Reflection is Remedy

A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to have a bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting at each other. He turned to his disciples, smiled and asked,’Why do people shout at each other?’

The disciples thought for a while, one of them said, ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout.’

‘But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.’ said the saint.

The disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.

Finally the saint explained.

‘When two people are angry at each other, their hearts are very distant. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance. What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either non-existent or very small…’

The saint continued, ‘When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other, that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.’

He looked at his disciples and said, ‘So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.

Dear God,

All praise and thanks belong to You. The source of all good and pleasure is from Your mercy and compassion. There is no amount of thankfulness and praise that can do justice to what You deserve.

My dear and beautiful Rabb, please grant my friends who are seeking life partners beautiful companions that will fulfill their needs and make them happy. Please allow them to bring ease and coolness of the eyes and hearts to their spouse and vice versa. Ameen.

Dear God please grant me a companion that will be the coolness of my eyes and heart. Someone with an undying yearning for sacred knowledge, a love of deep words of wisdom, and a passionate appreciation of the living, breathing, intellectual and yet practical sciences of Islam (Sufism). Someone who has deep love and respect for our intellectual and spiritual giants: Ibn al Arabi, Shaykh Jalaluddin Rumi, Imam Ghazali, Imam Al Haddad, Shaykh Ibn Ata’illah, and more. Someone who appreciates deep reflection of this world, the afterlife, the human soul. Someone who passionately appreciates service to others, and the united and compassionate spirit that ties all humans together. Surely the reality of all things comes back to one unity. Oneness.

A man is happy when he has pain, for the pain of having no pain can only be cured by the fire. -a poet

This quote was stolen from my friend’s blog.