It is customary, when referring to the life and work of a poet, to speak in academic terms. But with Jalal-ud-Din Rumi, this custom does not apply. His direct and indirect influence on both our spiritual lives and world literature over the past seven centuries has been immeasurable. Not only does his writing continue to set sales records, he is also remembered as the founder of Mevlevi Sufism—the whirling dervishes—whose followers in this century have numbered in the millions.
Who was Rumi, and how does he continue to speak to us today? On Song of the Sun, Andrew Harvey, the Oxford-trained authority on Rumi and author of several modern spiritual classics, takes us inside the extraordinary life and teachings of this prophet and poet. Harvey sifts through the many legends and tales associated with Rumi s life, to reveal a rich and inspiring portrait of what a human being in love with and empowered by God can become. He mines the thousands of odes and quatrains composed by Rumi, and shares the most sumptuous and ecstatic works, all with clear relevance to our spiritual lives today.
At a time when we are hungry for a divine vision of our world as it can be—and should be—Song of the Sun is an invitation to Rumi s most sacred and glorious feast.