Rumi and the Evolving Soul with Coleman Barks

Program Description

Rumi has the magnificent idea that human consciousness is a continually evolving thing and that we never stop anywhere. We’ve dissolved as a mineral into plant life, and from plant life into animal life, and from there into human beings. We are not finished. Barks tells us that Rumi has asked, “What have I ever lost by dying? Why should I fear the next death?” Barks goes on to say, “We’ve died to all these different ways of being, regions of consciousness, and we will die to this one. But there is no need to fear it because it has always developed into something more magnificent. I just love that idea of the evolving soul.” This deep conversation between Michael Toms and Coleman Barks will take you into the heart of approaching the divine and why we all love Rumi’s poetry.

Coleman Barks is a renowned poet and bestselling author. He was prominently featured in both of Bill Moyer’s PBS television series on poetry, The Language of Life and Fooling with Words. He taught English and poetry at the University of Georgia for thirty years, and he now focuses on writing, readings, and performances. He is the author of many books including The Essential Rumi (Castle Books 1997), The Soul of Rumi (HarperOne 2002), Rumi: The Book of Love (HarperOne 2005), A Year with Rumi: Daily Readings (HarperOne 2007), Rumi: Bridge to the Soul: Journeys into the Music and Silence of the Heart (HarperOne 2007), Winter Sky: New and Selected Poems 1968-2008 (University of Georgia Press 2008), and Rumi: The Big Red Book (HarperOne 2010). To learn more about the work of Coleman Barks go to www.colemanbarks.com

Topics Explored in this Dialogue:

• Why we should take religion out of the sacred path
• Why friendship is one of the great mysteries
• Why bridges are important spiritual meeting places in Iran
• What many Sufi circles feel is the highest way to approach the divine
• How friendship is God’s sweetest secret
• How Rumi reminds us of the ecstatic material that got expunged from the New Testament

Host: Michael Toms               Interview Date: 2/2/2008               Program Number: 3238