Rule # 22

When a true lover of God goes into a tavern, the tavern becomes his chamber of prayer, but when a wine biber goes into the same chamber, it becomes his tavern. In everything we do, it is our hearts that make the difference, not our outer appearances. Sufis do not judge other people on how they look or who they are. When a Sufi stares at someone, he keeps both eyes closed instead opens a third eye –the eye that sees the inner realm.

-The Forty Rules of Love

Alas! We-the humans-believe in what we see. And that’s not how it is. Nobody knows what’s inside and nobody even tries to get into that stage of knowing the inner realm. For the world, what matters is the appearance and make a whole new aspect of a person according to his perception. While the true believers see the people with their heart and find their insights.

I sit beneath

The shades of grey

I walk along

And yet pray

I see the world

And yet survive

I seek the insight

And yet deprive.

The door is closed

And so are the eyes

But the heart is open

For the wild.

-Arsh Azim