Bridge to the Soul: Journeys Into the Music and Silence of the Heart

by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi, Coleman Barks (Translator), A.J. Arberry (Translator)

Originally released in 2007, "Year of Rumi," to coincide with the poet's 800th birthday, by the pre-eminent Rumi poet Coleman Barks. In Rumi: Bridge to the Soul , Coleman Barks—who holds an honorary doctorate in Persian language and literature by the University of Tehran for his decades-long translations of Rumi—has collected and translated ninety new poems, most of them never published before in any form. The "bridge" in the title is a reference to the Khajou Bridge in Isphahan, Iran, which Barks visited with Robert Bly in May of 2006—a trip that in many ways prompted this book. The "soul bridge" also suggests Rumi himself, who crosses cultures and religions and brings us all together to listen to his words, regardless of origin or creed. Open this book and let Rumi's poetry carry you into the interior silence and joy of the spirit, the place that unites conscious knowing with a deeper, more soulful understanding.

Genres: Poetry, Spirituality, Islam, Classics, Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy

158 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Sufism 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.

Reviews

[Mutasim Billah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Be clear like a mirror
reflecting nothing.
Be clean of pictures and the worry
that comes with images.
Gaze into what is not ashamed
or afraid of any truth.
Contain all human faces in your own
without any judgment of them.
Be pure emptiness.
What is inside that? you ask.
Silence is all I can say.
Lovers have some secrets
that they keep."

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī(30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273)


At the proposal of the Permanent Delegations of Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey, and as approved by its Executive Board and General Conference in conformity with its mission of “constructing in the minds of men the defences of peace”, UNESCO was associated with the celebration, in 2007, of the eight hundredth anniversary of Rumi's birth. The commemoration at UNESCO itself took place on 6 September 2007; UNESCO issued a medal in Rumi's name in the hope that it would prove an encouragement to those who are engaged in research on and dissemination of Rumi's ideas and ideals, which would, in turn, enhance the diffusion of the ideals of UNESCO.



To commemorate the occasion, HarperCollins released Bridge to the Soul, a compilation of Rumi's poetry by Coleman Barks, a lifelong interpreter and champion of Rumi's works. The compilation consists of 90 of Rumi's poems. The "bridge" in the title is a reference to the Khajou Bridge in Isphahan, Iran, which Barks visited with Robert Bly in May of 2006—a trip that in many ways prompted this book. The "soul bridge" also suggests Rumi himself, who crosses cultures and religions and brings us all together to listen to his words, regardless of origin or creed.



Khajou Bridge




Mevlana Museum, the shrine of Rumi

[Julie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A former spiritual teacher of mine contacted me earlier this spring, to ask if I wanted to join her 9 week “Rumi and Mystical Poetry” intensive, using Coleman Barks' “Bridge to the Soul” as a guide.

I bought the precious little hardcover that fits so perfectly in the human hand and thought. . . how can I commit to a 9 week class? I'm a mother of three and, while one IS fully formed, the other two are like those little creatures from Dr. Seuss's “Hop on Pop.” Remember: “Day, Play. We play all day. Night, Fight. We fight all night?”

Anyway, I'm tired, I'm busy, and I thought I couldn't make time for Rumi. But what a mistake, to think I couldn't make time for Rumi.

People, we all need to make time for Rumi!

So, I begged the family, made it happen, and sometimes, on the day of the class, I had to prepare the entire day to make the 2 hour evening class work. But it worked.

We started with Coleman Barks' Introduction, where he quotes Nietzsche, “What is great in man is that he is a bridge, and not a goal.”

And adds, “A human being is a going-across.”

A human being is a going-across? Oh, dear God, can you dream up a sentence more delicious??

And then we jumped in to Rumi. And what can I do here but tell you that as we finished the class each evening and I walked out to my car with a full panoramic view of the Rocky Mountains in the background, I felt as happy as a young bride.

I smiled the entire drive home, feeling that Everything around me was One. That, if I worked at it, I could find my way to love all of Humanity. That, though I sometimes feel I am one hot mess, my soul is perfect.

By morning, it was harder to hold on to the spell that Rumi cast, but when I felt my grasp slipping, I would open the book again, hungry for more of that experience of One. It is obviously a work-in-progress, a lifetime commitment, but this journey begins with the simple act of reading one of Rumi's poems.

I could not begin to include my favorite passages in this review. Honestly, I would just be re-writing the entire book. But I would like to finish here with Rumi's words, rather than mine:

We tremble like leaves about to let go.
There is no avoiding pain,
or feeling exiled, or the taste of dust.

But also we have a green-winged longing
for the sweetness of the friend. (32)

Root like a lotus, plunging deep in the mud,
that does not mind a death-wind in its leaves.
Wait, for I am waiting, too. (109)

[Cherisa B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous. I feel profoundly moved by the beauty, the images, the heart of this poetry. The translator has done an incredible job. That 800 years doesn't change how much Rumi speaks to the human condition is just mind-boggling.

[Edita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovers find secret places
inside this violent world
where they make transactions
with beauty.

Reason says, Nonsense.
I have walked and measured the walls here.
There are no places like that.

Love says, There are.

[Amrendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of Rumi's verse translated in English by Coleman Barks to commemorate Rumi's 800th birth anniversary with 90 hitherto unpublished poems.

Rumi's place in the history of religions is a bridge between faiths. He quickens the grief and the delight of being alive. He celebrates the glory and the indignity.

There are many words for grapes in the world's languages. Rather than argue about names for the mystery, he crushes them into one wine.

Love is a tavern where no one makes much sense ~ Rumi.

[Mai Kais]

Rumi can be seen as a bridge between religions, and his poetry a bridge for the heart, helping us move from the place we are to another place that is even better.

The life gift is given
and then taken away.

It is not for us to know why, or how.
Grace comes with the creation word, Be.

The gate opens without hesitating.
Between the push of buh
and the smooth launch of ee,
there is an infinite moment
when everything happens.

[Sandra Miksa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how the translator touched upon bridges to demonstrate Rumi's poetry as a bridge to the soul. A bridge filled with echoes of silence and well-being. To let in the Shams. As for the Ruminator poems themselves, there has been something lost in translation is my belief. Irregardless, I enjoyed most of the poems but only a select few touched me. One of my favorite lines is "We must die to become true human beings."

[Mehak · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Poetry in translation is like taking a shower with a raincoat on'

I wish I'm able to read Rumi in his own words

[Omero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come potresti diventare amaro, quando in realta' tu sei una miniera di dolcezze?"
(Gialal al-Din Rumi)
Cosi' in copertina di questo libretto, estratto dal monumentale (26.000 versi): Mathnawī, di Gialal al-Din Rumi.

"Dalla Persia del Duecento i versi di infinita dolcezza del grande poeta mistico fondatore della confraternita ore della confraternita dei "dervisci rotanti".
Un viaggio nelle profondità dell'animo, un messaggio di gioia, energia spirituale e artistica che ci mostra il volto di un Islam festoso, tollerante, teso verso la purezza assoluta.
Parole colme di sacro entusiasmo, visioni e racconti che innalzano un'ode al divino e all'umanità tutta prospettando un mondo di pace senza conflitti di religione o civiltà. "
(Cosi' in quarta di copertina).

"Descrizione del libro
Vissuto nella Persia del XIII secolo, Jalal al-Din Rumi ha unito nella propria persona e nelle proprie opere il fascino del derviscio, la saggezza dei santone inebriato di Dio, e la sottile cultura dei più sofisticati mistici sufi. Nei suoi versi, pieni di entusiasmo sacro, di visioni e di anelito.

Vissuto nella Persia del XIII secolo, Jalal al-Din Rumi ha unito nella propria persona e nelle proprie opere il fascino del derviscio, la saggezza dei santone inebriato di Dio, e la sottile cultura dei più sofisticati mistici sufi. Nei suoi versi, pieni di entusiasmo sacro, di visioni e di anelito verso la purezza, ci ha lasciato un monumento alla poesia, ma soprattutto all'uomo e alla natura, riflessi della realtà divina. Le sue parole ci mostrano un volto dell'islam che non siamo più abituati a vedere, quello dolce, tollerante, festoso, ma soprattutto invitano l'uomo, di ogni tempo e di ogni religione, a compiere il viaggio più straordinario alla ricerca della verità: quello nelle profondità insondate del proprio animo."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masnavi
Summa del misticismo, considerata la piu' grande opera sul tema.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gialal_a...

Libretto prezioso per avere un'idea di massima, con la sua breve introduzione ed un estratto dei racconti, della figura di Gialal al-Din Rumi, la sua opera e concetti.

Temi di una cultura complessa (etica, sociale e religiosa) non sempre facile da comprendere fino in fondo, sebbene con molti/moltissimi parallelismi e trasversalita' con i grandi temi universali dell'uomo e quindi, di riflesso, con la cultura occidentale.

Rumi, accostato a San Antonio (vissuti in contemporanea) ed a Dante (per la grandezza dei versi), e' una figura di alta suggestione.

"Jalâl âlDîn Rûmî, il sufi paragonato a San Francesco, il Dante Alighieri della gente turca, uno dei più grandi mistici di tutta l’umanità. Nato a Balkh (attuale Âfghânistân) nel 1207, morì a Konya (Turchia) nel 1273. Di lui il professor Halil Cin – già Rettore delòl’Università Selciukide di Konya - ha scritto: «Rûmî, superando le frontiere religiose del pensiero turco e dell' Îslâm, è simbolo di un senso di pace, di dialogo e di rispetto reciproco indirizzati a tutta l' umanità. Trova la fonte dell' ispirazione nell' Îslâm e nella cultura turca; li esprime ed amplifica, e li offre a tutti senza distinzione alcuna, mentre la maggior parte dei conflitti fra gli uomini deriva invece dalla mancanza di dialogo e di amore, deriva dall' egoismo e dal fatto che non è dato alla persona umana il valore che merita. Questo messaggio di Rumì trova veramente l' ambito universale nella quartina che leggiamo all' ingresso della Mevleviyya di Konya in Turchia.

O silenzio, tu sei ciò che vi è di più prezioso al centro di me stesso,
tu se il velo di ogni soavità in me.
O uomo: ostenta meno la tua scienza, fai silenzio, poiché nel silenzio non v e timore né speranza.
Per il villaggio distrutto, abbandonato e deserto non v'è né decima né tassa sulle terre. Fermati allora. e medita sul valore di un villaggio distrutto.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismo
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derviscio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz3epA...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B1vZN...

Versi
Mi chiedi chi ama davvero? Chi è in preda alle pene.
E quale organo scherza quando il cuore è ansioso?

La medicina che cura l'amore non si trova dall'erborista:
resta un mistero divino al pari dell'astrolabio.

Correte pure, insensati, rincorrendo passioni effimere,
ma guai a voi se l'Amore regale d'improvviso vi ghermisce.

Ma come pretendete che quell'Amore sia descrivibile,
se spesso ci fa vergognare delle nostre stesse parole?
Pensate che le parole ve lo rendano più presente,
mentre quell'Amore è bello come Mistero inesplicabile?

Certo, corre la penna mentre vergo queste sue lodi,
ma se scrivo di quell'Amore la sua punta si spezza.
Ecco, guai a scrivere sull'amore sublime!
S'infrange la penna, e la pergamena si lacera.

L'intelletto s'affanna, eppur non lo comprende:
sì, solo l'Amore spiega quel suo mistero agli amanti.

Potrebbe forse il Sole splendere senza Luce?
O mia Lampada, se lo scorgi non distogliere lo sguardo.
La sua traccia è resa manifesta dalle ombre,
ma solo il suo splendore ha alito di vita.

L'ombra induce al riposo, come le confidenze serali,
ma quando il Sole sorge all'alba la Luna viene spaccata.
Nulla al mondo ferisce più nel profondo,
ma il Sole dell'Anima mia non tramonta e non ha passato.

Il cielo di questo mondo ci mostra un unico sole,
ma un cielo dai soli molteplici chi ci vieta d'immaginarlo?

Eppure il Sole dell'Amata non s'interseca col firmamento:
nessuno l'ha mai visto, né in astratto, né in concreto.
È Amore d'Unione, essenza inconcepibile;
non lo comprende l'intelletto, né lo coglie lo sguardo.
Rumi

http://www.suonamiunapoesia.it/SUPz_R...

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Essential Rumi" and "The Soul of Rumi" are both better collections of poems than this one; here we seem to be getting to the dregs of Rumi, yet even Rumi's dregs are superior to the cream of many poets. There were several poems in this collection that moved me deeply, and some that had no effect at all. Though not the best selection of Rumi's verses, this book is still well worth reading. In the introduction, Coleman Barks tells of how members of diverse religions (Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Jews) attended Rumi's funeral. When asked why, they said, "He strengthens us where we are." That is how I feel about Rumi's poetry: though not a Christian himself, he strengthens me AS a Christian; his poetry often speaks to me in a spiritual way and moves me in a way I am rarely moved.

While I like Coleman Barks translations of Rumi, and I am glad he has dug up some more poems to offer us, I could have done without his introduction to this volume. First he went on in too much detail about a particular bridge, and then he went off onto a political schpiel that involved comparing Iran's government to that of the United States (yes, true, Iran is oppressive, but, hey, look at us!). Then he did some self-congratulatory backslapping for the one Bush bash he couldn't resist making publicly in Iran. While I am certainly no political fan of Bush, I could do without all the self-righteous academics and celebrities focusing with single-vision on the flaws in their own country while yucking it up with the tyrants of other countries. There's no need to feel self-satisfied about a Bush-slap while visiting a nation whose regime feeds the people a steady diet of anti-Americanism. Hey, here's some interesting facts Americans may not know about Iran, courtesy of Coleman Barks: Tehran has no ghettos (what a pleasant, poverty-free land!), wonderfully cheap gas, and people who never act like they hate Americans even though they really, truly should. The introduction aside, I, of course, enjoyed Rumi's poems.

[Kevin Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovers find secret places
inside this violent world
where they make transactions
with beauty.

Reason says, Nonsense.
I have walked and measured the walls here.
There are no places like that.

Love says, There are.

5 star! I'll read till over a couple of times more. Such a beautiful enlightening book!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was listening to a podcast on Speaking of Faith, an interview with a woman expert on Rumi, I was listening to her read one of the poems on birds while birds were flying over the James River, one of those 'you had to be there moments', went right out when I got home to get the book she recommended. I'm reading a poem each day and I'm still trying to get into it, we'll see.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry, some of it is very hard to interpret, even though the translation is good. It's just so hard for me to believe Rumi's love for Shams wasn't physical instead of religious. But that aside, the poems work either way. I always have to take my time when reading Rumi. His poems are to be savored. This new collection for his 800th anniversary is a jewel.

[Shokufeh شکوفه Kavani کاوانی · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colman Barks has to be appreciated and admired for the great works that he has done into introducing Rumi to the western world......I hope somebody could do the same for Hafez, Saadi and other Iranian poets and writers.

[Bodour · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not one of the best I've read on Rumi. The poems here are the ones that were never published before. Nevertheless, it was a lovely book to read. Anything by Rumi is lovely :)

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so inspiring, as most of Rumi's work is. I also liked the introduction and information about the poet.

[Armand Cognetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Be a helpful friend,
and you will become a green tree
with always new fruit,
always deeper journeys into love.”

[theshadishow · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a peculiar and somewhat jarring translation with some blatant anachronisms, but there were also some lovely gems in this collection

[Md.Naibur Rahman Uupol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way Rumi described silence, a lost feature in today’s world!

[Sidik Fofana · Rating 4 out of 5]

SIX WORD REVIEW: The solemnity in Shamz and silence.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially magical

A series of 90 poems, translated from Persian, by an obvious free-thinker. Interesting that there are no religious barriers within the poems – no indication of one religion being superior to another, bearing in mind the poems are over 800 years old. What a shame that this ideal no longer seems to exist in our so-called advanced world. In modern parlance, Rumi’s philosophy is ‘live and let live’.

There are many poems that resonate with me, but this is my favourite:

No Expectations

“A spirit that lives in this world and does not wear the shirt of love, such an existence is a deep disgrace.

Be foolishly in love, because love is all there is.

There is no way into presence except through a love exchange.

If someone asks, But what is love? Answer; dissolving the will.

True freedom comes to those who have escaped the questions of freewill and fate.

Love is an emperor. The two worlds play across him. He barely notices their tumbling game.

Love and lover live in eternity. Other desires are substitutes for that way of being.

How long do you lay embracing a corpse? Love rather the soul, which cannot be held.

Anything born in spring dies in the fall, but love is not seasonal.

With wine pressed from grapes, expect a hangover.

But this love path has no expectations. You are uneasy riding the body? Dismount. Travel lighter. Wings will be given.

Be clear like a mirror reflecting nothing.

Be clean of pictures and the worry that comes with images.

Gaze into what is not ashamed or afraid of any truth.

Contain all human faces in your own without any judgment of them.

Be pure emptiness. What is inside that? You ask. Silence is all I can say.

Lovers have some secrets that they keep.”

Rumi: Bridge to the Soul

[Tawheeda Rufah Nilima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yesterday, I read this book called ‘Rumi: Bridge to the Soul—Journeys into the Music and Silence of the Heart’. While reading the book, I came across some lines that caught my attention a bit more.

I kind of went through the book again today. This time I didn’t read it thoroughly. I just opened it, read those lines and some more. Then I slightly went through the book one more time.

There’s this poem called ‘I See the Face.' There it says,

‘Do not consider what strangers say.
Be secluded in your secret heart-house,
that bowl of silence.
Talking, no matter how humble-seeming,
is really a kind of bragging.
Let silence be the art
you practice.’

And here I stopped for a while.

Then I read in one poem,

‘You are pure soul
and made of the ground.
You are eyeshadow,
and the kindness in eyelight.’

In another poem I read this,

‘The sweetness of how we talk together
is what we crush and bring the world.’

And in the next poem I read,

‘Your kindness cannot be said.
You open doors in the sky.
You ease the heart and make
God’s qualities visible.’

In this book, there are so many mentions of Shams Tabriz.

I read this,
‘We grow quiet. Our souls become
one another and Shams Tabriz.’

And this,
‘The noise of a waking town
fills my chest. Shams
is saying this.’

I first knew about Shams Tabriz when I read the book ‘The Forty Rules of Love’ back in 2019. I want to read this book one more time. I remember annotating this book a lot. And I guess, from then on, I love annotating books so much.

4.25/5★

[Joseph Knecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be clear like a mirror reflecting nothing. Be clean of pictures and the worry that comes with images. Gaze into what is not ashamed or afraid of any truth. Contain all human faces in your own without any judgment of them. Be pure emptiness. What is inside that? you ask. Silence is all I can say

Lovers, it is time for the taste of fire. Let sadness and your fears of death sit in the corner and sulk. The sky itself reels with love. There is one being inside all of us, one peace. Poet, let every word tremble its wind bell. Saddle the horse with great anticipation. Flute notes are calling us into friendship. Begin again. Play the melody all the way through this time. Sun-presence floods over. Quietness is an empty cup. Accept that you must hide your secret.

There has never been beauty like yours. Your face, your eyes, your presence. We cannot decide which we love most, your gracefulness or your generosity. I came with many knots in my heart, like the magician’s rope. You undid them all at once. I see now the splendor of the student and that of the teacher’s art. Love and this body sit inside your presence, one demolished, the other drunk. We smile. We weep, tree limbs turning sere, then light green. Any power that comes through us is you. Any wish. What does a rock know of April? It is better to ask the flowery grass, the jasmine, and the redbud branch.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumi's poetry is absolutely stunning, it's aged magnificently with time. Coleman Barks has done a splendid job of honouring Rumi's work through translation. I certainly want to find out more about Shams Tabriz who was mentioned every few poems "when Shams accepts you as a companion, sit near him and listen". You feel the depth of who Shams must have been as a person for Rumi to mention him so frequently with such high regard. I know Rumi's poems are something that will stay with me awhile and I will certainly be re-reading his work again.

"The sky itself reels with love. There is one being inside all of us one peace". Rumi has such graceful imagery that he really brought me closer to nature and the gratitude we should have for it.

My Iranian partner had recommended Rumi to me for a long time and I'm beyond impressed with how close Rumi's words felt too me. Despite the translation and the centuries of years, that has been leaped onto Rumi's work. Would hugely recommend to anyone even if you aren't a poetry person because Rumi knows how to make you fall in love with poetry

Coleman Barks did add at the beginning context to Rumi's life as well as his trip to Iran, which helps brings the whole book to life

[Mary Burbidge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book has been my daily companion for about 3 years. I have read a poem a day, and almost every day, I have been transfixed by one of Rumi's amazing ideas or one of his beautiful images. I think I have been through the book now about 4 times, so I've graduated to a bigger, thicker book of Rumi poems! Not sure I recommend that. Small is better.
Just to whet the appetite, here is a sample:

Shams is Jesus walking a mountain road.
I am a slow, bewildered avalanche
moving along somehow trying to follow him.

Here's another:

It's time for us to join the line of your madmen
all chained together.
Time to be totally free, and estranged. Time to give up our souls,
to set fire to structures and run out in the street.
Time to ferment.
How else can we leave the world-vat and go to the lip?

Last one:

Reason comes to a marketplace and begins haggling prices.
Love wanders away with other business to transact,
something to do with incomparable beauty.

Rumi will inspire you and teach you and humble you with his understanding and his art. Savour!

[Marilena Turquoise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this collection of poems in the middle of the pandemic, it got me in the mood for traveling, the feeling of exploring new places and the special vibe only explorers get to feel. This book also brought me great memories from my trip to Iran in 2016 and helped me understand even more the Asian mentality and the spiritual connection between two people. It is a very romantic collection as it refers to love as the ideal connection that proves you why things never worked with anybody else. I wish I could have read it in its original language, the translation was great itself but part of the meaning of this book was lost in translation.

Feel free to contact me directly here or send me a DM on my new instagram account @reading.and.cozyliving

[Ad Astra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful collection. I can only imagine what this must feel like in the original language. Rumi has spoken on quite a few ideas that Carl Jung and other philosophers talk about when it comes to purification of spirit and bliss. His relationship with Sham seems to be a harmony of consciousness that goes beyond one's self. I think his ideology of silence, something that comes in the foreword, is important as well. When we can listen or even accomplish inner silence, much of what we carry can be cleansed. But he makes it sound so magical and beautiful.

[Avinash Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful gift from the middle east to the rest of the world. I only wish some day I learn Arabic to enjoy the true beauty of the work of Rumi. Every word has a stamp of divinity marked on it despite being translated in a western language. I equally loved the cover of the book which reminded of architecture of the place it belongs to.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's one of the best collections of Rumi's poetry I've seen so far and very well put together. I think this book has poems anyone can relate to, and it has a meditative tone that is rare in modern literature. Overall, it's a wonderful read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves poetry, Rumi, or simply wants to read something different from their usual genre.

[Muhammad Yaqub · Rating 4 out of 5]

If somebody ask me for a review of this book I will simply quote


Let me be quite
In the middle of this noise
#Rumi
And

Be silent now
Say fewer and fewer praise poems
Let yourself become living poetry
#Rumi