You left me nameless like heart and soul.
You made me clap without hands, like joy and pleasure.
I said, “You made me walk out of time and space.
Souls have no place, so where am I going?”
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 448.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.fall 2023), Rubai 954, Volume 3.
O one who has been check mated in the game of stars,
choose a horse. Ride toward the King.
Don’t bother with the vizier. Continue reading “Choose Fire (2/19/2023)”
Someday this branch full of flowers will bear fruit.
Someday this falcon of desire will catch its prey.
Today His image appears and disappears.
But, the time will come when it will stay.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 440.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub. 11/2023), Rubai 937.
A letter came for me from the other world.
It said, “Get ready for return.
Carry all your belongings to the sky.” Continue reading “I Will Be Free (2/5/2023)”
O one who wants to experience the world and everything in it,
you are a day laborer.
O one who dreams of heaven, you are far from the Truth.
O one who enjoys both those worlds because of ignorance,
you haven’t tasted the pleasure of His sorrow.
You are excused, and you may leave.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 438.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub. 7/2023), Rubai 933, volume 3.
In order to hear the greetings of the heart,
I knocked on its door one night.
The glitter of that moonlight reflected on the eye and heart of the road.
After that, the brilliance sparkled endlessly. Continue reading “Greetings of the Heart (1/22/2023)”
O one who is fond of wealth and possessions and deeds,
you get so excited by these things,
even though they come entirely from your imagination.
You become happy or sad over nothing.
I see that you are in the fire,
I will leave you there to cook and mature.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 431.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.7/2023), Rubai 929, Vol. 2.
I came to grab you by the ear and drag you away.
I came to leave you without a heart, without a self.
I came to put you inside of My heart.
O rose sapling, I came to embrace you like a beautiful spring,
to scatter you here and there and everywhere.
I came to charm you in this palace,
to raise you above the sky like the prayers of lovers. Continue reading “I Won’t Leave You in the Middle of the Road (1/8/2023)”
You are a copy of the Divine Book.
You are the mirror of the Sultan’s art, beauty and power.
There is nothing in the universe beyond you.
Whatever you want, ask yourself to give it to you.
Whatever you are looking for, search for it within you.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 441.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.7/2023), Rubai 924, volume 2.
In a group meeting with Hasan Shushud back in the 1970’s, Jonathan Boulting related that this was one of the bits of wisdom Shushud shared, with the caveat that his English might need some reconsideration: GRIEF: Our contract with Eternity. Mr. Shushud spoke often about our inborn nostalgia, our longing “to go home,” our separation from our Essence… the source of true grief. Nevit Ergin referred constantly in his translations of Rumi’s poetry to “His sorrow.” When some begin the practice of fasting, they are able to begin to taste that sorrow, and it is one of the greatest gifts. Our self doesn’t want to feel it, which is its impetus for surrounding itself with an infinite number of distractions. As for the contract, it might be more of a promise that we made and need to keep. As Rumi says, “The purpose of Existence is to reach Absence.”