Kahlil Gibran, the Arab mystic poet, has been one of the most profound influenzes upon my life.
He wrote about longing and belonging, of the pain and suffering of existence, and of love.
He knew that there was a being inside Man that rode the skies with the angels, but that there was also a beast inside of him that was not yet human. And he loved all three of them.
In my days of madness, I would find refuge in the utterences of his 'Madman' and find solace. I can now see that those who understand us, enslave something in us.
In Love, I drew her to me with his words, and her gibberish made me laugh.
He taught me to be at peace with my solitude, and I could finally come to see my place on the earth.
Cautioned me not to measure the strength of the ocean by the fraility of its foam.
He suggested that to see faces, one has to learn to look beneath the fabric that one's own eyes had woven, and behold the reality beneath. I have since come to realize that its a cruel thing to deny people of their deceptions, to try to see the man beneath the mask. I know, now, that the mask is the man.
Bread baked without love feeds but half a man's hunger, and I have tried to be brave enough that my work might indeed be love made visible.
Too bad, he didn't have armies spreading his word. The World would've been so much a better place.
He wrote about longing and belonging, of the pain and suffering of existence, and of love.
He knew that there was a being inside Man that rode the skies with the angels, but that there was also a beast inside of him that was not yet human. And he loved all three of them.
In my days of madness, I would find refuge in the utterences of his 'Madman' and find solace. I can now see that those who understand us, enslave something in us.
In Love, I drew her to me with his words, and her gibberish made me laugh.
He taught me to be at peace with my solitude, and I could finally come to see my place on the earth.
Cautioned me not to measure the strength of the ocean by the fraility of its foam.
He suggested that to see faces, one has to learn to look beneath the fabric that one's own eyes had woven, and behold the reality beneath. I have since come to realize that its a cruel thing to deny people of their deceptions, to try to see the man beneath the mask. I know, now, that the mask is the man.
Bread baked without love feeds but half a man's hunger, and I have tried to be brave enough that my work might indeed be love made visible.
Too bad, he didn't have armies spreading his word. The World would've been so much a better place.
Those sure are lines that make you think. I must read Kahlil Gibran :)
ReplyDeletewelcome back after a long break !
ReplyDeleteI love his 'Children'
Love his work. Such profound thinking. The world would certainly have been a better place, if only we would stop to think.
ReplyDeleteGibran's Prophet is one of my favourite books...we have to go beyond the words...we get new insights reading him each time...the oneness of the timeless, spaceless thing that is existence...a sense of immortality when we know everything is the same...that our associating ourselves with our bodies is the root of the illusion of separateness, ego...because there is something that fills everything...the same thing in you and me, in everything that had come before and that is to follow...
ReplyDeleteGreat to see a young man like you on this track. Be prepared for a stage of confusion when you are neither here nor there.
'The prophet'is one of my most cherished books. Time and again, I have gone back to it, read it at different phases of my life and got the strength to carry on. Indeed a great man!
ReplyDeleteThis one is nice... Even I am a fan of Gibran... though, as Venuji has put I may have to read him (most of his books) numerous times to get the real insights.
ReplyDelete@Destiny: If I have made you want to, am happy.
ReplyDelete@Nu: Welcome back. I do too. Trouble is, my mother does not. :-)
@RGB: Yeah. If only.
ReplyDelete@Venu sir: I think I have never quite been either here or there. But could it be that I have always been here, there, and in between? Tagore mentions the wind that makes the bamboo sing. Perhaps the song was always there in the wind and the bamboo. The beauty of it is, no one knows.
@Sujatha: Sometimes gives one the strength to fight, at other times takes the fight out of the man.
ReplyDeleteBy the way in your photo.. That looks like a traditional malayalee sari.
Kalpana: Hi ma'm.
May be we should spread the word..
Yah it is. I wore it for vishu this year.
ReplyDeleteGibran is also my favorite poet, in fact I just love Persian poets. Enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteMy fav quote from Gibran is : You joy is you sorrow unmasked !
ReplyDelete