And watch two men washing clothes, one makes dry clothes wet. The other makes wet clothes dry. they seem to be thwarting each other, but their work is a perfect harmony. Every holy person seems to have a different doctrine and practice, but there's really only one work.

Jalaluddin Rumi
About This Quote

Nelson Mandela had a way of turning basic concepts into poetry. In this simple piece, he uses the metaphor of two men washing clothes to illustrate the dichotomy of the world and its people. To him, we all seem to want something different and we often see those who claim to be holy as those who are not. But, as Mandela points out, each holy person has a different doctrine and practice, but there’s really only one work.

A holy person does good deeds and things that inspire others, such as helping others and feeding the homeless. But what we don’t see is that their life is also about him or herself. The holy person does good deeds and things that inspire others.

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More Quotes By Jalaluddin Rumi
  1. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grassthe world is too full to talk about.
  2. When I am with you, we stay up all night. When you're not here, I can't go to sleep. Praise God for those two insomnias! And the difference between them.
  3. In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.
  4. Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.
  5. Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.
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