A rwetreat to where the Roosters still Crows at Dawn.

I am back at my retreat at SRI LOVELY, the organic farm for the last few days and have been working my body till I came down with a fever upon waking up this morning. Why I keep coming here and suffer all kinds of physical discomfort is beyond me, but suffice to say that it is much more pleasant to wake up to the call of the creatures of the forest than to the siren of an ambulance or the police making a delivery of the convicts like they always do. I sit a whole lot more here in the middle of the night listening to the frogs and the night birds calling out to whatever that they call out to. I am out in the boonies and it is a pleasant change that I much needed. The air is a whole lot more fresher in comparison to what I left behind and the water allot more natural as it comes right out of the ground except when it rains. The meals comes in from outside through the Captain's wife or brought in bought from local food stalls.
My job primarily is as the grounds keeper and what i do mostly is to chop down and clear all the overgrown weeds and is essence make the place more presentable. Hard sweaty work and my body is being put through the grind and what with sleeping on bamboo floor with a just a thin layer of futon cover for bedding. My physical form went through a tremendous screaming aching pain every time i wake up in the morning or the middle of the night. I sit, and i meditate on my aches and pains until i was able to or forced to lay down due to lower back pain from sitting too long and my mind went for a spin with question and answers wondering what in heaven's name was i doing there in the first place. Sitting in the semi darkness of the hut i contemplate my status in life, i was accompanied by "The Secret of Secrets," a book on the works by the Greatest Sufi mystique of all times, The sheikh, Hadrat Abdul Qadir Al Jilani, ( May Allah Sanctify his secret.)
Ever since I was introduced to His works by my teacher and friend, the late Yusof Ali, I have been brought closer to Islam in its deeper meanings beyond just rituals and blind faith. I do not intend to spend too much time relating his life story here although it makes for one very interesting reading for those interested in Islamic mysticism or Sufism. There is a a great many selection of writers and commentaries on his works on the Internet and it will be an enlightening experience no doubt for those who are seeking the truth in themselves or in their belief and faith. For those who are seeking to understand Islam itself better, the works of Sheikh Qadir Jilani will lift up some veils about the religion that is not found elsewhere and perhaps will shed a new light on the meaning of the word Unity in the religious context of World Religions.  

" When the light from Allah(Who) is the light of the heavens and the earth...begins to shine upon the regions of your heart. the lamp of the heart will be lit...."

I am woken up by the crowing of roosters that were perched on the branches of the trees all over the compound starting with one and answered by the rest announcing the arrival of another new day. This I have heard very rarely if ever living in the city like Georgetown where i would be woken up by the sound of traffic and people preparing food for the restaurant below my window at Sungai Pinang. Not a thing wrong with waking up to the sound of sirens and honking of cars and motorcycles, but waking up to the sounds of roosters and birds seems much more healthier.