Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 3/122
Newsletter for October 2011
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12
Derakht
agar moteharek budi: be-pa- o- be-par
nah ranj-e areh keshidi nah zakhmha-ye tabar
(If a tree could run or fly, it would not suffer from the teeth
of a saw or the blows of an axe).
I am reminded of
the Prophet’s sudden departure for Madina to escape injury (ranje
arah/zakhma-e tabar). Shams Tabriz escaped from Konya, “ without
leaving a trace behind “, obviously to avoid “ ranj-e areh
keshidi “ and “zakhmha-ye tabar". He was neither be-pa nor
be-par. On the contrary, he was so mobile (moteharrek) that he
was known as Shams parinda (flying Shams). So he flew to Tabriz.
He then left for Baghdad, continuing his travel to India via the
most difficult mountainous terraine of Skardu,Gilgit and Siachin,
converting many people on the way to Islam, finally reaching
Multan, where he spent the remaining few years of his life. (Kanzul
Ansab page 179 and Tarikh Gulistan-i Shams pages 174-175). The
second couplet of the Ode 1140 applies so precisely and
succinctly to Shams Tabriz:
If the Sun ( Shams) did not run across the sky,world would not
seethe colors of morning. Shams, true to his name, went across
the horizon. No matter where he went, the east or the west, he
brought with him the color of morning, the light of faith. Rumi
is amazingly prophetic about his Murshed (spiritual master) and
Mentor. Although he was devastated at the beginning on his
sudden departure, yet finally he was able to understand and
accept his teacher’s decision to leave Konya. This is best
described by Rumi himself in the following poem in Divan-i Shams
(Ode 1140), from which we also borrowed the lines quoted above:
If a tree
could run or fly
it would not suffer from the teeth of a saw
or the blows of an axe.
If the Sun did not run across the sky
the world would not see
the colors of morning.
If water did not rise from the sea
plants would not be quickened
by rivers or rain.
It’s only when a drop leaves the ocean – and returns
that it can find an oyster
and become a pearl.
When Joseph left his father
both were weeping.
Didn’t he gain a kingdom and a fortune
in the end?
Didn’t the Prophet
gain the world and a hundred empires
by traveling to Medina?
But you have no need to go anywhere –
journey within yourself.
Enter a mine of rubies
and bathe in the splendor of your own light.
O great one,
Journey from self to self
and find the mine of gold.
Leave behind what is sour and bitter
move toward what is sweet.
Be like the thousand different fruits
that grow from briny soil.
This is the miracle
Every tree becomes beautiful
when touched by sunlight;
Every soul becomes God
when touched by the Sun of Tabriz.
Najmuddin Kobra, the great saint who had inspired Shams’s teacher, Baba Kamal uddin Jundi, puts it in this way;
“ Know
that the lower soul, the Devil, and the Angel are realities that
are
not external to you. You are they. So, too Heaven, Earth and the
Divine
Throne are not located outside of you; nor are Paradise, Hell,
Life or
Death. All of these exist within you, as you will realize once
you have
accomplished the initiatic journey and become pure.”
(Fawa’ih, par 67:32, translation by Waley).
Thus the esoteric and limitless potential of human soul connects it directly with God, whatever you call Him- Haqq, Hu, Allah, Jehovah, the Ultimate, Total Soul, Khaliq (Creator), or Rabb (Provider).
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