In this episode I am joined by Dr. William Rory Dickson an associate professor of Islamic Religion and Culture at The University of Winnipeg and author of “Dissolving into Being: The Wisdom of Sufi Philosophy”.

Professor Dickson takes a deep dive into the life and works of Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273 AD), a 13th century Sufi poet whose works have become famous all around the world.

Professor Dickson recounts the fascinating life of Rūmī, including his flight from Mongol invasion, his education in Islamic law, his life-changing encounter with the wild, mystical dervish Shams-i Tabrīzī, and his far-reaching legacy in Asia and beyond.

Professor Dickson also explains the anti-Rūmī movements within modern Islam, challenges criticism of Coleman Barks’ popular renderings of Rūmī’s verse, and explores the controversial Sufi metaphors of intoxication by wine and passionate desire to describe the practitioner’s relationship with God.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep289-mystic-poetry-of-rumi-professor-william-rory-dickson-3

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

01:25 - The life of Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī

03:39 - Neither universalist nor orthodox

05:09 - Rūmī, sharī’ah law, and radical Islam

07:08 - The range of Sufi expression over history

07:56 - The wandering dervishes

08:42 - Rūmī’s life-changing encounter with the radical dervish Shams-i Tabrīzī

09:56 - 3 stages of self-annihilation through love

11:14 - Shams-i Tabrīzī’s illicit alcohol use

13:36 - Rūmī’s spiritual poetry

16:13 - Rūmī’s explicit invectives

17:07 - Rūmī’s mystic father

19:08 - Mongol domination of Central Asia and Rūmī’s flight

21:29 - Rūmī’s colourful insults

22:52 - Challenging empty, orthodox religious forms

26:51 - Lack of nuance in the Rūmī wars

29:22 - Rūmī’s two major legacies

31:37 - The role of Sufi orders in different cultural contexts

33:48 - The anti-Sufis and a radical forgetting of Rūmī within Islam

35:37 - Coleman Barks and the Rūmī wars

37:23 - Criticism of Coleman Barks

39:06 - Coleman Barks was a Sufi

39:50 - Coleman Barks as an entry point

41:21 - The conundrum of translated literature

43:46 - How to communicate across cultures without losing the essence

45:12 - Rory’s enjoyment of Chogyam Trungpa

46:27 - Passionate desire and intoxication on wine

48:30 - Pre-Islamic Arab poetry, “gangster rap”

49:33 - Passionate love poetry

50:55 - Romantic streak in Arab culture

51:53 - Influence of Persian culture on Muslim mystic metaphors

52:46 - Sufism’s Neo-Platonism

55:50 - Remembering the One and Tantric practice

56:59 - Integrating the sensual and the spiritual

59:18 - Appreciation of pleasure as a vehicle to God

01:00:07 - Sufi sexuality and the paths of Jesus vs Mohammad

01:05:28 - Scandalous to orthodox Islam

01:07:48 - Knowing God directly

01:09:53 - Categorising God vs Sufi gnosis

01:11:18 - Executed Sufi master

01:11:54 - Is Sufism inappropriate?

01:13:26 - Wine in Sufism and Islam

01:17:39 - Love is brutal

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Previous episodes with Professor William Rory Dickson:

- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=dickson

To find our more about Professor William Rory Dickson, visit:

- https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/experts-guide/william-rory-dickson.html

- https://anqa.co.uk/publications/dissolving-being

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James