If you do not give up the crowds

by Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

English version by Vraje Abramian
Original Language Persian/Farsi

If you do not give up the crowds
you won't find your way to Oneness.
If you do not drop your self
you won't find your true worth.
If you do not offer all you
have to the Beloved,
you will live this life free of that
pain which makes it worth living.

-- from Nobody, Son of Nobody: Poems of Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir, Translated by Vraje Abramian

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This is the proper attitude that leads to mystical union. In order to "find your way to Oneness," you can't follow the path of the mass of people or hope to fit in. Is anyone around you attaining That? If not, don't follow their example!

For the awareness to know the true Self, it must relinquish the little self. You must "drop your self" -- drop the ego in order to know your true divine worth.

The final line of this poem might seem confusing. Why wouldn't you want to be free from pain?

In the language of some of the Sufi poets, the all-consuming love for God is described as sweet pain, a deeply aching yearning that turns the entire awareness toward God. It gives orientation to the soul and meaning to life. It is that pain that leads to true joy.



Recommended Books: Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology) This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry Nobody, Son of Nobody: Poems of Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir Love's Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition
More Books >>



If you do not give