By Pichaya Avery
Jalaluddin Rumi is one of my favorite poets. As an introduction to twelve of his inspirational quotes, I’ve included the following excerpt from “Rumi’s Untold Story,” a free online e-book by Shahram Shiva:
“Rumi’s life story is full of intrigue and high drama mixed with intense creative outbursts. Rumi was a charming, wealthy nobleman, a genius theologian, law professor and a brilliant but sober scholar, who in his late thirties met a wandering and wild holy man by the name of Shams. In Rumi’s own words, after meeting Shams he was transformed from a bookish, sober scholar to an impassioned seeker of universal truth and love.
“Rumi and Shams stayed together for a short time, about 2 years in total, but the impact of their meeting left an everlasting impression on Rumi and his work. After Shams was extinguished by Rumi’s youngest son (an honor killing), due to events that are explained in parts 5 and 6 [of the e-book], Rumi fell into a deep state of grief and gradually out of that pain outpoured nearly 70,000 verses of poetry.
“These thousands of poems, which include about 2,000 in quatrains, are collected in two epic books named, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi and Masnavi (Massnavi, Mathnawi).”
Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.
―Rumi
You are not a drop in the ocean.
You are the entire ocean, in a drop.
―Rumi
Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the barriers
within yourself
that you have built against it.
―Rumi
Stop acting so small.
You are the universe in ecstatic motion.
―Rumi
Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.
―Rumi
You were born with wings.
Why prefer to crawl through life?
―Rumi
The wound is the place where the Light enters you.
―Rumi
Don’t grieve.
Anything you lose comes round in another form.
―Rumi
If you are irritated by every rub,
how will your mirror be polished?
―Rumi
Love is not an emotion,
it’s your very existence
―Rumi
Let Silence speak to you about the secrets of the universe.
―Rumi
Close your eyes, fall in love, stay there.
―Rumi
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David Rivinus
Pichaya–
This was wonderful! Rumi is also one of my favorites, and now that you told me about it, I will lose no time in downloading Sharam Shiva’s online offering. Thanks for posting these quotes; they never grow old! David
Pichaya Avery
Thank you, David, for your wonderful comment. It is great to know that Rumi is one of your favorites. I hope you enjoy the ebook.
Nigel
Pichaya, I also love Rumi as an all time favourite poet and those twelve quotes are truly awesome. Shams is alive in every verse. I must look up the e-book.
Pichaya Avery
Thank you, Nigel, for your wonderful comment. I hope you enjoy the ebook.