Category: The Jewelled Garden

In this short poem the 18th. C. CE Turkish Sufi Seyh Galib turns everything upside down, inverting container and contained, mixing opposites, to show something of the spiritual state. Were Continue Reading →

Chiao Jan was a Chinese Buddhist monk of the Tang era, and perhaps wrote this in his later years. ‘Eastmount’ would refer to the peak of the east, representing the Continue Reading →

Hui K’o, also known as Dazu Huike, (487–593 CE), was the second Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, and the 29th in succession after Gautama Buddha. Little is known about his personal Continue Reading →

These are the opening words of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs, said to be the first words spoken by Guru Nanak upon his enlightenment. ‘Ek Continue Reading →

The following verse is taken from the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred book of the Sikhs. For more about Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, see this post. Continue Reading →

Bulleh Shah (1680–1757 CE) was one of the greatest mystical Punjabi poets. For more about him, see this post. You have learnt so muchAnd read a thousand books.Have you ever Continue Reading →

Abu Yazid Bistami was a deeply mystical Persian Sufi of the 9th c. CE who had great influence on the Sufis of his time. For a little more about him, Continue Reading →

Abu Yazid Bistami was a deeply mystical Persian Sufi of the 9th c. CE. For a little more about him, see this post. One day a Divinely intoxicated person was Continue Reading →

For more about the 13th c. CE Franciscan monk and poet Jacopone da Todi, see this earlier post. As air carries light poured out by the rising sun,As the candle Continue Reading →

The mystic Sarmad (d. 1659 CE) was buried near the Jama Masjid in Delhi after being martyred by the Emperor Aurangzeb. For more about him, see this earlier post. He Continue Reading →