The Rose, Self-Discipline and the Divine Promise of Youth

9. Discipline of Roses (with Shamsul)

Though Love is the bloom

Of the rose,

Mercy its perfume,

The Sun its nourisher,

The Rain its sustainer,

It is self-discipline

That first raises the rose

Above the crowd

Of lesser flowers.

SELF-DISCIPLINE. If you persist in following this sinner's rambling, I can only assure you that the journey will have its ups and downs, its peaks and valleys. But surely you must come to a point when you are tired of walking two steps forwards, then taking three steps back. To move forward, I must alas, release you from this prose-ridden journal to seek discipline from someone more able, and certainly more inclined towards self-discipline and control.

This is no ordinary man. The
Kaiso and Osensei of Aikido.

A GUIDE. Who? Oh, I don't know. Perhaps yourself? Your dad? Your parson? Or maybe an Aikido sensei? A Jedi Master perhaps? But somewhere in the Universe there is a guide for you. Someone of spiritual and physical mettle to take your ego on, and help you develop and sustain that self-discipline. Because from self-discipline comes self-belief. And once you have acquired that, why... it is only a saint's prayer away from belief in God. Which is the long-yearned homecoming for us all.

YOUTHFUL FUTURE. I spent today with Heche and her young friends. Like many young people, they are boisterous, confident and beautiful. I sometimes worry about the future, but at other times, I glance into their eyes and I suspect that there is a glittering secret, a treasure of potential inside their soul, waiting to awaken. To bloom and ripen like a rose. I believe it is only a matter of time that God's Plan unfolds in its perfect symmetry, like unto the Prophet himself. And even if we cannot see the symmetry, we can still sense it, yes?

Have faith in God, sunshine, and despair not. For surely He has faith in you.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

PS: Oh, before I forget... Happy Deepavali, mon ami!

Love is Eternal - Do not get too attached to a present that is only momentary.

Some 7 years ago, the sinner was in a rut. He cradled his newborn son in his arms, and wondered just how the heck will he live his life right. Then he heard that a shaykh of a Sufi Order was in town, a Sufi Order to which his own brother was associated, so one cold morning he paid a visit and since then things have never really been the same.

It was in those happy heady days in 2004 that these 3 poems were recorded...

15. Ali’s Prayer (or Groupies 2)

We, groupies of Naqshband

Cling to the Saidis’ coat tails

On our way to the Sun of the sun

While being peppered by snow, rain and hail.

16. Divine Mind-Altering Substance

Food taste better

Prayer feels sweeter

Since I have come to meet

A Naqshbandi Mureed.

Ya Saidi, if we could bottle and sell it

We would be rich, rich, rich!

17. Putting the Fun in Fana

Do not blame us for feeling happy

Being at the side of our Saidi

Swimming we are, in a sea of manna

Leaving footprints, on the shore of fana.

The world has changed, the colours appear to have become more vibrant, people far more beautiful, hope more passionate and alive, happiness much sweeter, and even sorrow is more meaningful. But perhaps, best of all, the sinner has found the religion best to confound the most ignorant, bigoted, hateful and violent of mankind. And this in no small way came about simply because the Shaykh said, "Come, let me tell you of our prophet Muhammad..."

It is good to remind ourselves of the past. Lest we get to attached to a present that is only momentary.

...leaving footprints, on the shore of fana.

God bless you, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

The Answer is in our Children - The Apparent and the Hidden Realities

10. The Apparent and the Hidden

I did not bring the Quran to you,

I peeled your skin and read the Quran

That was in you already,

I did not bring Muhammad to you,

You spoke and I heard Muhammad

That was in you already,

I did not bring the angels to you,

I came and saw that they were your

Faithful companions already,

The constant source of wonder to me

Is that you realize these not yourselves.

I posted this prose earlier (when?... oh I don't know, sorry) but it came to mind again as I was getting ready for work. While getting dressed, Mikhail took out the al-Quran and did me the greatest pleasure of reading one of my fav verse of the holy scriptures, known as surah al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112)...

Say: He is Allah(God), the One and Only; 

Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; 

He begets not, nor is He befotten; 

And there is none like unto Him.

My son is an ordinary sorta kid. He is cloaked in ordinariness and the simple innocence of children. He is actually rather shy and reluctant, but he read the surah (chapter) anyway, and I thought it was beautiful. He can certainly read it better than his dad. I am glad this is so, because I think it is the hope of all parents that their children will better them in all ways. And when it comes to Mikhail, I long sought this from the Creator of children. For I desire my son to be a believer, and not a sinner, much better than his own father...

151. Dear Son

You can walk tall,

You need not be like me at all,

The faith of a believer is higher

Than the faith of a sinner.

So, never forget what the Saidi said,

The first time you two met.

And what did he say, you ask?

Oh, how can I recall?

That’s what I mean, my son.

You need not be like me at all!

When you are worn out and wearied by this world, and you look upon your children, take relief that God has left in your care a precious creation, a child full of hope and love. Our children needs us, to feed and care for them. But in an interesting way, we too are in need of our children, as a brilliant and beautiful reminder of God in our lives, and that for all our stupidity, God still has faith in us. Which begs the return question - should we have such faith in God?

The Benetton kids. Not just a great ad for Benetton.
A great ad for God Almighty too.

You know the answer, sunshine. The answer is just as recorded in prose No.10 above. It is in your children.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Reborn Each Day. Again.

69. A Happy Sigh

Sometimes, late at night,

When lamps are dimmed,

But the moon stayed bright,

They would come.

Cajoling and rebuking this sinner,

With words that I cannot remember,

Then leaving me

In the unfolding arms

Of a new day

Made mint fresh

Like me (hehehe)

By the Almighty!

No formulaic praise, no extended glorification

Could equal the murmur,

The happy sighs

Of such moments;

Allah… Allah… Allah…

Well, looks like you have made it, sunshine. In spite of all the problems yesterday, despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, you are here today. If people call sleep a sort of mini-death, each time you wake up, you are reborn, fresh and new. A veritable babe in this new day which God has crafted over an infinity ago just for you. And since God always wants the best for you, how can any new day be anything but a good day, nay, a better day than the day before? 

Taufiq (that's me) has led a life full of folly. I have done things which I ought not have done, and I have omitted to do things which I ought to have done. If only I had listened to my late mother, life would probably be easier for me. But be that as it may, God has again granted me another day, so the story has not ended, and in a way, life is simply just beginning for me. Again.

How will you live your life today, sunshine? Will you read a new book? Will you get a new pet? Will you suddenly decide to unlearn the mistakes of the past and see life as this magnificent adventure that it can be? Tomorrow may come or not, so do not delay... do it today.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Chi-Kit Teck Aun - We get this problem sometimes...

Greeting, seekers. The sinner is down with a stomach bug. Perhaps there is no sight more humbling than that of yourself shuffling in and out of the washroom in the middle of the night. I have been asleep most of the day, gratefully saved by the chinese traditional medicine 'Chi-Kit Teck Aun', a long held cure for diarrhoea.

I have a few packets with me because I brought some along during my pilgrimage. As life sometimes does, I was surprised by being in tip-top health, nay a headache, a flu or even a cold during the 2 weeks sojourn in Jerusalem, Medina and Mecca.

I would like to share something profound with you today, but my brain is still reeling. The only thing I observed is that my son refused to leave me alone all day. Even when I am just sleeping. I guess that is quite sweet of him.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Where Art Thee? - Veneration of Muhammad

Where Art Thee?
I came to your City, to your Mosque
And stood before your Maqam, o' Prophet!
And I said to your Maqam...

"People tell me Muhammad
Resides within you, and
I nod my head in agreement.
But deep in my conscience
I ask myself -
How can Muhammad be contained
Within the corners of his Maqam
When all of Creation itself
Expands and contracts with
The beating of his eternal heart?"

So I ask you now, o’ Prophet,
Where art thee?

First you are conscious a little of the Prophet's history. Then you are conscious a little of his beautiful habits and traditions. Then you become conscious a little of his presence, upon which time you lose consciousness of yourself, and see all of Creation as how God sees it, through the Mercy of Muhammad. These are beautiful thoughts fit for those who seek beauty and mercy. It is not for those who seek hate and envy, for to each, we shall find what we crave for. Thus, may God guide your hearts, in whatever faith you cloak yourself in, to seek goodness and mercy, always.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

ParentCam. Mikhail and Mikhail. An angry car-owner - Pictures tell Stories

PARENT CAM. A couple of days back, my good friend Rina posted up on Facebook a photograph of my son, Mikhail with another Mikhail. They were chilling under a tree in the school compound, when Rina grabbed a picture. I showed the uploaded photo to Mika and warned him that even when I am not around I have friends who are always keeping an eye on him. No doubt this will increase his paranoia (he is awfully shy already), but I comfort myself that this is good for him. I am a proponent of tough love. I just hope I don't have to pay therapy for him later. Might be expensive...

My Mikhail has a bit of a paunch, ergo his pants always fall under his belly.
The other Mikhail doesn't appear to have similar problems.

I love ParentCam. Thank you, Rina!

PHOTOGENIC NOT. My son inherits a personal trait of mine - we are not very photogenic. But it doesn't help that Mika always make faces when I am trying to take a picture of him. And I really gotta tell Bibik not to overdo on the talcum powder. He looks like he just fell into a sack of dough.

But to be fair (and not scar his self-respect for life)
he doesn't look half bad here. Hehehe.

THEM RASCALLY KIDS! Last week I visited my friend's new pad. While walking through the car park, she pointed out the car below. On the back screen was an angrily scrawled warning - "This is not an abandoned car. It is a fully insured car with road tax. Please do not let your children run on top of the car!!!" Poor guy. The vehicle in question was a mid 80-s BMW 5 series. He must really love the car.

No wordy  poetry this time. Just the poetry of pictures and people. God bless them all.

Have a lovely Sunday, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq