I'm neither beautiful nor ugly
by Mevlana Jelaluddin RumiEnglish version by W. S. Merwin and Talat Halman
Original Language Persian/Farsi & Turkish
I'm neither beautiful nor ugly
neither this nor that
I'm neither the peddler in the market
nor the nightingale
in the rose garden
Teacher give me a name so that I'll know
what to call myself
I'm neither slave nor free neither candle
nor iron
I've not fallen in love with anyone
nor is anyone in love with me
Whether I'm sinful or good
sin and goodness come from another
not from me
Wherever He drags me I go
with no say in the matter
-- from East Window: Poems from Asia, Translated by W. S. Merwin |
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Rumi sings of the mystic's experience of no-self. All traits, all qualities are limited notions that can never encompass or define the fluid spaciousness we finally recognize as our true nature. Even the notions of "good" and "evil" are concepts that divide and separate, when the vision of unity reveals that we are seamlessly one with the splendor of Reality.
What name can name you then, when everything not named is also you?
Recommended Books: Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi