A Voice For Peace

By Erin DuBois, *Locals gather to Rumi-nate on the power of the poet in tough times* - Souderton Independent/Montgomery News - USA
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Rage, grief, despair – flimsy words to describe America’s horror during the events of 9/11. But while Americans endured the unspeakable, they found solace in an unlikely source, the healing words of Islam’s beloved 13th century religious thinker, Rumi, who is the bestselling poet in America today.

The phenomenon of Rumi’s rising eminence was the focus of the latest segment of the Spirit Journeys series presented by Generations of Indian Valley Oct. 23.

A full-service community center for active adults 55 and older, Generations is delving deeper in its commitment to growth and mutual support as participants explore the points of commonality among diverse cultures and religions. “Many studies of Baby Boomers show that they’re interested in studying other cultures and religions, especially those things that unite us,” Ella Roush, Generations board member and the event organizer, said.

Generations staff members decided to develop an entire series around this interest, beginning with a program on Native American spirituality.

They chose Sufism, the mystic branch of Islam, as especially pertinent since its message of understanding and loving one another resonates in a post-9/11 world where people realize more clearly than ever the importance of learning to live in harmony. “Rumi speaks about a personal relationship with the divine that compels us to make the world a better place,” Roush said. “That message is as valid today as in the 13th century.”

Following a Middle Eastern repast provided by the Oasis Restaurant of Lansdale, the Generations community enjoyed a thought-provoking viewing of “Rumi Returning: The Triumph of Divine Passion.”

Harleysville Books provided copies of Rumi’s work for sale.Produced by Kell Kearns and Cynthia Lukas, “Rumi Returning” experienced the record-breaking success of airing on over 300 PBS stations, according to Lukas.

Lukas appreciated Rumi’s poetry for years before inspiration dawned to make a film about his life and achievements. Her non-profit company, Heaven on Earth Creations, produces films of global import promoting spiritual growth and societal change.When UNESCO declared 2007 the International Year of Rumi, Lukas was startled by the renaissance of interest, since poets are rarely recognized for their impact upon the world’s most crucial issues.

Lukas and co-producer Kearns traveled twice to Rumi’s hometown of Konya, located in Turkey. There they witnessed thousands of pilgrims from different faiths and ethnicities visiting his shrine.“We felt something very sacred in the elevated sense of the place,” Lukas said. “We knew we had to make a film.”

Even during Rumi’s lifetime, Konya was a gathering place for diverse cultures and beliefs.

Born in 1207 in what is present-day Afghanistan, Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi eventually settled in Konya, where persons of faiths as diverse as Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity lived together peacefully. Rumi’s work reflects the unified complexity of his surroundings when he says that he is neither a Muslim, nor a Christian or Jew, but rather a part of the divine that imbues every created being.

“We thought his voice would be an excellent voice for peace across the world because he reaches across all boundaries,” Lukas said. Rumi’s voice surmounts the obstacles of a trauma like 9/11 by offering hope to a world ravenous for peace. Despite their anger and shock, Americans crave Rumi’s perspective of humanity as brothers and sisters who should respect one another, Lukas said.

Tolerant of all religions, Rumi emphasized putting away surface differences.“People can open up the pages of Rumi and see their own faiths being mentioned and respected,” Lukas said.

“The Essential Rumi” by Coleman Barks contains poems expressive of Rumi’s loving reverence for Jesus. Despite popular misconceptions, Muslims consider Jesus a prophet, and Sufis especially view Jesus as one of themselves, so that Rumi weaves common threads between Muslims and Christians, Lukas said.

Capturing both the elevated landscape and spirituality of the great mystic, the film explicates Rumi’s compelling wisdom against a backdrop of Sufi music. Music was an integral aspect of worship for Rumi, who expressed prayer through a ritual dance which later inspired the whirling dervishes under his son’s leadership. This ritual prayer dance is featured extensively in high definition throughout the film.

Like the wild abandon of the dance, Rumi’s poetry sparkles with the joy which usually seems so elusive in the midst of disaster.

Many scholars consider the Persian poets to be the best; and of the Persians, Rumi is at the top of their list, Lukas said. “His poetry is very immediate, sensual, and sacred,” Lukas said. “Ecstatic is the best word I can use to describe it.”Readers respond to his poetry because they crave ecstasy in their daily, mundane lives. Even when he is grieving, Rumi emanates the hope that life will continue turning as ceaselessly as the dance, bringing better things to the one prepared for them by all they have endured. “Things will get better – that hope is something he offers on every page,” Lukas said.

Inspired by the film, the audience, which was comprised of a cross-section of ages and faiths, remained well past the slated discussion time to ask questions. Lukas said that she appreciated their thoughtful questions so much that she would look forward to returning next year with the film’s sequel.

Lukas and Kearns are currently at work on the sequel, which PBS invited them to make due to the great success of “Rumi Returning.” The producers traveled to Turkey for Rumi’s 800th birthday celebration on Sept. 30, filming a celebration of mystic music that included musicians from Sudan, Kazakhstan, and Iran, among other countries.

Generations staff and board members displayed courage in hosting the event, Lukas said.“So much of what we see in the media is negative to Islam. It’s difficult for Americans to watch, because it saddens them and they don’t understand it.”

By viewing the film and participating in discussion with the producers, the audience experienced a different perspective of Islam as a unifying rather than a destructive force, one that cherishes the divine permeating all of humanity.

The Spirit Journeys series will continue on Nov. 20, with a discussion on the Quaker practice of spiritual nurture, presented by Mickey Edgerton of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends. Topics for 2010 include Jewish Kabbalah, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

For more information on the film, visit http://www.rumireturning.com/.
Upcoming events at Generations can be found at http://www.generationsofiv.org/.