Blog | davidsmith208

Chopin mazurka 23 ending smorzando

Great question — smorzando at Chopin endings is never just a generic “get softer.” In this Mazurka it’s doing something very specific and very Chopin-ian. 1. What smorzando literally means (and doesn’t) Smorzando (from smorzare, “to extinguish, to smother”) means: a gradual dying away — of sound, motion, and energy Crucially, it is not only dynamic. It usually implies: diminuendo ✔️ ritardando or loss of forward impulse ✔️ a sense of breath running out ✔️ Think a candle gutte

davidsmith208

Jan 252 min read

Is Rumi on top

This is a beautifully sharp question, because Eflākī’s remark is not devotional flattery—it’s a sociology of charisma disguised as hagiography. Let’s unpack it carefully and honestly, with examples on each side. 1. “A prophet is loved by a nation” — what does that mean in practice ? Here Eflākī is speaking historically and sociologically, not theologically. Prophets are typically: Anchored to a specific people Bearers of law, covenant, or reform Loved collectively as founders

davidsmith208

Jan 253 min read

The moth and the candle

This is a classic constellation of Perso-Urdu mystical imagery, and you’ve put your finger on a very specific composite symbol—not just shamʿa–parvāna (candle–moth), but the beloved as saqī who intoxicates and wounds, reigning in the bazm/mahfil. That complex goes back centuries. I’ll move in three layers: the classical Persian origin its Urdu elaboration Sant Darshan Singh’s inheritance and transformation of it 1. Classical Persian poets using shamʿa–parvāna + saqī + khanjar

davidsmith208

Jan 253 min read

Walt Whitman’s mysticism

You’re right to pause on Underhill’s claim—calling Whitman a “typical mystic” is provocative, and also… kind of right, but only if we stretch what “typical” means. Whitman is absolutely mystical in Leaves of Grass, yet he’s a very American, this-worldly, body-affirming outlier. Let me break it down cleanly. 1. Is there strong evidence of mysticism in Leaves of Grass ? Yes—very strong. Whitman consistently displays what scholars call unitive experience: dissolution of the ego

davidsmith208

Jan 253 min read

What is true empowerment?

And does it come from the center? Do you need preparatory devotion or is that unnecessary after fifty years? Why would you only have questions? Do you have to be totally detached to reach a state of being a professional? If you want what is spiritual you can go into it. Sitting cross-legged is the gold standard and is a lot better than having a gold card. You can hold a convention at the center of your brain instead of just complaining. I completed my doctorate by just not

davidsmith208

Jan 253 min read

A blind pig sometimes finds a succulant acorn

That line is a folksy proverb with a long, slightly muddy pedigree—and the tennis player was using it very deliberately. Where it comes from The saying is a variant of an old English proverb: “A blind pig may sometimes find an acorn.” It shows up in English by at least the 17th century. One early printed form appears in Thomas Fuller’s Gnomologia (1732), a famous collection of proverbs. Variants exist across Europe, but the English pig–acorn version stuck particularly well in

davidsmith208

Jan 232 min read

Hold the Pickleball, tennis only

That’s actually a very clean experiment, and the result tells us a lot. The fact that the tendon improved when you stopped pickleball is a strong signal that: It’s impact-dominant, wristy, snap-style loading that’s the irritant Not general use, not conditioning, and not even tennis per se Pickleball is sneaky that way—short court, lots of sudden forearm snap, late contact, and quick grip tightening. For a biceps tendon, that’s death by a thousand paper cuts. Given your constr

davidsmith208

Jan 222 min read

Fixing your exercise

Good — that clarification helps. Since you’re already doing isometric dumbbell holds and icing the shoulder after tennis, the remaining missing piece is true biceps-tendon rest days, not just “lighter” days. Below is a clear, tendon-specific way to add rest days without cutting out the sports you enjoy. Key concept (important distinction) A biceps tendon rest day does NOT mean: No activity No tennis or pickleball at all It means: No elbow-flexion loading No supination under l

davidsmith208

Jan 222 min read

Patanjali and Kant

This is a subtle and important comparison, and the passage you photographed is actually quite careful. Let me lay it out in three layers: (1) what Funes-Maderey is claiming, (2) where Patanjali and Kant genuinely converge, and (3) where the comparison decisively breaks down. 1. What Funes-Maderey is actually claiming Funes-Maderey is not saying that Patanjali is a Kantian, nor that Yoga is transcendental idealism. The claim is narrower and more precise: Both Patanjali and Kan

davidsmith208

Jan 213 min read

Jesus’s Donkey gets it

You’re looking at a dense cluster of metaphors in Masnavi V around line ~160 (numbering varies by edition). Let me unpack “the secret” using (1) the Persian, (2) Rumi’s broader usage, and (3) the consensus of classical commentators. 1. The Persian image and key terms The Persian behind your translation runs roughly like this (paraphrased, not a critical edition): shakar (شکر) = sugar, sweetness tuti (طوطی) = parrot (a bird trained to repeat words) dahān / manqār = mouth, beak

davidsmith208

Jan 203 min read

Teaching with parables

You are pointing to a very precise claim Rumi is making about method, not just poetry. Let’s take him at his word and answer quantitatively and linguistically, as you asked. “A parable, not an analogy, To thaw the frozen mind effectively.” (Masnavi V.118) Rumi is distinguishing parable (tamthīl / mathal) from abstract reasoning. He is also implicitly placing himself in a lineage of teachers who teach by narrative shock rather than doctrine. 1. Who, across religions, used para

davidsmith208

Jan 182 min read

Shine in forehead

This is a subtle and important question, and you’re right to frame it linguistically and doctrinally, not just poetically. I’ll answer in three layers: What “reflection shining in the forehead” means in Sikh / Sant Mat / Radha Soami language Whether this is meant literally, experientially, or symbolically (linguistically) How this maps—carefully—to Christian language about Christ “living in” or being “seen” in the believer 1. In Sikh, Sant Mat, and Radha Soami thought: what i

davidsmith208

Jan 183 min read

Amrit Vela

Short answer: Christianity does not single out 3:00 a.m. as a doctrinally privileged hour for the descent of the Holy Spirit in the way Sikh amrit vela or Sant Mat/Radha Soami traditions do. But there is substantial experiential, liturgical, and mystical precedent for pre-dawn or night-watch prayer being a time of heightened spiritual receptivity, which is the closest parallel. Below is a careful, tradition-by-tradition comparison. 1. No fixed “3 a.m. grace hour” in Christian

davidsmith208

Jan 173 min read

Higgation

Great question. “Higgāyôn” (הִגָּיוֹן) is a small but very evocative word in Biblical Hebrew, and looking at it quantitatively and linguistically helps clarify why “meditation” is only part of its meaning. 1. The word itself Hebrew: הִגָּיוֹן (higgāyôn) Root: הָגָה (hāgāh) The root hāgāh means: to murmur to mutter to growl softly to speak under one’s breath by extension: to ponder or meditate aloud or semi-aloud This is important: Hebrew “meditation” is rarely silent and abst

davidsmith208

Jan 173 min read

Darshan compared with Bulleh Shah

https://chatgpt.com/s/t_69683317f4e08191b78e832afde5cbc4 1. Core orientation (what each is trying to do) Bulleh Shah • Goal: Break the false self through shock • Method: Defiance, irony, rebellion • Tone: Provocative, playful, sometimes abrasive • Audience: Society, clerics, rigid minds • Spiritual mode: Fana through contradiction “Bulleya, ki jaana main kaun” (Bulleh, I do not know who I am) This is a destabilizing voice. ⸻ Sant Darshan Singh Ji • Goal: Dissolve the eg

davidsmith208

Jan 144 min read

Darshan’s favorite poets?

This is a thoughtful and quite scholarly question, and you’re right to frame it as a probabilistic / linguistic inference, not a claim of explicit lineage. Below is a reasoned “best-guess” analysis based on quantitative linguistic features, thematic overlap, and stylistic markers across Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj’s poetry, prose, and recorded talks. Short answer (summary) A quant–linguistic and thematic analysis strongly points to Kabir as the dominant poet-saint influence

davidsmith208

Jan 141 min read

Microcosm in the Macrocosm

Below is a clean re-study focused only on microcosm and macrocosm, with special emphasis on the idea that the microcosm exists within, participates in, or recapitulates the macrocosm—not merely as an analogy, but as an ontological claim. I’ll proceed chronologically, highlighting how strong the “microcosm-in-the-macrocosm” claim is in each tradition. 1. Greek Origins: From Analogy to Ontology Plato (4th c. BCE) Key text: Timaeus Plato does not use the word microcosm, but he e

davidsmith208

Jan 144 min read

Caveman’s plant based diet

Yes, recent scientific studies have provided credible evidence that early humans consumed more plant-based foods than previously believed, challenging the long-held view of a predominantly meat-based “caveman” diet. Here are some key findings from recent research: --- 🧬 Major Scientific Discoveries Supporting a Plant-Based Early Human Diet Study Key Findings Source Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (Israel, ~780,000 years ago) Archaeologists found hundreds of starch granules from plant

davidsmith208

Jan 131 min read

The purpose of AI

Is to help with scripture readings, translation and quantitative linguistics analysis: Book six of the Masnavi https://www.perplexity.ai/search/268ba7dc-44a5-432f-8bd6-e793fbde1f49#1 Rumi’s sixth book of the Masnavi circles around the end of the spiritual journey: losing the separate self so that only God’s reality remains. It gathers many stories and reflections to show what it means to “breach” the limited island of ego and enter the boundless “sea” of the Divine.[wikipedia

davidsmith208

Jan 111 min read

The heavenly zephyr

https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6962e17149688191b99b6abb90831be3 In Sufi–Persian–Urdu poetry, the phrase you are pointing to—often rendered as nasīm-e-quds / nasīm-e-jannat / bād-e-sahar / nasīm-e-rahmat (“heavenly zephyr,” “sacred breeze,” “dawn breeze”)—is one of the most loaded mystical metaphors in the tradition. Below is a clear map of what it represents and who else uses it, with short, faithful quotations. ⸻ What the “heavenly zephyr” represents 🌬️ In mystic poetry, the zephy

davidsmith208

Jan 102 min read