Εάν ταις γλώσσαις των ανθρώπων λαλώ και

των αγγέλων, αγάπην δε μη έχω, γέγονα

χαλκός ηχών ή κύμβαλον αλαλάζον. και εάν
έχω προφητείαν και ειδώ τα μυστήρια πάντα
και πάσαν την γνώσιν, και εάν έχω πάσαν την
πίστιν, ώστε όρη μεθιστάνειν, αγάπην δε μη
έχω, ουδέν ειμι. και εάν ψωμίσω πάντα τα
υπάρχοντά μου, και εάν παραδώ το σώμα μου
ίνα καυθήσομαι, αγάπην δε μη έχω, ουδέν
ωφελούμαι. Η αγάπη μακροθυμεί,
χρηστεύεται, η αγάπη ου ζηλοί, η αγάπη ου
περπερεύεται, ου φυσιούται, ουκ ασχημονεί,
ου ζητεί τα εαυτής, ου παροξύνεται, ου
λογίζεται το κακόν, ου χαίρει επί τη αδικία,
συγχαίρει δε τη αληθεία. πάντα στέγει, πάντα
πιστεύει, πάντα ελπίζει, πάντα υπομένει. η
αγάπη ουδέποτε εκπίπτει. είτε δε προφητείαι,
καταργηθήσονται. είτε γλώσσαι παύσονται.
είτε γνώσις καταργηθήσεται. εκ μέρους δε
γινώσκομεν και εκ μέρους προφητεύομεν.
όταν δε έλθη το τέλειον, τότε το εκ μέρους
καταργηθήσεται. ότε ήμην νήπιος, ως νήπιος
ελάλουν, ως νήπιος εφρόνουν, ως νήπιος
ελογιζόμην. ότε δε γέγονα ανήρ, κατήργηκα τα
του νηπίου. βλέπομεν γαρ άρτι δι΄εσόπτρου εν
αινίγματι, τότε δε πρόσωπον προς πρόσωπον.
άρτι γινώσκω εκ μέρους, τότε δε επιγνώσομαι
καθώς και επεγνώσθην. νυνί δε μένει πίστις,
ελπίς, αγάπη, τα τρία ταύτα. μείζων δε
τούτων η αγάπη.
(Απ. Παύλου Α' Κορ.ιγ΄)
1 Corinthians 13:1-13

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels,

but have not love,
I have become sounding brass or a tinkling symbol.
And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.
And if I dole out all my goods, and
if I deliver my body that I may boast
but have not love, nothing I am profited.
Love is long suffering,
love is kind,
it is not jealous,
love does not boast,
it is not inflated.
It is not discourteous,
it is not selfish,
it is not irritable,
it does not enumerate the evil.
It does not rejoice over the wrong, but rejoices in the truth
It covers all things,
it has faith for all things,
it hopes in all things,
it endures in all things.
Love never falls in ruins;
but whether prophecies, they will be abolished; or
tongues, they will cease; or
knowledge, it will be superseded.
For we know in part and we prophecy in part.
But when the perfect comes, the imperfect will be superseded.
When I was an infant,
I spoke as an infant,
I reckoned as an infant;
when I became [an adult],
I abolished the things of the infant.
For now we see through a mirror in an enigma, but then face to face. Now I
know in part, but then I shall know as also I was fully known.
But now remains
faith, hope, love,
these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

1
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not
love, I gain nothing.
4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs.
6
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are
tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10
but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
11
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
12
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I
know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
Whose breath gives life to the world, hear me
I come to you as one of your many children
I am small and weak
I need your strength and wisdom
May I walk in beauty
Make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
And my ears sharp to your voice.
Make me wise so that I may know the things you have taught your children.
The lessons you have written in every leaf and rock
Make me strong--------!
Not to be superior to my brothers, but to fight my greatest enemy....myself
Make me ever ready to come to you with straight eyes,
So that when life fades as the fading sunset,
May my spirit come to you without shame.

Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
Remain close to the Great Spirit.
Show great respect for your fellow beings.
Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
Do what you know to be right.
Look after the well being of mind and body.
Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
Be truthful and honest at all times.
Take full responsibility for your actions.
Let us greet the dawn of a new day
when all can live as one with nature
and peace reigns everywhere.
Oh Great Spirit, bring to our brothers
the wisdom of Nature and the knowledge
that if her laws are obeyed
this land will again flourish
and grasses and trees will grow as before.
Guide those that through their councils
seek to spread the wisdom of their leaders to all people.
Heal the raw wounds of the earth
and restore to our soul the richness
which strengthens men's bodies
and makes them wise in their councils.
Bring to all the knowledge that great cities
live only through the bounty
of the good earth beyond their paved streets
and towers of stone and steel.

Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds

And whose breath gives life to everyone,
Hear me.
I come to you as one of your many children;
I am weak... I am small...I need your wisdom
and your strength.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever
behold the red and purple sunsets.
Make my hands respect the things you have made,
and make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice.
Make me wise, so that I may understand what you
have taught my people and
The lessons you have hidden in each leaf and each rock.
I ask for wisdom and strength,
Not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able
to fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me ever ready to come before you with
clean hands and a straight eye,
So as life fades away as a fading sunset,
My spirit may come to you without shame

The whole world is a marketplace for Love,

For naught that is, from Love remains remote.
The Eternal Wisdom made all things in Love.
On Love they all depend, to Love all turn.
The earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars
The center of their orbit find in Love.
By Love are all bewildered, stupefied,
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.

From each, Love demands a mystic silence.

What do all seek so earnestly? "Tis Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts,
In Love no longer "Thou" and "I" exist,
For self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul
Behold the Friend, Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds
Will find that the secret of them both is Love.

We are the guardians of His Beauty

We are the protectors
Of the Sun.

There is only one reason

We have followed God into this world:

To encourage laughter, freedom, dance

And love.

Let a noble cry inside of you speak to me

Saying,

"Hafiz,
Don't just sit there on the moon tonight
Doing nothing -

Help unfurl my heart into the Friend's Mind,

Help, Old Man, to heal my wounded wings!"

We are the companions of His Beauty

We are the guardians
Of Truth.

Every man, plant and creature in Existence,

Every woman, child, vein and note
Is a servant of our Beloved -

A harbinger of joy,
The harbinger of
Light.

Oh! Supreme Lover!

Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.

By Allah!
I long to escape the prison of my ego
and lose myself
in the mountains and the desert.

These sad and lonely people tire me.

I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your love
and feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I'm sick of mortal kings.

I long to see your light.
With lamps in hand
the sheikhs and mullahs roam
the dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,

The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.

Rumi - 'The Love Poems of Rumi' - Deepak Chopra & Fereydoun Kia