Timeless Wisdom

Sufi poet Abdur Rahim Khankhana was one of the "Navratna", the famous nine jewels of culture and knowledge in Akbar's court.  A well known warrior and a Farsi scholar, he is better know for mystic poetry.  Greatly influenced by Hinduism and Krishna Bhakti, he wrote several "Dohe" or couplets in the simple language promoting harmony among people of different religions.  Here are some of the couplets:

Rahimji says that two persons of opposite and conflicting nature cannot be together for long.  Just as is a banana tree and 'ber' tree are growing near neach other, the 'ber' tree, because of its prickles, tears apart the softer, gentler banana leaves, in the same way a person of abrasive nature constantly "pricks" the softer, gentler person, sometimes to the extent of even destroying his good self.

In this 'Doha', Rahimji advises us to keep our innermost felings, our troubles, our sadness, our joys to ourselves.  whiel this may not always practical, the deeper meaning of this doha advises us to limit the number of people with whom we share our inner most feelings.  Because, if we share our feelings with people at random, there will be many who will ridicule us for our thoughts.  Instead of sharing our joys or sorrows, there will be some who will make fun of us and even betray our confidence.  Hence, we must be careful in choosing our confidants.