I am Looking for an Apprentice

The scent of the rose garden reached you. Otherwise,
you would have no knowledge of these words.

If you went to the house of a kind old woman whose
pantry was full, welcoming she would be.

She would have you sit right before her, and with
skilled eyes sum you up . . .  to determine what could
be your favourite of those things she could cook.

I am like that – someone with a marvellous wine
cellar who loves to entertain, and who has a keen
sense of what you most need.

It is so, Solomon was a wise ruler. There is a school
both he and I attended.

Knowing what your own heart really wants, is knowing
what everyone is really striving for. Compassion and
kinship follow.

The way my feet respect each other and can work in
a natural unison, I can now, with all.

If you can go a week and not belittle anyone in thought,
word, or deed . . .  let me know, for I am looking for
an apprentice, an heir.

 

~ Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
Translated by Daniel Ladinsky, in his book, ‘The Purity of Desire – 100 Rumi Poems”.

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Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi was a Sufi Shaykh who lived in Turkey 800 years ago, being one of the greatest Saints that the world has ever seen. He has been the most popular poets in the USA for the past ten years, with people still finding inspiration in his wisdom and beautiful language. He was the founder of the Mevlevi Sufi Order, who are famous for their Sufi Whirling Ceremony.