Rumi's World: The Life and Work of the Great Sufi Poet

Description

This book (previously published as I AM WIND, YOU ARE FIRE) celebrates the extraordinary career of Persia's great mystical poet, Rumi (1207–1273), through the story of his life, along with an enlightening examination of his ecstatic verse. Rumi lived the quiet life of a religious teacher in Anatolia until the age of thirty-seven, when he came under the influence of a whirling dervish, Shams Tabriz, and was moved to a state of mystical ecstasy. One of the results of this ecstasy was a prodigious output of poems about the search for the lost Divine Beloved, whom Rumi identified with Shams. To symbolize this search, Rumi also invented the famous whirling dance of the Melevi dervishes, which are performed accompanied by the chanting of Rumi's poems. Professor Schimmel illuminates the symbolism and significance of Rumi's vast output and offers her own translations of some of his most famous poems. [From Amazon] 1. Pilgrimage to Rumi i 2. The Road to Konya 11 3. Poetical Expression 34 4. A Spring Day in Konya 51 5. The Hidden Treasure 73 6. A Donkey’s Tail with Angel’s Wings 90 7. The Koran, the Prophets, and the Saints 114 8. The Chickpeas on the Spiritual Ladder 139 9. Prayer: The Divine Gift 162 10. The Manifestations of Love 173 11. They Enter All the Dance, the Dance ... 195 Bibliography 205 Index 207