You raise me up so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be

I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.

Feet on the ground, head in the sky.

You look sober but you are not sober.

Why photograph war? Is it possible to put an end to a form of human behavior, which has existed throughout history, by the means of photography?...For me, the strength of photography lies in its ability to evoke humanity. If war is an attempt to negate humanity, then photography can be perceived as the opposite of war.

Bir yer alti filminde kucuk bir rolum var
Oldurulen bir adamim oysa bir hikayem var
Siyahlar ve beyazlar, herkes icin baska dogru var
Dogrudan vurulmus bir adamim oysa yanlislarim var

Ve ozgurluk sirtindan vurulmus yerde yatiyordu

Siyahlar ve beyazlar, herkes icin baska dogru var
Dogrudan vurulmus bir adamim oysa yanlislarim var

Ve ozgurluk sirtindan vurulmus yerde yatiyordu

Kursun gecirmez yelekleri vardi
Ben ciplak yasarken
Fikrime barut kokusu sokuldu
Medeniyeti ararlarken

Ve ozgurluk sirtindan vurulmus yerde yatiyordu

A Jew, a Christian and a Muslim were friends. They found some money and prepared halva. It was late: "We’ll eat it tomorrow. But this isn’t much. Whoever has a fine dream will eat it."

The Christian said: "In my dream, Jesus came down and pulled me up."
The Jew said: "In my dream, Moses took me to gaze upon paradise."
The Muslim said: "In my dream, Muhammad came. He said; 'Helpless fellow! Jesus has taken one of them to the fourth heaven, and Moses took the other to paradise. You're deprived and helpless. At least get up and eat the halva.' So I got up and ate the halva."

What is the utmost end of need?
Finding what has no needs.

What is the utmost end of seeking?
Finding what is sought.

What is the utmost end of the sought?
Finding the seeker.

Gonlum o kopegin (nefs'in) yuzunden bir aydinliga eremedi. Hep onu oyle idare et, boyle yasat ki, kimse vurup incinmesin kaygisi ile oyalandim.

Ruhlarimiz, bedenlerimizden urkmektedir.

Durustluk bir sehirdir, ben de o sehrin sultaniyim,
Onda kendim yasayayim, kendim oleyim, kendim korunayim.

Ben senin isin icin elli sefer yolculuk yapayim. Yapacagim yolculuklar da sirf senin isini yoluna koymak icindir. Yoksa benim icin ne fark var? Rum ulkesinden Sam'a gideyim, yahut Kabe'de veya Istanbul'da olayim, ayni seydir. Ancak su vardir ki, ayrilik insani pisirir, duzeltir. Bugun duzelmis ve pismis olarak kavusmak mi iyidir, yoksa hep ayriliktan pismek mi? Kavusma halinde pismis olan kimse, gozunu nereye acar? Her yerde disarida kalan kimse, artik perdeye nasil yol bulabilir? O daima perde icinde oturanlara benzer mi?

Dosta erismek icin durmadan kosuyorum,
Omrum sona yaklasti ben hala uykudayim.
Diyelim ki kavustum nihayet sevgiliye
Ya o gecen gunleri ben nerede bulayim?

Geceye dedim ki uzan uzanabildigin kadar.
Simdi o dolunay uykudadir.

Olumden sonra hayat var, gordum
Kac kere oldum
Kalbini mi kirmis
Kim kirmis
Ne yapmissa unut

Gecmisi birak yoluna bak
Hersey yenilenir
Hayat geri gelir
Arkadaslar geri gelir
Ask geri gelir..

We have come -
With words yet untold,
And with faces full of mercy for people.
We have sensed the yearning of hearts,
And we have come with tongues that transcend any tongue.
We have come,
Taking the sky above us as our home,
And all people as our family,
And we have adopted colorlessness as our color.
We have taken the seventy two nations as our siblings.
We have come.
Others came and left -
They lived, died, and disappeared.
We have been born, never to die,
And we have come, never to leave.
We have come,
In order to pour everywhere like the rain,
To enter every house like the sun,
And to touch our face to people, like the earth.
In short, to love and be loved,
We have come.

It can be said that the separation from Shams was a step Rumi needed to climb on the way to perfection, since the true aim was not Shams, but rather the divine light manifested in him. That light first shone within the face of Shams and caught the look of the seeker of divine love. But that face had to disappear so that it would be evident that the light did not belong essentially to that face, and then the glance would turn to the True Source.

Bunca zaman bana anlatmaya
calistigini, kendimi
buldugumda anladim.

Herkesin mutlu olmak icin baska bir yolu
varmis,

Kendi yolumu cizdigimde anladim..

Bir tek yasanarak ogrenilirmis hayat,
okuyarak, dinleyerek degil..

Bildiklerini bana neden
anlatmadigini, anladim..

Yureginde ask olmadan gecen hergun
kayipmis,

Ask pesinden neden yalinayak
kostugunu anladim..

Aci doruga ulastiginda
gozyasi gelmezmis gozlerden,
Neden hic aglamadigini
anladim..

Aglayani guldurebilmek, aglayanla
aglamaktan daha degerliymis,

Gozyasimi kahkahaya cevirdiginde
anladim..

Bir insani herhangi biri kirabilir, ama bir
tek en cok sevdigi acitabilirmis,

Cok acittiginda anladim..

Fakat, hakedermis sevilen onun icin dokulen her
damla gozyasini,
Gozyaslariyla birlikte sevincler
terkettiginde anladim..

Yalan soylememek degil, gercegi
gizlememekmis marifet,

Yuregini elime koydugunda anladim..

"Sana ihtiyacim var, gel!"
diyebilmekmis guclu olmak,

Sana "git" dedigimde anladim..

Biri sana "git" dediginde, "kalmak istiyorum"
diyebilmekmis sevmek,

Git dediklerinde gittigimde anladim..

Sana sevgim simarik bir
cocukmus, her dustugunde ziril
ziril aglayan,

Buyuyup bana simsiki
sarildiginda anladim..

Ozur dilemek degil, "affet beni" diye
haykirmak istemekmis pisman olmak,

Gercekten pisman oldugumda anladim..

Ve gurur, kaybedenlerin, acizlerin maskesiymis,
Sevgi dolu yureklerin gururu olmazmis,

Yuregimde sevgi buldugumda anladim..

Olurcesine isteyen, beklemez, sadece umut edermis
bir gun affedilmeyi,

Beni affetmeni olurcesine istedigimde
anladim..

Sevgi emekmis,

Emek ise vazgecmeyecek kadar, ama ozgur bırakacak
kadar sevmekmis.

Whether I go east or west
or climb the sky,
there is no sign of life
until I see sign of you

I was the ascete of a country
I held the pulpit
Fate made my heart
fall in love
and follow after you

Golgelerin gucu adina, guc bende artik!

If you bring a lamp before the sun, do you say, "I see the sun by means of this lamp"?
...If you did not bring the lamp, the sun would still shine. What need is there for a lamp?

Whenever you trace back a statement and attribute it to a speaker of whom they have a good opinion, they accept it, even though it be false; but whenever you attribute it to someone of whom they have a bad opinion, they reject it, even though it be true. Thus they always know the truth by men, not men by the truth - which is the ne plus ultra of error!

Fear, confidence, appetite, anger, pity...
To have them at the right time, about the right things, towards the right people, for the right end, and in the right way, is the mean and best; and this is the business of virtue.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

However long and far you travel, you will always arrive again at your point of departure.