Give a Gift of Devotion

I can think of no better romantic gift than Rumi. "Light the lamp of devotion with the oil of me."
Rumi was born in Central Asia in 1207. His father Baha'aldin Veled was a noted Sufi master. The most significant relationship and turning point in Rumi's life was his encounter in 1244 with the wandering mystic dervish Shams a'l-Din of Tabriz. Much of his poetry was about his love and devotion to his master Shams. In 1247 Shams a'l-Din vanished and may have been killed by some of his own disciples. This is when Mevlana started writing poetry in earnest with allegorical and philosophical content. Rumi was a dervish who practiced zikr (remembering) and spinning. Except for very few verses in Turkish, his immense works of poetry were written in Persian, the prominant literary language of that era. One of Rumi's greatest works, DIVAN, which hasapproximately sixty thousand couplets, was inspired by Shams a'l-Din who was his guru and muse.
Mevlana or Jalal al-din Rumi founded of the Mevlevi Sufi Order.He was an Islamic philosopher and mystic. Rumi advocated absolute tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity, andawareness through love. His teachings were peaceful and tolerant and reached men of all religionss. His tomb in Konya, Turkey draws pilgrims from all parts of the Muslim world as well as many non-Muslims. You can still visit his grave today.
Picture courtesy of Rumi Sushi.