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The Door of the Tavern

    By Hafez Thank God the door of the Tavern is openand I am needy at His door. The vats are all boiling and crying out of drunkeness.Only the wine of truth can be found there.Not that of falsehood. From Him comes drunkeness, pride and aloofness.From us comes helplessness, self-effacement and neediness. The secret, which I’ve never told anyone, and will never share with anyone,I shall reveal to the friend – my only confidant. The tale of the twist and wave of my Beloved’s curl cannot be abridged.It is indeed a long story. I have stopped looking at the entire worldSince… Read More »The Door of the Tavern

    I Love You

      By Mazhari On the soft silk of a blossom, the white dawn of love wrote:“Oh You! Always lovely as a flower. I love You. I love You.” On the sands of a calm sea, with the pen of kindness and the ink of tenderness,In a special and secret language, it wrote again:“Oh You who have turned into a mythical birdand lived in a legendary mountain. I love You. I love You.” The sands flee suddenly as the breeze appeared. A flower dropped from the branch.The gust made a wailing sound, and a bird began to sing:“As long as I exist… Read More »I Love You

      The Cupbearer

        By Alireza Nurbakhsh Cupbearer be generous – make me drunkLet me be a moth circling around your face. Make me a stranger to I and we.Let me share my abode with your love. Oh beloved! Gaze upon me.I am your guestShow your face! Make me crazy! If you do not give me wine, I will not complain.If you bestow wine, I will become the goblet. If you burn my heart and soul in fire,I become a legend in love and fidelity. Oh beloved! Be merciful. Revive my heart.Make me a pearl in the ocean of nothingness. Every moment you bestow… Read More »The Cupbearer

        He is the Living, He is the Truth, He is Hu

          By Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh                             How lovely, how beautiful Your face!What coyness lies in those eyes and eyebrows!Once I saw Your countenanceI could never become intimate with anyone else. I desire only You;I utter only Your name.I see but One, say but One, andwant but One. On Your path,I have given up both head and soul,and could never take offense or turn awayfrom Your direction. I embrace both Your grace and Your wrath:for me, Your harshness is sweet and pleasant. I have erased all traces of selffrom… Read More »He is the Living, He is the Truth, He is Hu

          Love for the Friend

            By Alireza Nurbakhsh   No story is as beautiful as the story of love for the Friend.intimacy with the Friend is the most blessed good fortune. Those enslaved by the self can never approach Him,Unless one is granted wings of aspiration from the Friend. If you suffer a hundred thousand afflictions on the path of love,Have reverence, and respect the Friend’s sanctity; do not breathe a word of complaint. When the master of love called me to the sanctum of the Friend,the flames of Her love burnt away my heart and soul. He poured a new wine into my weakened… Read More »Love for the Friend

            Spiritual Yearning

              Spiritual Yearning In Sufism the state of spiritual yearning (talab) is the force that drives an individual on the path towards perfection. Without yearning for the truth, one simply has no desire to embark on a spiritual journey and cannot comprehend why others feel compelled to do so. Sufis believe that the state of talab is a gift from God and as such cannot be self-induced. God draws whomever he wants. One does not get to choose the beloved; it is the beloved who chooses. As enigmatic as this appears, it alludes to the involuntary nature of this state, that… Read More »Spiritual Yearning

              The Spiritual Guide

                The Spiritual Guide Religion has always been a source of conflict in the world. It is, therefore, surprising for most people to hear that one of the reasons for the rise of religious intolerance, violence, and social prejudice in the world is the scarcity of spiritual guides. Spiritual guides, unlike religious leaders, teach by example and seldom by words. The following story succinctly illustrates this point about teaching by example, though it may sound fantastic to our modern ears. Once the great Sufi poet ‘Attar (d. 1221 AD), a pharmacist by profession, was visited by a stranger at his shop… Read More »The Spiritual Guide