The Decree

"مرداب به رود گفت: "چه کردی که زلالی؟

(The pond asked the river:" What did you do to become so clear?")

"!رود جواب داد: "گذشتم 

("I moved on!" replied the river.)

Resourced via web.

For The Malik I Adore!

Lately I've come to know of various people and have made friends with quite a few of them. 

But there have been only a few, really, really special ones. Special to the extent that a mere thought of them makes one smile and that smile touches the very edges of heart like the glow of soft candle light.

Amina, you're one such person.

You define the idea of beauty; of strength, for me. 

If there's one wish Lord would let me have today, I'd ask for a life for you that spreads under your feet savoring the flavour of being conquered by a queen.

May you blossom, love. 

May you conquer! 

May you triumph! 

May life never cease to be an unending adventure for you - for that is the only way it deserves to come your way!

May you surmount each adventure like only you can do!

I wish you love, love.

I wish you greatness.

I wish you all, that your darling self is made to achieve! 

A very happy birthday to you! 

May you have many, many, MANY more! Amen.

I dedicate 'Phenomenal Woman' from Maya Angelou's And Still I Rise to you! 

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing of my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,

They say they still can't see.

I say

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

The palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

That's you!

Culmination

بر من درِ وصل بسته می‌دارد دوست

دل را به عنا* شکسته می‌خواهد دوست

زین پس من و دل شکستگی بر در او

چون دوست، دل شکسته می‌دارد دوست

Beloved kept the door closed on my endless pleas.

Beloved wanted a broken heart, and I on my knees.

So now, I wring my heart, I kneel down with ease:

“Beloved! It's a pleasure to do what you please!”

Credits: Persian verse by Rumi, translated to English by Maryam Dilmaghani.
Image resourced via free web.

Bus, Hik Waari!

Amen! 

Of Scars And Warriors

We all, people of flesh, have scars. Some wear scars on their sleeve, some lock them up in the dark recesses of the heart.

A scar turns into an ugly wound when we are ashamed of having one. 

Warriors are never embarrassed of having scars. 

A warrior's wounds are a reminder of the battles they fought, of the valour they showed ... Scars are their medals! 

Embrace your brokenness and dance! For nothing is more beautiful than a broken heart that whirls holding its pieces together.

Dast afshaan chalo, mast-o-raqsaaN chalo

Khaak bar-sar chalo, khoon bada-maaN chalo!

God and Many Gods of Pakistan

In his book "The Wanderer" Kahlil Gibran writes of a city named Kilafis:

"

In the city of Kilafis a sophist stood on the steps of the Temple and preached many gods. And the people said in their hearts, "We know all this. Do they not live with us and follow us wherever we go?"

Not long after, another man stood in the market place and spoke unto the people and said, "There is no god." And many who heard him were glad of his tidings, for they were afraid of gods.

And upon another day there came a man of great eloquence, an he said, "There is but one God." And now the people were dismayed for in their hearts they feared the judgment of one God more than that of many gods.

That same season there came yet another man, and he said to the people, "There are three gods, and they dwell upon the wind as one, and they have a vast and gracious mother who is also their mate and their sister."

Then everyone was comforted, for they said in their secret, "three gods in one must needs disagree over our failings, and besides, their gracious mother will surely be an advocate for us poor weaklings."

Yet even to this day there are those in the city of Kilafis who wrangle and argue with each other about many gods and no god, and one god and three gods in one, and a gracious mother of gods.

"

In our Kilafis, that we know by the name of Pakistan, we wrangle and argue with each other about the good Taliban and the bad Taliban, and Army's shaheeds and Taliban's shaheeds and the real shaheeds.

While the wrath of them all befalls us equally.

Too Small, I Tell Myself

Sometimes this life seems too small 

To make all the voyages you want to make

To build all the bridges you want to build

To travel all the seas you want to travel
To say all the words you want to say

To fight all the demons you want to slay 

Sometimes this life seems too small

To dream all the dreams you want to dream

...

This life, in fact, is too small

I tell myself.

Only like a single grain of sand,

In which reflects the entire Sahara!

- leenah.

Life Of a Crystal

In a crystal we have the clear evidence of the existence of a formative life-principle, and though we cannot understand the life of a crystal, it is none the less a living being.

- Nikola Tesla

Reality is just that. Irrespective of our perceptions, our opinions and our understanding of it, reality prospers and flourishes.
The only bit of triumph we can achieve is in watchfulness of our intentions, of our will to understand...

Rest is,
!مالک دا کم پھل پُھل لانا، لاوے یا نہ لاوے

Untitled

GUEST BLOG POST 

This Guy’s Wife Got Cancer, So He Did Something Unforgettable, The Last 3 Photos Destroyed Me.

The first time photographer Angelo Merendino met Jennifer, he knew she was the one. They fell in love and got married in New York’s Central Park, surrounded by family, friends, and loved ones.

Five months later Jen was diagnosed with breast cancer. From Angelo’s blog: “I remember the exact moment…Jen’s voice and the numb feeling that enveloped me. That feeling has never left. I’ll also never forget how we looked into each other’s eyes and held each other’s hands. ‘We are together, we’ll be OK.’”

Throughout her battle, Angelo decided to photograph it. He wanted to humanize the face of cancer on the face of his wife. The photos speak for themselves.

Angelo and Jennifer’s story is tragic, but it’s in the face of a tragedy such as this that we rise above.

In Angelo’s case, he has started an organization to help women with their financial struggles during their trials with breast cancer.

Photo Credits: Angelo Merendino

Sourced via: http://beyondblindfold.com

Black Hole To Golden Sun

Have you seen how a stringed instrument is played? 
Strings are plucked and they vibrate, resonating, producing sound waves - a form of energy. These sound waves have the power over how we feel. Music is this powerful a tool because of the energy that travels to and interacts with us.
Imagine how energy within our thoughts impacts us!

There were some tough moments yesterday. Despite having an exhaustive day, I laid awake at night thinking about the bitterness of the day. And suddenly, as if touched by it, I realized the energy I was radiating ... it was black. I was brooding over negativity. I was letting something not me alter my system, affect my energy.

The sensation hit like a bolt of current. And I'm glad it did. I was able to direct my thought stream into a more positive direction ... thinking of how some value could be added to the coming days.

We are our thoughts. When we think negative, that negativity is what we choose to make the focus of our lens. With our focus we magnify the gloomy thought into a gloomy universe, a universe that encompasses us completely.

Shift of thought brings shift of energy.

I am glad yesterday happened. :)

Kaho Tou Raaz-e Hayat Keh Doon?

Ghunghat kay pat khol ri,

tohay Piya milain gay!

More ...

I want to see you.

Know your voice.

Recognize you when you

first come 'round the corner.

Sense your scent when I come

into a room you've just left.

Know the lift of your heel,

the glide of your foot.

Become familiar with the way

you purse your lips

then let them part,

just the slightest bit,

when I lean in to your space

and kiss you.

I want to know the joy

of how you whisper

"more."

- Rumi

Because Love Is Ether

And that's how Poe talked about Lee:

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me

- Edgar Allan Poe

When In Fields Of Mimosa And Poppy

When I love
I feel that I am the king of time
I possess the earth and everything on it
and ride into the sun upon my horse.

When I love
I become liquid light
invisible to the eye
and the poems in my notebooks
become fields of mimosa and poppy.

When I love
the water gushes from my fingers
grass grows on my tongue
when I love
I become time outside all time.

When I love a woman
all the trees
run barefoot toward me…

- Nizar Qabbani

Of Ruined City And The Architect

Today is 806th birthday of the master we recognize as Rumi.
I, for one, am deeply in love with the Architect for having created a city that had ruins like Rumi.
You're most welcome to explore through seventy other Rumi posts spread across the blog via this link: Rumi posts

To mark the special occasion, sharing with you one of his poems, a personal favourite of mine: بیا بیا که نیابی

بیا بیا که نیابی چو ما دگر یاری

چو ما به هر دو جهان خود کجاست دلداری

 

بیا بیا و به هر سوی روزگار مبر

که نیست نقد تو را پیش غیر بازاری

 

تو همچو وادی خشکی و ما چو بارانی

تو همچو شهر خرابی و ما چو معماری

 

به غیر خدمت ما که مشارق شادیست

ندید خلق و نبیند ز شادی آثاری

 

هزار صورت جنبان به خواب می‌بینی

چو خواب رفت نبینی ز خلق دیاری

 

ببند چشم خر و برگشای چشم خرد

که نفس همچو خر افتاد و حرص افساری

 

ز باغ عشق طلب کن عقیده شیرین

که طبع سرکه فروشست و غوره افشاری

 

بیا به جانب دارالشفای خالق خویش

کز آن طبیب ندارد گریز بیماری

 

جهان مثال تن بی‌سرست بی‌آن شاه

بپیچ گرد چنان سر مثال دستاری

 

اگر سیاه نه‌ای آینه مده از دست

که روح آینه توست و جسم زنگاری

 

کجاست تاجر مسعود مشتری طالع

که گرمدار منش باشم و خریداری

 

بیا و فکرت من کن که فکرتت دادم

چو لعل می‌خری از کان من بخر باری

 

به پای جانب آن کس برو که پایت داد

بدو نگر به دو دیده که داد دیداری

 

دو کف به شادی او زن که کف ز بحر ویست

که نیست شادی او را غمی و تیماری

 

تو بی‌ز گوش شنو بی‌زبان بگو با او

که نیست گفت زبان بی‌خلاف و آزاری


Come, come, for you will not find another friend like Me.
Where indeed is a Beloved like Me in all the world? 

Come, come, and do not spend your life in wandering to and fro,
Since there is no market elsewhere for your money. 

You are as a dry valley and I as the rain,
You are as a ruined city and I as the Architect.

Except My service, which is joy's sunrise,
Man never has felt and never will feel an impression of joy.

You behold in dreams a thousand moving shapes;
When the dream is past you do not see a single one of the kind.

Close the eye that sees falsely and open the intellectual eye,
For the senses resemble an' ass, and evil desire is the halter. 

Seek sweet syrup in the garden of Love,
For Nature is a seller of vinegar and a crusher of unripened grapes. 

Come to the hospital of your own Creator:
No sick man can dispense with that Physician. 

The world without that King is like a headless body:
Fold yourself, turban-wise, round such a head. 

Unless you are black, do not let the mirror go from your hand:
The soul is your mirror, while the body is rust. 

Where is the fortunate merchant, whose destiny Jupiter controls,
That I may eagerly trade with him and buy his wares? 

Come, and think of Me who gave you the faculty of thought,
Since from My mine you may purchase an ass-load of rubies. 

Come, advance towards Him who gave you a foot,
Look with all your eyes on Him who gave you all eye. 

Clap your hands for joy of Him, by whose see the hand (foam) is produced,
For His joy admits no sorrow nor affliction. 

Listen without ears, speak to Him without tongue,
Since the speech of the tongue is not without offence and injury.

- Rumi in Deewan-e Shams

Translation via web.

Of The Shards

Un chund barson ka only real damage ye hai kay aitbaar uth gaya hai insan kay Rab kay sath ikhlaas par say.

Insan ki bisaat hi kia kay wo kisi doosray insan say mohabbat kar paey.
Khas kar dara hoa, kamzoar insan mohabbat ka bar nahi utha sakta.
Aur phir jab kay mohabbat ka dawa bhi shuro din say conditional ho ... 'haan, mujhay mohabbat hai, jab tak tumhain mujh say mohabbat hai" ... tou mohabbat bechari tou kabhi kisi ginti main aee hi nahi...

Ye tou khud kay liay aglay ki mohabbat ki acknowledgement receipt hai. Hai na?


Nuqsaan ye hoa hai kay wahid cheez jis par kisi ka takkya tha, wo uska genuine link with Allah tha.
Kisi nay socha jo banda Allah kay sath genuine ho, uski Primary root sahi hai; secondary automatically sahi hi gi, chahay execution main glitches hon.

Us waqt, har us bar jab secondary root rotten sabit hoti thi, sirf bay-yaqeeni ghairti thi ... Primary kay theek hotay hoay secondary rotten kesay hai?

Phir ahista ahista wazeefon, aanso'on, murshidoN, tasbeehoN walay logon ka modus operand samjh aya  .... :)
Par tab tak dair ho gai thi.

Bohat say loag baghair support kay nahi chal patay.
Chahay school ho, ya ghar, professional life, ya social gatherings. They need a crutch to lean on.
Raat ko darnay walay bachon kay liay baazo'on main daba teddy bear jesay.

Allah, bohat saray loagon kay liay aisee hi aik lollipop hai.
Jab aur koi crutch na mil rahi ho, tou association with Allah ko apna teddy bear bana lo!
Nahi, associate with Allah nahi hona. Association-with-Allah ka teddy bear baazo'on main dabana hai. Jesay kai loag Mont Blanc ka pen apnay pass rakhtay hain.
Its a statement of association. Bus.

Its not Association. It is merely a pronouncement of it.

Like wedding vows are for some.


Jis din ye samjh aya, saray shikway khatum ho gaey.Haan ... wazeefon, aanso'on, murshidoN, tasbeehoN par say yaqeen bhi khatam ho gaya.