Rumi's Holistic Humanism

The Timeless Appeal of the Great Mystic Poet

By Mirza Iqbal Ashraf

Subjects: Poetry
Imprint: Distribution Partners
Hardcover : 9781930337664, 171 pages, July 2012

Table of contents

Acknowledgment
Foreword
Preface
What is Holism?
1. Introduction and Early Influences
2. The Sunrise: Meeting with Shams
3. Rebirth in Love and Unity
4. Rumi the Philosopher
5. Rumi’s Holistic Humanism
6. Evolution and Holism
7. Rumi the Mystic and Lover
8. Holistic Underpinnings of Rumi’s Mysticism
9. The Relational Human Situation
10. Timeless Appeal of a Universal Man
11. Raw I was, Cooked Well Burnt I Got
12. Importance of Rumi Today
The Author’s Hope
Rumi’s Quest for Peace
Books Cited or Recommended
About the Author

Rumi’s universal approach to life is compellingly revealed in easy-to-read prose with excerpts from Rumi’s poetry.

Description

This book presents Rumi's startling conviction that "Love is the strongest unifying force in the Universe." Rumi said that all things in the universe are in orbit. The atoms, molecules, galaxies, and universes are all turning, around a center, and the center is Love. For Rumi, peace is the natural quest of a "whole person," and the perimeters between self and universe are erased to the extent that the material body becomes indistinct from its typical cultural identity.

Offering a unique look at Being and Oneness, Rumi's poetry redefines Wholeness with deep spiritual knowledge, intellectual acumen, wit, humor, and literary genius. As one admirer said, "In the fight to root out conflict, violence, and war, Rumi's holistic view of unconditional love may prove one of our best friends."

After centuries, Rumi today is as he was yesterday: an icon of Unity and Love for humanity and, in testimony to his timeless appeal, has been at the top of the best-seller list in the poetry category for over ten years. Author Ashraf's skilled weaving of the spiritual, rational, cultural, and philosophical "threads" that converge in Rumi's thought has the makings of a desperately needed unitive language that humanists, rationalists, theists, non-theists, and thinkers of good will can embrace as they explore the universe we share. Shakespeare gave us the query, "To be or not to be…" Rumi asks, To love or not to love…? and the "WHOLE HEART" hears and responds instantly, "YES!"

Mirza Iqbal Ashraf, the author of Introduction to World Philosophies: A Chronological Progression and Islamic Philosophy of War and Peace, opened his eyes in Persian knowing family. His grandfather's six volume commentary of the Mathnawi expanded his vision of Rumi's holistic humanism, mysticism, and love. He lives in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Reviews

"Remarkable work, it opens Rumi for the reader with depth and delicacy." — Nathan Katz, Florida International University

"Consuming the pages of Rumi's Holistic Humanism, young and old may begin to feel intoxicated as the beauty, wisdom, and love that flows through Rumi's verses wends its way into your heart. You may wake up suddenly in the middle of the night to find your heart caressing a particular verse or being caressed, for Rumi is a mirror reflecting a clear light in which many psychological and spiritual secrets are revealed and waiting to be acknowledged." — Peter Rogen, "Discover Rumi's Poetry" at Rumi Performances LLC

"Rumi's Holistic Humanism may help to focus the light of readers' attention on the mystical poet's passionate conviction that 'love is the strongest unifying force,' and that its force is present everywhere and in everything. It may even encourage some to study the extraordinary work of Rumi that so often opens the heart of its adepts. For Rumi peace is the natural quest for a whole person, and the human being's inclination to it arises from a natural universal order. In humankind's fight to root out conflict, violence, and war, Rumi's holistic view of unconditional love may prove one of our best friends." — Muhammad A. Hafeez, author of Mission and Destiny of Humankind and Human Character and Behavior