Reading through your novels, one finds a strong influence of Sufism. Is there a particular Sufi that influenced your life, and whose influence was reflected in your works?
Indeed, Sufism has inspired me a lot throughout my life and I refer to this tradition in some of my books such as The Alchemist and more recently The Zahir.
Rumi is of course the first figure that springs to mind. His teachings and visions are incredibly subtle and clear.
Another figure that I am very fond of is Mulla Nasrudin (aka Nasr Eddin Hodja). I really enjoy how he managed to get to the core of things with such irreverence and simplicity. The path of wisdom too often appear as foolishness to the world.
Oh dearest Thelma, thank you for that quote. It is so beautiful and true it brought me tears as I read it.
Love & gratitude,
Anca
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Seema
Thank you for that information.
Love
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Dear Marie-Christine,
Nice excerpt you posted from Wikipedia about Rumi. Shirdi Sai Baba is also much the same….
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Dear Savita,nice story.The samurai was not quite ready…need more self-control .
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I think of Rumi almost daily. Today I found myself thinking of “Another Invitation”
My mouth, my entire body, laughs.
A rose is all rose.
My loving is here with you.
You come before dawn with torch
and take me, but my soul remains
back there alone.
Issue another invitation.
Do not ask for one without the other.
If you do not go tonight
and bring my soul to me,
I will become a loud, disruptive noise,
and I will not be making it alone.
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I have read almost all of ur books available in english in matter of just few months, i started with alchemist and though i intended reading it since long time back ,but it arrived in my life once it was most needed and now i try to read what so ever u write and can be available to me .
i am muslim by faith and what surprises me that u almost say every thing which is essence of islam if it is seen impartially .you talked about sufism and named few like romi and mulla nasuridin but thier are countless sufi tradations in islam and thier message is almost same what all u preach . particullarly in indain subcontinenet thier are many sufi which have preached all this centuries back to name few hazrat data gunj buksh, moin ud din chisti, shamas taberaiz,sultan bahu and many more . the only thing that thier teachings and written books somehow remained confined to certain particular areas and couldnot reach out of asia …special shamas taberaiz is the one whom rumi acknowledged that shamas begins where i finish..i wish u somehow get to know about these people …and more over i just wanted to ask how deeply and imparially u have able to see through religion islam and whats your views about it…..thanks
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Oh dearest Thelma, thank you for that quote. It is so beautiful and true it brought me tears as I read it.
Love & gratitude,
Anca
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I don`t know much about sufism
but I absolutley love the idea about
simple living, loving
- and wisdom*
Thank you for the comment Thelma!
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“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Rumi.
I have just found it in the Google! It descibes so vividly our .. Walls. May we all find the way to .. demolish them.
LOVE,
Thelma.
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Don Paulo;
El siguiente escrito del Maestro Jelaluddin Rumi, es la perfeccion en Palabras para explicar a Dios…y Encontrarlo…
¨Trate de encontrarle en la cruz de los cristianos, pero El no estaba alli; fui al Templo de los Hindus y a las viejas pagodas,pero no encontre ni rastro de El en ninguna parte.
Busque en las montañas y en los valles pero ni en las alturas ni en las profundidades fui capaz de encontrarle.
Fui a la Caaba en la Meca, pero tampoco estaba alli.
Pregunte a los eruditos y filosofos, pero El estaba mas alla de su conocimiento.
Luego mire en mi corazon y fue alli, donde El vivia, donde le vi.
No se le puede encontrar en ningun otro lugar.”
Jelaluddin Rumi, poeta mistico
Maestro Espiritual de la Orden Mevlevi
Maravilloso, Unico, Verdad!
Quiero compartirlo con Todos…
Atentamente
Mauro
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There is something truly wonderful about the sort of wisdom that cuts through the high-mindedness and self-righteous inclinations of religious teachings - wisdom that cuts like a blade, right to the heart of the matter, that gives the seeker no other option but to drop the ego right then and there and see the point. The stories of Nasreddin remind me of another tradition, that of the Zen masters and the koans they offered to bring instant enlightenment to their disciples. Sometimes this was a slap on the head, sometimes a verbal insult. Whatever the form the koan took, it was meant to shock the student into an immediate understanding, beyond the grasp of the rational intellect. Here is one that I like very much:
THE GATES OF PARADISE
A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin, and asked: “Is there really a paradise and a hell?”
“Who are you?” inquired Hakuin.
“I am a samurai,” the warrior replied.
“You, a soldier!” exclaimed Hakuin. “What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar.”
Nobushige became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued: “So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably much too dull to cut off my head.”
As Nobushige drew his sword Hakuin remarked: “Here open the gates of hell!”
At these words the samurai, perceiving the master’s discipline, sheathed his sword and bowed.
“Here open the gates of paradise,” said Hakuin.
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“The path of wisdom too often appear as foolishness to the world.” You just uplifted my day with this quote! THANK YOU!
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Aha.Did not know that Nasrudin was Sufi.In my language he is called Nastratin hogea.Quite same.I was reading his stories while I was nine,or ten.I laughed a lot, he always found the best solutions to solve difficult situations.About Rumi I hear now first time,but maybe is only a different spelling,and in fact I know him.Thanks for sharing your ideas
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Excerpts from the Wikepedia
“According to S. Shivi, one reason for Rumi’s popularity is that :
Rumi is able to verbalise the highly personal and often confusing world of personal/spiritual growth and myticism in a very forward and direct fashion.
He does not offend anyone and he includes everyone.
The world of Rumi is neither exclusively the world of a Sufi not the world of a Hindu, nor a Jew nor a Christian; it is the highest state of a human being - a fully evolved human -
A complete human is not bound by cultural limitations, he touches everyone of us.
Rumi’s poems can be heard in churches, synagogues, Zen monasteries, as well as in downtown New York Art/performance/music scenes.”
Rumi’s poem
I died as a mineral and became a plant,
I died as plant and rose to animal,
I died as animal and I was Man.
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soar
With angels bless’d, but even from angelhood
I must pass on : all except God doth perish
When I have sacrificed my angel-soul.
I shall become what no mind e’er conceived.
Oh! Let me not exist! for Non-existence,
Proclaims in organ toes.
To Him we shall return.
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