[Sunlight] Let your senses feed on His pasture

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When one sheep of the flock jumps over a stream,
they all jump across on each other's heels.
Drive the sheep, your senses, to pasture:
Let them feed on the pasture shown by
"He who has brought forth the herbage,"*
that they may graze on hyacinth and wildrose;
and be led to the green meadows of the Realities;
that every one of your senses
may become a prophet to the others,
and lead all senses into Paradise.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chon ze ju jast az galeh yek gusfand
pas payâpay jomleh zân su barjahand
Gusfandân havâsset-râ be-rân
dar cherâ az "akhraja al-mar`â"* charân
Tâ dar ânjâ sonbol o nasrin charand
tâ be-rawzât-e Haqâyeq rah be-rand
Har hesset payghambar-e hess-hâ shavad
jomleh hess-hâ-râ dar ân Jannat kashad

-- Mathnawi II: 3242-3245
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

*al-A`lâ, 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[Sunlight] Let your senses feed on His pasture

[Sunlight] Come, let us speak our souls -- Ghazal 1540

~

Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal 1540, from Rumi's Diwan-e Shams, in
translations by Kolin and Mafi, and by Nader Khalili:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hidden from all eyes and ears
let us tell each other of our soul.
Smile like a rose with no lips
and keep silent like a thought.
Let us speak silently the secret like Spirit
and avoid talkers who use words in vain.
Let us join our hands
listen to every flutter of our heart
let us become one in silence.
Divine destiny knows our fate to the last detail
let our story be told in a silent way.

-- Translation by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
"Rumi: Hidden Music"
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

come let's speak
of our souls
let's even hide from
our ears and eyes

like a rose garden
always keep a smile
like imagination
talk without a sound

like the spirit
reigning the world
telling the secrets
uttering no word

let's get away from
all the clever humans
who put words in our mouth
let's only say what our hearts desire

even our hands and feet
sense every inner move
let's keep silence
but make our hearts move

the mystery of destiny
knows the life of
speck after speck of dust
let's tell our story as a particle of dust

-- Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1995

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

------------------------------------

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[Sunlight] Come, let us speak our souls -- Ghazal 1540

[Sunlight] We seek from God the ability to have good manners

Here, Sunlight offers a passage from Rumi's epic Mathnawi, in
a poetic version by Robert Bly, and in a translation by Dr. Ibrahim
Gamard, accompanied by a Persian transliteration:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We should ask God
To help us toward manners. Inner gifts
Do not find their way
To creatures without just respect.

If a man or a woman flails about, he not only
Smashes his house,
He burns the world down.

Your depression is connected to your insolence
And your refusal to praise. If a man or a woman is
On the path, and refuses to praise - that man or woman
Steals from others every day - in fact is a shoplifter!

The sun became full of light when it got hold of itself.
Angels began shining when they achieved discipline.
The sun goes out whenever the cloud of non-praising comes
near.
The moment that foolish angel felt insolent, he heard the
door close.

-- Version by Robert Bly,
based on a translation by R.A. Nicholson
"The Soul Is Here For Its Own Joy"
Ecco Press, 1995

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We seek from God the ability (to have) good manners,*
(For) the one lacking good manners is deprived of the grace of the
Lord.
The one lacking good manners doesn't keep himself (in a) foul
(state)alone, But he sets fire to every region (of the world).

(.........)

Whatever gloom and grief comes to you
Is both from recklessness and rudeness.
Whoever acts recklessly in the path of the Beloved
Is a highway robber of men and is unmanly.
Because of good manners, the sky is full of light.
And because of good manners, the angel is innocent and pure.
From being rude, the sun became eclipsed.
And from being rash, Satan was denied the door (back to heaven).

-- Mathnawi I: 78-79, 89-92
Translation by Ibrahim Gamard, with thanks to
R.A. Nicholson
(c)2004

*good manners: "adab"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

az Khodâ jôyêm tawfîq-é adab
bê-adab mahrûm gasht az lutf-é Rabb
bê-adab tan-hâ na khwad-râ dâsht bad
belke âtesh dar hama âfâq zad

(..............)

har-che bar tô ây-ad az zulmât-o gham
ân ze bê-bâkî wo gostâkhî-st ham
har ke bê-bâkî kon-ad dar râh-é Dôst
rah-zan-é mard-ân shod-o nâ-mard ô-st
az adab por nûr gasht-ast în falak
wa-z adab ma`sûm-o pâk âm-ad malak
bod ze gostâkhî kusûf-é âftâb
shod `Azâzîlê ze jur'ât radd-é bâb

-- Transliteration by Dr. Ibrahim Gamard (c)2004

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

------------------------------------

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[Sunlight] We seek from God the ability to have good manners

[Sunlight] Points of view

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To the Prophet, this world is plunged in glorification of God,
while to us it is heedless.
To his eye this world is filled with abundant love;
to the eyes of others it is inert and lifeless.
To his eye, valley and hill are in fluid motion:
he hears subtle discourses from sod and bricks.
To the vulgar, this whole world is a dead thing in chains.
I have never seen a veil of blindness more amazing than this.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hamchonânkeh in jahân pish-e Nabi
gharq-e tasbihast va pish-e mâ ghabi
Pish-e cheshmesh in jahân por-e `eshq o dâd
pish-e cheshm-e digarân mordeh o jamâd
Past o bâlâ pish-e cheshmesh tizraw
az kolukh o khesht u nokteh shenaw
Bâ `avâmm in jomleh basteh o mordeh-'i
zin `ajab-tar man na-didam pardeh-'i

-- Mathnawi IV: 3532-3535
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

------------------------------------

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[Sunlight] Points of view

[Sunlight] Layla's dog

~

Here, Sunlight offers the tale of Majnun and Layla's dog, from
the Mathnawi, in a version by Coleman Barks, and in the translation
by Nicholson upon which Barks based his interpretation:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Majnun with Layla's Dog

Majnun saw Layla's dog and began kissing it,
running around like a hajji* circling the Kaaba,
bowing to its paws, holding its head, scratching
its stomach, giving it sweets and rosewater.

"You idiot," said someone passing by.
"Dogs lick their privates and sniff
excrement on the road. This is insane,
the intimate way you treat that dog."

"Look though my eyes," said the lover.
"See the loyalty, how he guards the house
of my Friend, how he's so glad to see us.

Whatever we feel, grief, the simple delight
of being out in the sun, he feels
that with us completely.

Don't look too much at surface actions.
Discover the lion, the rose of his real nature.
Friend, this dog is a garden gate into the invisible."

Anyone preoccupied with pointing out what's wrong
misses the unseen. Look at his face!

-- Mathnawvi, III, 567-575
Coleman Barks
Rumi - Say I Am You
Maypop, 1994

*"Majnun and Layla" -- figures in a traditional and archetypal Persian tale of love and separation. (Sunlight footnote)
*"hajji" -- a Muslim pilgrim who is making the haj -- pilgrimage -- to Mecca.
(Sunlight footnote)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(They behaved) like Majnun, who was (seen) petting a dog
and kissing it and melting (with fondness) before it:
He was pacing round it, stooping humbly in circumambulation;
he was also giving it pure sugar-julep (to drink).
An idle talker said, "O half-baked Majnun, what hypocrisy is
this that thou art always displaying?
A dog's muzzle is ever eating filth; a dog scrapes its seant
with its lips."
He recounted the dog's faults at some length: no one who perceives
faults (aybdan) has got (even) a scent (inkling) of him that know the things unseen (ghaybdan*). Majnun said, "Thou art entirely (external) form and body:
come within, and view it (the dog) through my eyes;
For this (dog) is a talisman sealed by (the hand of) the Lord:
this (dog) is the guardian of the abode of Layla.
Look at its high aspiration and its heart and soul and knowledge;
(consider) where it chose (to lie) and made its dwelling-place.
It is the dog of blessed countenance, (the dog) of my Cave*; nay, it is the sharer of my grief and woe.

-- The Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rumi
Translation and Commentary by Reynold A. Nicholson
Published and Distributed by
The Trustees of The "E.J.W. Gibb Memorial"

* Either the holy man or God himself.
* Referring to the dog of the Seven Sleepers. Cf. v. 208 supra.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

------------------------------------

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[Sunlight] Layla's dog