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Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion: Poetry and Teaching Stories
These selections from Rumi's Mathnawi – a classic of Sufi spiritual literature – express the "lion's roar" of courage, discipline, clarity, and integrity. The lion represents the fierce intensity that recognizes no authority except the highest truth. At the same time, Rumi's lion is full of heart and devotion. Through these poems the reader will explore the qualities that are vital to the spiritual aspirant who seeks to overcome the imprisonment of ego.
120 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2011
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About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,170 books15.8k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 30, 2007
I literally stumbled over this book at a point when my mind and soul were in a massive jumble about whether or not I should accept the growing love I felt toward Islam. While reading the first poem, I felt such kinship to Sheikh Jalalludin Rumi (may Allah's peace and blessings be with him) that it felt like he reached into my life, answered my most pressing questions, and inspired me to take a similar path. I think that was the point I knew I would become Muslim in practice (iA), not just in spirit.
November 28, 2015
The verses in this translation of Rumi focus on the place and function of intention in the Mevlevi path. Coleman Barks is the master translator of Rumi's prose. Here is an example from one of the poems:
Stand under the pointed arch and weep.
Burn all night like a candle being beheaded
in its own flame. Close your lips
to food and drink. Hurry
to this other table, trembling
like a willow. Forget your weaknesses.
Your longing is everything.
Stand under the pointed arch and weep.
Burn all night like a candle being beheaded
in its own flame. Close your lips
to food and drink. Hurry
to this other table, trembling
like a willow. Forget your weaknesses.
Your longing is everything.
October 3, 2012
This book is crazy amazing and it definitely needs a second reading. Makes me wonder what else I'm walking right past especially from the Quran
April 26, 2019
This is a master piece. It like waking me up from a sleep
June 6, 2008
slap my face, rumi. hold my hand.
Read
January 29, 2022There are those who believe that poetry can't be translated, who believe that a poem must be read in its original language to be fully appreciated. I don't know whether or not I agree, but I can think of a number of examples that support this argument - the most egregious example being the Coleman Barks "translations" of Rumi.
Above is a version of a Rumi poem "translated" by Coleman Barks ("translated" in quotes because Barks can neither read nor speak Persian). Below is a literal translation of the same poem.
The poems of Rumi are sacred, and the "translations" of Coleman Barks are profane - as any act of cultural erasure intended to secularize content for an undiserning audience would be considered profane. I urge everyone to seek out better translations, and to read more about these faux-translations here: Persian Poetics
Out beyond ideas
of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
Above is a version of a Rumi poem "translated" by Coleman Barks ("translated" in quotes because Barks can neither read nor speak Persian). Below is a literal translation of the same poem.
Beyond kufr and Islam there is a desert plain,
in that middle space our passions reign.
When the gnostic arrives there he'll prostrate himself,
not kufr, not Islam, nor is thereany space in that domain.
The poems of Rumi are sacred, and the "translations" of Coleman Barks are profane - as any act of cultural erasure intended to secularize content for an undiserning audience would be considered profane. I urge everyone to seek out better translations, and to read more about these faux-translations here: Persian Poetics
May 18, 2020
Sebuah antologi yang menonjolkan kelemahan manusia dalam menghadapi cobaan hidup. Di beberapa puisinya disini, dengan kesederhanaan dan welas asihnya dia menggunakan sosok singa sebagai simbol integritas, disiplin diri dan pencerahan secara spiritualitas. Mengingat era lahirnya puisi-puisinya yang indah ini, banyak kisah sederhana yang masih sangat relevan dengan keadaan jiwa dan spiritualitas manusia saat ini.
Buku tipis ini mampu memberikan keindahan literatur klasik yang cukup memberikan keteduhan dalam mengenal diri sejati dan Sang Pencipta.
Buku tipis ini mampu memberikan keindahan literatur klasik yang cukup memberikan keteduhan dalam mengenal diri sejati dan Sang Pencipta.
January 10, 2022
Some of these poems were beyond me, and some were too religious for my taste. But I was still able to abstract a few brief stanzas that remind me of Rumi’s other works. One was “Show us everything as it really is. No one who has died is grieving because of death. The only grief is at not being well enough prepared for dying” (from The Earthquake that Frees Prisoners).
July 3, 2022
Some really beautiful writing here, and a lot of eye-opening metaphors. Just didn’t totally vibe with all the ideas put forth.
November 22, 2024
A book lost in translation. Rasanya terjemahannya kurang "sreg" untuk dibaca, terutama ini puisi dan sajak.
April 5, 2026
Reminded me to chill mad hard. Great shit right here. Put me in a genuinely meditative state !
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews