Rumi – Whispers of the beloved

Are you searching for your soul?
Then come out of your prison.
Leave the stream and join the river
that flows into the ocean.
Absorbed in this world
you’ve made it your burden.
Rise above this world.
There is another vision…
——————–
Imitating others,
I failed to find myself.
I looked inside and discovered
I only knew my name.
When I stepped outside
I found my real self.
————————–
To be or not to be
is not my dilemma
To break away from both worlds
is not bravery.
To be unaware of the wonders
that exist in me,
that
is real madness!
————————
Be thirsty heart,
seek forever without rest.
Let this soundless longing
hidden deep inside you
be the source
of every word you say.
————————–
Love is the alchemy of the East.
Like the clouds it is pregnant
With a thousand bolts of lightning
Deep within me
moves the ocean of his Splendor
and all creation springs from it.
—————————-
If you can’t smell the fragrance
don’t come into the garden of Love.
If you’re unwilling to undress
don’t enter into the stream of Truth.
Stay where you are.
Don’t come our way.

Quatrains Translated from Persian by Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi