Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Muslim / Sufi 13th Century	About Mahmud Shabistari Timeline (1250? - 1340)
<<Previous Poem | View All Poems by Mahmud Shabistari | Next Poem >>
English version by Florence Lederer Original Language Persian/Farsi	Reason (from The Secret Rose Garden)
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Light   Sun         Recommended Books Beyond Faith and Infidelity: The Sufi Poetry and Teachings of Mahmud Shabistari, Edited by Leonard Lewisohn Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from the Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut The Secret Rose Garden: Mahmud Shabistari, Translated by Florence Lederer / Edited by David Fideler	Let reason go. For His light burns reason up from head to foot. If you wish to see that Face, seek another eye. The philosopher with his two eyes sees double, so is unable to see the unity of the Truth. As His light burns up the angels, even so does it consume reason. As the light of our eyes is to the sun, so is the light of reason to the Light of Lights.     -- from The Secret Rose Garden: Mahmud Shabistari, Translated by Florence Lederer / Edited by David Fideler Amazon.com
<<Previous Poem | View More Poems by Mahmud Shabistari | Next Poem >>

Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Shabistari is telling us a couple of surprising things in these verses, evoking words of light, sight, reason, and Truth.

We can't see "the Face" (of God) with the eyes of reason. The philosopher who seeks to understand the nature of reality with reason "sees double" with "two eyes." In other words, the logical mind is dualistic. It cannot see beyond the multiplicity of material existence. Even in its most elevated theorizing, it is still limited by its concepts which are, by definition, segmented parcels of reality. The Face, however, is the wholeness of that reality, and beyond the reasoning mind's grasp.

Reason is a powerful tool, but it only sees certain things and from a certain perspective. To see the Face, we must go beyond the double vision of reason and "seek another eye." We must discover the eye that is single, one that is able "to see the unity of the Truth."

Shabistari keeps returning us to a vision of light that burns up everything. It "burns reason up from head to foot." It even "burns up the angels." What is this "Light of Lights" the consumes everything within itself?

Light is often used in sacred language and poetry to suggests intelligence, awareness, consciousness. There is a "light of reason," but it is minescule compared to the "Light of Lights." For genuine mystics, this light is not a mere concept; it is directly experienced.

This sense of light is more than a brightness one might experience on a sunny afternoon. This light is perceived as being a living radiance that permeates everything, everywhere, always. This light is immediately understood to be the true source of all things, the foundation on which the physicality of the material world is built.

The sense of boundaries and separation, long taken for granted by the mind as the fundamental nature of existence, suddenly seems illusory, for this light shines through all people and things. It has no edges, and the light of one is the light of another. Everything "burns up" in the light

This light is the vision of the "unity of Truth." It is "that Face." Beyond limited concepts, the mind can only stop and stare in wonder, it's reason burned "from head to foot."

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.