Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Rumi~ The great Sufi mystic!

Everyone knows how much I love Sufi music and lately I have been very curious about the Persian poet Rumi. I had of course heard of him and about him and read many of his quotes, but a quote on Priya's blog really piqued my curiosity and spurred me to read up a little more about him. And so far I have loved every single quote, poem or saying by him. Wise man this Rumi!

Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet, Sunni Islamic jurist, and theologian and mystic.

Rumi's works are written in the New Persian language. Although Rumi's works were written in Persian, Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His original works are widely read in their original language across the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular in South Asian, Turkic, Arab, and Western countries. His poetry has influenced Persian literature as well as the literature of the Urdu, Bengali, Arabic and Turkish languages. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats; BBC News has described him as the "most popular poet in America".

Here are some more beautiful, meaningful quotes by him:

"No mirror ever became iron again; No bread ever became wheat; No ripened grape ever became sour fruit. Mature yourself and be secure from a change for the worse. Become the light."

"Since in order to speak, one must first listen, learn to speak by listening."

"We rarely hear the inward music, but we're all dancing to it nevertheless."

“The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.”


And here is a video depicting his famous poem "Say I am You"...with the translated lyrics appearing on the screen (a few spelling errors notwithstanding)...but just close your eyes and listen to the music!

6 comments:

GB said...

Thanks for sharing... :)

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

Hi Kamini dont know where to start. you have such a lovely blog here...I completely share your passion of everything Indian. loved your space as its well done and emanates a warm lived in feeling. you have decorated it beautifully. also read your food styling article...which throws light to some of the unknown facts of the trade :-(
Congrats on the wedding at your place and your shopping truly reflects your joy. between please can you tell me where did you buy those sarees. they are amazingly beautiful and I would love to own something similar to this. Happy blogging and now am not only following you but am a BIG FAN of yours.

Sensuous2Spiritual said...

Hi Kamini.

you are an awesome story-teller! I have been following sufi-ism and have recently begun reading on Rumi but one glance at your post and it feels like I know so much more now. Thank you for enlightening us with your knowledge and that too with such ease. Looking forward to many more of your posts.

SuhaelAmrita

Anonymous said...

Very well written... I love the info you've given... I've always loved sufi music.. but anything and everything really... :-)

My Dream Canvas said...

Woderful post Kamini..sufi music is so mesmerising!

Kamini said...

Thank you all....sometimes I wonder if I am straying too far away from "design", but there are so many beautiful things besides design that really get me, which I want to share! And your comments really keep me motivated!
@ Satyantani - I bought the saris at a new store right next to my house here in Hyd, called Rupahali (www.rupahali.com)! Believe me, it took half an hour for the guy to finally bring out a sari I liked! He and my mom were just about giving up cos I kept saying "No, too grand, too gaudy, something simpler please"....and the instant I saw it I knew it was THE ONE! I saw the orange/green first, bought it, then saw the beige/red and had to get that too! Thats a great thing about wedding shopping, you can justify all these purchases :-)They are Gicha silk saris and the cholis came with it. BTW my son is getting married in DC on the 5th of Sept.