ونحن قد عاد من الجهاد الأصغر إلى الجهاد الأكبر
"We
have returned from the lesser jihad (Holy War) to the greater jihad".
Prophet Muhammad
This
poem is inspired by “Saladin - The song of Swords”
– A poem by Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti. Saladin, a great military
leader of Islam, became famous for his outstanding quality as a faithful servant of
the Lord, and being scrupulous in his practice and application of the precepts.
The wooden sword becomes the symbolism of this hadith (an instructive quote from the Prophet) about Holy War, for the "greater war" refers to the inner spiritual struggle necessary to defeat one's lower nature, to proceed on the path of self-realization. A wooden sword is unsuitable for a war of conflict, where hand and sword combine. Therefore it was placed next to the Khatib (preacher) during the sermon to remind everyone that there is no greater struggle than the interior one to develop one's spiritual qualities. Religious practices and injunctions may vary from doctrine to doctrine, but all are to spiritually support and strengthen the devotee while conducting this inner struggle.
This
is something common to all the spiritualists engaged in the "greater
jihad" against pride, anger, greed, hatred and envy.
So, this poem it is about the realization that sometimes in a stage of 'green' immaturity in spiritual pursuit, practitioners tend to abruptly and forcibly "cut" attachments and often this results in an artificial way of giving up one's desires.
in Bhakti yoga, the Yoga of devotion, there is also this struggle, but the softness of the heart has to be preserved because the seed of Bhakti can sprout only in this condition in the heart. Bhakti flourishes in positiveness, it is susukhaḿ kartum, performed with great joy, (Bg. 9.2) and meditating on factors of vitiated consciousness (anarthas) might cause our Ego to turn and search for them in others, and thus easily fall into pride. On the other hand, with renewed enthusiasm, taking into the heart the chanting of the Holy Name will ignite the process of transforming our desires, our attachments, our sources of joy, and our overall consciousness.
Tomorrow I will raise the sword
And cut.
I’ll give it all up!
Lamentation nests in the heart,
weaving sprigs of ego,
where hatching
of attachments and desires
all born of the mind
cause my sorrow ~
I know.
But tomorrow,
With force,
I will raise the Sword-of-Fire
And strike!
The flame will devour the unwanted .....
But ~
Fire never penetrates as love.
Fire never penetrates as love.
Charring, it hardens and darkens,
alas, what then will become of the heart?
In a bare land,
unforeseeable are the ways leading astray,
where ever-green roots of pride might sprout.
How to find the strength
to raise the Sword-of-Fire,
every and each day
following tomorrow?
But here and now,
I can raise,
and brandish the Sword-of-Water!
Water bursts and gushes
from a glacier-like heart,
roaring, piercing,lashing.
Only with faith,
and in no other way,
and in no other way,
the stone-blocks of anger and pride
melt in the soothing liquid of the Holy Names.
In the same way water erodes rocks
but softly refreshes the skin,
They will transform the desires
inundating the heart
with Their brilliance,
with Their brilliance,
and in this ever-fresh new festival of joy
I will chant and dance.
Only Krishna’s sweetness
can destroy whatever is unwanted,
and tomorrow, again, easily,
I will unsheathe the Sword-of-Water
to win the greater war of Saladin
with a sincere cry of the heart
with a sincere cry of the heart
by calling “Krishna. Krishna.”
His Sword-of-Ether,1
as potent as all swords in one,
will reveal to me the honeyed fluid of love.
Then no more will there be a future tense
But only an eternal, ever-sweeter present.
1) SB 12.11.17 “His sword, pure as the sky, [is] the element of Ether.”
THE SYMBOL OF THE SWORD
The sword, like many other symbols, contains more than one meaning. Its dual blade and the inherent function to pierce, makes the sword a symbol of the word. Even in placing the sword next to the Khatib is also to symbolize the power of the word. The word might be our fortune or our condemnation ~ in this lies the duplicity of the blade. If we use the word deplorably and without control, the word prevents our efforts toward self-realization and we could fall into a stalemate, as well as damaging the progress of other people. Words wound as swords.
"Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature." BG 17.15
Instead, a favourable use of the word, has the power to elevate one to a higher consciousness and also to pass the benefit on to others. In this case the word pierces the heart as a sword, letting in the light .
Even in the Christian tradition we find the symbolism of the word and the sword : " In His right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double- edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance " -Revelation 1:16
The sloka reported in the poem : "His [of the Lord] sword, as well as the sky , [is] the element of Ether ." SB 12:11:17 is an indirect reference to the power of the sound coming from and manifesting the Lord, as the element of Ether is a grosser form of sound .
SB 11.4.11 Purport " Although crossing the ocean of sense gratification, those who perform severe penances without service to the Lord eventually drown in tiny puddles of anger. One who simply performs material penances does not actually purify his heart. By one's material determination one may restrict the activities of the senses although one's heart is still filled with material desires. The practical result of this is krodha, or anger. We have seen artificial performers of penance who have become very bitter and angry through denial of the senses. [...] Thus anger gives neither liberation nor material sense gratification, but merely burns up all the results of material penances and austerities.
SB 11.5.33 "Generally the conditioned souls are engaged in bhoga-tyaga. Sometimes they run madly after material prestige and sense gratification, and sometimes they desperately try to renounce these things. However, beyond this vicious cycle of alternating sense gratification and renunciation are the lotus feet of the Lord Which constitute the ultimate abode of peace and happiness for the living entity."
The sloka reported in the poem : "His [of the Lord] sword, as well as the sky , [is] the element of Ether ." SB 12:11:17 is an indirect reference to the power of the sound coming from and manifesting the Lord, as the element of Ether is a grosser form of sound .
SB 11.4.11 Purport " Although crossing the ocean of sense gratification, those who perform severe penances without service to the Lord eventually drown in tiny puddles of anger. One who simply performs material penances does not actually purify his heart. By one's material determination one may restrict the activities of the senses although one's heart is still filled with material desires. The practical result of this is krodha, or anger. We have seen artificial performers of penance who have become very bitter and angry through denial of the senses. [...] Thus anger gives neither liberation nor material sense gratification, but merely burns up all the results of material penances and austerities.
SB 11.5.33 "Generally the conditioned souls are engaged in bhoga-tyaga. Sometimes they run madly after material prestige and sense gratification, and sometimes they desperately try to renounce these things. However, beyond this vicious cycle of alternating sense gratification and renunciation are the lotus feet of the Lord Which constitute the ultimate abode of peace and happiness for the living entity."
