David

Real life stories from David’s spiritual diary…

One of the great ironies of human behaviour is how we quickly judge others with very little consideration of our own affairs. What we rail against most loudly is often what we have percolating on high within ourself. It’s as if we subconsciously believe we will stamp out our own shortcomings by condemning others. In this day of social media anonymity and the passing of the buck, the lack of accountability has become the standard way of doing business. From YouTube trolls to Twitter Tweeters, we hide behind aliases, fake names, and faceless commentary.

I am reminded of a manager at the ashram I lived in upstate New York who had fallen asleep on the late night shuttle ride from JFK airport in New York City. Two and a half hours later, he woke up at the ashram and groggily asked the driver if this was the shuttle, meaning the shuttle to the dorms. The relief driver, thinking he meant to JFK airport, said ‘yes’ whereupon the manager quickly fell back to sleep. Two and half hours later, he wakes up back at JFK. When told there was no need to pay for the return trip back to the ashram since it was an honest mistake, the manager would not hear of it. “If I don’t pay for my mistakes,” he told the driver, “who will?”

 🤗

Are you familiar with The Treasure, author/illustrator Uri Shulevitz’s multiple award-winning children’s book? A beautiful, wholesome book and proof that a child’s read is no place for ideological indoctrination: just keep it simple and heartfelt and your child will supply the rest. 😉

Summary: A poor man named Isaac has a dream that tells him to go to the city and search for treasure under the bridge near the Royal Palace. He pays no attention to it; after all, it is only a dream. But after he dreams the same dream twice more, Isaac decides he will journey to the city to search for the treasure. Though at times someone would give him a ride in their cart, he mostly he walks. Through forests and over mountains, he finally arrives at the city.

The bridge by the Royal Palace is guarded day and night. Isaac is afraid to search for treasure, but he keeps coming back until the Captain of the Guards asks Isaac why he is there. Isaac explains his dream and the Captain laughs at him. The Captain says if he was foolish enough to follow his dreams, he would be on a journey to the village where a man named Isaac lives, and dig up treasure under his stove. Isaac bows to the Captain and starts his long journey back home. He crosses mountains and walks through forests. Sometimes someone would give him a ride, but mostly he walks. He finally arrives at his village.

When he gets to his home, he digs under the stove and finds a treasure! In gratitude, he sends the Captain of the Guards a priceless ruby and builds a house of prayer with the inscription, “Sometimes one must travel far to discover what is near.” and lives the rest of his life happily. 🤗 

Rahu and Mars is a combination that should raise a yellow flag of caution. Through August 21, Rahu, the North node of the moon, and Mars will be together in Taurus. This combination indicates a general tendency to be lead astray either through distraction (Rahu) or through compulsion (Mars). Don’t think the latter is simply a matter of knowing right from wrong. We tend to rationalise our actions in order to satisfy a compulsion or craving. It’s self-aggrandisement hiding in plain sight. This happens because we falsify our real intentions, convincing ourselves that what we seek is for the good of all.

Writing this newsletter, being inspired by the recent joyful Sufi experiences of one of you, I decided to offer some poetry by Rumi and Hafez, two giants of Sufism who lived in the 13th and 14th centuries, respectively. After a bit of web searching, I came across a wonderful poem by Hafez — only it wasn’t his. Fortunately for both you and me, I also came across an article from a Muslim scholar who said that 99.9% of the poems attributed to Hafez are not his poems. Most of what you find on the internet is the original poetry of either David Ladinsky or Coleman Barks whose many best-selling books were marketed as “translations” of Hafez’s and Rumi’s poetry though neither one knows Persian. For each, this was just a small detail. Ladinsky has professed that his books received their impetus from a dream he had in the 90s where Hafez “came to him” and told him to write in his name. 🤔 Coleman Barks deliberately changed Rumi’s poetry from expressions of love and devotion to God and his guru to a mundane encounter with a lover. Saying the Koran is hard to read, he also removed references to Islam from Rumi’s works.

When I discovered this, I was dumbfounded. As a society, how is it that we allow such things? Misinformation, falsification, and intentional deceit by corporations, political leaders, school councils, and the person on the street has become as commonplace as eating with a knife and fork. As a society, ‘if it feels good, do it” or, if it leads to self-gain, it must be good.

With Rahu and Mars together this month, it’s a good idea to hit the pause button. 😉