Shafak se baseia em fatos das biografias de Rumi e Shams e os traz vida com uma hbil narrativa.

. As 40 regras no ttulo se referem a uma lista de princpios compilados pela verso de Shams da autora Shafak enquanto ele andava pelo mundo.

- Elif Shafak (As 40 Leis do Amor: Um Romance de Rumi) * Baseado nos ensinamentos de Shams Tabrizi, mentor e amado de Rumi.

Forty Rules of Love -Elif Shafak

1. How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we. A maneira como vemos Deus um reflexo direto de como ns vemos a ns mesmos. Se Deus nos traz mente, sobretudo, medo e culpa isto significa que h muito medo e culpa produzidos dentro de ns. Se ns vemos Deus como cheio de amor e compaixo, assim somos ns. 2. The Path to the Truth is a labor of the heart, not of the head. Make your heart your primary guide! Not your mind. Meet, challenge, and ultimately prevail over your nafs with your heart. Knowing your ego will lead you to the knowledge of God. O Caminho para a Verdade um labor do corao, no da cabea. Faa de seu corao seu guia fundamental! No sua mente. Encontre, desafie e finalmente prevalea sobre seu nafs (nota: do rabe, ego) com seu corao. Conhecer seu ego o conduzir ao conhecimento de Deus. 3. Each and every reader comprehends the Holy Quran on a different level in tandem with the depth of his understanding. There are four levels of insight. The first level is the outer meaning and it is the one that the majority of the people are content with. Next is the Batnithe inner level. Third, there is the inner of the inner. And the fourth level is so deep it can not be put into words and is therefore bound to remain indescribable. Cada leitor compreende o Sagrado Alcoro em um nvel diferente de acordo com a profundidade de sua compreenso. H quatro nveis de discernimento. O primeiro nvel o significado exterior e aquele com o qual a maioria das pessoas se contenta. Em seguida h o Batini o nvel interior. Em terceiro, h o interior do interior. E o quarto nvel to profundo que no pode ser colocado em palavras e est portanto obrigado a permanecer indescritvel. 4. You can study God through everything and everyone in the universe, because God is not confined in a mosque, synagogue, or church. But if you are still in need

of knowing where exactly His abode is, there is only one place to look for Him: in the heart of a true lover. Voc pode estudar Deus atravs de tudo e de todos no universo, porque Deus no est confinado em uma mesquita, sinagoga ou igreja. Mas se voc ainda precisa saber onde exatamente Sua morada , h apenas um lugar no qual procura-Lo: no corao do verdadeiro amante. 5. Intellect and love are made of different materials. Intellect ties people with knots and risks nothing, but love dissolves all tangles and risks everthing. Intellect is always cautious and advises, Beware too much ecstasy, whereas love says, Oh, never mind! Take the plunge! Intellect does not easily break down, whereas love can effortlessly reduce itself to rubble. But treasures are among ruins. A broken heart hides treasures. Intelecto e amor so feitos de materiais diferentes. O intelecto ata as pessoas com laos e nada arrisca, mas o amor dissolve todas as complicaes e arrisca tudo. O intelecto sempre cauteloso e adverte Cuidado com o excesso de xtase, enquanto que o amor diz Oh, no se preocupe! D um mergulho!. O intelecto no destrudo facilmente, enquanto que o amor pode sem esforo se reduzir a cascalho. Mas os tesouros esto entre as ruinas. Um corao partido esconde tesouros. 6. Most of the problems of the world stem from linguistic mistakes and simple misunderstandings. Dont ever take words at face value. When you step into the zone of love, language as we know it becomes obsolete. That which cannot be put into words can only be grasped through silence. A maior parte dos problemas do mundo deriva dos erros lingusticos e simples mal-entendidos. Nunca aceite as palavras pela sua aparncia. Quando voc entra na zona do amor, a linguagem como ns conhecemos se torna obsoleta. Aquilo que no pode ser colocado em palavras pode apenas ser apreendido atravs do silncio.

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7. Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually it is best to find a person, the person who will be your mirror. Remember, only in another persons heart can you truely see yourself and the presence of God within you. Isolamento e solido so duas coisas diferentes. Quando voc est sozinho, fcil se iludir acreditando que se est no caminho certo. A solido melhor para ns, uma vez que significa estar s sem se sentir sozinho. Mas eventualmente melhor encontrar algum, a pessoa que ser seu espelho. Lembre-se, apenas no corao de outra pessoa voc pode realmente ver a si mesmo e a presena de Deus dentro de voc. 8. Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighborhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will

open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied. O que quer que acontea em sua vida, no importa quo problemtico as coisas possam parecer, no entre na vizinhana do desespero. Mesmo quando todas as portas permanecem fechadas, Deus abrir um novo caminho apenas para voc. Seja grato! fcil ser grato quando tudo est bem. Um Sufi grato no apenas pelo que lhe foi dado, mas tambm por tudo o que lhe foi negado. 9. Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. What does patience mean? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be so shortsighted as to not be able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never run out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full. Pacincia no significa suportar passivamente. Significa ser perspicaz o suficiente para confiar no resultado final de um processo. O que significa pacincia? Significa olhar para o espinho e ver a rosa, olhar para a noite e ver a aurora. Impacincia significa ser to mope ao ponto de no ser capaz de ver o resultado. Os amantes de Deus nunca esgotam sua pacincia, pois eles sabem que preciso tempo para a lua crescente se tornar cheia. 10. East, west, south, or north makes little difference. No matter what your destination, just be sure to make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, youll travel the whole wide world and beyond. Leste, oeste, sul ou norte, faz pouca diferena. No importa qual seu destino, apenas esteja certo de tornar cada jornada numa jornada para dentro. Se voc viaja para dentro, voc viajar todo o mundo e alm. ************ 11. The midwife knows that when there is no pain, the way for the baby cannot be opened and the mother cannot give birth. Likewise, for anew Self to be born, hardship is necessary. Just as clay needs to go through intense heat to become strong, Love can only be perfected in pain. A parteira sabe que quando no h dor, o caminho para o beb no pode ser aberto e a me no pode dar luz. Da mesma forma, para um novo Eu nascer, a dificuldade necessria. Assim como a argila precisa passar por um calor intenso para se tornar forte, o Amor s pode ser aperfeioado na dor. 12. The quest for Love changes us. There is no seeker among those who search for Love who has not matured on the way. The moment you start looking for Love, you start to change within and without.

A busca pelo Amor nos modifica. No h buscador entre aqueles que procuram pelo Amor que no amadureceram no caminho. No momento em que voc comea a procurar pelo Amor, voc comea a mudar por dentro e por fora.

13. There are more fake gurus and false teachers in this world than the number of stars in the visible universe. Dont confuse the power- driven, self-centered people with true mentors. A genuine spiritual master will not direct your attention to himself or herself and will not expect absolute obedience or utter admiration from you, but instead will help you to appreciate and admire your inner self. True mentors are as transparent as glass. They let the Light of God pass through them. H mais falsos gurus e falsos professores neste mundo do que o nmero de estrelas no universo visvel. No confunda as pessoas dirigidas pelo poder, egocntricas com verdadeiros mentores. Um genuno mestre espiritual no direcionar sua ateno para ele/ela mesmo(a) e no esperar obedincia absoluta ou completa admirao de voc, mas ao invs o ajudar a apreciar e admirar seu eu interior. Verdadeiros mentores so to transparentes quanto o vidro. Eles deixam a Luz de Deus passar atravs deles. ************** 14. Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? Tente no resistir s mudanas que vem em seu caminho. Ao invs deixe a vida viver atravs de voc. E no se preocupe com o fato de que sua vida est virando de cabea para baixo. Como voc sabe que o lado ao qual voc est acostumado melhor que o que vem? 15. God is bussy with the completion of your work, both outwardly and inwardly. He is fully occupied with you. Every human being is a work in progress that slowly but inexorably moving toward perfection. We are each an unfinished work of art both waiting and striving to be completed. God deals with each of us seperately because humanity is a fine art of skilled penmanship where every single dot is equally important for the entire picture. Deus est muito ocupado com a realizao de seu trabalho, exteriormente e interiormente. Ele est completamente ocupado com voc. Todo ser humano uma obra em progresso que vagarosa mas inexoravelmente est se movendo em direo perfeio. Cada um de ns uma obra de arte inacabada esperando e se esforando para ser completada. Deus trata com cada um de ns separadamente porque a humanidade uma fina arte de hbil caligrafia onde cada ponto igualmente importante para a gravura inteira. 16. Its easy to love a perfect God, unblemished and infallible that He is. What is far more difficult is to love fellow human beings with all their imperfections and

defects. Remember, one can only know what one is capable of loving. There is no wisdom without love. Unless we learn to love Gods creation, we can never truely love nor truely know God. fcil amar um Deus perfeito, imaculado e infalvel que Ele . O que muito mais difcil amar outros seres humanos com todas suas imperfeies e defeitos. Lembre-se, pode-se apenas conhecer aquilo que se capaz de amar. No h qualquer sabedoria sem amor. A no ser que aprendamos a amar a criao de Deus, jamais poderemos amar verdadeiramente e conhecer verdadeiramente a Deus. 17. Real filth is the one inside. The rest simply washes off. There is only one type of dirt that cannot be cleansed with pure waters, and that is the stain of hatred and bigotry contaminating the soul. You can purify your body through abstinence and fasting, but only love will purify your heart. A verdadeira imundcie a interior. O resto simplesmente se lava. H apenas um tipo de sujeira que no pode ser limpa com gua pura, e esta a mancha do dio e do fanatismo contaminando a alma. Voc pode purificar seu corpo atravs de abstinncia e jejum, mas apenas o amor ir purificar seu corao. *************** 18. The whole universe is contained within a single human being you. Everything that you see around, including the things you might not be fond of and even the people you despise or abhore, is present within you in varying degrees. Therefore, do not look for Satan outside yourself either. The devil is not an extraordinary force that attacks from without. It is an ordinary voice within. If you get to know yourself fully, facing with honesty and hardness both your dark and bright side, you will arrive at a supreme form of consciousness. When a person knows himself or herself, he or she knows God. O universo inteiro est contido dentro de um nico ser humano voc. Tudo o que voc ao redor, incluindo as coisas das quais voc pode no gostar e mesmo pessoas que voc despreza ou abomina esto presentes dentro de voc em graus variados. Portanto, no procure por Sat fora de voc tambm. O demnio no uma fora extraordinria que ataca de fora. uma voz comum dentro. Se voc conhecer a si mesmo completamente, encarando com honestidade e firmeza ambos seus lados sombrio e claro, voc chegar a uma forma suprema de conscincia. Quando uma pessoa se conhece, conhece a Deus. 19. If you want to change the way others treat you, you should first change the way you treat yourself. Unless you learn to love yourself, fully and sincerely, there is no way you can be loved. Once you achieve that stage, however, be thankful for every thorn that others might throw at you. It is a sign that you will soon be showered in roses. Se voc quer mudar a forma como os outros te tratam, voc deveria primeiro mudar a forma como voc se trata. A no ser que voc aprenda a

se amar, completa e sinceramente, no h forma de voc ser amado. Uma vez que voc atinja aquele estgio, no entanto, seja grato por cada espinho que os outros possam jogar em voc. um sinal de que em breve voc ser banhado em rosas. 20. Fret not where the road will take you. Instead concentrate on the first step. Thats the hardest part and thats what you are respon sible for. Once you take that step let everything do what it naturally does and the rest will follow. Do not go with the flow. Be the flow. No se inquiete a respeito de para onde a estrada te levar. Ao invs disso se concentre no primeiro passo. Esta a parte mais difcil e pelo que voc responsvel. Uma vez que voc d este passo deixe tudo fazer o que naturalmente faz e o resto seguir. No v com o fluxo. Seja o fluxo. 21. We were all created in His image, and yet we were each created different and unique. No two people are alike. No two hearts beat to the same rhythm. If God had wanted everyone to be the same, He would have made it so. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your thoughts on others is tantamount to disrespecting Gods holy scheme. Ns todos fomos criados a Sua imagem, e ainda assim cada um de ns foi criado diferente e nico. Nem duas pessoas so iguais. Nem dois coraes batem no mesmo ritmo. Se Deus quisesse que todos fossem da mesma forma, Ele assim o teria feito. Portanto, desrespeitar as diferenas e impor seus pensamentos aos outros equivalente a desrespeitar o esquema sagrado de Deus. 22. When a true lover of God goes into a tavern, the tavern becomes his chamber of prayer, but when a wine biber goes into the same chamber, it becomes his tavern. In everything we do, it is our hearts that make the difference, not our outer appearances. Sufis do not judge other people on how they look or who they are. When a Sufi stares at someone, he keeps both eyes closed instead opens a third eye the eye that sees the inner realm. Quando um verdadeiro amante de Deus entra numa taberna, a taberna se torna sua cmara de orao, mas quando um bebedor de vinho entra na mesma cmara, ela se torna sua taberna. Em tudo o que ns fazemos, so nossos coraes que fazem a diferena, no nossas aparncias exteriores. Os Sufis no julgam outras pessoas pelo que elas se parecem ou por quem so. Quando um Sufi olha algum, ele mantm ambos os olhos fechados e abre um terceiro olho o olho que v o reino interior. 23. Life is a temporary loan, and this world is nothing but a sketchy imitation of Reality. Only children would mistake a toy for the real thing. And yet human beings either become infatuated with the toy or disrespectfully break it and throw it aside. In this life stay away from all kinds of extremities, for they will destroy your inner balance.

A vida um emprstimo temporrio, e esse mundo no nada seno uma imitao superficial da Realidade. Apenas crianas confundem um brinquedo com a coisa real. E ainda assim os seres humanos ou ficam enfeitiados com o brinquedo ou desrespeitosamente o quebram e jogam de lado. Nesta vida fique longe de todas as formas de extremismo, pois eles destruiro seu equilbrio interior. 24. The human being has a unique place among Gods creation. I breathed into him of My Spirit, God says. Each and everyone of us without exception is designed to be Gods delegate on earth. Ask yourself, just how often do you behave like a delegate, if you ever do so? Remember, it falls upon each of us to discover the divine spirit inside and live by it. O ser humano tem um lugar nico na criao de Deus. Eu soprei nele Meu Esprito, Deus diz. Cada um de ns sem exceo concebido para ser o representante de Deus na terra. Pergunte-se, com que frequncia voc se comporta como um representante, se que o faz? Lembre-se, cabe a cada um de ns descobrir o esprito divino dentro de ns e viver de acordo com ele. 25. Hell is the here and now. So is heaven. Quit worrying about hell or dreaming about heaven, as they are both present inside this very moment. Every time we fall in love, we scend to heaven. Every time we hate, envy, or fight someone, we tumble straight into the fires of hell. O inferno o aqui e agora. Assim como o paraso. Deixe de se preocupar com o inferno ou sonhar com o paraso, uma vez que ambos esto presentes dentro deste exato momento. A cada vez que nos apaixonamos, ns ascendemos ao paraso. A cada vez que odiamos, invejamos, ou lutamos contra algum, ns tombamos direto nas chamas do inferno. 26. The universe is one being. Everything and everyone is interconnected through an invisible web of stories. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all in a silent conversation. Do not harm. Practice compassion. And do not gossip behind anyones back not even a seemingly innocent remark! The words that come out of our mouths do not vanish but are perpetually stored in infinite space, and they will come back to us in due time. One mans pain will hurt us all. One mans joy will make everyone smile. O universo um ser. Tudo e todos esto interconectados atravs de uma teia invisvel de histrias. Quer estejamos conscientes disso ou no, estamos todos numa conversao silenciosa. No prejudique. Pratique a compaixo. E no fale dos outros pelas costas nem mesmo um comentrio aparentemente inocente! As palavras que saem de nossas bocas no somem, mas so perpetuamente armazenadas no espao infinito, e elas retornaro a ns em seu tempo devido. A dor de um homem ferir a ns todos. A alegria de um homem far todos sorrirem. 27. This world is like a snowy mountain that echoes your voice. Whatever you speak, good or evil, will somehow come back to you. Therefore, if there is someone

who harbors ill thoughts about you, saying similarly bad things about him will only make matters worse. You will be locked in a vicious circle of malevolent energy. Instead for forty days and nights say and think nice things about that person. Everything will be different at the end of forty days, because you will be different inside. Este mundo como uma montanha nevada que ecoa sua voz. O que quer que voc fale, de bom ou mau, retornar de alguma forma para voc. Portanto, se h algum que abriga pensamentos malficos a seu respeito, dizer similarmente coisas ruins a respeito dela s tornar as coisas piores. Voc ficar preso num crculo vicioso de energia malvola. Ao invs disso por quarenta dias e noites diga e pense coisas boas a respeito daquela pessoa. Tudo estar diferente no fim dos quarenta dias, porque voc estar diferente por dentro. 28. The past is an interpratetion. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternitiy does not mean inifnite time, but simply timelessness. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment. 29. Destiny doesnt mean that your life has been strictly predetermined. Therefore, to leave everything to fate and to not actively contribute to the music of the universe is a sign of sheer ignorance. 30. The true Sufi is such that even when he is unjustly accused, attacked, and condemned from all sides, he patiently endures, uttering not a single bad word about any of his critics. A Sufi never apportions blame. How can there be opponents or rivals or even others when there is no self in the first place? How can there be anyone to blame when there is only One? 31. If you want to strengthen your faith, you will need to soften inside. For your faith to be rock solid, your heart needs to be as soft as a feather. Through an illness, accident, loss, or fright, one way or another, we all are faced with incidents that teach us how to become less selfish and judgemental, and more compassionate and generous. Yet some of us learn the lesson and manage to become milder, while some others end up becoming even harsher than before. The only way to get closer to Truth is to expand your heart so that it will encompass all humanity and still have room for more Love. 32. Nothing should stand between yourself and God. Not imims, priests, rabbis, or any other custodians of moral or religious leadership. Not spiritual masters, not even your faith. Believe in your values and your rules, but never lord them over others. If you keep breaking other peoples hearts, whatever religious duty you perform is no good. Stay away from all sorts of idolatry, for they will blur your vision. Let God and only God be your guide. Learn the Truth, my friend, but be careful not to make a fetish out of your truths.

33. While everyone in this world strives to get somewhere and become someone, onl to leave it all behind after death, you aim for the supreme stage of nothingness. Live this life as light and empty as the number zero. We are no different from a pot. It is not the decorations outside but the emptiness inside that holds us straight. Just like that, it is not what we aspire to achieve but the consciousness of nothingness that keeps us going. 34. Submission does not mean being weak or passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite. True power resides in submission - a power that comes from within. Those who submit to the divne essence of life will live in unperturbed tranquillity and peace even when the whole wide world goes through turbulence after turbulence. 35. In this world, it is not similarities or regularitiesthat take us a step forward, but blunt opposites. And all the opposites in the universe are present within each and every one of us. Therefore the believer needs to meet the unbeliever residing within. And the nonbeliever should get to know the silent faithful in him. Until the day one reaches the stage of Insan- Kamil, the perfect human being, faith is a gradual process and one that necessitates its seeming opposite: disbelief. 36. This world is erected upon the principle of reciprocity. Neither a drop of kindness nor a speck of evil will remain unreciprocated. Fear not the plots, deceptions, or tricks of other people. If somebody setting a trap, remember, so is God. He is the biggest plotter. Not even e leaf stirs outside Gods knowledge. Simply and fully in that. Whatever God does, He does beautifully. 37. God is a meticulous clockmaker. So precise is His order that everthing on earth happens in its own time. Neither a minute late nor a minute early. And for everyone without exception, the clock works accurately. For each there is a time to love and a time to die. 38. It is never too late to ask yourself Am I ready to change the life I am living? Am I ready to change within? Even if a single day in our life is the same as the day before, it surely is a pity. At every moment and with each new breath, one should be renewed and renewed again. There is only one way to be born into a new life: to die before death. 39. While the parts change, the whole always remains the same. For every thief who departs this world, a new one is born. And every descent person who passes away is replaced by a new one. In this way not only does nothing remain the same but also nothing ever really changes. For every Sufi who dies, another is born somewhere. 40. A life without love is of no account. Dont ask yourself what kind of love you should seek, spiritual or material, divine or mundane, Eastern or Western... Divisions only lead to more divisions. Love has no labels, no definitions. It is what it is, pure and simple. Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire!

The universe turns differently when fire loves water.