Yunus Emre on Humility, the Heart, and the Beloved – Poem


To be real on this path you must be humble
If you look down at others you’ll get pushed down the stairs.

If your heart goes around on high, you fly far from this path.
There’s no use hiding it
What’s inside always leaks outside.

Even the one with the long white beard, the one who looks so wise
If he breaks a single heart, why bother going to Mecca?
If he has no compassion, what’s the point?

My heart is the throne of the Beloved,
the Beloved the heart’s destiny:
Whoever breaks anther’s heart will find no homecoming
in this world or any other.

The ones who know say very little
while the beasts are always speaking volumes;
One word is enough for one who knows.

If there is any meaning in the holy books, it is this:
Whatever is good for you, grant it to others too–

Whoever comes to this earth migrates back;
Whoever drinks the wine of love
understands what I say

Yunus, don’t look down at the world in scorn

Keep your eyes fixed on your Beloved’s face,
then you will not see the bridge
on Judgment Day.