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UN POEM

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu,
Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion

or cultural system. I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all. I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world or the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve or any

origin story. My place is placeless, a trace
of the traceless. Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being.

Mevlana

http://muratmalay.4t.com

WORDS OF WISDOM


1- One who does not have the strength to raise and turn the earth and all the stars and suns as though they were beads of prayer beads cannot lay claim to creating anything in the universe. For everything is tied to everything else. He who created the eye of the mosquito is the one who created the sun. The one who ordered the stomach of a flea is also the one who ordered the solar system.



2- Nature resembles a printing press, not the Printer. It is embroidery, not the Embroiderer. It is passive, not active. It is a pattern, not a source. It is an order, and not the Orderer. It is a law, not a Power. It is a code of laws proceeding from a will, not an external reality.



3- Those who seek everything in materiality know only what their eyes see, and such eyes are blind in spiritual matters.



4- Since by nature man is noble, he seeks the truth. Sometimes he encounters the false, but supposing it to be the truth preserves it in his heart. Then, when delving into reality, without his willing it, misguidance strikes him on the head; supposing it to be reality, he plunges his head into it.



5- If the light of thought is not illuminated with the light of the heart and blended with it, it is darkness and breeds tyranny. If the white of the eye, which resembles day, was not together with its black pupil, which resembles night, the eye would not be the eye; it would be unseeing. Similarly, if the black core of the heart is not present in white thought, it lacks insight.



6- Tyranny has donned the hat of justice; treachery has clothed itself in the garment of patriotism; holy war has been given the name of rebellion; captivity has been called freedom! Opposites have exchanged forms!



7- To show friendliness towards a hungry beast does not excite its compassion, but its hunger. Both its fangs and its claws will want their rent!



8- One grain of truth consumes a stack of lies. One grain of reality is superior to a stack of illusions. Everything you say should be true, but it is not right to say everything true.



9- The essential nature of beings does not lie. The inclination to grow in a seed declares: "I shall sprout and produce fruit!" It speaks the truth. In an egg is the desire for life; it says: "I shall be a hen!" and this comes about, with Pine permission. It speaks the truth. Due to the inclination to freeze, a handful of water says: "I shall take up more space!" and unyielding iron cannot give it the lie; the rightness of its words splits the iron. These inclinations are the manifestations of the creative commands proceeding from Pine Will.



10- If metaphors fall from the hands of learning into those of ignorance, they are transformed into their literal meanings, opening the door to superstition.



11- The remedy for one ill person may be poison for another. If a remedy exceeds its limit, it is the cause of ills.



12- Unfortunate truths become worthless in worthless hands.

Bediuzzaman

http://muratmalay.4t.com

TOUT EST DANS L’ETRE HUMAIN

Enfoncé dans la mer du spirituel, nous avons contemplé l’univers
Et découvert l’aspect des deux mondes : Tout est dans l’être humain

Les cieux qui tournent sans cesse, et les mondes souterrains
Les soixante-dix milles voiles, tout est dans l’être humain

Le jour et la nuit, et les sept satellites
La parole inscrite dans les Tables de la Loi
Tout est dans l’être humain

Le Sinaï où monta Moïse, la Kabba des anges dans le ciel
Trompette du jugement entonnée par Israfil, tout est dans l’être humain

L’Évangile et la Bible, Le Coran et les Psaumes
Et la Révélation qu’ils comportent, tout est dans l’être humain

Yunus Emre, turkish poet

http://muratmalay.4t.com

PLEA

This country shaped like the head of a mare
Coming full gallop from far off Asia
To stretch into the Mediterranean
This country is ours.

Bloody wrists, clenched teeth, bare feet,
Land like a precious silk carpet
This hell, this paradise is ours.

Let the doors be shut that belong to others
Let them never open again
Do away with the enslaving of man by man
This plea is ours.

To live! Like a tree alone and free
Like a forest in brotherhood
This yearning is ours.

Nazim Hikmet
(1902-1963)

http://muratmalay.4t.com

MY BEAUTIFUL ONE

The rough man entered the lover's garden
It is woods now, my beautiful one, it is woods,
Gathering roses, he has broken their stems
They are dry now, my beautiful one, they are dry

In this square our hide is stretched
Blessed be, we saw our friend off to God
One day, too, black dust must cover us
We will rot, my beautiful one, we will rot

He himself reads and He also writes
God's holy hand has closed her crescent eyebrows
Your peers are wandering in Paradise
They are free, my beautiful one, they are free

Whatever religion you are, I'll worship it too
I will be torn off with you even the Day of Judgement
Bend for once, let me kiss you on your white neck
Just stay there for a moment, my beautiful one, just stay there

I'm Pir Sultan Abdal, I start from the root
I eat the kernel and throw out the evil weed
And weave from a thousand flowers to one hive honey
I am an honest bee, my beautiful one, an honest bee.

Pir Sultan Abdal / Turkish Folk Poet

ALL OF A SUDDEN

Everything happened all of a sudden.
All of a sudden daylight beat down on the earth;
There was the sky all of a sudden;
All of a sudden steam began to rise from the soil.
There were tendrils all of a sudden, buds all of a sudden.
And there were fruits all of a sudden.
All of a sudden,
All of a sudden,
Girls all of a sudden, boys all of a sudden.
Roads, moors, cats, people...
And there was love all of a sudden,
Happiness all of a sudden.

Orhan Veli Kanik
(1914, Istanbul - November 14, 1950, Istanbul)

SONG

Your lips are red
Your hands are white
Take my hands, child,
Hold them a while.

In the village where I was born
There were no walnut trees
That's why I yearn for coolness
Fondle me a while.

In the village where I was born
There were no cornfields
So scatter your hair child
Flaunt it a while.

In the village where I was born
The north winds blew
That's why my lips are cracked
Kiss them a while

In the village where I was born
Bandits struck by night
That's why I hate to be alone
Speak with me a while

In the village where I was born
Men did not know how to laugh
That's why I'm still so unhappy
Make me laugh a while

You are light and beauty, like my country
The village where I was born was beautiful too
Now tell me of the place where you were born
Tell me a while.

Turkish Poet Cahit Kulebi
Translated by Bernard Lewis (1982)

FREE

We live free
Air is free, clouds are free
Valleys and hills are free
Rain and mud are free
The outside of cars
The entrances of cinemas
And the shop windows are free
Bread and cheese cost money
But stale water is free
Freedom can cost your head
But prison is free
We live free

Orhan Veli Kanik
Translated by Bernard Lewis (1982)

YOUR LOVE HAS WRESTED ME AWAY

Your love has wrested me away from me,
You're the one I need, you're the one I crave
Day and night I burn, gripped by agony,
You're the one I need, you're the one I crave

I find no great joy being alive,
If I cease to exist, I would not grieve,
The only solace I have is your love,
You're the one I need, you're the one I crave

Lover yearn for you, but your love slays them,
At the bottom of the sea it lays them,
It has God's images - it displays them,
You're the one I need, you're the one I crave

Even if, at the end they make me die
And scatter my ashes up to the sky,
My pit would break into this outcry:
You're the one I need, you're the one I crave

Let me drink the wine of love sip by sip,
Like Mecnun, live in the hills in hardship,
Day and night, care for you holds me in its grip,
You're the one I need, you're the one I crave

'Yunus Emre the mystic' is my name,
Each passing day fans and rouses my flame,
What I desire in both worlds is the same:
You're the one I need, you're the one I crave

Yunus Emre (Turkish Folk Poet)

An ember burns where it falls.
http://muratmalay.4t.com

Mevlana’s Seven Advice

1.In generosity and helping others be like a river.

2.In compassion and grace be like sun.

3.In concealing other’s faults be like night.

4.In anger and fury be like dead.

5.In modesty and humility be like earth.

6.In tolerance be like a sea.

7.Either exist as you are or be as you look.

Who is at my door?


He said, "Who is at my door?"
I said, "Your humble servant."
He said, "What business do you have?"
I said, "To greet you, 0 Lord."


He said, "How long will you journey on?"
I said, "Until you stop me."
He said, "How long will you boil in the fire?"
I said, "Until I am pure.


"This is my oath of love.
For the sake of love
I gave up wealth and position."


He said, "You have pleaded your case
but you have no witness."
I said, "My tears are my witness;
the pallor of my face is my proof.'
He said, "Your witness has no credibility;
your eyes are too wet to see."
I said, "By the splendor of your justice
my eyes are clear and faultless."


He said, "What do you seek?"
I said, "To have you as my constant friend."
He said, "What do you want from me?"
I said, "Your abundant grace."


He said, "Who was your companion on the journey?
I said, "The thought of you, 0 King."
He said, "What called you here?"
I said, "The fragrance of your wine."


He said, "What brings you the most fulfillment?"
I said, "The company of the Emperor."
He said, "What do you find there?"
I said, "A hundred miracles."
He said, "Why is the palace deserted?"
I said, "They all fear the thief."
He said, "Who is the thief?"
I said, "The one who keeps me from -you.


He said, "Where is there safety?"
I said, "In service and renunciation."
He said, "What is there to renounce?"
I said, "The hope of salvation."


He said, "Where is there calamity?"
I said, "In the presence of your love."
He said, "How do you benefit from this life?"
I said, "By keeping true to myself


Now it is time for silence.
If I told you about His true essence
You would fly from your self and be gone,
and neither door nor roof could hold you back!

MEVLANA

THE FRIEND’S FACE IS OUR MECCA

Love is minister to us, our flock is the inmost soul,
The Friend's face is our Mecca, our prayers are eternal.

When the Friend's face came in sight, duality was routed,
And religious laws were all cast outside of the portal.

The soul makes its obeisance at the altar of the Friend,
Rubs his face on the ground and prays to the all-Powerful

We regard no one's religion as contrary to ours.
True love is born when all faiths are united as a whole.

He who waits at the door of the Friend in truth and virtue
Is destined to arrive at the divine state without fail.

Yunus Emre

http://muratmalay.4t.com

An ember burns where it falls...

LIKE THIS

If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,

Like this.

When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the nightsky, climb up on the roof
and dance and say,

Like this.

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,
or what "God’s fragrance" means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.

Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings
of your robe.

Like this.

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don’t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.

Like this. Like this.

When someone asks what it means
to "die for love," point
here.

If someone asks how tall I am, frown
and measure with your fingers the space
between the creases on your forehead.

This tall.

The soul sometimes leaves the body, the returns.
When someone doesn’t believe that,
walk back into my house.

Like this.

When lovers moan,
they’re telling our story.

Like this.

I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret.

Like this.

When someone asks what there is to do,
light the candle in his hand.

Like this.

How did Joseph’s scent come to Jacob?

Huuuuu.

How did Jacob’s sight return?

Huuuu.

A little wind cleans the eyes.

Like this.

When Shams comes back from Tabriz,
he’ll put just his head around the edge
of the door to surprise us

Like this.

Mevlana