out of the shifting mists of Maya made,

our foulish hopes are children's fantasies,

our sorrows but the shadow of a shade.

and jealousy to snatch the passing joys

of fame, and rank, and wealth, and power, and (of) ease,

as children quarrel over idle toys.

and rise of waves in an unquiet sea!

What is this worldly honour but a name

to snare the feet of poor simplicity!

God for His lordly pleasure doth engage

as actors in the tragic Drama played

in ever-changing scenes upon life's stage.

perform their part and pass into the night,

so Man in life's unending Masque appears

and fades, to leave the curtain blank and white.

nor whence he comes, nor where the journey ends;

he greets his fellow-travellers who pass

into the darkness, beckoning (to) their friends.

man toils to still their tyrannous demands,

himself a serf, he strives in vain to rule,

life turns to dust and ashes in his hands.

nor caste nor creed can tie me with its chain,

no narrow fatherland can bind my heart,

for me the pride of birth and rank is vain.

no fair beloved is there for me to meet,

no Saviour offers cleansing for my sin,

no God bends down my ransomed soul to greet.

nor man, nor God is kin unto my soul,

over the Self, that formless, changeless dwells,

no earthly limitations have control.

nor love nor hate can bring me peace nor strife,

the Self Within I have desired and found,

and thus awakened from the Dream of Life.

Give me a cup, O Saki, of thy Wine

rose-red and sparkling; with thy voice divine

sing me the Song of Life. O, from thy face

uplift the veil, that I may see thy grace,

thy lips of ruby-red that I may kiss,

and, swooning in the ocean of my bliss,

forget that thou and I are separate.

Life's sorrow I lay by, - the desolate,

the weary pain of life exists for me

no more, the dark and dread anxiety

that all the sorrow of to-morrow fears

is cast away; no sighs, no bitter tears,

no dull forebodings more. In ectasy

of love my soul, O Saki, turns to thee.

O love me now! I only ask thy smile

to gild this life that lasts a little while.

Unloose thy hair, unplait each golden tress,

let my heart bathe within its loveliness.

Here is my life- what is my life to me?

I offer it as sacrifice to thee,

so may I see thy beauty all divine.

I broke the jar, O Saki, spilt the Wine;

forgive my heart with pain and shame afire,

I have cut down the plant of my desire

that I unto thy will may be resigned.

My love has fettered me and made me blind.

Thy wine has caught and borne my spirit up,

till, in the circle of thy shining cup,

I see the world and all the planets move,

The sun, the stars, the moon, in spheres of love;

life falls and rises in unceasing waves,

thy Wine is all my thirsty spirit craves.

When I, uplifted, on my Vina play,

over my head the perfumed roses sway,

and Saki sings his love in endless tale

while sweet above us trills the nightingale.

O Saki-I-Alishan, thou couldst bring

heaven upon earth if thou my songs would sing.

In exaltation all have I forgot,

my name, my fame shall I remember not;

I veil them both to let thy glory shine.

I have abandoned all that once was mine,-

my friends, my foes, mine earthly joys and cares

are naught to me, whose eager foot-fall fares

upon the road that leads unto thy door.

My Friend and my Beloved- even more, my God art thou!

Though Death and bitter Fate have left me broken and unfortunate,

haunting my path since I have loved thy face,

my hallowed heart is still thy dwelling-place.

No more can pain or sorrow torture me.

I, the fakir, dwell in a sphere of joy

that circles round my soul in ecstasy,

ease hath no lure for me, pain no annoy.

This worlds's bazar is but a puppet-show

that plays its coloured pageant for a night,

its figures act their part and come and go

and disappear before the morning's light.

The vision of this transitory world

is like a children's playground, with a game

played ever day and night, till it is whirled

down to the nothingness from whence it came.

O blessed be the Holy Name of God!

I sought Thy gate and now my soul is free.

Where are the Kaaba courts that once I trod

where is the shrine of my idolatry?

Beside Thy wine-press all my life has passed,

the vision of the Guru held me long,

to Brahma did my soul attain at last,

and lost itself in rapture and in song.

O save me from the ocean of this life,

this turbulant sea,

and liberate my spirit from its strife;

false is the world, and fleeting are its loves,

then why to me

should it keep faith, when it deceitful proves

to all its lovers:- I but share their fate.

Thy love is true and in Thy name we trust,

Most Merciful and Most Compassionate,

destroy our sorrow, lift us from the dust.

Once in the Place of Tombs

I, wandering deep in meditation, found

a shining Nargis plant,

whose flowers, like eyes, looked from the dusty ground.

And, marvelling, I said,

"Why flourish here, o Flower, so shy and fair,

when even in Gulistan

or Bostan's groves thou art remote and rare ?"

It spoke, " I am no flower;

behold me, saddened and disconsolate,

I am a lover's eye,

that watches and that weeps its bitter fate.

In foolish faith I held

the promise of my Heart's-Beloved true,

and now I wait, past hope,

past death itself, with love that springs anew.

My heart became a harp,

and Memory's fingers on its chords can play,

my Kismet is to wait

through the long ages till the Judgment Day.

And now my spirit knows

Love is immortal, and has given to me,

as to all lovers true,

a share of his own immortality."

A Lion old and wise

King of the Jungle, in the forest deep,

saw, feeding 'neath the trees,

a flock of gentle, silly, helpless sheep.

And in their midst beheld

a lion's little cub with lambs at play,

gambolling in the shade,

drinking the stream, eating the grass as they.

He called, "O Lion stay !

have you forgot your parentage, my son ?

Why bleat you like a sheep ?

Why turn you like your stupid friends, to run ?"

Then said the lion's cub,

"I am no lion, I am but a sheep;

let me go with my flock

among my own. I tremble and I weep."

"Blind art thou, O my child !"

The lion said, " but if thou follow me,

down to the river-side

I will unseal thine eyes, so thou shalt see."

"I am the King of Beasts

whom all obey, so with me must thou go."

"Alas," the cub replied,

"The sheep-fold and the sheep are all I know."

"Upon the water pure

behold thy clear-reflected image shine,

art thou indeed a sheep

or is thy form a lordly one like mine ?"

Then from the youngling's eyes

the veil of ignorance was drawn aside

"I am of kingly blood,

I am a lion, Lord," he said with pride.

So man, awake and know !

Read in the holy pages of Koran

the words that Allah spoke:

"In mine own image have I moulded man."

1 Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah..

Thou art my salvation and freedom is mine,

I am not, I melt as a pearl in sweet wine!

My heart, soul and self, yea, all these are thine;

O Lord, I have no more to offer!

 2

I drink of the nectar of Truth the Divine,

as Moses thy word, as a Yusuf they shine;

who walk in thy ways, and Christ is thy sign:

Thou raisest to Life everlasting!

3 

Thou art as Muhammed to them that repine,

my spirit is purged as the gold from a mine,

I only know that my heart beats with thine,

and joys in boundless freedom!

The refrain: Alhamdulillah means: Praise be to Thee!