Discourses of Rumi

discourse 10The Amir said to Rumi: “Before you arrived justnow, your eldest son, Baha al-Din, excused himselfto me, saying, ‘My father said that he doesn’twant to put you to any trouble when you come tovisit him. He says, “I am subject to various statesof consciousness. In one state I speak, and inanother I do not. In one state I attend to theaffairs of others, and in another state I withdrawand go into retreat, while in yet another state I amutterly absorbed and beyond this world. I do notwish the Amir to come when I’m in a state ofbeing that is disagreeable, when I am unable tocounsel and converse with him. Therefore, it isbetter that when I am free and able to attendto my friends and do them some good, that Ishould go out and visit them.”’”The Amir went on: “I answered Baha al-Din,saying, ‘I do not come here so that our Mastershould attend to me and converse with me. Mypurpose in coming is to have the honor of being