Be suspicious of what you want

Many non-Muslims (like me) may have never heard of Rumi. He was a poet and a mystic in the Sufi tradition. He was born 30th September 1207 in Balkh, Afghanistan and died on 17th December 1273 (I think in Konya, Turkey).

Rumi must have been a great man – many people, and not just Sufi Muslims, read his works today. Some of his poems are great fun. He obviously had a great irreverence for life and his union with God – life was fun and there to be enjoyed!

I think this quote is worth repeating (I am using a translation of his poems by Coleman Barks called ‘The essential Rumi’):

From something called ‘On Resurrection Day’ –

On Resurrection Day your body testifies against you.
You hand says, “I stole money.”
Your lips, “I said meanness.”
Your feet, “I went were I shouldn’t.”
Your genitals, “Me too.”

That is so good! I wonder how many of us can relate to that verse?

In another poem he writes:-

I plot to get what I want
And end up in prison.

I dig pits to trap others
And fall in.

I should be suspicious
of what I want.


How very true! To me this just shows that no matter who we are and what culture we were born into we are basically the same – members of the species Homo Sapiens. Those born centuries ago had more time to observe human nature and think about why we get into the trouble we often find ourselves in.

Today we are rushed and so have little time for contemplation; so little time to read the lessons learned by others – more is the pity.