Kahlil Gibran

[futureKC123]

Was he a Maronite? Is his work safe for Catholics? I am interested particularly in his work, “The Prophet.”
Thanks,
FKC

 

[Bartolome_Casas]

I read a biography of him once. I believe it said that he was massively sexually promiscuous, and was almost constantly drunk. I believe it said also that his religious views were more New Age and Occultism than Christian or Catholic. So, if you want, you could do some research along these lines.

As I recall, one of the most famous lines from his book “The Prophet” was “Let there be spaces in our togetherness.” As I understand it, he wrote that as a way of saying to women that they should not be so clingy and should permit him to have sex with lots of different women at the same time. I’m not kidding!

Needless to say, I am not a fan of Mr. Gibran.

If it is mystical poetry that you want, I’d recommend Dante Alighieri. I’d especially recommend his “Paradiso” and “Purgatorio.” His “Inferno” is too gruesome for most people.’’

Here’s the final lines in “Paradiso”:

Here force failed my high fantasy; but my
desire and will were moved already-like
a wheel revolving uniformly-by
the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.

It is beautiful in the original Italian too:

A l’alta fantasia qui mancò possa;
ma già volgeva il mio disio e 'l velle,
sì come rota ch’igualmente è mossa,
l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.

The current pope quotes Dante quite a lot.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I am unfamiliar with his works, and intend to remain so. I do recall someone suggesting that “The Prophet” should have been titled “The Profit”.

 

[dzheremi]

You guys are such dorks sometimes. Why not read some of Gibran’s WORKS instead of condemning based on half-remembered biographies from who knows who? ‘The Prophet’ is a classic for no small reason.It is also in public domain in Canada, so you can even read it for free.

And, yes, he was Maronite. He was born in Bcharre, which has for centuries been a stronghold of the Maronites. If I recall correctly, it is right above the Qadisha Valley, which is something of a traditional spiritual center of that Church, home of many churches, monasteries, etc.

 

[GaryTaylor]

You guys are such dorks sometimes. Why not read some of Gibran’s WORKS instead of condemning based on half-remembered biographies from who knows who? ‘The Prophet’ is a classic for no small reason.It is also in public domain in Canada, so you can even read it for free.

And, yes, he was Maronite. He was born in Bcharre, which has for centuries been a stronghold of the Maronites. If I recall correctly, it is right above the Qadisha Valley, which is something of a traditional spiritual center of that Church, home of many churches, monasteries, etc.

Fantastic book, its a must read.

 

[Bartolome_Casas]

You guys are such dorks sometimes. Why not read some of Gibran’s WORKS instead of condemning based on half-remembered biographies from who knows who? ‘The Prophet’ is a classic for no small reason.It is also in public domain in Canada, so you can even read it for free.

And, yes, he was Maronite. He was born in Bcharre, which has for centuries been a stronghold of the Maronites. If I recall correctly, it is right above the Qadisha Valley, which is something of a traditional spiritual center of that Church, home of many churches, monasteries, etc.

As Forrest Gump might say, a dork is as a dork does.

Inquiring minds might want to read the following articles that conclude that Gibran was not a honorable or orthodox Christian of any sort, but was a full-on jerk and a promoter of New Age ideas who fooled many people in his lifetime and is still fooling many posthumously:

–"The prophet was an `age-old hypocrite’ "
mg.co.za/article/1998-06-26-the-prophet-was-an-age-old-hypocrite

*But the new biography, Prophet: The Life and Times of Kahlil Gibran, paints a very different picture. Written by Robin Waterfield, an authority on the self-styled guru’s work, it claims there was a huge gap between the man and the myth, which Gibran acknowledged and found impossible to bear.

The popular image projected a knowledgable, ascetic prophet; in reality the “moralising preacher” was insecure, worldly and sexual. Lonely, ambitious and craving acceptance, he invented a fictional past and a series of personae - from suffering romantic and angry young man to his final incarnation as the prophet of New York - to ingratiate himself into literary society.

According to Waterfield, Gibran was telling people it was crucial for him to live his philosophy, not merely write it. His desire was to be a teacher and to “awaken people to consciousness”. But in 1921, as he was writing The Prophet, he confided to a friend: “I am a false alarm.”

Although he wrote movingly on love, Waterfield says he exploited the women he was involved with. His affairs he kept secret from Mary Haskell, the married love of his life, who supported him financially.

Overworked and increasingly unable to bear the tension of living up to his adopted persona, Gibran began drinking heavily. On April 10 1931, he died of cirrhosis of the liver.

Waterfield’s conclusions have already been challenged by a major study of Gibran, by Joe Jenkins and Suheil Bushrui, who deny he was a hypocrite or ever set out to moralise or preach.

But while Waterfield recognises Gibran’s creative genius, he concludes he was also “a consummate liar, abusive to Mary Haskell, arrogant, narcissistic, mock- modest, self-indulgent and weak, with an inability to distinguish fantasy and reality”.*

–“Prophet of the New Age”
timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=161024&sectioncode=40

–“Old Timey New Agey author Kahlil Gibran”
gawker.com/339392/

–“Hitch hikers guide to new age”
lifepositive.com/mind/philosophy/new-age/earthman.asp

 

[dzheremi]

Your ability to put things into red font doesn’t make Gibran’s work any less influential, even if he was any of those things that biographer said he was. Plenty of even greater people had even bigger character flaws and personal and even public failings. All the OP asked is if Gibran’s work is worth reading, and I trust the OP is smart enough to detect new age material for him or herself, hence the recommendation that they actually read it and decide based on what’s in it, not whatever some academic might say about his personal life.

 

[lssanjose]

Your ability to put things into red font doesn’t make Gibran’s work any less influential, even if he was any of those things that biographer said he was. Plenty of even greater people had even bigger character flaws and personal and even public failings. All the OP asked is if Gibran’s work is worth reading, and I trust the OP is smart enough to detect new age material for him or herself, hence the recommendation that they actually read it and decide based on what’s in it, not whatever some academic might say about his personal life.

+1.

 

[Bartolome_Casas]

Your ability to put things into red font doesn’t make Gibran’s work any less influential,…

You underestimate the power of the Red Font!

 

[Stephentlig]

I enjoyed his book. I read it, and it was one of the first books that led me on a spiritual journey which took me home to the Catholic Church, a journey which I am still taking.

I have never known who he was. I thought he was some mystical charachter from 6th century or something because his book said ‘‘the prophet’’ and it never said who he was.

So I just took it for granted he was some mystic. So this thread has revealed to me that he was indeed from 19th onwards. and that he was a Maronite Catholic from Leb.

Wow!!!

The twist on ‘‘let there be spaces in our togetherness’’ to somehow read that he wanted to have sex with other women than his wife/lover is ridiculous by the way.

 

[chaldobyzantine]

I think that we are forgetting that he was a poet, and him being Maronite has nothing to do with this sub-forum.

Next, I feel you might take the story of his life too far in affecting your perceptions of his poetry. The Prophet is a good read if you care for poetry and has nothing to do with any biblical prophet I’m sure. People should not be afraid of reading something, in particular due to the personal life of the person who wrote it.

And when Fairuz sings portions of The Prophet, it sounds exponentially more beautiful.
youtube.com/watch?v=BikyXBS7vBc

 

[VivienneJ]

I think that we are forgetting that he was a poet, and him being Maronite has nothing to do with this sub-forum.

Next, I feel you might take the story of his life too far in affecting your perceptions of his poetry. The Prophet is a good read if you care for poetry and has nothing to do with any biblical prophet I’m sure. People should not be afraid of reading something, in particular due to the personal life of the person who wrote it.

And when Fairuz sings portions of The Prophet, it sounds exponentially more beautiful.
youtube.com/watch?v=BikyXBS7vBc

Probably off topic, but thank you for that link I was introduced to Fairuz’ singing about a year ago on a holiday in Jordan, lovely voice.

It is worth remembering that what a person writes (words, music) can be excellent, while their lifestyle may not be something you would want to emulate.