May 16, 2025 • 24 mins
In this podcast, we bring you 7 life lessons from the philosophy of Rumi. Rumi, arguably the best Sufi poet in history, has written many illustrious poems depicting love. His poems are engraved in the literature books for eternity.
So with that in mind, here are 7 important life lessons we can learn from Rumi -
01. There is something you can do better than anyone else
02. You don’t have to see the whole staircase
03. The wound is the place where the light enters you
04. The gold mine lies within you
05. Love is within you
06. Let go of judgment
07. Change yourself to change the world
I hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast and hope these 7 Life Lessons From Rumi will add value to your life.
Sufism began some 9 centuries ago and is focused on reaching the divine - the power that created the skies, the earth, us and life as a whole, through love. It means that in Sufism, we human beings are lovers, the divine is beloved and to love the divine, we need to connect back to the essence of life and understand that we and the world are one. Sufism has given the world some of its brightest minds and poets and one of those people is known as Maulana, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, arguably the best Sufi poet in history. Rumi, a Persian scholar at first, then a Mystic, has written many illustrious poems depicting love and its central role as the bridge to reach the divine; poems that are engraved in the literature books for eternity. His brilliance caught the eyes of people since his childhood. His father, a famous scholar back then, had personally taken the responsibility of teaching him. He deepened his knowledge at a very young age and after the death of his father, he was destined to succeed him as a scholar. But Rumi wanted to learn more, so he connected with another brilliant teacher named Al Tarmithi and a few years later, his teacher left him because he considered that he had nothing left to teach his student, Rumi was now a complete scholar. Rumi was adored by his followers and when he held assemblies, he had a large crowd as attendees. However, life and the divine had other plans for him. In 1244, Rumi encountered Shams Tabrizi, a traveling Sufi dervish who changed his core understanding of life. Rumi became so fond of Shams that he neglected his students and his family and spent days and nights with him, all to grasp the essence of pure love and how to express it to reach the divine. Rumi turned from a Scholar to a Sufi poet who sang for love, danced in circles, which is now called Sufi whirling or the whirling dervish, and wrote poems that are still relevant today continuing to have a deep influence.
So with that in mind, here are 7 important life lessons we can learn from Rumi -
01. There is something you can do better than anyone else
02. You don’t have to see the whole staircase
03. The wound is the place where the light enters you
04. The gold mine lies within you
05. Love is within you
06. Let go of judgment
07. Change yourself to change the world
I hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast and hope these 7 Life Lessons From Rumi will add value to your life.
Sufism began some 9 centuries ago and is focused on reaching the divine - the power that created the skies, the earth, us and life as a whole, through love. It means that in Sufism, we human beings are lovers, the divine is beloved and to love the divine, we need to connect back to the essence of life and understand that we and the world are one. Sufism has given the world some of its brightest minds and poets and one of those people is known as Maulana, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, arguably the best Sufi poet in history. Rumi, a Persian scholar at first, then a Mystic, has written many illustrious poems depicting love and its central role as the bridge to reach the divine; poems that are engraved in the literature books for eternity. His brilliance caught the eyes of people since his childhood. His father, a famous scholar back then, had personally taken the responsibility of teaching him. He deepened his knowledge at a very young age and after the death of his father, he was destined to succeed him as a scholar. But Rumi wanted to learn more, so he connected with another brilliant teacher named Al Tarmithi and a few years later, his teacher left him because he considered that he had nothing left to teach his student, Rumi was now a complete scholar. Rumi was adored by his followers and when he held assemblies, he had a large crowd as attendees. However, life and the divine had other plans for him. In 1244, Rumi encountered Shams Tabrizi, a traveling Sufi dervish who changed his core understanding of life. Rumi became so fond of Shams that he neglected his students and his family and spent days and nights with him, all to grasp the essence of pure love and how to express it to reach the divine. Rumi turned from a Scholar to a Sufi poet who sang for love, danced in circles, which is now called Sufi whirling or the whirling dervish, and wrote poems that are still relevant today continuing to have a deep influence.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Love has been cherished since the beginningof time.
Many men and women tried to sing its greatnessand many cultures and ideologies preached
its importance, each with its own interpretationof what love is.
In particular, one movement has built itswhole essence on love and considers love to
(00:20):
be the origin of life.
This movement is called Sufism, meaning mysticismin Arabic.
Sufism began some 9 centuries ago and is focusedon reaching the divine - the power that created
the skies, the earth, us and life as a whole,through love.
It means that in Sufism, we human beings are
(00:46):
lovers, the divine is beloved and to lovethe divine, we need to connect back to the
essence of life and understand that we andthe world are one.
Sufism has given the world some of its brightestminds and poets and one of those people is
known as Maulana, Jalāl al-Dīn MuḥammadRūmī, arguably the best Sufi poet in history.
(01:10):
Rumi, a Persian scholar at first, then a Mystic,has written many illustrious poems depicting
love and its central role as the bridge toreach the divine; poems that are engraved
in the literature books for eternity.
His brilliance caught the eyes of people since
his childhood.
(01:31):
His father, a famous scholar back then, hadpersonally taken the responsibility of teaching
him.
He deepened his knowledge at a very youngage and after the death of his father, he
was destined to succeed him as a scholar.
But Rumi wanted to learn more, so he connectedwith another brilliant teacher named Al Tarmithi
(01:51):
and a few years later, his teacher left himbecause he considered that he had nothing
left to teach his student, Rumi was now acomplete scholar.
Rumi was adored by his followers and whenhe held assemblies, he had a large crowd as
attendees.
However, life and the divine had other plans
for him.
(02:12):
In 1244, Rumi encountered Shams Tabrizi, atraveling Sufi dervish who changed his core
understanding of life.
Rumi became so fond of Shams that he neglectedhis students and his family and spent days
and nights with him, all to grasp the essenceof pure love and how to express it to reach
(02:33):
the divine.
Rumi turned from a Scholar to a Sufi poetwho sang for love, danced in circles, which
is now called Sufi whirling or the whirlingdervish, and wrote poems that are still relevant
today continuing to have a deep influence,which is why in this video, we bring you 7
(02:53):
life lessons from the philosophy of Rumi.
There is something you can do better than
anyone else
Rumi says “Everyone has been made for someparticular work, and the desire for that work
has been put in every heart.”
When Rumi was a scholar, he was brilliant.
(03:17):
If he had remained a scholar, he likely wouldhave made big contributions.
However, it was becoming a Sufi poet thatcemented his name in the history books.
By using his own words, Rumi found the thingthat he can do better than anyone else - the
work he was made for - Expressing his lovefor the divine, the aches of the heart, and
(03:37):
the magnitude of our inner worlds throughpiercing poems that would live on forever.
This desire made him produce some of the greatestpieces of literature in history.
It is fair to conclude that Rumi was meantto be a Sufi poet.
He understood his mission.
He loved it and he had the desire to fulfillit.
(04:00):
He produced many illustrious works, and heconquered millions of hearts.
Connecting with what matters to you is as
relevant today as when it was back then.
We see many people getting caught out by defaultdecisions and drifting away from their true
essence, thinking that what they’re doingis the right thing because it’s what everyone
(04:21):
else is doing.
However, all they are really doing is movingaway from what makes them different and unique.
We see many cases of depression among peoplewho can’t find meaning in what they do.
This is something we inherit from the industrialrevolution where people were considered part
of a chain - a means to turn the wheels ofcapitalism, rather than considering the individual.
(04:45):
Connecting back to what we consider meaningful
is, according to Rumi, the only way to beuseful in the best way possible for our society,
and ourselves.
Meaning makes people feel alive, and whenthey feel alive, they produce work that is
unmatched.
That is because they have the desire to doso, rather than being forced to do something
(05:09):
they don’t actually agree with.
Finding meaning doesn’t have to be a massive,
life-changing event.
Finding meaning can be found in the simplestthings you enjoy and give your best in.
For example, you might enjoy painting if that’swhat wakes up in the morning.
You might enjoy your job as an accountantand that’s where your heart is.
(05:31):
Meaning is not about the what, it is aboutthe why and when you find your why, in any
job or task, you’ve found your meaning andthat’s where you’ll give your best, and
be the best.
You don’t have to see the whole staircase
(05:51):
To quote Rumi “As you start to walk outon the way, the way appears.”
Rumi was first introduced to Sufism in his
childhood.
His father taught him about its ideology andspirituality, giving him a first glimpse of
what will go on to dictate his life and hisrelationship with God.
But let’s fast forward a few years to his
(06:14):
famous encounter with Shams Tabrizi, the Persiandervish poet we mentioned in the introduction.
After meeting Shams, Rumi took days, weeksand months to absorb the love that Shams was
full of.
After their separation, Rumi spent many yearswriting about the purity of that love and
the essence of Sufism.
(06:35):
All to finally dictate his most notoriouswork, “The Masnavi”.
When you look at the path that Rumi has beenon, you know that his success was not an accident.
It was the end result of many years of stepby step learning.
Even when we look at “The Masnavi”, thiswasn’t something he composed overnight.
(06:55):
In fact, it took him 15 years in all, andthat doesn’t even include much of his earlier
work which also had a massive impact on TheMasnavi.
Today, everyone has dreams and aspirations
to do something tremendous but, for the mostpart, those dreams fade away, Everest is too
(07:16):
high to climb for many, and traveling theworld is too costly for others.
We end up dismissing those dreams becausewe think of it as unattainable, unachievable
- But it is just a matter of perspective.
Ok, so the stair to the seventh floor of abuilding is long, but look at what you have
right in front of you, just one small step.
(07:39):
All you have to do is take it!
Then what’s next?
Another small step, so take that too!
And there you go, getting closer and closer,step by step, to reach that seventh floor
that seemed impossibly out of reach at thestart.
The wisdom of life teaches us to look at what’sin front of us and not what’s ahead of us.
(08:04):
The secret ingredient of success is that itcan be found by anyone who remains disciplined
in their small actions.
The wound is the place where the light entersyou
Rumi tells us that “What hurts you, blesses
you.
(08:24):
Darkness is your candle.”
Through his friendship with Shams, Rumi found
a new meaning and joy.
He made sure to make the most out of everysecond of Shams presence and enjoy the purity
of their alignment.
The school, the family gatherings, the Fridaypreachings, and the friendly meetings, he
(08:46):
left it all at that time to spend time withShams.
They spent sleepless nights sharing knowledgeand driving powerful discussions, talking
about the divine and exploring how to lovethe divine.
The crowd that was once mesmerised by him
when he was a scholar, became disappointedwith him when Rumi started dedicating his
(09:07):
whole time to his friendship with Shams andSufism.
This is why people around Rumi became disdainfultoward Shams.
They threatened him, disrespected him andmade him feel uncomfortable.
As far as they were concerned, he took Rumifor himself, and that’s something that can’t
(09:27):
be forgiven.
Shams was fed up by the huge animosity towhich he was the target, and one day, he left,
leaving no sign whatsoever.
Rumi could not accept it, and he did his best
to get him back.
He even declared that he would reward anyonewho finds out where Shams is.
(09:50):
People saw an opportunity there to take advantageof the situation, many of them claiming they
saw him in misleading places, and Rumi, eventhough he was aware of those lies, rewarded
them regardless.
For him, they gave him hope, and that wasenough to be rewarded.
Months later he found him, and his son was
(10:11):
tasked to bring him back, but that loss andtemporary separation deeply wounded Rumi - something
he would never forget.
A wound that would be reopened when Shamsdisappeared again, only this time forever.
Some say he left on his own, others say hewas killed.
(10:34):
However, that wound was the inspiration andthe driving force behind a great deal of his
work, giving him the creative outburst andenergy to write no less than 70.000 poetic
verses.
Indeed he suffered, but suffering got thebest out of him.
Suffering guided him to understand life, loveand pain, three inseparable things that would
(11:00):
become the basis of his work.
Pain has a bad reputation, and we avoid it
at all costs.
Especially with today’s heavy emphasis onseeking pleasures and satisfying desires,
facing pain is something we try to avoid whereverpossible.
However, it is often through that pain thatwe grow.
(11:22):
Denying pain is denying real life.
Our teeth gave us pain as children when theystarted coming through, understanding people
can come at the cost of being disappointed,and growing a project or business typically
requires painful periods of dedication.
Pain is necessary to see the light beyondthe pain.
(11:43):
A light that gives us a fresh perspectiveand new gains.
So when pain comes your way, embrace it - orat least accept it, because as it turns out,
the more you accept, the less painful it becomes.
The gold mine lies within you
(12:03):
In the words of Rumi “Why are you so enchantedby this world, when a mine of gold lies within
you?”
One day walking the streets of the city, Rumi
heard some blacksmiths hitting on an ironnot too far from the place where he was standing.
He listened carefully to process those hitsuntil he became overwhelmed, mesmerized by
(12:26):
their sound.
He felt it within himself, he closed his eyes,raised his hand, and moving in circles, round
and round, dancing to the sound of those hits.
When the blacksmiths saw him, they thoughthe was possessed.
But the head of the group told them to keepgoing, for watching Rumi dancing was a beautiful
(12:49):
blessing.
Rumi did not hear them talking though, norknew people were watching him.
He was just absorbed in the moment, or moreprecisely, absorbed by his inner world.
A place that opened up to him at that timethanks to the sound of those Iron hits.
He was immersed.
(13:10):
That dance later on became known as the whirlingdervish, and many who have experienced that
dance say they feel an overwhelming connectionwith the inner world.
The Whirling Dervishes that Rumi performed
was only a fraction of the richness of whatwe have within us.
The state of love, of calmness, of ease andof oneness that we experience when we connect
(13:35):
with the world inside of us, is proof that,no matter how shiny the outer world is, the
real treasure is within.
Nowadays, when we stay alone, we get bored
fast, and when we do get bored, we rush tothe fastest way that will entertain us, for
most of the time that’s our phones, lookingfor an escape.
(13:57):
We are losing the desire to listen to ourinner voices and discover the world within.
We’re starting to become like a preciousMing vase - beautiful on the outside, but
empty on the inside.
And just like that vase which has nothingto support it from the inside, we’re fragile
and easy to break.
(14:17):
For many of us, the moment we lose our externalbeauty, we lose our senses.
Our inner world gives meaning, deepness, understanding,
openness, and while the outer world is designedinherently to be turbulent, the inner world
will bring that calmness to overcome the storms.
(14:38):
And if you’re wondering how to reconnectwith the world within, start by spending some
time alone, start listening to the voice within,give yourself the opportunity to discover
your own body by paying attention to the flowof your blood, and explore the thoughts that
feel meaningful to you.
Make sure to listen to your heart, and acknowledgethe existence of your soul.
(15:03):
And this doesn’t have to be a silent meditation,
with your eyes closed - You can move, dance,write - whatever helps you connect…
with you.
The world within is vast, and the roads toaccess it are multiple.
(15:24):
Love is within you
According to Rumi “Your task is not to seek
for love, but merely to seek and find allthe barriers within yourself that you have
built against it.”
When Rumi was pursuing knowledge to become
a scholar, he had two great teachers amongmany.
He even had the chance to travel and learnabroad.
(15:46):
However, when Rumi met Shams, he did not leave,nor went to meet different teachers.
Not because Shams held all the external knowledgeabout love or sufism, but because he held
the ability to destroy all the barriers thatRumi had that were preventing from finding
true love.
All those long nights, long walks, countlessdiscussions, they were not meant to transmit
(16:12):
love, but to free it.
The moment those barriers were destroyed,Rumi became Maulana, the honorary title Sufists
gave him, and which means Master.
He became immersed by a love that was confinedwithin him since his birth.
When you see people walking around talking
(16:33):
about finding love, and going after it, westart imagining love as if it’s a product
or this thing that is independent from us.
Love is not a car.
People only wish to have a car once they acknowledgeits importance and existence.
But if they never encountered something calleda car before, they’ll never pursue having
(16:55):
one since they have no idea what a car is.
But with love, you could be isolated in amountain, you could live in any part of the
world, and you’ll still think about it.
No matter where we come from, love is alreadyin us.
Just like Rumi said, if you want to seek something,
(17:15):
seek out and destroy the barriers that areconfining the love within.
That’s what he did, and when he succeeded,once he got a taste of that love, he never
left it nor got bored of it.
You can have many barriers preventing youfrom tasting that love.
It can be that you believe that love onlyenters when someone walks into your life.
(17:36):
It can be your upbringing in an unloving environment,it can be doing something you don't enjoy,
and so on.
So if you do want to break those barriers,
listen to yourself, question your own ideasabout love, question your perspectives and
the cultural or societal pressures that haveimpacted your thoughts about what love is.
(17:59):
Understanding those barriers will push youtowards the right path.
The path of finding the love that has beeningrained in you and me since we were in our
mothers womb.
Let go of judgment
Rumi teaches us that “Out beyond ideas of
wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field.
(18:23):
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, theworld is too full to talk about.”
Imagine you’re Rumi.
Imagine you’re this great scholar that isadmired by the crowds, a superstar, and one
day someone comes and shares a path with youthat is about to change your mindset and alter
(18:44):
your heart completely.
While trying to explore that path, you seeyourself labeled as a loser, and your companion
as a wrongdoer, and find yourselves thrashedby the crowd.
Both of you are judged severely.
So imagine you’re in this position, Wouldyou have been able to handle it?
(19:04):
Most people would give up and get back totheir original path where glory and adoration
was all laid out for them.
But not Rumi.
He did not bow down, nor confined himselfin those judgments.
He knew that beyond any kind of judgment,there is something deeper that needs to be
discovered - something that can truly makesense of this life.
(19:27):
He sailed against the windy crowd, but paradoxically,that same crowd chanted his name when Rumi’s
work was published, and happily sang everyverse of his poems.
Rumi’s struggle with judgment is not unique.
Humans have suffered from it since the dawnof time, and we still do to this day, and
(19:49):
as much as we think we’re open minded, judgingand deciding what is right and wrong on behalf
of the community is deeply entrenched in everyculture.
Awareness is key for the world to understandthat judging someone is like pulling a seed
from the earth.
You would think it’s just a seed, but thatseed could have been a magnificent lemon tree
(20:11):
who would have fed and helped countless familiesfor generations.
On the other hand, if someone judges you for
a path you want to take and labels every singlemove you make as either right or wrong, just
say to yourself “So what?”
Free yourself from the fear of being judgedbecause, at the end of the day, people will
(20:32):
be people and people will judge.
But then what?
Usually, nothing.
they move on with their lives.
So why wouldn’t you do the same and leavetheir judgements behind too?
It is easy to let go of judgment.
Human beings are social creatures, but theidea of letting go of judgment is to be aware
(20:53):
of your actions and the heartfelt knowledgethat you don’t need others' approval.
Change yourself to change the world
In our final quote from Rumi for this video,
he says…
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted tochange the world.
(21:15):
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Rumi gained a huge following during his scholarly
years.
He preached, and many listened.
He gave advice, and many applied his teachings.
He was an intelligent man, and as a scholar,he was tasked to bring change to the world.
(21:37):
Something he undoubtedly achieved, impactingmillions of souls even after his death.
However, he did not do so by seeing himselfas clever and having a life mission of changing
the world.
Indeed, it is not Rumi the scholar who broughtthat lasting change.
It was Rumi the Sufi who did so, the worshiperof love, the mystic poet, the human being
(22:02):
that chose to focus on himself and reportabout it in the most sincere way possible
by producing some of what is considered bymany to be the most profound and heart piercing
poems of all time.
History remembers Rumi today as someone whowas wise enough to change himself.
We often hear from people about their will
(22:24):
to change the world, and it often makes youwonder; How come we have this many people
that have this much to say with this amountof willpower, and yet we witness so little
real change?
Isn’t the world supposed to be much betternow that we have a huge number of people willing
to change the world for the good of humanity?
(22:44):
One of the key issues is that generally thesepeople want to change everything outside of
themselves, but true change really comes fromthose who dare to change something within.
The world, more than ever before, needs us
to be more self-oriented, to look at ourselvesand say “I need to change this in myself;
(23:06):
I need to manage my spending habits, to controlwhat I say to people and avoid hurting them
or maybe to criticise less and understandmore; I need to acknowledge my mental wounds
and heal them, my challenges and mistakes,and overcome them”.
That’s what we need, because positive changeis infectious.
(23:29):
If you change yourself, and that convincesothers to change, they spread their influence
and in time, the change keeps spreading untilone day it becomes global.
If you enjoyed this video, please make sureto check out our full philosophies for life
playlist and for more videos to help you findsuccess and happiness using ancient philosophical
(23:53):
wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks so much for watching.
Love has been cherished since the beginningof time.
Many men and women tried to sing its greatnessand many cultures and ideologies preached
its importance, each with its own interpretationof what love is.
In particular, one movement has built itswhole essence on love and considers love to
(00:20):
be the origin of life.
This movement is called Sufism, meaning mysticismin Arabic.
Sufism began some 9 centuries ago and is focusedon reaching the divine - the power that created
the skies, the earth, us and life as a whole,through love.
It means that in Sufism, we human beings are
(00:46):
lovers, the divine is beloved and to lovethe divine, we need to connect back to the
essence of life and understand that we andthe world are one.
Sufism has given the world some of its brightestminds and poets and one of those people is
known as Maulana, Jalāl al-Dīn MuḥammadRūmī, arguably the best Sufi poet in history.
(01:10):
Rumi, a Persian scholar at first, then a Mystic,has written many illustrious poems depicting
love and its central role as the bridge toreach the divine; poems that are engraved
in the literature books for eternity.
His brilliance caught the eyes of people since
his childhood.
(01:31):
His father, a famous scholar back then, hadpersonally taken the responsibility of teaching
him.
He deepened his knowledge at a very youngage and after the death of his father, he
was destined to succeed him as a scholar.
But Rumi wanted to learn more, so he connectedwith another brilliant teacher named Al Tarmithi
(01:51):
and a few years later, his teacher left himbecause he considered that he had nothing
left to teach his student, Rumi was now acomplete scholar.
Rumi was adored by his followers and whenhe held assemblies, he had a large crowd as
attendees.
However, life and the divine had other plans
for him.
(02:12):
In 1244, Rumi encountered Shams Tabrizi, atraveling Sufi dervish who changed his core
understanding of life.
Rumi became so fond of Shams that he neglectedhis students and his family and spent days
and nights with him, all to grasp the essenceof pure love and how to express it to reach
(02:33):
the divine.
Rumi turned from a Scholar to a Sufi poetwho sang for love, danced in circles, which
is now called Sufi whirling or the whirlingdervish, and wrote poems that are still relevant
today continuing to have a deep influence,which is why in this video, we bring you 7
(02:53):
life lessons from the philosophy of Rumi.
There is something you can do better than
anyone else
Rumi says “Everyone has been made for someparticular work, and the desire for that work
has been put in every heart.”
When Rumi was a scholar, he was brilliant.
(03:17):
If he had remained a scholar, he likely wouldhave made big contributions.
However, it was becoming a Sufi poet thatcemented his name in the history books.
By using his own words, Rumi found the thingthat he can do better than anyone else - the
work he was made for - Expressing his lovefor the divine, the aches of the heart, and
(03:37):
the magnitude of our inner worlds throughpiercing poems that would live on forever.
This desire made him produce some of the greatestpieces of literature in history.
It is fair to conclude that Rumi was meantto be a Sufi poet.
He understood his mission.
He loved it and he had the desire to fulfillit.
(04:00):
He produced many illustrious works, and heconquered millions of hearts.
Connecting with what matters to you is as
relevant today as when it was back then.
We see many people getting caught out by defaultdecisions and drifting away from their true
essence, thinking that what they’re doingis the right thing because it’s what everyone
(04:21):
else is doing.
However, all they are really doing is movingaway from what makes them different and unique.
We see many cases of depression among peoplewho can’t find meaning in what they do.
This is something we inherit from the industrialrevolution where people were considered part
of a chain - a means to turn the wheels ofcapitalism, rather than considering the individual.
(04:45):
Connecting back to what we consider meaningful
is, according to Rumi, the only way to beuseful in the best way possible for our society,
and ourselves.
Meaning makes people feel alive, and whenthey feel alive, they produce work that is
unmatched.
That is because they have the desire to doso, rather than being forced to do something
(05:09):
they don’t actually agree with.
Finding meaning doesn’t have to be a massive,
life-changing event.
Finding meaning can be found in the simplestthings you enjoy and give your best in.
For example, you might enjoy painting if that’swhat wakes up in the morning.
You might enjoy your job as an accountantand that’s where your heart is.
(05:31):
Meaning is not about the what, it is aboutthe why and when you find your why, in any
job or task, you’ve found your meaning andthat’s where you’ll give your best, and
be the best.
You don’t have to see the whole staircase
(05:51):
To quote Rumi “As you start to walk outon the way, the way appears.”
Rumi was first introduced to Sufism in his
childhood.
His father taught him about its ideology andspirituality, giving him a first glimpse of
what will go on to dictate his life and hisrelationship with God.
But let’s fast forward a few years to his
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famous encounter with Shams Tabrizi, the Persiandervish poet we mentioned in the introduction.
After meeting Shams, Rumi took days, weeksand months to absorb the love that Shams was
full of.
After their separation, Rumi spent many yearswriting about the purity of that love and
the essence of Sufism.
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All to finally dictate his most notoriouswork, “The Masnavi”.
When you look at the path that Rumi has beenon, you know that his success was not an accident.
It was the end result of many years of stepby step learning.
Even when we look at “The Masnavi”, thiswasn’t something he composed overnight.
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In fact, it took him 15 years in all, andthat doesn’t even include much of his earlier
work which also had a massive impact on TheMasnavi.
Today, everyone has dreams and aspirations
to do something tremendous but, for the mostpart, those dreams fade away, Everest is too
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high to climb for many, and traveling theworld is too costly for others.
We end up dismissing those dreams becausewe think of it as unattainable, unachievable
- But it is just a matter of perspective.
Ok, so the stair to the seventh floor of abuilding is long, but look at what you have
right in front of you, just one small step.
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All you have to do is take it!
Then what’s next?
Another small step, so take that too!
And there you go, getting closer and closer,step by step, to reach that seventh floor
that seemed impossibly out of reach at thestart.
The wisdom of life teaches us to look at what’sin front of us and not what’s ahead of us.
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The secret ingredient of success is that itcan be found by anyone who remains disciplined
in their small actions.
The wound is the place where the light entersyou
Rumi tells us that “What hurts you, blesses
you.
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Darkness is your candle.”
Through his friendship with Shams, Rumi found
a new meaning and joy.
He made sure to make the most out of everysecond of Shams presence and enjoy the purity
of their alignment.
The school, the family gatherings, the Fridaypreachings, and the friendly meetings, he
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left it all at that time to spend time withShams.
They spent sleepless nights sharing knowledgeand driving powerful discussions, talking
about the divine and exploring how to lovethe divine.
The crowd that was once mesmerised by him
when he was a scholar, became disappointedwith him when Rumi started dedicating his
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whole time to his friendship with Shams andSufism.
This is why people around Rumi became disdainfultoward Shams.
They threatened him, disrespected him andmade him feel uncomfortable.
As far as they were concerned, he took Rumifor himself, and that’s something that can’t
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be forgiven.
Shams was fed up by the huge animosity towhich he was the target, and one day, he left,
leaving no sign whatsoever.
Rumi could not accept it, and he did his best
to get him back.
He even declared that he would reward anyonewho finds out where Shams is.
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People saw an opportunity there to take advantageof the situation, many of them claiming they
saw him in misleading places, and Rumi, eventhough he was aware of those lies, rewarded
them regardless.
For him, they gave him hope, and that wasenough to be rewarded.
Months later he found him, and his son was
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tasked to bring him back, but that loss andtemporary separation deeply wounded Rumi - something
he would never forget.
A wound that would be reopened when Shamsdisappeared again, only this time forever.
Some say he left on his own, others say hewas killed.
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However, that wound was the inspiration andthe driving force behind a great deal of his
work, giving him the creative outburst andenergy to write no less than 70.000 poetic
verses.
Indeed he suffered, but suffering got thebest out of him.
Suffering guided him to understand life, loveand pain, three inseparable things that would
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become the basis of his work.
Pain has a bad reputation, and we avoid it
at all costs.
Especially with today’s heavy emphasis onseeking pleasures and satisfying desires,
facing pain is something we try to avoid whereverpossible.
However, it is often through that pain thatwe grow.
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Denying pain is denying real life.
Our teeth gave us pain as children when theystarted coming through, understanding people
can come at the cost of being disappointed,and growing a project or business typically
requires painful periods of dedication.
Pain is necessary to see the light beyondthe pain.
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A light that gives us a fresh perspectiveand new gains.
So when pain comes your way, embrace it - orat least accept it, because as it turns out,
the more you accept, the less painful it becomes.
The gold mine lies within you
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In the words of Rumi “Why are you so enchantedby this world, when a mine of gold lies within
you?”
One day walking the streets of the city, Rumi
heard some blacksmiths hitting on an ironnot too far from the place where he was standing.
He listened carefully to process those hitsuntil he became overwhelmed, mesmerized by
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their sound.
He felt it within himself, he closed his eyes,raised his hand, and moving in circles, round
and round, dancing to the sound of those hits.
When the blacksmiths saw him, they thoughthe was possessed.
But the head of the group told them to keepgoing, for watching Rumi dancing was a beautiful
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blessing.
Rumi did not hear them talking though, norknew people were watching him.
He was just absorbed in the moment, or moreprecisely, absorbed by his inner world.
A place that opened up to him at that timethanks to the sound of those Iron hits.
He was immersed.
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That dance later on became known as the whirlingdervish, and many who have experienced that
dance say they feel an overwhelming connectionwith the inner world.
The Whirling Dervishes that Rumi performed
was only a fraction of the richness of whatwe have within us.
The state of love, of calmness, of ease andof oneness that we experience when we connect
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with the world inside of us, is proof that,no matter how shiny the outer world is, the
real treasure is within.
Nowadays, when we stay alone, we get bored
fast, and when we do get bored, we rush tothe fastest way that will entertain us, for
most of the time that’s our phones, lookingfor an escape.
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We are losing the desire to listen to ourinner voices and discover the world within.
We’re starting to become like a preciousMing vase - beautiful on the outside, but
empty on the inside.
And just like that vase which has nothingto support it from the inside, we’re fragile
and easy to break.
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For many of us, the moment we lose our externalbeauty, we lose our senses.
Our inner world gives meaning, deepness, understanding,
openness, and while the outer world is designedinherently to be turbulent, the inner world
will bring that calmness to overcome the storms.
(14:38):
And if you’re wondering how to reconnectwith the world within, start by spending some
time alone, start listening to the voice within,give yourself the opportunity to discover
your own body by paying attention to the flowof your blood, and explore the thoughts that
feel meaningful to you.
Make sure to listen to your heart, and acknowledgethe existence of your soul.
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And this doesn’t have to be a silent meditation,
with your eyes closed - You can move, dance,write - whatever helps you connect…
with you.
The world within is vast, and the roads toaccess it are multiple.
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Love is within you
According to Rumi “Your task is not to seek
for love, but merely to seek and find allthe barriers within yourself that you have
built against it.”
When Rumi was pursuing knowledge to become
a scholar, he had two great teachers amongmany.
He even had the chance to travel and learnabroad.
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However, when Rumi met Shams, he did not leave,nor went to meet different teachers.
Not because Shams held all the external knowledgeabout love or sufism, but because he held
the ability to destroy all the barriers thatRumi had that were preventing from finding
true love.
All those long nights, long walks, countlessdiscussions, they were not meant to transmit
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love, but to free it.
The moment those barriers were destroyed,Rumi became Maulana, the honorary title Sufists
gave him, and which means Master.
He became immersed by a love that was confinedwithin him since his birth.
When you see people walking around talking
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about finding love, and going after it, westart imagining love as if it’s a product
or this thing that is independent from us.
Love is not a car.
People only wish to have a car once they acknowledgeits importance and existence.
But if they never encountered something calleda car before, they’ll never pursue having
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one since they have no idea what a car is.
But with love, you could be isolated in amountain, you could live in any part of the
world, and you’ll still think about it.
No matter where we come from, love is alreadyin us.
Just like Rumi said, if you want to seek something,
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seek out and destroy the barriers that areconfining the love within.
That’s what he did, and when he succeeded,once he got a taste of that love, he never
left it nor got bored of it.
You can have many barriers preventing youfrom tasting that love.
It can be that you believe that love onlyenters when someone walks into your life.
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It can be your upbringing in an unloving environment,it can be doing something you don't enjoy,
and so on.
So if you do want to break those barriers,
listen to yourself, question your own ideasabout love, question your perspectives and
the cultural or societal pressures that haveimpacted your thoughts about what love is.
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Understanding those barriers will push youtowards the right path.
The path of finding the love that has beeningrained in you and me since we were in our
mothers womb.
Let go of judgment
Rumi teaches us that “Out beyond ideas of
wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field.
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I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, theworld is too full to talk about.”
Imagine you’re Rumi.
Imagine you’re this great scholar that isadmired by the crowds, a superstar, and one
day someone comes and shares a path with youthat is about to change your mindset and alter
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your heart completely.
While trying to explore that path, you seeyourself labeled as a loser, and your companion
as a wrongdoer, and find yourselves thrashedby the crowd.
Both of you are judged severely.
So imagine you’re in this position, Wouldyou have been able to handle it?
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Most people would give up and get back totheir original path where glory and adoration
was all laid out for them.
But not Rumi.
He did not bow down, nor confined himselfin those judgments.
He knew that beyond any kind of judgment,there is something deeper that needs to be
discovered - something that can truly makesense of this life.
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He sailed against the windy crowd, but paradoxically,that same crowd chanted his name when Rumi’s
work was published, and happily sang everyverse of his poems.
Rumi’s struggle with judgment is not unique.
Humans have suffered from it since the dawnof time, and we still do to this day, and
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as much as we think we’re open minded, judgingand deciding what is right and wrong on behalf
of the community is deeply entrenched in everyculture.
Awareness is key for the world to understandthat judging someone is like pulling a seed
from the earth.
You would think it’s just a seed, but thatseed could have been a magnificent lemon tree
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who would have fed and helped countless familiesfor generations.
On the other hand, if someone judges you for
a path you want to take and labels every singlemove you make as either right or wrong, just
say to yourself “So what?”
Free yourself from the fear of being judgedbecause, at the end of the day, people will
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be people and people will judge.
But then what?
Usually, nothing.
they move on with their lives.
So why wouldn’t you do the same and leavetheir judgements behind too?
It is easy to let go of judgment.
Human beings are social creatures, but theidea of letting go of judgment is to be aware
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of your actions and the heartfelt knowledgethat you don’t need others' approval.
Change yourself to change the world
In our final quote from Rumi for this video,
he says…
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted tochange the world.
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Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Rumi gained a huge following during his scholarly
years.
He preached, and many listened.
He gave advice, and many applied his teachings.
He was an intelligent man, and as a scholar,he was tasked to bring change to the world.
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Something he undoubtedly achieved, impactingmillions of souls even after his death.
However, he did not do so by seeing himselfas clever and having a life mission of changing
the world.
Indeed, it is not Rumi the scholar who broughtthat lasting change.
It was Rumi the Sufi who did so, the worshiperof love, the mystic poet, the human being
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that chose to focus on himself and reportabout it in the most sincere way possible
by producing some of what is considered bymany to be the most profound and heart piercing
poems of all time.
History remembers Rumi today as someone whowas wise enough to change himself.
We often hear from people about their will
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to change the world, and it often makes youwonder; How come we have this many people
that have this much to say with this amountof willpower, and yet we witness so little
real change?
Isn’t the world supposed to be much betternow that we have a huge number of people willing
to change the world for the good of humanity?
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One of the key issues is that generally thesepeople want to change everything outside of
themselves, but true change really comes fromthose who dare to change something within.
The world, more than ever before, needs us
to be more self-oriented, to look at ourselvesand say “I need to change this in myself;
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I need to manage my spending habits, to controlwhat I say to people and avoid hurting them
or maybe to criticise less and understandmore; I need to acknowledge my mental wounds
and heal them, my challenges and mistakes,and overcome them”.
That’s what we need, because positive changeis infectious.
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If you change yourself, and that convincesothers to change, they spread their influence
and in time, the change keeps spreading untilone day it becomes global.
If you enjoyed this video, please make sureto check out our full philosophies for life
playlist and for more videos to help you findsuccess and happiness using ancient philosophical
(23:53):
wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks so much for watching.
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