WHEN THE MIND IS TROUBLED, I SING...

In these times of internal turmoil, besides the Word of God, the other words that touched me were from the Sufi saints. I have been listening to the ghazals in Urdu, but I found some translations in English which were amazing. Here are a few words from Rumi...

"I died as a mineral and became a plant,
I died as plant and rose to animal,
I died as animal and I was Man.
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soar
With angels bless'd; but even from angelhood
I must pass on: all except God doth perish.
When I have sacrificed my angel-soul,
I shall become what no mind e'er conceived.
Oh, let me not exist! for Non-existence
Proclaims in organ tones,
To Him we shall return."

I would have said a Persian Muslim Sufi, but I believe Sufis can not be restricted to a city, country or region. A soul which has crossed the boundaries between heaven and earth is not to be tagged.

In India, there is a city called Ajmer. A Sufi from Chisti in Afghanistan travelled from there and settled in Ajmer. His shrine or Drgah is visited by people from many religions. Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, also known as Gareeb Nawaaz had this to say in his last sermon...

"Love all and hate none.

Mere talk of peace will avail you naught.

Mere talk of Allah and religion will not take you far.

Bring out all the latent powers of your being and reveal the full magnificence of your immortal self.

Be surcharged with peace and joy, and scatter them wherever you are and wherever you go.

Be a blazing fire of Truth; be a beauteous blossom of love; and be a soothing balm of peace.

With your spiritual light, dispel the darkness of ignorance; dissolve the clouds of discord and war, and spread goodwill, peace and harmony among the people. 

Never seek any help, charity or favors from anybody except God. 

Never go to the courts of kings and rulers, but never refuse to  bless and help the needy and the poor, the widow and the orphan, if they come to your door."

At a time when Anna Hazaare is sitting in Tihar Jail on a hunger strike, many debate the merits and demerits of his way and actions. Do we really care, or is it again a case of "Prince falling in to a pit". Soon we would return to our air-conditioned homes, cooled because of the bribe we gave to so many agencies and persons to get past the law. Today I sat in the OPD and a man came for a consultation. He wanted to be seen out of turn, and I explained to him there were others who had been waiting for a longer time. He smiled and said something that nearly drove me to shout at him. I do not see how a change in law will help change our characters.  When now I read and hear the news about the protest, I am amazed and humbled by the fact that there is Anna, a man who can challenge the establishment. I also wonder how many in the crowd around him can boast of the same.

Enough of this... let us hear something soothing....