Ibn Gabirol (c.1021–c.1058), Rumi (1207–1273), and Rilke (1875–1926) each produced poetry that reflected what might be called mysticism. Some of the poetry of Ibn Gabirol and Rumi has in fact been incorporated for liturgical and devotional purposes. Rilke’s poetry, reflecting the challenges of the modern world, has been interpreted and alluded to by many artists, writers, and musicians. Ibn...
This chapter explores Kenan Gürsoy’s attempted comparison between Islamic mysticism (tasavvuf) and twentieth century French existentialism. Kenan Gürsoy is a contemporary Turkish thinker whose recent book entitled Etik ve Tasavvuf (English: Ethics and Tasavvuf ) explores similarities as well as differences between the two perspectives mentioned above. The present chapter is a sympathetic...
In Mexican history there are two great poets: Sor Juana and Maria Sabina. We could called Sor Juana: Juana Sabina, the Wise. Although she never practiced medicine, she did know the magic of Indian herbs and felt that his verses had been "bewitched" by them. His "letters" have been bewitched by the Indians, his singing is imbued with a spell "poured" on it, like a concoction of indigenous...