Desire and the Importance of Failing

A window opens.
A curtain pulls back.

The lamp of lovers connect,
not at their ceramic bases,
but in their lightedness.

No lover wants union with the Beloved
without the Beloved also wanting the lover.

Love makes the lover weak,
while the Beloved gets strong.

Lightning from here strikes there.
When you begin to love God, God
is loving you. A clapping sound
does not come from one hand.

A thirsty man calls out, 'Delicious water,
where are you?' while the water moans,
'Where is the water drinker?'

The thirst in our souls is the attraction
put out by the Water itself.

We belong to It,
and It to us.

God's wisdom made us lovers of one another.
In fact, all the particles of the world
are in love and looking for lovers.

Pieces of straw tremble
in the presence of amber.

We tremble like iron filings
welcoming the magnet.

Whatever that Presence gives us
we take in. Earth signs feed.
Water signs wash and freshen.
Air signs clear the atmosphere.
Fire signs jiggle the skillet,
so we cook without getting burnt.

And the Holy Spirit helps with everything,
like a young man trying to support a family.
We, like the man's young wife, stay home,
taking care of the house, nursing the children.

Spirit and matter work together like this,
in a division of labor.

Sweethearts kiss and taste the delight
before they slip into bed and mate.

The desire of each lover is
that the work of the other be perfected.
By this man-and-woman cooperation,
the world gets preserved.
Generation occurs.

Roses and blue arghawan flowers flower.
Night and day meet in a mutual hug.

So different, but they do love each other,
the day and the night, like family.

And without their mutual alternation
we would have no energy.

Every part of the cosmos is draws toward its mate.
The ground keeps talking to the body,
saying, 'Come back! It's better for you
down here where you came from.'

The streamwater calls to the moisture in the body.
The fiery aether whispers to the body's heat,
'I am your origin. Come with me.'
Seventy-two diseases are caused
by the various elements pulling inside the body.
Disease comes, and the organs
fall out of harmony.

We're like four different birds,
that each had one leg tied in
with the other birds.

A flopping bouguet of birds!
Death releases the binding, and they fly off,
but before that, their pulling is our pain.

Consider how the soul must be,
in the midst of these tensions,
feeling its own exalted pull.

My longing is more profound.
The birds want sweet green herbs
and the water running by.

I want the infinite! I want wisdom.
These birds want orchards and meadows
and vines with fruit on them.

I want a vast expansion.
They want profit and security
of having enough food.

Remember what the soul wants,
because in that, eternity
is wanting our souls!

Which is the meaning of the text,
They love That, and That loves them.

If I keep on explaining this,
the Mathnawi will run to eighty volumes!

The gist is: whatever anyone seeks,
that is seeking the seeker.

No matter if its animal,
or vegetable, or mineral.

Every bit of the universe
is filled with wanting,
and whatever any bit wants,
wants the wanter!

This subject must dissolve again.

Back to Sadri Jahan and the uneducated peasant
who loved him, so that gradually Sadri Jahan
loved the lowly man. But who really
attracted who, whoom, Huuuu?

Don't be presumptuous and say one or the other.
Close your lips. The mystery of loving
is God's sweetest secret.

Keep it. Bury it. Leave it here
where I leave it, drawn as I am
by the pull of the Puller
to something else.

You know how it is. Sometimes
we plan a trip to one place,
but something takes us to another.

When a horse is being broken, the trainer
pulls it in many different directions,
so the horse will come to know
what it is to be ridden.

The most beautiful and alert horse is one
completely attuned to the rider.

God fixes a passionate desire in you,
and then disappoints you.
God does that a hundred times!

God breaks the wings of one intention
and then gives you another,
cuts the rope of contriving,
so you'll remember your dependence.

But sometimes your plans work out!
You feel fulfilled and in control.

That's because, if you were always failing,
you might give up. But remember,
it is by failures that lovers
stay aware of how they are loved.

Failure is the key
to the kingdom within.

Your prayer should be, "Break the legs
of what I want to happen. Humiliate
my desire. Eat me like candy.
It's spring and finally
I have no will."

(Rumi, Mathnawi, III, 4391 - 4472)

From 'Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion'
Translated by Coleman Barks

Be with those who help your being

Be with those who help your being.
Don’t sit with indifferent people, whose breath
comes cold out of their mouths.
Not these visible forms, your work is deeper.

A chunk of dirt thrown in the air breaks to pieces.
If you don’t try to fly,
and so break yourself apart,
you will be broken open by death,
when it’s too late for all you could become.

Leaves get yellow. The tree puts out fresh roots
and makes them green.
Why are you so content with a love that turns you yellow?

Rumi
Ode 2865 Trans. Coleman Barks

One Whisper of the Beloved

Lovers share a sacred decree —
to seek the Beloved.
They roll head over heels,
rushing toward the Beautiful One
like a torrent of water.

In truth, everyone is a shadow of the Beloved —
Our seeking is His seeking,
Our words are His words.

At times we flow toward the Beloved
like a dancing stream.
At times we are still water
held in His pitcher.
At times we boil in a pot
turning to vapor —
that is the job of the Beloved.

He breathes into my ear
until my soul
takes on His fragrance.
He is the soul of my soul —
How can I escape?
But why would any soul in this world
want to escape from the Beloved?

He will melt your pride
making you thin as a strand of hair,
Yet do not trade, even for both worlds,
One strand of His hair.

We search for Him here and there
while looking right at Him.
Sitting by His side we ask,
"O Beloved, where is the Beloved?"

Enough with such questions! —
Let silence take you to the core of life.

All your talk is worthless
When compared to one whisper
of the Beloved.

Ode 442 trans. by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva
A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi

Pahlavon Mahmoud
Quatrains (rubais)
*****
The world's a beauty and you are its face,
Mind's a river and you're water - base.
Don't sit on flower leaf as dew,
In this orchard you're a sign of grace.
*****
It wishes a true man were a head of world affair,
To make evil deeds a villain would not dare,
The world's affair is like backgammon at all times,
A coward wins a brave man and it's unfair.
*****
I said to my beloved: "Hey, coquette, why
Does your voice from mouth slowly fly?"
"Because my mouth's tiny - every word
Being sliced goes out" was her reply.
*****
Oh, my sick heart's always become humble,
And my memory's not free from trouble.
This existence didn't give its fruits,
Thus my costly life, oh God, has crumbled.
*****
The worst sorrow in the world is parting,
But estrangement's the most devastating.
It's beyond my power to leave you,
You're my soul, to leave it means departing.
*****
Sometimes I feel that I am out of love,
A griefless pleasure lives with me above,
When I meet a beauty all at once,
To myself - to be fool - I allow.
*****
In the evening I wiped my looking-glass,
When it was clean I quickly cast a glance.
I saw so many faults of mine in it,
I forgot of other's faults at once.
*****
From everywhere I see a grievous stone,
I open my eyes and catch a glimpse of frown.
Till when I see a head instead of knee,
Should I smash my bright ideas down?
*****
Find a man of wisdom to converse,
Or call a beauty to sit face to face.
If you cannot search out them both
Don't waste time, sit yourself in this case.
*****
We are surprised of living in the world,
As a lantern, rangers we are called.
If the sun is light, the world's a lantern,
At nights we knock about as a doll.
*****
A man of note is a costly pearl,
Who thinks a little will remain to whirl.
Loveless one in this world can't be perfect,
To make not pots but a potter is the goal!
*****
Restraint is tasteless and piety's without salt,
It's a very pity that unsavory is fault.
Water washed away the salt of everything,
Wind blew off all flavor - everything was spoilt.
*****
We thought of God and went to bare steppe,
From the world of body to spirits took a step.
All day long I meditated seventy-two years,
I went surprised and vagabonded taking a nap.
*****
Until you have the bravery and zeal,
Do not give your beloved to reveal.
If a branch of tree grows over walls,
Passers-by - its nutty fruits - may steal.
*****
We are free from slavery of grief and we're not sad,
When we're hungry we eat sorrow and thus we're glad.
We don't care of smell and color of vigilance,
We are of one generation with narcissus, in fact.
*****
Our pearl is pure with red wine,
We drank and glasses shed banquet of brine.
We don't know today where are we,
On the wine or under it we pine.
*****
That pilgrim came back from Mekka and Mino,
Don't feel a man returned from Caaba, no, no.
Say: a snake turned into dragon in pilgrimage,
Say: a homeless changed his faith and credo.
*****
Don't make friends with the world, this heavy friend is empty,
There is nothing but enmity and its trend is empty.
You may live a thousand years but death will come at last,
You may have all the wealth, anyway, the end is empty.
*****
This world is torment from its starting moment,
Honest people can't avoid of lament.
I want to be a devoted person's dog,
The dog is better than a faithless mate.
*****
A ratty person always has heartache,
He'll be captive to go for God's sake.
Who debates with bad man for goodness,
A bright fortune for himself he'll make.
*****
Soil - it is heads of the people wise,
Sands are their pearl teeth, brow and eyes.
Those aren't cypress, tulip or willow,
It's their figure, hair and ruddy face, so nice.
*****
Poor is this heart and I'm tired of life at all,
Having felt for long time "it's a pitiable" I call.
As if I put a crown on my head
Anyway with a heavy load I will fall.
*****
Your refusal is better than your reception,
Evil-doing is better than your perception,
You're giaour but you pretend to be a Muslim,
If Muslims like you, better is tergiversation.
*****



Make the truth - verity and make untruth - curst,
Make a god man glad and a bad one the worst.
A sage is invaluable and ignoramus is respected,
Oh God, destroy this unjust world and burst.
*****
Hey, heart, again are you captive of the belle,
Have you been captured by the oppressor-girl?
Yet being not released from the other one,
Another fairy-like will take you prisoner as well.

*****
My sweetheart asked: "Why are you so sad and weary?
Did you fall in love with any fairy?
I gave her a looking glass and replied:
The one in the mirror made me dreary.
*****
On the ruddy face a cloud is mask until now,
Desire and wine - my soul could ask - until now.
Don't sleep; life is slipping at a run until now,
Drink wine, my beloved, wine is the sun until now.
*****
When I call you to mind, my heart will be pure,
In a morning breeze a blossoming yard will be pure.
Your face is a holiday for me, when I see it
Memory's good, soul's glad, every part will be pure.

*****
I washed my soul quite with my tear,
It became clean and shined as a mirror.
My eye-water washed the dust of sorrow,
I cried until my heart turned into a mirror.
*****
My naughty beloved's words are very sweet,
Making hundreds of tricks with eyebrows she'll greet.
She smiles a happy smile and asks me to kiss her,
And in a secret place she would like to meet.
*****
If I knew your coming I would place
A thousand of flowers on your ways.
Then my eyelashes would gather them to make
A pupil of my eyes from your pace.
*****
On this day the price of a log and wood is the same,
The rank of Haleel and Namrood is the same.
Who is proud and drunken of his own wealth,
Voice of donkey and Daoud is the same.
*****
Hey, good-looker, cypress-figured, ruddy face,
I wish your friend would never fall into disgrace.
Though a plane-tree is very beautiful in the garden,
Are a plane-tree and a branch of flower diverse?

*****
The world's elephant cannot stop our zeal,
And from our fame the world will thrill.
Suppose, an ant takes a place in our midst,
It turns to a lion in a blink from our will.

*****
If you've an elephant's strength, be like an ant,
Be like a naked man if you've the two world's grant.
When you see some people's mistakes in your life
Blind yourself about them, as blind, you act.

*****
When death came to my beloved to take,
I cried bitter tears and clouds stayed all of a shake.
Who visited her in the graveyard, they said:
"What a pity, such a beauty is in the ground-black."
*****
I am full with grief and distress, what can I do?
If I don't deserve love and grace, what can I do?
To my deep regret I cannot see you now,
It will be in doomsday, seeing your face, what can I do?
*****
I tell you, never go to a person's house,
Don't take to eat his food to your mouth.
Your own dry bread and water is better
Than the requiring gratitude of stranger's roast.
*****

Look at this way: all the main keys passed away,
From ignorance your friends - backing trees passed away.
Too close and dear for you they were,
They are not present, your devotees passed away.

Chulpan

BEAUTY
I look at sky at night in darks,
And ask you from the brightest star.
That star inclining head remarks:
"I always dream of her afar.
In my dream she pretty thus --
Finer than the Moon and us!"
Straight I sight to where moon rise,
From the moon to ask I start.
It says: "I met in dream so nice,
With a beauty that in white.
Wrapping up with white so pretty
Than the sun and me, such beauty!"
When by me with hanged hairs, I question ask the morning breeze
Tells it: "Once I see, lose stairs,
Still looking for in stone, trees.
Once I've seen, she's so attractive,
More than moon and sun, much active!"
It having left, the sun comes shiny,
Asking for you I entreat.
It runs away to hide, so shyly,
Says: "In actual I've met."
In my witness she is charming,
More than moon and sun, such darling.
Poor man, how fall in love me,
For her sake I was inflamed.
Gave my head to deal so lovely,
And for what so long I aimed?
Thus she's bonny that I fondle,
More than moon and sun, best angel!!!



SOUL

What is this, my heart, why such
With the fetters made you friends?
Neither wail you have nor much
Of the cry, and slowly sense.
Abuse will never hurt a soul,
Baseness does forever leave?
When will broken be all hobble,
Swords are cut, but who believes?
You're alive, not passed away,
You're a man, you - human be,
Refuse the fetters, don't obey,
In fact, you also were born free!



HOBBLE (CHAIN)

Hobble, ulcers in my body 've not been treated yet this moment,
Spots of iron fingers wholly leaving not still bear torment.
You have such embrace so awful, cold like and not so greedy,
Every leaf of people's story may appear blemish bloody.
Each of eyes non-closed, fury makes anger to one nation,
From one fastener only ever whole of world gets mental tension.
Many years with padlock ever wanting freedom stayed I banded
To get rid off you in every chance of stagger I intended.
Hobble, stain that in my body has not taken yet its treatment,
But reliance is so longer be in freedom, be a great man!

RAUF PARFI, national poet of Uzbekistan.
 

THERE IS A WORD

Beautiful as a fresh dawn,

As a bud opened in the morning,

Clean like dew in the bud.

 

There is a word like

Sweet child of honeyed feelings,

As if joy of eyes like endless sky.

 

There is a word,

Higher than the word truth,

Above the truth itself

There is a word:

 

 

***

 

Heart is shrinking in the empty home,

Black uncertainty prevailed at last.

I am a vagrant man, myself far from,

In my eyes fatigued mists sank fast.

But you don't come to listen to

My ardent words are audible no more:

Making farewells pass over you:

Still myself oh I am looking for: