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October 12 - October 15, 2021
“never equate one action with another. One must never compare oneself to others, even though they may appear to be the same on the surface; truly nothing is as it seems!”
When you look at everything in life with the eyes of want and greed, whom do you hope to escape? Yourself? God? Is that possible?
The fly was gloating in her pride, floating on the stream of urine, believing that she was sailing the seven seas. Unbeknown to her, she was still the same lowly fly she’d always been, driven along by the furious pace of the urine’s flow, unaware that nothing truly is as it seems.
Was it not true that the human tongue is like an uneasy aggregation of rock and iron, which, when struck against each other, can spark off a fire?
my freedom would lie in the act of dying in the sense of forsaking my attachment to my worldly talents, which I had prized so highly.”
“I’ve sinned throughout this long life that You’ve gifted me. I’ve spent it singing and playing music, forgetting the pain of being separated from You, and I and no one else am the cause of my guilt and shame,” he confessed. “Please save me from myself, for my enemy is within me, closer to me than my own pathetic soul!”
he must let go of his past as well as his future, for he was still entangled between them; and that meant that he was not yet one with God and had not yet put his full trust in the Creator.
One who learns a lesson from watching his friends’ mistakes is indeed the wisest one.”
Many are our wishes and prayers that, beyond our ability to see, will only bring us loss or death, which God Almighty turns a deaf ear to simply out of His benevolence.
“The piteous always drive themselves into a rueful state. They plant seeds but sow thorns. And those who sow thorns have no place in the divine Garden. In their hands, every rose will become a thorn. If they fall in love, their beloved will turn into a venomous snake, for their spirit is dark and nasty. Their talent is in creating poison, unlike the true alchemist, who turns everything into precious gold!”
My brothers, by the child I mean the child in your own eyes! Consider your needs fulfilled once you shed tears. If you want to be the recipient of unbounded generosity, make the child in your eyes cry for your earthly body.”
“My revered master, all my life you’ve fed me the most delectable foods. I was too ashamed to complain, as it was the first time that you’d given me something unpalatable. The reason for my whole existence is your benevolence; how could I possibly complain about one instance of being served inedible food?”
Sometimes, the truth is much too obvious; people erroneously search for its signs while the real thing is staring them right in the face.
“Tell this unknowing man to stop claiming that I have not punished him for his sins. It’s indeed the opposite! I have grabbed him and held him in my hands many times, but he was completely incognizant of it. Tell him that he’s become so tainted inside and out, like a blackened pot, that darkness no longer has any effect on him. Patches of dirt are immediately apparent on a clean surface; it’s the same with sin and the marks it leaves on the soul. Darkness first strikes at the inside and then reveals itself slowly on the outside. “When someone’s whole being has been tainted through and through,
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Although he couldn’t fully understand his own nature, at the same time he couldn’t deny it either; much like we humans, who belong to the spirit world and always yearn to go back but are caught in the snare of the material world, unable to fully detach ourselves.
“When you throw a slice of bread in front of a hungry dog, does he eat it right away? Of course not! He first smells it to make sure it’s safe, and then he eats it. The dog uses his power of smell to make wise decisions as they pertain to him, while men and women must use their minds and their wisdom!”
“Throughout my life, I’ve been the inadvertent recipient of many blessings because of the crimes committed by these unruly men. By the sheer evil of their actions, they’ve shown me right from wrong. Every single time I’ve turned my attention to worldly affairs, I’ve been witness to their immense cruelty; thus, I sought refuge in our Creator. Consequently, their evil actions have guided me to the greater good. It is imperative for me to pray for their salvation!”
People are forever complaining to God about their pains and the unfairness they experience in their lives. Meanwhile, God invariably tells His wailing subjects that it’s that very same pain that will eventually lead them to His door. Our friends are indeed our worst enemies, for they remove us from His company by distracting us with the minutia of their own personal affairs. Truly, every enemy can be our cure and balm, for in order to avoid them we must seek the help of the One who has created us all.
“The beauties that you speak of exist only in the outside world, while within my heart there’s no limit to God’s glory. The trees, the flowers, and the fruit that you see are only signs of His creation; they’re merely a reflection on the surface of the water,”
“My first advice to you, my good sir, is to never believe the impossible from anyone.”
“The second advice is to never regret the past. When something is in the past, it’s never coming back.”
“To impart advice to the foolish is like trying to grow crops in a salt field!”
“You’re still distracted by my superficial beauty! Can’t you see that it’s because of these feathers that I’ve had to bear so much pain? Every time I turn around, there’s a hunter stalking me. I can’t protect myself from harm; I’m large in size, but truly I’m quite weak. If I can’t repel danger, then I may as well make myself look as unseemly as possible! I want to be able to roam anywhere I choose, peacefully and without fear. These feathers are the cause of my egotism, they’ve brought me much unnecessary harm. It’s time for me to be rid of all such ornaments! If anyone can understand, it’s
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Let go of the superficial qualities which gives nothing but pain
“If the tears have their source in the spiritual world—if they’ve sprung forth because of a spiritual experience and one’s established a connection with the divine—then tears are a grace! However, if they’ve sprung from some physical pain or emotional discomfort, then they’re a distraction and indeed may cut off one’s connection with God; such tears are certainly not welcome.”
“To only perceive what’s visible to the eye is like having a beautiful jug but being oblivious to the real beauty of the wine inside, because you can only see the container. I drink from a pitcher, and I taste the delectable wine; but if you drink from the same vessel, God will only allow you to taste vinegar.
