[Sunlight] "This appearance of identity"

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All this dying is not the death of the physical form:
this body is only an instrument for the spirit.
There is many a martyred soul that has died to self in this world,
though it goes about like the living.
The animal self has died, though the body, which is its sword, survives:
the sword is still in the hand of that eager warrior.
The sword is the same sword; the person is not the same person,
but this appearance of identity bewilders you.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In hameh mordan nah marg-e suratast
in badan mar ruh-râ chon âlatast
Ay basâ nafs-e shahid-e mo`tamad
mordeh dar donyâ cho zendeh mi ravad
Ruh rahzan mord o tan keh tigh-e ust
hast bâqi dar kaff-e ân ghazv-just
Tigh ân tighast mard ân mard nist
lik in surat torâ hayrân konist

-- Mathnawi V: 3281; 3826-3828
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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All this dying is not the death of the physical form:
this body is only an instrument for the spirit.
There is many a martyred soul that has died to self in this world,
though it goes about like the living.
The animal self has died, though the body, which is its sword, survives:
the sword is still in the hand of that eager warrior.
The sword is the same sword; the person is not the same person,
but this appearance of identity bewilders you.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In hameh mordan nah marg-e suratast
in badan mar ruh-râ chon âlatast
Ay basâ nafs-e shahid-e mo`tamad
mordeh dar donyâ cho zendeh mi ravad
Ruh rahzan mord o tan keh tigh-e ust
hast bâqi dar kaff-e ân ghazv-just
Tigh ân tighast mard ân mard nist
lik in surat torâ hayrân konist

-- Mathnawi V: 3281; 3826-3828
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

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~

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[Sunlight] "This appearance of identity"

[Sunlight] No one in the world is as precious as you -- Ghazal 2148

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i swear my dear son*
no one in the entire world
is as precious as you are

look at that mirror
take a good look at yourself
who else is there above and beyond you

now give yourself a kiss
and with sweet whispers
fill your ears to the brim

watch for all that beauty
reflecting from you
and sing a love song to your existence

you can never overdo
praising your own soul
you can never over-pamper your heart

you are both
the father and the son
the sugar and the sugar cane

who else but you
please tell me who else
can ever take your place

now give yourself a smile
what is the worth of a diamond
if it doesn't smile

how can i ever put a price
on the diamond that you are
you are the entire treasure of the house

you and your shadow
are forever present in this world
you're that glorious bird of paradise*

-- Ghazal 2148, from the Diwan-e Shams
Poetic translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

Sunlight notes:

*my dear son: literally, "O son" [ay pesar] in the Persian. Could refer
to anyone, but here it probably refers to one of Rumi's disciples,
rather than his son, Sultan Walad. In general, Rumi uses such phrases
as "O son" and "O youth" to address the reader, as well as to add
syllables to a verse.
*glorious bird of paradise: the "homaa," a miraculous bird whose
shadow, if it should fall upon a man, destines him to become a king.
Therefore, this bird is a symbol good fortune.

-- Footnotes (c) Ibrahim Gamard, 2000

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~

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[Sunlight] No one in the world is as precious as you -- Ghazal 2148

[Sunlight] "Stop struggling"

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Since you saw this spring, why didn't
you become water?
Since you saw the Friend near, why do
you still have love for yourself?
Since you are in the shop of the sweet-seller,
why this bitter look?
Since you are swimming in the river of life,
why are you dry and miserable?
Don't be stubborn, do not flee from happiness.
You are imprisoned in a net from which
you can't escape,
Stop struggling! Stop struggling!

-- Ghazal (Ode) 638
"Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi"
Selected and Translated by Muriel Maufroy
Sanyar Press - London, 1997

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~

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[Sunlight] "Stop struggling"

[Sunlight] The knowledge market

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Conventional knowledge is for sale;
when it finds a purchaser,
it glows with delight.
The purchaser of real knowledge is God:
its market is always splendid.
The owner of real knowledge has closed his lips
and is enraptured in his trading:
the buying is without end,
for "God has purchased."*

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

`Elm-e taqlidi bud bahr-e forukht
chon biyâbad moshtari khvosh bar forukht
Moshtari-ye `elm-e tahqiqi Haqq ast
dâyeman bâzâr-e u bâ rawnaq ast
Lab be-basteh mast dar bay` o sherâ
moshtari bi hadd keh "Allâha-shtarâ"*

*al-Tawbah 9:111

-- Mathnawi II: 3265-3267
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

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~

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[Sunlight] The knowledge market

[Sunlight] "Watch a One-Year-Old"

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Watch a One-Year-Old

Anger rises when you're proud
of yourself. Humble that. Use

the contempt of others, and your
own self-regarding, to change, like

the cloud in folklore that became
three snake shapes. Or if you like

the dog-barking lion wrath, enjoy
the hurt longer. Watch a one-year-

old, how it walks, the slow wisdom
there. Sometimes a sweet taste

makes you sour and mean. Listen
to the voice that says, It was for

you I created the universe. Then
kill and be killed in love. You've

been two dogs dozing long enough!

-- Ghazal (Ode) 2198
Version by Coleman Barks
"The Soul of Rumi"
HarperSanFrancisco, 2001

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~

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[Sunlight] "Watch a One-Year-Old"