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Markings: Spiritual Poems and Meditations
"Perhaps the greatest testament of personal devotion published in this century." — The New York Times
A powerful journal of poems and spiritual meditations recorded over several decades by a universally known and admired peacemaker. A dramatic account of spiritual struggle, Markings has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers since it was first published in 1964. Markings is distinctive, as W.H. Auden remarks in his foreword, as a record of "the attempt by a professional man of action to unite in one life the via activa and the via contemplativa ." It reflects its author's efforts to live his creed, his belief that all men are equally the children of God and that faith and love require of him a life of selfless service to others. For Hammarskjöld, "the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action." Markings is not only a fascinating glimpse of the mind of a great man, but also a moving spiritual classic that has left its mark on generations of readers.
A powerful journal of poems and spiritual meditations recorded over several decades by a universally known and admired peacemaker. A dramatic account of spiritual struggle, Markings has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers since it was first published in 1964. Markings is distinctive, as W.H. Auden remarks in his foreword, as a record of "the attempt by a professional man of action to unite in one life the via activa and the via contemplativa ." It reflects its author's efforts to live his creed, his belief that all men are equally the children of God and that faith and love require of him a life of selfless service to others. For Hammarskjöld, "the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action." Markings is not only a fascinating glimpse of the mind of a great man, but also a moving spiritual classic that has left its mark on generations of readers.
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
217 people are currently reading
3520 people want to read
About the author
Dag Hammarskjöld
38 books97 followersDag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat and author and was the second Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously. Hammarskjöld remains the only U.N. Secretary-General to die in office.
U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century.”
U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century.”
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May 12, 2025
The United Nations is one of the brightest testaments to the perennial hope of humankind!
And hope is THE noblest urge of the human heart.
My grandmom, an active UN groupie when she came to live with us in 1963, was a dyed in the wool optimist.
She gave me this book then. I was thirteen.
She knew Hammerskjold would play a pivotal conciliatory role in history, and his accomplishment still endures.
The United Nations is a de facto child of the scholarly idealist, Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations, in its first incarnation, after WWI.
And as it developed it has proven itself invaluable in mending international fences.
Colonialists, in 1963, were the Alligators - and so Colonies needed a fair chance at survival.
Hammerskjold, instead of draining the swamp, was firmly in favour of setting able colonies FREE from the Alligators…
Old Europe was aghast. Hammerskjold sure knew he had enemies!
When his plane was shot down over Africa, instantly killing him, the whole world mourned.
A decent man had died.
But W.H. Auden (who wrote the forward) says when a just man dies -
What he is fated to become Depends on Us.
So let’s help make his profound Markings indelible -
Friends, stand tall for Freedom!
And hope is THE noblest urge of the human heart.
My grandmom, an active UN groupie when she came to live with us in 1963, was a dyed in the wool optimist.
She gave me this book then. I was thirteen.
She knew Hammerskjold would play a pivotal conciliatory role in history, and his accomplishment still endures.
The United Nations is a de facto child of the scholarly idealist, Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations, in its first incarnation, after WWI.
And as it developed it has proven itself invaluable in mending international fences.
Colonialists, in 1963, were the Alligators - and so Colonies needed a fair chance at survival.
Hammerskjold, instead of draining the swamp, was firmly in favour of setting able colonies FREE from the Alligators…
Old Europe was aghast. Hammerskjold sure knew he had enemies!
When his plane was shot down over Africa, instantly killing him, the whole world mourned.
A decent man had died.
But W.H. Auden (who wrote the forward) says when a just man dies -
What he is fated to become Depends on Us.
So let’s help make his profound Markings indelible -
Friends, stand tall for Freedom!
August 24, 2012
For the last couple of months, this small book was what I brought with me to the church when I attended the Sunday masses. My daughter volunteered to man the overhead projector on the 8:30am slot and she had to be there before 8am and stayed for another 30 mins afterwards to shutdown and go out without showing herself to the people as she descended the stairs in front of the altar. So, I read this book only during Sundays for two months and it was quite fitting because the book is a compilation of writings, like a personal diary, of Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961), who was a Swedish diplomat, economist and author. He was also the 2nd Secretary-General to the United Nations, served from April 1953 until his death in a mysterious plane crash in September 1961. He was also one of the four people awarded posthumously with the Nobel Peace Prize.
This was his only book.
Varmarken (Markings) is a collection of diary reflections by Hammarskjold and these loose writings were found near his deathbed. My English edition of the book was translated from Swedish and has a foreword by W. H. Auden. It caught my fancy when I was digging through the stacks of second-hand mass paperback because it appeared old and the blurbs at the back said: "A Book of Meditations. A Revealing Spiritual Self-Portrait by One of the Great Peacemakers of Our Times." Prior to reading this book, I did not know anything about Hammarskjold. Maybe because he was a Swedish. Maybe because he died prior to the year I was born. But those words in the blurb properly captured the essence of this wonderful inspirational collection.
But this book made me know him. Even his innermost thoughts. And I liked what I read. There are many thought-provoking quotes, in prose and in poetry forms. He was a statesman but not your usual corrupt or manipulative politician. He was a rich kid (his father was a Prime Minister of Sweden in 1914-1917) but, based on his writings, he was down-to-earth and had a compassionate heart for financially-marginalized people. He was a Swedish (First World, rich country) but he thought of victims of wars, atrocities, famine and pestilence in Third World countries. Days prior to his plane crash in September 1961, he even wrote some very moving poems and they are printed on this book's last few pages.
After reading the book, I have many pages dogeared. I am flipping randomly now just to share with you some:
"Reading is never a waste of time," says Roberto Bolano (2666).
This was his only book.
Varmarken (Markings) is a collection of diary reflections by Hammarskjold and these loose writings were found near his deathbed. My English edition of the book was translated from Swedish and has a foreword by W. H. Auden. It caught my fancy when I was digging through the stacks of second-hand mass paperback because it appeared old and the blurbs at the back said: "A Book of Meditations. A Revealing Spiritual Self-Portrait by One of the Great Peacemakers of Our Times." Prior to reading this book, I did not know anything about Hammarskjold. Maybe because he was a Swedish. Maybe because he died prior to the year I was born. But those words in the blurb properly captured the essence of this wonderful inspirational collection.
But this book made me know him. Even his innermost thoughts. And I liked what I read. There are many thought-provoking quotes, in prose and in poetry forms. He was a statesman but not your usual corrupt or manipulative politician. He was a rich kid (his father was a Prime Minister of Sweden in 1914-1917) but, based on his writings, he was down-to-earth and had a compassionate heart for financially-marginalized people. He was a Swedish (First World, rich country) but he thought of victims of wars, atrocities, famine and pestilence in Third World countries. Days prior to his plane crash in September 1961, he even wrote some very moving poems and they are printed on this book's last few pages.
After reading the book, I have many pages dogeared. I am flipping randomly now just to share with you some:
p.3 "Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was."There was a time when the priest walked down my aisle while I was holding this book. Maybe he was wondering if I was reading a smut inside the church, while waiting for the mass to start or while waiting for my daughter to come out from the projection room. Maybe the good priest recognized the book even if he was younger than me. If he did, well, good for him as well as for many others who have read this book. Well worth the time.
p.70 "Is your disgust at your emptiness to be the only life with which you fill it?"
p.88 "During a working day, which is real only in God, the only poetry which can be real to you is the kind which makes you become real under God: only then is the poetry real for you, the art true. You no longer have time for - pastimes."
p.89 "Prayer, crystallized in words, assign a permanent wave length on which the dialogue has to be continued, even when our mind is occupied with other matters."
"Reading is never a waste of time," says Roberto Bolano (2666).
December 19, 2014
Beautiful writing and profound thoughts from the late former secretary-general of the United Nations.
Excerpts:
"Why this desire in all of us that,after we have disappeared, the thoughts of the living shall now and again dwell upon our name? Our name. Anonymous immortality we cannot escape. The consequences of our lives and actions can no more be erased than they can be identified and duly "labelled- to our honour or our shame.
'The poor ye have always with you.' The dead too."
"Why is it that when I know that someone had a tragic or untimely death, my eyes always encounter what they wrote about death?"
"The longest journey
Is the journey inwards.
Of him who has chosen his destiny,
Who has started upon his quest
For the source of his being
(Is there a source?)."
"Is my contact with others anything more than a contact with reflections? Who or what can give me the power to transform the mirror into a doorway?."
Excerpts:
"Why this desire in all of us that,after we have disappeared, the thoughts of the living shall now and again dwell upon our name? Our name. Anonymous immortality we cannot escape. The consequences of our lives and actions can no more be erased than they can be identified and duly "labelled- to our honour or our shame.
'The poor ye have always with you.' The dead too."
"Why is it that when I know that someone had a tragic or untimely death, my eyes always encounter what they wrote about death?"
"The longest journey
Is the journey inwards.
Of him who has chosen his destiny,
Who has started upon his quest
For the source of his being
(Is there a source?)."
"Is my contact with others anything more than a contact with reflections? Who or what can give me the power to transform the mirror into a doorway?."
April 4, 2017
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was the second Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served from 1953 until his untimely death in a plane crash en route to negotiaions in 1961. He was the youngest person to have served in this post and one of only four people to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously. He appears to have been a popular and respected diplomat.
He kept a sheaf of jottings, aphorisms, and reflections, starting aged 20 until he died. After his death, these notes were translated and published as "Waymarks", or as in this edition, "Markings". This translation of the Swedish word "Vägmärken" is instructive. The word can mean roadsigns or the markings left by animals: a suggestion of of a route that has been taken, rather than a definitive map.
It was this absence of narrative that I had a problem with. The form of the book is based on haikus and short paragraphs. There is an indication of year but there is no sense of a journey through life. The passages I enjoyed the most were clear and instructive:
"Concering men and their way to peace and concord -? It is more important to understand the motives for your own behaviour than the motives of another.
The other's "face" is more important than your own.
If while pleading another's cause you are at the same time seeking something for yourself, you cannot hope to succeed."
Other passages are more obscure.
"What must come to pass, should come to pass. Within the limits of that "must" you are therefore invulnerable."
Reflections on his faith become more prominent as time goes on:
"Your responsibility is indeed terrifying. If you fail, it is God, thanks to your having betrayed him, who will fail mankind. You fancy you can be responsible to God; can you carry the responsibility for God?"
There are many passionated devotees of this book and I feel as though I've missed something in reading it. Or maybe it is a book better suited to Christians or to those in leadership positions. Either way, I found the book intriguing but hard to read. Perhaps it is best enjoyed as something to pick up, read a few lines, and then put away for another time.
He kept a sheaf of jottings, aphorisms, and reflections, starting aged 20 until he died. After his death, these notes were translated and published as "Waymarks", or as in this edition, "Markings". This translation of the Swedish word "Vägmärken" is instructive. The word can mean roadsigns or the markings left by animals: a suggestion of of a route that has been taken, rather than a definitive map.
It was this absence of narrative that I had a problem with. The form of the book is based on haikus and short paragraphs. There is an indication of year but there is no sense of a journey through life. The passages I enjoyed the most were clear and instructive:
"Concering men and their way to peace and concord -? It is more important to understand the motives for your own behaviour than the motives of another.
The other's "face" is more important than your own.
If while pleading another's cause you are at the same time seeking something for yourself, you cannot hope to succeed."
Other passages are more obscure.
"What must come to pass, should come to pass. Within the limits of that "must" you are therefore invulnerable."
Reflections on his faith become more prominent as time goes on:
"Your responsibility is indeed terrifying. If you fail, it is God, thanks to your having betrayed him, who will fail mankind. You fancy you can be responsible to God; can you carry the responsibility for God?"
There are many passionated devotees of this book and I feel as though I've missed something in reading it. Or maybe it is a book better suited to Christians or to those in leadership positions. Either way, I found the book intriguing but hard to read. Perhaps it is best enjoyed as something to pick up, read a few lines, and then put away for another time.
June 24, 2022
Fittingly, the cover of my copy of Markings has the memorial to Dag Hammarskjöld created by the great 20thC sculptor Barbara Hepworth. That brings two worthy thinkers and figures of the twentieth century together. I love it when book cover art and the content come together so well. Why don't publishers think about this a little more often?
Hepworth’s sculptures work with organic ideas, flows and surfaces that we think we know and can touch. They deal with external forms, almost circles, curves and columns, figures. Yet, there are always two planes in her works, the inner and outer seamlessly work towards each other. Look up Pelagos, Corinthos, Wave, Two Forms, Mother and Child, Rock Form (Pothcurno) and you see the relationship of inner and outer, always in motion, your eye can’t pinpoint one as the two merge to form one. One I suppose is what we strive for in ourselves, an inner place we can live with ourselves having tended to the outer world at some stage. Inner and outer, and the tension and flow between the two describe the thoughts of Hammarskjöld perfectly: “What is necessary? – to wrestle with your problems until the emotional discomfort is clearly conceived in an intellectual form – and then act accordingly.”
These markings weren’t meant for the reader. They describe an inner journey and aspiration of the ever evolving movement towards a better person, the ultimate person that many humanists strive for. And yet of course we all want help in that area. They are his thoughts over a lifetime compressed into (often turgid) aphoristic form, sometimes they try to do a little more in their imagery.
”The aura of victory that surrounds a man of good-will, the sweetness of soul that emanates from him – the flavour of cranberries and cloudberries, a touch of frost and fiery skies."
They often don’t flow and lack the elegance we expect of great producers of such forms – Samuel Clemens, Samuel Johnson etc. They are more like that other Germanic thinker Nietzsche, hard, penetrating, merciless. Hammarskjöld offered a note to his assistant that if he thought they were worth publishing after his death, then he could see to it. He died early, perhaps he foresaw the event himself.
”Isn’t the pathetic grandeur of human existence in some way bound up with the eternal disproportion in this world, where self-delusion is necessary to life, between the honesty of the striving and the nullity of the result?
I find reading diary thoughts difficult. I am a voyeur. An idea I do not like. The discomfort makes me doubt. After all, they were published and offered to the reader. A collective of thoughts brought them together, not just a singular, vain plan. These little thoughts have a purpose. I don’t know if I can use them as a guide, except in the sense that anyone who spent the time looking into themselves like Hammarskjöld, believing that truths exist if we work hard enough to unearth them, then they can assist if not guide others.
”we remember our dead. When they were born, when they passed away – either as men of promise, or as men of achievement.”
”He received – nothing. But for that he paid more than others for their treasures.“
He was born to public service. His family tree goes back to 9thC Swedish kings and from there a near unbroken ancestry of state service, aristocratic authority and political power. In a sense he was born to be secretary general of the UN during the early cold war. He didn’t marry and died aged only fifty-five under still suspicious circumstances on a mission to resolve a Congo conflict, the last thought on the matter was that a mining company hired a pilot to shoot his plane down and they were in league with the CIA and several other nefarious players. I've always liked the dictum that if you are pissing off enough people, you’re doing something right.
”Is your disgust at your emptiness to be the only life with which you fill it?"
He is harsh on himself constantly, struggling, striving like some religious figure from history to be better at what he should be. The better version is always at the centre of his thoughts. There are historical models for these. The outer world is always close by, watching, but it is the inner person who has to deal with it, alone, even if they see their goal as service to others. The inner glow from altruistic acts is often spoken of as a reward for one’s virtuous thoughts and actions. I find that idea too simplistic and revisionist, as though the modern world of naked narcissism has to out everything to reflect and protect that personal need. Reading Dag Hammarskjöld’s inner thoughts makes that clearer through a complex struggle. Perhaps these humanists have more to offer than I thought.
Afterthought
I'm in a deeply reminiscent state. So this is another example of my search for lost books and writers. Dag Hammarskjöld was already some kind of legend by the time I even knew who he was in the early 80s. I was a teenager. Is he known now? The Secretary General of the UN, who died in 1961 on the job. He's an impressive character on the world stage, perhaps as important as world leaders at the time. There's something about people who devote themselves to public service. Worth knowing about, there are few like him today.
July 17, 2011
It is impossible to summarise a book which spans the entirety of a person's life, but perhaps it is possible to discern the themes or issues that this person obsessed over, at least at a personal level. Other people's diaries make for strange reading experience: you are unsure whether you are merely seeing your own obsessions dressed in other people's words, or whether you are really reading them aright. Many things -- a lot of the haikus written in the 2 years before his death, for example -- I simply slip by because I don't have a good sense of what he wanted to communicate. So, perhaps it is just my personal lens -- which will surely change as I change -- but my favourite part of Hammarskjold is his deep and never-ending wrestling with the problem of ego, addressing it from various angles through his life. The thoughts are all the more remarkable for having come from a man embedded in the international politics of his day; I cannot imagine any prominent personality today writing such.
I'll just quote here his last thought on the subject before his death in 1961. Written in 1959:
"Humility is just as much the opposite of self-abasement as it is of self-exaltation. To be humble is not to make comparisons. Secure in its reality, the self is neither better nor worse, bigger nor smaller, than anything else in the universe. It *is* (*italicized*) -- is nothing, yet at the same time one with everything. It is in this sense that humility is absolute self-effacement...
...To give to people, works, poetry, art, what the self can contribute, and to take, simply and freely, what belongs to it by reason of its identity. Praise and blame, the winds of success and adversity, blow over such a life without leaving a trace or upsetting its balance. Towards this, so help me, God -- "
I'll just quote here his last thought on the subject before his death in 1961. Written in 1959:
"Humility is just as much the opposite of self-abasement as it is of self-exaltation. To be humble is not to make comparisons. Secure in its reality, the self is neither better nor worse, bigger nor smaller, than anything else in the universe. It *is* (*italicized*) -- is nothing, yet at the same time one with everything. It is in this sense that humility is absolute self-effacement...
...To give to people, works, poetry, art, what the self can contribute, and to take, simply and freely, what belongs to it by reason of its identity. Praise and blame, the winds of success and adversity, blow over such a life without leaving a trace or upsetting its balance. Towards this, so help me, God -- "
October 18, 2011
I love this book! On the surface, it's just a collection of one man’s quotes, poetry, reflections, and truths. And yet what makes the book special is who the author was: Dag Hammarskjöld, praised by many, including our own President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, who called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century”. He was UN Secretary-General from 1953 until his death in 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize; there has been persistent speculation the Secretary-General was assassinated.
I bought the book because I kept running across these amazing quotes by him which just made me want to read more. Here are some of my favorites:
I bought the book because I kept running across these amazing quotes by him which just made me want to read more. Here are some of my favorites:
“Your cravings as a human animal do not become a prayer just because it is God whom you ask to attend to them.”
“Never, for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or convictions.”
“How can you expect to keep your powers of hearing when you never want to listen? That God should have time for you; you seem to take as much for granted as that you cannot have time for Him.”
“Friendship needs no words - it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness.”
“Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.”
“The longest journey is the journey inward.”
“It is nobler to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses.”
“The road,
You shall follow it.
The fun,
You shall forget it.
The cup,
You shall empty it.
The pain,
You shall conceal it.
The truth,
You shall be told it.
The end,
You shall endure it.
Read
July 3, 2011I began thinking about Dag Hammarskjöld, for no apparent reason, and ordered this book from the library. Then it came, and I discovered it was translated by WH Auden! Now I had an actual reason to read it -- plus I had learned online, that it was a "spiritual autobiography." It's a strange book, published in English in 1964, and apparently forgotten completely. Though it's just as good as Thich Nhat Hanh. (I'm just guessing -- I went for a walk once with Mr. Hanh, but he didn't say anything. This was at the Ashocan Reservoir.) Nobody wants to read spiritual thoughts by a diplomatic Swede anymore. Spirituality has to be exotic now. Which is sad. Not that I disagree. I find the Christianity in this book cloying, even though it's sincere, and seems mystic:
"He who has surrendered himself to it knows that the Way ends on the Cross -- even when it is leading him through the jubilation of Gennesaret or the triumphal entry into Jerusalem."
The whole suffering and predestination of Christianity -- seems so claustrophobic. Unlike, for example, the infinite multiplicities of Buddhism.
(What is Gennesaret? Wikipedia believes it literally means "a garden of riches." It's a Biblical city in the Galilee.)
Still, here was a guy who struggled mightily to be a saint while being the fucking Secretary-General of the UN! Then died in a mysterious airplane crash! And might have been gay!
"He who has surrendered himself to it knows that the Way ends on the Cross -- even when it is leading him through the jubilation of Gennesaret or the triumphal entry into Jerusalem."
The whole suffering and predestination of Christianity -- seems so claustrophobic. Unlike, for example, the infinite multiplicities of Buddhism.
(What is Gennesaret? Wikipedia believes it literally means "a garden of riches." It's a Biblical city in the Galilee.)
Still, here was a guy who struggled mightily to be a saint while being the fucking Secretary-General of the UN! Then died in a mysterious airplane crash! And might have been gay!
April 13, 2012
A highly respected politico here in the U.S., Dag was a brilliant thinker. Do yourself a favor. Pick up this book. Read through it bit by bit. That is how it is meant to be read. I will NEVER give away my copy.
December 21, 2025
Šī nav secīga dienasgrāmata, bet dažādu atziņu un pārdomu sakopojums. Domas ļoti vērtīgas, interesantas, pārdomājamas un noteikti lasīšu otrreiz, apdomājot tās pa vienai (jo gadījās, ka bija līdzi slimnīcā un tika lasīta galīgi nepareizi, visa uzreiz).
January 7, 2019
It is hard for me to think of a fair rating for a book which is about the spiritual reflections of a person - since it is a deeply personal journey, and extremely tormenting for even a seeker to understand at times. Hammarskjöld's work is of importance, even today and the one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
It is clear that he could never break free from the clutches of his identity. He was a great economist and a man of influential position in the United Nations, and had to endure the challenges of overwork, physical suffering but his own conscientious - of being useful to others. What you're drawn to, or care about, will also bind you.
And yet, he didn't flinch from remaining true to the Way (the inner work) and being an instrument of God. It was a matter of sheer will and courage. He encouraged : "to keep alive the incentive to push on further, that pain in the soul which drives us beyond.'
A man with a social standing like him, would have risked being mocked at - if he was vocal about his inner, private life and that is why, he didn't intend, until the end of his life, to publish 'Markings.' It includes ruminations about nature, surrender, self realization - a deeply personal account of one's conversation with God.
It is a gift to have a book like this in this world. A spiritual path is often looked as something which one can only follow if he/she were an ascetic. But Hammarskjöld's legacy proves otherwise - one can be busy in the temporal world, and yet seek solace in the spiritual.
There were moments in the book, when a seeker such as myself could relate how clear Hammarskjöld felt about self surrender and self realization. Then, there were transitions into loneliness and anguish.
Thus, Hammarskjöld felt that he was a victim to occasional suicidial ideations - unworthiness. It would appear that these traits were matters of flaws in personal life, but no, they are actually products of spiritual distress, since the crumbling away of a personal identity in order to merge with something higher, is a shattering process. Hammarskjöld had uninterrupted success and a fortunate life, but even such a life cannot make up for the longing for something deeper - the eternal.
He responded to the sense of unworthiness, with defiance and not as a victim of vanity. While his belief drove his life, his intellect always challenged their validity - and thus, a man is left in an overwhelming state.
Hammarskjöld must have also suffered from a great fear of LOVE, yet his reflections are profound and poignant - which I share with him. Unlike him, I will not uphold that a great love is always unreturned but this - one understands love by first understanding what love is not. If one's love receives warmth and shelter by it's counterpart, there is a possibility that such a love will not grow to it's ultimate maturity - a love that thrives even after the loss of 'object' of love. Thus, Day Hammarskjöld's reflections are apt - "One's love had a long way to go before it would mature into - Love." Such a Love is deeper than Ego-Love (such terminology would be fairly understood by a seeker).
In case of a spiritual aspirant, the ego-love, in love's effort to shelter it, can create a cold around the Ego - which slowly eats it's way inward towards the core. But if one transcends this pain, love matures and the Self dissolves - which is both liberation for the lover and the Beloved - for such a love will not bind another.
Despite these reflections, it is hard to ascertain why Hammarskjöld flinched from love, as there's no note about his relationship anywhere. Interestingly, he writes towards the end (in 1961) writes - "Far away/ For the last time/ I heard the scream/ The scream of terror/ The voice of loneliness/ Screaming for love."
I'm not sure if poetry were his strongest element but some surprised me - his anguish and longing for the eternal, quite evident.
This book also introduced me to WH Auden's translation work, and it is commendable.
It is clear that he could never break free from the clutches of his identity. He was a great economist and a man of influential position in the United Nations, and had to endure the challenges of overwork, physical suffering but his own conscientious - of being useful to others. What you're drawn to, or care about, will also bind you.
And yet, he didn't flinch from remaining true to the Way (the inner work) and being an instrument of God. It was a matter of sheer will and courage. He encouraged : "to keep alive the incentive to push on further, that pain in the soul which drives us beyond.'
A man with a social standing like him, would have risked being mocked at - if he was vocal about his inner, private life and that is why, he didn't intend, until the end of his life, to publish 'Markings.' It includes ruminations about nature, surrender, self realization - a deeply personal account of one's conversation with God.
It is a gift to have a book like this in this world. A spiritual path is often looked as something which one can only follow if he/she were an ascetic. But Hammarskjöld's legacy proves otherwise - one can be busy in the temporal world, and yet seek solace in the spiritual.
There were moments in the book, when a seeker such as myself could relate how clear Hammarskjöld felt about self surrender and self realization. Then, there were transitions into loneliness and anguish.
Thus, Hammarskjöld felt that he was a victim to occasional suicidial ideations - unworthiness. It would appear that these traits were matters of flaws in personal life, but no, they are actually products of spiritual distress, since the crumbling away of a personal identity in order to merge with something higher, is a shattering process. Hammarskjöld had uninterrupted success and a fortunate life, but even such a life cannot make up for the longing for something deeper - the eternal.
He responded to the sense of unworthiness, with defiance and not as a victim of vanity. While his belief drove his life, his intellect always challenged their validity - and thus, a man is left in an overwhelming state.
Hammarskjöld must have also suffered from a great fear of LOVE, yet his reflections are profound and poignant - which I share with him. Unlike him, I will not uphold that a great love is always unreturned but this - one understands love by first understanding what love is not. If one's love receives warmth and shelter by it's counterpart, there is a possibility that such a love will not grow to it's ultimate maturity - a love that thrives even after the loss of 'object' of love. Thus, Day Hammarskjöld's reflections are apt - "One's love had a long way to go before it would mature into - Love." Such a Love is deeper than Ego-Love (such terminology would be fairly understood by a seeker).
In case of a spiritual aspirant, the ego-love, in love's effort to shelter it, can create a cold around the Ego - which slowly eats it's way inward towards the core. But if one transcends this pain, love matures and the Self dissolves - which is both liberation for the lover and the Beloved - for such a love will not bind another.
Despite these reflections, it is hard to ascertain why Hammarskjöld flinched from love, as there's no note about his relationship anywhere. Interestingly, he writes towards the end (in 1961) writes - "Far away/ For the last time/ I heard the scream/ The scream of terror/ The voice of loneliness/ Screaming for love."
I'm not sure if poetry were his strongest element but some surprised me - his anguish and longing for the eternal, quite evident.
This book also introduced me to WH Auden's translation work, and it is commendable.
November 4, 2022
Loved starting my day off w/ these lil tid bits. Felt like I got a peak into someone’s mind and musing on all things God, life, forgiveness, etc. Lots of underlining and exclamation points added into the margins (sorry Austin). People are magical with words and I’m thankful that others can put words to our own thoughts/feelings
QOTB: “God does not die on the day we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we did on the day when our lives cease to be illuminated by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason.”
QOTB: “God does not die on the day we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we did on the day when our lives cease to be illuminated by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason.”
April 24, 2020
I wasn’t ready for it to end where it did and neither was he. God bless his soul.
July 7, 2012
Read slowly, over years, as the author wrote it... that was wise. I think!
November 9, 2014
This is an essay I wrote about the work in Swedish (after a rereading of Vägmärken):
”Skall äcklet över tomheten vara det enda av liv med vilket Du fyller tomheten?” Kraftfullt, direkt och avskalat riktas orden mot ett ”Du”; detta är början på en livslång dialog med Gud. Författaren är FN:s före detta generalsekreterare Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) som dog för drygt 53 år sedan i en flygkrasch i dagens Zambia. Orden är tagna ur hans efterlämnade verk, Vägmärken - ”en sorts 'vitbok' rörande mina förhandlingar mellan mig själv - och Gud”. Om Augustinus skiljde på två typer av existentiella frågor – vem är jag och vad är jag – kan man i Vägmärken lägga märke till en förskjutning av den senare frågeställningen till: Vad är jag i relation till Dig?
Till skillnad från andra troende (exempelvis Pascal eller Augustinus) är verket skrivet under hela Hammarskjölds livstid - ingenting är bestämt utan författaren söker kontinuerligt styrka i ordet och i dialog med Gud. Dialogen ger verket en tyngd och riktning; kompositionen liknar en vattenström – evigt föränderlig och alltid mottaglig för läsarens självbespegling. Verket består av en samling korta skönlitterära meditationer som blir allt kortare med tiden och mot slutet förkortas gestaltningen till haikuns enkla form. När läsaren först träffar författaren är han tjugo år och ”drivs in i okänt land” där marken blir allt hårdare. Tankarna kretsar kring tvivel och ångest vilket även ger språket en hårdare klang: han har sett ”[djur] flyta med strömmen i kamp om ruttnande matrester. Sett dem göra sitt svep för att undersöka kondomen som efter helgerna drivit runt i bakvatten [...]” Hammarskjöld söker brytpunkter i vardagen där språket kan förvandla det allmänna till det personliga; texten skalas av allt oväsentligt.
Den långa vandringen inåt kräver dagligen uppoffringar; balansen mellan den yttre världens plikttrogne tjänsteman och den inneboende modernisten är svår. Författaren oroar sig för att det offentliga arbetet endast är ”en flykt från ångest och bort från ansvar, altruismen en nödtorftig maskerad masochism [...]” Totalt ensam är Hammarskjöld emellertid inte, vägmärken i form av litteratur hjälper honom att staka sig fram. Nästan på varje sida finns citat från bibeln, moderna poeter eller författare tillsammans med en personlig reflektion. Ordet förvandlas till ett poetiskt redskap, som hjälper honom att hitta styrka i en föränderlig värld, ordet blir den ljusbringare på vägen som skänker hopp. Ju äldre Hammarskjöld blir desto större blir hans beläsenhet, från att ha bestått av svenska poeter och bibeln till att även innefatta tyska mystiker, kinesiska klassiker och normkritiska prosaister. Hammarskjöld använder språket som en kontinuerlig dialog - med andra texter, med sig själv och med Gud.
.
”Ge mig ett rent sinne – att jag må se dig,
ett ödmjukt sinne – att jag må höra dig.
Ett kärlekens sinne – att jag må tjäna dig,
ett trons sinne – att jag må förbli i dig”
Naket. Enkelt. Bakom varje ord döljer sig handlingens sprängkraft; Vägmärken är inte endast en stillsam kontemplation utan ett sätt att genom språket skapa förståelse för hur man bör leva som människa och lära sig acceptera sin ensamhet. Hammarskjöld pendlar mellan handling och behovet av att gestalta livet i ord för att få grepp vardagens undflyende väsen. När gårdagens slöseri uppenbarar sig i form av dagens ångest är språket det verktyg som kan ta in dessa känslor, reflektera och bringa klarhet. Stilen får kraft av verkets centrala problematik: hur hittar jag Gud inom mig?
”Att icke vara rädd för sig själv utan leva ut sin särart – helt, men till godo. Att icke följa andra för att köpa gemenskap, icke för konvenansen till lag istället för att leva rättfärdigheten.” Detta slår an ett tema som genomsyrar verket, nämligen behovet av att göra det man är kallad till att göra, oavsett vad omvärlden tycker. Istället för att jämföra sig med andra kämpar Hammarskjöld med sin egen utveckling och att säga ja till den egna särarten är del av hans mognadsprocess. Under särartens kraftfulla yttre, finns emellertid något djupare: ”[Den] innersta skapande vilja anar sin motsvarighet i andra, upplever sin egen universalitet – och öppnar så vägen in till kunskapen om den kraft av vilken den själv är en gnista i oss” Språket, eftersom det delas, kan öppna vägen till förståelse för andra människor och därigenom acceptans av oliktänkande. Ur denna insikt växer ödmjukheten fram och dess logiska slutsats: jag är varken bättre eller sämre än andra.
Denna självinsikt kräver en kontinuerlig självrannsakan, en bidragande orsak till varför verket förblir moraliskt. På sätt och vis återvänder Hammarskjöld till den antika synen på filosofi, där moralfilosofi innebär att granska livet intensivt. Till skillnad från de två stora moderna moralfilosofiska skolorna, utilitarism och deontologisk etik, utvärderar Hammarskjöld sina egna handlingar i förhållande till sin inre röst: är detta verkligen hur jag vill leva? Det finns inget system som han stödjer sin rättskänsla på, utan den kommer som ett resultat av åratal av intellektuellt arbete kombinerat med den ständiga resan inåt, mot Gud. ”Att leva rättfärdigt” betyder att leva i enlighet med vad man tror på men inte nödvändigtvis att leva endast för sig själv. Det viktiga är att livsvalet är mitt eget. En påminnelse om vikten av detta hörs i Hammarskjölds betraktelser:
”Att bevara den inre tystnaden – mitt i stojet. Att förbli öppen, stilla, fuktig mylla i det fruktbara mörker där regnet faller och säden gror – hur många som än i det torra dagsljuset trampar fram över markerna i virvlande damm” . I denna fasta tro på sig själv ingår en övertygelse om att man genom sin egen begåvning kan tjäna andra och att vi först genom att distansera oss från nuet kan få perspektiv på våra handlingars konsekvenser. ”Sök inte förintelsen. Den skall finna dig. Sök den väg som gör den till fullbordan.” Acceptansen av att allt kärt någon dag ska förgås förlöser författaren från dödsångesten och gör det möjligt för honom att fullt ut använda hela sin livspotential.
Hammarskjölds osystematiska sätt att skriva är både en för- och nackdel. Grammatikens regler förenklas, citat avbryts av egna tankar och språket sjunger. Ofta används bindestreck för att visa ett avbrott eller paus, exempelvis: ”Han fick – Ingenting. Men för detta betalade han mer än andra för sin rikedom” Denna förskjutning av satsrytmen kan jämföras med jazzens sätt att punktera en rytm för att göra den mer märkbar. Denna enkla metod gör att läsaren tvingas lyssna mer noggrant. Texten ger inga färdiga svar, utan påbörjar en rörelse som slutar i läsarens medvetande. Att läsa Vägmärken är som att falla in i en värld av korta intensiva ögonblick; läsaren leds med blicken längre och längre in i en människas inre. Språket ger författaren möjlighet att i stillhet definiera sin identitet; på så vis bryter han mot omgivningens fördomar för att varje dag måla ett innerligt självporträtt. Introspektionen ger Hammarskjöld möjlighet att genom språket skapa ideal utan idoler; språket sköljer bort omvärldens lovord för att endast lämna kvar det essentiella. Även om vägen inåt är snårig och lång, leder den stundvis förbi ljuspunkter där en större helhet skymtar:
”Respekt för ordet är ett första krav i den disciplin vilken en människa kan fostras till mognad – intellektuellt, emotionellt och moraliskt.
Respekt för ordet – dess bruk med strängaste omsorg och i omutlig inre sanningskärlek – är också för samhället och släktet ett villkor för växt.
Att missbruka ordet är att visa förakt för människan. Det underminerar broarna och förgiftar källorna. Så för det oss bakåt på människoblivandets långa väg.”
Ord, till skillnad från bilder, skapar en möjligt att förstå åtminstone en del av verkligheten. Det är genom en kritisk granskning av sig själv och omgivningen som Hammarskjöld kan komma fram till hur han vill leva. Om man förnekar ordets makt, försvårar man också drastiskt möjligheterna till att intellektuellt förstå sig på frågor kring identitet och hur man bör agera för att själv ta ansvar för sitt liv. På så sätt undermineras även den egna friheten.
Den gränsöverskridande modernismen som Hammarskjöld upplevde skapade möjligheter för författarens språk att bli en portal där framtid, nutid och det förflutna möts. Författarens levande språk – där citat och egna reflektioner flyter samman – förvandlar medeltida mystiker till samtida poeter, exempelvis i detta Mäster Eckardt-citat: ”Om ögat skall bevara färgen måste det självt först vara avklätt alla färger. Först då, i avskildheten, stillheten kan själens innersta, dess öga, se, spegla Guds ljus.” Om man byter ut 'Guds ljus' mot mening i livet förefaller citatet vara ett poetiskt uttryck för något mycket relevant idag. Det tycks svara på frågan: hur ska jag utvecklas till det jag vill bli? Hammarskjölds svar: genom introspektion, handling och hängivelse till livsvalet. Först när du ser dig själv längre fram på din livsväg och planerar resan dit kan du börja leva målmedvetet i världen. Detta behöver inte betyda att vi inte behöver Gud, utan tyder snarare på språkets förmåga att förena troende såväl som icke-troende: Hammarskjölds känsloladdade och avskalade språk gör tron greppbar.
Att fortsätta föra den inre dialogen var en förutsättning för Hammarskjöld att orientera sig i världen och att förstå sig själv. Den som träder in i Vägmärken blir förändrad: i sin syn på världen men kanske framför i allt sitt förhållande till språket. Hammarskjölds förmåga att skapa innehåll, som är ett med uttrycket, gör hans starka röst hela tiden närvarande genom orden. Rösten bjuder in oss till att bli delaktig i hans konstnärliga utveckling, från en blandning av reflektioner och berättelser till stillsam avskalad enkelhet. Rösten viskar avslutningsvis –
Vägen,
du skall följa den.
Lyckan,
du skall glömma den.
Kalken,
du skall tömma den.
Smärtan,
du skall dölja den.
Svaret,
du skall lära det.
Slutet,
du skall bära det.
”Skall äcklet över tomheten vara det enda av liv med vilket Du fyller tomheten?” Kraftfullt, direkt och avskalat riktas orden mot ett ”Du”; detta är början på en livslång dialog med Gud. Författaren är FN:s före detta generalsekreterare Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) som dog för drygt 53 år sedan i en flygkrasch i dagens Zambia. Orden är tagna ur hans efterlämnade verk, Vägmärken - ”en sorts 'vitbok' rörande mina förhandlingar mellan mig själv - och Gud”. Om Augustinus skiljde på två typer av existentiella frågor – vem är jag och vad är jag – kan man i Vägmärken lägga märke till en förskjutning av den senare frågeställningen till: Vad är jag i relation till Dig?
Till skillnad från andra troende (exempelvis Pascal eller Augustinus) är verket skrivet under hela Hammarskjölds livstid - ingenting är bestämt utan författaren söker kontinuerligt styrka i ordet och i dialog med Gud. Dialogen ger verket en tyngd och riktning; kompositionen liknar en vattenström – evigt föränderlig och alltid mottaglig för läsarens självbespegling. Verket består av en samling korta skönlitterära meditationer som blir allt kortare med tiden och mot slutet förkortas gestaltningen till haikuns enkla form. När läsaren först träffar författaren är han tjugo år och ”drivs in i okänt land” där marken blir allt hårdare. Tankarna kretsar kring tvivel och ångest vilket även ger språket en hårdare klang: han har sett ”[djur] flyta med strömmen i kamp om ruttnande matrester. Sett dem göra sitt svep för att undersöka kondomen som efter helgerna drivit runt i bakvatten [...]” Hammarskjöld söker brytpunkter i vardagen där språket kan förvandla det allmänna till det personliga; texten skalas av allt oväsentligt.
Den långa vandringen inåt kräver dagligen uppoffringar; balansen mellan den yttre världens plikttrogne tjänsteman och den inneboende modernisten är svår. Författaren oroar sig för att det offentliga arbetet endast är ”en flykt från ångest och bort från ansvar, altruismen en nödtorftig maskerad masochism [...]” Totalt ensam är Hammarskjöld emellertid inte, vägmärken i form av litteratur hjälper honom att staka sig fram. Nästan på varje sida finns citat från bibeln, moderna poeter eller författare tillsammans med en personlig reflektion. Ordet förvandlas till ett poetiskt redskap, som hjälper honom att hitta styrka i en föränderlig värld, ordet blir den ljusbringare på vägen som skänker hopp. Ju äldre Hammarskjöld blir desto större blir hans beläsenhet, från att ha bestått av svenska poeter och bibeln till att även innefatta tyska mystiker, kinesiska klassiker och normkritiska prosaister. Hammarskjöld använder språket som en kontinuerlig dialog - med andra texter, med sig själv och med Gud.
.
”Ge mig ett rent sinne – att jag må se dig,
ett ödmjukt sinne – att jag må höra dig.
Ett kärlekens sinne – att jag må tjäna dig,
ett trons sinne – att jag må förbli i dig”
Naket. Enkelt. Bakom varje ord döljer sig handlingens sprängkraft; Vägmärken är inte endast en stillsam kontemplation utan ett sätt att genom språket skapa förståelse för hur man bör leva som människa och lära sig acceptera sin ensamhet. Hammarskjöld pendlar mellan handling och behovet av att gestalta livet i ord för att få grepp vardagens undflyende väsen. När gårdagens slöseri uppenbarar sig i form av dagens ångest är språket det verktyg som kan ta in dessa känslor, reflektera och bringa klarhet. Stilen får kraft av verkets centrala problematik: hur hittar jag Gud inom mig?
”Att icke vara rädd för sig själv utan leva ut sin särart – helt, men till godo. Att icke följa andra för att köpa gemenskap, icke för konvenansen till lag istället för att leva rättfärdigheten.” Detta slår an ett tema som genomsyrar verket, nämligen behovet av att göra det man är kallad till att göra, oavsett vad omvärlden tycker. Istället för att jämföra sig med andra kämpar Hammarskjöld med sin egen utveckling och att säga ja till den egna särarten är del av hans mognadsprocess. Under särartens kraftfulla yttre, finns emellertid något djupare: ”[Den] innersta skapande vilja anar sin motsvarighet i andra, upplever sin egen universalitet – och öppnar så vägen in till kunskapen om den kraft av vilken den själv är en gnista i oss” Språket, eftersom det delas, kan öppna vägen till förståelse för andra människor och därigenom acceptans av oliktänkande. Ur denna insikt växer ödmjukheten fram och dess logiska slutsats: jag är varken bättre eller sämre än andra.
Denna självinsikt kräver en kontinuerlig självrannsakan, en bidragande orsak till varför verket förblir moraliskt. På sätt och vis återvänder Hammarskjöld till den antika synen på filosofi, där moralfilosofi innebär att granska livet intensivt. Till skillnad från de två stora moderna moralfilosofiska skolorna, utilitarism och deontologisk etik, utvärderar Hammarskjöld sina egna handlingar i förhållande till sin inre röst: är detta verkligen hur jag vill leva? Det finns inget system som han stödjer sin rättskänsla på, utan den kommer som ett resultat av åratal av intellektuellt arbete kombinerat med den ständiga resan inåt, mot Gud. ”Att leva rättfärdigt” betyder att leva i enlighet med vad man tror på men inte nödvändigtvis att leva endast för sig själv. Det viktiga är att livsvalet är mitt eget. En påminnelse om vikten av detta hörs i Hammarskjölds betraktelser:
”Att bevara den inre tystnaden – mitt i stojet. Att förbli öppen, stilla, fuktig mylla i det fruktbara mörker där regnet faller och säden gror – hur många som än i det torra dagsljuset trampar fram över markerna i virvlande damm” . I denna fasta tro på sig själv ingår en övertygelse om att man genom sin egen begåvning kan tjäna andra och att vi först genom att distansera oss från nuet kan få perspektiv på våra handlingars konsekvenser. ”Sök inte förintelsen. Den skall finna dig. Sök den väg som gör den till fullbordan.” Acceptansen av att allt kärt någon dag ska förgås förlöser författaren från dödsångesten och gör det möjligt för honom att fullt ut använda hela sin livspotential.
Hammarskjölds osystematiska sätt att skriva är både en för- och nackdel. Grammatikens regler förenklas, citat avbryts av egna tankar och språket sjunger. Ofta används bindestreck för att visa ett avbrott eller paus, exempelvis: ”Han fick – Ingenting. Men för detta betalade han mer än andra för sin rikedom” Denna förskjutning av satsrytmen kan jämföras med jazzens sätt att punktera en rytm för att göra den mer märkbar. Denna enkla metod gör att läsaren tvingas lyssna mer noggrant. Texten ger inga färdiga svar, utan påbörjar en rörelse som slutar i läsarens medvetande. Att läsa Vägmärken är som att falla in i en värld av korta intensiva ögonblick; läsaren leds med blicken längre och längre in i en människas inre. Språket ger författaren möjlighet att i stillhet definiera sin identitet; på så vis bryter han mot omgivningens fördomar för att varje dag måla ett innerligt självporträtt. Introspektionen ger Hammarskjöld möjlighet att genom språket skapa ideal utan idoler; språket sköljer bort omvärldens lovord för att endast lämna kvar det essentiella. Även om vägen inåt är snårig och lång, leder den stundvis förbi ljuspunkter där en större helhet skymtar:
”Respekt för ordet är ett första krav i den disciplin vilken en människa kan fostras till mognad – intellektuellt, emotionellt och moraliskt.
Respekt för ordet – dess bruk med strängaste omsorg och i omutlig inre sanningskärlek – är också för samhället och släktet ett villkor för växt.
Att missbruka ordet är att visa förakt för människan. Det underminerar broarna och förgiftar källorna. Så för det oss bakåt på människoblivandets långa väg.”
Ord, till skillnad från bilder, skapar en möjligt att förstå åtminstone en del av verkligheten. Det är genom en kritisk granskning av sig själv och omgivningen som Hammarskjöld kan komma fram till hur han vill leva. Om man förnekar ordets makt, försvårar man också drastiskt möjligheterna till att intellektuellt förstå sig på frågor kring identitet och hur man bör agera för att själv ta ansvar för sitt liv. På så sätt undermineras även den egna friheten.
Den gränsöverskridande modernismen som Hammarskjöld upplevde skapade möjligheter för författarens språk att bli en portal där framtid, nutid och det förflutna möts. Författarens levande språk – där citat och egna reflektioner flyter samman – förvandlar medeltida mystiker till samtida poeter, exempelvis i detta Mäster Eckardt-citat: ”Om ögat skall bevara färgen måste det självt först vara avklätt alla färger. Först då, i avskildheten, stillheten kan själens innersta, dess öga, se, spegla Guds ljus.” Om man byter ut 'Guds ljus' mot mening i livet förefaller citatet vara ett poetiskt uttryck för något mycket relevant idag. Det tycks svara på frågan: hur ska jag utvecklas till det jag vill bli? Hammarskjölds svar: genom introspektion, handling och hängivelse till livsvalet. Först när du ser dig själv längre fram på din livsväg och planerar resan dit kan du börja leva målmedvetet i världen. Detta behöver inte betyda att vi inte behöver Gud, utan tyder snarare på språkets förmåga att förena troende såväl som icke-troende: Hammarskjölds känsloladdade och avskalade språk gör tron greppbar.
Att fortsätta föra den inre dialogen var en förutsättning för Hammarskjöld att orientera sig i världen och att förstå sig själv. Den som träder in i Vägmärken blir förändrad: i sin syn på världen men kanske framför i allt sitt förhållande till språket. Hammarskjölds förmåga att skapa innehåll, som är ett med uttrycket, gör hans starka röst hela tiden närvarande genom orden. Rösten bjuder in oss till att bli delaktig i hans konstnärliga utveckling, från en blandning av reflektioner och berättelser till stillsam avskalad enkelhet. Rösten viskar avslutningsvis –
Vägen,
du skall följa den.
Lyckan,
du skall glömma den.
Kalken,
du skall tömma den.
Smärtan,
du skall dölja den.
Svaret,
du skall lära det.
Slutet,
du skall bära det.
February 16, 2013
It would be egomania to say that I feel a lot like Dag Hammarskjold. The scale of personal responsibility I have for the people of my county is a mere grain before the burden Hammarskjold bore for the world. Nevertheless, it's a responsibility I try to own with humility and the right attitude - an attitude based on the belief that every person of means (be they physical, emotional, or mental) has an obligation to take the hardest job and carry the greatest load they can - because there might not be anyone else if s/he doesn't.
That's the briefest possible explanation. It doesn't perfectly describe the whole of my attitude and philosophy any more than the same description could describe someone like Dag Hammarskjold. It's phrased in purely ethical dimensions that omit any greater humanistic - dare I say, spiritual - angles.
I'm currently very private about my personal spiritual beliefs. I've let exactly two people begin to understand them and have cultivated amicable misunderstanding among all my family and friends and colleagues for years. It seems to be the best solution to the problem of privacy and the intimacy of philosophy.
While Markings is not a devotional companion to scripture, it can't help but tell you things about yourself the way C.S. Lewis does. And in this capacity I found ways to organize my own philosophy by adding to my understanding of Hammarskjold (a person I have always admired as a public servant). Again - trying to avoid egomania - I was pleased to find so much of my independently arrived at thinking in line with the wiser, better man.
Markings is a "Christian book," but it could probably work for people who identify across a wide spectrum.* Anyone potentially deterred by the ostensible premise should be reassured of its relative objectivity. On the other hand, anyone looking for orthodoxy to boost denominational conviction might feel betrayed by Hammarskjold's equivocations, particularly on the issues of death and suicide.
*When Markings quotes from scripture, it is almost always from the Old Testament. Other religious texts similarly adhere mostly to Old Testament themes, including stuff from the Anglican Psalter and the Common Book of Prayer. When Hammarskjold cites philosophers, they are as like to be Kierkegaard as any of the gospel writers.
That's the briefest possible explanation. It doesn't perfectly describe the whole of my attitude and philosophy any more than the same description could describe someone like Dag Hammarskjold. It's phrased in purely ethical dimensions that omit any greater humanistic - dare I say, spiritual - angles.
I'm currently very private about my personal spiritual beliefs. I've let exactly two people begin to understand them and have cultivated amicable misunderstanding among all my family and friends and colleagues for years. It seems to be the best solution to the problem of privacy and the intimacy of philosophy.
While Markings is not a devotional companion to scripture, it can't help but tell you things about yourself the way C.S. Lewis does. And in this capacity I found ways to organize my own philosophy by adding to my understanding of Hammarskjold (a person I have always admired as a public servant). Again - trying to avoid egomania - I was pleased to find so much of my independently arrived at thinking in line with the wiser, better man.
Markings is a "Christian book," but it could probably work for people who identify across a wide spectrum.* Anyone potentially deterred by the ostensible premise should be reassured of its relative objectivity. On the other hand, anyone looking for orthodoxy to boost denominational conviction might feel betrayed by Hammarskjold's equivocations, particularly on the issues of death and suicide.
*When Markings quotes from scripture, it is almost always from the Old Testament. Other religious texts similarly adhere mostly to Old Testament themes, including stuff from the Anglican Psalter and the Common Book of Prayer. When Hammarskjold cites philosophers, they are as like to be Kierkegaard as any of the gospel writers.
February 17, 2008
I chose this book as part of my own personal quest to understand the spiritual self. My grandfather recommended it along with Martin Buber and Viktor Frankl as authors worth considering. I have never regretted buying this book with hard-earned money as I continue to open it up and delve into a very personal account of Hammarskjold's struggles for that common ground of spiritual peace. This book was never meant for publication, but a letter was found with it giving permission for its publication as “a sort of white book concerning my negotiations with myself -- and with God." Personally, I love this book because it underscores the possibilities of the human spirit and reminds me to be part of the day's open-ended possibilities. We lose sight of the larger picture, and Hammarskjold never lost that humble vision of being a light in an often dark world. One note -- this was translated from the Swedish, and Hammarskjold spoke many languages, so there are times where quotes that touched him are, in my opinion, oddly translated. Nevertheless, this is a book that I consider to be a bright candle lighting my world and I treasure this book for its wisdom and the reflected wisdom of my grandfather in his choice many years ago for my education. * of note -- I have a different edition than the one I chose for this book as I could not find the 1971 slipcased deluxe edition I cherish. My edition is published by Knopf and is as elegant on the surface as it is inside - a classic and a treasure.
January 14, 2019
Dag Hammarskjold was the Secretary-General of the United Nations, killed in a plane crash in Africa on a peace mission in the Congo. Hammarskjold was a quiet, introspective personality. His seminal work probably was his diary, published after his death. "Markings" is a journey into the mind of a a man who faced the problems of the world, confronted them and seized the moment. It is a journey of philosophy, feeling and introspection. His private moments and poetry are caught in the best a leader can offer.
Hammarskjold was a author in his own right, a prolific translator of works into his native Swedish and all around philosopher of his day. He brought that to the UN when he became the youngest Secretary-General to hold the post.
Markings reflects his innermost thoughts at some of the greatest crisis points to affect his era. Suez, the Congo, the Cold War and India all were on his agenda at one time or another. How he faced these troubles is reflected in his diary where he detailed his thoughts. His Markings is a collection of poetry, quiet reflection and philosophy about life and the world he was in. Sometimes touching on a crisis, sometimes a poet, sometimes an essayist, its an eclectic collection of reflection, poetry and the deep thoughts of a great leader of the last half century.
Hammarskjold was a author in his own right, a prolific translator of works into his native Swedish and all around philosopher of his day. He brought that to the UN when he became the youngest Secretary-General to hold the post.
Markings reflects his innermost thoughts at some of the greatest crisis points to affect his era. Suez, the Congo, the Cold War and India all were on his agenda at one time or another. How he faced these troubles is reflected in his diary where he detailed his thoughts. His Markings is a collection of poetry, quiet reflection and philosophy about life and the world he was in. Sometimes touching on a crisis, sometimes a poet, sometimes an essayist, its an eclectic collection of reflection, poetry and the deep thoughts of a great leader of the last half century.
January 12, 2022
This book is like a sketch a man made of his mind. Hints of shadows and light that show the paths of his thoughts over time. Hammarskjöld looked carefully and deeply where his thoughts had been and where they might lead him, who he could be and who he was. I didn't feel compelled to align my worldview or opinions with his, I felt called inward to honestly consider who I am, what thoughts brought me here, and where they might take me next.
August 19, 2023
I över två års tid har Vägmärken varit min följeslagare. En oerhörd - oerhörd! - läsning.
”Icke jag utan Gud i mig.”
”Insatsen söker oss, inte vi insatsen. Därför är du den trogen, om du väntar, beredd. Och handlar - när du står inför kravet.”
”Var dag den första. Var dag ett liv.”
”Inför dig i ödmjukhet, med dig i trohet, i dig i stillhet.”
”Gråt,
om du kan,
gråt
men klaga inte.
Vägen valde dig -
och du skall tacka.”
”Icke jag utan Gud i mig.”
”Insatsen söker oss, inte vi insatsen. Därför är du den trogen, om du väntar, beredd. Och handlar - när du står inför kravet.”
”Var dag den första. Var dag ett liv.”
”Inför dig i ödmjukhet, med dig i trohet, i dig i stillhet.”
”Gråt,
om du kan,
gråt
men klaga inte.
Vägen valde dig -
och du skall tacka.”
August 15, 2019
"The life of simplicity is simple, but it opens to us a book in which we never get beyond the first syllable.”
October 18, 2025
Gelezen in de Nederlandse vertaling (Merkstenen) ter voorbereiding op de reeks Hammarskjöld-avonden georganiseerd door de Akademie van Kunsten.
Prachtige reflecties (1963, postuum uitgegeven) van de Zweedse diplomaat en econoom Dag Hammarskjöld die leefde volgens het principe van actieve maatschappelijke dienstbaarheid. In 1961 kwam hij als VN-secretaris-generaal onder zeer dubieuze omstandigheden om het leven bij een vliegtuigongeluk tijdens zijn vredesmissie rondom de Congocrisis. Postuum kreeg hij de Nobelprijs voor de vrede.
“Eenzaamheid is geen dodelijke ziekte. Nee, maar wordt zij niet door de dood pas overwonnen? En wordt zij niet moeilijker te dragen naarmate we die dichter naderen?”
Mooi hoe hij onzekerheden en de zoektocht naar geloof en een deugdzaam leven verwoordt via overpeinzingen, aforismen, citaten, haiku’s en andere gedichten. Om te herlezen, want zijn bespiegelingen zijn zeer gecomprimeerd geschreven en hebben tijd nodig om te landen.
“Schoonheid was een toon die de gespannen snaren van de ziel deed trillen wanneer hij voorbijvloog. Het was de glans van bloed onder de huid waar de zon doorheen scheen.”
Prachtige reflecties (1963, postuum uitgegeven) van de Zweedse diplomaat en econoom Dag Hammarskjöld die leefde volgens het principe van actieve maatschappelijke dienstbaarheid. In 1961 kwam hij als VN-secretaris-generaal onder zeer dubieuze omstandigheden om het leven bij een vliegtuigongeluk tijdens zijn vredesmissie rondom de Congocrisis. Postuum kreeg hij de Nobelprijs voor de vrede.
“Eenzaamheid is geen dodelijke ziekte. Nee, maar wordt zij niet door de dood pas overwonnen? En wordt zij niet moeilijker te dragen naarmate we die dichter naderen?”
Mooi hoe hij onzekerheden en de zoektocht naar geloof en een deugdzaam leven verwoordt via overpeinzingen, aforismen, citaten, haiku’s en andere gedichten. Om te herlezen, want zijn bespiegelingen zijn zeer gecomprimeerd geschreven en hebben tijd nodig om te landen.
“Schoonheid was een toon die de gespannen snaren van de ziel deed trillen wanneer hij voorbijvloog. Het was de glans van bloed onder de huid waar de zon doorheen scheen.”
May 23, 2019
When I found this book I had no idea who the author was, making my reading experience of Markings different than some.
Markings is a compilation of the scattered journal entries of world leader Dag Hammarskjöld in the 1940s - 1960s. Yet, it’s not like most diaries. There are no long passages of daily records. Nor are there summations of any events Rather, Markings contains the occasional thoughts of a religious man seeking to live righteously among the pressures of his world.
At times the passages are stunning, thoughtfully composed in a manner to still meaningful to many of readers today. It also includes poetry, bible passages, and the occasional obscure reference (often explained by translator W. H. Auden).
Verdict:
Borrow It (unless you are a fan of the writer)
Markings is a compilation of the scattered journal entries of world leader Dag Hammarskjöld in the 1940s - 1960s. Yet, it’s not like most diaries. There are no long passages of daily records. Nor are there summations of any events Rather, Markings contains the occasional thoughts of a religious man seeking to live righteously among the pressures of his world.
At times the passages are stunning, thoughtfully composed in a manner to still meaningful to many of readers today. It also includes poetry, bible passages, and the occasional obscure reference (often explained by translator W. H. Auden).
Verdict:
Borrow It (unless you are a fan of the writer)
June 15, 2022
This was awesome. Essentially a poetic/prose journal from a Christian working in national public service who struggled with the way put in front of him.
January 25, 2024
Hur många såg Persbrandt spela Hammarskjöld på bio i mellandagarna?
Ett fint inslag i filmen är de återkommande citaten från anteckningsboken. Finns på Storytel inläst av Gerhard Hoberstorfer. Många inslag på franska, tyska och latin.
Respekterar alla skört fragmentariska tankar, även om jag inte riktigt förstår. Mot slutet ökar tempot och jag tänkte på Tranströmerdikten med skyltarna på motorvägen. Måste nog läsa lite i eboken nu i efterhand för att få sammanhanget.
Ett fint inslag i filmen är de återkommande citaten från anteckningsboken. Finns på Storytel inläst av Gerhard Hoberstorfer. Många inslag på franska, tyska och latin.
Respekterar alla skört fragmentariska tankar, även om jag inte riktigt förstår. Mot slutet ökar tempot och jag tänkte på Tranströmerdikten med skyltarna på motorvägen. Måste nog läsa lite i eboken nu i efterhand för att få sammanhanget.
November 1, 2025
Många fina tankar om kärlek, ensamhet, etik och lycka. Hammarskjöld var någon som kände en stor kallelse, så tankarna är ofta kopplade till vad man behöver offra för att göra/få som man vill.
Read
November 12, 2025Kulurkanon. Andliga dikter och tankar.
December 23, 2024
Gick över mitt huvud, förstod ingenting och somnade oftast efter två sidor. Vet inte ena varför jag läste hela.
October 16, 2024
Religiösa tankar och aforismer i sin enkelhet. Vackert språk som trollbinder även om tankarna är halvfärdiga och inte alltid tydliga i sitt budskap.
April 17, 2019
I really want to be able to like this more. After all, the cover's claim that Markings is an "enduring spiritual classic" gave me higher hopes. Unfortunately, I was unable to really warm up to it, aside from a handful of nuggets of insight. Perhaps it is generational, but more likely a lack of context on my part. For most of the work, I sensed I was reading something that was never really meant to be read by anyone other than the author, or perhaps only those most closest to him. Very clearly, it wasn't written in a way to bring the reader into Hammarskjold's inner life, as through a narrative. His entries are "markers" to be sure, perhaps meaningful to him, but a puzzle to others. And yet I find that I can identify, in a way, with the following two markers that illuminate the motivation behind the publication of these inner thoughts:
I get this; in a most poignant way, I get this. They speak remarkably of my own inner wrestling, the urge to write, share, exegete so that others might understand me, my faith, my faltering steps, and the saving Grace that bears me.
I suppose then, while I continue to wish that the book and the glimpses of inner life it represents had been more - accessible, may be the word - I cannot say that I got nothing from it. Because I did.
"How ridiculous, this need of yours to communicate! Why should it mean so much to you that at least one person has seen the inside of your life? Why should you write down all this, for yourself, to be sure - perhaps, though, for others as well?"
"You ask yourself if these notes are not, after all, false to the very Way they are intended to mark. These notes? - They were signposts you began to set up after you had reached a point where you needed them, a fixed point that was on no account to be lost sight of. And so they have remained. But your life has changed, and now you reckon with possible readers, even, perhaps, hope for them. Still, perhaps it may be of interest to somebody to learn about a path about which the traveler who was committed to it did not wish to speak while he was alive. Perhaps - but only if what you write has an honesty with no trace of vanity or self-regard."
I get this; in a most poignant way, I get this. They speak remarkably of my own inner wrestling, the urge to write, share, exegete so that others might understand me, my faith, my faltering steps, and the saving Grace that bears me.
I suppose then, while I continue to wish that the book and the glimpses of inner life it represents had been more - accessible, may be the word - I cannot say that I got nothing from it. Because I did.
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