Poet of the week: Muhammad Iqbal

He is Pakistan's national treasure. The great Poet Iqbal. He is to Pakistan as Shakespeare is to the English world. He was a poet, philosopher, and politician. To read more about his history you can check here.

To me, in the poetic realm he was influencial because he spoke of aligning the Self to the great will which he refered to as Allah. It definitely had elements of man as God because his writings reflected the notion that the universe bowed to the the will of Self. That is what is attractive to me. He illuminated my world view through the work of poetry and imbuded my 'atheism' with an element of sacredness.

His works are numerable Here is one of his poems

Selfhood can demolish the magic of this world; (from Baal-i-Jibreel)

Selfhood can demolish the magic of this world;
But our belief in The One is not comprehended by all.

Have a seer's eye, and light will dawn on thee;
As a river and its waves cannot remain apart.

The light of God and knowledge are not in rivalry,
But so the pulpit believes, afraid of Hallaj's rope.

Contentment is the shield for the pure and the noble
A shield in slavery, and a shield in power.

In the East the soul looks in vain for light;
In the West the light is a faded cloud of dust.

The fakirs who could shatter the power and pelf of kings
No longer tread this earth, in climes far or near.

The spirit of this age is brimful with negations,
And drained to the fast drop is the power of faith.

Muted is Europe's lament on its crumbling pageant,
Muted by the delirious beats, the clangour of its music.

A sleepy ripple awaits, to swell into a wave
A wave that will swallow up monsters of the sea.


What is slavery but a loss of the sense of beauty?
What the free call beautiful, is beautiful indeed.

The present belongs to him who explores, in their depths,
The fathomless seas of time, to find the future's pearl.

The alchemist of the West has turned stone into glass
But my alchemy has transmuted glass into flint

Pharaohs of today have stalked me in vain;
But I fear not; I am blessed with Moses' wand.

The flame that can set afire a dark, sunless wood,
Will not be throttled by a straw afloat in the wind.

Love is self-awareness; love is self-knowledge;
Love cares not for the palaces and the power of kings.

I will not wonder if I reach even the moon and the stars,
For I have hitched my wagon to the star. of all stars.

First among the wise, last of the Prophets,
Who gave a speck of dust the brightness of the Mount.

He is the first and last in the eyes of love;
He is the Word of God. He is the Word of God.


To view some more of his poetry check here

From Steven Barnes

This is a post from Steven Barnes. He is a black science fiction writer whom I highly respect as a WRITER and as a modern day Renaissance man. Listen to his words of wisdom. You can check out his daily postings at his blog at Dar Kush

N is for "Never Give Up"
I heard a story once--not certain whether it's true or apocryphal. It's said that WinstonChurchill was asked to give the commencementaddress at a British school. He mounted thestage, looked out at the audience of fresh young faces and said: "Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never give up."

And sat down.

It's never, ever, ever been said better. In life,you should choose an occupation, a career, a livelihood that you feel that strongly about. Me? I'd rather fail as a writer than succeed at anything else. I've typed my fingers bloody, cried myself to sleep, wrestled with my demons,read until my eyes were bleary, sought out any and all advice or help I could find, whereverI could find it.

All because what I wanted, more than anythingin the world, was to be a writer. Most peoplecan't handle rejection, not realizing that rejection, in any arena from getting published seduction to sales (and aren't they all really just the same thing?), is just a numbers game. You have to get rejected twenty times forevery "yes" you get. Or thirty. Or fifty. Whatever.

The person who wins is the one who gets up to the plate one more time after hisheart has been broken. Who gets back on the horse after all his friends are wincingand limping back to the bunkhouse. Whoasks yet another girl to dance after a dozen have said "no."

It's a numbers game. When you start collecting rejection slips, keep a scrap-book. Paper your walls with the little suckers. Consider every "no" a victory--you are oneof the few with the guts to keep going afterit gets tough.

And make no mistake, it's going to be tough.Even writers who seem to have utterly charmed careers have their personal struggles, I promise you. They just don't wear theirhearts on their sleeves. You see the finishedproduct, not the hell they went through to produce it.

You must believe that your efforts will be rewarded, if your goals are clear, you workto the edge of your ability, tell the truth, continually improve your circle of allies, and have faith.

Go back over everything I've taught youabout the Hero's Journey. It is the combinedwisdom of all the world's elders, condensedto comprehensible form. While nothing andno one can promise you success, I can absolutely guarantee you failure:

Just roll over and give up. That'll do it.