Document text
http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Top Galleries: September 23, 2006 The spiritual poetry of Rumi Staff Reports September 30th is the anniversary of the birth 799 years ago of Jalál ad-Dín Rúmí. Rumi, a Persian Muslim, has been described by British scholar A. J. Arberry as the world's greatest mystical poet. Steven Scholl of Ashland is leading two special events that celebrate the poetry and spiritual vision of this 13th-century mystic who is now the best selling poet in America. Scholl, a scholar of Islam and Sufism, will lead a day-long retreat on the theme of "Rumi and the Religion of Love" at the Hidden Springs Wellness Center, 1651 Siskiyou Blvd. in Ashland on Sunday, September 24 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The event focuses on Rumi's religious love poetry and the Sufi practice of chanting known as zikr (remembrance), a form of Sufi meditation that dates back centuries and powerfully creates meditative states and a sense of inner peace. Scholl will also lead a 6-day immersion into Rumi's life and teachings on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, November 4-10. This retreat will expand on the material presented in Ashland and provide a relaxing setting to explore spiritual practices on the most undeveloped of Hawaii's islands. Interest in Rumi in the West has been growing since his introduction in the 1920s through the groundbreaking work of British scholar R. A. Nicholson. Nicholson is the translator of the entire "Mathnavi," Rumi's major work, a poem which in translation comprises three large volumes. But it was not until the 1990s, when a new generation of scholars and poets brought out fresh studies and translations, that Rumi's popularity soared. Rumi has been featured on PBS programs with Bill Moyers and 2007 has been declared the Year of Rumi by UNESCO. A key player in the Rumi Revival has been Coleman Barks, a former professor of poetry and literature. Barks began reworking the translations of Nicholson, freeing the verses from the ornate, some would say "stiff", phrasing of early twentieth-century British literary tradition. Barks's versions of Rumi have been criticized because of his lack of knowledge of Persian, the language Rumi spoke and wrote. He often leaves out sections of poems or reworks them in ways that are only loosely tied to the Persian text. Still, Barks often distills the foreign ideas of 13th-century Persian mysticism into powerful images that retain their Islamic context but are meaningful to an American audience. Here is how Barks does it in one poem describing God's overflowing grace: What was said to the rose that made it open was said to me here in my chest. What was told to the cypress that made it strong and straight, what was whispered to the jasmine so it is what it is, whatever made sugarcane sweet, whatever lets the pomegranate flower blush like a human face, that is being said to me now. I blush. Whatever put eloquence in language, that's happening here. The great warehouse doors open; I fill with gratitude, chewing a piece of sugarcane, in love with the one to who every that belongs. Rumi's poetry is popular because he has the gift to take everyday events and then raise them to a spiritual context. And he does this in ways that are startling, at times even shocking. Rumi is not afraid to speak frankly of sex and the tavern. Nicholson was so scandalized by some of Rumi's poems that he translated them into Latin from the Persian rather than making these poems accessible to his English-reading audience in the 1920s. Although many of these poems are not suitable for a family newspaper, here is a poem that touches on how the love of God is related to our most intimate human relationships: If anyone asks you how the perfect satisfaction of all our sexual wanting will look, lift your face and say, Like this . . . If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is, or what "God's fragrance" means, lean your head toward him or her. Keep your face there close. Like this. When someone quotes the old poetic image about clouds gradually uncovering the moon, slowly loosen knot by knot the strings of your robe. Like this. If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead, don't try to explain the miracle. Kiss me on the lips. Like this. Like this. . . . When lovers moan, they're telling our story. Like this . . . Rumi, in contrast to orthodox Muslim clerics of his day and ours, maintains that poetry, music and dance are capable of leading the individual into God-awareness. He is the founder of the famous whirling dervish order, the Mevlevis, who now have growing membership throughout America. Scholl's presentation of Rumi and the Religion of Love celebrates the spirit of ecumenical ecstasy that is found in the life and teachings of this great saint. For more information on the Rumi and the Religion of Love events, visit: www.imagine-adventures.com or phone (541) 301-7469. Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Security Systems Debt Relief New Hampshire Primary Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us