Monday 17 June 2013

The Rumi Festival

This summer the Beshara School at Chisholme is hosting the Rumi Festival, 2–4 August, a celebration of the incomparable life and legacy of Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi, whose poetry of universal love and service has had a transformative effect throughout the Muslim world and beyond over the past 700 years.

The Rumi Festival is a unique gathering of artists, scholars, and lovers of truth, celebrating the life work and contemporary relevance of a giant of world spirituality and literature. Its programme is intended to reflect the wholeness and diversity of Rumi’s vision, at once challenging and generous, serious and playful, spiritually aspiring while being firmly planted on this earth.

The Festival Programme contains a rich mix of talks, participatory events, poetry, art and dance, kicking off with a solo concert from Kudsi Erguner, master of the Turkish Ney, on the Friday evening. The programme goes on to encompass talks and discussions about Rumi and his influence today with Roderick Grierson, Alan Williams, Emily Young and others; a Whirling Dervish Sema from Istanbul; installation art from Ismail Acar; theatre, dance and art inspired by Rumi's work and much more.


Details of speakers, performers and programming is still coming in – the below is just an initial taster of some things you can look forward to, more details will be posted soon.

The Beshara School has been providing an education in self knowledge and the unity of being for forty years. Throughout this period, Rumi has been a major influence on this unique educational establishment, both as an inspiration and a trusted guide. An advocate of love as the prime mover in all things not least our own evolution as people, no school of self knowledge could afford to ignore wisdom of his quality and scope. Rumi speaks to the essence and the best in each of us. The Beshara School is for the education of this very same essence, the uncovering and nurturing of the noblest, most humble centre of our humanity. Rumi is a voice unbound by the era in which he was born. He speaks with an urgency that is utterly of the present and with a generosity that heralds a hopeful future. The Beshara School too is for the here and now and for what will be.

The Chisholme Estate is set in some of the most beautiful countryside in the UK. At around 800 feet above sea level and 8 miles from the nearest town there are wonderful views of the rolling hills and the added benefit of little or no mobile phone reception, no ATM’s, no shops and no petrol stations… With its strikingly beautiful and often dramatic skies – this part of Scotland is subject to particularly changeable weather. It can be brilliantly sunny one moment and as you like the next so sun-screen,wellingtons and other appropriate clothing are advised… As Chisholme is part of a rural community we’re sure you will share in our respect for the environment, wildlife and livestock and ask you to please be aware of recycling your rubbish responsibly in the bins provided, especially glass onsite as we wouldn’t want any accidents to you or to the animals when they return home! There will be designated fire pits around the camping areas, please do not start any other fires around the Estate. You are very welcome to walk around the Chisholme Estate but we ask that you do not swim in any of the ponds or lake. The performance spaces will remain alcohol free for the duration of the Festival due to the explicitly sacred nature of some of the events taking place in them. You are welcome to partake in convivial drinking outside of these spaces and around the campsites but we ask that any alcohol brought in be consumed in moderation, in respect of the above.


This festival is open to all - whether familiar with Rumi's immense presence or completely new to his generosity. The programme is evolving daily; please check the website Rumi Festival regularly or sign up to the twitter feed (https://twitter.com/@rumifest) for news as it comes in.


Via Rumi Festival



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