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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Rumi notes there is nothing worse than going to ______ without another person, the vague 'you.'
(a) Walk along the street.
(b) Eat.
(c) Read.
(d) Pray.

2. Rumi gives a definition for what we are, "You are the strange business. You have the energy of the ______ in you."
(a) Stars.
(b) Moon.
(c) Sun.
(d) Son.

3. The story of Joseph focuses on the loss of his _____ of many colors that has false blood on it to convince people of his death.
(a) Hat.
(b) Coat.
(c) Pants.
(d) Shoes.

4. Rumi suggests that "sitting in hell at the bottom of the dark, we are afraid of our own ________."
(a) Love.
(b) Smallness.
(c) Immensity.
(d) Immortality.

5. Rumi met his companion Shams of _______ , described as a "street boddhisattva", in the marketplace.
(a) Balkh.
(b) Tabriz.
(c) Bestami.
(d) Konya.

Short Answer Questions

1. Rumi suggests that human beings are like "some weird kind of ______ that wants to stay melted in the furnace."

2. The pull of love is something Rumi compares to a ________, urging the reader to realize learning is about more than just books.

3. Shams asks Rumi who is greater, Muhammad the messenger of God, or ______ a mystic who claimed to be one with God.

4. Rumi's poetry can be thought of as a conversation with _______, a discussion of what it is to be together in God.

5. The _____ in which Joseph sits in darkness at the bottom of is recognized as a visionary place.

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Rumi say will not be able to wake to the truth, according to the writings of Rumi?

2. What is the story of Ramahrishna that Rumi tells at the start of this section of the book?

3. What happens to the reed when it is cut, according to the writings of Rumi?

4. What is the question Shams asks Rumi, which leads Rumi to believe that Shams is a great person?

5. What do Barks and Rumi have to say about the rhythms and the way that a person breathes in their life?

6. What is the profession of Rumi when Barks introduces him at the beginning of this book?

7. How does breathing help to calm a person, according to Barks' thoughts at the beginning of the section?

8. Where do human beings sit, according to the writings of Rumi, when they are in a prison?

9. What will happen to a person's present life when they are going on a spiritual journey, according to the writings of Rumi?

10. What should a person do with their life instead of acting from fear, according to the writings of Rumi?

(see the answer keys)

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