I've been receiving numerous emails requesting the original Farsi or Persian verses of Rumi's very famous and often quoted English "Versions" which are "translated" by the popular Rumi "version makers", particularly the incomparable Coleman Barks who has single-handedly made Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi Rumi a household name here in our beloved America. In some instances, it's virtually impossible to find Rumi's original Farsi verses, mainly due to non-Persian speaking 'version makers' not providing a reference to the original Rumi verses in their famous new-agey translation works.
Coleman Barks, the foremost Rumi translator and "version maker", not only openly admits, but also calls his Rumi translations as "versions," or "re-renderings" because he doesn't read Farsi:
�Of course, as I work on these poems, I don�t have the Persian to consult. I literally have nothing to be faithful to, except what the scholars give. Ibrahim Gamard, Rawan Farhadi, William Chittick, and Franklin Lewis disapprove of making versions. I understand the objections. What I do is a homemade, amateurish, loose, many-stranded thing, without much attention to historical context, nor much literal faithfulness to the original.�
�Coleman Barks, Rumi: Soul Fury.
In my humble opinion, Coleman Barks deserves our huge amounts of appreciations and accolades for single handedly introducing and popularizing Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi Rumi to the mainstream American society. It's largely thanks to Coleman Barks and his truly groundbreaking book, The Essential Rumi, that Rumi is a household name and the widely read poet in America these days. And astonishingly, he accomplished it all without even speaking a word of Farsi!
Here are some of the most popular "Rumi Versions" in their original Farsi scripts:
Rumi - Quatrain 1202 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you,
Not knowing how blind that was
Lovers don�t finally meet somewhere,
They are in each other all along.
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?? ????? ??????? ???????????
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?? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???????
????? ?? ? ??? ???? ?? ?????????
Rumi - Quatrain 157 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other"
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other"
doesn't make any sense.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
?? ??? ? ? ????? ???? ????????
?? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????????
???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????
?? ??? ? ?? ????? ? ?? ???? ??????
Rumi - Quatrain 457 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
In your light, I learn how to love
In your beauty, how to make poems,
You dance inside my chest.
Where on one sees you,
But sometimes I do
And that sight becomes this art.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
?? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????????
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??? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ???????
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You dance inside my chest.
Where on one sees you,
But sometimes I do
And that sight becomes this art.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
?? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????????
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Rumi - Quatrain 81 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical
instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss
the ground.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ??
????? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ????
???? ?? ?????? ? ????? ????
?????? ???? ??? ? ?????? ? ????
???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????
Rumi - Masnavi - Book 3
Version by Coleman Barks
Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free.
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Rumi - Quatrain 1650 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
We are the mirror as well as the face in it.
We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity.
We are pain and what cures pain both.
We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.
We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity.
We are pain and what cures pain both.
We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ????
?? ???????? ? ?? ?????? ???
????? ??????? ?????? ???
?? ???? ??? ? ?? ?????? ???
?? ?? ???? ? ?? ?????? ???
Rumi - Quatrain 1079 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
We are pain and what cures pain, both.
We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.
I want to hold you close like a lute,
so that we can cry out with loving.
Would you rather throw stones at a mirror?
I am your mirror and here are the stones.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ????
??? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?? ???
?? ????? ???? ????? ????
?? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???
?? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?? ? ???
Rumi - Quatrain 90 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don�t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don�t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don�t go back to sleep.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ??
??? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????
????? ???? ? ???? ??? ????
?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ???
??? ?? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????
Rumi - Quatrain 555 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
A secret turning in us
Makes the universe turn.
Head unaware of feet,
And feet head. Neither cares.
They keep turning.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ? ??? ??? ????
????? ? ???? ?? ?? ? ?? ??? ????
?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ????
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ??
"Quietness"
Inside 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.
You're covered with thick cloud.
Slide out the side. Die,
and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign
that you have died.
Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.
The speechless full moon
comes out now.
?????? - ??? ????? ??? - ????? ???
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"Who Says Words With My Mouth?"
All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from,
and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
and I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,
I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.
This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.
Shams Tabriz, if you would show your face to me again,
I could flee the imposition of this life.
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Don't worry about saving these songs!
And if one of our instruments breaks,
it doesn't matter.
We have fallen into the place
where everything is music.
The strumming and the flute notes
rise into the atmosphere,
and even if the whole world's harp
should burn up, there will still be
hidden instruments playing.
So the candle flickers and goes out.
We have a piece of flint, and a spark.
This singing art is sea foam.
The graceful movements come from a pearl
somewhere on the ocean floor.
?????? - ????? ??? - ??? ?????? ???
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Rumi - Masnavi - Book 2
Version by Coleman Barks
"Moses and the Shepherd"
Moses heard a shepherd on the road, praying,
"God,
where are you? I want to help you, to fix your shoes
and comb your hair. I want to wash your clothes
and pick the lice off. I want to bring you milk
to kiss your little hands and feet when it's time
for you to go to bed. I want to sweep your room
and keep it neat. God, my sheep and goats
are yours. All I can say, remembering you,
is ayyyy and ahhhhhhhhh."
Moses could stand it no longer.
"Who are you talking to?"
"The one who made us,
and made the earth and made the sky."
"Don't talk about shoes
and socks with God! And what's this with your little hands
and feet? Such blasphemous familiarity sounds like
you're chatting with your uncles.
Only something that grows
needs milk. Only someone with feet needs shoes. Not God!
Even if you meant God's human representatives,
as when God said, `I was sick, and you did not visit me,'
even then this tone would be foolish and irreverent.
Use appropriate terms. Fatima is a fine name
for a woman, but if you call a man Fatima,
it's an insult. Body-and-birth language
are right for us on this side of the river,
but not for addressing the origin,
not for Allah."
The shepherd repented and tore his clothes and sighed
and wandered out into the desert.
A sudden revelation
then came to Moses. God's voice:
You have separated me
from one of my own. Did you come as a Prophet to unite,
or to sever?
I have given each being a separate and unique way
of seeing and knowing that knowledge.
What seems wrong to you is right for him.
What is poison to one is honey to someone else.
Purity and impurity, sloth and diligence in worship,
these mean nothing to me.
I am apart from all that.
Ways of worshipping are not to be ranked as better
or worse than one another.
Hindus do Hindu things.
The Dravidian Muslims in India do what they do.
It's all praise, and it's all right.
It's not me that's glorified in acts of worship.
It's the worshipers! I don't hear the words
they say. I look inside at the humility.
That broken-open lowliness is the reality,
not the language! Forget phraseology.
I want burning, 'burning'.
Be friends
with your burning. Burn up your thinking
and your forms of expression!
Moses,
those who pay attention to ways of behaving
and speaking are one sort.
Lovers who burn
are another.
Don't impose a property tax
on a burned-out village. Don't scold the Lover.
The "wrong" way he talks is better than a hundred
"right" ways of others.
Inside the Kaaba
it doesn't matter which direction you point
your prayer rug!
The ocean diver doesn't need snowshoes!
The love-religion has no code or doctrine.
Only God.
So the ruby has nothing engraved on it!
It doesn't need markings.
God began speaking
deeper mysteries to Moses. Vision and words,
which cannot be recorded here, poured into
and through him. He left himself and came back.
He went to eternity and came back here.
Many times this happened.
It's foolish of me
to try and say this. If I did say it,
it would uproot our human intelligences.
It would shatter all writing pens.
Moses ran after the shepherd.
He followed the bewildered footprints,
in one place moving straight like a castle
across a chessboard. In another, sideways,
like a bishop.
Now surging like a wave cresting,
now sliding down like a fish,
with always his feet
making geomancy symbols in the sand,
recording
his wandering state.
Moses finally caught up
with him.
"I was wrong. God has revealed to me
that there are no rules for worship.
Say whatever
and however your loving tells you to. Your sweet blasphemy
is the truest devotion. Through you a whole world
is freed.
Loosen your tongue and don't worry what comes out.
It's all the light of the spirit."
The shepherd replied,
"Moses, Moses,
I've gone beyond even that.
You applied the whip and my horse shied and jumped
out of itself. The divine nature and my human nature
came together.
Bless your scolding hand and your arm.
I can't say what's happened.
What I'm saying now
is not my real condition. It can't be said."
The shepherd grew quiet.
When you look in a mirror,
you see yourself, not the state of the mirror.
The flute player puts breath into a flute,
and who makes the music? Not the flute.
The flute player!
Whenever you speak praise
or thanksgiving to God, it's always like
this dear shepherd's simplicity.
When you eventually see
through the veils to how things really are,
you will keep saying again
and again,
"This is certainly not like
we thought it was!"
?????? - ????? - ???? ???
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 1761 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 2840 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 132 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 2960 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
O Particle,
Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 13 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Rumi - Masnavi - Book 6
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ????
Rumi - Masnavi - Book 5
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
?????? - ????? - ???? ????
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ????
?????? - ????? ??? - ??? ?????? ???
This is a gathering of Lovers.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ????
"Bittersweet"
In my hallucination
I saw my beloved's flower garden
In my vertigo, in my dizziness
In my drunken haze
Whirling and dancing like a spinning wheel
I saw myself as the source of existence
I was there in the beginning
And I was the spirit of love
Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
And the memory of love
And only the sorrow
I yearn for happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy
And my love says:
Look at me and hear me
Because I am here
Just for that
I am your moon and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden and your water too
I have come all this way, eager for you
Without shoes or shawl
I want you to laugh
To kill all your worries
To love you
To nourish you
Oh sweet bitterness
I will soothe you and heal you
I will bring you roses
I, too, have been covered with thorns.
?????? - ????? ???
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Makes the universe turn.
Head unaware of feet,
And feet head. Neither cares.
They keep turning.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ? ??? ??? ????
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Rumi - Quatrain 11 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Late, by myself, in the boat of myself,
no light and no land anywhere,
cloud cover thick. I try to stay
just above the surface,
yet I'm already under
and living with the ocean.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ??
????? ?? ????? ?? ? ?? ????
?? ?????? ???????? ??????
???? ? ?? ? ???? ? ?? ???????
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Rumi - Quatrain 55 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Let the lover be disgraceful,
crazy, absent-minded.
Someone sober will worry
about events going badly.
Let the lover be.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ??
???? ??? ??? ??? ? ???? ????
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??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????
Rumi - Quatrain 824 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Don't let your throat tighten
with fear. Take sips of breath
all day and night, before death
closes your mouth.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????
?? ????????? ??? ????? ????
?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ? ???
??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????
Rumi - Quatrain 913 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Come to the orchard in Spring.
There is light and wine, and sweethearts
in the pomegranate flowers.
If you do not come, these do not matter.
If you do come, these do not matter.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
???? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ? ????
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???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???
? ???? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???
Rumi - Quatrain 1540 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Bird song brings relief to my longing,
I am just as ecstatic as they are;
But with nothing to say!
Please, universal soul,
practice some song,
or something through me!
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ????
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode not listed in Divan -
Version by Coleman Barks
"Only Breath"
Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,
not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or zen.
Not any religion or cultural system.
Not any religion or cultural system.
I am not from the East or the West,
not out of the ocean or up from the ground,
not natural or ethereal,
not composed of elements at all.
not out of the ocean or up from the ground,
not natural or ethereal,
not composed of elements at all.
I do not exist,
am not an entity in this world or in the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve
or any origin story.
My place is placeless,
a trace of the traceless.
or any origin story.
My place is placeless,
a trace of the traceless.
Neither body or soul.
I belong to the Beloved,
have seen the two worlds as one
have seen the two worlds as one
and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner,
only that breath breathing
only that breath breathing
human being.
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 636 from Divan -
Version by Coleman Barks
"Quietness"
Inside 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.
You're covered with thick cloud.
Slide out the side. Die,
and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign
that you have died.
Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.
The speechless full moon
comes out now.
?????? - ??? ????? ??? - ????? ???
?????? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??????
?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??????
?????? ?????? ? ??? ??? ??????
?? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????
?????? ?????? ? ??? ??? ?????
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??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????
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?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ????
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?????? ?????? ? ??? ??? ??????
?? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??????
?????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????
?? ?? ??????? ???? ? ????? ??????
Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 132 from Divan -
Version by Coleman Barks
"Who Says Words With My Mouth?"
All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from,
and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
and I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,
I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.
This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.
Shams Tabriz, if you would show your face to me again,
I could flee the imposition of this life.
?????? - ??? ??? - ????? ???
????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ? ??? ?? ????
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????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??????
Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 598 from Divan -
Version by Coleman Barks
Who gets up early
to discover the moment light begins?
Who finds us here circling, bewildered, like atoms?
Who comes to a spring thirsty
and sees the moon reflected in it?
Who, like Jacob blind with grief and age,
smells the shirt of his lost son
and can see again?
Who lets a bucket down and brings up
a flowing prophet?
Or like Moses goes for fire
and finds what burns inside the sunrise?
Jesus slips into a house to escape enemies,
and opens a door to the other world.
Soloman cuts open a fish, and there's a gold ring.
Omar storms in to kill the prophet
and leaves with blessings.
Chase a deer and end up everywhere!
An oyster opens his mouth to swallow on drop.
Now there's a pearl.
A vagrant wanders empty ruins.
Suddenly he's wealthy.
But don't be satisfied with stories, how things
have gone with others. Unfold
your own myth, without complicated explanation,
so everyone will understand the passage,
We have opened you.
Start walking toward Shams. Your legs will get heavy
and tired. Then comes a moment
of feeling the wings you've grown,
lifting.
?????? - ????? ??? - ??? ?????? ???
????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??????
?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?? ??? ? ??? ????
?? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ?? ????
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????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????
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????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ????
?? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ? ??????
?? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??????
?? ?? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????
?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ????
Rumi - Masnavi - Book 6
Version by Coleman Barks
"Of Being Woven"
The way is full of genuine sacrifice.
The thickets blocking your path are anything
that keeps you from that,
any fear that you may be broken
into bits like a glass bottle.
The thickets blocking your path are anything
that keeps you from that,
any fear that you may be broken
into bits like a glass bottle.
This road demands courage and stamina,
yet it�s full of footprints!
Who are these companions?
They are rungs in your ladder. Use them!
With company you quicken your ascent.
You may be happy enough going along,
but with others you�ll get farther,
and faster.
Someone who goes cheerfully by himself
to the customs house to pay his traveler�s tax
will go even more lightheartedly
when friends are with him.
Every prophet sought out companions.
A wall standing alone is useless,
but put three or four walls together,
and they�ll support a roof and keep grain dry and safe.
yet it�s full of footprints!
Who are these companions?
They are rungs in your ladder. Use them!
With company you quicken your ascent.
You may be happy enough going along,
but with others you�ll get farther,
and faster.
Someone who goes cheerfully by himself
to the customs house to pay his traveler�s tax
will go even more lightheartedly
when friends are with him.
Every prophet sought out companions.
A wall standing alone is useless,
but put three or four walls together,
and they�ll support a roof and keep grain dry and safe.
When ink joins with a pen,
then the blank paper can say something.
Rushes and reeds must be woven to be useful as a mat.
If they weren�t interlaced; the wind would blow them away.
Like that, God paired up creatures,
and gave them friendship.
then the blank paper can say something.
Rushes and reeds must be woven to be useful as a mat.
If they weren�t interlaced; the wind would blow them away.
Like that, God paired up creatures,
and gave them friendship.
This is how the fowler and the bird were arguing
about hermitic living and Islam.
It�s a prolonged debate.
Husam shorten their controversy.
Make the Mathnawi more nimble and less lumbering.
Agile sounds are more appealing to the heart�s ear.
about hermitic living and Islam.
It�s a prolonged debate.
Husam shorten their controversy.
Make the Mathnawi more nimble and less lumbering.
Agile sounds are more appealing to the heart�s ear.
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????? ?? ???? ? ?????? ??
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Rumi - Masnavi - Book 5
Version by Coleman Barks
Love is reckless; not reason.
Reason seeks a profit.
Love comes on strong,
consuming herself, unabashed.
Yet, in the midst of suffering,
Love proceeds like a millstone,
hard surfaced and straightforward.
Having died of self-interest,
she risks everything and asks for nothing.
Love gambles away every gift God bestows.
Without cause God gave us Being;
without cause, give it back again.
Love comes on strong,
consuming herself, unabashed.
Yet, in the midst of suffering,
Love proceeds like a millstone,
hard surfaced and straightforward.
Having died of self-interest,
she risks everything and asks for nothing.
Love gambles away every gift God bestows.
Without cause God gave us Being;
without cause, give it back again.
?????? - ????? - ???? ????
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??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ? ??
??? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???
?? ?????????? ???? ??? ??????
????????? ??? ??? ???? ???
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??? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???
Rumi - Masnavi - Book 1
Version by Coleman Barks
�Chinese Art and Greek Art�
The Prophet said, �There are some who see Me
by the same Light in which I am seeing them.
Our natures are ONE.
Without reference to any strands
of lineage, without reference to texts or traditions,
we drink the Life-Water together.�
Here's a story
about that hidden mystery:
The Chinese and the Greeks
were arguing as to who were the better artists.
The King said,
�We'll settle this matter with a debate.�
The Chinese began talking,
but the Greeks wouldn't say anything.
They left.
The Chinese suggested then
that they each be given a room to work on
with their artistry, two rooms facing each other
and divided by a curtain.
The Chinese asked the King
for a hundred colors, all the variations,
and each morning they came to where
the dyes were kept and took them all.
The Greeks took no colors.
�They're not part of our work,�
They went to their room
and began cleaning and polishing the walls. All day
every day they made those walls as pure and clear
as an open sky.
There is a way that leads from all-colors
to colorlessness. Know that the magnificent variety
of the clouds and the weather comes from
the total simplicity of the sun and the moon.
The Chinese finished, and they were so happy.
They beat the drums in the joy of completion.
The King entered their room,
astonished by the gorgeous color and detail.
The Greeks then pulled the curtain dividing the rooms.
The Chinese figures and images shimmeringly reflected
on the clear Greek walls. They lived there,
even more beautifully, and always
changing in the light.
The Greek art is the Sufi way.
They don't study books of philosophical thought.
They make their loving clearer and clearer.
No wantings, no anger. In that purity
they receive and reflect the images of every moment,
from here, from the stars, from the void.
They take them in
as though they were seeing
with the Lighted Clarity
that sees them.
?????? - ????? - ???? ???
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?????? ?? ???????? ?? ???
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 314 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Those who don't feel this Love
pulling them like a river,
those who don't drink dawn
like a cup of spring water
or take in sunset like supper,
those who don't want to change,
let them sleep.
This Love is beyond the study of theology,
that old trickery and hypocrisy.
I you want to improve your mind that way,
sleep on.
I've given up on my brain.
I've torn the cloth to shreds
and thrown it away.
If you're not completely naked,
wrap your beautiful robe of words
around you,
and sleep.
Those who don't feel this Love
pulling them like a river,
those who don't drink dawn
like a cup of spring water
or take in sunset like supper,
those who don't want to change,
let them sleep.
This Love is beyond the study of theology,
that old trickery and hypocrisy.
I you want to improve your mind that way,
sleep on.
I've given up on my brain.
I've torn the cloth to shreds
and thrown it away.
If you're not completely naked,
wrap your beautiful robe of words
around you,
and sleep.
?????? - ????? ??? - ??? ?????? ???
?? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????
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Rumi - Masnavi - Book- 5
Version by Coleman Barks
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of it's furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of it's furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
??? ?????????? ??? ?? ?? ????
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?????????? ???? ??????
???? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ? ???
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 1826 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,
Like this.
When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the nightsky, climb up on the roof
and dance and say,
Like this.
If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,
or what "God�s fragrance" means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.
Like this.
When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings
of your robe.
Like this.
If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don�t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.
Like this. Like this.
When someone asks what it means
to "die for love," point
here.
If someone asks how tall I am, frown
and measure with your fingers the space
between the creases on your forehead.
This tall.
The soul sometimes leaves the body, the
returns.
When someone doesn�t believe that,
walk back into my house.
Like this.
When lovers moan,
they�re telling our story.
Like this.
I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret.
Like this.
When someone asks what there is to do,
light the candle in his hand.
Like this.
How did Joseph�s scent come to Jacob?
Huuuuu.
How did Jacob�s sight return?
Huuuu.
A little wind cleans the eyes.
Like this.
When Shams comes back from Tabriz,
he�ll put just his head around the edge
of the door to surprise us
Like this.
?????? - ????? ??? - ??? ?????? ????
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?? ?? ? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ??????
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?? ?? ? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??????
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???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????
?? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???
???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????
?? ?? ? ??? ????? ?? ?? ?? ??????
????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??????
??? ? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??????
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???? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ???????
??? ???? ? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??????
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?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??????
???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???
?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??????
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??? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????
???? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????
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?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ? ??? ?? ??????
Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 110 from Divan
Version by Coleman Barks
Don't worry about saving these songs!
And if one of our instruments breaks,
it doesn't matter.
We have fallen into the place
where everything is music.
The strumming and the flute notes
rise into the atmosphere,
and even if the whole world's harp
should burn up, there will still be
hidden instruments playing.
So the candle flickers and goes out.
We have a piece of flint, and a spark.
This singing art is sea foam.
The graceful movements come from a pearl
somewhere on the ocean floor.
Poems reach up like spindrift and the edge
of driftwood along the beach, wanting!
They derive
from a slow and powerful root
that we can't see.
Stop the words now.
Open the window in the center of your chest,
and let the spirits fly in and out.
of driftwood along the beach, wanting!
They derive
from a slow and powerful root
that we can't see.
Stop the words now.
Open the window in the center of your chest,
and let the spirits fly in and out.
?? ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ????
?????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??
?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??????????
?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ??? ? ????
???? ? ??? ???? ?? ?????
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???? ? ????? ???? ?? ?????
??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???
???? ? ??? ???? ?? ?????
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?? ??? ??? ??????? ?????
????? ????? ?? ??? ????
????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???
?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?? ??
????? ???? ??? ??? ??????
????? ???? ??? ? ??? ????
???? ????? ? ???? ???? ??
?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????
Version by Coleman Barks
"Moses and the Shepherd"
Moses heard a shepherd on the road, praying,
"God,
where are you? I want to help you, to fix your shoes
and comb your hair. I want to wash your clothes
and pick the lice off. I want to bring you milk
to kiss your little hands and feet when it's time
for you to go to bed. I want to sweep your room
and keep it neat. God, my sheep and goats
are yours. All I can say, remembering you,
is ayyyy and ahhhhhhhhh."
Moses could stand it no longer.
"Who are you talking to?"
"The one who made us,
and made the earth and made the sky."
"Don't talk about shoes
and socks with God! And what's this with your little hands
and feet? Such blasphemous familiarity sounds like
you're chatting with your uncles.
Only something that grows
needs milk. Only someone with feet needs shoes. Not God!
Even if you meant God's human representatives,
as when God said, `I was sick, and you did not visit me,'
even then this tone would be foolish and irreverent.
Use appropriate terms. Fatima is a fine name
for a woman, but if you call a man Fatima,
it's an insult. Body-and-birth language
are right for us on this side of the river,
but not for addressing the origin,
not for Allah."
The shepherd repented and tore his clothes and sighed
and wandered out into the desert.
A sudden revelation
then came to Moses. God's voice:
You have separated me
from one of my own. Did you come as a Prophet to unite,
or to sever?
I have given each being a separate and unique way
of seeing and knowing that knowledge.
What seems wrong to you is right for him.
What is poison to one is honey to someone else.
Purity and impurity, sloth and diligence in worship,
these mean nothing to me.
I am apart from all that.
Ways of worshipping are not to be ranked as better
or worse than one another.
Hindus do Hindu things.
The Dravidian Muslims in India do what they do.
It's all praise, and it's all right.
It's not me that's glorified in acts of worship.
It's the worshipers! I don't hear the words
they say. I look inside at the humility.
That broken-open lowliness is the reality,
not the language! Forget phraseology.
I want burning, 'burning'.
Be friends
with your burning. Burn up your thinking
and your forms of expression!
Moses,
those who pay attention to ways of behaving
and speaking are one sort.
Lovers who burn
are another.
Don't impose a property tax
on a burned-out village. Don't scold the Lover.
The "wrong" way he talks is better than a hundred
"right" ways of others.
Inside the Kaaba
it doesn't matter which direction you point
your prayer rug!
The ocean diver doesn't need snowshoes!
The love-religion has no code or doctrine.
Only God.
So the ruby has nothing engraved on it!
It doesn't need markings.
God began speaking
deeper mysteries to Moses. Vision and words,
which cannot be recorded here, poured into
and through him. He left himself and came back.
He went to eternity and came back here.
Many times this happened.
It's foolish of me
to try and say this. If I did say it,
it would uproot our human intelligences.
It would shatter all writing pens.
Moses ran after the shepherd.
He followed the bewildered footprints,
in one place moving straight like a castle
across a chessboard. In another, sideways,
like a bishop.
Now surging like a wave cresting,
now sliding down like a fish,
with always his feet
making geomancy symbols in the sand,
recording
his wandering state.
Moses finally caught up
with him.
"I was wrong. God has revealed to me
that there are no rules for worship.
Say whatever
and however your loving tells you to. Your sweet blasphemy
is the truest devotion. Through you a whole world
is freed.
Loosen your tongue and don't worry what comes out.
It's all the light of the spirit."
The shepherd replied,
"Moses, Moses,
I've gone beyond even that.
You applied the whip and my horse shied and jumped
out of itself. The divine nature and my human nature
came together.
Bless your scolding hand and your arm.
I can't say what's happened.
What I'm saying now
is not my real condition. It can't be said."
The shepherd grew quiet.
When you look in a mirror,
you see yourself, not the state of the mirror.
The flute player puts breath into a flute,
and who makes the music? Not the flute.
The flute player!
Whenever you speak praise
or thanksgiving to God, it's always like
this dear shepherd's simplicity.
When you eventually see
through the veils to how things really are,
you will keep saying again
and again,
"This is certainly not like
we thought it was!"
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Rumi - Masnavi - Book1
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
To speak the same language is kinship and affinity
When you�re with those in whom you can�t confide
You�re like a prisoner in chains.
Many Indians and Turks speak the same tongue
Yet many pairs of Turks find they�re foreigners
The tongue of mutual understanding is quite special:
To be one of heart is better
Than to have a common tongue.
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????? ?? ??????? ??????
Rumi - Ghazal/ode 260 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Get up and circle round polestar of salvation.
Like pilgrims around the Kaa�ba
Like pilgrims around the Kaa�ba
and the plain of Arafat.
Haw did you become stuck
Haw did you become stuck
to the ground like mud?
In the end,
In the end,
the key to blessings is in movement.
?????? - ????? ??? - ??? ?????? ???
?????? - ????? ??? - ??? ?????? ???
??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ??? ????
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Rumi - Quatrain 377 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Oh My Moon, without you I wept like a cloud,
Without you, I am wounded, worn and lonely
Banished from life, to sit here without you,
I have died of the shame of living without you.
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????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??
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Rumi - Quatrain 1054 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
The nightingale comes to the garden, no more the crow.
Light of my eyes, to the garden with you I will go.
Like lilies, like roses, we'll open out in blossom,
And we, like water running through gardens, will flow.
???? ??? ?? ??? ? ????? ? ???
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Rumi - Quatrain 543 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
You, who make all my hardship easy,
And the garden, trees, flowers, drunk with your gifts;
The rose is drunk, the thorn is lost in dream;
Pour one more cup, they'll join in your wine's stream.
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???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ????? ????
Rumi - Quatrain 1423 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Delicate moon, who ripens the harvest of life,
At my little window you show your face.
My garden of life, bright light of my eyes,
When will I hold your light in my embrace?
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Rumi - Quatrain 466 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Now that your lover has shown you her face,
Extinguish yourself at her feet, my heart.
Put out the candle that burns in the sun,
And with you dies this sorrow: moan no more.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ????
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????? ?? ????? ?? ??????
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Rumi - Quatrain 925 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
The moment you find a companion in joy
Is the moment you find your life's own fate.
Beware that you don't waste that moment in vain:
You will find very few such moments again.
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Rumi - Quatrain 1094 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
You are the road of love, and at the end, my home,
One of the crowd, and yet I see you crowned;
I see you in stars, in the sun, in the moon,
Here in the green leaves, and high on the throne.
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Rumi - Quatrain 116 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
The ravishing moon last night upon me shone:
Not tonight,I told her, go away.
As she left, I heard her say, Well done, moody one,
You don't even open the door when riches come.
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Rumi - Quatrain 110 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
There's joy in my heart: I have joined my lover tonight;
Finally free from the pain of our parting tonight.
As I dance with my lover I pray, oh Lord, in my heart:
May the keys to morning be lost forever tonight.
?????? - ????? ??? - ????? ?????? ???
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Rumi - Masnavi - Book 1
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Listen to the reed and the tale it tells,
how it sings of separation:
Ever since they cut me from the reed bed,
my wail has caused men and women to weep.
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Rumi - Quatrain 1111 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
These sweet words we shared between us,
The vault of heaven has concealed in its heart.
One day, they will pour down like rain.
Our secrets will germinate in the soil of the universe.
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 1761 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
We stood together hand in hand in primordial time;
now at last, we are one again.
We are all of one soul struggling along one path,
And all drunk with the same wine.
A ray from the Sun came in through an opening
And raised us up in dignity, however low we were.
O Sunlight! Don�t withhold Your loving radiance from us!
Aren�t we sitting in the robes of your radiance?
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 2840 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
What have you seen of your own still-concealed beauty?
One of these days at dawn,
You will rise from within yourself like a Sun.
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 132 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
In Love, if you are comfortable
For the space of a breath
What right do you have to stand with the lovers?
You can not approach the Beloved
With your mind sharp as a thorn
Become like a rose and the Beloved will fall into your arms.
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 2960 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
O Particle,
It�s time to dance!
Don�t you know
You are the very source
Of abundance, and whatever
You are seeking,
You are its very essence?
O Particle,
The Sun will soon reveal its face
And invite the particles to dance.
It�s good to be dancing,
Your clothes flying
Through the air!
O Particle,
O Particle! One day you will clasp
The Sun to your breast.
You will put your head
Next to His.
That�s the point.
O Particle,
And He will bring out the wine, telling you:
O Particle! Drink it down!
And once you drink it,
You will merge into the soulful Sun.
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 13 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
Heart, I said, what a gift it has been
To enter this circle of lovers,
To see beyond seeing itself,
To reach and feel within the breast.
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Rumi - Masnavi - Book 6
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
There is a street where the beautiful One
Is known to take a stroll.
When a certain radiance is noticed
Through the latticed windows
Of that neighborhood
People whisper� The Beloved must be here�.
Listen! Open a window to God
And breathe.
Delight yourself
Delight yourself
With what comes through opening.
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Rumi - Quatrain 466 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
The Beloved shines like the sun
And the lover whirls like the planet
When love�s spring breeze blows
Every moist branch starts dancing
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Rumi - Quatrain 1501 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
My heart wandered through the world
Constantly seeking after cure,
But the sweet and delicious water of life
Had to break through the granite of my heart.
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Rumi - Masnavi - Book 5
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
You are like water and we are like millstones.
You are like wind and we are like dust.
The wind is hidden, the dust is plainly seen.
You are the invisible spring and we are your lush garden.
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Rumi - Quatrain 1616 from Divan
Version by Kabir and Camille Helminski
We are puppets in the hands of God
The power is His, we are all beggars.
Why are we always trying to outdo each other
When we have all come from the same Home?
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 326 from Divan
Version by Andrew Harvey
Give me ecstasy,
give me naked wonder,
O my Creator!
give me naked wonder,
O my Creator!
Give birth to the Beloved in me,
and let this lover die.
and let this lover die.
Let a thousand wrangling desires
become one Love.
become one Love.
???? ?? ? ???? ?? ?? ???? ???????
???? ?? ? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??????
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?? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ???
Rumi - Quatrain 1561 from Divan
Version by Andrew Harvey
In this gathering,
there is no high, no low,
no smart, no ignorant,
no special assembly, no grand discourse,
no proper schooling required.
There is no master, no disciple.
This gathering is more like a drunken party,
full of tricksters, fools,
mad men and mad women.
This is a gathering of Lovers.
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Rumi - Quatrain 1561 from Divan
Version by Andrew Harvey
When your chest is free of your limiting ego,
Then you will see the ageless Beloved.
You can not see yourself without a mirror;
Look at the Beloved, He is the brightest mirror.
From Thief of Sleep.
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Rumi - Quatrain 822 from Divan
Version by Andrew Harvey
Your love lifts my soul from the body to the sky
And you lift me up out of the two worlds.
I want your sun to teach my raindrops
So your heat can raise my soul upward like a cloud
From Thief of Sleep
?????? - ????? ?????? ??? - ????? ???
?????? ?? ????? ????? ????
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Rumi - Ghazal/Ode 1379 from Divan
Version by Deepak Chopra
"Bittersweet"
In my hallucination
I saw my beloved's flower garden
In my vertigo, in my dizziness
In my drunken haze
Whirling and dancing like a spinning wheel
I saw myself as the source of existence
I was there in the beginning
And I was the spirit of love
Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
And the memory of love
And only the sorrow
I yearn for happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy
And my love says:
Look at me and hear me
Because I am here
Just for that
I am your moon and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden and your water too
I have come all this way, eager for you
Without shoes or shawl
I want you to laugh
To kill all your worries
To love you
To nourish you
Oh sweet bitterness
I will soothe you and heal you
I will bring you roses
I, too, have been covered with thorns.
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