Monday, September 13, 2010

Desire nothing - Some points from eastern philosophy

Nobody can stop desiring completely.  Persian Sufism talks about the levels of desires. a Sufi starts from Plant/animal being desires (eating, sleeping,..) and then he/she purifies himself/herself and he/she got upper level of desire for example desiring of knowledge and at the end he/she reaches ultimate level of desire that he/she desires to desire nothing (is it still desire?)

Jalal ud-Din Rumi has indicated this purification in  beautiful verses:

"I died as a mineral and became a plant,

I died as plant and rose to animal,
I died as animal and I was Man.
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soar
With angels blest; but even from angelhood
I must pass on: all except God doth perish.
When I have sacrificed my angel-soul,
I shall become what no mind e'er conceived.
Oh, let me not exist! for Non-existence
Proclaims in organ tones, To Him we shall return"*

and Bayazid Bastami as great Sufi has a famous qoute:
" I desire to desire nothing"

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*: Wikiquote

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