The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Explained

Yogananda Paramhansa

Description

Unlock the Mystery of One of the Great Spiritual Treasures of the Ages

Omar Khayyam's famous poem, The Rubaiyat, is loved by Westerners as a hymn of praise to sensual delights. In the East, his quatrains enjoy a very different reputation: they are known as a deep allegory of the soul’s romance with God. Even there, however, the knowing is based on who and what Omar Khayyam was: a sage and mystic.

As for what the quatrains actually mean, most of them have remained a mystery in the East as much as in the West. After eight centuries, Paramhansa Yogananda, one of the great mystics of our times, a master of yoga and the author of the now-classic Autobiography of a Yogi, explained the mystery behind Omar’s famous poem. This book contains the essence of that great revelation. Unavailable in book form since its first penning more than sixty years ago, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Explained is available at last, edited by one of Yogananda’s close disciples, Swami Kriyananda.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Eastern
• Religion
• Paramahansa Yogananda

Informations

• Publié par: Crystal Clarity Publishers
• Date de parution: 11 juin 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781565896116
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 19 Mo

Extrait

T i m e l e s s B o o k s o f T r u t h

When you’re seeking a book on practical spiritual living, you want to know that it is based on an authentic tradition of timeless teachings and resonates with integrity. This is the goal of Crystal Clarity Publishers: to offer you books of practical wisdom îlled with true spiritual principles that have not only been tested through the ages but also through personal experience. Started in 1968, Crystal Clarity is the publishing house of Ananda, a spiritual community dedicated to meditation and living by true values, as shared by Paramhansa Yogananda and his direct disciple Swami Kriyananda, the founder of Ananda. The members of our staff and each of our authors live by these principles. Our work touches thousands around the world whose lives have been enriched by these universal teachings. We publish only books that combine creative thinking, universal principles, and a timeless message. Crystal Clarity books will open doors to help you discover more fulîllment and joy throguh living and acting from the center of peace within you.

The Ru of b Om a ar iyat Khayyam E X P L A I N E D

The Ru of b Om a ar iyat Khayyam E X P L A I N E D

by Paramhansa Yogananda

(Based on the îrst translation by Edward FitzGerald)

Edited, with occasional comments, by his disciple, Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)

C r y s t a l C l a r i t y P u b l i s h e r s N e v a d a C i t y, C a l i f o r n i a

Crystal Clarity Publishers, Nevada City, CA 95959 © 1994, 2008 by Hansa Trust All rights reserved. Published 2008 First edition published 1994. Second edition 2008

Printed in the United States of America 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

ISBN: 978-1-56589-227-9

Cover design and illustration by Cristina Conte and Debbie Hanley. Interior illustrations by Barbara Lambase.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Yogananda, Paramhansa, 1893-1952.  The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Explained / by Paramhansa Yogananda; edited, with occasional comments, by Swami Kriyananda. — 2nd ed.  p. cm.  “Based on the îrst translation by Edward FitzGerald.”  Previously published: 1994.  ISBN 978-1-56589-227-9 1. Omar Khayyam. Ruba’iyat. I. Kriyananda, Swami. II. Omar Khayyam. Ruba’iyat. English. III. Title.

 PK6525.Y64 2007  891’.5511—dc22  2007043673

www.crystalclarity.com [e-mail] 800.424.1055 f: 530.478.7610

C o n t e n t s

Editor’s Preface to the Second Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix Editor’s Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi Omar Khayyam and Edward FitzGerald . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii Introduction, by Paramhansa Yogananda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xx Stanza One KE ! for Morning in the Bowl of N —A WA ight. . . . . . . 2 Two —Dreaming when Dawn’s Left Hand was in the Sky . . 6 Three —And, as. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 the Cock crew . . Four —Now the New Year reviving old Desires. . . . . . . . 16 Five —Iram indeed is gone w ith all its Rose. . . . . . . . . . 20 Six —And David’s Lips are lock’t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Seven —Come, îll the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring. . . . . 28 Eight —And look—a thousand Blossoms with the Day. . . 32 Nine —But come with old Khayyam, and leave the Lot36. . . Ten —With me along some Strip of Herbage strown. . . . . 42 Eleven re w —He ith a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough . . . 48 Twelve —“How s weet is mortal Sovranty!” . . . . . . . . . . 54 Thirteen —Look to the Rose that blows about us. . . . . . . 58 Fourteen —The Worldl y Hope men set their Hearts upon . . 64 Fifteen —And those who husbanded the Golden Grain. . . 70 Sixteen —Think, in this batter’d Caravanserai. . . . . . . . . 74 Seventeen —They say the Lion and the Lizard keep. . . . . . 78 v

Eighteen —I sometimes think that never blows so red. . . . . . . . 82 Nineteen —And this delightful Herb whose tender Green. . . . . 86 Twenty —Ah, my Beloved, îll the Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Twenty one - —Lo! some we loved, the loveliest and best. . . . . . 94 Twenty - two —And we, that now make merry in the Room. . . 98 Twenty three - —Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend. . 102 Twenty - four —A like for those who forT oday prepare . . . . 106 Twenty five - —Why, all the Saints and Sages110. . . . . . . . . . Twenty six - —Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise . 114 Twenty - seven —Myself when young did eagerly frequent. . . . 118 Twenty eight - —With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow. . . 122 Twenty - nine —Into this Universe, andwhynot knowing126. . . . Thirty —What, without asking, hither hurriedwhence?130. . . . Thirty one - —Up from Earth’s Centre through the Seventh Gate . 134 Thirty - two —There was a Door to which I found no Key. . . 148 Thirty three - —Then to the rolling Heav’n itself I cried. . . . . 152 Thirty four - —Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn. . .  . 156 Thirty - five —I think the Vessel, that with fugitive Articulation answer’d162. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thirty six - —For in the Market-place, one Dusk of Day168 . . . . Thirty seven - —Ah, îll the Cup:—what boots it to repeat . . . . 172 Thirty eight - —One Moment in Annihilation’s Waste. . . .  . 176 Thirty - nine —How long, how long, in inînite Pursuit. . . . . . 182 Forty —You know, my Friends, how long since in my House. . 186 Forty one - —For “Is” and “Is-not” thoughwithRule and Line. . 190 Forty two - —And lately, by the Tavern Door agape. . . . . 194 . Forty three - —The Grape that can with Logic absolute. . . . . 198 Forty four - —The mighty Mahmud, the victorious Lord. . . . 202 Forty - five —But leave the Wise to wrangle, and with me206. .  . Forty six - —’Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show210 . . . . . . Forty - seven —And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press. 216 .

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Forty eight - —While the Rose blows along the River Brink . . 220 Forty nine - —’Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days . . 224 Fifty —The Ball no Question makes of Ayes or Noes . . . . . 230 Fifty - one —The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ236. . . . Fifty - two —And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky. . . . 242 . Fifty three - —With Earth’s îrst Clay They did the Last Man’s knead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Fifty - four —I tel l Thee this—When, starting from the Goal. . 252 Fifty - five —The Vin e had struck a Fibre256. . . . . . . . . . .  . Fifty - six —And this I know: whether the one True Light . . 262 Fifty - seven —Oh Thou, who didst with Pitfall and with Gin . . 266 Fifty eight - —Oh Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make. . 272 Fifty - nine —Listen again. One Evening at the Close of Ramazan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . 278 Sixty —And, strange to tell, among the Earthen Lot. . . . . 282 . Sixty - one —Then said another—“Surely not in vain286. . . . . . . Sixty - two —Another said—“Why, ne’er a peevish Boy. . . . . 292 Sixty three - —None answer’d this; but after Silence296 . . . . . . . Sixty four - —Said one—“Folks of a surly Tapster tell. . . . . . 300 Sixty five - —Then said another with a long-drawn Sigh304. . .  . Sixty six - —So while the Vessels one by one were speaking. . . 310 Sixty seven - —Ah, with the Grape my fading Life provide. . . . 316 Sixty eight - —That ev’n my buried Ashes such a Snare. . . . . 320 Sixty nine - —Indeed the Idols I have loved so long . . . . . . . . 324 Seventy —Indeed, indeed, Repentance oft before I swore328. . . . . Seventy one - —And much as Wine has play’d the Infidel . . . 332 Seventy two - —Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose!. 336 Seventy three - —Ah Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire340 . Seventy four - —Ah, Moon of my Delight who know’st no wane348 . Seventy - five —shining Foot shall passAn ith . . 35 d when Thyself w2 About the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 Further Explorations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 vii

E d i t o r ’ s P r e f a c e t o t h e S e c o n d E d i t i o n

I was giving a lecture on this book in Sydney, Australia, in the spring of 1997 at the Theosophical Society. Following my talk, a man raised his hand and said, “I fail to see a corre- lation between this stanza”—he named it—“and Yogananda’s explanation of it.” “Several times during the editing process,” I replied, “I found that there didn’t seem at first to be a clear correlation between the poem and Yogananda’s explanation. On fuller reflection, however, I always discovered that the correlation existed, and that it was profound.” At that point a woman in the audience raised her hand to say, “I am from Iran, and can read ancient Persian. I know the passage to which the gentleman is referring, and I wish to say that, although the correlation with Edward FitzGerald’s translation may seem tenuous, what Yogananda has written isexactlytrue to the original Persian.” Her words gave strong support to my own growing con- viction as I was editing this book that Yogananda had tuned in to Omar Khayyam’s consciousness, not to the words merely, and that he had explained the true, inner meaning of this great poem. Paramhansa Yogananda did not know Persian. What he did, by his amazing depth of insight, was allow Omar Khayyam to speak through him directly.

ix

He did this again when he wrote his commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita. As he said to me in 1950, “I now know why my great guru never wanted me to read other interpreta- tions of the Gita. It was to keep me from feeling I must relate to their thoughts. What I did, rather, was ask Byasa himself [the author of that great scripture] to write these commen- taries through me.” It has become clear to me that Paramhansa Yogananda was able to penetrate far beneath the words of scripture and to discern the real meaning underlying them. The words themselves—especially when they are translated—can only be abstractions of that meaning. His explanations were never based on intellectual analysis, but always on the deep—indeed, cosmic—perceptions of intuition.

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