Sufi teacher Shams Tabiriz on Love

Presenter: Ira Kaufman

23 January 2025, 2:00 – 3:30

The story of the meeting of Rumi and Shams is related below. The two had a deep mystical love and exchange which deeply influences Rumi’s poetry. 

“One day Rumi was reading next to a large stack of books. Shams Tabriz, passing by, asked him, “What are you doing?” Rumi replied scoffing, “Something you cannot understand.” (This is knowledge that cannot be understood by the unlearned.) On hearing this, Shams threw the stack of books into a nearby pool of water. Rumi hastily rescued the books and to his surprise they were all dry. Rumi then asked Shams, “What is this?” To which Shams replied, “Mowlana, this is what you cannot understand.” (This is knowledge that cannot be understood by the learned.)”.

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Do we survive death? The evidence suggests YES…but not in the way you might think

13-February-2025, 2:00 – 3:30

Presenter: Patrick Bellsle, UVA Division of Perceptual Studies

Since the beginning of human existance, we have been asking the question “What, if anything, happens to us after death?” For millenia, these answers have been given to us almost exclusively through our religious traditions. Over the past 400 years, science has been challenging that religious view with its own views… [more details are provided at the link below].

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