You will be purified from bad habits
by fasting.
You will follow the ascent of the attained ones to the sky
by fasting.
You will be burned like a candle
by the fire of fasting.
Become divine light.
The darkness of a bite makes you a morsel for the ground.
Rubailer (2016), 4ubai 4, page 461.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 982.
Is there a remedy for this pain?
Will I ever escape from my longing for You?
You said, “Plant the sapling of patience in your heart.
Do not lament and complain about being seized
by the torment of Love.”
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 260.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.Fall 2023), Rubai 526, Volume 2.
When it comes to reaching the heart of the Beloved,
there is no room for patience.
Don’t talk about patience.
When Love rattles its chain,
the minds of Plato and Abul Hasan* become befuddled. Continue reading “When Love Rattles Its Chain (4/9/2023)”
You are neither water nor earth. You are something else.
You are created from mud, but you are not mud.
You are beyond this muddy world.
You are on the journey to your Essence.
Your body is a riverbed. Your soul is the Water of Life.
But, as long as you stay with your self,
you will not know either one.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 450.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.Fall 2023), Rubai 963, Volume 3.
My God, I wish I knew the intention of my Beloved.
He has taken my heart. My decision has disappeared.
My escape route has been blocked. Continue reading “My God, I Wish I Knew (3/19/2023)”
O heart, if you cannot endure the troubles of Love, go away.
If you don’t give up your life, you will never reach the Beloved.
If you haven’t been thrown, as Abraham was, into the fire,
you will never find, as Khidr* did, the Water of Life.
*Khidr A legendary man who is said to have attained immortality by drinking from the Water of Life and who comes to help those in moments of extreme distress.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 449.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.Fall 2023), Rubai 959, 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)”
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)”