Encountering Rumi

If I said a perfume named for a poet was too beautiful for words, you'd think I was being cute, wouldn't you? Of course you would, so I'll try to come up with a description of Rumi by Neil Morris that is at least accurate, if inadequate.

Imagine a fragrant gift to the heart and spirit composed of the headiest rose enhanced with a velvety touch of ylang ylang--that is the opening of Rumi. No perfumista who loves the rose could resist such an exquisite presentation of its scent. If I believed in heaven, I'd want it to smell like the top notes of Rumi.

Encounters with the divine are always brief, however, and Rumi quickly descends to earth on a blanket of resins and patchouli. It's sad to leave paradise so soon, but the landing is pure pleasure. Soft, warm and close to the skin, the base offers calm simplicity after the intoxicating rush of the opening. Its lingering aura is a sweet reminder of the soul journey Rumi provides.

Many thanks to Chayaruchama for introducing me to Rumi, along with some other gorgeous NM Vault fragrances. Check back for reviews of Prowl, Mystic Dragon and others.

Here is one of my favorite Rumi poems. I think Neil captured some of the wisdom of this verse in his perfume:

Be Lost in the Call
by Rumi

Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?

Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you've never seen the face.

Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.

Until the juice ferments a while in the cask,
it isn't wine. If you wish your heart to be bright,
you must do a little work.

My King addressed the soul of my flesh:
You return just as you left.
Where are the traces of my gifts?

We know that alchemy transforms copper into gold.
This Sun doesn't want a crown or robe from God's grace.
He is a hat to a hundred bald men,
a covering for ten who were naked.

Jesus sat humbly on the back of an ass, my child!
How could a zephyr ride an ass?
Spirit, find your way, in seeking lowness like a stream.
Reason, tread the path of selflessness into eternity.

Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.



Love is a Stranger, Kabir Helminski
Threshold Books, 1993. Text from this website

Dervish with a Lion and a Tiger, Mughal painting c.1650