THE DEATH OF SOCRATES

When Socrates lay close to death, a youth-
Who was his student in the search for truth-
Said: "Master, when we've washed the man we knew
And brought your shroud, where should we bury you?"
He said: "If you can find me when I've died,
Then bury me wherever you decide-
I never found myself; I cannot see
How when I'm dead you could discover me.
Throughout my life not one small particle
Had any knowledge of itself at all!"'

                                            ATTAR

GABRIEL AND THE UNBELIEVER

One night in paradise good Gabriel heard
The Lord say: "I am here" and at His word
The came another voice which wept and prayed -
"Who knows whose voice this is?" the angel said,
"It comes from one, of this at least I'm sure,
Who has subdued the self, whose heart is pure."
But no one in the heavens knew the man,
And Gabriel swooped toward the earth to scan
The deserts, sea and mountains- far and wide
He searched, without success, until he cried
For God to lead his steps. "Seek him in Rome,"
God said. "A pagan temple is his home."
A worthless idol ruled his hopes and fears.
Astonished, Gabriel turned and said: "Tell me,
Dear Lord, the meaning of this mystery;
You answer with your kindness one who prays
Before a senseless idol all his days!"
And God replied: "He does not know our Way;
Mere ignorance has led this man astray-
I understand the cause of his disgrace
And will not coldly turn aside My face;
I shall admit him to My sanctuary
Where kindness will convert his blasphemy";

                                                                 ATTAR

THE STORY OF KING MAHMOUD AND THE WOODCUTTER

King Mahmoud went out hunting. In the chase
His courtiers flagged, unequal to the pace.
An old man led a donkey whose high load
Of brushwood slipped and fell into the road.
The old man scratched his head; the king came near
And said: "Do you need help?" "I  do, that's clear,"
The old man said; "if you could lend a hand,
You won't lose much. I see that you command
Your share of grace- such men are always good."
The king got down and helped him with the wood,
His flower-like hands embraced the thorns; and then
He rode back to his waiting lord again.
He said to them: "An old man will appear,
Riding a piled-high donkey- lead him here;
Block all the paths and highways to this place;
I want him to confront me face to face."
The winding roads were blocked up in a ring,
Of which the center was the waiting king.
The old man mumbled as he rode alone:
"Why won't he go...this donkey's skin and bone.
Soldiers!...Good day, my lord!" and still the way
Led pitilessly on; to his dismay
There rose ahead a royal canopy,
And there was no escape that he could see.
He rode, for there was nothing else to do
And found awaiting him a face he knew.
"I made a king hump wood for me," he cried;
"God help all sinners now, I'm terrified."
"What troubles you, my man?" inquired the king.
"Don't play with me, you took in everything,"
The old man said; "I'm just a wretched fool
who day and night must scour the plain for fuel;
I sell the thorns I get and buy dry bread-
Give me some scraps, and blessings on your head."
The king replied: "Old man, I'll buy your wood-
Come name a price you think is fair and good."
"My lord, such wood cannot be cheaply sold;
It's worth, I reckon, ten full bags of gold."
The courtiers laughed: "It's worth two barley grains.
Shut up and sell, and thank you for your pains."
"Two grains, my friends, that's true- but this rare buyer
Can surely manage something rather higher?
A great one touched these thorns- his hand brought forth
A hundred flowers; just think what that is worth!
A dinnar buys one root- a little gain
Is only right, I've had my share of pain;
The wood itself is worthless, I agree-
It is that touch which gives it dignity"'

                                                       ATTAR

PROCESS OF BEING GUIDED IN "THE MASTER AND THE DISCIPLE"

....The Knower answered: Surely God did not created the (human) creatures as fully grown men
and as (divine) knowers. He only created them as infants, small and ignorant, not knowing anything,
so that they only become big after having been small, and only come to be knowing after they were
ignorant. Thus their smallness is a precondition for their becoming big and their ignorance is a sign
pointing toward knowledge. The same is true of (spiritual) knowledge: One can only attain its essence
on the basis of preceding, lower form of knowledge which hearts can more quickly assimilate and the
understanding can more easily grasp, so that the first stage (of that process of spiritual growth) is
established in (people's) minds and they are humbled enough to carry out the duties (required by that),
and so that their hearts come to open up to the essence (of that knowledge) and their intellect are
able to bear its goal. That is God's accustomed way regarding His servants, So it is not necessary for us
to depart from the opinions of (this) religious community, nor do we need to follow other than (His)
accustomed way in our process of being guided........

 (From JA'FAR B. MANSUR AL-YAMAN  "Kitab al- Alim wa'l-ghulam" Edited and Translated
by James W. Morris)

SAYINGS OF KAHLIL GIBRAN

-It was but yesterday I thought mt self a fragment quivering
  without rhythm in the sphere of life.
  Now I know that I am the sphere, and all life in rhythmic
  fragments moves within me.


-They say to me in their awakening, "You and the world you
  live in are but a grain of sand upon the infinite shore of an
  infinite sea."
  And in my dream I say to them, "I am the infinite sea, and
  all worlds are but grain of sand upon my shore."


-When God threw me, a pebble, into this wondrous lake
  I disturbed its surface with countless circles.
  But when I reached the depth I became very still.


-Once I knew a man whose ears were exceedingly keen,
but he was dumb. He had lost his tongue in a battle.
I knew now what battles that man fought before the great
silence came. I am glad he is dead.
The world is not large enough for two of us.


-Remembrance is a form of meeting.


-We measure time according to the countless movement of
 countless suns; and they measure time by little machines in
 their little pockets.
 Now tell me, how could we ever meet at the same place
 and the same time?

KAHLIL GIBRAN (1883-1931)

Kahlil Gibran was a poet, philosopher and artist. He was born in Lebanon.
The millions of Arabic speaking people are familiar with his writings in
Arabic language. His poetries have been translated into more than twenty
languages. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in the great capitals
of the world. In United States, which he made his home during last twenty years
of his life, he began to write in English. "The Prophet" and other books on his
poetries are loved by many Americans and seen as expression of reflecting
inside of human mind and soul. His message was Universal and reflects
fundamentals of all pure souls regardless of from which religion they belong.
Some of the treasures by Kahlil Gibran are, The Prophet, Prose Poems,
The Tear and a Smile, Jesus the son of man, Sand and Foam, The forerunner,
The Madman, The Earth Gods, and Spirits Rebellious ect. Today Kahlil Gibran
is not among us but, his words still light ups our mind and soul.

       "I came to say a word and I shall say it now. But if death prevents me,
         it will be said by Tomorrow, for Tomorrow never leaves a secret in
         the book of Eternity.
               I came to live in the glory of Love and the light of Beauty, which
         are the reflections of God. I am here, living, and I cannot be exited
         from the domain of life, for through my living word I will live in death.
               I came here to be for all and with all, and what I do today in my
         solitude will be echoed Tomorrow by the multitude.
                What I say now with one heart will be said Tomorrow by thousands
          of hearts."

                                                                                   KAHLIL GIBRAN

THE ALLEGORY OF THE SHIP

The allegory of ship in al-Kindi's "Treatise on the Device for Driving Away Sorrows" makes the broad point that all possessions, not merely superfluous ones, cause sorrow and threaten to harm us. Our passage through this world of destruction, al-Kindi says, is like that of people embarked upon a ship "to a goal, their own resting- place, that they  are intent upon." When the ship stops so that the passengers may attend to their needs, some do so quickly and return to wide, commodious seats. Others-who also tend quickly to their needs but pause to gaze upon the beautiful surrounding sights and enjoy the delightful aromas-return to narrower, less comfortable seats. Yet others-who tend to their needs but collect various objects along the way-find only cramped seating and are greatly discomforted by the objects they have gathered. Finally, others wander far off from the ship, so immersed in the surrounding natural beauty and the objects to be collected that they forget their present need and even the purpose of the voyage.Of these, those who hear
the ship's captain call and return before it sails, find terribly uncomfortable quarters. Others wander so far away that they never hear the captain's call and, left behind, perish in horrible ways. Those who returned to the ship burdened with objects suffer so, due to their cramped quarters, the stench of their decaying possessions, and the effort they expend in caring for them, that most become sick and some even die. Only
the first two groups arrive safely, though those in the second group are somewhat ill at ease due to their more narrow seats.

For al-Kindi, those passengers who endanger themselves and others by their quest for possessions are like the unjust we encounter in daily life. Conversely, the just must be those who attend to their needs or business quickly and do not permit themselves to become burdened with acquisitions or even to be side-tracked into momentary pleasures.

The passengers are all bound for their homeland, but it is not clear where they are heading. At one point, al-Kindi claims that we are going to "the true world" and at another that the ship is supposed to bring us to "our true homelands." There is no doubt, however, that whether the destination be one or many, it can be reached only by acquiring the habits that eschew material possessions.

AL-KINDI

Ref: Great Thinkers Of The Eastern World