John A. Moyne [Published in association with IGCS, Binghamton University]
A salient
feature of Sufism, is the notion of a union between an individual and the Divine being.
This union, which is an antithesis of alienation, is the most critical problem of
humanity. This book explores the concept of mystical union and other major teachings of
the great Iranian (Persian) mystic poet, Mowlana Jalaluddin Mohammad, known in the west as
"Rumi." In addition to offering a translation of his most representative poems,
this book examines the view that many rituals and the basic doctrine of Sufism originate
from the ancient, pre-Islamic Indo-Iranian traditions as well as from Hellenistic
philosophy and culture. Mowlana Rumi wrote his masterpiece, The Masnavi, in Persian
language ( the language of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and some parts of the Middle
East) but he was also well versed in the Greek language as is indicated by his Greek
poetry, which is translated into English for the first time in this volume. This book is
written by a foremost authority on Mowlana Rumi. Unlike many recently published books on
this subject, written primarily by those who do not even read or speak the Persian
language and hence have had to rely upon a few available secondary and tertiary sources in
English, Professor Moyne draws upon the works of Mowlana Rumi in the original language in
which they were written. .
About the Author:
Born and raised in Iran, John A. Moyne came to the United States as a youth and received
his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Linguistics and Near-Eastern Languages and
Literatures. He is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and Computer Science at the City
University of New York. He was the former chairman of the Computer Science Department at
Queens College and head of the Ph.D. Program in Linguistics at the Graduate School of the
City University of New York. He has written and co-authored ten hooks and numerous
articles in professional journals in linguistics, cognitive sciences, and Rumi studies.
A salient
feature of Sufism, is the notion of a union between an individual and the Divine being.
This union, which is an antithesis of alienation, is the most critical problem of
humanity. This book explores the concept of mystical union and other major teachings of
the great Iranian (Persian) mystic poet, Mowlana Jalaluddin Mohammad, known in the west as
"Rumi." In addition to offering a translation of his most representative poems,
this book examines the view that many rituals and the basic doctrine of Sufism originate
from the ancient, pre-Islamic Indo-Iranian traditions as well as from Hellenistic
philosophy and culture. Mowlana Rumi wrote his masterpiece, The Masnavi, in Persian
language ( the language of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and some parts of the Middle
East) but he was also well versed in the Greek language as is indicated by his Greek
poetry, which is translated into English for the first time in this volume. This book is
written by a foremost authority on Mowlana Rumi. Unlike many recently published books on
this subject, written primarily by those who do not even read or speak the Persian
language and hence have had to rely upon a few available secondary and tertiary sources in
English, Professor Moyne draws upon the works of Mowlana Rumi in the original language in
which they were written. . 
