Kabir in Springtime

There is little known about Kabir, the great poet of India, who was born on or near 1398 to a Muslim family on the outskirts of Benares. He was a bit of an iconoclast to both the Muslim and Hindu communities during his life, claiming that direct access to the Divine is most desirable, not one's theology or religious practice per se.

The following quote is rather Buddhist, but has been well-echoed in the writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan:

"Life is a field and you are born to cultivate it. And if you know how to cultivate this field you can produce anything you like. All the need of your life can be produced in this field. All that your soul yearns after and all you need is to be gotten from the field, if you know how to cultivate it and how to reap the fruit."

In the mental purification of the Sufis, or the clear mind of the Buddhist, we replace what is troubling or disturbing to the waters of the mind not by excessively focusing on what is wrong but by stilling the mind and choosing the qualities we would like to cultivate. This is not to condone denial of what is but rather directing our energies to create what we desire in life and that creates harmony and beauty for oneself and others.

One of the Songs of Kabir:

I have stilled my restless mind and my heart is radiant:

for in Thatness I have seen beyond Thatness,

in company I have seen the Comrade Himself.

Living in bondage, I have set myself free:

I have broken away from the clutch of all narrowness.

Kabir says: "I have attained the unattainable,

and my heart is colored with the color of love."

What would you like to cultivate in your garden this springtime? What flowers, trees, bushes or birds would you like to live to be living there? The choice is yours....

Ragas from the Vadan, The Divine Symphony

A raga (Sanskrit for color or hue) is a melodic mode used in classical Indian music. These were often sung at particular times of the days or seasons of the year to enhance their effect on body and soul.

Inayat Khan himself was a noted Indian singer and instrumentalist as well as a mystic. Included below are a few of his short ragas from the Vadan. Perhaps one of them will resonate within your heart with a particular tint or hue:

By Thy skillful hands Thou hast made these flowers; by the power of Thy magic glance Thou hast colored them so beautifully: Thou hast breathed on flowers, giving them life and radiance, and with a kiss Thou hast made them fragrant.

Beloved, Thou makest me fuller every day.
Thou diggest into my heart deeper than the depths of the earth.
Thou raisest my soul higher than the highest heaven,
making me more empty every day and yet fuller.
Thou makest me wider than the ends of the world;
Thou stretchest my two arms across the land and the sea,
giving into my enfoldment the East and the West.
Thou changest my flesh into fertile soil;
Thou turnest my blood into streams of water;
Thou kneadest my clay, I know, to make a new universe.

In the swinging of the branches, in the flying of the birds, and in the running of the water,
Beloved, I see Thy waving hand, bidding me good-bye.
In the cooing of the wind, in the roaring of the sea, and in the crashing of the thunder,
Beloved, I see Thee weep and I hear Thy cry.
In the promise of the dawn, in the breaking of the morn, in the smiles of the rose,
Beloved, I see Thy joy at my homecoming.

Let my insight be deeper than the ocean;
Let my mind be more fertile than the land;
Let my heart be wider than the horizon, Beloved;
and let my soul soar higher than Paradise.

What to Do with your Diamond - an Indian tale

The sannyasi (wise man) had reached the outskirts of the village and had settled down under a tree for the night when a villager came running up to him and said, "The stone! The stone! Give me the precious stone!"

"What stone?" asked the sannyasi.

Last night the Lord Shiva appeared to me in a dream ," said the villager, "and told me that if I went to the outskirts of the village at dusk, I should find a sannyasi who would give me a precious stone that would make me rich forever."

The sannyasi rummaged in his bag and pulled out a stone. "He probably meant this one," he said, as he handed the stone over to the villager. "I found it on the forest path some days ago. You can certainly have it."

The man gazed at the stone in wonder. It was a diamond, probably the largest diamond in the whole world, for it was a large as a person's head.

He took the diamond and walked away. All night he tossed about in bed, unable to sleep.

Next day, at the crack of dawn he woke the sannyasi and said, "Give me the wealth that makes it possible for you to give this diamond away so easily."

Love in Friendship and with One's Mate

The Healing Order has released its latest publication, The Secrets of the Heart. Included is the excerpt below which has to be one of the most beautiful and succinct expressions of the role of Love in our friendships as well as with our beloveds that I have encountered. May we all approach the throne of love in our lives.

"There is the love of a friend for his friend, the only reason for which is the admiration that one has for the other. But when there is real friendship between two people it gives them the experience of divine perfection, as in the Persian saying, 'When two hearts become one they can remove mountains.' To feel that there is someone to whom we can place our confidence, that there is someone who understands us, whom we can trust, upon whom we can lean and rely, to whom we can open our heart, to know that someone will sorrow in our pain more than he will sorrow in his own troubles, to know that there is someone in the world who shares all that is good and beautiful with us, imagine what a feeling it is! If we put this friend on one side of the scale and the other side the whole world, the side where the friend is will weigh more than the other.

Then there is the love of one's beloved mate, a beloved in whom one can see the beauty of God and hear the voice of God. One can long for that beloved, one can yearn all the time to attain to the presence of that beloved. When there is someone to long for, to think about, then one begins to realize the truth in the saying that pain is preferable to pleasure. When one begins to feel the thought of one's beloved, to feel the feelings of one's beloved, to overlook all wrong that the beloved may have done, when one begins to see that all is right and beautiful and good in one's beloved, then one is raised to experience the paradise of which the legends speak.

Rumi says, 'Whether you have loved man or whether you have loved God, if you have really loved you are brought in the end before the throne of love.' All the different aspects of love and devotion in their beginning may appear wrong or right, but if there is real love and devotion one arrives in the end at the stage which sages and masters have experienced. Love is purifying, love is strengthening, love is uplifting, and love gives life."

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Spring is here

Now that Spring is arriving, many of us relish working in our gardens, watching the seeds grow into vegetables and fruits. Here is a reminder to cultivate our inner garden as well....

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING

PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peace of mind

2. Peace of heart

3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip

2. Squash indifference

3. Squash grumbling

4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful

2. Lettuce be kind

3. Lettuce be patient

4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings

2. Turnip for service

3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:

1. Thyme for each other

2. Thyme for family

3. Thyme for friends

4. Thyme to pray

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE,AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE.

We reap what we sow (and nurture)...

The Blessing of Elders

One of the best gifts in life is having elders who have wisdom and are willing to share it with those of us who are younger.

One of my elders is a 69-years-young woman, filled with life. laughter and joy, able to laugh at herself as well as the ironies of life. I am grateful to have her as my friend.

At a recent brunch, she had received something which she just had to share with me, so I pass it on to you as well. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Open Space Technology

1. Whoever shows up are the right people.
2. Whenever it starts, it is the right time.
3. Whenever it is over, it is over.
4. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.

The Law of Two Feet

If you are not learning, contributing, or enjoying yourself, use your two feet and find somewhere you can!

Something for us all to consider....

The Beauty of the Earth

The Earth Observatory, run by NASA, collects photos of natural and man-made areas of our planet. They are breathtaking and stunning, as if they were masterworks of art. Please enjoy this posting of 23 scenes from the Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/earth_observed.html

"Let the heavens be reflected in the earth, Lord, that the earth may turn into heaven - Inayat Khan