“THE HIGH MASTER”
Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi
By Dr. Ercan Özer
-“We come from God and we are going to earth”
This was the response that Mevlana’s father Bahaddin Veled (a very famous theologian and scholar himself, known as the “Master of Scholars” and “Sultan of Savants” ) gave to the guards at the Citatel Gate of Baghdad in 1220 when he was asked “from where they were coming and to where they were going“.
Bahaddin Veled left Balkh, a city located within the present borders of Afghanistan, in 1220s with his family and some of his very loyal students heading for Konya in Anatolia. When they have arrived at Baghdad, the guards who stopped his caravan at the citadel and questioned its destination had this famous reply from him. With one sentence, he had reflected a whole philosophy of mankind.
Having rested for a while in Damascus, they have finally arrived and settled in Karaman (a town in the proximity of Konya known as Larende in those days). Jalaladdin married Cevher Hatun had two sons and a daughter. Then the family migrated to Konya in 1228 and settled there upon the invitation of Alaaddin Keykubat, the Sultan of the Anatolian Seljuks. During this period Anatolia was the melting pot of oriental and occidental civilizations comprising Turks, Arabs, Jews, Greeks and Armenians while Konya became a thriving epicenter of art, science, culture, knowledge, philosophy and enlightment. (1)
In the following years Jalaladdin would excell as the Great Muslim Sufi and miystical master. His original name was Mohammad Jalaladdin. His full name would go as Mevlana Jalaladdin Mohammad Mevlavi Balkhi Rumi. He was born on 30 September 1207 in Balkh. The name Mevlana was given by his followers. This word originates from Arabic and is translated as “our high master”. Rumi on the other hand is related to the place where he lived althrough his life after his family migrated to Konya called “Diarı Rum “ meaning the land of Romans (Rums).
After his father’s death in 1231, Jalaladdin took his place and began teaching. To widen and deepen his knowledge as well as to enlarge his spiritual world, he went to Damascus and Aleppo. Therein, he completed three meditation periods (periods of severe trial called “çile” in Turkish) each lasting 40 days. He came back to Konya and resumed his teachings. His fame had surpassed Anatolia and spread throuhout the Islamic world. The people began to come from far away distances to attend his lectures.
Mevlana is praised not only as an Islam mystic but also as a great poet and writer. His works are appraised not solely by their philosophical but also due to their literary value. The biggest work of Mevlana is Divan-ı Kebir, consisting of lyric poems of the “gazel” pattern and “rubais”, verses of four half lines expressing divine love in a uniquely captivating style. Mesnevi (Mathnavi) is the best known work of Mevlana consisting of 24,660 couplets compiled in seven books, consisting of stories, one within the other, tales and didactic incidents leading the readers to draw lessons out of them.
“Every venture one’s life may replete
Mathnavi’s purpose is the Great Defeat
Set a fire, burning with cleansing heat
On the anvil, egos ply and beat
This book, if you open, read, entreat
Your life, a mendicant’s, in the street”
Mevlana also has three works in prose. One of these consists of 147 letters written to different people for various reasons on varigated subjects loaded with lessons each one more valuable than the other about the meaning of existence and correct approaches to difficulties in life. Mevlana did not strive to form an organization during his lifetime. He accupied himself with enlightening people by radiating his thoughts and feelings erupting from his rich and productive inner source. He has also inspired the great Turkish folk poets like Yunus Emre.
Mevlana, equipped with an extraordinarily munificent quintessence, reflected it also with music and dance during the moments of spiritual ecstacy. The trademark of the “Whirling Derwishes” dance was first observed in the southeastern region before Mevlana’s birth. Initially, this dance lacked the spiritual density. Its glorification as a a part of “Sema” ceremony started with Mevleviism. It had also influenced the poetry and music fraternities being a source of composition for Turkish classical and contemporary music.
The Mevlevi music, played with few instruments and improvised in the initial stages, gradually enriched itself and special musical pieces were composed particularly for the “Sema” ceremonies played by large Mevlevi musical groups and with diverse musical instruments. The Mevlevi music compositions were also inspired by the messages of Mevlana's poetry. Although many other instruments complete the musical harmony, a type of wind instrument "ney" (reed flute) has a special input in Mevlevi ensemble. Varying according to its number of holes and the width of its inner cavity, “ney” bonds excellently well with the spiritualism and mysticism of Mevlevi sound. Mevlana, the great philosopher of Islam, demonstrated the importance he attributed to Ney in Mesnevi by saying "Hear what Ney whispers…."
Among other instruments widely used in the Mevlevi music are tambourines with little bells, small kettledrums consisting of little skin drums made of earthen or wooden bowls, ancient form of lutes used either with strings or plectrums, olden versions of violins and guitars and many other musical instruments. Mevlana himself used to play a musical instrument called “rebap”, sort of an ancient oriental guitar.
The novices wishing to join the Mevlevi order would begin to learn the whirling dance starting from the eighteenth day of their ordeal period and would spend long hours for practice. In order to learn to turn round one’s axis without losing the balance and position, they would place a nail between their toes and try to turn around it.
During the days when Mevleviism was in effect with its full grandeur."Sema" could only take place in the dervish convent halI called "Semahane" and could only be performed by Mevlevi whirling dervishes and members.
For the “Sema” ceremony, “Semahane” is prepared for the event beforehand. On one corner of the large hall, a red rug is laid for the Sheikh (Çelebi), and oil lamps and candles are lit in rows of two in front of the spectators. After dinner and praying ritual, “Sema” starts when the barefooted dervishes line up in a single row with their arms crossed on their shoulders. They stand perfectly still with their right toes resting on their left and their heads tilted to the right shoulder. Then the senior and old dervishes of the Convent or Lodge come in and take their places followed by the entrance of the Sheikh (Çelebi). He greets the dervishes with a head bow, who, in turn, greet him back with the same movement. Then they all sit down on the floor at the same time, and dervishes bend and kiss the floor. Next, a “Dede” (a senior dervish) recites some verses from the Quran followed by a cresecendo music played with “ney”. Another “Dede” reads some verses from a poem praising the Prophet (pbuh). When he finishes, the Sheikh and the whirlers kiss the floor once more. Then they get up and circle the hall three times. The Sheikh stops when he comes in front of his red rug. Then, the whirlers take off their black cloaks and remain with their white dresses. One by one, they pass by their Sheikh, kiss his hand and ask his permission to whirl. They line up in front of their Sheikh in almost a circle and take position by lifting their arms. The right hand is turned up towards heaven, the left hand turned downwards pointing the earth, and the head is tilted lightly towards the right shoulder as before. Meanwhile, the musicians continue to play their instruments. Although the other instruments stop playing occasionally, the constant sound of “ney” provides the continuity of the music.
“Sema” is full of symbolisms. The Sheikh symbolizes the sun lighting the universe, and the whirling dervishes symbolize the planets receiving their light from it and orbiting around it. Black robes of the "Dede"s represent death, while the white dresses of the whirlers reflect the sky, the divine universe and the world of spirits. The position of one hand turned towards the sky and the other towards the earth symbolizes the fact that the dervish bears the role of a bridge between God and men, taking from God and giving to earth. According to another interpretation, by this meaningful positioning of the hands, Mevlana wanted to symbolize the reply his father had given to the guards of the citadel when he was stopped in front of the city walls of Baghdad
When the whirling dance is over, the Sheikh recites a prayer called "collective prayer." Then, they serve sweet fruit drinks and eat fruit while calming down the emotions raised during the dance ritual. In the final, some prayers are chanted in chorus and poems are recited.
“Sema” ceremony, which is the orginial and symbolic expression of Mevlana’s teachings had been proclaimed as a masterpiece belonging to the “Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” and included in its list in 2005 by UNESCO.
UNESCO, marking the 800th anniversary of Mevlana’s birth has proclamied 2007 as the “Year of Mevlana” upon the proposal of Turkey, Afghanistan and Egypt. This was also in line with the objectives and mission of UNESCO. At the 175th meeting of the Executive Committe of UNESCO upon the proposal of Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran and the support of 58 member states, it was decided to issue a medallion to honor the 800th anniversary of Mevlana’s birth.
The Year of Mevlana is being celebrated with a variety of events in Turkey and abroad . These activities include issuance of memorail stamps and coins as well as organization of academic panels, conferences, workshops, exhibitions, special programs, sufi musical performances and sema ceremonies.
In Palestine, we have participated in the traditional Artas Festival that was inagurated on 12 April in Artas Village/Bethlehem this year with an exhibition of 22 frames of famous sayings of Mevlana engraved on the miniature (a classical Turkish art form) backgrounds designed by graficker Ahmed Efe in harmony with these words.
“If human being is bereft of good manners, he is not a human being
Indeed it is manners that distinguish humans from animals.
Open your eyes and have a look at the words of God.
The whole Quran is made up of manners verse by verse”
“The ones on a cruising ship have an illusion that it is the reeds on the coast speeding by
We too are speeding through the world and we have an illusion that the world is walking by”
“Put the tips of two fingers over your eyes
Can you see anything of this world?
Your failure to see does not mean that the universe does not exist
Not to see the shame and show the fault is the work of ill-omened finger of the self”
“On generosity and helping others be like a river
In compassion and grace be like sun
Inconcealing others fault be like a night
In anger and fury be like dead
In modesty and humility be like earth
In tolerance be like sea
Either look as you are or be as you look”
Sufism has been a prominent aspect of life also in Jerusalem during the Ottoman times (1516-1917) when “tasawwuf” was supported in large scale. (2) One can observe the remnants of those days in some of the sufi centers such as the Uzbek Cultural Center in the Old City.
Why was Mevlana loved so much? The list of reasons would be endless manifesting incredible wealth of knowledge, feast of wisdom and depths of spirituality on divine love, unlimited tolerance, qualified fraternity and universal humanism. What he could get from God , he gave it all to his fellowmen by sharing, enlightening and teaching. He would say:
“All my life is made of these 3 words:
I was raw (hamdım), I am cooked (piştim), I am burnt (yandım)”
He was so modest that he did not want to be buried in a tomb after his death.
“After our death, dont search for our graves on the ground
The hearts of the wise are where our graves lie”
When he died in 1273 he was buried in Konya in the rose garden donated by Sultan Alaadeddin Keykubat to his father where his father and other close relatives now lie. From that day on every year on 17 December his death is commemorated - maybe the word “celebrate“ is more appropriate - by Şebi Aruz (Night of Union) festivals in Konya. According to the Mevlevi belief “death is not en end in tself , on the contrary it is the way to union with God”. Therefore the event is organized not for grievance but for rejoice.
“No death for us in this ocean
No grief, no worry, no sorrow
This is the ocean of utmost affection
This is the ocean of goodness and generosity”
After his death, his son Sultan Veled reorganized the derwish lodge and systemized his father’s mystical philosophy. There would be others to follow his footsteps to the present carrying on Mevlana’s teachings.
Mevlana’s vision and message of love, peace and harmony among the peoples
are meaningful today more than ever when the “clash of civilisations” arguments are in fashion. He said:
“We do not implant any seed into the soil except love.
You are me and I am you, why is this you-me discrimination“
Spiritual heritage of Mevlana, the great mystic thinker, philosopher and humanitarian is being shared by a large community in the world while Konya and Mevlana are identified with each other. If you find yourself in Konya, the city of world famous “Whirling Derwishes” and classical “sema”, the blessed ceremony of the Mevlevis with their unique music enriched and mystified with the special sound of ney and their dances challenging human endurance shall offer you an invitation to spiritual entrance through the “gateway to paradise”: Turkey.
“Come , come again whoever you may be, come
You may be pagan or a fire worshipper or an idolater
Come even if you have broken your petinence a hundred times
Ours is not a portal of despair or misery, come, come as you are”
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