I got introduced with Rumi while reading “The forty rules of love” by Elif Shafak in 2017. Since then I became a big fan of Rumi’s poetry. I also became interested in Sufi and Sufism after reading Rumi’s biography, and I must say I'm really impressed by Sufism and have a very open mind about Sufism now and ever.

Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, an Islamic dervish and a Sufi mystic. With the name Rumi, the first word that comes to mind is LOVE. And when I say LOVE, I am referring to that pure, truthful and precious love we all seek for; Love that can be found at the core of each of every one of us; and Love that we will hopefully be able to feel more of after reading these beautiful verses.

So, here are my favorite verses from the essential-

“Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon; How much it can fill your room depends on its windows.”

“God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites so that you will have two wings to fly, not one”

“Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absentminded. Someone sober will worry about things going badly. Let the lover be. ”

“Whoever’s calm and sensible is insane!”

“Gamble everything for love, if you are a true human being. If not, leave this gathering. Half-heartedness doesn’t reach into majesty.”

“When someone is counting out gold for you, don’t look at your hands, or the gold. Look at the giver.”

“Your boundaries are your quest.”

“The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.”

“This is a subtle truth.
Whatever you love, you are.”

“A lover has four streams inside, of water, wine, honey, and milk. Find those in yourself, and pay no attention what so-and-so says about such-and-such. The rose does not care if someone calls it a thorn, or a jasmine. Ordinary eyes categorize human beings, That one is a Zoroastrian. This one, Muslim. Walk instead with the other vision given you, your first eyes.”

“Don’t complain about autumn. Walk with grief like a good friend. Listen to what he says. Sometimes the cold and dark of a cave give the opening we most want.”

“I will be waiting here….
For your silence to break,
For your soul to shake,
For your love to wake!”

This book has treasures in it, I’m telling you!