' Lose yourself completely '...

Although you appear in earthly form
Your essence is pure consciousness.
You are the fearless guardian of Divine LIght.
So come, return to the root of the root of your own soul.

When you lose all sense of self
the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish.
Lose yourself completely.
Return to the root of the root of your own soul.

You descended from Adam, by the pure Word of God,
but you turned your sight
to the empty show of this world.
Alas, how can you be satisfied with so little?
So come, return to the root of the root of your own soul.

Why are you so enchanted by this world
when a mind of gold lies within you?
Open your eyes and come --
Return to the root of the root of your own soul.



-Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
Rumi: In the Arms of the Beloved
Translations by Jonathan Star
NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1997, pp. 4-5