There is a place beyond faith and heresy
which is not for all the ones
who are just starting out young and fresh.
There is a price to be paid:
One has to give up one’s life and sacrifice one’s heart.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1271, page 182.
How long will I be suffering because of this donkey of a body?
It keeps asking constantly for straw and barley.
Yet in the sky, the galaxy of the Milky Way is full of nourishment.
A donkey can’t have a share of that glory.
It is the soul, that peerless one, who has a share of that kingdom.
You have seen the body. Now, look at the soul.
You have seen jewels. Now, look at the mine.
Meaning constantly says,
“Don’t dress me in those old clothes.”
Words are really nothing more than old shirts,
the kind of old shirts which everyone makes fun of.
I say, “O meaning, come.
Come in a form like the soul,
so that old shirts can become silk with soul’s light.”
Quit washing clothes, so no one will hear.
Don’t mind how others react or what they say.
This soul is tired.
This soul wants privacy, even from the angels who are close to God.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 1, ghazal 45, verses 615-620, page 117.
Rain poured down on a man’s head.
The rain kept coming, so he took shelter in his home.
A duck seeing this fluttered its wings.
“Give all the rain to me,” the duck said, “to the one
who was created out of water!”
And, water became his shelter, his home.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1256, page 174.
Be lost in grief, O soul.
Patience is the key to suffering.
Be lost in grief so that in the end,
He will show His face to you.
Patience is the key to suffering. Continue reading “Patience is the Key to Suffering (3/30/2025)”
I said to the night,
“If you are in love with the moon which enlightens you,
why do you pass through so quickly?
That is no good. It shows disloyalty,
this lack of respect for the moon.”
Night turned its face towards me and protested,
“It is not my fault. There is no end to Love.”
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1255, page 174.
O brother, don’t hurt yourself.
Don’t hit your head against the stones.
You cannot fight with that burned, inflamed self. Continue reading “Give Us Patience (3/16/2025)”
O soul, do you know who your Beloved is?
O heart, do you know who your guest is?
O body which is using every trick to escape,
do you know who is pulling you?
Look and see. He is the one who is searching for you.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1252, page 172.
Every moment, this revelation come to hearts from the sky:
“How long do you intend to stay on the Earth like sediment? Ascend! Continue reading “If You Get Rid of the Smoke (3/2/2025)”
O Beloved, there is the one who is awake and aware of You.
There is the one who falls asleep
and stays sleeping in the arms of Your grace.
But, in Your universe,
everything and everyone, visible or not, is You.
I am afraid to say more.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Rubai 1244, Volume 3, page 168.
I love You with all my heart and soul.
That’s my sin.
Why do You turn Your face from my pale saffron one? Continue reading ““I Accept Your Invitation” (2/16/2024)”