, Peter Sterry and Basil Valentine: On Inexhaustibility of the Creator){kind=link}
Ibn Arabi, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Bhagavad-Gita (II. 16–20), Peter Sterry and Basil Valentine: On Inexhaustibility of the Creator
_____________________________
"Baveri" of the guard of the Sharif of Ottoman Mecca. He is holding a rifle and he has a jambiya dagger tucked in his belt. From 'Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, 74 photographic plates by Pascal Sebah', published by the Imperial Ottoman Commission for the "Exposition Universelle" of Vienna in 1873.
________________________________________________
Who is Nature and Who is all that is manifested from her? We did not see her diminished by that which was manifested from her, or increased by the not-being of aught manifested that was other than she.
(Ibn ‘Arabî)
As God willed no longer to remain in Himself, alone, therefore created He the soul and gave Himself in great love to her alone. Whereof art thou made, O Soul, that thou soarest so high over all creatures and whilst mingling in the Holy Trinity, yet remainest complete in thyself?
(Mechthild of Magdeburg)
The Principle is an infinity which nothing can augment or diminish. There is no existence for the unreal and the real can never be non-existent. The Seers of Truth know the nature and final ends of both.
Know That to be indestructible by which all this is pervaded. No one is ever able to destroy that Immutable.
These bodies are perishable; but the Dweller in these bodies is eternal, indestructible and impenetrable. Therefore fight, O descendant of Bharata!
He who considers this (Self) as a slayer or he who thinks that this (Self) is slain, neither of these knows the Truth. For It does not slay, nor is It slain.
This (Self) is never born, nor does It die, nor after once having been, does It go into non-being.
This (Self) is unborn, eternal, changeless, ancient. It is never destroyed even when the body is
destroyed.
(Bhagavad-Gîtâ, II. 16–20 )
A Fountain ever equally unexhaust, a Sea unbounded....
(Peter Sterry)
In its essence it must have an abundance of blood, like the Pelican, which wounds its own breast, and, without any diminution of its strength, nourishes and rears up many young ones with its blood. This Tincture is the Rose of our Masters, of purple hue, called also the red blood of the Dragon.
(Basil Valentine)
________________________________________________
Recommended Reading:
'Ibn 'Arabi, the "Tree of Being": An Ode to the Perfect Man'
By Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (Author), Tosun Bayrak (Translator)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
The Tree of Being (Shajarat al-Kawn in Arabic) is a work by Ibn Arabi, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak who also includes here two other short works . Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) knew and influenced the great men of his time, including Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Jalaluddin Rumi and Suhrawardi, and his influence spread beyond the Islamic world to medieval Europe. Dante shows the influence of Ibn Arabi in the Divine Comedy for example.The book has four sections. First is the interpreter's introduction which includes a biography of Ibn Arabi and a discussion of his approach to Sufism. The second concerns Ibn Arabi's devotion to the Prophet Muhammad as the perfect man and gives a description of his character and actions. Third is a listing of the 201 names and attributes of the Prophet. The fourth is an interpretation of The Tree of Being a commentary on the mystical elements of the Qur'an and Islam comprising an inspired description of the cosmos and the perfect man as microcosm.
_____________________________
________________________________________________
Leave a comment