We live in troubled and parlous times.
Many countries around the world are engulfed in political, economic, and cultural crises; dissension, famine, conflict, disease, war. If only one could tell the world to stop so one can get off! One thing we can do is to reach for something that will remind us of the good in each other, of the humanity that can strive for the highest and the best while the rest descends into fear and chaos.
This is where art is important, because it can connect people to each other and communicate the spirituality that restores calm and some measure of peace. Poetry is one of the vehicles that allow for such a respite of the mind’s noise, particularly mystical poetry of the sort written by the famed maulana, or master—Rumi.
Jalal ad-din Muhammad Rumi was a 13th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet, Sufi mystic, Islamic scholar, theologian, and jurist. His passionate and earthy poems are often shared and enjoyed by couples, but his poetry’s deeper meaning and purpose is connected to Divine Love.
He founded the famous Whirling Dervish sect that uses dance to enter into trance-as-worship. Rumi was inclusive in his appeal, in one poem declaring “All religions. All this singing. One song. Peace be with you.” When he died in 1273, it is said that people of five faiths mourned him.
According to Professor Coleman Barks, whose translations made Rumi’s poetry popular in the West, says “Rumi’s message can be stated in many ways. It is the core of the core of every religion. It is the longing in a human being to live in unlimited freedom and joy, to move inside beauty, that most profound need of the human soul to flow with the namelessness that animates, luxuriates, burns, and transpires through form, enlivening what is as steam, mist, torrent, saliva, blood, ocean, cloud, coffee, wine, butterfly, tiger, hummingbird, energy, and delight…”
My favorite of Rumi’s poems is “Like This,” and I invite you to Google it and read it. Meanwhile, here’s a sample from another poem that seems apropos to our country’s situation: “Never lose hope, my heart, miracles dwell in the invisible. If the whole world turns against you keep your eyes on the Friend.”
Other faiths have their own mystics. For Roman Catholics, the most famous is possibly St. Teresa of Avila. She dwelt on medieval readings written by Francisco de Osuna, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Peter of Alcantara. Through mystical or contemplative prayer, St. Teresa practiced “devotions of ecstasy” that led her to understand the nature of sin and the “necessity of absolute subjection to God.” This echoes Rumi’s wholehearted surrender to love—of each other, and of God.
The next time the news is too much for you, reach for a book of poetry, meditate, and practice love.
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For those who would like to know more about Rumi’s poetry, The Theosophical Society in the Philippines will be staging “Rumi: In the Arms of the Beloved,” a special celebration of the poetry written by the mystic Rumi on March 12.
Special guests who will be doing readings are poets and writers Lourd de Veyra, Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, Tweet Sering, Carlomar Daoana, Rem Tanauan, and Marjorie Evasco, as well as film director Jim Meer Libiran.
To give the audience a better appreciation of Rumi’s background, classical guitarist Gabriel Ramos will be playing the oud, a Middle Eastern stringed instrument, while philosophy professor Dr. Raj Mansukhani will play the drum.
The event starts 5PM at the TSP headquarters, 1 Iba St., Quezon City. For more details, email Ime Morales at rumipoetrynight@gmail.com or text/call (0915)197-4773. Tickets were sold out as early as Feb. 28, but you can send inquiries whether there will be a sequel. Walk-ins cannot be accommodated if the venue is full.
Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Follow her on Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @jensdecember