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Life works in amazing ways. Wherever I have lived, I have always searched for,

or been drawn to the people of light and love. Thus, I have been very fortunate

to meet highly enlightened and spiritually evolved people along my path. The story behind the cover of this book is an example of one such encounter.

One day, I suddenly telephoned someone whom I met in the mid-1980s, while I was teaching at the University of Hawaii. In our conversation, he mentioned a gentleman by the name of Dr. Fereydoun Parsa. He told me that Dr. Parsa is very much in love with Rumi's spiritual teachings and poetry. I asked him for Dr. Parsa's telephone number or e-mail, but he replied that he did not have them at hand. I immediately felt an urge to contact Dr. Parsa to at least have the pleasure of conversing with him on the telephone and sharing some of Rumi's thoughts and poetry with him. Thanks to the invaluable tool of the Internet, he was easily found, so I called and left a message on his answering machine. To my pleasant surprise, a very short time later, Dr. Parsa returned my call. From the moment I heard his voice, I felt very much Spiritually in tune with him. In fact, after that initial conversation, we have spoken on the telephone for hours, reciting exquisite and insightful poetry to each other. I learned, through our conversations, that he is a very talented artist. He also sent me a book from a friend of

his which contained one of his paintings which was directly related to Rumi.

One day, as I was meditating, an incredible idea came to me about the cover for my book. The image was Rumi doing his wonderful Samaa in the midst of the universe, while all the galaxies are turning with him. Immediately, a thought came to me that I should talk to Dr. Parsa and tell him about my vision. At first, I was a little hesitant since I knew that he is a very busy plastic surgeon and university professor and he might not have the time to complete such a formidable task. However, I felt a strong impulse to tell him about my thought and let him decide if he wished to paint this magnificent image. Of course, I realized at the time that only an exceptional artist who possessed a special love and connection with Rumi would be able to do this image justice.

When I called Dr. Parsa and told him about my vision, he became so enthusiastic and excited, that it was evident that he indeed is a real lover of Rumi's poetry. Later on, I learned from Dr. Parsa that, from the time I spoke to him, he dedicated his entire free time to create this amazing painting that captures Rumi's euphoria and ecstasy during his Samaa. When he sent me a photograph of the painting, I was fascinated by his grasp of Rumi's exultation and spiritual ecstasy. The colors were so vivid and beautiful, that the more I looked at the painting, the fonder I became of that magnificent artistic piece. At this point, I cannot imagine any other cover for this book. I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for his spiritual love, dedication, and hard work. Dr. Parsa mentioned to me several times that Rumi's wonderful spiritual power and force guided his hand, fingers, eyes, and every part of his being as he painted this tribute to Rumi.