“… Within your home is the way … Turn your mind within and realize Universal Mind …” ~ Kabir
“Within Your Home” …
Such a simple “everyday” phrase … very mundane … and yet it offers the “rarest of the jewels” as Kabir says in yet another of his poems’ stanza: “… Die while alive, plunge within – You’ll win the rarest of jewels.”
Indeed, “within” is where the secret of our True Nature is revealed … as is also recounted in Ramana Maharshi’s own journey : his abiding awakening resulted from a spontaneously initiated self inquiry : “Enquiring within ‘Who is the seer?’ I saw the seer disappear leaving That alone which stands forever. …”
Kabir is one of India’s greatest mystic poet who was – like Rumi – immersed in the raw, direct, unfiltered connection with the Divine and did not believe in following (or belonging to) any religion … here’s what Andrew Harvey says about Kabir in the Introduction of his recent book: Engoldenment: A Year with Kabir: 366 Timeless Poems:
“… Kabir is India’s greatest mystic poet and, with Rumi, one of humanity’s two universal prophet poets. …
… It had taken me 40 years to dare to begin to translate him {Kabir} but the experience of living in him and with him crystalized and galvanized my soul. I recognized him as a revolutionary enlightened Lion of Truth, and his roar rearranged my life and being, filling me with courage to continue my work in this terrible time. At night under the stars, I would sing my translations to the silent fields around my cabin and the night air would suddenly shiver with light. The steady rapture of being infused by him has never left me.
When Covid struck and the world plunged into a global dark night of multiple interlinked crises in Marsh 2020, I was living in Chicago. In the macabre silence of lockdown I knew what I had to do—devote myself to translating more Kabir and put those translations into a year’s daily calendar of poems, so others could be fortified and ennobled by him as I had been and continue to be. I knew in my bones and cells what daily contact with Kabir’s radical blazing nakedness could effect and I wanted lovers of the divine everywhere to receive from him the initiation I had. …”
So, we offer a brief sampling of Kabir’s radical nakedness … through one of Andrew’s translations (from his above mentioned book) where Kabir shares the gift of what lies “within” … if one is willing to undertake that journey …
Within Your Home …
Friend, I love and admire
The one who brings you home.
Joy is within your home,
Union is within your home.
Don’t give up home
To run into the forest.
If cravings batter your mind
In the desert
Where will you find shelter?
Within your home is the way,
Within your house is liberation.
Let the Name reveal
The unseen truth within.
Turn your mind within
And realize Universal Mind.
Within your home
Lies the hidden treasure.
You won’t find it anywhere else.
Listen, friend, says Kabir,
Reach that home in your home
From where you came.
~~ Kabir
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As we find the gift within our home, let us also remember to help those in extreme need … so they, in turn, can find this gift within … and to that end we highlight two “hubs” of giving:
1) Direct Relief, which is “… a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries …”
2) Go Fund Me : Here’s their very comprehensive map for Fundraising for Coronavirus Relief: How You Can Help the Fight.
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We are all facing financial challenges but IF your situation allows you to donate and help then please do so …
THANK YOU!
May you find – and embrace- the gift “within your home” … and …
May you remain safe and healthy as you navigate these unsettling times.
All italicized text (including in the blockquotes) is from: Engoldenment: A Year with Kabir: 366 Timeless Poems by Andrew Harvey.
Images: (edited and logo added): Featured and 1) Mountain lake reflection, Dolomites, Passo Giau by TTstudio, 2) Engoldenment book cover image from its Amazon page, 3) Light room by peshkova. All purchased from depositphotos, for use only on our. All purchased from depositphotos, for use only on our website/social channels (these images are not permitted to be shared separate from this post).
