Rumi and Shams

Many want to be Rumi but don't want to endure what he endured. Rumi became Maulana not because he was with Shams. He became Maulana because he had to be without Shams. And because he had to do the hard work of discovering Shams inside himself.

The Rumi-Shams relationship is not about romance or partnership or even companionship.

It is about awakening to the excruciating pain of our original separation from the One Beloved, the unbearable, obsessive yearning for Union and the unspeakable anguish of what it takes to be purified for the Beloved's Presence.

And Allah knows best.

photo: with thanks via Iraj Jahanshahi