Rumi Poem - Who Am I

[Adrian]

As we mentioned Sufism in another topic, I would like share this poem by Rumi who asks a question that many may ask - Who Am I?

I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem.

I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea;
I am not of Nature's mint, nor of the circling heavens.

I am not of earth, nor of water, nor of air, nor of fire;
I am not of the empyrean, nor of the dust, nor of existence, nor of entity.

I am not of India, nor of China, nor of Bulgaria, nor of Saqsín;
I am not of the kingdom of Irãqain, nor of the country of Khorãsãn.

I am not of this world, nor of the next, nor of Paradise, nor of Hell;
I am not of Adam, nor of Eve, nor of Eden and Rizwãn.

My place is the Placeless, my trace is the Traceless;
'Tis neither body nor soul, for I belong to the soul of the Beloved.

I have put duality away, I have seen that the two worlds are one;
One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I call.

He is the first, He is the last, He is the outward, He is the inward;
I know none other except "O He who is"

I am intoxicated with Love's cup, the two worlds have passed out of my ken;
I have no business save carouse and revelry.

If once in my life I spent a moment without thee,
From that time and from that hour I repent of my life.

If once in this world I win a moment with thee,
I will trample on both worlds, I will dance in triumph for ever.

O Shamsi Tabríz, I am so drunken in this world,
That except of drunkenness and revelry I have no tale to tell.

~ Rumi

[tides2dust]

Rumi is great. I just listened to this by Gurunath- what do you think?

"Yogiraj reveals that the state of Asmita-Samadhi, in which a Yogi experiences oneness with all of Nature and Creation, is not the final state of enlightenment. Rather, it is a stage that the Yogi must pass through before reaching the ultimate Reality."
https://youtu.be/iX0ol32rA8M?si=HxT3btCeKNvrZ5a0

I think there are distinctions even when defining God. He has me questioning the unmanifest Absolute.

To think, there is so much intelligence- even in the form of deity, for us to experience- and more- there is a Lord of Gods, greater than personal deity- greater than creation.

I think my understanding is still elementary- I sometimes think Earth is an indicator of the "grade" or "gradient" we find ourselves. A school house. In duality I find a yearning for liberation- at other times, I experience true peace with all that is.

That peace for me is short lived, realizing I have work to do in order to create the desired life. In most cases, it is simply becoming aware. And before the unmanifest Absolute, I am still happy with exploring all of what personal deity and creation have to offer. For this reason I also embrace the idea of, "Eternal Career" believing there are worlds beyond this- intelligence greater than ours, and are realities we are destined to experience. I do believe we may even come face to face with personal deity, that which is responsible for the act of creation- and even after, continue on in ever evolving spiritual realities.