Category: SUFI Journal

Visions of Love

HADEWYCH OF ANTWERP – POET, MYSTIC, AND SPIRITUAL GUIDE

by Sajidah Abdus Sattar

In 13th century Europe, when the men of the Church preached about God as the almighty power who required pain and penance from sinful man, a remarkable movement known as Minnemystiek (love mysticism) emerged. Instigated by devout and courageous women of noble birth searching for a God who was tender and loving, these “beguines,” were particularly inspired by the writing and spiritual guidance of one exceptionally gifted woman, Hadewych (or Hadewijch) of Antwerp.

 

(Hadewijch article photo © Gate Gustafson 2011)

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Riding the Waves of Chaos

AN INTERVIEW WITH TIBETAN BUDDHIST, JEN FOX

by Michele Rousseau

What is the spiritual meaning of surrender? Can we understand surrender as a matter of immanence? Transcendence? What does it honestly mean to surrender to (overwhelming) events as they arise—and why should we? Michelle Rousseau seeks the answers to these questions in her interview with Jen Fox, a Tibetan Buddhist who made an extraordinary journey last year to meet with her spiritual teacher Khandro Thrinlay Chodon, the great granddaughter of Togden Shakya Shri (1853-1919).

 

 

(Riding the Waves of Chaos–Interview photo of Khandro Thrinlay Chodon courtesy of Jane Miknius)

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Heech – Poems in Three Dimensions

PARVIZ TANAVOLI’S SCULPTURES OF NOTHINGNESS

by Sholeh Johnston
Parviz Tanavoli is undoubtedly one of Iran’s greatest modern and contemporary artists, and the father of Iranian modern sculpture. His work is housed in art collections, museums and public spaces around the world, as well as in his native Iran, and is one of the most significant collectors of traditional Iranian arts and crafts in the world. An acknowledged expert, Tanavoli’s collections and publications are contributions to preserving the history of Iranian art as valuable as his contemporary work.
Tanavoli, currently residing between Vancouver, Canada, and Tehran, Iran, was born in 1937 and was one of the very first students to enroll and graduate from Tehran’s newly-established School of Fine Arts in 1955. Following his further studies in sculpture at the Brera Academy of Milan (Italy) under the renowned Italian sculptor, Marino Marini, Tanavoli returned to Iran and established a studio, Atelier Kaboud, which was the birth place of one of the most significant movements in Iranian modern art, the saqqakhaneh movement – referred to by some as “Spiritual Pop Art.” It was during this time that Tanavoli conceived of his first Heech sculpture, based on the Persian word for “nothingness,” and since then the series has been developing through Tanavoli’s experimentations with different materials, size, position and context.
“Heech has multiple layers of meaning – in Persian Sufism it has a great meaning: God created the universe out of nothing, so if the universe is made of nothing then nothingness is everywhere, in every part of the universe, in all creatures. That’s one way of looking at it, and the other is that as a physical shape it has an appealing volume to me; it has a head, eyes and a very beautiful body. So, from both angles it was a perfect word for me to choose and work on.”
Tanavoli has been teaching sculpture since his graduation from Brera, including a residency at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and eighteen years as director of the sculpture department at the University of Tehran (1961 – 1979). His teaching continues into his 75th year as Tanavoli still holds studio tutorials and workshops for students in his Tehran studio.
For more insight into Parviz Tanavoli’s work, and the man behind the artist, read ‘Heech: poems in three dimensions’ based on an extensive interview with Tanavoli, in Issue 82 of Sufi. 
(Heech – Parviz Tanavoli photo courtesy of Abrinksky / Flickr)

Archives Issue #82

FROM THE EDITORS

Issue 82 of SUFI welcomes back renowned poet, Robert Bly ponders the meaning of love in the writings of medieval Christian Mystic Hadewych, reflects on some teaching strategies of Sufi and Buddhist teachers, and explores the significance of Symbols — both traditional and contemporary — in our understanding and experience of Sufism.

DISCOURSE, ARTICLES, NARRATIVES AND INTERVIEWS

FRIENDSHIP Discourse by Alireza Nurbakhsh, Read Entire Discourse>

RIDING THE WAVES OF CHAOS Interview of Tibetan Buddhist Jen Fox by Michele Rousseau

VISIONS OF LOVE Hadewych of Antwerp–Poet, Mystic and Spiritual Guide by Sajidah Abdus Sattar

GUIDES OF LIGHT Teachers of Sufi and Buddhist Traditions by Yousef Daoud

SUFI SYMBOLISM and the Mystic Quest by Lahleh Bakhtiar

HEECH Poems in Three Dimensions: Parviz Tanavoli’s Sculptures of Nothingness by Sholeh Johnston

CULTUREWATCH

TODAY, TOMORROW AND THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, An Award-winning Piece of Puppet Theatre about Hallaj from an Iranian Theatre Company by Sholeh Johnston

FILM REVIEW Men of Faith: Of Gods and Men/ 2010 by Peter Valentyne

CULTUREWATCH BOOK REVIEWS by David Paquiot and Peter Valentyne
Sufism and The Way of Blame / Hidden Sources of a Sacred Psychology by Yannis Toussulis, PhD
The Rumi Tarot Kit, Text and Tarot Card illustration by Jackson Woodbury

POETRY

There is No One Other Than God by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh
Dissolved by Roger Loff
The Secret of the Beloved by Shah Nimatullah/Translation by Alireza Nurbakhsh
I Sang to the Wind by Jennifer Lively
Plan for a Year by Robert Bly
Fish in the Sundays River by Jeni Couzyn
Be Still My Hands by Patricia Sweeney
Conjurer by Roger Loff

FEATURED POET

ROGER LOFF Poet

FEATURED ARTIST

ELENA RAY Photographer – Artist (antaratma.photoshelter.com)

(Cover Photo by Elena Ray)

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Men of Faith

OF GODS & MEN (2010) FILM REVIEW

By Peter Valentyne

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, director Xavier Beauvois’s film Of Gods and Men is based on the true story of a group of Cistercian monks who lived a monastic life of prayer and service in Algeria from 1993 until 1996, when they were kidnapped and then killed by radical Islamic insurgents.
 

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Archives Issue #81

FROM THE EDITORS

In Issue 81 of SUFI the theme is Divine Love. Here we explore what many would argue is the most confounding human emotion, love, and the mystery of its divine manifestation. Divine Love lies at the heart of spiritual practice; it is an experience that continues to enrich those who are touched by it, whether they belong to a school of mystical teaching or not. But explaining the experience of Divine Love can be difficult; words falter in its presence. It is also elusive, veiled from our ordinary perception, but then suddenly revealed in the words of a parable, the shades of light in a photograph, the silences between lines of poetry. This edition of SUFI attempts to lift the corner of the veil and share glimpses of Divine Love through art and writings, including a meditation on the legendary lovers, Layla and Majnun; a discussion of mystical eroticism in the Christian and Hindu traditions; reflections on higher love expressed through the internet, photography, film and calligraphy; and Coleman Barks’ observations on the poetry and importance of the great Indian poet and mystic, and Nobel Laureate in Literature, Rabindranath Tagore.

DISCOURSE, ARTICLES, NARRATIVES AND INTERVIEWS

DIVINE LOVE Discourse by Alireza Nurbakhsh, Read entire discourse>

TAGORE’S GITANJALI An Introduction by Coleman Barks

LOVE, PASSION & DIVINITY Interview with Judith Ernst and Vasudha Narayanan by Llewellyn Smith

THE KALEIDOSCOPE OF LOVE – Rumi’s Use of Moving Colors and Shapes in the Divan-i Shams by Fatemeh Keshavarz

LAYLA AND MAJNUN: LOVE IS FIRE AND I AM WOOD – A Sufi Allegory of Mystical Love by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

RAHMANDOTCOM Narrative by Dani Kopoulo

CULTUREWATCH

TURNING TO HAFIZ The Art of Figural Calligraphy by Jila Peacock Read entire article>

FILM REVIEWS

THROUGH THE LENS OF LOVE In Search of Mystical Love on Film by Peter Valentyne
Monsieur Ibrahim (2004)
Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (2008)
Circle of Iron / The Silent Flute (1978)

BOOK REVIEWS by David Paquiot and Kenneth Avery

The Tangles Braid: Ninety-nine Poems by Hafiz of Shiraz, translated by Jeffrey Einboden and John Slater
Abu Al-Hasan al-Shushtari: Songs of Love and Devotion, translated and introduced by Lourdes Maria Alvarez

POETRY

I say Haqq Haqq, Cry Hu Hu by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh
Who are You? by Chris Hoffman
From Rumi’s Mathnawi translation by Alireza Nurbakhsh
Unseen by Jeni Couzyn
Vespers by Margaret Chula
Epiphany by Jo Going
Ruach by Emily Wilmer
When My Beloved Lifts a Cup of Wine by Hafiz translation by Jawid Mojaddedi
Love is a Searing Flame by Rob Sternau
The Visitation of Divine Love by Mary Ann Eiler

FEATURED POET

JO GOING, Poet

FEATURED ARTIST

HENGKI KOENTJORO, Photographer

 

(Front Cover Artwork by Greg Spalenka, spalenka.com)

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Featured Poet: Jo Going

JO GOING’s poem ‘Epiphany’ was originally printed in our Divine Love Issue of SUFI (81). Jo’s book of poems and paintings, “Wild Cranes,’ won the Library Fellows Award and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

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Turning to Hafez

THE ART OF FIGURAL CALLIGRAPHY

by Jila Peacock

I was born in Tehran to an English mother and Iranian father, and, although English was my mother tongue, my first written language was Persian, which I studied from the age of seven at my Iranian primary school. I remember being introduced at that time to snippets of Ferdousi in my first textbooks, to Sa‘di, my father’s favorite poet, and Edward Fitzgerald’s translations of Khayyam, which my mother would always recite by heart. My introduction to Hafiz came much later in life.
 

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