Gods Grace

Lesson 321: Gods Grace

Flee greed and desire; both "life" and "death" are plagues.
Dead or alive, my only country is God's Grace.
I have slipped the jeweled noose of these songs
Thrown them and their meanings into the Great Sea.
What are they but rind for a thick bark of scales?
Authentic thought leaps behind and sings in secret!

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

(Translated by Andrew Harvey from A Year of Rumi)