Friday, August 29, 2008

[Sunlight] Leave the stream and join the river

~

Today, Sunlight offers three interpretations of Quatrain 62:

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

If you want to live, leave your banks,
as a small stream enters the Oxus, miles wide,
or as cattle moving around a millstone
suddenly circle to the top of the sphere.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
"Unseen Rain"
Threshold Books, 1986

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

Are you searching for your soul?
Then come out of your prison.
Leave the stream and join the river
that flows into the ocean.
Absorbed in this world
you've made it your burden.
Rise above this world.
There is another vision…

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

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

if you want to find yourself
leave yourself alone
wade in no little creek
swim in the big flow
you are that bull
who carries the world
revolt for once
and topple the globe.

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

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

~


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

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

[Sunlight] All people are children to the guide

~

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

For a newborn child, the father babbles,
though his own intelligence encompasses the world.
One must adopt the child's language
to convey knowledge.
All the people, then, are children to the guide:
this the pir remembers
when he attempts to teach.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bahr-e tefl-e naw pedar ti-ti konad
garcheh `aqlesh handaseh-ye giti konad
Kam na-gardad fazl-e ostâd az `olu
gar alf chizi na-dârad guyad u
Az pay-e ta`lim ân basteh dahan
az zabân-e khvod berun bâyad
Dar zabân-e u be-bâyad âmadan
tâ biyâmuzad ze to u `elm o fann

-- Mathnawi II:3315-3318
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

~


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

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

[Sunlight] This world is all war

~

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

When you look carefully, this world is all war:
Mote fights with mote, like belief with unbelief. . . .
But in the light of the spiritual eye, our war
and our peace are not from ourselves: They are "between His
two fingers."
The war of nature, the war of acts, the war of
words--in the midst of the individual parts a frightful war.
The world subsists through this war: Look at
the four elements and resolve this difficulty.
The four elements are four sturdy pillars,
through which the roof of the heavens is kept in place.
But each pillar destroys the other: Water's pillar
destroys that of fire.
So creation is built upon opposites: Inevitably
we are warring over profit and loss. . . .
But that world is naught but everlasting and
flourishing, since it is not compounded of opposites.
Each opposite inflicts reciprocal annihilation
upon its opposite; when opposition disappears, subsistence
alone remains. . . .
Colorlessness is the root of all colors, peace
the root of all wars.
That world is the root of this abode full of
heartaches; union is the root of every parting and separation.
Why are we in such opposition, oh friend? Why
does Unity give birth to this multiplicity?
Because we are the branch, and the four
opposite elements the root. The root has engendered
its qualities in the branch.
Since the substance of the spirit is beyond
separation, it does not partake of these qualities: Its qualities
are those of the divine Majesty.

-- Mathnawi VI: 36, 45-50, 56-57, 59-63
Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

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

~


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

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

[Sunlight] "Does such a being exist?"

~

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

"I am searching everywhere for a human being who is alive
with the life inspired by divine breath.
Does such a being exist?"
"This bazaar," said the other, "is crowded with human beings."
The sage answered, "I want one
who is a human being on the two-eyed road:
in the moment of anger and at the time of desire.
Where is someone who is a human being
both when anger comes and at the moment of appetite?
From street to street, I search for someone like that.
Where in the world is one who remains human in both these
moments?
I would devote my life to such a human being."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Goft "Mi juyam beh-har su âdami
keh bovad hayy az hayât-e ân dami
Hast mardi?" Goft "In bâzâr por
mard mânand âkhar ay dânâ-ye horr"
Goft "Khvâham mard bar jâdeh-ye do rah
dar rah-e cheshm o be-hangâm-e sharah
Vaqt-e kheshm o vaqt-e shahvat mard ku
tâleb-e mardi-vânam ku beh-ku
Ku darin do hâl mardi dar jahân
tâ fedâ-ye u konam emruz jân"

-- Mathnawi V: 2890-2894
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

~

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

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[Sunlight] "Does such a being exist?"

~

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

"I am searching everywhere for a human being who is alive
with the life inspired by divine breath.
Does such a being exist?"
"This bazaar," said the other, "is crowded with human beings."
The sage answered, "I want one
who is a human being on the two-eyed road:
in the moment of anger and at the time of desire.
Where is someone who is a human being
both when anger comes and at the moment of appetite?
From street to street, I search for someone like that.
Where in the world is one who remains human in both these
moments?
I would devote my life to such a human being."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Goft "Mi juyam beh-har su âdami
keh bovad hayy az hayât-e ân dami
Hast mardi?" Goft "In bâzâr por
mard mânand âkhar ay dânâ-ye horr"
Goft "Khvâham mard bar jâdeh-ye do rah
dar rah-e cheshm o be-hangâm-e sharah
Vaqt-e kheshm o vaqt-e shahvat mard ku
tâleb-e mardi-vânam ku beh-ku
Ku darin do hâl mardi dar jahân
tâ fedâ-ye u konam emruz jân"

-- Mathnawi V: 2890-2894
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

~


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

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Monday, August 25, 2008

[Sunlight] "An Invisible Bee" -- Ghazal 2390

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"An Invisible Bee"

Look how desire has changed in you,
how light and colorless it is,

with the world growing new marvels
because of your changing. Your soul

has become an invisible bee. We
don't see it working, but there's

the full honeycomb.! Your body's height,
six feet or so, but your soul rises

through nine levels of sky. A barrel
corked with earth and a raw wooden

spile keeps the oldest vineyard's wine
inside. When I see you, it is not so

much your physical form, but the company
of two riders, your pure-fire devotion

and your love for the one who teaches you;
then the sun and moon on foot behind those.

-- Ghazal (Ode) 2390
Version by Coleman Barks, with Nevit Ergin
"The Glance"
Viking-Penguin, 1999

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

~


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

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Friday, August 22, 2008

[Sunlight] One Grain

~


Here, Sunlight is pleased to offer a contemporary translation of
a Mathnawi selection, with footnotes and a Persian transliteration,
from Dr. Ibrahim Gamard:


^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Mathnawi VI: 806-827

The ant trembles for a grain (of wheat) because it is
blind to the goodly threshing-floors.
It drags a grain along greedily and fearfully, for it does
not see such a noble stack of winnowed wheat (as is there).
The Owner of the threshing-floor is saying (to the ant),
"Hey, thou who in thy blindness deemest nothing something,
Hast thou regarded that (alone) as belonging to My
threshing-floors, so that thou art devoted* with
(all) thy soul to that (single) grain?"
O thou who in semblance art (insignificant as) a mote,
look at Saturn; thou art a lame ant: go, look at Solomon*.
Thou art not this body: thou art that (spiritual) Eye. If thou
hast beheld the spirit, thou art delivered from the body.
Man (essentially) is eye: the rest (of him) is (mere) flesh
and skin: whatsoever his eye has beheld, he is that thing.
A jar will submerge a mountain with (its) water when
the eye of the jar is open to the Sea.
When from the soul (interior) of the jar a channel is made to
the Sea, the jar will overwhelm the Jayhun (Oxus)*.
For that reason whatsoever the speech (voice) of Ahmad
I (Mohammed) may utter, the words are (really)
uttered by the Sea.
All his words were pearls of the Sea, for his heart
had a passage into the Sea.
Since the bounty of the Sea is (poured) through our jar,
what wonder (that) the Sea (itself) should be
(contained) in a Fish?*
The sensual eye is fixed on the form of the thoroughfare*:
thou art regarding it as a thoroughfare, but he
(the Perfect Man)as a permanent abode.
This dualism is characteristic of the eye that sees double;
but (in reality) the first is the last and the last
is the first.
Hark, by what means is this made known (to thee)? By means
of the (spiritual) resurrection. Seek to experience (that)
resurrection: do not dispute concerning (that) resurrection.
The (necessary) condition of (experiencing) the Day of Resurrection
is to die first, for (the word) ba'th (resurrection) is
(signifies) "to raise to life from the dead."
Hence all the world have taken the wrong way, for they
are afraid of non-existence, though it is (really)
the refuge (in which they find salvation).
Whence shall we seek (true) knowhedge? From renouncing
(our false) knowledge. Whence shall we seek (true)
peace? From renouncing peace (with our carnal selves).
Whence shall we seek (real) existence? From renouncing (illusory)
existence. Whence shall we seek the apple (of Truth)?
From renouncing the hand (of self-assertion
and self-interest).
O best Helper, only Thou canst make the eye that regards
the non-existent to regard that which is (really) existent.
The eye that was produced from non-existence regarded the
Essence of (real) Being as wholly non-existent;
(But), if (thy) two eyes are transformed and illumined,
this well-ordered world becomes the scene of the
Last Judgement.

-- "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"

*devoted: "Perhaps it would be better to translate: 'Thou hast
regarded.
. . because thou art devoted. . . '" (Nicholson, Commentary, p.327).
*Solomon: refers to the story of Solomon and the ants, Qur'an 27:18
*Jayhún (Oxus): a river in Central Asia. An idiom meaning a great
river.
*Fish: "i.e. in a Perfect man (prophet or saint)" (Nicholson)
"Cf. the Hadíth-i qudsí. . . 'Neither My earth nor My heaven contains
Me, but I am contained in the heart of My faithful servant.'"
(Nicholson)
*thoroughfare: "i.e. on the phenomenal aspect of things" (Nicholson)
*permanent abode: "The translation of the second hemistich should run:
'thou regardest him as (only) a thoroughfare, while (in reality) he is
the permanent resting-place.'" (Nicholson)
*the first: "Cf. . . Qur'an 57:3: 'He is the First and the Last. . .'"
(Nicholson)


^ ^ ^


mûr bar dâna ba-d-ân larzân shaw-ad
ke ze kermân-hâ-yé khwash a`mà bûd

mê kash-ad ân dâna-râ bâ HirS-o bîm
ke na-mê-bîn-ad chonân châsh-é karîm

SâHib-é kherman hamê gôy-ad ke hay
ay ze kûrî pêsh-é tô ma`dûm shay

tô ze kherman-hâ-yé mâ ân dîda-î
ke dar ân dâna ba-jân pêchîda-î

ay ba-Sûrat Zarra, kaywân-râ be-bîn
mûr-é lang-î, raw sulaymân-râ be-bîn

tô na-î în jism, tô ân dîda-î
wâ rah-î az jism, gar jân dîda-î

âdamê dîd-ast, bâqî gôsht-o pôst
har-che chasm-ash dîda-ast ân chêz ô-st

kûh-râ gharqa kon-ad yak khom ze nam
manfaZ-ash chûn bâz bâsh-ad sôy-é yam

chûn ba-daryâ râh shod az jân-é khom
khomm bâ jayHûn bar âr-ad oshtolom

z-an sabab qul gofta-î daryâ bow-ad
har-che naTq-é aHmadê gôyâ bow-ad

gofta-yé ô jomla durr-é baHr bûZ
ke del-ash-râ bûd dar daryâ nafûZ

dâd-é daryâ chûn ze khumm-é mâ bow-ad
che `ajab dar mâhiyê daryâ bow-ad?

chashm-é hiss afsord bar naqsh-é mamar
to-sh mamar mê-bîn-î wo ô mustaqar

în dowî awSâf-é dîd-e aHwal-ast
w-ar-na awwal âkhir, âkhir awwal-ast

hay ze che ma`lûm kard-ad în? ze ba`S
ba`S-râ jô, kam kon andar ba`s baHS

sharT-é rôz-é ba`S awwal mordan-ast
z-ânka ba`S az morda zenda kardan-ast

jomla `âlam z-în ghalaT kard-and râh
k-az `adam tars-and-o ân âm-ad panâh

az kojâ jôy-êm `ilm? az tark-é `ilm
az kojâ jôy-êm silm? az tark-é silm

az kojâ jôy-êm hast? az tark-é hast
az kojâ jôy-êm sêb? az tark-é dast

ham tô tân-î kard yâ ni`ma 'l-mu`în
dîda'ê ma`dûm-bîn-râ hast-bîn

dîda'yê k-ô az `adam âm-ad padîd
Zât-é hastî-râ hama ma`dûm dîd

în jahân-é muntaZim maHshar shaw-ad
gar dô dîda mubdal-o anwar shaw-ad

-- Rumi's Mathnawi VI:806-827
Transliteration courtesy of Ibrahim Gamard

^ ^ ^ ^ ^


~


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

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

[Sunlight] "By means of union"

~


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

Were it not for the help of the walls,
how should houses and buildings arise?
If each wall were separate from the others,
how would the roof be held up?
Without pen and ink,
how would writing be placed on paper?
If this rush mat were not interwoven,
the wind would carry it away.
Know that since God created pairs of every kind,
all results are produced by means of union.

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

Gar na-bâshad yâri-ye divâr-hâ
kay bar âyad khâneh o anbâr-hâ
Har yeki divâr agar bâshad jodâ
saqf chon bâshad mo`allaq dar havâ
Ga na-bâshad yâri-ye hebr o qalam
kay fotad ba ru-ye kâghaz yâ raqam
In hasiri keh kasi mi gostarad
gar nah payvandad be-ham bâdesh barad
Haqq ze har jensi cho zawjayn âfarid
pas natâyej shod ze jam`iyat padid

-- Mathnawi VI: 519-523
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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


~


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

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

[Sunlight] "Take away everything that takes me from you" -- Quatrain 1408

~


Today, Sunlight offers three interpretations of Quatrain 1408:

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

O my Beloved!
Take me,
Liberate my soul,
Fill me with your love,
and release me from both worlds.

If I set my heart
On anything but you,
O fire, burn me from inside!

O my Beloved
Take away what I want,
Take away what I do,
Take away everything
that takes me from you.

-- Version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva
"A Garden Beyond Paradise"
Bantam Books, 1992

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

take me in my love
take my soul
set me on ecstasy
take both of my worlds
if I rest my heart on
anything but you
throw me with fireball
take everything I hold

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

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

My Friend,
I offer You my life.
Accept me, make me drunk
and save me from both worlds.
Set me on fire
if my heart settles on anything
but You.

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

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

~

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

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

[Sunlight] Severed from every other work

~


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

The real work belongs to someone who desires God
and has severed himself from every other work.

The rest are like children who play together until it gets dark
for these few short days.

Or like someone who awakes and springs up, still drowsy,
and then is lulled back to sleep by the suggestion of an evil nurse:
"Go to sleep, my darling, I won't let anyone disturb your slumber."

If you are wise, you, yourself, will tear up your slumber by the
roots, like the thirsty man who heard the noise of the water.

God says to you, "I am the noise of the water in the ears of the
thirsty; I am rain falling from heaven.
Spring up, lover, show some excitement!
How can you hear the sound of water and then fall back asleep?!"

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

Kâr u dârad keh Haqq-râ shod morid
bahr-e kâr-e U ze har kâri borid
Digarân chon kudakân in ruz chand
tâ be-shab tarhâl bâzi mi konand
Khvâbnâki ku ze yaqzat mi jahad
dâyeh-'i vasvâs-e `ashveh-sh mi dehad
"Raw be-khosp ay jân keh na-gozârim mâ
keh kasi az khvâb be-jahânad torâ"
Ham to khvod-râ bar koni az bikh khvâb
hamcho teshneh keh shenud u bâng-e âb
"Bâng âyam Man be-gush-e teshnegân
hamcho bârân mi resam az âsmân
Bar jah ay `âsheq bar âvor ezterâb
bâng-e âb o teshneh va ângâh khvâb?!"

-- Mathnawi VI: 586-592
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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


~


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

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Monday, August 18, 2008

[Sunlight] "Do the careful donkey-tending work"

~


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

"After the Meditation"

Now I see something in my listeners
that won't let me continue this way.

The ocean flows back in
and puts up a foam barrier,
and then withdraws.

After a while,
it will come in again.

This audience wants to hear more
about the visiting sufi and his friends
in meditation. But be discerning.

Don't think of this as a normal character
in an ordinary story.

The ecstatic meditation ended.
Dishes of food were brought out.

The sufi remembered his donkey
that had carried him all day.

He called to the servant there, "Please,
go to the stable and mix the barley generously
with the straw for the animal. Please."

"Don't worry yourself with such matters.
All things have been attended to."

"But I want to make sure that you wet the barley first.
He's an old donkey, and his teeth are shaky."
"Why are you telling me this?
I have given the appropriate orders."

"But did you remove the saddle gently,
and put salve on the sore he has?"

"I have served thousands of guests
with these difficulties, and all have gone away
satisfied. Here, you are treated as family.
Do not worry. Enjoy yourself."

"But did you warm his water
just a little, and then add only a bit of straw
to the barley?"
"Sir, I'm ashamed for you."

"And please,
sweep the stall clean of stones and dung,
and scatter a little dry earth in it."

"For God's sake, sir,
leave my business to me!"

"And did you currycomb his back?
He loves that."

"Sir! I am personally
responsible for all these chores!"

The servant turned and left at a brisk pace ...
to join his friends in the street.

The sufi then lay down to sleep
and had terrible dreams about his donkey,
how it was being torn to pieces by a wolf,
or falling helplessly into a ditch.

And his dreaming was right!
His donkey was being totally neglected, weak and gasping
without food or water all the night long.
The servant had done nothing he said he would.

There are such vicious and empty flatterers
in your life. Do the careful,
donkey-tending work.

Don't trust that to anyone else.
There are hypocrites who will praise you,
but who do not care about the health
of your heart-donkey.

Be concentrated and leonine
in the hunt for what is your true nourishment.
Don't be distracted by blandishment-noises,
of any sort.

-- Mathnawi II: 194-223; 260-63
Version by Coleman Barks
"The Essential Rumi"
HarperSanFrancisco, 1995

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


~


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

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Friday, August 15, 2008

[Sunlight] Seashell Toys

~


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

Seashell Toys

Go into God's qualities
and God's face.

Empty into those and be there,
and not there, as when letters elide
and disappear into each other
to make a smooth connection.

in the uniting
they are silent.

The words, You did not throw when you threw,
where spoken without Muhammed's speaking them.

The words, God said,
spring from silence.

A medicine on the shelf is medicinal
only when it dissolves into a diseased body.

Even if every tree were cut and split
and every limb and splinter made into pens,
and even if the ocean were ink and every human being
joined in the work, there would still be no hope
for finishing this Mathnawi!

But as long as the brickmaker's mould stays filled
with clay, this poetry will keep building.

When there's no more clay, use water!
When there's no more land-forests,
use ocean-forests!

Muhammed said, "Talk about the ocean for a while.
Then turn toward land, pick up a toy,
and talk about toys."

Children love their seashell toys,
and with them they learn about the ocean,
because a little piece of ocean
inside the child, and inside the toy,
knows the whole ocean.

-- Mathnawi VI: 2239-2256
Version by Coleman Barks
"Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion"
Threshold Books, 1991

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

~

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

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

[Sunlight] "Kept alive by Love"

~

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

My religion is to be kept alive by Love:
life derived from this animal soul and head alone is a disgrace.
The sword of Love sweeps away the dust from the lover's soul,
for this sword clears sins.
When the bodily dust is gone, my moon shines:
my spirit's moon finds an open sky.
For so long, O adored one, I've been beating this drum of love for you
to the tune of "See, my life depends upon my dying."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Din-e man az `eshq zendeh budanast
zindegi zin jân o sar nang-e manast
Tigh hast az jân-e `âsheq gard rub
zânkeh sayf oftâd mahhâ' al-dhunûb
Chon ghobâr-e tan bashad mâham be-tâft
mâh-e jân-e man havâ-ye sâf yâft
`Omr-hâ bar tabl-e `eshqet ay sanam
"Inna fî mawtî hayâtî" mi zanam

-- Mathnawi VI:4059-4062
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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


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

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

[Sunlight] Strife and substance

~

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

Oh you who have devoted yourself to strife,
you have not discerned yourself from others!
Whenever you come upon a form, you stop and
say, "I am this." By God, you are not that! . . .
How can you be that? You are that unique one,
happy, beautiful, and intoxicated with yourself.
You are your own bird, prey, and snare, your
own seat of honor, carpet, and roof.
"Substance" subsists in itself, those things that
derive from it are accidents.
If you are born of Adam, sit like him and
behold his progeny within yourself.
What does the vat contain that is not in the
river? What does the room encompass that is not in the city?
This world is the vat, and the heart the running
stream, this world the room, and the heart the city of
wonders.

-- Mathnawi IV: 803-811
Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

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

~


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

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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

[Sunlight] The lightning's deception

~


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

All selfish pleasures are false:
surrounding that flash of lightning is a wall of darkness.
The lightning gleams but a moment,
then surrounded by darkness, you'll find the way long.
By that light you can neither read a letter
nor ride to your destination.
But, because of your enchantment with the lightning,
the beams of sunrise withdraw from you.
Mile after mile through the night
the lightning's deception leads you,
without a guide, in a dark wilderness.

One moment you fall against a mountain, the next into a river;
now you wander in this direction, now in that.
O seeker of worldly position, you'll never find the guide;
and if you find him, you'll turn your face from him,
saying, "I've already traveled sixty miles on this road,
and now this guide tells me I've lost my way.
If I pay attention to his strange advice,
I'd have to begin my journey all over again under his orders.
I've devoted my life to this journey:
I'll pursue it come what may. Go away, O master!"

"Yes, you have journeyed far,
but only in opinion insubstantial as lightning:
come, make even a tenth of that journey
for the sake of the glorious sun of Divine inspiration.
You have read the verse, Opinion cannot serve instead of truth,
and yet by a lightning flash like that
you've been blinded to a rising sun.
Listen, climb into our boat, O wretched one,
or at least tie that boat of yours to this boat."

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

Jomleh lazzat-e havâ makrast o zarq
sur-e târikist gerd-e nur-e barq
Barq nur-e kuteh o kezb o majâz
gerd-e u zolomât o râh-e to darâz
Nah be-nuresh nâmeh tavâneh khvândan
nah beh be-manzel asp dâni rândan
Lik jarm ânkeh bâshi rahn-e barq
az to ru andar keshad anvâr-e sharq
Mi keshânad makr-e barqet bi dalil
dar mafâzeh-'i mozlemi shab mil mil

Bar koh ofti gâh o dar juy ufti
gah bedin su gah bedân suy ufti
Khvod na-bini to dalil ay jâh ju
var be-bini ru be-gardâni azu
Keh "Safar kardam darin rah shesad mil
mar marâ gomrâh guyad in dalil
Gar neham man gush su-ye in shegeft
ze amr-e u râham ze sar bâyad gereft
Man darin rah `omr khvod kardam geraw
harcheh bâdâ bâd ay khvâjeh be-raw"

"Râh kardi lik dar zann cho barq
`oshr-e ân rah kon pay-e vahy cho sharq
Zann lâ yughnî min al-haqq khvândeh-'i
vaz chonân barqi ze sharqi mândeh-'i
Hay dar â dar kashti-ye mâ ay nezhand
yâ to ân kashti barin kashti be-band"

-- Mathnawi VI: 4094-4106
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

~


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

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Monday, August 11, 2008

[Sunlight] Birds Nesting near the Coast -- Ode 2956

~


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

"Birds Nesting near the Coast"

Soul, if you want to learn secrets,
your heart must forget about shame

and dignity. You are God's lover,
yet you worry what people are saying.

The rope belt the early Christians
wore to show who they were, throw

it away! Inside, you are sweet
beyond telling, and the cathedral

there, so deeply tall. Evening now,
more your desire than a woman's hair.

And not knowledge: walk with those
innocent of that: faces inside fire,

birds nesting near the coast, earning
their beauty, servants to the ocean.

There is a sun within every person,
the you we call companion.

-- Ghazal (Ode) 2956
Version by Coleman Barks, with Nevit Ergin
"The Glance"
Viking-Penguin, 1999

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

~


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

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Thursday, August 07, 2008

[Sunlight] "The sword of Nothingness"

~


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

Love is the flame which, when it blazes,
consumes everything other than the beloved.
The lover wields the sword of Nothingness*
in order to dispatch all but God:
consider what remains after Nothing.
There remains but God: all the rest is gone.
Praise to you, O mighty Love, destroyer of all other "gods".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

`Eshq ân sho`leh-st ku chon bar forukht
harcheh joz ma`shuq-e bâqi jomleh sukht
Tigh-e Lâ* dar qatl-e ghayr-e Haqq borânad
dar negar zân pas keh ba`d-e Lâ cheh mânad
mânad illâ Allâh bâqi-ye jomleh raft
shâd bâsh ay `Eshq-e sherkat-suz-e zaft

*The "Lâ" of "Lâ ilâha illâ Allâh" (There are no gods but God).
Qur'ân 47:19 The Lâ written in Arabic is shaped like a sword.

-- Mathnawi V: 588-590
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

~


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

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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

[Sunlight] "Out of all the world I choose you alone" -- Ghazal 1521

~


Today, Sunlight offers Ghazal (Ode) 1521, in poetic translations
by Khalili and Schimmel, a literal translation by Arberry, and a
version from Cowan.

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

only you
i choose among the entire world
is it fair of you
letting me be unhappy

my heart is a pen in your hand
it is all up to you
to write me happy or sad

i see only what you reveal
and live as you say.
all my feelings have the color
you desire to paint

from the beginning to the end
no one but you.

please make my future
better than the past

when you hide i change
to a godless person
and when you appear
i find my faith

don't expect to find
any more in me
than what you give

don't search for
hidden pockets because
i've shown you that
all i have is all you gave

-- Poetic translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, 1994.

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

I've chosen you, of all the world, alone!
Can You allow then that I sit and grieve?
My heart is in Your fingers like a pen:
You cause my sadness and You cause
my joy.
What could I choose but that what
You have chosen?
What do I see but that what You are showing?
Now You make grow from me a thorn,
now roses –
Now I smell roses, now I feel the thorn.
When You keep me like that, that's how I am,
friend!
When You want me like this – again, this is it.
And in the vat where our hearts are colored –
How would I find what love is,
and what hatred?
You were the First and You will be the Last,
too –
Let better be my end than my beginning!
When You are hidden, I'm an unbeliever;
When You are manifest, I'm a believer.
And I own nothing but what you have granted –
Why do You search my pockets and my sleeves?

-- Poetic translation by Annemarie Schimmel
"Look! This is Love - Poems of Rumi"
Shambhala, 1991

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

Out of all the world I choose you alone; do you deem it right
for me to sit sorrowful?
My heart is like a pen in your hand; through you it is, whether
I am glad or grieve.
What shall I be other than what you wish? What shall I see
except what you show?
Now you cause thorns to grow from me, now roses; now I
smell roses, now I pluck thorns.
Since you keep me so, I am so – since you wish me so, I am so
In that vat where you dispense dye to the heart, what should I
be? What my love and hate?
You were the first, and you will be the last; do you make my
last better than my first.
When you are hidden, I am of the infidels; when you appear, I
am of the faithful.
What do I possess other than the thing you have given? What
are you searching for in my pocket and sleeve?

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

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

Of all the world I choose you alone;
Will you allow me to sit in grief?

My heart is as a pen in your hand;
You cause me to be either glad or sad.

Save what you will, what will have I?
Save what you reveal, what do I see?

Out of me you grow a thorn or a rose;
I small roses now, and pull out thorns.

If you keep me as I am, I am;
If you change me, I'm changed.

In the glass where you colour my soul
I'm who? Why is my Love or hate?

You were first, and last you shall be;
Make my last better than my first, do.

When you're hidden, I'm faithless;
When you're visible, I'm faithful.

I'm nothing, except what you've bestowed;
What do you seek from my breast and sleeve?

-- Version by James Cowan
"Rumi's Divan of Shems of Tabriz, Selected Odes"
Element Books Limited 1997

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


~


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

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Tuesday, August 05, 2008

[Sunlight] Craftsmanship and emptiness

~


Today, Sunlight offers Mathnawi, Book VI, verses 1369 - 1420, in
a version by Professor Coleman Barks, and in a shorter version by
Camille and Kabir Helminski, which is accompanied by a Persian
transliteration:


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

Craftsmanship and Emptiness

I've said before that every craftsman
searches for what's not there
to practice his craft.

A builder looks for the rotten hole
where the roof caved in. A water-carrier
picks the empty pot. A carpenter
stops at the house with no door.

Workers rush toward some hint
of emptiness, which they then
start to fill. Their hope, though,
is for emptiness, so don't think
you must avoid it. It contains
what you need!
Dear soul, if you were not friends
with the vast nothing inside,
why would you always be casting your net
into it, and waiting so patiently?

This invisible ocean has given you such abundance,
but still you call it "death",
that which provides you sustenance and work.

God has allowed some magical reversal to occur,
so that you see the scorpion pit
as an object of desire,
and all the beautiful expanse around it,
as dangerous and swarming with snakes.

This is how strange your fear of death
and emptiness is, and how perverse
the attachment to what you want.

Now that you've heard me
on your misapprehensions, dear friend,
listen to Attar's story on the same subject.

He strung the pearls of this
about King Mahmud, how among the spoils
of his Indian campaign there was a Hindu boy,
whom he adopted as a son. He educated
and provided royally for the boy
and later made him vice-regent, seated
on a gold throne beside himself.

One day he found the young man weeping..
"Why are you crying? You're the companion
of an emperor! The entire nation is ranged out
before you like stars that you can command! "

The young man replied, "I am remembering
my mother and father, and how they
scared me as a child with threats of you!
'Uh-oh, he's headed for King Mahmud's court!
Nothing could be more hellish!' Where are they now
when they should see me sitting here?"

This incident is about your fear of changing.
You are the Hindu boy.
Mahmud, which means
Praise to the End, is the spirit's
poverty or emptiness.

The mother and father are your attachment
to beliefs and bloodties
and desires and comforting habits.
Don't listen to them!
They seem to protect
but they imprison.

They are your worst enemies.
They make you afraid
of living in emptiness.

Some day you'll weep tears of delight in that court,
remembering your mistaken parents!

Know that your body nurtures the spirit,
helps it grow, and gives it wrong advise.

The body becomes, eventually, like a vest
of chainmail in peaceful years,
too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

But the body's desires, in another way, are like
an unpredictable associate, whom you must be
patient with. And that companion is helpful,
because patience expands your capacity
to love and feel peace.
The patience of a rose close to a thorn
keeps it fragrant. It's patience that gives milk
to the male camel still nursing in its third year,
and patience is what the prophets show to us.

The beauty of careful sewing on a shirt
is the patience it contains.

Friendship and loyalty have patience
as the strength of their connection.

Feeling lonely and ignoble indicates
that you haven't been patient.

Be with those who mix with God
as honey blends with milk, and say,

"Anything that comes and goes,
rises and sets, is not
what I love," else you'll be like a caravan fire left
to flare itself out alone beside the road.

-- Mathnawi VI: 1369-1420
Poetic version by Coleman Barks
"One-Handed Basket Weaving"
Maypop, 1991

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Every craftsman who appeared in this world
sought a state of nonexistence to demonstrate his craft.
The builder sought a ruined place where the roof had fallen in.
The water carrier sought a pot empty of water,
a carpenter a house with no door.
At the moment of pursuing their purpose
they rush toward relative nonexistence,
but then later they flee from it.
Since you have placed your hope in nonexistence,
why do you turn away?
Why do you resist that which coincides with your desire?
You've torn your heart away from all you own,
you've cast the net of your heart into the sea of nonexistence.
Why then do you flee this sea of the heart's desire
which has poured hundreds of thousands of fish into your net?
Why have you given the name "death"
to what is really provision for the spirit?
Observe that sorcery which makes sustenance seem like death.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gofteh shod keh har senâ`at-gar keh rost
dar senâ`at jâygâh-e nist jost
Jost bannâ mawze`i nâ sâhkteh
gashteh virân saqf-hâ andâkhteh
Jost saqqâ kuzeh-'i kesh âb nist
vân dorugar khâneh-'i kesh bâb nist
Vaqt-e sayd andar `adam bod hamleh-shân
az `adam ânkeh gorizân jomleh-shân
Chon omidet lâ-st zu parhiz chist
bâ anis-e tama`-e khvod estiz chist
Chon anis-e tama`-e to ân nesbatist
az fanâ o nist in parhiz chist
Gar anis-e lâ niyi ay jân be-sar
dar kamin lâ cherâyi montazer
Zânkeh dâri jomleh del bar kandeh-'i
shast-e del dar bahr-e lâ afgandeh-'i
Pas goriz az chist zin bahr-e morâd
keh be-shastet sad hazârân sayd dâd
Az cheh nâm barg-râ kardi to "marg"
jâduyi bin keh namudet marg barg

-- Mathnawi VI:1369-1378
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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


~


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Monday, August 04, 2008

[Sunlight] "Empty Boat" -- Ghazal 622

~


Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal 622, from Rumi's Diwan-e Shams, in
a version by Coleman Barks, and in a translation by A.J. Arberry:

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

Empty Boat

Some huge work goes on growing. How
could one person's words matter? Where

you walk, heads pop from the ground. What
is one seed head compared to yours? On

my death day I'll know the answer. I have
cleared this house, so that your work can,

when it comes, fill every room. I slide
like an empty boat pulled over water.

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

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

Every moment the Soul is decaying and growing before
you, and how should any man plead with you for the sake of a
single soul?
Wherever you set your foot a head springs from the earth;
for one head's sake how should anyone wash his hands of you?
On the day when the soul takes flight in joy at your scent,
the soul knows, the soul knows, what scent wafts from the
Beloved.
Once your crop-sickness diminishes from the brain, the
head raises a hundred laments, every hair is groaning.
I have emptied house, that I may be filled with your furni-
ture; I am waning, that your love may wax and increase.
My soul in the train of Shams al-Haqq-i Tabrizi is scudding
like a ship without feet over the sea.

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

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


~


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Friday, August 01, 2008

[Sunlight] The Meeting - - Ghazal 45

~

Here, Sunlight offers Ghazal (Ode) 45, in a poetic version by
Professor Coleman Barks and in literal translation by Professor A.J.
Arberry:

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

The Meeting

When the friend opens the door and says,
You are here, please come in.
It is such a pleasure to give up talking
and listen to his long story
about Khidr, the guide of souls.

A tailor cuts cloth uniquely for each person.
Springs open in the center of the lake.
Trees move in the breeze that comes before dawn.

A nightingale sits in the rosebush and asks,
Who do you love? Tell me.
No one else is here.

The rose, So long as you are you,
I cannot. This is the passionate demand,
the one the burning bush made of Moses.

I am a sacred pool. Take off your shoes.
Wade in. You are the essence
of place and placelessness, honored one.
Take my hand.

The needle's eye will not accept
a strand of thread that is folded double.

So it is with you.
You find yourself holding the royal bowl
and welcoming all to the banquet.

The sun stands in the fire up to its chin
so we can have daylight.

When you take the hand of someone you love,
what happens to those hands?

Your darling comes, and you ask,
How can I help? Come here.

Reason wonders, Should I go?
And your loving, Should I run?

The one you love signals,
Yes. I want both of you.

The table is there. Sit down,
Choose the bright company.
Do not worry about food.

Now I pass to you this silence,
so that the alternations of night and day
with their flaming language
may finish the story.

-- Ghazal 45
Version by Coleman Barks
Rumi: Bridge to the Soul
HarperCollins, 2007

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

How sweet it is to give speech and head, to converse with his
lip, especially when he opens the door and says, "Good sir, come in!"
To the dry lip he tells the story of the fountain of Kaidar;
according to the stature of the man the tailor of his love cuts
the gown.
The fountains become drunken through the intoxication of his
eye; the trees are dancing before the gentle breeze of dawn.
The nightingale says to the rosebush, "What is in your heart?
Declare it this instant. No other is near; only you and I."
The rosebush answers, "So long as you are with yourself,
entertain not this ambition. Make a special effort to transport the
burden of your selfhood out of this earthly abode."
The eye of the needle of passion is narrow; know for a
certainty that it will not admit any thread when it perceives it to
be a double strand.
Behold how the sun is up to the throat in fire, so that through
its face the face of the earth may become full of light.
When Moses proceeded towards the burning bush, the bush
said, "I am the water of Kauthar; take off your shoes, and come!
Do not fear my fire, for I am water and sweet at that; you have
come to prosperity; the seat of honour is yours, welcome!
You are a pearl of lustre, a ruby of the mine, the soul of
place and placelessness; you are the nonpareil of the age; where
are other creatures beside you?"
Through love's hand, every hand becomes the royal court of
munificence; through you, the faithless world becomes the factory
of fidelity.
At the first hour of day you came, in your hand the royal bowl;
you are drawing my soul towards the feast, saying, "Welcome!"
What becomes of the heart, when the heart's hand grasps the
hand of a sweetheart? What becomes of the dross copper, when
it hears the welcoming voice of the philosopher's stone?
A wondrous darling came, in his hand a lance, like a Bedouin.
I said, "What service can I render?" He said, ""Come up to me!"
My heart leaped, saying, "Shall I run?" My reason said, "Shall
I go?" Generously, he signaled, saying, "Yes, both of you!"
Since the table has come down from heaven, wash you hands
and your mouth too, that there may not proceed from your palms
the odour of onions and chives.
The mine of salt has arrived; take heed, if you are goodly and
a lover. Seize the bowl, and give the cup; choose riot, not broth!
Now I close these two lips, so that the lamp of day and night
even with the flame of the tongue may tell you the whole story.

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

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


~


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