Esoterics Anonymous

Where neither water nor yet earth Nor fire nor air gain a foothold, There gleam no stars, no sun sheds light, There shines no moon, yet there no darkness reigns. When a sage, a brahman, has come to know this For himself through his own wisdom, Then he is freed from form and formless. Freed from pleasure and from pain.

Underwater I'm beating on my chest for air Crushing pressure Beating on my bones like warfare Hold it above my head Burn it into my mind I'm begging Please don't let me forget All of the times I rise I'm ready now Cause I've been breathing in the lies I overhear Yeah I can feel it all, I'm coming up for air

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Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy. Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced. When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master?       And he answered saying:       You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.       You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.       Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.       But let there be spaces in your togetherness,       And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.      Love one another, but make not a bond of love:       Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.       Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.       Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.       Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of your be alone,       Even as the strings of the lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.      Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.       For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.       And stand together yet not too near together:       For the pillars of the temple stand apart,       And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow. From The Prophet (Knopf, 1923). This poem is in the public domain.