Lost Mystics

In response to some earlier comments on the post Just Peachy in which I quoted a couplet by Ghalib Mirza, some readers of this blog spoke about Rumi. I realise in the past couple of years there’s been a sudden rise in interest in Sufism and sufi poetry but to a large degree, the focus has been on Rumi, and while I absolutely love indulging in Rumi readings, I think we lose a lot when we fail to discover the other mystics who may have come before or after Rumi but since most of their works have not been mass-translated, they are often forgotten. So this is for the lost mystics! And I couldn’t resist in including a bit of Rumi in there too.



"It has long been known in this ancient abode that without bitterness, life can never become sweet. For nine long months the child must drink blood in its mother's womb; and how many tortures must the ruby endure, imprisoned in rock, before the sun finally illuminates its gorgeous hue!"

Moulana Nurruddin AbdurRahman Jami



O bird of the morning, learn love from the moth
Because it burnt, lost its life, and found no voice.
These pretenders are ignorantly in search of Him,
Because he who obtained knowledge has not returned.

Muslih'uddin Sa'di al-Shirazi



Don't speak of your suffering -- He is speaking.
Don't look for Him everywhere -- He's looking for you.
An ant's foot touches a leaf, He senses it;
A pebble shifts in a streambed, He knows it.
If there's a worm hidden deep in a rock,
He'll know its body, tinier than an atom,
The sound of its praise, its secret ecstasy --
All this He knows by divine knowing.
He has given the tiniest worm its food;
He has opened to you the Way of the Holy Ones.

Sana'i



Until you become an unbeliever in your own self,
you cannot become a believer in God.

Abu-Sa'id Ab'il-Khayr - 'Nobody, Son of Nobody'



O my Lord,the stars glitterand the eyes of men are closed.
Kings have locked their doorsand each lover is alone with his love.
Here, I am alone with you.

Rab’ia Al Addawiya



I have a thousand brilliant lies
For the question:
How are you?
I have a thousand brilliant lies
For the question:
What is God?
If you think that the Truth can be known
From words,
If you think that the Sun and the Ocean
Can pass through that tiny opening
Called the mouth,
O someone should start laughing!
Someone should start wildly Laughing –Now!

Hafez



"For your sake, I hurry over land and water:
For your sake, I cross the desert and split the mountain in two,
And turn my face from all things,
Until the time I reach the place
Where I am alone with You."

Al Hallaj




Miserable is a heart that has no beloved.
It is difficult to be without a friend or a beloved.
These few moments which you can never find again,
If you have a heart,
do not be without a beloved.

Nizami


In love, ask for madness,
A life abandoned and a mind lost,
Ask for dangerous adventures
In deserts filled with blood and fire!

Mevlana Jallaluddin Mohammed Rumi