In this book, Naimy has portrayed to us a very simple basic suggestion. A suggestion that we are of the same rank no matter what we may learn and achieve. For the ordinary person has his gift of being ordinary but his ordinariness if viewed at another angle could tell us that he is greater than the captain of the crew. So Naimy has shown to those of them who choose to live monastic lives that no matter what our designations we have all come for the same purpose. Not to lead but to serve.

The lighthouse is very symbolic; it shows us a rocky path lest we crush. Thus if one is blind how would he know if there is a lighthouse ahead? The ambitious man never really sees the lighthouse and has to dash against those rocks. So work to serve as any one can lead or be a guide This is for those who intend to join the monastic life and for us lay people as we all forget our very purpose in life.

This book first came out in 1948 and has been reprinted several times since then. It has been translated into several languages and also been turned into a play. The author was a close friend and associate of Kahlil Gibran who wrote The Prophet. The Book of Mirdad is a beautiful story containing much wisdom, which has been an inspiration to many. I am so glad it is back in print again after being hard to find for several years. This book has gone around the world and has been recommended by spiritual groups as diverse as the School of the Golden Rosycross (Lectorium Rosicrucianum) in the west and Radha Soami Satsang in the east.

This story of a monastery is very sybolic representation of every soul in search and quest for the ultimate truth of being,which lies hidden within and reveals itself to the adventourous spirit who shakes off everything that binds him to the appearnce-the external play of 'Maya'to put it into the vedic term.Time spent in reading this book is like setting out on that inner journey of soul in a constant company of That invisible helmsman within.

"This is the Book of Mirdad as recorded by Naronda, the youngest and the least of his companions, a Lighthouse and a Haven for those who yearn to overcome. LET ALL OTHERS BEWARE OF IT."

So begins the Book of Mirdad, and this must be the only book in the world that actually warns the public not to read it! If it were any other book it would be a marketing trick. In this case it is not. In fact the warning is unnecessary; The Book will only be read by those who are meant to read it, those who are receptive to its universal message.

When I first read the Book about 30 years ago I was thrown into a frenzy of enthusiam and passed it on to all my friends. "This is IT!" I told them; and they all read a few pages and passed it back to me shaking their heads. So no, it's not a book for everyone. But for those who are open to its timeless wisdom it is a gem among gems. It is a classic among the gnostic and mystical literature of the world, and I am delighted to see that it is being reprinted this year.

Seldom have legend, mysticism, philosophy and poetry been so skillfully woven together. Addressing himself to the age-old problems of thre Whence, the Whither the Why and the Who of Man, the author seeks and finds the answers in Man himself.
Mirdad, the Teacher in the title of the book, would lead us from the unconsciousness of the divided self to the superconsciousness of the undivided Self. His sole aim is to "uncover God in Man" by ridding us of the sense of duality: the I and the non-I. The non-I - the ego, our everyday identity, is but a shadow which must be cast away in order to know the real self and the state of perfect balance.

The book must be read with an open mind; then, and only then, it can become a lighthouse and a haven. All other readers will close it, without understanding and without interest. Never mind.
If you liked The Prophet you might like this. However, Mirdad digs deeper than The Prophet and so this book can rightly be called the next step on from that other literary gem. The author, Mikhail Naimy, was a close friend of Kahlil Gibran and is also Gibran's biographer.

There are only two books I have read that are able to capture the spirit of life. One is Milarepa - Tibets Great Yogi. And this is the other.

His prose is more like verse through much of the text. His is Kahil Gibrans biographer, yet he surpasses Gibran. The text is elegant and he is able to structure the story to reflect spiritual truth in a manner Gibran cannot.

Where Gibran touches God , Naimy structures a path to God in language that surpasses even Gibran.

This is great stuff, it is unlikely anyone will be able to get hold of a copy and I am not letting go of my old yellow paged hardcover. But if you can get it - grab it!

Only love is real.

Apologies are due to all readers for the rather unconventional use of this space.

Dear Zaven

Please get in touch with me. I seem to have lost (Lost?) your email address.

Love and Light

Solomon