Background About 1250, when he was living in the city of Konya in what is now Turkey, Rumi began to compose his greatest work, the Masnavi . He was inspired by a friend and disciple, Husam ad-Din Chelebi. Hasam ad-Din urged Rumi to follow Persian models of long poems written during the preceding centuries. Those works expressed mystical teachings through a varied assortment of anecdotes, fables, stories, proverbs, and allegories. In the years that followed, Rumi composed over 25,000 rhymed couplets. According to legend, the poet recited his verses in public while Husam ad-Din committed them to writing. in the Kinds of and Guest from “Elephant Dark,” “Two Intelligence,” “The House” come the Masnavi . is Worth is drawn rubaiyat , a large “Which More?” from Rumi’s collection of quatrains, or four-line stanzas. Some Hindus have an elephant to show. No one here has ever seen an elephant. They bring it at night to a dark room. One by one, we go in the dark and come out 5saying how we experience the animal. One of us happens to touch the trunk. water-pipe kind of “A creature.” 10Another, the ear. very strong, always moving “A back and forth, fan-animal.” Another, the find it still, leg. “I like a column on a temple.” Another touches the curved back. “A leathery throne.” Another, the cleverest, feels the tusk. made of 15“A rounded sword porcelain.”
Background About 1250, when he was living in the city of Konya in what is now Turkey, Rumi began to compose his greatest work, the Masnavi . He was inspired by a friend and disciple, Husam ad-Din Chelebi. Hasam ad-Din urged Rumi to follow Persian models of long poems written during the preceding centuries. Those works expressed mystical teachings through a varied assortment of anecdotes, fables, stories, proverbs, and allegories. In the years that followed, Rumi composed over 25,000 rhymed couplets. According to legend, the poet recited his verses in public while Husam ad-Din committed them to writing. “Elephant in the Dark,” “Two Kinds of Intelligence,” and “The Guest House” come from the Masnavi . “Which is Worth More?” is drawn from Rumi’s rubaiyat , a large collection of quatrains, or four-line stanzas. Some Hindus have an elephant to show. No one here has ever seen an elephant. They bring it at night to a dark room. One by one, we go in the dark and come out 5saying how we experience the animal. One of us happens to touch the trunk. “A water-pipe kind of creature.” 10Another, the ear. “A very strong, always moving back and forth, fan-animal.” Another, the leg. “I find it still, like a column on a temple.” Another touches the curved back. “A leathery throne.” Another, the cleverest, feels the tusk. 15“A rounded sword made of porcelain.”