RUMI

A humble presentation – a spontaneous result of awe and inspiration on reading the Book

The Sufi Path of LoveThe Spiritual Teachings of Rumi

William C. Chittick

JALAL AL DIN RUMIAN OCEAN OF

WISDOM

ME - A MERE DROP

FEELING LIKE A SALT DOLL WHICH ON THE VERY FIRST TOUCH OF THE OCEAN MELTS !!!

Jalal al-Din Rumi was born in Balkh in present-day Afghanistan in the year A.H. 604/A.D. 1207.

Rumi's major works are the Diwan-i Shams-i Tabrizi of some 40,000 verses and the Mathnawi of about 25,000 verses. In addition, three collections of his talks and letters have been preserved.Although his teachings can probably never be totally encompassed by any systematic exposition, certainly all of them express a single reality, the overriding reality of Rumi's existence and of Islam itself: "There is no god but God.”

RUMI :How many words the world contains! But all have one meaning. When you smash the jugs, the water is one. (Diwan 32108)

me : the truth is one and the same . Outwardly it may all appear to be different, a thousand and one embellishments, but inside - the water , which in our DEEN symbolizes ILM is the same, it comes

from Heaven Above from ALLAH.

In the Year 642/1244 the enigmatic figure Shams al-Din of Tabriz came to Konya, and Rumi was transformed.

I was the country's sober ascetic, I used to teach from the pulpitbut destiny made me one of Thy hand-clapping lovers. (D 22784)

Shams-i Tabrizi's influence upon Rumi was decisive, for outwardly he was transformed from a sober jurisprudent to an intoxicated celebrant of the mysteries of Divine Love. One could say that without Shams, there would have been no Rumi. Nevertheless, one must not overestimate the role that Shams played, since Rumi was already an accomplished adept when Shams arrived on the scene.

After a period of one or two years during which Shams was Rumi's constant companion, Shams left Konya suddenly, to Rumi's great dismay.

Dissolve this headstrong form with spiritual travail! Beneath it you will find Oneness like a treasure! (M I 683)

If everything that appears to us were just as it appears, the Prophet, who was endowed with such penetrating vision, both illuminated and illuminating, would never have cried out, "Oh Lord, show us things as they are!" (F 5/18)Rumi

me :What is the headstrong form ? It is the delusion because of our EGO. It is ‘I’ it is ‘I’. Ego is an anti – evolutionary force of powerful inertia in human nature, attached to the past and terrified of change. It is deeply ingrained, compulsive need to remain separate and superior at all times.

What is spiritual travail ? A path of exertion and tribulations, but worth undertaking, because beneath it is the treasure of ONENESS . IT IS THOU MY LORD . IT IS THOU.

This travail can be easily acquired by Tawheed and Ta’at. Just reflect on the riwayat of Moylai Adam – Vali ul Hind praying namaz behind the sakka (water carrier ) He made this travail look so easy, and his single action of Ta’ at resulted in Dawat coming to Hindustan from Yemen.

If you pour the ocean into a jug, how much will it hold? One day's store. (Mathnavi I 20)

How long will you make love with the shape of the jug? Leave aside the jug's shape: Go, seek water!

The window determines how much light enters the house, even if the moon's radiance fills the east and the west. (D 9911)

me : If we just for a moment reflect and become aware of the Vastness of the Universe, the knowledge and wisdom contained therein , and than just turn our attention inward to our selves, realization will dawn instantly.

We humans are more concerned with the packaging than the content. We may have grown in knowledge and intelligence, but not necessarily in wisdom and virtue, which is more essential for the development of a fuller aware being. 

We are all lions, but lions on a banner: We keep on leaping because of the wind. (M I 602-603)

me : Our Ego makes us believe that we are the prime movers and shakers, but it is not so. The Wise know otherwise. Before the Painter and brush, the

picture is helpless and shackled like a child in the womb. (M I 611)

me : ALLAH is the Creator and He is One who by His Grace and Love brings Universe to life with brush (The Intelligences in the Pelorama )

Lord of lords! Formless Giver of forms! What form art Thou pulling over me? Thou knowest, I know not. (D 14964)me : This is true TAWHEED

Each and every part of the world is a snare for the fool and a means of deliverance for the wise. (M VI 4287)

me: Recalling the Nashihat of Sayedi Sadiqali Saheb : Duniya ni tu raghbat thee, sina ne uthavi le .....zahir ma halavat chhe, pan zehar chhe khufiyah ma

So the saints have not said this lightly: The bodies of the purified ones become untainted, exactly like the spirit.Their words, their psyche, their outward form all become absolute spirit without trace. (M I 2000-01)

Sayedi Sadiqali Saheb : Kabro ma jivta chhe woh Bari na Awaliya de chhe jawab jeh koi tehne nida kare.

Jisme muttahar of Sayedi Abdulkader Hakimuddin Moula - sahi saalim after 40 days entomed in Kabr. He is answering our pleas today, he will answer for years to come, like all Awaliya kirams till the Day of Qayamat.

Wonderful! Are you not ashamed, oh brother, of a spirit in need of bread? (D 28664)

me : Here Rumi is referring to the higher Spirits ( A'qela ) an not , the baser spirits of growth and feelings, common to humans and all living beings.

The Nashihat of Sayedi Sadiqali Saheb puts it so succinctly : 'bukhe mare padosi ne pote jama kare' Simply amazing and full of meanings. The padosi referred is your higher Spirit - the Real You which we generally tend to neglect.

Experience shows that the spirit is nothing but awareness. Whoever has greater awareness has a greater spirit.

There is a spirit beyond description, above the turning heavens: nimble, subtle and well-proportioned, like the moon in Libra,And another spirit like fire, harsh, headstrong and obstinate, short-lived and unhappy, like Satan's imagination.Oh friend! Which are you? Are you ripe or raw? Are you dizzy from sweetmeats and wine, or a knight on the field of battle? (D 21377-83)

me : ALLAH has given us Ikhtiyar – Jameen this asmani banvu chhe ke pachi duniya na chakkro maj gujaro karvo chhe. You want emancipation or you want to remain entangled and snared in this world of degeneration.

CHOICE IS ALL YOURS.

There are immature spirits slithering into snares, and spirits that have flown up and found the way to the

Beloved.

Open your eyes! See the spirits that have fled from the body! The spirit has smashed the cage, the heart has fled from the body! (D 25039)

The spirit has become disengaged from the body's uproar! It flies upon the wing of the heart without the body's foot. (M V 1721)

gar maut ne samjo to kunji (key) chhe hayati nitehkik yeh madin ruhani hayati ni

:

me: The Nashihat of Sayedi Sadiq Ali Saheb eloquently states thus:

Death if you can understand is the key to life. It is in truth ,the mother of spiritual everlasting life.

Khalil Gibran : Shall the day of parting be the day of gathering ?And shall it be said that my eve was in truth my dawn ?

A falcon and a crow were put into one cage: Wounds distress them both.Within our breast an intellect and an ego are in strife and tribulation, drunken with separation from their Source. (D 33508, 10)

me: Ego is the false self that because of the ‘khata’ ( sin ) in Alam ul Ibda has been removed from the Source, it has been hurled in the abyss, and always feels the sense of incompleteness. On the other hand the soul – the Real ‘I’ is the Angel in potentia, which has the urge to become Angel in actu.

Every autobiography is concerned with two characters, Don Quixote – the Ego and Sancho Panza – the Self. W.H. Auden.

“The authentic self is the best part of a human being. It’s the part of you that already cares, that is already passionate about evolution. When your authentic self miraculously awakens and becomes stronger than your ego, then you will truly begin to make a difference in this world. You will literally enter into a partnership with the creative principle.”~ Andrew Cohen

God is exceedingly near to you. Whatever thought and idea you conceive, God is next to it. For He gives existence to the thought and idea and places it before you. But He is so near that you cannot see Him.What is so strange about that? Whatever you do, your intellect is with you, initiating the action. But you cannot see the intellect. Although you see its effects, you cannot see its essence. (F 172/180)

When we say that God is not in the heavens, we do not mean that He is not in the heavens. What we mean is that the heavens do not encompass Him, but He encompasses them. He has a connection to the heavens, but it is ineffable and inscrutable, just as He has established an ineffable and inscrutable connection with you. Everything is in the hand of His Power. Everything is the locus of His Self-manifestation and under His control. So He is not outside the heavens and the created worlds, nor is He completely inside them.

In other words, these things do not encompass Him, but He encompasses them. (F 212/219)

For example, in a king's realm there are prisons, gallows, robes of honor, wealth, estates, retinue, banquets, joy, drums, and banners. In relation to the king, all are good. Just as robes of honor are the perfection of his kingdom, so also gallows and executions and prisons are all perfections of his kingdom.

In relation to him, all are perfection. But in relation to his people, how could the gallows be the same as a robe of honor? (F 31/42-43)

The outward form of the branch is the origin of the fruit; but inwardly, the branch came into existence for the fruit's sake.If there had been no desire and hope for the fruit, why did the gardener plant the tree?Therefore in meaning the fruit gave existence to the tree, even if in form the tree gave birth to the fruit. (M IV)

me: This Universe has a purpose and to comprehend it fully, first and foremost you should have a real and deep longing , and when you are ready the TEACHER will surely appear. We mumineen are so blessed and fortunate to have our Rehbar our Aqa Moula (TUS) who makes us understand the purpose of our life, why we are here, and he shows by personal example ‘ jameen thi asmanee kem kari ne banso’

For example, someone has been bound fast by four pegs. He imagines that he is happy; he has forgotten the joy of freedom. When delivered from the pegs, he will understand what torment he was going through. In the same way, infants find nurture and ease in a cradle while their hands are bound. If a grown man were bound in a cradle, that would be torment and prison. (F 194/203)

MY PRESENTATION IS A MERE DROP TAKEN FROM THE OCEAN OF RUMI’S LIFE TIME

ENDEVOUR OF SEEKING AND SPRITUALITY

Asgar Fakhrudin www.hikmaah.com