Listen to the podcast, using the questions provided to create a reflection of the podcast
RLCT 2017
Podcast Assignment Dr. Susan Srigley
Due: January 21st @ 11:30am Length: (approx. 500 words)
Please hand in a hard copy (printed) of your assignment at the start of class.
Link to podcast:
(audio) https://onbeing.org/programs/fatemeh-keshavarz-the-ecstatic-faith-of-rumi/#audio
(transcript) https://onbeing.org/programs/fatemeh-keshavarz-the-ecstatic-faith-of-rumi/#transcript
If you’re curious to see a brief example of what whirling dervishes look like (a dancing meditation founded by Rumi) click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkuimX1bh6g
Assignment instructions:
• listen to the podcast (it really is better for listening) but you can go back to the transcripts as you work through these questions for writing your assignment.
• use the following questions to guide your reflection on the podcast:
• when was Rumi born, what is his religious background, and what language did he write in?
• what do these lines from Rumi’s poetry tell you about what kind of religious thinker he was? i.e. how do you interpret this?:
“out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
• What does it mean to say that Rumi saw every form of human love a mirror of the divine? Or that “all humanity is pregnant with God”?
• Ms. Keshavarz says that the Sufi tradition and Rumi contribute something important to our culture, namely, “value in perplexity,” explaining how not knowing is a source of learning. What do you think this idea of longing or desire can teach us?
• What did you learn from this podcast? What poem or story stood out and opened up a new way of seeing?
