Through Love all that is bitter will be sweet, Through Love all

"Through Love all that is bitter will be sweet,
Through Love all that is copper will be gold,
Through Love all dregs will become wine,
Through Love all pain will turn to medicine."

Thus sang Jalal al-Din Rumi, the mystic poet whose soul was a flame of divine longing. In these immortal lines, he reveals the alchemy of the spirit—the secret by which Love transforms all that is low, broken, and painful into beauty, light, and joy. This is not the love of fleeting passion or worldly desire; this is the Love Divine, the sacred force that flows through all creation, the fire that purifies the heart and awakens the soul. Rumi, who had tasted both ecstasy and sorrow, speaks here as one who has walked through the desert of separation and found paradise within it. His words are not poetry alone—they are prophecy and revelation.

The origin of this wisdom lies in Rumi’s life itself. Once a scholar and jurist, he lived as a man of intellect until he met Shams of Tabriz, the wandering mystic who ignited his heart. Their meeting was not of minds, but of souls—it was a recognition that transcended time. In the mirror of Shams, Rumi beheld divine Love, and from that day forth, his life was turned upside down. The bitterness of loss, the fire of longing, and the ache of separation all became instruments of transformation. When Shams disappeared—whether slain or spirited away—Rumi’s grief became the furnace in which his soul was refined. Out of that anguish poured verses of radiant truth, and thus he learned the mystery he now teaches: that through Love, even pain becomes a teacher, and sorrow, a path to God.

“Through Love all that is bitter will be sweet.” Here Rumi tells us that Love does not remove suffering—it transmutes it. The bitter experiences of life—betrayal, loss, disappointment—when accepted with love, are turned into sweetness, for they reveal to us the depth of our being and the strength of our spirit. The one who loves learns that bitterness is only the outer skin of wisdom, and that within it lies nourishment for the soul. Like the desert that blooms after rain, the heart that endures with love finds hidden gardens within its own dryness.

“Through Love all that is copper will be gold.” The alchemists of old sought to turn base metals into precious ones, but Rumi speaks of a greater alchemy—the transformation of the human heart. Copper, in his vision, is the ordinary self, ruled by fear, pride, and desire. Gold is the purified soul, radiant with compassion and peace. Love is the fire that performs this alchemy. It burns away the dross of selfishness until only purity remains. To love truly is to be refined—to surrender the small self and be remade in the image of the divine.

“Through Love all dregs will become wine.” The dregs are what remain at the bottom of the cup—what is discarded and unseen. Yet Rumi teaches that Love wastes nothing. Even the lowliest parts of our being, the wounds, the failures, the forgotten corners of our hearts, can be turned into sweetness and celebration when touched by love. The wine, in his symbolism, is not mere pleasure, but divine intoxication—the joy of union with the Beloved. What the world calls weakness, Love calls depth. What the world casts aside, Love redeems.

And finally, “Through Love all pain will turn to medicine.” These words are the very essence of Rumi’s teaching. For in Love there is healing—not by escaping pain, but by entering it fully, with faith that it serves a purpose beyond comprehension. The pain of growth, the pain of loss, the pain of longing—all are the bitter herbs that cure the disease of separation. When we love deeply, suffering no longer destroys us; it opens us. It becomes the hand that humbles the ego and awakens the soul. Thus, every wound becomes a doorway to the divine.

Consider the story of Nelson Mandela, who spent twenty-seven years in prison, torn from his people and his freedom. Yet through that suffering, his heart did not harden—it deepened. When he emerged, he did not seek vengeance, but reconciliation. His pain had become medicine, his captivity had become gold. Through Love, what was once bitterness became sweetness, not for himself alone, but for his nation. In his life, we see Rumi’s truth made flesh: that Love has the power to turn prisons into sanctuaries, wounds into wisdom, and despair into hope.

So, my listener, take this teaching deep within your heart: embrace Love as the great transformer. When life wounds you, let love be your response. When bitterness rises, sweeten it with compassion. When pain strikes, look for the lesson hidden within it. Do not flee the fire—it is the forge of your becoming. Love all things, not because they are easy, but because they are divine in their making.

For as Rumi whispers across the centuries, Love is the hidden alchemy of the universe. It is the force that turns sorrow into joy, ignorance into wisdom, and the human heart into the dwelling place of God. Therefore, love greatly, love bravely, love endlessly—for through Love, everything that is base shall be made holy, and every darkness shall be turned into light.