The Teachings of Rumi

I bought this book as a birthday gift for a professor who has been nominated for the Pulitzer prize in literature. She liked it so much she is considering putting it on her book list for an upcoming college-level poetry class.

While knowing some beauty is lost through the translation from Rumi's native language, as a westerner who speaks only english I am so grateful to the author for a very accessable translation of the Master's Wisdom. Maybe Divine Love speaks for itself, but as a spiritual journeyer I was deeply comforted by the obvious 'rites of passage' and inherent 'Truth' of Rumi's Teachings.

For quite a few years, this was the most accessible version of Rumi's Masnavi available on the market. The language is dated, almost Victorian, which may put off some readers who are burned out on works in the style of Fitzgerald's "Omar Khayyam." Also, it is an abridgement, and Whinfield will at times collapse large portions of the work into a half page.On the whole, though, for the general reader the work doesn't suffer much from these two possible shortcomings. Rumi's unique, teasing genius comes through on almost every page, challenging the reader to look at everyday things from a different viewpoint. Whinfield's notes are sufficient without being intrusive.I read this version several years ago, and as I find that Rumi is best appreciated in small portions, I still like to keep the book handy as bedside reading. Whatever your opinion on Rumi, whether skeptical or reverent, you will enjoy this book.

This is a abridged translation of Jalaludin Rum's masterpiece "Masnavi i Ma'navi", which was written over a period of 43 years. The Masnavi is not only an important work in the corpus of Persian literature, but more significantly a classic in Sufism and in world religious thought. As such it is a "must read" for anyone interested in better understanding why we are here and what our purpose in life is.Rumi (1207-1273 CE) was born in Balkh in modern day Afghanistan. His family fled the Mongol invasion to Konya in Turkey, where he later founded the Mevlevi Sufi Order (commonly known in the West as the "whirling dervishes") as an outgrowth of his encounter with a wandering Sufi - Shams.The Masnavi is collection of stories and poems dealing with the central issue of life. Readers familiar with mystic strands in other religions will find much resonance here - common threads, common themes and common conclusions which reinforce the view that man's different religions are construct of man rather than of the Divine. EH Whinfield was born in England in 1835 and died in 1922. Educated at Rugby (an English "public" school -- a private school in US terminology), he received an MA from Magdalen College at Oxford (1859). He was also in the Bengali Civil Service (1859(?)-1879(?)) which no doubt gave him the opportunity and perhaps introduction to Rumi. Also a barrister -admitted to Middle Temple 1872.He also translated several other important Sufi works, Khayyam's 'Rubaiyat', Shabistani's 'Gulshan i Raz', and Jami's 'Lawa'ih'. It's not clear from this edition when the translation dates from (my guess is 1880's -1890s). The language is a bit dated, but still the power of Rumi's thought comes through. Whinfield has provided explanatory footnotes, including Quranic and Hadith references as well as to his other translations. These are quite valuable in helping the reader place the Masnavi in an Islamic focus. All commentary I have seen suggests that Whinfield was a pretty faithful translator of Rumi - rather than recasting the work in his own words.One further note for those who buy the book. A "Gueber" is a Parsee (Zoroastrian) - one of the religions recognized by Islam as Divinely inspired, e.g. "people of the book".

I want to thank Andrew Harvey for offering a collection of Rumi that is grouped in such a way as to be really accessible to both the student of Rumi, as well as the new-comer. I found his clear presentation refreshing. This book has been a spiritual learning tool - a path to go down - with out the usual barrage of "opinions" by the editor. It is presented in such a way as to allow the reader to "just take the journey" without being swayed to believe that the passages mean anything else than the reader wants or needs them to mean. I am greatful that Harvey was able to show restraint and offer this clear- joyous collection - while feeling confident enough to leave the rest up to the reader.