Rumi’s Life-Affirming Spirituality

The Masnavi-ye Maʿnavi, often translated as the “Spiritual Couplets,” is Rumi’s magnum opus and one of the foundational works of Islamic mystical literature. Its opening verses, known as the Neynameh or “Lament of the Reed,” contain in concentrated form the spiritual vision that animates the entire work. The reed, severed from its source and longing to return, becomes a profound meditation on separation, desire, love, suffering, and the soul’s journey toward wholeness.

Over four sessions, we will study these verses one by one and word by word, attending to how sound, rhythm, imagery, and meaning converge in each couplet. We will listen to their musicality in the original Persian and explore nuances that resist direct translation. Our reading will be grounded in the tradition of Islamic mysticism from which the Masnavi emerged, while also drawing on depth psychology to examine the verses’ understanding of the human psyche and their capacity to transform and elevate consciousness.

For many readers without access to Persian, Rumi is known primarily through English translations and poetic adaptations. Some of the most widely read versions, including those associated with Coleman Barks, who does not read Persian, poetically rework earlier translations rather than engaging directly with Rumi’s original language. In this process, aspects of the poems’ musicality, imagery, complexity, and Islamic mystical foundations have sometimes been altered, diminished, or omitted.

This course therefore proposes an act of restoration and amplification. Rather than reducing each Persian verse to a concise English equivalent, we will slow down and remain with it, allowing its interwoven layers to unfold. The Neynameh will become a gateway to Rumi himself: his spiritual vision, his understanding of the human psyche, and his enduring invitation to remember the source from which we have been separated.

Live classes on Wednesdays at 9 am PT / 12 pm ET
Live dates: Nov 4, 11, 18 and Dec 2