I keep running with the hope of finding the Beloved,
because my life has come almost to its end,
and I am still dreaming.
Assuming I will eventually find the Beloved,
how can I find the time which has already passed?
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 4, rubai 1404, page 15.
The wine which is forbidden to the body
is served freely to the soul of the one
who is free from attachments to this world.
Pour us more, O Cupbearer. Never say, “This is the end.”
Who knows where our beginning is? Or, our end?
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 4, rubai 1401, page 14.
Troubles for me are cooking
in my Beloved’s kitchen of grief.
Every moment hundreds of different meals of sorrow
are being served to my table.
The scent of a burning heart
surrounds my table all the time.
I wonder. Where is this scent coming from?
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1387, page 240.
Upon leaving Your house, I start weeping and wailing,
like a candle shedding tears because of the flame.
But, in order to gain something,
we must learn to weep and wail like a harp.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1386, page 239.
Since I can no longer bear the heaviness of my heart,
I might as well give my heart to my longing for You.
What can I do with a heart
which doesn’t burn with the sorrow of Love?
What is its use to me? What should I save it for?
The Rubiayat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1382, page 237.
The secret of Truth cannot be understood
by asking questions, gathering information,
or spending all your wealth and belongings.
If you haven’t cried for fifty years with bloody tears,
if you haven’t burned your heart out,
you will not find the way from words to ecstasy.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1377, page 235.
The mind may give you what you think is evidence.
Love gives you the Beloved, the Friend.
What comes from the mind is nothing but dirty water.
What comes from the Beloved is the Water of Life.
You may ascend to the sky
with all the signs of a lover’s journey,
all the evidence which your mind so freely gives.
But in the sky, you will find no signs, no tricks, no traces.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1376, page 234.
The lover’s heart never grieves.
Nothing but Love ever affects it.
A real lover will never be buried in a grave.
Since he is pure and clean, he will go to the world of purity.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1374, page 233.
Since you haven’t taken care of your heart,
it hasn’t held your hand,
and you haven’t gotten a fair share of Love.
You can’t love just anyone!
If your heart were to hold your hand,
you wouldn’t fall in the mud of lowly desires.
Not even once did my rose get its scent or color
from anyone but my heart.
I have nothing in my hand, yet because of this poverty, I own everything.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1351, page 222.
Know that inside of you, you resemble a cave
with a strange bazaar beyond it.
Everyone has a chosen work and a friend there.
But, there is also the hidden Beloved
who is the most wondrous!
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 1348, page 220.