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!