Photograph by Babasteve
I wish you the purest, most fearless wine, my friends.
God has given us a dark wine so potent that,
drinking it, we leave the two worlds.God has put into the form of hashish a power
to deliver the taster from self-consciousness.God has made sleep so
that it erases every thought.God made Majnun love Layla so much that
just her dog would cause confusion in him.There are thousands of wines
that can take over our minds.Don’t think all ecstasies
are the same!Jesus was lost in his love for God.
His donkey was drunk with barley.Drink from the presence of saints,
not from those other jars.Every object, every being,
is a jar full of delight.Be a connoisseur,
and taste with caution.Any wine will get you high.
Judge like a king, and choose the purest,the ones unadulterated with fear,
or some urgency about “what’s needed.”Drink the wine that moves you
as a camel moves when it’s been untied,and is just ambling about.
Mathnawi IV, 2683-96
The Essential Rumi, Coleman Barks
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Abdur Rahman 01.14.08 at 10:26 am
Peace Tess,
Allah! Thank you for posting this beautiful poem of Mevlana Rumi (God sanctify his secret).
Ya Hazret-i Mevlana Hakk Dost!
(O Present One Mevlana! True Friend)
Abdur Rahman
Tess 01.14.08 at 11:37 am
Thank you Abdur, blessings.
Maya 01.15.08 at 3:37 pm
I finally am able to read blogs and comment! I loved both this post and picture. I always love to read Rumi. One again thank you for bringing deep joy to me! For sure I’m going to have to begin collecting Rumi’s works!
Tess 01.15.08 at 9:58 pm
Thanks Maya, yes Rumi is universal. As to the picture, I recently discovered (via a blog called skelliewag.org) that you can use Flickr photographs in blogs so long as they are under a Creative Commons Attribution license and so long as you link to the photographer. I expect I’m the last person in the world to find this out(!), but it gives such beautiful freedom of choice in finding and using great photographs.