Book & Author
Camille Helminski: Rumi — Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance
By Dr Ahmed S. Khan
Chicago, IL
Inspired by the genius of the Master of Rum
I rehearse the sealed book of secret lore
The Master of Rum transmuted my earth to gold and set my ashes aflame…
…
No Rumi has arisen from the gardens of the East,
The water, flowers of Persia remain same…
— Allama Muhammad Iqbal
Maulana (Mevlana) Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) is one of the world’s most revered Sufi poets. Rumi is a preacher of love and unifier of humanity. His message of love enables individuals to unlock their precious hidden spiritual secrets and potentials. Like in the East, for the past eight centuries — in the West, through recent translations — Rumi has emerged as one of the greatest literary and spiritual figures of all time.
Camille Hamilton Adams Helminski belongs to a prominent group of translators who have faithfully translated and propagated Rumi’s poetic wisdom in the West. In Rumi — Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance she presents translations of selected couplets from the Masnawi — a spiritual masterpiece — written by Rumi, the radiant ocean of love, wisdom, peace and harmony.
In the preface, the author expounding on the nature and format of the book, observes: “After eleven years of turning to the Mathnawi of Jelaluddin Rumi for ‘light,’ the idea came that this light might be made more readily available to more people in the format of a ‘daybook.’ Rumi: Daylight comes to you as an offering, as a tool, as a possible source of insight and refreshment, support and encouragement. It may be used from the first day of the year to the last to deepen a whole cycle or at special moments, opened randomly. May your hand be guided as you turn the pages; and may the voice within these words soothe and strengthen your soul. For the way is only difficult until it becomes easy. Moments of ease, though, may come and go numerous times before one arrives and learns to live in a new land. The verses are presented here in the order in which they would be found within Books I and II, which hold roughly a third of the 25,632 lines of the whole six books of the Mathnawi [Masnawi].”
The author’s exquisite translation touches hearts and minds. The following samples of her translations illustrate high fidelity of her craft, and reveal the hidden and apparent dimensions of Rumi’s poetic expressions:
The Beloved is all, the lover just a veil. The Beloved is living, the lover a dead thing. If Love withholds its strengthening care, the lover is left like a bird without wings. How will I be awake and aware if the light of the Beloved is absent? Love wills that this Word be brought forth. If you find the mirror of the heart dull, the rust has not been cleared from its face. (II, 341)
Let's ask God to help us to self-control: for one who lacks it, lacks His Grace. [I, 78]
Suspicion and greed at the table of Majesty are ingratitude. [1, 86]
The lover's ailment is not like any other; Love is the astrolabe of God's mysteries. Whether Love is from heaven or earth, it points to God. [I, 110-111]
My friend, the Sufi is the son of the present moment: to say "tomorrow" is not our way. [1, 134]
Sometimes, in order to help, He makes us miserable; but heartache for His sake brings happiness. Laughter will come after tears. Whoever foresees this is a servant blessed by God. Wherever water flows, life flourishes: wherever tears fall, Divine mercy is shown. [I, 817-20]
When you feel pain, ask pardon of God; this pain has its uses. When He pleases, pain becomes joy; bondage itself becomes freedom. When you take a clear look, you'll see that from God are both the water of mercy and the fire of anger. [I, 836-7; 852]
Water and clay, when fed on the breath of Jesus, spread wings, became a bird and flew. Your praise of God is a breath from your body of water and clay. Make it a bird of paradise by breathing into it your heart's sincerity. [I, 866-7]
With will, fire becomes sweet water; and without will, even water becomes fire. [1, 1336]
The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself. [II, 1389]
Fear Not is the hospitality offered to those who fear. [1, 1429]
The intellectual quest, though fine as pearl or coral, is not the spiritual search. That spiritual search is on another level. Spiritual wine is a different substance. [1, 1501-2]
Each moment contains a hundred messages from God: To every cry of "Oh Lord," He answers a hundred times, "I am here." [1, 1578]
The intelligent desire self-control; children want candy. [1, 1601-2]
O tongue, you are an endless treasure. O tongue, you are also an endless disease. [I, 1702]
God, help me against this self of mine that is seeking help from You; I seek justice from no one but from this justice-seeking self. I shall not get justice from any one except from Him who is nearer to me than myself; For this I-ness comes moment by moment from Him. [1, 2195-8]
Look at every animal from the gnat to the elephant: they all are God's family and dependent on Him for their nourishment. What a nourisher is God! All these griefs within our hearts arise from the smoke and dust of our existence and vain desires. [I, 2295-6]
Try being poor for a day or two and find in poverty double riches. [I, 2373]
Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees. [I, 23831]
Fasting is the first principle of medicine; fast, and behold the strength of the spirit. [I, 2980]
If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished? [I, 2911]
By God's hand, every impossible thing is made possible; in awe of Him, the unruly settle down. [1, 30681]
Every prophet and every saint has a way, but all lead to God. All ways are really one. [II, 30861]
God has made reputation heavy as a thousand pounds of iron. So many are bound in that unseen chain! Pride and lack of faith block the doorway of repentance so that the one in separation can't even utter a sigh. God said, "We have put chains around their necks chin high, and forced them to lift their heads.- Those chains aren't put on us from outside. [I, 3240-21]
Be cheerful, call for help to the One who comes at the call, saying, "Forgive us, You who love to forgive." [I, 3252-3]
Everyone is a child except the one who's intoxicated with God. No one is an adult except the one who is free from desire. [1, 3430]
Be cleansed of the self's features, and see your pure Self: behold within your heart all the sciences of the prophets, without books and without a teacher. [I, 3460-1]
Know the mirror of the heart is infinite. Either the understanding falls silent, or it leads you astray, because the heart is with God, or indeed the heart is He. [1, 3488-91]
Those with mirror-like hearts do not depend on fragrance and color: they behold Beauty in the moment. They've cracked open the shell of knowledge and raised the banner of the eye of certainty. Thought is gone in a flash of light. [II, 349241]
The Prophet [pbuh] said, "When you lay one finger over an eye, you see the world without the sun. One fingertip hides the moon—and this is a symbol of God's covering—the whole world may be hidden from view by a single point, and the sun may be eclipsed by a splinter." Close your lips and gaze on the sea within you: God made the sea subject to man. [I, 3555-8]
The Sun, which is spirit, became separated into rays through the windows which are bodies. When you gaze on the Sun's disk, it is one, but one who is screened by his perception of bodies is in some doubt. Plurality is in the animal spirit; the human spirit is one essence. Inasmuch as God sprinkled his light upon them, they are essentially one. His light never really separated. [II, 186-9]
Don't put musk on your body, rub it on your heart. What is musk? The holy name of the Glorious God. [II, 267]
Water doesn't lose purity because of a bit of weed. The weeds float on the surface; the pure water flows on undisturbed. [II, 418-9]
On the bank of the river, water is grudged by that one alone who is blind to the flowing stream. [II, 894]
Man's original food is the light of God; material food is not for him; Just as the heart becomes carefree in a place of green, growing plants, goodwill and kindness are born when our souls enter happiness. [II, 1095-6)
Lightning is quick and unpredictable. Only with a clear mind will you know the transient from the stable. Lightning laughs at those who would capture its light. [II, 1542-3]
The religion of Love is like no other. For lovers, the only religion and belief is God. [II, 1770]
No one has shown the beginning or end of the Infinite. God said, "If the sea were to become ink . . ." Still God's word could not be written out. Though all the orchards and forests were pens, still we would be no closer to defining it. Ink and pens pass away, yet this infinite Word is everlasting. [II, 3542-6]
The Prophet [pbuh] said, "My eyes sleep, but my heart is not asleep to the Lord of created beings." Your eyes are awake, and your heart is sunk in slumber; my eyes are asleep, but my heart is contemplating the opening of the door of Divine grace. My heart has five other senses than the physical: both worlds are the theatre for the senses of the heart. [II, 3549-51]
To practice patience is the soul of praise: have patience, for that is true glorification. No glorification is worth as much. Have patience: patience is the remedy for pain. [II, 31461]
Students of cunning have consumed their hearts and learned only tricks; They've thrown away real riches: patience, self-sacrifice, generosity. Right thought opens a way. [II, 3205-81]
In Rumi — Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, Camille Helminski’s high fidelity translation brings out the hidden and the apparent meanings of Rumi's poetic wisdom and expressions. The book is a unique gift and a must read for all seekers of the truth, love, wisdom, peace, and harmony.
(Dr Ahmed S. Khan - dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org - is Fulbright Specialist Scholar, 2017-2022)
