""Each of us, sooner or later, is called to tangle with the Divine" -- John O'Donohue"
Ishq-e-Haqiqi (Divine Love)
This week we invite you to explore the power of divine love through a Sindhi-Sufi folk song.
Background: Sufism describes two types of love: love of the divine (ishq-e-haqiqi, where ishq means love and haqiqi alludes to immortal reality/truth/god as understood across faiths), and love of worldly matters (ishq-e-majazi, a form of attachment to temporary artifacts and manifestations that come and go). The latter tends to be the default understanding in our present day culture of transactions and inconsistent connections. A couplet from the Sikh scripture, Sukhmani sahib, draws a vivid comparison of falling in love with the shade of a tree, and when the shade goes away, the mind regrets ever falling for the temporary.
And yet, folk song wisdom, and its modern-rustic adaptations as this one by Annie Ahluwalia, keep opening the door for us to step in the divine love, in a practical sense in our human existence. This is an altogether different lens of living. Shared below are the lyrics to the song/poem "tere ishq mein jo bhi doob gaya", along with an English translation. Performed originally by the late legendary Pakistani folk singer, Allan Faqir, he turns our attention to divine love through surrender.
Let yourself stay with these words and music for a few days. Write your reflections and then gather with your family and dear ones, esp grown children of ages 15 and up, for a contemplative circle. What does love, and furthermore that of divine nature, mean to you as a family and/or individuals? What practices might help in looking at your relational setting through this lens?
While there are devotional merits of such discussion, it delivers value in an expanded realm in that growing children start developing awareness that allows them to step outside the populist, media-driven notions about love and emotional attachment.
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Song: Ishq-e-Haqiqi (Divine Love)
Dekhun jab ye zamin, dekhun jab aasmaan
When I look at the earth, when I look at the sky
Sab tere hain nishaan, sab tere hain nishaan
everything is your sign
In sitaaron se phi aagey hain jo jahaan
(Extending beyond) the realms that lie beyond the stars
Sab tere hain nishaan, sab tere hain nishaan
everything is your sign
Tere Ishq mein jo bhi doob gaya
Whoever is blessed enough to drown in your waters (in the love of the divine)
Usse duniya ki leheron se darnaa kya
Doesn’t need to be scared of the stormy waves of the world
Jiss dariya ka paani jeevan de
The one who gets life from the water of a stream
Uss dariya ki lehron se darna kya?
What has s/he to fear from its mighty flow?
Gehrai mein jitna bhi jaoon, tujhko paas utna hee paoon
The deeper I go, the closer I find the divine
Teri aakhon mein jo bhi doob gaya,
whoever gets to drown in your eyes (vision)
Usse duniya ki leheron se darnaa kya
Doesn’t need to be scared of the stormy waves of the world
********
Background: Sufism describes two types of love: love of the divine (ishq-e-haqiqi, where ishq means love and haqiqi alludes to immortal reality/truth/god as understood across faiths), and love of worldly matters (ishq-e-majazi, a form of attachment to temporary artifacts and manifestations that come and go). The latter tends to be the default understanding in our present day culture of transactions and inconsistent connections. A couplet from the Sikh scripture, Sukhmani sahib, draws a vivid comparison of falling in love with the shade of a tree, and when the shade goes away, the mind regrets ever falling for the temporary.
And yet, folk song wisdom, and its modern-rustic adaptations as this one by Annie Ahluwalia, keep opening the door for us to step in the divine love, in a practical sense in our human existence. This is an altogether different lens of living. Shared below are the lyrics to the song/poem "tere ishq mein jo bhi doob gaya", along with an English translation. Performed originally by the late legendary Pakistani folk singer, Allan Faqir, he turns our attention to divine love through surrender.
Let yourself stay with these words and music for a few days. Write your reflections and then gather with your family and dear ones, esp grown children of ages 15 and up, for a contemplative circle. What does love, and furthermore that of divine nature, mean to you as a family and/or individuals? What practices might help in looking at your relational setting through this lens?
While there are devotional merits of such discussion, it delivers value in an expanded realm in that growing children start developing awareness that allows them to step outside the populist, media-driven notions about love and emotional attachment.
*******
Song: Ishq-e-Haqiqi (Divine Love)
Dekhun jab ye zamin, dekhun jab aasmaan
When I look at the earth, when I look at the sky
Sab tere hain nishaan, sab tere hain nishaan
everything is your sign
In sitaaron se phi aagey hain jo jahaan
(Extending beyond) the realms that lie beyond the stars
Sab tere hain nishaan, sab tere hain nishaan
everything is your sign
Tere Ishq mein jo bhi doob gaya
Whoever is blessed enough to drown in your waters (in the love of the divine)
Usse duniya ki leheron se darnaa kya
Doesn’t need to be scared of the stormy waves of the world
Jiss dariya ka paani jeevan de
The one who gets life from the water of a stream
Uss dariya ki lehron se darna kya?
What has s/he to fear from its mighty flow?
Gehrai mein jitna bhi jaoon, tujhko paas utna hee paoon
The deeper I go, the closer I find the divine
Teri aakhon mein jo bhi doob gaya,
whoever gets to drown in your eyes (vision)
Usse duniya ki leheron se darnaa kya
Doesn’t need to be scared of the stormy waves of the world
********
Reading Corner
Kindful Kids Editors.
Name of the book: Mohinder's War
Author: Bali Rai
Ages: 9 and up
""We are all family,” says Mo, the Indian-born RAF pilot who becomes irrevocably connected to thirteen-year-old Joelle when his plane crashes near her Nazi-occupied French village during world war II. “I believe that all of creation is one whole. We are bound together, each of us, by invisible links, and all are equally important.” This uplifting ethos of equality ripples through Mohinder’s War, a story of solidarity and survival against the odds; of friendship and hope through horror and loss.
Joelle lived a “charmed life” in pre-war France, her English mother and French father kept busy by their family boulangerie. Following the outbreak of war and Nazi occupation they support the French Resistance. As a result, when Joelle happens upon Mohinder, they keep him safe in their home - but at huge risk, for the Germans know about Mo’s crashed plane and have placed a reward on his capture.
Short and driven by compelling characters, it’s also excellent for prompting discussions around broader ethical issues - betrayal, trust and what it is to do the right (and wrong) thing...." -- LoveReading4Kids
Author: Bali Rai
Ages: 9 and up
""We are all family,” says Mo, the Indian-born RAF pilot who becomes irrevocably connected to thirteen-year-old Joelle when his plane crashes near her Nazi-occupied French village during world war II. “I believe that all of creation is one whole. We are bound together, each of us, by invisible links, and all are equally important.” This uplifting ethos of equality ripples through Mohinder’s War, a story of solidarity and survival against the odds; of friendship and hope through horror and loss.
Joelle lived a “charmed life” in pre-war France, her English mother and French father kept busy by their family boulangerie. Following the outbreak of war and Nazi occupation they support the French Resistance. As a result, when Joelle happens upon Mohinder, they keep him safe in their home - but at huge risk, for the Germans know about Mo’s crashed plane and have placed a reward on his capture.
Short and driven by compelling characters, it’s also excellent for prompting discussions around broader ethical issues - betrayal, trust and what it is to do the right (and wrong) thing...." -- LoveReading4Kids
Be the Change
Create a practice with your family/class that allows you to listen and surrender to divine love, even in your day-to-day existence. Some clues: watching a sunrise or sunset together, going for nature walks, singing songs and reciting poetry to each other, or being of service together as a collective.
As John O'Donohue's words remind us -- may the beauty in your life become more visible to you!
As John O'Donohue's words remind us -- may the beauty in your life become more visible to you!
