Begun in 1262 AD, Masnavi-ye Ma ‘navi, or ‘spiritual couplets', is thought to be the longest single-authored ‘mystical’ poem ever written. As the spiritual masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition, it teaches how to progress to the ultimate goal of the Sufi path - union with God. Jalaloddin Rumi was a poet and a mystic, but he was first a teacher; in these verses he draws the reader into the complexities of human love and separation and explains the path to divine love through the elimination of self-regard and worldly desires. Drawing on diverse sources from bawdy tales and fables to stories of the prophet Mohammed, these verses are brief in expression yet copious in meaning.

'A profoundly valuable collection, full of fresh perspective, and opening doors into all kinds of material that has been routinely neglected or patronized' Rowan Williams, TLS This rich and surprising anthology is a holistic, global survey of a lyric conversation about the divine, one which has been ongoing for millennia. Beginning with the earliest attributable author in all of human literature, the twenty-third century BCE Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna, and taking in a constellation of voices - from King David to Lao Tzu, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Malian Epic of Sundiata - this selection presents a number of canonical figures like Blake, Dickinson and Tagore, alongside lesser-anthologized, diverse poets going up to the present day. Together they show the breathtaking multiplicity of ways humanity has responded to the spiritual, across place and time.

The book, “Spiritual Verses of Sheikh Farid”, is a translation from the Holy Scripture, “Guru Granth Sahib”. The reader’s mind is captured through the concept of the spirituality that reveals the universal truth of life and the divinity of the soul. Farid’s desire to meet God face to face inspired his spiritual poetic expression in his verses. This book depicts the universal concepts of Gods ways of nurturing human soul and mind with positive aspects of life. For a theological worldwide understanding, simple English language has been used and word by word meaning is in English.

The poems were all given to me by Jesus Our Lord and savior. I have written poetry since I was a child during the World War II as we had no toys, dolls, etc. Writing poems and books were all I used to do.

Spiritual Verses of Sheikh Farid in Guru Granth Sahib. Sheikh Farid has penned down his vast experience, which he had encountered during his life long search for the spiritual bliss and a deep rooted desire to meet God face to face. In Saloka 90, he writes. “Farida, your body has dried up and has become a skeleton and the crows find it a potential food source and peck at the palms. Look at the fate of this humble person, even now there is no indication of an approach by God”. Here are a few lessons to be learnt from the (Verses) Kalam / Bani of Sheikh Farid in Guru Garanth Sahib: Go to Church or temple or Masjid or Synagogue of your faith as per the practice established by your elders. There you come in contact with persons of your views and concepts and your faith is enhanced. (Shaloka 70 of Sheikh Farid) Do your prayers as dictated by your religion, as best as you can, it will add up to your spiritual belief in God and will give you confidence. (Shaloka 71st of Sheikh Farid) Pay full attention to the voice of your conscience, which your spiritual leaning keeps it vibrating.( Shaloka 39th of Sheikh Farid) Do not criticize others method of spiritual belief and rituals. It is the voice of your ego which induces you to down size others, better search your conscience. (Shaloka 6th of Sheikh Farid) Do not be a hypocrite, the death equalizes everyone at the end. (Shaloka 26th of Sheikh Farid) Avoid bad deeds, they bring you shame at the end. (Shaloka 59 of Sheikh Farid) Do good even to a bad person, do not let anger over power you, such a way of life will enhance your life span and will give you all the satisfaction you desire. (Salok 78 of Sheikh Farid) All the Salokas of Sheikh Farid depict his state of mind and his eagerness and his whole hearted devotion to God of his faith. He reacted strongly to the cunning and the hypocrite world around him. When he was still young he got so much upset with his surroundings which distracted his concentration of mind on God, that one day he gave up. (Shaloka 2,3 of Sheikh Farid), He said , going door to door to beg for food is so degrading, let me go somewhere, away from the wicked ways of the world. In such a disgusting mood, he folds into a bundle, his essential belongings of daily use, picks up the bundle to go away somewhere. Then he said to himself, where shouId I go? He said, “I am confused, I am not able to find a way out and I cannot think of what to do. The working system of this world is hypocrite people talk nicely on the face but they are indifferent inside”. Then the wisdom comes to him and he drops the idea of going away and he says: My God has done a great favor to me to give me wisdom, otherwise if I had wandered about, I would have suffered and would have been torn to pieces. There are 130 shalokas (Verses) of Sheikh Farid Ji, enshrined in Guru Garanth Sahib, from Page 1377 to Page 1384. With-in these 130 shalokas, there are few shalokas enjoined by Guru Amar Das Ji and some of the shalokas by Guru Arjun Dev Ji, to supplement the thoughts of Sheikh Farid Ji.

"An exciting vision of the future" --Michael Eric Dyson Everything Is Spiritual is an unexpected and compelling invitation to see your life in a whole new way. We have the great moments of our lives, the highs, those times when we soar, when it all makes sense, when it feels like it all has purpose and meaning. And then there are all those other moments—the lows and aches and failures and struggles and experiences that leave us wondering what the point of it all is. Are our lives ultimately bits and pieces and fragments—you try to find a little peace and hope and then it’s over? Or is there more going on here? In our increasingly polarized and disoriented world, Everything Is Spiritual gives us a radical new take on how it all fits together, how it works, how it’s all connected. Part memoir, part extended riff on the quantum nature of reality, part history of the universe, Rob Bell takes us back through the twists and turns and struggles of his story in order to help us see the larger story so that we can reconnect with our story.

Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.