"Preoccupied with the business of the world"

The lion of destiny is dragging our souls,
preoccupied with the business of the world,
into the jungles of death.
People fear poverty,
plunged as they are up to their necks in briny water.
If they feared the Creator of poverty,
treasures would reveal themselves.
Through fear of affliction,
they sink into the very essence of affliction:
in their quest for life in the world,
they have lost it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mi kashad shir-e qazâ dar bish-hâ
jân-e mâ mashghul-e kâr o pish-hâ
آn chonân kaz faqr mi tarsand khalq
zir-e âb-e shur rafteh tâ halq
Gar be-tarsandi az ân Faqr-آfarin
ganj-hâ-shân kashf gashti dar zamin
Jomleh-shân az khawf-e ghamm dar `ayn-e ghamm
dar pay-e hasti fotâdeh dar `adam

-- Mathnawi III:2204-2207
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyل Monastra)

The media:
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"Preoccupied with the business of the world"