The Madman and his friend
 come upon a blind man at the temple,
who his friend called ‘the wisest man in all our land’.
Hi this is Nideesh Vasu
and I read writings and poetry from
the great saints and sages from across time
to help us introspect where we are
 at in our lives at the moment
and to help us evolve and become better students,
better children, better parents,
 better friends, better lovers, and better humans.
Welcome to a Stereo tales presentation.
You're listening to Sages and the Madman with Nideesh Vasu.
Thank you for listening in to my podcast.
This week we continue reading from Khalil Gibran’s work.
And in each episode we’ll also try to
 gather insights into the experiences and struggles
of Gibran’s life that shaped
 his personality and inspired his work.
This week we take a look at Gibran’s siblings
and try to understand their role in
 shaping the Khalil Gibran we know.
Gibran had three siblings,
one older half-brother, Boutros or Peter,
and two younger sisters Marianna and Sultana.
His mother, Kamila, sold lace and linen,
saved up and started a shop with Peter.
This helped Gibran get a formal education.
His sisters helped at the shop.
Later while Gibran was in Beirut
to continue his education,
his sister Sultana died of Tuberculosis.
Gibran had to return to Boston.
Soon after Boutros also suffered from Tuberculosis.
Boutros left the shop and
 moved to Cuba for the climate.
It was supposed to help with the Tuberculosis.
The following year, Boutros
 succumbed to his illness too.
Kamila was diagnosed with cancer
 and died a few months later.
Gibran ran the shop long enough to
 settle all the debts the shop ran up.
After that, for a long time, it was Marianna
 who supported Gibran and herself,
working at a dressmakers shop,
as he pursued his art and writing.
Today we’ll take a look at a fable from
 Khalil Gibran’s ‘The Madman’ called ‘The Astronomer’.
In the shadow of the temple my friend,
 I saw a blind man sitting alone.
And my friend said, “Behold the wisest man of our land.”
Then I left my friend and approached the blind man
 and greeted him. And we conversed.
After a while I said, “Forgive my question;
but since when has thou been blind?”
“From my birth,” he answered.
Said I, “And what path of wisdom followest thou?”
Said he, “I am an astronomer.”
Then he placed his hand upon his breast saying,
“I watch all these suns and moons and stars.”
What do you think of this fable?
The Madman and his friend
come upon a blind man at the temple,
who his friend calls ‘the wisest man in our land’.
The Madman gets to know the blind man better
 and inquires about his path to Wisdom.
And the blind man calls himself an astronomer
who watches the suns, moons and stars using his heart.
There are two things to observe here: One,
he enjoys this experience, the visions of the suns,
 moons and stars, despite his blindness.
In fact, he enjoys this experience because
 he is not distracted with the sense pleasures of sight.
And two, he has used his heart or
 let’s say cultivated Intuition,
to pursue the Divine and has attained
 that state of Self or God realization.
A great part of achieving this state involved
gaining command over his sense organs,
even if it is over one sense organ, it counts.
Instead of looking outwards, we need to look inwards.
And then with effort, devotion and grace,
hopefully we'll be blessed with the Wisdom,
the eternal state of being one
 with the Universe or God or the Almighty.
The blind man has been able to achieve this
out of his circumstances by birth,
or being born blind, to pursue the Divine instead.
Many great saints and Masters
have talked about the experience of Nirvana, Samadhi, Baqaa in Sufi.
Najat in Islam, Salvation or Mukti
 in Hinduism or God realization.
It’s a state of Eternal Bliss or Ecstasy.
A state where the devotee experiences
 uninterrupted God contact or is one with God.
According to many cultures and faiths,
the experience of union with God is
believed to end the cycle of birth and death
and the suffering that one has to endure
 from having born human.
In this state of Nirvana or Salvation,
one can enjoy many spiritual gifts and powers
They are immersed in the mysteries of the Universe
 and are one with that knowledge and experience.
We can also achieve this state.
Cultivate our intuitive faculties
and gain control over our senses
 and direct our attention within
through deep introspection or meditation.
All true paths indicate this.
We can choose a path according to our own inclination.
Stick to it and head towards freedom. True freedom!
Is this your definition of freedom?
Freedom from the cycles of birth and death,
suffering and delusion
or is it something else that your heart yearns?
I’d love to hear what calls out to you
 the most about the Astronomer,
your interpretation of his blindness
or his heart or about his intimate
 experience of the Universe.
Thank you for listening in to this week’s episode.
Please try to take some time out in the quiet
 just before you go to sleep to introspect,
to look within, to be grateful,
to make a note of everything you’ve learnt today.
And send out a quiet prayer of healing for the world.
See you next week. And be kind to yourself.
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