This morning’s post on the Poetry Chaikhana came with a better idea of death than anything I came across so far. Still, it is not ideal. I mean, the death the way I perceive it, is a liberation, complete bliss and the all-encompassing knowledge. But now I came closer to understanding the pleasure of the physical existence. The really ideal way would be to have both – the bliss and the knowledge of beyond death, and the pleasures of the material living at the same time… I think it is possible. How can I achieve it?
I am copying here the Ivan Granger’s post. Can’t say I am taken by the poetic quality of the translation, but the idea of the poem itself resonates with me.
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Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi – No end to the journey Posted: 18 May 2009 08:40 AM PDT No end to the journey English version by Robert Bly No end, no end to the journey Into this new love, die
No end, no end to the journey That line becomes a rhythmic chant on Ramananda’s wonderful CD “Secret Language.” no end, no end never And, my favorite– how can the heart in love A full life, a complete spiritual practice can be found in that question. But why all this death imagery? Into this new love, die Why does every spiritual tradition speak of dying and death in such a favorable light? Do all mystics have some secret death wish? In deep ecstasy, the sense of individuality, the sense of “I” thins and can completely disappear. Though you still walk and breathe and talk, there is no “you” performing these actions. The separate identity, the ego, disappears, to be replaced by a vast, borderless sense of Self. It is this experience, this complete loss of the limited sense of self, that is the death so eagerly sought by mystics throughout time. This is the death that leads to new life… in every moment That limited sense of self is the prison we must break free from. take an axe to the prison wall, Suddenly, the walls that kept you contained and carefully defined drop to the ground — and there you stand a radiant being whose boundaries are no longer perceived in terms of flesh or memory. In this new freedom, you are alive in a way you never imagined before, and everything you perceive is part of that life. walk out like someone
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