Çeviri
The Drop... That Became...The Sea...Yunus Emre
Lyric Poems of
****
YUNUS EMRE: An Introduction
When the song-poems of Yunus Emre spread among the rural Anatolian
Turks in the fourteenth century, the Turkish language, already rich in idiom
and vocal harmony, began to express the deeper nature of the human spirit. An
illiterate peasant with a modest vocabulary of perhaps several thousand words
gave utterance to the kind of truths that had been the domain of classical
Arabic and Persian. A great poet helped his people to say what they could not
say before. While many of his contemporaries imitated Persian and Arabic forms
and borrowed their vocabularies, Yunus sang in the language of the common man
and used simpler poetic forms. No one has ever matched Yunus’s handling of the
Turkish vernacular and its syllabic meters.
His
words to this day express the deepest aspirations of the Turkish people, an
independent, undogmatic, humanistic, and mystical race. His songs are quoted by
peasants and scholars, shaikhs and diplomats, the old and the young. Yunus
Emre's work is both the beginning and the highest achievement of a poetic
tradition that has spanned seven centuries. No other poet in the Turkish
language has greater authority, and Yunus has been called “the most important
folk poet in the literature of Islam." (Talat Sait Halman)
If I were to suggest the importance of Yunus Emre within
Turkish civilization, I would invoke Francis of Assisi, Blake, and Yeats. Like
Francis he was simple and saintly. He loved the natural world and sang songs.
Like Blake his songs are full of symbols. And as Blake stood squarely within
his own truth and voiced a cry against much that was mechanical and insensitive
in his times, Yunus, with gentleness and charm, attacked the spiritless
orthodoxy of his day. Finally, like Yeats his lyrics master stanza and line and
can appeal to ordinary people, as well as those with literary interests.
Yunus's Times
The
world into which Yunus Emre was born was ruled by the Seljuk Turks centered in
Konya (Iconium). Konya and the surrounding region of Anatolia had become a
haven for many people from Central Asia, who had fled the pillage, destruction,
and death worked by the Mongols. Among these people were great scholars and
saints, because Central Asia, particularly in the area of Bokhara, Samarkand,
and Tashkent, had developed a state of culture to rival any in the world. Two
who came from Central Asia were Mevlanajelaluddin Rumi, the incomparable poet and
spiritual master, and Hadji Bektash Veli, the initiator of a popular, rural
Sufi order, the Bektashis, with whom Yunus was associated.
The
influences of these two men were to profoundly affect the course of history.
Rumi, a sophisticated mystical poet, a philosopher of Cosmic Love, drew upon
the everyday lives of people to explain the deepest mysteries. Writing in
Persian, his greatest influence would be on the educated, cultured urban elite.
Hadji Bektash transmitted a similar energy of Love and humanism but to
different people: the rural Anatolian peasants, farmers and herders who lived
in compact villages across the dry and often mountainous land.
Ahmed
Yasawi, another Central Asian Sufi, had been the first to use the Turkish
language as a literary medium with his Hikam, a book of mystical
reflections. But Yunus was to be the poetic flowering of this impulse brought
by Hadji Bektash and Ahmed Yasawi. His language would captivate both the rough
and the cultivated for centuries to come. His name would become associated with
a whole genre of poetry and song, many anonymous imitators would have their
work ascribed to him.
A
story told about a meeting between Jelaluddin Rumi and Yunus Emre illustrates
the difference between the two. Yunus had become acquainted with the six books
of Rumi’s masterpiece, the Mathnawi, and he was asked what he thought of it.
“It’s a little long. I would have written it differently.”
“Oh,
how so?,” Jelaluddin asked.
“I would have written: I came from eternity, clothed
myself with skin and bones and called myself ‘Yunus’.”
Yunus’s Life
What
can we know about the life of Yunus Emre? His year of birth is uncertain and
that of his death is speculated to be 1320. Almost everything we suppose about
him is drawn from Yunus’s songs themselves, although there are stories of his
life that are part of an oral tradition.
When
Yunus was young a famine overtook Anatolia. His village has been hard hit and
one of the few places that was known to have food was the Sufi center of Hadji
Bektash Veli. A Bektashi center would have been a village in itself, since this
particular tradition stressed an integration of social, economic, and esoteric
activities within the context of communal life.
As
the story goes, Yunus was sent by the people of his village to get some grain
from Hadji Bektash’s tekkye, or spiritual center. The great shaikh, however,
knew presentiently of Yunus’s approach and told his doorkeeper to greet Yunus
and ask him whether he would like grain or “baraka.” Yunus, a shepherd boy, had
never heard this word “baraka” before, so he asks whether baraka will take up
as much space and weigh as much as grain. He is told that baraka will take up
very little room, but he remembers that his village has sent him to get grain,
and so he holds firmly to his original request. On the way back to his village
Yunus is at first very happy, but later he begins to have some doubts about
whether he has done the right thing. Hadji Bektash is, after all, a very
generous man and no one seemed to resent Yunus’s choice. Maybe this baraka is
something very valuable like gold. Halfway through his journey, Yunus decides
that he has probably made a mistake and should return and inquire again about
the baraka. When he returns, however, he is told that his portion of baraka
(spiritual power) has been sent to Taptuk Emre, another Bektashi shaikh
destined to become Yunus’s guide on the Path.
So
Yunus himself becomes a pupil in the school of Taptuk Emre, undergoing many
practical as well as spiritual tasks. For many years he remains humbly in the
service of his shaikh. The Bektashis call their guides “Shahim” or “My King,”
and they submit themselves body and soul with total love to the shaikh. After
this period of service Yunus is one day abruptly called to Taptuk Emre’s presence
and told that it is time to leave the center and go out into the world to
teach.
Yunus,
too humble to believe he has anything to teach, yet submissive to his Shaikh’s
will, bearing only the practical knowledge of a peasant, goes modestly into the
world. While crossing a large desert on foot he encounters two other dervish
travelers who invite him to travel with them for safety and companionship.
After the first day they stop at dusk to have a meal. One of the dervishes
offers a prayer and asks that they be given food to eat. No sooner had it been
mentioned than a dinner setting appears with fine bread, vegetables and fruit.
Yunus is amazed. On the second night they again stop to eat, and the other
dervish prays and produces a meal comparable to the first. Again Yunus is
amazed but getting nervous. What if he is asked to produce a meal? On the
following night, the other dervishes look to Yunus, and one of them asks,
“Would you be the one tonight, brother?” And so Yunus prays within himself: “Oh
my God, it wasn’t I who chose to undertake this journey. I was sent. I
do not understand prayers like these, but I know that my shaikh is much beloved
by You, and so I ask in his name that you don’t cause us embarassment.”
Almost
immediately the food appears, but it is not the kind of dinner that they had
eaten on the two previous nights. Instead it is a feast suitable for a king.
The other two dervishes are completely surprised. “In whose name did you pray,
brother?” But Yunus, gaining some confidence, says, “First you must tell me in
whose name you prayed.” “Oh, it is no secret. We were taught to pray in the
name of a certain dervish Yunus of Taptuk’s Tekkye.”
The Godization of Man
The
mystic humanism of Anatolia attributed Divine qualities to the human being. The
true human nature however, is not automatically received but must be developed
from its latent condition. The real human being is the product of a process
that brings the human being to an awareness of itself as an extension of the
Divine Reality. The human being is fundamentally a reflector of the one
Creative Power. Spiritual “maturity” takes away the “and” that is in the phrase
“God and man.” Godliness finds its grounding in the human being who is aware of
his connectedness to the Divine Nature.
Yunus
Emre is the quintessence of this humanization of God. Yunus’s songs are a
natural outpouring of his state of being, that which he could not hold back
from us. These songs remind us that life is precious, for it is here that we
can free ourselves of our bonds and enter the presence of the Friend. It is in
life that we can remember death and be more alive.
There
is an implicit humility in much of Yunus’s work and a love of humanity. He
downplayed dogma, rituals, and religious commentaries. He satirized the hypocrisy
of the religious establishment but also leveled some of his harshest criticism
at himself. Running through these songs is the affirmation that Love is the
cause and essence of everything. And Love is the milieu in which we exist, the
source of every quality, virtue, and perfection. It is through Love that the
Beloved, the Friend, calls us forth, causes our psyche to embrace more and
more.
At
times Yunus’s very identity seems diaphanous, allembracing, universal. Such an
expansion is possible since the Human Being is the drop which can become the
ocean.
There are times when the voice behind these words is not
an individual human being but the Creative Power Itself.
Sacred Hymns
Yunus's
lyrics are sacred songs that would have been sung in Sufi ceremonies and group
worship. They would also be sung informally as a social pastime. Much of the
beauty of these lyrics comes from a marriage of idiom and meter which no
translator could hope to equal in another language. The translator is faced
with choosing between the standards of literature and the accessibility of
song. Since these translations are meant to be read and to be reasonably
faithful to the meaning of Yunus’s words, I have chosen literary translation in
free verse as a form rather than popular song. It should be remembered, though,
that Yunus was not a “lettered” person. He was a pre-literate, an inspired
shepherd. For this reason my translation has been guided by a sense of
conversational idiom, the spoken word.
Some
centuries after Yunus lived, a collection of his songs came into the hands of a
certain orthodox and narrow-minded cleric by the name of Mullah Kasim. This
Mullah Kasim sat himself down on the bank of a stream and began to read Yunus’s
lyrics. Reading through song after song, the Mullah could be heard to mutter
the word “blasphemy,” crumpling that particular page and throwing it into the
stream. Unfortunately he had gone through about two-thirds of the collection
before he read the line in which Yunus reminds himself, “Speak truly, for one day
a Mullah Kasim will judge you.”
At
that point the Mullah stopped discarding pages.The lyrics that were not cast
upon the waters comprise what we know of Yunus’s work today. Most of the poems
here can be found in the collection of the scholar Golpinarli and are fully
accepted as the work of Yunus Emre. Also included are some of the best known
and loved songs of Turkish folk tradition, like “The Rivers of Paradise,” which
are of more questionable origin. It is a convention of this type of lyric to
include the author’s name in the last stanza. Many songs exist with Yunus’ name
in the final stanza whose authorship is actually anonymous. I have chosen to
include some of these less authoritative selections as well, songs which belong
to the Sea which started with the drop we call Yunus.
Kabir
Helminski
Putney,
Vermont
February, 1989
****
TURKISH
FIRST LINES:
The Roman numeral
references refer to: Gölpinarli, Abdülbâki.
Yunus Emre, Hayati ve Bütün Şiirleri. İstanbul 1981, except
where otherwise stated.
1. Whoever is given the
dervish path
Her
kime kim dervishlik bagishlana
CCLXXXII
2. If I told you about a
land of love
X (Eyüboglu
Collection)
Bilenlere
sormak gerek bu tendeki can neyimish?
XXI
4. We entered the house
of realization,
Manî
evine daldik vücud seyrini kildik
CCXXII
5. The drink sent down
from Truth,
Hak’tan
inen sherbeti içtik elhamdü lillah
CXIV
6. Let’s say the name of
Allah all the time.
Allah
diyelim daim, Mevlâm görelim neyler
CXIII (Eyüboglu
Collection)
Erenler
bir denizdir âshik gerek dalasi
CCLII
8. Our laws are
different from other laws.
CXLV (Eyüboglu
Collection)
9. Let the deaf listen
to the mute.
Dilsizler
haberini kulaksiz dinleyesi
CCXCVII
10. I haven’t come here
to settle down.
Benim bunda kararim
yok ben bunda gitmege geldim
CCLXIX
11. A single word can
brighten the face
Keleci
bilen kishinin yüzünü agede bir söz
CLXXV1I****
II.
13.
To be in love with love is to gain a soul,
Eger aski seversen cân olâsin
CCLXXIX
14.
True speech is the fruit of not speaking.
Söylememek harcisi söylemeğin hasidir
CIV
15.
Leave appearances. Come to essence and meaning.
Suretten gel sifâta onda ma’ni bulasin
CXC
16.
That by which our hearts are held,
XL (Eyüboglu
Collection)
17.
Oh Friend, when I began to love You,
Ey
dost seni sevelden aklim gitti kaldim ben
XCI
18.
How strange I feel under the hand of this love.
Acep
oldu halim bu ashk elinden
LXXXVI
19.
What sweet news of love shall I deliver
Ashiklara ne diyem ashk haberinden shirin
XCII
20.
Beloved, Your love pierces stone.
Dost
senin ashkin oku key kati tashtan geçer
LXXVI
21.
My soul, the way of the masters
Canim
erenler yolu inceden inceyimish
CLXXX
22.
Hey friends, whoever swore off love?
Ey yarenler kim ishitti âshik tövbe kildigini
cm
23.
Do you know, my friends, where the real saints are?
Bilir misiz ey yarenler gerçek erenler kandadir
LXXII
24.
I wasn’t sober until I drank the wine of Love.
Aklim bashima
gelmedi ashk sharabin tatmayinca
CXIII****
25.
The moment this sweetheart caught my eye
Kaçan ol dilber benim gözüme tudash oldu
XCVI
III.
26.
Wisdom comes from knowing wisdom,
ilim ilim bilmektir ilim kendin bilmektir
CLXXVI
27.
If you’ve broken a single heart,
XL (Eyüboglu
Collection)
Hakiyatin
ma’nîsin sherh ile bilmediler
CVII
29.
I am a sufi in the eyes of the people.
Sufiyim
halk içinde teşbih elimden gitmez
CCXLVI
30.
Before you’re able to give your soul
Sen
canindan geçemeden cânan arzu kilarsin
CCV
32.
Don’t advise those who aren’t in love.
LXXXIII (Eyüboglu
Collection)
33-
Those who learned to be truly human
CCXXXVII (Eyüboglu
Collection)
IV.
34.
Whatever I say, You are the subject.
Ne
söz keleci der isem dilim seni söyleyecek
LV
35.
Soul of my soul, without You I have no work to do.
Şensin benim cânim cani sensiz karârim yokdurur
XLVIII
36.
I am a fatherless pearl unrecognized by the sea.
Bir dürr-i yetimem
ki görmedi beni umman
CLVIII
37.
My love for you goes deeper than my soul
Severim
ben seni candan içeri
Cxxv****
38.
I have found the soul of souls.
CLXXVI (Eyüboglu
Collection)
39-
I am before and I am after
CCLXI (Eyüboglu
Collection)
40.
Love is my sect and religion.
Ey âshiklar ey
âshiklar mezhep ü din asktir bana
LXVII
41.
Truth gave me a heart bewildered
Hak bir gönül
verdi bana ha demeden hayrân olur
CXXII
42.
The rivers of paradise flow, chanting Allah, Allah
Sholjenettin irmaklari
43.
The inner man knows no worries on this path.
Ma’ni
eri bu yolda melül olasi değil
XXIII
44.
One day I had taken a walk
XI (Eyüboglu
Collection)
Hak
cihâna doludur kimsene Kakk’i bilmez
CCLXI
46.
Oh disciple of love, open your eyes,
Ey
ashk eri aç gözünü yer yüzüne eyle nazar
XVII
47.
If you need to be warned, come look at these graves.
Sana ibret gerek ise gel göresin bu sinleri
IV
48.
Put the world and its adornments aside,
Kogil dünyâ bezeğini bu dünya yeldir ya hayâl
CCLXIV
49.
Whatever separates you from the Truth
Seni
Hak’tan yigani her neyise ver gider
XVIII
50.
This King, He keeps on doing His work.
Ey
pâdishah ey pâdishah her dem için düzedurur
XXV****
51.
My life came and went like the wind,
Geldi geçti
ömrüm benim shol yel esip geçmish gibi
MI
52.
Oh Holy One, if ever You should ask—
Ya
ilahi ger sual etsen bana
CCLIII
I. The Dervish Way
Whoever
is given the dervish path
may his posturing cease and may he shine.
May his breath become musk and amber.
May whole cities
and homelands
gather fruit from his branches.
May his leaves be healing herbs for
the sick.
May much good
work be done in his shadow.
May his tears become a clear lake.
May reeds sprout
between his toes.
And among all
the poets and nightingales
in the Friend’s garden,
may Yunus hop like a partridge.
****
If I told you about a land of love,
friend, would you follow me and come?
In that land are vineyards
that yield a deadly wine—
no glass can hold it.
Would you swallow it as a
remedy?
The people there must suffer.
Would you serve
the sweetest drink to others
and take the bitter drink yourself?
There are no moons or suns there.
Nothing waxes or wanes.
Would you
surrender your plans
and forget about seductions?
Here we’re made
of water, earth, fire, and air.
Yunus, tell us, is this what you’re made of?
****
Ask those who know,
what’s this soul within the flesh?
Reality’s own power.
What blood fills these veins?
Thought is an errand boy,
fear a mine of worries.
These sighs are love’s clothing.
Who is the Khan
on the throne?
Give thanks for His unity.
He created when nothing existed.
And since we are actually nothing,
what are possessions, houses, shops?
God sent us here
to come and see the world.
This world
itself is not everlasting.
What are all of Solomon’s riches?
Ask Yunus and Taptuk
what the world means to them.
The world won’t last.
What are You?
What am I?
****
'We entered
the house of realization,
we witnessed the body.
The whirling
skies, the many-layered earth,
the seventy-thousand veils,
we found in the body.
The night and
the day, the planets,
the words inscribed on the Holy Tablets,
the hill that Moses climbed, the Temple,
and Israfil’s trumpet, we observed in the body.
Torab,
Psalms, Gospel, Quran—
what these
books have to say,
we found in the body.
Everybody says
these words of Yunus
are true. Truth is wherever you want it.
We found it all within the body.
****
The drink sent down from
Truth,
we drank it, glory be to God.
And we sailed
over the Ocean of Power,
glory be to God.
Beyond those
hills and oak woods,
beyond those vineyards and gardens,
we passed in health and joy, glory be to God.
We were dry, but we moistened.
We grew wings
and became birds,
we married one another and flew,
glory be to God.
To whatever
lands we came,
in whatever hearts, in all humanity,
we planted the meanings Taptuk taught us,
glory be to God.
Come here, let’s
make peace,
let’s not be strangers to one another.
We have saddled the horse
and trained it, glory be to God.
We became a trickle that grew into a
river.
We took flight
and dove into the sea,
and then we overflowed, glory be to God.
We came down to
the valley for winter,
we did some good and some bad things.
Now it’s spring and we’ll return, glory be to God.
We became
servants at Taptuk’s door.
Poor Yunus, raw and tasteless,
finally got cooked, glory be to God.
****
Let’s say the name of Allah all the
time.
Let’s see what my Lord does.
Let’s travel the Way always.
Let’s see what
my Lord does.
Just when you least expect it,
suddenly the veil is lifted.
The remedy arrives in time.
Let’s see what
my Lord does.
What did Yunus do?
What did he do?
He found a
straight Path,
held the hand of a guide.
Let’s see what my Lord does.
****
The mature ones are a sea.
A lover is
needed to take the plunge,
a diver to bring up a pearl.
When you have
brought
the pearl to the surface,
a jeweler is needed to know its worth.
Stay on the road until you arrive.
Be speechless. Don’t become a
salesman.
Find an ‘Ali to
follow.
Muhammed knew Truth in himself.
Truth is present everywhere.
You only need
eyes to see it.
Ask your daily
sustenance from Truth,
the only Apportioner.[1] Find someone
who is master of his ego.
The lovers asked
me to sing.
Someone without greed is needed
to complete what is started.
Sufi, who are you kidding?
Can anyone but
Truth
satisfy a human need?
Truth’s place is in the heart.
There’s a verse
in the Quran—In the soul
love has a tower higher than the throne of Creation.
I’ve gone crazy on this Way.
I can’t tell day from night.
The arrow of
Love has pierced my heart.
Come, poor Yunus, come,
hold the hands of the mature.
In their humility is a cure.
****
Our laws are different from other
laws.
Our religion is
like no other.
It is different from the seventy-two
sects.
We are guided by
different signs,
in this world and hereafter.
Without the
cleansing of visible waters,
without any movement of hands, feet, or head —
we worship.
Whether at the
Kaaba[2], in the mosque,
or in ritual prayer,
everyone carries their own disease.
Which labels
refer to whom, no one really knows.
Tomorrow it will be clear who abandoned the religion.
Yunus, renew
your soul, be remembered as a friend,
Know this power. Listen with the ears of love.
****
Let the deaf listen to the mute.
A soul is needed
to understand them both.
Without listening we understood.
Without
understanding we carried it out.
On this Way, the
seeker’s wealth is poverty.
We loved, we became lovers.
We were loved, we became the beloved.
When all is
perishing moment by moment
who has time to be bored?
God divided His
people into Seventy-two languages
and borders arose.
But poor Yunus
fills the earth and sky,
and under every stone hides a Moses.
****
I haven’t come here to settle down.
I’ve come here to depart.
I am a merchant with lots of goods,
selling to whoever will buy.
I didn’t come to create any problems,
I’m only here to love.
A Heart makes a good home for the
Friend.
I’ve come to build some hearts.
I’m a little drunk from this
Friendship—
Any lover would know the shape I’m in.
I’ve come to exchange my twoness,
to disappear in One.
He is my teacher. I am His servant.
I am a nightingale in His garden.
I’ve come to the Teacher’s garden
to be happy and die singing.
They say “Souls which know each other
here,
know each other there.”
I’ve come to know a Teacher
and to show myself as I am.
****
A single word can brighten
the face
of one who knows the value of words.
Ripened in silence, a single word
acquires a great energy for work.
War is cut short
by a word,
and a word heals the wounds,
and there’s a word that changes
poison into butter and honey.
Let a word mature inside yourself.
Withhold the unripened thought.
Come and
understand the kind of word
that reduces money and riches to dust.
Know when to speak a word
and when not to speak at all.
A single word
turns a universe of hell
into eight paradises.
Follow the Way. Don’t be fooled
by what you already know. Be watchful.
Reflect before you speak.
A foolish mouth
can brand your soul.
Yunus, say one
last thing
about the power of words—
Only the word “I”
divides me from God.
****
Dervishood tells
me, you cannot become a dervish.
So what can I
tell you? You cannot become a dervish.
A dervish needs a wounded heart and
eyes full of tears.
He needs to be as easy going as a
sheep.
You can’t be a
dervish.
He must be without hands when someone
hits him.
He must be tongueless when cursed.
A dervish needs to be without any
desire.
You can’t be a
dervish.
You make a lot of sounds with your
tongue, meaningful things.
You get angry about this and that.
You can't be a
dervish.
If it were all
right to be angry on this path,
Muhammed himself would have gotten angry.
Because of your anger, you can't be a dervish.
Unless you find
a real path, unless you find a guide,
unless Truth grants you your portion,
you can't be a dervish.
Therefore, dervish Yunus, come,
dive into the ocean now and then.
Unless you dive
in the ocean, you cannot be a dervish.
****
II. The Way
of Love
To be in love
with love is to gain a soul,
to sit on the throne of hearts.
To love the world is to be afflicted.
Later the
secrets start to make sense.
Don’t be a
bramble,
become the rose. Let your maturity unfold.
The brambles will only burn.
Prayer was
created by God so man could ask for help.
It’s too bad if you haven’t learned to ask.
Accept the breath of those who are
mature—
let it become your divining rod.
If you obey your
self, things turn out wrong.
Renouncing the world is the beginning
of worship.
If you are a
believer, believe this.
Respect your
parents and ancestry,
and you will have fine green clothes of your own.
If you earn the
complaints of neighbors,
You’ll stay in Hell forever.
Yunus heard these words from the masters.
If you need this
advice, take it.
They say one who
is received by a heart
becomes more beautiful.
****
True speech is
the fruit of not speaking.
Too much talking clouds the heart.
If you want to
clear the heart,
say this much, the essence of all talking:
Speak truly. God speaks through words
truly spoken.
Falsity ends in
pain.
Unless you
witness all of creation in a single glance,
you’re in sin even with all your religion.
The explanation of the Law is this:
The Law is a
ship. Truth is her ocean.
No matter how
strong the wood,
the sea can smash the ship.
The secret is this:
A “saint” of
religion may in reality be an unbeliever.
We will master
this science and read this book of love.
God instructs. Love is His school.
Since the glance
of the saints fell on poor Yunus
nothing has been a misfortune.
****
Leave appearances. Come to essence and
meaning.
Don’t dwell in
images or you’ll never mature.
The Way is amazing but don’t be
deceived.
Let it be a
wonder to see the Friend’s face.
Dress yourself in love. Set out on the
Way to the Friend.
Persevere and
you’ll have so much to see.
From here to the
city of Love three hundred oceans you’ll travel,
and after crossing them seven hells.
Let yourself
burn up, burn to ashes in each one,
until nothing’s left of your body, except a very different one.
The city of
Reality has seven doors, and over a gate the words:
Come in and know the power of your Lord.
At the first
door sits someone with a moon-like glow,
secure, without blemish, who knows what it is to be poor.
At the second door are two lions
who’ve scared many away.
At the third
door are three dragons—but don’t turn back.
At the fourth door are four great
saints.
You carry this
word as a sign and evidence for admission.
At the fifth door are five monks
with much to
sell, but you are to buy nothing.
At the sixth door sits a virgin,
radiant as the
moon, but don’t go to her,
because if you
go to her and take her
and satisfy yourself, you’ll fall short of your goal.
At the seventh
door, seven great men of God
will say to you: You’re safe,
come inside and meet the Friend.
These words I’ve spoken are not
outside the body.
If you meditate
you’ll find them too.
Yunus speaks every word from the One
Word.
If it is this
ore you seek, you’ll find it in humbleness.
****
That by which our hearts are held,
whole worlds love it too.
I can’t deny the
truth—
many ways lead to the One.
Those whom the Beloved loves,
we must also love.
If someone is a
friend to the Friend,
how can we afford not to be friends?
If you would be
a lover,
befriend him who loves your Friend;
and if you cannot,
don’t call yourself a friend of mine.
Whomever you tend to despise,
hold dear instead.
Don’t belittle others, respect them.
This is where
the path leads.
If your heart is filled with love,
your way is sacrifice.
Through sacrifice
you will find your place
in the ranks of Love.
Hearts which truly love the Truth,
Truth will open a door wide.
Dismantle the house of selfishness.
Put away your
self-regard.
High and low, enemy, neighbor,
the Friend serves them all.
Whoever wants to
spread this word
must first go out of his home.
This counsel that Yunus gives
is like buried gold.
Those who love the Friend
find peace in both worlds.
****
Oh Friend, when I began to love You,
my intellect went and left me.
I gazed at the
rivers. I dove into the seas.
But a spark of Love’s fire
can make the seas boil.
I fell in,
caught fire, and burned.
A soul in love is free of worries.
With love all problems left me.
With love I
became happy.
When the nightingale saw the face
of the red rose, it fell in love.
I saw the faces
of those who matured,
and became a nightingale.
I was a dead
tree fallen onto the path.
When a master threw me a glance
and brought me to life.
Yunus, if you are a true lover,
humble yourself.
Humility was
chosen by them all.
****
How strange I feel under the hand of
this love.
I can’t see my
way, under the hand of this love.
Once I was the crown of the universe.
Now I’m dirt to
walk on, under the hand of this love.
Like a lonely nightingale I call.
Blood streams
from my eyes, under the hand of this love.
My face, like an
autumn leaf, will glow,
darken and die, under the hand of this love.
On the Final Day
with my collar torn
let me weep, under the hand of this love.
What can I do when I’m so far from
Union?
My back is bent,
under the hand of this love.
Yunus, you pray for Taptuk so much.
Don’t ask “What
shall I do?” under the hand of this love.
****
What sweet news of love shall I
deliver?
Let me speak to
those who will listen, one by one.
At first, before
earth or sky existed,
without beginning, there was the ground of love,
an infinite beginning,
able to bring anything into existence.
Those who gathered at this beginning
saw the face of the Friend
and became the souls of lovers.
Ask them for
news of love.
Don’t compare anything to love,
it’s not possible.
Nothing
substitutes for love
in this world or the next.
Be careful, the news of love is a
trust.
Be careful not
to speak to just anyone.
Among jewellers
there’s an unspoken rule:
don’t show a pearl to someone who won’t know
its worth.
Yunus’s mind was so filled with love,
he couldn’t hide his pain.
Love spoke through him.
He didn’t choose
to.
****
Beloved, Your love pierces stone.
I lost head and soul in this
love.
I fill Your night and day with my
sorrow.
You’ve become a
friend of my love.
Someone who
worries only about You
is saved from many fears.
The heart that
falls into Your love, burns and burns.
The one who gives himself to You,
gives up everything else.
Worldliness looks like a poison.
Someone who
lives with a vision of the End
passes up poisons.
Someone who is
sane doesn’t do the Work for wages.
He doesn’t become charmed by houries,
he passes up their looks.
A real lover gives his soul to Your
house.
Thousands
sacrificed their souls just to talk with You.
For the wise this world is a dream.
Someone who
gives himself to You,
goes beyond dreams.
Yunus’s heart
and eyes are filled with a love of Truth.
In good conversation distinctions blur
between stranger and friend.
****
My soul,
the way of the masters
is thinner than the thinnest.
What blocked Solomon's way
was an ant.
Night and day
the lover’s
tears never end,
tears of blood,
remembering the Beloved.
“The lover is outcast and idle,”
they used to tell me.
It’s true.
It happened to
me.
I tried to make
sense of the Four Books[3],
until love arrived,
and it all became a single syllable.
You who claim to
be dervishes
and to never do what God forbids—
the only time you’re free of sin
is when you’re in His hands.
Two people were talking.
One said, “I
wish I could see this Yunus.”
“I’ve seen him,” the other says,
“He’s just another old lover.”
****
Hey friends, whoever swore off love?
What falling
star ever set fire to the ocean?
Beloved, the
fire of Your love
set the ocean of my heart aflame.
Folks think it's strange how it boils
and miracles come to the surface.
A hundred thousand like Jesus and
Moses
wander aimlessly in Your love.
Folks think it
strange that the crocodile of love
swallowed me too!
Let the slave
learn to swim
before entering the ocean.
The sea of love is bottomless,
don’t be surprised when you go down.
An untrained eye mistakes a pearl for
a bead
and sells it for almost nothing.
Whoever doesn’t
see His Face here openly,
tomorrow, wanders around aimless and
unaware.
Yunus says, “I serve a Master.
Our Taptuk has
the Face of the Friend.”
If this is hard to believe,
do whatever else you can.
****
Do you know,
my friends, where the real saints are?
Wherever I look, wherever I want them, they’re there.
My words bounce
off the loveless like an echo from stone.
Do you know, whoever hasn’t got at least an atom of love,
lives in a wilderness?
Don’t be a liar, don’t lie to love.
Whoever lies
here, earns a sentence in the other world.
Oh, you unaware of Yourself,
you don’t
understand the meaning of words,
if you desire the realness of Truth,
here it is in knowledge and in the Quran-.
If Allah says, “He is Mine,”
Allah keeps giving the realness of
Love.
Whoever has an
atom of Love,
has the realness of God within.
Many people tell Yunus,
“You’re too old
to be a lover,”
but this love is so new and fresh.
****
I wasn’t sober until
I drank the wine of Love.
I didn’t know
myself
until I met a master.
Is your own
knowledge enough
to bring you where you have to go?
You won’t reach Allah, you’ll be stuck,
unless you take a hand.
If religion and
faith are what you want,
work hard and be righteous in this life.
But unless you finish it today,
you’ll have the same task in the next world.
A nightingale falls in love with the
Rose.
The whole love affair begins
with just one look from God.
A true word
ripens within.
It was easy to speak
when my heart was in submission.
Is a lover ever
valued for his words
unless he also delivers the goods?
To understand poor Yunus’s words,
you have to love very much.
It’s like the
language of birds—
what can you do but sing?
****
The moment this sweetheart
caught my eye
she washed away my thoughts
and became my heart’s companion.
My heart is Her slave. My soul, Her slave.
They struggle over who will
be with Her.
But I know that I hold the power over them.
No one ever told me, but She
became my happiness.
Wherever I look it’s Her that I see.
Even in Winter, Her Spring
surrounds me.
I’m no Khidr or Elias,
and sometimes I’ve made a mess of things;
yet however little I ate and
drank, I was well fed.
The whole
universe has this Affection inside.
Without this deep Love, faith hardens.
If the fire of
Your Love touches anyone, well...
it touched Yunus and opened him to the universe.
In this poem I have chosen to translate the pronouns as
feminine. The Turkish does not specify gender.
****
III. Necessary
Lessons
Wisdom comes from knowing wisdom.
Wisdom means
knowing oneself.
If you do not
know yourself,
what is the point of reading books?
The point of
reading is to know something real.
Since you have read and do not know it,
reading is useless.
Don’t say, “I’ve read, I’ve learned.”
Don’t say, “I’ve
worshipped a lot.”
If you don’t
accept the Perfect Man,
all other works are futile.
The meaning of
the Four Books is clear and complete.
It shows itself in the first letter, aleph.
If you don’t
know what aleph is,
what do you know of reading?
You recite every syllable of the
alphabet.
You say “Aleph,”
but how little it means.
Yunus Emre says:
“Hey Hoja,
you’ve made a thousand pilgrimages
but never been welcomed by a single heart.”
****
If you’ve
broken a single heart,
the prayers you make aren’t accepted.
The seventy-two
peoples of the world
could not wash your hands and face.
So many masters
have come and gone.
They migrated. Their ancient lands remain.
They opened
their wings and flew to Reality, [4]
not as geese but as eagles.
A way is true if it’s straight.
An eye is that
which can see the Real.
And doing good even once is no small
thing.
It can return a
thousandfold.
Yunus combines
words
as if mixing honey into butter.
He’s in business
among people,
with goods of the highest worth.
****
Those who became complete
didn’t live this life in hypocrisy,
didn’t learn the meaning of things
by reading commentaries.
Reality is an
ocean; the Law is a ship.
Many have never left the ship,
never jumped into the sea.
They might have come to Worship
but they stopped at rituals.
They never knew
or entered the Inside.
Those who think
the Four Books
were meant to be talked about,
who have only read explanations
and never entered meaning,
are really in sin.
Yunus means
“true friend”
for one whose journey has begun.
Until we transform our Names,
we haven’t found the Way.
****
I am a Sufi in the eyes of the people.
I go around with
prayer beads in hand.
My tongue speaks of knowledge
my heart doesn’t accept.
I wear a diploma around my neck,
and yet my prayers aren’t real.
Worries occupy
my mind
and I can’t keep my eyes on the Way.
My speaking of knowledge is a kind of
lie.
I can’t be
modest, pride never leaves my heart.
Although I look like a dervish,
I have no patience at all
and I am full of doubts.
Whatever goes in
my ears
never reaches the inside.
Those who see me
kiss my hand,
they look at my jacket and hat.
They think I am free from sin.
Outwardly I
lecture and lead prayers;
inside, in my heart’s bazaar
are things even a sly man
wouldn’t dream of in a thousand years.
Yunus, put your need in front of
Allah.
He is Generous,
He does not do
what you do.
****
Before you're
able to give your soul,
you want the Beloved.
Before you
discard the rope of doubt,
you want faith.
You repeat, “He who knows himself,
knows his Lord.”[5]
But you haven’t
known and you want to surpass the angels.
You’re a child
who wants to jump on a horse
and ride into the game without a polo stick.
You don’t know you’re a pearl within
mother-of-pearl.
Without first
ruling Egypt, you want the land of Canaan.
Yunus, endure every trouble as Job
did.
Don’t take the
remedy before the pain.
****
Sorrowful one, why do you go
around in tears?
If my Lord
causes me to weep,
surely He will make me laugh some day.
So many of the sorrowful landed here,
then migrated back.
If my lord
causes me to weep,
surely He will make me laugh some day.
This suffering
is my dearest companion.
When my sighs and tears rise up,
His gifts and kindness are the cause.
If my Lord causes you to weep,
surely He will make you laugh some day.
All the while, turn your face toward
the Truth;
all the while, remember His name.
He gives grief to those He favors.
If my Lord cause
you to weep,
surely He will make you laugh some day.
Don’t leave this poor head of yours in
love,
or bloody tears will flow.
He is generous, He even makes repairs.
If my Lord
causes you to weep,
surely He will make you laugh some day.
Yunus, so many states before your
eyes,
so many places to stop.
Stop and call
your Lord night and day.
If my Lord causes
you to weep,
surely He will make you laugh some day.
****
Don’t advise those who aren’t in love.
The unloving,
like animals, can’t understand.
Don’t distance yourself from the wise,
but avoid the shallow.
The ungiving disappoint God.
They cannot see
His face.
Don’t waste time
on drab pigeons
who consort with moles,
who avoid the deep-diving loon.
Falcon and King, each praises the
other.
Even a weak
falcon is a falcon still.
And if you wash
some dark stone for fifty years,
you won’t really transform it.
The hidden sun,
Muhammed, changed appearance.
Some say he died. He never does.
Yunus, don’t be stupid, mix with the
mature.
A fool who talks
of spiritual things is still a fool.
****
IV. Presence
and Unity
Those
who learned to be truly human
found everything in being humble.
While those who looked proudly from
above,
were pushed down the stairs.
A heart that must always feel superior
will one day lose its way.
What should be
within, leaks out.
The old man with the white beard
never sees the state he’s in.
He needn’t waste
money on making the Hajj,
if he’s broken someone’s heart.
The heart is the seat of God,
where God is aware.
You won’t find
happiness
in either world, if you break a heart.
The deaf man doesn’t hear,
the blind man mistakes day for night.
Yet the universe is filled with light.
We’ve seen how
those who came later moved on.
Whatever you think of yourself,
think the same of others.
This is the
meaning of the Four Books,
if they have one.
May Yunus not stray from the path,
nor get on his high horse.
May the grave
and the Judgement be no concern,
if what he loves is the face of God.
****
Whatever I say, You are the subject.
Wherever I go,
every impulse is toward You.
It’s true, those
who don’t love You are soul-less dolls,
but the living need a Beloved like You.
You’ve veiled Yourself from the whole
universe.
At a single
sight of You it would perish.
Giants and elves, humans, angelic powers,
all beings are in love with You.
The seraphim and
maidens of paradise crowd around You
and can't bear to leave Your presence.
From Your hand poison is a delicious
drink.
My soul is
healed by anything You do.
When I eat something sweet without
You, it’s bitter.
You are the
soul’s taste, what else could I want?
If my soul suffered a hundred wounds,
my joy would not decrease.
This love washes
everything clean.
Yunus is just
one atom of it. This planet,
this whole universe is born from a taste of love.
****
Soul of my soul,
Without You I have no work to do.
If You are absent from Paradise,
I don’t need to go there.
If I look, all I see is You.
If I speak, I speak of You.
There is no better prey
than You whom I secretly watch.
Because I forgot myself,
because I went to You,
in any conversation, in every state,
I haven’t got a moment’s rest.
You can kill me
seventy times,
and like St. George, I’ll resurrect,
and crawl back unashamed.
Show Your face to Yunus.
He loves You and has no other.
****
I am a fatherless pearl unrecognized by the sea.
I am the drop that contains the ocean.
Its waves are
amazing. It’s beautiful to be a sea
hidden within an infinite drop.
When Majnun spoke Layla’s name,
he broke the meter of his poem.
I was both Layla
and Majnun who adored her.
Mansur[6] did not speak
idly of Unity.
He was not
kidding when he said, “I am Truth.”
In this world of many,
You are Joseph and I am Jacob.
In the universe
of Unity,
there is neither Joseph nor Canaan.
That my name is
Yunus
is a problem in this material world.
But if you ask my real name,
it is the Power behind all powers.
****
My love for You goes deeper than my
own soul.
My way amounts to this:
I don’t say I’m inside of myself. I’m
not.
The I within me
is deeper than myself.
Anywhere I look, it’s filled with You.
Where can I put You if You’re already
inside.
You are Beauty
without features,
something deeper than any signs.
Don’t ask me about myself. I’m not
inside.
My body walks. I’m clothed, yet empty.
I can’t lay a
hand on the One who took me from myself.
You can’t go over the head of the Boss.
Some people get their share of
revelations,
and some people go deeper than this.
In the beautiful
light of His face
is a fire brighter than the light of day.
What a suffering it is
that’s deeper than any remedy.
The Law and the Brotherhood are paths.
Truth and Wisdom
are still deeper.
They say Solomon knew the language of
birds.
Within Solomon is a deeper Solomon.
I’ve forgotten religion and piety.
What if there’s
a doctrine deeper than religion?
The works of those who leave the faith
are blasphemy. What about a blasphemy
that goes deeper than faith?
Yunus chanced to
meet a Friend
who showed him a door inside.
****
I have found the soul of
souls.
Let this soul of
mine be taken.
I’ve forgotten gain and loss.
Let this shop of
mine be plundered.
I’ve passed beyond my very self.
I’ve removed the
veils before me.
I am together with the Friend.
Let these doubts
of mine fall away.
My own ego abandoned me.
The Friend took
everything I had.
Those who give and take are friends.
Let this
language of mine be jumbled.
I cut all ties and went to the Friend.
I fell in with
God. Let my poems be scattered.
I became tired
of twoness
and ate at the table of Oneness.
I drank the wine of suffering.
Let all my
remedies be thrown out.
Since this
journey of Being began,
the Friend has rushed to meet us.
Light has filled the ruins of this
heart.
Let this
universe of mine be shattered.
I have passed up dreams.
I have tired of
summers and winters.
I have found the Gardener of flowers.
Let this garden
of mine be dug up.
Yunus, you say
it well,
smooth as honey.
I have found the honey of honeys.
Let this hive of
mine be given away.
****
I am before and I am after.
I am the life of many lives.
I am Khidr when
he appears
to those who have lost their way.
I am the secret
found
in settling down to work.
When I hide myself within a heart,
the blind do not need eyes to see me.
The One who causes
particles to collide
at the moment of “Be,”[7]
the One whose glance constructs a world,
the One through whom the table is set,
I am the guardian of every love.
I’ve made the fields flat
and I’ve built the mountains.
I put the skies above you.
I sustain all
things.
I am the faith of lovers.
I am Islam and I
am blasphemy.
The One who
gives life and also gives order,
the One who correctly wrote the Four Books,
the One putting black marks
on white sheets of paper,
and the Quran—I am.
The one who is
united with the Friend
and does what the Friend says,
the Creator of possessions,
Who sets up the world,
I am the Gardener.
The One who carried Hamza over Mount
Kaf* [8],
The One who untied his hands and feet.
That poisonous
snake behind the Simurgh
and Kaf, are Me.
This is not Yunus speaking.
but his very Self.
Not to believe this would be
blasphemy.
The First, the Last, the Present, I
am.
****
Love is my sect and religion.
When my eyes saw
the face of the Friend,
all sorrows became joys.
Here, my King,
I give myself to You.
From beginning
to end
all my treasure and richness is You.
The source of this mind and soul,
the origin of space
are with You.
You are the end and everything
between.
I can only go
toward You.
My way is from You to You.
My tongue speaks of You within You.
And yet my hand can’t touch You.
This knowledge
amazes me.
I can no longer call myself “I”.
I can’t call anybody “you” anymore.
I can’t say this one is a servant
and that one is a king.
It doesn't make
any sense.
Since I found
the love of the friend
this world and the next world are one.
If you ask about the infinite beginning
and the infinite end,
they are my night and day.
No longer do I
mourn
or cloud my heart,
because truth’s voice is heard,
and I'm at my own wedding.
Don’t let me wander from Your love,
don’t let me leave Your door,
and if I lose myself
let me find
myself with You.
The Friend sent me here.
Go and see the world, he said.
I have come and seen
how beautifully it’s arranged.
But those who
love You don’t stay here.
He tells His servants,
Tomorrow I will give you paradise.
That tomorrow is
my today.
Who else knows this wisdom and this
pain?
And if it is ever known,
it cannot be said.
I turn my face
to You.
You are the soul and the universe,
the secret treasure.
All gain and loss is from You.
My acts are no
longer my own.
Yunus turns his face to You
forgetting himself.
He speaks every word to You.
It is You who
makes him speak
****
Truth gave me a heart bewildered
before a syllable is spoken.
There comes a moment of happiness,
then one of weeping.
The next moment like winter—long and
dark,
the next like a birth—
flower gardens and fine vineyards appear.
A moment comes when he can’t speak,
he can’t explain a thing!
In another moment pearls fall from his
tongue,
remedies for those who suffer.
In another moment he rises to the
heights,
in the next he’s beneath the earth.
In one moment he’s a drop,
in another he’s boiled over into an ocean.
One moment he remains in the dark,
he can’t know anything;
in the next he dives into a sea of
wisdom.
He becomes a Galen, a Luqman.
One moment he becomes a giant or
sprite
living in some ruins.
In the next he’s flying with Belkis,
he’s a sultan of men and jinns.
One moment he enters the mosque
and puts his face to the floor;
the next he’s going to church,
reading the Gospel and becoming a monk.
A moment comes when like Jesus
he raises the dead.
A moment comes when he enters the
house of pride
and becomes another Pharoah or Hamam.
One moment he’s Gabriel
bestowing abundantly to every gathering,
next moment he’s lost,
and poor Yunus stands astonished.
****
The rivers of paradise flow,
chanting Allah, Allah.
The nightingales of Islam are perched all around,
singing, Allah, Allah.
The branches of the Tuba tree wave,
each heart and tongue reciting the Quran.
In the rose
garden of Paradise, the fragrance of Allah.
Food and drink spread out for you by
angels.
The Prophet
Idris sewing your astral garments,
chanting, Allah, Allah.
These strolling virgins of Paradise,
their words are musk and amber.
Their faces are
brighter than the moon,
singing Allah, Allah.
You fall in love
with Truth and begin to cry,
You become holy light both inside and out,
singing Allah, Allah.
Whatever you desire, ask it of Truth.
Be a guide on the straight path.
The nightingale
has fallen in love with the rose,
singing Allah.
The doors of the
heavens opened,
and the doors of eight paradises,
all singing Allah, Allah.
Rizwan[9] opens the doors
dressed in astral clothes.
Those who drink the wine of Kevser[10],
become content and chant, Allah, Allah.
Dervish Yunus, go to your lover now,
don’t delay another day.
Tomorrow you’ll enter the court of
Truth,
singing Allah, Allah.
****
V. Life and
Death
The inner man knows no
worries on this path.
The inner heart
does not know death.
Bodies perish, but not the soul. Those
who are gone
don’t return.
Bodies are for
dying. That’s not what a soul is for.
The heart will
never find the pearl it seeks,
even in a thousand years, unless it’s given.
Be careful, your Beloved’s heart is
easily broken.
Such fine
crystal once shattered is never restored.
And unless you
put your cup to the fountain,
even in a thousand years it won’t be filled.
Both Khidr[11]
and Elias drank the water of life.
These days they
are not dead.
The world was made for the sake of the
Prophet and
his friendship.
Those who come
to this world do not remain.
Yunus, today while you have eyes to
see,
do what you must.
Those who attain
do not come back.
****
One day I had taken a walk
and came upon a tree of great height.
I said to this slim beauty,
“Tell me a few of your secrets.
What’s the meaning of stretching so
tall
in such a temporary world?
Come back among the humble again.
You embellish
your beauty endlessly,
but why not take some pains for Truth instead?
Find your heart’s real need.”
The tree will age, its time will pass.
A bird will perch on a branch,
and one day it will seem
there was no bird at all.
One day your end will come,
your great length will fall to earth.
Your branches
will be thrown in the fire
and the pots will boil on red hot iron.
Yunus, you are
only one,
and yet you have a hundred thousand faults.
Having reflected on a stiff tree’s fate,
think of your own.
****
The Truth fills the world,
but to whom is Truth known?
You ask so much of It,
but It isn’t separate from yourself.
You believe in
the world,
you claim your daily bread as your own.
How long will you keep up your lie?
You know it’s not like that.
It’s a long way to the other world.
Be honest with
yourself
through all the separation and painful yearning.
Those who attain do not return.
Those who come to the world will
one by one drink the juice of death.
This world is
just a bridge
although the young wouldn’t guess it.
Come, let’s get to know each other
and make our work easier.
Let’s love, let’s be loved.
No one inherits
this world.
Yunus, if you can understand,
if you can hear the meaning,
find a little happiness.
No one’s here
forever.
****
Oh disciple of love, open your eyes,
look to the face of the land.
See these subtle
plants, how their flowering passes.
With such care
they grow toward the Friend—
ask them what goal they have in mind.
Each flower has
a thousand ways it flirts with Truth.
Every bird with its song is remembering the Ruler.
They praise His
Ability, His Presence in every detail,
yes, and as they see the shortness of life, they pale.
Each day their color changes,
until they fall to the ground.
This is a
teaching for the wise to understand.
Your coming doesn’t lead anywhere.
Your laughter isn’t funny.
Your only
destination is death,
if you haven’t learned to love.
Yunus, forget about talking,
take your hand off your self. What can
you do?
Not a single
thing, good or bad, is apart from God.
****
If you need to
be warned, come, look at these graves.
Even a stone would soften after seeing them.
And those with
great riches, see to what end they came,
wrapped in simple cloth, a shirt without sleeves.
Where are those
who used to say “These riches are mine,”
who weren’t satisfied merely with a fine house.
Now they’re
covered with stone.
They never were at home in God’s
house.
They neglected the rules, the worship.
They never
learned to serve. Now their time is passed.
Here are those who talked so well,
those with sun-tanned faces.
They have died
and disappeared.
Once these were the bosses many worked
for.
Come and tell me
now—which is which?
There’s neither a door to enter nor
food to eat.
There’s no light
to see. Daylight is now darkness.
Yunus, all you call your own you’ll
leave behind.
Your possessions
will abandon you.
****
Put the world and its
adornments
aside, the world which weighs
less than a dream or a breeze.
Do you expect it to be faithful?
It’s just
waiting to run away.
Don’t wish for
things
as brief as these,
things even the Sultan can’t hold on to.
We took our
worries with us,
those imaginary companions,
when we could have been with the Friend.
Balance the
books yourself,
before someone does it for you.
Kill your
compulsive self,
lay it on the stone slab for washing,
so that before death surprises you,
you’ll be in the right hands.
Whoever asks you
what you believe in,
kiss their hands and feet,
show them the answer.
Yunus, a
straight way seems right for you.
Join with Truth now, resurrect with Truth.
****
Whatever separates you from the Truth,
throw it away, it will vanish anyhow.
Why do you feed this flesh?
In the grave worms and birds
will feast on it,
and it will vanish too.
Open your eyes and look at someone who
has died.
The beard and hair fall off.
Snakes and
centipedes come hungry, feed themselves,
and leave contented.
Those who are
greater than us,
those with courtesy and right action,
say “This is the story,” and leave.
“Take your hand away from unfair
gains,
and hold your gossiping tongue,
before Azrael[12] comes and
closes the shop.”
The moment of death comes and the head
dries,
old age reaches its end very soon.
Mountains and
rocks are flattened,
the sky is rolled up and the earth disappears.[13]
The soul will face its Day of
Reckoning
and so work hard.
The one who
worships at dawn,
goes to the House of God matured.
“Yunus, the poor one” will die,
his grave will fill with holy light.
“Faith” will be his comrade
when he goes
like a lion to the next world.
****
This King, this King, He keeps on
doing His work.
The world is His orchard.
He keeps on
sending pain to the one He loves.
Don’t do wrong,
the moment of
death is closer to you than yourself.
It has made its home in our own roots and origins,
It demolishes us all.
In a single moment you will reach
there,
so work hard here.
The soul is not here forever,
it wanders
around for a few days in the flesh.
A Questioner comes, tears back the
earth,
and asks, “Who is your God?”
And this soul of
mine hears him
and my bones keep on aching.
Those who accept God’s Unity,
those who sacrifice their souls for
God,
these souls are not dead,
they’re swimming
in the waters of Love.
I have seen—those who attained flew
away.
They drank from the full cup of Love.
Their whims are
tolerated at the level of Truth,
Their heads are bowed.
Yunus, if you are the servant of the
wise,
don’t forget your death.
So many of the
attained have come and gone,
now our turn has come.
****
My life came and went
like the wind, between the opening
and closing of an eye.
As Truth is my witness
the soul is the body’s guest.
A day is going to come when
like a bird, it flies out of the cage.
The poor sons of Adam have sown
their seeds across the earth.
Some grew and some were lost.
My insides burn
in this world,
my essence is afire. Some die young,
cut down like wheat still green.
If you visit the sick
or bring someone water,
tomorrow you’ll be served
the wine of Truth.
If you give your clothes
to the poor, tomorrow
you’ll be wearing astral clothes.
Yunus Emre, they say only two people
stay in this world forever—
Khidr and Elias,
who drink the water of life.
****
Oh Holy One, if ever You should ask—
these would be my answers to You:
I have sinned
against myself,
but what, oh King, have I done to You?
Before I came, You said my soil was
bad.
Before I was
born, Adam rebelled.
In the eternal past I was written down
a rebel.
You filled the
universe with my loud voice.
You did whatever You wanted with me.
You brought me
to whatever I found.
Have I constructed You? It’s You who
made me.
Why, oh
Enricher, did You fill me with things to be
ashamed of?
I open my eyes and what I see is the
prison inside.
It’s filled with
animal needs, demons, and ambitions.
So that I would not die in this
prison,
I have eaten
unclean foods once or twice.
Has anything
that You possess diminished,
or has my judgment ever surpassed Yours?
Did I eat Your daily bread and leave
You hungry?
Did I waste Your
wealth and leave You in poverty?
You stretch a bridge thin as a hair
and say, “Come and save yourself from My trap!”
****
Your servants build bridges with good
in mind—
the good of crossing safely.
They build them
strong so that people who pass over
might say, “This is a good bridge.”
You set up
scales to weigh people’s intentions,
and You intend to put me in the fire.
It’s grocers who
need scales—
and greedy peddlars and druggists.
Because sin is the prize of the
filthy,
even the useless
gain something from Your being.
All I want from You is Your love.
Why uncover my
faults and put them on a scale?
Will it please You to watch me burn?
For God’s sake,
oh Teacher of Creation, it’s impossible.
You are All-Seeing. You, Yourself,
know my state.
Why then do You
need to weigh my actions?
Didn’t Your need for revenge end when
You killed me?
You made me rot
and stuffed my eyes with dirt.
Has the hand of Yunus ever hurt You,
You who know the
Seen and the Unseen?
So many empty words from a handful of
dirt!
What do You
need, oh Generous One, oh Power!
****
Refik Afgan, M.D. lives in Istanbul,
Turkey and is a student of the Sufi path.
Kabir Edmund Helminski lives in Vermont
and is the Director of the Threshold Society which seeks to apply traditional
spiritual teachings to contemporary life. He is also the author/translator of The
Ruins of The Heart, Selected Lyric Poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi.
[1] see: Quran: Sura XLIII, 32...
[2] Kaaba: An ancient black cube in Mecca and the focal point ofthe
Islamic Pilgrimage or Hajj.
[3] Torah, Psalms, Gospel, Quran, considered by Islamic
tradition to be four Divinely revealed books.
[4] Al-Haqq, God, Reality.
[5]A saying of Muhammed's, peace and blessings upon him.
[6]Mansur al-Hallaj (d. 922), a great Sufi martyred for his
ecstatic utterance.
[7]The moment when God said "BE," and it was.
[8] Mount Kaf: Literally, the Caucasus Mountains; the cosmic
mountain and the home of the Simurgh, a Divine bird who
was the goal in Attar's
Conference of the Birds.
[9] Rizwan-. the gatekeeper of Paradise.
[10] Kevser: the spring of Paradise.
[11] Khidr in Islamic tradition is an immortal who may appear in
human form to give help and guidance to those in need.
[12]Azrael: Angel of Death.
[13]An allusion to Quran, Surah XXI, 104.
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