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A Sufi tale shares of a certain conqueror speaking to the wise fool Nasrudin, "Mulla, all the great rulers of the past had honorific titles with the name of God. There was, for example, 'God-Gifted' and 'God-Accepted,' and so forth. How about some such name for me?" Said Nasurudin, 'God-Forbid!'.
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I begin most days reading some spiritual writings. Why? Not as earlier in life, when I read for information. I read now for inspiration. Through words I am urged on, in a sense renewed, refueled inwardly. Even more than inspiration, however, celebration. Through spiritual writings, as via other means as well, I feel inwardly the pull of Grace, and in consort, I feel the soul celebrating the beauty of Truth.
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Through words and without words, Truth reveals Itself as Truth wills, not as you or I decide. We are not to turn from any way in which Truth shows Itself to us. The showings appear as they appear, when they appear, and these showings disappear when they disappear. Truth seems, at times, to come out of hiding, then go back into hiding.
when we feel the power and beauty of Truth
we feel Truth celebrating Truth
we are only a participant
by and in Grace
but what is this Truth? this Grace?
who knows what no one can say?
one knows the Sun by the Sun
not learning about the Sun
one knows the sweetness of the Beloved's lips
in the meeting of lips with lips
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Yet, the Word hidden is as much the Word as the Word revealing. Truth appearing to remain mute and Truth appearing to speak are means of Life appearing, and Life is the Word, is Truth. For there is no other Word, but this Word encompassing the potential of all words.
Yet, we need not mistake Word for word or words for words. "Word" is the presence, the fount, of all realities, "words" appearing and disappearing, from most subtle to most gross. So, we need to understand Truth is not a truth or a group of truths. No amount of words or truths can be collected to equal the Word, the Truth.
Whether a bird or a mountain mirrored, by the Light, on the surface of the waters, the bird or the mountain is not the surface of the waters, and not the Light. Yet, in the communion, made possible by the action of Light, the bird or the mountain is known indirectly through the surface of the waters. This indirect knowing points one toward a direct knowing, but does not diminish the importance of the mirroring on the surface of the waters, anymore than a beloved disdains the love letters of a lover, for the beloved cherishes the letters as revelations of the love of the lover for the beloved. The love letters are a celebration of the beloved, the lover, and the Love moving between them, in a holy trinity of Beauty.
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