Farbod Behbahani
I count it among my blessings that I was born into a family deeply devoted to Iranian mysticism and literature. My first teacher on the path of mysticism and my first guide to Rumi was my mother, the late Effat Behbahani (Fani), a lover of Rumi and of serving people.
From childhood, the words of Rumi were not merely poetry for me. They were a living call, a way of looking at the human being, the heart, and the possibility of returning from the scattered self toward the Beloved of existence.
I hold back from speaking with people; but when your story arises, I speak at length.
Over the years, my engagement with the Masnavi and the Shams Ghazals gradually became a daily practice of listening, reflection, and inner conversation. What I share here is the fruit of that practice: not an academic claim of final authority, but an invitation to read Rumi with the heart awake.
For me, Rumi's words are a mirror. They show us our present state, but they also point to what we can become. They reveal the traps of Nafs, ego, attachment, and forgetfulness, while keeping alive the hope of remembrance, love, and Union.
The purpose of this work is to help keep a living connection between the mind's understanding and the heart's state. A meaning that remains only in the mind is incomplete; it must descend into the heart, become felt, and help transform life.
On this path, I have learned from many teachers, friends, and companions. Rumi himself reminds us that the true person is one who lives among people and still remains inwardly connected to God:
The true person is one who sits, rises, sleeps, trades, and mingles among people, yet is not heedless of God for even a moment.
This is the aspiration behind these reflections: to remember the Beloved in the middle of ordinary life, and to let that remembrance reshape the way we see, speak, choose, and love.
I offer these writings with humility, knowing that the path of Truth is larger than any person's words. If there is benefit in them, it is from the grace of the Beloved; if there is error, it belongs to my limitation.
Endless gratitude to all who planted the seed of love and mysticism in my heart, taught me, and became my founders and guides on this path of growth.
The work continues because the journey itself continues. Each reading is only one step, and each step asks for sincerity, patience, and striving.
Although union is not granted by effort alone, strive as much as you can, O heart.
Dr. Parviz Sahabi
Copied from: https://zavieh.org/Sahabi
Dr. Parviz Sahabi
(May 22, 1942 - October 17, 2022)
Scholar, Rumi Expert, Artist, Poet, Writer, Architect, and City Planner
Dr. Parviz Sahabi was a scholar, artist, and renowned authority on Molana Jalal ud-Din Rumi's masterpiece, the Mathnawi. With over forty years of dedicated study and teaching, he offered a unique and systematic framework for exploring the profound depths of this multifaceted work. His visionary approach earned him widespread recognition among students and scholars alike.
Born in Hamadan, Iran, Dr. Sahabi grew up in an intellectually rich and diverse environment that nurtured his lifelong passion for learning. He pursued his higher education at the University of Tehran, where he studied mathematics, philosophy, educational sciences, and architecture, culminating in a PhD in City Planning. Alongside his academic pursuits, he attended Mathnawi classes taught by some of Iran's most esteemed teachers, including Ostad Mohammad-Taghi Jafari.
Dr. Sahabi's multidisciplinary expertise, spanning the precise logic of mathematics and philosophy, the structured creativity of architecture, and the expressive beauty of Persian poetry, enabled him to present Rumi's teachings in a remarkably accessible and tangible way. His profound grasp of the Mathnawi was deeply influenced by his mastery of the hermeneutic circle: the interplay between the text as a whole and its individual parts, as well as the dynamic relationship between self-understanding and the perception of the world.
As a pioneer in applying cybernetic principles to interpreting Rumi's masterwork, Dr. Sahabi uncovered the intricate, systematic nature of the Mathnawi. He encouraged his students to embrace paradoxical thinking, transcending dualistic thought patterns and discovering intellectual and spiritual possibilities beyond conventional logic. Through his distinctive teaching style, he conveyed the boundless joy and transformative love expressed in Rumi's work, continuing the tradition of the great master himself.
In 2004, under Dr. Sahabi's guidance, Zavieh Mystical Study Center was established in Vancouver, Canada, as a non-profit organization founded by his students. Zavieh was the realization of Dr. Sahabi's vision, a space dedicated to the study of Rumi's teachings and the enrichment of his students' lives. His dynamic lectures and heartfelt discussions became the essence of Zavieh, leaving an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of learning from him.
Dr. Sahabi's legacy extends beyond his scholarly contributions; it is reflected in the countless lives he touched through his teachings, writings, and artistic creations. A master teacher, he devoted his life to spreading knowledge and inspiring others to find deeper meaning in life through Rumi's timeless wisdom.
Dr. Parviz Sahabi's profound work continues to illuminate hearts and minds, and his enduring influence remains a source of inspiration for his students and all those who had the privilege of coming into contact with him.
The Criterion for Choosing Meaning: Help on the Path of Growth
If we are travelers whose purpose in reading the Masnavi is to grow on the path of perfection, how should we choose among the different meanings and interpretations that come to mind or that we hear from others? What is our criterion for choosing?
The criterion is not novelty, cleverness, or merely intellectual elegance. A meaning is valuable when it helps the traveler move toward Truth: when it reduces ego and maniyyat, awakens remembrance, deepens love for the Beloved, and makes the heart more capable of service, humility, and clarity.
For this reason, among several possible interpretations, I give priority to the one that best serves spiritual growth. The question is always: does this meaning help us see our state more truthfully, loosen the hold of the lower Nafs, and take one more sincere step toward the Beloved?
The Story's Surface and Inner Meaning
Rumi often speaks through stories, images, characters, and events. These Forms are beautiful and memorable, but they are not the final destination. The outer Form is a vessel; the inner meaning is the water it carries.
If we remain only with the surface of the story, we may enjoy the narrative and still miss the message. A king, a maidservant, a physician, a merchant, a parrot, or a reed can all become mirrors for forces within our own being: reason, Nafs, longing, forgetfulness, guidance, and the call of the Beloved.
The method of this website is therefore symbolic and holistic. I try to read each passage in relation to the whole spiritual movement of the Masnavi, so that the story's Form opens toward its message and the reader can hear what it is asking of the heart.
Mood, Feeling, and Heart Perception
In Rumi's world, understanding is not complete until it reaches the heart. A concept may be correct, yet remain dry. But when the heart receives it, the meaning becomes a state, a mood, a taste, and a living perception.
This is why these reflections do not aim only to explain. They try to help the reader stay with the state of the verse: the longing, the pain of separation, the joy of remembrance, the shame before the Beloved, the hope of return, and the movement from Form toward Truth.
If it does this, that meaning has become alive for us. Otherwise, even if it is intellectually precise and beautiful, it may not yet have entered our soul.
From a God of Fear and Reward to the Beloved of Existence
Many of us first imagine God through fear, reward, punishment, and distance. That understanding may have a place at the beginning, but Rumi continually calls the heart toward a deeper recognition: God as the Beloved of existence.
In this vision, the path is not merely obedience under fear. It is the awakening of love, remembrance, trust, and longing. The traveler begins to feel that the Beloved is not absent and far away, but nearer than the self's own self, hidden behind the veils of ego and forgetfulness.
The goal is not to deny reverence, discipline, or spiritual ethics. It is to let them become alive through love. Fear may restrain the lower self, but love transforms the heart. The movement of the path is from distance to intimacy, from calculation to devotion, and from seeing God as an external ruler to recognizing the Beloved whose signs are already alive within the heart.
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