[Sunlight] Get yourself a Pir!

~

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

The real fortune and highway of success
lies in the business that comes to you after utter defeat.
Give up the business that has no reality:
pay attention, old donkey, get yourself a Pir!*
May none but the pir be your master and captain!--
not the old man of the rolling sky, Father Time,
but the Pir of right guidance.
What is required is self-surrender,
not long toil: it's useless to rush about in error.
From now on I won't seek the way to the highest heaven:
I will seek the Pir, I will seek the Pir, the Pir, the Pir!
The Pir is the ladder to Heaven:
by whom is the arrow made to fly? By the bow.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kâr o bâri ket resad ba`d-e shekast
andar ân eqbâl o menhâj rahast
Kâr o bâri keh na-dârad pâ o sar
tark kon hay Pir khar ay pir khar
Ghayr-e Pir ostâd o sar lashkar ma-bâd
pir-e gardun ni vali Pir-e rashâd
Shart taslimast nah kâr-e darâz
sud na-bud dar zalâlat tark tâz
Man na-juyam zin sepas râh-e asir
Pir juyam Pir juyam Pir Pir
Pir bâshad nardobân-e âsmân
tir parrân az keh gardad az kamân

-- Mathnawi VI: 4119-4121; 4123-4125
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

*Pir, the spiritual guide.

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

~





















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[Sunlight] Get yourself a Pir!

[Sunlight] Lay your neck before the knife -- Ghazal 728

~

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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[Sunlight] Lay your neck before the knife -- Ghazal 728

[Sunlight] "That knowledge depended on this journeying"

~

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

The seeker said to himself,
"If I'd known the real meaning of this being with God,
how should I have gone searching for Him?
But that knowledge depended on this journeying:
that knowing can't be gained by thinking,
no matter how precise."

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

Ba`d az ân guyad "Agar dânastami
in ma`iyat-râ kay U-râ jostami
Dânesh ân bud mawquf-e safar
na-âyad ân dânesh be-tizi fekr"

-- Mathnawi VI:4183-4184
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

~



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[Sunlight] "That knowledge depended on this journeying"

[Sunlight] "Why accept only a doorkeeper’s job?" -- Ghazal 1391

~

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

how long
can i see myself
chained in this prison
chained in this world

the time has come
to take my good life
in my hands and
gallop to the sublime

finally purified
i'm no more polluted
and from now on
i'll take my quests
directly to God Himself

i was given
at my birth
all the estates and mansions
it will be a heresy
to accept only
a doorkeeper's job

once i alter this
doorkeeper's attitude
once i change the
essence in my mind
happiness will replace misery

now my dear heart
since you and i are all alone
having your midnight message
i'll do exactly
that which you know

once i grow wings
in place of my slow feet
all obstacles will vanish
and i really can fly in
time and space again

-- Ghazel 1391
Translated by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994

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

~



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[Sunlight] "Why accept only a doorkeeper’s job?" -- Ghazal 1391

[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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[Sunlight] Through this fire – Ghazal 685