“Study me as much as you like, you will never know me, for I differ a hundred ways from what you see me to be. Put yourself behind my eyes, and see meas I see myself, for I have chosen to dwell in a place you cannot see.” – Rumi. RUMI’S poetry and message has transcended time and
space and even the cultural frontiers. Today he is widely
read and translated all over the world. It may be wrong to say that he belongs to one country or to one culture. He is a mythical, historical and trans-geographical figure, whose teachings are as relevant today as these were centuries ago. In the twenty first century when wars are rampant all over the globe, Rumi teachings are a breath of fresh air, as he gives lessons of tolerance, inclusiveness and acceptance of others by inculcating in ourselves a spirit of love not only of God, but also of humanity. He says, “We can all love, co-exist and respect each other.”
This is the central theme of his poetry and no time now than ever before in human history, there is a need of love, peace and tranquillity in the contemporary impoverished world. Wars are rampant in all the four corners of the globe, and people have distanced themselves from each other. The message of Islam that ‘You can never be a true Muslim unless you prefer the same thing for your fellow Muslims as you prefer for yourself,’ and the message of Christianity, ‘love thy neighbour as thy self,’ has lost its appeal. Essentially these days we have a world, in which people have a great thirst for love. Rumi addresses this issue so beautifully and in so many different ways. The modern world craves for it, as if it has found a gold mine, all in one place. Today, there exists two different schools of thoughts. On one hand, religious fanatics and extremists believe that everyone should adhere to their way of thinking, on the other there is utter disregard of religion and spirituality in the Western world. Rumi represents a workable/alternative solution to both the groups. He gives a message of unity allowing room for people’s individualism and different ways of worshipping God. His poetry responds to the challenges of violence and polarization.
He tells us “It is not faith, belief or religion, which causes conflict, but negative thoughts that lead to hatred, greed, violence and hinder the human potential to actualize.” The negative thoughts (which he calls the darkness of the human heart) need to be removed and this can be done through true practice of religion and purification of the heart. His poetry gives a lesson of hope, renewal and reconciliation, rather than despair and enmity. He reminds us that we are all from one God and to one God we will return. “Come, come, Come again, whoever you may be. Come again even though you may be a pagan, Or a fire worshipper. Our hearth is not a threshold of despair. Come again, if you have violated your vows. A hundred times.” Though all Rumi’s works, Masanavi, Dewan and Discourses are admirable, his famous Masanavi has received perhaps the greatest attention. The powerful allegorical and metaphorical expressions within it have transcended time and context. It is said that Masanavi is Quran in Persian, as out of 60,000 verses, 6000 are direct interpretations of Quran. Masanavi weaves fables, scenes from everyday life, Quranic revelations and metaphysics into a vast and intricate tapestry. It tells to become a beautiful and complete human being.
In Iran Rumi is taught in schools, in Turkey he is known as Patron saint. “His influence is greatest in South Asia,” says Annmarie Schimmal. In US, he was declared the best poet in 2007 and remains the best-selling poet ever since. Rumi met Farid-ud-Din Attar, the great Sufi mystic along with his father, while he was still a young boy and Attar said, “This boy will open the gates of hearts of all lovers that will burn for centuries. Ibne’ Arabi the great Mathematician and Sufi scholar saw Rumi walking behind his father and said, “Praise be to God, it is not every day that you see an Ocean following a lake.” Al-Ghazali says, “The group of Aulia is the only truthful group, who follow the right path, display best conduct and derive their overt/covert behaviour from the illuminating guidance of Prophet Muhammad (PBHU).Until fifth century, after the demise of Holy Prophet, Islamic Sufism was based roughly on the idea of fearing God. It was not for nothing that in the history of Islamic culture, ascetic and fearful Sufism preceded the Sufism of love, as Abu-Hamid al-Ghazzali stepped into the arena of culture, before Rumi did. Al-Ghazali was so fearful of God that it led him to the point of paralysis. He says, “You are nothing in relation to such a Transcendent Reality. How can you claim existence or even say, it is your will to do something.
How can you even claim to worship him, everything comes from him and man is mere recipient of His will and has to accept whatever is given or denied to him.”“Quran is a book, had it been revealed to a mountain – the fear of God would have ripped the mountain asunder,” says Quran. Although this fear is a kind of ‘lover’s mortification,’ the mortification has the upper hand over love, and the fear outpaces the affection. The Masanavi is the book of union and this union is borne out of love. “Bravo to love that so masterfully unites a hundred thousand droplets, just as the potter unites grains of dust to form a jug.” —To continue …
Extract from ‘The Philosophy of Rumi and its Relevance in the Present Times,’ by Maj Gen Muhammad Tahir (R).
—The writer is author of various books based in Rawalpindi.
