Javed Chaudry on Pakistani Politicians

Quite angry and sad at the present state of affairs in Pakistan. It seems that the politicians are up to their old games yet again. Do these people ever learn I ask myself?  Their lack of vision, indecisiveness, putting personal interests before that of the country and political blunders is what makes many except the dictators when they come marching in. People feel relieved despite the evils of dictatorship.

Anyway, here’s a very recent article by Javed Chaudry which relating to the “deadlock” on the Judicial crisis. JC is an excellent columnist and one of my favorites.

 

Union and Separation- Part 2

Separation is the most precious gift bestowed by the Beloved. The times of separation are times when great characters are formed. It is in these times that the inner man is woken, hidden and latent qualities and capabilities are brought forth. The remembrance of the Beloved keeps man awake at night and this waking causes treasures to be bestowed on man. The night of longing, of inner sorrow is the night of acquaintance with the Self. Man’s tears write a great destiny for him. The one who stays awake will never know misfortune.

The one who cries out of love is set free from the worries of the world. The prostration of love frees one from a thousand other prostrations………..Separation is not a loss. It is a trust which is only given to those deemed worthy, a trust which the mountains, the heavens and the earth refused to carry… that trust is a gift to the human heart from God. Love is not a treasure attained through knowledge or intellect. A bat does not possoess the heart of a moth, this is a special grace from God. For He is Beauty Itself and the story of love is nothing but the story of separation from Him.

In short, all are manifestations of the Beloved. If the Beloved is in vision it is the season of union and days of spring. If the Beloved in the heart, it is the season of separation and the days of “another” spring. In this spring of separation pearls are created and fresh flowers brought forth. This world is the valley of separation and the place of ardent longing. After this……after these manifestations of the Self (Dhat) there is the vision of the Self Itself. After this vision there is only the Self….neither why nor where….no blink of eyes….no place for heartbeats….absorption in Beauty….dumbfoundedness in the face of Splendour…no complaint of the difficulties of the journey….no awareness of ancient separations….knowledge neither of being or non-being. Union is only absorption!

Separation is intoxication. It is a river of tears in the desert of remembrance from which seekers fill goblets of the eternal wine whereby they die everyday and are brought to life everyday. The important truth is the bond with the Beloved…tis neither nearness nor distance.

Wasif Ali Wasif.

 

Aziz Mian- Aasmaan Se Utara Gaya

Aziz Mian was probably the first qawwal I ever heard as a child. Although I doubt whether I understood much but I loved his qawwalis nevertheless. This qawwali shows how carefully he selected his verses and how profound in meaning they in fact were. Aziz Mian loved to play around with words and meanings and this certainly shows him at his best. Listen and enjoy.

 

Brief Video of Golra Sharif

The late singer of sufi poetry Inayat Hussain Bhatti appears and sings a rubai of Hz Sayyid Mehr Ali Shah (ra). Although it is a short video you still get to see the tomb, mosque and guesthouse of the khaneqah of Golra sharif. The rubai that Inayat Bhatti sings is in Potohari which was Hazrat’s mother tongue and means:

Be! and it is (act of creation) is matter of yesterday (ie of the near past)

our love ( for God) began long before that

there was neither I nor you, no word nor symbol

when the M (ie The Prophet Muhammad, PBUH) bore witness

O Mehr Ali Shah, they (Creator and creation) only sat together

when they both felt the pangs of Love.

 

Hamza Yusuf on TV, Truth and Technomania

Interesting discussion of these issues by Sh. Hamza Yusuf. Excerpt:

HY: Yes. Modern technology dehumanizes by its nature, because it is based on massification (a computer in every home). Everyone is reduced to sitting around looking at blinking cathode rays on a screen. There is no human exchange anymore; people just send e-mail. People get nervous if you start talking like this because most Muslims are really embarrassed by the simplicity of the Prophet’s (pbuh) life. Many don’t want to admit that he lived in a house devoid of furniture; that he sewed his own shoes and collected firewood. The Prophet (pbuh) wasn’t interested in improving that aspect of his life.

Improving ones standard of living has become an idol whereas I think Islam lowers your standard of living. You become content with less. When the Prophet’s (pbuh) wife put a cushion in his bed he got upset. He consciously lowered his standard of living.

The truth is the whole world can’t support a bunch of consumers. Western technology is based on the exploitation of the other 90 percent of the world. All our wonderful technological achievements are based on the rest of the world living in abject poverty. Through enjoying the fruits of Western technology, we are in fact participating in the destruction of indigenous cultures all over the world and the impoverishment of those people.

Read the full interview here.

 

Lest We Forget Palestine

A chilling documentary on the present state of affairs in Gaza. When people are forced to live in inhuman conditions will their humanity not suffer? If it does ( and it surely does) then they are not the only ones to suffer the consequences. See it for yourself here.

 

Eid Today

Eid Mubarak and best wishes to all of you!