Gratitude For Knowledge and Teachers

Recollecting and treasuring the knowledge
That your teachers shared before
Is not merely nostalgia
Nor is it a sign of your acquiescence
Of your teachers’ future errors
Verily, your remembrance is simply gratitude
For the enlightenment you received
And a consolidation of ideas
You deem indispensable
Your gratitude for the past is fundamental
And if your past teachers now thrive,
Gives thanks and praise
And if your teachers now have erred,
Pray for their deliverance
For how much of an ingrate is the one
Who once lingered and traced their shadows
And now sticks a proud nose up in the air
Oblivious of the debts you can’t repay
For the inner light of knowledge and progress….
And do be careful, now, my compadre
As on this theatre of inconsistencies
Who knows if you’ll slip far with ease…
So don’t be so impatient to condemn
The ones who gave you such benefit before….
Advise your seers should they transgress
And prosecute should they oppress
But never forget the good that you received…

Seeking Knowledge

By Novid Shaid, 1997

.

All knowledge worth seeking

is like a never-ending dining table

covered with wholesome food.

Some stand gobbling wantonly

Wanting everything at once

While others only nibble

Their taste buds hardly aroused.

Pray let us sit at the table

With attention to manners and grace

Then let us dine with peace and patience

So we can enjoy the full measure of the taste.

Video: Commentary of this poem with Ustadh Mohammed Ali Moazzam from Lahore