Tales from Masnavi of Rumi
(click on the book cover to read the free chapters)
Mevlana is his popular name
known in the land where he lived and died in Konya-Turkey. However he is known as Rumi more popularly in the
English-speaking world. He lived in the 13th century,between 1207 –
1273. The day he died is known by all in
the Sufi world asSheb-iArus, the wedding night, the
night he met his beloved god. It is a well-known legend that he said these
words:
“Do not cry after me.
Tonight it is my wedding
night.
I am going to the beloved.”
Rumi had many titles such as poet, jurist and theologian
but he is most well-known as being a Sufi
mystic. In the Sufi world it is also known that he became who he is after being
the disciple of Sems-I Tebrizi, another famous Sufi mystic. Rumi was a well-educated
and a learned scholar loved by all but after meeting Sems he went through a
change by letting go of all he had learned and
then tasting the real love of God.This is the basis of Sufism. This
ecstatic love turned him from an accomplished teacher and jurist into an
ascetic. Rumi believed love and longing for God is the only path for reaching
God. For true seekers of God, love is their only religion.
The truth and love vibrating through his work made him
heard by people all around the world over the past seven centuries. His
teachings are so universal that his poems can be heard in churches, synagogues,
Zen monasteries, and in art/performance/music scenes.Rumi's works are
originally written in Persian and have been translated into several languages.
In 2007, he was described as ”The most popular poet in America.”
His works advocate unlimited tolerance, positive
reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. For him, all religions
have the same value and he looks with the same eye on Muslim, Jew and Christian
alike. His peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to people of all sects
and creeds.
With his works and life style Rumi tried to spread the
idea that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in peace
and harmony. His visions, words, and life teach us how to reach inner peace and
happiness so we can finally stop the continual stream of hostility and hatred
and achieve true global peace and harmony.
His
poetry is often divided into various categories: the quatrains (rubayāt)
and odes (ghazal) of the Divan, the six books of the Masnavi.
The prose works are divided into The Discourses, The Letters, and the Seven
Sermons.
Masnavi, which is the source for this
selection of work, weaves fables, scenes from everyday life, Qur'anic
revelations and exegesis, anecdotes and stories full of secrets of liberation
of the soul and enlightenment.
These selected stories may seem like they are written
especially for children but they have hidden meanings and messages for the
adult world; for those who are seeking enlightenment through love and inner
peace. You will find the basis of Sufism and its message carried out into the
world. Knowing God starts with knowing yourself and accepting who you are.
