I found Roses in Konya…

8Aug/069

I found Roses in Konya…

I have been wanting to write about my recent trip to Konya. Words have failed me. This was my second trip to Konya - the magical town - where Mevlana Rumi lived, preached and met his beloved Shams and ultimately his Creator. Last time I could not see the roses in bloom. But this summer there were roses everywhere. Looking at these roses, I realised why were roses so inspirational for Mevlana. In fact, the mystic rose is a Sufi symbol of the love for the Beloved exuding His perfume, beauty and image. As we waded in the soothing hustle-bustle of the garden outside Mevlana's tomb, I took the pictures and thought of his verse:

"In the driest whitest stretch of pain's infinite desert, I lost my sanity and found this rose"

A Rose signifies the smouldering love for the Divine. The Rose inspires the immortal longing of the mystic drawing him towards his celestial origin. The well known tale of the Nightingale and its undying love for the Rose in Sufi poetry spells out the central, transcendental beauty of the Creator.

Cont. [1] [2] [3]

Filed under: All My Posts, Photo stories, Poetry, Rumi, Sufi poetry, Travel Leave a comment

Comments (9) Trackbacks (3) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

aisha
September 8th, 2006 - 19:32

In losing him I found Him…
Syed Salman Chishty
November 7th, 2006 - 20:48

Mashallah ,very nice expression of the beauty of Roses n Rumi .

Inshallah , i will in Konya sharif to attend the Urs of Mevelana Rumi next month on Dec 17th .

Wish could have a glimpse of the beautiful konya roses !

Peace ,Love ,Harmony

Syed Salman
navcity
February 12th, 2007 - 23:44

It is reported that Shams shunned Imam Rumi on several occassions. On one occassion he was noted to have said “what do you want from me? You are a great teacher and people from all over come to learn from you. You are like the light of the candle and you emit light yourself.”

Imam Rumi replied “I’m only the smoke that surrounds the candle and you are the true Shams (sun)”

Shams Tabrez gar khoda talabi kush bukha la-illaha-illahu.

If you want to know who is most like Sham, then that would be the punjabi sufi sayed mystic Bulleh Shah. They were both devoid of an ego and were amazing people
Raza Rumi
February 13th, 2007 - 05:48

Many thanks for this comment. Indeed there are strong parallels between Shams and Bulleh Shah. The destruction of their egoes and renunciation of the worldly superficialities..

However, Shams could not stay in one place and was a constant traveller. He never wanted to be attached to one place, one person or pursuit as he wanted to remain attached to the Creator only…
nirmal
February 22nd, 2007 - 09:46

Sir this is also a very lovely article
roses refresh the soul

love and dua
nirmal
sir my comments r not very intellectual and scholarly .as compared to others these r very simple
i want to add some pictures of pink roses .i tried html,url
image code but these r not showing
i don’t know why
nirmal
Raza Rumi
February 22nd, 2007 - 09:51

thanks Nirmal for visiting – indeed roses are refershing for the soul. well said.
you can right click on the pics and find the url in the properties..
Zia Hashmi
February 22nd, 2007 - 11:54

Koi Dil ko chuu kar Guzar gaya abhi abhi
Khamosh Dil mai wo shorr kar gaya abhi abhi

Dil main Sakoon tha us se milne se pehle
Dil ki Khiza’on pe koi Bahar kar gaya abhi abhi

Ye kya ho gaya Hum ne kabhi socha na tha
Pur-Sakoon Raaton ko koi Be-Sakoon kar gaya abhi abhi

Ab to her pal us hi ki Yaadein hain
Mujhe apno se bhi koi Paraya ker gaya abhi abhi

Hum to sapne pehle bhi dekhte the
In Sapno ko koi Haseen ker gaya abhi abhi
Seema
September 1st, 2007 - 12:15

I visited Konya on 29th May, 2006. I was in search of roses, too. The roses were there, but their smell has evaporated…lost…in the consciousness of Mevlana himself….perhaps.

I wish those roses smelt too…as real rose do.

I wish to plant such a rose in the backyard of his tomb. May Allah grant my wish. Amen!
chitra sarma
December 17th, 2007 - 11:56

i really loved reading the article.