Poetry From the Spiritual Masters

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Baba Kuhi of Shiraz (948 - 1037) was a 10th- and 11th-century Persian Sufi mystic.

Mawlānā Abul-Ma'ānī Mīrzā Abdul-Qādir Bēdil (1642–1720), also known as Bedil, was an Indian Sufi and poet. He is considered the foremost representative of the "Indian style" of Persian poetry, and the most difficult and challenging poet of that school.

Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226) venerated as Saint Francis of Assisi, was an Italian Catholic friar, deacon, mystic, and preacher. He is one of the most venerated religious figures in Christianity.

George Herbert (1593 – 1633) was a Welsh-born poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognized as "one of the foremost British devotional lyricists."

 Xāwje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (1315 – 1390), known by his pen name Hafiz, was a Persian poet, whose collected works are regarded by many as a pinnacle of Persian literature.  

Henry Vaughan (1621 – 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician.

Ibn ʿArabi (1165 – 1240) was an Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influential within Islamic thought.

Nūr ad-Dīn 'Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī (جامی‎) (1414 – 1492), also known simply as Jami, was a Persian poet who is known for his achievements as a prolific scholar and writer of mystical Sufi literature. He was primarily a prominent poet-theologian of the school of Ibn Arabi, recognized for his eloquence and for his analysis of the metaphysics of mercy.

Jay Ramsay (1958 – 2018) was a British poet, psychotherapist and healer. He was the author of nearly 40 books and was an influential figure in the alternative poetry scene, writing frequently about raising one's spiritual, political and psychological awareness.  

John of the Cross (born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez) (1542 – 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest and mystic. Both his poetry and his studies on the development of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature.

Kabir (1440 — 1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib. 

Khalil Gibran (1883 – 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist. He is best known as the author of The Prophet, which is one of the best-selling books of all time.

Kobayashi Issa (1763 – 1828) was a Japanese poet and lay Buddhist priest of the Jōdo Shinshū. He is known for his haiku poems and journals.

Lal Ded (1320–1392), also known as Laleshwari and Lalla, was a Kashmiri mystic and poet. She was the creator of the style of mystic poetry called vatsun or Vakhs, literally "speech." Her verses are considered an important part in the history of modern Kashmiri literature. 

Li Bai (701–762) was a Chinese poet acclaimed from his own day to the present as a genius and a romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du Fu (712–770) were the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the Tang dynasty, which is often called the "Golden Age of Chinese Poetry".

Mahmoud Shabestari (1288 –1340) was one of the most celebrated Persian Sufi poets of the 14th century.

Omar Khayyam (عمر خیّام‎) (1048 – 1131) was a Persian polymath, mathematician, astronomer, historian, philosopher, and poet. Among his contributions to poetry, he is best known for his  rubāʿiyāt, or quatrains.

Teresa of Ávila (1515 – 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesusa, was a Spanish noblewoman who was called to convent life in the Catholic Church. She was a Carmelite nun, prominent Spanish mystic, poet, and theologian of the contemplative life and of mental prayer.

Sant Tukaram Maharaj, known as Tukaram, was a 17th-century Marathi poet and Hindu sant (saint). He is best known for his devotional poetry called Abhanga and community-oriented worship with spiritual songs known as kirtans.

Tulsi Sahib (1763 - 1843) was a mystic and poet. Very few details about his life are known, but it is understood that he took up the life of a sadhu, or spiritual mendicant, wandering through the forests, going from town to town, engaged in meditation.

Vladimir Solovyov (1853 – 1900) was a Russian philosopher and poet, who played a significant role in the development of Russian poetry at the end of the 19th century and in the spiritual renaissance of the early-20th century. 

William Blake (1757 – 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age.

William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) was an English Romantic poet whose poetry often discovers meditative insights and transcendence within the natural world. 

Xuyun or Hsu Yun (1840 – 1959) was a renowned Chinese Chan Buddhist master and one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Yunus Emre (1241–1321) was a Turkish folk poet and Sufi mystic who greatly influenced Turkish culture.