The silences in us
Category: Poem
My city at night
Have you ever
Heard your city at night?
She will talk to you
Of what she saw in the light.
Talk of the lovers who kissed
for the first time on the bridge and
the homeless man below it,
weakened more today,
closer to death a little bit.
Politicians talking of welfare
in front of a crowd,
and plotting warfare
as soon as the masks come down.
I see it all,
I hear it all
and I bear it all.
Still, if ever
you need a listening ear
and a friend near,
you will find me here.
Just come over
at night, when everyone sleeps.
Stand on a bridge
Feel the wind in your hair
Stare into the dark waters below.
Or go to a park
Feel the air in your lungs
Rest your hand on a tree
Dig your heels in the soil.
I am here, with you
Through it all
Tell me your story
And I will tell you mine.
You and I,
We shall be fine.
Search
I look for you when I am alone
The only one who felt like home
.
Frantically, my panic has grown
Then I realize –
In everything,
In my very being,
you are shown
.
You are me and I am you
I am not alone
Every narcissist’s downfall…unending desire
Narcissists keep collecting a lot of bad karma/deeds in their life. Most of these deeds are done because of the desires that a narcissist has. Narcissist’s desires keep them unsatisfied and always in a state of unease. They cannot really surrender to life and the moment that is. They are always either playing a victim or hero about something in the past or they are projecting into the future, working towards a certain goal. Either way, the present moment is not satisfactory for them. They are never present.
The song below is a great warning to all narcissists. Informing them of their impending doom and grounding them to reality. It is a bit dark but a helpful warning to anyone who is too much into their ego.
Song and translation is given below. It is from a Pakistani drama OST. The drama is called ‘Wabaal’ which means – calamity, ruin, misfortune, crime, sin.
Meaning :
You are a crazy, wild and unwise person
About what small thing are you going to stir up drama now?
Stop taking this physical world so seriously
This wrestling (ego-fights in the world) are going to stop with as soon as you leave this world (when you die)
.
This desire is a whirlpool
There is no end to it
Desire is such a prayer
Which doesn’t satisfy ever
.
Getting your desires is not in your will
.
Human, o human
Don’t keep following your desires
Everything is God/Source/Consciousness
You are nothing
x2
.
If you listen to the heart’s desires,
it will tell you to get the Moon on the Earth.
And then you will want it’s glow
to be attached on your clothes.
.
If you want to swim
in the ocean of your desires,
Trade yourself for it
And forget your happiness
.
Don’t be in a relationship with only what your heart wants
Sometimes learn to surrender to what is happening
God/Source/Consciousness has given you so many blessings
Sometimes sit alone and count all of them
.
Desires are like conspiracies
They will ask you questions
They will make you sell yourself
And make you commit many sins/mistakes
.
Every minute, you will crave for peace (but you won’t get it)
It will make your life that absurd
.
This desire is a whirlpool
There is no end to it
Desire is such a prayer
Which doesn’t satisfy ever
.
Getting your desires is not in your will
.
Human, o human
Don’t keep following your desires
Everything is God/Source/Consciousness
You are nothing
x2
.
You are a crazy, wild and unwise person
About what small issue are you going to stir up drama now?
I saw my beloved in all I saw
Once a human does enough work on their spirituality and integrates all aspects of their broken psyche – they will start seeing some part of themselves being reflected in everyone. This feeling of oneness is precious. There is no other, all are one. In such a state of oneness, a person starts knowing everyone as a manifestation of the supreme beloved who is the creator, sustainer and destroyer of this reality that we all play a part in. It is a bliss to be in this state of oneness.
Here is a beautiful Kalaam (spiritual discourse) by Hazrat Shah Niyaz (Sufi poet) sung by the amazing Sufi singer Abida Parveen. This Kalaam discusses how a person who has experienced this kind of oneness will then see God/Creator/Beloved in every person whom they meet. My translation & interpretation of it is below the video.
Meaning :
I am needy person, who needs you
I will feel very dearly the sorrow for a beloved like you
You are the Sun; my eye is alight with your beauty
If I give you up, to whom can I go?
.
I saw my beloved in all I saw
At times revealed, hidden at times
.
At times a possibility, at times imperative
At times ephemeral, at times eternal
.
At times Creator was an emperor with an addiction of power and the throne
At other times, was seen as a beggar with a begging bowl in hands
.
At times in the form of a beautiful lover
Creator was showing charms and grace
.
At times a lover like Shah Niyaz Ahmad (poet’s name)
He was seen beating his chest in grief with a heart full of pain
.
At times revealed, hidden at times
I saw my beloved in all I saw
.
Top image is roof of Hafez’s tomb (Hāfezieh) located in Shiraz, Iran.
Union with the beloved
I am not an expert in Sufism, just a student of it. I once heard an interview of a Sufi Sheikh who said something to the effect of – “All of life is a coping mechanism before we meet the beloved (the creator) again”
To me, this statement hit really deep.
That is why many Sufi songs will refer to God as a lover or beloved. Here is one such beautiful song by a wonderful singer called Romy. The song is called ‘Sanu ik pal chain na aave’ (I cannot be satisfied for even one second). The original was made famous by the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Please find the lyrics and translation to the one sung by Romy below :
Lyrics and meaning :
.
Sanu ik pal chain na aave
I can’t find satisfaction even for a second
Sajna tere bina
Without you my love
Dil kamla dub dub jaave
My crazy heart keeps on sinking
Sajna tere bina
Without you my love
Sajna tere bina
Without you my love
.
Raati mein jalava diva
At night I burn the lamp
Hanjua de tel da
With my tears as the oil
Hayyo rabba, sanjana nu
Oh my God, my love –
Chheti kyun ni mel da
Why don’t you meet me quickly
.
Sanu ik pal chain na aave
I can’t find satisfaction even for a second
Sajna tere bina
Without you my love
Dil kamla dub dub jaave
My crazy heart keeps on sinking
Sajna tere bina
Without you my love
Sajna tere bina
Without you my love
Peace
Come lie next to me
And let me speak
Speak to your heart
what my heart feels.
.
It feels no pain
And no joy
No worry, excitement or fear
All that remains is peace
.
I am happy here
Finally my restless soul is at peace
God is the master artist
You create
I can only imitate.
You are the only one
Creating a masterpiece
every moment.
How is it possible
That your glory be denied?
How can someone
Be so far from the truth?
One sunset, one sunrise
Can change a life.
Here’s hoping
You continue being the artist
And I keep getting inspired
To imitate you.
When a monk dies
When a monk dies
What does he leave behind?
Only love
Only teachings
Only a way out
Of this world of illusions
.
When a monk dies
How does that make one feel?
Oprhaned
Abandoned
Alone
Reminding us that
It’s time to live the teachings
It’s time to grow up
.
Dedicated to Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022)
Only love remains
What remains after we are dead and gone
Only love
What is true in this world of illusions
Only love
Trauma heals and transmutes into forgiveness
In this lifetime or the next
But when love touches someone
It cannot be undone
It transforms and heals all that is unloved
And only love remains
.
.
.
Park benches which give testimony of such love :
