Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s poem called ‘Enough Words’
How does a part of the world leave the world?
How can wetness leave water?
Wholeness cannot be broken. Not everything can be divided. Emphasizes on the non-duality, wholeness, completeness of everything. Can positivity be removed from negativity?
Don’t try to put out a fire
by throwing on more fire!
Don’t wash a wound with blood!
Negativity cannot be fought with negativity. If you want to change something, you cannot keep doing the same thing and wish that thing to go away.
No matter how fast you run,
your shadow more than keeps up.
Sometimes, it’s in front!
You can try to stay away from negativity or keep it away from you. But it is going to show up sooner or later. This is because a part of negativity is inside of you. Mainly because you have not understood the wholeness of things. You will still judge things as negative or positive.
Only full, overhead sun
diminishes your shadow.
When you get enlightened, you will see the clear picture. You will see the wholeness of things. You will see that all is one. Negative and positive. It’s just the same.
But that shadow has been serving you!
What hurts you, blesses you.
Darkness is your candle.
Your boundaries are your quest.
So until then, understand this – every bad thing, negative thing teaches you, serves a great purpose in your life. You will get the amount of pain that is necessary for you to get this perspective on life.
I can explain this, but it would break
the glass cover on your heart,
and there’s no fixing that.
This is a harsh truth. The only way to reach knowledge is through darkness. The only way to peace or real happiness is through great pain. You have to go through it and it will break a part of your heart. The ego-heart. He wants to avoid talking about this, as everyone has to experience it anyways.
You must have shadow and light source both.
Listen, and lay your head under the tree of awe.
Creation is impartial and will give everyone both the good and the bad. Simply observe and try to understand what life is giving you with wonder.
When from that tree, feathers and wings sprout
on you, be quieter than a dove.
Don’t open your mouth for even a cooooooo.
When after observing and understanding these patterns of life, you get some wisdom or some supernatural powers – be quiet.
When a frog slips into the water, the snake
cannot get it. Then the frog climbs back out
and croaks, and the snake moves toward him again.
When you dip into this wisdom/knowledge stay there. Don’t come out because, the negativity might get you again. This is basically telling us to stay in the blissful state of knowing.
Even if the frog learned to hiss, still the snake
would hear through the hiss the information
he needed, the frog voice underneath.
Though we might try to conquer negative behavior by the neutrality/positivity of our behavior. We might still be called out and attacked again. Because this is only the awakening, beginning on the path of enlightenment.
But if the frog could be completely silent,
then the snake would go back to sleeping,
and the frog could reach the barley.
Rumi suggests to remain silent, hold your peace in your blissful state and the negativity shall go away by itself. Once you are through the suffering and the dark night of your soul is over go inside your inner peace again.
The soul lives there in the silent breath.
Silence, i.e., non-explanation, non-confrontation, non-argument – will get to to that state of inner-peace. Where our soul resides.
And that grain of barley is such that,
when you put it in the ground,
it grows.
Here is where you find that one true piece of yourself i.e., your soul, your consciousness – which if you preserve is what will fill your whole existence.
Are these enough words,
or shall I squeeze more juice from this?
Who am I, my friend?
Is this good enough? Or should I explain some more? Who am I? My soul. One soul. Knowing. Entire consciousness.
Taken from The Essential Rumi
translated by Coleman Barks
Image credit : me 🙂
