The Illuminated Rumi Chapter Summary & Analysis - Come to the Orchard Summary

Come to the Orchard Summary

Barks's commentary says the orchard represents the imagination where the spiritual journey takes place. He says Rumi talks about the tasks of everyday life, from talking to a barber to eating cabbage broth, and brings this starting point into the realm of the spiritual. Barks ends with a story of Ramakrishna, approached by a person who wants to bring his cousin to see the spiritual leader, but whose cousin is reluctant. The leader says to tell the cousin that they have fish soup. The ordinary life is the inroad to the spiritual life.

Rumi's poem begins by urging the reader to walk though the destination is unclear, not for human understanding. Every day, everyone wakes up with fear. Instead of acting from fear, he says, let your soul move you, playing music instead of reading. He asks the reader to be driven by beauty and love. Rumi uses another metaphor:...
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