Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Unbreakable, O Lord
By Mirabai
(1498 - 1565?)
English version by Jane Hirshfield
Unbreakable, O Lord,
Is the love
That binds me to You:
Like a diamond,
It breaks the hammer that strikes it.
My heart goes into You
As the polish goes into the gold.
As the lotus lives in its water,
I live in You.
Like the bird
That gazes all night
At the passing moon,
I have lost myself dwelling in You.
O my Beloved --
Return.
(Photo from internet)
WHEN "DRY SPELLS" OCCUR:
I think that all of us, no matter how advanced we may be as students of divine reality,
sometimes encounter "dry spells," times when we feel cut off from Source,
as if we ourselves have done something wrong and thus have lost our sacred
connection. At such times, it is as though we must begin all over,
seeking ways to reconnect, to restore the slender thread that connects ]
us to what is "highest" in ourselves.
At such times, we must do what we did at the beginning--seek ways to
redefine our search and once more enter the realm of sacred reality. We
do this by seeking out sacred reminders, such as music, poetry, deep
devotional practices, the company of other awakened beings.
Evelyn Underhill, the great authority on the mystical path, says that
such shadow times are even worse than the first dark night, for now we have
tasted the sweet nectar of union, and thus experience even greater
pain for knowing what we have lost.
But if we are patient, if we wait and do not try to rush back to prior
experiences, we inevitably will return to that state of union that was so
fulfilling previously.
Awakening is not a straight line process, but consists of many swings up
and down, progression and regression, as we move ahead towards
permanent union
