From Rumi’s Fihi Ma Fihi: Discourses 53, 54 and 57, Part 2 of 2

Discourse 54 “We perform every effort of ours, whether good or evil, according to our own plans and purpose, but the wisdom of that deed is not limited to our intentions. We are only able to see that portion of the wisdom and benefits that derive from our actions. God, however, knows the total advantage of that deed, and what fruits it will bear. For instance, you pray to gain rewards in the next world and to acquire a good name and safety in the present. But the help derived from prayer is not limited to that – it also bestows a hundred thousand advantages you will never understand. Only God, who gives rise to your prayer, knows those advantages.

We are like a bow in the grip of God’s hand. God sends us out upon various tasks. In reality God is the agent, not the bow. The bow is merely an instrument, unaware and unconscious of God, so that the world’s apparent order can be maintained. Mighty indeed is the bow that becomes aware of the Bowman’s hand!”

“The human being is like a dunghill, a heap of manure. If this manure-heap is precious, it is because hidden in it is the seal ring of the King. You are like a sack of corn. The King cries out, ‘Where are you carrying that corn? My cup is in it.’ People are unaware of the cup, being absorbed in the corn. If they knew of the cup, how could the corn distract them? Now, every thought that draws you toward the other world, making you cold and indifferent to this lower world, is a reflection of that cup flashing out. When men and women yearn after this lower world, however, this is a sign that the cup has become hidden in the heap.”

Discourse 57 “Although you do not remember Heaven in every detail, still your delight in seeing the Sheikh, and your fear of being separated from him, contain all those details. All of Heaven is captured in that image.”

“Divinity, which is the opposite of servanthood, is given to us on loan. We can be beaten over the head, still we won’t let go of our borrowed stubbornness. We forget about our unwanted experiences, and we can not hear their message. Until that borrowed divinity becomes our own, we will not escape from being slapped.”