Rubais to commemorate Shebi Aruz
Mevlana is a simple and pious man, a mystic, and more.
Mevlana is a poet, a scholar, and yet beyond both.
Mevlana is a Muslim, Christian and Jew, yet he is beyond all religions.
Mevlana is a Turk, a Persian, and an Afghan, yet he is beyond all nationalities.
Mevlana is not the visible dust, he is the invisible wind.
He is not the slave of Existence, but the Sultan of Absence.
He is the last hope for humanity.
———————–
They appraised my head, my turban, and my robe.
They didn’t give even a penny.
Haven’t you heard my name in Universe?
I am Nothing, Nothing, Nothing.
دستارم و جبه و سرم هر سه به هم
قیمت کردند به یک درم چیزی کم
نشنیدستی تو نام من در عالم
من هیچکسم هیچکسم هیچکسم
За изношеный шарф и пальто
Ни гроша не заплатит никто.
Да, гремит моё имя по миру:
Я – Никто, я – Никто, я – Никто!
Zij waarderden mijn hoofd, mijn tulband en mijn gewaad.
Maar zij gaven mij nog geen stuiver.
Heb jij mijn naam niet horen roepen in dit Universum?
Ik ben Niets, Niets, Niets!
Sarığıma, cübbeme, başıma değer biçtiler.
“Bir kuruş bile etmez” dediler.
Sen benim adımı dünyada hiç duymadın mı?
“Ben bir hiçim, hiçim, hiç…”
M, 162-198, 1284, 1421
———————–
O one, who lives everyday’s life,
Shame on you! Why do you live like this?
Don’t live without the Love that you won’t die for.
Die for that Love, so that you can become immortal.
ای آنکه به جان این جهانی زنده
شرمت بادا چرا چنانی زنده
بیعشق مباش تا نباشی مرده
در عشق بمیر تا بمانی زنده
O betrokkende, die een alledaags leven leidt.
Je moet je schamen, waarom leef je zo!
Leef niet zonder de Liefde waarvoor je niet wilt sterven,
Sterf voor die Liefde en word onsterfelijk.
Ey günlük hayatı yaşayan kişi, sana yazıklar olsun!
Neden böyle yaşıyorsun?
Uğruna ölemeyeceğin Aşk olmadan yaşama. O Aşk için öl ve ebedi ol.
H, 181-9, 1608, 1793
———————–
There is neither question nor answer on the way to Love,
Only a mystery.
The lover never answers to the Fatwa.
This is a matter of Absence, not existence.
نيست دعوى او در و عشق ره سريست
نيست معنى بجز او صفات که زيرا
نيست فتوى از جواب را عاشق مر
نيست ازهستى نستيست مسئله اين
Ступив на путь Любви, не спрашивай, профан,
Нет, не наставят нас ни фетва, ни фирман!
В мистериях Любви одно усвой навек:
Забвенье – Истина, а знание – обман.
Er bestaat geen vraag noch antwoord op de weg naar Liefde.
Alleen een groot mysterie.
De minnaar houdt zich niet aan de religieuze wetten.
Dit is een kwestie van Afwezigheid, niet van existentie.
Aşk yolunda ne soru, ne de cevap vardır.
Sadece gizem vardır.
Aşık, fetvaya hiçbir zaman cevap vermez.
Bu konu yokluk meselesidir, varlık meselesi değildir.
T, 61-275, 391, 409
Additional Translations by: Murtazali Dugrichilov, Sergey Sechiv and Frederick Schaedtler
Everything I know, I have Learned From a Mermaid by Nevit Ergin
I first noticed that the distance between two points was getting longer and the mirrors that used to smile at me all those years were not friendly anymore.
Yet I was taking my daily vitamins, exercising regularly, watching my weight. My
Gospel without Apostle by Nevit Ergin
I woke up to the sound of a vacuum cleaner. It was five in the morning. I dashed out of my room, it was the Colonel vacuuming the living room.
“What’s going on,” I asked. He noticed my annoyance.
“The Commander is coming at 4 this afternoon. I’m getting ready for his inspection.” His voice
Hole in the Wall by Nevit Ergin
Once more I walked through the corridors of this old stone building late at night, turning the lights off and closing the doors of every meeting hall in the temple. The sounds of my footsteps were buried in the depths of the thick carpets as my shadow accompanied me silently.
I have done this since early childhood, when my father was alive and the caretaker. He was… Continue reading
Tales of a Modern Sufi: Short Stories By Nevit Ergin
To commemorate the release of Nevit Ergin’s latest book, “Tales of a Modern Sufi”, here is a recently written short story. The stories in “Tales…” range in tone and setting, but this might give you an idea of their feeling. Here is a link to the book’s listing on amazon.com: Tales of a Modern Sufi: The Invisible Fence of Reality and Other Stories by Nevit Ergin
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“Prey for Serenity”… Continue reading
13 Century Asia Minor
Crazy As We Are
Mevlana Celaleddin (Cela) Rumi is one of the greatest mystics of all time-bigger then life, yet close to humanity, and able to dissolve all religious and racial boundaries.
Mevlana lived in Asia Minor in the 13th century. All of his earthly beginnings are surrounded by controversy, including date of birth. The historian Eflaki puts… Continue reading
Poetry of Rumi a Unifying Force of Civilizations
24 April 2008
Dr. Nevit Ergin reads from his translation of Rumi’s poetry. (Hemant Bhatnagar)
Dr. Nevit Ergin, a Turkish-American surgeon based in San Mateo, California, and translator of Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Balkhi Rumi’s narrative poetry, visited India in connection with the 800th anniversary of the birth of the Persian poet. Though Ergin is a surgeon by… Continue reading
Sufi Poet and Mystic Rumi Remains Compelling to American Readers
Sufi Poet and Mystic Rumi Remains Compelling to American Readers
22 October 2007
Sufi Poet and Mystic Rumi Remains Compelling to American Readers
UNESCO designates 2007 as International Year of Rumi
Washington — Ask Americans who is the most popular poet in the country today, and they might guess Walt Whitman or Robert Frost.
Many might be… Continue reading
New rubais for the New Year
How to Identify a First Edition Book
First Edition Books are sought after items for any collector, but how do you identify a first edition book?
What is an Edition?
- an edition represents all printings of the book with one typeset and with no significant alterations between those printings.
What is a Printing?
- this is a single batch Printing of an edition. For example…
…if the publisher’s first print run of a book is 50,000 copies then that’s the 1st… Continue reading
