The Soul of Rumi: A New Collection of Ecstatic Poems

Front Cover
Harper Collins, Dec 14, 2010 - Poetry - 448 pages
The Soul of Rumi collects the poetry of the thirteenth century Persian mystic that explores the divine from the teachings of Sufism.

Rumi’s masterpieces have inspired countless people throughout the centuries, and Coleman Barks’s exquisite renderings are widely considered the definitive versions. His translations capture the inward exploration and intensity that characterize Rumi’s poetry, making this unique voice of mysticism and desire contemporary while remaining true to the original poems. In this volume readers will encounter the essence of Sufism’s insights into the experience of divine love, wisdom, and the nature of both humanity and God.

Rumi’s voice leaps off these pages with a rapturous power, expressing our deepest yearning for the transcendent connection with the source of the divine: there are passionate outbursts about the torment of longing for the beloved and the sweet delight that comes from union; stories of sexual adventures and of loss; poems of love and fury, sadness and joy; and quiet truths about the beauty and variety of human emotion. For Rumi, soul and body and emotion are not separate but are rather part of the great mystery of mortal life, a riddle whose solution is love. Above all else, Rumi’s poetry exposes us to the delight that comes from being fully alive, urging us always to put aside our fears and take the risk of discovering our core self.

Barks’s fresh, original translations magnificently convey Rumi’s insights into the human heart and its longings with his signature passion and daring, focusing on the ecstatic experience of the inseparability of human and divine love.
 

Contents

Introduction
3
Solomons Far Mosque
15
Inside This Ordinary Daylight
28
The Source of Dream Vision
37
The Inner Meaning of Religions
46
The Lighthearted Path
54
Waters Voice
61
Praise for EarlyWaking Grievers prelude 268 269
71
Being in Between Language and the Souls
151
Dissolving Beyond Doubt and Certainty
164
The Plural You
199
Clairvoyance Being Several Places at Once and the Rainpaths
206
Patience and Improvisation
212
As a Christian Disappears into Grace
225
The Hungry Animal and the Connoisseur
232
A Way of Leaving the World
243

Stay at the Flames Core
72
You Feel a River Moving in You
79
Work with the One Who Keeps Time
85
Peacefulness with Death
94
Diving into Qualities
101
The Way from Wanting to Longing
110
Exuberance That Informs and Streams Beyond
122
Spring Morning Listening
128
This Is Enough Was Always True
133
Chance Meetings Dignity and Purpose
144
How One Embodies the Collective
249
Introduction
258
Book IV
270
Solomons message back to Sheba a dervish tells his dream in the nighttalking
290
A Note on These Translations and on the Currency of Rumi
389
References
403
Index of Titles and First Lines
410
Contents of Book IV
422
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About the author (2010)

Coleman Barks is a renowned poet and the bestselling author of The Essential Rumi, Rumi: The Big Red Book, The Soul of Rumi, Rumi: The Book of Love, and The Drowned Book. He was prominently featured in both of Bill Moyers' PBS television series on poetry, The Language of Life and Fooling with Words. He taught English and poetry at the University of Georgia for thirty years, and he now focuses on writing, readings, and performances.

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