ON FINDING THE BELOVED

Once there was a Sufi teacher
who was revered by his students
because he knew all there was to know
from books.

He knew all about God and the heavens and the angels
theoretically.

But he had never been set afire by God
personally.

One day a mad Dervish climbed over the wall of the house
where the Sufi teacher was instructing his students;
the Dervish ran to the teacher, scooped up his books,
and threw them into the fountain in the courtyard, saying,
"Now you must learn to live what you know."

The teacher, dismayed at having soggy books, jumped up to rescue them.
But as he did so, he looked into the eyes of the Dervish...
and for the first time fell into love with the divine spirit within.

Thus enrapt at last, he became like a holy madman,
following the Dervish everywhere,
singing songs of joy in acknowledgement
that God exists simultaneously in the act of loving,
and that finding the divine Beloved in another human form
can mirror and magnify the divine in oneself.
How sweet to love! How joyous! How transcendent!

And so at last he became a true teacher,
for he had been set afire,
had finally learned to live what he knew,
and had encountered God in the process.

I was like the Sufi teacher,
full of knowledge,
but lacking the real knowing of passionate living
until I looked into your eyes and saw the divine Beloved.

You have taught me more than you can ever know.

Thank you for throwing my books in the water.

KUNDALINI RISING:
Songs of Power and Spirit

by Honora Finkelstein