Rumi and Javad Nurbakhsh: On Love
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Photo: Arab porters Alexandria, Egypt.
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Leave behind your cleverness, O lover of God:
go crazy instead
Become a moth: enter the flame!
(Mevlana Rumi)
For one who sees truly,
love's pain is itself the remedy: But this mystery is revealed
only to those who are afflicted.
That lover who has left the realm of "I and you"
is a stranger to all: How then could he ever
be clever?
Love is an attraction
drawing multiplicity from the heart: The spirit of Unity it bestows
is free of all desires.
Love is a ladder
on the path toward God: A ladder to that place where
"wherever you look is God."
Only "I am God" is ever uttered
at the stage of love, For this secret is unknown
to "other than God."
Do not conceive of love
as a "pain without cure." Love is a snare set by God -
a consolation, not calamity.
O Nurbakhsh, since the lover
has no awareness of self, To attribute cleverness to him
would be a grave mistake.
(Javad Nurbakhsh)
go crazy instead
Become a moth: enter the flame!
(Mevlana Rumi)
For one who sees truly,
love's pain is itself the remedy: But this mystery is revealed
only to those who are afflicted.
That lover who has left the realm of "I and you"
is a stranger to all: How then could he ever
be clever?
Love is an attraction
drawing multiplicity from the heart: The spirit of Unity it bestows
is free of all desires.
Love is a ladder
on the path toward God: A ladder to that place where
"wherever you look is God."
Only "I am God" is ever uttered
at the stage of love, For this secret is unknown
to "other than God."
Do not conceive of love
as a "pain without cure." Love is a snare set by God -
a consolation, not calamity.
O Nurbakhsh, since the lover
has no awareness of self, To attribute cleverness to him
would be a grave mistake.
(Javad Nurbakhsh)
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Recommended Reading:
'The Path: Sufi Practices'
by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
To walk the pages of Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh's book "The Path: Sufi Practices" is to be taken away from everything but the truth. In a word, this is the Sufi way. Arguably, the most comprehensive account available of Sufism in the contemporary world, The Path's subject, aim and goal is the very transmutation of the heart itself. Never less than clear and practical, each essay takes us through the stages required of the initiated disciple in order to purify the ego, become free from psychological conflicts and be cleansed of egotistical qualities. Particular light is shed on the master/disciple relationship, as Dr. Nurbakhsh writes, "The master is the Noah of the ark of the voyagers of purity and the basis of illumination and revelation for those (disciples) who are faithfully carried away by the spiritual wind." If the Sufi's aim is to reach a state of selfless, constant remembrance of God, then, the Dhikr (the repetition of one of the names of God) is the key to its attainment. Dr. Nurbakhsh's book maps out in concise terms what it is to become emptied, to let go of negative emotions and to attain to a consciousness that polishes the heart. Sufism, we discover, is a mystical path towards the Truth where one is left with no provisions except love. Included is a rare glimpse into the Sufi ritual of Sama, described here as the practice of listening with the ear of the heart to music and poetry that might best be grasped as one being in a state so deeply plunged in love that there is no taint of self left in awareness. In this way, the sincere Sufi hears the call of God. This exceptional book is as much an educational tool as it is a manual for any seeker on the path of practical spiritual inquiry.
The author, Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, was the Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order for over 55 years, prior to his death, in October 2008, at the age of 82. In addition to bringing the teachings of the Nimatullahi Sufism to the West and other parts of the world, Dr. Nurbakhsh also wrote extensively on Sufism and was responsible for the editing, publishing and translation of many classic Sufi texts that have existed previously only in manuscript form.
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