Kahlil Gibran - And the Prophet Said: Kahlil Gibrans Classic Text with Newly Discovered Writings

Charlottesville, VA 22906 Distributed by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC www.redwheelweiser.com Sign up for our newsletter and special offers by going to www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter. ISBN: 978-1-64297-016-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request. Printed in the United States of America M&G 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Virginia, with mutual delight
in the magic along the way, DHE Louis Round Wilson Library
University of North Carolina
October 15, 2019 The editor wishes to thank Carlos Slim Hel for his passionate contribution to preserving and sharing the works and legacy of Kahlil Gibran. Like Gibran, Mr. Slim Hel was born to Lebanese Maronite Christian parents.

He was a savior to me. His book, The Prophet, a wondrous oasis I could take refuge in, a true elixir. Reading it was as if he were sitting with me, as alive as you are, his words just what I had been waiting for. Millions have been touched by Gibran's love, lifted into the sun for a moment by his truth. His words hold us alight for a blessed second and help us with our glorious transformation, from cocoon to wing. In this book, Gibran expands that vital oasis, offering us his precious hand, so real that you can feel its pulse.

The idea of God, or Divine Beauty (or the beloved as Gibran refers to it at times) has many spiritual image terms: Father, Mother, Buddha, Self, Cosmic Me, The Thousand Suns, Christ Consciousness, or even Super Wild Cowgirl. In some ways God might be likened (although over simplified) to a Grandfather, content just hanging out in some greenhouse where ALL is contained, gazing for days at maybe just one flower, or just one petal on a universe. Inherent in true enlightenment is the ability to be in awe of anything, forever. The Persian mystic Hafiz once referred to all form and phenomena as, The ground of conscious Nothing, but where the Rose does ever bloom. The Rose, being a symbol for the Absolute, or from where... Light does appear.

But this personification of love and knowledgethis Grandfatherin some ways really cares nothing about this world, as He/She/It is the root of non-attachment. All but God is a miraculous illusion. But that Granddad is there, grooving in the garden, but few, so very few can get close to such an all-powerful, magnificently sovereign, luminous Being. Or rarely does It plant anything so real into a dream, or a waking mystical experience so that one can become a true messenger to the world. Though if one can get close, therein lies the transference of real powerthe power to effect others. That benevolent effect can manifest via some exceptional contribution to science, to politics, as with someone like Gandhi, or through creativity, via music or the written word.

Through his work, Kahlil Gibran is a true messenger to the world. All prayer, in a way, is a tugging on the Grandfather's apron, an asking for help. And perhaps meditation and yoga, and reading illumined poetry and scripture, are much-needed forms of self-help. Or what Ralph Waldo-Emerson referred to in Self-Reliance. Or if one can: sometimes imbibing the Presence... which I think can happen when in awe with sublime (and even the simplest) aspects in nature, and in the firmament, can so benefit one via the purest of organic ways: making love with beauty.

How many stressed ants are star-struck? That is, how many of us have become so overwhelmed that we can't stop what we are doing long enough to peer into the kingdom of heaven within, or above? Or let our knees buckle in ecstasy from the wonder of the most common of thingsa rock, a leaf, or that birdthat can be a universe unto itself. Gibran is there to remind us, to guide us, to be in gratitude and awe of even the simplest aspects of nature, and in the firmament, to refine our tastes and manners, and thus make our eyes and sounds... more kind to every face. Gibran, whose first language was Arabic, would have known the word wali. It has a range of meanings: custodian, protector, helper, friend of the Beloved, friend of All, or saint. A book can become a wali.

When so much intelligence, care, compassion, and insight are poured onto the page, a book develops a soul, as Gibran's works have. And just like a best friend... give them access to you 24/7, so too does God give access to friends and real helpers. And there are perks like: they get to slip their hands in the Beloved's pockets whenever they want, into some divine cookie jar as it were... and then can impart that sweetnessnutrientsto the world. Water is most pure, and most nourishing, the closer to the spring you can get.

Words are like that too. The words of Kahlil Gibran draw from the primordial Source of everything, the springhead. Was Gibran One with everything the way Buddha and Jesus were? Probably not. But he was surely entrusted with their wisdom and tenderness. He was a true artist and a wali. I once heard, from my own teacher, that God trusts the artist more than he does the priests, preachers, mullahs, and rabbis, to deliver His/Her goods to the longing world.

The wordsthe musicin these pages come from the Living Eternal Heart. They are the soul of the rivers, the mountains, and the fields. They are the song of the stars and the planets. They are truly Silence speaking. Imbibe them, dear reader, throughout your life. Dance! Daniel Ladinsky, International bestselling poet-author