Hossein Mohyeddin Ghomshei (Persian: حسین محیالدین قمشهای, born 4 January 1940) better known as Elahi Ghomshei, is an Iranian scholar, Philosopher, author and lecturer on literature, Art and Mysticism.
Dr. Hossein Elahi Ghomshei was born on 4 January 1940 in Tehran, Iran. He is the son of Mirza Mahdi Elahi Qomshehei, the famous translator of Quran into Persian. He received his PhD in Islamic Theology and Philosophy from the University of Tehran.
Traditional education
Arabic literature, grammar, logic, theosophy, jurisprudence, and Kalam: Tehran Seminary School
Victoria & Albert Museum, LondonDartington Hall, DevonCambridge UniversityOxford UniversityTemenos Academy, LondonUniversity of ExeterSOAS, University of LondonImperial College, University of LondonUniversity College of London
Scotland
University of Glasgow
United States of America
University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Los AngelesUniversity of Southern California (USC)California State University, Long BeachUniversity of George TownHarvard UniversityPrinceton UniversityStanford University
Australia
University of MelbourneMacquarie University, SydneyMonash UniversityUniversity of Queensland
Canada
University of British ColumbiaSimon Fraser University
Austria
Goethe InstituteVienna University
France
Versaille Palaces
Germany
Frankfurt Book Fair
Awards
Most popular TV personality, highest ever rating at 86% (1998-9)
Books
Selection from the Discourses of Rumi (Fihe-ma-Fih). 1987. Elmi-Farhangi Publications Co.
Selection from the Conference of Birds (Mantiq-al-Tayr) by Attar. 1994. Elmi-Farhangi Publications Co.
Divan Hafez (A Critical edition of Hafez’s Collected Poems). 2003. Peik-e-Oloum Publication.
Essays on Persian Mystical Literature. Poetics and Aesthetics. 1999. Rowzaneh Publications Co.
Kimia ; Collected Essays, Translations and Introductions (Vol.1-5,8-12): 1998-2016. Rowzaneh Publications Co.
Introduction to Golshan-e-Raz (Sheikh Mahmoud Shabestari). 1998. Elmi-Farhangi Publications Co.
A Study of Islamic Texts in English Translation (University Textbook). 1992. SAMT Publication.
Selection of Quotations and Poems by Shakespeare (translation). 2003. Elmi-Farhangi Publications Co.
The Prophet (Translation from Gibran Khalil). 1999. Rowzaneh Publications Co.
In the Realm of Saadi: A Collection of 365 Poems and Discourses from Saadi (Introduction and Commentaries). 2002. Sokhan Publishers.
Selection From Shahnameh by Ferdowsi. 2006. Peik-e-Oloum Publication.
Invocations of Komail (Translation from Emam Ali). 2006. Yassavoli Publications.
Cultural Symposium. 2007. Peik-e-Oloum Publication.
In the Realm of Gold: A Collection of 365 Poems and Passages from English Literature (Selection,Translation and Commentaries). 2007. Sokhan Publishers.
In the Realm of Rumi: A Collection of 365 Poems and Discourses from Rumi (Introduction and Commentaries). 2009. Sokhan Publishers.
The Other Wise Man (Translation from Henry van Dyke). 2007. Rowzaneh Publications Co.
Subtleties of Mulla Nasreddin (Introduction and notes). 2010. Rowzaneh Publications Co.
In the Realm of the Quran: A Collection of 365 Passages from Quran (Selection, Persian Translation, Commentaries and Introduction). 2011. Sokhan Publishers.
A Treasury of the Familiar: 365 Days with the Persian Poetry, (Selection, Commentaries and Introduction). 2013. Sokhan Publishers.
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Introduction and Commentaries on 40 Quatrains). 2016. Mirdashti Publication.
Mystical Passages from Early Persian Prose and Poetry .2016. SAMT Publication.
Articles in English
Hossein Elahi Ghomshei. The Principles of the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry
Hossein Elahi Ghomshei. The Symphony of Rumi. In the Philosophy of Ecstasy: Rumi and the Sufi Tradition. 2014.
Hossein Elahi Ghomshei. Hafez & the Divine Covenant
Hossein Elahi Ghomshei. Of Scent and Sweetness: Attar’s Legacy in Rumi, Shabestari and Hafez
Hossein Elahi Ghomshei. The Rose and the Nightingale: the Role of Poetry in Persian Culture
Hossein Elahi Ghomshei: Poetics & Aesthetics in the Persian Sufi Literary Tradition
Lecture topics in English (partial list)
Seven Tales under Seven Domes; by Nezami
Attar : Seven Stations of Love
An Aesthetic Approach to the Philosophical Theory of Substantial Motion
Problems of the Predestination and Free Will
Saadi & Shakespeare (A comparative study)
Rose & Nightingale; An Introduction to Persian Literature and Mysticism
Music in Persian Poetry
Rumi : The Art and Wisdom of Storytelling in Mathnavi
Hafez and His Works
Cultural Investment for the Younger Generation
The World of Happiness and How to Attain it
Poetics and Aesthetics in Persian Literature
Adventures in Persian Mysticism
Mathnavi : A Book for All Ages
Nasir Khosrow’s Poetry
Mohyeddin Arabi and Ebn-e- Farez
An Evening with Hafez
Ethics of Science and Technology
The Quran in Persian Literature
The Wine of Alast: Divine Covenant of Man with God
One and Many : The Circle of Being
Global Ethics and the Human Nature
Immortality of Soul
Poetry and Prophecy
Rumi: The Messenger of Love
Islam and Human Nature
Philosophical Doctrines and Spiritual Teachings of Rumi
Alchemy of Love
The Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry
The Veils of God
Total Integration of Man
Perpetual Conflict between Man & Demon
The Symphony of Rumi: A Thematic Approach to Rumi's Poetry
A Philosophical and Aesthetic Approach to the Laws of Harmony
The Wisdom of the Heart in Ibn Arabi and Persian Mystic Literature
The True Essence of Islam
Islamic Mystical Bacchanalia: The Wine-Ode of Ibn Farid of Egypt
The Mythology of Norouz in Persian Literature
Rumi and Tagore on Love
Denizens of the Realm of Gold: A Sojourn among Some Immortal Mediaeval Persian Poets
On Mahmud Shabistari
On Rumi
Lectures in Farsi
Dr Elahi Ghomshei has delivered over 500 lectures in Farsi in the past 40 years at different universities and cultural centers. Some lectures were broadcast on the Iranian TV Channel and they are also available in some social media websites. Elahi Ghomshei Culture and Art Institute has a complete collection of his lectures in their archive. Some of the lectures published on CDs are as follows:
Reviews on literature, art and mysticism (72 lectures)
In the company of Hafez (32 lectures)
Divine wine of Ebne Farez of Egypt (5 lectures)
Baghe-e-Del, on Shabestari's Golshane-Raz (24 lectures)
The epic of man, on Nezami (10 lectures)
The Ever Green Gardens of Saadi (10 lectures)
Other activities
Chairman of the Board, Elahi Ghomshei Culture & Art Institute, Tehran
Member of the Board, Mawlana Jalaledin Rumi Culture,Art,Research Institute, Tehran
Chief Editor.Chaleepa Quarterly Magazine, Calligraphy &Traditional Arts, Tehran
Fellow of the Temenos Academy, London
Member of the Advisory Council, Mawlana Rumi Review, London
