Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
According to Rumi, all cosmic beings are in love; that is, not only the animate but so too do the inanimate love. Far from being a sentimental view of the universe, however, this conclusion rests on cosmological, exegetical, and contemplative insights that deal with existential questions about spirituality and the perception of the other. Love is an esoteric matter that can be really perceived only through spiritual faculties. Therefore, to perceive the (human or non-human) other properly, one must first encounter one’s spiritual self. Only in becoming a spiritual lover/knower can one perceive empirically the spiritual life of the cosmos.
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