Ardeshir Lotfalian
Some time ago (before the prevalence of the corona pandemic) there was a gathering at the house of the renowned Iranian painter Nasser Ovissi. The guest of honor was Kabir Helminsk1, and a number of his followers were also in attendance. The party was thrown in order to celebrate Rumi, the 12th century great poet of Persian expression. Nasser who is a longtime friend invited me to join the gathering and wanted me to say a few words about Rumi and his poetry too. I delightfully accepted the invitation and it was a quite unforgettable night. I talked for a few minutes at the opening of the celebration and also recited some verses of one of Rumi’s most famous ghazals )lyric poems) along with the English translation of those verses. What follows is the text of my remarks made that night accompanied by the original version of the ghazal and its translation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I greet everybody and welcome all of you to this wonderful gathering.
My name is Ardeshir Lotfalian, a lover of poetry and art and longtime friend of Mr. Ovissi, our gracious host and a renowned artist.
We are gathered tonight to celebrate Jalaleddin Mohammad, one the most extraordinary genius’s mankind has ever produced. In Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Indian sub-continent they call him Mowlavi, Mowlana, or Our Lord, but in the United states and most of the Western countries he is better known as “Rumi.” The reason is that he lived his entire adult life in Konya, a part of today’s Turkey that the people in the East used to call “Rome”, because for many centuries it was under the domination of the Roman empire. Rumi died in 1273 in Konya when he was 67 years old. people of all faiths there organized together a splendid funeral for him so much he was adored and loved by everybody because of his respect for religious freedom and despising of all forms of bigotry. In the 17th century a magnificent mausoleum was erected over Rumi’s tomb in Konya by the order of Sultan Salim, the Ottoman Caliph of the time. Today people from all over the world go to Konya on pilgrimage to the mausoleum and for paying their respect to Rumi.
In Iran and the surrounding countries Rumi has been well known and deeply venerated for centuries as a charismatic philosopher, a learned Sufi and a great poet of Persian expression But in the United States, where Rumi has lately become the most popular poet, his fame is new and goes back only a few decades in time. Nowadays in American universities there are classes for analyzing his poems and explaining his thoughts and philosophy. Cultural groups and associations organize speeches on his poems and about the message his poetry conveys. Some of the most famous singers and Hollywood stars such as Madonna have composed and sang songs inspired by Rumi’s poems. In the past three decades, there has been a myriad of publications on Rumi in the United States, but one book containing a number of his selected poems written in plain American English by Colman Barks, former professor of Georgia University has constantly figured among the best sellers for more than twenty years.
Robertson Smith in the late 19th century was a distinguished professor at Cambridge University in England. One day a student by the name of Reynolds Nicholson consulted him on the subject of his dissertation. He advised the young man to choose the collection of Rumi’s ghazals or lyric poems called the Great Divan of Shams Tabrizi for that purpose. Nicholson put in execution his professor’s advice, but was so much absorbed and fascinated by Ruomi, that he devoted his entire life to the translation of Rumi’s colossal book of Masnavi and his selected ghazals into literary English. Interestingly enough, in 1976, Robert Bly, distinguished American poet and university professor gave a copy of Nicholson’s scholarly translation of Rumi’s poems to his student Colman Barks and recommended him to “liberate those poems from their literary cages” by putting them in plain American English, comprehensible for an average American reader. Complying with his professor’s advice, Barks spent seven years, diving in the roaring ocean of Rumi’s poems. He prepared a volume of selected poems in free style and plain English prose without having initially any intension to publishing them. But he finally sent a copy of his work to Harper Collins, the famous American publisher and the work was consequently printed. The book became an amazing instant success and more than 500, 000 copies of its different editions so far have been sold. Encouraged and emboldened by this experience, Barks embarked on more works and studies on Rumi in a way that diving more and more into Rumi’s poetry and philosophy became the main vocation of his life. Barks believes that some of the thoughts expressed in Rumi ‘s poetry resonate strongly with Americans. For example, according to him, Rumi’s raising the intriguing question of where we come from and toward where are heading to, wonderfully relates to many Americans of spiritual inclination. Of course, Introducing Rumi’s poems and philosophy to the American people is not limited to Colman Barks. A vast series of other books and publications dealing with the same subject has become available in the American book market in recent decades.
Some people associate the great fascination of Americans with Rumi to their falling in love with the Beatles in the 1960s. In the internet, the number of hits on the word “Rumi” has surpassed the two million thresholds. His image can be seen imprinted on calendars, tee shirts and coffee cups in different places.
Other pundits opine that after the 9/11 attacks, Rumi played the role of a bridge between more enlightened Americans and Muslims in general. Yet others refer to the German poet Hans Minek’s assertion that “Rumi’s poetry is the only remaining hope in the dark era in which our lives are going on.” Some literary experts believe that Rumi is the greatest poet the human race has ever produced to this date. For example, Henry Masset, a French scholar of Iranian studies says: “While we can find equivalents for some of the greatest Iranian poets such as Saadi, Hafez and Ferdowsi in other cultures, Rumi is unique and no one of his stature can be found in any other language.”
I hope that you have not been tired by this short introductory note. Fortunately, tonight we have a great Rumi expert with us in the person of Mr. Kabir Helminsky who has written and spoken profusely about Rumi. It will be a privilege to hear what he has to say tonight. I am going to finish my talk by reciting a few verses of one of Rumi’s famous lyric poems accompanied by its English translation.
Thank you
بنمای رخ که باغ و گلستانم آرزوست
بگشای لب که قند فراوانم آرزوست
Show me your face for orchard and rose garden are what I desire.
Open your lips for sugar in plenty is what I desire.
گفتی به ناز بیش مرنجان مرا برو
آن گفتنت که بیش مرنجانم آرزوست
“Vex me no more, go away;” you said capriciously.
That saying of yours, “Vex me no more;” is what I desire.
بالله که شهر بی تو مرا حبس می شود
آوارگی به کوه و بیابانم آرزوست
By God, without you the city is a prison to me.
Wandering on mountain and in deserts is what I desire.
یک دست جام باده و یک دست زلف یار
رقصی چنین میانۀ میدانم آرزوست
In one hand a wine cup, in the other a curl of the beloved’s hair
dancing like that in the public square is what I desire.
زین خلق پرشکایت گریان شدم ملول
شیر خدا و رستم دستانم آرزوست
My heart is weary of these weeping and whining people.
The Lion of God2 and Rostam3, son of Dastan4, are what I desire.
دی شیخ با چراغ همی گشت گرد شهر
کز دیو و دد ملولم و انسانم آرزوست
Last night the master was roaming about the city with a lantern,
Shouting “I am tired of devils and beasts, and finding a man is what I desire.”
گفتند یافت می نشود جُسته ایم ما
گفت آنکه یافت می نشود آنم آرزوست
“He is not to be found, we have sought,” They responded.
”The very one who cannot be found is whom I desire,” he said.