The Ultimate Philosophy of Khalil Gibran

Last Saturday, I got the time wrong about the HKPO concert at the Cultural Centre and arrived a full hour early. This has never ever previously occurred!  I was always just about to be late! So I got more than one full hour before the start of the concert. What to do? I went to Swindon's. To my delight, I found two more books by Khalil Gibran, otherwise known as Kahil Gibran,  a biography of his called "Prophet: The Life and Times of Kahill Gibran " by Robin Waterfield ( 1999) and the other "The Eye of the Prohphet" which was translated from the French "L'Oeil du Prophete" by Margaret Crosland. I have not seen the French original of this book. It was first published by Editions Albin Michel in 1991 and the translations were published by the Souvenir Press Ltd in 1995. I bought both. I browsed through it quickly and found two most useful short prose poems about his spiritual quest called "Quest for the Return" and "The Body and the Mind" and other quotations which I believe sets out fairly clearly what he has read and what he found insufficient in each religious tradition and what he himself personally believes. I found that he expresses my own beliefs much much better than I can do so for myself. So let the master speak.  So here it is.

                                   Quest for the Return

I have lived from the alpha of Creation and I shall live until the omega of Eternity. And my existence shall never wither away.

I have floated in the universe of the infinite and flown in the upper air of the imaginary world. There I was close to the circle with its divine light; here, I am in the prison of matter.

I have listened to the teachings of Confucius and the wisdom of Brahma. And I have been with the Buddha in the shade of Knowledge-Tree. And now I face ignorance and apostasy.

I have climbed Mount Sinai where in the past Jehoveh rose up before the eyes of Moses. I have purified my body in the Jordan and I have lived through the miracles of the Nazarene. And at Medina I have listened to that Messenger repeat the Word in Arabic. And now I am undecided.

I have known the strength of Babel, the glory of Egypt, and the splendor of the Greeks. And perpetually I see weakness and servility, always present in all these creations.

I have kept company with the magicians of Ayn Dour. Elsewhere I have been the guest of the Assyrian hermits, and I have followed the prophets in the land of Palestine. And still I am searching for the truth.

I have learned the wisdom revealed in India and poetry breathed forth in Arabia. And I have heard the melodies that formed in the heart of the countries where the sun is dying. And I see myself still blind and I remain deaf to the sound of my unspeaking lips.

I have endured the ferocity and greed of conquerors and I have suffered beneath the yoke of tyrants. And I remain a force which fights at the stroke of every minute.

I have seen and heard all that when still a child, and I shall continue to look and listen to all the shallow deeds of my youth. Once my hair is white I shall brush against the fringes of fulfilment and I shall regain the dwelling of Allah.

If you are dead, he will restore life to you. And if you die again, he will raise you up until the hour comes for your return to him.

                                  The Body and the Mind 1.

He who tries to separate the body from the mind or the mind from the body distances his heart from the truth.

     For the flower and its perfume are inseparable.

     And the blind man who denies the colors and contours of the flower, believing that it possesses only a perfume that vibrates in the upper air, is like the man who pinches his nostrils and claims that flowers are only shapes and colors without any scent.

                                    The Body and the Mind 2

The body is the bosom where the soul takes up residence until it is mature.

It rises then in order to soar upwards, while the womb opens to accept a new seed.

                                     The Body

Life is naked.

  And a naked body represents the truest and most noble symbol of life.

  And if I draw a mountain as a heap of human forms, if I paint a waterfall as a cascade of falling naked bodies, it is because I see in a mountain a mass of living things, and in a waterfall a current of rushing life.

                                       The Mind

The mind manifests itself by looks and words.

       For the soul is our dwelling place, our eyes are its windows, and our lips its messengers.

The mere strength of the mind is more powerful than all the powers, and must sometimes grind to dust everything that opposes it.

      However, have pity on men of little faith.

      Have pity on their weakness, their ignorance, and their nothingness.

                                         God

The drop of dew curled up in the heart of the lily is no different from you when you deliver your soul into the heart of God.

Without doubt we are closer to God each time we try to divide him and find he is indivisible.

Most religions speak of God in the masculine; in my eyes, he is as much a mother as a father.

He is a father and mother in one single Person, and Woman is his Mother-Godness.

       And we can be united to God the Father through the mind, but the Mother-Goddess can only be reached through the heart, through love.

                                            Life

Life is like an island lost in the ocean of solitude, an isaldn where the rocks are our hopes and the trees our dreams, where the flowers ae our solitude and the streams our aspirations.

Your life is an isalnd separate from all the other islands and regions. However many vessels leave your shores for other countries, however many fleets sail to your ports, you will always be a separate isalnd, suffering the pangs of solitude and aspiring to happiness. Other men do not know you at all and they are far from pitying your solitude or understanding you.

My borther , your life is like an isolated house, far from any human dwelling. A house which no gaze from outside can penetrate.

If it were deprived of light your neighbor's lamp could not illuminate it. If the house stood in the desert you could not transport it into the garden of other men, ploughed and cultivated by other hands.

My brother, the life of the spirit goes by in solitude and without this solitude and this isolation you would be in no way what you are, neither would I be what I am. Without this isolation and this solitude, I should come to believe on hearing your voice that in is my voice which is speaking, or on seeing your face that it is the reflection of my face in a mirror.

Life without rebellion is like the seasons without spring. And rebelliuon without reights is like spring in a barren desert. Life rebelliuon, and rirhgt are a trintiy which can neither be changed nor separated. Life is like the charger of the night: the faster it gallops the sooner will come the dawn.

                                            Truth

Truth is like the stars: it shows only in the darkness of the night.

Truth is like all the beautiful beautiful things in this world: it reveals its attractiveness only to those who have first felt the influence of falsehood.

A truth which needs to be proved is a half truth.

                                    Reason and Understanding

The merit of a man lies in his understanding and in his deeds, not at all in the color of his skin or in what he believes.

Understanding forms the only set of riches which tyrants cannot take away from you.

The true riches of a nation lie not in its gold or silver but in its aptitude to educate itself and in the degree of integrity possessed by its children.

The riches of the mind embellish the face of a man and earn sympathy and respect. The mind of a being is reflected in his eyes and in all the movements and gestures of his body.

When reason speaks to you, listen to what it says and you shall be saved. Make good use of its words and you shall be armed. For reason is a clever minister, a loyal guide and wise counselor. And just as anger obscures the light, reaon is a light in the darkness.

Do not forget, however, that even if reason illuminates you, it is not effective without understanding. Without its true-born sister, reason is a wanderer without a roof over its head, and understanding without reason is like an unguarded house.

Reason and understanding are not like the merchandise that is sold in the market, whose value goes down with abundance: quite the contrary, the more abundant they are, the more their value increases.

                                                  Wisdom

Learn the words of wisdom uttered by the sages and apply them within your life. Live them out, but do not declaim the, for whoever repeats what he has not understood is as useless as a donkey laden with books.

Step back, wisdom that does not weep, philosophy that does not laugh, and greatness that does not bow down before children.

Seek counsel from each other, for such is the way to end error and meaningful repentance. The wisdom of the multitude is your shield against tyranny. And each time you turn towards someone to receive his counsel, you reudce accordingly the number of your enemies.

Ask counsel from people wrinkled with age. Their eyes have looked the years directly in the face, and their ears have listened to the voice of Life. And even if their counsel were to displease you, do not fail to give them a little of your attention.