Art demands of us that we should not stand still:Beethoven
Anyone who has had an experience of mystery knows that there is a dimension of the universe that is not that which is available to his senses. There is a pertinent saying in one of the Upanishads: “When before the beauty of a sunset or of a mountain you pause and exclaim, ‘Ah,’ you are participating in divinity.” Such a moment of participation involves a realization of the wonder and sheer beauty of existence. People living in the world of nature experience such moments every day. They live in the recognition of something there that is much greater than the human dimension. Man’s tendency, however, is to personify such experiences. There are gods of violence, there are gods of compassion, there are gods that unite the two worlds of the unseen and the seen. These are all personifications of the energies in play. But the ultimate source of the energies remains a mystery. There is nobody there, no god, no you. Your mind, going past all concepts, has dissolved in identification with the ground of your own being, because that to which the metaphorical image of your god refers is the ultimate mystery of your own being, which is the mystery of the being of the world as well. And so this is it. Joseph Campbell & The Power Of Myth
The definitive aspect of life is this; whatever happens, life is made for this. Hope is a certainty entrusted to the Mystery. In other words, I am certain about what I am living, even if I do not know how it will end up. But this is what makes me live. Gabriel Marcel - The Mystery of Being
Reality's way of orienting me to another unseen reality is something that imposes itself on me. I cannot deny it without being unreasonable and denying my own inner experience. It would be as if I heard a voice call "Help! Help!" in the woods, but then merely thinking, "My, what a strange vibration the air made just now. It sounded like a person yelling 'Help,' but I simply can't deduce that it is really a man in need of assistance." As humans we are attracted by the deeper meanings of things, and by ignoring them we actually become dead to ourselves, others, and to all of reality. The Religious Sense: Luigi Giussani
What if an innocent man is found guilty? Who would give him justice now? Perhaps we could, by recognizing him as not guilty? But is that an answer for him or rather for ourselves to pacify us?
I myself have wounded myself in the journey. I am myself an obstruction in my own path. My home is becoming more and more distant. I have been walking backwards. Perhaps my destination is inside me, while, Khalid, I am searching for it in the outside world.
Simorq (a legendary supernatural bird in Persian literature) based on Ferdowsi’s poetic opus, is one of the most beautiful and, in structural terms, complete facets of the Shahnameh. In this story, Ferdowsi has interwoven human preoccupations with luck, fate and destiny, greed, fear and disgrace with the need and desire for fame and love, under the canopy of the epic story. The story of Simorq (Simorgh), apart from its literary beauty, is also informed by an inner music.
Homay and the Mastan Group-Meeting With Doozakhian داد درویشی از سر تمحید سر قلیان خویش را به مرید گفت از دوزخ ای نکو کردار قدری اتش به روی ان بگذار بگرفت و ببرد و باز اورد عقد گوهر زدرج راز اور گفت در دوزخ هرچه گردید درکات حجیم را دیدم هیزم و اتش و ذغال نبود اخگری بهر اشتعال نبود هیچ کس اتشی نمی افروخت زاتش خویش هر کسی می سوخت
Gorooh e Mastan ensemble consists of eight Iranian musicians. These young artists transmit their message of truth and unity through novel lyrics and music. They achieve this by refreshing the traditional and folkloric music and introducing an interpretation of classical Persian music and poetry. Following the paths of the greatest Sufi masters Rumi and Hafez, the Mastan Group encourages its audiences to live consciously. They share the universal idea of striving for a creative life by flourishing love and peace from within.
Anyone who knows,and knows that he knows, Makes the stead of intelligence leap over the vaults of heaven; Anyone who does not know, but knows that he does not know, Can bring his lame little donkey to the destination nonetheless; Anyone who does not know, and does not know that he does not know, Is stuck for ever in double ignorance Poem by Nasir-od-Din Tusi هر کس که بداند و بداند که بداند، اسب خرد از گنبد گردون بجهاند هر کس که نداند و بداند که نداند، لنگان خرک خویش به منزل برساند هر کس که نداند و نداند که نداند ، در جهل مرکّب ابدالدهر بماند A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind
Ali Farka Toure - PENDA YORO (woman he is singing about) I will follow you wherever you go- Amadinin - Ketine (he is talking about the twisted and bad things on this Earth, how today the truth only belongs to the rich people and the beautiful women, how in Africa our corrupt leaders are not doing anything to help our people. He's asking for the parents or elders to listen to what he has to say. He is trying to make a stand against this injustice done upon the people.
The Wars by Timothy Findley The four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) are all featured in the novel. They each represent a trial that Robert Ross must overcome on his journey. Earth represents the mud that almost claims Robert's life in Ypres. Air is a symbol of the chlorine gas used against the Allies, which Robert neutralizes with urine. Fire is shown as the artillery fire, flamethrowers, and as the barn that ends up claiming the lives of Robert's horses and dog. Water is represented as the rain and mud.
Janet Baker- When I am laid in earth from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. Alas, to die of a broken heart. Indeed, a most painful way to die, but how much more painful to die with a heart unstirred and atrophied from non use? I would die like Dido a thousand times over, having known love for a fleeting moment, than live a life without love. Your swan song dear Dido moves us because we have all tasted the bittersweet pain that inevitably comes with true love.
The Sense of Sociability - Lorne Tepperman's book offers how humans can help shape a more humane world.
Truth must be spoken not only because it renders naked the hypocrites and villains, but also because it has a cathartic, or cleansing effect on its defenders. Above all, it must be spoken because it is the quintessential requirement of freedom: ‘the truth shall make you free’.
The concept "Speak truth to power" is only useful in two situations. If you assume that power doesn't know the truth, it helps to speak it. But there's little evidence that the powerful don't know the truth about what they're doing. Or, if you believe that power has a conscience, it's useful to tell it the truth. How about: "Speak truth to the powerless."
the Gordian Knot: Unite the knot, don't cut through it. Don't settle a difficulty by violent means instead of patiently solving it.
In Buddhism there is a process called Metta. In this, one looks clearly at the issues and living beings of the world for what they are, the good, the bad and the ugly, and with detached awareness, simply pour one's love into all that mess without a grain of judgment. Love everyone, serve everyone, and remember God. Hence the transforming nature of our awareness. That we can transform the hurts in our world to something beautiful, simply by such an attitude adjustment and, perhaps not by ignoring the horrors some in our world can engage in.
نمی خواهـم بمیـرم نمی خواهم بمیرم، با كه باید گفت؟ كجا باید صدا سر داد؟ به زیر كدامین آسمان، روی كدامین كوه؟ كه در ذرات هستی رَه بَرَد توفان این اندوه كه از افلاك عالم بگذرد پژواك این فریاد! كجا باید صدا سر داد؟ فضا خاموش و درگاه قضا دور است زمین كر،... آسمان كور است نمی خواهم بمیرم، با كه باید گفت؟ اگر زشت و اگر زیبا اگر دون و اگر والا من این دنیای فانی را هزاران بار از آن دنیای باقی دوست تر دارم به دوشم گرچه بار غم توانفرساست وجودم گرچه گردآلود سختی هاست نمی خواهم از این جا دست بردارم! دلم با صد هزاران رشته، با این خلق با این مهر، با این ماه با این خاك با این آب ... پیوسته است مراد از زنده ماندن، امتداد خورد و خوابم نیست توان دیدن دنیای ره گم كرده در رنج و عذابم نیست هوای همنشینی با گل و ساز و شرابم نیست جهان بیمار و رنجور است دو روزی را كه بر بالین این بیمار باید زیست اگر دردی ز جانش برندارم ناجوانمردی است نمی خواهم بمیرم تا محبت را به انسانها بیاموزم بمانم تا عدالت را برافرازم، بیفروزم خرد را، مهر را تا جاودان بر تخت بنشانم به پیش پای فرداهای بهتر گل برافشانم چه فردائی، چه دنیائی! جهان سرشار از عشق و گل و موسیقی و نور است ... نمی خواهم بمیرم، ای خدا! ای آسمان! ای شب! نمی خواهم نمی خواهم نمی خواهم مگر زور است؟
Sufism in the Novels of Doris Lessing, Born on Oct. 22, 1919, in Kermanshah, Iran: Uncumbered life of a free woman subjecting a divided civilisation to scrutiny
A fundamental concept in Sufism is the idea of the seeker having direct access to God, with no intermediary; an inner transformation that can only be experienced. By adapting traditional narrative methods, such as tales and fables, to modern fiction, Lessing examined the layers of the human soul, the possibility of individual and global transformation and amelioration, and also to warn humanity that it is running out of time unless we "work" to develop ourselves. In this sense, Lessing fulfils a complex role which combines the discipline of the novelist with the the more ancient one of a message-bearer. This deep commitment to human evolution has enabled her to remain detached - to think for herself - the better to connect, and thus inspire her readers to undertake the difficult task of engaging in the "work" to develop their own capacities.
"That any kind of single-mindedness, narrowness, obsession, was bound to lead to mental disorder, if not madness," Doris Lessing
