SUFI STORIES #20. MAWLANA RUMI – HIS POEMS, WISDOM & LEGACY

 The grand stature Rumi holds in our contemporary world can be adduced from the fact that UNESCO declared 2007 as the Year of Rumi. It was celebrated in a grand scale in Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, the three countries that he had lived in.

Why did he deserve this? He was a poet extraordinaire, scholar of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), theologian, and Sufi mystic. His influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions. His poems have been translated into many languages and recorded into many formats. He is the most popular and the best selling poet in USA for many years and is among the most popular in the entire world. His brilliance, wisdom and immense love for the Divine have endeared him to the world, and not just to Sufis and Muslims.

His Masnavi (Mathnawi) is considered as one of the greatest collection of poems of the Persian language. It weaves fables, scenes from everyday life, Qur'anic revelations and exegesis, and metaphysics into a vast and intricate tapestry. It has been translated into many languages, especially in Central Asia, the Indian sub-continent and in the West.

Like other mystic and Sufi poets of Persian literature, Rumi's poetry speaks of love which infuses the world. Rumi's teachings also express the tenets of Islam, the most fundamental of which is the Oneness of God (tawhid). He eloquently expressed tawhid through the love of God above everything else: Love is "that flame which, when it blazes up, burns away everything except the Everlasting Beloved.”

“There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music.”

“I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think."

 

Rumi believed passionately in the use of music, poetry and dance as a path for reaching God and for bringing people to God. For Rumi, music helps to focus the whole being on the Divine. In the Mawlawiyya Sufi tradition, Samā represents a mystical journey of spiritual ascent through love to the Beloved. In this journey, the seeker symbolically turns towards the Truth, grows through love, abandons the ego, finds the Truth and arrives at the Beloved. The seeker then emerges from this spiritual journey with greater maturity and love to be of service to the whole of creation without any discrimination with regard to beliefs, races, classes and nations. The true Sufis love, respect and serve all of humanity, and all of creation.

Even though Rumi’s poetry is appreciated by people of all religions as the messages they convey are applicable to all seekers and believers, there is no doubt that he was steadfast in his belief and practice of Islam. Unfortunately, some Muslims have mistaken his liberal invitation to all, including non-Muslims, to the Path of the Love of God (however they may perceive God to be) as evidence of his betrayal of his faith. This is far from the truth. His Mathnawi contains anecdotes and stories derived largely from the Qur’an and the Hadiths, as well as everyday tales. He wrote:

"This is the book of the Mathnawi, and it is the roots of the roots of the roots of the Religion (Islam) and it is the Explainer of the Qur'ân."

As mentioned previously, my opinion is that the Sufis understand and practice Islam at the level of wisdom, which may seem aberrant to others. Thus there are often conflicts between the Sufis and the others. Of course, I am biased!

 

RUMI’S BEAUTIFUL, MYSTICAL & WISE SAYINGS AND POEMS

Below is a small collection of his sayings. I invite you to contemplate and enjoy his quotes that have made him the most celebrated Sufi poet and mystic. The poems are too long to include, but I have included pictures of some of his books above for those who are interested. If a non-Muslim knows of only one Sufi, it is most likely to be him.

 

“Everyone has been created for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.”

“It’s your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.”

“I am not this hair,

I am not this skin,

I am the Soul,

That lives within.”

 

“You were born with wings, why do you prefer to crawl through life?”

 

“If all you can do is crawl, start crawling.”

 

“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.”

 

“Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the world.”

 

“Let yourself become living poetry.”

 

“It makes absolutely no difference what people think of you.”

 

“Live life as if everything is rigged in your favour.”

 

“The world exists as you perceive it.

It is not what you see…but how you see it.

It is not what you hear…but how you hear it.

It is not what you feel…but how you feel it.”

 

“Be grateful for whatever comes. Because each has been sent as a guide from Beyond.”

 

“Whatever you lost through fate, be certain that it saved you from pain.”

 

“Don’t make yourself miserable with what is to come or not to come.”

 

“Peaceful is the one who is not concerned with having more or less.”

 

“I said: Why I received only this? A voice replied: Because only this will lead you to that.”

 

“Don’t grieve. Everything you lose comes around in another form.”

 

“The moment you accept what troubles you’ve been given, the door will open.”

 

“Do not worry if your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better then the one to come?”

 

“I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life.”

 

“Don’t sit and wait. Get out there, feel life!”

 

“Life is a balance between holding on and letting go.”

 

“If you give bread for God’s sake, you will be given bread;

If you give your life for God’s sake, you will be given life.”

 

“Give your life to the one Who already owns your breath and your moments.”

 

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.”

 

“We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us.”

 

“This Universe is not outside of you.”

 

“Stop acting so small. You are the Universe in ecstatic motion.”

 

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.

Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

 

“Those who don’t want to change, let them sleep.”

 

“Sell your cleverness, and buy bewilderment!”

 

“Strip yourself of useless learning and vanity, so that every moment Divine Mercy can descend upon you.”

 

“On the seeker's path, wise men and fools are one.
In His love, brothers and strangers are one.
Go on! Drink the wine of the Beloved!
In that faith, Muslims and pagans are one.”

 

“When you ask, the answer will be given.”

 

“You show your worth by what you seek!”

 

“The more awake one is to the material world, the more one is asleep to the Spirit.”

 

“The body is only an instrument for the Spirit.”

 

“Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot.

Seek the path that demands your whole being.”

 

“Whatever purifies you is the right path.”

 

“Our words and actions are the perfect mirror to our inner selves.”

 

“All people on the planet are children, except for a very few. No one is grown up, except those free of desire.”

 

“A truth can walk naked, but a lie always needs to be dressed.”

 

“That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquility.”

 

“Listen with the ears of tolerance!

See through the eyes of compassion!

Speak with the language of love!”

 

“Bring anger and pride under your feet, turn them into a ladder and climb higher.”

 

“When you see the face of anger, look behind it and you will find the face of pride.”

 

"The ego is a veil between humans and God.”

 

“If you only say one prayer in a day, make it ‘thank you’.”

 

“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.”

 

“Prayer clears the mist and brings back peace to the soul.

Every morning, every evening, let the heart sing:

O Beloved, there is no reality but You.”

 

“Treasure is stored in the ruined places. Do not break the hearts of the poor and heartbroken.”

 

“Everyone sees the Unseen in proportion to the clarity of their hearts.”

 

“Everything you see has its roots in the Unseen world. The forces change yet the essence remains the same.”

 

“If you look too closely at the form, you miss the essence.”

 

“I am meerly a guest, born in this world to know the secrets that lie beyond it.”

 

“Soul, if you want to know secrets, your heart must forget about shame and dignity.

You are God’s lover, yet you worry about what people are saying.”

 

“Every soul becomes gold when touched by The Beloved.”

 

“You will not win The Beloved’s heart unless you lose your own.”

 

“Last night I learned how to be the lover of God: To live in this world and call nothing my own.”

 

“Love is, when God says to you: I have created everything for you

And you say: I have left everything for you.”

 

“If you are seeking closeness to The Beloved, then love one another.”

 

“Launch me in the sea of Love, and let me sail.”

 

“What a joy, to travel the Way of the Heart.”

 

“As you start to walk on the Way, the Way appears.”

 

“Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our hearts.”

 

“The only lasting beauty is the Beauty of the Heart.”

 

“Deep in our hearts, the light of Heaven is shining.”

 

“When we practice loving kindness and compassion, we are the first ones to benefit.”

 

“Be a lamp, a lifeboat, a ladder, help someone’s soul heal.”

 

“As you live deeper in the Heart, the mirror gets clearer and clearer.”

 

“We do not have any business other than love in our world. God has brought us to the world to love Him.”

 

“Only the Soul knows what love is.”

 

“In every religion there is love, yet love has no religion.”

 

“Wherever you are, whatever you do, be in love!”

 

“You have within you more love than you could ever understand.”

 

“Love is the bridge between you and everything.”

 

“Love is the religion, and the Universe is the book.”

 

“Love will find its way through all languages on its own.”

 

“Not the ones speaking the same language, but the ones sharing the same feelings understand each other.”

 

“Lots of ways to reach God, I chose love.”

 

“I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.”

 

“I looked in temples, churches and mosques, but I found the Divine within my heart.”

 

“The One I love is everywhere.”

 

“Everyone question I ask is about You. Every step I take is towards You.”

 

“And as I walk towards You, every step is a blessing.”

 

“The closer I get, the more I see how far I am.”

 

“The desire to know your own Soul will end all other desires.”

 

“I once had a thousand desires. But in my one desire to know You, all else melted away.”

 

“I am Yours. Don’t give myself back to me.”

 

“Nothing I say can explain Divine Love. Yet all of creation cannot seem to stop talking about it.”

 

“Love is the mirror of Divine Beauty.”

 

“Try something different. Surrender.”

 

“I didn’t come here of my own accord, and I can’t leave that way.

Whoever brought me here has to take me home.”

 

“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes.

Because for those who love with their heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation.”

 

“For someone who lives in the light of God, death is nourishment.”

 

“Our death is our wedding with Eternity.”

 

And finally Rumi’s message to all those who love his poetry and sayings:

 

“Until you know the Real Poet,

There is still a veil between us!”

Salam/Peace to all. See you at my next SUFI STORIES post!