This Longing, continued

So, Rumi was born in Konya, Turkey, but moved to Kabul, Afghanistan at a fairly young age. His stories and poetry paint a picture of a time of world trade moving through Afghanistan, tolerance for Christians and Jews in a Muslim country, and a high status for all women. At that time there were slaves, but even slaves were relatively free. It was an open-minded and interesting time in many ways.

He used the symbolism of birds often, birds as a soul, a caged soul, caged in the body, looking for liberation. That symbolism is still used today, for example this excerpt from a more recent publication:

"Grace and Effort are the two wings of the Bird of the Soul as it flies to the higher regions."

In the teaching story I read, a merchant is traveling to a distant country and asks his friends, relatives, and his parrot, what they would like. After getting lists of various material gifts from his friends and relatives, the parrot tells him that he wants him to ask any parrots he meets in this foreign country for advice. The merchant, after finishing his trading and preparing to return, buys the gifts requested, and then asks a group of parrots for advice for his parrot. Surprisingly, one of the parrots immediately falls dead to the ground. After the merchant returns home, his parrot asks what the other parrots had told him. He said he received no advice, but that one of the parrots had immediately fallen to its death. Upon hearing this, his parrot also suddenly died. Thinking it odd and feeling greatly concerned, the merchant opened the cage that held the parrot. The parrot immediately flew to its freedom, only returning to tell the merchant that it is only by dying to this world that one can become free.

I know, an obvious spiritual analogy, but Rumi knew that stories would stick in our minds much better than admonition and dogma.

This Longing, Jalalladin Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

While waiting for a phone call in my little library on Sunday, I picked up "This Longing", excerpts from the Masnavi, a 6-volume set of verses by a famous sufi poet, Maulana Rum, or Rumi. Maulana is teacher or professor, Rum means from the town of Rum, and the given name is Jalalladin. He lived from 1203 to 1263 in Turkey. His own Master or Spiritual Guide was Shams Tabriz. He was a mystic and so he would not accept donations from others, and had to make his own living. Very fortunately for us, he made his living by writing poetry, and "teaching stories." I was savoring a teaching story.

Before I go into that, I must say that although others don't like Coleman Barks, I think he's the best, based only on my enjoyment of the poems and stories he has translated.

More later...