Mostafa Vaziri

Rumi and Shams’ Silent Rebellion: Parallels with Vedanta, Buddhism, and Shaivism Mostafa Vaziri 1st ed. 2015 edition

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Biographical Note: Mostafa Vaziri is a scholar of Iranian Studies, lecturer at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and the author of various academic books including Buddhism in Iran: An Anthropological Approach to Traces and Influences and Iran as Imagined Nation: The Construction of National Identity. Vaziri is also a physician who has worked as a volunteer medical doctor in Nepal, Afghanistan, India and a number of African countries. Table of Contents: AcknowledgmentsAuthor's Note Abbreviations of Sources1. The Need for a New Narrative about Rumi2. The Need for a New Interpretation of Shams and Rumi3. Shams' Rebellious Paradigm4. Rumi Unlearns His Pious Past5A: Rumi's Philosophical Pyramid5B: Rumi's Case Against Dualistic Thinking and His Wisdom About the World6A: Rumi, Vedanta, and Buddhism6B: Rumi, Kashmir Shaivism, and TantraConclusionAppendix: Certain Influences of Shaivism and Tantra on the Islamic Mystics "Publisher Marketing: This book offers a paradigm shift and fresh interpretation of Rumi's message. After being disentangled from the anachronistic connection with the Mevlevi order of Islamic Sufism, Rumi is placed in the world of philosophy. A pyramidal model is proposed for the structure of Rumi's philosophy, covering the range of topics from the basics of human existence to the principle of an immutable truth beyond time and space. The book also aims to demonstrate the silent yet defiant rebellion of Rumi and Shams. Mostafa Vaziri discusses how the two figures challenged the unbending Islamic dogma and a prejudiced mindset toward non-Muslims, with the intent of fostering an inclusive universalist attitude. By taking a more inclusive look at thousands of verses, from sources including Rumi's Divan and Masnavi, Sultan Valad's poetry, and the Maqalat (Discourses of Shams), a much broader picture of Rumi as a practical and sober philosopher begins to emerge. In his deeper philosophical approach, Rumi proposes contemplation of the non-self, namelessness, placelessness, timelessness, silence, the practice of dance and music, and the use of visualization techniques. Vaziri shows how these notions and practices, as described in Rumi's writings, reveal elements in common with those of advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, and Kashmir Shaivism. This book aims to expand the perception of Rumi, placing him at the level of intercultural philosopher and universal thinker outside of any religious tradition.