Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi

Whether you accept or not, reading some people makes you think again about teh way you live.
I found Rumi an exceptionally imressive thinker. His prose is compelling. Poetry though sounds simple, is thought provoking.

Rumi’s poetry is wide ranging and encompasses many different ideas but behind all the poetry the essential theme was the longing and searching for the union with the divine. Rumi was himself a great mystic. His outpourings of poetry were a reflection of his own inner consciousness. Ironically Rumi said that no words could adequately explain the experience of mystical union. Yet his words are inspiring signposts which point towards the divine.



In his poetry Rumi frequently uses imagery which may be unexpected. For example although Islam forbids alcohol, he often describes the sensation of being “drunk and intoxicated with ecstasy for his beloved." Here drunk implies the bliss of the divine consciousness. Love is a frequent subject of Rumi's poems, descriptions of seeming romantic love is an illusion to the all encompassing pure, divine love. Metaphors such as this are common to other Sufi poets such as Omar Khayyam, Hafiz, and Attar.


Rumi's poetry is so widely appreciated because it has the capacity to uplift our own consciouness. Reading the words of Rumi can awaken in ourselves, our own spiritual self.

Here is a poem of Rumi.

You think you are alive

because you breathe air?

Shame on you,

that you are alive in such a limited way.

Don't be without Love,

so you won't feel dead.

Die in Love

and stay alive forever.

सोंचते हो के जिंदा हो

सिर्फ इस लिए के सांस चलता है

लानत है तुम पर

इतना सिकडा हुआ डिंदगी जीते हो

प्यार बिना रहो नहीं

के मरा हुआ महसूस न हे

प्यार मे मरो

के हमेषा के लिए जिंदा रहो

బ్రతికున్నాననుకుంటావు!

కేవలం ఊపిరి పీలుస్తున్నావు గనుక!

సిగ్గుగా లేదూ?

ఇంత ఇరుకుగా బ్రతకుతున్నానని?

ప్రేమ లేకుండా ఉండకు!

ఇక చచ్చానన్న భావం కలుగదు

ప్రేమకై చావు!

అలా కలకాలం బ్రతికి ఉండు.

.
Is that not what all great people told?
It need not be esoteric.
Simple facts are enough.

I found only the English version.
Translations are mine.
Gustaqi muaaf
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