Nov 25 2024
Ansari – Give Me
Give Me
by Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
English version by Andrew Harvey
O Lord, give me a heart
I can pour out in thanksgiving.
Give me life
So I can spend it
Working for the salvation of the world.
— from Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut
/ Image by Cristian Bernal /
Something for us today as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, a contemplation of heart and service and true thanksgiving.
There is something so simple and profound… and universal in this prayer-poem. These words were given to us by a devout Muslim Sufi, but they could as well have been spoken by a Hindu satyagrahi, a Catholic liberation theologian, a Buddhist peace worker, a Protestant homeless advocate, or any sincere soul striving to awaken the Divine within themself and the world.
Notice that Sheikh Ansari gives us two parallel statements, and they balance each other.
The first statement–
O Lord, give me a heart
I can pour out in thanksgiving.
–addresses our interior state. It is a prayer that we are “given” a heart, or that we may recognize our heart, awakening it. It is a prayer of centering, of coming to know the center of one’s being… and allowing that self to flow.
That flow naturally expresses itself through gratitude, thanksgiving. The flow of the heart is a gift we pour out into the world. It is the offering of one’s self.
So, first he asks for self-recognition, centering, and a gratitude which can be shared with the world.
Next–
Give me life
So I can spend it
Working for the salvation of the world.
–the poet turns that awareness outward through action. He requests life, but not for selfish reasons, not because he thinks is only that earthly life; he asks for life that he may be of service.
Now, that phrase “working for the salvation of the world,” may make some of us cringe. The term “salvation” has been abducted by rigid religious literalists, equating salvation with subscribing to their specific belief systems. But, despite what is thundered from the pulpits and the minbars, salvation has little to do with belief or which group one joins. It is about healing, the easing of pain, the renewal of hope, and a deepening relationship with truth. On a social level, this is best expressed through selfless, nonjudgmental service. On the spiritual level, working for salvation is about humbly peeling away the obstructions that keep individuals and the world as a whole from recognizing their inherent beauty and heavenly potential.
On a certain level, service in the world is a sort of religious ritual, an outward enactment of an inner process. We may help one person or a hundred or a thousand, but suffering continues in the world. The numbers game leads to discouragement. But with each kind act, small or large, we give away a little more ego, we open our eyes a little more, we feel a little more connected, and more and more we come to discover that serene, heavenly Self at rest within.
Ansari seems to be saying to us, when we discover beauty within, it naturally flows out of us into the world. And when we pour ourselves out for the healing of the world, we find wholeness within.
Recommended Books: Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
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Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
Afghanistan (1006 – 1088) Timeline |
Sheikh Khwaja Abdullah Ansari was born in Herat, in western Afghanistan. Although his father was a shopkeeper, Ansari was well educated in traditional subjects, such as law and hadith, as well as becoming a revered authority on Islamic mysticism and philosophy. He shunned the company of the wealthy and powerful in favor of sharing his wisdom among the common people. His writings and collected sayings continue to inspire Sufis and seekers today. Sheikh Ansari’s tomb in Herat is a place of pilgrimage for thousands of Sufis and the faithful every year.
Thank You, Ivan, of course I loved Ansari’s poem – and the Thought for the Day,
‘Religion that does not inspire outward compassion and inward awakening is not
religion’ – so true.