André Rieu- Strangers in Paradise
From "spirits Rebellious"
Rachel thought aloud,
Khalil Gibran
"Is there any light, other than the sun, that shines
over all the people? Are human beings capable of
understanding the Truth?"
Khalil returned,
"The true light is that which emanates from within man,
and reveals the secrets of the heart to the soul,
making it happy and contented with life. Truth is
like the stars; it does not appear except from behind
obscurity of the night. Truth is like all beautiful
things in the world; it does not disclose its
desirability except to those who first feel the influence
of falsehood. Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us
to be content in our everyday life and share with
the people the same happiness."
Rachel rejoined, "
Many are those who live according to their goodness,
and many are those who believe that compassion to
others is the shadow of the law of God to man; but
still, they do not rejoice in life, for they remain
miserable until death."
Khalil replied, "
Vain are the beliefs and teachings that make man
miserable, and false is the goodness that leads him
into sorrow and despair, for it is man's purpose to
be happy on this earth and lead the way to felicity
and preach its gospel wherever he goes. He who does
not see the kingdom of heaven in this life will never
see it in the coming life.
We came not into this life
by exile, but we came as innocent creatures of God,
to learn how to worship the holy and eternal spirit
and seek the hidden secrets within ourselves from
the beauty of life. This is the truth which I have
learned from the teachings of the Nazarene.
This is the light that came from within me and showed
me the dark corners of the convent that threatened
my life. This is the deep secret which the beautiful
valleys and fields revealed to me when I was hungry,
sitting lonely and weeping under the shadow of the trees.
One day, as my soul became intoxicated with the heavenly
intoxication of Truth's beauty, I stood bravely before
the monks who were gathering in the garden, and criticized
their wrong deeds saying, 'Why do you spend your days here
and enjoy the bounty of the poor, whose bread you eat was
made with the sweat of their bodies and the tears of their
hearts? Why are you living in the shadow of parasitism,
segregating yourselves from the people who are in need
of knowledge? Why are you depriving the country your help?
Jesus has sent you as lambs amongst the wolves; what has
made you as wolves amongst the lambs? Why are you fleeing
from mankind and from God who created you? If you are
better than the people who walk in the procession of life,
you should go to them and better their lives; but if you
think they are better than you, you should desire to learn
from them.
How do you take an oath and vow to live in
poverty, then forget what you have said and live in luxury?
How do you swear an obedience to God and then revolt against
all that religion means? How do you adopt virtue as your rule
when your hearts are full of lusts? You pretend that you are
killing your bodies, but in fact you are killing your souls.
You feign to abhor the earthly things, but your hearts are
swollen with greed. You have the people believe in you as
religious teachers; truly speaking you are like busy cattle
who divert themselves from knowledge by grazing in a green
and beautiful pasture.
Let us restore to the needy the vast land of the convent
and give back to them the silver and gold we took from them.
Let us disperse from our aloofness and serve the weak who
made us strong, and cleanse the country in which we live.
Let us teach this miserable nation to smile and rejoice with
heaven's bounty and glory of life and freedom.
The people's tears are more beautiful and God-joined than
the ease and tranquility to which you have accustomed
yourselves in this place. The sympathy that touches
the neighbour's heart is more supreme than the hidden
virute in the unseen corners of the convent.
A word of compassion to the weak criminal or prostitute
is nobler than the long prayer which we repeat emptily
evey day in the temple.'
Just pure beauty, and such serenity abounds after reading this and listening to the lovely video..Thanks so much.. ♥♥♥
ReplyDelete