Hafiz - Song of Freedom

Last night, midnight became
an exalted dawn as they kissed the grief
from my mouth and breathed
the breath of life between these lips.
In that holy darkness, they let me
drink from the Waters of Life.

The light of love poured
through me until I fell down drunk,
reeling in ecstasy.
This cup has spilled over!
Now the wine of reflection shows
only the beloved’s grace.

What a glorious midnight!
What a blessed darkness
when, on that Night of Great Reward,
I finally received the deed
to the fortune of my soul.

From now on, my face
is the mirror which everywhere
reflects love’s ultimate beauty.
In the splendor of this place,
I saw all the wonders of eternity revealed.

So does it really surprise you
that I dance through the streets
singing out joy for all those
privileged enough to have ears?
For this, I received the alms of my salvation.

For on that day,
the Unseen Messenger brought me
this magnificent news:
Tyranny and grief can never prevail over
patience and the steadfast heart.

These, my friend, were
the keys to my freedom.
All the sugar pouring from my words
is the sweet reward of patience.
For this, they gave me the whole cane stalk!

Rejoice! The aspiration of Hafiz
and the breath of all believers

who rise with the sun and with God
have broken the heavy chains of
illusion and set me free.

~~~~

art and  poem translation

 http://www.rassouli.com/

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from the upcoming book

  Hafiz: Wisdom of Madness
Selected Poems

FINALLY GENUINE POETRY OF HAFIZ IN ENGLISH!
Hafiz: Wisdom of Madness
Selected Poems
Translated by Rassouli
Described as a literary wonder and a poet for poets, Hafiz has been lauded by Emerson, Goethe, Brahms and Nietzsche. Now, renowned artist and writer, Rassouli has dived heart first into the "Divan of Hafiz" to offer you fresh, careful and devoted translations so you can take your own journey into the "Wisdom of Madness". The treasures of Hafiz will bless the reader for a lifetime.

Includes illustrations by Rassouli
ISBN: 978-1-925538-64-9
Paperback, 204 pages, printed on cream/ivory paper.
Available August 2019 

 

 

available here

 

 

 

 

David Carse - ‘nobody home’

art  Ram Onkar

 “The flute does not know music: it does not know ‘G’ from ‘B flat;’ it does not know tempo or emphasis, and cannot make music come out of itself: it’s just a hollow bamboo stick with holes in it! It is the musician who has the knowledge and the skill and the intention and the dexterity, and whose breath blows through the instrument and whose fingers manipulate the openings so that beautiful music flows out. When the music is ended, no one congratulates the wooden stick on the music it made: it is the musician who is applauded and thanked for this beautiful gift of music.

It is precisely so with what we think of as our ‘selves.’ We are instruments, hollow sticks, through which the Breath, the Spirit, the Energy which is Presence, All That Is, Consciousness, flows. Just as it is not the flute making the note, but the Musician making the note through the instrument, so it is the breath which is Presence which animates this mind and body and comes out through this mouth to make it seem that this mouth is speaking words.

The basic misunderstanding, the basic ignorance, is this unwitting usurpation of the role of Musician by the instrument. This inversion of the truth is spontaneously realized when the Understanding occurs. It becomes obvious that there is no individual, that there is ‘nobody home,’ no entity here to be the doer or not. Because awakening is simply the Understanding that there is no one here to awaken.”

~ David Carse, Perfect Brilliant Stillness

Rupert Spira - Happiness

Etty Hillesum - Rest within myself

We try to save so many things in life with vague mysticism, but the mysticism has to stand on a base of total frankness and on a cold and piercing examination of things.

Most people only see in life what it's permissible to see, but we must free ourselves from all existing ideas... then life becomes rich and abundant even in moments of deep suffering.

The distress here is really terrible [Auschwitz].

And still, in the evening, when the day recedes, I walk with bright footsteps by the wire fence, and from my heart arises always the feeling that Life is wonderful and grand...

I find rest within myself. And this "Self", this deepest and richest part of me, I call God.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etty_Hillesum 

Dr.Javad Nurbakhsh - Image of Existence

Come, so we can wash away the image of existence
     and no longer speak of 'I' and 'we'.

Come, and like us let your thoughts pass away;
     forget both worlds and be silent.

Come, but beware of the shame of knowing
     send those endless lines of learning from your head.

Come, so we can cast far away all sayable things
     and blind our eyes to all there is to see.

Come, we will be strangers to all
     and seem mad in the eyes of the intellectuals.

Come, we'll empty ourselves of self
     and leave behind the disgrace of I and we .

Come, and welcome un-fulfillment,
     for we do not suppose our self's desires to be the goal.

Come, and be drowned in the Ocean of Unity,
     free from all thoughts of union and separation.

As this world is not even worth a grain of sand,
     other than what is old and new, it is nothing.

https://www.nimatullahi.org/