Ever heard of Rumi? I hadn't either until a good friend gave me a great book titled The Essential Rumi. Embarassingly, my college epiphanies (typically reserved for parties, girls, friends and finance) failed to include Rumi - one of the greatest poets that ever lived.
Before you read on, you may wish to browse his Wiki bio - but here are the basics:
-He lived in the 1200s (specifically, 1207-1273)
-He was born in modern-day Afghanistan (Persian rule at the time)
-He spoke and wrote in Persian
-He's considered a mystic, Sufi poet (specifically the Mevlevi order he founded)
-His best friend was named Shams (Shams was from Tabriz, Iran)
-Despite his roots, his influence far transcends national and ethnic borders
-He looked something like this:
"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."
"You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?"
And (my favorite):
"People want you to be happy. Don't keep serving them your pain! If you could untie your wings and free your soul of jealousy, you and everyone around you would fly up like doves."
"هر روز نو جامی دهد، تسکین و آرامی دهد هر روز پیغامی دهد، این عشق چون پیغمبرم"
Rumi changed the world - how many people can say that with conviction? How many people can you say that about with conviction? He's also been described as "the most popular poet in America" according the the BBC (and others).
Credibility aside, I'd like to highlight Rumi's affinity for emptiness. Why? If you're in a meditative, introspective, reflective state of mind or mood, some Rumi poetry and a comfy couch just might be the perfect cocktail.
Rumi's thought and poetry reveal a basic Sufi dynamic: union with his beloved from whom (or which) he has been cut off, and his longing to restore it. It's all about a mystical journey in which the individual soul grows through love, abandons the ego, finds truth, and arrives at Perfection.
The soul then returns from the spiritual journey with deeper maturity and love for creation to service humanity unconditionally. Now that's deep.
So where does emptiness come into play? Rumi loved emptiness, and the void. It's tough to describe why exactly, but he essentially perceived emptiness as pure, untainted and ripe for truth. A virgin void, if you will. Many of Rumi's revelation's on this topic (and others) derive from extensive use of metaphor, specifically nature and the night.
Rumi's knack for metaphor and simple expression of complex issues has cemented him in the halls of fame for all those who challenge themselves spiritually.
