POETRY CHAIKHANA

The Poetry Chaikhana brings a little beauty and inspiration to you each week. The Poetry Chaikhana encourages respect for the rich diversity of religion and cultures -- so needed in the world today. Other ways to help: Post reviews of Poetry Chaikhana publications,

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POETRY CHAIKHANA

A growing online encyclopedia with many articles on all aspects of Orthodox Christianity: saints and church fathers, teachings and traditions, much more. Lots to explore. Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this

site.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

This is one of those powerful poems. These lines can catch us in a dark moment, uplift when we feel stuck or lost, lead us into greater presence At the still point of the turning world. That image of movement, dancing amidst stillness, right at the center point. The meeting point, not only of past and future, but of all things.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. English version by Nader Khalili. Original Language Persian/Farsi & Turkish. look at love. how it tangles. with the one fallen in love. look at spirit. how it

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Basava gives us the solution offered by saints everywhere: Make of yourself a temple. My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head a cupola. of gold. This is where all true meditation, prayer, communion occurs. The built temple is but a reflection of the temple of the self. And that true temple is available to all, rich and poor,

equally.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

The machine rotating the stage has been around even longer. The farthest galaxies have been turned on. Oh no, there's no question, this must be the premiere. And whatever I do. will become forever what I've done. -- from Poems New and Collected, by Wislawa Szymborska / Translated by Stanislaw Baranczak.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

In out-of-the-way places of the heart, Where your thoughts never think to wander, This beginning has been quietly forming, Waiting until you were ready to emerge. For a long time it has watched your desire, Feeling the emptiness growing inside you, Noticing how you willed yourself on, Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Wendell Berry. Original Language English. (To my granddaughters who visited the Holocaust Museum on the day of the burial of Yitzhak Rabin) Now you know the worst . we humans have to know . about ourselves, and I am sorry, for I know that you will be afraid. To those of our bodies given.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Pax. by D. H. Lawrence. Original Language English. All that matters is to be at one with the living God. to be a creature in the house of the God of Life. Like a cat asleep on a chair. at peace, in peace. and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress,

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Merton suggests that there is a grand, universal dialog occurring all around us -- in that overlooked silence. Everything is alive, and flowing through that life is a silence, and that silence is speaking to us. You say you do not hear. But be silent, be quiet, be still. And you will realize that you are already part of the conversation.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

The Poetry Chaikhana brings a little beauty and inspiration to you each week. The Poetry Chaikhana encourages respect for the rich diversity of religion and cultures -- so needed in the world today. Other ways to help: Post reviews of Poetry Chaikhana publications,

like

POETRY CHAIKHANA

A growing online encyclopedia with many articles on all aspects of Orthodox Christianity: saints and church fathers, teachings and traditions, much more. Lots to explore. Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this

site.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

This is one of those powerful poems. These lines can catch us in a dark moment, uplift when we feel stuck or lost, lead us into greater presence At the still point of the turning world. That image of movement, dancing amidst stillness, right at the center point. The meeting point, not only of past and future, but of all things.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. English version by Nader Khalili. Original Language Persian/Farsi & Turkish. look at love. how it tangles. with the one fallen in love. look at spirit. how it

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Basava gives us the solution offered by saints everywhere: Make of yourself a temple. My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head a cupola. of gold. This is where all true meditation, prayer, communion occurs. The built temple is but a reflection of the temple of the self. And that true temple is available to all, rich and poor,

equally.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

The machine rotating the stage has been around even longer. The farthest galaxies have been turned on. Oh no, there's no question, this must be the premiere. And whatever I do. will become forever what I've done. -- from Poems New and Collected, by Wislawa Szymborska / Translated by Stanislaw Baranczak.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

In out-of-the-way places of the heart, Where your thoughts never think to wander, This beginning has been quietly forming, Waiting until you were ready to emerge. For a long time it has watched your desire, Feeling the emptiness growing inside you, Noticing how you willed yourself on, Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Wendell Berry. Original Language English. (To my granddaughters who visited the Holocaust Museum on the day of the burial of Yitzhak Rabin) Now you know the worst . we humans have to know . about ourselves, and I am sorry, for I know that you will be afraid. To those of our bodies given.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Pax. by D. H. Lawrence. Original Language English. All that matters is to be at one with the living God. to be a creature in the house of the God of Life. Like a cat asleep on a chair. at peace, in peace. and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress,

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Merton suggests that there is a grand, universal dialog occurring all around us -- in that overlooked silence. Everything is alive, and flowing through that life is a silence, and that silence is speaking to us. You say you do not hear. But be silent, be quiet, be still. And you will realize that you are already part of the conversation. POETRY CHAIKHANA BLOG » WENDELL BERRY How to Be a Poet by Wendell Berry (To remind myself) i Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quiet. You must depend upon affection, reading, knowledge, skill -- more of each than

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Poetry Chaikhana. Troubadour poetry, though not widely read in English, has had a profound impact on modern Western art in general, and particularly love poetry. Modern notions of idealized romantic love can be traced back to a certain extent to the Troubadour love poets in southern France in the 1200s. The Troubadours lauded love,

especially

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Poetry Chaikhana. The lotus rises through the murky waters of ponds and lakes yet, when it blooms, it floats upon the surface, its petals shining and untainted by the mud from which it emerged. In the scriptural language and sacred poetry of Hinduism and Buddhism, the lotus perfectly embodies the soul, rising up through the murkiness of

worldly

POETRY CHAIKHANA

This poem speaks to us on so many levels, and it is telling us that the living world of nature does so as well. fields everywhere invite you into them. Trees and fields, flowers and stones, they embody the outer world, yes, but they are also the doorway to the inner. The natural world is the doorway to ourselves.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Wislawa Szymborska. English version by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak. Original Language Polish. Out of a hundred people. those who always know better. -- fifty-two. doubting every step. -- nearly all the rest, glad to lend a hand.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

The new year is a rebirth of the seasons, signaling a new cycle in our lives. If we don't apply conscious willpower, however, we instinctively follow the patterns we set in the previous year. So, with the new year, we are reborn, but so too are our old habits and old desires. But "The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires."

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Spring and all its flowers. by Hafiz. English version by Homayun Taba & Marguerite Theophil. Original Language Persian/Farsi. Spring and all its flowers. now joyously break their vow of silence. It is time for celebration, not for lying low; You too -- weed out those roots of sadness from your heart.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

of liberation. I am born for the second time, happiness of the world. came to me again. My body effervesces, I think with my body which effervesces. If I wish, I will soar. -- from Soul Food: Nourishing Poems for Starved Minds, Edited by Neil Astley / Edited by Pamela

Robertson-Pearce.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

To turn God into an object that can be described is to make God a subset of Existence, when the Eternal is the Whole of Existence and beyond. The idea behind the Via Negativa is that God cannot be adequately conceptualized by the limited human intellect with attributes of a limited physical reality, and so God is best discovered through negation.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Climbing the Mountain. by Yuan Mei English version by J. P. Seaton Original Language Chinese. I burned incense, swept the earth, and waited for a poem to come

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Sacred Poetry From Around the World. Discover Sufi poetry, Hindu poetry, Buddhist poetry, Christian mystical poetry, and poetry from other sacred and secular traditions

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Women Poets. Timelines. Ueshiba, Morihei (1883 - 1969) Japan. Underhill, Evelyn (1875 - 1941) England. Ungar, Lynn (Contemporary) US. Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended

books

POETRY CHAIKHANA

A growing online encyclopedia with many articles on all aspects of Orthodox Christianity: saints and church fathers, teachings and traditions, much more. Lots to explore. Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this

site.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

The machine rotating the stage has been around even longer. The farthest galaxies have been turned on. Oh no, there's no question, this must be the premiere. And whatever I do. will become forever what I've done. -- from Poems New and Collected, by Wislawa Szymborska / Translated by Stanislaw Baranczak.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Basava gives us the solution offered by saints everywhere: Make of yourself a temple. My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head a cupola. of gold. This is where all true meditation, prayer, communion occurs. The built temple is but a reflection of the temple of the self. And that true temple is available to all, rich and poor,

equally.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

This is one of those powerful poems. These lines can catch us in a dark moment, uplift when we feel stuck or lost, lead us into greater presence At the still point of the turning world. That image of movement, dancing amidst stillness, right at the center point. The meeting point, not only of past and future, but of all things.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

of liberation. I am born for the second time, happiness of the world. came to me again. My body effervesces, I think with my body which effervesces. If I wish, I will soar. -- from Soul Food: Nourishing Poems for Starved Minds, Edited by Neil Astley / Edited by Pamela

Robertson-Pearce.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Spring and all its flowers. by Hafiz. English version by Homayun Taba & Marguerite Theophil. Original Language Persian/Farsi. Spring and all its flowers. now joyously break their vow of silence. It is time for celebration, not for lying low; You too -- weed out those roots of sadness from your heart.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Denise Levertov. Original Language English. Don't say, don't say there is no water. to solace the dryness at our hearts. I have seen. the fountain springing out of the rock wall. and you drinking there. And I too. before your eyes.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Song of a Man Who Has Come Through. by D. H. Lawrence. Original Language English. Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time. If only I let it bear me, carry me, if only it carry me! If only I am sensitive, subtle, oh, delicate, a winged gift! If

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Sacred Poetry From Around the World. Discover Sufi poetry, Hindu poetry, Buddhist poetry, Christian mystical poetry, and poetry from other sacred and secular traditions

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Women Poets. Timelines. Ueshiba, Morihei (1883 - 1969) Japan. Underhill, Evelyn (1875 - 1941) England. Ungar, Lynn (Contemporary) US. Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended

books

POETRY CHAIKHANA

A growing online encyclopedia with many articles on all aspects of Orthodox Christianity: saints and church fathers, teachings and traditions, much more. Lots to explore. Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this

site.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

The machine rotating the stage has been around even longer. The farthest galaxies have been turned on. Oh no, there's no question, this must be the premiere. And whatever I do. will become forever what I've done. -- from Poems New and Collected, by Wislawa Szymborska / Translated by Stanislaw Baranczak.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Basava gives us the solution offered by saints everywhere: Make of yourself a temple. My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head a cupola. of gold. This is where all true meditation, prayer, communion occurs. The built temple is but a reflection of the temple of the self. And that true temple is available to all, rich and poor,

equally.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

This is one of those powerful poems. These lines can catch us in a dark moment, uplift when we feel stuck or lost, lead us into greater presence At the still point of the turning world. That image of movement, dancing amidst stillness, right at the center point. The meeting point, not only of past and future, but of all things.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

of liberation. I am born for the second time, happiness of the world. came to me again. My body effervesces, I think with my body which effervesces. If I wish, I will soar. -- from Soul Food: Nourishing Poems for Starved Minds, Edited by Neil Astley / Edited by Pamela

Robertson-Pearce.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Spring and all its flowers. by Hafiz. English version by Homayun Taba & Marguerite Theophil. Original Language Persian/Farsi. Spring and all its flowers. now joyously break their vow of silence. It is time for celebration, not for lying low; You too -- weed out those roots of sadness from your heart.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Denise Levertov. Original Language English. Don't say, don't say there is no water. to solace the dryness at our hearts. I have seen. the fountain springing out of the rock wall. and you drinking there. And I too. before your eyes.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Song of a Man Who Has Come Through. by D. H. Lawrence. Original Language English. Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time. If only I let it bear me, carry me, if only it carry me! If only I am sensitive, subtle, oh, delicate, a winged gift! If

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Ivan M. Granger is the founder and editor of the Poetry Chaikhana, a publishing house and online resource for sacred poetry from around the world.He is the author of Real Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey.He is also the editor of The Longing in Between: A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology and This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from

Around the World.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

This is one of those powerful poems. These lines can catch us in a dark moment, uplift when we feel stuck or lost, lead us into greater presence At the still point of the turning world. That image of movement, dancing amidst stillness, right at the center point. The meeting point, not only of past and future, but of all things.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Poetry Chaikhana. Unlike the spiky radiance of the lotus flower, the rose unfolds in a gentle circling that invites one to yield inward. The rose is a symbol of lovers and of union. The rose resonates strongly with the gently awakened heart. In the chakra system, the color most associated with the heart is green.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. English version by Nader Khalili. Original Language Persian/Farsi & Turkish. look at love. how it tangles. with the one fallen in love. look at spirit. how it THE LONGING IN BETWEEN The Longing In Between, A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology, Sacred Poetry From Around the World. Edited by Ivan M. Granger. A delightful collection of soul-inspiring poems from the world's great religious and spiritual traditions, accompanied by Ivan M. Granger's meditative thoughts and commentary. Rumi, Whitman, Issa, Teresa of Avila, Dickinson, Blake, Lalla, and many others.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

said the mountain. it's not that way. with all things, some. that go are gone. But not all things are so. Some things, when they are gone, they are gone. We might say that this is closer to the greater truth, that all things, really, when they go are gone. Even an experience repeated is entirely new the second time.

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Pax. by D. H. Lawrence. Original Language English. All that matters is to be at one with the living God. to be a creature in the house of the God of Life. Like a cat asleep on a chair. at peace, in peace. and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress, GRANUM SINAPIS (ANONYMOUS) Granum Sinapis. by Granum Sinapis (Anonymous) English version by Karen J. Campbell. Original Language German. In the beginning. high above comprehension. is the word, eternally. O rich treasure, where the beginning eternally bore the beginning!

POETRY CHAIKHANA

Climbing the Mountain. by Yuan Mei English version by J. P. Seaton Original Language Chinese. I burned incense, swept the earth, and waited for a poem to come

POETRY CHAIKHANA

To turn God into an object that can be described is to make God a subset of Existence, when the Eternal is the Whole of Existence and beyond. The idea behind the Via Negativa is that God cannot be adequately conceptualized by the limited human intellect with attributes of a limited physical reality, and so God is best discovered through negation.

_

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_I ENTERED THE UNKNOWN_ by John of the Cross _English version by Ivan M. Granger_ _I entered the unknown, and there I remained unknowing, all knowledge transcended._ Where I entered I knew not, but seeing myself there,

not knowing where,

great things then made themselves known. What I sensed I cannot say, for I remained unknowing, _all knowledge transcended._ In this peace and purity was perfect knowledge. In profoundest solitude I understood with absolute clarity

something so secret

that I was left stammering, _all knowledge transcended._ So deep was I within, so absorbed, transported, that all senses fled, and outer awareness fell away. My spirit received the gift of unknowing knowing, _all knowledge transcended._ He who reaches this realm

loses himself,

for all he once knew now is beneath his notice, and his mind so expands that he remains unknowing, _all knowledge transcended._ And the higher he rises

the less he knows:

That is the dark cloud that shines in the night. The one who knows this always remains unknowing, _all knowledge transcended._ This knowing by unknowing is of such exalted power, that the disputations of the learned

fail to grasp it,

for their knowledge does not reach to knowing by unknowing, _all knowledge transcended._ Of such supreme perfection

is this knowledge

that no faculty or method of mind

can comprehend it;

but he who conquers himself with this unknowing knowing, _will always transcend._ And if you are ready to receive it, this sum of all knowledge is discovered in the deepest ecstasy of the Divine Essence.

Goodness and grace

grant us this unknowing, _all knowledge transcended._ -- from This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World

,

Edited by Ivan M. Granger _/ Image by oddsock /_ View All Poems by John of the Cross St. John of the Cross repeatedly contrasts knowledge with unknowing. _I entered the unknown, and there I remained unknowing,_ all knowledge transcended. The Spanish word rendered here as “knowledge” is _ciencia_, which has the more obvious translation of “science.” But the poem's archaic use of “science” implies not the scientific process, but a more general sense of knowledge acquired through reason and the testimony of the senses. And John of the Cross emphasizes that his unknowing is superior. He is not advocating ignorance, however. The Spanish saint is instead speaking about the mystical idea of “unknowing,” the state in which all concepts and mental filters have been set aside. In that state of unknowing, we rise above the elaborate constructions of the logical mind and come to rest in pure awareness (“knowing by unknowing”). He is contrasting true, unfiltered knowing, gnosis, with the mere accumulation and organization of information. To be unknowing in this sense is to encounter every instant entirely as it is, in pure wonder, without projection, without anticipation or agitation. The intellectual mind—a hugely important tool!—has one very serious weakness: It never encounters the present moment nakedly. It is always processing, analyzing, making everything fit within its comprehension. It never truly witnesses; it only interprets. We certainly want to cultivate a critical intellect, but we must always remember that it is not the whole of consciousness. The awareness can step beyond the intellect. To fully apprehend reality,

it must.

_So deep was I within, so absorbed, transported, that all senses fled, and outer awareness fell away._ This state of supreme unknowing is not perception in the sense of drawing in and interpreting exterior input through the senses. In normal perception, the intellect sifts and sorts that sensory data and formulates it into a working hypothesis of what reality is. That hypothesis, however, is always an incomplete shorthand that only approximates reality. By contrast, the mystic's unknowing is the centered awareness of unfiltered reality. This awareness does not tilt off its seat in order to reach out through the senses. It is at rest, poised. It witnesses without an egoic agenda. The full awareness in this state of unknowing does not sift reality, it bathes in it. Rather than an interpretation, one sees clearly, free from artificial mental constructions--knowing by unknowing. _And if you are ready to hear it, this sum of all knowledge is discovered in the deepest ecstasy of the Divine Essence.

Goodness and grace

grant us this unknowing,_ ...all knowledge transcended. _SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TODAY'S POEM OR MY COMMENTARY..._ _(Or visit the poem's blog page to click the FB 'Like'

button.)_

------------------------- _/ Photo by Daisuke Matsumura

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_DONATIONS TO THE POETRY CHAIKHANA_ _New donations this week:

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- A big thank you also to everyone who is a regular supporter through automatic monthly donations. A NOTE: While donations are important and greatly appreciated to keep the Poetry Chaikhana running, I know that personal finances are feeling uncertain for many people. I don't want anyone to feel that they have to make donations to receive these emails. If you need to cancel your monthly donation for any reason, I understand. When donations are easy, then I welcome them; but please do not strain your finances to donate. I want you all to be well.

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* The Poetry Chaikhana brings a little beauty and inspiration to you

each week.

* The Poetry Chaikhana encourages respect for the rich diversity of religion and cultures -- so needed in the world today. * Other ways to help: Post reviews of Poetry Chaikhana publications, like The Longing in Between, on Amazon and Goodreads. This helps new people to discover the Poetry Chaikhana. Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you! Original poetry and commentary © 2021 Ivan M. Granger

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All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.

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_Thought for the Day_

_by Ivan M. Granger

_

Awareness settles into the heart,

touching everything

without reaching out to do so.

MARROW OF FLAME

_Poems of the Spiritual Journey_

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_Introduction by Andrew Harvey_ _"THESE POEMS MAKE ME GASP. Dorothy Walters--part buddha, part elf--weaves mythic literacy with subversive compassion."

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