SOURCE: Helminski, Kabir. “I Will Make Myself Mad.” Parabola 23, no. 2 (summer 1998): 9-14.

In the following essay, Helminski, a translator of Rumi and practicing Sufi, explores the place of ecstasy in Rumi's ghazals, Sufi spirituality, and contemporary culture. Helminski argues that the source of ecstasy is experiential, spiritual and ontological.

What is the place of ecstasy in a mature spirituality? Are there different states to be discerned beyond that overarching label? Can it be reconciled with sobriety? Should ecstasy be pursued?

The poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi and other Sufis often exudes a fragrance of ecstasy that has attracted generations of seekers. While this fragrance has spread far beyond the boundaries of its original homelands, its source is not merely cultural, historical, or geographic. The source of this ecstatic state is experiential, spiritual, ontological. The fragrance of ecstasy reminds some people of home. In the words of Rumi, one of...