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Whence did this breath come to thee, O my soul;
Whence this throbbing, O my heart?
O bird, speak the language of birds
I can understand thy hidden meaning.
The soul answered ‘I was in the divine factory
While the house of water-and-clay was a-baking
I was flying away from the material workshop
While the workshop was being created
When I could resist no more, they dragged me
To mould me into shape like a ball.’

— Rumi Attributed A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations (1911)

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More quotes by Rumi

Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune:
Every success depends upon focusing the heart.

The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself.

The branch might seem like the fruit's origin:
In fact, the branch exists because of the fruit.

If you wish to shine like day, burn up the night of self-existence. Dissolve in the Being who is everything.

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.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Rumi (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.