Friday, November 30, 2007

[Sunlight] "The Sanctuary of Love:

~

Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal (Ode) 1335, in translations by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi, and by Professor Arberry, and in
versions by Jonathan Star and Professor Barks:

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

Who is in the house of my heart,
I cried in the middle of the night.
Love said,
"It is I, but what are all these images that fill your house?"
I said, they are the reflection of your beautiful face.
She asked,
"But what is this image full of pain?"
I said, it is me lost in the sorrows of life
and showed her my soul full of wounds.
She offered me one end of a thread and said:
"Take it so I can pull you back
but do not break the delicate string."
I reached towards her but she struck my hand.
I asked, why the harshness?
She said,
"To remind you that whoever comes to love's holy space,
proud and full of himself will be sent away.
Look at love with the eyes of your heart."

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

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

"I Cried Out at Midnight"

I cried out at midnight,
"Who lives in the house of my heart?"
An answer came back,
"It is I, whose radiance
puts the Sun and Moon to shame."

He then asked,
"Why is this house of the heart
so full of images?"
I said, "They are the reflections of you,
whose face is the envy of Chigil."
He asked, "What is this other image
all soaked in blood?"
I said, "It is me
with my heart torn open
and my feet caught in the mud."

I tied a noose round the neck of my soul
and brought it to Him:
"Here is the one who turned his back on love -
Do no let him escape this time."

He gave me one end of a thread
which was twisted with guile and deceit.
He said, "Pull on this end,
I will pull on the other,
And let's hope the thread doesn't break
in the pulling."

From the chamber of my soul
the form of my Beloved
shone more radiant than ever.
I reached out and grabbed Him with my hand -
He knocked it away and said,
"Don't cling to me!"
I said, "You've become harsh like all the rest."

He said, "Don't insult me - I am harsher than all the rest!
But what I do is born of love, not malice or spite.
I am here to make your heart a shrine of love,
not a pen for holding sheep. . . ."

The Beautiful One has made this world out of gold.
Rub your eyes and see
that He is the keeper of your heart.

-- Version by Jonathan Star
"Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved"
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997

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

"Talking in the Night"

In the middle of the night,
I cried out,
"Who lives in this love
I have?
You said, "I do, but I'm not here
alone. Why are these other images
with me?"
I said, "They are reflections of you,
just as the beautiful inhabitants of Chigil
in Turkestan resemble each other."

You said, "But who is this other living
being?"
"That is my wounded soul."

Then I brought that soul
to you as a prisoner.
"This one is dangerous,"
I said. "Don't let him off easy."

You winked and gave me one end
of a delicate thread.
"Pull it tight,
but don't break it."
I reached my hand
to touch you. You struck it down.

"Why are you so harsh with me?"

"For good reason. But certainly not
to keep you away! Whoever enters this place
saying "Here I am" must be slapped.

This is not a pen for sheep.
There are no separating distances here.
This is love's sanctuary.

Saladin is how the soul looks. Rub your eyes,
and look again with love at love.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"Say I Am You"
Maypop, 1994

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

I cried out at midnight, "Who is in this house of the heart?"
He said, "It is I, by whose countenance the sun and the moon are
put to shame."
He said, "Why is this house of the heart full of all sorts of
images?" I said, "These are reflections of You, whose face is
the envy of Chigil*."
He said, "What is this other image, full of the heart's blood?"
I said, "This is the image of me, heart wounded and feet in the
mire."
I bound the neck of my soul and brought it before him as a
token: "It is a sinner of love; do not acquit your sinner."
He gave me the end of a thread, a thread full of mischief and
craft; he said, "Pull, that I may pull, pull and at the same time do
not break."
From that tent of the soul the form of my Turk flashed out
fairer than before; I reached out my hand to him; He struck
my hand, saying, "Let go!"
I said, "You have turned harsh, like So-and-so." He said,
"Know that I am harsh for a good purpose, not harsh out of
rancour and spite.
Whoever enters in saying, 'It is I,' I strike him on the brow,
for this is the sanctuary of Love, animal, it is not a sheepcote."
Salah-i Dil u Din* is truly the image of that Turk; rub your
eyes, and behold the image of the heart, the image of the heart.

-- Translation by A.J. Arberry
"Mystical Poems of Rumi 1"
The University of Chicago Press, 1968

* Chigil in Turkestan was proverbial for its handsome inhabitants.
* Salah al-Din Zarkub was first Rumi's friend, and later his
spiritual inspiration, after Rumi accepted the likelihood of Shams al-
Din's death. According to Sultan Valad, Rumi's son, Rumi said of
Salah al-Din:

"That Shams al-Din of whom we always spoke
has come back to us! Why do we slumber?
Changed into new clothes, he has returned
to flaunt and strut and show his beauty."

(Translation by Franklin D. Lewis, "Rumi, Past and Present, East
and West". Sunlight footnote.)

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


~

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Thursday, November 29, 2007

[Sunlight] “My hope increases when I work"

~

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

When it comes to earning food,
why has the fear of eternal disappointment
not waylaid you?
You'll say, "Though I face the fear of disappointment,
fear increases when I'm idle.
My hope increases when I work;
when I'm idle, I risk more."
Why does the fear of loss
restrain you when it comes to faith?
Haven't you seen how gainfully employed
the prophets and saints are?
Haven't you seen what mines of treasure
have opened to them
from frequenting the shop of Spirit?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Khawf-e hermân-e azal dar kasb-e lut
chon na-gardet sost andar jost o ju-t
Guyi "Garcheh khawf-e hermân hast pish
hast andar kâheli in khawf pish
"Hast dar kushesh omidam pishtar
dâram andar kâheli afzun-e khatar"
Pas cherâ dar kârdin ay bad-gomân
dâmanet mi girad in khawf-e ziyân
Yâ na-didi kâhel in bâzâr-e mâ
dar cheh sudand anbiyâ o awliyâ
Zin dokân raftan cheh kâneshân raw namud
andarin bâzâr chon bastand sud

-- Mathnawi III: 3096-3101
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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


~


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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

[Sunlight] "Oh, you with unwashed face!"

~


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

Oh, you with unwashed face! What are you doing?
Whom are you fighting and envying?
You are playing with a lion's tail; you are charging
like a Turcoman, but at the angels!
Why do you call utter goodness "evil"? Beware!
Consider not your lowliness exaltation!
What is evil? The needy, despicable copper.
Who is the shaykh? The infinite elixir.
Even if the copper is not receptive to the elixir,
it will never be able to make the elixir into copper like
itself.
What is evil? A rebel that acts like fire. Who is the
shaykh? The very Sea of Eternity-without-beginning.
Fire always dreads water, but how should water
fear flames?
You find fault in the face of the moon, you pluck
thorns in paradise.
If you enter paradise looking for thorns, you will
find none there but yourself.

-- Mathnawi II, 3340-48
Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love -
The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi"
State University of New York Press, Albany, 1983

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


~

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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

[Sunlight] "Take counsel with the company of the righteous"

~

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

Take counsel with the company of the righteous:
note the Divine command given to the Prophet, "Consult them."*
The words their affair is a matter for consultation** are for this
purpose;
through consultation mistakes and errors occur less often.
Human intellects are luminous like lamps:
twenty lamps are brighter than one.
There may happen to be among them
one lamp aflame with spiritual light,
for the jealousy of God sometimes lowers veils,
mingling the lofty with the low.
He has said, "Travel"***:
seek your fortune in the world and reap its benefits.
In all gatherings seek among minds
the kind of intellect found in the Prophet,
for the heritage of the Prophet is a consciousness
which perceives the unseen things before and after.
Amid the inward eyes, too, always be seeking that inner eye
which this Masnavi has not the power to describe.
Hence the majestic Prophet has forbidden monasticism
and going to the mountains to live as a hermit,
in order that this kind of contact with saints should not be lost;
for to be looked upon by them is a blessing,
an elixir of eternal life.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Mashvarat kon bâ goruh-e sâlehân
bar Payambar amr-e "Shâwirhum"* be-dân
Amruhum shûrâ** barâ-ye in bovad
kaz tashâvor sahv o kazh kamtar ravad
In kherad-hâ chon masâbih-e anvarast
bist mesbâh az yeki rawshantarast
Bu keh mesbâhi fotad andar miyân
moshta`el gashteh ze nur-e âsmân
Ghayrat-e Haqq pardeh-'i angikhtast
sofli o `olvi be-ham âmikhtast
Goft "Sîrû"*** mi talab andar jahân
bakht o ruzi-râ hami kon emtehân
Dar majâles mi talab andar `oqul
ânchonân `aqli keh bovad andar Rasul
Zankeh mirâs az Rasul ânast va bas
keh binad ghayb-hâ az pish o pas
Dar basar-hâ mi talab ham ân basar
keh na-tâbad sharh-e ân in mokhtasar
Bahr-e in kasrdast man` ân bâ shokuh
az tarahhob vaz shodan khalvat beh-kuh
Tâ na-gardad fawt in naw`-e elteqâ
k-ân nazar bakhtast o eksir-e baqâ

-- Mathnawi VI:2611-2621
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

*l `Imrân, 159
**al-Shûrâ, 38
***al-`Ankabût, 20

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

~


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Monday, November 26, 2007

[Sunlight] "A heart which wine cannot console" -- Ghazal 2266

~

Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal 2266, in a version by Coleman
Barks, and in the translation by A.J. Arberry, upon which Barks based
his version:


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

Circulate the cup and take me out of
who I am and what Ive done,
my name and my shame.

You Who Pour the wine, keep after me.
Trick me! When I have none of Your joy,
I worry about everything. Lay your traps.

I should fast. Someone who fasts
visits the Friend at night.

But often I come in the front door,
and You fly through the roof!
Be more patient!

Muslims, what is there to do?
I'm burning up and yet unsatisfied.

There's no cure but the taste
of what the saints pass around.

The story of Lovers has no end,
so well be happy with this,
just this, Goodbye.

And the answer to Mutanabbi's riddle is,
"Someone whom no wine consoles."

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"Like This"
Maypop, 1990

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

Saqi of the moonface, circulate the cup, deliver me out of
shame and name.
Saqi, I am a prisoner in your snare, for you have laid at
every step a snare.
Have done with sloth, seize me! Be not slothful, for the
tribe has departed.
Is not sobriety the alighting-place of every care? Is not joy
banned in anxiety?
Fast, for fasting is great gain; the faster drinks the wine
of the spirit.*
It is in tradition that whoever keeps the fast sees the moon
of God in the evening time.*
It is not just that when I enter by the door, you should flee
from me by the roof:
You flee and I crying after you, "Be patient one moment, O
fleet of pace!"
Muslims, Muslims, what remedy is there? For I am consumed
with fire, and yet this business is unsettled.
There is no remedy but pure wine in cups which noble men
have circulated.
The tale of lovers has no end, so we will be satisfied with
this, and so farewell!
The answer of Motanabbi's saying is this: "A heart which
wine cannot console.*"

-- "Mystical Poems of Rumi 2,"
A. J. Arberry
The University of Chicago Press, 1991

* "Fast, for fasting...." -- The reference might be to the hadith
which says: "Fasting in the winter is a gain in the cold." See Ebn
Asir, al-Nahaya fi garib al-hadis wa al-asar, 3:390.
* "It is in tradition..." -- I could not find this particular
tradition, but there are a number of hadiths which bear resemblance
to this. Two of them are: "Fast when you see the moon and break
your fast when you see it again," and "Then fast until you see the
crescent of the moon." See A. J. Wensinck, "Concordance et indices
de la tradition musulmane," Leiden, 1955, 3: 454.
* "The answer of Motanabbi's" -- See Motanabbi, "Divan," Beirut,
1964, 101.

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


*

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Friday, November 23, 2007

[Sunlight] "A World with No Boundaries" -- Ghazal 363

~


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

"A World with No Boundaries"

With every breath the sound
of love surrounds us,
and we are bound for the depths
of space, without distraction.

We've been in orbit before
and know the angels there.
Let's go there again, Master,
for that is our land.

Yet we are beyond all of that
and more than angels.
Out beyond duality,
we have a home, and it is Majesty.
That pure substance is
different from this dusty world.
What kind of place is this?
We once came down; soon we'll return.
A new happiness befriends us
as we work at offering our lives.

Muhammad, the jewel of the world,
is our caravan's chosen guide.
The sweetness we breathe on the wind
is from the scent of his hair,
and the radiance of our thought
is from the light of his day.

His face once caused
the moon to split in two.
She couldn't endure the sight of him.
Yet how lucky she was,
she who humbly received him.
Look into your heart and see
the splitting moon within each breath.
Having seen that vision,
how can you still dream?

When the wave of "Am I not?" struck,
it wrecked the body's ship;
when the ship wrecks again,
it will be the time of union.

The Human Being, like a bird of the sea,
emerged from the ocean of the soul.
Earth is not the final place of rest
for a bird born from the sea.

No, we are pearls of that ocean;
all of us live in it;
and if it weren't so, why would
wave upon wave arrive?

This is the time of union,
the time of eternal beauty.
It is the time of luck and kindness;
it is the ocean of purity.
The wave of bestowal has come.

The roar of the sea is here.
The morning of happiness has dawned.
No, it is the light of God.

Whose face is pictured here?
Who is this shah or prince?
Who is this ancient intelligence?
They are all masks . . .
and the only remedy is
this boiling ecstasy of the soul.

A fountain of refreshment
is in the head and the eyes -
not this bodily head
but another pure spiritual one.

Many a pure head has been spilled
in the dust. Know the one from the other!
Our original head is hidden,
while this other is visible.
Beyond this world is a world
that has no boundaries.

Put your water skin away, brother,
and draw some wine from our cask!
The clay jug of perception
has such a narrow spout.
The sun appeared from the direction of Tabriz,
and I said, "This light is at once joined
with all things, and yet apart from everything."

-- Ghazal (Ode) 363
Version by Kabir Helminski
"Love is a Stranger"
Threshold Books, 1993

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


~

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

[Sunlight] Always give thanks to God for His bounties

~

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

Gratitude to the benefactor is certainly the same
as gratitude to God, since it was Divine favor that
caused beneficence to be bestowed.
To be ungrateful to the giver is to be ungrateful to God,
for surely his right to gratitude results from God's right.
Always give thanks to God for His bounties,
and always give thanks and praise to the Master.
Though a mother's tenderness comes from God,
still it is a sacred duty and a worthy task to serve her well.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shokr-e u shokr-e Khodâ bâshad yaqin
chon beh-ehsân kard tawfiqesh qarin
Tark-e shokresh tark-e shokr-e Haqq bovad
haqq-e u lâ shakk be-Haqq molhaq bovad
Shokr mi kon mar Khodâ-râ dar ne`am
niz mi kon shokr o zekr-e Khvâjeh ham
Rahmat-e mâdar agar cheh az Khodâst
khedmat-e u ham farizeh-st o sazâst

-- Mathnawi VI:3254-3257
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

~

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

[Sunlight] "To master myself would be enough" -- Ghazal 1523

~


Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal (Ode) 1523, from Rumi's "Diwan-e
Shams" ("The Collection of Shams"), in a poetic translation by Nader
Khalili, and in a translation by Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi:

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

i am no lion
to overpower my enemies
winning over myself
if i can
is enough

though i'm of lowly earth
since i nourish a seed
named love
i'll grow lilies of the field

when i'm pitch-black
lamenting separation
i know for sure
i will break through
spreading light on the dark night

i am on fire inside
but look grim outside
since i want to rise
like smoke through my cell

i am a child whose teacher is love.
surely my master won't let me grow
to be a fool

-- Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, 1994

*Note: for more information on the architect Nader Khalili, please
see http://www.calearth.org/naderkha.htm


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~

I can't pretend to be a lion able to conquer the enemy
to master myself would be enough.
I am only the dust on my Lover's path and from dust
I will rise and turn into a flower.
Dark like the night I mourn and hold the pain
of love inside me.
But bright like the Moon I will rise from the darkness
for I have seen the source of light and being a child
whose tutor is love I will not grow up ignorant.
I will rise like a flame out of love's fire
and become infinite like love.
When I reach my end, play the music
that will lift me up to Spirit.

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

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


~

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

[Sunlight] "The veils hiding the way of the lover"

~

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

Love is a stranger to the two worlds:
in it are seventy-two madnesses.
It is hidden; only its bewilderment is manifest:
the soul of the spiritual sultan longs for it.
Love's religion is other than the seventy-two sects:
beside it the throne of kings is just a floorboard.
In the moments of sema* Love's bard strikes up the melody:
"Servitude is bondage and power is a headache."
Then what is Love? The Sea of Not-Being:
there the foot of the intellect is shattered and can no longer swim.
Servitude and sovereignty are known:
the way of the lover is hidden by these two veils.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bâ do `âlam `eshq-râ bigânegi
andaru haftâd o do divânegi
Sakht panhânast va paydâ hayratesh
jân-e soltânân-e jân dar hasratesh
Ghayr-e haftâd o do mellat kish-e u
takht-e shâhân takhteh-bandi pish-e u
Motreb-e `eshq in zanad vaqt-e samâ`
bandegi band va khodâvandi sodâ`
Pas cheh bâshad `eshq Daryâ-ye `Adam
dar shekasteh `aql-râ ânjâ qadam
Bandegi o saltanat ma`lum shod
zin do pardeh `âsheqi maktum shod

-- Mathnawi III: 4719-4724
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

*The occasion of listening to spiritual music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

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Monday, November 19, 2007

[Sunlight] "A Light Within His Light" -- Ghazal 331

~

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

A Light Within His Light


I circled awhile with each of the intelligences,
the nine fathers that control the levels
of spirit-growth. I revolved

for years with the stars through
each astrological sign.

I disappeared into the kingdom of nearness.
I saw what I have seen, receiving nourishment
as a child lives in the womb.

Personalities are born once,
a mystic many times.

Wearing the body-robe, I've been busy
in the market, weighing and arguing prices.

Sometimes I have torn the robe off
with my own hands and thrown it away.

I've spent long nights in monasteries,
and I have slept with those who claim to believe
nothing on the porches of pagodas,
just traveling through.

When someone feels jealous, I am inside
the hurt and the need to possess.

When anyone is sick, I feel
feverish and dizzy.

I am cloud and rain being released,
and then the meadow as it soaks it in.

I wash the rains of mortality
from the cloth around a dervish.

I am the rose of eternity, not made of
water or fire or the wandering wind,
or even earth. I pay with those.

I am not Shams of Tabriz,
but a light withint his light.

If you see me, be careful.
Tell no one what you've seen.

-- Ghazal (Ode) 331
Version by Coleman Barks
"Say I Am You"
Maypop, 1994

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

~

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Friday, November 16, 2007

[Sunlight] “Play once more”

~

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

if you don't have
enough madness in you
go and rehabilitate yourself
if you've lost a hundred times
the chess game of this life
be prepared to lose one more
if you're the wounded string
of a harp on this stage
play once more then resonate no more
if you're that exhausted bird
fighting a falcon for too long
make a comeback and be strong
you've carved a wooden horse
riding and calling it real
fooling yourself in life
though only a wooden horse
ride it again my friend
and gallop to the next post
you've never really listened
to what God has always
tried to tell you
yet you keep hoping
after your mock prayers
salvation will arrive

-- Ghazal 1194
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

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

~


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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

[Sunlight] "How can a lover be joined to sensuality?"

~

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

In truth, love for the Illuminator of hearts keeps
Lovers awake all night without food and sleep.
Oh friend, if you are a lover, be like a candle:
Melt all night long, burn joyfully till morning!
He who is like cold weather in autumn is no
lover -- in autumn's midst the lover's heart is burning summer.
Dear friend, if you have a love you want to
proclaim, then shout like a lover! Shout! Shout!
But if you are chained by sensuality, make no
claims to Love -- enter the spiritual retreat and burn away your
chains!
Oh simple man, how can a lover be joined to
sensuality? How could Jesus eat from the same trough as his
ass?
If you want to catch the fragrance of these
symbols, then turn your eyes away from everything but Shams
al-Din of Tabriz!
But if you cannot see that he is greater than the
two worlds, you are still a wretch drowned in the ocean of
heedlessness.
So go before the teachers of conventional
knowledge -- busy yourself with jurisprudence and become a
master of the science of "This is permitted and that is
forbidden."
My spirit has passed beyond childhood in love
for Shams al-Din -- love for him is not mixed with raisins and
nuts.
My intellect has left me and my verses are
incomplete -- that is why my bow has no more designs and
wrappings.
Oh Jalal al-Din, sleep and abandon speech! No
leopard will ever catch that lion!

-- Ghazal (Ode) 1196
Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

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


~

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

[Sunlight] Halves of the whole

~

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

God instills the desire of every part for the other:
from their union, generation results.
And so night and day are in mutual embrace:
they appear to be opposites, even enemies,
but the truth they attend is one,
each desiring the other like kin,
for the perfection of their work.
Both serve one purpose, for without night,
human nature would receive no income:
what then could day expend?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mayl-e har jozvi beh-jozvi ham nehad
ze ettehâd-e har do tawlidi zehad
Shab chonin bâ ruz andar e`tenâq
mokhtalef dar surat ammâ ettefâq
Ruz o shab zâher do zedd o doshmanand
lik har do yek haqiqat mi tanand
Har yeki khvânân degar-râ hamcho khvish
az pay-e takmil-e fe`l o kâr-e khvish
Zânke bi shab dakhl na-bovad tab`-râ
pas cheh andar kharj ârad ruz-hâ

-- Mathnawi III:4416-4420
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

~


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Monday, November 12, 2007

[Sunlight] "How long will this unconsciousness go on?" -- Ghazal 1022

~

Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal 1022, From Rumi's "Diwan-e
Shams", in a poetic version by Coleman Barks, and in the translation
by A.J. Arberry from which Professor Barks derived his version:


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

Yesterday at dawn, my Friend said, How long
will this unconsciousness go on?

You fill yourself with the sharp pain of Love,
rather than its fulfuillment.

I said, "But I can't get to You!
You are the whole dark night,
and I am a single candle.

My life is upsidedown
because of You!"

The Friend replied, I am your deepest being.
Quit talking about wanting Me!

I said, "Then what is this
restlessness?

The Friend, Does a drop
stay still in the Ocean?

Move with the Entirety,
and with the tiniest particular.

Be the moisture in an oyster
that helps to form one pearl.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"Like This,"
Maypop, 1990

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

Yesterday at dawn passing by the Beloved said to me, "You
are distraught and unaware; how long will this go on?
My cheek is the envy of the rose; and have you filled your eye
with heart's blood in quest of the thorn?"
I said, "Before your stature the cypress is but a sapling!" I
said, "Before your cheek the heavens' candle is dark!"
I said, "Sky and earth are topsy-turvy on account of you; it
is no wonder therefore, if I have no access to you."
He said, "I am your soul and heart; why are you distracted?
Say no word, and remain weeping against my silvery bosom."
I said, You who have robbed my heart and soul of repose, I
have not the power to be still." He said at once,
"You are a drop of my sea; why do you utter still? Become
drowned, and fill the soul of the oyster shell with pearls."

-- Translation by A.J. Arberry
"Mystical Poems of Rumi 1"
The University of Chicago Press 1968/1991

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


~


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Friday, November 09, 2007

[Sunlight] "The Still-Point of Ecstasy" -- Ghazal 1529

~


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

"The Still-Point of Ecstasy"

On the Night of Creation I was awake,
Busy at work while everyone slept.
I was there to see the first wink
and hear the first tale told.
I was the first one caught
in the hair of the Great Imposter.

Whirling around the still-point of esctasy
I spun like the wheel of heaven.

How can I describe this to you?
you were born later.

I was a companion of that Ancient Lover;
Like a bowl with a broken rim
I endured his tyranny.
Why shouldn't I be as lustrous as the King's cup?
I have lived in the room of treasures.
Why shouldn't this bubble become the sea?
I am the secret that lies at its bottom . . .

Sh . . . no more words
Hear only the voice within.
Remember, the first thing He said was:
"We are beyond words."

-- Ghazal (Ode) 1529
Interpretive version by Jonathan Star
(in cooperation with the translator Shahram Shiva)
"A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi"
Bantam Books, 1992

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

~

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Thursday, November 08, 2007

[Sunlight] "Nothing but a figure of clay"

~

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

Wealth has no permanence: it comes in the morning,
and at night it is scattered to the winds.
Physical beauty too has no importance,
for a rosy face is made pale by the scratch of a single thorn.
Noble birth also is of small account,
for many become fools of money and horses.
Many a nobleman's son has disgraced his father by his wicked deeds.
Don't court a person full of talent either,
even if he seems exquisite in that respect:
take warning from the example of Iblis.
Iblis had knowledge, but since his love was not pure,
he saw in Adam nothing but a figure of clay.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Goft khvâjeh mâl-râ na-bud sabât
ruz âyad shab ravad andar jehât
Hosn-e surat ham na-dârad e`tebâr
keh shavad rokh zard az yek zakhm-e khâr
Sahl bâshad niz mehtarzâdegi
keh bud gherreh beh-mâl o bâragi
Ay basâ mehtarbachcheh keh shur o sharr
shod ze fe`l-e zesht khvod nang-e pedar
Por honar-râ niz agar bâshad nafis
kam parast o `ebrati gir az Belis
`Elm budesh chon na-budesh `eshq din
u na-did az dam ellâ naqsh-e tin

-- Mathnawi VI: 255-260
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

~

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Wednesday, November 07, 2007

[Sunlight] This Marriage -- Ghazal 2667

~


Here, Sunlight presents Ghazal (Ode) 2667, written by Rumi for his
son's wedding, in a version by Coleman Barks, a version by Kabir
Helminski, and in a translation by A.J. Arberry:


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

This marriage be wine with halvah, honey dissolving in milk.
This marriage be the leaves and fruit of a date tree.
This marraige be women laughing together for days on end.
This marriage, a sign for us to study.
This marriage, beauty.
This marriage, a moon in a light-blue sky.
This marriage, this silence fully mixed with spirit.

- Version by Coleman Barks
The Hand of Poetry: Five Mystic Poets of Persia
Omega Publications, 1993


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This Marriage

May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk,
this marriage, like wine and halvah.
May this marriage offer fruit and shade
like the date palm.
May this marriage be full of laughter,
our every day a day in paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion,
a seal of happiness here and hereafter.
May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
an omen as welcome
as the moon in a clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe
how spirit mingles in this marriage.

-- Version by Kabir Helminski
Love is a Stranger
Threshold Books, 1993

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

May these nuptials be blessed for us, may this marriage be
blessed for us,
May it be ever like milk and sugar, this marriage like wine
and halvah.
May this marriage be blessed with leaves and fruits like the
date tree;
May this marriage be laughing forever, today, tomorrow, like
the houris of paradise.
May this marriage be the sign of compassion and the approval
of happiness here and hereafter;
May this marriage be fair of fame, fair of face and fair of
omen as the moon in the azure sky.
I have fallen silent for words cannot describe how the spirit
has mingled with this marriage.

-- Translation by A. J. Arberry
"Mystical Poems of Rumi 2"
The University of Chicago Press, 1991


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

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

[Sunlight] "Die before you die"

~

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

The Messenger of good tidings said, speaking symbolically,
"Die before you die, generous ones,
even as I have died before death
and brought this reminder from Beyond."
Become the resurrection of the spirit,
so you may experience the resurrection:
this becoming is necessary for seeing and knowing
the real nature of anything.
Until you become it, you will not know it completely,
whether it be light or darkness.
If you become Reason, you will know Reason perfectly;
if you become Love, you will know Love's flaming wick.

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

Bahr-e in goft Rasul-e khvosh payâm
ramz-e "Mûtû qabla mawt yâ kirâm
hamchonânkeh mordeh-'am min qabl mawt
z-ân taraf âvordeh-'am in sit o sawt"
Pas qiyâmat shaw qiyâmat-râ be-bin
didan-e har chiz-râ shartast in
Tâ na-gardi u na-dâni-'esh tamâm
khvâh ân anvâr bâshad yâ zolâm
`Aql gardi `Aql-râ dâni kamâl
`Eshq gardi `Eshq-râ dâni zobâl

-- Mathnawi VI: 754-758
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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


~

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Monday, November 05, 2007

[Sunlight] "I am not satiated" -- Ghazal 2244

~


Sunlight presents Ode 2244 - in a poetic version by
Coleman Barks and in a literal translation by A.J. Arberry:

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

I never get enough of laughing with you,
that wild humor.

Thirsty and dry, I complain, but everything is made of
water!
Lonely, yet my head leans against your shirt!
My wounded hands, your hands.

Do something drastic.

You say, "Come and sit in the innermost room,
where you'll be safe from the love-thief."

I reply, "But I've tried to be the ringknocker
on your door, so you won't have to
always be letting me in and out."

You say, "No. You stand on the threshold waiting,
and you're here in the inner chamber too.
You're at home in both places."

I love the quietness of such an answer.
Come to this table of quietness.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"We Are Three,"
Maypop, 1987

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am not satiated, not satiated with your laughing
lips; a thousand blessing on your lips and teeth!
Has any man ever wearied, my son, of his soul? You
are my soul since my soul and yours are one and the same.
I am thirsty and suffering from dryness, my death and
life are from water; pass around the cup, for I am the slave
of your turning around.
You make dispensation, go offer me to yourself that my
head may raise itself up from your shirt.
Though my two hands are wounded, my hand belongs to
you; of what use are my hands without your breath and
incantation?
Your love said, "Sir, come into my private chamber,
that no thief may make designs on your inner chamber."
I said, "Blessed one, I have become the ring on this
door so that no thought of me may trouble your doorkeeper."
He said, "You are both standing at the door and in my
bosom, exterior and interior - both homelands are yours.
Silence, and recite no more; sufficient should be this
hospitality and table. For all eternity Rum and Turk shall eat
of your table.

-- Translation by A. J. Arberry
"Mystical Poems of Rumi 2"
The University of Chicago Press, 1991

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

~

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Friday, November 02, 2007

[Sunlight] "Once again, once again I have escaped from my chains" -- Ghazal 1472

~

Here, Sunlight offers Molana Rumi's Ghazal 1472, in three
presentations: a translation by Khalili, a version from Barks, and
the translation by Arberry, from which Barks derived his version:

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

once again
i broke free of the chains
of the wicked traps
of this world

once again
by your youthful love
i was saved from
this fraud-filled wizard
we call life
non-stop
running day and night
i finally had to cut myself off
from this deadly routine
leaping free as an arrow
from the grip of the cosmic bow

now i have no more fear
of grief and anxiety
i've learned to compete
with death itself

i lived through my wits
for forty years
now at sixty-two
finally hunted down
i am free from struggle

bread becomes blood
blood transforms to milk
and now
that I have my wisdom teeth
i am in no need for more milk

-- Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire",
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994.

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

I have broken out again,
escaped from the tricky,
wiry shamans of ecstasy.

Running night and day to escape night and day.
Why fear grief
when Death walks so close beside?

Don't fear the General
if you're good friends with the Prince.

For forty years I made plans and worried about them.
Now sixty-two, I've escaped reasonableness.

By definition, human beings do not see or hear.
I broke loose from definition.

Skin outside, seeds inside,
a fig lives caught between, and like that fig,
I wiggle free.

Hesitation, deadly. Hurrying, worse.
Escape both delay and haste.

Fed first with blood in the womb,
then milk from the breast,
my clever teeth came in,
and I escaped even those.

Off balance, I grope for bread, a loaf or two,
until God gives the next food,
and I'm gone.

No more garlicky detail, no more meanings.
Only clean-breathed,
silent escaping.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"These Branching Moments"
Copper Beech Press, 1988

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

Once again, once again I have escaped from my chains, I have
burst out of these bonds and this trap which seizes the infirm.
Heaven, the bent old man full of wizardry and deceit--by
virtue of your youthful fortune I have escaped from this old man.
Night and day I ran, I broke away from night and day; ask of
this sphere how like an arrow I sped.
Why should I fear sorrow? For I am the comrade of death.
Why should I fear the general? For I have escaped from the
prince.
Reason bore me down with anxiety for forty years; sixty-two*
has made me quarry, and I have escaped from devising.
All creatures have been made deaf or blind by predestination;
I have escaped from the deaf and blind of predestination, and
from predestination.
Outwardly skin, inwardly stone, the fruit is a prisoner; like a
fig, I have escaped from that skin and that stone.
Delay causes mischief, and haste is of the devil; my heart has
escaped from haste, and I have escaped from delay.
In the first place blood was the food,* in the end blood became
milk; when the teeth of reason sprouted, I escaped from that
milk;
I ran after bread, a loaf or two, by imposture; God gave me a
food, so that I escaped from imposture.
Be silent, be silent, speak no more in detail; I will speak of
the interpretation, I have escaped from the stench of garlic.*

-- Translation by A. J. Arberry
"Mystical Poems of Rumi 1"
The University of Chicago Press, 1968

Arberry's notes:
* This poem was composed when Rumi was sixty-two.
* "Blood was the food" -- in the womb.
* A play on "tafsir" (interpretation), and "taf-i sir" ("stench of
garlic," -- eaten by unbelieving Jews).

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


~


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Thursday, November 01, 2007

[Sunlight] "Does happiness reflect in your face?"

~

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

Does happiness reflect in your face
from the wine of the true religion?
Where is your generous hand
if you've beheld the Ocean of Abundance?
The one who sees the River doesn't grudge water to the thirsty,
especially the one who has beheld that Sea and those mighty Clouds.


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

Dar rokhet ku az may-e din farrokhi
gar be-didi Bahr ku kaff-e sakhi
Ânkeh Ju did âb-râ na-konad darigh
khâsseh ân ku did ân Daryâ o Migh

-- Mathnawi VI: 804-805
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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


~


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