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i realized i am not intellectual enough to read an entire book of ancient persian poetry all at once but i did try to!
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
*insert Antonio Banderas gif here*
Stunning, even if I have almost no experience with Persian or Sufi poetry.
Stunning, even if I have almost no experience with Persian or Sufi poetry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Antisemitism
learned a lot about islam that i didn’t know before, the poetry really is beautiful
"This world’s a playground and the night is death—
You go home empty-handed, out of breath."
Like part one of Masnavi (there are six parts in all), it is full of beautiful verses and stories, though I loved the verses from the first part more. Some of my favorite verses are the arguments that Satan forwards in one of the stories to prove that he is god's servant and so innocent:
"I am the touchstone which detects real gold.
I give God’s test to dogs and lions too,
Like gold and counterfeit—I see what’s true.
How can I ever blacken gold that’s real;
Like money-changers I can only deal:
I guide to goodness every passer-by,
And break of only branches which are dry."
Of course, though his arguments are logically sound, Satan wasn't really innocent. And this is really one of the main calls from Rumi - the abandonment of reason and arguments in favor of spiritual experience, for true wisdom is beyond knowledge that can be gained through senses or described in words:
"Since I’ve transcended all thoughts, I am now
Racing beyond the questions ‘why?’ and ‘how?’
I rule thought and don’t follow its instruction:
The builder has control of his construction"
"From all this art and wisdom all I gain
Is headaches and vain fancies in my brain!’
"For meaning’s open to interpretations,
And idle whims spring from loose estimations;
But inner truths which are made manifest
Can’t be interpreted, unlike the rest.
When each sense is the slave of that first sense"
"Names are nests, knowledge birds that live therein"
"So many times I tried to use my brain,
But now I’ll seek the fruits of being insane!’
This is something similar to Bhakti marg from Gita, there are other routes within both Islam and Hinduism - one of them is through reason but Rumi is critical of that path. So, why, then, then Rumi is using art and arguments for his own purpose? To help others:
"The self is Nimrod; spirit is God’s Friend:*
The self needs signs; spirits can view the end.
Signposts serve those still traveling, since they
Inside the desert often lose their way.
The eyes of those who’ve reached the destination
Don’t care for signposts to another station;
If such a man refers to signs, it’s so
The scholars too can have a chance to know:
A father for his child makes baby sounds,
Even if his own knowledge knows no bounds"
and, of course, only sufis know the true value of mysticism:
"Till turned to gold, copper no flaws can see;
Till made king, one can’t measure poverty."
The first book was broadly about search of the true path, the second is about the guides who will lead you on that path - and Sufi mystics are the ones to be trusted for a job. There is a lot of promotion:
"The shaikh could read this person’s thoughts with ease—
Hearts are the jungles which this lion sees:
He enters in their hearts like hope and fear;
The secrets of the world to him are clear,
So guard your hearts, you useless slaves of greed,
When near the masters of your hearts—take heed"
which would have been okay with me if it wasn't for Rumi's misogyny that starts annoying the taste by the middle:
"How hidden things are brought to view, my brother!
Like fickle women you love flattery"
"Worse than a woman is your carnal soul,
For she is just a part, while it’s the whole"
Those are the less offensive statements. And what struck me is the inherent assumption that Rumi is basically writing only for men since the 'you' is compared to women, one can see it doesn't include them. Actually, correction, 'you' only includes only native men:
"An Indian burnt his mirror when in pain,
“This makes men’s faces look black!” he’d complain,
“It’s not my fault!” the blameless mirror said,
“Blame the one who has polished me instead!
He made me tell the truth"
And that is why this part is three stars instead of four + 1 star for the efforts of translator. This translation also comes with notes about the original context of the metaphors used in poem (I said 'original' as Rumi will often allude - use phrases from Quran or sayings of prophets in a context different from original). The notes make a very good in themselves, containing a lot to learn about Islamic theology, myths and legends.
"A man knocked on his lover's door one day,
'Who is it?' he heard his beloved say.
He said, 'Its me.'She answered, 'Leave at once
There isn't room for such raw arrogance.'
Raw meat's cooked just by separation's flame-
What can cure hypocrisy's deep shame.
He wondered off in pain as his heart burnt,
In exile from the one he yearned,
Matured before then going back once more
And walking to and fro outside her door.
He tapped the door now suffering nerves inside,
Not to let slip a wrong word how he tried!
His sweetheart now responded by asking who
Was at the door -- 'None, love, but you'
'Now you are I, please enter in this place
Because for two in here there isn't space'
Also called 'Quran in Persian', Masnavi is one of best Sufi works. It goes into six volumes and is full of Sufi lessons. What I found so beautiful in Sufism is that desire to destruct oneself into a higher conception; it is kind of romantic - a desire found elsewhere only among lovers. That is probably why Sufi poets like quoting examples from romantic stories. Rumi also took example of Laila-Majnu in this volume.
Basically, Rumi argues, it is just stupid to stay limited to loving only a part of god's creation when you could love God himself:
"An ant hurries along a threshing floor
with its wheat grain,
moving between huge sacks of wheat,
not knowing the abundance all around.
It thinks its one grain is all there is to love."
A Sufi poet is a person on mission of this self-destruction (also a guide for others to do so) - the songs he sing are in love for God, something similar to a Nightingale singing in love for roses which, by the way, a very common image with Sufi poets.
This nightingale dips its tongue in Quranic water before he sings. All poetry is to explain Quranic verses. Apart from Quranic stories, Rumi also takes examples from Indian, Greek and other folk stories and mend them to deliver his message. Often he would pause within a story to tell another one or to interpret it for you - never for once breaking the verse.
As good as this translation is, I can't help feeling too much of meaning must have been lost to keep the rhyme. The musical effect definitely lost at times and that is most important thing. The only way to enjoy them is letting yourself be drawn into this music; the way some people let themselves when listening to music on headphones and start singing and dancing madly (even with people around.) To me Sufi poets must be like that - just look at book cover.
"In your light I learn to love
In your beauty, how to make poems'
you dance inside my chest
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes the art."
'Who is it?' he heard his beloved say.
He said, 'Its me.'She answered, 'Leave at once
There isn't room for such raw arrogance.'
Raw meat's cooked just by separation's flame-
What can cure hypocrisy's deep shame.
He wondered off in pain as his heart burnt,
In exile from the one he yearned,
Matured before then going back once more
And walking to and fro outside her door.
He tapped the door now suffering nerves inside,
Not to let slip a wrong word how he tried!
His sweetheart now responded by asking who
Was at the door -- 'None, love, but you'
'Now you are I, please enter in this place
Because for two in here there isn't space'
Also called 'Quran in Persian', Masnavi is one of best Sufi works. It goes into six volumes and is full of Sufi lessons. What I found so beautiful in Sufism is that desire to destruct oneself into a higher conception; it is kind of romantic - a desire found elsewhere only among lovers. That is probably why Sufi poets like quoting examples from romantic stories. Rumi also took example of Laila-Majnu in this volume.
Basically, Rumi argues, it is just stupid to stay limited to loving only a part of god's creation when you could love God himself:
"An ant hurries along a threshing floor
with its wheat grain,
moving between huge sacks of wheat,
not knowing the abundance all around.
It thinks its one grain is all there is to love."
A Sufi poet is a person on mission of this self-destruction (also a guide for others to do so) - the songs he sing are in love for God, something similar to a Nightingale singing in love for roses which, by the way, a very common image with Sufi poets.
This nightingale dips its tongue in Quranic water before he sings. All poetry is to explain Quranic verses. Apart from Quranic stories, Rumi also takes examples from Indian, Greek and other folk stories and mend them to deliver his message. Often he would pause within a story to tell another one or to interpret it for you - never for once breaking the verse.
As good as this translation is, I can't help feeling too much of meaning must have been lost to keep the rhyme. The musical effect definitely lost at times and that is most important thing. The only way to enjoy them is letting yourself be drawn into this music; the way some people let themselves when listening to music on headphones and start singing and dancing madly (even with people around.) To me Sufi poets must be like that - just look at book cover.
"In your light I learn to love
In your beauty, how to make poems'
you dance inside my chest
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes the art."
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
while book one explored the broad sufi idea of the ultimate union, book two of the masnavi felt like a step up on the rung, the beginning of the overall tapestry of rumi's thought. through the same easy to read allegory as is characteristic of the masnavi, rumi focuses book two on the relationships between the sufi and his peers -- the sceptics, the infidels, the metaphorical bear. he frequently uses the role of the 'king' and of the 'shaikh', symbolic of the Creator and of those enlightened of his power. while reading, what struck me was how these stories not only are crafted to apply to our relationship with allah, but also to trickle down to the building blocks of our lived experience -- while the 'king' can be a king but also the Creator, the king could also be our own consciousness, our awareness of being. similarly, while the infidel may be someone who does not believe, it often makes more sense to view it as our own ego that is attached to its own self perpetuating state, one that believes it must force its circumstances rather than trusting the infinite potential of its consciousness. this is supported by various references to the sowing of seeds -- representative of our beliefs that we allow to take root in our subsconscious -- and the impact of our thoughts on reality: 'by just a single thought that's formed within / a hundred worlds can soon be made to spin'. while providing a religious caution against the persons that may lead a sufi astray, rumi also warns us of the way we may lead ourselves astray, and how we must be careful of the crops we will inevitably have to harvest when the time comes.
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
*Read for class
Rumi began his career as a scholar and teacher. At some point, he met a man who served as his muse and inspired him to write the 26,000 (!) verses that comprise the Masnavi. The book is sometimes called the "Qur'an in Persian" - this poem tells of the message of divine love and unity through stories and analogy. Much of the verses tell stories of familiar biblical figures like Joseph and Moses, while others sing praises of his muse, Shams.
26,000 verses to get the SAME BASIC MESSAGE across? This pushed my tolerance of poetry (low to begin with) beyond my limits. Rambling story after story with no end in sight - all saying the same thing. And really, I began to see Shams as a Rasputin figure rather than a good influence on Rumi.
Rumi began his career as a scholar and teacher. At some point, he met a man who served as his muse and inspired him to write the 26,000 (!) verses that comprise the Masnavi. The book is sometimes called the "Qur'an in Persian" - this poem tells of the message of divine love and unity through stories and analogy. Much of the verses tell stories of familiar biblical figures like Joseph and Moses, while others sing praises of his muse, Shams.
26,000 verses to get the SAME BASIC MESSAGE across? This pushed my tolerance of poetry (low to begin with) beyond my limits. Rambling story after story with no end in sight - all saying the same thing. And really, I began to see Shams as a Rasputin figure rather than a good influence on Rumi.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
How to talk about a work like this, written in a different age by a man so different from myself. And yet, large parts of this work spoke to me. Not everything, but certainly more than I expected.
The main reason I have heard of Rumi is endless quotes that appear everywhere, but when I tried a poetry compilation before it left me unsatisfied and I figured why not try his most epic work? I am glad I did, because this, the first part of the epic Masnavi, is quite something.
The back of the book refers to The Masnavi as the ‘Qu’ran in Persian’ and I understand why. Now, I have never read the Qu’ran, but of course the religious theme looms large throughout Rumi’s work. Although I would not consider myself religious, I am fascinated by religion and the idea of a God or Gods. I always have been. Islam and maybe Sufism especially I have always found very interesting.
The poetry itself is actually very easy to read and I would not say this is a hard read at all. The rhyming couplets are simple and fun to read out loud, which I did regularly.
There is a lot of philosophy and reflection on morality in this work, apart from his urge to connect yourself to God. I guess the whole aim of this work was to bring the reader closer to God. I found reading this first book of The Masnavi and eye opening, but also strangely calming experience. It made me think a lot. There were a few passages that were a bit over the top to me, but overall, I really enjoyed it quite a lot.
I have Book Two on my shelf and I am looking forward to reading that at some point in the future. I may also see if I can find a good biography of Rumi himself, as it is amazing to me that a man born in the 1200s still holds such a special place in people’s hearts.
সব মিলিয়ে ভালো লেগেছে। প্রচলিত 'সেকুলার' অনুবাদের চেয়ে এটা বেশি গ্রহণযোগ্য আমার কাছে। রুমির মুখে আমার কথা বসানোর চেয়ে রুমির সাথে দ্বিমত করাটা বেশি যুক্তিযুক্ত। তার সময়ের কথা চিন্তা করলে প্রোগ্রেসিভ বলা চলে তাকে। তবে প্রাচ্যের সকল শিক্ষকের ধমকানোর অভ্যাস রুমির ভেতরেও বিদ্যমান... হেহেহে...