Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out
for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice. meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond."
This poem arises from Rumi's vantage point of expertise and immersion in both conventional Islam (of which he was a noted scholar) and Sufi Islam, a whole other kettle of fish, which includes a distinctly non-dual point of view. Within that view the word 'beyond' can be read as meaning 'beyond conventional, egoic mind, or discursive thinking." We are alone with the Alone, and even the wispiest inkling of how One we are with each other brings with it great comfort.
Rumi also wrote, "Love is the sea wherein the intellects drowns." Amen to that. We cannot see the end result of anything, often, and unexpected consequences abound. That's because everything we can and cannot see is in continual, creative motion. We cannot escape this fact, so we must trust, along with the saints and seers who've come before us, that there is Beneficence at the heart of it all.
Good question. He taught in Konya, Turkey, BTW and may or may not have felt a sense of citizenship with Persia. I'll have to check my Coleman Barks translation, but my guess is he'd consider the current bloody and unpredictable misadventure one of those events in which 'you never can tell' much about the ramifications. One of his fellow Sufi poets, who I believe was living in a previous theocracy in Iran, Mansour Hallaj was martyred by that regime, for coining and relentlessly insisting on the truth of the phrase 'An-Al Haqq." Al-Haqq is one of the Quranic 'beautiful names of God'. Hallaj sang it while dancing up the stairs to his gibbet. This has always reminded me of this biblical question, "Death, where is thy sting?" Sometimes of a moonlit night I can taste the truth of all that.
Hmm. Seems to me I remember a fairly recent bio called "Hallaj," by a scholar and teacher of Islamic Sufism, Dr. Pir Inayat Khan, whose school is called the Inataiyya, after his grandfather, Pir Inayat Khan, out of India.
Holding on to our personal joys, our personal truths. A great reminder that I'll need to keep in front of me whenever I read too much news. Or before I do, to prevent further trauma.
Your disgust level is far more tolerant than mine . My level was peaked years ago. The joy is in the path forward. Great thought provoking article as always. have a joyful day.
Poem: Rumi's Guest House:
"This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out
for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice. meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond."
This poem arises from Rumi's vantage point of expertise and immersion in both conventional Islam (of which he was a noted scholar) and Sufi Islam, a whole other kettle of fish, which includes a distinctly non-dual point of view. Within that view the word 'beyond' can be read as meaning 'beyond conventional, egoic mind, or discursive thinking." We are alone with the Alone, and even the wispiest inkling of how One we are with each other brings with it great comfort.
Rumi also wrote, "Love is the sea wherein the intellects drowns." Amen to that. We cannot see the end result of anything, often, and unexpected consequences abound. That's because everything we can and cannot see is in continual, creative motion. We cannot escape this fact, so we must trust, along with the saints and seers who've come before us, that there is Beneficence at the heart of it all.
Thank you, Leigh. Your comment infinitely expands my post. May your days be as expansive as Rumi's soul.
I have followed his writings for decades.
What would he say to those who bombed his land?
Good question. He taught in Konya, Turkey, BTW and may or may not have felt a sense of citizenship with Persia. I'll have to check my Coleman Barks translation, but my guess is he'd consider the current bloody and unpredictable misadventure one of those events in which 'you never can tell' much about the ramifications. One of his fellow Sufi poets, who I believe was living in a previous theocracy in Iran, Mansour Hallaj was martyred by that regime, for coining and relentlessly insisting on the truth of the phrase 'An-Al Haqq." Al-Haqq is one of the Quranic 'beautiful names of God'. Hallaj sang it while dancing up the stairs to his gibbet. This has always reminded me of this biblical question, "Death, where is thy sting?" Sometimes of a moonlit night I can taste the truth of all that.
Mansour Hallaj seems a person of deep faith. I must get to know him. Thanks, Leigh.
Hmm. Seems to me I remember a fairly recent bio called "Hallaj," by a scholar and teacher of Islamic Sufism, Dr. Pir Inayat Khan, whose school is called the Inataiyya, after his grandfather, Pir Inayat Khan, out of India.
Thanks, I will look for it, Leigh.
Love the whirling dervishes.
Thanks for your comment, Jenny. They are a sight to behold. 🙏🏻
Reach out to those he hurts. Compassionate advice.
Thanks , Kathleen.
Holding on to our personal joys, our personal truths. A great reminder that I'll need to keep in front of me whenever I read too much news. Or before I do, to prevent further trauma.
Thanks!
We are all struggling to process all of this unnecessary suffering brought about by a sick ego. Thanks for your comment, Dawn.
Your disgust level is far more tolerant than mine . My level was peaked years ago. The joy is in the path forward. Great thought provoking article as always. have a joyful day.
I agree Scott, joyfully forward.