Spiritual verses : the first book of the Masnavi-ye Ma'navi

Dedication -- The song of the reed -- The king and the slave-girl -- The greengrocer and the parrot -- The Jewish king who killed Christians -- Another Jewish king -- The lion, the hare and the hunted animals -- Omar and the Byzantine ambassador -- The merchant and the parrot -- The danger of being honoured by people -- Explanation of 'As God wills so it comes to pass' -- The old harpist -- The caliph and the poor Bedouin -- The wolf and the fox attend the lion on a hunt -- Joseph and his guest -- The Greek and Chinese painters -- The prophet and Zayd -- Ali and the infidel warrior. The spiritual masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition-in a brilliant new translation The longest single -authored "mystical" poem ever written, the Masnavi-ye Ma'navi , or "spiritual couplets," is the masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition. Its author, Jalaloddin Rumi, was a poet and mystic of the highest attainment, but he was first and foremost a spiritual teacher, and his Masnavi is a ladder to the spiritual world, leading the reader to the ultimate goal of the Sufi path-union with God. Alan Williams's translation into blank verse beautifully conveys the poetry of the original Persian couplets, while his introduction discusses how the modern reader might approach Rumi's writing. Teaches how to progress to the ultimate goal of the Sufi path - union with God. These verses draw readers into the complexities of human love and separation and explain the path to divine love through the elimination of self-regard and worldly desires.