What is Sama?

Like a staff of Prophet Moses, it is swallowing all the tricks of the Pharaoh’s magicians.

What is Sama, do you know?
It is hearing the sound of “yes,”
Of separating one from himself and reaching the Lord,
Seeing and knowing the state of the Friend,
And hearing, through the divine veils, the secrets of the Lord.
What is Sama, do you know?
Being ignorant of existence and tasting eternity in the ultimate mortality.
What is Sama, do you know?
Struggling with the carnal soul; fluttering on the ground like a half-slain hen.
What is Sama, do you know?
Feeling the cure of Prophet Jacob, and sensing the arrival of Prophet Joseph from the scent of a shirt. What is Sama, do you know?
Like a staff of Prophet Moses, it is swallowing all the tricks of the Pharaoh’s magicians.
What is Sama, do you know?
Opening the heart like Shams-i Tabrizi (an excellent devotee),
And seeing the Divine light The Sama and contemplation.

Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi (Rumi and His Sufi Path of Love)