The Rumi Collection: An Anthology of Translations of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A rich introduction to the work of Rumi by the foremost scholar on the great mystical poet, featuring leading literary translations of his verse by Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Andrew Harvey, Kabir Helminski, Camille Helminski, Daniel Liebert, and Peter Lamborn Wilson. Rumi's poems are beloved for their touching perceptions of humanity and the Divine. To display the major themes of Rumi's work, each of the eighteen chapters in this anthology are arranged topically, such as "The Inner Work," "The Ego Animal," "Passion for God," "Praise," and "Purity," uncovering a deep and timeless understanding of Sufism and mysticism. Also included is a biography of Rumi by Andrew Harvey and an introductory essay by Kabir Helminski on the art of translating Rumi's work into English. "The Spiritual Surgeon" Can the water of a polluted stream Wash away the dirt Can human knowledge sweep away The ignorance of the sensual self How does a sword fashion its own hilt Go, entrust your wound to a surgeon, For flies will gather around the wound Until it can't be seen. These are your selfish thoughts And all you dream of owning. The wound is your own dark hole. Mathnawi I, 3221-3224 (translated by Kabir Helminski and Camille Helminski)

Author Bio

JALALUDDIN RUMI (1207-1273) was not only a poet, mystic, and the founder of a Sufi order, he was a man of profound insight into the nature of human existence and possibly the greatest mystical poet of any age. KABIR HELMINSKI is the author of Living Presence- A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the Essential Self, as well as the translator of numerous books of Sufi literature and especially Rumi. He is the codirector, with his wife, Camille Helminski, of the Threshold Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge and practice of Sufism. As the publisher of Threshold Books for some twenty years, he was largely responsible for making Rumi the most widely read poet of our time.