In a group meeting with Hasan Shushud back in the 1970’s, Jonathan Boulting related that this was one of the bits of wisdom Shushud shared, with the caveat that his English might need some reconsideration: GRIEF: Our contract with Eternity. Mr. Shushud spoke often about our inborn nostalgia, our longing “to go home,” our separation from our Essence… the source of true grief. Nevit Ergin referred constantly in his translations of Rumi’s poetry to “His sorrow.” When some begin the practice of fasting, they are able to begin to taste that sorrow, and it is one of the greatest gifts. Our self doesn’t want to feel it, which is its impetus for surrounding itself with an infinite number of distractions. As for the contract, it might be more of a promise that we made and need to keep. As Rumi says, “The purpose of Existence is to reach Absence.”
Tag: Existence
You are the Divine Light (11/27/2022)
You are the divine light of the sky.
The place where you belong is the throne.
If you were to go faster on the way to God,
you would rise to the sky.
Aren’t you ashamed of dragging yourself
like a shadow on the ground?
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 423.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.7/2023), Rubai 913, volume 2.
Sometimes (11/20/2022)
O heart, what did you find in all of your lootings,
in those pillagings where you spread out all of your belongings?
What did you find before you closed the door?
In this ruined building, you still keep making webs with your own saliva
in order to catch flies like the spider of greed. Continue reading “Sometimes (11/20/2022)”
Look at Us. See Us. Watch Us. (8/4/2022)
We are the fire of Love which lights that special candle.
Like a candle, we came to burn the oppressed moth.
We attacked bravely like a drunk,
giving up knowledge and reaching into the to-be-known. Continue reading “Look at Us. See Us. Watch Us. (8/4/2022)”
Where Are You? (2/20/2022)
Where are you, O God’s martyrs,
O ones who looked for trouble in the Karbala* desert?
Where are you, O impatient lovers,
O ones who fly faster than the birds in the sky? Continue reading “Where Are You? (2/20/2022)”
This is the Time of War (1/16/2022)
Put on your arms. This is the time of war, O soul.
It is getting late. Don’t hesitate.
This world is nothing but a colorful show. Give it up, O soul.
There is a cat and mouse fight on every corner, O soul.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 362.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx .pub. 5/22), Rubai 792, volume 2.
Burn That Thing (12/19/2021)
O my Beloved, accept me. Take my soul.
Let me pass through both worlds.
If I settle down with anything other than You,
throw me into the fire and burn that thing.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 3, page 353.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx. pub. 5/2022), Rubai 761, Volume 2)
Because of My Longing (6/27/2021)
Once this Love arrived, all other loves disappeared.
Because of my longing for You,
I was burned and turned into ashes.
My ashes scattered and disappeared.
Then, they came back, forming thousands of shapes again.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 3, page 220.
A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translation, Volume 1 (pub. Nov. 2021), Rubai 430.
From Existence to Nothingness (5/30/2021)
I have twisted and wriggled like a snake
because of someone’s charms.
I have been curled up like the hair of the Beloved.
By God, I don’t know what kind of twist that is.
All I know is that suffering annihilates me,
carrying me from existence to Nothingness.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #2, page 318.
A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translation (pub. 11/2021), Rubai 673, vol. 2.
Empty Words (5/16/2021)
On the way to Love, each lover must either annihilate himself
or give up his life in death.
Some say,
“Love’s goal is to drink water from the Fountain of Life.”
These are just empty words, O lover, just empty words.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #3, page 226.
A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translation (pub. 11/2021)