Rumi

Hello Zero,

Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem by Rumi. What does this poem mean to you? How can you reconcile its meaning to you with the way of a Gnostic? The poem can be interpreted to represent a difficult, yet necessary part of the path to illumination. It can be used to describe what is called 'Spiritual Night'. This represents a time when we may feel loneliness and separation. We may struggle between life and death of our ego. We may feel that no matter how hard we pray for assistance, it is all in vain. We may feel that we are left to our own design. This is a time to persevere and practice patience and strength. This is the time to go within and listen to what is in the silence. Working through this difficult part of the path will lead to enlightenment.

There are times of terrible loneliness, and the best initiates have spoken about that loneliness. The "spiritual night" of Beethoven, the "spiritual night" of Mozart, the "spiritual night" of Jesus of Nazareth, the "spiritual night" of Hermes Trismegistus: times in where one is in the most terrible loneliness, separated from all spirituality. Above they do not welcome you, because you do not deserve it; down here they do not welcome you either, because one has become an enemy of the psychological ego. To that end, one walks like a disgraced one upon the clay of the earth. Many fail at the time of those spiritual nights. Yet, the few who manage to resist, truly succeed. But they are few, I repeat, those who manage to resist such a hard ordeal.

https://glorian.org/learn/glossary/s/spiritual-night

Clearly there’s suffering involved in the experience of the dark night of the soul. It seems to me, by the feel of the words that the writer understands the situation and has approached it in an intelligent way. Preservation, hibernation of the soul?

Why it has to be that way?

You are spending years on this path without any progress and then you realize that you were doing it all wrong – not properly self-observing, engaging into cravings, not-self-remembering, etc. It comes as a shock as you need to rectify entire efforts on the path…

And once you start making significant corrections moment-to-moment, second-to-second, all you get is spiritual night, which leads you to complete demotivation and apathy….

@ ordinary student

Many fail at the time of those spiritual nights. Yet, the few who manage to resist, truly succeed. But they are few, I repeat, those who manage to resist such a hard ordeal.

https://glorian.org/learn/glossary/s/spiritual-night

Think of it this way, there is always progress on the path, even if not realized until later. That progress will usually include issues that surface so that we can do the work to get through it. It takes consistent practice, patience, and perseverance. The closer we get to our goal, the narrower the path and the steeper the climb, but the practice gives us strength to carry it through. Then what seems difficult to one, may not seem difficult to someone who has diligently done the work.

What Rumi was expressing was a specific moment in time that all on this path will experience on their journey. We can choose to stay in that night, or do what is needed to transcend. This spiritual night is necessary as we must descend in order to ascend. The great Master of humanity has lived by example have shown us the way to overcome suffering and how to ascend from that dark night.

Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, and many travel it; 14 but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

- Matthew 7:13-14

“ The closer we get to our goal, the narrower the path and the steeper the climb, but the practice gives us strength to carry it through”.

Sorry, but it doesn’t give any strength, only doubts, demotivation and apathy.

I hope that you can find your way and that you are able to connect to your innermost for what you need