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A Brief Biography
Jalalud'din
Rumi is one of the world’s most revered mystical
poets. During his lifetime he produced a prolific range
of inspiring and devotional poetry which encapsulates
the sufi's experience of union with the divine. Although
Rumi was a Sufi and a great scholar of the Qu’ran
his appeal reaches across religious and social divisions.
The
most important turning point in Rumi’s life was
when he met the wandering dervish Shams al - Din. Shams
was eccentric and unorthodox, but was filled with heartfelt
devotion, that sometimes he couldn’t contain. Shams
appeared to be quite different to the respectable and
prestigious scholar Rumi. However Rumi saw in Shams
a divine presence. This meeting and their close mystical
relationship was instrumental in awakening Rumi’s
latent spirituality and intense devotion. It was at
this point Rumi abandoned his academic career and began
to write his mystical poetry.
Rumi’s poetry is
wide ranging and encompasses many different ideas but
behind all the poetry the essential theme was the longing
and searching for the union with the divine. Rumi was
himself a great mystic. His outpourings of poetry were
a reflection of his own inner consciousness. Ironically
Rumi said that no words could adequately explain the
experience of mystical union. Yet his words are inspiring
signposts which point towards the divine.
In his poetry Rumi frequently
uses imagery which may be unexpected. For example although
Islam forbids alcohol, he often describes the sensation
of being “drunk and intoxicated with ecstasy for
his beloved." Here drunk implies the bliss of the
divine consciousness. Love is a frequent subject of
Rumi's poems, descriptions of seeming romantic love
is an illusion to the all encompassing pure, divine
love.
biography copyright:
adapted from R. Pettinger
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