Intuitive Inklings 1: Between East and West
The Subtle Isthmus
Thus begins the Tao Te Ching:
Contrary to this, the gospel states:
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
— 1 John 1:5 —
In such wise, the sunlit East seeks Him in the mysterious shadows heaven casts upon the earth; while, the twilit West searches for Him in the heavenly light which makes the earth manifest.
Islam, however, between East and West, sees no duality here. It sees only “Light upon light!”
Islam, the subtle isthmus between yin and yang, is neither of the East nor of the West.
یہ پُورب، یہ پچھم، چکوروں کی دُنیا، میرا نیلگوں آسماں بے کرانہ
East and West are where partridges nest,
To me belongs the boundless sky
پرندوں کی دنیا کا درویش ہوں میں، کہ شاہیں بناتا نہیں آشیانہ
A hermit amongst these birds I am,
for falcons don’t nest, they fly!
— Iqbāl —
(not entirely exact translation)
Being and Beyond Being are One!
Islam is the Tao that can be told. It is the straight path to the Eternal Tao.
باطل دُوئی پسند ہے، حق لا شریک ہے
Falsehood is dualistic, Truth is Unique
شِرکت میانۂ حق و باطل نہ کر قبول
In conflation (shirk) of the two, one should never believe.
— Iqbāl —