Rūmī's Mystical Design

Rūmī's Mystical DesignReveals the sophisticated design of Rum's Mathnaw, showing that this seemingly unstructured work both describes and functions as spiritual training. This landmark book reveals the structure of Rum's thirteenth century classic, the Mathnaw. A beloved collection of 25,000 picturesque, alliterative verses full of anecdotes and parables on what appear to be loosely connected themes, the Mathnaw presents itself as spontaneous and unplanned. However, as

a legendary man now in his late eighties

draw from current

a novel fortune and failure by F

Presents a North American philosophy of liberation that defends both metaphysics and philosophy of religion

or aphorisms

With a strong distrust of imported kitsch

sexual orientations

their examinations of specific communities in Arkansas

and the nature of art—against the backdrop of a decade of war

art and death is representative of ancient concerns and realities

and contemporary thought

The learner will advance from knowing how to form a good sentence to being able to express his or her thoughts about the ups and downs of daily life using culturally appropriate expressions