A journey

"To travel is to live."

 

- H.C. Andersen

You can travel a world and move nowhere
You can travel nowhere and move a world

From you emotion
From life devotion

One finds things in life greater than one self

 

The best is the change that can be made in time
The worst is the change that can not be made in time

 

If your 3 years get to feel like 30 years
For the right reasons
It will end up felling like just 3 hours
 
Forget evil and never forget evil
Only to pass experience to prevent evil
Whatever evil might give you

It is at best half way and with impossible interest
Evil is only absolutely necessary in theory and not in practice

 

Preconditions into circumstances
Experience links intention in the moment
Past links future in the present
 

The greatest loss along the way is not the mistake itself

It is the unwillingness to recognize it and correct it

 

Hate the hate not the hater
Wish the best for even the worst
A better way and a brighter day
 
Love and forgiveness
Sides of redistribution
Give life and wealth
With gratitude of having them
 
It is not what you have
It is how you have it
With love you have everything anyway
Without love you have nothing anyway
 
Put in perspective without neglecting
 
It is all predestined
It is all in your hands
 
Life and death

It is why that makes the difference

Live life

As to return it with a smile
Prefer a right death at any time
Rather than a wrong life

 

Is it a happy ending?!
God made all endings eventually happy
That is why we exist
All endings are yet new beginnings
 
Do not forget where you come from

Remember where you are going
 
Wish you have the easiest choices in life
And understanding for the hardest choices

At the pass
It is what that passes
What did you do for yourself and others

 

به کجا چنین شتابان؟

گون از نسیم پرسید

دل من گرفته زینجا

هوس سفر نداری

ز غبار این بیابان؟
همه آرزویم اما
چه کنم که بسته پایم
به کجا چنین شتابان؟
به هر آن کجا که باشد به جز این سرا سرایم
سفرت به خیر!‌ اما تو و دوستی خدا را
چو از این کویر وحشت به سلامتی گذشتی
به شکوفه ها به باران
برسان سلام ما را

 

"Where are you going in such a haste?
The desert flower asked the breeze
My heart of this place is sad
Don't you long to travel away
from this desert dust?
That is all I wish but
what can I do my legs are bound
Where are you going in such a haste?
Wherever else it would be except a place akin to this
Farewell! But for the love of God
if you from this dreadful desert have a safe pass
to blossoms to rain
on my greetings pass"
 
- Shafiei Kadkani
 
شاه انوشیروان به موسم دی

رفت بیرون ز شهر بهر شکار

در سر راه دید مزرعه‌ای

که در آن بود مردم بسیار

اندر آن دشت پیرمردی دید

که گذشته است عمر او ز نود

دانهٔ جوز در زمین می کاشت

که به فصل بهارسبزشود

گفت کسری به پیرمرد حریص

که چرا حرص می‌زنی چندین‌؟

پای‌های تو بر لب گور است

تو کنون جوز می کنی به زمین‌؟

جوزه ده سال عمر می‌خواهد

که قوی گردد و به‌بار آید

توکه بعد از دو روز خواهی مرد

گردکان کشتنت چکار آید؟‌

مرد دهقان به شاه کسری گفت

مردم از کاشتن زیان نبرند

دگران کاشتند و ما خوردیم

ما بکاریم و دیگران بخورند
 
"King Anushirvan on monsoon day
Went out to town for hunting
On his way he saw a farm field
In which there were a lot of people

On that plain he saw an old man
That has passed his life beyond ninety
Planting a seed of nut in the ground
For it to bloom in the spring season

Kasra told the hasty old man
Why are you in such a haste?
Your legs are on the edge of grave
And yet you plant nut in the ground?

Nut requires ten years of life
To become strong and bear fruit
You who will die in two days
What will planting walnut bring you?

The peasant man told king Kasra
People did not loose from planting
Others planted and we ate
We plant and others will eat"

- Mohammad-Taqi Bahar
 
"Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity."    
 
- Thomas Jefferson

 

دلم گرفته است
دلم گرفته است
به ایوان می روم و انگشتانم را
بر پوست کشیده شب می کشم
چراغ های رابطه تاریکند
چراغ های رابطه تاریکند
کسی مرا به آفتاب
معرفی نخواهد کرد
کسی مرا به میهمانی گنجشک ها نخواهد برد
پرواز را به خاطر بسپار
پرنده مردنی است
 
"I am depressed,
O so depressed.
I go to the porch and extend my fingers
Over the taut skin of night.
The lamps that link are dark,
O so dark.
No one will introduce me to the sun
Or escort me to the sparrows' gathering.
Commit flight to memory,
For the bird is mortal." 
 
"Remember the flight
The bird is mortal"
 
- Forough Farrokhzad
 
"Al-Mustawrid Ibn Shaddad reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'This world in comparison with the Next World is like putting your finger in the sea and seeing what comes back on it.'"

 

"Ibn Umar said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took hold of my shoulders and said, 'Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller on the road.'' Ibn Umar used to say, 'In the evening, do not anticipate the morning, and in the morning do not anticipate the evening. Take from your health for your illness and from your life for your death.'"

 

"The most sagacious one from among you is he who remembers death the most, and the most prudent one from among you is he who is the most prepared for it."

 

"Young man, I will teach you some words. Be mindful of God, and He will take care of you. Be mindful of Him, and you shall find Him at your side. If you ask, ask of God. If you need help, seek it from God. Know that if the whole world were to gather together in order to help you; they would not be able to help you except if God had written so. And if the whole world were to gather together in order to harm you; they would not harm you except if God had written so. The pens have been lifted, and the pages have dried."

 

- Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

"Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion." (3:185)

"Allah is He who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deed." (67:2)

"Forgiveness is not for those who continue to do evil deeds up until when death comes to one of them [and] he says, 'Truly, I repent now!'" (4:18)

 

"And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count." (22:47)

 
وِمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

 

"And among them are those who pray, 'Our Lord, grant us in the world what is good, and in the Hereafter what is good, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.'" (2:201)

 

- The Quran

 

بشنو از نی چون حکایت می کند
از جدایی ها شکایت می کند

 

کز نیستان تا مرا ببریده اند
از نفیرم مرد و زن نالیده اند

 

سینه خواهم شرحه شرحه از فراق
تا بگویم شرح درد اشتیاق

 

هر کسی کو دور ماند از اصل خویش
بازجوید روزگار وصل خویش

 

"Hearken to the reed-flute, how it complains,
Lamenting its banishment from its home:

 

'Ever since they tore me from my osier bed,
My plaintive notes have moved men and women to tears.

 

I burst my breast, striving to give vent to sighs,
And to express the pangs of my yearning for my home.'

 

He who abides far away from his home
Is ever longing for the day ho shall return."

 

- Rumi
 
"This world is not my home
I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue
 
The angels beckon me
From heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home
In this world anymore"
 
- Albert Edward Brumley
 
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
 
- Matthew 6:19-21

 

"Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

 

- Luke 12:33-34

 

"17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever."
 
- 1 John 2:17

"12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
 
- Psalm 90:12
 
"8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
 
- 2 Peter 3:8-9

 

"1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

- 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

"1 The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. 2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."

- Isaiah 57:1-2
 
"25 Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'"
 
- John 11:25-26
 
"42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."

 
- 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

 
"8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
 
- 2 Corinthians 5:8
 

"The material bodies we live in, are mortal. For one who is born in this body will die one day. It is certain, then one should not feel sorrow on the death of a beloved."

 

"The impermanent has no reality; reality lies in the eternal. The body is mortal, but he who dwells in the body is immortal and immeasurable; for the soul will never die."

 

- The Bhagavad Gita

 

"Let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not keeping silent, nor am I hiding the signs and wonders that were shown to me by the Lord many years before they happened, who knew everything, even before the beginning of time."
 
- Saint Patrick

"To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom."
 
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 
"He wanted his friends to realize that life is a journey and not a destination; that the heart must be set upon those matters of character which are eternal and not upon those matters of sensation which pass away."
 
- Lynn H. Hough

"Birth is a beginning
And death a destination.
And life is a journey:
From childhood to maturity
And youth to age;
From innocence to awareness
And ignorance to knowing;
From foolishness to discretion
And then perhaps to wisdom;
From weakness to strength
Or strength to weakness-
And, often back again;
From health to sickness
And back, we pray, to health again;
From offense to forgiveness,
From loneliness to love,
From joy to gratitude,
From pain to compassion,
And grief to understanding-
From fear to faith;
From defeat to defeat to defeat-
Until, looking backward or ahead,
We see that victory lies
Not at some high place along the way,
But in having made the journey, stage by stage,
A sacred pilgrimage.
Birth is a beginning
And death a destination
But life is a journey,
A sacred pilgrimage-
To life everlasting."
 
- Rabbi Alvin Fine
 
"Footprints"

"One night I dreamed a dream. I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord
 
When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.
 
'Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.'
 
He whispered, 'My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.'"

 

- Margaret Powers
Carolyn Carty
Mary Stevenson

"There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

- Deuteronomy 1:31

"The Red Sea Crossing"

"14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." So the Israelites did this.

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians - all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops - pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."

19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt."

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen - the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."

- Exodus 14

"Jesus Walks on the Water"

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It’s a ghost,' they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.'
28 'Lord, if it’s you,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water.'
29 'Come,' he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'"

- Matthew 14:22-33

"Walking on Water"

"The duty of a farmer’s daughter was to carry fresh milk to customers in various villages, one of whom was a priest. To reach his house, the milkmaid had to cross a good-sized stream. People crossed it by a sort of ferry raft, for a small fee.

One day the priest scolded the poor woman as she arrived late with the milk which the priest used it daily as 'Offering' to God. 'What can I do?' she said, 'I start out early from my house, but I have to wait a long time for the boatman to come.'

Then the priest said (pretending to be serious), 'You know! People have even walked across the ocean by repeating the names of God, and you can’t cross this little river?' This milkmaid took him very seriously. From then on she brought the priest’s milk punctually every morning. He became curious about it and asked how she was never late anymore.

'I cross the river repeating the name of the Lord,' she replied, 'just as you told me to do, without waiting for the ferry.' The priest didn’t believe her, and asked, 'Can you show me, how you cross the river on foot once?' So they went together to the water and the milkmaid began to walk over it. Looking back, the woman saw that the priest had started to follow her and was drowning in the water.

'Sir!' she cried, 'Though you are uttering the name of God, yet all the while you are holding up your clothes from getting wet. That is not trusting in God completely!'"

- Sri Ramakrishna

"A preacher was once giving a sermon to a large audience in the mosque. In the course of it he said: "O People! I tell you the truth. If only you knew the power of the sentence Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful), you would say it before every action of yours.
Whoever says these words before beginning any act will see wonders. One will even be able to walk on water."

A poor villager, who was sitting close to the pulpit, listened to this sermon attentively. Poor villager was a regular visitor to the mosque although his journey from his home was a very difficult one because he had to cross a large river on the way.

Poor villager did not have a boat and often had to wait until someone appeared who could transport him across. The route around the river was extremely long. However, when the poor villager heard this sermon, he realized that he had found the solution to his problem.

When Poor villager reached the river on his way back, he did not hesitate, but recited 'Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful)' and stepped onto the water.

By the grace of Allah (SWT) he was able to walk on the water and soon reached the other side. This became a regular practice for the poor villager, until one day, as he was crossing the river; it occurred to him that he had not thanked the preacher who had given him the solution to his problem.

Poor villager decided to invite him to his house for a meal as a way of showing his gratitude to him. The preacher accepted the invitation and both of them began walking back to the poor villager's house.

On reaching the river, the poor villager recited 'Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful)' and stepped out onto the water, as was his normal routine. Poor villager expected the preacher to do the same. But when he looked behind, he found that the preacher was still standing on the bank looking at him in bewilderment. The man told him to recite 'Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful)' just as he had preached.

"My dear villager, I lack the faith that you have," replied the preacher."

- Folklore

"Silanisamsa-Jataka"

"[111] "Behold the fruit of sacrifice," etc. - This story the Master told whilst staying in Jetavana, about a believing layman. This was a faithful, pious soul, an elect disciple. One evening, on his way to Jetavana, he came to the hank of the river Aciravatī, when the ferrymen had pulled up their boat on the shore in order to attend service; as no boat could be seen at the landing-stage, and our friend's mind being full of delightful thoughts of the Buddha, he walked into the river. His feet did not sink below the water. He got as far as mid-river walking as though he were on dry land; but there he noticed the waves. Then his ecstasy subsided, and his feet began to sink. Again he strung himself up to high tension, and walked on over the water. So he arrived at Jetavana, greeted the Master, and took a seat on one side. The Master entered into conversation with him pleasantly. "I hope, good layman," said he, "you had no mishap on your way." "Oh, Sir," he replied, "on my way I was so absorbed in thoughts of the Buddha that I set foot upon the river; but I walked over it as though it had been dry ground!" "Ah, friend layman," said the Master, "you are not the only one who has kept safe by remembering the virtues of the Buddha. In olden days pious laymen have been shipwrecked in mid-ocean, and saved themselves by remembering the Buddha's virtues." Then, at the man's request, he told an old-world tale.

-

Once upon a time, in the days when Kassapa was Supreme Buddha, a disciple, who had entered on the Paths, took passage on board ship in company with a barber of some considerable property. The barber's wife had given him in charge of our friend, to look after him in better and in worse.

A week later, the ship was wrecked in mid-ocean. These two persons clinging to one plank were cast up on an island. There the barber killed some birds, and cooked them, offering a share of his meal to the lay brother. "No, thank you," said he, "I have had enough." He was thinking to himself, "In this place there is no help for us except the Three Jewels," and so he pondered upon the blessings of the Three Jewels. As he pondered and pondered, a Serpent-king who had been born in that isle changed his own body to the shape of a great ship. The ship was filled with the seven kinds of precious things. [112] A Spirit of the Sea was the helmsman. The three masts were made of sapphire, the anchor of gold, the ropes of silver, and the planks were golden.

The Sea-spirit stood on board, crying - "Any passengers for India?" The lay brother said, "Yes, that's where we are bound for." "In with you then - on board with you!" He went aboard, and wanted to call his friend the barber. "You may come," says the helmsman, "but not he." "Why not?" "He is not a man of holy life, that's why," said the other; "I brought this ship for you, not for him." "Very well: - the gifts I have given, the virtues I have practiced, the powers I have developed - I give him the fruit of all of them!" "I thank you, master!" said the barber. "Now," said the Sea-spirit, "I can take you aboard." So he conveyed them both oversea, and sailed upstream to Benares. There, by his power, he created a store of wealth for both of them, and bespoke them thus.

"Keep company with the wise and good. If this barber had not been in company with this pious layman, he would have perished in the midst of the deep." Then he uttered these verses in praise of good company:

"Behold the fruit of sacrifice, virtue, and piety:
A serpent in ship-shape conveys the good man o'er the sea.

"Make friendship only with the good, and keep good company;
Friends with the good, this Barber could his home in safety see."

[113] Thus did the Spirit of the Sea hold forth, poised in mid-air. Finally he went to his own abode, taking the Serpent-king along with him.

-

The Master, after finishing this discourse, declared the Truths and identified the Birth: - at the conclusion of the Truths the pious layman entered on the Fruit of the Second Path: - "On that occasion the converted lay brother attained Nirvana; Sāriputta was the Serpent-king, and the Sea-spirit was I myself.""

- The Jataka No. 190.

"Life is a journey that have a lot different paths, but any path you choose use it as your destiny."

 

- Ryan Leonard

 

"Each day is a journey, and the journey itself is home."

 

- Matsuo Basho

 

"Remember, life is a journey. If you got everything you wanted all at once there'd be no point to living. Enjoy the ride, and in the end you'll see these 'setbacks' as giant leaps forward, only you couldn't see the bigger picture in the moment. Remain calm, all is within reach; all you have to do is show up every day, stay true to your path and you will surely find the treasure you seek."

 

- Jackson Kiddard

 

"1:6. We are but guests visiting this world, though most do not know this. Those who see the real situation, no longer feel inclined to quarrel." 

"25:10-11. O Monks, empty the boat! When it is empty you will quickly reach your destination. Throw overboard all attachment and hatred, and you will obtain nirvana. … Monks who transcend the five obstructions are called: 'Those who have crossed the waves.'" 

- The Dhammapada

"Sustainability is an inside job, a learning journey to live lightly, joyfully, peacefully, meaningfully."

 

- Kathia Laszlo

 

"Dowlatshah recounts that Attar, 'already like a venerable teacher', was sitting in his pharmacy full of fragrant essences and precious medicines - merely looking at them gave passersby 'shining eyes and perfumed noses' - when one day a 'madman' (divaneh) entered, presumably a crazed wandering Dervish, louse-ridden, with long straggly hair and a matted beard. Such characters would have been all over the place at the time, as many mystics' handbooks lament, and it must have been difficult to tell apart the true Sufis, who had renounced all possessions, from the simple beggars who masqueraded as Sufis in hope of receiving pious offerings. Attar will not have greeted his visitor with great enthusiasm, at any rate, especially as the Darvish neither moved nor uttered a word for some time, simply staring at the shelves with wide eyes before bursting into tears. Attar feared the man would drive away his customers and told him to leave.

'Easily done, my good sir', answered the old man. 'My baggage is light, for it consists only of the rags I wear. But you, what will you do with these sacks full of precious objects when the time has come for you to go? How will you take it all with you? I can disappear from the bazaar of this transient world quickly and effortlessly, but you should think about what to do with your goods and how to carry them.'

Attar was unimpressed by the old man's words. In hope that the uninvited guest would leave his pharmacy, he asked: 'And? What do you have to do to leave this bazaar?'

'This', spoke the fool, lay down on the floor of the pharmacy, took his rags as pillow, and was dead.

Thereupon Attar allegedly closed his pharmacy, and devoted himself to asceticism and Sufi meditation."

- Navid Kermani

"There was a young pious man from the Children of Israel who used to sit with Prophet Sulaiman (PBUH) and attend his gatherings.

During one of these sessions, the Angel of Death entered the gathering. Upon seeing the angel, the young man's face turned yellow and he trembled with fear and he said, "O Prophet of Allah, I am afraid of this man, so order the wind to take me to the people of India."

Prophet Sulaiman (PBUH) did so. Shortly afterwards, the Angel of Death came to Prophet Sulaiman (PBUH) in amazement.

Prophet Sulaiman (PBUH) asked the Angel of Death why he was so astonished? Then Angel of death replied that he had been ordered that day to take the soul of a young man that was in Prophet Sulaiman's (PBUH) company, but that it was to be taken while he was in the land of India.
The Angel of Death continued to explain that he was surprised to find him in Prophet Sulaiman's (PBUH) gathering though his soul was to be taken in India.

Prophet Sulaiman (PBUH) explained that upon seeing the Angel of Death, the young man became disturbed and wanted the wind to carry him away to India."

- Abdul Malik Mujahid

"The literal meaning of the word Hajj is "heading to a place for the sake of visiting". Hajj is the greater annual Muslim pilgrimage made to Kaaba, the "House of Allah", in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which takes place in the last month of the year and which all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime if they can afford to do so. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam."

 

- Islamic pilgrimage 

"Abdullah bin Mubarak (Rahimuhullah) had a dream while he was sleeping near the Kaaba. He saw two angels descend from the sky, and start talking to each other.

One of the angels asked the other, "Do you know how many people have come for Hajj this year?"

The other angel replied, "Six hundred thousand have come for Hajj." Abdullah bin Mubarak had also gone for Hajj that year.

The first angel asked, "How many people’s Hajj has been accepted?"

The second replied, "I wonder if anyone’s Hajj has been accepted at all." Abdullah bin Mubarak was grieved to hear that.

Then he heard the other angel speak, "There is a cobbler in Damascus. His name is Ali bin al-Mufiq. He could not come for Hajj, but Allah has accepted his intention of Hajj. Not only will he get the reward for Hajj, but because of him, all the Hajjis will be rewarded."

When Abdullah bin Mubarak woke up, he decided he would go to Damascus and meet that cobbler whose intention of Hajj carried such weight. On reaching Damascus, Abdullah bin Mubarak inquired about the cobbler. The town’s people directed him to a house.

When a man appeared from the house Abdullah bin Mubarak greeted him and asked his name and what he did for a living. Then the cobbler asked the stranger’s name that had come looking for him. Abdullah bin Mubarak was a very well-known scholar. When he introduced himself, the cobbler was anxious to find out why he was seeking him out.

Abdullah bin Mubarak asked the cobbler to tell him if he had made any plans to go for Hajj. He replied, "For thirty years I have lived in the hope of performing the Hajj. This year I had saved enough to go for Hajj, but Allah did not will it, so I couldn’t make my intention translate into action."

Abdullah bin Mubarak further asked, "Why couldn’t you go for Hajj?" In order not to disclose the reason the cobbler again replied, "It was Allah’s will".

When Abdullah bin Mubarak persisted the cobbler revealed, "Once I went to see my neighbour’s house. His family was just sitting down for dinner. Although I was not hungry I thought my neighbour would invite me to sit down for dinner out of courtesy but I could see that my neighbour was grieved about something and wanted to avoid inviting me for dinner.

After some hesitation the neighbour told me, 'I am sorry I cannot invite you for food. We were without food for three days and I could not bear to see the pain of hunger of my children. I went out looking for food today and found a dead donkey. In my desperation, I cut out some meat from the dead animal, and brought it home so that my wife could cook it. It is Halal (lawful) for us because of our extreme hunger, but I cannot offer it to you.'

On hearing this, my heart bled with tears. I got up and went home, collected the three thousand dinars I had saved for Hajj, and gave my neighbour the money. I too had to go hungry but that was to save money for Hajj, but I thought that helping my neighbour during his difficult times was more important. I still desire to go for Hajj if Allah wills."

Abdullah bin Mubarak was greatly inspired by the cobbler’s story and told the cobbler of his dream.

Allah (Azza wa jall) is Merciful and shows mercy to those who do likewise to His creatures. This act of compassion on the part of the cobbler was so pleasing to Him that it not only earned him the reward of Hajj but was extended to all the people who came for Hajj."

- Abdullah Bin Mubarak

"Strange is our situation here on Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men - above all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends."

 

- Albert Einstein

 

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination."

 

- Don Williams, Jr.

 

"It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end."

 

- Ursula LeGuin

 

"There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk."

 

- Guy Gavriel Kay

 

"When we view our path with clarity, we move with accelerated purpose and intent. We go forward with a full and committed heart."

 

- Kevin Hall

 

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."

 

- Henry Miller

 

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

 

- Martin Buber

 

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning."

 

- Ivy Baker Priest

 

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Watch your step."

 

- Lao Tzu

 

"The way of the superior man may be compared to what takes place in traveling, when to go to a distance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower ground."

 

- Confucius

 

"The journey between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place."

 

- Barbara De Angelis

 

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."

 

- Kenji Miyazawa

 

"Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to live, make haste to be kind."

 

- Henri-Frederic Amiel

 

"Sometimes in your life you will go on a journey. It will be the longest journey you have ever taken. It is the journey to find yourself."

 

- Katherine Sharp

 

"It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going."

 

- Brian Tracy

 

"It's not where we stand but in what direction we are moving."

 

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

"The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination."

 

- Carl Rogers

 

"But turn to God; take thought then for the way
You travel, since it leads to Judgment Day."

 

- Ferdowsi Tusi

 
أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

 
"I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the outcast."

 

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

"O our Lord, grant us excellence in this world, and excellence in the Hereafter (as well), and save us from the torment of Hell."

 

- Islamic prayers

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

- James 4:7

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."

- Ephesians 6:11

"Question. Dost thou renounce Satan? and all his works? and all his pomps?

Answer. I do renounce."

(The Catholic Church)

"Question. Dost thou renounce Satan and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow, or be led by them?

Answer. I renounce them all."

(The Methodist Church)

- Baptismal vows

"He who would know the secret of both worlds,
Will find the secret of them both, is Love."

 
- Attar

 

Allah bu yandan o yandan saklasi

 

(May) Allah hold (one) on the one side and the other side

 

"Let us speak further about the wish and thereby about sufferings. Discussion of sufferings can always be beneficial if it addresses not only the self-willfulness of the sorrow but, if possible, addresses the sorrowing person for his upbuilding. It is a legitimate and sympathetic act to dwell properly on the suffering, lest the suffering person become impatient over our superficial discussion in which he does not recognize his suffering, lest he for that reason impatiently thrust aside consolation and be strengthened in double-mindedness. It certainly is one thing to go out into life with the wish when what is wished becomes the deed and the task; it is something else to go out into life away from the wish."

 

"Abraham had to leave his ancestral home and emigrate to an alien nation, where nothing reminded him of what he loved – indeed, sometimes it is no doubt a consolation that nothing calls to mind what one wishes to forget, but it is a bitter consolation for the person who is full of longing. Thus a person can also have a wish that for him contains everything, so that in the hour of the separation, when the pilgrimage begins, it is as if he were emigrating to a foreign country where nothing but the contrast reminds him, by the loss, of what he wished; it can seem to him as if he were emigrating to a foreign country even if he remains at home perhaps in the same locality – by losing the wish just as among strangers, so that to take leave of the wish seems to him harder and more crucial than to take leave of his senses."

 

"Apart from this wish, even if he still does not move from the spot, his life’s troublesome way is perhaps spent in useless sufferings, for we are speaking of those who suffer essentially, not of those who have the consolation that their sufferings are for the benefit of a good cause, for the benefit of others. It was bound to be thus – the journey to the foreign country was not long; in one moment he was there, there in that strange country where the suffering ones meet, but not those who have ceased to grieve, not those whose tears eternity cannot wipe away, for as an old devotional book so simply and movingly says, "How can God dry your tears in the next world if you have not wept?" Perhaps someone else comes in a different way, but to the same place."

 

- Soren Kierkegaard

 

این نیز بگذرد

 
גַּם זֶה יַעֲבֹר‏‎

 
"Bu da geçer ya hu"

 

"This too shall pass"

 

- Persian adage

 

"When an Eastern sage was desired by his sultan to inscribe on a ring the sentiment which, amidst the perpetual change of human affairs, was most descriptive of their real tendency, he engraved on it the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." It is impossible to imagine a thought more truly and universally applicable to human affairs than that expressed in these memorable words, or more descriptive of that perpetual oscillation from good to evil, and from evil to good, which from the beginning of the world has been the invariable characteristic of the annals of man, and so evidently flows from the strange mixture of noble and generous with base and selfish inclinations, which is constantly found in the children of Adam."

 

- Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 1848

 

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