If you dig a pit for others to fall into, you will fall into it yourself.
— RumiI, 1311 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itGS4: ill intentions rebound on the wrongdoer; karma-like consequences.
Thinker · 17 quotes
Rumi quotes for UPSC
17 sourced quotes by Rumi on resilience & perseverance, emotions & self-control, character & virtue, ethics & morality, compassion & empathy, with a use case for each in GS4, Essay and interviews.
✓ Attributions checked against Wikiquote's sourced list
Fortunate is he who does not carry envy as a companion.
— RumiI, 431 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itLife: freedom from envy as source of contentment.
There is no worse sickness for the soul, O you who are proud, than this pretense of perfection. The heart and eyes must bleed a lot before self-complacency falls away.
— RumiI, 3213-5 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itGS4: humility; pretending to be perfect blocks growth.
If you wish mercy, show mercy to the weak.
— RumiI, 822 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itGS4: compassion towards vulnerable sections as a civil servant's duty.
Were there no men of vision, all who are blind would be dead.
— RumiI, 2133 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itEssay on visionary leadership: society depends on those who see ahead.
Whoever enters the Way without a guide will take a hundred years to travel a two-day journey.
— RumiIII, 588 (tr. W. C. Chittick, 1983)
Use itEssay on mentorship: guidance shortens the learning journey.
The eye of outward sense is as the palm of a hand, The whole of the object is not grasped in the palm. The sea itself is one thing, the foam another; Neglect the foam, and regard the sea with your eyes.
— RumiIII, Story 5 (tr. Whinfield)
Use itEssay: look beyond surface appearances to the deeper reality.
Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune: Every success depends upon focusing the heart.
— RumiIII, 2302-5 (tr. Helminski, 1996)
Use itLife: focused seeking as the foundation of success.
If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?
— RumiI, 2980 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itLife: friction and criticism polish character; don't be irritated by every rub.
If you are wholly perplexed and in straits, have patience, for patience is the key to joy.
— RumiI, 2908 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itLife: patience during confusing, difficult phases of preparation.
This discipline and rough treatment are a furnace to extract the silver from the dross. This testing purifies the gold by boiling the scum away.
— RumiI, 232-3 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itLife: hardships refine character like fire refines gold.
Many of the faults you see in others, dear reader, are your own nature reflected in them.
— RumiI, 1319 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itGS4: self-reflection before judging others; projection of one's faults.
The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself.
— Rumi
Use itGS4: self-mastery as greater victory than conquering others.
God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.
— RumiII, 1552; 1554 (tr. Helminski, 1990)
Use itLife: contrasting experiences of joy and sorrow build balance.
He whose intellect overcomes his desire is higher than the angels; he whose desire overcomes his intellect is less than an animal.
— RumiKabir Helminski (ed.) The Rumi Collection: An Anthology of Translations (2000)
Use itGS4: reason governing desire as basis of ethical conduct and emotional intelligence.
If an ant seeks the rank of Solomon, don't smile contemptuously upon its quest. Everything you possess of skill, and wealth and handicraft, wasn't it first merely a thought and a quest?
— RumiIII, 1445-49 (tr. Helminski, 1996)
Use itEssay on aspiration: never mock humble ambitions; every achievement begins as an idea.
By eating meagerly, you become clever and aware. And by eating gluttonously, you become foolish and idle. Your being full of misery is entirely from your gluttony. You will become less miserable if you become a sparse eater.
— Rumi"Advice to the Disciple and Aspirant" (tr. Gamard and Farhadi)
Use itLife/Essay on lifestyle diseases: moderation in eating sharpens the mind.