Rumi - ruminations

I have quoted Rumi in this blog earlier and was surprised when on the recent trip - neither Mohamed nor the Imam we visited with knew of him.  to the western world he is perhaps the most well known of the Islamic Sufis.  He died in 1273 but as late as 2007 was considered among the most loved philosopher poets in today's world.

here is a bit of info on him from wikipedia:

Jalal al-Din who is also known as Rumi, was a philosopher and mystic of Islam. His doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. To him and to his disciples all religions are more or less truth. Looking with the same eye on Muslim, Jew and Christian alike, his peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to people of all sects and creeds.

I was struck by two of his quotes that I came across recently as they seemed to fit my current circumstances.  One is his epitaph and the other a quote - and here they are:

When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men

Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form

As you may know my mother's wish was for her ashes to be scattered each time I went to a country she had not visited.  Tunisia was such a place.  So I carried a small part of her along and parted with her in several places on the trip.  Each time I did I was struck by a sense that I was abandoning her - even though I was following her wishes.  I came across the two Rumi quotes (above) that helped me put this in the perspective of leaving her earthly remains behind with her passage into spirit. 


here are some of the places my mother now has visited with a little assistance from me:

In the Capitoline Temple at Dougga 

In the Tophet - the Phoenician Sanctuary in Carthage 

In the cemetery at Monastir overlooking the sea

 Under the stars in the Sahara

Love always, TOR