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Translations
from Divan-e Shams
Beloved reached desired glow
And so we say, may it be so
All doubts towards faith did grow
And so we say, may it be so
The devil’s plot caused
perturbation
And the nation faced agitation;
Once again was Solomon’s nation
And so we say, may it be so
Beloved who put my heart in
pain
Closed doors on my face once again
Friends would console and entertain
And so we say, may it be so
You drank wine on your own
Lusted after all, alone
Now lead the drunk upon a throne
And so we say, may it be so
From your majestic bright
face
The flame lighting my place
Each corner, a well-lit space
And so we say, may it be so
From your fake anger and rage
And the sweet turning of the page
The world is a sugary stage
And so we say, may it be so
Night replaced by the morrow
Joy has conquered every sorrow
Sun light, pervasive and thorough
And so we say, may it be so
From mendicant generosity
And lovers’ pertinacity
Revival and vivacity
And so we say, may it be so
Celebrate this festivity
Restored to compatibility
Festivals abound in our city
And so we say, may it be so
O masterful wise minstrel
In the underworld do not dwell
Finally Venus in Libra fell
And so we say, may it be so
The mendicant reached kingly
might
In wealth attained unimagined height
Partaking of courtly delight
And so we say, may it be so
Consider the wind in the air
Sweet lips’ bewitching flair
Wailing windpipe will not spare
And so we say, may it be so
The Pharaoh with much
hardship
Misfortunes his life grip
Of suffering, Moses strip
And so we say, may it be so
Evil looking and ugly wolf
Drowned in ignorance’s deep gulf
By Joseph’s goodness now dwarf
And so we say, may it be so
O Shams-e Tabrizi, you
Compassionately blend and renew
East and west through and through
And so we say, may it be so
From submission to Satan’s
will
Your prophetic soul emerged through this
mill
Satan himself, God’s will fulfill
And so we say, may it be so
When the moon was shining its
light
Both worlds were garden of delight
All souls for home then took flight
And so we say, may it be so
The ignorant and the blind
With insight are now wise and kind
Surpass Jesus, put him behind
And so we say, may it be so
It was all for souls to grow
May it always have been so
Thy splendor brightly aglow
And so we say, may it be so
All thy wrath was thy mercy
Thy poison, sweet clemency
Like dark clouds’ sweet potency
And so we say, may it be so
In his temple, colors remain
Pulling by the horns will not disdain
When this bull’s blood floors stain
And so we say, may it be so
Silence! I am drunk, you know
My hands are tied in this earthly show
My disheveled mind moves to and fro
And so we say, may it be so
Ó Shahriar
Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
July 21, 1998
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Brief notes on Divan-e Shams
Divan-e Shams is a masterpiece of wisdom and
eloquence. It is often said that Rumi had
attained the level of a "Perfect Master" and as
such, he often dwelled in the spiritual realms
that were rarely visited by others of this
world. He attained heights that were attained by
only a few before him or since.
In Divan-e Shams, he has used many images from
the mundane world. Images such as the wine and
the wine bearer, the pearl and the ocean, the
sun and the moon, the night and day, the
caravan, pilgrimage and many more. However, he
has always expressed spiritual wisdom of the
highest level through this imagery.
While many other
poets have a mystical vision and then try to
express it in a graspable language, Rumi has
never attempted to bring his visions to the
level of the mundane. He has always expected,
nay, demanded the reader to reach higher and
higher in his or her own spiritual
understanding, and then perhaps be able to
appreciate what Rumi was saying.
Perhaps this is why there are many layers to his
poetry… not so much because of his writing, but
because of our understanding. As we transcend in
our understanding, we grasp more and more of
what he conveyed to us.
Yet there is more. While many of the
translations of Rumi’s poetry have tried to
convey the immense wisdom contained therein,
often they overlook the musical and artistic
beauty that they contain. Particularly in
Divan-e Shams, Rumi has created such level of
beauty through the use and mastery of musical
rhythm and rhyme, that the reader not only can
appreciate its wisdom, but also reach levels of
ecstasy and mystical energy that is seldom found
in other poems or any translations of his
poetry.
The mastery of rhyme and rhythm is such that he
often creates a new vocabulary, using the same
old words, yet creating new feelings that are
associated with them. Furthermore, often he has
such mastery of play on words and puns, or at
other times he uses the same word with a
different accent or vowel twice or even thrice
in the same verse, with a different meaning each
time. One cannot help but marvel at the
linguistic mastery he displays.
In any case, the end result is the same… the
experience of artistic beauty, musical genius,
rhythm and ecstatic energy, all in conjunction
with the mental understanding of the wisdom
conveyed. This is as close as one can get to the
mystical experience itself, without actually
being there with Rumi. In other words, His
presence pervades his poetry, and one cannot
help but be touched by such powerful and loving
presence.
In translation from Farsi to English, it is
inevitable that much of the intricacies are
lost. However, the present translations have
attempted to retain some of the rhythm and rhyme
as well as the imagery and the core message of
each poem, though often in feeble ways, only to
attempt to present a glimpse of his mastery.
The translations are far from creating the
ecstasy that Rumi creates and communicates, but
it is hoped that they will point the reader in
the same direction. And perhaps by using his or
her imagination, the reader can have a glimpse
of how Rumi would provide glimpses of ecstasy
and mystical experience. And hopefully this will
pave the way for the reader to connect with
Rumi’s all and ever-pervasive presence, and with
time, be touched by that spirit.
rumi, shams, divane
shams, rumionfire, molavi, molana, divane shams,
divan e shams
ديوان شعر
شمس، مولانا، مولوي، شمس تبريزي، مولوي، مولانا،
ديوان شعر، عرفان، عرفان ايران، شعر و عرفان
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