Introduction by Paramhansa Yogananda: -

Long ago in India I met a hoary Persian poet who told me that the poetry of Persia often has two
meaning, one inner and one outer. I remember the great satisfaction I derived from his explanation of
the double significance of several Persian poems.

One day, as I was deeply concentrated on the pages of Omar Khayyams Rubaiyat, I suddenly beheld the
walls of its outer meanings crumble away. Lo! Vast inner meanings opened like a golden treasure house
before my gaze.

Such profound spiritual treatise, by some mysterious divine law, do not disappear from earth even after
centuries of neglect or misunderstandings. Such is the case with The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Not
even in Persia is Omars philosophy is deeply understood. Few or none plumbed it to the depths that I
have tried to present here. Because of the spiritual power inherent in this poem, it has withstood the
ravages of time, the misinterpretations of intellectual scholars, and the distortions of many translators.
Ever pristine in its beauty, simplicity and wisdom, it has remained an untouched and unpollutable shrine
to which truth-seekers of all faiths, and no faith, can go for divine solace and understanding.

In Persia, Omar Khayyam has always been recognized as a highly advanced mystic and spiritual teacher.
His rubaiyat have been revered as an inspired Sufi scripture. The first great Sufi writer was Omar
Khayyam writes professor Charles Horne in Introduction to the Rubaiyat. Which appeared in Vol.
VIII of The sacred books and early literature of the East series. Unfortunately, he continuous Omar
by a very large number of western readers, has come to be regarded as a rather erotic pagan poet, a
drunkard interested only in wine and earthly pleasure. This is typical of that confusion that exist on the
entire subject of Sufism. The west has insisted on judging Omar from its own viewpoint. But if we are to
understand the East at all, we must try to see how its own people look upon its writings. It comes as a
surprise to many westerners when they are told that in Persia itself there is no dispute whatever about
Omars verses and the spiritual depth of their meaning. He is accepted quite simply as a great religious
poet.

1) AWAKE! for Morning in the Bowl of Night

Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight:

 And Lo! The hunter of the East has caught

The sultans Turret in a Noose of Light

PARAPHRASE: -

Thus, sung the inner silence

Forsake your sleep of Ignorance: AWAKE!

For the dawn of wisdom has flung into the dark bowl of your unknowing the stone of spiritual
discipline- that weapon of divine power that can break the bowl and put to flight the paling stars of
earthly desire.

Behold, Wisdom- the Hunter of the East- has cast a noose of light to encircle the kingly minaret of your
egoic pride: wisdom to free you at last from the long night of spiritual ignorance!

Expanded meaning: -

Forsake delusion! Absorb into your innermost Self the calm light of wisdom.

Listen! Your soul calls you to embrace a new adventure. As the sun travels from east to west across the
sky, so does the light of civilization and of knowledge move across the earth. From the east comes
Wisdoms call: AWAKE! All you who sleep in ignorance.

What has pride brought you but melancholia and pain? - dark products of soul ignorance. Dispel gloom
forever: Abide from today onward in the light of inner peace.

Keys to meaning: -

Morning: - The dawn of awakening from delusive material exitance.

Bowl of Night: - The dark night of soul ignorance

Stone: - Delusion shattering acts of spiritual self- discipline.

Stars: - falsely attractive material desire.

Hunter of the East: - Eastern wisdom, hunter and destroyer of delusion. In mystical tradition, east also
represents the forehead, specifically the point midway between the eyebrow. Modern medicine would
identify this point with the region just behind it, in the frontal lobe of the brain. This area is, anatomically
speaking, the most advanced part of the brain. The devotee, by concentrating deeply here, finds the
sun of inner, spiritual vision dawning upon his consciousness.

Sultans turret: - The kingly minarets of pride.

Noose of light: - The light of wisdom, which, like a lasso, haloes the darkness of ego to ensnare it,
transforming it forever into kindred light.
2) Dreaming when Dawns left hand was in the sky,
I heard a voice within the tavern cry,
AWAKE, my little once, and fill the cup
Before lifes liquor in its cup be dry.

PARAPHRASE: -

Not yet fully wakened from my sleep of delusion, and still only dreaming of the dawn of wisdom, I heard
in the silence a soul- call from within the tavern of intuition:

AWAKE, my little, undeveloped thoughts! Fill your consciousness with the wine of bliss ere the life-force
vanishes from your cup of material existence.

Expanded meaning: -

As I basked contentedly in the first inspiration of my souls awakening an inner voice prompted me to
rest no longer, but to direct my thoughts energetically along practical spiritual lines.

Fill your consciousness, it urged with true, lasting happiness. Lo! All too soon lifes vitality will
evaporate from its little cup of flesh, and vanish forever into the mysterious unknown.

Keys to meaning: -

Dawns Left Hand: - The first light of wisdoms dawning.

A voice: - The voice of soul-intuition

The Tavern: - The sanctum of inner silence.

My little ones: - My spiritually undeveloped thoughts.

Fill the cup: - Fill the cup of life with spiritual consciousness.

Lifes Liquor: - Lifes vitality and joy.

Cup: - The bodily cup of life and consciousness.

3) And, as the cock crew, those who stood before

 The tavern shouted- Open the Door!

You know how little while we have to stay,

And, once departed, many return no more

Paraphrase: -

And as the cockcrow of wisdom heralded the divine dawn, many devotee waiting at the door of inner
silence stirred, and began shouting Open! Open up

so little time we have in this earth-life to reap the harvest of true wisdom! When death comes to claim
us, may we never more be forced to re-incarnate, dragged earthward by the heavy anchor of our
material desires.

Expanded meaning: -

While still the call of wisdom summons you to cast off your sleep of delusion, make the best use of these
few remaining years on earth.

The body is temporary stopping place. Beyond it, tracks lead in two directions into the unknown: toward
death, if that be your choice; or to a life of immortality in God. The real purpose for your earthly sojourn
is to quaff deeply the nectar of re-incarnation- destroying, all misery annihilating wisdom.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

As the cock crew As awakening wisdom heralded the divine dawn within.

Tavern door The portal of inner silence

How little while we have to stay The brief span of life on earth, and the reminder implicit in this
brevity of our need to cultivate, while still dwelling in this body, eternal wakefulness in God.

Once departed Final departure from the earth-plane of existence, with the attainment of perfect
wisdom. As long as the bonds of earthly desire remain, the soul is tied to this plane of existence, where
those desires were first knotted. The soul is not free to leave, except temporarily. At death, earth bound
souls enter the outer world as guests, only. Their home remains here on earth.

May return no more -Earthly desires force us to reincarnate again and again, until our every material
craving has been fulfilled or else worked out through self-conquest. Once freedom in the Infinite has
been attained, the soul may elect to return here of its own free choice, to help others. Most earth
liberated souls, however, choose never again to return to physical form. Whether a freed soul returns to
earth or remains in higher realm, rejoining in divine bliss, never again will its decisions be forced upon by
the bondage of personal desire.

4) Now the New year reviving old Desires,

The thoughtful soul to solitude retires,

 Where the WHITE HAND OF MOSES on the bough

Puts out, and Jesus from the ground surprises.

Paraphrase: -

Now, in my new life of spiritual questing, long-suppressed desires for soul-wisdom have revived.
Thoughtfully, with the discrimination born of introspection, my mind withdraws to inner solitude and
silence, where Moses in his purity touched the Tree of Life, and where Jesus ascended in divine
wakefulness to the light of wisdom from beneath the soil of delusions.

Expanded meaning: -

From the very beginning of your spiritual life, delay no longer!

Recall ever to mind those first, eager stirring of divine longing suppressed for endless lifetimes by your
ego to unravel the mystery of life and death.

Withdraw into inner solitude. There, all those who, since ancient times, have achieved divine awakening
have found the fulfillment of their souls desire.

Enter the sanctum sanctorum if inner peace.

Keys to meaning: -

New year- The beginning of spiritual life.

Old desires- The age-old longing of the soul for perfect wisdom In God.

The thoughtful soul One who reason discriminatingly.

Solitude The inner solitude of silence, where great souls like Moses and Jesus, revived from the tomb
of ignorance by the life-giving breath of immortality, found divine emancipation.

White hand- The touch of purity

The Bough- The tree of Life, the trunk of which is the deep spine.

5) Iram indeed is gone with all its rose,

 And jomshyds seven-ringd Cup where no one knows;

But still the vine her ancient Ruby yields,

And still a Garden by the water blows.

Paraphrase: -

The sense-conscious mind(Iram), now stilled appears as if dead. Gone are its Roses of false
material pleasures. The kingly soul (Jamshyd), with its ability to reach out and embrace infinity,
quaffs divine bliss from the seven spiritual plexuses (rings) of the spine (the cup, or receptacle, of
the life-force.)
Though the truth-seeker has withdrawn his consciousness within, and may appear to mortal
eyes to be lost in impenetrable silence, he revels in the secret garden of the Spirit. Wandering
down pathways of subtle beauty, he thrills to fragrances blown to him from blossoms of soul-
qualities that bloom beside sparkling waters of soul-wisdom.

From the vineyard of this celestial garden comes the nectar of bliss, pressed by deep,
concentrated meditation from the ruby grapes of Self-realization, and quaffed endlessly by the
soul.

Expanded meaning: -
When the devotee, abandoning the roses of sense-pleasure, withdraws his energy and
consciousness from the outer surface of the body, he enters a vast inner region. His
consciousness, rapt in blissful silence, becomes absorbed in the spinal plexuses and in the
subtler working of the brain. Released from outer distractions, he enjoys an intoxication
unimaginable to the worldly mind: the ruby wine of ecstasy, which he quaffs daily by the
power of intuitive perception.

Keys to meaning: -

Iram- The sense-conscious mind

Rose- false sense pleasure
Jamshyd- The kingly soul, capable of attaining, inwardly the consciousness of infinity. Jamshyd
was a legendary king of ancient times, and is believed to have been a great spiritual figure.
Seven ringed cup The spinal receptacle of energy, with its seven plexuses(rings) through which
the life-force and consciousness are distributed through the nervous system to the body.
Where no one knows The heavenly garden within. The ordinary person, dulled by life-long
addiction to material consciousness, is unaware of the subtle spinal centers and their deep,
spiritual significance. The meditating aspirants, however, as he withdraws his life-force and
consciousness into the spine, and up through subtle spinal centers to the brain, discovers
another world. He learns, after long effort, how to release his consciousness from its bodily
prison altogether, to soar in omnipresence.
Vine- the soul
Ancient RUBY- The long forgotten bliss, or wine of the soul. Wine is a term often used in the East
to denote the inner state ecstasy.
A Garden- The inner garden of spiritual realization, filled with blossoms of divine qualities.
 The water- the waters of wisdom

6) And Davids lips are lockt; but in divine

High pipping pehlvi, with wine! wine! Wine!
Red Wine!- the Nightingale cries to the Rose
That yellow cheek of hers to incarnadine.

Paraphrase: -

The lords lips are silent. Yet he converses in the intuitive language of wisdom with the deeply
meditating devotee.
Ever he sings to the soul:
Drink, my beloved devotee! Renew your life with the ruby wine of Bliss! Wan though you have
become through self-discipline and self-denial, drink from the crystal goblet that I offer you.
Drink from it the wine of Bliss, and your consciousness will wax crimson once more with divine
vitality

Expanded meaning: -

God is eternal silence. To those, however, who love him purely he speaks through the voice of
silent intuition. As their reward for long years of hardship in renunciation. He fills the cup of their
consciousness with the ruby wine of Bliss; slaking the age-old thirst of their soul for joy by granting it to
them in direct communication with him.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Davids Lips are lockt- The outward silence of the infinite. The name, David, means beloved. In Omars
imagery beloved means God, the eternal beloved of the soul.

High pipping pehlvi- The lofty language of divine wisdom. Pehlvi was the scriptural language of the
ancient Zoroastrians. Its antiquity and sacredness symbolize here the timeless language of the Infinite.

Red- spiritually vitalizing

Wine- The wine of Bliss

Nightingale- The eternal truth. As song of the nightingale inspires the human heart, so the truth-
melodies of soul intuition thrills the devotee as he sits, with sense stilled, in the night of inner silence.
The divine song, or music of the spheres is heard in deep meditation once the sense perceptions and
restless thoughts have been stilled.

The Rose- the devotee, pale after long self-denial and self-discipline, might find himself deprived, merely,
of earthly happiness were it not for the intense delight he experiences with every sip of the wine of
inner bliss.

To incarnadine- To enliven (make crimson) with the intoxication of divine bliss.

7)come, fill the cup, and in the Fire of spring

The winter Garment of repentance fling:

The Bird of Time has but a little way

To fly- and Lo! The bird is on the Wing.

Paraphrase: -

Come, fill the cup of consciousness with the divine wine of bliss! Cast away your material desire
(deceitful, because forever disillusioning), and fling into the crackling fire of fresh spiritual enthusiasm
your robe of penitence for having ever indulged in them.

This winter garment, cold from soul chilling blizzards of sense-pleasure, would only freeze to immobility
the pulsing bliss-throbs of your heart. Bare your feelings now to spring zephyrs of divine hope and
aspiration.

Waste not these few, precious earth years. The bird of life has but a short arc of time to fly. Soon- ah,
how sadly soon! - it will slip its earthly form and vanish into the infinite.

Expanded meaning: -

Why repent the past? It is ended now, and can never be recalled. Freeze not your spiritual efforts into
lifeless formalities by penitential acts. Fill yourself, instead with warm, spring-like enthusiasm for the
spiritual quest. while still you live in this body, teach the bird of life to sing gods holy all-protecting
name.

O devotee! Fly no longer in aimless circle above the shores of death, careless of any true and lasting
purpose in life- lest you plunge at last to your destruction on that dark and rocky coast. Instead, drunk
with ecstasy and borne aloft on divine- bliss currents, fly onward with steady wing-beats to immortalitys
distant shores.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Fill the cup- intoxicate your consciousness with inner bliss.

The fire of spring- The fire of new spiritual enthusiasm.

The winter garment of repentance- A continues negative state of repentance for past follies, which turns
ice-cold the warm bliss of the soul and discourage all positive spiritual endeavor.

The Bird of Time- Human life, with its endless contrasts and changes.

A little way to fly In short-lived.

The bird is on the wing- Life is flying. Shall the bird of your life fly aimlessly, unconscious of any clear or
constant purpose? Or shall it profit from these few precious earth years.?

8)And look- a thousand Blossom with the Day

 Woke-and a thousand scattered into clay:

And this first summer Month that brings the Rose

Shall take Jamshyd and Kaikobad away.

Paraphrase: -

Behold! A thousand buds of worldly enjoyment burst into blossom, then shriveled and died.

Perceptive souls cultivate a different sort of garden: inner stillness, wherein grow the fair flowers of soul
qualities: irises of divine dignity, daisies of cheerfulness, and the fragrant rose of wisdom, timeless in its
perfection. Only wisdom releases the soul from lifes unceasing fluctuations: joy one day, sorrow the
next; fulfillment one day, disappointment the next; life one day, death the next.

Again, behold: A thousand blossoms of soul qualities opened with the dawn of wisdom, while a
thousand poisonous weeds of ego-born, delusive qualities withered from their exposure to the rays of
higher knowledge, and were scattered on the sun- baked earth of abandoned matter consciousness.

One by one, as the rose of self-realization spreads its petals wide to the inner light of deep meditation,
souls are released from earthly bondage to roam in fragrant, fadeless gardens of God-consciousness.

Expanded meaning: -

Countless human qualities, both bad and good, sprout and flourish in our personalities, then fade away
over many incarnations while our souls wander in search of their innate divine perfection. Worldly life is
ever unreliable. Freedom from all uncertainties can be attained only in God-consciousness- in oneness
with the infinite!

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Blossom- the flower of soul qualities

With the day- with the awakening of wisdom

Woke-became manifested

Scattered into clay- were destroyed by wisdom

First summer month- The spiritual ardor that flourishes in the first warmth of ecstasy.

Rose- self-realization

Jamshyd and Kaikobad- spiritually developed souls, who escape to infinite freedom from the
fluctuations of temporal reality. (Jamshyd, a legendary monarch of ancient times, was the founder of
Arayana, a region in the northern part of what is now Afghanistan. Kaikobad was his descendant. Both
are revered by Muslims as great spiritual leaders.)

9)But come with old Khayyam, and love the Lot

 Of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru forgot:

Let Rustam lay about him as he will,

Or Hatim Tai Cry Supper head them not.

Paraphrase: -

Come, pursue the ancient way taught by Omar Khayyam- the path to soul-emancipation.

Souls appear continuously on earth, sing their piece, then slip away as they came, mysteriously. Let
people be what they will: Lazy or active, bored or engrossed in material pursuits. What does it matter?
Be neither saddened nor elated by anything that occurs in this world. Let not outer attachments impede
your souls progress in its race toward inner freedom.

O discerning one! Rise above lifes dualities, above the endless gradations of relativity. Lo! Every plan for
success, so wantonly embraced; every looming disaster, so fearfully denied -all have their sum total:
Zero! What are they but fiction, after all fleeting mind- children in lifes constantly changing dream.

Ignore them!

Expanded meaning: -

Omar Khayyam was a wise man in the ancient tradition. He no more taught world-weariness and ennui
than he did hedonism. His way was that of soul-emancipation.

It requires no great philosophic depth to brood pensively on the destinies of people and nations: on how
some few rise to great heights, preen themselves in their hour, then fall to oblivion, losing everything
they had.

It requires simple observation, not wisdom, to see that those who glory in worldly power and wealth
merely build sand castles of false pride. Too late do such people find that it takes but one wave of
outward calamity to demolish all their material security and scatter their worldly pomp into sand.

Those, too, who bear lifes duties as a mere burden, failing to accept them joyously as opportunities for
spiritual growth. What are they but donkeys, unmindful of the value of the gold they bear? Such people
rarely pause to enjoy even a day of rest. They live heedlessly, eating, working, sleeping, and reproducing,
falling a prey eventually to old age, dis-illusionment, and death. What karmic benefits have they
accumulated in all their years of mindless drudgery?

It requires only shallow wisdom to be disillusioned with life. World-weary metaphysicians pride
themselves on their aloofness from it all, and turn up their notes at 180-degree angle at mere mention
of anything beautiful. Granted, life is riddled with inconsistencies. Earthly fulfillments are, in fact, short
-lasting. Recognition of these realties is not, in itself, any proof of profundity. Nothing of value is ever
attained by negativity alone.

Wisdom must be approached with a positive outlook. Why sneer at the world? Accept, rather, the pure
joy you feel in the outer stimuli and feed it into the souls joy, within. Use outer happiness as a reminder
of the inner heaven.
The inward absorption of sense stimuli actually increases the joy felt in outward experiences, for it
reinforces joy at its true source.

Be neither elated nor depressed at anything outside yourself. Behold the passing spectacle of life with an
even mind. For lifes ups and downs are but waves on an ocean, constantly in flux. shun emotional
involvement with them, while remaining ever calm, ever happy, at your inner center in the spine.

World-weariness -the metaphysicians dour alternatives to emotional excitement is inadequate as a cure

for lifes sufferings, for it fosters an attitude of indifference, the progenitor of spiritual laziness.

Neither brood, then, on lifes disappointments, nor yet revel in its fleeting victories. Trust not in riches,
but, on the other hand, dont spurn contemptuously lifes generous bounty. Nurture your high, spiritual
potentials, taking care only not to scatter them in worthless pursuits.

See Gods changeless beauty at the heart of change, and in every good thing. Seek, above all, that which
the wise have: God-consciousness, immortality in him. Release into the infinite every attachment- even
the least of them. Let the world shout in outrage, or leap up and down in a hysteria of false joy. What
matters it? It is all parade- entertaining, colorful, but for all that only a parade, passing endlessly.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Come with- follow the inner way taught by.

Old Khayyam- The ancient wisdom, as represented by the poet.

The lot of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru- Kaikobad and Kaikhosru were rulers in ancient times. The fate
implied here is that of nations and of civilizations. Brooding over their eventual downfall will not save
you, personally, from a similar fate. Redeem yourself, rather, by the pure light of wisdom.

Let Rustum lay about him as he will -A reference to those ambitious people who waste their energy
pursuing worldly power. Rustum was a great legendary warrior.

Hatim Tai- The rich, whose very deeds of benevolence feeds peoples desire for worldly possessions and
enjoyments. Hatim Tai, an ancient king, was noted for his generous acts, which included feeding the
poor. Omar Khayyam was not belittling such acts of kindness. Rather, he was reminding us, simply that
outer fulfillment is not a permanently satisfying goal.

Supper- Material gains and pleasures.

Heed them not Imitate not foolish, worldly people in their mad quest for sense fulfillment. Follow,
rather the inward way of wisdom.

10)With me along some Strip of Herbage strown,

That just divides the desert from the sown,

Where name of slave and sultan scarce is known,

 And pity sultan Mahmud on his Throne.

Paraphrase: -

Roam with me along that narrow strip of consciousness where Infinity resides.

Between past and present; between consciously perceived and subconsciously retained knowledge;
between all dualities- good and evil, joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain- demarking and at the same time
uniting them, lies a dividing line of dimensionless awareness. This strip, once entered, opens onto vast
realms of super-consciousness. Here, in ecstasy, soul freedom is attained.

From the perspective of this exalted state, the most powerful and universally envied human being is
pitiable, living as he does in state of spiritual poverty.

Expanded meaning: -

The oneness of spirit may be contacted at the subtle pause between the two opposites of vibrations
duality. Superconscious awareness -inspiring, life rejuvenating and ever fresh subtly divides the barren
seeming desert of sub consciousness from the golden field of action and desire that are being cultivated
in the present life-time by conscious mind.

On the subconscious side, stretching out into the distance, lie buried countless impressions of past
actions and experiences: our unfinished deeds and myriad unfulfilled desires. Though we have forgotten
most of them, they will never forget us. The karmic law of cause and effect is inexorable. Emperors reap
the consequences of their actions as infallibly as the meanest of their subject.

Between the conscious and subconscious minds, dividing but also uniting them superconscious ness. To
visualize this ecstatic state of awareness, think of the joy you may have felt, sometimes, in deep sleep,
when your mind rose above bodily awareness. In that state, you no longer felt conditioned by your
subconscious habits. You were aware of yourself as a pure essence.

The superconscious state being at a fine dividing line between sleep and wakefulness. If you can catch
your mind just at that moment as you are falling asleep, or at that fleeting instant before your
consciousness rises to wakefulness, you may be able to slip gently into semi-superconscious awareness,
or enter into full super-consciousness. The more often you repeat this practice, the more clearly you will
understand the reality of soul-freedom.

By going daily into silence in deep meditation, you will arrive at ever more profound levels of super-
consciousness. The inner bliss you will experience at such times will give ever-lasting satisfaction to your
soul. Once you have had that inner joy, nothing on earth will ever tempt you again.

Emperors pride themselves on their worldly power, but know in their heart that the authority they wield
is bluff and bluster, mainly, for they have no control over their own lives. They rejoice that others envy
them their happiness, for popular envy assuages their need for reassurance. In their heart of hearts, they
know they are not happy.

In super-consciousness, cosmic power and perfect bliss are the property of every soul. Thus, in divine
ecstasy the soul views with pity and compassion those who are highly places in this world, but miserable.
Has this quatrain- one may ask any meaning for people in their outward lives? Indeed, yes. Divine
truths are relevant on every level of cosmic manifestation.

A lover and beloved, for example, can find happiness in each other if they live simple lives, not burdening
their existence with opulence, artificiality and hard driving ambitions.

Simplicity is not grinding poverty: It is not the polar opposite of wealth. To live simply is to pursue a quiet
path of moderation. In a life of balance between opposite extremes lies inner happiness.

True lovers, at peace with themselves and with the world around them, accepting happily whatever
comes their way, are justified in pitying the very lot of kings.

Happiness is mankinds true and native state of being. Few people find it, for most of them live at their
periphery; they extend themselves as far as possible from their center within. The richer and more
powerful they become, the emptier they feel inwardly.

In kings, the desire for happiness is frustrated more often than fulfilled. Their natural craving for
friendship is swept to sea on a daily tide of favor- seeker. Their hope for human understanding in
submerged and pounded by a surf of competition for their notice. The greater the crowds surrounding a
king, the greater is his inner sense of loneliness.

People everywhere, in their quest for happiness outside themselves, discover in the end that they have
been seeking it in an empty cornucopia, and sucking feverishly at the rim of crystal glass into which was
never poured the wine of joy.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

With me- follow the ancient wisdom

Strip of herbage- The narrow, unseen plot of super-consciousness, which subtly divides the
subconscious from the conscious state.

Divides- subtly separates.

The desert- The subconscious mind. In which lie buried the effects of past actions and experiences. Thus,
also, past karmas, both good and bad.

From the sown- From the present activities of the conscious mind. Applied outwardly to civilizations,
the sown means here, excessive material development as opposed to virgin wilderness.

Name of slave- one who is a slave to the illusions, moods and impulses that, arising from the
subconscious mind, condition his outward conscious behavior.

Sultan- one whose will is powerful, but deluded by materialism.

Pity sultan Mahmud- In super-consciousness one behold even the pomp of king as pitiable, because
founded on an utter misconception of what constitutes reality. (Mahmud founded the Ghaznavid
dynasty in the region of Afghanistan, and was a renowned Muslim conqueror.)

11) Here with a loaf of bread beneath the Bough,

 A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse- and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness-

And Wilderness is Paradise enou:

Paraphrase: -

Withdraw your life-force into the center of the tree of life, the spine, and bask there in the cool shake of
inner peace. As sensory tumult dies away, drink the wine of bliss from the flask of your devotion.
Commune inwardly with your divine beloved.

And in stillness, listen: For the singing blessedness, will satisfy your every hearts Desire, and entertain
you forever with melodies of perfect wisdom.

Expanded meaning: -

Ah, seek the wilderness of inner silence, remote from the hubbub of worldly passion and desire!

Soon you will find release from all loneliness, from any abandonment you may have experienced at first,
after leaving the sensory tumult behind you. In inner stillness, a paradise of perfect happiness awaits
you.

Sacred peace flows, sap-like, within the tree of life. As you relax there, breathe deeply the pure, fresh,
reviving atmosphere; drink the intoxicating wine of spiritual bliss.

Let the sound of the world, raucous with cries of thwarted desire and ambition, fade away. Hearken still-
ly to Beloved as He/She sings to you from the Book of Wisdom, calling you to eternal wakefulness in
yourself.

The longing expressed in this quatrain for respite from worldly concerns can be applied outwardly also.

The good worldly man, for example, when overwhelmed by grief, or when beset by problems at work or
in his other affairs, can find solace by simplifying his expectations of life, and by keeping happy thoughts
for company.

He can find comfort also in the company of his beloved and sympathetic wife. Seated easefully together
beneath a tree, drinking the pure juice of grapes, eating plain bread, and reading to one another soul-
inspiring poetry, they may find mirrored in these quiet moments glimpse of eternity.

Joy is too delicate a flower to bloom in the soothed atmosphere of worldly minds, which crave happiness
from money and possessions. Joy wilts , too ,when people water it inadequately by placing condition on
their happiness, telling themselves, I wont be really happy until I get that car (or dress, or house , or
vacation by the sea)! Materialistic people, however frantically they pursue the butterfly of happiness,
never succeeded in catching it. Were they to possess everything their heart ever craved, happiness
would still elude them.

On the other hand, happiness blooms naturally in the hearts of those who are inwardly free. It flows
spontaneously, like a mountain spring after April showers, in minds that are contented with simple living
and that willingly renounce the clutter of unnecessary, so- called necessities the dream castles of a
restless mind.
wilderness, in this quatrain, implies the temporary sense of loss that often precedes true fulfillment.
When a person renounces outward ambitions to seek peace within himself, he may feel a certain,
fleeting nostalgia for his old familiar habits. Accustomed as he was formerly to outward busy-ness,
simplicity may strike him at times, in the beginning, as stark and unattractive.

Gradually, however, if he perseveres, he will accustom himself to the inner world, and will discover
increasing happiness in soul sufficiency. He will come to more and more deeply the meaning of true
happiness.

One may, similarly, experience a temporary sense of loss after failing in this worldly endeavors. Life then,
at first, may seem a wilderness devoid of any herbage of hope. If, however, after wandering in that
desert for time, he determines to face his new circumstances courageously, he will come to realize that
life has not changed essentially at all; that whatever occurred to him was only defined as failure by his
own imagination. He may then remember happier moments; the simple delights, for example, that he
enjoyed as a child. Suddenly he will understand that inner contentment is itself the one and only valid
definition of success- and, quite as wonderfully, that contentment is the one thing in his life he never
never loses!

He may find himself, now, looking on his soul-compassion with renewed gratitude and appreciation. Both
of them, in their re-discovery of lifes simple, basic values, will feel as though they had been brushed by
mantle of true happiness- that in which enlightened souls in the heavenly realms are cloaked.

In every case, the wilderness of apparent loss, failure, and disappointment can be coaxed to bloom
again, like a barren desert after abundant rain. Newly flowering meadows of peace appear suddenly in
minds that seek rest within. The soul then knows a happiness more precious than the greatest success
attainable through worldly pursuits.

If you, dear reader, should ever slip, or even fall, from the ladder of success, and find yourself
abandoned by wealth and honor, and forced to live in humble circumstances -grieve not. Welcome,
rather, the new adventure the life has placed before you.

If your dreams lie in ruin all about you, bravely adjust to your altered circumstances. In simplicity, you
will find- even if you never sought it there! The sweet happiness your heart has always craved.

Life will give you more than you ever dreamed, if only you will define prosperity anew: not as worldly
gain, but as inner, divine contentment.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Bread - The life-force, or energy in the body. This energy can be stimulated through spiritual breathing
exercise.

Wine- the wine of god- intoxication

The bough- the spinal tree of life

Breath the bough- when the consciousness is gathered inside the spinal tree. While eating, we
concentrate on the palate. While listening, we concentrate on the ear. During divine communion, the
devotee concentrates on the spiritual eye of wisdom, midway between the eyebrow, and on the spinal
tree- the trunk, or center, of the nervous system. Great joy comes from concentrating on the flow of
inner peace.

A book of verse- This inspiration emanating from the book of heart, once its restless emotions have
been soothed, transformed into calm feeling.

Thou- the cosmic beloved

Singing- entertaining the souls intuition with perception of divine truth.

Wilderness- Inner stillness. In the beginning, the deeply meditating devotee, his mind no longer awhirl
with restless thoughts, experience a certain loneliness. Omar Khayyam compares this initial state of
spiritual emptiness to the desolation of a desert.

Wilderness is paradise- in this wilderness of inner stillness soon appear -radiant, multi-colored! The
wild-flowers of celestial joy.

12) how sweet is mortal sovranty!-think some

Others- how blest the paradise come!

Ah, take the cash in hand and wine in the rest,

Oh, the brave music of distant drum!

Paraphrase: -

How sweet seems worldly power! think some. Others, despairing of achieving present prominence,
look for happiness to a misty future- perhaps in Paradise. How few realize that circumstances will never
give them what they crave, whether on earth or in the astral heavens. For happiness exists not where
they imagine, outside themselves.

Depend not on outer fulfillments: They are evanescent. The bounty that nature bestows with her right
hand she snatches away with her left. Worldly treasures can never be yours, for they are not you. Soul
treasures, on the other hand, were fashioned at the dawn of eternity in the depth of your own being.
Lasting power and happiness exist already in the inner self. O seeker! Cast earthly desires from your
breast. Their fulfillments are yours on loan, merely. Claim what is yours eternally by right.

Ah, what joy awaits you in the drumbeat of infinity- distant seeming, yet never farther away than your
own inner power to hear!

Expanded meaning: -

Happiness is a migratory bird: Its landings are seasonal.

Happiness, like a butterfly, flits away even as we stretch out with eager hands to catch it.
To seek happiness outside ourselves is like trying to lasso a cloud. Happiness is not a thing: It is a state of
mind. It must be lived. Neither worldly power or money making schemes can ever capture happiness.
Mental restlessness results from an outward focus of awareness. Restlessness itself guarantees that
happiness remains illusive. For temporal power and money are not state of mind. Once obtained, they
only dilute a persons happiness. Certainly, they cannot enhance it.

The more widely we scatter our energies, the less power we have left to direct toward any specific
undertaking. Octopus habits of worry and nervousness rise from ocean depth in the sub-conscious,
fling tentacles around our minds and crush to death all that we once knew of inner peace.

For wealth to be a faithful friend, we must anchor our lives in the divine. Once we have God, we shall
find ourselves sustained by very universe. For worldly people, otherwise, who depend for their security
on money, wealth is a prostitute. The ego-gratification it gives is of the moment; Lightly it passes to
another.

Worldly power, too, Is unreliable- an intoxicant: a weekend of partying, then desertion Monday at dawn,
and the pain of rude awakening.

True happiness is never to be found outside the self. Those who seek it there are as if chasing rainbow
among the clouds!

Claim your eternal birthright: the imperial crown of wisdom. Lo! Its imperishable gold, shining with
truth, is set with the glistening diamond of Bliss. To unearth this crown of supreme attainment, meditate
daily. Wisdom is a treasure that one can carry with him always. It is the ultimate source of all wealth, all
power, all success.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Mortal sovranty- Temporal material power, and the power for temporal accomplishments.

Paradise to come- Peoples uncertain hopes for their future happiness.

Cash in hand- The tangible, imperishable wealth of divine bliss, attainable through deep meditation.

Waive the rest- Give up acquiring unnecessary necessities, encumbrances to the soul on its climb
toward the peak of highest, divine attainment.

Music of distant drum- The joyous awareness of approaching spiritual victory. Hope wells up at the inner
sound of omnipotence, which brings with it the promise of success for all who live in tune with its
vibrations of truth.

13) Look to the Rose that blows about us- Lo,

Laughing, she says. Into the world I blow:

At once the silken Tassel of my purse

Tear, and its Treasure on the garden throw

Paraphrase: -

Let the rose teach you:

Mockingly [she says] I appear in the world. How mankind admires me! How it delights in my delicate
fragrance!

Such is the nature of all earthly pleasures: sweet smelling, attractive! Ha! But how quickly they loose
their bloom. Mere hours after they reach their peak, they pale and die. Earthly pleasures, like blossoms
in the mornings dewy promise, and look not ahead to evenings disappointment and remorse.

Look within, whispers the rose, open your consciousness to soul-understanding; ere the petals of your
life fall and scatter on the garden path- lovely no longer, but shriveled lifeless brown

Ah, tear out from your heart every dark attachment binding you earth. With one brave stroke of wisdom,
slice through the hardened stem of your sense-slavery! Spurn the allure of worldly pleasure, lest, even as
you reach out eagerly to hold them, their blossoms be torn off and blown away on a mocking wind.

set out in freedom, onward to infinity!

Expanded meaning: -

Like the short-lived roses, countless human beings appear daily in earths garden. In their youth, they
open fresh, hopeful buds, welcoming lifes promises and nodding with eager expectancy to every breeze
of sense-enjoyment. And then- the petals begin to fade; expectancy turns to disappointment. In the
twilight of old age, they droop, gray in disillusionment. Their petals, frail and shriveled, drop off and
flutter forlornly onto the soil of death. Rains of forgetfulness come; memory itself is reabsorbed into the
dark earth from which other roses, other lives will grow.

Mark the roses example: such is the destiny of human beings who lived centered in the senses.

Analyze, with understanding born of introspection, the true nature of sense-pleasures. For even as you
delight in them, dont you sense in yours heart a chilling breath of doubt and uncertainty? In the
laughter of enjoyment, is there not a slight hint of desperation? You depend on sense- pleasures, yet
despise your own weakness for depending on them. You cling to them, yet know in your heart that
someday they cannot but betray you.

Sense-pleasures, though they possess a certain wild beauty, reveal themselves at last to be merely
tawdry. Like human beauty, they are skin deep because utterly shallow. They leave a person with a sense
of inward emptiness, for they cannot satisfy his deeper longing for true joy.

Sensory delights are both short- lived and inherently fickle: pleasant, then suddenly no longer so;
exciting, but, in the end, drab and tiresome.

Closer scrutiny reveals that sense- indulgence actually mocks its votaries. What it offers is not freedom,
but soul- bondage. The way of escape lies not, as most people imagine, down moss-soft lanes of further
indulgence, but up hard, rocky path of self-control.

Can fallen petals be re-joined to dying flower? Once roseate pleasures fade to disillusionment, their
beauty can never be recaptured. Renewal can come only by cutting the central stem of attachment and,
in a spirit of joyful abandon, tossing the petals of indulgence to the wind.
Only by keen discrimination is it possible to perceive clearly the emptiness of material pleasures. Desire
for them turns to disgust, and awakens a determination to tear out fling away altogether the seeds of
further desires in the heart.

The sense addict experiences pleasures fickleness; he, too, arrives at disillusionment of a kind. By the
time this mood develops in him, however, he has lost the power for decisive action. His disillusionment-
a lament over his conditions of enslavement- comes too late. The petals have already fallen, and the
stem, shrunken and frail, will no longer produce a single flower.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Look- analyze

Rose- material pleasure

Blows about us- The short lived-, fragrant pleasures with which people surround themselves.

Laughing- mockingly

She says- mundane enjoyment tells us.

Into the world I blow- the garden of lifes experience is gaudy with impermanent pleasures.

Silken tassel of my purse- the hearts attachments, which binds a person to the plane of material
existence.

Tear- destroy, by wisdom

Its treasure- worldly allurements

On the garden throw- Return to earth the temptation of the earth.

14) The worldly hope men set their hearts upon

Turns ashes- or it prospers; and anon,

Like snow upon the deserts dusty face

Lightning a little hour or two- is gone.

Paraphrase: -

Worldly hope is deceiving a will-o-the wisp that lures ignorant minds to their destructions. Its
fulfillments, like snow descending on hot desert sands, are evanescent. Moments after they touch us,
their cool refreshments evaporate in the heat of disillusionment.

Expanded meaning: -
The wise, even if blessed with material prosperity, never lose the sight of the truth that all things are
evanescent.

Fools, who look to this imperfect world for fulfillment, never gain from it more than fleeting satisfaction.
For the very fairest and most delicate dream of earthly happiness cannot but join the solemn procession
that winds its way towards the crematory ground of dis-illusionment.

The wise understand the lifes fleeting nature. They waste no time in building dream castles of futile
expectations. Instead, they cultivate non-attachment to this earths experiences. When death comes,
they find the perfection of fulfillment in god.

This stanza has also an outward application. For Omar here emphasizes the importance, in daily life, of
even-mindedness.

If you aspire to wisdom and unalloyed happiness, keep the feelings of your heart free. Dont over-react
to lifes Ups and downs. Dont, in other words, when fortune visits you, dive boisterously into sparkling
streams of excitements, and resist the temptation to sink despondently into a bog of despair when the
trail before you suggest no way out of present difficulties.

For the unwary, the material world is an uncharted wilderness, fraught with peril. Occasional success
whether ones own or someone elses- lures the unpracticed hiker down countless trails of false hope.
Too often, alas, the path vanishes into a desert of broken dreams. Success alternates with failure, like
ridges and valleys on a mountain range. A pleasant stroll through meadowlands in interrupted
unexpectedly by canyons of dis-appointments. The will to progress is met by the floods of other peoples
ambition and desire. Not to know the terrain in advance is to be woefully unprepared for the journey.

The unwary, moreover, see not death, hovering on the horizon like a menacing cloud. Unprepared to
accept death calmly, they are overwhelmed when, inexorably, the storm descends.

The rules for fruitful, happy life are not many, nor are they difficult to follow. They must, however, be
studied carefully, by putting them into daily practices.

Toil and struggle are the norms of life on earth. They are blessings, not a misfortune, for they provide us
with a testing ground for our own inner development. As we home our peace of mind- its pure metal
forged meditation on the abrasive surface of outer difficulties. As we hone our peace of mind- its pure
metal forged in meditation on the abrasive surface of outer difficulties, we develop the clear
discrimination with which to slice through to delusions heart. Eventually we arrive at that blessed state
where the very luster of our peace protects us during all our activities.

The most important condition for lasting happiness is even-mindedness. Let the screaming hordes of
worry surround the ramparts of your inner peace; and let triumphant cries of success invites you to a
victory dance when things go well; remain ever calmly centered in the Self, within.

As childs sand castle disintegrates before invading waves, so does a restless mind, lacking strength of
will and perseverance, succumb to the pounding it receives from the waves of changing circumstances.

A diamond, however, retains its strength and clarity no matter how many waves crash down upon it. The
man of inner peace, similarly, his consciousness made crystalline by inner calmness, retains his
equanimity through even the storm of mighty trails.
Dive beneath the crashing waves of outer circumstances beneath the ceaselessly changing currents in
your outer life- and salvage the sunken treasure at your inner depths. Soul-consciousness is a reflection
of the ceaseless infinity of spirit.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Worldly hope- the hope of gaining worldly happiness.

Set their hearts upon- become foolishly attached to.

Turns ashes- is consumed, leaving only the ashes of disappointment.

Or it prospers; and anon Is fulfilled for a little while, but soon is snatched away from us again.

Like snow upon the deserts dusty face- worldly happiness is evanescent.

Lightning a little hour or two is gone- vanishes, after imparting but a little, tantalizing pleasure.

15) And those who husbanded the Golden Grain,

And those who flung it to the winds like Rain,

Alike to no such aureate Earth are turnd

As, buried once, Men want dug up again.

Paraphrase: -

Those who glory in the possession of Gold, whether they hoard it or squander it hoardlessly, like
raindrops on the winds, find no such luster at the end of their lives. Earth, they become, and of no
special value to anyone.

Expanded meaning: -

Whether a person idolizes gold and hoards it selfishly, or squanders it with cheerful insouciance, the end,
from a metaphysical standpoint, is the same. Both modes of living arise from the delusion that wealth
can bestow happiness.

To glorify money is to identify oneself with lifeless matter, not with life. It is to seek, through the senses,
a merely vicarious comfort. The senses themselves, and the body which gives them expression, are
lifeless vehicles, merely, for the life-force animating them.

How foolish the worldly man, to identify his immortal soul with something that, at death, becomes mere
clay, barren of any vestige of beauty! The body, considered purely as material substance, cannot begin to
complete in beauty and worth with the gleaming ore man mine so arduously from the ground. What
folly, indeed, to take endless pains to adorn with gold and glittering gems that which, in itself, is devoid
of value.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Golden Grain- gold, also, the idol of wealth.

Who husbandWho flung. alike - Those who hoard money for security, and those who spend it
extravagantly on luxuries, live equally in delusion.

To no such aureate Earth turned- The physical body, worshiped by so many, is transformed ultimately,
not into something praiseworthy, but into worthless dust.

Buried once, men want dug up again Attachment to material life makes the ego long to return to
outward manifestation in physical form.

16)Think, In this batterd caravanserai

Whose doorways are alternate Night and Day,

How sultan after sultan with his pomp

Abode his hour or two, and want his way.

Paraphrase: -

How brief their sojourn in lifes storm- battered inn: Earths rulers! Historys great events! The doorway
of their entrances and exits open onto a cosmic environment. Yet, in the little room of each persons
separate existence, see how he strides back and forth, perhaps shouting self- importantly, and paying no
heed, in his petty preoccupations, to that greater reality.

Life is a study in an infinity of contrasts: light and darkness, sun and rain, success and disappointment,
power (boldly claimed by a few), and mind-numbing impotence (suffered by so many).

Earths emperors rule in pomp and dignity, surrounded by their colorful courts and by their bragging
families. Then, one by one, they are snatched away from their brief hour of splendor to vanish into the
silent chambers of death- into the cosmic unknown!

Expanded meaning: -

Just as, to our view, the lives of insects are ephemeral, even so human life, in the sight of Eternity,
endures hardly an instant. All living, conscious beings are marked for death.
How strange that, while still we live, we never clearly picture to ourselves our lifes impermanence. How
strange, our reluctance to face the simple truth that we, too, must someday depart the inn of this body
and wander again on unknown tracks of Eternity.

Let us exercise at least minimal discrimination! Why drink ourselves into a stupor of forgetfulness? Deep
draughts of sensory excitement leave most people unconscious, spiritually. There is no security in
ignorance! Friends: Sober Up. Recall to mind those verities which alone, for those who live by them,
give lasting happiness.

Even the powerful of earth are snatched away after little or no warning, through deaths curtained door.
Why devote your whole life to the distractions of a passing spectacle? Abide steadfastly at your own
center, in the indestructible peace that comes from daily meditation.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Batterd Caravanserai- The tavern of this world, whose harmony is disrupted by lightning flashes of
fleeting triumph, followed by long-thunder rolls of suffering.

Whose Doorways are alternate Night and Day- Lifes periodic contrasts, which, like day and night on
earth, are reminder that we, in our life changes, are part of a greater, cosmic environment.

Sultan- Mighty events

His hour or two- Lifes brevity, compared to the long rhythms of cosmic time.

17) They say the Lion and lizard keep

The courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep

And Brahman, that great Hunter the wild Ass

Stamps oer his head, and he lies fast asleep.

Paraphrase: -

In the ancient city- now a deserted ruin where once king jamshyd gloried in the splendor of his court
and drank his fill of material pleasures, there now roam only wild beasts.

And over the grave of that once- mighty hunter, Brahman, the wild ass stamps its feet.

Such are lifes contrasts. As wakefulness alternates with sleep, so do pomp and triumph alternate with
torpor and defeat. The scenes are woven by the threads of karma, as times shuttles moves in and out of
lifes tapestry with vast indifference. Even those who boast supreme earthly power must at last
relinquish their dominion, leaving it perhaps to lesser men, or surrendering it to untamable Nature.
Great cities, like that of Jamshyd (on whose broad walls mighty chariots once rode), fall before times
invasion and crumble to dust and desolation.
Expanded meaning: -

only fools identify themselves with material wealth, or glory in the physical prowess. The part each
human being plays in life is only a temporary assignment. The role of opulent pillar of society may be
snatched away in a moment. The homes people build so lovingly may be claimed again by wilderness.

Let us learn from the fate of other. The more prominent their roles, the more striking the lesson. The
only worthwhile accomplishments are not those we achieve outwardly, but the victories we win over
ourselves. Let us create inner dwellings of beautiful qualities, erecting them in valleys of humbleness
where gather the rains of Gods mercy and of other peoples good wishes for us.

Divine grace can make fertile the most arid heart, transforming its brown desert into a verdant garden of
inner happiness and peace.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

The lion and the Lizard keep the courts indifferently, the great and the small of this world occupy,
eventually, the scenes of mankinds greatest triumphs.

Jamshyd- A legendry king of ancient times, and a symbol of a temporary power, Jamshyd was the
founder of Arayana, a kingdom in the northern part of what is present day Afghanistan.

The wild ass stamps oer his head- The hunted mocks the hunter: a symbol of natures impartiality,
which in time reverses every position and brings to dust all mortal prides.

18) I sometimes think that never blows so red

The rose as where some buried Caesar bled;

That every Hyacinth the garden wears

Dropt in its Lap from some once lovely head.

Paraphrase: -

I wonder if the rose growing in soil once soaked by the blood of some long-dead, heroic king is not for
that very reason all the redder. Mans environment influences him, but man in his turns exerts a subtle
influence on his environment. While the cities he builds must eventually crumble, his powerful thoughts
may leave a lasting impression on the land where he once lived.

Past heroic lives are also more richly hued for the tenderness, mystery and sympathy with which we
endow them. Every hyacinth of noble thought that grows in the garden of human mind enriches, in some
hidden way, the lives of other human beings.
Our truth-aspiring inspirations, moreover, have not their origin in our minds. In part, they are shaped by
others wisdom. All thoughts, at their ultimate source, are like drops of water sprayed from the fountain
of eternal wisdom.

Expanded Meaning: -

All life is interconnected. It influences, and receives influences in turn. Though all things turn to dust, the
very dust they become holds the vibrations of consciousness with which they were imbued. We have a
responsibility to others, therefore, and to the whole world. As other people are affected by our
consciousness, let us determine always to hold thoughts that are pure and noble.

It is good also to reach out mentally to great men and women of the past. Our admiration for them lends
enchantment to their memory. Reflect on their lives. Seek in them the inspiration to strive more
earnestly to improve yourself, that you accomplish worthwhile thing in your own life.

Every quality, mental or spiritual, that can bloom in the garden of the human mind has flowered many
times before, in many minds. The wise commune with the greatness they perceive in others. They never
boast of their own qualities or their own accomplishments, but view them all as belonging to a universal
reality. Every thought we think is a flower in lifes garden, and not the permanent possession of anyone.
Let our thoughts, then, be fragrant and beautiful, not rank and ugly, that the memory we leave behind us
be felt as a blessing on earth. And let our thought be inspired not by ego, but by God.

In deep meditation, understanding is given us : It is from soul-consciousness that all true inspiration
comes for mankinds material, mental, and spiritual improvement.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Never blows so red-All creation, from garden rose to mighty emperor, is subtly intertwined.

Hyacinth- Every blossoming quality.

Garden- The garden of human mind.

From some once lovely head- From some former. Inspired and inspiring life.

19) And this delightful Herb whose tender Green

Fledges the Rivers Lip on which we lean-

Ah, lean upon it lightly! For who knows

From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen!

Paraphrase: -
Our subtlest perceptions spring not from outside ourselves, in communication with the world around us
and with other minds, but from hidden recesses within ourselves. Approach these spinal grottoes
sensitivity, for through them flows the subtle river of all vitality, perceptivity and joy.

On the banks of this astral river grow fresh, rejuvenating herbs, verdant grasses of inspiration, and
fragrant wildflower of intuition. All living forms are sustained by the life-force at their center. Vertebrate
forms are fed and revitalized by the life in their spine. Through the spinal nerves centers, in the case of
human beings, inspiration, also, flows outward.

Deepen your awareness of this spinal channel, for within your body- so apparently small, outwardly-
flows the mighty, all nourishing River of Life.

Expanded meaning: -

Our minds are usually busy processing the information we receive from the outer surface of our bodies
through the senses of sight, smell, taste, and touch. Too much attraction to the senses becomes sense
addiction, enslaving us to outward consciousness.

People who love flattery imprison themselves in outward-ness through the sense of hearing. The golden
chains of attractive speech forge the delusion binding them.

Those who allow themselves to be caught by human beauty imprison themselves through the sense of
sight- whipped, as a saint described a certain young man, by the lash of beautiful face.

And those who approach food greedily instead of accepting it gratefully as a source of nourishment
becomes enslaved to outward-ness through the senses of smell and taste.

Of all the senses, the subtlest is that of touch. People who find immoderate delight in touch sensations
becomes an easy prey to sex-desires. Of all sensations, touch is the most addicting. Spread out as it is
over the whole body, it is the one sense most likely to draw our attention outward, away from the subtle
currents of energy and consciousness that emanates from our source of life-within.

Very few people understand the subtle working of the nervous system. Most keep themselves madly
busy with the senses as their means of communication with the world around them. They are aware only
of the outer reaches of their nervous systems, not of the origin of the nerves in the spine and brain.
Thus, many scoff, and many others are bemused, when saints discourse on the inner world and on the
wonderful perceptions they experience at lifes source. At this inner source, beyond the insulated nerves
in the spine and brain, are the unseen Lips od Spirit, which speaks to our souls and infuse our nervous
system with endless divine destiny.

The life-force that courses through the nervous system is the medium by which mind and senses
communicate. At the inner end of the nervous system, the mind, interiorized, communes with the soul.
The deeper his soul communion, the better the mind in turn can communicate peace to the entire body.

During wakefulness, we identify ourselves with the senses; consequently, our minds are kept in a more
or less continually restless state. During the subconscious sleep, the consciousness is partially
withdrawn from the senses, and experiences an increase of inner peace and a renewed vitality. In super-
consciousness, during deep meditation, the experience of inner peace and vitality is immeasurably
intensified.
While meditating, concentrate on the expanding peace within. Gradually, separate your awareness of
peace in the heart, spine, and brain from your consciousness of outer body.

In time, you will be able to separate yourself from body-consciousness altogether, and enter into the
measureless consciousness of Spirit.

KEYS TO MEANING: -

Delightful Herb whose tender Green- Fresh, tender sensations, thoughts, and perceptions.

The rivers lip on which we lean- The river of life which flows through the spinal canal, on which our
vitality depends.

Lean upon it lightly- concentrate upon it sensitively, with deep and delicate perception.

What once lovely lip The original Divine loveliness.

It springs unseen- The unseen source in God, from which divine center flows all life on earth.

20)Ah, my beloved, fill the cup that clears

TODAY of past regrets and future fears-

Tomorrow? - why, tomorrow I may be

Myself with yesterdays sevn Thousand years.

Paraphrase: -

Ah, my beloved, fill the cup of my mind with the ambrosia of bliss that flows from the cask of ecstacy.
Only in union with thee will my awareness of past errors, and my fear of the evil they could bring to me
in future, be dispelled.

Delay me no longer as I seek the Beloved. Tomorrow I may depart this body forcibly, my atoms strewn
among a past of countless forms. Intoxicate me- yes, even today- with divine devotion.

Expanded meaning: -

Our lives, so dearly loved by us, ought to be loved for our well-being, not for our destruction. Let us fill
the cup of life with the nectar of inner peace, that we release ourselves from the hypnosis of errors
committed long ago, and for the painful consequences of those errors in the future.

Be happy, now! If you succeed in finding happiness in your soul, then even though you die tomorrow and
join the long procession of departed souls that slowly moves down pillared corridors of centuries, you
will always carry with you that priceless treasures. Once soul-happiness is yours, no one will be able to
take it away from you, however long be your journey toward timelessness and eternity.

KEYS TO MEANING: -
Beloved- beloved soul

Fill the cup that clears- awaken bliss- consciousness, which clears the mind of every sorrow.

Past regrets- sorrow for our evils once committed, and fear lest their dire consequences descend upon
us in the future.

Future fears- The fear that we might repeat our past evil deeds through the power of habit, thereby
bringing only suffering in the future, to ourselves and to others.

Yesterdays seven thousand years- The infinite past, embracing as it does the numberless dead.

21)LO! Some we loved, the loveliest and best

That time and fate of all their vintage prest,

Have drunk their cup a round or two before,

And one by one crept silently to rest.

Paraphrase: -

Time and fate have no favorites. Impartially they thrust all men, whether late or soon in life, into the
winepress of death. Some, even among those we thought imperishably our own, drank to the less the
precious draught of life, then slipped away to rest in the great, silent void.

Expanded meaning: -

Like actors, and actresses, we make our appearances on the stage of life, play our parts for a time, then
depart, and are seen no more.

Some of us, having acquired non-attachment, recognize life as the mere show that it is. We play our
parts as well and skillfully as we can, responsive to the directors guidance.

Others, over-identified with their little roles, ignore the Directors wishes. Ego- driven, they refuse to
adapt their parts to the demand s of the larger plot. Such people are, simply, bad actors.

All of us, good and bad actors alike, have no choice but to leave the stage once our roles are finished.
Our entrances, the fleeting parts we play, and our final exist from the stage of life all these are
ultimately determined by the all-compensating law of karma.

It is no mere metaphor to speak of life as a stage. Real life is the original theatrical production. The
stages man creates are a miniature and artificial imitation.

The earthly drama, unlike any which the most brilliant human dramatist could invent, is infinitely
interwoven and complex. Individual karma interacts with countless other karmas; family, social, national,
international, planetary. As each role arrives at its end, the player retires for a period of rest behind the
scenes, there to prepare himself for his future re-appearance in another role.
It is useless, and therefore foolish, to grieve because our present roles must end. Whatever those roles-
whether outwardly important or unimportant, and whether played to the applause of multitudes or
unheeded by any- we should play them conscientiously with all the skill at our command. Thus will our
respite after death be enjoyable; it may even give us entrance, for a time, to high astral heaven.

Someday we will be released from the need to re-incarnate at all. Until then, what draws us earthward is
the weight of our own karma, its chains forged because we played our parts imperfectly, or accepted
them unwillingly.

Until that festive day when we attain complete inner freedom, life for each one of us will always be a
gamble with disaster. From one moment to the next we can never know lies in store for us. In even the
fairest and noblest of human beings there may lurk, unseen because buried deep in the subconscious,
seeds of misery-producing actions of the past.

Human life is a forever unreliable. How often souls are pressed out of their bodies in their very prime-
forced to depart earths stage while still young, beautiful, and full of promise! Life is beset with risks. Nor
is lasting victory his who, after great effort, prevails against them.

To take the useless chances is to play the fool. Why not follow the wise in their quest for immortality?
Soul-freedom is yours for the mere seeking. God can grant it to you with one celestial flick of a finger.
Why waste endless centuries asleep in the crib of time, when you can rest super-consciously in eternal
bliss?

The consciousness of immortality destroys every limitation time imposes on you. Cosmic thought built
those prison walls, with the bricks of past, present, and future time. Once you attain enlightenment,
those illusive walls will vanish forever.

Keys to meaning: -

Vintage- the precious wine of life.

Time and fate- death and karmic law.

Prest- removed forcibly from the body by the winepress of death.

Have drink their cup a round or two before- Have drained the cup of life some time before us.

To rest- To sink into the sleep of death before assuming their new earthly roles.

22)And we, that now make merry in the Room

They left, and Summer dresses in new Bloom,

Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth.

Descend, ourselves to make a Couch- for whom?

Paraphrase: -

As others, one by one, rise silently and leave the room of earth life, we here continue to make merry,
hoping by our festivity to postpone the hour of our own departure.

Proud in our roles, we display to the world these treasured bodies, our new costumes.

Rarely do people take time to reflect that their bodies will no longer be their bodies- that someday each
in turn will fertilize the moist earth in order that other and still other rosebushes of human beings may
grow and flourish.

Expanded meaning: -

The very noise people make as they party in lifes gaily festooned hall betrays their anxiety to mask
Deaths starker reality. Loudly they declare, Reality is that which we can see, hear, and touch. Why
prattle about Death? Or Meaning? Or Higher Purpose? Let us enjoy life!

With drunkenness and boisterous laughter, they close their mind to the end they know full well awaits
them. Why?

Is it not mere intelligent to make an effort to understand what life is all about? Consider the carpenter,
for example. Does he not need to know what piece of furniture he is making?

Why pretend that there is no important question to be answered- no mystery to be solved- no

ineluctable reality to be faced? We are not animals, born merely to eat, breed, and die, while
understanding nothing!

Live for something more than partying and good times. Enjoy life, yes: In joy, after all, God made this
world; He wants us to share in his enjoyment. Joy should not be confused, however, with mindless
giggling. Seek not happiness in inert things. These only reflect back to you whatever happiness you
already feel within, and are as prompt to reflect back sorrow, when joy abandons you. Be consciously
happy within you.

Prolonged, unthinking laughter is evidence of hysteria. But happiness can be yours eternally, once you
awaken to the full glory of your inner self; once you develop, by meditation, the ability to breathe the
divine atmosphere, redolent with lotus fragrances of transcendent inner bliss.

Keys to meaning: -

In the Room- In the beautiful room of earth

Summer dresses in new bloom- old souls in new bodily garments, displaying their costumes proudly on
the ballroom floor of life.

For whom? For those who live under the sway of time, the future remains forever a locked door. The
entire mystery of past, present and future time can be solved only through God-communion.

23)Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,

 Before we too into the dust descend;

Dust into Dust, and under Dust, to lie,

Sans wine, sans song, sans singer, and sans End!

Paraphrase: -

Ere this body- so fairly formed, so strong, so vital! Withers with age and dis-integrates to dust again,
make the best use of what fate has given you. Be not identified with your short-lived sense-pleasure,
lest, at death, you find yourself identified with dust!

Set out this very day on the great Adventure. Seek the Holy grail of communion with ever-new joy in the
Eternal Spirit.

wine, women and song -how many are addicted to these follies! After years of carousing, they tip the
wine cask, and find it empty. The women age, or pursue younger game. And the song rounds one more
time to tired chorus. What then is left, but bitterness?

All that people once loved will be ended! Worse still, the cosmic law will continue to pursue them
relentlessly through eons of time, until they themselves cut their karmic knots and expand their
consciousness into the vast heavens of Absolute love.

Expanded Meaning: -

As human beings, endowed with rational intelligence, it is not fitted that we behave like animals. After a
climb of countless incarnations, we now stand at the peak of earthly evolution. It is wrong for us, at this
stage, to waste in empty revelry these precious years on earth. Let not the noxious weeds of evil habits
grow unchecked in your soul-garden. While the season remains still favorable to the sowing of
worthwhile habits, tend your garden wisely.

Everything that pertains to your existence as you now know it- your pleasures, your attachments, your
personal identity - will be snatched away from you forever at death. Live now in such a way as to win the
wreath of immortality. By spiritual heroism and nobility of character you will inspire others, long after
you leave this earth, to pursue lifes one and only worthwhile goal.

Keys to meaning: -

Make the most- seek the eternal, not the temporal

Of what we yet may spend- of what time and energy are still left to us in this life.

Dust into Dust- The body is made of earth; to earth it must be returned.

Under Dust- Beneath other dead bodies.

Sans wine, sans song, sans singer- Death snatches away all our sense pleasures, all our human
companionship.

Sans End- cyclic creation is never ending. Mortal man cannot escape the law of karma even from eon to
eon, without making a conscious effort to free himself in God-realization.