ROGER LOFF studied Journalism and Politics at New York University and now lives in Oakdale California. He works as a mental health clinician in the Stanislaus County Juvenile Hall. His poetry appears in Issue 82 of SUFI.
Sufi Symbolism
AND THE MYSTIC QUEST
by Lahleh Bakhtiar
The centrality of symbolism in Sufi teaching remains a consuming topic for scholars as well as practitioners. Lahleh Bakhtiar’s discourse on the subject in her book Sufi: Expressions of The Mystic Quest invokes the tapestry of Sufi symbolism as an expanding visual language, rich with ritual and hidden archetypes—an inner path to understanding.
(Photo Prof. Richard T. Mortel – Riyadh)
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Guides of Light
TEACHERS OF SUFI AND BUDDHIST TRADITIONS
by Yousef Daoud
The east Asian traditions and Sufism have in common the tradition of working with a guide or master. As many of the great wisdom traditions have been migrating from the East to the West since the beginning of the 20th century, to cultures that are less traditional than those of Asia and the Middle East, the ancient role of the spiritual guide or teacher is being questioned and tested.
(Photo © Himberry/Photocase.com)
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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)