Rumi's Spiritual Verses is the greatest mystical poem in Islamic culture. Rumi tells of our human separation from reality, from love, and from truth. He shows how love--neither erotic nor sentimental but divine, by which the universe is held together--enlightens ignorance and dissolves suffering. This first book of the Masnavi is the key to the whole work: it takes off from simple, amusing tales into realms unimaginable but is wholly familiar to the human heart.