Category: Poem

Rumi poem interpretation – Cry out in your weakness
Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation – Cry out in your weakness

radhikab

Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s poem ‘Cry out in your weakness’

A dragon was pulling a bear into its terrible mouth.
A courageous man went and rescued the bear.
There are such helpers in the world, who rush to save
anyone who cries out. Like mercy itself,
they run toward the screaming.
And they can’t be bought off.

If you were to ask one of those, 
“Why did you come so quickly?” he or she would say, 
“Because I heard your helplessness.”
Where lowland is, that’s where water goes. 
All medicine wants is pain to cure.

Rumi says that there are people on this Earth who are heroes. They are almost like an incarnation of Mercy itself. Such good-hearted, brave people as well as helpful beings like Angels, Ascended masters, Devdutas, and other light beings are always present to help anyone who needs help and asks for it. They gravitate towards anyone who asks for help. They cannot even be bought off by money or any other temptation – they are born with the purpose of lifting a person from a state of helplessness to empowerment.

And don’t just ask for one mercy.
Let them flood in. Let the sky open under your feet.
Take the cotton out of your ears, the cotton
of consolations, so you can hear the sphere-music.
Push the hair out of your eyes.
Blow the phlegm from your nose,
and from your brain.

Let the wind breeze through.
Leave no residue in yourself from that bilious fever.
Take the cure for impotence,
that your manhood may shoot forth,
and a hundred new beings come of your coming.
Tear the binding from around the foot
of your soul, and let it race around the track
in front of the crowd.

Loosen the knot of greed
so tight on your neck. 
Accept your new good luck.
Give your weakness to one who helps.

Rumi says open your arms to the Heavens and ask for all the mercies you need. Don’t be afraid to bow before God and ask for whatever you want. Do not keep any ego, which Rumi calls as ‘bilious fever’. Basically, Rumi says the authentic way of being completely strong is to surrender to consciousness, but this action of surrender however, has the opposite effect of unleashing more potential in a person. So accept this new fortune or luck which comes after giving up ego, which is given by consciousness/God and be grateful for it.

Crying out loud and weeping are great resources.
A nursing mother, all she does
is wait to hear her child.
Just a little beginning-whimper,
and she’s there.

God created the child, that is, your wanting,
so that it might cry out, so that milk might come.

Cry out! Don’t be stolid and silent with your pain. 
Lament! And let the milk
of loving flow into you.

Rumi compares this surrender and asking for mercies, help or wants to how a new born baby cries when born. The sound of the baby crying is what makes the mom’s body secrete the milk. Similarly, God is the mother and we are the child. Rumi says don’t suffer your pain in silence – but lament – not in front of humans – but in front of God and then let God send his love towards you.

The hard rain and wind
are ways the cloud has
to take care of us.

Be patient.
Respond to every call
that excites your spirit.
Ignore those that make you fearful
and sad, that degrade you
back toward disease and death.

God takes care of us in different ways – hard rain is like the pain which we get in life and winds are the relief that God gives us when facing difficulties. So even if it is not obvious, God is always taking care of us like a mother takes care of a child. This process might take some time to become clear to you, so be patient. In order to see this quicker, you must follow anything that makes you feel extremely happy from the inside – which excites your soul. Stay away from those who make your spirit weak and bring you down – because this will take you further away from seeing the mercies that God is laying upon you.

Taken from The Essential Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : http://thejacksonpress.org/?p=13507

Rumi poem interpretation – The Seed Market
Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation – The Seed Market

radhikab

Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s poem ‘The Seed Market’

Can you find another market like this?

Where,

with your one rose

you can buy hundreds of rose gardens?

Where,

for one seed

you get a whole wilderness?

For one weak breath,

the divine wind?

In this poem Rumi compares human life to a seed. He says that it is a truly wonderful creation this world – where a tiny seed of rose can ultimately grow into a multiple rose gardens. Similarly, a whole forest must’ve once started from one small seed eons ago. Similarly, for a human being – a single weak breath of a human can be enough for the human to get awakened and enlightened. If the last breath is taken with an intention to achieving Moksha – even the weak one can be converted into divine.

You’ve been fearful

of being absorbed in the ground,

or drawn up by the air.

Now your waterbed lets go

and drops into the ocean,

where it came from.

But humans in general are fearful of death, they are attached to existence. The thought of this body being taken away scares them. But in the end, once the body has stopped living – every part is going to disintegrate into elements and will go back to it’s source.

It no longer has the form it had,

but it’s still water.

The essence is the same.

The body disintegrates, it disappears but the soul and spirit lives on. It moves from this 3 dimensional reality into another dimension.

This giving up is not a repenting.

It’s a deep honoring of yourself.

When the ocean comes to you as a lover,

marry, at once, quickly,

for God’s sake?

Don’t postpone it!

Existence has no better gift.

Rumi says that live your life in such a way, that when death is upon you and comes to take you as a lover – go with it. Happily, non-attached to this existence. Marry death. This will set you free – since you have no attachments and hopefully you are free of karma by then. This is the best gift existence can give you – the gift of liberation, Moksha, Nirvana.

No amount of searching

will find this.

A perfect falcon, for no reason,

has landed on your shoulder,

and become yours. 

You cannot really achieve this freedom. It is not a thing to be achieved – it can only be reached by letting go and then letting go some more. It is symbolically, like a Falcon which has chosen you to land on – the Falcon symbolizes the third-eye chakra. This falcon i.e., your third-eye chakra opening is simply God’s grace. Use it wisely to achieve the ultimate human goal of liberation.

Taken from The Essential Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : http://earthsky.org/science-wire/plants-do-math-to-get-through-the-night

Take me
feel good · Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Take me

radhikab

Rumi, take me with you,
Show me the places you have seen.

We don’t belong to this world,
Both you and me.

Lets explore the realms together,
Find adventures old and new.

Hopefully we will find a home
A place we belong to.

Image credit : Google Images

Rumi unnamed poem interpretation
love · Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi unnamed poem interpretation

radhikab

When I am with you, we stay up all night.

When you’re not here, I can’t go to sleep.

Praise God for these two insomnias!

And the difference between them.

This poem describes the feelings of lovers – when they meet they don’t want to sleep – they would rather do other things and not waste their time sleeping.

And when they are not together, they cannot sleep because they miss the other and are lost in thoughts of their lover – due to which the brain cannot relax and they cannot sleep.

Rumi thanks God for these feelings and these two different reasons for having this insomnia. He is basically emphasizing what a wondrous thing love is! In love one can enjoy being apart as much as being together. As love is the core feeling which is given by God and takes us near God as well.

Taken from The Essential Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : Google Images

Rumi poem interpretation – The Guest House
Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation – The Guest House

radhikab

Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s poem ‘The Guest House’

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

Rumi says that being a human being  and returning to this state of being in the body of a human is like coming to a guest house. We sleep every night and in the deep dreamless sleep state we get in touch with our true nature, i.e., we become pure consciousness. But in the morning – we wake up again and come back to this illusionary world.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

In this illusionary state, we will go back to being who we were before we slept. We will experience various feeling that come to us. Some due to our own accord, some due to others. Rumi says enjoy all of these feelings. These are simply vibrations – feel them and entertain them as guests in your house.

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

If these feelings are uncomfortable, away from your true nature of joy and peace – still honor them. They might feel overwhelming and shake you to your core. However, such feelings are necessary too. We need to experience the whole spectrum of life in order to live it fully. Creation gives it all to us. Once we have fully enjoyed and experienced a feeling, we are clearing space for a new feeling to take it’s place. A new experience, a new energy, a new vibration. We need to experience it all.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Similarly for any other so called ‘bad thoughts/feelings/energy’ go through them. Feel them. Stay with them.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

Gratitude is an alchemic quality. So use it. It will alchemize your being. Whatever you feel in this human form is a message that Universe, Creation is trying to send to you. Listen to it, understand it, interpret it. It is a guide for you to walk in this human path, so use it as it is meant to shape you and take you to your ultimate purpose.

Taken from The Essential Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : https://parade.com/7476/viannguyen/top-10-cities-with-the-greenest-homes/

Rumi poem interpretation – Unnamed Poem
Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation – Unnamed Poem

radhikab

Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s unnamed poem

In your light I learn to love.

In your beauty, how to make poems.

Rumi says that once we go into the light – here light means, our true nature – which is love and light. A pure, clear frequency of love and light – he learns how to truly love. Once a person finds this kind of real/divine love – one can start observing beauty. This beauty will then move the person to such a degree that they would want to write a poem about this beauty.

You dance inside my chest,

where no one sees you,

Rumi says that this love stays inside one’s heart – where no one else can see it. It is only felt by the person who has it in their heart and is a very personal, private experience.

but sometimes I do,

and that becomes this art.

Sometimes however, this love can give a person supernatural and surreal experiences which can inspire true art. This is God’s grace to this human being.

 

Taken from The Essential Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : https://www.guardian-angel-reading.com/blog-of-the-angels/seeing-flashes-light-spiritual/

Rumi poem interpretation – A Just Finishing Candle
Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation – A Just Finishing Candle

radhikab

Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s poem ‘A Just Finishing Candle’

A candle is made to become entirely flame.

Here candle is a metaphor for a human life. Humans are put through a lot of pain.

In that annihilating moment it has no shadow.

Through this pain there comes a point of enlightenment where the ego completely disappears. We become one with consciousness again. We become our true self.

It is nothing but a tongue of light

describing a refuge.

We become simply love and light. Which is where our soul wants to be. In love and light.

Look at this

just-finishing candle stub

As someone who is finally safe

From virtue and vice,

The pride and the shame

We claim from those.

Rumi says that even though we might be going through very difficult times, we can see this as a positive. Because soon we will reach a safe heaven where we will not experience any duality, where there is no judgement. We will be whole again. In our true state, in our soul.

Taken from The Essential Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : https://www.housingunits.co.uk/accessories/candles/candle-holders

Rumi poem interpretation – The Lame Goat
Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation – The Lame Goat

radhikab

Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s poem ‘The Lame Goat’.

You’ve seen a herd of goats

going down to the water. 

The lame and dreamy goat

brings up the rear.

Here Rumi compares humans in society to a herd of goats. He says in society the dreamers, philosophers, poets and other creatively inclined people are considered as lame. These folks do not climb the social ladder much and are often at the bottom of the society.

There are worried faces about that one,

but now they’re laughing,

because look, as they return,

that goat is leading!

Family, friends and well wishers often worry about such creative people, wondering what are they going to amount to? Sometimes though, someone who is creative will turn the tables and become very successful in their field. They may lead the others in the society towards happiness and bliss through their art or just their demeanor.

There are many different kinds of knowing.

The lame goat’s kind is a branch

that traces back to the roots of presence.

We all know and believe different things. Ambitious people know goals. While the dreamers know what lies beyond. They are more in touch with their soul, Universe or the true self.

Learn from the lame goat,

and lead the herd home.

Rumi urges creative people to learn from the lame goat and be who you are and be indifferent to what society thinks of you. Because it is these dreamers who have the power to bring about a revolution and lead the others to their ultimate home, i.e., to their source, soul, universe, consciousness.

Taken from The Essential Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : Google Images

Rumi poem interpretation – Quietness
Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation – Quietness

radhikab

Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s poem called ‘Quietness’

Inside this new love, die.

Your way begins only on the other side. 

Become the sky.

Take an axe to the prison wall.

Escape.

This poem is for someone who has had a spiritual awakening. Rumi says that in this love that you have for your true self, die. Because only after dying i.e., killing your ego will your journey truly begin. You have to become a new you, the ‘real’ you. Your real self is limitless like the Cosmos. Break down all the barriers and the conditioning that you have. Let go of who you are. Run away.

Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.

Do it now.

You’re covered with thick cloud.

Slide out the side. Die,

Now that you are in the state of awareness, try to do the needful right away. All our beliefs and ideas are conditioned to us since our birth. They make us hazy as if we are covered by a cloud, going through life aimless – following them. Slip through this haze of society and escape.

and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign

that you’ve died.

Your old running was a frantic running

from silence.

Kill your old ‘ego’ or ‘conditioned’ self. And remain still. Remain in that state of bliss, wisdom and silence. As that is the best way to get more wisdom and clarity. The old ego-self was just an attempt of avoiding what our true nature holds.

The speechless full moon

comes out now.

The real soul will come out now after the awakening.

Taken from The Essential Rumi
translated by Coleman Barks

Image credit : me 🙂

Rumi poem interpretation- Enough Words
love · Poem · Poetry · Rumi · Spiritual

Rumi poem interpretation- Enough Words

radhikab

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 🙂