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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Rumi suggests that people listen to his message with the ear that is in the center of the _______.

2. Fullness _______ the soul, while emptiness frees it, according to the writing of Rumi in the poem.

3. Rumi's students saw ______ as a madman and he was eventually forced out of the area.

4. Rumi instructs us to "consider what the prophets have done. ______ wore fire for an anklet, Moses spoke to the sea."

5. Rumi describes the journey a person must make as drinking ______ like water and eating sunset, in his poems.

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Zuleikha, an Egyptian woman in love with Joseph, do with the shirt that Joseph wears in the story?

4. What happens with Joseph's shirt when he gives it to his brothers to help their father?

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

6. What doesn't matter in the midst of an orchard in the spring, according to the writings of Rumi?

7. What does Rumi do when he is so impressed with the depth of the knowledge of Shams?

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

9. What happens when you fast, according to the narrator of the poem, in one of Rumi's writings?

10. What does Barks have to say about Rumi as being a True Human Being? What does Barks say this means?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Barks points out that repetition can be spiritual, not numbing as many people have come to think of it, in his opinion.

Part 1: Why do you think repeating something again and again can be spiritual?

Part 2: Are there any things you do again and again which you might find spiritual?

Part 3: How do you think the brain changes when it has to repeat the same action again and again?

Essay Topic 2

According to Rumi, anything or anyone that is loved reflects the lover's spirituality as love brings one closer to God.

Part 1: What kinds of love do you think Rumi feels are going to best bring someone closer to God?

Part 2: How do you think love brings one closer to God and closer to spiritual fulfillment?

Part 3: Is it possible for everyone to find love and thus to find spiritual fulfillment?

Essay Topic 3

Rumi refers to God as a human being in the first section of his writing, which might seem to be a strange concept to many readers.

Part 1: Why do you think that Rumi decided that God was a human being?

Part 2: Do you agree that God should be compared to a human being, with all of their flaws and failings?

Part 3: How do you think Rumi should address the idea of God? Is there another way which would work better?

(see the answer keys)

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