In this slender volume, Rumi explores the joy of friendship and the agony of loss. These poetic meditations on the most profound of human relationships are like crystals: they sparkle with the many hues of the rainbow and contain worlds within, capturing us with their mystery.
Here are poems that cause us to reflect on our own relationships, to experience again the intensity of friendship, the ache of loss, and the profundity of immersion.
This is a book for poetry lovers, Rumi fans, and all gift-giving occasions; a book to treasure and to share.
Previously published in hardcover as Whispers of the Beloved.
Imitating others,
I failed to find myself
I looked inside and discovered
I only knew my name.
When I stepped outside
I found my real Self.
Replaces ISBN 9781571746825.
In this slender volume, Rumi explores the joy of friendship and the agony of loss. These poetic meditations on the most profound of human relationships are like crystals: they sparkle with the many hues of the rainbow and contain worlds within, capturing us with their mystery.
Here are poems that cause us to reflect on our own relationships, to experience again the intensity of friendship, the ache of loss, and the profundity of immersion.
This is a book for poetry lovers, Rumi fans, and all gift-giving occasions; a book to treasure and to share.
Previously published in hardcover as Whispers of the Beloved.
Imitating others,
I failed to find myself
I looked inside and discovered
I only knew my name.
When I stepped outside
I found my real Self.
Replaces ISBN 9781571746825.
Rumi's Little Book of the Heart
144
Rumi's Little Book of the Heart
144eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
In this slender volume, Rumi explores the joy of friendship and the agony of loss. These poetic meditations on the most profound of human relationships are like crystals: they sparkle with the many hues of the rainbow and contain worlds within, capturing us with their mystery.
Here are poems that cause us to reflect on our own relationships, to experience again the intensity of friendship, the ache of loss, and the profundity of immersion.
This is a book for poetry lovers, Rumi fans, and all gift-giving occasions; a book to treasure and to share.
Previously published in hardcover as Whispers of the Beloved.
Imitating others,
I failed to find myself
I looked inside and discovered
I only knew my name.
When I stepped outside
I found my real Self.
Replaces ISBN 9781571746825.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781612833545 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 06/01/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 144 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Rumi's Little Book of the Heart
By Maryam Mafi, Azima Melita Kolin
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.
Copyright © 2016 Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita KolinAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61283-354-5
CHAPTER 1
Dear heart, where do you find
the courage to seek the Beloved
when you know He has annihilated
so many like you before?
I do not care, said my heart,
my only wish is to become
one with the Beloved.
First, he tempted me
with infinite caresses.
He burnt me in the end
with pain and sorrow.
In this game of chess
I had to lose myself
in order to win Him.
We are bound together.
I am the ground
You are the step.
How unfair is this Love!
I can see Your world
but You, I cannot.
I cannot sleep in your presence.
In your absence, tears prevent me.
You watch me My Beloved
on each sleepless night and
only You can see the difference.
Prayer clears the mist
and brings back peace to the soul.
Every morning, every evening
let the heart sing,
La ilaha il Allah.
"There is no reality but God."
Looking at my life
I see that only Love
has been my soul's companion.
From deep inside
my soul cries out:
Do not wait, surrender
for the sake of Love.
Are you searching for your soul?
Then come out of your prison.
Leave the stream and join the river
that flows into the ocean.
Absorbed in this world
you've made it your burden.
Rise above this world.
There is another vision ...
Your charm lured me
to the edge of madness.
I lost my composure.
Humbled, I was sent away.
Then, You touched my heart,
transformed and shaped me
into any form You fancied.
All year round the lover is mad,
unkempt, lovesick and in disgrace.
Without love there is nothing but grief.
In love ... what else matters?
If you can't smell the fragrance
don't come into the garden of Love.
If you're unwilling to undress
don't enter into the stream of Truth.
Stay where you are.
Don't come our way.
Love is our mother and
the way of our Prophet.
Yet, it is in our nature
to fight with Love.
We can't see you, mother,
hidden behind dark veils
woven by ourselves.
If you have illusions about heaven
lose them.
The soul heard of one attribute of Love
and came to earth.
A hundred attributes of heaven
could never charm her back.
It is here the soul discovers
the reality of Love.
When I die,
lay my corpse to rest,
but do not be at all surprised
if His kiss on my tattered lips
brings me back to life.
Sometimes I feel like a king,
sometimes I moan in my own prison.
Swaying between these states
I can't be proud of myself.
This "I" is a figment of my imagination.
I saw my Love walking on her own,
tall and slender, dreamy eyes,
with primroses in her hands.
I leapt to steal a kiss,
she cried:
"Help, help, thief!"
Imitating others,
I failed to find myself.
I looked inside and discovered
I only knew my name.
When I stepped outside
I found my real Self.
Do you want to enter paradise?
To walk the path of Truth
you need the grace of God.
We all face death in the end.
But on the way, be careful
never to hurt a human heart!
Do you know what the music is saying?
"Come follow me and you will
find the way.
Your mistakes can also lead you
to the Truth.
When you ask, the answer
will be given."
I am happy tonight,
united with the Friend.
Free from the pain of separation,
I whirl and dance with the Beloved.
I tell my heart, "Do not worry,
the key to morning I've thrown away."
The Master who's full of sweetness
is so drunk with love, he's oblivious.
"Will you give me
some of your sweetness?"
"I have none," he says,
unaware of his richness.
Peaceful
is the one
who's not concerned
with having more or less.
Unbound by name and fame
he is free from sorrow
from the world and
mostly from
himself.
The one who cuts off your head
is your friend.
The one who puts it back
is a deceiver.
The one who weighs you
with his troubles
is your burden.
But the one who truly loves you
will set you free.
You know what love is?
It is all kindness, generosity.
Disharmony prevails when
you confuse lust with love, while
the distance between the two
is endless.
Deafened by the voice of desire
you are unaware the Beloved
lives in the core of your heart.
Stop the noise,
and you will hear His voice
in the silence.
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.
There is a way from your heart to mine
and my heart knows it,
because it is clean and pure like water.
When the water is still like a mirror
it can behold the Moon.
Reason, when you speak
I cannot hear the Wise One.
Even if you are as thin as a hair
still there's no space for you.
In the flaming Sun
all bright lights are put to shame.
This Love is a King
but his banner is hidden.
The Koran speaks the Truth
but its miracle is concealed.
Love has pierced with its arrow
the heart of every lover.
Blood flows but the wound is invisible.
Why is my heart so troubled?
Why has love reduced me to nothing?
Why does this heart of mine
fight with me day and night?
Why?
Who are you complaining to?
I asked the reed,
Why do you moan and grieve?
"Since they've cut me from the riverbed,
what else is left for me
but to weep?"
I said to the night,
"If you are in love with the moon,
it is because you never stay for long."
The night turned to me and said,
"It is not my fault. I never see the Sun,
how can I know that love is endless?"
To be or not to be
is not my dilemma.
To break away from both worlds
is not bravery.
To be unaware of the wonders
that exist in me,
that
is real madness!
Holding on to your feet
I cannot reach your hands.
Who can I turn to,
when it's only Your Love I want?
You tease me, saying,
"I see no tears in your eyes."
My heart is broken, can't you see
the drops on my eyelashes?
O Friend,
You made me lovingly,
put me in a dress of skin and blood.
Then planted deep inside me
a seed from Your heart.
You turned the whole world
into a sanctuary where You are
the only One.
I asked for a kiss,
You gave me six.
From whom did You learn
such mastery?
Full of kindness, generosity ...
You are not of this world.
When I touch the ground in prayer
I have no other purpose
but You.
All else I speak about
gardens, flowers, nightingales, whirling
is only an excuse.
I'm pleased with my sight
when I behold the Friend.
But my vision and the Friend
cannot be two.
It is He, who sees with my eyes.
I was talking about You,
You silenced me.
I tasted your sweetness
and everything stopped.
Bewildered, I fled to
the house of my heart
and there,
you caught me.
Heat is not brought by fire only.
When you suddenly walk
through my door, I feel warm.
When you promise to come but do not
I feel desolate and cold.
Frost does not appear in winter only.
Be thirsty heart,
seek forever without a rest.
Let this soundless longing
hidden deep inside you
be the source
of every word you say.
Dreamy and distracted,
you stumbled upon the Friend.
You felt His presence
and froze on your path.
If you don't have
the strength to face Him,
why seek the circle of the Drunks?
You who only see me
as a pious man,
listen to what I have to say.
I have my faith but
I also have the world.
Poor are the ones
who have neither.
My Friend,
I offer You my life.
Accept me, make me drunk
and save me from both worlds.
Set me on fire
if my heart settles on anything
but You.
There is no wine without You.
No use for the rosary without Your hand.
From afar you order me to dance.
But unless you set the stage and
draw the curtain, my Beloved,
how can I dance?
You are the light of my heart
and the comfort of my soul.
You are a troublemaker too.
You keep asking,
"Have you seen The Friend?"
When you know so well that
The Friend can not be seen.
It's good to leave each day behind,
like flowing water, free of sadness.
Yesterday is gone and its tale told.
Today new seeds are growing.
Today I am so upset!
What I was hiding deep inside
You brought out in the light.
Overcome by sleep last night
You had caught me,
unaware.
I lay in the dust at Your feet,
my heart entangled
in the curls of Your hair.
I've had enough.
Bring closer Your lips
and let Your kiss
release my soul.
Lovers drink wine all day and night
and tear the veils of the mind.
When drunk with love's wine
body, heart and soul
become one.
Last night my Beloved
was like the moon, so beautiful!
He was even brighter than the Sun.
His grace is far beyond my grasp.
The rest is silence.
Be certain
in the religion of Love
there are no
believers or unbelievers.
Love embraces all.
Walking on Your path
he who dies to himself
will come to life.
You say:
"Don't get drunk and lose yourself."
But tell me,
how can one remain sober
drinking Your wine?
Beyond a hundred steps of wisdom,
I will be free from good and bad.
Behind the veils I will find
such Splendor, such Beauty
that I will fall in love
with Myself.
The early breeze at dawn
is the keeper of secrets.
Don't go back to sleep!
It is time for prayer,
time to find what
is your real need.
Don't go back to sleep!
The door of the One
is open, always.
Don't go back to sleep!
Dear heart, you are so unreasonable!
First you fall in love
then worry about your life.
You rob and steal
then worry about the law.
You profess to be in love
and still worry about what people say.
The heart is like a candle
longing to be lit.
Torn from The Beloved
it yearns to be whole again,
but you have to bear the pain.
You cannot learn about love.
Love appears on the wings of grace.
Last night
I begged the Wise One to tell me
the secret of the world.
Gently, gently he whispered,
"Be quiet,
the secret cannot be spoken,
it is wrapped in silence."
On my heart
in beautiful calligraphy
You've written words
that only You and I can know.
Their secret You promised
to reveal one day
but now I see
You were only teasing.
Love is the alchemy of the East.
Like the clouds it is pregnant
with a thousand bolts of lightning.
Deep within me
moves the ocean of his Splendor
and all creation springs from it.
My heart is so small
it's almost invisible.
How can You place
such big sorrows in it?
"Look," He answered,
"your eyes are even smaller,
yet they behold the world."
When you see the lovers
don't pass them by,
sit with them.
The fire of Love warms the world,
but even fire dies
in the company of ashes.
Whisper to me intimately like a lover,
for tenderness is rare in this world.
It is difficult to convey the magic of love
to those who are made of dust.
Walking in the garden with my lover,
I was distracted by a rose.
My love scolded me, saying
"How could you look at a rose
with my face so close?"
With friends you grow wings.
Alone
you are a single feather in disgrace.
With them you master the wind,
but alone,
you're blown in all directions.
Today is such a happy day.
There is no room for sadness.
Today we drink the wine of trust
from the cup of knowledge.
We can't live on bread and water alone.
Let us eat a little from the hand of God.
From all that was familiar,
I broke away.
Now I am lost, without a place,
wandering.
With no music like a fool
I dance and clap my hands.
How am I to live without You?
You are everywhere
but I can't find You.
Come, come
do you hear the music?
The sema has begun!
"Go away, I'm ill," I said.
"Oh, stop complaining,"
he pulled my ear.
"Come and see how
both worlds are dancing!"
A dervish gives freely
the secrets of the world.
His words, a precious gift.
He does not expect
his daily bread for free.
He gives his life and
asks for nothing in return.
I want a kiss from You,
said my heart.
"Yes, but the price
is your life."
My heart leaped with joy
and said,
Who cares about the price!
He is gone!
The one without a rival.
He is gone!
The one I am never tired of.
No cure
for my broken heart.
The rose has lost its petals,
but the thorn is left behind.
God knows you under any cover
He hears your unspoken words.
Everyone is tempted
by the eloquence of speech,
but I am the slave of
the master of silence.
Drowned in my sorrow,
why do you torment me too?
Bent to the ground by the world,
why do you kick me too?
I received my life from you,
tell me, do you want it back?
I asked,
"What about my eyes?"
I will fill them with tears.
I asked,
"What about my heart?"
I will break it with sorrow.
I asked,
"What about my body?"
I will crush and throw it away.
With love you don't bargain
there, the choice is not yours.
Love is a mirror, it reflects
only your essence,
if you have the courage
to look in its face.
To place You in my heart
may turn You into thought.
I will not do that!
To hold You with my eyes
may turn You into thorn.
I will not do that!
I will set You on my breath
so You will become my life.
When you fast for a while
your nature is cleansed.
With the pure-of-heart
you may enter the garden.
To become light,
fast and burn like a candle.
Each morsel is the link that
chains you to the ground.
Awakened by your love,
I flicker like a candle's light
trying to hold on in the dark.
Yet, you spare me no blows
and keep asking,
"Why do you complain?"
Laying a myriad of traps,
you are so cunning, my Love.
Even if the world
turns into one big stone,
I wouldn't be surprised
to see your windmill
grind it into dust.
You opened the door of my heart
and filled it with the pain of love.
Shaken, I ran to seek comfort
from others, but they
did not respond to my lament.
Alone and desperate, I beg You,
do not forsake me now.
You are so near
that I cannot see You.
Like a fool I keep looking around.
Your hand cannot reach me,
I'm wrapped in so many veils
My heart sobs, inconsolable ...
Be honest dear heart,
broken and abashed,
how can you still chase love?
Without a drop of water
how dare you enter
the raging fire of love?
Tell me foolish heart,
what can I do with you?
You are the cure hidden in the pain.
Concealed in anger and betrayal
is Your compassion and loyalty.
You are not only in heaven,
I see Your footprints
everywhere on earth.
For years I kept calling You.
Then suddenly, You came at dawn
and whirled me to the sema.
You left me with not a moment to spare,
even for my morning prayer.
When compassion fills my heart,
free from all desire,
I sit quietly like the earth.
My silent cry echoes like thunder
throughout the universe.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Rumi's Little Book of the Heart by Maryam Mafi, Azima Melita Kolin. Copyright © 2016 Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin. Excerpted by permission of Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction,Quatrains,
Terms and Symbolism,
Acknowledgments,
Source Note,