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    The Spiritual Verses
    The Spiritual Verses
    The Spiritual Verses
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Spiritual Verses

    Written by Jalaloddin Rumi

    Narrated by Anton Lesser

    5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Rumi’s Spiritual Verses, is the greatest mystical poem in Islamic culture and of all time. Rumi tells of our human separation from reality, from love and from truth. He shows how love – neither erotic nor sentimental but divine, by which the universe is held together – enlightens ignorance and dissolves suffering. The first book of the Masnavi is the key to the whole work: it takes off from simple, amusing tales into realms unimaginable, but wholly familiar to the human heart.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateJul 1, 2007
    ISBN9789629546694
    The Spiritual Verses
    Author

    Jalaloddin Rumi

    Called 'Jelaluddin Balkhi' by the Persians and Afghans, Rumi was born on September 30, 1207, in Balkh, Afghanistan, then a part of the Persian Empire. Between 1215 and 1220, he and his family fled the threat of the invading Mongols and emigrated to Konya, Turkey; it was sometime after this that he became known as 'Rumi' meaning 'from Roman Anatolia'. His father, Bahauddin Walad, was a theologian and a mystic, and after his death Rumi took over the role of sheikh in the dervish learning community in Konya. Rumi pursued the life of an orthodox religious scholar until 1244 when he encountered the wandering dervish, Shams of Tabriz. After an exchange of religious ideas Shams and Rumi became inseparable friends, transported into a world of pure, mystical, conversation. This intense relationship left Rumi's students feeling neglected, and, feeling the ill-will, Shams disappeared. After news of Shams came from Damascus, Rumi's son was sent to bring him back, and the mystical conversation, or sohbet, began again. After Shams' second disappearance (he was probably murdered), and a period spent searching for his lost friend, Rumi came to the conclusion that Shams was now a part of him. Further concluding that when he wrote poetry it was Shams writing through him, he called his huge collection of odes and quatrains The Works of Shams of Tabriz. Following Shams' death Rumi had two other mystical companions, firstly Saladin Zarkub, a goldsmith, and then, after Saladin's death, Husam Chelebi, Rumi's scribe and student. It was Husam that Rumi declared the source of his vast six-volume masterwork Mathnawi. After twelve years of work on this masterpiece Rumi died on December 17, 1273. Colemam Barks taught poetry and creative writing at the University of Georgia for thirty years and has been a student of Sufism since 1977. The translator of numerous Rumi works, his work with the poet was featured in an hour-long segment in Bill Moyers's Language of Life series. He lives in Athens, Georgia.

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    • 5/5
      Outstanding narration. This is a piece of Muslim culture that has enlightened me. Funny as well as profound. I wish it were standard reading in the west.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      My favourite narration. The opening verse is not to be overlooked. Ive been listening to the first verse almost every night and try my best to live by its words everyday. Many gems in this book but for me this quote is truely transformative.

      "The lover is a veil, all is beloved. The beloved lives, the lover is a corpse."

      In this world run by illusion, love is indeed our only true physician. When we rejoice in love for everything encounter, the world becomes less a chaotic rapid to overcome, and more a gentle stream to ebb with and follow. The gravity of expectation is dissolved when we reflect back on ourselves with love. Indeed we are the hardest on ourselves.
      "It takes intelligence to pick out thorns. The ass will thrash about with kicks and blows to get rid of the thorns with burning pain."
      That thrashing ass is a powerful metaphor for the ill manner humanity deals with our tribulations.
      God willing the world will soon understand you can't fight darkness with darkness.