Arziyan
"For your sake, I hurry over land and water; For your sake, I cross the desert and split the mountain in two, And I turn my face from all things, Until the time I reach the place Where I am alone with you." Al Hallaj
Tale of the Journeying Stream
Sufi parable
A stream, from its course in far-off mountains, passing through every kind and description of countryside, at last reached the sands of the desert. Just as it had crossed every other barrier, the stream tried to cross this one, but found that as fast as it ran into the sand, its waters disappeared.
It was convinced, however, that its destiny was to cross this desert, and yet there was no way. Now a hidden voice, coming from the desert itself, whispered: "The wind crosses the desert, and so can the stream."
The stream objected that it was dashing itself against the sand, and only getting absorbed: that the wind could fly, and this was why it could cross a desert.
"By hurtling in your own accustomed way you cannot get across. You will either disappear or become a marsh. You must allow the wind to carry you over, to your destination.
But how could this happen? "By allowing yourself to be absorbed in the wind."
This idea was not acceptable to the stream. After all, it had never been absorbed before. It did not want to lose its individuality. And, once having lost it, how was one to know that it could ever be regained?
"The wind," said the sand, "performs this function. It takes up water, carries it over the desert, and then lets it fall again. Falling as rain, the water again becomes a river."
"How can I know that this is true?" "It is so, and if you do not believe it, you cannot become more than a quagmire, and even that could take many, many years. And it certainly is not the same as a stream."
"But can I not remain the same stream that I am today?"
"You cannot in either case remain so," the whisper said. "Your essential part is carried away and forms a stream again. You are called what you are even today because you do not know which part of you is the essential one."
When it heard this, certain echoes began to arise in the thoughts of the stream. Dimly it remembered a state in which it -- or some part of it? -- had been held in the arms of a wind. It also remembered -- or did it? -- that this was the real thing, not necessarily the obvious thing to do.
And the stream raised its vapor into the welcoming arms of the wind, which gently and easily bore it upwards and along, letting it fall softly as soon as they reached the roof of a mountain, many, many miles away. And because it had its doubts, the stream was able to remember and record more strongly in its mind the details of the experience. It reflected, "Yes, now I have learned my true identity."
Story credit: Awakin.org
Lyrics and translation
Arziyan saari main, chehre pe likh ke laya hoon
Tum se kya mangu main, tum khud hi samajh lo
All my pleas, yearnings I bring to you written large on my face. What can I ask from You, You (who know every thing) can surely understand /know better
Ya Maula, maula, maula mere maula
Mere maula..maula…Maula maula maula mere maula,Maula maula maula mere maula,Maula maula maula maula,Maula maula maula maula
Oh Lord, my lord…
Dararen, dararen hain maathe pe Maula, marammath muqaddar ki kar do maula
Creases and fissures line my forehead, (so many worries, but also the fate is writ on the forehead). Repair my fate, O Lord
Tere darr pe jhuka hoon, mita hoon, bana hoon
At your doorstep do I bow, obliterate myself, and emerge again anew
(I surrender to You, in this surrender does my past die, from this surrender do I emerge anew)
Murammath muqaddar ki kar do maula
Murammath muqaddar ki kar do maula
Repair my fate, O Lord
Jo bhi tere darr aaya, jhukne jo sar aaya, mastiyan piye sabko jhoomta nazar aaya
Whoever came to Your door to bow their heads in surrender to You, was seen by everyone to be in a trance, dancing with happiness
Pyaas leke aaya tha, dariya woh bhar laya, Noor ki baarish mein bheegta sa tarr aaya, Noor ki baarish mein bheegta sa tarr aaya
He came to You with a thirst and went back home (satiated), drenched in showers of light and joy, he transcended
Ho….ek khushbu aati thi, ek khusbhu aati thi, Main bhatakta jaata tha, Reshmi si maya thi, aur main takta jaata tha
A fragrance emanated from somewhere and I wandered lost in its search. It was a beautiful epiphany of illusions and I gaped in astonished wonder
Jab teri gali aaya, sach tabhi nazar aaya, Jab teri gali aaya, Sach tabhi nazar aaya
It was only when I came upon Your path, that the truth dawned upon me
Mujhme hi woh khusbu thi, jisse tune milvaya
It was within me that the fragrance resided, to which You had introduced me
Toot ke bhikharna mujhko zaroor aata, Parna ibadat wala shahur aata hai
I certainly know how to break into pieces and scatter, but I do not know how to pray to You in the correct manner
Sajde mein rehne do, ab kahin na jaaunga, Sajde mein rehne do, ab kahin na jaaunga
Let me remain prostrate before You, I will not go anywhere now
Ab jo tune thukraya toh savar na paaunga
If You reject me now, I will not be able to recover
Sar uthake maine toh kitni khwaishen ki thi, Kitne khwab dekhe the, kitni koshishen ki thi
I had dared to desire so many things and dreamt innumerable dreams and made so many efforts and strivings
Jab tu roobaroo aaya, Jab tu roobaroo aaya, nazren na mila paaya
But when I communed with you, I could not look in Your eyes
Sar jhukake ek pal main, Sar jhukake ek pal mein maine kya nahi paaya
With my head bowed (in surrender to You) in that very moment what have I not found (I received everything and more…)
Mora piya ghar aaya, mora piya ghar aaya..
My Beloved has finally returned home (I have finally come home to my Lord, to my essential nature… )
Lyrics and translation by Essenceami​
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