" A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops";
— Henry Adams
Dr. Parviz Sahabi
Rumi Scholar, Architect, City Planner
Ostad Parviz Sahabi is a scholar, artist, and an acknowledged authority on Molana Jalaludin Rumi’s masterpiece the Mathnawi.
Born in Hamadan – Iran, he was raised in an intellectually rich and diverse environment. Dr. Sahabi has continued to study many disciplines and disseminates this knowledge through teaching, writing and artistic creations.
Dr. Sahabi began his higher education at the University of Tehran. He studied mathematics, philosophy and educational science, and architecture, leading to a PhD in City Planning. He concurrently attended Mathnawi classes taught by some of the most prominent Mathnawi teachers and guides in Iran, including Ostad Mohammad-taghi Jafari.
Dr. Sahabi's varied background studies, ranging from scientific and practical applications of the disciplines of logic and mathematics to free artistic expression, combined with his appreciation of the subtleties of poetry and Persian language, have allowed him to present Rumi’s timeless teachings in a tangible and comprehensible manner. His masterly use of the principle of the hermeneutic circle, the mutual relationship between the entire text and its individual parts, as well as the interplay between self understanding and how we perceive world, help shed light on what can appear to be a difficult and highly symbolic text.
Dr. Sahabi is a pioneer in applying principles of cybernetics to discover the amazingly complex yet systematic nature of Rumi’s “Mathnawi”. He encourages new lines of thinking which integrate paradoxical intellectual possibilities to transcend the limitations of dualistic thought patterns. Through his unique teaching style, continuing the tradition of our Master Rumi, he communicates the exceptional quality of love that confounds logical minds and brings forth boundless joy and intoxication.
Dr. Sahabi currently resides in Vancouver Canada where he conducts classes at the Zavieh. His dynamic lectures on the Mathnawi, the essential reason for Zavieh’s creation, have touched many hearts.