He who doesn’t care whether he earns more or less is at peace
Not bound by a name or fame
He is free from the sadness of this world
And most of all from himself.
—
Basketful of loaves of bread is on your head
And you beg for crumbs from door to door
Oh, man, go into your head and knock on your heart
Do not beg at every door
Don’t burden your spirit with cares of this body
—
Fear of death is but fear of meeting who we are
Without death life has no meaning
It will be a harvest left to rot
—
Your saying my name is my answer
Your longing for me is my message to you
All your attempts to reach me, are actually my attempts to reach you
Your venerations are your love, they are a noose in which I will be caught
The silence around every call “God” receives a thousand “I’m here” replies
—
Rumi said, “The beauty, wealth and fame are not rewards but trials.”
Strangely it may mean that beauty, wealth and fame that one has inherited and/or has acquired in this lifetime may lead to a stressful life ahead. These can become their greatest enemies as they attract all sorts of unwanted people to the person.
Traditionally we have believed that our good deeds from past bring rewards in the form of comforts in this lifetime. Having money, fame and beauty make life easier to live.
Swami Ramakrishna has described a little story – a crow picked up a frog from the earth and was flying high in the sky, and soon after he noticed that all the vultures nearby were coming towards him to attack him, realizing this he dropped the frog and all the vultures stopped chasing him and went down to get the frog.
Managing big money, fame, and beauty can be a big job and it takes away our freedom, but still, we don’t mind letting go of that freedom. It’s only later on, after we have acquired name and fame and money that we realize how badly we crave for anonymity, freedom, and inner peace. The new testament quotes Jesus as saying that “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
———
Image courtsey: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/rumi-an-architect-of-peace-in-anatolia-konya-governor-123838
