Product Description
Another classic from the author of "The Whirling Dervishes", incorporating hitherto unpublished material on Rumi's sacred music and dervish dance. Includes stunning photography.
Shems Friedlander, whose marvelous works, The Whirling Dervishes and "When You Hear the Hoofbeats, Think of a Zebra", became instant classics, now offers another jewel--unique in bringing to light hitherto unpublished material on the sacred music and dance, or "sema" of the Mevlevi dervishes. He treats us to a wonderful explanation of the significance and symbolism of the dress and movement of the dance performed in the "semahane"--the Hall of Celestial Sounds--and illustrates it with stunning photography.
A member of the Mevlevi order himself, Friedlander speaks from within the lineage of the Master and the Way. He introduces this concise and beautifully illustrated volume with moving meditations which reflect on the Divine Nature of Reality. One such metaphor presented is that of a bench beside a tree near a mosque, situated between a cemetery and a village. A sign attached to the tree states, "Sit quietly in this place. Do not think or speak worldly thoughts. On one side of you is death, on the other side is life. The mosque is in the middle. Contemplate this."
In the "Roots of His Thought," the story of Rumi's life unfolds in an entirely fresh and accessible manner, sprinkled with the Master's poetic insights. The work concludes with a most admirable explanation of the inner and outer nature of sacred music and we are shown how a "glimpse of Truth is revealed by vibrations and sound."
About the Author
SHEMS FRIEDLANDER has absorbed the mystical traditions of classical Sufism from their Eastern sources in Turkey and the Arab world and translated them into accessible works for the Western reader. A member of the Sufi order of dervishes founded by Jalaluddin Rumi, he offers an insider's in-depth view of Rumi which other contemporary poets who have adapted his work for the West fail to elucidate. He lives in Cairo and is currently completing a TV documentary on Rumi.
