A humble presentation - a spontaneous result of awe and inspiration on my reading - THE SUFI PATH OF LOVE The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi by William C. Chittick

1. JALAL AL DIN RUMI
ME - A
MERE
DROP
AN OCEAN OF WISDOM
FEELING
LIKE A SALT DOLL WHICH ON THE VERY FIRST TOUCH OF THE
OCEAN MELTS !!!
A humble presentation – a spontaneous result of awe and
inspiration on reading the Book
The Sufi Path of Love
The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi
William C. Chittick

2. Jalal al-Din Rumi was born in Balkh in present-day Afghanistan in the year A.H.
604/A.D. 1207.
Rumi's major works are the Diwan-i Shams-i Tabrizi of some 40,000 verses
and the Mathnawi of about 25,000 verses. In addition, three collections of his
talks and letters have been preserved.
Although his teachings can probably never be totally encompassed by
any systematic exposition, certainly all of them express a single
reality, the overriding reality of Rumi's existence and of Islam itself:
"There is no god but God.”
RUMI :How many words the world contains! But all have one
meaning. When you smash the jugs, the water is one. (Diwan
32108)
me : the truth is one and the same . Outwardly it may all appear to be different, a
thousand and one embellishments, but inside - the water , which in our DEEN
symbolizes ILM is the same, it comes from Heaven Above from ALLAH.

3. In the Year 642/1244 the enigmatic figure Shams al-Din of Tabriz came
to Konya, and Rumi was transformed.
I was the country's sober ascetic, I used to teach from the pulpitbut
destiny made me one of Thy hand-clapping lovers. (D 22784)
Shams-i Tabrizi's influence upon Rumi was decisive, for outwardly he was
transformed from a sober jurisprudent to an intoxicated celebrant of the
mysteries of Divine Love. One could say that without Shams, there would
have been no Rumi. Nevertheless, one must not overestimate the role
that Shams played, since Rumi was already an accomplished adept when
Shams arrived on the scene.
After a period of one or two years during which Shams was Rumi's
constant companion, Shams left Konya suddenly, to Rumi's great dismay.

4. Dissolve this headstrong form with spiritual travail! Beneath it you will find
Oneness like a treasure! (M I 683)
me :What is the headstrong form ? It is the delusion because of our EGO.
It is ‘I’ it is ‘I’. Ego is an anti – evolutionary force of powerful inertia in human
nature, attached to the past and terrified of change. It is deeply
ingrained, compulsive need to remain separate and superior at all times.
What is spiritual travail ? A path of exertion and tribulations, but worth
undertaking, because beneath it is the treasure of ONENESS . IT IS THOU MY
LORD . IT IS THOU.
This travail can be easily acquired by Tawheed and Ta’at. Just reflect on the
riwayat of Moylai Adam – Vali ul Hind praying namaz behind the sakka (water
carrier ) He made this travail look so easy, and his single action of Ta’ at resulted in
Dawat coming to Hindustan from Yemen.
If everything that appears to us were just as it appears, the Prophet, who was
endowed with such penetrating vision, both illuminated and
illuminating, would never have cried out, "Oh Lord, show us things as they
are!" (F 5/18)

5. If you pour the ocean into a jug, how much will it hold?
One day's store. (Mathnavi I 20)
How long will you make love with the shape of
the jug? Leave aside the jug's shape: Go, seek
water!
The window determines how much light enters the
house, even if the moon's radiance fills the east and the
west. (D 9911)
me : If we just for a moment reflect and become aware of the
Vastness of the Universe, the knowledge and wisdom contained
therein , and than just turn our attention inward to our
selves, realization will dawn instantly.
We humans are more concerned with the packaging than the
content. We may have grown in knowledge and
intelligence, but not necessarily in wisdom and virtue, which is
more essential for the development of a fuller aware being.

6. We are all lions, but lions on a banner:
We keep on leaping because of the
wind. (M I 602-603)
me : Our Ego makes us believe that we
are the prime movers and shakers, but
it is not so. The Wise know otherwise.
Before the Painter and brush, the picture is
helpless and shackled like a child in the
womb. (M I 611)
me : ALLAH is the Creator and He is One who by
His Grace and Love brings Universe to life with
brush (The Intelligences in the Pelorama )
Lord of lords! Formless Giver of forms! What
form art Thou pulling over me? Thou
knowest, I know not. (D 14964)
me : This is true TAWHEED

7. Each and every part of the world is a snare for the fool and a means of
deliverance for the wise. (M VI 4287)
me: Recalling the Nashihat of Sayedi Sadiqali Saheb :
Duniya ni tu raghbat thee, sina ne uthavi le .....
zahir ma halavat chhe, pan zehar chhe khufiyah ma
So the saints have not said this lightly: The bodies of the purified ones
become untainted, exactly like the spirit.
Their words, their psyche, their outward form all become absolute
spirit without trace. (M I 2000-01)
Sayedi Sadiqali Saheb : Kabro ma jivta chhe woh Bari na Awaliya
de chhe jawab jeh koi tehne nida kare.
Jisme muttahar of Sayedi Abdulkader Hakimuddin Moula - sahi saalim
after 40 days entomed in Kabr. He is answering our pleas today, he will
answer for years to come, like all Awaliya kirams till the Day of Qayamat.

8. Wonderful! Are you not ashamed, oh brother, of a spirit
in need of bread? (D 28664)
me : Here Rumi is referring to the higher Spirits ( A'qela ) an
not , the baser spirits of growth and feelings, common to
humans and all living beings.
The Nashihat of Sayedi Sadiqali Saheb puts it so succinctly :
'bukhe mare padosi ne pote jama kare'
Simply amazing and full of meanings.
The padosi referred is your higher Spirit - the Real You which
we generally tend to neglect.
Experience shows that the spirit is nothing but awareness.
Whoever has greater awareness has a greater spirit.

9. There is a spirit beyond description, above the turning heavens:
nimble, subtle and well-proportioned, like the moon in Libra,
And another spirit like fire, harsh, headstrong and
obstinate, short-lived and unhappy, like Satan's imagination.
Oh friend! Which are you? Are you ripe or raw? Are you dizzy from
sweetmeats and wine, or a knight on the field of battle? (D 2137783)
There are immature spirits slithering into snares, and spirits that have
flown up and found the way to the Beloved.
me : ALLAH has given us Ikhtiyar – Jameen this asmani banvu chhe ke
pachi duniya na chakkro maj gujaro karvo chhe. You want emancipation
or you want to remain entangled and snared in this world of
degeneration.
CHOICE IS ALL YOURS.

10. :
Open your eyes! See the spirits that have fled from the body! The spirit has
smashed the cage, the heart has fled from the body! (D 25039)
The spirit has become disengaged from the body's uproar! It flies upon the
wing of the heart without the body's foot. (M V 1721)
me: The Nashihat of Sayedi Sadiq Ali Saheb eloquently states thus:
gar maut ne samjo to kunji (key) chhe hayati ni
tehkik yeh madin ruhani hayati ni
Death if you can understand is the key to life. It is in truth ,the mother
of spiritual everlasting life.
Khalil Gibran : Shall the day of parting be the day of gathering ?
And shall it be said that my eve was in truth my dawn ?

11. A falcon and a crow were put into one cage: Wounds distress them both.
Within our breast an intellect and an ego are in strife and tribulation,
drunken with separation from their Source. (D 33508, 10)
me: Ego is the false self that because of the ‘khata’ ( sin ) in Alam ul Ibda has been
removed from the Source, it has been hurled in the abyss, and always feels the sense of
incompleteness. On the other hand the soul – the Real ‘I’ is the Angel in
potentia, which has the urge to become Angel in actu.
Every autobiography is concerned with two characters, Don Quixote – the Ego
and Sancho Panza – the Self. W.H. Auden.
“The authentic self is the best part of a human being. It’s the part of you that already
cares, that is already passionate about evolution. When your authentic self miraculously
awakens and becomes stronger than your ego, then you will truly begin to make a
difference in this world. You will literally enter into a partnership with the creative
principle.”
~ Andrew Cohen

12. God is exceedingly near to you. Whatever thought and idea you conceive, God is
next to it. For He gives existence to the thought and idea and places it before you.
But He is so near that you cannot see Him.
What is so strange about that? Whatever you do, your intellect is with you,
initiating the action. But you cannot see the intellect. Although you see its effects,
you cannot see its essence. (F 172/180)
When we say that God is not in the heavens, we do not mean that He is not in the
heavens. What we mean is that the heavens do not encompass Him, but He
encompasses them. He has a connection to the heavens, but it is ineffable and
inscrutable, just as He has established an ineffable and inscrutable connection
with you. Everything is in the hand of His Power. Everything is the locus of His
Self-manifestation and under His control. So He is not outside the heavens and
the created worlds, nor is He completely inside them.
In other words, these things do not encompass Him, but He encompasses them.
(F 212/219)

13. For example, in a king's realm there are prisons, gallows, robes of
honor, wealth, estates, retinue, banquets, joy, drums, and banners. In relation to
the king, all are good. Just as robes of honor are the perfection of his kingdom, so
also gallows and executions and prisons are all perfections of his kingdom.
In relation to him, all are perfection. But in relation to his people, how could the
gallows be the same as a robe of honor? (F 31/42-43)
The outward form of the branch is the origin of the fruit; but inwardly, the branch
came into existence for the fruit's sake.
If there had been no desire and hope for the fruit, why did the gardener plant the
tree?
Therefore in meaning the fruit gave existence to the tree, even if in form the tree
gave birth to the fruit. (M IV)
me: This Universe has a purpose and to comprehend it fully, first and foremost you
should have a real and deep longing , and when you are ready the TEACHER will
surely appear. We mumineen are so blessed and fortunate to have our Rehbar our
Aqa Moula (TUS) who makes us understand the purpose of our life, why we are
here, and he shows by personal example ‘ jameen thi asmanee kem kari ne banso’

14. For example, someone has been bound fast by four pegs. He imagines that he is
happy; he has forgotten the joy of freedom. When delivered from the pegs, he will
understand what torment he was going through. In the same way, infants find
nurture and ease in a cradle while their hands are bound. If a grown man were
bound in a cradle, that would be torment and prison. (F 194/203)
MY PRESENTATION IS A MERE DROP TAKEN FROM
THE OCEAN OF RUMI’S LIFE TIME ENDEVOUR OF
SEEKING AND SPRITUALITY
Asgar Fakhrudin
www.hikmaah.com