Not a believer inside the mosque, am I

Nor a pagan disciple of false rites

Not the pure amongst the impure
Neither Moses, nor the Pharoh

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Not in the holy Vedas, am I

Nor in opium, neither in wine
Not in the drunkard`s intoxicated craze
Niether awake, nor in a sleeping daze

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

In happiness nor in sorrow, am I

Neither clean, nor a filthy mire
Not from water, nor from earth
Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Not an Arab, nor Lahori

Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri
Hindu, Turk, nor Peshawari
Nor do I live in Nadaun

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Secrets of religion, I have not known

From Adam and Eve, I am not born
I am not the name I assume
Not in stillness, nor on the move

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

I am the first, I am the last

None other, have I ever known
I am the wisest of them all
Bulleh! do I stand alone?

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

_________________________

Repeating the name of the Beloved

I have become the Beloved myself.
Whom shall I call the Beloved now?
_________________________________

He said, "Let there be," and it happened.

He made the latent turn into the manifest,
Out of the formless He created the form.
What a wondrous game He played!
What a carefree game He plays!

When He disclosed the hidden secret,

He lifted the veil from over His face.
Why does He now hide from me?
The Real permeates everyone.
What a carefree game He plays!

He said, "We have honored mankind;

None has been created like you;
You are the crown of all creation."
What a proclamation with the beat of drum!
What a carefree game He plays!

He himself indulges in these carefree acts;

He himself feels frightened of himself;
He has taken abode in every house;
And the people keep wandering in delusion.
What a carefree game He plays!

He himself aroused longing to become mad in love.

He himself became Laila to steal Majnun's heart.
Himself He wept, himself consoled himself.
0, what a game of love He plays!
What a carefree game He plays!

_______________________________________________

You alone exist; I do not, O Beloved!

You alone exist, I do not!
Like the shadow of a house in ruins,
I revolve in my own mind.
If I speak, you speak with me:
If I am silent, you are in my mind.
If I sleep, you sleep with me:
If I walk, you are along my path.
Oh Bulleh, the spouse has come to my house:
My life is a sacrifice unto Him.
You alone exist; I do not, O Beloved!
_______________________--

I have got lost in the city of love,

I am being cleansed, withdrawing myself from my head, hands and feet.
I have got rid of my ego, and have attained my goal.
Thus it has all ended well.
O Bullah, the Lord pervades both the worlds;
None now appears a stranger to me.
_____________________________

The one You kill,

Lord,
Does not smell of blood,
And the one You burn
Does not reek of smoke.

He You burn laughs as he burns

And the one You kill,
As You kill him,
Cries out in ecstasy
___________________

Mirza Galib

The drop dies in the river

of its joy
pain goes so far it cures itself

in the spring after the heavy rain the cloud

disappears
that was nothing but tears

in the spring the mirror turns green

holding a miracle
Change the shining wind

the rose led us to our eyes

let whatever is be open

_______________________

When the attention is turned inward a soft sound is heard. At first it might be
the quiet chirping of crickets in the night or the flowing of gentle stream. It is
heard as a random, soothing "white noise" that seems to emanate from the base of
the skull.

When focused upon with deep attention, this sound resolves into a clearer pitch
that can resemble the ringing of a bell that is heard and, finally, felt
throughout the body.

This sound is Krishna's flute calling his devotees to him. It is the ringing of
the bells of paradise.

This sound signals the beginning of deep meditation. The more we open to the
sound, the more the attention is drawn heavenward while the divine flow pours
through us.

_______________________________

Lets face it
English is a stupid language.
There is no egg in the eggplant
No ham in the hamburger
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England
French fries were not invented in France.

We sometimes take English for granted

But if we examine its paradoxes we find that
Quicksand takes you down slowly
Boxing rings are square
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If writers write, how come fingers don't fing.

If the plural of tooth is teeth
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth
If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught.

If a vegetarian eats vegetables

What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways
How can the weather be as hot as hell on one day
And as cold as hell on another

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy

Of a language where a house can burn up as
It burns down
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out
And a bell is only heard once it goes!

English was invented by people, not computers

And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn't a race at all)

That is why
When the stars are out they are visible
But when the lights are out they are invisible
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
It starts
But when I wind up this poem
It ends
------------------------------------------------------

One Life
Author Unknown

One SONG can spark a moment

One FLOWER can wake the dream
One TREE can start a forest
One BIRD can herald spring
One SMILE begins a friendship
One HANDCLASP lifts a soul
One STAR can guide a ship at sea
One WORD can frame the goal
One VOTE can change a nation
One SUNBEAM lights a room
One CANDLE wipes out darkness
One LAUGH will conquer gloom
One STEP must start each journey
One WORD must start a prayer
One HOPE will raise our spirits
One TOUCH can show you care
One VOICE can speak with wisdom
One HEART can know what is true
One LIFE can make a difference.

------------------------------------

God's Wheel
Shel Silverstein
American Poet, Cartoonist and Children's Book Author

God says to me with kind of a smile,

"Hey how would you like to be God awhile
And steer the world?"
"Okay," says I, "I'll give it a try.
Where do I set?
How much do I get?
What time is lunch?
When can I quit?"
"Gimme back that wheel," says God,
"I don't think you're quite ready yet."

-----------------------

Doubt sees the obstacles

Faith sees the way
Doubt sees the darkest night
Faith sees the day
Doubt dreads to take a step
Faith soars on high.
Doubt questions 'who believes?'
Faith answers, 'I.'

--------------------------------

A Prayer For Courage

Rabindranath Tagore

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,

But to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
But for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield,
But to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
But hope for the patience to win my freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward,
feeling your mercy in my success alone,
But let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure.
-------------------------------

Dream as if you'll live forever...

live as if you'll die today."

James Dean

--------------------

Only as high as I reach can I grow,

Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be.
Karen Ravn

Some men see things as they are and ask why.

Others dream things that never were and ask why not.
George Bernard Shaw

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a
trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
�It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do
not dare that they are difficult.�

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take
the first step.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

�The journey of a thousand miles must begin

with a single step.�
Lao Tzu

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a
stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman
opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and
asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler
left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give
him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone
to the wise woman.

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it
back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what
you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."

"The Wise Woman's Stone"

Author Unknown

"If you have built castles in the air,

your work need not be lost;
that is where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them."

Henry David Thoreau

There are only two ways of spreading light -

to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

Edith Wharton

"I think; therefore I am."

"The only secure knowledge is that I exist."
"When we know what God is, we shall be gods ourselves." Bernad Shaw
"For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe,
no explanation is possible."
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to
the world." Mother Teresa
"The more I study science, the more I believe in God." Albert Einstein
"I want to know God's thoughts...the rest are details." Albert Einstein
"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of
meeting me is another matter." Winston Churchill
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein
"Beauty is a sign of intelligence." Andy Warhol
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart." Helen Keller
"Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you, and be happy."
Anne Frank
"In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves." Edward Bulwer-Lytton
"Unless you believe, you will not understand." Saint Augustine
"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what
you believe." Saint Augustine
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Martin Luther King Jr.
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have
a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."
~Erma Bombeck

You fall out of your mother's womb, you crawl across open country under fire, and
drop into your grave. ~Quentin Crisp

As we struggle to make sense of things, life looks on in repose. ~Author Unknown

I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get
used to it. ~Charles Schulz

I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where
it itches. ~Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it
once. ~Lillian Dickson

We are born wet, naked, and hungry. Then things get worse. ~Author Unknown

Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up. ~Author Unknown