Poetry: Language of Devotion

Poetry: Language of Devotion

I am lost, O Love, possessed and dazed,

[Ay ‘ishq man-am az tú sar-gashtih-u sawdá’í ]

Love’s fool am I, in all the earth.

[va andar hamiy-i-‘álam mashhúr bi shaydá’í ]

They call me first among the crazed,

[dar námiy-i-majnúnán az nám-i-man ágházand ]

Though I once came first for wit and worth.

[zín písh agar búd-am sar daftar-i-dáná’í ]

O Love, who sellest me this wine,

[Ay bádih furúsh-i- man ]

O Love, for whom I burn and bleed,

[sar máyiy-i-júsh-i-man ]

Love, for whom I cry and pine—

[Ay az tú khurúsh-i-man ]

Thou the Piper, I the reed.

[man náyam-u tú náyy ]

If Thou wishest me to live,

[Gar zindigí-am khwáhí ]

Through me blow Thy holy breath.

[dar man nafasí dar dam ]

The touch of Jesus Thou wilt give

[man murdiy-i-ṣad sálih ]

To me, who’ve lain an age in death.

[tú ján-i-masíḥá’í ]

Thou, both End and Origin,

[Avval-i-tú-vu ákhir tú ]

Thou without and Thou within—

[ẓáhir-i-tú-vu báṭin tú ]

From every eye Thou hidest well,

[mastúr zi har chashmí ]

And yet in every eye dost dwell.

[dar ‘ayn-i-huvyadá’í ]

-Baha’I poem

 “Continue as long as thou canst this melody in the gatherings of the beloved; thus may the minds find rest and joy and become in tune with the love of God. When eloquence of expression, beauty of sense and sweetness of composition unite with new melodies the effect is ever great, especially if it be the anthem of the verses of oneness and the songs of praise to the Lord of Glory.” -'Abdu'l-Baha

Be drunk on Love, for only Love exists; there’s
No meeting the Beloved without Love as herald.   -Rumi

What is made in the workshop of the universe, all this is nothing.
Bring out the wine, for the goods of the world are nothing.

Heart and soul seek the honor of intimacy with the beloveds.
That is everything. Otherwise, the heart and soul are nothing.  -Hafiz

The Valley of Search

The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer

on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal.

Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a hundred

thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend,

he should not falter. For those who seek the Ka’bih8 of “for Us”

rejoice in the tidings: “In Our ways will We guide them.”9 In

their search, they have stoutly girded up the loins of service, and

seek at every moment to journey from the plane of heedlessness

into the realm of being. No bond shall hold them back, and no

counsel shall deter them.

It is incumbent on these servants that they cleanse the

heart—which is the wellspring of divine treasures—from every

marking, and that they turn away from imitation, which is

following the traces of their forefathers and sires, and shut the

door of friendliness and enmity upon all the people of the earth.

In this journey the seeker reacheth a stage wherein he seeth all

created things wandering distracted in search of the Friend. How

many a Jacob will he see, hunting after his Joseph; he will behold

many a lover, hasting to seek the Beloved, he will witness a

world of desiring ones searching after the One Desired. At every

moment he findeth a weighty matter, in every hour he becometh

aware of a mystery; for he hath taken his heart away from both

worlds, and set out for the Ka’bih10 of the Beloved. At every

step, aid from the Invisible Realm will attend him and the heat

of his search will grow.

One must judge of search by the standard of the Majnún of

Love.  It is related that one day they came upon Majnún sifting

the dust, and his tears flowing down. They said, “What doest

thou?” He said, “I seek for Laylí.” They cried, “Alas for thee!

Laylí is of pure spirit, and thou seekest her in the dust!” He said,

“I seek her everywhere; haply somewhere I shall find her.”

Yea, although to the wise it be shameful to seek the Lord of

Lords in the dust, yet this betokeneth intense ardor in searching.

“Whoso seeketh out a thing with zeal shall find it.”

The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and

the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall

the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is,

whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he

set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is

the City of God. Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is

needed, if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and

if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the world.

On this journey the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth

in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the

Friend; in every country he looketh for the Beloved. He joineth

every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that

haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or

in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One.

And if, by the help of God, he findeth on this journey a trace

of the traceless Friend, and inhaleth the fragrance of the long-lost

Joseph from the heavenly messenger, he shall straightway step

Into the Valley of Love  – Seven Valleys Baha’u’llah

This is Faith

To walk where there is no path,

To breathe where there is no air,

To see where there is no light-

This is Faith.

To cry out in the silence,

The silence of the night,

And hearing no echo believe

And believe again and again

This is Faith.

To hold pebbles and see jewels

To raise sticks and see forests

To smile with weeping eyes

This is Faith.

To Say: 'God, I believe' when others deny,

'I hear' when there is no answer,

'I see' though naught is seen-

This is Faith.

And the fierce love in the heart,

The savage love that cries Hidden

Thou art yet there!

Veil thy face and mute thy tongue

Yet I see and hear Thee, Love,

Beat me down to the bare earth,

Yet I rise and love Thee, Love!

This is Faith.

-       Ruhiyyih Khanum

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.

Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches

that quiver in the sun,

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.

He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free you from your husks.

He grinds you to whiteness.

He kneads you until you are pliant;

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire,

that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, Into the season less world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love. When you love you should not say,

"God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God.

"And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy,

directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.    – K. Gibran

Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy.  Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion.  Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come.  Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.   -Baha’u’llah