The Timeless Poet and Mystic
By Dr Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD
More than seven centuries have passed since Moulana Jalaluddin Rumi, poet, philosopher and above all inspiring mystic, departed from this world. However, the long period since his death has not diminished the powerful appeal of his message or the allure of his teachings. If anything, time has only enhanced the luster and mystique of his poetry and music as the expression of divine love.
Moulana Rumi has become the most admired poet and his Mathnawi the most widely read and revered work of poetry in the west in recent decades. The Mathnawi has been rendered into English and other European languages by several authors, including Annemarie Schimmel, and more recently by John Moyne and Coleman Barks.
A beautifully illustrated translation entitled Rumi, a Treasury of Wisdom from the Poet of the Soul, by Philip Dunn, enriches the rapidly expanding catalog of books on this subject. Perhaps not since the appearance of the first translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859, has a Muslim poet evoked so much excitement and interest among Western audiences.
The eight-hundredth anniversary of the Moulana’s birth has provided an appropriate occasion to honor him and to showcase his message to humankind. The United Nations has declared the year 2007 as the “International Rumi Year.” As part of the celebrations, the University of Maryland in the United States hosted a three-day conference on Moulana Rumi in the last week of September 2007. The event brought together some 20 world-renowned scholars, writers and artists who examined in depth Rumi’s legacy, focusing on his life and his concept of our eternal relationship to God. Also, on October 27, 2007, the famous Freer and Sackler Galleries at Washington organized a whole day extravaganza, entitled Rumi At 800: A Sufi Celebration, which included a traditional Sufi assembly, performed by a Iranian-born composer and virtuoso; the presentation was interspersed with recitations of Sufi ghazals. Besides the poetry reading, the audience was treated with inspiring stories about the Moulana and the lessons of universal love and morality that flow from them. The one-day event proved so popular that the complimentary admission tickets were gone weeks in advance.
Moulana Rumi’s masterpiece, the Mathnawi, remains one of the most moving and enduring works of Sufi literature ever created. It comprises 25,632 verses of surpassing beauty, compiled in six books that encompass the whole range of human experience, illustrative of the joys and sorrow of ordinary people as well as mighty Sultans. The Moulana defined his Mathnawi as “the roots of religion and the discoveries of the mysteries of nature and divine knowledge.” Paradoxically, while the contemporary scholars in the West enthusiastically celebrate his legacy and embraces his seminal work, the Muslim world shows scant appreciation of the contribution he made to Sufi traditions. Historically, the Mathnawi did not always suffer this indifference, at least in South Asia. Before independence, classical Persian was commonly taught in schools and universities in the Indian subcontinent. Especially among educated Muslims, there were many who were well schooled in the language, and were enthralled by the beauty and magnificence of the work of great Persian poets, including Saadi, Hafiz, Rumi and Khayyam.
On festive occasions, it would not have been uncommon to hear the Mathnawi recited, with its singular focus on the love of God and the unceasing quest to reach him. Urdu literature dating to that period abounds with quotations from the Moulana’s poetry, which are cited by authors to confer authority and elegance to the prose.
Moulana Jalaluddin Rumi had a fascinating life story. He was born in the year 1207 in Balkh in the present-day Afghanistan. However, the family was forced to leave the city when he was still a child to escape the marauding Mongol armies ravaging Central Asia. They settled in Konya, in present-day Turkish Anatolia; the city was then the seat of the powerful Seljuk Sultanate. Moulana’s early education was supervised by his father, Moulana Bahauddin, who himself was an accomplished theologian, scholar and taught at the University of Konya. Following his father’s death, the responsibility for his mentorship and spiritual guidance shifted to his father’s close friend, Moulana Sayyid Burhaneddin.
The story is told that Sayyid Burhaneddin still in Bulkh had a revelation that his friend had died in Koyna and young Jalaluddin needed his help in completing his education. Relocating to Konya, he instructed Jalaluddin for nine years in disciplines as diverse as religion, spirituality, meditation, and fasting. Finally, one day the teacher concluded that the pupil had acquired all the knowledge he was able to provide, and thus his mission had been accomplished. Then, Sayyid Burhaneddin departed as quietly as he had arrived to spend the rest of his life in meditative seclusion. However, before he left, he foretold Jalaluddin’s meeting with a great friend “who will lead you to the innermost parts of the spiritual world.”
The prophecy came true. When Rumi was thirty-seven years old, he met a wandering Dervaish and mystic, with deep spiritual insights, Moulana Shams of Tabriz. Though their encounter by all accounts was brief, the intense friendship that developed revolutionized Moulana Rumi’s outlook on life, transforming him from a teacher of philosophy and religion to a great poet, a mystic and lover of God’s creations. He became a prolific storyteller, composing transcendent poetry that has been a great source of spiritual uplift for millions of people for centuries. After igniting the fire of creativity, however, Moulana Shams Tabriz mysteriously disappeared, never to be found again. Some believe that he was murdered by those who were resentful of his powerful influence over Moulana Rumi.
The Moulana suffered intense grief at the loss of his close friend. Thus far, he had composed odes and ghazals; from now on his artistic faculties blossomed fully. His masterpiece creation, the Mathnawi, was composed at the urging of his close friend, Husaneddin Chelebi. It is reported that Moulana Rumi consented to compose the poetry only if Chelebi would agree to write it for him. Moulana Rumi never wrote a single line of it himself, instead dictating the entire monumental work to Chelebi, who diligently recorded it. According to Chelebi, the Mathnawi was created over a span of many years; sometime the verses would come to Moulana Rumi readily like a torrent, day and night. At other times, long periods would pass and the inspiration would come only sporadically.
Moulana Rumi spent most of his life at Konya, where he founded the Sufi brotherhood, commonly known as the Mevlevi Order, made famous by it emphasis on music and ecstatic dancing, the Sema. A number of stories are recorded about the times when Moulana Rumi lived in Konya. Once, he asked one of his disciples to bring a dish of some rich food for him. The request was unusual. Knowing that the master led an ascetic life, mostly praying day and night, the disciple became puzzled and alarmed. Did he lead a different life in private, enjoying good food and other luxuries; he wondered and decided to find out. After delivering the food, he secretly followed the Moulana as he strolled through the streets of Konya, moving into a deserted cemetery and finally reaching the ruins of an old tomb. There a hungry female dog, with six puppies, was waiting for him to bring her food. Moulana Rumi lovingly fed the female dog by hand, so that she could feed and sustain her puppies. The pupil never doubted the authenticity of his master again.
Moulana Rumi died in Konya in 1273, and his death was mourned by a wide spectrum of his followers drawn from many religions and races. Paradoxically, the evening of the day of his death is known among Sufis as the wedding night, since it symbolizes the fulfillment of Moulana’s life-long search for unity with God. For him, it was a day of joyous reunion and an occasion for celebration.
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