Mevlana

MEVLANA MUHAMMED JELALUD-DIN RUMI

The Date : December 17 , 1273

The Place : Konya , seat of the Seljuk Empire in Asia Minor

The Scene : Greeks , Jews , Christians , Turks ,Moslems , all crowded in to procession ; music of flutes and strings fills the air along with cries and wails ; chanting and prayers of each religion...

The Occasion : The earthly death-spiritual reunion of the King of Hearts with his Beloved .

The Man : Mevlana Mohammed Jelaled-din Rumi

The Date : October, 2001

The Place : Bookstores across America and Europe

The Scene: Students, housewives, busdrivers, artists, all crowded around the Information Desk "Do you have any new Rumi?" "Where can I find books by Rumi?" "Is there a good translation of Mawlana`s Mathnawi?" "Oh, are you sure it`s sold out? Can you reorder?"

The Occasion: Awakening of an awareness of the need for the gentle and tolerant views, thoughts, and way of a Lover of the Divine

The Man: Mevlana Mohammed Jelaled-din Rumi

Who is this Mevlana Mohammed Jelaled-din Rumi , that over 700 years after his death his words and thoughts are causing such a stir ?

First , here is one way in which he described himself :

My Mother is Love

My Father is Love

My Prophet is Love

My God is Love

I am a child of Love

I have come only to speak of Love .

Born in the City of Balkh in Afghanistan , Mevlana lived most of his life in Konya , seat of the Seljuk Empire , located in present day Turkiye . The son and heir to the position of a noted Theologian and Mystic , Mevlana was jarred out of his comfortable ways and beliefs by a mysterious dervish named Shems of Tebriz . The moment of the meeting of Mevlana and Shems is referred to as the 'meeting of two seas' . Each of them had attained a spiritual awareness of depth and breadth which distinguished them from others . Now these two would complete each other in the boundless Sea of Unity .

Shems' way of attracting Mevlana's attention was by asking whether the Prophet Mohammed or the Mystic Beyazid-i Bestami was greater. This was a rather shocking question, but Mevlana without hesitation replied that of course, the Prophet is the greater of the two. At this Shems' fiery manner softened a little. Then he continued , " But Lord Mohammed said, 'God! I glorify You. We do not know Your worth.' Whereas Beyazid-i Bestami said, 'I glorify myself, my reputation is great because there is no Being but God in every particle of my body.' How can you explain this? " Mevlana had anticipated this, and replied immediately, "The Lord Mohammed spoke these words because each day he progressed many stages forward; and each time he reached a new level of understanding, he begged God's forgiveness for his previous knowledge and errors. The Prophet had the endurance to contemplate God in abstraction, purified of all else, in all His manifestations, without remaining at any one stage of judgement. But Bestami was carried away by his arrival at the very first stage and, having been intoxicated by this attainment, got no further..."

Overwhelmed by the profundity of this answer, Shems fell to the ground senseless. After Mevlana helped him up, they embraced as long lost lovers and without a word, set out arm in arm for Mevlana's house at medrese. The townsfolk looked on in confusion and astonishment as their dignified Mevlana walked away with this disheveled strange dervish.

It was Shems who kindled the spark of passion for the Divine in Mevlana. Mevlana's whole life of book learning, canonical views, and conservative behavior changed radically as the burning of Divine Love swept through him. A steady husband and father, Mevlana had taught in the medrese (a center of learning similar to a university of the time), given judgements on religious matters, and drawn a following. Now he was completely absorbed with Shems, stayed in seclusion with him for months, and humbled himself in his attempt to meet his every wish.

Mevlana's students and disciples couldn't bear to see this person they held in such high esteem submitting himself to an unknown, again dervish who was uninterested in endearing himself to anyone except Mevlana. Soon their displeasure turned to actual threats against Shems, and one day he disappeared. Because those followers were unable to comprehend the meaning and depth of the relationship between Mevlana and Shems, they were unprepared for Mevlana's reaction to Shems' disappearance. Instead of returning to his former ways and relationships, Mevlana became crazed with longing and spent days and nights whirling in the Sema (2) that Shems had given him a taste for, and feverishly reciting love poems that sprang from the anguish and longing within him.

When it was learned that Shems was in Damascus, Mevlana's oldest son Sultan Veled set out to try to bring him back. Now Mevlana was overcome with anticipation--He was returning! The one who had revealed to him Divine Love in man ! The on who had brought him to Divine Love! The one who had become Divine Love! Poetry, music, Sema ecstasy!

And for some time after Shems' return things went well. The malcontents were remorseful and on their best behavior , Mevlana gave a young woman of his household to Shems in marriage , and the loving relationship between Shems and Mevlana reached new depths as Mevlana matured in this Sea of the Divine .

The distinction between lover and beloved was being obliterated . In response to Sultan Veled's asking Shems to give him what he had given to Mevlana , Shems replied that nothing of himself , no Shems , existed any longer . He told Veled that he could find Shems only in Mevlana now . As for Mevlana , through his poems we see him losing his individual identity and acknowledging