Attempt to find originals

[marian...@gmail.com]

Salaam dear all,

Here is another one those 'What's the original?' questions. 

I am currently helping a beloved teacher of mine in finding the original (Persian) quotes of Barks' Rumi versions. Could you help me with these ones? 

Thank you in advance,

Marian

***

(1) 'I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.’

(2) 'Be like melting snow, wash yourself of yourself.’

(3) 'Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.' 

***

For (3) I found this translation which may be accurate: https://palmstone.com/rumis-poemز-اول-که-حدیث-عاشقی-بشنودمجان-و-دل-و/

[Ibrahim Gamard]

Dear Marian,

Here is what I found of the the three Barks versions (below):

Ibrahim

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(2) “'Be like melting snow, wash yourself of yourself.”

This is a Barks version (The Essential Rumi, 13, based on a translation by Arberry (Mystical Poems of Rumi, no. 276), which is based on a verse in Rumi’s ghazal 2172.

“He is nearer to you than you: why go outside. Become like melting snow.” 

(Arberry cited a verse from the Qur’an: “We are nearer to him (i.e., to man) than his jugular vein,” 57:4).

نزدیکتراست از تو با تو ، چه روی برون

 چون برف گدازان شو ، خود را تو ز خود می شو

(3)  Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along. 

“The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.”

This is a Barks version (The Essential Rumi, 106, based on an unpublished translation by John Moyne, which is based on Rumi’s quatrain 1168 (pseudo-Foruzanfar 1246).

“From the beginning, when I heard the story of being in love,

I wore out my soul, heart, and eyes in its path.

I said, ‘Perhaps the lover and beloved are two.’

But both were one, and I was seeing double.”

--translated from Persian by Ibrahim Gamard and Ravan Farhadi (The Quatrains of Rumi, 2023, FG no. 906)

ز اول که حدیث عاشقی بشنودم 

جان و دل و دیده در رهش فرسودم 

گفتم که: مگر عاشق و معشوق دواند

خود هر دو یکی بود من احول بودم  

-----------------------------------

(1) I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.

This is a Barks version, which may be based on Rumi’s quatrain 1168 (pseudo-Foruzanfar 1246).

تا كَی زِ زمانه رنگ و بو را بینم؟          وقْتست كِه آن لطیفْ خو را بینم

در وَی نِگرم ، خَیالِ خود را بینم           در خود نِگرم ، خَیالِ او را بینم

 

How long will I [need to] experience colors and smells from the world of time?¹

It’s time for me to meet that one of exquisite character.*²

When I look at him, I’ll see my own image.

And when I look at myself, I’ll see his image.*³

No. 864: F-1256.

----translated from Persian by Ibrahim Gamard and Ravan Farhadi (The Quatrains of Rumi, 2023, FG no. 864)

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[marian...@gmail.com]

Dear Ibrahim, 

I admire your precision and speed in answering. This is very helpful. Your work is such an invaluable resource for all of us. 

It is interesting to see how difficult it seems to find the original of some quotes, such as in the case of (1) - it shows how removed most of Barks' work is from Mowlana's original words. 

In gratitude, with warm wishes from Turkey,

Marian

[Ibrahim Gamard]

Dear Marian,

I can't be sure that the quote, 'I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God" was rendered by Coleman Barks because I don't have all of his books. I found the quote about melting snow by searching an online version of Barks' The Essential Rumi:

https://littlethingsaboutmeeh.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/coleman-barks-the-essential-rumi.pdf

Ibrahim

When I look at him, I’ll see my own image.

And when I look at myself, I’ll see his image.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dar-al-masnavi/901e422f-acbf-460a-b45e-32d28f540864n%40googlegroups.com.