The well-known author and spiritual counselor presents his favorite poems by the thirteenth-century Persian poet, whose works express the exalted yearnings, ecstatic ravishments, and spiritual visions of medieval Eastern mysticism. 25,000 first printing Born Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Balkhi in Persia early in the thirteenth century, the poet known as Rumi (named after the city where he lived) composed works of mysticism and desire that inspired countless people in his own time and throughout the centuries. His poems expressed the deepest longings of the human heart for its beloved, for that transcendent intimacy which is the source of the divine. This slender, beautiful volume consists of new translations by Farsi scholar Fereydoun Kia, edited by Deepak Chopra to evoke the rich mood and music of Rumi's love poems. Exalted yearning, ravishing ecstasy, and consuming desire emerge from these poems as powerfully today as they did on their creation more than 700 years ago. Acknowledgments 7(2) Deepak Chopra Acknowledgments 9(2) Fereydoun Kia Introduction 11(4) The Agony and Ecstasy of Divine Discontent: The Moods of Rumi 15(2) The Agony of Lovers 17(1) The Alchemy of Love 18(2) Aroused Passion 20(1) The Awakening 21(2) Behind the Scenes 23(1) My Beloved 24(1) Bittersweet 25(3) My Burning Heart 28(2) Caught in the Fire of Love 30(1) Come to Me 31(2) Defeated by Love 33(1) Desire 34(1) Do You Love Me? 35(2) Dying to Love 37(2) The Hunt 39(1) I Am and I Am Not 40(2) I Am Yours 42(1) Intoxicated by Love 43(1) Looking for Love 44(1) Looking for Your Face 45(3) Lost in the Wilderness 48(1) The Lover's Passion 49(1) The Meaning of Love 50(1) The Mythical Lover 51(2) Precious Love 53(2) Surrender 55(1) The Privileged Lovers 56(3) Excerpts from Birdsong: 59(4) Love is the way messengers 59(1) A lightwind coming downhill 60(1) People want you to be happy 61(1) In your light I learn how to love 62(1) Recommended Reading 63