Rumi and the Masters of Light

There is a deep hankering in current times for self-awareness, introspection and spirituality that is universal and free of religious dogma. Rumi and the Masters of Light is an invitation to everyone regardless of nationality, religion or race. It is global in its appeal and will be most appreciated by readers interested in spirituality, mysticism, short stories, fables, Sufism and Sufi culture, love poetry, philosophy or even self-help. Rumi and the Masters of Light is a book of 34 short stories based on the teachings of Sufism, compiled and taught by the Sufi master Shaykh Manzoor Alam of India. These stories are varied in depth and meaning and speak widely to all humanity regardless of caste, nationality, race and religion. The first twenty-two chapters of this book are based upon stories from Hazrat Jalaluddin Rumi's famous Masnavi. The rest of the twelve chapters are based on the lives of the great Sufi masters of the past that are full of instruction, metaphors and guidance relevant to our current lives and times.These are the great Shuyukh Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani, Hazrat Bayazid Bastami, Hazrat Hasan Basri, Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi.

"I try to explain Love, I expound on it, but when I am faced with it, I have no words, and admit with humility that something as momentous as Love cannot be explained. When the Pen writing on the Guarded Tablet (Law-he-Mahfooz) reached the word Ishq it could go no further, for its heart, it's very being, was rent into two. "- Hazrat Jalal-ud-din Rumi. Rumi and the Masters of Light is a book of 34 short stories based on the teachings of Sufism, compiled and taught by the Sufi master Shaykh Manzoor Alam of India. These stories are varied in depth and meaning and speak widely to all humanity regardless of caste, nationality, race and religion. The first twenty-two chapters of this book are based upon stories from Hazrat Jalaluddin Rumi's famous Masnavi. The rest of the twelve chapters are based on the lives of the great Sufi masters of the past that are full of instruction, metaphors and guidance relevant to our current lives and times. Rumi has been widely read, translated and referenced all over the world as the epitome of love and poetry. The uniqueness of this book, lies in its approach of short story telling to capture different aspects of Sufi mysticism which is the essence of Rumi's poetry and life. The book was originally published in the Indian language and therefore the stories are rich with foreign words and honorifics, all of which have been explained and clarified for the first-time reader of a Sufi text. The theme of this book is set by Rumi himself. "Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. Not any religion or cultural system. I am not from the East or the West, not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all. . . . I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being."  - Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Rumi as explained by Shaykh Manzoor Alam

            Love is the essence of this book. Shah Manzoor Alam and Rumi are guides of love. They are singularly committed to honoring the soul's journey back to the Source, the One and do not for a moment let the soul get caught in the limited identities of being Christian, Muslims or Jew. The stories of Rumi and the lessons from the Great Sufi Masters are that sun and the light of life that can guide humankind out of the doldrums of inner darkness. They are a spiritual treasure that become a mirror for different places within us that we are unaware of. Shah Manzoor Alam brings out Rumi's original metaphors, and magnifies the reflections, so that the seeker doesn't miss any of the subtleties within their own being that are applicable regardless of one's gender, religion, race or color. The handmaiden, sickly attached to the goldsmith, the cunning yet quick learning fox, the majestic falcon- turned away from the source of its most deserved provision, the denigrating mystic- crudely unaware of his pettiness are all examples of metaphors that are universal in nature if one chooses to look deep inside. This is the invitation for sustenance that nourishes the sensitive heart, the yearning soul, and the hankering mind in its quest for love, peace, beauty, light and Oneness. At all times, there have been men and women who have been introspective, and searched for deeper meaning in life. Sufi teachings provide a deep comprehension of the spiritual dimensions which are contained within every human being. Sufi teachers help to open human hearts towards a flowering of love and joy, and above all hope for a life of contentment, and a state of inner peace and equilibrium. Their doors are open at all times to all people, regardless of caste and creed, religion and nationality.

Shaykh Manzoor Alam was born in 1936 into a traditional family of Jaunpur in India. In his lifetime until 2015, he was considered one of the greatest living saints by many of his disciples and contemporary mystics that spanned various religions and paths. He authored many books on spirituality, mysticism, poetry and Sufi traditions. His teachings in traditional Indian dialects were kind and comprehensible to all levels of minds and heart, unravelling subtle mystical Persian and Arabic precepts for the common person. Manzoor Alam projected the full luster, the joy, the ecstasy of the remarkable Chishti Sufi order, while preserving the outer conformity to the deep courtesy required therein. The prayer and zikr he taught was an inner cleansing for walking the path to enlightenment. He often selected stories from Hazrat Jalaluddin Rumi's famous Masnavi as a means of spiritual instruction which are pertinent to the guidance and upliftment of all levels of consciousness within a traveler. A common form of Sufi education is the study of the lives of Sufi masters of the past, which Shaykh Manzoor Alam frequently narrated in his conversations and lectures to his students. Rumi and the Masters of light is the first of his story-based instructions that guides a seeking heart into deep surrender to the One Divine Beloved, the source of all longing and love.