The Way of Passion; A Celebration of Rumi (a few
thoughts on the book)
By Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III.
|
Copywrite ©2008 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III The Way of Passion; A Celebration of Rumi (a report) I was move by the poetry of Rumi and much less so by the writing of
Andrew Harvey who wrote this book. The
problem of a book like this is the writer obscures the greatness of the
Poems. In this case this is very true.
I know there's a tremendous beauty and insight that I have not yet
found from the poetry of Rumi, that enlightenment will take me a great deal
of time to enter. Because Rumi has
been obscured by You see the writer and I do not share the same worldview. He believes that we're on the verge of
apocalypse, while I am terrified that we stand on the edge of a Dark
Age. He thinks we're about to destroy
ourselves, I think we might be better off if we did. I look at the world around me and I do not
see forces that will tare it apart but instead that want to lock it in
place. A world where thinking is frond
upon or being successful is considered a crime, and where the goal of the
popular culture is mediocrity. This is the world we're headed into, the world of Bart Simpson, and
married with children. The world where
most people in the country do not care if the president is a Perjurer or a
criminal. Mostly I see a world that
with each passing day becomes less able to accept innovation and more willing
to hold on to the status quo. As you can see, the author and I have vastly different points of
view. These affect the way we view not
only Rumi but mysticism it self. The
writer looks to a mystic vision bringing political change. "It could redirect those billions of
dollars to work on those people who are also inside us, who are starving, who
are dying". While I look to the
mystic, to help these people one at a time.
As Christ put it give to Caesar that which is Caesar's. It is strange according to the author,
stage two of spiritual development, is the development of the false self or
society. And yet he looks to mysticism to mold society. While I look to it to burn away the false
self. He tells the wonderful story, of the disciple who wanted to know why
the lord did not give everyone Nirvana.
When the disciple asked people what they wanted however, no one asked
for Nirvana. That is the problem with
our society. If we really wanted
people to be fed or cured, they would be.
But instead, every one wants money, power or to have someone else do
there thinking for them. I know that I am a bit of the skeptic, I have no faith in-groups of
people. Whether they be governments,
charities, or churches. They're all
political; they're all corrupt. What I
think Rumi was speaking to was the need for each person to do their best to
LOVE. I think that passion and love are needed far more in a Dark Age than
during the apocalypse. The apocalypse
will be a time of passion, a time of transformation. A Dark Age is dikay, when no one cares
about anything. Apathy is the real enemy. I also wonder at the viewpoint that the author talks about, as do most
religions. The steps to evolution. That
is from Earth to plant too animal to man.
Why do we have the arrogants to believe that man is at the high-end of
that development? Why isn't it from
man to animal to plant to Earth to GOD? |
Thank you for Surfing by. If you would like to write to me press = osh@teleport.com
Even on the NET I can't spell Tree, updated