Biography
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī was a 13th-century Persian poet, scholar, and Sufi mystic whose poetry has transcended cultural and religious boundaries to become beloved worldwide. Born in present-day Afghanistan, he settled in Konya (modern-day Turkey), where he became a respected Islamic scholar.
His life was transformed by his meeting with the wandering mystic Shams of Tabriz, an encounter that awakened in him an overwhelming love and spiritual ecstasy. The mysterious disappearance of Shams plunged Rumi into a grief that became the crucible of his greatest poetry, as he discovered that his beloved friend lived on within his own heart.
Rumi's poetry speaks of the soul's longing for union with the divine, the transformative power of love, and the dissolution of the separate self in the ocean of being. His works, including the Masnavi and the Divan, are considered among the greatest achievements of mystical literature.
Teaching and methods
Rumi taught the path of divine love as the means to transcend the ego and realize union with the Beloved. Through poetry, music, and the whirling meditation that became the practice of his order, he pointed to love as both the path and the destination. He emphasized surrender, the burning away of the false self, and the discovery that separation from the divine was always only an illusion.
Selected quotes
“ When you lose all sense of self, the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish. ”
“ A wealth you cannot imagine flows through you. Do not consider what strangers say. Be secluded in your secret heart-house, that bowl of silence. ”
“ Whenever they rebuild an old building, they must first of all destroy the old one. ”