Upcoming Events January 7, 2007 Dr. F. Avraham Dilmanian Dr. Farrokh Avraham Dilmanian, a scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, focuses primarily on radiation therapy and using x-ray beams from the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). A Ph.D. recipient from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Dilmanian has studied Hafiz, Persian mystic poet for many years. He discusses Hafiz's beliefs and perspectives on Sufism as well as the rich history of his contributions to the spiritual and philosophical literature of human kind.   Date: Sunday January 7, 2007 Time: 2 to 5 PM Click for direction.

Upcoming Events

Please join us to welcome our guest speaker:

 Dr. Farrokh Avraham Dilmanian 

   Hafiz and His Contribution to the Spiritual and Philosophical Literature of Human Kind

   Dr. Dilmanian has studied Hafiz, Persian mystic poet for many years. He discusses Hafiz's beliefs and perspectives on Sufism as well as the rich history of his contributions to the spiritual and philosophical literature of human kind.  

    Hafiz, a Sufi poet, expressed in poetry love for the divine, and the intoxicating oneness of union with it. Hafiz, along with many Sufi masters, uses wine as the symbol for love. Hafiz spoke out about the hypocrisy and deceit that exits and portrayed by rigid and hard line religious authorities in society in many of his poems.

    As 19th century Hafiz translator Gertrude Bell has observed, "These are the utterances of a great poet, the imaginative interpreter of the heart of man; they are not of one age, or of another, but for all time."  Hafiz of Shiraz (Khwaja Shams ud-Din Hafiz-i Shirazi, 1326-1390) is widely recognized as the pre-eminent master of the Persian ghazal form.  The lyrical beauty of his poetry has been celebrated by people around the world for centuries.  Hafiz is one of the great Sufi poets, in the tradition of Rumi.  In his native land of Persia (modern Iran), where his Divan is revered to an extent rivaled only by the Qur'an, the beauty of Hafiz's lyrics has always been most appreciated when accompanied by music.  His words are not so much poetry as songs. 

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