Hafiz Is in the House!

A friend's email prompted me to make something very clear right from the get-go: I don't claim to be 'enlightened', 'Self-realized', fully 'illumined', or any in any other state that would suggest that I am any different than anyone reading this blog. I'm just an ordinary cat with some time on my hands. But, by the same token, I know that the Self (God) exists in me just as much as the Self exists in you, and vice-versa. In the Bible, you'll find it stated this way: "God is in everything he is and does." Baba Muktananda, a siddha from India, states it this way: "God dwells within you as you." I bet every tradition has their own way of stating this truth. The important thing is that it is the 'truth'. What we are searching for is closer than we could ever imagine!

Think of Shiva, part of the Hindu trinity of gods. In their tradition he is the Creator, Sustainer, Destroyer, Concealer, and the Bestower of Grace. This means that he creates everything, keeps it around for as long as he wants, and then destroys it. At any given time he could decide to conceal himself (i.e. so that you think he 'God' doesn't exist), but then it is he that bestows the grace to help you find him within yourself again. (Again, this is speaking in Hindu tradition terms. If you would like to have a better understanding of what I am talking about, please click the 'link' button below for a glossary of terms found on the Siddha Yoga website.)

I'm writing about such metaphysical things because I would like the readers to know where I'm coming from. My intention for this blog is that I can share with you my experiences of finding the Self (Bliss, God, etc...) within--including when 'he's' concealed. There are times in life when I feel like I'm losing faith, and it's at those times that I thank god that I have the tools to pick myself out of the quagmire. It's the 'awareness' that we feel like we're losing faith that will once again help us find our true, innate happiness.

Hafiz, a great Persian poet from the fourteenth century, has a very humorous poem that illustrate the longing for God that overtakes a devotee's heart. It's a terrific poem to read when you feel as if you are losing faith:

You Better Start Kissing Me

Throw away
All your begging bowls at God's door,

For I have heard the Beloved
Prefers sweet threatening shouts,

Something in the order of;

"Hey, Beloved,
My heart is a raging volcano
Of love for you!

You better start kissing me--
Or else!"


I love that poem! It's a rendering by Daniel Landinsky found in the book I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz. See, happiness doesn't come to those who sit around and wait for it to happen. Happiness has to be cultivated and (sometimes) strived for. Sometimes it even has to be demanded! You will find it again. Nothing is ever lost; happiness is innate to your human body. It belongs to you. When it's concealed, try to find it.

Love and Blessings.

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