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Love is the Water of Life Everything other than love for the most beautiful God is agony of the spirit, though it be sugar- eating. What is agony of the spirit? To advance toward death without seizing hold of the Water of Life.
Rumi
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Love is essential for a fulfilling life, while a lack of love leads to spiritual suffering.

In this quote, Rumi emphasizes the notion that love is the essence of life, equating it to 'Water of Life'. He suggests that without this divine love for God, all other pleasures are mere distractions that lead to spiritual despair, highlighting the importance of spiritual fulfillment over worldly gains.

Themes

LoveLifeSpiritualityFulfillmentHappiness

In practice

Example use cases

A speaker at a spiritual retreat might use this quote to highlight the importance of love in personal growth.

More from Rumi

My dear heart, never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace, don't harbor bad thoughts, do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know.
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Every fragile beauty, every perfect forgotten sentence, you grieve their going away, but that is not how it is. Where they come from never goes dry. It is an always flowing spring.
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Whatever you keep hidden in your heart, God _x000D_ manifests in you outwardly. Whatever the root of _x000D_ the tree feeds on in secret, affects the bough and _x000D_ the leaf.
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Come on sweetheart let's adore one another before there is no more of you and me
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