The best truths are hidden…
Hidden in the eye of the beholder,
In the salty sweat of the labourer,
In the embrace of the teacher,
In the tears of the mother,
Hidden in the smile of the children,
In the tender kisses of lovers,
In the rainbow and the birds that sing,
In the honey and the bees that sting,
In the light of a lamp
Raised high upon a niche in heaven,
In the ponderous tired gait
Of a beast of burden,
Hidden in the unfolding of patience
Through years of mother's honest toil,
In the bullock that drag father's
Beaten frame over the unyielding soil,
In the earth that covereth
Over the seed,
In the hand the counteth
Over the rosary beads.
……………...........
Knowledge is a wonderful thing, my friend says. But knowledge can be used for a good or bad purpose. And in the context of 'spiritual' lore, how the dice falls is even more subtle. Not that there is anything wrong with knowledge itself, because the attainment of knowledge, be it spiritual or temporal, is a duty of all men and women. It is the wavering and uncertain passions of the student, Man himself, who would often corrupt the knowledge - becoming of no use to himself. Indeed, he can become a spiritual danger not just to himself but to others around him.
I asked my friend how to lessen the risk of such thing happening. And I shall always remember his three words refrain... "Adab, adab, adab." Adab is the courtly courtesy and beautiful manner required of Man in his interaction with God, his fellow man, other creatures and the whole of creation. "With good Adab, you will not only find knowledge." He continued. "With good Adab you will find beautiful truths sprinkled like angel dust across the whole Universe. What a wonderful world it will be for you, if you have good Adab."
And I think that is lovely. So thank you kindly, sunshine.
wa min Allah at-taufiq
Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way
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