Point of View

Rumi's poems are often written in the first person, from the poet's point of view, and they often talk directly to both the reader and to a mysterious "you" that is an enlightened spiritual being, the Friend, that brings total love and the spiritual journey. When Rumi talks to the reader, he implores the reader to begin a spiritual journey. Rumi asks the reader to stop reading but instead to be and do, even if the reader has no idea how to start on this journey of being and doing. Rumi believes that true spirituality cannot be understood by reading or studying but by looking inside one's self and tearing down the outer trappings of being a human.

When Rumi talks to his Friend, he speaks as a worshiper as well as a lover. He is the shadow cast by the sunlight and the ruby that...