I just wanted to share these wonderful words of wisdom from the 13th century Persian Poet, Rumi. Amazing how what is old is always new.
By Mayukh Saha
By now, you must have heard about the Persian poet Rumi. Apart from being a poet, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi was also a Sufi mystic and an Islamic Dervish.
His profound wisdom was never limited by any national or cultural barriers. Such an outlook as Rumi’s is of utmost importance to us in these times of hatred and wars.
In this article, I have listed 35 quotes from this magnificent man. Let yourself be touched by his wisdom and feel enriched by his undeterred positivity on the face of hardships.
1. “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
Love is a constant existence. Yet, you realise love only when you enable yourself to do so.
2. “Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”
You need to stop feeling insignificant for you have everything that the universe itself has.
3. “What you seek is seeking you.”
When you strive for something with all your heart, it strives back for you.
4. “Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
None of your losses is permanent. No matter what you lose in life, you always get it back through something else.
5. “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Only the wise know that they have to be the change that they want in the world.
6. “You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”
You are making a mistake if you are not striving towards realising your fullest potential.
7. “Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees.”
As it is commonly said these days, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
8. “Why should I be unhappy? Every parcel of my being is in full bloom.”
Realise what you’re worth and you’ll find happiness.
9. “Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”
Be wise, not loud. Loudness is never fruitful, wisdom is.
10. “Ignore those that make you fearful and sad, that degrade you back towards disease and death.”
It’s better to avoid people who make you feel bad about yourself.
11. “There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.
You feel it, don’t you?”
There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.
You feel it, don’t you?”
You are full of unrealised potential. It’s important that you recognise them.
12. “Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words.”
We love people not for what they say but for what they are.
13. “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.”
When you truly love somebody, you are never separated from them as they are always in your heart and soul.
14. “Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.”
You know the real faces of people around you by their behaviour in your times of trouble.
15. “I know you’re tired but come, this is the way.”
You’ve to be guided by your heart’s hope and not by your body’s exhaustion.
16. “The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
Things which hurt you also teach you a lot.
17. “Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.”
No matter what happens, never lose your ability to love.
18. “Reason is powerless in the expression of love.”
Love is felt by the heart and not thought by the head.
19. “You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.”
Heartbreaks open the doors to the realm of your life’s wisdom.
20. “These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.”
The pain in your life teaches you many lessons about your past.
21. “Your heart is the size of an ocean. Go find yourself in its hidden depths.”
True knowledge lies within yourself and you have to search for it.
22. “I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.”
If you are following your heart, you need not care about other people’s opinions.
23. “Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought.”
Don’t get caught up in the material world and rather explore what lies beyond.
24. “The lion is most handsome when looking for food.”
You are at your best only when you’re doing what you should.
25. “Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the worlds.”
Your life is nothing but what you make of it and so is the world around you.
26. “Love is the bridge between you and everything.”
Love is the best connection that you can possibly have with somebody.
27. “To praise the sun is to praise your own eyes.”
The sun is great to you only because you see it that way. So, the sun’s beauty is indeed the beauty of your eyes.
28. “Dance until you shatter yourself.”
Express your joys until you have nothing left for yourself.
29. “Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?”
There’s no point in restricting yourself when you can soar high.
30. “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
Only as you travel do you fully discover the paths in your life’s journey.
31. “What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.”
Things that hurt you give you the much-needed wisdom.
32. “The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart.”
The goodness of the heart is there to stay while that of the body fades away.
33. “Close your eyes, fall in love, stay there.”
Just fall in love if you want to. You needn’t think much about it.
34. “If the light is in your heart, you will find your way home.”
If you know what you want, nothing stops you from getting there.
35. “This is a subtle truth. Whatever you love you are.”
You are defined by the things you love and choose.
Words like these show the world the path that it should take. So, take them in, apply them in your life and you will feel greatly positive.