Sunlight: May 2008

Friday, May 30, 2008

[Sunlight] Secrets bursting inside me -- Quatrain 1141

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

I can't let you know
all the secrets
I can't open to you
all the doors
there is something inside
that makes me happy
but I can't put my finger
on its source

-- Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Dancing the Flame"
Cal-Earth Press, 2001

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The secrets are bursting inside me
but to give them away and
expose them to mockery, I cannot.
Something inside me is bursting with joy
but to put my finger on it, I cannot.

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

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

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Thursday, May 29, 2008

[Sunlight] Water for the next generation

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

The Logos is digging a channel
for water to reach the next generation.
During every generation there is one who brings the word of God;
still the sayings of those who have come before are helpful.

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

Hin be-gu keh Nâteqeh ju mi konad
tâ be-qarni ba`d-e mâ âbi resad
Garcheh har qarni sokhan âri bovad
lik goft-e sâlefân yâri bovad

-- Mathnawi III: 2537-2538
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

[Sunlight] All that He is to me -- Ghazal 2251

Today, Sunlight offfers Ghazal (Ode) 2251, from the "Diwan-e
Shams", "The Book of Shams", in a version by Jonathan Star, and in
translations by Annemarie Schimmel and William Chittick:

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

"No Place to Hide"

When I set out, he is my goal.
When I look in my heart, he is its ravisher.
When I seek justice, he is the judge.
When I go to war, he is my weapon.

When I join the celebration,
He is the wine and the sweetmeats.
When I enter the garden,
He is the narcissus in bloom.

When I go into a mine,
He is the ruby and carnelian.
When I dive into the ocean,
He is the pearl at the bottom.

When I cross the desert,
He is the watering hole.
When I rise to the spheres,
He is the brightest star.

When I show my courage,
He is the shield.
When I burn from heartache,
He is the incense holder.

When I fight a battle,
He is the commander-in-chief.
When I enter the banquet hall,
He is the saaqi, the minstrel, and the cup.

When I write to my friends,
He is the pen and the paper.
When I need a rhyme for a poem,
He gives me the right clue.

When I awake
He is my pure awareness.
When I go to sleep
He is the one who plays in my dreams.

Whatever picture you paint
or poem you write
he is beyond that.
Whatever height you can reach,
he is higher than your "highest."

Get rid of your talking and your books -
it is far better
to let Him be your book.

See his light fill the heavens.
And when you pass beyond the heavens
you'll find him hiding there.

O Wondrous Light of Tabriz,
Where will you hide? -
The brilliance ofyour Sun,
will always give you away.

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

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

When I seek peace,
he is the kindly intercessor,
And when I go to war,
the dagger, that is he.
And when I come to meetings,
he is the wine and sweetmeat.
And when I come to gardens,
the fragrance, that is he.
When I go to the mines, deep,
he is the ruby there.
When I delve in the ocean,
the precious pearl is he.
When I come to the desert,
he is a garden there.
When I go to the heaven,
the brilliant star is he . . .
And when I write a letter
to my beloved friends,
The paper and the inkwell,
the ink, the pen is he.
And when I write a poem
and seek a rhyming word -
The one who spreads the rhymes out
within my thought, is he!

-- Translation by Annemarie Schimmel
"I Am Wind, You are Fire"
Shambhala, 1992

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

When I start from the beginning, He is my
leader; when I seek my heart, He is its ravisher.
When I strive for peace, He intercedes for me;
when I go to war, He is my dagger.
When I come to the gathering, He is the wine
and the sweetmeats; when I enter the garden, He is the
narcissus.
When I go down to the mine, He is the ruby
and carnelian; when I dive into the sea, He is the pearl.
When I cross the desert, He is the oasis; when I
ascend the spheres, He is the star.
When I show my fortitude, He is my breast,
when I burn from heartache, He is the censer.
When I enter battle at the time of war, He
keeps ranks and leads the army.
When I go to a banquet at the time of joy, He is
the saki, minstrel and cup.
When I write letters to my friends, He is paper,
pen, and inkwell.
When I awaken, He is my new awareness; when
I go to bed, He enters my dreams.
When I seek a rhyme for my poetry, He eases
the way for my mind.
He stands above whatever form you can picture,
like painter and pen.
No matter how much higher you look, He is
still higher than that "higher" of yours.
Go, abandon speaking and books--much better
it is to let Him be your book.
Be silent! For all six directions are His light;
and when you pass beyond the directions, He Himself is the
Ruler.
I have preferred Thy Pleasure over my own;
Thy secret is mine, so I keep it hidden.
Marvellous sun of Tabriz! Like the sun, he is
exceedingly worthy of himself.

-- Translation by William Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, 1983

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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

[Sunlight] "The soul's true coin"

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

The High God lays upon our body, O lion-hearted,
heat and cold and grief and pain,
fear and hunger and poverty and illness—
all for the soul—
so the soul's true coin may be seen and used.

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

Haqq Ta`âlâ garm o sard o ranj o dard
bar tan-e mâ mi nehad ay shir mard
Khawf o ju` va naqs-e amvâl o badan
jomleh be-har naqd-e jân zâher shodan

-- Mathnawi II: 2963-2964
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

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Monday, May 26, 2008

[Sunlight] The story of the laziest son

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

A man on his deathbed left instructions
for dividing up his goods among his three sons.
He had devoted his entire spirit to those sons.
They stood like cypress trees around him,
quiet and strong.
He told the town judge,
"Whichever of my sons is laziest,
give him all the inheritance."

Then he died, and the judge turned to the three,
"Each of you must give some account of your laziness,
so I can understand just how you are lazy."

Mystics are experts in laziness. They rely on it,
because they continually see God working all around them.
The harvest keeps coming in, yet they
never even did the plowing!

"Come on. Say something about the ways you are lazy."

Every spoken word is a covering for the inner self.
A little curtain-flick no wider than a slice
of roast meat can reveal hundreds of exploding suns.
Even if what is being said is trivial and wrong,
the listener hears the source. One breeze comes
from across a garden. Another from across the ash-heap.
Think how different the voices of the fox
and the lion, and what they tell you!

Hearing someone is lifting the lid off the cooking pot.
You learn what's for supper. Though some people
can know just by the smell, a sweet stew
from a sour soup cooked with vinegar.

A man taps a clay pot before he buys it
to know by the sound if it has a crack.

The eldest of the three brothers told the judge.
"I can know a man by his voice,
and if he won't speak,
I wait three days, and then I know him intuitively."

The second brother, "I know him when he speaks,
and if he won't talk, I strike up a conversation."

"But what if he knows that trick?" asked the judge.

Which reminds me of the mother who tells her child,
"When you are walking through the graveyard at night
and you see a boogeyman, run at it,
and it will go away."

"But what," replies the child, "if the boogeyman's
mother has told it to do the same thing?
Boogeymen have mothers too."

The second brother had no answer.

The judge then asked the youngest brother,
What if a man cannot be made to say anything?
How do you learn his hidden nature?"

I sit in front of him in silence,
and set up a ladder made of patience,
and if in his presence a language from beyond joy
and beyond grief begins to pour from my chest,
I know that his soul is as deep and bright
as the star Canopus rising over Yemen.
And so when I start speaking a powerful right arm
of words sweeping down, I know him from what I say,
and how I say it, because there's a window open
between us, mixing the night air of our beings."

The youngest was, obviously,
the laziest. He won.

-- Mathnawi VI: 4876-4916
Version by Coleman Barks
"The Essential Rumi"
HarperSanFrancisco, 1995

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Friday, May 23, 2008

[Sunlight] "Through this fire" – Ghazal 685

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

A hundred flames shine in the eyes.
They come from this finest part of the heart
where fire dwells.
How strange! In this burning place
There are so many roses, so much greenery,
so much jasmine.
Through this fire, the garden cools down
And water weds the flame.

-- Ghazal (Ode) 685
Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi
Selected and Translated by Muriel Maufroy
Sanyar Press - London, 1997

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

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

[Sunlight] "Until the heart becomes a king"

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

Kill the snake of desire in the beginning;
or watch out: your snake will become a dragon.
But everyone considers his own snake to be just an ant:
if you do, seek knowledge of your real state
from one who is a lord of the heart.
Until copper becomes gold,
it doesn't know that it's copper:
until the heart becomes a king,
it doesn't recognize its poverty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mâr-e shahvat-râ be-kosh dar ebtedâ
varnah inak gasht mâret azhdahâ
Layk har kas mur binad mâr-e khvish
to ze sâheb-del kon estefsâr-e khvish
Tâ na-shod zar mes na-dânad man mesam
tâ na-shod shah del na-dânad moflesam

-- Mathnawi II: 3472-3474
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

[Sunlight] "Doors in Metal" -- Ghazal 2138

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

"Doors in Metal"

Tell me, O Love,
Who is more elegant,
You or this vast garden of yours?

Shine, O moon,
You are an inspiration
to all who look upon the night sky.

Sour will turn to sweet,
Blasphemy will turn to truth,
Thorn bushes will turn to jonquil,
A hundred bodies will spring to life
with one breath of yours.

You place doors in the sky.
You place wings on the human heart.
You enchant every mind
and bewilder both worlds.

O Beloved,
your face is sweet and rosy red,
how rosy red.

O Beloved,
yours is the pleasure of this world
and the way to the next.

The threshed corn assumes your color;
All truth becomes one
under the stamping of your foot.
Every note of my song
longs to ring
with the sweetness of your voice.

Without you, the markets would be empty,
The gardens and the vineyards
would wash away in the rain.

You show trees how to sway in the wind.
You show wet branches how to weep.

The leaves and fruits get drunk
on your life-giving water.
If the vast gardens wished for one thing
During the eternal Spring
it would be for leaves, flying forever,
in this flower-wind of yours.

The lights of heaven and the moving planets
Think little of any star
that dares to shine
in this vast galaxy of yours.

O, what a promise you have made!
To serve joy instead of bread
to any soul who becomes a guest of yours. . . .
I went somewhere and I returned.
In a moment, as in a dream,
I was at the beginning and the end;
This elephant of a soul
saw the open plains of yours.

From all my plans I gained nothing.
In the end my heart broke its chains,
grabbed my soul,
and dragged it into your presence.
There I see no pettiness, no pain.
Every moment a new life enters,
born from the flowing compassion of yours.

O, the mountain looks small
beside your grandeur.
And the heart seems rude
beside your love . . .

You are holding every door wide open.
Doors in metal, in mountains, in stone!
Yet my heart crawls around like an ant
looking for its tiny hole.

I may sing till the end of time
Trying to describe your face
but I'll always sound mute.
How can a person talk straight
when he is in love?
How can a person walk straight
when he is drowning
in this wine-filled ocean of yours?

-- Ghazal 2138
Version by Jonathan Star, based on a translation by
Shahram Shiva
"A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi"
Bantam Books, 1992

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

[Sunlight] Time and timelessness

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

Hours make the young old.
All changes have arisen from the hours:
the one who is freed from hours is freed from change.
When for an hour you escape from the hours,
"how" no longer remains:
you become familiar with that which is without "how."
Hours are not acquainted with timelessness.
For the one who is possessed by time,
there is no way there except bewilderment.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ham dar ân sâ`at rost jân
zânke sâ`at pir gardând javân
Jomleh-ye talvin-hâ ze sâ`at khâstast
rast az talvin keh az sâ`at be-rast
Chon ze sâ`at sâ`ati birun shavi
chon na-mânad mahram-e bi-chon shavi
Sâ`at az bi sâ`ati âgâh nist
zankesh ân su joz tahayyor râh nist

-- Mathnawi III:2073-2076
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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Monday, May 19, 2008

[Sunlight] "Lay your neck before the knife"

Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal (Ode) 728, in an interpretive
version by Professor Barks, and in translation by Professor Arberry:

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

More Range

We're friends with one who kills us,
who gives us to the ocean waves. We

love this death. Only ignorance says,
Put it off a while, day after tomorrow.

Don't avoid the knife. This friend
only seems fierce, bringing your soul

more range, perching your falcon on a
cliff of the wind. Jesus on his cross,

Hallaj on his - those absurd killings
hold a secret. Cautious cynics know

what they're doing with every moment and why.
Submit to love without thinking, as

the sun this morning rose recklessly
extinguishing our star-candle minds.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"The Soul of Rumi"
HarperSanFrancisco, 2001

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We are foes to ourselves, and friends to him who slays us;
we are drowned in the sea, and the waves of the sea are slaying us.
For this reason, laughing and gay, we are yielding up sweet
life, because that king is slaying us with honey and sugar and
sweetmeat.
We make ourselves out fat for the sacrifice of the feast, because
that butcher of lovers slays the very fine and handsome.
That Iblis without light begs for a respite from Him; He gave
him respite, because He is slaying him after tomorrow.*
Like Ishmael, cheerfully lay your neck before the knife; do not
steal your throat away from Him, if He is slaying, until He slays.*
Azrael has no power or way to overcome lovers; love itself and
passion slays the lovers of love.
The slain ones shout, "Would that my people knew"; secretly the
Beloved bestows a hundred lives, and openly slays.*
Put forth a head out of the earth of the body, and then see that
He is either drawing you to heaven, or slaying you.
The spirit of breath he takes away, the comfort spiritual He
bestows; He releases the falcon of the soul, and slays the owl of
sorrow.*
That idea the Christian carries abroad, the Moslem has not that
idea, that He is slaying this Messiah upon the cross.*
Every true lover is like Mansur, they slay themselves; show any
beside the lover who deliberately slays himself!*
Death daily makes a hundred requisitions on mankind; the
lover of God without requisition slays himself.
I make this enough, else I will myself utter the lovers' secret,
though the unbeliver slays himself of anger and fury.
Shams-I Tabrizi has climbed over the horizon like the sun;
unceremoniously he is extinguishing the candles of the stars.

*"That Iblis..." -- see Koran 15:36-49
*"Like Ishmael..." -- see Nicholson on Math. I:227
*"Azrael..." -- Azrael is the angel of death. For this verse, see
Aflaki 591.
*"The slain ones shout..." -- Korn 36:27
*"The spirit of breath..." -- a play on "ruh, rihi, rah, rahi."
*"The idea that..." -- See Koran 4:157
*"...like Mansur" -- Mansur: Hallaj

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

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Friday, May 16, 2008

[Sunlight] "Without you"

Today, Sunlight offers two presentations of Quatrain 910 - a
version by Barks, derived from a translation by Moyne, and a
version by Star, derived from a translation by Shiva:

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

I planted roses, but without you they were thorns.
I hatched peacock eggs. Snakes were inside.
Played the harp, sour music.
I went to the eighth heaven. It was the lowest hell.

- Version by Coleman Barks and John Moyne
Unseen Rain
Quatrains of Rumi
Threshold Books, 1986

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

I plant some flowers without you,
they become thorns.
I see a peacock, it turns into a snake.
I play the rubaab – nothing but noise.
I go to the highest heaven, it's a burning hell.

- Version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva
A Garden Beyond Paradise
The Mystical Poetry of Rumi
Bantam Books, 1992

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

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

[Sunlight] "Where there is pain, the cure will come"

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

Where there is pain, the cure will come;
where the land is low, water will run.
If you want the water of mercy, go, become low!
Then drink mercy's wine and become drunk (Mathnavi II 1939-40)

-- Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
State Univ. of New York Press, Albany, 1983

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

Lovingkindness is drawn to the saint, as medicine goes
to the pain it must cure.
Where there is pain, the remedy follows:
wherever the lowlands are, the water goes.
If you want the water of mercy, make yourself low;
then drink the wine of mercy and be drunk.
Mercy upon mercy rises to your head like a flood.
Don't settle on a single mercy, O son.
Bring the sky beneath your feet
and listen to celestial music everywhere.

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

Mehrbâni shod shekâr-e shirmard
dar jahân dâru na-juyad ghayr-e dard
Har kojâ dardi davâ ânjâ ravad
har kojâ pastist âb ânjâ davad
b-e rahmat bâyadet raw past shaw
v-ângahân khvor khamr-e rahmat mast shaw
Rahmat andar rahmat âmad tâ be-sar
bar yeki rahmat foru ma-â ay pesar
Charkh-râ dar zir-e pâ ay shojâ`
Be-shenaw az fawq-e falak bâng-e samâ`

-- Mathnawi II: 1938-1942
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

[Sunlight] "Tulips, violets and jasmine sprout" -- Ghazal 2006

Today, Sunlight offers Rumi's Ghazal (Ode) 2006, in a version by
Professor Barks, and in translations by Professors Schimmel and
Arberry:

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

Jasmine comes up where You step
You breathe on dirt, and it sails off
like a kite. You wash Your hands,
and the water You throw out shines with gold.

You say the first line of the Qur'an,
and all the dead commentators lift their heads.

Your robe brushes a thornbush,
and a deep chord of music comes.

Whatever You break finds itself more intelligent
for being broken. Every second a new being
stands in the courtyard of Your chest
like Adam, without a father or mother,
but the beginning of many generations to come.

I should rhyme that fifty times!

The beginning of many
generations to come,

a line without any
inclination to end!

But I won't. I close my mouth
in hopes You'll open Yours.

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

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

Where you put your foot on earth, my life,
Tulips, violets and jasmine sprout.
If you take some clay and breathe on it,
It becomes a hawk, a dove, a crow!
If you wash your hand in earthen bowls
They become, thanks to your hand, pure gold.
If you say a prayer at a grave –
Look, a happy man lifts up his head!
If your garment strikes the claws of thorns,
They become a harp with sweetest sound.
Ev'ry idol that you smash, O friend,
Gets his soul and intellect from you.
If you shine on some ill-starred man –
Fortune's star relieves him from all pain!
Fifty verses would I like to sing,
But I close my mouth. You open yours!

-- Translation by Annemarie Schimmel
"Look! This is Love - Poems of Rumi"
Shambala, 1991

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

Wherever you set your foot, my darling, tulip and violet and
jasmine spring up.
You breathe upon a piece of clay, and it becomes either a dove
or a kite.
You wash your hands in a dish and from the water of your
hand that basin becomes of gold.
You recite the Fateha over a grave and a Bu'l-Fotuh raises his
head from the winding-sheet.*
Your shirt strikes against the clutch of a thorn, and its clutch
becomes a strumming lute.
Every idol you have broken, O Abraham, received life and
finds intellect from that breaking.
Since the new moon shone upon an evil-starred one, it
became the greatest good fortune and he escaped from misfortune.
Every moment there springs from the court of your breast a
newborn without mother or father, like Adam.
And thereafter from his side and loins children abound in the
earth.
I wanted to speak fifty couplets on this rhyme; I closed my
lips, that you might open your mouth.

-- Translation by A. J. Arberry
"Mystical Poems of Rumi 2"
The University of Chicago Press 1968/1991
(Footnote by Professor Arberry)

* Fateha, the first sura of the Qur'an, is recited several times in
daily prayers. Bu'l-Fotah seems to be a "konya" or title
meaning "father of victories. "Golpinarli, following the same idea,
translates the line: "If you recite Fateha over a grave, the person
will rise with the victorious ones. . ." (4:249). Otherwise, one
might think that the reference is to Abu'l Fotuh Razi, the celebrated
commentator of the Qur'an, meaning a man like Abu'l Fotuh rises when
the fateha is recited.

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

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

[Sunlight] "Shatter your egoism to pieces"

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

The ship of self-consciousness, when utterly wrecked,
becomes like a sun in a bright blue sky.
Since you haven't died, your agony
has been prolonged, O candle of Tiraz!
Know that the Sun of the world is hidden if our stars can be seen.
Wield the mace against yourself; shatter your egoism to pieces,
for what you take to be "seeing" is like cotton in your ear.

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

Âftâb-e gonbad-e azraq shavad
kashti-ye hosh chonkeh mostaghraq shavad
Chon na-mordi gasht jân kandan darâz
mât shaw dar sobh ay shama`-e Terâz
Tâ na-gashtand akhtarân-e mâ nehân
dân keh panhânast Khvorshid-e jahân
Gorz bar khvod zan mani dar ham shekan
zânkeh panbeh-ye gush âmad cheshm-e tan

-- Mathnawi VI:729-732
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

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Monday, May 12, 2008

[Sunlight] "A tiny piece of a piece of straw"

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

This World Which Is Made of
Our Love for Emptiness

Praise to the emptiness that blanks out existence. Existence:
This place made from our love for that emptiness!
Yet somehow comes emptiness,
this existence goes.
Praise to that happening, over and over!
For years I pulled my own existence out of emptiness.
Then one swoop, one swing of the arm,
that work is over.
Free of who I was, free of presence, free of dangerous fear, hope,
free of mountainous wanting.
The here-and-now mountain is a tiny piece of a piece of straw
blown off into emptiness.
These words I'm saying so much begin to lose meaning:
Existence, emptiness, mountain, straw:
Words and what they try to say swept
out the window, down the slant of the roof.

-- Ode 950
Version by Coleman Barks
"Open Secret"
Threshold Books, 1984

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

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Friday, May 09, 2008

[Sunlight] How unfair is this Love! - Quatrain 25

Today, Sunlight offers three interpretations of Quatrain 25:

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

sweetheart i see myself
very close to you
like earth
i welcome your every step
is it fair to call you
my entire world
and yet not
find you around

--Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame
Cal-Earth Press, 2001

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

We are bound together.
I am the ground
You are the step.
How unfair is this Love!
I can see Your world
but You, I cannot.

-- Translation by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
Rumi: Whispers of the Beloved
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1999

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

Friend, our closeness is this:
Anywhere you put your foot, feel me
in the firmness under you.

How is it with this love,
I see your world and not you?

-- Version by Coleman Barks
Open Secret
Threshold Books, 1984

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

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Thursday, May 08, 2008

[Sunlight] The secret of love

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

Love has nothing to do with the five senses and the six directions:
its goal is only to experience the attraction exerted by the Beloved.
Afterwards, perhaps, permission will come from God:
the secrets that ought to be told will be told
with an eloquence nearer to the understanding
than these subtle confusing allusions.
The secret is partner with none but the knower of the secret:
in the skeptic's ear the secret is no secret at all.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

`Eshq-râ bâ panj o bâ shesh kâr nist
maqsad-e u joz keh jazb-e Yâr nist
Bu keh fimâ ba`d dasturi resad
râz-hâ-ye goftani gofteh shavad
Bâ bayâni keh bovad nazdik-tar
zin kenâyât-e daqiq-e mostater
Râz joz bâ râzdân anbâz nist
râz andar gush-e monker râz nist

-- Mathnawi VI:5-8
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

[Sunlight] "Can the intellect perceive thee?" -- Ghazal 144

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

Can the intellect perceive thee, or love, or the
pure spirit? Does the Guarded Tablet know thee, do the angels
in heaven?*
Do Gabriel or Jesus or Moses even see thee in
their dreams? Is the celestial sphere worthy to be thy abode,
or the Lote Tree of the Far Boundary?
Moses' Mount Sinai has become blood many
times in love's madness, because an echo of Lord Shams al-
Din's fame fell upon it.
The jealousy of the One has woven radiance
upon radiance over his face. Muhammad's spirit shouts, "Oh,
how I desire to meet him!"*
God's Jealousy would burn the two worlds to a
cinder if a single hair of his beauty were to appear to us without veil.
His beauty has shone forth from behind a
hundred thousand veils. The spirit has fallen to shouting,
"Welcome, oh king, welcome!"
The elegant cypress has bent itself double in
prostrating itself before Tabriz; tiny Suha* shines forth over Tabriz
like a sun.

-- Ghazal 144
Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

* The Guarded Tablet (lawh-i mahfuz), mentioned in the Koran as the locus
wherein the Koran is inscribed (LXXXV 22), is usually interpreted in a
cosmological sense to mean the Universal Soul, the passive pole of
spiritual
existence. Within it the Pen--the Universal Intellect--inscribes the
knowledge of all things which are to come into existence. As a result, the
created universe is born.

* The Prophet said, "Oh how I desire to meet my brothers," a saying
that is
taken to refer to the saints who would be born in coming generations.

* "Suha" -- the name of a small star

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

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Tuesday, May 06, 2008

[Sunlight] "If your physician is the Light of God"

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

Over the years that soft moonlike face
becomes like the back of a Libyan lizard,
and that head crowned with fair hair grows ugly and bald.
Truly these are signs of pain and decay, each a messenger of death.
But if your physician is the Light of God,
no loss or crushing blow is suffered from fever or old age.
The one without Light is an orchard without fruit,
which the autumn will bring to ruin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ân rokhi keh tâb-e u bod mâh-vâr
shod be-piri hamcho posht-e susmâr
Vân sar o farq-e gash-e sha`sha` shodeh
vaqt-e piri nâ-khvosh o asla` shodeh
In khvod âsâr-e ghamm o pazhmordegist
har yeki zin-hâ rasul-e mordegist
Lik gar bâshad tabibesh Nur-e Haqq
nist az piri o tab noqsân o daqq
Vânke ânesh nist bâgh-e bi samar
keh khazânesh mi konad zir o zabar

-- Mathnawi V: 968-969; 973; 977
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

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Monday, May 05, 2008

[Sunlight] "Champion Lovemaker and Leader of Men"

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

"Champion Lovemaker and Leader of Men"

If you could not feel tenderness and hurt.
If you could live in the poorhouse of non-wanting
and never be indignant.
If you could take two steps away from the beautiful one
you want so much to lie down with.
If you could trust there's a spirit-wife
for you somewhere, a whole harem of wives,
a nest, a jewel-setting where
when you sit down, you know
you've always wanted to be.
If you could quit living here and go there.
If you could remember clearly what you've done.

But strong hooks hold you in this wind.
So many people love you,
you mix with the color and smell and taste of surroundings.
Champion lovemaker and leader of men!
You can't give up your public fascination,
or your compassion for the dying.

There's another compassion you don't know yet,
but you may, when griefs disappear.
It's a place,
with no questioning thorns in the pasture grass.
If you could remember you're not a crow,
but the mystic osprey that never needs to light,
you could be walking there
with Shams.

-- Ode 959
Version by Coleman Barks
"Open Secret - Versions of Rumi"
Threshold Book, 1984

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

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Friday, May 02, 2008

[Sunlight] Free from the cage

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

birds are free from the cage
cage is empty from the birds
where have you flown from
to be so happy
I can smell eternity
in your songs

-- Quatrain 1955
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Dancing the Flame"
Cal-Earth Press, 2001

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

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Thursday, May 01, 2008

[Sunlight] "When you have come to live through God"

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

To exalt oneself is to claim partnership with God.
Unless you have died and become living through Him,
you are an enemy seeking to hold the power.
But when you have come to live through God,
that which you have become is in truth He:
it is no longer copartnership, but absolute Unity.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In foru`ast va osulesh ân bovad
keh taraffo` sherkat-e Yazdân bovad
Chon na-mordi o na-gashti zendeh zu
yâghiyi bâshi be-sherkat-e molk ju
Chon bedu zendeh shodi ân khvod Vayst
vahdat-e mahz ast ân sherkat kayst

-- Mathnawi IV: 2765-2767
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

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