POETRY FOR THE SPIRIT- AMAZON CUSTOMER REVIEW

‘The poetry of mysticism,’ wrote Evelyn Underhill, ‘might be defined on the one hand as a temperamental reaction to the vision of Reality: on the other, as a form of prophecy. As it is the special vocation of the mystical consciousness to mediate between two orders, going out in loving adoration towards God and coming home to tell the secrets of Eternity to other men; so the artistic self-expression of this consciousness has also a double character. It is love-poetry, but love-poetry which is often written with a missionary intention.’
'Poetry for the Spirit' is an exquisite anthology of mystical verse. Drawing from the greatest literary and spiritual traditions of the world, Alan Jacobs has assembled a unique collection of beautiful and profound reflections on the perplexities of the human condition and the nature of the Divine Self. Structuring the book chronologically, the editor entices us on a poetic journey, taking as his starting point the very beginning of time and space with ‘The Song of Creation’ from the Indian text, the 'Rig Veda' – the most ancient scripture known to mankind:

He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all
or did not form it.
Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily
knows it, or perhaps he knows not.

Indeed, the search for ultimate wisdom and self knowledge is the delicate thread weaving its design through this silken poetic collection, manifesting as symbols and metaphors of the mystical consciousness: from the metaphysical verse of John Donne, Walt Whitman, Vivekananda and T S Eliot, to the romantic poetry of Kabir, Christina Rossetti, Rainer Maria Rilke and W B Yeats; from the philosophical meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Aurobindo Ghose, Thomas Traherne and Lao Tzu, to the devotional ecstasies of Rabi’a, St Teresa of Avila, Rúmí and William Blake.

The quest for mystical experience has seduced mankind since the beginning of time. But as the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi reflects, the Beatific Vision is well within our reach:

As in a well of water deep,
Dive deep with Reason cleaving sharp.
With speech, mind and breath restrained,
Exploring thus mayest thou discover
the real source of ego-self.
The mind through calm in deep plunge enquires.
That alone is real quest for the Self.