Escape the Prison of Existence — A Deep Rumi Poem on Being Near to God

Click Here to Watch the Poem Reading and Spiritual Teaching

The Prophet said, “Don’t think of my ascension
as superior to that of Jonah:
mine was up to heaven; his was below into the belly of the fish,
but nearness to God is beyond calculation.”
Nearness to God is neither up nor down:
to be near God is to escape the prison of existence.
What room has nonexistence for “up” or “down”?
Nonexistence has no “soon” or “far” or “late.”
The laboratory and treasure house of God is in nonexistence.
Since existence deludes you,
how will you know what nonexistence is?

~ Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi

This life that we are living is nothing but a prison. The question is, though, how do we “escape” it to return to our true home?

“To be near God is to escape the prison of existence.”

What a beautiful line that is by one of the greatest poets and mystics of all time.

Now, if you’re a regular follower of my posts, you know that I love Rumi and that I feature his poetry quite a bit.

But one aspect of his poetry that I haven’t really touched on before is how it often pulls from different stories…