For my Thought For The Day #89 I decided to post a love poem by the wonderful Rumi; a 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. I only got to hear about Rumi fairly recently, having noticed some of his beautiful poems posted on facebook by my great friend in New Zeeland, Lynne Marie. As I was reading this particular poem I realized just how deep it went and how insightful it was; and an interpretation started to unfold within me as I read. I of course acknowledge that the following is only my personal interpretation, and I in no way profess to be an authority on the works of such a great poet.
The beauty of the heart
is the lasting beauty:
its lips give to drink
of the water of life.
The heart is the bottomless pit of pure bliss that can be found within all human beings. It is eternal and is the source of all creation; the food and drink of life itself.
Truly it is the water,
that which pours,
and the one who drinks.
All three become one when
your talisman is shattered.
Creation (Love) is ever flowing at its own pace. Only when the water, the pourer and the drinker (Holy Trinity or body, mind and spirit) are in harmony can we be free of our talisman (attachment to the ego). The word “talisman” describes a lucky charm that symbolizes the “stuff and things” of the ephemeral world that humans tend to chase in the deluded hope of finding happiness. The world is in a constant state of flux and any happiness found is simply the interval between two periods of sadness and vice-versa.
That oneness you can’t know
by reasoning ~ Rumi
When we reach into ourselves we can connect with that oneness that “passes all understanding”; that ocean of Love or God. We are then in tune with who we really are, and the ego, mind and senses cease to exist. In that moment we are completely liberated; completely free from pleasure and pain, sweet and bitter, joy and grief, tomb and womb etc. etc.
Unfortunately, this is a state of being that most of us, me included, can only flit in and out of. But what an amazing goal to aim for!