Here is my interpretation of Hafez’s poem ‘The warrior’

The warriors tame

The beast in their past
So that the night’s hoofs
Can no longer break the jeweled vision
In the heart.

Hafez says that the warriors are the ones who introspect and heal all of the pains of their past. They do this healing so that they are no longer in the vibration of hurt. Once they have done this healing – no other pain from the world can break the beautiful love which lives in their heart. They know that all the important battles are fought inside oneself.

The intelligent and the brave
Open every closet in the future and evict
All the mind’s ghosts who have the bad habit
Of barfing everywhere.

He says the truly smart people are the ones who go into all their thoughts of the future and remove the expectations which live here. He calls these expectations as ghosts and say they basically ruin everything. The smart ones do not expect much from the future.

For a long time the Universe
Has been germinating in your spine

But only a Saint has the talent,
The courage to slay
The past-giant, the future-anxieties.

Hafez says that this strength has been building in the warrior’s spine – growing steadily. Spine because it is from the spine that the energy moves up the body. He says that only a Saint though has the guts to heal all of the past hurts and issues and calm all the future anxiety. He emphasizes that a true warrior is also a saint. He is like a Samurai who has his sword tucked away in it’s sheath – but he always has a hand on it and can wield it effortlessly when required.

The warrior
Wisely sits in a circle
With other men
Gathering the strength to unmask
Himself,

A warrior is one who knows himself truly, who can completely unmask his own ego – not just in solitude but also in front of a group of men. It is someone who can be himself completely in front of any audience or when alone.

Then
Sits, giving,
like a great illumined planet on
The
Earth.

This warrior-saint then becomes like a light giving planet who spreads the light wherever he goes and keeps enlightening this world. He becomes a channel for the Divine’s service with the only purpose of giving. This is similar to what Krishna advices Arjuna in the battlefield – do your duty but do not be attached to the results. Become a channel for God’s divine energy to flow through you – whether it be in the battlefield or elsewhere. Follow your dharma.

Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Image credit : https://pixshark.com/spartan-warriors-in-battle.htm