THE VOICE OF THE MASTER

This book “The Voice of the Master” is the translation of work of Kahlil Gibran by Anthony R. Ferris. Kahlil Gibran was born in Lebanon. He was well known poet, philosopher and artist of his time. His words of wisdom are well understood in East and commonly quoted in many Arabic speaking countries.


This book is divided into two parts. The first part is “The Master and the Disciple,” which is a conversation between Kahlil Gibran “the master” and Almuhtada “the disciple.” This part starts with a story of few nights before the death of Kahlil Gibran where he shared his emotions and experiences with Almurtada. He explained him what is life in real, and I quote

“-----Life is that which we see and experience through the spirit; but the world around us we come to know through our understanding and reason. And such knowledge brings us great joy or sorrow.”

The second part of the book are the quotes of Kahlil Gibran divided into eighteen chapters. Each with a clearly marked topic. I will quote some of the abstracts for the readers of this review to have a feel about this part of the book.

“Life is an Island in an ocean of loneliness, an island whose rocks are hopes, whose trees are dreams, whose flowers are solitude, and whose brooks are thirst.”

“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.”

Certainly all Kahlil Gibran’s words are faith driven and the inspiration behind his work is coming from his belief in religion. He sees diversity in religions as an opportunity for all to reach God. His this believe is clearly reflected in following quote

“I love you my brother, whoever you are- whether you worship in your church, kneel in your temple, or pray in your mosque. You and I are all children of one faith, for the diverse path of religion are fingers of the loving hand of one Supreme Being, a hand extended to all, offering completeness of spirit to all, eager to receive all.”

This small volume of translation of Kahlil’s work has many strengths and weaknesses. Translation is done in colonial English which makes reading a little dry and flow of the events are sometimes hard to comprehend. On the other hand descriptions of things and places were quite attractive and gave enough information to imagine a scene such as:

“The city of Venice is situated on many small islands, close to one another. Its streets are canals and its numerous palaces and residences are built on water. Gondolas are the only means of transportation---“

This book is lacking the proper introduction of Kahlil Gibran as well as the translator Anthony . R. Ferris for new readers; but it is well organized in parts. First part is clearly about last moments of Kahlil with e As mentioned in the book:

“----Almuhtada was left alone in this world, but loneliness never possessed his heart , for the voice of the Master always resounded in his ears, urging him to carry on his work and sow the words of the Prophet in the hearts and minds of all who listen of their own free will.”

In general the book is worth a read and has plenty of wise advices for life by Kahlil Gibran.