Rumi is totally lovely.
I went to a show that was put on in conjunction with the council as some kind of cultural exchange whatsit.
There was a short reading of some of rumi's poetry, followed by some music performed by sufis (from turkey if I remember correctly), and then a short demonstration of the famous whirling.
The whole evening totally blew me away. The calm devotion shown by the men performing was really inspiring and led to a 'really trippy' show, as one of my friends put it.
I really enjoy rumi's work, and agree that his message (if you want to call it that) is definitely 'beyond' in the way that, though it has its grounding in Islam, it moves past the judgemental nature of it. It moves beyond the necessary divisions of the world that many religions form and teaches a sort of religiousness without religion. The sheer enjoyment of life and its flow are beautiful to read.
The Sufi tradition (it seems to me) has parallels with the Zen, Alchemistic and Kabalistic traditions in that they are all the more specifically mystical/hands-on traditions of a religion. While Islam, Buddhism, Christianinty and Judaism teach adherence to certain doctrines, Sufism, Zen, Alchemy and Kabalah teach an approach that emphasises personal interaction with the world/God/No-mind etc.
I heard that Sufis are still subject to persecution in many of the countries they practice. I have been told of people (memory tells me they were in Turkey, but i may be wrong) having to get together secretly in abandoned buildings, with all the windows covered in case the authorities should catch them.
I find this a real shame as the (small amount of) knowledge I have of the Sufi tradition is one of gentle devotion and beautiful art. |
