Description:
Quatrains from Rumi's divine table for nourishing the heart & soul of humanity.
Brief description: Rumi (1207-1273). His full name is Mevlânâ Celâleddîn Muhammed Rumi [Turkish], or Master Jalal of Rum. The Islamic world knows him as Mowlānā [Our Master]. The West knows him as Rumi. His poetry is beautiful and inspired, reaching the pinnacle of the rich Persian poetic tradition. But, to call him a great poet is an unfortunate understatement, Of far more import, perhaps no other human has ever lived who, through his own words, has given us such a clear view into the journey of a mystic on the road to Absence, to the Divinity, to Nothingness. Rumi was born in present-day Afghanistan in 1207 and lived most of his life in Konya, Turkey, where he died in1273. He was a Muslim scholar, well-respected in his community by those from all walks of life, including imams, priests and rabbis, beggars and Seljuk royalty. Now, 800 years later, mankind is still being blessed with the vastness of his wisdom.
Review Quotes:
This volume is the first of four compiling Rumi's complete quatrains (or rubais) in English for the first time as translated by Nevit O. Ergin (1928-2015), the original translator of Rumi's complete Divan-i Kebir in 22 volumes.
Ergin's Rubáiyát, compiled and edited by Millicent Alexander with Shahzad Mazhar, is invitingly direct in its language, making it edifying for browsers and completionists alike.... Ergin translated from Turkish to English, though Rumi wrote in medieval Farsi; Alexander makes the case that each of Ergin's quatrains is "matched in its essence" by Rumi's original... Ergin's verses still pulse with Rumi's passion and genius.
Takeaway: English translation of the complete quatrains of Rumi abounds in ecstasy and mystery.
BOOKLIFE
Even before opening Volume 1 of The Rubaiyat of Rumi, as it rested in my hands, I sensed an unusual heft to this book.
Nevit Ergin's translations of Rumi's quatrains have a sweetness that cuts to one's core. Love is not what we Westerners have been led to believe. Ergin's Rumi shows us the fruitlessness of seeking comfort and inspiration while yet clinging to our earthly Selves.
This Rumi quenches our thirst with fire rather than the water we hope for and expect from "spiritual" poetry We are meant to be demolished by these tiny gems. If you seek a spiritual path that pulls no punches, invest in these four volumes, companions for a lifetime.
MARY BOND