Guest guest Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 An interesting poem sent by kind permission of Ivan Granger. His notes at the end make it easy to understand. AJ--- On Wed, 11/3/09, Poetry Chaikhana <ivan wrote: Poetry Chaikhana <ivan[Poetry Chaikhana] Gharib Nawaz - The Second JesusalanadamsjacobsDate: Wednesday, 11 March, 2009, 4:13 PM Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana -- The Second Jesus By Gharib Nawaz(1142? - 1236?) English version by Peter Lamborn Wilson and Nasrollah Pourjavady O Lord, it's me: blanked out in divine lightand become a horizon of rays flashing from the Essence.My every atom yearned for visiontill I fell drunk on the manifestations of lordship.Love polished the rust from my heart's mirrortill I began to see the mysteries;I emerged from the darkness of my existenceand became what I am (you know me) from the Light of Being:blackened like charcoal dark soul's smokebut mixed with love fires and illumined.Some say the path is difficult;God forgive them! I went so easily:The Holy Spirit breathes his every breath into Mo'in--who knows? Maybe I'm the second Jesus. -- from The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry, Translated by Peter Lamborn Wilson / Translated by Nasrollah Pourjavady Amazon.com / Photo by cnynfreelancer / ============ Thought for the Day: Why strive for the perfectthought or action?The perfection you seekis found in stillness. ============ Here's your Daily Music selection -- Saggio Hollow Bone: Healing Songs of the Native Flute Listen - Purchase More Music Selections Hi Alan -Khwaja Mu'in'ud-Din Chisti, called Hazrat Gharib Nawaz (which means "Helper of the Poor"), was born in Persia (Iran). The dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but he probably lived from the mid 12th to the mid 13th century.Gharib Nawaz studied traditional sciences and taught at the important Islamic universities of Bhukhara and Samarkand. He, however, yearned for a deeper, inner knowing and became a devoted student of a Chisti Sufi master from Nishapur. He studied with this master for twenty years, traveling with him throughout Central Asia and Arabia, conversing with many of the important Sufi figures of their day.After going on pilgrimage to Mecca, Gharib Nawaz felt called to bring his teachings to India. He spent forty days in spiritual retreat at the tomb of a Sufi saint in Lahore, and then began his travels through India and drew an enormous following. As a mark of his influence, today the Chishti order is no longer numerous in Iran, but it is the most widespread Sufi order in India.Hazrat Gharib Nawaz eventually became the eighth head of the Chishti order.Gharib Nawaz died and was buried at Ajmer in India. His tomb has become an important pilgrimage spot for both Muslims and Hindus in India. It is sometimes even referred to as "the Mecca of India."==I love the phrase in which he describes himself as being "blanked in divine light." This beautifully describes the mystical sense of losing your sense of self, your sense of being separate, and instead you perceive yourself as being a point of awareness within a vast living radiance.The analogy to drunkenness occurs over and over again in sacred poetry, especially among the Sufi poets. There is a sense of sweetness on the palette and even of a subtle liquid felt at the back of the throat in spiritual ecstasy. Sometimes the energy flowing through the body can be so strong that you tremble or even lose consciousness. For all of these reasons, mystical traditions speak of wine and being drunk.Another great line:Some say the path is difficult;God forgive them! I went so easily.This reflects the sense that spiritual striving is perceived as difficult, sometimes too vague to even conceive of clearly. Yet, the sacred experience reveals itself as your natural state, effortless. In fact, effort implies that you are trying to attain something you don't already have, making it even harder to recognize the state as being already present. You just have to get out of the way of the experience. That is all. It is so easy, we just make it seem difficult.Some Christians may be troubled by the final line, "who knows? Maybe I'm the second Jesus." It's certainly meant to be provocative, but not blasphemous from the Muslim/Sufi point of view. Devout Muslims greatly revere the figure of Jesus but not in the absolute and iconic way that Christians do. In Muslim traditions, Jesus is often associated with a healing breath, or the divine breath, or the Holy Spirit/Breath. Gharib Nawaz is really just acknowledging the Holy Breath within himself, a giddy recognition of oneness with that subtle divine flowing Presence -- the same as in Jesus, the same as in all of us. Who knows, maybe we are all the second Jesus?==To all of my friends in India, have a happy Holi! May we all take delight in the many colors of creation!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: Video - Breathe - Comments (1) A reminder that our breath is part of the planet's breath. More Mailing List Milestone - Comments (3) We now have more than 4,000 people on the Poetry Chaikhana email list... More Iranian Painter Iman Maleki - Comments (3) One moment you're convinced you're looking at a photograph, then a switch is flipped in your brain, and you see a painting. But then you notice the fine filaments of each strand of hair, the delicate veins traced out beneath the skin, the caress of daylight upon a curving cheek, and you start to question again... More Support the Poetry Chaikhana Donations to the Poetry Chaikhana in any amount are always welcome. Thank you! Click here You can also support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you! Click here A small amount each month makes a big difference. Become a voluntary Subscriber for just $2/mo. Click here Help the Poetry Chaikhana reach more people. Become a Supporter for just $10/mo. Poetry Chaikhana HomeNew | Books | Music | Teahouse | About | ContactPoets by: Name| Tradition | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | CommentaryBlog | Forum | Video Channel www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com Poetry ChaikhanaP.O. Box 2320Boulder, CO 80306 Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers. ============ Plain Text: If you have any difficulty reading this HTML formatted email, please let me know and I can send you plain text emails instead. 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