[Poetry Chaikhana] Abu-Said Abil-Kheir - [43] Detached You are, even from your being,

[Guest guest]

An interesting poem from the site of Ivan Granger with his permission. His commentary at the foot of the page is very accurate and well worth reading. It applies to our discussion on the Unreality of the World

 

Enjoy

 

Alan--- On Wed, 17/9/08, Poetry Chaikhana <ivan wrote:

Poetry Chaikhana <ivan[Poetry Chaikhana] Abu-Said Abil-Kheir - [43] Detached You are, even from your being,alanadamsjacobsDate: Wednesday, 17 September, 2008, 4:04 PM

 

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

 

 

 

 

 

 

[43] Detached You are, even from your being,

By Abu-Said Abil-Kheir(967 - 1049)

English version by Vraje Abramian

Detached You are, even from your being,and this being is nothing but You.Unmanifest, yet the manifest is naughtbut Your shadow.Moons, galaxies and worlds drunk from this cup.And the cupbearer is nowhere to be seen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- from Nobody, Son of Nobody: Poems of Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir, Translated by Vraje Abramian

Amazon.com / Photo by jelleprins /

 

 

 

 

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Thought for the Day:

Balance must be discoveredaneweach day.

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Hi Alan -Was Monday's poem a bit of an overload? I thought this selection by Abu-Said Abil-Kheir might be a good -- and brief -- antidote.Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Kheir was one of the earlier Sufi poets. He lived more than two centuries before Jelaluddin Rumi yet, like Rumi, much of his mysticism follows a similar path of annihilation in divine Love.Abu Said's poetry ranges from the ecstatic and celestial, to struggles with abandonment. His poetry has an immediacy and even a sort of devoutly wry petulance that can draw comparisons with the great Bengali poet, Ramprasad.Abu Said referred to himself as “Nobody, Son of Nobody,†to convey the mystic's sense of having completely merged or disappeared into the Divine, leaving no trace of the ego behind.He lived in Mayhana in

what is modern day Turkmenistan, just north of Iran and Afghanistan in Central Asia.--This poem is a beautiful, brief meditation on God as both eternal essence and as the manifestation of material creation. The so-called 'real world' can be said to be unreal because, through direct perception, the mystic sees physical manifestation as only a ghost-like reflection of a deeper, more subtle Reality. The world of tangible things and solid objects is found to be inherently empty and intangible. This is how "the manifest is naught / but Your shadow." Manifestation only suggests something of the underlying Essence; it is merely an opaque reflection of the "Unmanifest."The fundamental nature of all Being is ecstatic or "drunk" bliss, even though not always perceived. All of creation is built upon this bliss and continually fed by this bliss: "Moons, galaxies and worlds drunk from this cup." And the irony of this divine

game of hide-and-seek: "The cupbearer is nowhere to be seen!" The bestower of bliss, the "cupbearer," being "unmanifest," inhabits no space, "is nowhere" and unable to be "seen" in the mundane sense. We are teased and taunted by the endlessly spinning variety of manifestation until we stop looking for some object we can name "God" and, instead, allow ourselves to be overcome by the vast, blissful Reality that is beyond the capability of the eyes to see or the limited mind to comprehend.Have a beautiful day! (And take a moment to look up at the moon and night sky tonight!)Ivan

Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary...

 

 

 

 

New on the Poetry Chaikhana BlogIn addition to the daily poem, other recent blog posts include:

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