October 20, 2013
I hope, too, that you will hear these words within your hearts, for that would be profitable. But if a thousand thieves come from outside, they cannot open the door without some fellow-thief inside who can unlock that door. Speak a thousand words from the outside, still, so long as there is none to answer from within, the door never opens. So too with a tree—as long as there is no moist thirst in its roots, even if you poured a thousand torrents of water over it, it would accomplish nothing. First there must be a thirst in its roots for the water to nourish it. Although the whole world is ablaze with the sun’s light, unless there is that spark of light within the eye, no one can behold that light. The root of the matter is the receptiveness within Soul.
Soul is one thing and spirit is another. Don’t you see during sleep how Soul travels abroad? Spirit remains in the body, keeping it alive, but Soul wanders and is transformed. When Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “One who knows one’s own self knows one’s Lord,” he was speaking of knowing Soul.
If we say that he was speaking of this soul or that soul, that is something very different. On the other hand, if we explain it as meaning Soul, Itself, the listener may still think we mean one soul, since they do not yet know Soul Itself. Mere words cannot convey this spiritual understanding. Words only reveal what the heart has an ear to hear.
(adapted from A.J. Arberry’s translation of Fihi Ma Fihi
by Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi, p. 105 - 106)
***
When we encounter the words of Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi, or anyone who speaks words of Truth, do we embrace such within the heart? (Note: not with the heart, but within the heart.) Even the most vast and understanding mind has limitations, yet Truth is not confined to limitations -- even if portions of its light reflect upon the space within such limitations. There is more beyond such limitations if we sincerely wish to realize the fullness of Truth. To do so requires that we listen within the heart, not just with the mind. A key to listening within the heart is being aware of “the receptiveness within Soul” that already abides within us.
Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi and other knowing Souls would not speak the words they speak if there wasn’t something within us that is there to listen. That inside the door to our “self,” there is something listening, thirsting for that which nourishes the roots of our essence. A hunger from our innermost being that illuminated Souls shower with the waters of Love. But if we are not cognizant of that thirst within our roots, can we receive these precious waters and the blessings they behold?
The Soul, the heart: these are portents of language that can only attempt to convey what they really are. The instant we start to define these, the limitations of our minds become a factor because, for most of us, we seek to understand things within the mind. Usually this means trying to fit whatever is being defined within the limitations of our minds, even if such is or extends beyond our present mental limitations. But sometimes wise ones offer us metaphoric descriptions, something that offers a direction to turn toward even if we won’t fully understand. The key is not so much understanding, because life rarely fits within the limitations of our minds; openness and receptiveness are more “profitable,” as the above message states.
If we are at least aware that the Soul and the heart are indications speaking to that which lays at our innermost being, we can turn there to allow this innermost being to receive messages of Truth. This will not only nurture that innate thirst but also start to reveal that innermost place that is receiving the waters. It may not seem logical and clear to the mind, but to the extent that we can restrain and quiet the mind to allow this to happen, we may see that beyond the surface of the (mental) concepts of the words there is another language, another knowing being spoken from heart to heart. That the above words of Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi are but a veil covering a more subtle message from his awakened heart that effortlessly pours into the hearts of those who are receptive to this transmission within one’s own heart. Such receptivity opens to the realization the prophet Muhammad spoke to when he said: “One who knows one’s own self knows one’s Lord.” When we come to rest in knowing the Beloved, the Omniscient, the knowing of everything is made available to us.
“Mere words cannot convey this spiritual understanding. Words only reveal what the heart has an ear to hear.” Are you willing to listen to these words within your heart? That the Soul may be revealed to you, the fullness of the Beloved made evident? That you may no longer be constricted to the limitations of your own mind, but instead can bask in the endlessness of Love and Truth -- even within the apparent limitations of this earthly life...
