A classic of spiritual literature for fans of visionary, metaphysical, mystical novels such as The Little Prince and The Alchemist
Mikhail Naimy, a contemporary of Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, has woven legend, mysticism, philosophy and poetry into a powerful allegorical story that has touched the hearts of millions of readers.
This timeless allegorical tale presents the teachings of Mirdad, abbott of a monastery that stands where Noah's Ark came to rest after the Flood.
In a series of dialogues with his disciples, Mirdad offers lessons on themes such as love, obedience, borrowing and lending, repentance, old age, and the cycle of life and death.
Reissued for a new generation, this prophetic work calls on humankind to prepare for another deluge, greater than Noah's, when Heaven will be revealed on Earth.
Includes a new foreword by Andrew Harvey, author of the bestselling A Journey in Ladakh and several other seminal works of spirituality.
Autorentext
Mikhail Naimy was born in Baskinta, in central Lebanon. He was educated in Russia and obtained degrees in Liberal Arts and Law at the University of Washington, USA. In 1916 he moved to New York where, together with his close friend, Kahlil Gibran, he founded a dynamic movement for the rejuvenation of Arabic literature. He wrote The Book of Mirdad on his return to Lebanon after World War II. He has been described as one of the greatest spiritual writers of the 20th century. He died in 1988.
Zusammenfassung
'Millions of people have tried to write books so that they can express the inexpressible, but they have utterly failed. I know only one book, The Book of Mirdad, which has not failed; and if you cannot get to the very essence of it, it will be your failure, not his.' Osho
The Book of Mirdad, the timeless allegorical story which has touched the hearts of so many readers, continues to show new generations how it is possible to expand one's consciousness, to uncover God in man by dissolving man's sense of duality.
Mikhail Naimy, in a similar style to Gibran, unravels one layer after another, showing that the words of his message have descended from some mysterious source.
The book is essentially a set of question and answer between Mirdad and his disciples, especially his chief disciple, Naronda. These dialogues occurred during the time he was admitted as a servant in the monastery of Altar Peak, built where Noah's Ark came to rest after the flood waters subsided. Mirdad's teachings cover all the important life issues such as love, the master-servant relationship, creative silence, money, the moneylender and the debtor, the cycle of time and death, repentance, old age, and so on. The culmination, and indeed the message, is that Mirdad's own Ark is the Ark of Holy Understanding, which will bring humankind through another deluge, greater than Noah's, when Heaven will be revealed on Earth.
Mirdad's words are the words of an enlightened Sufi master.