The Guardians of Beauty

By Hafiz

"We are the guardians of His Beauty 
We are the protectors
Of the Sun.

There is only one reason
We have followed God into this world:
To encourage laughter, freedom, dance
And love.

Let a noble cry inside of you speak to me
Saying, "Hafiz,
Don't just sit there on the moon tonight
Doing nothing -

Help unfurl my heart into the Friend's Mind,
Help, Old Man, to heal my wounded wings!"
We are the companions of His Beauty
We are the guardians
Of Truth.

Every man, plant and creature in Existence,
Every woman, child, vein and note
Is a servant of our Beloved -

A harbinger of joy,
The harbinger of
Light."  

Agony and Ecstacy

I am deeply connected and indebted to the great Sufi masters like Rumi and Hafiz. In watching a documentary on Rumi recently,  he was spoken of as a man who was missed by all religions as he helped Christians understand Jesus, Jews understand Moses and Muslims understand Muhammad. He spoke in the language of the heart and we can all understand the longing of lovers for their beloved.  Rumi's death was called his wedding night, when he finally consummated his heart's deep desire and his soul's journey on earth.

The Agony and Ecstasy of Divine Discontent:
The Moods of Rumi

In the orchard and rose garden

I long to see your face.

In the taste of Sweetness

I long to kiss your lips.

In the shadows of passion

I long for your love.

Oh! Supreme Lover!

Let me leave aside my worries.

The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.

By Allah!

I long to escape the prison of my ego

and lose myself
in the mountains and the desert.

These sad and lonely people tire me.

I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your love
and feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I’m sick of mortal kings.

I long to see your light.

With lamps in hand
the sheiks and mullahs roam
the dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,

The intoxication of Love.

I long to sing your praises
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.

Rabia of Basra

Rabia lived in the 8th century in Basra, Persia. After a life of slavery and and deep suffering, she became a Sufi mystic and poet focusing her life and devotion on serving her true Beloved.


She was once asked how she attained such an enlightened state of being. She explained that she lived and served in the temple of her heart and that she took refuge in God. Here are some of her

beautiful poems filled with longing for Divine Love.

"Brothers, my peace is in my aloneness.
My Beloved is alone with me there, always.
I have found nothing in all the worlds
That could match His love,
This love that harrows the sands of my desert.
If I come to die of desire
And my Beloved is still not satisfied,
I would live in eternal despair.

To abandon all that He has fashioned
And hold in the palm of my hand
Certain proof that He loves me---
That is the name and the goal of my search."

___________________________________

"In love, nothing exists between heart and heart.
Speech is born out of longing,
True description from the real taste.
The one who tastes, knows;
the one who explains, lies.
How can you describe the true form of Something
In whose presence you are blotted out?
And in whose being you still exist?
And who lives as a sign for your journey? "