When the Rose Blooms

M. Ali Lakhani was born in England. He read law at Cambridge, both as an undergraduate and post- graduate. A senior barrister, he has practiced law in Vancouver for over 40 years at all levels, including at the Supreme Court of Canada, and, in recognition of his abilities, in 2015 he was appointed as Queen's Counsel. In 1998, he founded the bi-annual book-form journal, Sacred Web, which applies traditional principles to issues of modernity. Now in its 46th edition, and having garnered praise from writers as diverse as Prince Charles, the Dalai Lama, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Huston Smith, and Karen Armstrong, Sacred Web is the leading journal in its field. Mr. Lakhani has lectured at several universities on the topics of metaphysics and Islam, and his essays and articles have been anthologized in several international journals.In 2001, Mr. Lakhani's essay on Imam Ali received the First Prize at the Imam Ali International Conference in Iran. Dr. Nasr has cited that essay, along with the second prize-winning essay by Dr. Reza Shah- Kazemi, to be "among the best writings on this extraordinary figure in Western languages and ... obligatory reading for anyone interested in (Imam) Ali". Those essays are included in the anthology, The Sacred Foundations of Justice in Islam, published in 2006. A collection of Mr. Lakhani's essays was published by World Wisdom Books in 2010 under the title, The Timeless Relevance of Traditional Wisdom. In 2015, the Institute of Ismaili Studies commissioned Mr. Lakhani to write about the ethical vision of His Highness the Aga Khan. That book, Faith and Ethics, published by the IIS and IB Tauris in December 2017, is the first extensive survey of the Imam's ideas and was released on the occasion of the Imam's Diamond Jubilee. Mr. Lakhani has also lectured on the Aga Khan's ideas for the Temenos Academy at the Royal Asiatic Society in London, England, and has written about His Highness's ideas for the Doha International Centre in Qatar.

At the heart of these succinct spiritual aphorisms is a certitude of the transcendent scope of the human vocation. Like so many heartbeats in a person's lifetime, they reiterate in ever varying forms the innate human need to know absolute Truth, and to live a life which far surpasses the confines of the self-interested ego. The power of these sayings lies precisely in their apparent opacity: their spareness is an invitation to unveil and unravel. One unravels the form and delights in the effulgence and boundlessness of the content. All the dimensions of a traditional spiritual life are explored here, from the holy silence of prayer to our deep reliance and trust in infinite Mercy - themes which readers from all faith traditions will recognize and cherish. Together they form a condensed picture of the serenity, joy and peace of the prayerful life.

'A voice from the edge of silence is heard throughout this book; it is at turns metaphysical, mystical, moral, practical, wounded, healed, searching and even humorous. This voice is that of the spiritual seeker's heart and mind laid bare and the nearly whispered words are like small whirlpools beckoning the attentive reader into the depths of our shared human experience - and, in those depths, we find God...


One is immediately struck by the authenticity and genuine reality of these words, like jewels lit from within, sparingly used, and often directing the reader to the very precipice of what it is possible to say. 'Silence proclaims silence. Man, however, searches for something to hear'. Listening to these nearly unspoken words, one hears the lilt of sunlight on a flowing stream, the cry of a falling star, or the stories told by a grain of sand. If you cannot hear, then listen more closely. In the depth of your listening there are rewards beyond measure.' - From the Introduction by Barry McDonald


'There are many unwelcome consequences that betray the unwary composer of aphorisms. Among the most common; vacuity, platitude, obscurity, we have all encountered. The relevant concentration of meaning, coupled with the resonance of semantic depth that is the hallmark of the true aphorism are here in abundance. Ali Lakhani succeeds in conveying, most often with the tightest touch, just what is needful to consider when a few words are meant to convey the allusive depth of profound thought.' - Brian Keeble


'In this intriguing anthology, Ali Lakhani is taking the art of aphorism to new heights. Steeped in the sources of Sophia perennis, the author offers a commentary on human existence that cannot but be enlightening.' - Dr. Wolfgang Smith