Today's Beautiful Gem: `Madhupaatra and Madhus'aala'.

In the classical Sufi poetry as written by Saadi, Rumi, Attar, Hafiz and other great Sufi bards, ceratin words in their poems have philosophical and meta-physical connotations. I give a partial list of words with their symbolic meanings. The Sky is the Fate whereas the Sun is the God or the Beloved and the Moon is the Beauty of the Beloved. The Breeze is the Messenger of good tidings between the lover and the Beloved. You cross the Sea of Love with the Boat of Mind and of course the Captain of the Boat is God. You dive for the Pearl of Truth. The Desert is the long period that the lover has to pass through before his thirst for His Grace is quenched. The hills and valleys are, by the way, the ups and downs experineced by the lover. The Rose is the beautiful God whereas the Rosewater is His Grace. The nightingale is the lover-poet singing of His Beauty. The cypress is the Form of the Beloved and its cone is the lover's heart. The parrot similarly symbolises the lover-poet waiting to be fed the Sugar of Love. The moth is the lover who extinguishes himself in the Flame (Love) of the Candle (God). The Winehouse (madhus'Ala) is the place the lover frequents to be with the Perfect Master and the Wine (madhu) is His Grace, Love, Knowledge and Truth. Wine in the formal sense is forbidden to chaste Muslims, but as a symbol for personal love, it is allowed. The Cup in which the Wine overflows is the heart of the lover. The Winebringer (Saaki) can be God or Godman who brings the Love of God to the devotee. The Beloved's Hair (zulf) is the attraction of God's Grace and its curls are the Beauties of God's Manifestation. The Beloved's Eye is the Power of God. With one glance, we get annihilated in His Love. The Winemaker, the Wineseller or the King is God in human form, a Messiah. The Crown is His Glory. The Monarch's slave is the lover. The Inn is this World and so is the Ruin.

Hafiz says: "O God, You are the remedy of those without remedy.
You know the remedy for me and those like me."

Om s'aantih: Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao

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