[Sunlight] Leaving this present intelligence behind

~

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Just as the human being does not recall its earlier forms of intelligence,
this present intelligence also must be left behind and forgotten
in order to escape this self-serving greed
and witness a hundred thousand new forms of intelligence.
Though one falls asleep and becomes oblivious of the past,
how can they leave him in that state of self-forgetfulness?
From that sleep they will bring him back again to wakefulness,
to mock at his present state, saying,
"What was the sorrow I was suffering in my sleep?
How did I forget the states of truth, of real experience?"

And so with this world, which is the sleeper's dream:
the sleeper imagines it is enduring,
until suddenly the dawn of Death arises,
and she is delivered from the obscurity of distorted opinion.
She will laugh at those sorrows of hers
when she sees her permanent abode and resting place.
Everything good or evil that you see in your sleep
will be manifest, one by one, on the Day of Reckoning.
That which you did during your sleep in this present world
will become manifest to you at the time of wakening.
Take care not to imagine that the hurtful acts made during this sleep
will find no interpretation there.

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

`Aql-hâ-ye avvalinesh yâd nist
ham azin `aqlesh tahavvol kardanist
Tâ rahad zin `aql por-e hers o talab
sad hazârân `aql binad bu al-`ajab
Gar cheh khofteh gasht va shod nâsi ze pish
kay gozârandesh dar ân nesyân-e khvish
Bâz az ân khvâbesh bidâri keshand
keh konad bar hâlet khvod rish khand
Keh "Cheh ghamm bud ânkeh mi-khvordam be-khvâb
chon farâmusham shod ahvâl-e savâb?"

Hamchonân donyâ keh holm-e nâyemist
khofteh pendârad keh in khvod dâyemist
Tâ bar âyad na-gahân sobh-e ajal
vâ rahad az zolmat-e zann o daghal
khandeh-'esh girad az ân ghamm-hâ-ye khvish
chon be-binad mostaqarr o jâ-ye khvish
Har cheh to dar khvâb bini nik o bad
Ruz-e Mahshar yek be-yek paydâ shavad
ncheh kardi andarin khvâb-e jahân
gardadet hangâm-e bidâri `iyân
Tâ na-pendâri keh in bad gardanist
andarin khvâb va torâ ta`bir nist

-- Mathnawi IV: 3648-3652; 3654-3659
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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

~

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[Sunlight] Leaving this present intelligence behind

[Sunlight] What veils me from You is my memory of You

~

Today, Sunlight offers two interpretations of Quatrain 193:

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

O my Beloved,
The thought of you keeps me from you.
The thought of your face covers your face.

When I remember your lips,
they fade away.
When I think of your kisses
they come no more.

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

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

Invoking Your name
does not help me to see You.
I'm blinded by the light of Your face.
Longing for your lips
does not bring them any closer.
What veils You from me
is my memory of You.

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

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

~

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

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[Sunlight] What veils me from You is my memory of You

[Sunlight] Show but your face - the world is filled with light!

~

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

O Sun, fill our house once more with light!
Make happy all your friends and blind your foes!
Rise from behind the hill, transform the stones
To rubies and the sour grapes to wine!
O Sun, make our vineyard fresh again,
And fill the steppes with houris and green cloaks!
Physician of the lovers, heaven's lamp!
Rescue the lovers! Help the suffering!
Show but your face - the world is filled with light!
But if you cover it, it's the darkest night!

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

(No citation was provided by the translator. If any Sunlight
subscribers are able to provide a proper reference for these verses,
we would welcome that. -- Sunlight Ed.)

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

~

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

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[Sunlight] Show but your face - the world is filled with light!

[Sunlight] Look at the Water of the water

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day and night there is movement of foam on the Sea.
You see the foam, but not the Sea. Amazing!
We are dashing against each other like boats:
our eyes are darkened though we're on clear water.
O you who've gone to sleep in the body's boat,
you've seen the water,
but look at the Water of the water.
The water has a Water that is driving it;
the spirit has a Spirit that is calling it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jonbesh-e kaf-hâ ze daryâ ruz o shab
kaf hami bini va daryâ ni `ajab
Mâ cho kashti-hâ be-ham bar mi zanim
tireh cheshmim va dar âb-e rawshanim
Ay to dar kashti-ye tan rafteh be-khvâb
âb-râ didi negar dar b-e âb
b-râ bist ku mi rânadesh
ruh-râ Ruhist ku mi-khvânadesh

-- Mathnawi III: 1271-1274
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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

~

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[Sunlight] Look at the Water of the water

[Sunlight] Various Disguises and Scams

~

Various Disguises and Scams

A bird lit in a meadow where a trap was set.
Grain had been put out on the ground,
and nearby a fowler had wrapped himself in grass
and pulled roses and red anemones over his head like a cap.

The bird had some notion that this clump of grass
was not all grass, but at first look,
he had no argument about what it might be.

He hopped a circuit around the strange heap
and asked,
"Who are you, out here in the wild?"

"I am a renunciate,
content to live like the grass.
After my neighbor's death, I closed my shop.
I gave up associating with every human being
that came along, and now I'm trying to be a friend
of the One. I saw that my jaw
would eventually be bound in the shroud,
so I figured it was best to use it less now.

You birds wear beautiful green robes
with gold embroidery, but at the end
you too will be wrapped in unsewn cloth."

All faces turn back into dirt.
The moist-dry, hot-cold parts
rejoin their kinfolk, and our spirits
receive a letter from the world
of pure intelligence. It says,

"So your five-day buddies left you!
Learn who your true friends are."

Some children, when they're playing with strangers,
get so hot and preoccupied with the game,
that they take off their shirts. Night comes,
and their clothes are gone, stolen.

It's impossible to play in the dark,
and now they're afraid to go home.

You've heard the line,
This present life is a play.

You've thrown off your clothes in the fun of living.
They floated away in the wind,
and now you're scared.

While it's still day, I've realized
that men are thieves, and that most of life
is wasted, half in looking for a lover,
and half in worrying over the plots
of our enemies. The former desiring
carries off our cloaks, and the latter
anxiety takes our caps.
Yet we remain
completely and obliviously absorbed
in our play. It's getting dark.

Death is near. Leave the game.
Saddle the horse of remorse
and catch up with the thief.

Get your clothes back. That confession-horse
is the speediest there is.

But keep it tied safely
when you're with the thief.

A certain man on this way to the village
has a ram that he leads along behind him.

A thief sneaks up and cuts the halter rope.
Finally the man notices and runs left and right
looking for the lost ram.
He sees the thief
beside a well, though he doesn't know
that it's the thief. The ram is elsewhere.
He goes to ask if he's seen a loose ram.

The thief is kneeling by the well crying.
"What's the matter?"
"My purse has fallen in.
If you can help me get it out, I'll give you
a fifth of everything in it. You could soon have
one-fifth of a hundred gold dinars
in your hand!"
The man thinks, "That's enough
to buy ten rams! One door is shut,
and God opens ten new doors."

He slips out of his clothes and climbs down
into the well, where there is nothing, of course,
and the thief carries away his clothes.

Oh, it takes a prudent man
to make it into the village!

When one loss causes a greedy panic,
then more losses are liable to come.

Imposters appear in many disguises.
Stay in your refuge with God,
and they won't deceive you.

-- Mathnawi VI: 435-477
Poetic version by Coleman Barks
"Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion,"
Threshold Books, 1991

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

~

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

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[Sunlight] Various Disguises and Scams