The Pocket Rumi

by Kabir Helminski

The cry of the soul in love with God has never been more eloquently expressed than by the great Persian Sufi master Jalaluddin Rumi (1207–1273). Readers have thrilled to his ecstatic songs of divine union for more than eight hundred years. Here is a collection of the best of Rumi’s poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Islam, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Spirituality

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 12, 2012

About the author

Kabir Helminski is codirector, with his wife, Camille Helminski, of the Threshold Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge and practice of Sufism. He is the author of Living Presence and the translator of four volumes of Rumi's poetry.

Helminski has been named as one of the "500 Most Influential Muslims in the World" by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.
Helminski is a teacher and advisor with The Spiritual Paths Institute, a group of contemplative teachers from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Native American, and Hindu traditions offering programs in applied inter-spirituality.

Reviews

[Akemi G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another English translation of Jalaluddin Rumi (Mevlana or Mawlana means "my teacher/master"--it's the same Persian poet). I heard this translator is more faithful to the original than Coleman Barks.

It contains selected rubaiyat (four line poems, although in translation, it may not be four lines), ghazels (odes), and mathnawi (longer poems).

Here is one of the rubaiyat (670):

I am in love with You.
What's the use of giving me advice?
I have already drunk the poison.
What's the use of candy?
They say, "Bind his feet in chains,"
but they can't bind up my crazy heart.

For comparison, here is the same poem from Rumi: Hidden Music:

I am hopelessly in love with you, no point
giving me advice.
I have drunk love's poison, no point
taking any remedy.
They want to chain my feet but
what's the point
when it is my heart that's gone mad!

I like Rumi's longer poems, too.

[Anairis Perez]

“Every day and moment a thought comes like an honored guest into your heart. My soul, regard each thought as a person, for every persons true value is in the quality of thought they hold.

If a sorrowful thought stands in the way it is also preparing the way for joy. It furiously sweeps your house clean in order that some new joy may appear from the source..

Without the frown of clouds and lightening the vines would be burned by the smiling sun.”

[Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rumi is indeed an extraordinary poet. His poems are so thought-provoking and hits you hard in the heart. His poetry is really the best I've read so far. However, since I could not grasp a few of the poems he had written(cause I am dumb), I gave it four stars. But, I really recommend his poetry! This is just a collection of his poems translated by Kabir Helminski and others which they did a fantastic job of, so I've got to read Rumi's other poems soon.

[Andrieta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A profound book that depicts man's relationship with God in a beautiful, insightful way. The content of the book isn't my favorite cup of tea, but I enjoyed reading it nevertheless. It's a nice companion to have in times when one craves to read something for the spirit.

[Chany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poems with meaning and clarity
“Think of nothing but the source of thought” (65). The Pocket Rumi is a book of poems about self discovery. It is perfect for travel because of its small size and short but wonderful poems. This book is directed towards spiritually mature people or anyone who has experienced emotional events in life, almost anyone. The many poems take readers though the journey of life and helps bring realization and calm to everyday activities. In the Pocket Rumi you, the reader, are the “character” as you walk through a beautiful path of stories. There is love and family along with struggle and mishap. As the reader moves throughout the book they gain knowledge and peace. This book helps keep evil out, it makes life a similar road to follow. Rumi has no main setting, it takes place wherever you are and is relevant in any era.

“I am a sculptor, a molder of form” (36). The Pocket Rumi is an amazing poetry book because any level of poetry reader can read it. The short sentences and repetitiveness is used very tastefully and the speech that takes place during the poems are short and sweet. I would highly recommend this book to any poetry lover and/or someone who values simplicity and mindfulness. I feel maybe darkness of the mind should have been addressed in more poems and maybe more rivalry. The Pocket Rumi is more mature than the poetry I have read in the past which was a nice change and the cover was designed very well and fits the whole feel of simplicity and not too overboard. I believe the overall theme of this book is self improvement and awareness. One of my favorite poems, on page 14 number 1246, it is about the unfairness of love. It talks of uneven partnership and the blinding excitement that can blur out almost anything. I love how these poems leave me thinking, I have spent hours sitting and just thinking after reading a poem out of Rumi. I would definitely give The Pocket Rumi a five out of five because I am glad I read it and would recommend it to all readers. It would be better for older readers because some of the words are hard but if any younger readers are interested I would advise they read with an adult because it can spark very deep and meaningful conversations. I was very happy reading Rumi and am excited to continue reading many more poetry books like The Pocket Rumi.

[Benjamin Mester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love isn't the work of the tender and the gentle.
Love is the work of wrestlers.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the obstacles within yourself that you have built against it

Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love

Alright, now that I've got my favorite Rumi quotes out of the way...Though not a Muslim myself, I find Rumi's passion for the timeless questions of life invigorating and thought provoking. There are a lot of versions of Rumi, and this is by far the most moving. The popular editions, translated by Coleman Barks, aren't as true to the original as this version translated by Kabir Helminski. As Wikipedia points out about Coleman Barks: "Although he neither speaks nor reads Persian, he is a popular interpreter of Rumi, rewriting the poems based on other English translations."

Not to diminish the heroic job Coleman Barks has done to bring more of Rumi to the western world, if you're looking for a translation that's closer to the true heart of the original, then this is the version for you.

[Felicia Caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumi (1207 - 1273), a now much quoted poet, is also an Islamic saint. In The Pocket Rumi, a good amount of his poems and verses are published, and out of these many referenced Christianity: Jesus and even the Virgin Mother. Not in a negative light at all. I do feel it is of importance to note Rumi's Persian and Islamic background. The prophet Muhammad is also mentioned very frequently in his work, which drew me to a closer understanding and appreciation of Islam, without having to open the Koran.

Frankly, it doesn't sit well that a lot of his poetry is not something we might call common humanity or shared human values.

Tell me, what historical struggle, what coming together of societal conditions, what political events urges a person such as Rumi towards love? Rumi doesn't believe in good and evil, in the moral sense, but he cannot deny his striving towards goodness. It's in his work, this combining of goodness and love and also, quite differently than the Christian messiah, equality between the material and immaterial possessions of the rich and poor. He looks down on no man, not thieves, not the wearers of gold, not the drunkard, not the mad... but urges all to come together, to open up to one another in understanding, especially in the worst of times.

Perhaps it is in the structure that the power and magic lies? That this is not sermon, but poetry, but art? Verses, like song. Not defining, but advising.

Two stuck with me:

Whoever sees you and doesn't smile,
whose jaw doesn't drop with awe,
whose qualities fail to increase in a
thousand ways,
can only be the mortar and bricks of
a prison.

-

Wings of Desire:

People are distracted by objects of desire,
and afterwards repent of the lust they've
indulged,
because they have indulged with a phantom
and are left even farther from Reality
then before.
Your desire for the illusory is a wing,
by means of which a seeker might
ascend to Reality.
When you have indulged a lust, your
wing drops off ;
you become lame and that fantasy flees.
Preserve the wing and don't indulge
such lust,
so that the wing of desire may bear you
to Paradise.
People fancy they are enjoying
themselves,
but they are really tearing out
their wings
for the sake of an illusion.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew Rumi’s more famous poems before sitting down with this, but this was my first time really digging into a larger batch of his work. The poems I knew are translated quite differently here. After poking around online a bit I think the versions I was familiar with were westernized and largely separated from their religious context. This translation seems much more literal and brings up all sorts of interesting questions around artistic intent and translation and religious art.

For me, the more secular and abstract translations are more powerful, but I fully admit I have a slight allergy to anything earnestly religious. I see a poem about love and devotion to Him or God or the shepherd and I disengage. And obviously that’s a me problem, not a Rumi problem.

But now I don’t know what to do with the more universal translations. It feels icky. But how icky? Idk. I just think translation is tricky bc something’s always lost and as the reader you have to trust that they kept the heart of the work. But when you remove the Islamic context from these poems, can you say the heart of the work is in tact? Or is the devotional spirit more the essence of Rumi? Idk. I’m not a Rumi scholar, these are just some questions I’m left with.

Even though I didn’t love these poems as much as I was hoping, I think these kinds of translations are super valuable and anyone interested in Rumi’s more universal translations should engage with them.

[Vicky Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Rumi in college, then left him behind, in a mad rush to become somebody myself. Big mistake. A friend sent me Shambhala's "Pocket Rumi" as a reminder of a time when I read for love and leisure. And here I am, back in love again. This is a slim, beautiful gleaning of a life spent in reflection and love. A reminder of the daily delights of having a body and all the senses that come with it. // You are a ruby embedded in granite / How long will pretend it isn't true //. I highly recommend this edition as a gift for anyone who has never studied the Sufi tradition OR for anyone whose heart is sore and anemic from living in what often feels like a restlessly hateful contemporary world.

[David Geschke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I love Rumi. When he’s good, he’s very good. There are some great things within this little book. I read it slowly over several months. Much of this book, especially in the beginning, just did not resonate with me. It’s the first time I’ve read any extended writings of his, and I have to believe there are better collections out there than this. As I said, there are some really great parts to this book, if you’re a fan it’s worth going through, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get and read this book otherwise.

[Laura Luzzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights. A good little book to stick in your bag and refer to now and then to help you contemplate different ideas. My son has it now, and I'm sure it will go to his wife. It's that kind of book. You can give it to anyone and say "Here, take a look at this."

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This made up my mind. Poetry just isn't for me. Admittedly, Rumi is much denser and more religious than I realized. That said, even reading just a poem a day made my eyes glaze over in confusion and boredom. Some people love poring over a poem; I'm not one of them.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed. Don’t expect any of the love poetry or great quotes. The translations are not lyrical at all. I finally gave up and started skimming 3/4 of the way through. I will just have to keep combing libraries and bookstores to find an example of what I actually want.

[BookABooBoo Ludlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pocket-sized encounter with the Divine. If you're new to the Sufi tradition start here.

[fifi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the collections if Rubaiyat and ghazels, amazing writing ❤️

[Nushrat Farhana · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. best part is i could carry it any time any where.

[Amy Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some beautiful poems,but wading through hundreds that weren't that great or that I didn't agree with the sentiment made it a bit of a chore. His stuff is amazing,just laborous.

[Silvio · Rating 5 out of 5]

My God, I so fell in love with Rumi

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumi needs to be savored. Read slowly and contemplatively. Beautiful, thought-provoking, confronting, often surprising.

[Ica Nisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the way rumi see things through

[Mike]

I can’t rate this book. There are parts I didn’t understand and also verses of breathtaking beauty.

[Kristhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

Overall it was personal and open. However it was not in a way i could appreciate, relate or be moved by. Most of it felt preachy, even the sensible and vulnerable parts, so it was aight i guess.

[Carolyn Semple faucher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly love this little book, so much so, that I bought a second one when my first copy was misplaced. It is my favorite book to grab for long road trips, because it fits in any bag and randomly picked passages make for interesting discussions.

[Poornima Jha · Rating 3 out of 5]

translated poetry does not have the same feel as original words.

[Elancharan Gunasekaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystifying words, carry it on the go...

[Ben]

Rumi, born in the 13th century in what is now Afghanistan, is Islam’s most famous poet, whose lasting influence is huge, both inside and outside of the Middle East. This literally pocket-sized collection includes some of his Rubaiyat and Ghazals and some selections from his most important work, the Mathnawi. The poetry in here didn’t resonate with me. In fact, I felt I hardly understood most of it, and some of it not at all, on any level. Coming to Rumi’s work with very little background knowledge, I needed something more than what’s given here: an introduction, a glossary, notes - something to guide and help me understand. If, like me, you’re new to Rumi, I’d recommend an edition that provides some of this. If you already know Rumi and his work well, and you find his poetry valuable and worth revisiting often, this edition may well be a Godsend, and it’s pocket-sized dimensions absolutely ideal.