Emily O'Dell with Rumi posters in Afghanistan
Step aboard the ship and set sail,
like the soul going towards the soul’s Beloved.
Without hands or feet, travel toward Timelessness,
just as spirits flee from non-existence.
— Rumi
When I was traveling through Afghanistan, I found visual and poetic traces of Rumi in almost every direction–from Persian verses of his masterpiece being recited by children to bright posters stamped with his image stuck on mudbrick walls. On the poster above, Rumi’s name is given as Mevlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi–with “Balkhi” meaning the one from “Balkh” (where this photo was taken). Today, Rumi’s legacy is alive and well in even the most remote corners of Afghanistan…
I know that I belong to the city of those who have no place. But to find my way there I need to let go of my knowing.
— Rumi
Many Afghans believe that Rumi’s family lived in Balkh, Afghanistan before fleeing west to escape the wrath of the Mongols. Tajiks and others, however, contend that his family lived in what is now Vakhsh, Tajikistan–and since Rumi wrote in Persian, Iranians lay a great claim to him too. With his hallowed mausoleum resting in Konya, Turkey’s tangible connection to this mystic master brings tourists and seekers from far and wide to pay their respects. Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of Rumi’s legacy–and who can blame them? But for Rumi, there was no question to whom he belonged: “I belong to the beloved, and have seen the two worlds as one.”
Each moment, another spiritual seeker travels
lovedrunk and wasted to the purest of realms
to dissolve in the Beloved.
What is the soul? It is the wine vat of kings,
sheltering the wine of paradise.
Tasting it, we lose our “selves”–
and every utterance seems in vain…
— Rumi
