Author: Kamla K. Kapur
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 158
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9780143067542
Description
‘What is Sufism? To feel joy in the heart at the coming of sorrow.’
More than eight hundred years on, Rumi’s stories about the human spirit continue to captivate us.
The difficulty of escaping the many deceptions of the world, the inevitability of death and the all-forgiving power of love are just some of the themes that fascinated this great Sufi mystic, whose works are among the greatest treasures of Persian literature.
Contemporary and accessible, this collection of thirty stories from the Mathnawi reflects both Rumi’s relevance to the modern world and the essence of his vision.
Including delightful tales like ‘The Witch of Kabul’, ‘The Cup of Praise’ and ‘Bayazid’s Holy Body’, as well as a lucid introduction to Rumi’s life and thought by Kapur, this book will lead the twenty-first century reader on a journey of spiritual quests, humorous jaunts and insights into the human heart.
Contents
Preface
Surrender to God’s will
1. The Worth of a Pearl
2. And this Belongs to …
3. The witch of Kabul
Embrace Suffering
4. You Never know why
5. Pilgrimage to Paradise
6. The Gift
7. Taming the Tiger
Pray
8. The Cup of Praise
9. Moses Learns a Lesson
10. The Jug of water
11. The Dark Flower of Justice
Be Content
12. The All – Knowing Rooster
13. Bones
14. Og, the Hungry Giant
15. The Sweetness of Bitter Melons
Trust Spiritual Masters
16. Hop up on my Hump
17. I am a mirror
18. The House of God
19. Bayazid’s Holy Body
Tame Your Ego
20. Nouns and Verbs
21. The Company You Keep
22. A Dead Ass
23. The Dangers of Imitation
24. Spend! Spend! Spend!
Be Humble
25. The Roar in the Mirror
26. Ayaz’s Secret Treasure
27. The Root to Treasure
Befriend Death
28. Wings of the Wind
29. The Prison and the Rose Garden
30. The Eye of the Heart
31. Sources
32. Acknowledgements