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Open Secret: Versions of Rumi
Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) is considered by most to be the greatest of the Sufi mystical poets and one of the most highly regarded saints from any tradition.
98 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
12 people are currently reading
624 people want to read
About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,169 books15.7k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 24, 2022
3.5/5 stars
really beautiful and impactful, but a bit outdated
really beautiful and impactful, but a bit outdated
July 26, 2008
Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (Persian: مولانا جلال الدین محمد بلخى), also known as Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī or, just "Rumi" as we know him. He is one of the most important minds and spirits I have ever read.
Coleman Barks always delivers his amazing talent for translation and zeal for truth which is, in the modern era, almost unparalleled.
His "Roman title" or his namesake, belies an understanding of how similar all religions are at their heart.
My favorite quote, which I carry in my wallet still, and have since I was seventeen, says one of the truest things (I believe) ever penned.
"The clear bead at the center changes everything.
There are no edges to my loving now,
It's been said that there is a window
That opens from one mind to another,
But if there is no wall,
There is no need
For the fitting of a window or a latch."
Read him. Read him. At all costs.
Coleman Barks always delivers his amazing talent for translation and zeal for truth which is, in the modern era, almost unparalleled.
His "Roman title" or his namesake, belies an understanding of how similar all religions are at their heart.
My favorite quote, which I carry in my wallet still, and have since I was seventeen, says one of the truest things (I believe) ever penned.
"The clear bead at the center changes everything.
There are no edges to my loving now,
It's been said that there is a window
That opens from one mind to another,
But if there is no wall,
There is no need
For the fitting of a window or a latch."
Read him. Read him. At all costs.
December 17, 2020
“In these pages many mysteries are hinted at. What if you come to understand one of them?”
My professor gifted me this book and I absolutely love it. These short poems are beautiful and heart wrenching. I’ve read this book so many times, It’s like I crave this every now and then just like I crave chocolates or something.
My professor gifted me this book and I absolutely love it. These short poems are beautiful and heart wrenching. I’ve read this book so many times, It’s like I crave this every now and then just like I crave chocolates or something.
June 30, 2009
Saved my sanity....not kidding.
December 26, 2012
Lived on my nightstand for years~!! A favourite~ forever.
January 9, 2022
Rumi will always be one of my favorite poets.
February 7, 2014
A now-deceased friend "regifted" this book to me years ago. It was my first exposure to Rumi, and to Persian mystical poetry. I've read every poem dozens of times. Only much later did I learn that the translator performed these poems to live music; had I known, I would have been there. To say they changed my life is a gross understatement. These poems are life itself.
September 2, 2008
This is one of my favorite books of Rumi's, quite possibly because it was the first one I read. It is personal and profound, and leaves the reader yearning to join with Rumi in seeking the connection to the Beloved.
Read
July 26, 2009great book !
December 7, 2009
I read and re-read Rumi monthly. As a poet and one who sees "God" in all things, I promote this collection of poems to those who believe that the spirit lies in all things.
January 6, 2010
Rumi is one of my all time favorite poets and Coleman Bark the best translator in my opinion.
October 24, 2021
I’ve always loved Rumi; his poems speak to me of love for his companion Shams and his oneness with the universe. They were written in what is now Afghanistan in the 13th century, but they transcend time and place and resonate with me, an American living today, all these years later.
Sometimes the line blurs between Rumi’s love for an individual and his love of humanity, all things, or “God”. I embrace this, it does not need to be either-or and is in fact more meaningful to me with the ambiguity. Besides, haven’t we all felt a little closer to the world and the rest of humanity in the euphoria of love?
Like Whitman’s writing in “Leaves of Grass” it’s clear to me Rumi was inspired and enlightened; this is a great collection. There are many longer poems that I love but which I will not extract (“Who Says Words With My Mouth”, “The Drunk and the Madman”); instead I offer quotes.
On love:
“I would love to kiss you.
The price of kissing is your life.
Now my love is running toward my life shouting,
What a bargain, let’s buy it.”
“Daylight, full of small dancing particles
and the one great turning, our souls
are dancing with you, without feet, they dance.
Can you see them when I whisper in your ear?”
“You don’t have “bad” days and “good” days.
You don’t sometimes feel brilliant and sometimes dumb.
There’s no studying, no scholarly thinking having to do with love,
but there is a great deal of plotting, and secret touching,
and nights you can’t remember at all.”
“Come to the orchard in Spring.
There is light and wine, and sweethearts in the pomegranate flowers.
If you do not come, these do not matter.
If you do come, these do not matter.”
“During the day I was singing with you.
At night we slept in the same bed.
I wasn’t conscious day or night.
I thought I knew who I was,
but I was you.”
“Since we’ve seen each other, a game goes on.
Secretly I move, and you respond.
You’re winning, you think it’s funny.
But look up from the board now, look how
I’ve brought in furniture to this invisible place,
so we can live here.”
“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.”
Lastly this one, which has a cozy feel to it:
“The news we hear is full of grief for that future,
but the real news inside here
is there’s no news at all.”
On brotherhood, enlightenment, and oneness:
“Inside the Great Mystery that is,
we don’t really own anything.
What is this competition we feel then,
before we go, one at a time, through the same gate?”
“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open. Don’t go back to sleep.”
“The mystery does not get clearer by repeating the question,
nor is it bought with going to amazing places.
Until you’ve kept your eyes
and your wanting still for fifty years,
you don’t begin to cross over from confusion.”
“In pain, I breathe easier.
The scared child is running from the house, screaming.
I hear the gentleness.
Under nine layers of illusion, whatever the light,
on the face of any object, in the ground itself,
I see your face.”
“When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense.”
On friendship:
“Stay in the company of lovers.
Those other kinds of people, they each
want to show you something.
A crow will lead you to an empty barn,
a parrot to sugar.”
“Spend less time with nightingales and peacocks.
One is just a voice, the other just a color.”
On going with the flow:
“Do you think I know what I’m doing?
That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?
As much as a pen knows what it’s writing,
or the ball can guess where it’s going next.”
Lastly, on self-knowledge:
“For years, copying other people, I tried to know myself.
From within, I couldn’t decide what to do.
Unable to see, I heard my name being called.
Then I walked outside.”
Sometimes the line blurs between Rumi’s love for an individual and his love of humanity, all things, or “God”. I embrace this, it does not need to be either-or and is in fact more meaningful to me with the ambiguity. Besides, haven’t we all felt a little closer to the world and the rest of humanity in the euphoria of love?
Like Whitman’s writing in “Leaves of Grass” it’s clear to me Rumi was inspired and enlightened; this is a great collection. There are many longer poems that I love but which I will not extract (“Who Says Words With My Mouth”, “The Drunk and the Madman”); instead I offer quotes.
On love:
“I would love to kiss you.
The price of kissing is your life.
Now my love is running toward my life shouting,
What a bargain, let’s buy it.”
“Daylight, full of small dancing particles
and the one great turning, our souls
are dancing with you, without feet, they dance.
Can you see them when I whisper in your ear?”
“You don’t have “bad” days and “good” days.
You don’t sometimes feel brilliant and sometimes dumb.
There’s no studying, no scholarly thinking having to do with love,
but there is a great deal of plotting, and secret touching,
and nights you can’t remember at all.”
“Come to the orchard in Spring.
There is light and wine, and sweethearts in the pomegranate flowers.
If you do not come, these do not matter.
If you do come, these do not matter.”
“During the day I was singing with you.
At night we slept in the same bed.
I wasn’t conscious day or night.
I thought I knew who I was,
but I was you.”
“Since we’ve seen each other, a game goes on.
Secretly I move, and you respond.
You’re winning, you think it’s funny.
But look up from the board now, look how
I’ve brought in furniture to this invisible place,
so we can live here.”
“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.”
Lastly this one, which has a cozy feel to it:
“The news we hear is full of grief for that future,
but the real news inside here
is there’s no news at all.”
On brotherhood, enlightenment, and oneness:
“Inside the Great Mystery that is,
we don’t really own anything.
What is this competition we feel then,
before we go, one at a time, through the same gate?”
“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open. Don’t go back to sleep.”
“The mystery does not get clearer by repeating the question,
nor is it bought with going to amazing places.
Until you’ve kept your eyes
and your wanting still for fifty years,
you don’t begin to cross over from confusion.”
“In pain, I breathe easier.
The scared child is running from the house, screaming.
I hear the gentleness.
Under nine layers of illusion, whatever the light,
on the face of any object, in the ground itself,
I see your face.”
“When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense.”
On friendship:
“Stay in the company of lovers.
Those other kinds of people, they each
want to show you something.
A crow will lead you to an empty barn,
a parrot to sugar.”
“Spend less time with nightingales and peacocks.
One is just a voice, the other just a color.”
On going with the flow:
“Do you think I know what I’m doing?
That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?
As much as a pen knows what it’s writing,
or the ball can guess where it’s going next.”
Lastly, on self-knowledge:
“For years, copying other people, I tried to know myself.
From within, I couldn’t decide what to do.
Unable to see, I heard my name being called.
Then I walked outside.”
Read
January 29, 2022There are those who believe that poetry can't be translated, who believe that a poem must be read in its original language to be fully appreciated. I don't know whether or not I agree, but I can think of a number of examples that support this argument - the most egregious example being the Coleman Barks "translations" of Rumi.
Above is a version of a Rumi poem "translated" by Coleman Barks ("translated" in quotes because Barks can neither read nor speak Persian). Below is a literal translation of the same poem.
The poems of Rumi are sacred, and the "translations" of Coleman Barks are profane - as any act of cultural erasure intended to secularize content for an undiserning audience would be considered profane. I urge everyone to seek out better translations, and to read more about these faux-translations here: Persian Poetics
Out beyond ideas
of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
Above is a version of a Rumi poem "translated" by Coleman Barks ("translated" in quotes because Barks can neither read nor speak Persian). Below is a literal translation of the same poem.
Beyond kufr and Islam there is a desert plain,
in that middle space our passions reign.
When the gnostic arrives there he'll prostrate himself,
not kufr, not Islam, nor is thereany space in that domain.
The poems of Rumi are sacred, and the "translations" of Coleman Barks are profane - as any act of cultural erasure intended to secularize content for an undiserning audience would be considered profane. I urge everyone to seek out better translations, and to read more about these faux-translations here: Persian Poetics
May 31, 2022
This is a selection of Rumi's work chosen and translated/interpreted by Moyne and Barks. I enjoyed the poetry, but it did feel a bit disjointed and did not quite work for me as a whole. I have read the first two books of The Masnavi and want to read more of Rumi's more accessible poetry, but I am struggling to find a collection that works for me. I will keep this and dip in and out of it again, but on first reading I was not that impressed.
April 15, 2018
This was a little book I happened to pick up on a whim and wasn't for a class of any sorts. It was fun to actually read something like this and not feel like I was going to have to write a paper on it or be quizzed on it in class. It takes me a while to unpack poetry, but I really enjoyed reading some more Rumi.
If I had more time, I would reread this to see if I could dig into it a little more.
If I had more time, I would reread this to see if I could dig into it a little more.
January 11, 2023
For the final book of #asianpacificamericanheritagemonth, I yearn for Rumi. The way our discourse leaves out West Asia perpetuates an us vs them divide. The "Middle East" is a colonial invention. I wanted to read an Edward Said book (Palestinian cultural critic) but I ran out of time, and so sharing some poems of Rumi, which I do periodically because his words dance to me.
October 30, 2023
There are a few poems here that I like (The Elusive Ones; Folded into the River), and one that pissed me off (An Empty Garlic), and I keep trying to like Rumi because I think I'm supposed to, but most of his writing doesn't reach me. Seems forced, or too ethereal; there's something distasteful about a lot of it. I'll probably keep trying, as I inherited several volumes from a dear friend...
July 16, 2019
An amazing approach to romanticism and reality at the same time . The writer is able to express all his notion in very attention taking way and everything here is open to interpretations. Rumi,as always one of his kind ❤️.
May 16, 2024
I picked this up at a secondhand book store because I have been really appreciating Rumi lately --
"Le tthe beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."
Lots of gems here...
"Le tthe beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."
Lots of gems here...
September 6, 2019
Rumi remains relevant today. I will certainly go back to read certain poems over and over again.
December 30, 2019
Some incredibly deep and rich poetry and insights. However, often very confusing, which leads me to believe the book is best in its untranslated form.
March 24, 2020
When I want to feel inspired this is what I gravitate towards! Not something to read all at once but definitely in pieces.
September 15, 2020
Amazing. Originally read for pleasure and then turned it into a school assignment. Some of the best love poetry I've ever read.
April 8, 2022
Rumi wills always be one of my favs.
July 3, 2025
ru了mi了
January 3, 2023
A collection of beautiful poems in the Persian bhakti tradition.
Apparently this collection is suspect in that Islamic references have been removed and Christian references added. The New Yorker wrote an article on it here:
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
What a shame. I can't imagine the hubris involved...
Apparently this collection is suspect in that Islamic references have been removed and Christian references added. The New Yorker wrote an article on it here:
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
What a shame. I can't imagine the hubris involved...
August 6, 2014
Just reread this poetry collection!
--------------------------------
One of the professors in a philosophy of literature class opened each class meeting with a poem from this book, and thus I was introduced to the poetry of mysticism.
--------------------------------
One of the professors in a philosophy of literature class opened each class meeting with a poem from this book, and thus I was introduced to the poetry of mysticism.
April 29, 2007
duno how legit this translation is...but as with much of rumi..its one of those books u can read over n over again...short and sweet...
June 6, 2012
Sublime
July 5, 2014
This book is a great read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews