The Paradoxes of Love
Vaughan-Lee provides an astonishingly clear explication of some of the most profound elements of the Naqshbandi school of Sufism, a Persian order of Islamic mystical spirituality founded by Naqshband (1317-1389). As Vaughan-Lee works through a series of dualities such as separation and union, intimacy and awe, love and violation, he gives Western readers one of the best explanations of Sufism's approach to mystical love. One of the most interesting features of the book is a discussion of divine love and patriarchal repression, in which he seeks to distinguish Sufism from the masculinist excesses of Islam. His chapter on gender differences in the spiritual path of Sufism, for example, is tailor-made for a Jungian feminism. The Paradoxes of Love is clearly one of the best introductions to the mystical depths made so famous by Rumi and Kabir.Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.