Category Archives: Blog

Sufis often talk about “following signs”–i.e. listening to so-called “cues” from the heart or beyond. But while I was in Afghanistan, I was literally following signs in my hunt for Rumi’s legacy and memory. To my surprise, there were visual and poetic traces of Rumi almost everywhere I traveled–from Persian verses of his masterpiece being recited by childrento bright posters stamped with his image stuck on mudbrick walls. On the poster above, Rumi’s name is given as Mevlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi–with “Balkhi” meaning the one from “Balkh” (where this photo was taken).

I am a Balkhi, I am a Balkhi, I am a Balkhi,
The world is in an uproar over my heartaches.

— Rumi

I guess we should begin today’s journey to Rumi in northern Afghanistan. While Afghans believe that Rumi’s family lived in Balkh before fleeing the Mongols, Tajiks and others believe that Rumi’s family was from Vakhsh (in current-day Tajikistan). Either way, Rumi’s memory today is alive and well throughout Afghanistan. For instance, while searching for signs of Rumi while driving through Afghanistan, I found this engraving of him on the side of the road leading into Mazar-i Sharif…

And so I wonder, sweetest love, if I
Should drink this ruby wine, or rather weep;
Each tear a bezel with your face engraved,
A rosary to memorize your name…

— Rumi

Today, September 30th, is Rumi’s birthday. To celebrate, I will be sharing posts about Rumi’s legacy–and explaining key aspects of the sema ceremony of the whirling dervishes…

Love is from the infinite, and will remain until eternity.
The seeker of love escapes the chains of birth and death.
Tomorrow, when resurrection comes,
The heart that is not in love will fail the test…

— Rumi

In my last few posts, I looked at Persian palaces in Iran from the outside, but here’s view of the preserved paintings on the ceilings and walls from the inside…

All my feelings have the color
you desire to paint.

From the beginning to the end,
no one but you.

Please make my future
better than the past.

— Rumi

‘To consume worries’ means to empty oneself.
After such an emptying occurs–joy appears, the kind of joy that knows no sorrow–
a rose without thorns, a wine without headaches.

It is the sorrow that guides us.
As long as there is no sorrow, no passion, no yearning in a work,
then love will not strive for it.
Without sorrow, it remains out of our reach.

— Rumi

I would like to emphasize once more the great significance of tourism as one of the most important means of public diplomacy that can help create relations and interactions among nations and lead to cultural proximity and mutual understanding of cultures and traditions.

— President Rouhani

The President of Iran recently announced at a tourism conference that the country is ready to welcome foreign tourists with open arms. With so much to see in Iran–you might need to book more than one trip…

This is one of my favorite palaces in Iran–a 19th century Qajar Palace in Shiraz. The palace rests in Bāgh-e Eram—a historic Persian garden lined with towering 300 year-old cypress trees. Not too far away, in the same city, lies the tomb of the Sufi poet Hafiz…

I can’t be small enough
to make friends with politicians.
My Heart is a Palace for a King,
even if it is full of worry.

— Hafiz

How long, this article asks, will Rouhani’s charm offensive on the world stage give Iran some much-needed breathing room?

Toward the gardens,
Toward the orchards,
I am going.
If you want to stay here,
Stay here –
I am going!

— Rumi

It’s no surprise that palaces and gardens weave their way through the poetry of Rumi. As articulated by UNESCO, “the Persian Garden is directly associated with cultural developments of Outstanding Universal Value,” such as the “literary works and poetry” of Persian poets like Rumi, Sa’di, Hafez and Ferdowsi. Persian gardens are considered the most beautiful in the world, and the “Persian Garden” (unchanged for over two millennia since the garden of Cyrus the Great’s Palatial complex) has even been placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

One of my favorite things to do when traveling through Iran is to spend time strolling through the exquisite gardens of the palaces in Shiraz and Esfehan. When most people think of Iran, they think of deserts and camels–not lush green gardens and snow–or paradise. But the English word “paradise” is derived from the Old Persian word used for a garden enclosed behind estate walls. Because Persian gardens integrate the four Zoroastrian elements of sky, earth, water and plants, water plays a central role in their decoration, as you can see in these two photographs from Iran…

There is a moving palace that floats in the air
with balconies and clear

water flowing through, infinity everywhere,
yet contained under a single tent…

— Rumi

Back when Afghan women were in mini-skirts and Afghanistan was on the hippie trail, Duke Ellington played Kabul…

There’s a reason I’ve been posting so much Rumi–and as the next 48 hours unfold, you’ll see why…

The souls that have clung to water and clay,
are pleased on being freed from them,
and begin to dance in the air and breezes of love,
becoming perfected like the full moon.

— Rumi

When capoeira came to the camp, life started to be beautiful.

When I was helping to teach yoga in one of the refugee camps here in Beirut, I inquired about the possibility of teaching capoeira there too–and ever since then I’ve been thinking about how to share this beautiful Afro-Brazilian martial art with refugees in Lebanon. While I’ve taught capoeira workshops in Egypt before for adults, teaching children in a refugee camp comes with a host of specific challenges. It wouldn’t be impossible though, since capoeira is currently being taught in refugee camps in Jordan, Iraq and Turkey–as you can see in the UNICEF award winning video below.

From first-hand experience, I can say–without a doubt–that capoeira is one of the most effective practices for cultivating empowerment, self-confidence, creativity, community, and peace of mind–and it’s wonderful to see capoeira being used to help so many refugee children who are in desperate need of psychosocial support–as well as fun…

Capoeira é pra homem, menina, e mulher (Capoeira is for men, children, and women)

— Mestre Pastinha

In the video below, Mark Brasilford, a Senior Protection Officer at UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) explains the psychosocial benefits of capoeira…

Over the past few years–from Brooklyn to Turkey and beyond–I’ve been finding and photographing Sufi/dervish begging bowls and bags, like the one above. In the past, Sufis practiced begging to cultivate humility and free themselves from worldly attachments–and “poverty” in Sufi poetry has long been a symbol for the “poverty” of the self–the emptying out of the ego.  In many ways, Rumi’s teacher Shams of Tabriz was the embodiment of “poverty”–both literal and figurative–as illustrated in several of Rumi’s poems…

Last night my teacher taught me the lesson of poverty,
having nothing and wanting nothing…

— Rumi

If you live in New York, then czech out the Czech Center’s annual street festival on Saturday, October 5th to celebrate Czech Independence Day.
Several years ago, I started going regularly to the Czech Center when I got back from living in Prague. The Czech offers Czech movie screenings, art exhibitions, language classes and puppet shows–and it never disappoints. Saturday’s celebration will include Czech food vendors, live music, workshops and the Staropramen Party in the evening with a special performance by the Czech band Tata Bojs. And if you want to learn Czech (with my former Czech tutor and good friend), then sign up for some Czech classes while you’re there–and czech out their other upcoming events…

CZECH STREET FESTIVAL:
Time: 12 pm-5 pm

Place: 73rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue

STAROPRAMEN PARTY 5pm-9pm

Bohemian National Hall (321 East 73rd Street)