{"id":6442,"date":"2019-05-10T10:34:30","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T17:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=6442"},"modified":"2019-05-10T10:34:30","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T17:34:30","slug":"mevlana-jelaluddin-rumi-there-is-some-kiss-we-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/10\/mevlana-jelaluddin-rumi-there-is-some-kiss-we-want\/","title":{"rendered":"Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi – There is some kiss we want"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is some kiss we want
\nby Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Coleman Barks<\/font><\/p>\n

There is some kiss we want
\nwith our whole lives,
\nthe touch of Spirit on the body.<\/em><\/p>\n

Seawater begs the pearl
\nto break its shell.<\/p>\n

And the lily, how passionately
\nit needs some wild Darling!<\/p>\n

At night, I open the window
\nand ask the moon to come
\nand press its face against mine.
\nBreathe into me.<\/p>\n

Close the language-door,
\nand open the love-window.<\/p>\n

<\/em>The moon won\u2019t use the door,
\nonly the window.<\/em><\/p>\n


\n\/ Image by Unionhoney<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t this a wonderful selection?<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t identified the original verses, so I don\u2019t know how closely Barks\u2019s version reflects the original lines. Barks tends to do rather loose renditions of Rumi, but with a sense of the poem\u2019s heart and passionate abandon.<\/p>\n

There is some kiss we want
\nwith our whole lives\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

Whatever we spend our lives doing, whatever we desperately seek or crave through the decades, underlying it all, that\u2019s what we really want\u2013 that secret kiss, that feeling of being touched by Spirit. Not is some intellectual or philosophical sense, but in our embodied lives, not as a feeling or a thought or a belief, but as a sort of recognition. A self-recognition. We want to know<\/i> in the deepest sense. Everything else we seek on a more surface level is either in pursuit of that, or sometimes in denial of that, but always an outgrowth of it, that kiss we want with our whole lives.<\/p>\n

Close the language-door,
\nand open the love-window.<\/i><\/p>\n

Try as we might, we can\u2019t think our way into heaven. No matter how skillfully we conceptualize and elaborate even the most elevated ideas, that isn\u2019t the way in.<\/p>\n

The open heart is the way. It is the open window. Best for the verbalizing mind to fall silent or, when it is active, to work in service to the awakening heart.<\/p>\n

Because, after all\u2026<\/p>\n

The moon won\u2019t use the door,
\nonly the window.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

PS- Website Adventures<\/p>\n

I have been a bit distracted this week trying to sort out multiple technical problems with the Poetry Chaikhana\u2019s website and Internet service provider. Hopefully, this is nothing you have bumped into trying to visit the site. We should have everything resolved soon. It\u2019s all behind the scenes stuff that you don\u2019t need to be especially concerned with, but since it has been a major focus for my week, I thought I would mention it.<\/p>\n

At some point I should probably do a major redesign of the Poetry Chaikhana site. I have had the site up for 15 years now. Quite an accomplishment on the peripatetic web! While the content has expanded and changed, much of the basic design and structure is the same as when I started. Since I run the Poetry Chaikhana in my spare time, and balanced with chronic fatigue issues, I have only done basic maintenance since that initial creation. It might be getting time to bring the site into the modern era of web design before long. It\u2019s a matter of being able to organize my schedule and finances to dedicate the time necessary.<\/p>\n

Maybe I should ask you, the Poetry Chaikhana community: Would you appreciate an updated Poetry Chaikhana site? Not only the look and feel, which feels a bit static by modern sensibilities, but with a more dynamic and searchable structure. While I don\u2019t know exactly when I will get to changes, I do welcome your feedback.<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology)<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nPoetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThis Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nMusic of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nPerfume of the Desert: Inspirations from Sufi Wisdom<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\"Mevlana<\/a><\/td>\n\nMevlana Jelaluddin Rumi<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Afghanistan & Turkey (1207 \u2013 1273) Timeline<\/a>
\nMuslim \/ Sufi<\/a><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em><\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t yet sketched out a short biography about Rumi. It always feels a bit foolish to try to distill a rich, full life into just a few paragraphs, but it\u2019s especially difficult with Rumi since so much has been written about him and his life.<\/p>\n

How about just a few interesting details about Rumi:<\/p>\n

Rumi was born in Balkh, in what is today Afghanistan. While he was still a child his family moved all the way to Konya in Asia Minor (Turkey). They moved to flee from Mongol invaders who were beginning to sweep into Central Asia. Konya, far to the west of the invaded territories, became one of the major destinations for expatriates to settle, turning the city into a cosmopolitan center of culture, education, and spirituality. (These lands were part of the Persian Empire, so, while he lived most of his life in what is today called Turkey, culturally he was Persian.)<\/p>\n

In fact, Rumi wasn\u2019t the only famous Sufi teacher living in Konya at the time. The best known spiritual figure in Konya at the time was not Rumi, but the son-in-law of the greatly respected Sufi philosopher ibn \u2018Arabi. The wonderful Sufi poet Fakhruddin Iraqi also lived in Konya at the same time as Rumi.<\/p>\n

\u201cRumi\u201d was not his proper name; it was more of a nickname. Rumi means literally \u201cThe Roman.\u201d Why the Roman? Asia Minor (Turkey) was referred to as the land of the Rum, the Romans. The Byzantine Empire, which had only recently been pushed back to a small area of control around Constantinople, was still thought of as the old Eastern Roman Empire. Rumi was nicknamed the Roman because he lived in what was once the Eastern Roman Empire. \u2026But not everyone calls him Rumi. In Afghanistan, where he was born, they call him Balkhi, \u201cthe man from Balkh,\u201d to emphasize his birth in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Rumi\u2019s father was himself a respected religious authority and spiritual teacher. Rumi was raised and educated to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps. And, in fact, Rumi inherited his father\u2019s religious school. But this was all along very traditional lines. Rumi was already a man with religious position when he first started to experience transcendent states of spiritual ecstasy. This created a radical upheaval, not only in himself, but also within his rather formal spiritual community as everyone tried to adjust to their leader\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n

One more note about Rumi\u2019s father: It was only after his death that some of the father\u2019s private writings were discovered, revealing that he himself was also a profound mystic, though he had kept this part of himself private, apparently even from his son Rumi.<\/p>\n

Many of Rumi\u2019s poems make reference to the sun. This always has layered meaning for Rumi since he was deeply devoted to his spiritual teacher Shams of Tabriz\u2026 as the name Shams means \u201cthe sun.\u201d The sun for Rumi becomes the radiance of God shining through his beloved teacher.<\/p>\n

The spiritual bond between Rumi and Shams was profound, but the two individuals were very different. Rumi was a member of the educated elite within the urban expatriate community, while Shams was a poor wandering mystic who rarely stayed in one place long. Shams would often disappear unexpectedly, then return months later. Many of Rumi\u2019s family and students were jealous of Shams, resenting the closeness he shared with their master. Finally, Shams disappeared, never to return. Some believe that he was actually kidnapped and murdered, possibly by Rumi\u2019s own sons! Or he may have simply followed his dervish nature and journeyed on, never to return to Konya.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve heard of \u201cwhirling dervishes,\u201d right? Not all Sufis practice that spinning meditative dance. That is specific to the Mevlana Sufis, founded by \u2014 yes, Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. The story is told that Rumi would circle around a column, while ecstatically reciting his poetry. The spinning is a meditation on many levels. It teaches stillness and centeredness in the midst of movement. One hand is kept raised to receive from heaven, the other hand is kept lowered to the earth, thus the individual becomes a bridge joining heaven and earth.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is some kiss we want by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi English version by Coleman Barks There is some kiss we want with our whole lives, the touch of Spirit on the body. Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell. And the lily, how passionately it needs some wild Darling! At night, I open the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2266,415,286,193,88,19],"class_list":["post-6442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-kiss","tag-love","tag-mevlana-jelaluddin-rumi","tag-muslim-poetry","tag-rumi","tag-sufi-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6443,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442\/revisions\/6443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}