Richard Hooper is a former Lutheran pastor with degrees in both theology and the philosophy of world religions. Once a nationally syndicated radio commentator on religion, Hooper is now a columnist for United Press International’s web forum: ReligionandSpirituality.com, and has recently founded The Sedona Institute for Comparative Theology. His other books include The Crucifixion of Mary Magdalene and The Gospel of the Unknown Jesus. Visit him at: religionandspirituality.com

THE ESSENTIAL MYSTICS, POETS, SAINTS, AND SAGES

A Wisdom Treasury

By Richard Hooper

Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.

Copyright © 2013 Richard Hooper
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-57174-693-1

Contents

Poets/Mystics Inside,
The Opening Verses,
Introduction,
The Perennial Philosophy,
The Lover and the Beloved,
The Nature of Perception,
Naming the Unnameable One,
Apparent Dualism / Qualified Non-Dualism,
Perception, Cosmology, and the One,
The Narrow Gate,
The Nature of the Mystical Experience,
The Human Condition,
The Way of the Mystic,
Poetry & Prose of the Ages,
The Beloved,
Oneness,
The Mystic,
The Narrow Gate,
The Path Within,
Relinquishing the Ego,
Prayer,
Contemplation and Meditation,
Love and Compassion,
Enlightenment/Awakening,

CHAPTER 1

POETRY & PROSE OF THE AGES

THE BELOVED

In the beginning, before spirit and matter were separated, “here” and “there”had no meaning in existence. There was no separation between the lover and theBeloved. Only love existed.

Takhruddin Iraqi, Sufi

* * *

The moon was a mirror for me to see myself and You, Blessed One. I now realizethat I am one and the same as you. You are my first love.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist

* * *

If only I could celebrate You as a holiday that lasts a lifetime. All myofferings to you are insignificant. So is my adoration. What can I do, then? Ican go to and fro being a living witness—to show You that I care.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish

* * *

The Beloved gives us the water of life, which cures every illness. In theBeloved’s rose garden of Oneness, no thorns survive. I have heard it said thatthere is a window between one heart to another. But what supports the window ifwalls have ceased to exist?

Jelaluddin Rumi, Sufi

* * *

The bride comes to the garden of her desires, and there she rests in joy,embraced in the arms of her Beloved.

Thomas A’ Kempis, Roman Catholic

* * *

One cannot break the love that connects You with me, Beloved. Just as a diamondwhich cannot be broken with a hammer, my love for You is unbreakable. My heartenters you as shine enters gold, My heart resides in You as a lotus resides inwater. I get lost in You like a bird gets lost in the night sky. Come again tome, Beloved.

Mirabai, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

How do I see the Beloved?Not with my eyes, but with His.For He can only see Himself.

Muhyaddin Ibn’ Aribi, Sufi

* * *

Drunk on love for the Beloved, I wandered in the wilderness, though I have nomemory of anything. There I learned the living knowledge of oneness. When Iforgot and forgot everything else, I lost everything else. Then the Beloved cameto me as the bridegroom to the bride.

Thomas A’ Kempis, Roman Catholic

* * *

I have no use of this heart, Beloved, unless it is for You. Either give back myheart, or return to me.

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir, Sufi

* * *

I dreamed that I came to your Temple, Lord. There I praised those who sacrificedtheir hearts to you. You became manifest to me. No longer did you appear as amystery. Then I awoke and found that I was still with You, and delighted in Yourpresence.

Judah Halevi, Jewish

* * *

Though it is difficult, I try to find the One in the many—the essence of unitybetween the separateness of phenomena, and the One who exists in all things—theBeloved who dwells in everyone.

Often I fail in my efforts when I cannot find the balance between the seemingseparateness of things and their essential unity. During those times, I feelafraid. But make the effort anyway.

Ram Dass, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

As one who loved the Beloved, the Beloved took care of me. He quenched mythirst, filled my stomach and gave me love and patience. He clothed me withhumility and cured me with truth.

Ramon Llull, Roman Catholic

* * *

I found God when I found love, and it is this love that gives me strength fromone day to the next. Love shows me the path I must take.

I am on fire and I am the fuel that feeds the fire. I am the smoke that proceedsfrom the fire. Love made me aware of the Beloved.

Sultan Bahu, Sufi

* * *

There is nothing this body and soul wants but the Beloved. What else is left?The Beloved is everything to me—my successes, my failures, my life itself.Without You, nothing has meaning. When you laid claim to me, I gave myself toYou.

So do with me what you will, Beloved. I am yours. I found you hiding within myown mind, and the grace of that discovery saved me from sinking into the sea ofillusion.

Ramana Maharshi, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

I have found that which is priceless, and accepted it as grace. I have found thebeginning of my rebirths, while I have lost the rest of the world. Thou art theOcean of Love, but the fetters of this life had separated my love from You. Ilost myself and found the Beloved.

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir, Sufi

* * *

Come to me at dawn, Beloved, and walk with me. My soul is thirsty to see thechildren of my people. Here in my inner room you have placed a seat of gold, anda table set for You. I am your bread. I am the wine from my own vineyard.Delight in drinking of me, and may my taste be pleasing to you.

Solomon ‘Ibn Gabirol, Jewish

* * *

The light of my Beloved cannot be seen with these physical eyes. I have takenupon myself all the sorrows of humanity. I have loved this world, but my lovehas been in the service of the Friend. He barely touched me, yet he kindled thefire in my heart.

Men want to confine the Beloved in their holy places, but they cannot keep Himthere. Those who have eyes to see, see the Beloved everywhere.

Darshan Singh, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

Remove me from myself, so that all that remains is you, Beloved. Take my life sothat I can stand in your Presence. Let all that remains be You.

Hallaj, Sufi

* * *

Everything that gives me life—my heart, my mind, my feelings—those things that Ithought were mine, are Yours. For I have given them to you completely.

Ladimir Solovyov, Russian Orthodox

* * *

Nothing exists but You, Beloved. You are my speech. You are the silence of mymind. You sleep with me. You walk the path with me. There is nowhere I can gowhere You are not. I have disappeared. Only You remain.

Bulleh Shah, Sufi

* * *

We are mere drops in the ocean of truth, floating atop the waves are bubblesthat attract us and want to seize us and keep us captive in the sea of illusion.If only a mere drop, I ask to be brought to the shore of the Beloved. I ask thatthe waves that keep us apart be banished. May I see nothing else but theBeloved.

Francis Brabazon, Sufi

* * *

I would like an entire lifetime to praise You—not just a holiday now and then.My offerings to You and my adoration are small gifts, hardly noticeable. Wouldthat I could wander here and there and do nothing else but be a witness to You.Still, that would be nothing more than a witness to my devotion.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish

* * *

This fortune, the Beloved, cannot be spent and no one can steal it. Each day itincreases in value. As I came across the ocean of existence, the boatman was mytrue teacher.

Mirabai, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

I have forgotten all of Creation. Only the Creator remains. I have turned myattention to that which is within me. It is there where I am in love with theBeloved.

John of the Cross, Roman Catholic

* * *

The lover of the Beloved is the bride who rests in the garden of her yearning.There she is joyous, for she is embraced by the arms of the Beloved.

Thomas A’ Kempis, Roman Catholic

* * *

They ask me, “Who do you serve and whose message do you deliver?” And I tellthem that I am a servant of the Beloved.

Mandaen Prayer, Gnostic

* * *

Everywhere I go, from one end of the earth to another, I find Him. I see Himeverywhere in the heavens. I am the seeker, but when I see the Beloved, theseeker disappears—for I see Him with the eyes of my heart. For those with eyesto see, the Beloved is everywhere. He escapes those temples, mosques andchurches where they try to imprison Him.

Darshan Singh, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

My lover has a gentle nature. He is immeasurable, and alone is worthy of praise.I cannot help but speak of His beauty, for He has not hidden Himself from me.But who can I tell? The angels, perhaps? Certainly they are the only ones whocan speak such things.

You have taken me in Your arms, Beloved. You have given me the greatest treasureof all: the gift of Yourself.

Marguerite Porete, Roman Catholic

* * *

Call me to me, and I will run to you, never tiring. You are my heavenly Spouse,and I will not rest until You embrace me and support me, and kiss me with thehappiness of Your mouth.

Clare of Assisi, Roman Catholic

* * *

Throughout all of my travels, Friend, you feed me until my journey ends. You aremy companion on the path, my breath, my hope. And it is You who gives me joy. Itis You who feeds my hunger, and You who walks with me to my journey’s end. Youalone do I long for. You alone are my treasure. You alone are my life and mylove, for without You I could not have wandered the world. You have done so muchfor me through your grace—so many favors, so many gifts. I seek your loveeverywhere, and suddenly, I am filled with it. You dwell in my heart. You arethe glow in my eyes. And my soul has but one desire: to be one with You.

Nachmanides (Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman), Jewish

* * *

When he stripped me of my new clothes, I lost all inhibitions. He was all aroundme at night like an insect circling a lotus. Like a bird that flies up to theclouds, in his freedom, this God of love does not delay.

I remember some of the absurd tricks He played on me, as desire made my heartburn with restlessness. Still, I was filled with fear.

Vidyapati, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

In the light the lovers learn from the Beloved how to catch on fire. It is thefire that allows the moth to enter. The gift of love is a gift that comes fromthe Beloved.

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir, Sufi

* * *

I sing with a voice that is as vast as the ocean itself. The song produces allsounds and countless words, and I will sing it through all cycles of time tocome. It is a song of praise to the ocean of love that exists in the depths ofthe Buddha’s heart.

Great Kamo Priestess Senshi, Zen Buddhist

* * *

I want to be one with Him, but He insists on being separate from Me. Thus, Iwill abandon my desire to His will. Everything the Beloved does comes from love,so what is a poor lover to do? I have no words, so I must give up both myfeeling of separation and my desire for union. I become free of both, simplyaccepting the Beloved’s love.

Takhruddin Iraqi, Sufi

* * *

Those who burn themselves up in the fire of the Beloved, no longer needknowledge, intellect and religion. They have left everything behind, includingthemselves. This is the meaning of the words, “Blessed are the poor,” for thepoor have nothing but the Beloved.

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir, Sufi

* * *

“They reproach me about my relationship with the Beloved. “How are the two ofyou getting along?” they ask sarcastically. “The Beloved is mine,” I say, “andthe rest is none of your business.”

Nesimi, Sufi

* * *

Love rushes through me as if it were blood coursing in my veins. It destroys myskin, for underneath it, passion burns. His fire burns up every nerve in mybody. So, you ask who I am? I am nothing but a name. Everything else is Him.

Jelaluddin Rumi, Sufi

* * *

The light of the Beloved rises from the horizon of my heart, drink from the cup,you are the owners of sight.

Moulana Shah Maghsoud, Sufi

* * *

On this sacred ground God has anointed me with grace, and brought me face toface with the Beloved.

Olga Rasmussen

* * *

Time allows the world to run on time … but we are free to delight in theBeloved’s brilliance. My blows against the glass to break through to You areweak and ineffective, but at least the glass mirrors Your beautiful face.

I am still in time, but no longer subject to its oppression. I simply let You dowith me what You wish. This marvelous universe and the sacred garden which isthis earth will both pass away when Your Gaze breaks the mirror of my mind.

Bulleh Shah, Sufi

* * *

I find the Beloved in the night, and my heart aches. When sunrise comes, thelover wakes from his heartache. Still, the lover wants no relief from the acheof separation—for how else will he know of the Beloved’s existence?

The experience of daylight is torture for the lover, like a fish brought up fromthe water and tossed onto the sand to die. The fish gasps for the sea like thelover desires to breathe in the night that will reveal its islands of stars, andcarry the lover to the far shore.

Mirabai, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

Fire is everywhere—all of creation is in flames. “This is My passion,” theBeloved said.

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir, Sufi

* * *

Take all that I am—my mind, my heart, my senses, my will and my thoughts. Allthese—all that I am—I give to You.

Vladimir Solovyov, Russian Orthodox

* * *

No longer does Janibai wish to stay on the wheel of samsara, but how will I burnoff my remaining karma? I leave it to You to provide me grist for the mill.Grind me up. Pound me into powder.

Janabai, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

Was it my reason that led me to You? I once thought so. I even thought I feltyour presence and saw your perfect countenance.

But all this was imperfect knowledge. That which I thought to be true wasactually false. Those who really see You cannot describe you. Everything isturned upside down. Night is day and day is night, and virtue cannot be foundanywhere.

The soul thinks what’s false is true. To truly find You, it is necessary to loseall human powers. We enter the darkness and develop new eyes. Then the soulfinds that which it was not even looking for. Everything else is stripped away.

Cast oneself into the ocean and let it drown. Then everything becomes new again.How this happens I do not know.

Jacob Da Todi, Roman Catholic

* * *

The Beloved gives itself to all lovers, so that all lovers may become theBeloved This is absolute unity, beauty and love. The lover’s love becomes sointense that it leaves no trace of itself, and only the Beloved remains.

Meher Baba, Sufi

* * *

Holding me in your loving arms, Beloved, you have given me the greatest gift ofall: Yourself. I sought nothingness, and in the seeking, my heart was purified.It rose to become one with You.

Marguerite Porete, Roman Catholic

* * *

As you came ever closer to me, I thought of You so often that I completelybecame You. Little by little You drew near, and slowly but slowly I passed away.

Javad Nurbakhsh, Sufi

* * *

Give me all those things that are difficult and austere, Beloved, so that Youmay have all that is gentle and pleasing.

John of the Cross, Roman Catholic

* * *

The Beloved asked what I needed. I sought the truth and asked for compassion andwisdom. These things I needed in order to become one with the Beloved.

Ram Dass, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

“What did I give you that you should love Me?” I replied: “Sorrows andpleasures. I no longer see the difference between them.”

Ramon Llull, Roman Catholic

* * *

I have cried many tears, and everyone knows this. I gave You my body and mind along time ago, seeking refuge in You. I see Your feet pass, even as I escapefrom one life to another. I am your virgin.

Mirabai, Vedanta (Hindu)

* * *

It takes no effort on our part for Your love to reach us, Beloved. You come likea bird that hangs into air motionless. We live and move in the world of theBeloved—one body and soul between us, though we appear separate in form.

Mechthild of Magdeburg, Roman Catholic

* * *

Losing myself in concentration, I thought my practice would quickly lead me toYou. But I found, Instead, that only You knew the ways to approach You. But Ican no longer live without you, and you do not allow me to flee. I have lostconsciousness of myself. I have died to self so that I may become Yours. But howlong must I wait, Beloved? I am exhausted from being separated from You. Banishme no more.

Abu ‘I Husyn Al-Nuri, Sufi

* * *

I have looked for You from sunup to sundown. I have reached out for You in everydirection, turning my face this way and that. Now I am so thirsty that I mustplead for Your grace like a beggar.

Even the heavens are too small to hold you, but perhaps you could carve out asmall niche in the cliffs for me.

Solomon ‘Ibin-Gabirol, Jewish

* * *

After the earth and humanity have long disappeared; after all the universes Youcreated have ceased to be—You will be alone, holding all existence, aspotential, within Yourself. There is no room for death here. No atom can ceaseto be. You are Being and Spirit, and can never be destroyed.

Emily Brontë, Roman Catholic

* * *

The Beloved tested his lover by asking what difference there was between Hispresence and lack of it. The lover replied that it was the difference betweenignorance and forgetfulness and knowledge and remembrance.

When your ego releases your heart, then you will see the Beloved. Just as youcannot see yourself except in a mirror, gaze upon the Beloved—who is yourmirror.

Jelaluddin Rumi, Sufi

(Continues…)Excerpted from THE ESSENTIAL MYSTICS, POETS, SAINTS, AND SAGES by Richard Hooper. Copyright © 2013 Richard Hooper. Excerpted by permission of Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc..
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