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| The voice of a saviour will shortly be heard as soon as you clear your hearing Don't drink now this polluted water the elixir of life will soon arrive If you desire grace lose your selfish self till you can taste the sweet essence In the blackest of your moments wait with no fear Since the water of life was found by the Beloved in the darkest caverns ~ Rumi Ode (Ghazal) 550 Translated by Nader Khalili Rumi, Fountain of Fire Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994. Art by Yulia Litvinova |
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Thursday 31 May 2012
As soon as you clear your hearing...by Rumi
Sweet is the oneness of the Friend with His friends...by Rumi
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| If ten lamps are present in one place, each differs in form from another; Yet you can’t distinguish whose radiance is whose when you focus on the light. In the field of spirit there is no division; no individuals exist. Sweet is the oneness of the Friend with His friends. Catch hold of spirit. Help this headstrong self disintegrate; That beneath it you may discover unity, Like a buried treasure. ~ Rumi |
Get yourself a Beloved....by Rumi
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| The real fortune and highway of success lies in the business that comes to you after utter defeat. Give up the business that has no reality: pay attention, old donkey, get yourself a Beloved. May none but the Beloved be your master and captain! Not the old man of the rolling sky, Father Time, but the Beloved of right guidance. What is required is self-surrender, not long toil: it's useless to rush about in error. From now on I won't seek the way to the highest heaven: I will seek the Beloved, I will seek the Beloved, the Beloved, the Beloved! The Beloved is the ladder to Heaven: By whom is the arrow made to fly ? By the bow. ~ Rumi Mathnawi VI: 4119-4121; 4123-4125 Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski "Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance" Threshold Books, 1996 Art by Reza Sepahdari |
I know, when my heart steps up to speak..by Rumi
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I know,
when my heart steps up to speak,
It soon will
be openly disgraced.
Obsessed with
the memory of your beauty,
Your face appears
with every breath it takes.
~ Rumi
#465, from Rumi's Kolliyaat-e Shams-e Tabrizi
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In union with Beloved, of what value are signs ?...by Rumi
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| In union with Beloved, of what value are signs ? The one who is blind to Essence sees Divine action through the attributes: having lost the Essence he is limited to evidences. Those who are united with Love are absorbed in the Essence. How should they focus on His qualities ? When your head is submerged in the sea, how will your eye fall on the color of the water ? ~ Rumi Mathnawi II:2811-2814 Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski “Rumi: Daylight” Threshold Books, 1994 |
You are the only One. ~ Rumi
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| O Friend, You made me lovingly You clothed me in a robe of skin and blood Then planted deep inside me a seed from Your heart. You turned the whole world into a sanctuary where You are the only One. ~ Rumi |
Love is a stranger....by Rumi
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| Love is a stranger to the two worlds: in it are seventy-two madnesses. It is hidden; only its bewilderment is manifest: the soul of the spiritual sultan longs for it. Love’s religion is other than the seventy-two sects: beside it the throne of kings is just a floorboard. In the moments of sema Love’s bard strikes up the melody: “Servitude is bondage and power is a headache.” Then what is Love? The Sea of Not-Being: there the foot of the intellect is shattered and can no longer swim. Servitude and sovereignty are known: the way of the lover is hidden by these two veils. ~ Rumi |
Wednesday 30 May 2012
The pilgrim sees no form....by Farid ud-Din Attar
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| The pilgrim sees no form but His and knows That He subsists beneath all passing shows The pilgrim comes from Him whom he can see, Lives in Him, with Him, and beyond all three. Be lost in Unity’s inclusive span, Or you are human but not yet a man. Whoever lives, the wicked and the blessed, Contains a hidden sun within his breast Its light must dawn though dogged by long delay; The clouds that veil it must be torn away Whoever reaches to his hidden sun Surpasses good and bad and knows the One. The good and bad are here while you are here; Surpass yourself and they will disappear. ~ Farid ud-Din Attar from The Conference of the Birds, Translated by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis Art by Bryan Dechter |
No end, no end to the journey...by Rumi
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| No end, no end to the journey no end, no end never How can the heart in love ever stop opening If you love me, you won't just die once In every moment you will die into me to be reborn Into this new love, die Your way begins on the other side become the sky Take an axe to the prison wall, escape Walk out like someone suddenly born into color do it now ~ Rumi From Secret Language: Rumi A Celebration in Song (Music CD), by Ramananda |
Tuesday 29 May 2012
My heart will never seek another heart..by Rumi
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| My heart will never seek another heart, Or smell another flower, knowing you. Your love has made heart's field a desert waste; No love other than yours grows in that place ! ~ Rumi |
We're friends with one ...by Rumi
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| We're friends with one who kills us, who gives us to the ocean waves. We love this death. Only ignorance says, Put it off a while, day after tomorrow. Don't avoid the knife. This friend only seems fierce, bringing your soul more range, perching your falcon on a cliff of the wind. Jesus on his cross, Hallaj on his those absurd killings hold a secret. Cautious cynics know what they're doing with every moment and why. Submit to love without thinking, as the sun this morning rose recklessly extinguishing our star-candle minds. ~ Rumi Version by Coleman Barks "The Soul of Rumi" HarperSanFrancisco, 2001 |
Monday 28 May 2012
Closing my eyes I open them inside your eyes...by Octavio Paz
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| I turn the page of the day, writing what I'm told by the motion of your eyelashes. the truthfulness of the dark. I want proofs of darkness, want to drink the black wine: take my eyes and crush them. A drop of night on your breast's tip: mysteries of the carnation. Closing my eyes I open them inside your eyes. Always awake on its garnet bed: your wet tongue. There are fountains in the garden of your veins. With a mask of blood I cross your thoughts blankly: amnesia guides me to the other side of life. ~ Octavio Paz |
Treat me like.....Jose' Antonio Orellana Artolozaga
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Treat me like
your favorite book; Read and reread line by line as if you are reading me for the first time. Refresh yourself of my idiosyncrasies, funny habits and oddities. Glide your hand over each leaf of paper caressing and caring for it, Careful not to judge too harshly my ways, and If by chance some written incident bleeds a tear, let it tumble on the page, Then slowly Blot it with a kiss ~ Jose' Antonio Orellana Artolozaga (Treat me like) |
If I knew that today would be the last time...by Gabriel García Márquez
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| If I knew that today would be the last time I’d see you, I would hug you tight and pray the Lord be the keeper of your soul. If I knew that this would be the last time you pass through this door, I’d embrace you, kiss you, and call you back for one more. If I knew that this would be the last time I would hear your voice, I’d take hold of each word to be able to hear it over and over again. If I knew this is the last time I see you, I’d tell you I love you, and would not just assume foolishly you know it already. ~ Gabriel García Márquez |
That knowing can't be gained by thinking...by Rumi
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| The Lover said to himself, "If I'd known the real meaning of this being with Beloved, how should I have gone searching for Him ? But that knowledge depended on this journeying: that knowing can't be gained by thinking, no matter how precise." ~ Rumi Mathnawi VI:4183-4184 Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski "Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance" Threshold Books, 1996 |
I wait to be light.......by Rumi
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| When I see you and how you are, I close my eyes to the other. For your Solomon's seal I become wax throughout my body. I wait to be light. I give up opinions on all matters. I become the reed flute for your breath. You were inside my hand. I kept reaching around for something. I was inside your hand, but I kept asking questions of those who know very little. I must have been incredibly simple or drunk or insane to sneak into my own house and steal money, to climb over my own fence and take my own vegetables. But no more. I have gotten free of that ignorant fist that was pinching and twisting my secret self. The universe and the light of the stars come through me. I am the crescent moon put up over the gate to the festival. ~ Rumi A Year with Rumi Daily Readings By Coleman Barks |
Sunday 27 May 2012
Champion Lovemaker and Leader of Men....by Rumi
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| If you could not feel tenderness and hurt. If you could live in the poorhouse of non-wanting and never be indignant. If you could take two steps away from the beautiful one you want so much to lie down with. If you could trust there's a spirit-wife for you somewhere, a whole harem of wives, a nest, a jewel-setting where when you sit down, you know you've always wanted to be. If you could quit living here and go there. If you could remember clearly what you've done. But strong hooks hold you in this wind. So many people love you, you mix with the color and smell and taste of surroundings. Champion lovemaker and leader of men! You can't give up your public fascination, or your compassion for the dying. There's another compassion you don't know yet, but you may, when griefs disappear. It's a place, with no questioning thorns in the pasture grass. If you could remember you're not a crow, but the mystic osprey that never needs to light, you could be walking there with Beloved. Ode 959 Version by Coleman Barks "Open Secret - Versions of Rumi" Threshold Book, 1984 |
When I see your face...by Rumi
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| When I see your face, the stones start spinning. You appear. All studying wanders. I lose my place. Water turns pearly. Fire dies down and does not consume. In your presence I do not want what I thought I wanted, those three little hanging lamps. Inside your face the ancient manuscripts seem like rusty mirrors. You breathe, and new shapes appear. The music of a desire as widespread as spring begins to move like a great wagon. Drive slowly. Some of us walking alongside are lame. ~ Rumi A Year with Rumi Daily Readings By Coleman Barks |
Saturday 26 May 2012
O Beloved, You are so gracious...by Hafez
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Love has Befriended Hafiz so completely...by Hafiz
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| I Have Learned So much from God That I can no longer Call Myself A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim A Buddhist, a Jew. The Truth has shared so much of Itself With me That I can no longer call myself A man, a woman, and angel Or even pure Soul. Love has Befriended Hafiz so completely It has turned to ash And freed Me Of every concept and image My mind has ever known. ~ Hafiz, Persian poet (1315 – 1390), translated by Daniel Lazinsky. |
Friday 25 May 2012
The Drop That Became The Sea..by Yunus Emre
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| Dervishood tells me, you cannot become a dervish So what can I tell you? You cannot become a dervish. A dervish needs a wounded heart and eyes full of tears. He needs to be as easy going as a sheep. You can’t be a dervish. He must be without hands when someone hits him. He must be tongueless when cursed. A dervish needs to be without any desire. You can’t be a dervish. You make a lot of sounds with your tongue, meaningful things. You get angry about this and that. You can’t be a dervish. If it were all right to be angry on this path, Beloved himself would have gotten angry. Because of your anger, you can’t be a dervish. Unless you find a real path, unless you find a guide, unless Truth grants you your portion, you can’t be a dervish. Therefore, dervish Yunus, come, dive into the ocean now and then. Unless you dive in the ocean, you cannot be a dervish. The drink sent down from Truth, we drank it, glory be to God. And we sailed over the Ocean of Power, glory be to God. Beyond those hills and oak woods, beyond those vineyards and gardens, we passed in health and joy, glory be to God. We were dry, but we moistened, We grew wings and became birds, we married one another and flew, glory be to God. To whatever lands we came, in whatever hearts, in all humanity, we planted the meanings Taptuk taught us, glory be to God. Come here, let’s make peace, let’s not be strangers to one another. We have saddled the horse and trained it, glory be to God. We became a trickle that grew into a river. We took flight and dove into the sea, and then we overflowed, glory be to God. We came down to the valley for winter, we did some good and some bad things. Now it’s spring and we’ll return, glory be to God. We became servants at Taptuk’s door. Poor Yunus, raw and tasteless, finally got cooked, glory be to God. ~ Yunus Emre The Drop That Became The Sea Selected Lyric Poetry of Yunus Emre by Yunus Emre, Kabir Helminski |
Spiritual wine is another substance....BY Rumi
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| The intellectual quest, though fine as pearl or coral, is not the spiritual search. The spiritual search is on another level; spiritual wine is another substance! The spiritual path wrecks the body and afterwards restores it to health. It destroys the house to unearth the treasure and with that treasure builds it better than before. ~ Rumi Rumi J. Mathanwi I translated by C Helmminski, K Helmminski In: Rumi: Daylight. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala, 1999 |
Sour, Doughy, Raw, and Numb....by Rumi
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| If we are not together in the heart what is point ? When body and soul are not dancing, there is no pleasure in colorful clothing. Why have cooking pans if there is no food in the house? In this world full of fresh bread, amber, and musk, what are they to someone with no sense of smell? If you stay away from fire, you will remain sour, doughy, raw, and numb. You may have lovely just-baked loaves around you, but those friends cannot help. You have to feel the oven fire yourself. ~ Rumi (Sour, Doughy, Raw, and Numb) A Year with Rumi Daily Readings By Coleman Barks |
Whatever there is, is only He...by Rumi
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| Whatever there is, is only He, your foot steps there in dancing: The whirling, see, belongs to you, and you belong to the whirling. What can I do when Love appears and puts its claws around my neck? I grasp it, take it to my breast and drag it into the whirling! And when the bosom of the motes is filled with the glow of the sun, They enter all the dance, the dance and do not complain in the whirling. ~ Rumi Schimmel A. Rumi's World. The Life and Work of the Great Sufi Poet. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala,2001 |
Wednesday 23 May 2012
A hundred flames shine in the eyes...by Rumi
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| A hundred flames shine in the eyes. They come from this finest part of the heart where fire dwells. How strange! In this burning place There are so many roses, so much greenery, so much jasmine. Through this fire, the garden cools down And water weds the flame. ~ Rumi Ghazal (Ode) 685 Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi Selected and Translated by Muriel Maufroy Sanyar Press - London, 1997 |
Tuesday 22 May 2012
There is a life in you, search that life...by Rumi
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| There is a life in you, search that life, Search the secret jewel in the mountain of your body, Hey you, the passing away friend, look for with all your strength, Whatever you are looking for, look in yourself not around. ~ Rumi |
This is how I would die into the love ...by Rumi
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| This is how I would die into the love I have for you: as pieces of cloud dissolve in sunlight. There are no edges to my loving now. You've heard it said there’s a window that opens from one mind to another, but if there’s no wall, there’s no need for fitting the window, or the latch. He has said, ‘The images that come with human language do not correspond to me, but those who love words must use them to come near.’ Just remember this, it’s like saying of the kind, ‘He is not a weaver.’ Is that praise? Whatever such a statement is, words are on that level of God-knowing. A pearl in the shell does not touch the ocean. Be a pearl without a shell, a mindful flooding, candle turned moth, head become empty jar, bird settling nest, love lived. I hear nothing in my ear but your voice. Heart has plundered mind of all its eloquence. Love writes a transparent calligraphy, so on the empty page my soul can read and recollect. If I had a hundred mouths I would sing choral praise, but I have just this solo tongue, which is timid and confused with the energy waiting to come through… I walk awkwardly but the smoke goes straight up. ~ Rumi |
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