April 2020: Importance of Spiritual Practices in a Difficult Time
/یک نفس در پرده عشقش چو جانت غسل کرد
همچو مریم از دمی بینی تو عیسی زاییی
In one breath, merge within the baptism of Love
and see the moment you give birth to the Messiah within!!
~Rumi
Source: Divane Kabir, Ghazal #2807
Reflection on the Quote:
A message from Dr. Fariba Enteshari, Founder & Executive Director:
In difficult times, we can fall into a spiral of despair if we have not built a web of well-being deep within our own existence. The inner wisdom runs like light into our veins in the dark moments of life only if we have taken time to feed our souls. Time is a crucial factor in attending to our inner needs; so is disciplined practice on an ongoing basis.
Difficult times are like touchstones to the reservoir of wisdom. Our soul is like a river that flows with living water. Each breath offers us a chance to choose love. And it is only in doing so, Rumi is convinced, that we can like Mary, give birth to a Messiah within. Our conception is sealed by love and recognizing it is the start of giving birth to a new vision for a better world. It is in our collaboration that we take care of each other and come up with systems that support our interconnectedness. We can choose to see that our very survival depends on cooperation and our ability to think and plan together, with each other and for each other.
Yes, our human species possesses other dimensions fueled by unlimited greed, cruelty, violence, irresponsibility, fighting the facts and denying the truth. It takes a crisis in life to show us how far we have sunk in neglecting the fact that we are interdependent.
In the coming year, we shall witness the result of our choices and what we have learned in this defining time. With love, we can envision a new system with no separation and no limits to what we can achieve together.
Little by little wean yourself.
This is the gist of what I have to say.
From an embryo, whose nourishment
comes in the blood,
move to an infant drinking milk,
to a child on solid food,
to a search after wisdom,
to a hunter of more invisible game.
- Mathnawi III, Verses 49 -52
The Essential Rumi, page 70 translated by Coleman Barks
-Dr. Fariba Enteshari