Description

Rumi is not just telling stories that teach, or
relating his philosophical and religious understanding,
as the previous translations have
focused on, but his words have been crafted to
transmit something of great substance. As the
Sufis have often said, this matter cannot be studied
from the outside, it can only be discovered
from within. No doubt such statements will raise
disagreements, but we need only refer to Rumi’s
own discourses to see his own opinions on this
very subject. Over and over Rumi criticizes those
who study at length the outward sense of things,
but miss the inner Truth.
It is likely that the Discourses of Rumi will
only appeal to those who are willing to make
some effort to study his words. But if the reader is
willing to read carefully, he or she should be able
to find a greater glimpse of Rumi’s relationship
with life and his spiritually intoxicating intimacy
with the Path of Love.