by nilfun 17 Replies latest jw friends
Hi Robdar
Thanks for your post..."Rumi rawks!" Yes! I agree...this is really interesting reading.
Here's another before I go:
Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free.
Take care
This is real interesting Nilfun (as are all your posts by the way). I get a different message from this story.
1) the guy added too much spirituality (started praying) to a very earthly entity (the rug) and this kept him locked up in prison! I can relate so much to that!
2) until he stopped the holy attitude he had adopted and attached "holiness" to something meaningless (the rug) he couldnt enjoy earthly freedom.
3) he found freedom in a literal interpretation of what was before his eyes, rather than putting a "spiritual" twist on it (sounds the same as point 2 though).
4) he wished for a key, he had what he needed in his hands all the time but sought it from an higher source which blinded him to the reality.
I'm going to stop there, it just struck me as something other than it looked, I see this whole story as very humanistic rather that spiritual. Very clever and very artistic, almost deceiving at first glance.
Brummie *probably wrong class*
Brummie
I think that your viewpoint is valid.
It has been my experience that spiritual thoughts do tend to distract from reality and the responsibilities of life on earth. If we add your view to the mix, we actually get a more balanced view of the parable. IMO, the goal of mysticism is to bring heaven to earth before transcending.
To use Christian terms, the kingdom of heaven is within you. This kingdom should be made manifest on the physical plane; but first you have to understand it in order to bring it into being. This is why the inner journey is so important.
So it seems to me that Rumi (and you, too) knew this and was commenting upon it.
Robyn
I am reading through this work slowly, not always sure that I understand what it is I am reading.
Well, just be sure to keep an open mind to the idea that not everything written by a guy named rumi 800 years ago is going to be wise, deep, or helpful in your non-Islamist 21C life. The man was, after all, one of those types who thought himself worthy to teach others the "religious sciences". I can't think of any type person more worthy of suspicion.
May I recommend Shakespeare, Samuel Clemens and Thomas Paine for your freedom quest?
...and may I recommend death for any infidel who compares rumi to Shakespeare, lol.
Oh I seeeeeeeeeeeee, now it makes sense, it was realy simple after all, I just had to read it two times to grasp whether it was a "spiritual message" or not. I like it.
(((( R)))
Brummie
I have that set too! I loved the Gita. Ihave not read all of them I read the Gita straight thru but the others I have picked at--I guess I should discipline myself and finish what I started.
I got them as a set from a book club called One Spirit if anyone is interested in buying them. try onespirit.com or do a search on book clubs. you can probably get them in the intro pack and pay a dollar for them or something. The book club is pretty easy to maintain, you can reply online to the offers and only need to get 4 more in three years. and there are tons of good books to tempt you into fulfilling your commitment!
Ravyn
Thanks for your comments Brummie, SixofNine, and Ravyn...
There is a paragraph preceding the first quote from Rumi that I posted. It is in a section entitled Wished-For Song:
Secret Practices
ON SECRECY
The egg is Rumi's image for the private place where
each individual globe of soul fruit becomes elaborately
unique. Incubation in secret practices produces the
lovely differences. Out of one leathery egg, a sparrow,
out of a similar one, a snake. Transformations that
happen on retreat, the forty day chilla , are comparable
to the changes that come during nine months in a human
womb. Meditation, or any solitary practice (a walk before
dawn, a poem every morning, sitting on the roof at sunset),
gives depth and expands the soul's action.
A man in prison...
I think your explainations were interesting Brummie & Robdar. I am struggling through this and I appreciate everyone's viewpoints on this.
Yes, Ravyn, I ordered the set from One Spirit too...only one more book to order and I've fulfilled my commitment! I've also "picked at" these books...
Well, just be sure to keep an open mind to the idea that not everything...is going to be wise, deep, or helpful
SixofNine, I will keep that in mind. Your post reminded me of something I read in the Bardo Thodol:
Before his (outer) breath ceases, you should repeat this
in his ear many times, in order to plant it firmly in his
mind. Then when the outer breath is just at the point of
stopping, place him in the lion posture, his right side on
the ground, and squeeze the pulsing waves in the blood vessels
(of the neck). Press them strongly, cutting off pulsation
in the two sleep channels (in the neck). Then the winds
will enter the central channel and will not be able to
reverse, and his soul will definitely exit up the path of
the Brahma-hole.
I was disturbed by this because it seems to be describing strangulation...I can't see the helpfulness/wisdom in this passage. But what do I know?
other cultures, especially older ones, did not feel the same way about death as we do today. most ancient spiritualities saw death as merely a necessary doorway to the next life. today we are obsessed with life and death and we try to make generalizations and laws for everyone when the old ones knew it was an individual circumstance. what that is describing is a death ritual that was performed on someone who was at death's portal with no hope of coming back into this life. It was meant to direct the spirit or soul of that one in the right direction. the breath has always been significant of a person's soul and therefore they were very conscious of the responsibilities of the still living to help those dying to pass correctly. today we would call it murder or euthanasia, but then it was considered taking the inevitable and controlling it. I think we have lost much in our modern society of the spiritual practices and replaced them with fear and superstition. personally I want to have control over how and when I die. I fear lack of control more than death.
Ravyn
