Pilgrims!
why are you turning round in circles,
what are you looking for?
The Beloved is here, why search in the desert?
If you look deep in your heart,
you will find Him within yourself.
You have made the pilgrimage
and trod the path to Mecca many times.
You rave about the holy place
and say you've visited God's garden
but where is your bunch of flowers?
You tell stories about diving deep into the ocean
but where is your pearl?
There is some merit in the suffering you have endured
but what a pity you have not discovered
the Mecca that's inside.
(Translation by Azima Melita Kolin & Maryam Mafi, "Rumi: Hidden Music", HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001)
