Carpe Diem #1380 present life

 

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. this month we are exploring the Quran as a book of wisdom and as a source for inspiration. Today I have a nice quote from the Quran for your inspiration.

[...] "And cite for them the parable of the present life: it is like water that We send down from the sky; the plants of the earth absorb it; but then it becomes debris, scattered by the wind. God has absolute power over everything.  Wealth and children are the adornments of the present life. But the things that last, the virtuous deeds, are better with your Lord for reward, and better for hope." [...] (Surah 18: Ayah 45 & 46)

autumn leaves in early sunlight

What does this mean? What kind of similarities we can see with other spiritual literature?

Let us take a look at the first Ayah in this quote: It sounds like what Jesus said "I am the water of life" and I think that's what this part of the quote means. God sends us rain to water our crops, without rain it will not grow. And of course we know that the crops will absorb it, but during the seasons it will grow, it will give fruits and finally it will die. In this Ayah we can see the whole circle of life in a few words.

In the second Ayah we can read about how we have to look at life ... like we were children. Isn't that also what is said "Let the children come to me, because Paradise is for those who are like children". Wealth is nice, but it cannot be the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is what we have done in our life, did we reach the goals imprinted in our soul by the Creator. In this we can also see the idea of reincarnation as is part of Buddhism and Hinduism.

Isn't it a wonder to look at the Quran and try to understand the words, but also the depth in the words? The Quran is a wonderful book full of ancient knowledge ... knowledge we see in other religions and philosophies too, maybe not in the same words, but for sure in the same idea, the same spirit.

departure
following the winding road
circle of life

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 8th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!