The Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. 

Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 

Where there is injury, pardon; 

Where there is doubt, faith; 

\Where there is despair, hope; 

\Where there is darkness, light; 

Where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek 

To be consoled as to console, 

To be understood as to understand, 

To be loved as to love; 

For it is in giving that we receive; 

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 

It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life. 

Attributed to Francis Bernadone, perhaps the most universally loved of Christian saints, who were born in Assisi, Italy, in 1181 or 1182. At the age of twenty two, after a sudden illness that brought him almost to the point of death, he left his home and inheritance to follow an injunction that he felt he received from Christ himself: "Francis, go and rebuild my Church." Three great Franciscan orders quickly grew around the monks, nuns, and lay disciples who responded to his joyful example of universal love and selfless service.

Courtesy: easwaran.org; Image: tinybuddha

Kabira Rocks: Moko Kahan Dhundhe Re Bande

Kabir Das, a mystical poet and great Saint of India, was born in the year 1440 and died in the year 1518. The name Kabir comes from Arabic Al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' – the 37th name of God in Islam. Kabir Panth is the huge religious community which identifies the Kabir as the originator of the Sant Mat sects. The members of Kabir Panth are known as the Kabir panthis who had extended all over the over north and central India. Some of the great writings of the Kabir Das are Bijak, Kabir Granthawali, Anurag Sagar, Sakhi Granth etc.

मोको कहां ढूढे रे बन्दे -कबीर दास 

मोको कहां ढूढे रे बन्दे
मैं तो तेरे पास में

ना तीर्थ मे ना मूर्त में
ना एकान्त निवास में
ना मंदिर में ना मस्जिद में
ना काबे कैलास में

मैं तो तेरे पास में बन्दे
मैं तो तेरे पास में

ना मैं जप में ना मैं तप में
ना मैं बरत उपास में
ना मैं किर्या कर्म में रहता
नहिं जोग सन्यास में
नहिं प्राण में नहिं पिंड में
ना ब्रह्याण्ड आकाश में
ना मैं प्रकति प्रवार गुफा में
नहिं स्वांसों की स्वांस में

खोजि होए तुरत मिल जाउं
इक पल की तालाश में
कहत कबीर सुनो भई साधो
मैं तो हूँ विश्वास में

Translation by Rabindranath Tagore

O servant, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.

I am neither in temple nor in mosque:
I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:

Neither am I in rites and ceremonies,
nor in Yoga and renunciation.

If thou art a true seeker,
thou shalt at once see Me:
thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.

Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."

Guided Meditation from Sri Ramakrishna

Courtesy: Sagar Kanhere on YouTube

Taste the Khusrau's poetry

O Khusrau, the river of love Runs in strange directions. One who jumps into it drowns, And one who drowns, gets across.    710th Urs of Hazrat Khwaja Amir Khusrau

Sant Surdas: The great Bhakti poet

Surdas (Sant Kavi Surdas) was a 15th century blind saint, poet and musician, known for his devotional songs dedicated to Lord Krishna. Surdas is said to have written and composed a hundred thousand songs in his magnum opus the 'Sur Sagar' (Ocean of Melody), out of which only about 8,000 are extant. He is considered a saint and so also known as Sant Surdas, a name which literally means the "slave of melody". 

Early life 

Surdas was born in 1478 in Runkta near Agra. While some say it is village Sihi, Faridabad, Haryana. He started parsing Lord Krishna since he was young . There is a little disagreement regarding the exact birth date of Surdas, some scholars believe it to be 1478 AD, while others believe it to be 1479 AD. As per the limited authentic life history of Surdas, it is said that he lived in Braj(or Bhraj), near Mathura. Surdas was born blind and because of this, he was neglected by his family. As a result, he left his home at tender age of six. 

Surdas's Guru - Shri Vallabharacharya 

A chance meeting with the saint Vallabharacharya at Gau Ghat by the river Yamuna in his teens transformed his life. Shri Vallabhacharya taught Surdas lessons in Hindu philosophy and meditation and put him in the path of spirituality. Since Surdas could recite the entire Srimad Bhagavatam and was musically inclined, his guru advised him to sing the 'Bhagavad Lila' - devotional lyrical ballads in praise of Lord Krishna and Radha. Surdas lived in Vrindavan with his guru, who initiated him to his own religious order, and later appointed him as the resident singer at Srinath temple in Govardhan. 

Surdas attains fame 

Surdas' lilting music and fine poetry attracted many laurels. As his fame spread far and wide, the Mughal emperor Akbar (1542-1605) became his patron. Surdas spent the last years of his life in Braj, the place of his birth and lived on the donations, which he received in return of his bhajan singing and lecturing on religious topics, until he died in c. 1586. 

Great devotion for lord Krishna

Surdas also attained fame for his purity of devotion towards Lord Krishna. In one incident, Surdas falls into a well and is rescued by Lord Krishna when he calls him for help. Radha asks Krishna why he helped Surdas for which Krishna says its for his devotion. Krishna also warns Radha not to go near him. She however goes near him but Surdas, recognizing the divine sounds, pulls her anklets. Radha tells him who she is but Surdas refuses to return her anklets stating that he cannot believe her as he is blind. Krishna gives Surdas vision and allows him to ask for a boon. Surdas returns the anklets says he has already got what he wanted (the blessings of Krishna) and asks Krishna to make him blind again as he does not want to see anything else in the world after seeing Krishna. Radha is moved by his devotion and Krishna grants his wish by making him blind again thus giving him everlasting fame. 

One of the popular poems by Surdas

अखियाँ हरि दर्शन की प्यासी । 

देखो चाहत कमल नयन को, निस दिन रहत उदासी ॥ 

केसर तिलक मोतिन की माला, वृंदावन के वासी । 

नेहा लगाए त्यागी गये तृण सम, डारि गये गल फाँसी ॥ 

काहु के मन की कोऊ का जाने, लोगन के मन हाँसी । 

सूरदास प्रभु तुम्हरे दरस बिन लेहों करवत कासी ॥ 

Meaning:

Our eyes thirst for a vision of Hari; 

They long to see the lotus-eyed one, 

Grieving for him day and night. 

Wearing a saffron tilak and pearl garland 

And dwelling in Vrindavan, 

He gave us his love, then cast us aside like a blade of grass, 

Throwing a noose around our necks. 

No one knows what is in another's mind, 

There is laughter in people's hearts; 

But Lord of Surdas, without a vision of you 

we would give up our very lives. 

Source: Wikipedia