Quran, Thomas Traherne, Bhagavad Gita, Anandamayi Ma and Shakespeare: On Beatitude and Contentment
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Photo: Ladies from the Ouled Naïl Mountains of Algeria.
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Allah hath pleasure in them and they have pleasure in Him.
(Quran XCVIII, 8)
You must want like a God that you may be satisfied like God...He is infinitely Glorious, because all His wants and supplies are at the same time in his nature from Eternity...His wants are as lively as His enjoyments; and always present with Him. For His Life is perfect, and He feels them both. His wants put a lustre upon His enjoyments amd make them infinite. His enjoyments being infinite crown His wants, and make them beautiful even to God Himself. His wants and enjoyments being always present are delightful to each other, stable, immutable, perfective of each other, and delightful to Him. Who Being Eternal and Immutable, enjoyeth all His wants and treasures together. His wants never afflict Him, His treasures never disturb Him. His wants always delight Him; His treasures never cloy Him.
(Thomas Traherne)
He who is satisfied with wisdom and direct vision of Truth, who has conquered the senses and is ever undisturbed, to whom a lump of earth, a stone and gold are the same, that Yogi is said to be a Yukta (a saint of established wisdom).
(Bhagavad-Gita, VI. 8)
True beatitude is that which depends on nothing outside itself.
(Anandamayi Ma)
I wish for the thing I have.
(Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, II.ii. 132)
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Recommended Reading:
'The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary'
By Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Author), Caner K. Dagli (Author), Maria Massi Dakake (Author), Joseph E.B. Lumbard (Author), Mohammed Rustom (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
An accessible and accurate translation of the Quran that offers a rigorous analysis of its theological, metaphysical, historical, and geographical teachings and backgrounds, and includes extensive study notes, special introductions by experts in the field, and is edited by a top modern Islamic scholar, respected in both the West and the Islamic world.
'The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary'
By Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Author), Caner K. Dagli (Author), Maria Massi Dakake (Author), Joseph E.B. Lumbard (Author), Mohammed Rustom (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
An accessible and accurate translation of the Quran that offers a rigorous analysis of its theological, metaphysical, historical, and geographical teachings and backgrounds, and includes extensive study notes, special introductions by experts in the field, and is edited by a top modern Islamic scholar, respected in both the West and the Islamic world.
Drawn from a wide range of traditional Islamic commentaries, including Sunni and Shia sources, and from legal, theological, and mystical texts, The Study Quran conveys the enduring spiritual power of the Quran and offers a thorough scholarly understanding of this holy text.
Beautifully packaged with a rich, attractive two-color layout, this magnificent volume includes essays by 15 contributors, maps, useful notes and annotations in an easy-to-read two-column format, a timeline of historical events, and helpful indices. With The Study Quran, both scholars and lay readers can explore the deeper spiritual meaning of the Quran, examine the grammar of difficult sections, and explore legal and ritual teachings, ethics, theology, sacred history, and the importance of various passages in Muslim life.
With an introduction by its general editor, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, here is a nearly 2,000-page, continuous discussion of the entire Quran that provides a comprehensive picture of how this sacred work has been read by Muslims for over 1,400 years.
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