This crooked wheel of magic

JELALADDIN RUMI once evoked the world as ‘this crooked old wheel, old witch full of magic and tricks’. And so it appears here, in this kaleidoscope of wonders, dazzling and beguiling and promising the earth. A fantastical water wheel milling illusions, turned by the wings of fluttering butterflies, dripping cascades and dancing rainbows, its colourful abundance enchants our hearts and minds, chaining them to the smaller picture, in a bondage so gentle it remains undetected.

Yet, there is so much more than this, this wheel of fate of the Hindus, in whose inexorable round we turn, for life after earthly life of forgetfulness and delusion. Why settle for less than everything? It is only when we start to understand life multi-dimensionally that we may step through this illusory rainbow into a deeper sense of our journey and its purpose. We become less easily swayed by superficial pleasures and pursuits when we realise they cannot give ultimate meaning to our lives.