The Rubaiyat Of Rumi The Ergin Translations

The first English translation of the rubais of Rumi • Presents 233 of the most evocative of Rumi’s 1,700 rubais • Shows that the mystical embrace is the way to directly experience the Divine Rumi is well known for the over 44,000 verses that appear in a 23-volume collection called the Divan-i Kebir. Yet Rumi also composed 1,700 rubais, short aphorisms and observations, whose depth and message belie their brevity. The form of rubais first became well known through the 11th-century collection The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. But unlike Khayyam, who like most poets would sit and carefully craft each word, Rumi would compose and speak his poems through the spontaneous “language of poetry” that poured from his lips as he traveled the streets of Konya, Anatolia (present-day Turkey). Very few of Rumi’s rubais have been translated into any of the languages of the contemporary Western world. Now, Nevit O. Ergin, the translator of the complete Divan-i Kebir, and Will Johnson present here 233 of the most evocative of Rumi’s 1,700 rubais. Rumi’s poetry expresses profound and complex truths in beautiful yet simple language. He reveals that by going deep into the interior of our heart and soul, we can arrive at a place in which we once again merge and connect with the divine. This mystical quest, Rumi contends, is the birthright of us all. Anything less than a complete dissolving into the world of divine union will not provide the satisfaction and peace that we all seek. The simple, yet profound spiritual truths and visions contained in The Rubais of Rumi lead the way to the path of reconnection to the direct energies of God.

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the wodd. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." -Rumi Rumi, born in 1207, is often compared to Shakespeare for his outpouring of creativity. Today he is recognized not only as a great saint but also as one of the world's great poets and his work are recited, chanted, set to music, and is used as inspiration for novels, poems, music, and films. Rumi's ecstatic poems have sold millions of copies in recent years, making him the most popular and the best-selling poet in America. Globally, his fans are legion. From existential angst to love, sex, and loneliness; from belonging at physical and spiritual levels to morality and religion; contradictory human emotions and impulses-no stone is unturned in Rumi's poetry. Of course, part of his popularity comes down to the quality of his work. His poems are beautifully structured and incredibly well composed: compacting multi-layered ideas and often interpreting the complexities of the world in a form of poetry. Equally important is his universal message, which transcends time and culture. The transformative moment in Rumi's life came in 1244, when he met a wandering mystic known as Shams of Tabriz. Their vital connection as teacher and pupil, friend and beloved, is one of the world's greatest spiritual love stories. Remembering his first encounter with the man, Rumi wrote, "What I thought of before as God, I met today in a human being." When Shams disappeared, Rumi coped with the pain of separation by composing joyous poems of reunion, both human and divine. He wrote three thousand love songs and two thousand rubaiyat (four-line quatrains). He also wrote in couplets a six-volume spiritual epic, The Masnavi. The present book is motivated by a love for Rumi as philosopher and poet and the scarcity of direct translation of his poems to English poems by a Persian native. Of course, there are already some excellent books, which are well known and well written. However, most of them are not poem-to-poem translations to an everyday English.

The first English translation of the rubais of Rumi • Presents 233 of the most evocative of Rumi’s 1,700 rubais • Shows that the mystical embrace is the way to directly experience the Divine Rumi is well known for the over 44,000 verses that appear in a 23-volume collection called the Divan-i Kebir. Yet Rumi also composed 1,700 rubais, short aphorisms and observations, whose depth and message belie their brevity. The form of rubais first became well known through the 11th-century collection The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. But unlike Khayyam, who like most poets would sit and carefully craft each word, Rumi would compose and speak his poems through the spontaneous “language of poetry” that poured from his lips as he traveled the streets of Konya, Anatolia (present-day Turkey). Very few of Rumi’s rubais have been translated into any of the languages of the contemporary Western world. Now, Nevit O. Ergin, the translator of the complete Divan-i Kebir, and Will Johnson present here 233 of the most evocative of Rumi’s 1,700 rubais. Rumi’s poetry expresses profound and complex truths in beautiful yet simple language. He reveals that by going deep into the interior of our heart and soul, we can arrive at a place in which we once again merge and connect with the divine. This mystical quest, Rumi contends, is the birthright of us all. Anything less than a complete dissolving into the world of divine union will not provide the satisfaction and peace that we all seek. The simple, yet profound spiritual truths and visions contained in The Rubais of Rumi lead the way to the path of reconnection to the direct energies of God.

This book, written by a team of experts from many countries, provides a comprehensive account of the ways in which translation has brought the major literature of the world into English-speaking culture. Part I discusses theoretical issues and gives an overview of the history of translation into English. Part II, the bulk of the work, arranged by language of origin, offers critical discussions, with bibliographies, of the translation history of specific texts (e.g. the Koran, the Kalevala), authors (e.g. Lucretius, Dostoevsky), genres (e.g. Chinese poetry, twentieth-century Italian prose) and national literatures (e.g. Hungarian, Afrikaans).

Rumi (1207-1273) is one of the most influential Sufi saints, universal thinkers, spiritual masters, and mystic poets of all times. His message is universal, and his call is for the whole of humanity. Today, in our world, which has turned into a global village, problems such as conflicts, wars, crimes, epidemics have also become global. Moreover, they had more severe and quick effects at national and international levels. Rumi's timeless wisdom can guide us in this challenging time's individual, social, and global contexts. We should not forget that as the family of humanity, we are organs of one single body and passengers on the same vessel. If any organ of humanity is hurt or a part of the vessel is damaged, the results will affect all of us. Therefore we can provide efficient service both to humanity and to the society in which we grew up by pursuing and internalizing the wisdom of Rumi, which will be the cement of unity among differences. If you are also searching for something, you will undoubtedly find what you are looking for, as announced by that great guide. So, how about turning a page of his work on love right now? Welcome to all, to the eternal world of the pearls of wisdom of this great guide.

"This volume of translations of another of the major figures of Persian poetry brings the same qualities of poetic skill and scholarly precision to the task. It traces the changing and sometimes challenging relationship between the scholarly Rumi and the unpredictable dervish Shams, who suddenly appeared in his life, and through it the deepening of Rumi's experience of love and his insight into mysticism. We also get occasional glimpses of Rumi the man and a sense of the times in which he lived. While there exist a number of translations of Rumi's Divan this one manages to create memorable poetry in English while remaining true to the original. There are detailed notes on the poems and a ground-breaking discussion of text and context"--

A collection of 128 previously untranslated quatrains from the 13th century scholar and mystic poet, Rumi. Ergin's translations are fresh and highly sensitive, taken directly from Farsi, the language in which Rumi wrote. An important addition to any poetry collection.