Penetrate the heart of just one drop of water, and you will be flooded by a hundred oceans.

Mahmûd Shabistarî
The Mystic Rose Garden



Mahmud Shabistari (1288 – 1320s) is one of the most celebrated Persian Sufi poets of the 14th century.

He was born in Tabriz in 1288 (687 AH), where he received his education. He became deeply versed in the symbolic terminology of Ibn Arabi. He wrote during a period of Mongol invasions.

His most famous work is a mystic text called "The Secret Rose Garden" (Gulshan-i Rāz) written about 1311 in rhyming couplets (Mathnawi). This poem was written in response to twenty six queries concerning Sufi metaphysics posed to him by the great Rukh Al Din Amir Husayn Harawi (d. 1318). It was also the main reference used by François Bernier when explaining Sufism to his European friends (in: Lettre sur le Quietisme des Indes; 1688)

He died in 1320-1321 CE.
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www.supernaturalthings.net (HEART NEBULA)

View: Shabistari's Poems:

Mahmud Shabistari was one of Sufi's greatest poets of the 14th Century. Like Rumi, Shabistari lived in turbulent times. This period was aften frought with dangers, in particular the Mongol invasions brought much devastation. However Shabistari was able to write much poetry and synthesise much of the Sufi wisdom. He had a style similar to Ibn Arabi and expressed Sufi philosophy in a moving and simple language. As David Fieldler says of Shabistari

" Shabistari possessed a unique genius for summarizing the profound and often complex teachings of Sufism in a beautiful, aphoristic, and concise fashion, which often leaves the reader speechless when the deeper meanings of his verse are grasped. " (1)

Shabistari's poetry was inspired by his own mystical experiences. In a style unique to himself he expressed the universal truths and experiences shared by other the Sufi Poets; Rumi, Hafiz, Ibn Arabi, Attar and Rabia al Basri .

Shabistari was a devoted Sufi but at the same time was not constrained by any social or religious ideology. In accordance with Sufi philosophy Shabistari taught that there are many ways to reach the common goal. - "The Paths are many the goal is one."

In the writings of Shabistari we can feel the universal vision of one who has transcended the limitations of the human mind. With Shabistari we can be inspired by a poet who is pointing us towards the universal consciousness.

“I” and “you” are but the lattices,
in the niches of a lamp,
through which the One Light shines.
“I” and “you” are the veil
between heaven and earth;
lift this veil and you will see
no longer the bonds of sects and creeds.
When “I” and “you” do not exist,
what is mosque, what is synagogue?
What is the Temple of Fire? (2)

- Shabistari

-By: Richard

Sources used:

(1) + (2) The Sufism of Mahmud Shabistari - Excellent article by David Fideler
https://www.poetseers.org/spiritual_and_devotional_poets/sufi/shab