Carpe Diem #1385 Mary, Mother of Jesus

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. This month we are exploring the Quran as a book of wisdom. Today I love to share a quote in which we can read (almost) the same thing as we can read in the Bible. The announcement that Mary will become the Mother of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but in the Quran Jesus is seen as a righteous man, a prophet. A Man of pure love.

Let me give you the quote taken from Surah 19, Maryam:

[...] "And mention in the Scripture Mary, when she withdrew from her people to an eastern
location. She screened herself away from them, and We sent to her Our spirit, and He appeared to her as an immaculate human. She said, “I take refuge from you in the Most Merciful, should you be righteous.” He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord, to give you the gift of a pure son.”  She said, “How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, and I was never unchaste?” He said, “Thus said your Lord, `It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign for humanity, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decided.'" [...] (Source: Surah 19, Maryam, Ayah 16-21)

The Angel Gabriel announces to Mary her pregnancy with Jesus (17th century)

And I also love to share the same words taken from the Bible:

[...] "God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her." [...] (The Gospel of Luke 1: 26-38 NIV)

Statue of the Virgin Mother Mary in Karachi were she is known as Our Lady of Valenkanni

The Quran is given to the people by God through Muhammed, a very wise man. 

blessed Mother
brings together all devotees
bridging the gap

© Chèvrefeuille

Well I hope you did like this episode. I was excited to read that Mary also is part of Hinduism and  Zoroastrian. Again Hinduism is mentioned ... isn't that the oldest religion on earth? Is this another reference that the Quran was compiled after a spiritual journey by Muhammed? I respect the idea that the Quran was given by God to Muhammed, but I think we may ask questions ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 15th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend-meditation later on. For now ... be inspired.

Carpe Diem #1384 Afterlife ...?

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

If I had known how difficult it would be to create this month than I had given it a thought again, because it's difficult to create this month. I have read the Quran, as a wonderful book of wisdom, but I also experience a kind of doubtfulness, because I am a little sceptic about the idea that the Quran was given to Muhammed by God the Almighty. I for sure have doubts on that idea, because Islam is a very young religion (born in the 7th century CE) and there are to much similarities between the Quran and other holy books. But as I stated in earlier posts I respect the idea that the Quran was given to Muhammed.

Because of my doubts its very difficult to write these posts, but on the other hand I enjoy writing them. I think we have all the opportunity to question the things we experience or the books we read, or the believes around the globe. I am a spiritual being and I love everyone and everything unconditional, but sometimes ... well I think you all understand what I mean.

Today's episode is about the so called "afterlife". I ran through the Quran and found a few wonderful Ayah in several Surah about the idea of "afterlife". Maybe you can remember our special Theme Week about the "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", or maybe you can remember what I wrote back in 2013 in that beautiful month about the Tarot. In those posts I already mentioned "afterlife" and "reincarnation". And I was a little bit surprised to read about the "afterlife" in the Quran. The ideas about "afterlife" are almost the same as I know them from the Bible, or from the Hindu and Buddhism ideas I have read about. So there is a source, a well, from which all those ideas flow and that makes the idea that Muhammed compiled the Quran from all other religions and philosophies a bit stronger. I even think that all known and unknown religions have the same roots ... nature and how mankind looked at it and learned from it. How mankind was honoring and praising nature, because isn't that the true religion ... nature?

Nature ... source of all religions

Well ... that was my introduction, let me now share the verses of the Quran that I mentioned above.

[...] "Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, “My Lord, send me back. That I may do right in what I have neglected.” By no means! It is just a word that he utters. And behind them is a barrier, until the Day they are resurrected. When the Horn is blown, no relations between them will exist on that Day, and they will not ask after one another. Those whose scales are heavy—those are the successful. But those whose scales are light—those are they who have lost their souls; in Hell they will dwell forever." [...](Source: Surah 23: Ayah 99-103)

What does this mean, I found a wonderful website that gave a nice explanation of these verses.

[...] "This ayah describes the end of worldly life as we know it and the immediate thing that will happen afterwards. The end of this life will begin with the blowing of Horn. Once the Horn is blown, it will stand as a signal for the start of Judgment procedure and what happens afterwards is the weighing of the deeds of a person. The ones who have deeds heavy than their sins are the ones who are successful and will go on to the heaven and the ones who are on the contrary will go to hell. It is the latter, who will then beg to Allah to send them back to world so that they could do good deeds, but by then it will be too late for them and they will have nothing but the eternal life of damnation." [...] (Source: Qurantutor)

Higher Self

In addition to the life after death that each and everyone of us will have, there is an exception as well. It is of the people who die in the name of God. Such Muslims are called ‘Martyrs’ and as per Islamic doctrines the martyrs don’t die once their worldly body ceases to breathe, rather they are the ones who keep on living even before the Judgment day forever. Regarding them, God says in Quran:

[...] "Do not consider those killed in the cause of God as dead. In fact, they are alive, at their Lord, well provided for."[...] (Source: Surah 4: Ayah 169)

[...] "The belief in the life of martyrs soon after death is another example that ascertains the belief of a Muslim that with the end of this life the life does not end, rather, we go into the next life and start living it. Therefore, a Muslim is never to grow skeptic of the life that comes after death, rather one needs to prepare for it and spend the hours and minutes of this life in performing good deeds so that when the Day of Judgment comes, the scale stays heavier on the good deeds and consequently Jannah (or paradise) is awarded to the Muslim.

The problem of what happens after the tomb is one of the absolute problems that has been haunting mankind since its existence. In this regard, perhaps the most satisfying answer is provided by Islam where it tells people that life does not end, rather a new life begins and that is the life that is in the environment which man is destined to live in, however, to achieve that a person has to do good with this life and spend it in the right way." [...] (Source: qurantutor)

Jannah (Paradise) (Persian miniature)

In these verses we can read that in Islam there is an idea about reincarnation, as we know it from Buddhism or Hinduism, when you didn't reach your life's goal as given to you by God, Spirit, Higher Self or what ever you call it. In the idea of "afterlife" I think all religions find eachother. Isn't that a great idea? Maybe ... just maybe all the religions and philosophies will once see that and will leave their differences and find eachother in the love of God.

fountain of life
eternal river of youth
paradise

© Chèvrefeuille

phoenix spreads its wings

after the dark cold winter night

finally spring

© Chèvrefeuille (2017-06)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 14th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1383 Moses (Musa)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai in which we are exploring the holy scripture of Islam, the Quran. I have said it several times this month ... there are a lot of similarities between the Quran and other holy scriptures, especially the Bible.
Today I love to look at a very important prophet in the Quran and in the Bible, Moses. You all will (maybe) know the story of Moses, the jewish boy who was placed in the river and became a prince of Egypt. He became the "voice of God" as God decided to free his people from the slavery in Egypt. This same story we find in the Quran, another clue that the Quran is written through the wisdom and knowledge of Muhammed as I stated yesterday in our post, but as I also have said often this month of course I respect the idea that the Quran was given by God to Muhammed, but I also think that everyone has the right to have his / her ideas and thoughts.

Moses (Musa) Persian miniature 15th century

Let me give you the verses for today's inspiration:

[...] "When Moses said to his people: “O my people! Remember the favor of God on you when He made prophets among you and made you kings and gave you what He has not given to any of the other peoples. O my people! Enter the holy land which God has decreed for you and do not turn back, otherwise you would turn about losers”. They said: “O Moses! There is a mighty people in it; we will not enter it until they go out of it. If they go out, we will enter it”. Then two men who fear [God] whom God has given favor to said: “Enter on them by the gate. Once you have entered you will be victorious. Put your trust in God if you are believers”. They said: “O Moses! We will never enter it as long as they are in it. Go you and your Lord and fight. We will sit here”. He said: “My Lord! I do not control other than myself and my brother, so separate between us and the rebellious people”. He said: “It shall then be forbidden for them for forty years in which they shall wander in the earth, so do not grieve for the rebellious people”. [...] (The Chapter of al-Ma’ida (The Table) (5.20-26)

The above verses could have been taken directly from the Bible, because in almost the same words, you find this story in the Bible.

clouds fighting
a spring wind is raging
through nature

© Chèvrefeuille

With this verse I conclude this episode, a short one, just because of lack of time. 

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 13th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1382 Adam and Eve

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Peace be with you. What does it mean to say that? Well ... I think it's a wonderful greeting, because I wish you all peace of heart, mind and soul. This was what made me doubt if I should do a whole CDHK month about the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam. I love everyone unconditional and therefore I also love muslim, but as you all know the last years Islam became a feared religion through IS and that made me sad and doubtful. After thinking it over and over again I decided to create this month full of the wisdom from the Quran. Of course it's not my goal to convert you to Islam, but the Quran is a wonderful Book full of wisdom. Given to the world, especially for muslim, but there are also wonderful words in the Quran that can give peace of mind to everyone, not only muslim.

This month I love to share with you the wonders and beauties of the wisdom in the Quran and of course I will, without losing respect for the Quran, try to find similarities between the religious books we all know. (By the way as you have noticed maybe, I don't use Allah, but God, in our episodes. Not to be disrespectful, but because my philosophy is stated on the idea "All Gods Are One God".

Today I have chosen a verse from Surah 4: Ayah 1 (an-Nisa' or "women"). In this verse we can easily see the story of Adam and Eve as we know it from the Bible. Let me give you first the mentioned verse:

[...] "O people! Fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and created from it its mate, and propagated from them many men and women. And revere God whom you ask about, and the parents. Surely, God is Watchful over you." [...] (Surah 4: Ayah 1)

And this is what the Bible says about this:

[...] "So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

    and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

    for she was taken out of man.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." [...] (Genesis 2: 21-24 NIV)

ADAM AND EVE . This mosaic from the Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily, depicts the creation of woman in the Bible. Eve is shown emerging from Adam’s side. Most translations of the Adam and Eve story say that Eve was created from Adam’s rib, but Ziony Zevit contends that she was created from a very different part of Adam’s body.

The creation of mankind is in both scriptures the same, the only thing is the use of the words, but in it's origin the stories are alike.

As I said in earlier posts, Islam is a young religion and there are a lot of similarities with other religions. I however respect the idea that the Quran was given to Muhammed. Is it possible without being disrespectfull to look at this somewhat closer?

In my opinion, without being disrespectfull, I think that Muhammed was a very wise man seeking for inner peace and was wandering around the world to find peace of mind. Than he ran into all the different beautiful religions and philosophies and wrote it down? But isn't that the same statement I have made about the Bible? Because if we look at e.g. Jesus Christ, it sounds like Krishna. Hinduism is in my opinion the oldest religion on earth, except of course the religion of nature.

Isn't that wonderful in this short episode I said "All Gods Are One God" and if we look closer to all the different kinds of religions and analyze them we always arrive at the idea of only one God.

new life rises
after the cold winter
daffodils bloom

taken from her man's body
she was created by God's hand

© Chèvrefeuille

What a story this is ... and what a joy to read this in both the Quran and the Bible. God works in mysterious ways.

Hinduism

I also love to share how man and woman were created according to Hinduism, just to give you an idea, that there are similarities between all the religions:

[...] "He (Yājñavalkya) was not at all happy. Therefore people (still) are not happy when alone. He desired a mate. He became as big as man and wife embracing each other. He parted this very body into two. From that came husband and wife. Therefore, said Yājñavalkya, this (body) is one-half of oneself, like one of the two hálves of a split pea. Therefore this space is indeed filled by the wife. He was united with her. From that men were born." [...] (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4)

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 12th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your Japanese poetry with us all.

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!