Monday, November 18, 2013
Rumi--Anam Cara Newsletter
(from the Anam Cara Newsletter--Lawrence Edwards, Ph. D.):
Dear Friend
The great Sufi mystic and poet Rumi is among the most popular poets in America. His poetry reaches the heart of the heart, beyond any one tradition or religion, inspiring millions of people with their love and wisdom.
Here is a selection from the wonderful translations done by Coleman Barks.
from Rumi: The Book of Love
Translations and Commentary by Coleman Barks
Don't look for it outside yourself. You are the source of milk. Don't milk others.
There is a fountain inside you.
Don't walk around with an empty bucket.
You have a channel into the ocean,
yet you ask for water from a little pool.
Beg for the love expansion. Meditate only
on THAT. The Qur'an says,
And he is with you.(57:4)
There is a basket of fresh bread on your head,
yet you go door to door asking for crusts.
Knock on the inner door, no other.
Sloshing knee-deep in fresh riverwater,
yet you keep asking for other people's waterbags.
Water is everywhere around you, but you see only barriers that keep you from water....
Mad with thirst, you can't drink from the stream running close by your face. You are like a pearl on the deep bottom wondering inside the shell,
Where's the ocean?
Those mental questionings,
form the barrier.
Stay bewildered inside God,
and only that.
