The Forbidden Tree Poem by Mystic Qalandar

Come, O Self—
let us walk inward,
past the gates of name and need,
into that Paradise
where the Forbidden Tree stands.

There, beneath its living shadow,
hang the twin fruits of life:
Passion
and Other-Worldliness.

Take only Passion
with you to the Tree,
and ask it—
not what it desires,
but what it knows
of Truth.

When, O Self,
will you learn to lie
beneath the Forbidden Tree—
utterly still—
in the abode of Blessedness,
with Cleanliness and Defilement
standing at either side,
and neither one
claiming you?

Shelter both beneath one roof:
Passion and Other-Worldliness.
Let neither become your master.

Then perhaps
the veil will grow thin,
and you will behold
the Form beyond all forms—
the Form that has no form,
the matchless Face
of the Lord.

Banish Ego and Ignorance
from the threshold of your sight.

And if Delusion comes
to drag you back
into its dungeon,
cling to the pillar
of Patience.

Bind to the post
of Unconcern
the two restless goats:
Vice
and Virtue.

Let neither
make your heart
its throne.

And if they rebel,
raise the sword of Knowledge—
not against the world,
but against the ancient whisper:

"This is mine.
This is me.
I am this."

As for the children
of Worldliness,
speak to them gently
from a respectful distance.

Do not hate them.
Do not become them.

And if they will not heed
the whisper of Truth,
let Wisdom's sea
receive them—
not as enemies,
but as shadows
that disappear
when the Sun is known.

Then, O Self,
when the journey is complete
and the final account is opened,
you may stand
before the Lord of Death and Life
with empty hands—
yet with nothing missing.

For you will have learned:

the treasure
was never in your possession;

the Tree
was never merely forbidden;

Paradise
was never merely a place;

and the One
you sought beyond yourself
was nearer
than the one who sought.

Then He shall be pleased with you—
and you,
released at last
from the burden of yourself,
shall be pleased with Him.

—MyKoul