Monday 27 September 2010

Only Breath - Rumi

Who am I?
 What is to be done, O Muslims?
For I do not recognize myself.
Only Breath

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, sufi, or zen.
Not any religion or cultural system.
I am not from the East or the West,
Not out of the ocean or up from the ground,
Not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all.
I do not exist,
I am not an entity in this world or in the next,
Did not descend from Adam and Eve or any origin story.
My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless.
Neither body or soul.
I belong to the beloved,
Have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know,
First, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being.
  
English Translation Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks

4 comments:

  1. You can find Rumi books at:
    http://www.zarinas.com/books.shtml

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is simply superb...such lovely thoughts. Came across your blog looking for some of Rumi's words on Religion...

    p.s. used the image here for one of my posts (of course with due credit), hope this would be ok with you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Siddhartha ... Thank you for your kind words. The Internet is a world without borders ... and Rumi ... a man without borders. Feel free to visit any time.

    ReplyDelete

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