Saturday, October 10, 2009

About a Fellow Hermit?

One springtime Rabia entered a house, and did not come out. A follower said to her: Come outside, and see the beauties of the creation. Rabia said: Come inside, and see the creator. If you see the creator, you become too preoccupied to look at the creation.

- Attar: Rabi'a

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Quote,

From Rumi:

I have lived on the lip of insanity

Wanting to know reasons

Knocking on a door, it opens

I have been knocking from the inside!

Rumi


"Inside" is here and now.

Sophia said...

I love it! Thanks for sharing that. I have this big smile on my face because this quote tells the story of my life for the past eight years!

V said...

The age-old conflict between the inner and the outer. Light and darkness. The good and the evil. As seen and taught by our Teachers.

What is within is without. What is without is within.

V said...

Our ancient teachers were full of conflict and violence. That explains our psychology. Our divisiveness.

Anonymous said...

This must be Rabia Al Basri as narrated by Attar. She was the first female saint in Islam.

The word Rabia means the number four. As it is said, Rabia Al Basri was the fourth daughter of her parents so they named her Rabia.
Rabia also means the springtime.

You cherished my soul today. Because Rabia is also my real name.

sally said...

i like rabia's poetry
and i like this story that you posted
but today my loyalties lie
with the outer world

he who does not love his brother
whom he has seen
cannot love god
whom he has not seen

somebody said that
i can't remember if it was
paul or james or jesus

my experience is that i can't have one
without the other
i can't truly love God without also
loving my neighbor
(which includes the whole creation)
but neither can i truly love my neighbor
unless i spend time "inside" with God
as Rabia advises here

Anonymous said...

"The innermost chamber is opened to the man of silence. "

Kagemni

Sophia said...

V., From my point of view the conflict is with my self. Have you ever heard the phrase, "You are your own worst enemy?" There is some truth in that statement.

Sophia said...

Hi Mania,

The beauty of that quote is two-fold because of the name and because of the profound truth of the phrase.

I did not know who Rabia Al Basri was so I am thankful to you for the explanation. I am very fascinated by numbers!

Sophia said...

Hi Sally,

Your feelings on this are in sync with the feelings of my heart.

Deep within I know I need to get out more and experience nature and more of the company of my brothers and sisters. As much as my lifestyle may seem introverted, I am actually deeply in love with people.

I am glad to hear from you, Sally. Thanks for returning to visit again.

Sophia said...

Anonymous, is that a hint? :)

Just what is silence, anyway? A vow not to speak? Can't that be accomplished in meditation?

Anonymous said...

No I am not trying to shut you up. :)

You do not have to be silent all of the time. If you are internally silent (and aware of yourself) even a few times each day you will change dramatically over time.

You could try to do it for 30 seconds before you get out of bed and again before you fall asleep.

Sophia said...

Oh good. I thought you were trying to tell me something.

I thought the quote you left here by Kagemni was mysterious. Do you like ancient Egyptian wisdom?

Boris said...

Dear Sophia,
For me, You can find the Creator wherever you go: Outside and/or Inside.
By the way in one of your replies, you talk about "You are your own worst enemy?", and I would add that there is half True in this statement. The other half is that "You are your own best ally".

All the best

Sophia said...

I love your optimism, Boris. Something tells me the glass is always half full in your neck of the woods. :)