A review by maketeaa
The Masnavi, Book Two by Rumi

inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

while book one explored the broad sufi idea of the ultimate union, book two of the masnavi felt like a step up on the rung, the beginning of the overall tapestry of rumi's thought. through the same easy to read allegory as is characteristic of the masnavi, rumi focuses book two on the relationships between the sufi and his peers -- the sceptics, the infidels, the metaphorical bear. he frequently uses the role of the 'king' and of the 'shaikh', symbolic of the Creator and of those enlightened of his power. while reading, what struck me was how these stories not only are crafted to apply to our relationship with allah, but also to trickle down to the building blocks of our lived experience -- while the 'king' can be a king but also the Creator, the king could also be our own consciousness, our awareness of being. similarly, while the infidel may be someone who does not believe, it often makes more sense to view it as our own ego that is attached to its own self perpetuating state, one that believes it must force its circumstances rather than trusting the infinite potential of its consciousness. this is supported by various references to the sowing of seeds -- representative of our beliefs that we allow to take root in our subsconscious -- and the impact of our thoughts on reality: 'by just a single thought that's formed within / a hundred worlds can soon be made to spin'. while providing a religious caution against the persons that may lead a sufi astray, rumi also warns us of the way we may lead ourselves astray, and how we must be careful of the crops we will inevitably have to harvest when the time comes.