Product Description

The first collection of poems translated into English from the forbidden volume of the Divan of Rumi

• Presents Rumi’s most heretical and free-form poems

• Includes introductions and commentary that provide both 13th-century context and modern interpretation

After his overwhelming and life-altering encounters with Shams of Tabriz, Rumi, the great thirteenth-century mystic, poet, and originator of the whirling dervishes, let go of many of the precepts of formal religion, insisting that only a complete personal dissolving into the larger energies of God could provide the satisfaction that the heart so desperately seeks. He began to speak spontaneously in the language of poetry, and his followers compiled his 44,000 verses into 23 volumes, collectively called the Divan.

When Nevit Ergin decided to translate the Divan of Rumi into English, he enlisted the help of the Turkish government, which was happy to participate. The first 22 volumes were published without difficulty, but the government withdrew its support and refused to participate in the publication of the final volume due to its openly heretical nature. Now, in The Forbidden Rumi, Will Johnson and Nevit Ergin present for the first time in English Rumi’s poems from this forbidden volume. The collection is grouped into three sections: songs to Shams and God, songs of heresy, and songs of advice and admonition. In them Rumi explains that in order to transform our consciousness, we must let go of ingrained habits and embrace new ones. In short, we must become heretics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31969 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-14
• Released on: 2006-02-25
• Original language: Persian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781594771156
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
“For the past fifty years Nevit Ergin has been working to bring into English the entirety of Rumi’s vast Divani Shamsi Tabriz. This last volume is the most incendiary and it clearly dissolves the boundaries of organized religion and national ego that keep us from the table of friendship that Rumi invites us to. . . . We are very grateful to Dr. Ergin for his life’s work.”
(Coleman Barks, translator of The Essential Rumi
)

"It takes a great deal of courage to read The Forbidden Rumi as it may press a lot of buttons, not only about your own pathway to God, but your views and prejudices about love, religion, heresy and Islam.

"All of Rumi’s poems have enjoined us to release the rules and open our hearts to our inner treasure of love, but these most controversial poems cut to the bone.

"This final book of Rumi’s poems is a must-read for any serious student of spiritual ecstasy. They pose questions that make us wonder and re-evaluate our views about a religion that is portrayed as governed by extremists. They reveal a hidden face of Islam that may surprise even moderate Islamists.

"Most importantly, these poems reveal that Islam too has always had a mystical, transcendent element that is its purest gift."
(Lesley Crossingham, New Dawn, Mar-Apr 2007 )

From the Back Cover
RELIGION / POETRY

“For the past fifty years Nevit Ergin has been working to bring into English the entirety of Rumi’s vast Divan-i Kebir. This last volume is the most incendiary, and it clearly dissolves the boundaries of organized religion and national ego that keep us from the table of friendship that Rumi invites us to. . . . We are very grateful to Dr. Ergin for his life’s work.”
Coleman Barks, translator of The Essential Rumi

After his overwhelming and life-altering encounters with Shams of Tabriz, Rumi, the great thirteenth-century mystic, poet, and originator of the whirling dervishes, let go of many of the precepts of formal religion, insisting that only a complete personal dissolving into the larger energies of God could provide the satisfaction that the heart so desperately seeks. He began to speak spontaneously in the language of poetry, and his followers compiled his more than forty-four thousand verses into twenty-three volumes, collectively called the Divan-i Kebir.

When Nevit Ergin decided to translate Rumi’s divan into English, he enlisted the help of the Turkish government, which was happy to participate. The first twenty-two volumes were published without difficulty, but the government withdrew its support and refused to participate in the publication of the final volume due to its openly heretical nature. Now, in The Forbidden Rumi, Nevit Ergin and Will Johnson present for the first time in English Rumi’s poems on love and intoxication from this forbidden volume. The collection is grouped into three sections: songs to Shams and God, songs of advice and admonition, and songs of heresy. Rumi explains that in order to transform our consciousness, we must let go of ingrained habits and embrace new ones. In short, we must become heretics.

NEVIT O. ERGIN, a Turkish-born surgeon, is the original translator of the entirety of Rumi’s 44,829 verses into English. He has been a student of Sufism and the poetry of Rumi since 1955 and published his first Rumi translation in 1992. With the publication of The Forbidden Rumi, his translation of Rumi’s work is complete. He lives in California

About the Author
Nevit Ergin is the original translator of the entirety of Rumi’s 44,000 verses into English. He lives in California. Will Johnson is the founder and director of the Institute for Embodiment Training, which combines Western somatic psychotherapy with Eastern meditation practices. He is the author of several books, including the award-winning Rumi: Gazing at the Beloved. He lives in British Columbia.

Customer Reviews

Must read for truth seekers .....
This book is a translation of verses from the 13th century mystic and poet which were considered blasphemy and prohibited from being translated by the Turkish government.

In these verses, Rumi, clearly says that in order to truly have a God experience one must go beyond your religion. One must not get stuck within the restrictive confines that define any specific religion.

A must read for Rumi lovers as well for highly inspired truth seekers.

The suppressed love poems of Rumi
THE FORBIDDEN RUMI: THE SUPPRESSED POEMS OF RUMI ON LOVE, HERESY, AND INTOXICATION presents the 13th-century poet and mystic's spontaneous poems, created after he let go formal religion. Nevit Ergin decided to translate his collected works - the Duivan-I Kebir, which consisted of some forty-four thousand verses packed into over twenty volumes - into English: the Turkish government withdrew its support of his efforts after twenty-two volumes appeared and wouldn't publish the final due to its openly heretical nature. So if you wish to see these contents, you have to look at THE FORBIDDEN RUMI, which presents for the first time in English his poems on love and intoxication.

All, except for the Einstein book
All books arrived on time and in good shape eXCEPT the Einstein quotes ... I had a note from the seller that this is no longer available, so if not taken care of yet, please remove the cost of the book from my Visa account.

Thank you.
Ann Wood
717-656-2771