Books for Inner Development


Book Description




Divan of Hafiz


Book Description

~DIVAN OF HAFIZ~DIVAN OF HAFIZRevised Translation & Introduction Paul SmithHafiz was born in Shiraz, Persia (Iran) in 1320 and died there in 1392. He is considered by many of the world's great poets, writers and mystics to have been the greatest poet who ever lived. The book that he gave to the world, his Divan has been loved by millions of people of the East and West for the past 700 years and is used as an oracle even today. Hafiz was not only a unique and great poet; he was also a Perfect Master, a God-Realized soul whose wisdom and insights into the everyday and the mystical path are such that it is said one can gain spiritual advancement just by reading his book. His Divan is for all because he speaks as one who has gone through it all, from the passion of human love into the arms of the Divine. This is a completely revised one volume edition of the only modern, poetic version of Hafiz's masterpiece of 791 ghazals, masnavis, rubais and other poems/songs. The spiritual and historical and human content is here in understandable, beautiful poetry: the correct rhyme-structure has been achieved, without intruding, in readable English. In the Introduction of 70 pages his life story is told in greater detail than anywhere else; his spirituality is explored, his influence on the life, poetry and art of the East and the West, the form and function of his poetry, and the use of his book as a worldly guide and spiritual oracle. His Divan, like the I Ching, is one of the world's Great Oracles. Included are notes to most poems, glossary and selected bibliography and two indexes. First published in a limited edition in 1986 the book quickly went out of print. 542 pages.Goethe: "In his poetry Hafiz has inscribed undeniable truth indelibly... Hafiz has no peer!"Gertrude Bell: "It is as if his mental Eye, endowed with wonderful acuteness of vision, had penetrated into those provinces of thought which we of a later age were destined to inhabit."Meher Baba: "There is no equal to Hafiz in poetry. He was a Perfect Master ... His Divan is the best book in the world because it engenders feelings which ultimately lead to illumination."Inayat Khan: "Once a person has studied Hafiz he has reached the top of the mountain, from whence he beholds the sublimity of the immanence of God."EXPERT COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'."It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all and I will lay down my head at his feet out of respect." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran."I have never seen such a good translation and I would like to write a book in Farsi and introduce his Introduction to Iranians." B. Khorramshai, Academy of Philosophy, Tehran."Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many mystical works in English into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author of his own poems inspired by Hafiz).Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies and screenplays.www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.com













Diwan of Hafiz


Book Description

DIWAN of HAFIZTranslation & Introduction Paul SmithThis is a completely revised one volume edition of the only modern, poetic version of Hafiz's masterpiece of 791 ghazals, masnavis, ruba'is and other poems/songs. The spiritual and historical and human content is here in understandable, beautiful poetry: the correct rhyme-structure has been achieved, without intruding, in readable English. In the Introduction of 70 pages his wonderful life story is told in greater detail than anywhere else; his spirituality is explored, his influence on the life, poetry and art of the East and the West, the form and function of his poetry, and the use of his book as a worldly guide and spiritual oracle. His Book, like the I Ching, is one of the world's Great Oracles. Included are notes to most poems, glossary and selected bibliography and two indexes. First published in a limited two-volume limited edition in 1986 the book quickly went out of print. Large Format Edition 7" x 10" 806 pages."In his poetry Hafiz inscribed undeniable truth indelibly! He has no peer!" Goethe"It is as if his mental Eye, endowed with wonderful acuteness of vision, had penetrated into those provinces of thought which we of a later age were destined to inhabit." Gertrude Bell"Once a person has studied Hafiz he has reached the top of the mountain, from whence he beholds the sublimity of the immanence of God." Inayat Khan "Hafiz defies you to show him or put him in a condition inopportune or ignoble... He fears nothing. He sees too far; he sees throughout; such is the only man I wish to see or be." Emerson"Hafiz is highly esteemed by his countrymen as Shakespeare by us, and deserves as serious consideration." A.J. Arberry"There is no equal to Hafiz in poetry. He was a Perfect Master... His Divan is the best book in the world because it engenders feelings which ultimately lead to illumination." Meher Baba"Hafiz breathes originality in all his works ... in no other country, was ever born a genius so rare. He dwells on the degeneracy of his age, on the vanity of the world on universal charity, and on toleration and liberty of conscience." H. Wilberforce Clarke"We may state, without incurring the danger of modernization, that in these ghazals Hafiz applied quite consciously and consistently a method of revealing his hero's inner condition at which European literature first arrived only in the XX century." Michael J. ZandCOMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'."It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished.." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran."Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of English to Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in ud-din Chishti, Lalla Ded, Amir Khusrau, Baba Farid, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Hallaj, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, IraqI, Ghalib, Iqbal, Makhfi, Lalla Ded, Abu Nuwas, Ibn al-Farid and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com




Persian Words of Wisdom


Book Description

What is the secret of happiness? What is the nature of love? What makes us good hosts or good guests? What traits should we seek out in friends and seek to embody as friends ourselves? How should we approach the sensual beauties of this world- when do they induce us to error and when are they signs of God? The poets and bards of many traditions have long sought answers to such questions, but perhaps no culture has taken up this challenge with more passionate urgency than that of Persia, from the ninth century AD to modern-day Iran. These eleven centuries of poetic tradition include poets who have become well-known in the West, such as 'Umar Khayyam, Rumi, and Hafiz, as well as many others whom Westerners have yet to discover. In Iran these poems remain part of everyday popular culture, with people of all classes and levels of education able to recite them from memory, even if they may not always be sure who the poets were, where they came from, or what precisely was the spiritual intent behind the verse. In Persian Words of Wisdom, the US-based Iranian scholar Bahman Solati has compiled hundreds of examples reflecting his country's religious and spiritual traditions, especially the Shia branch of Islam and Islamic Sufism, but also the Zoroastrian faith. This bilingual edition with his own English translations further illuminates the sometimes enigmatic poems with parallel Western proverbs, as well as comparison quotations from Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist scripture and secular sources ranging from Mark Twain to Dale Carnegie. One of Solati's goals in this anthology is to build a cultural bridge through poetry between the West and Iran, making these treasures of Persian culture more available both to Westerners generally and, most specifically, to young people of Iranian descent who have grown up in the English-speaking world, perhaps without fully understanding the wealth of their heritage. For them and all readers, this will be a book of discovery.




Hafez: Divan


Book Description

HAFEZ ~DIVAN~Revised Translation, Introduction etc., Paul SmithThis is a completely revised one-volume edition of the only modern, poetic version of Hafez's masterpiece of 791 ghazals, masnavis, ruba'is and other poems/songs. The spiritual and historical and human content is here in understandable, beautiful poetry: the correct rhyme-structure has been achieved, without intruding, in readable English. In the Introduction his life story is told in greater detail than any where else; his spirituality is explored, his influence on the life, poetry and art of the East and the West, the form and function of his poetry, use of his book as a worldly guide and spiritual oracle, on the translation of Hafez into English. Included are notes to most poems, a glossary and a selected bibliography and an index. First published in 1986 in a two-volume limited edition the book quickly went out of print. 800 pages. 7" x 10"Goethe: "In his poetry Hafez inscribed undeniable truth indelibly! He has no peer!"Gertrude Bell: "It is as if his mental Eye, endowed with wonderful acuteness of vision, had penetrated into those provinces of thought which we of a later age were destined to inhabit."Meher Baba: "There is no equal to Hafez in poetry. He was a Perfect Master ... His Divan is the best book in the world because it engenders feelings which ultimately lead to illumination."COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFEZ'S 'DIVAN'."It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all and I will lay down my head at his feet out of respect." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran."I have never seen such a good translation and I would like to write a book in Farsi and introduce his Introduction to Iranians." Mr B. Khorramshai, Academy of Philosophy, Tehran."Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith."Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many mystical works in English to Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart."I was very impressed with the beauty of these books." Dr. R.K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University."Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author of poems inspired by Hafiz).Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 150 books of Sufi poets of Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and other languages including Hafez, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Hallaj, Rudaki, Yunus Emre. Baba Farid, Rahman Baba, and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, kids books and screenplays.www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.com