March 17, 2012
Japanese Musicians Singing Afghan Song (Lyrics by Rumi)
[video=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtRqmWpTpT4&feature=related]
June 22, 2010
why God is hidden
Hidden things are manifested by their opposites, but as God has no opposite He remains hidden. God’s light has no opposite in the range of creation whereby it may be manifested to view.
– Jalaluddin Rumi
April 18, 2010
seek that
“There is a force within that gives you life-
Seek that.
In your body there lies a priceless jewel-
Seek that.
Oh, wandering One,
if you are in search of the greatest treasure,
don’t look outside.
Look within, and seek That.”
— Rumi
September 29, 2009
the scent of light
Why Carry?
Hafiz,
Why carry a
whole load of books
Upon your back
Climbing this mountain,
When tonight,
Just a few thoughts of God
Will light the holy fire.
A rendering of a Hafiz poem by Daniel Ladinsky
Beautiful poems like this one are recited in a CD with refreshing North Indian Classical Music in the background. The CD is called “Hafiz: The Scent of Light“.
July 11, 2009
Gurbani and Sufi Master Hazrat Inayat Khan
Recently I read a book by Hazrat Inayat Khan titled “Mysticism of Sound and Music“. Many common Sikhi concepts are explained well in this book. The book does not use any Sikhi terminology. Here are few samples:
Enjoy!
P.S.
I don’t mean to say every sentence of Sufi master matches with Gurbani. They are different spiritual traditions but I found the text helpful in understanding some of the Sikhi concepts.
May 29, 2008
God is Love
Life’s light is love; and when the heart is empty of love, a man is living and yet not living; from a spiritual point of view he is dead. When the heart is asleep, he is as though dead in this life, for one can only love through the heart. But love does not mean give and take. That is only a trade; it’s selfishness. To give sixpence and receive a shilling is not love. Love is when one loves for the sake of love, when one cannot help but love, cannot do anything but love. Then one is not forced to love; there is no virtue in that. One does not love because another does. It is simply there. It cannot be helped. It is the only thing that makes a person alive. If a person loves one and hates another, what can he know of love? Can you love one person fully if at the same time you cannot bestow a kind glance on some other person? Can you say you love one person fully when you cannot bear him to be loved by someone else as well? Can you hate a person when love is sprinkled like water in your heart? Love is like the water of the Ganges. It is itself a purification. As the Bible says, ‘God is love’. When love is awakened in the heart, God is awakened there. When a man has journeyed, he reaches the goal as soon as his heart has reached love.
The Sufi says, ‘The Kaba, the divine place, paradise, is the heart of the human being’. That is why he has respect for every heart. Every heart is his Kaba, his shrine. The human heart is the place toward which he bows, for in this heart is God.
from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_30.htm
Some object to Christ being called divine; but if divinity is not sought in man, then in what shall we seek God? Can divinity be found in the tree, in the plant, in the stone? Yes indeed, God is in all; but at the same time, it is in man that divinity is awakened, that God is awakened, that God can be seen.
February 8, 2008
Qawwali Concert in Ann Arbor – April 2008
Mehr and Sher Ali are performing for University Musical Society on April 18th 2008.
Check out the details.
