The Philosophy of Ecstasy

The message of Rumi serves as a beacon of light to dispel the shadows which prevent modern man from seeing even his own image in its true form, and from knowing who he really is.” – Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The George Washington University, author of Sufi Essays and The Heart of Islam Jalaluddin Rumi, better known simply as Rumi, was perhaps the finest Persian poet of all time and a great influence on Muslim writing and culture. His poetry is still well known throughout the modern world, and he is one of the best selling poets in America.” BBC The phenomenal interest in Rumi begins with the fact that in the West today we are spiritually starved… We’re reaching out for more and [Rumi] persuades us that there is an alternate reality that transcends, exceeds, and surpasses in every way this mundane mode of existence.” – Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions

Leonard Lewisohn is Senior Lecturer in Persian and Iran Heritage Foundation Fellow in Classical Persian and Sufi Literature at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of the University of Exeter. He is the author of Beyond Faith and Infidelity: The Sufi Poetry and Teachings of Mahmud Shabistari and editor of three volumes on The Heritage of Sufism. Lewisohn is also the editor of the Mawlana Rumi Review, an annual journal devoted to the work of Rumi.