Rumi, the Sufi Master:

A Different Window Into The World of Islam

İbrahim Özdemir
Abo Akademi University, Turku
ib60dmr@gmail.com
The Challenges of 21st Century
• Rumi: A Poet of Past and Future
• A voice of all humans and
creation

“Yesterday I was clever, so

I wanted to change the
world.
Today I am wise, so I am
changing myself”.
Rumi
 Rumi for Troubled World!

In the poetic expression of W.B. Yeats it is a world that

• "things fall apart; the center cannot hold. Mere
anarchy is loosed upon the world."

Erick Fromm would add

• “We are living in a period when the human race is
threatened by physical destruction through nuclear
war,
• and by spiritual decay through an ever-increasing
alienation of man from himself, his fellow man, from
nature and from the products of his own work”
(Arasteh, vii).
Voltaire and Rumî
• “Master, we come to entreat you to tell us
why so strange an animal as man has been
formed?”
• “Why do you trouble your head about it?”
said the dervish; “is it any business of
yours?”

• “But, Reverend Father,” said Candide, “there

is a horrible deal of evil on the earth.”
• “What signifies it,” said the dervish, “whether
there is evil or good?
• When His Highness sends a ship to Egypt
does he trouble his head whether the rats in
the vessel are at their ease or not?” (Voltaire.
Candide, 168-169).
 A Global and Interconnected Village
"Today, We live in one global and interconnected village.
All living civilizations are crammed into this village.

So, we cannot talk to one another. Nor can we talk down to

one another. We must talk to one another and we must
talk as equals.”

Karen Armstrong, author of History of God, calls this

phenomenon as the “imperative to learn”.
“We've got to know more about each other's religions so we
don't harbor distorted, inaccurate images.”
“It is a responsibility of every enlightened and educated
individual to have a better understanding of Islam and
Muslims”. Carl W. Ernst, prof. of Islamic studies
Search for a Meaning of Life
“Modern man in his search for a meaning of
life,
for an aim to pursue which transcends that of
material goods, power and fame,
has turned to those religious ideas which do
not deal with theology and intellectual
speculations about God but
with the inner experience of oneness with
the world,
– liberation from irrational passions,
– from the delusion of an indestructible,
– separate ego,
– from the prison that this very delusion creates”.
E. Fromm
 Rumi himself invites the world to join him in the
spiritual journey of searching for a meaningful life
The Reed-flute
“It’s the flames of love in this reed-flute
burning,
It’s the ferment of love in this wine
enrapturing.”
«our world is the realm of separation
as our soul does not belong to the
material world,
where God is present “behind the veil
of cause and effect».
The human spirit is actually part of the
immaterial and metaphysical world
where we can have a real and huge
understanding of the divine reality.
A New Language of Understanding and Love
A certain man gave a dirhem to four persons.
One of them (a Persian) said: “I will spend this on
angúr.”
The second one was an Arab. He said: “No, I want
„inab, not angúr, O rascal!”
The third was a Turk; and he said, “This (money) is
mine: I don't want „inab, I want uzum.”
The fourth, a Greek, said, “Stop this talk: I want
istáfíl.”

These people began fighting in contention with one

another.
Why?
Because they were unaware of the hidden meaning of
the names.
In their folly they smote each other with their fists:
they were full of ignorance and empty of knowledge.
The Muslim East of the Time
Jalaluddin Rumî/count…

• When Rumî was twelve years

old, his family left Balkh to
escape the Mongol invasion.
(A migrant)
• Four years to westward
• The young Rumî in Muslim
lands meeting well-known
Sufis and scholars of the time.
• Pilgrimage to Mecca and finally
settled in Konya, Turkey,
• Konya was at the crossroad of
the East and the West
Jalaluddin Rumî/count…
• Rumî studied religious
sciences with his father.
• Further studies in Aleppo
and Damascus
• “A grand and illustrious life”
• At the age of thirty-four he
claimed hundreds of
disciples, the king being one
of them.
• He was not satisfied with
theology and classical
learning as he considers
them to be occupied with
formalism.
Re-birth of Rumi: Meeting Shams

• The great transformation in Rumî's life

• Meeting with Shams al-Din of Tabriz
• “The perfect image of the Divine
Beloved which he had long been
seeking”.
• “The light of the eye, the clarity of
reason, the brightness of the soul, and
the enlightenment of the heart”.
• They remained inseparable for a year.
• Rumî was re-born after meeting with
Shams and then discovered love as the
dynamic force of universe.
Rumî and Rebirth!
“I was dead, I became alive;
I was weeping, I became
laughing;

The power of love came, and I

became everlasting power.

My eye is satiated, my soul is

bold,

I have the heart of a lion, I have

become shining Venus.”
Farewell of Rumî
The day I've died, my pall is moving on -
But do not think my heart is still on earth!
Don't weep and pity me: "Oh woe, how awful!"
You fall in devil's snare - woe, that is awful!
Don't cry "Woe, parted!" at my burial -
For me this is the time of joyful meeting!
Don't say "Farewell!" when I'm put in the grave
-

A curtain is for eternal bliss.

You saw "descending" - now look at the rising!
Is setting dangerous for sun and moon?
To you it looks like setting, but it's rising;
The coffin seems a jail, yet it means freedom.
Which seed fell in the earth that did not grow
there?
 Major Works
• The Mathnawi in six volumes about
25,000 verses which is called as the
'Koran in Persian' by A. Jami, one of
the greatest Sufi poets in the 15th
century.
• the Diwan-e Shams-e Tabriz-i which
comprise some 40,000 verses,
• Fihi Ma Fih (In It What's in It) which is
composed of Rumî's speeches on
different subjects.
• Majalis-i Sab'a (seven sessions)
contains seven sermons (as the
name implies) given in seven different
assemblies.
Eric Fromm: “Rumi the mystic, poet, the ecstatic
dancer, was one of the great lovers of life.
• “Rumî was not only a poet and a mystic
and the founder of a religious order;
• He was also a man of profound
insight into the nature of man.
• He discussed:
– the nature of the instincts,
– the power of reason over instincts,
– the nature of the self, of
consciousness; the unconscious, and
cosmic consciousness”.
Arasteh, A.R.(1972). Rumi: The Persian, The Sufi.
Introduction)
a bestseller in the US
 West and Rumi
• The “Excellent Rumi,” as Hegel called him.
• He has always been loved and cherished by
poets in the West more than anyone else.
• He inspired leading Western poets and
thinkers such as Dr Johnson, Goethe,
Emerson, Walt Whitman, Robert Grave, Doris
Lessing.
• For the German poet Hans Meinke Rumi was
“the only hope for the dark times we are living
in”.
• The French writer Maurice Barres remarked,
• “When I experienced Mevlana’s poetry, which
is vibrant with the tone of ecstasy and with
melody, I realised the deficiencies of
Shakespeare, Goethe and Hugo.”
Eva de Vitray Meyerovitch
Rumi is “the greatest mystic genius
of all times, my spiritual leader”.
• Perhaps that is why she embraced
Islam and took the name of Hawwa.
• Meyerovitch’s wish was that of
promoting Rumi’s works in the
whole world and spreading the
Ultimate Truth.
Her mission:
“What I wish to do is to identify
Rumi’s messages (…) and present
them to Western youth who are
deprived of spirituality and thirsty for
meaning.”
(Eva de Vitray Meyerovitch, 1st International Rumi Congress,
May, 1987, Konya)
What has to be done?
What has to be done, O Muslims?
For I do not recognise myself
I am neither Christian, nor a Jew, nor a
fire-worshipper, nor Muslim.

I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor

of the land, nor of the sea;
I am not of Nature’s mint, nor of the
circling heavens.

I am not of India, nor of China, nor of

Bulgaria, nor of Saqsin
I am not of Iraq, nor of Khurasan
My place is the placeless and my trace is
the traceless.
Major Teachings
• God, the Cosmic Ego, created the
material world ex nihilo—out of
nothing and never ceases to create
new things.
• Everything has been created with a
specific order, duty, purpose, and
meaning.
• There is no lifeless matter in this
system; all matter is alive, albeit at
various gradations of being.
• According to Rumî, “earth, and
water, fire and air are alive in the
view of God, though they appear to
be dead to us.”
• He cautions us: “never think the
earth void or dead; it is aware, it is
awake and it is quivering.”
 A Majestic Garden

• The whole world is a majestic garden.

• Every leaf on a tree and every bird in a bush offer
praise and thanksgivings for God’s greatness
and sustenance.
• Every leaf and tree is a messenger from non-
existence, proclaiming the creative power of God,
talking with long hands and green fresh tongues.
 Nature as a Sacred Book

Nature, as a sacred
book, is full of
symbols and signs
and therefore has
some far-reaching
implications for
Rumi.
Everything is alive..

• “Earth, and water, fire and air are alive

in the view of God, though they appear
to be dead to us”
• “Never think the earth void or dead; it is
a hare, it is awake and it is quivering.”
• Everything happens according to the
Divine Will and Wisdom, i.e., a great
plan is at work in the cosmic world.
• Even bees build their houses by
inspiration from God.
• In short, a colorful, meaningful, and
living world reveals itself in his poetry.
Atoms are dancing!

Oh daylight rise!
Atoms are dancing,
Souls, lost in ecstasy, are dancing.
I'll whisper in your ear where
the dance will take you.
All atoms in the air, in the desert,
They are all like madmen, each
atom, happy or miserable,
Is Passionate for the sun of
which nothing can be said.
 Divine Officials
• According to Rumî animals are not at
all “machines or automata,” as
Cartesian philosophy would have us
believe.
• Even the wolf, rooster, and lion know
what love is.
• Therefore, Rumî was full of love and
compassion toward all creatures of
God.
• One day he was walking, he would not
drive a sleeping dog from his path, but
rather would wait until the poor
creature gets up and leave.
 Animals are not “machines”
• The dove on the tree is uttering thanks to God,
though her food is not yet ready.

• The nightingale is singing glory to God, saying:

“I rely on You for my daily bread, O You who

answers prayer.
Rumi Listening to a Cow
Rumi Conversing with a Sea-Monster
 “What is Human?”
Sufis have always tried to answer the question: “What is
human?”
Rumi offered a beautiful, complete and unique answer.
He considers the human being to be an exponent for the
whole universe.
«Love is the essence of human creation, the holy fabric
we are made of»:
“Our mother is love!
Our father is love!
We are born from love!
We are love!
All loves constitute a bridge leading to the Divine love.
To love human beings means to love God.” (Masnawi)
Music

• Music, dance and

contemplation
represents a perfect way
of reaching our Master.
• In beautiful verses he
defines music in the
following couplet:
• “Music is the nutrition of
the souls of the servants
of the Lord,
• Since, in music, there is
the hope of reaching
God.” (Masnavi)
The Infrared Frequencies of DNA Bases: Science and
Art by S. Alexjander

• “All day and night,

music.
• A quiet, bright reedsong.
• If it fades, we fade.”
Quatrains, Rumi

https://oursounduniverse.com/the-
infrared-frequencies-of-dna-bases-
science-and-art-by-s-alexjander/
The Sama (the dance)
• Represents the elevation of the spirit,
• The human being turning his face to
see and understand the Ultimate
Truth,
• Finding peace and happiness in the
Divine Love, losing itself in God,
• Thus becoming pure and immaculate.
• During Sama, the dervish’s arms are
wide open, with his right arm turned to
the Sky and his left one turned down,
• thus receiving the gifts from God and
giving them to humans.
• Sama
Sema- Union with Universal Reality
The Key Concepts in Rumi’s Teachings
• Acceptance and acknowledgement
of both positive and negative
experiences;
• Unlearning of old habits
• Looking at the world with new eyes;
• Decentering,
• Changing one’s focus from Self to
Other;
• Attunement of body and mind
through mediation,
• Music and dance.
• The importance of openness to all
forms of experiences.
 Rumi and Jihad
Jihad is an Arabic word which literally means
striving or struggling, especially with a
praiseworthy aim.
It can have many shades of meaning in an
Islamic context:
– struggle against one's evil inclinations,
– an exertion to convert unbelievers,
– efforts toward the moral betterment of society,
– [though it is most frequently associated with
war.
John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). "Jihad". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
 Rumi and Jihad
The Greater Jihad, the Struggle against the Ego

When Rumi said, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to

change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing
myself”, he was articulating the same prophetic message.

The true ‘‘jihad’’, the real holy war for Rumi, is our own
eternal battle with the ‘‘nafs’’: the struggle with our false
self (Reinhertz 2001).
• Most readers of Rumi in the West are unaware that, for
centuries, Muslims in much of the world have looked
upon him as an outstanding guide on the path of
achieving oneness with God”
• And give meaning to their lives with the dive light and
illumination.. (William C. Chittick)
Suggested Reading List for Rumi lovers:

Barks, Coleman. The Essential Rumi. San Francisco: Harper,

1995.

Chittick, William. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teaching

of Rumi. N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1983.

Schimmel, Annemarie. I Am Wind, You Are Fire: The Life and

Work of Rumi. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1992.

Tarhan, Nevzat, Rumi Therapy, Istanbul.

Vitray-Meyerovitch, Eva de. The Whirling Dervishes: A

Commemoration. London: International Rumi Committee, 1974.