If I had known my own value,
I would not have fooled around with this dirty world.
I would have emptied myself from self and ascended quickly.
I would have raised my head above the ninth level of the sky.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 475.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.fall2023), Rubai 1456, Volume 4.
O one whose heart is full of words, yet remains silent,
Read the chapter, Hel Eta, in the Quran.*
Read the epigram, La Feta.**
Put on the tent of soul at the top of the sky.
Raise the waves from the sea of the heart.
Tear the bag of existence.
Let those two or three water carriers go. Continue reading “Tell Us (7/16/2023)”
If hundreds of long days were joined together
as one very long day,
my soul would not complain about it.
On the contrary, it would be content.
It would stand still and cry from the pain of Love.
You are smiling at my words,
because you are still a cold man of knowledge,
not a crazy man of Love.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 469.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.fall 2023), Rubai 1003, Volume 3.
Man’s heart is like a candle; It should be lit and allowed to shine.
There is a void in your soul because of the separation from the Beloved.
That void needs repair.
Know, O ignorant one
who knows none of what makes or breaks a heart, who avoids pain and burning,
Love is something to be encountered, not knowledge to be learned.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 468
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.fall2023), Rubai 1002, Volume 3.
The Beloved said to me,
“Since you are buying kisses from every beauty,
why don’t you buy one from Me?”
I asked, “With gold?”
“No,” He said. “What can I do with gold?”
So I tried again, “With my life?”
“Yes, yes,” He said. “That’s what I want, yes.”
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 464.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (fall2023), Volume 3, Rubai 988.
What is it that is attracting me to Him in every breath?
It is not ambergris. It is not musk.
It is His fragrance, His fragrance. Continue reading “From the Sun of Soul (5/21/2023)”
You will be purified from bad habits
by fasting.
You will follow the ascent of the attained ones to the sky
by fasting.
You will be burned like a candle
by the fire of fasting.
Become divine light.
The darkness of a bite makes you a morsel for the ground.
Rubailer (2016), 4ubai 4, page 461.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 982.
The Beloved is holding my harness,
pulling me like a camel again.
His business is to pull the one who chooses to be pulled.
Mine is to carry the load. Continue reading “My Patience Will Win (4/23/2023)”
When it comes to reaching the heart of the Beloved,
there is no room for patience.
Don’t talk about patience.
When Love rattles its chain,
the minds of Plato and Abul Hasan* become befuddled. Continue reading “When Love Rattles Its Chain (4/9/2023)”
O heart, if you cannot endure the troubles of Love, go away.
If you don’t give up your life, you will never reach the Beloved.
If you haven’t been thrown, as Abraham was, into the fire,
you will never find, as Khidr* did, the Water of Life.
*Khidr A legendary man who is said to have attained immortality by drinking from the Water of Life and who comes to help those in moments of extreme distress.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 449.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.Fall 2023), Rubai 959, Volume 3.