Why the Sufis Whirl I used to like to read the poems of Rumi
But I did not have a clue
What he meant when he said Beloved Friend
Until I met you
Now I know why the Sufis whirl:
It's awfully hard to rest
With all this love and fire inside my chest
I never understood that last supper
I did not know what to think
When Jesus said, "my body is this bread
And my blood this drink"
Had he merged with all of creation? -
Or found some fountain of youth
Now I see what I thought was alchemy
Is just the literal truth
And you don't need to be a Christian mystic
Or be born under a lucky star
You only need to be still and ask who you are,
Be still and know who you are
And to know the sound of one hand clapping
You don't need to read Lao Tsu
Just look around, look around, this is the sound
Do you hear it too?
One hand clapping, one heart singing
One Being being me and you
Only one unmoving ocean
Where many waves pass through
And you don't need to be a Zen Buddhist
To pierce the heart of this mystery
You only need to be willing to stop and see,
See what is still and free
You don't need to be a whirling dervish,
Or study scripture or travel far
You only need to be still and ask who you are
Be willing to know who you are