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My God and my Lord:

Eyes are at rest, the stars are setting. Hushed are the movements of birds in their nests, of monsters in the sea; and You are the Just Who knows no change; the Equity that does not swerve, the everlasting that never passes away. The doors of kings are locked now and guarded by their henchmen, but your door is open to all who call upon You. My Lord, each lover is now alone with his beloved. And I am alone with Thee.

--- Huston Smith ---

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Two kinds of Intelligence -Rumi from Mathnawi


There are two kinds of intelligence. The first is the one you acquire through learning, in the manner of school children, from books and teachers, from reflection and memorizing facts, from forming concepts and from the study of subjects that are new to you. In this way your intelligence surpasses that of others, but in reality the retention of all this knowledge in your mind is a burden.


In your quest for knowledge you have become little more than a tablet on which one records information. Yet there is another kind of tablet, another form of intelligence.


This other intelligence is the gift of God; it flows from within you, from the depths of your soul. Unlike the first kind of intelligence, the water of divine knowledge never stinks with stagnation. It doesn't matter if it is prevented from flowing into the outside world, for it pours forth from the heart in an unending flow.


On the other hand, acquired intelligence is like the water supply entering a house from the outside; it if gets blocked, the house ends up without any water. So, seek the fount of knowledge within you! ( M IV:1960-8)

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