Hazret-i Mevlana Muhammet Celaleddin Rumi (1207-1273)
The world is like a tree

THE SUFI POETRY OF RUMI:

The world is like a tree,
and we are the half-ripe fruit upon it.
Unripe fruit clings tight to the branch
because, immature, it's not ready for the palace.
When fruits become ripe, sweet and juicy,
then biting their lips, they loosen their hold.
When the mouth has been sweetened by felicity,
the kingdom of the world loses its appeal.
To be tightly attached to the world signifies immaturity;
as long as you're an embryo,
blood-drinking is your business.

"The unripe ego is arrogant and self-centered -- worldly. The ripe ego, which considers itself a child, servant or devotee of God, cannot injure anyone; it is retained by illumined souls, after they come down from the transcendental to the ordinary plane of consciousness in order to teach spirituality to others." (Ramakrishna-Vedanta Wordbook, Vedanta Press, 1962, p. 31)