Kabir Helminski

Kabir Edmund Helminski (born July 1, 1947 in Jersey City, US) is a Sufi teacher in the Mevlevi Order, a 750-year-old tradition based on the teachings of the thirteenth-century Muslim mystic, Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. He is the author of a number of books on contemporary Sufism, a translator of Sufi poetry (especially the poetry of Rumi), and is the co-founder and co-director of Threshold Society. He has written for The Huffington Post, Patheos.com, and Tikkun Magazine, and is also a musician and publisher. In 2009, he was named as one of the "500 Most Influential Muslims in the World" by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in association with Georgetown University. He is also one of the original signatories of "A Common Word Between Us and You," an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.
Early education
Helminski studied World Religions at Wesleyan University and has an M.A. in Transpersonal Studies from the Institute of Transpersonal Studies (now Sophia University).
Mevlevi Order
Helminski studied under Mevlevi teacher Suleyman Hayati Loras of Konya (commonly referred to as Suleyman Dede) and was officially recognized as a shaikh of the Mevlevi Order in 1990, by the late Celalettin Çelebi, then head of the Mevlevi Order. He was the first "Westerner" to be officially recognized as such and at a time when there were only four other shaikhs in Turkey. Between 1994 and 2000 he toured with the whirling dervishes of Turkey, bringing the spiritual culture of the Mevlevis to more than 100,000 people in the USA.
Threshold Society
In 1983, Helminski co-founded Threshold Society, a non-profit organization, with his wife, Camille Helminski (also a teacher in the Mevlevi tradition, as well as an author and translator). The stated aim of Threshold Society is to "facilitate the experience of Divine unity, love and wisdom in the world," and its principal means for doing so is through educational programs and retreats in spiritual psychology and practice, as well as through books, audio recordings, and web content.
Threshold Society reflects the Helminskis ongoing concern to develop and share a contemporary approach to Islamic concepts and practice, both within the Islamic community and outside of it. In 2001, Kabir was the first Muslim to deliver the inaugural Harold M. Wit Lecture on Spirituality in Contemporary Life at Harvard Divinity School. For those wishing to make a deeper connection to the lineage of Rumi, there exists within Threshold Society the possibility of initiation into the Mevlevi Order itself.
The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation, was published by Shambhala in 1999. The book explores how for Sufis "the human heart is not a fanciful metaphor but an objective organ of intuition and perception" and presents Sufism as "a practical spirituality suitable for all cultures and times." Drawing on the examples of Muhammad and Rumi, it highlights the Islamic context of Sufism and is described by Library Journal as "A clear and well-grounded introduction to Sufism, liberally seasoned with insights from the Koran and the writings of Rumi... Perhaps the best beginner’s guide now available."
Holistic Islam: Sufism, Transformation, and the Needs of our Time was published by White Cloud Press in 2017. The book uses "Quranic arguments to express a spiritually progressive Islam," and aims to engage "contemporary Muslims looking for a faith suited for our times." Dr. Khalid Abou El Fadl, Distinguished Professor of Islamic Law at the UCLA Law School, describes it as "a sagacious and indeed perspicacious walk through the heart and soul of Islam. It is an essential source for anyone who is interested in Sufism or in the moral impulse that motivated great sages like Rumi and Hafiz. Perhaps, more importantly, I think this book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the real Islamic faith."
Helminski has also authored two volumes for the Book Foundation: The Book of Language: Exploring the Spiritual Vocabulary of Islam (2006), and The Book of Revelations: A Sourcebook of Selections from the Qur’an (2005).
Written translations of Sufi poetry
Helminski's translations of Sufi poetry, in particular Rumi's poetry, have been made available in a number of books. In recognition of his contribution to the understanding and appreciation of Rumi's poetry, in 1996 he received an honorary Ph.D. in literature from Selçuk University in Konya, Turkey, where Rumi lived most of his life and is buried.
Helminski's translations of Rumi's poetry include the following volumes:
* Ruins of the Heart, Selected Lyric Poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi
* Love is a Stranger, Selected Lyric Poetry of Jalaludin Rumi
* Rumi: Daylight (translated with Camille Helminski)
* Jewels of Remembrance: 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi (translated with Camille Helminski)
* The Pocket Rumi (translated with Camille Helminski)
* Love’s Ripening: Rumi on the Heart’s Journey (translated with Ahmad Rezwani)
* The Rumi Daybook: 365 Poems and Teachings from the Beloved Sufi Master (translated with Camille Helminski)

In partnership with Refik Algan, Helminski has also translated a collection of poetry by the thirteenth-century Turkish poet Yunus Emre entitled The Drop that Became the Sea. In collaboration with Camille Helminski, Mahmoud Mostafa, and Ibrahim Shihabi, he translated two collections of poetry by contemporary Syrian poet Asad Ali, entitled Happiness Without Death: Desert Hymns and Civilization of Paradise: Revelation Poems.
Audio recordings of Sufi poetry and music
Helminski has produced a number of albums of Sufi music over recent decades. These include Ocean of Remembrance and Rivers of One by Oruç Güvenç and Tümata; and Praise, by Ahmed Tijani and Friends, a collaboration between the Helminskis, Ahmed Tijani, Asabea Cropper, and other musical friends.
In 1997, Helminski formed the Dost Quartet (Kabir Helminski, vocals and saz; Camille Helminski, vocals and bendir; Fred Stubbs, ney; LuAnne Hightower, vocals) and released Garden Within the Flames, an album of Sufi songs (ilahis) with lyrics inspired by Yunus Emre, Pir Sultan Abdal, Ibn Arabi, and Jalaluddin Rumi.
On the live album Embracing Both Worlds and the studio album Wheresoever You Turn, There is the Face of God, Helminski oversaw the release of music and poetry from the Whirling Dervish tours of the USA that occurred between 1994 and 2000. Both albums feature vocalist and Quranic reciter Kani Karaca.
2004 saw the release of the album You Are Joy, consisting of selections from the words of Rumi, translated and read by the Helminskis. The poetry was accompanied by original, traditional Sufi music composed and improvised under the direction of Helminski.
The Book Foundation
Beginning in 2000, Kabir was the co-director of a publishing program in Islamic education for The Book Foundation, publisher of The Message of the Quran, by Muhammad Asad. This series of books aimed at an original approach to Islamic education for young adults, as well as mature adults. The books produced included:
* The Fragrance of Faith, The Enlightened Heart of Islam
* The Book of Revelations, a Sourcebook of Selections From the Quran With Interpretations
* The Book of Essential Islam, The Spiritual Training System of Islam
* The Book of Hadith, Sayings of the Prophet Mohammed Selected by Charles le Gai Eaton
* The Book of Character, Writings on Character and Virtue From Islamic and Other Sources
* The Book of Nature, A Sourcebook of Spiritual Perspectives on Nature and the Environment
* The Book of Language, A Deep Glossary of Islamic and English Spiritual Terms
Threshold Books
From 1980 until 1999, Helminski was the director of Threshold Books, a publisher of Sufi literature. Threshold Books stopped its publishing program in 1999, and a number of its books were subsequently taken up by Shambhala Publications. Threshold Books became active once more in 2017 however. Titles currently offered by Threshold Books include Rumi’s Sun: The Teachings of Shams of Tabriz (translated by Refik Algan and Camille Helminski), and The Mevlevi Wird: The prayers recited daily by Mevlevi dervishes (translated by Camille Helminski and Mahmoud Mostafa). Threshold Books now also features the imprint Sweet Lady Press, offering the poetry of Camille Helminski.
Baraka Institute
Helminski co-founded Baraka Institute in 2005 as an organisation based on universal spiritual values, yet particularly aimed at younger adult Muslims in America and Europe who "have had little exposure to the spiritual legacy of their own tradition. They are searching for the knowledge, experience, and wisdom to satisfy their human and spiritual needs and to respond to the present global crisis." By giving them access to the teachings of "universal souls who have realized the truth of the Divine Revelations, including but not limited to the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Qur’an," the institute aims to provide "a spiritual upgrade, not in the essence of our spirituality but in how we access, develop, and express it."
The institute describes its mission as being:
* To nurture a community of men and women committed to spiritual transformation,
* To sponsor events that offer sacred knowledge and the experience of divine love,
* To awaken creativity and the arts within a spiritual context,
* To develop programs for the education of the heart,
* To encourage the learning of Quranic Arabic as a vehicle for spiritual wisdom.<ref name="auto1"/>
Inter-spiritual work
For ten years Kabir and Camille Helminski collaborated with The Spiritual Paths Foundation, a group of respected contemplative teachers from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Native American, and Hindu traditions, to offer programs in applied inter-spirituality. He was instrumental in developing a two-year training program in inter-spirituality composed of four semesters: Introduction to Metaphysics; Maps of the Journey; Applied Spirituality; Global Vision.

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