Shabistari : One Light

For more about the 13th c. CE Persian mystic Mahmuyd Shabistari, see this post.

What are “I” and “You”?
Just lattices
In the niches of a lamp
Through which the One Light radiates.

“I” and “You” are the veil
Between heaven and earth;
Lift this veil and you will see
How all sects and religions are one.

Lift this veil and you will ask —
When “I” and “You” do not exist
What is mosque?
What is synagogue?
What is fire temple?

Translation Andrew Harvey

2 Replies to “Shabistari : One Light”

  1. Howard Olivier

    What wonderful and sweeping inclusivity, and so gently offered that even an ardent follower of any one path will be all-the-more likely to see the unity and the One heart.

    Reply
    • Nawab Pasnak Post author

      Yes, and there is also the allusion to the Sura of the Qur’an, which would have been very pertinent to his Muslim readers and companions :”Light upon light…”

      Reply

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