Also the trains slow down

ANI/DI Cor - Daily India - Jacksonville, FL, U.S.A.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Sufism is an integral part of Indian heritage, and people of all faiths revere Sufi saints.

These feelings of communal amity come out loud and clear during the annual Urs ceremony of Sufi saint Baba Barchchi Bahadur here in Aligarh.

The baba's dargah or mausoleum lies adjacent to the railway track in Aligarh. It is 600-years-old. A large number of devotees from different religious backgrounds come to pray at the Baba's dargah.

"We come to this dargah, as we find happiness. All our wishes are fulfilled. Baba fulfils all our wishes," claims Sapna, a Hindu devotee. Jagat Singh, a Sikh devotee, says, "Ever since somebody told me about this dargah dedicated to Baba, I have been coming here regularly. Barchhi Baba accepts the prayers of all those who come here with faith and love in their hearts."

The annual Urs is attended by a huge gathering of devotees. Qawwals sing paeans in praise of the saint, people offer chadars and threads and the faithful distribute food to the needy.

Aushe, a Sufi Qawwal who sings hymns in the dargah complex, has immense faith in Baba. He believes the Baba showers his blessings on Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians, and adds that everybody's prayers are accepted.

Legend has it that when the Britishers were laying railway track in Aligarh in the 19th century, they found the Baba's dargah coming in the way and sought to shift the mausoleum. When the first step was being taken to shift the mausoleum, trains started getting jammed, and the railway authorities then had no alternative except to change the direction of the railway track.

Thus, Baba's miraculous powers were established.

To this day, irrespective of religious barriers, Baba's dargah is visited by one and all. The trains running on the nearby tracks also slow down to pay respect to this saint. What more can be said?

*Bleu univers* by Tarek Issaoui

[From the French language press]:

Résumé du roman *Bleu univers* de Tarek Issaoui: Un mathématicien découvre la forme de l’univers. Au fil des pages, il livre le fruit d’une réflexion qui embrasse sciences, arts et mystique.

Agora Vox, France - lundi, 26 février 2007 - par Akram Belkaïd

Summary of the novel *Bleu univers* (Blue universe) by Tarek Issaoui: A mathematician discovers the shape of the universe. Through the pages, he delivers the fruit of a reflexion which embraces sciences, arts and mystic.

There is also in this novel, a wink - light but real - at the sufi mysticism for which the universe can concentrate on one point and for which the search can lead only to one vision among so many others of the truth.

To gather all the directions in only one, to fold up the space, to curve it. To end up drawing this sphere whose center is everywhere, and the circumference nowhere. In short, to approach the sacred letter Alif, this place where, without merging, are all the places of the Univers, seen from all the angles.

Tarek IssaouiBleu universEdition Scali178 pages€ 18

Sonia attends sufi singer's concert

PTI/The Hindu - Chennai, India

Saturday, March 17, 2007

New Delhi: It was a musical night out for the family of Congress president Sonia Gandhi here on Saturday: Ms. Gandhi and her kin enjoyed a performance by famous Pakistani sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

Ms. Gandhi's mother Paola Maino, son Rahul, daughter Priyanka and son-in-law Robert Vadra, were among the VVIPs who attended the concert at Siri Fort Auditorium.

Khan began the concert with his first Bollywood hit number `Lagi Tum Se Man Ki Lagan' from the film `Paap.' The Pakistani vocalist, who is the nephew of the late legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, is known for songs in the sufi genre.

The concert was organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Ms. Gandhi is the chairperson of the Foundation.

[Picture: Priyanka Vadra and Rahul Gandhi with their grandmother Paola Maino arrive for a concert by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in New Delhi on Saturday. - Photo by Special Arrangement]

Recipe for success

Malaysian Star - Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Spices are an inescapable part of Malaysian life. Every local cuisine uses a spice of some kind, yet not every consumer is aware of the long and glorious history of the spice trade.

The Spice Journeys exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum aims to highlight the link between trade, spices and the expansion of Islam. The colourful story they are telling is accompanied by equally colourful pictures and artefacts.

Spices were clearly an essential part of early Islamic cuisine, and have remained so ever since. The Sufi master Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi used food as a metaphor in much of his philosophy and organised his dervish brotherhood around the kitchen. Among the spices that appeared in his recipes were cumin, black pepper, cinnamon and sumac.

(...)

Spices changed every life they touched, and with the greater availability after the 17th century, they touched a huge number of lives. The world’s rarest produce has today become among the most commonplace things.

There are a few exceptions, however: saffron is still worth considerably more than its weight in gold. The most exotic manifestation of spices is now reserved for perfumes. Nina Ricci’s classic L’Air du Temps somehow seems more magical when it is revealed that it incorporates bergamot, sandalwood and clove, as well as the musk that was such a delight to the Prophet Muhammad.

How these came to be in Ricci’s perfume is very much a result of the Islamic world’s contribution to trade.

The exhibition shows how this contribution worked. There are navigational instruments such as astrolabes – for helping mariners find their way, as well as getting their prayer times right – to medical books that emphasise the importance of certain spices.

Even public bathhouses, which later acquired a different sort of reputation, were once an important link in the spice trade.

The most profitable destination in this global network was South-East Asia. As the source of the most expensive of all spices, it eventually became a significant part of the Islamic world. Arab traders had been visiting the Malay Archipelago long before it became Muslim.

Journeys: Taste and Trade in the Islamic World is at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia until April 18

Dancing her surrender to the Almighty Beloved

By Jaya Narayanan Pisharoty - The Hindu - Chennai, India

Friday, March 16, 2007

Manjari Chaturvedi, a leading Kathak dancer from the Lucknow gharana, has blended the mysticism of Sufism with the classicism of Kathak to evolve a new kind of dance, Sufi Kathak.

"It is new and yet ancient," says Manjari. "Sufi poetry existed in the form of Qawwalis in the Indian sub-continent and Kathak is a classical art form. Sufi Kathak is a part of the mainstream; the theme, costume and music are different but the grammar is the same."

She presented an evening of Sufi Kathak in Thrissur. The recital was organised by Thalam Cultural Trust in association with Thrissur Public Library. The theme of the evening was the spiritual journey of a woman from self-absorbed vanity to a complete surrender to the Almighty.

Manjari Chaturvedi's innovative choreography was based on the Sufi tenets and the musical accompaniment was the Qawwali. Any dance item is always rehearsed to a fixed piece of music and rhythm but the Qawwals are accustomed to unstructured singing. Their music is spontaneous and free-ranging and cannot be restricted by the formal requirements of a dance.

And it is on this that Manjari innovates on stage . She believes it is divine inspiration and indeed her `chakkars' are reminiscent of the whirling dervishes of Sufism.

All the dances were set to the verses of Sufi poet Amir Khusro. In the first item, `Eri Sakhi' in Brijbhasha, Manjari portrayed the nayika who decks herself in finery to welcome her beloved. She dances to please him.

In `Chab Tilak,' the young girl thinks she can mesmerise her beloved (the Almighty) with her beauty; one look at his enchanting face and she surrenders herself to him.

Manjari's slow and meditative movements suited the spiritual mood of the composition. Her exquisite handwork and expressive abhinaya conveyed sequentially the vanity of the girl, her fascination for the beauty of her beloved and finally her complete absorption in Him.

As one dance merged into the next due to the unity of the theme, Manjari swayed and twirled, losing herself to the music, to the spirituality of the song. The dance and the dancer became one. This loss of individual identity is precisely the point of Sufi Kathak. The dancer tries to convey through an art form, the formlessness of the Divine.

In the next dance, the music reached a crescendo and the Qawwals sang out - "Maula!" - and Manjari whirled with arms held aloft in supplication. The last dance of the evening, ironically entitled `Rang,' had Manjari attired in black. This composition invites the Sufi saints to celebrate Holi [True Love/Spring Festival of Colours].

There was no flamboyance or the slightest element of exhibition in the recital. The movements were controlled and inward looking. Manjari's costume changed from peach and gold to a spiritual white and then to black. This is symbolic of the seeker's journey from consciousness of self to a higher state of spirituality and finally in identification with the formlessness of the Almighty.

The soulful singing by a group of six Qawwals, led by Nurul Hasan, added to the spiritual ambience of the recital.

Heritage of Hope

By Jaskiran Kaur - Express India - Chandigarh, India

Friday, March 16, 2007

Yousuf Saeed is creating an opportunity for dialogue and co-existence through his films

The world is starving for Amir Khusrau. For a poet’s vision, a writer’s wisdom and sufi’s soul. “Khusrau is perhaps the biggest example of a multi-faceted personality. He and the poets, the sufis of past with their movements have been proof of cultural co-existence, of peaceful plurality and amazing tolerance,”

Delhi-based filmmaker, Yousuf Saeed sets the screen for his documentary, ‘Khayal Darpan - A Mirror of Imagination,’ shown at CSNA Auditorium, State Library, Sector 34.

Shot across the border, through the meandering gullies of Pakistan, in search of lost legacies, the film is Saeed’s way of connecting with the past. “Today, the Hindus and Muslims have been polarised into their extremes, there was a past where such a polarisation wasn’t there. Partition created a vacuum which is taking years to fill...” If ‘47 saw gharanas and singers moving to Pakistan, then it also saw their patrons, the Hindus and the Sikhs, back in India.

The documentary raises questions on how music suffered in Pakistan, how the Government never promoted the arts, and it still doesn’t have a organised music industry despite the swelling talent.

What began as ‘Amir Khusrau’s legacy in Pakistan’ ended up as an opportunity to create dialogue and co-existence in the two worlds.

“Culture, literature, identities....these are things that keep evolving. Everything is a blend, nothing’s pure. This is where concept of Khusrau is relevant in today’s times. The world needs that multi-cultural dimension to exist in the ‘global village’. And tolerance is the key.”

You can’t survive in a nucleus, feels Saeed, who’s been part of Turning Point series on DD, made umpteen number of documentaries including a series on Ladakh and Khusrau. “It’s difficult, this medium for there are no takers of it. Our marketing in documentaries is poor,” rues Saeed.

But it does not deter this independent thinker of the new world to continue with his work.

“I look for the positives. Films like Black Friday and Parzania border on a certain hopelessness and blame game. I would rather hang on to hope.”

So, it’s India and music, and then perhaps a documentary on sufi shrines across India where people from all religions come. To the past, the present and a turning point called Yousuf Saeed.

[Picture from documentary Khayal Darpan: http://tinyurl.com/32ekyg
( Yousuf Saeed' film/videography at www.alif-india.com/films.html)]

Questions of a Searching Heart

PR Web - Ferndale, WA, U.S.A.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Not revelation, but the accent, the flavor of revelation, this commentary, called Sufi, by author Sharon Marcus, offers a description or analysis of the mysteries at the heart of Sufi experience.

Says Marcus, "The true study of Sufism does not begin in a book or in scholarly investigations because this is an inner pursuit, a path which lies within that must be examined experientially by anyone who has a hunger to know what must be known, and that translated means a hunger for God and His truth."

The book contemplates the soul from the human perspective leading to an awareness that we came from God, and are mirrors of His light which will be reflected back into Him one day.

Marcus speaks of our obligations because of this divine origin, this connection and destiny -- "As reflections of a formless power," says Marcus, "we must manifest in what we do, what we think, what we say, what we believe."

The book shows how studying and acquiring His attributes brings about a transformation.

Book Statistics ISBN(s):
09737534-3-9
Retail Price(s): $26.95 CDN * $ 24.95 USD
Size and Format(s): 5.5 x 8.5 paperback
Page count: 433
Publication Date: 2006
Availability: Chapters/indigo.ca, Amazon.ca http://www.sufipress.com/

Ours is not a caravan of despair

Turkish Press - Plymouth, MI, U.S.A.
Thursday, March 15, 2007

A commemoration ceremony took place at the Congress Library building in Washington D.C. to mark the 800th anniversary of the birthday of Jalal ud-din Rumi, also known as Mevlana.

U.S. Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes, Turkish MPs Vahit Erdem, Egemen Bagis, Reha Denemec, Bihlun Tamayligil and Ersin Arioglu; Turkish Ambassador to the United States Nabi Sensoy, and leading Turkish businessman Rahmi Koc were in attendance at the ceremony sponsored by the Koc Holding.

Wirling dervishes performed their dance and music ceremony called "sema" representing man's ascent through mind and love to the "Perfect".

Turkish singer Ahmet Ozhan also gave a concert during the ceremony.

Mevlana devoted himself to the pursuit of Sufi mysticism, in which he was justly regarded as the supreme master. He was the spiritual founder of the Mevlevi order of whirling dervishes.

His most important work, composed during the last ten years of his life, is the Mathnawi-i Manawi (Mesnevi). This comprises about thirty thousand couplets in six books, a vast compendium of Sufi lore and doctrine, interspersed with fables and anecdotes.

It is especially remarkable for its insight into the laws of physics and psychology.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared 2007 as the "International Rumi Year". This is intended for the commemoration of Rumi's 800th birthday anniversary and will be celebrated all over the world.

The Mevlana annual festival is held every year in Konya in December. It lasts for two weeks and its culminating point is the 17th December called Sheb-i Arus meaning "Nuptial Night", the night of the union of Mevlana with God.

"Come, come, whoever you are,
wanderer, idolater, worshipper of fire,
come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times,
come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair"

Mevlana calls on everyone.

Life in colour

By Parul - Express India - Chandigarh, India
Friday, March 16, 2007

The elements change, so do colours, but your basic personality reflects in your work, I have a distinct style, which is so easily recognizable, see them anywhere and you know these are my paintings and drawings,’’ says Madan Lal, who recently held a show of his works, Celebration in Colour in Delhi.

A painter, who is also a poet, the Sufi intent is clearly visible on Madan’s canvas.
“Sufi poets use complex symbolic expression, their poetry is composed in lyrical forms, set to the tunes of local folk music. Their mission is to reach the hearts of ordinary men and women. My works are about such ordinary men and women,’’ explains the painter.

In his works abstract and reality blend beautifully and the canvas is clear and bright, yet, lot is left to the imagination of the viewer.

Life’s a journey and Madan has depicted it delicately and mystically in these works. “The idea behind each exhibition is to give something fresh and explore new possibilities and experiment.

I like making use of many possibilities and with my colours I create washes, transparent effects, a matte look, but ultimately it’s the feeling in your work that matters the most, and it also reflects,’’ smiles Madan, all set to create something spectacular for another group show.

Delhi's Dargah of Faith and Love

Staff writer /ANI - Daily India - Jacksonville, FL, U.S.A.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

New Delhi: We cannot help being born black, white or Caucasian, any more than we can decide the faith into which we are born.

And, just because we speak different languages, eat different foods, have different customs, and follow different religions does not mean that we cannot live next to each other.

Few countries in the world have such an ancient and diverse culture as India. Stretching back to over 5000 years, India's culture has been enriched by successive waves of migration, which eventually absorbed the Indian way of life. It is this variety, which is a special hallmark of India.

This can be clearly seen at the shrine of Sufi saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi. Those who come here and sing in praise of the almighty, connect in a bond of faith and love.

The show of reverence knows no caste, creed or religion. It is one of the most revered Sufi shrines in the subcontinent.

Sufism is a school for the actualization of divine ethics. It involves an enlightened inner being, not intellectual proof; revelation and witnessing, not logic... It is a faith of the masses and for centuries, it has drawn on and has been influenced by the practice of both Hinduism and Islam, in India.

Sufi saints were both popular and influential because they identified themselves with popular traditions, customs, practices and beliefs.

"I have been coming here for a long time now. I come here to seek blessings and offer my respects. Of course inherent faith should be there. People from all religions come here," a visitor to the dargah says.

Deepankar Gupta, a sociologist, agrees that it is very important to uphold these secular traditions, which form a part of India's composite culture.

"Yes, there has been a composite culture. Sufism has a lot of elements that were kind of Hindu in orientation. Sikhism grew out of Hinduism, Jainism grew, Buddhism grew. But I must learn to respect a Sikh for being a Sikh. That is very important in secularism," says Gupta.

This dargah, therefore, serves as the perfect place to seek solace irrespective of caste, colour or creed.

[Picture:www.chishti.ru/sufi_photos.htm]

TV 'Retreat' participant hits out

By Simon Greenhalgh - This is Cheshire - U.K.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

A Bowdon resident who starred in a fly on the wall three-part television documentary has hit out at the programme makers.

The final episode of The Retreat - that followed six British volunteers on a four week Sufi Islamic retreat in Spain - was shown on BBC 2 on Monday night.

Aisha Alvi, aged 31, claims the documentary's producers, Tiger Aspects, omitted vital footage.
"I felt quite intimidated at times and my biggest complaint is the way the programme has been edited," said Aisha.

"Sufism is a very mystical form of Islam and I understood from the offset that there would be certain things I wouldn't be comfortable with.

"But I was portrayed as someone who was very dogmatic and the impression given on the voice over is that I am constantly opting out.

(...)

At the beginning of Monday night's episode it wasn't clear whether Aisha would last the four weeks. But she decided to stay and saw one of her fellow participants, Pom, convert to Islam.
"Yes it was a journey for some of the others, but for me I felt disappointed by what happened.

(...)

[There is a debate at the end of this News report: click on the article's title above]

Rumi in Rome

[From the Italian language press]:

Il 21 marzo è la giornata mondiale della poesia in tutti gli stati membri dell'UNESCO. A Roma, all'Auditorium "Parco della Musica" avrà luogo una serata culturale centrata intorno al tema "Viaggio verso" per celebrare la diversità e la ricchezza delle culture.

Abitare a Roma / Online News - venerdì 16 marzo 2007

21st March is World Poetry Day in all the states members of the Unesco. In Rome, at the Auditorium "Parco della Musica" there will be a cultural evening revolving around the theme "Travel towards", celebrating the diversity and richness of cultures.

First part of the evening is dedicated to a reading of classic Italian poetry, from Saint Francis of Assisi to Pier Paolo Pasolini. The second part is dedicated to Rumi, the great Persian poet, chosen passages of whom will be read from the Mathnawi and the Shams-e Tabriz' Diwan.

The readings drawn from these masterpieces will be accompanied with Persian music played with traditional instruments. Tambur, setar and tar will be played by the Iranian artist Siamak Guran; daff and dairé by Paolo Modugno, the zarb by Paolo Pacciolla. Voices: Simone Franco and Lucia Antolini.

Professor Gabriele Mandel Khan, head of the Italian branch of the Jerrahi-Halveti sufi Brotherhood, curator and translator of the main work of Rumi, the Mathnawi, will take part, as well as the wandering poet Gezim Hajdari.

[Visit also: www.unesco.it and http://tinyurl.com/25k2k7 (Online News it);

for World Poetry Day: http://tinyurl.com/yvnqmh (www.unesco.org )]

Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi conference in Washington D.C.

Rumi Forum - Washington D.C., U.S.A.

Friday, March 16, 2007

My Mother is Love

My Father is Love

My Prophet is Love

My God is Love

I am a child of Love

I have come only to speak of Love.

“Come, whoever you are come!”

The Rumi Forum is proud to announce, in honor of UNESCO declaring 2007 the year of Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi, a conference on the life and works of Rumi.

This conference will be held in cooperation with Professor Seyyed Hussain Nasr’s office at the George Washington University on March, Friday 16th (6.30 p.m.) and March, Saturday 17th (9.00 a.m. - 5.45 p.m.).

[Full program and all infos: click on the title above. Also, visit: www.rumiforum.org ]

The conference will be followed by a special performance of the Whirling Dervishes of Rumi
[about location, tickets etc. click: http://tinyurl.com/24ehlu ].

Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey whirl together

SN/MR/BG - Press TV - Tehran, Iran
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Iran and Turkey will hold an international conference to commemorate the 800th birthday of the celebrated persian sufi poet Rumi.

Iran's cultural attaché to Turkey, Farhad Palizaban, announced plans to also prepare a sidebar exhibit to introduce Iran's tourist attractions to the public during the Rumi conference.

Palizaban said both programs are an opportunity to familiarize foreigners with Iranian culture.

"We are also working on a bilingual collection of Rumi's Masnavi in both Farsi and Turkish to be published in the coming months," he told reporters. Masnavi is one of the best known and most influential works of both Sufism and Persian literature. The more than 25,000 verses that make up the six volume collection relate hundreds of stories which illustrate man's predicament in his search for God.

During his lifetime, Rumi lived in Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. The three countries will offer independent events throughout 2007 to honor the transcendental poet.

Masnavi translated to Russian

ST/KB - Press TV - Tehran, Iran

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Concurrent with the scientific conference of "A Glance at Mystic Literature", the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences has unveiled the Russian translation of the first book of Rumi's Masnavi.

The conference was held with the participation of a number of orientalists including the head of Department of Textology and Literary Monuments, Natalia Prigarina.

Iran's cultural attaché to Russia, Mehdi Imanipur also gave a speech during the opening ceremony of the event on March 12th, pointing to the ancient history and spiritual value of the Persian language.

Rumi did not compose poems for the sake of poetry; his purpose was to delineate mystical concepts, Dr. Nayyeri from Shiraz University said during his lecture at the conference.

Masnavi al Ma'navi ("Rhyming Couplets of Profound Spiritual Meaning") by Jalal al-Din Mohammad Rumi is one of the best known and most influential works of both Sufism and Persian literature. Comprising six books of poems, it illustrate man's predicament in his search for God.

Calligraphy and Concert in Bahrain

Gulf Daily News - Manama, Bahrain
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Iranian artist Golnaz Fathi's exhibition at the La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art in Manama will open tomorrow [today, Thursday the 15th] at 6pm.
The work of this well-known artist has been exhibited extensively in many museums and galleries throughout the Middle East, the US and Europe - including the British Museum in London - over the last decade.

Inspired by Iranian cultural heritage, Persian traditional calligraphy and poetry like those written by Nizar Qabbani, the great Syrian poet who wrote extensively on womanhood, Golnaz's passion gave her the dedication to practice her skill for up to seven hours a day. This degree of commitment was rewarded with the prestigious award for Best Woman Calligraphist in the Ketabat style.

The exhibition will be held until April 26 and is open to all from 10am-1pm and from 4pm-7pm, Saturdays to Thursdays.

Meanwhile, La Fontaine, in association with Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, is presenting a night of authentic Sufi music with Salar Aghili on March 21.

Sufi music has retained a unique emotional authenticity, which derives from its mystical heritage and inspiration.

When expressed through the medium of Salar Aghili's rare and practised vocal technique, it engages all our senses and carries our imagination off to a bygone age of heroic chivalry.

[Read also:http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=calligraphy]

Website for Mevlana

Turkish Press - Plymouth, MI, U.S.A.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Ankara: Ministry of Culture & Tourism opened a website on the occasion of 800th birth anniversary of the great spiritual leader of Islam's Sufi order, Jalal ud-din Rumi or Mevlana.

The website prepared in the framework of "Mevlana Year" can be found in three different addresses www.mevlana.gov.tr, www.mevlanayili.gov.tr and www.2007mevlanayili.gov.tr

The website depicts Sema -- a Mevlevi ritual of whirling dervishes -- and includes the famous couplet of Mevlana, "Come, come again, whoever you are, come! Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come! Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times. Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are."

Mevlana's life, works, religious customs of Mevlevi order of whirling dervishes, information about Mevlana Museum, and Mevlevi places of worship in Turkey can be found in the website.

Officials told that the English version of the site, which is under construction right now, will be available in May.

-MEVLANA AND SEMA-
Mevlana was born on September 30th, 1207 in Balkh, which is now located in Afghanistan. He died in Konya (central Anatolia) on December 17th, 1273. He was laid to eternal rest beside his father and over his remains a splendid shrine was erected in Konya.

Though centuries have passed, many people from around world, come and visit Mevlana.

Mevlana devoted himself to the pursuit of Sufi mysticism, in which he was justly regarded as the supreme master. He was the spiritual founder of the Mevlevi order of whirling dervishes.

His most important work, composed during the last ten years of his life, is the Mathnawi-i Manawi (Mesnevi). This comprises about thirty thousand couplets in six books, a vast compendium of Sufi lore and doctrine, interspersed with fables and anecdotes. It is especially remarkable for its insight into the laws of physics and psychology.

On the other hand, sema represents a man's ascent through mind and love to "perfect." Turning towards the truth, he grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and arrives to the "Perfect."

Then he returns from this spiritual journey as a man who reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and to be of service to the whole of creation, to all creatures without discrimination of beliefs, races, classes or nations.

Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists flow each year in December to Konya, the central Anatolian city, where Mevlana was laid to the eternal rest, and attend the festivals on the night of his death, which he called the night of wedding or "Vuslat Gecesi", since he would meet God finally.

Canada celebrates UNESCO "Year of Rumi"

Canada News Wire - Canada
Monday, March 12, 2007

The Canadian Turkish Cultural Association with the Jerrahi Sufi Order of Canada proudly present "Whirling into Peace", celebrating the life, contributions, and prayer for Global Peace of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi.

Born in 1207, Rumi is now recognized worldwide as one of the greatest mystical poets of all time.

For the first time in Canada, Rumi's inspiring works will come alive on stage through the recitation of his poetry by acclaimed Turkish musician Ahmet Ozhan, accompanied by reed flutes ("neys"), lutes ("uds"), percussion ("bendirs") and chorus of Ozhan's 10-piece orchestra from Turkey.

Rumi will be further honoured through the ancient practice of whirling, performed by visiting dervishes of the Mevlevi Sufi Order founded by Rumi inthe 13th century.

Event Details:
All proceeds will go towards building the first Canadian Sufi Cultural Centre to help further interfaith dialogue, expand community outreach, and offer a public resource centre

Ottawa: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. at the National Arts Centre
Toronto: Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. at the Centre for the Arts

For more information, visit www.ahmetozhan.ca and www.jerrahi.ca

The Global Oneness Project

By David Ian Miller - San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Director of the Global Oneness Project talks about his own spiritual practice and what it's like growing up with a father who's a spiritual leader

At first glance, "global oneness" sounds like a stereotypically airy New Age construct -- sweet but signifying nothing in the real world.

But Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, director of the Global Oneness Project, is determined to document the interconnected nature of all life on earth. He travels the world seeking out stories from people whose work or ideas emphasize oneness with other people, animals and nature.

So far, he's collected some 50 interviews with writers, teachers, healers and activists in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South America. Their stories are then shared in video interviews on the organization's web site*.

Vaughan-Lee, 27, lives in Point Reyes Station with his wife and two young children. He is a practicing Sufi and the son of Sufi teacher and author Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee. I spoke to him last week in Oakland about what he's learned so far in his travels, his own spiritual practices and what it's like growing up with a father whom others look to for spiritual advice.

What sparked the idea for the Global Oneness Project?I was working on a film called "One: The Movie" for about nine months in 2005. We were traveling quite a bit, going to film festivals and community screenings, and I was struck by how many people were responding to the movie's focus on unity, on what unites us rather than on what pigeonholes or separates us.

People from all walks of life and backgrounds were telling me, "We want to see more of this." And so we came up with the Global Oneness Project as a way to use the Internet to provide people with an in-depth look at the subject.

What do you hope to accomplish?Hopefully, to inspire dialogue and new ways of thinking and working in the world. And the way we are going to do that is by getting people to participate, not just by viewing the material but also by providing them with a place to respond to what they have seen.

(...)

Some people might say that the money you're spending in traveling and telling people's stories might be better spent in establishing aid programs that could assist communities in some concrete way. How would you respond to that?They have a point, but I think there is an argument for both. There is a tremendous amount of money being put into aid programs -- not enough in any way -- but how much money is being put into media programs that go out and cover these stories about everyday people? I don't think there are many. And I especially don't think there are that many which make the stories available free to everybody.

Your father, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, is a Sheikh of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order and a teacher to many. What was it like growing up with a parent who is a spiritual leader?
When I was young, he was not a spiritual teacher. He was a student of a spiritual teacher. And it wasn't until I was a teenager that he became more of a spiritual teacher. I think my dad just sees himself as a simple guy who is a Sufi, and that a few people like to come and see, and he is really not -- I think "a leader" sounds kind of grand.

Your father is known for dream work, a fusion of the ancient Sufi approach to dreams with the insights of modern psychology. Did you all share your dreams around the breakfast table? Actually, my sister and I got so tired of dreams being shared that when we were about 7 years old we said: "Look! No more dreams at the breakfast table! We don't want to hear about dreams. We want to eat our cereal." Sometimes it got a little bit much.

You know, it's the same with children of psychologists. You learn all of these terms. You know who Freud and Jung are before anybody ever should, right? And so there is a reaction against that. Initially, I just wanted to watch my TV show and play in the backyard and go ride my bike, but as I got older, I learned the value in many of those tools dream work has for dealing with your own psychological process, your own spiritual process and things relating to that.

As a practicing Sufi, what would you say are the most important aspects of your faith?I can only speak from my point of view. Some spiritual traditions make a distinction between a spiritual practice or teachings and the world. One of the things I like about Sufism, at least the way I observe it, is that there is no separation between these two things. You don't have to meditate off somewhere by yourself, go on retreat or remove yourself from the presence of others.

You can do it while you are in life, while you are a schoolteacher or a parent. I think there's tremendous power in doing a spiritual practice while you are doing everything else, whether it's driving to work or changing my son's diapers. All those little things -- they are a spiritual practice because it's constant remembrance of God, which is a very common Sufi practice.

What are your daily practices?
I meditate, and I have a simple zikir that I do silently. A zikir is the same as a mantra. And so I do that, and I try to live as much in the moment as I can.

How does someone become Sufi?
There are so many different kinds of Sufism that it depends. But one thing that is common among Sufis is a desire for a direct relationship with God, or the Beloved. So that is something that drives someone to become a Sufi.

Depending on where that person is in the world or what option is presented to that person, if they have an innate desire or something happens in their life that brings that desire, they will find a situation that can reflect that most adequately. And that might be Sufism or it might be something else.

(...)

*[http://www.globalonenessproject.org/]

[picture: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee of the Global Oneness Project talks with an interview subject, Max Harrison, an aboriginal elder from the Yuin nation on the south coast of Australia. Photo by Denise Zabalaga]

Abd al-Malik in Geneva

[From the French language press]:

Sur scène, contrebasse, percussions, batterie, platines et piano s'emmêlent aux bons mots.

En attendant son passage au festival Voix de Fête, mercredi 21 mars, une rencontre avec Abd al Malik, fils d'Allah et de Jacques Brel, s'imposait.

La religion, pour vous, c'est quoi?

Ma religion, c'est le soufisme. Ça n'est pas une branche de l'Islam, mais le cœur.

Tribune de Genéve, Genéve, Suisse - mardi le 13 mars, 2007 - par Fabrice Gottraux

On stage, double bass, percussions, battery, cymbals and piano are mixed with good words. While waiting for his show at the Festival Voix de Fête, Wednesday March 21, in Geneva, Switzerland, a meeting with Abd al-Malik, son of Allah and Jacques Brel, was mandatory.

What is for you, religion?

My religion is Sufism. It is not a branch of Islam, but the heart.

Today one deals with a caricature of this religion. Whereas true spirituality makes it possible the opening toward the other. There is a confusion: one speaks about a political vision of things, whereas spirituality cannot be political. Because on September 11, it is important to specify that I am a sufi. If not, I would have not revealed it. Religion is about Intimacy.

The Arts are about imitating true life. In this case, isn't it God the artist par excellence?

What I do is like a collection of tales. I wanted to be a living Sampler which passes from the song and the text, as it was done in the hip-hop and soul. I remain a rapper. I like Kanye West or Mos Def. But also Jacques Brel.

Did Brel inspire you much?

It is an important model. It had an incredible writing, with such a feeling of simplicity.

This infatuation of the public for slam, where does it come from?

It is a return to the verb. The word stripped of anything else has an incredible strength.

[For place, program and prices: http://www.voixdefete.com/pages/me_21_marspag.html]