Shah Latif `s Poetry (Translated In Verse By: Elsa Kazi) Asa-V (Hope)

1
In Infinitude I ross,O guide no bound perceive mine eyesTortuous beauty of the Loved,Has no limit, has no size-Here intensive longing lies,There the Loved-ones do not care!
2
Cursed be duality, Beloved,From 'Self' do shelter me-O, hold the 'I' near thee,But thou canst reach 'thyself', O master.
3
But thou canst reach 'thyself' master;Nothing but Beauty is;O doubter, couldst thou doubt dismiss,There's no Idea then left.-
4
Beloved, hold the 'I' near thee;All self concern I've cast from me;Protector mine, with dualityI wasted far too many days!
5
That is real dualism, whenNon-dualist yourself you call;Be shorn of separateness, and 'Ego' let not thy soul enthral;For 'this', doth not exist at all;And 'that' not known is without 'this'.
6
'That' is not known without 'this', andFrom 'this', 'that' doth not separate stand;"Human my secret is, and IAm his, that thou must understand"-This voice did spound from end to end,By seers, and the knowing ones.
7
No one who loaded is with 'Self';The other side will see,For God is one, and Oneness loves;So spurn duality;And all thy anxious tears "to be",Shed at altar of unity.
8
The servant too has no beginning,And no end shall see-Who the Beloved found, shall beAbsorbed for ever there.
9
Everyone knows where he is I know not where I stand;Guides and books there many are,And they are close at hand-But I, do seek the distant landWhere 'yes' and 'no'are not.
10
'Yes' and 'no', still within reachOf earthly idea are;But beyond all vision farIs the Beauty that I seek.
11
Sometime or other, beauteous formsWill be overwhelming thee;But falcon of Reality,Let not heedlessly escape.
12
The sensuous beauty thrashed me soAs carders cotton beat;And now my hands are obsolete,My body's paralysed.
13
Confound thy senses, and renounceThy 'Self'...Him-knowing be;To recognize the Loved-one, dropThy personality;And then coarse multiplicityWith unity destroy-
II
14
The Loved-one bound me-Threw me into waters deep;And said: "Now dry do keep,And getting wet avoid."
15
One that is into water thrownFrom getting wet, how could be free?Enlightened one, this mysteryHow I might solve it, say-
16
"Rely on contemplation, butOf law neither neglectful be...Your heart get used to RealityWhich is your Destiny to see;Be resolute, and verilyYou'll be immune from getting wet."
17
Ah, Reality broke myExistence, so that I;Can no more breathe without it,In its presence high;My soul suffused doth lie,Exclusive of all else.-
18
Be silent- do not move your lips;Your eyes do close, your hearing stay...Drink not your fill, and at your mealsWhen still half hungry, turn away-And then a glimpse enjoy you mayOf image that your mind's depth holds.-
19
Would of the august secretI divulge one whit-Trees would burn up,-unfitFor growth all earth would be.-
III
20
Let your eyes an offering beFor Loved-one ere you break your fast;Sumptuous dishes serventyYou'll get by seeing Loved-ones face.-
21
If my eyes at rise for otherSight than the Beloved care-From their sockets I will tearMy eyes as morsels for the crows.-
22
Facial phenomenalistsDo not try to see with those,Longing gapings with those eyesNever Loved-ones features shows-Only when both eyes you closeThe Beloved you will see.
23
Dwell in mine eyes Beloved fairThat I can close them now;No one may ever see you thereAnd I nought else shall see.
24
Acquire eyes that able areto visualize Beloved's face;Not then at any other gazeLoved-ones are very sensitive.
25
About dead Elephant amongstthe blind arose parley-They handled it all over, butBlind eyes could nought convey-Decisive word can say-The 'seers' only can displayThe genuine truth of things.-
26
The sense of wonder doth not dwellWithin the vulgar mind-Secret of Love to trace and findIs no task for the blind.-
27
For whom so anxiously we pine,We ourselves are those;O doubt, be gone with all your woesFor Loved-ones we have found.-
28
Eyes weep and yet rejoice each dayto look and to adore-The more they see loved-ones, the moredrunk they with love do get.
29
The more I prohibited eyesto look, the more they longed;They crossed the sleeping world, to findloved-one at any price-They killed me ah...but in this wisepeace for themselves secured.-
30
Relationship with the 'visible',In no case do desire-Why not you for the real enquireand set out, seeking that?
31
Hear, and take note, that you yourselfare 'barrier', and what isBetween the union and its blissIs nothing but yourself.
32
The love wants that love's secretalone his own shall be;-But eyes that flow continuoslyand sinking heart;...betray.-
IV
33
Corrupt ones can corrupt, whose loveIs very weak, indeed-But whom love has consumed, succeedthey can't for he the vile one slew.-
34
When praying, think not of yourself,Or prayers are in vain;All thinking of yourself restrainDrop self, and then do pray.-
35
You profess to be a 'faithful'Holy maxims you recite...But your heart deceit is hidingDuality-satanic spite-Faithful outward, you delightin idolate'rise inside.-
36
Seek not the form of one that your'Beloved' you do call,As conversation not at allcan happen face to face.-
37
Converse you hold when cross you areCan never loved-one reachSome mischief monger longs to maryour heart, and spoil your love.
38
For to be cross is not the way;two stones, can they unite?'tis love that doth the cosmos sway-through love alone it lives.-
39
Each claims to be on right path here;But I have lost myself-Desiring and acquiring areSo very, very near-I set my mind on distant spherewhere 'yes' and 'no' are not.
40
Demerits world decries, loved-oneat so-called merits cross would be-My deeds, I mentioned with my tonguenow all undone in dust I see.-Then I discounted all my deeds,which once I thought were charity,An embassage I sent of shame;Regrets and deep humanity,But oh...my love made up with me only when 'I' had disappeared.-
41
Whose body is a rosary,the mind a bead, a harp the heart.Love-strings are playing there the themeof unity in every part;The nerves do chant: "There's none like thee;the 'One' and only one thou art.-E'en sleeping beauty they impart,their very sleep their worship is!

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