Kabir.

And how could I forget Kabir Das; the Mystic,Seer, Poet; whose simple yet profound Dohas(couplets) and poetry made so much sense to me when I read them at my Hindi lessons at school. ( while most else did not!) His spirituality is a resplendent example of Bhakthi Yoga but I see Jnana Yoga( The Yoga of Knowledge. More on this later..) embedded in his Bhakthi as well. His poetry is replete with Vedanta philosophy. This makes him all the more fascinating.


Popular legend has it that Kabir was born a Hindu and raised Muslim, the fact remains that both Hindus and Muslims revered him, while the former considered him a Bhakti saint the latter called him a Sufi.


His work has to be read in the original or better still, heard sung, for the beauty to be appreciated but I give you a translation( By Rabindranath Tagore) of one of the poems I love. 'Bande' means friend not servant ,actually. Do not understand why Tagore translated it as Servant, maybe because 'band' is Hindi means 'bound'
and 'bande' could be one who is bonded' or a servant?

Moko Kahan Dhundhere Bande Mein To Tere Paas Mein
Na Teerath Mein, Na Moorat Mein Na Ekant Niwas Mein
Na Mandir Mein, Na Masjid Mein Na Kabe Kailas Mein
Mein To Tere Paas Mein Bande Mein To Tere Paas Mein
Na Mein Jap Mein, Na Mein Tap Mein Na Mein Barat Upaas Mein
Na Mein Kiriya Karm Mein Rehta Nahin Jog Sanyas Mein
Nahin Pran Mein Nahin Pind MeinNa Brahmand Akas Mein
Na Mein Prakuti Prawar Gufa MeinNahin Swasan Ki Swans Mein
Khoji Hoye Turat Mil Jaoon Ik Pal Ki Talas Mein
Kahet Kabir Suno Bhai Sadho Mein To Hun Viswas Mein


O servant where dost thou seek me
O servant, where dost thou seek Me?
O servant, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo ! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabir says, ' O Sadhu ! God is the breath of all breath.'

For more on Kabir click here

Meera's Bhajan

daras bin dookhan lage nain!
daras bin dookhan laage nain.
jab te tum bichhre piy pyaare, kabahu na paayo chain.
sabd sunat meree chhatiyaan kanpe, meethhe laage bain.
ek tak takee panth nihaaroo,bhai chhmaasee rain.
birah bithaa kason kahu sajanee, bah gayee karbat ain.
Meeraa ke Prabhu kab hon miloge,dukh metan sukh den.


Translation

My eyes burn with longing
for a glimpse of you.
My beloved, since You parted from me,
I have never had a moment's peace
When I hear thy voice
my heart beats faster
for your voice is so sweet
I gaze fixedly at the path which you will come by,
Each night without Thee seems like six moths..
To whom shall I exress my sorrow?
cutting through my heart?
Mira says, Oh my Lord, when will You meet me again!

Various Paths Of Yoga.

Bhakti Yoga

The path to the center through Bhakti or Devotion and Love for the Supreme is Bhakti Yoga.

Bhakti is the manifestation of supreme love for God. Intrinsically, this divine love is immortal bliss. By attaining It, a man becomes perfect, immortal, and satisfied forever. On attaining That, a man does not desire anything else; he grieves no more, he is free from hatred or jealousy; he does not take pleasure in the vanities of life; and he loses all eagerness for self promotion.
-Narada Bhakti Sutra

The individual is dissolved in the Lord and thus achieves salvation.

Great examples of Bhakti Yoga are the Sufi's,Meerabai,Tulsidas, Jesus , who said, "Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first the great commandment". There are countless others who , through their unquestioning and intense love for the Almighty reached the centre!

The Way Of The Yogi

The Yogi is one who uses the myriad paths of Yoga to reach the centre or realise Brahman, which,loosely translated, means 'The Soul'. The goal is Yuj or Union with Brahman. There are various schools of Yoga; there are also different combinations of methods; but the destination is the same. Every path of Yoga has it's ardent followers; each path ultimately leads to success if followed faithfully and correctly; and each person finds one which is suitable for him/her depending on where they are in their spiritual evolution.
According to the Advaitha tradition; the Union, when it does happen; reveals to the Yogi the perfection and 'completeness' of everything and once that happens there is nothing to achieve. Ramana Maharshi simply and aptly says-"Self is only Being -Not being this or that. Simple Being..BE and there is the end of ignorance"

Perfection is already present; but we do not realise it.

Or as the Upanishad says-


Om Poornamadha Poornamidam Poornaatpoornamudachyate
Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornamevaavashishyate
Om Shantih Shantih Shantihi

Translation
OM - That is ‘whole’. This is ‘whole’The ‘whole’ becomes manifestWhen the ‘whole’ is negated What remains is again the ‘whole’OM, Peace, Peace, Peace

Here the 'Whole' refers to the complete perfection of all that IS . Nothing is taken away or added. Things are perfect as they are.

Sound Meditation.

There are several ways to meditate with sound. Sound Vibrations have the ability to guide you to the centre. Chanting is one of these. Chanting a Mantra or a Shloka releases vibrations that are meditative. The chanting of OM with complete concentration is a complete meditation in itself. Similarly there is Qur'anic chanting in Islam and Buddhist chanting, which invoke a deep sense of peace. The sound has to surround and encompass you until you are one with it's resonance.

Tibetan singing bowl meditation.

The Way of the Sufi.

The way of the Sufi is the way of the Heart. He calls God his Beloved and in this quest for the Beloved everything else is negated or has no attraction for him. He travels the spiritual path, Tariqat, purifying himself for the time when he and The Beloved are one. The goal is Fanaa, the state of the self having passed away in God.
He first empties himself of all negatives qualities and desires. Then he polishes away the tarnish of the self and attachment to it. Adorning the self with Divine attributes; the attributes of Truth; comes next. Then, finally the self passes away and only the Beloved remains. The Sufi reaches the center....
The mystical Path of the Sufi has ritualistic music and dance as important elements. The music; usually the beutiful poems of Sufi poets like Rumi; set to music; are always about searching for the Beloved and the ache of the seperation.
The ritualistic dance is one of great ecstacy. The Sema ceremony; the ceremony of ritualistic dance is popular among the Mevlavi order; founded by the followers of the Sufi poet and mystic, Jalal Ud Din Mohammed Rumi. They are famed as the Whirling Dervishes.

This takes you to a Sema ceremony

Listen to a Sufi Qawwali

The Dance Of The Dervish

This digital image was done by me on Corel Painter Pro and Wacom Intuos3 tablet. :)

For more on the Dervish and their practises do visit http://www.dankphotos.com/whirling/

Sufi Poetry

Rumi

I thought of you so often
That I completely became you
Little by little you drew near
And slowly but slowly I passed away


Footprints but come to the ocean shore
Therein no trace remains

look at love how it tangles with the one fallen in love
look at spirit how it fuses with earth giving it new life
why are you so busy with this or that or good or bad pay attention to how things blend
why talk about all the known and the unknown see how the unknown merges into the known
why think seperately of this life and the next when one is born from the last
look at your heart and tongue
one feels but deaf and dumb the other speaks in words and signs
look at water and fire earth and wind
enemies and friends all at once
the wolf and the lamb the lion and the deer
far away yet together
look at the unity of this spring and winter manifested in the equinox
you too must mingle my friends since the earth and the sky are mingled just for you and me
be like sugarcane sweet yet silent don't get mixed up with bitter words
my beloved grows right out of my own heart how much more union can there be