Language of the Heart :
A Sufi Interpretation of Form and Meaning in Contemporary Society,
*[A5+] Paperback - 303 pages,
by Eva Desiree Van Den Berg,
Published by Blue Dome Press, Turkey.
Description :
This book seeks to examine how Sufi thought might provide critical understanding of contemporary life and a pathway towards the recovery of a more meaningful existence. Mawlana Rumi’s mystical teachings are of great value at a time of rampant materialism and indiscriminate consumerism, and have the potential to illuminate the precarious state of the world, as well as revitalize contemporary social critique, eco-philosophy and bio-semiotics in what is increasingly being regarded as a post-secular age.
Three strands of research inform the book, namely research on Sufism and the Sufi poet
Rumi, research drawing on empirical sociological studies, as well as the area of contemporary cultural theory, ethics and ecocritique.
Extract from the Introduction :
'' In support of my Sufi perspective, I draw not only on translations of original texts written in Farsi and Arabic by Rumi and Ibn al-Arabi, but also on other significant Sufi texts written in English. I make use of various translations of Rumi’s and Ibn al-Arabi’s poetry, such as those of Reynold A. Nicholson. His is a scholarly translation of, and a detailed commentary on, The Mathnawi of Jalalu’ddin Rumi in five volumes.
This book is an exploration of Sufi principles within this context and as such I believe it represents a recovery of knowledge, in the traditional sense, and a new contribution to knowledge, as currently understood.'' ---The Author.
Table of Contents :
---Introduction,
Chapter One, :World of Form (Sura) and Meaning (Mana),
---1.1 The Multiplicity of Names,
---1.2 Message of the Time,
---1.3 ‘No god but God’ (lāilāha illā’ Llāh),
---1.4 Nature as a Manuscript,
---1.5 The Unifying Expression,
---1.6 From the World without Sounds and Letters to the World of Sounds and Letters,
---1.7 The Universe as a Dome,
Chapter Two, World without Meaning (Mana),
---2.1. Ayat—Universal Expression,
---2.2. Consumerism and the Mall,
---2.3. Home,
---2.4. Car,
---2.5. Food,
---2.6. Church,
---2.7. Language,
---2.8. Language that Distorts,
---2.9. Language as Commodity,
---2.10. Language that Corrupts Thought,
---2.11. Language that is Blubber-Rich,
---2.12. Language that Knows no Wonder,
Chapter Three, Conflicting Voices,
---3.1. The Commanding Voice of Ego,
---3.2. Ego and the Voices of Others,
---3.3. Ego and the Voices of Animals,
---3.4. Ego and the Voice of the Earth,
Chapter Four, Finding Meaning (Mana),
---4.1. Knowing with the Heart,
---4.3. Knowledge as Commodity,
---4.4. Meaningful Expression,
---4.5. Creativity of the Heart.
Chapter Five, Being Meaningful,
---5.1. Coursing through the Arteries of the World,
---5.2. Ishq—‘Dying for Love’,
---5.3. Love and Beauty,
---5.4. Bringing forth Images,
---5.5. Bringing forth Realities,
---5.6. Submitting to Quietness,
---5.7. Baqa and the Economy,
---5.8. Freedom.
---Conclusion,
---Bibliography,
---Index.
*Dimensions : 14.9 x 2 x 22.5 cm.
