Why Rumi?

Why Rumi? 

About fifty participants in one of the workshops to define why Rumi meant so much to them gave responses which was classified into 12 distinct categories which are listed below with explanation.

1- Not Only Intellectual but Heartfelt:

They found Rumi to cater to their hearts, emotions and instincts rather than purely to their intellects.

2- Levels: 

They found many levels in Rumi’s poetry. The more they learned about Rumi, the more they appreciated his depth and were encouraged to dig deeper.

3- Unity: 

They found the sense of unity and universal siblinghood in Rumi’s poetry to be very attractive.

4- Friend: 

They found him to be a friend.

5- Personal Process: 

Reading Rumi for them is a personal process. They associate themselves with him.

6- Grace Descending: 

Every time a Rumi poem was recited they felt Grace descending.

7- Longing: 

They associated with the sense of longing in Rumi’s poems.

8- Love Affair: 

Rumi was like a lover to some of the participants.

9- Cultural Bridge: 

They found Rumi to form a cultural bridge for the Persians, Turks, Afghanis and the Arabs in this country. Through Rumi some Middle & Near Eastern people found a new acceptance in the U.S.

10- They Don’t Even Like Poetry: 

Some expressed that they don’t even like poetry but they love reading Rumi poems.

11- Participate in the Process: 

They found Rumi extremely expressive and found themselves participating in Rumi’s own internal process.

12- Spiritual Guide: 

They found Rumi to be a spiritual guide for them.