1 The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money
and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. Pope Francis, 2013
2 i.e. All animals are equal; but some are more equal than others.
Nevertheless, this tension between truth and religion is gently dispersed in Where is the
Way?, which puts very simply the way forward: if youre on the wrong way, avoid it.3
One moment spent away from the Beloveds street is forbidden in the religion of the
lovers. Waitis Rumi talking about religion or a romantic relationship here? Or are they
both the same? Anyway, he says, the path is not easy, and then in the next breath utters
to his heart, O restless heart, stay at a place that suits you best, () ask for that wine that
lightens the soul. Ah, what a peaceful image, like an evening stroll along the boulevard
hand-in-hand with your Beloved. A rather stark contrast to how small the gate and
narrow the road according to Matthew. Yes, to Rumi you do the best you can, getting
drunk in the process, and completely infatuated with your Beloved. Having an
established religion, or just any other religion, helps too, whichever one it may be (and
it may or may not lead to confusion and sorrow). Whatever you find will have some
validity to it, although it might not be the best one. Now, if only everyone else were as
tolerant as this
*P.S. I do realize just how iffy and unclear this essay is in terms of answering the prompt
What did Rumi think of established religion?, and it does seem to have more questions
than answers, but somehow I find that fitting given the answers his poems provide to this
question.
3 Where is the way that I was treading? I avoid it as it was the wrong way.