Radio Rumi

In this summer special episode, I discuss the worldly awareness of medieval Persian poets and thinkers, emphasizing their attention to cultures different than their own. Three figures are showcased: the philosopher Aziz Nasafi, Rumi, and Sa'di of Shiraz.

This episode focuses on the complexity of the concept of madness in Rumi's poetry. It explores our poet's approach to madness as a tool that curbs the power of rules and regulations to allow the formation of human spiritual originality.

This program is dedicated to the significance of dancing in human life. I start with Hafiz of Shiraz, then move on to Sa'di's approach to the topic and end with a ghazal of Rumi which uses the refrain "Come on! Dance!" We explore what these medieval poets think dancing does for us.

On the occasion of the arrival of spring, millions of people across the globe are celebrating "Nowruz." In this program, I explore the literary, symbolic, and spiritual meanings of the concept of spring through a few examples from the ghazals of Hafiz, Sa‘di, and Rumi. 

In this program, I focus on wine and wine-house in the poetry of Hafiz of Shiraz. In the journey that we take from Konya to Shiraz, instead of asking whether the wine that Hafiz drank was real or allegorical, I explore the wine-house itself as a counter space to places of worship.

In this episode, I focus on the ways in which one of my favorite philosophers and a few life-companion poets (including Rumi) discuss an important aspect of our life journey: traveling from the isolation of an ego to the generosity of sharing ourselves with trusted companions.

I start this program with a quote from a modern Western philosopher about the interconnection of all life everywhere. Comparing his view with that of a medieval Persian Sufi, I then share with you Hafiz and Rumi's poetic expressions of the same idea: life as a harmonious interrelation.

A large part of the world has just celebrated Christmas. This program looks into the poetic presence of Jesus in classical Persian poetry and his symbolic dedication to perpetuating life and honoring its sanctity.

In this episode, we take another poetic journey to Shiraz to spend Yalda with the master poet, Saʿdi. He speaks of the symbolic significance of nights as moments of repose, and of cruelty to others as the true darkness. We return to Konya wishing Iranians' suffering in this Yalda of cruelty to come to an end soon.

This episode is dedicated to the Iranian children suffering as the violent response to the uprisings causes them harm. I focus on children as the dynamic, playful, and growing presences in our lives. Rumi speaks of them frequently as he alludes to our child within, the part of us which yearns for growth.

I start this episode by describing the concept of the Self - "Khod" in Persian - as an ongoing inner process. I then explore Rumi's words on the way this Self, when liberated, can become a Lover or "Ashegh," a site for the glow of the fire of life.

This episode is dedicated to the concept of healing, as Rumi speaks about. In his view, healing is not a thing which happens to us but something that we build gradually. It begins by taking action, observing results, and building on them with more action. To teach us this difficult concept, he uses examples from nature.

In this episode, I talk about seasonal change and the autumn, which we usually see as a sign that the summer has ended. For Rumi, the pale leaves are more than that. Dealing with the short days and cold winds, waiting for the spring, the autumn leaves know the story of lovers’ separation.

In this program I continue to explore what poetry was to Rumi. Sometimes it was the music to his happy moments, and comfort during sadness. But he also used it for more complex things like keeping us curious, or showing us the value in perplexity. Most of all, he loved helping us discover the movement in things that seem unable to move, like grapes' journey to sweetness. I end with our own journey to Shiraz, again, where Saʿdi's poetry helped me reach my ailing mother.

In this program, I start by underlining Rumi's emphasis on the concept of sokhan ('human speech'). For our poet, human beings are made up of their thoughts, which they give birth to when they speak. Like roads, even superhighways, human speech connects peoples and cultures across cities and continents. Then we do something new: we travel from Konya where Rumi lived all the way to the Southwest of Iran, to hear the Great Saʿdi of Shiraz on the same topic.

In this first of a two-part program, I'll take you on the cosmic journey that Rumi plans for his readers. "There are thieves in town," he tells us but who are these thieves, and what do they want? Why does Rumi celebrate their arrival and what does he tell us to do when facing them?

In this program I explore the concept of "birth" in Rumi's lyric poetry as it applies to the entire cosmos. The convergence of the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and the Iranian Yalda celebrations indicate the symbolic significance of birth in many cultures. What does birth mean to Rumi? How does he put his poetic mark on this universal human experience?

In this program I speak of Rumi’s vision on giving thanks. Describing “patience” and “gratitude” as the twin roads to contentment, Rumi points to our capacity for anticipation as a great source of strength. “The one who has sensed the scent of the rose,” he says ” will dance all the way to the garden.”

In this episode we stroll through one of Rumi's ghazals with an eye on discovering the vibrancy and glow of this mystical metropolis. In the process we meet a few of its inhabitants some as majestic as Moses, and connect with the core of our own being.

We have all experienced varying levels of isolation in our efforts to slow down a pandemic. In this program I focus on the ways in which Rumi thinks and talks about loneliness and isolation. Was he ever lonely in his own life? What caused it, and how did he speak about it?