The Growing Phenomenon of Rumi

Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet, has been called the greatest mystical poet of any age. During a period of 25 years, he composed over 70,000 verses of poetry. Poetry focusing on varied and diverse topics from deeply philosophical and mystical to passionate love verses, to whimsical, humorous and witty with notions of an all embracing universality mixed with messages of an independent soul yearning for true freedom from dogma and hypocrisy. He also writes about the abolishment of the established fear-based religious orders of the world. For Rumi fear-based religion is poison and his remedy is love-based doctrine--a life journey free of guilt, fear and shame.

Barely known in the West as recently as 15 years ago, Rumi is now one of the most widely read poets in America. His is an exciting new literary and philosophical force. "Rumi deals with the human condition and that is always relevant," says Shahram Shiva. "Rumi is able to verbalize the highly personal and often confusing world of personal growth and development in a very clear and direct fashion. He does not offend anyone, and he includes everyone. The world of Rumi is neither exclusively the world of a Sufi, nor the world of a Hindu, nor a Jew, nor a Christian; it is a state of an evolved human. A human who is not bound by cultural limitations; a one who touches every one of us. Today Rumi's poems can be heard in churches, synagogues, Zen monasteries, as well as in the downtown New York art/performance/music scene."

Rumi's work has been translated into many of the world's languages including Russian, German, French, Italian and Spanish, and is appearing in a growing number of genres including concerts, workshops, readings, dance performances and other artistic creations.

Why Rumi? Here are 12 Reasons

Mr. Shiva asked a group of about fifty participants in one of his workshops to define why Rumi meant so much to them. He then was able to group their responses in 12 distinct categories which are listed below with explanation.

1- Non-Intellectual:
They found Rumi to cater to their hearts, emotions and instincts rather than intellects.

2- Levels:
They found many levels in Rumi’s poetry. The more they learned about Rumi,
the more they appreciated his depth and were encouraged to dig deeper.

3- Unity:
They found the sense of unity and universal siblinghood in Rumi’s poetry to be very attractive.

4- Friend:
They found him to be a friend.

5- Personal Process:
Reading Rumi for them is a personal process. They associate themselves with him.

6- Grace Descending:
Every time a Rumi poem was recited they felt Grace descending.

7- Longing:
They associated with the sense of longing in Rumi’s poems.

8- Love Affair:
Rumi was like a lover to some of the participants.

9- Cultural Bridge:
They found Rumi to form a cultural bridge for the Persians, Turks, Afghanis and the Arabs in this country. Through Rumi some Middle & Near Eastern people found a new acceptance in the U.S.

10- They Don’t Even Like Poetry:
Some expressed that they don’t even like poetry but they love reading Rumi poems.

11- Participate in the Process:
They found Rumi extremely expressive and found themselves participating in Rumi’s own process.

12- Spiritual Guide:
They found Rumi to be a spiritual guide for them.

Rumi & Shams: A Love Story or Personal Necessity?
The Untold Story

To comprehend the often misunderstood and misquoted connection between Rumi and Shams we should start by reviewing the personality of these two historic figures.

Rumi, born into wealth, power and the world of politics, was a member of the high society. He was known to pull and offer favors. His mother was a relative of the king in the province of Khorasan in the Eastern Persian Empire, where he was born. His father was a respected court advisor on jurisprudence. Rumi indulged in personal contacts, favors and friendships. He was known to deepen his friendship to his favorite people by any means necessary. For example, he was close with a goldsmith in Konya. Since it was socially unacceptable for a member of the elite class to socialize with the merchant class, he arranged for his son to marry the daughter of the goldsmith to formalize his connection with him.

Shams, by the time he met Rumi was in his 60s. By then he was known mainly as a blunt, antisocial and powerful spiritual wanderer. His nickname was the Bird. The Bird, because he couldn't stay in one place for too long, and because he was known to be in two distant cities around the same time, as if he could fly or transport his essence at will. This wanderer is known to have been seeking a "grand master student"--a student, who would be greater than many masters at the time. He chooses Rumi as his "master-student." Apparently he initially notices Rumi when he was 21, but judging the time inappropriate and the student not ready, he waits 16 or so years to approach Rumi again.

They meet again when Rumi was in his late 30s and Shams in his early 60s. The initial spark of their connection inspires Rumi to take Shams into his home. Shams from then on becomes the new friend, the latest companion. As you can imagine problem is brewing from day one. Shams, same as the goldsmith wasn't from the elite class. He was a simple wanderer, a powerful spiritual figure yes, but still a poor, homeless wanderer. Also, Shams was terribly antisocial, had a bad temper and used to curse in front of the children. The problem initially was put aside by Rumi's magnetism; however, it gradually grew into a much bigger issue. After receiving repeated death threats Shams decides to leave town. Soon after, Rumi falls into a deep state of grief. A few months later, Shams is brought back into Konya. After all Rumi's health and well-being was worth more than social boundaries. This time, Rumi decides to legitimize Shams' presence in his home and uses the same tactic as with the goldsmith, he marries his very young stepdaughter Keemia (alchemy) to Shams. Keemia was under the age of 15 at the time. It is said that Shams for the first time falls in love. This must have been a truly memorable moment in his life--not only being with his chosen student, but also being married to his student's teenage daughter. The situation in the household quiets down during this time, after all Shams was now a relative. A few months later, due to illness and most probably deep grief Keemia dies, and with that comes the end of Shams and Rumi's companionship.

One story reveals that Shams leaves Rumi and becomes the wandering, wild bird that he was. Another places Shams in the hands of Rumi's youngest son and Keemia's stepbrother, to die for ruining Rumi's pristine reputation. Another attributes Shams' disappearance to a successful assassination attempt for religious blasphemy. Yet another story places Shams in India, as an inspiration for a few spiritual figures at the time.

I believe that Rumi's youngest son who had special closeness to Keemia, committed revenge killing on Shams for causing the death of Keemia. Rumi should have expected this when he forced-marry his precious teenage daughter to someone of Shams' personality type and old age.

The core explanation of Shams and Rumi's relationship is that Rumi without Shams would not have been known to history. Rumi uses all his wit to keep this powerful, wandering, wild bird in a cage for as long as possible and becomes a major spiritual master and an artist of truly world-class stature. In the meantime, Shams achieves his dream of a "grand master student," and falls in love for the first and only time and pays dearly for it. A love story, a tragedy or a personal necessity?

The Collective Poems of Shams?

Rumi named his first epic "The Collective Poems of Shams of Tabriz." In the past few hundred years reasons have been offered for Rumi's decision to name his masterpiece after his mentor and spiritual friend Shams. Some explain, since Rumi would not have been a poet without Shams it is apt that the collection be named after him. Others have suggested that at the end Rumi became Shams, hence the collection is truly of Shams speaking through Rumi.

I tend to disagree with both of these statements. They mainly have been hypothesized by non-creative types. Any artist can attest that no matter the inspiration the final work is an expression of the creative individual. We are all inspired when we create. Inspired by nature, our environment, our childhood or culture, place of birth, romantic encounters, other artists, events in history and of course other individuals who cross our path.

Rumi named the collection after his mentor to make sure Shams' name will be remembered along side himself. Rumi knew well that his students, family members and historians had little intention to remember this wandering, wild holy man who was severely disliked by almost everyone in town. They considered Shams a blemish on Rumi's otherwise pristine reputation. Rumi as usual took the matter into his own hands. He not only named the collection after Shams, but used Shams as the pen name or signature at the end of hundreds of his love poems (Ghazals). He assured that his successors had no possible alternative but to perpetuate Shams. Even altering the title of the epic would not have wiped Shams from the history books, since over a thousand poems still enshrined him.

Rumi, Hafez, Omar Khayyam and the Global Artistic Perspective

Major artistic movements, form, mature and grow in clusters of time and local. Whether it’s the American jazz movement, or the great European classical music composers, Impressionist painters, Italian post WWII neorealist filmmakers, British Rock invasion bands which were inspired by the American blues or in this case the Persian classical poetry. Without an exception all major, global, highly creative and intensely demanding artistic movements are a product of a very specific cultural vibration set within a particular time and geography.

The Persian classical poetry movement is not an exception and follows this natural flow quite precisely.

When an artistic movement is formed, a whole universe of activity starts to buzz around it. Enthusiast groups are formed and special viewing areas or performance halls are built. A structure of trade forms around these movements, whether it’s art dealers, publishers, record and film producers, distributors, agents, managers and collectors. A system of training and education also shapes to support these movements; meaning as the art form grows so does the understanding and appreciation of it. And the training structure allows the young to aspire to become the next big players within these creative fields.

Although poetry has been immensely popular in Persia (and today’s Iran) for over a thousand years (or in forms much earlier), what we commonly refer to as the Persian classical poetry movement in essence lasted about 400 years (about 1000-1400 CE) and produced many great poets. However, only three of which are globally recognized: Rumi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam. In fact some might argue that Khayyam in the height of his popularity in the West was more known than today’s Rumi. As far as I know Khayyam is being quoted on at least two major studio Hollywood movies of 1950s and ‘60s, the Music Man and Payton Place. And there is also a biopic “Omar Khayyam” (1957), directed by William Dieterle (Portrait of Jennie, Elephant Walk, Salome…). These movies represent the very popular aspect of American culture. In contrast, except for an episode of the HBO series Six Feet Under, Rumi references are basically non-existent in American pop culture.

Since the English-speaking world appreciates Persian classical poetry through translations, the personality of these literary giants and the unique style of each poet is often ignored or morphed together to form an endless stream of brilliant verse. However, their work in the original Persian (or Farsi) language is quite unique.

In the original Persian, Rumi and Hafez are as different from each other as Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. Hafez (1315-1390), who is undoubtedly the most popular of all the Persian classic poets in his homeland of Iran, is the true Persian word-meister. He has an immense grasp of the language, with a very distinct fluid style, that is often embellished with great care. The poetry of Rumi (1207-1273) by contrast is akin to Miles’ expression of Jazz, in many ways minimal, direct, honest, personal, soulful and masterful with a clear lack of embellishment. However, Hafez translations in English are often indistinguishable from Rumi, and this is of course expected when any great literary work is read through translation and interpretation.

Nevertheless, the beauty, grandeur, majesty, poetic craft and wisdom of these great beings come through not only in the original Persian language but in the English translations as well.