Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Christian : Catholic 16th Century	About John of the Cross Timeline (1542 - 1591)
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English version by Ivan Granger Original Language Spanish	The Sum of Perfection
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Lover and Beloved           Recommended Books All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, by Robert Ellsberg Ascent of Mount Carmel: St. John of the Cross, by John of the Cross / Translated by Henry L. Carrigan Jr. A Bilingual Edition of Poems By ST. John of the Cross; Spiritual Songs and Ballads., by John of the Cross / Translated by Kenneth Canatsey Collected Works of St. John of the Cross: St. John of the Cross, Edited by Kieran Kavanaugh Dark Night of the Soul, by John of the Cross / Translated by Mirabai Starr More >>	Creation forgotten, Creator only known, Attention turned inward In love with the Beloved alone.
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Where else is the mystic path stated so succinctly yet so blissfully? These four lines by St. John of the Cross contain all the instructions necessary.

The parallels with -- and probable influence of -- Sufi mysticism are obvious, with the poem's reference to God as the Beloved. (We must remember the rich Islamic influence in Spain. When the southern part of the peninsula was controlled by the Muslim Moors, it was the center of philosophy, mysticism, and science throughout the Mediterranean world. This certainly touched the spirituality of subsequent Spanish mystics like John of the Cross.)

But, this poem could just as well be entitled The Sum of Yoga. Compare this brief verse with the eight limbs of Yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: discipline, restraint, posture, breath control, sense-withdrawal, concentration, meditation, ecstasy. When you read this verse by John of the Cross with attention, you will see essentially the same path contained within it.

"Creation forgotten... Attention turned inward" To forget creation is the heart of self-restraint and concentration. Instead, the awareness turns inward, the senses are withdrawn. St. John of the Cross is reminding us to drop all attachment to the constant activity and sensory input of phenomenal reality, of manifest creation.

Doing this, creation is seen as having no fundamental reality of its own; it is only an expression or emanation of God. It is like watching a movie. The movie may seem real while we are caught up in the story, but if we pause, look around the auditorium, we can see that the movie is actually streaming through the darkness in a funnel of light. It's source is really the projector.

"Creator only known." Remembering this on every level, one is only aware of the Creator. Creation itself then becomes simply a reflection of the Divine. Knowing only the Creator, the Divine fills all of perception -- that is true meditation.

Seeing through the insubstantial nature of mundane reality, one is filled with ecstatic, uncontainable love and bliss. This is not a surface happiness directed at exterior objects or people, but for all of creation and, more fundamentally, for the life that brings that creation into existence. "In love with the Beloved alone."


The original Spanish verse has a fluid, chant-like rhythm that's difficult to reproduce in English translation:

Olvido de lo criado,
memoria del Criador,
atencion a lo interior
y estarse amando al Amado.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.