On Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, more than 450 people attended the Rumi event at ICCNC.
The first part of the program featured lectures by two outstanding Rumi scholars, Dr. Abdulkarim Soroush, and Robert Abdul Hayy Darr. Dr. Soroush’s lecture titled "Rumi: Teacher and Healer", discussed the centrality and nature of divine love from Rumi’s perspective and the role of God in such a relationship.
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr Was Second speaker. Mr. Darr in his lecture titled "Rumi and the Understanding of the Human Condition” shared several of Rumi’s poems in Masnavi that demonstrated Rumi’s insight into human nature and condition. ICCNC will post the audio and video of both lectures on the internet very soon.
The second part of the program was a musical performance by Bamdad Ensemble. Mr. Sirvan Manhoobi (oud) composed the musical pieces for the event, and Seyed Abolhassan Mokhtabad (vocalist) performed Rumi's poems in Persian. The ensemble included Joshua Mellinger (percussion), Doug Pohorski (contrabass), and Ric Louchard (piano). Mr. Manhoobi incorporated Rumi’s poetry with Eastern and Western musical melodies and instruments, employing techniques of improvisation that are used in Eastern and Western musical traditions. He tried to capture in each musical piece the spirit of Rumi’s message of love and harmony. The poems that were used described Rumi's vision of high human ideals and concepts in the language of music.
Dr. Abdulkarim Soroush
By far, one of Iran’s most eloquent lecturers and orators, Dr. Soroush is among one of the foremost authorities on Rumi and Sufi thought and teachings. Well-versed and highly knowledgeable in the cultural, spiritual, and intellectual heritage of East and West, he is a treasure house of wisdom in the fields of humanities, social sciences, religion, politics, and science. Dr. Soroush has authored more than 25 books on wide-ranging topics such as Sufism, Rumi’s life, time, poetry, & teachings, ethics, religion, and politics. In his various public speeches in Persian as well as English, he weaves his vast knowledge, art of oration, and impeccable memory with recitations of poems by Persian-speaking poets and those of the West, and he delivers them in most engaging, captivating, and eye-opening lectures.
As a multifaceted visionary scholar, innovative thinker, philosopher, religious reformer, poet, and translator he has received much recognition from many acclaimed institutions of higher learning and a lot of attention from the world media. In 2004 he received the Erasmus Award in Amsterdam, in 2005 he was named by Time Magazine as one of world’s most influential people. In 2008 he was named by Prospect Magazine as one of world’s most influential intellectuals. In 2009, based on a public poll, Foreign Policy Magazine ranked him number 45 of 100 world’s elite intellectuals and global thinkers.
Dr. Soroush has also taught as a visiting professor at many prestigious universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, and the Leiden-based International Institute. One of his great contributions to the world of spiritual advancement is his thorough, word-for-word analysis and explanation of most of Rumi’s Masnavi. To date, he has also given over 65 lectures on the Book One of Masnavi. In the past three years alone, among many of his other speeches, he has given over 32 lectures on Rumi’s Divan of Shams, including analysis and explanation of Rumi’s odes/ghazaliyat. Prior to that, Dr. Soroush had conducted over 250 lectures on topics related to Rumi’s life, time, poetry, teachings, and his interactions with Shams of Tabriz. A great majority of these teachings can be found on the Internet.
#Rumi
#Abdolkarim_Soroush
#ICCNC
#Rumi_Teacher_and_Healer
