awareness, a commonplace where we rest within restlessness. The Khajou bridge is a humanmade shoal that people are drawn to, to enjoy the seasonal motion, to sit quietly in time. It is not a tavern, nor is it a school” The bridge serves for me at least a constant reminder of what in essence we each are; a bridge to a mystery unraveling at every moment.

The 90 poems themselves are quite moving, a few of which I have posted here already in these past posts:

 

 1.      Two Lovings : http://tinyurl.com/d6egv4

2.      A Preposterous Guess: http://tinyurl.com/c875lv

3.      A Mixed Breed Apple: http://tinyurl.com/d43uq8

 

Mr. Barks reminds of a few things that are quite poignant before we walks the bridge of Rumi’s words to get to that place describe by Rumi as such:

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

 

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense.

 

 ——————————————————————————–

One of the things I noticed right away reading through this book was the mention and talk of silence. Mr Barks remarks that Rumi devotes a lot of attention to silences, especially at the end of the ghazals. According to Barks, it is there that Rumi sends the words back into the silent mystery from whence they came. The closing lines of some of the poem are a link from the poem to the reader’s consciousness while going through the poem, which would explain their puissance when you really get into it. It is common  literarily for the writter to put his pen name or name at the end of  his Ghazal as can be seen in the case of Hafez.  Not mentioning his name, or not signing the poem in a way is paying homage to the greater self which moves in silence. He never claims the poem to be his. They come from, and belong to  another realm, beyond the grasp of our mind.

 

Rumi was once asked, ” Isnt it strange that you talk so much about silence”. He answere, “The radiant one inside me has never said a word.”

Over 5o0 ghazals close withthe mention of silence, or with the mention of Shams, the sun dawn, or some natural phenomenon the brings us to the depth of inspiration.  The poems that really move me have been the ones ending with mention of Shams. I quote from Mr. Barks himself: ” The wild presence of Shams Tabriz, Rumi’s teacher and friend, cna make dee changes in the human psyche. Rumi’s poems offer the mystery of that presence to those listening and with it a transformation as gentle and profound as that of the sun’s coming up on a sleeping town.”

The noise of a waking town
fills my chest. Shams
is saying this.

 

I have really been moved by the book itself. It has been a bridge to peace,or rather the glimpses of The Friend I feel through these poems have carried me through really the tough times of the past few weeks and given my soul rest . Personally, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be moved by the beauty inherent to their own life that goes often times missing. If you want to take a bridge to the present, where beauty and union are in constant manifestation. Please pick up the book and keep it nearby.

In the meantime I would like to give you a sample of two poems that have touched me. One of them is called Music and Silence and is very fitting.  the other is called Pure Silence.

PURE SILENCE

I have come this time

to bury my thorns

to purify my life

to take up service again

in the garden.

 

I come weeping to these waters

to rise free of passion and belief.

 

Look at my face. These tears

are traces of you.

 

I will shorten this poem

because the rest of it

is being said in the world

within our eyes.

 

Do you know this silence?

It is not the same as in your room

when you have no one to talk to.

 

This is pure silence

Not the kind that happens

when living dogs are eating a dead one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

—————————————————————————————————————————————-  

 

MUSIC AND SILENCE

 

Lovers, union is here,

the meeting we have wanted,

the fire, the joy.

 

Let sadness and any fear of death

leave the room.

 

The sun’s glory comes back.

Wind shakes our bells.

 

We are counters in your hand

passing easily through.

 

Music begins,

Your silence,

deepen that.

 

Were you to put words with this

we would not survive the song. 

Book Review- Stewart Bitkoff’s A Commuter’s Guide to Enlightenment

Hello Everyone,

 A Nimatullahi Darvish has said in an interview that Sufism is- a “major mystical path” that originated 6,000 to 7,000 years ago, is connected to all religions while not being a part of any of them. Some tradition will say that  Sufism is active and forever changing its format of presentation for each particular time, condition and people sufism. Dr Bitkoff himself says this about Sufism:

Teachers can instruct in any medium. In the past, they did so in a religious format. In America today, its a scientific/pyshcological/self-help format. In other ages poetry and alchemy where used.

 I believe this is a good introduction to the book A Commuter’s Guide to Enlightenment. Why because in essence the book is a perfect example of the above quote. In my opinion this book shows us  how through employing various simple sufic principles we can make the most out of the present.

Dr Bitkoff poignantly  illustrates the possibilities for spiritual activity in a something as mundance as the daily commute to work. Dr Bitkoff daily commute takes him through the major Deegan Expressway, a truly nightmarish 8.5 mile stretch of highway. If you are a New Yorker the very name can make you pull out your hair. each chapter corresponds to a one mile stretch of the expressway.

The Book can be easily read by someone of any religon. The exercises are simple and given in a context that anyone can related. I wouldnt label this a sufi  book. In my case I am a bit biased. What I found most amazing about the book was how although the tone was different, and the example were maybe  different, I could read as well as feel a lot of the words of Idries Shah in the book. I mean this beyond the sense of reading the bibliography and the references. A few months ago I read the perfumed Scorpion by Idries Shah and the 11 Rules and secrets of the Naqshbandi order by Omar Ali Shah and I was able to find a great practical examples of many sufic ideas and themes in a form applicable to daily life. This was very touching to see for me, in that it was like a reunion of old friends. I first came to sufism through the works of Idries Shah, as I am sure you know as I have made many references to him. His works that  come to mind specifically are The Perfumed Scorpion, Learning How to Learn, Knowing how to Know, The Commanding Self , The Sufis, and Seeker After Truth. I have read other book by Idries Shah but these ones really stick out the most in my mind. They were like a preparatory course  to sufism, and indispensible in my own journey to initation into a sufi order and the time afterwards trying to be steadfast in my practice and self analysis.

There are great exercises in this book namely:

1. Seeing What’s in Front of you Exercise
2. Thought Monitoring Exercise
3. End of Day Contemplating and Writing Exercise
4. You are the door exercise

These exercises help us to observe ourselves, to know our intentions, and to be able to maintain solitude in the midst of turmoil or the harrowing situation that is many a time the daily commute. These exercises are a through back to the 11 rules, presented in a clear concise easy to understand way without necessarily being named or described as so.

I would reocmmend this book to anyone and everyone, irregardless of faith, spiritual practices. The approach here is universal and applicable to all. I would especially recommend this book for people who feel that spiritual and daily life are like oil and water and cant mix or that one has to work to get to a time and place in life when there are less problems so one can fully devote oneself to spirituality. Imagine the possibilities of living in the present

Book Review 2: The Last Barrier: A Journey into the Essence of Sufi Teachings by Reshad Field

Hey Friends,

One of the bad ass books I read recently was  The last Barrier : A  Journey into the Essence of Sufi Teachings By Reshad Fields.  As you can imagine it chronicles a man search search for what was the essence of sufi teaching. Many book reviews immediately after the first sentence or two immediately go one to explain or recapitulate for the millionth time that Sufism is  the mystical side of Islam.   To stay true to the spirit  of unity of men that pervades this book I will take a different approach.

  A sufi is one who is completely integrated with the experience of union with the Divine that is at the core of all religions. I feel that this accounts for the similarities between Sufism and Christianity, Judaism, Zen Buddhism and Adwaita and various mystery schools like Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry etc.

The essence of Sufism to me is ascertaining complete submission to God, through love and devotion.  Of course everyone who has read or heard anything about sufism has heard  that love and devotion are at its essence; but how does that translate into daily life? What kind of love is meant, how intense is the devotion ?

The Last Barrier, like all sufi allegory points us to an experience or  a series of experiences can show us sufi principles in action.  Due to the masterfully descriptive words of Mr Feild, we can judge a Sufi teacher’s role through the actions related, not by hearsay or some academic treatise of past masters.

Like all books this book is an invitation for you the audience to take part in  the events. A seeker who recently read the book told me that she felt like she was along for the ride.  If we pay attention we can see before us our own thinkg patterns which is a great gift indeed. When Hamid, Mr Feilds’ teacher rebuked him on many ocassion,my reactions often told me  a lot about myself and how I see things. For instance if I felt some treatment was unfair a few pages or chapters later whenI learned the true significance of the rebuke or harsh words, I was humbled along with Reshad.  The nafs are indeed tricky.

The book is amazingly full of great anecdotes allegories and explanations that would make  the experiences of the path. I have read it twice already.  I think if anyone is serious about beginning to begin on the path they should really look deeply into the accounts of  Mr Feilds here for all of us. 

When I think of the path, I always feel like I am a child. Like just when I think I have understood something, I am shown how limited and superficial my understanding is. I am very forgetful and sometimes th reminders are more painful. I feel like that cougar in the cartoon who has  just asked for a few lumps of sugar and life hits me on the head until I concede. Its a constant battle every day to live fully in the present, to perform my rsponsibilities to my wife, my students my family, pets and the list goes on, but this book has really helped me get my bearing at a time when I needed it.

Thinking of the loving harshness of Reshad’s teacher Hamid, this poem of  Rumi’s comes to mind I will put it here for you all to enjoy

Dave

The Core of Masculinity

The core of Masculinity doesn’t derive
from being male nor friendliness
from those who console.

Your old grandmother says, “Maybe you shouldn’t
go to school. You look a little pale.”

Run when you hear that.
A father’s stern slaps are better.

Your bodily soul wants comforting.
The severe father wants spiritual clarity.

He scolds but eventually
leads you into the open.

Pray for a tough instructor
to hear and act and stay within you.

We have been busy accumulating solace.
Make us afraid of how we were.

Book Review 1: Master of the Jinn By Irving Karchmar

Hello Friends,

I have read and re-read a slew of books over the last few weeks and there are many I would like to recommend. I would like to start with Master of the Jinn – A Sufi Novel, By Irving Karchmar.  Irving has a very awesome blog I have put a link to in my blogroll, I will put it here again: http://darvish.wordpress.com/

 Irving is a darvish of the Nimatullahi order and I had the fortune of meeting him less than 24 hours after I finished reading the book. I dont believe in coincidences. He is and has been a great friend and guide for me especially in the months before I became a darvish myself through his kind words and actions.

There is an interview where Irving talks about the book and how he persevered through the difficult task of writing a book and getting it accepted it for publication over the course of five years. Here is the link: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/20/082620.php .I can only imagine how difficult it must have been especially post 9/11 here to get this book accepted.

In Irving’s own words here is a brief plot summary of the book.

It is a mystical adventure tale on the Sufi path of Love, wherein a modern-day Sufi Master sends seven companions on a quest for the greatest treasure of the ancient world – King Solomon’s ring. The legendary seal ring is said to control the Jinn, those terrifying demons of living fire, and in seeking it the companions discover not only the truth of the Jinn, but also the path of Love and the infinite mercy of God.

What I loved about the book is that it weaves together factual information, great mystical insight and a general good story, a lot of traditions from Judaism, Christianity and Islam, a lot of great and thought provoking quotes from sufi masters past and present.

What makes the book great and a captivating read is that it is an inspired work. You can feel the inspiration in the words, descriptive images and the general tone and ambiance of the work.  This is Irving’s own word describing the process by which he wrote this wonderful book.

Sometimes I would wait for six months between inspirations, until I read enough or learned enough, or something happened in my life and meditation that led me to the next sentence. It was a process of learning and becoming, of growing with the book.

This book is available from:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Jinn-Novel-Irving-Karchmar/dp/1594577234

B&N: http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=irving+karchmar

and in e-form by Mobipocket: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/HomePage/default.asp?Language=EN

They make great gifts for the holiday season. Check out the book’s page http://www.masterofthejinn.com/index.html

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Dave