Searching vs. Finding

Not all hearts are able to find the secret of God’s love Not every sea has pearls, not every mine gold does have

Baba Farid (1173-1266).

I am not free for a single moment in my obsession with you I can’t escape thoughts of you for a second Whatever shrine I visit, I have you in mind I am not a pilgrim of the Kaba or temple I am content with the black dust of your door But unhappy to visit paradise without you Ever since I have been able to see you I have become oblivious to the sights of the world.

Abdur Rahmān Bābā (1653–1711).

The heart is your student for love is the only way we learn. Night has no choice but to grab the feet of daylight. It’s as if I see Your Face everywhere I turn. It’s as if Love’s radiant oil never stops searching for a lamp in which to burn.

Divan-e-Shams-e Tabriz

One morning a woman asked her lover, as a test, Do you love me more than you love yourself? He replied, I love you so much that I am full of you from head to toe. There is nothing left of my own exsistance except my name. If you love God, you will feel towards Him as that lover felt toward his beloved.

Many magic spells were cast, Magicians came, big and small. Now that my beloved is home, I will remain with him for a hundred thousand years.

Says Bulleh Shah, in this beloved bed I have crossed over to the other side. Finally, my turn came, Separation is no longer possible.

You alone exist; I do not, O Beloved! Like the shadow of a house in ruins, I revolve in my own mind. If I speak, you speak with me: If I am silent, you are in my mind. If I sleep, you sleep with me: If I walk, you are along my path. Oh Bulleh, the spouse has come to my house: My life is a sacrifice unto Him. You alone exist; I do not, O beloved!

Bulleh Shah (1689 - 1757)

Let us be like Two falling stars in the day sky

Let no one know our sublime beauty As we hold hands with God

Into a sacred exsistance that defies That surpasses

Every description of ecstasy And love.

Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muhammad Hāfiz-e Shīrāzī (1320-1389).