Rumi The Persian, The Sufi

A. Reza Arasteh

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9780415442558
• eBook ISBN:
  9781135030056
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Originally published in 1965. This volume presents a systematic study of Rumi's rebirth into a total being. By studying the elements of Persian culture, as well as the unique writings of Rumi, the author reveals the characteristics of maturity, the qualities of final integration in identity, health, and happiness that underlie Rumi's life and work.

Chapter III :
The Human Situation and Self-realization

By 1261, the year he began the Mathnawi, Rumi had already integrated his personality. Having resolved the conflicts in his heart, he now experienced oneness with all. He had undergone rebirth numerous times and easily related himself to humanity, for whom he felt a great concern and desire to guide. At the request of a new bosom friend, Husam al-Din (generally known as Ibn Akhi),¹ Rumi interpreted the human situation and the seeker’s path to perfection during his nightly dances. To the accompaniment of the reed,² Rumi related to Husam al-Din the essence of man’s inward state. This practice continued for about ten years.

In the six volumes of the Mathnawi, Rumi reveals the innermost activities of man’s soul in quest of certainty. He calls the Mathnawi: “the root of the root of the root of religion in respect to its unveiling of the mysteries of attaining truth and certainty … it is as a station and most excellent as a resting place.”¹ He now speaks as a guide with none of the emotional instability he revealed in Diwan-e-Shams. In a continuous way he tries to awaken the seekers and bring them out of their present state of disharmony so that they may realize the human situation and regain their harmony. Not only does the Mathnawi explain the human situation in terms of the existing cultural media (forms of communication), but it demonstrates the way of becoming a fully-born man. It thus raises certain questions: What is the human situation as Rumi sees it? What are its forces and tendencies? What is the true way and why?

I

As the previous section indicated, Rumi believed that man, as a copy of the universe, originated from the non-phenomsnal world, and passed through various stages (primarily plant and animal) to his present life, in which he now possesses infinite potentialities. Arising out of the essence which produced the state of oneness, man passed through the state of “he-ness” to become “I-ness.”² Beneath these veils man’s essence has remained the same, but he must now unveil it to gain a better union with all. He can only attain this end by allowing himself to be born and reborn.

To Rumi man possesses every kind of being in his unconscious. Rumi compares man’s unconscious to the sea, where every kind of animal, plant, and mineral exists. Like a calm sea, the human soul in its depth carries a sample of the whole creation, which we are unaware of and cannot see. Yet a wave may bring some of the sea’s contents to the surface. Though the source of the wave (motivation) may be the same, the natural forces in man can presumably bring to the surface any creature—a sea dragon, snake, plant, or animal, useful or dangerous, or even a precious pearl. Thus, man has potentially inherited a force which can direct him to a bestial state or elevate him. In an evolutionary sense this force has progressed until it has manifested itself in man’s reason. At this state reason has found itself challenged by man’s animal tendencies; out of its contradictions man must either go beyond reason to attain the state of certainty (Nafs-e-Mutma‘inna),¹ or fall downward into Nafs-e-Ammara.² Intuition and the power of spontaneous living comprise the former; evil belongs to the latter. An integrated man possesses Nafs (the natural instinctive force), reason (in the scholastic and Aristotelian sense), intuition, and love.

Indeed, so contradictory is man’s nature that he can rarely harmonize these discordant elements. Disharmony appears most often between the tendencies of Nafs-e-Ammara and reason, reason and Nafse-Mutma‘inna, intuition and reason. Yet ultimately one tendency may come to dominate the others. One might well ask at this point: What kind of character does a man develop when Nafs-e-Ammara becomes dominant, or when reason rules supreme? What happens when the voice of reason fails to give man a satisfactory answer to his existential problem? What happens when the inner voice challenges reason? Rumi takes up all these questions in the Mathnawi, in addition to discussing the corresponding character types which appear in man. He also cites historical examples to arouse man so that he may realize himself.

When the forces of Nafs-e-Ammara dominate, man reacts in a specific way; he pays no heed to God at all, but worships such things as women, other men, and wealth, while neglecting God entirely. At the next stage he worships only God, but if he progresses still further he attains silence, regardless of whether he serves God or not.¹

The dominance of Nafs-e-Ammara in man’s situation increases his rational insecurity. Relating one’s self to immediate pleasures encourages regressive tendencies. Nafs-e-Ammara gains its dominance by opposing reason, for in the ontogenetic development of the individual and the history of mankind, reason has appeared when impulses have held the controlling power. Therefore, the path of Nafs-e-Ammara is initially the one of least resistance.

Before proceeding with this discussion, it might be helpful to discuss the character of Nafs-e-Ammara.¹ Rumi compares it to a snare, very attractive on the outside but under which lurks a trap. He illustrates this situation by relating how a hunter captured a Hoopoe, even though the bird had watched him prepare the trap. In due time the Hoopoe, forgetting the trap, snapped at the grain and was caught.² Rumi gives many similes for Nafs. It may appear as a poppy seed which produces nostalgia; or fire, which if activated in man’s soul, becomes a source of unrest, never permitting him to achieve a state of security. In the animal form, Nafs becomes man’s companion, eventually poisoning him. Rumi relates the story of a snake-catcher, who having found a frozen dragon, boasted that he had hunted it. However, the warm Baghdad sun revived the animal, whose loud cry paralyzed the man into a state of fear.³ In other stories Nafs appears as a bear, camel, or mouse. In one story a man courageously saved a bear from the mouth of a dragon. In gratitude, the bear followed the man about like a dog. Despite the advice of a friend (guide) to forsake the bear’s company, the man continued the relationship. Then one day while on a trip through the jungle the man fell asleep. Sitting near him, the bear brushed away the flies that buzzed about the man, but when they did not stop the bear angrily picked up a millstone and flung it at the man’s face.¹

To describe Nafs even more explicitly, Rumi presents Satan in a scene denouncing a Muslim Caliph:

Why do you complain to God of me, O simpleton? Complain of the wickedness of that vile fleshy soul [Nafs].

You eat halwa (sweetmeat), (then) boils break out in you, fever lays hold of you, your health is disordered.

You curse Iblis, guiltless (though he is). How do you not see (that) that deception (proceeds) from yourself?

It is not the fault of Iblis, it is (the fault) of yourself. O misguided one, that you are running like a fox towards the sheep’s fat tail.

•••

Your love of (sensual) things makes you blind and deaf; your black fleshy soul is the culprit: do not quarrel (with others).²

From all these stories Rumi builds up a picture of Nafs-e-Ammara as being artful, cunning, motivated by evil, and possessing a passion-producing nature. In the form of lust it robs the mind of intelligence, the heart of reverence. It is the mother-idol, which compels man to seek material aims in life and deprives him of growth, or it may even create in the mind such idols as greed, lust, and love of power per se.

In a social sense Nafs manifests itself as the search for power; those who exchange their genuine human character for power, seek immediate pleasure, become servile, or slaves of wealth. The power of Nafs develops in the mind such a craving that a ruler willingly commits inhumane actions to satisfy it. The evil in man’s nature, like a voracious crab, consumes all his humane qualities. Thus, to gain security the power-seekers strive to possess and use power at the expense of their fellow-men. They become a tool of power, wealth, and their carnal desires. Those who want to succeed must fully develop the art of guile and treachery, and act in such a way as to secure more power.

Rumi maintains that Nafs in its regressive tendencies makes its followers slaves of their own life situation. With increased use, Nafs (like love) gains in strength until it governs the individual’s whole life. Never satisfied, it is like the tasting of salty fish: the more one eats the more he craves water. A man in such a situation finds relief and nullifies his insecurity and suspiciousness by creating fear in others. Out of his own base needs and state of mind he compels everyone to obey him without question. He expects others to worship him as a leader and god. In the spiritual sense such a figure creates idols, which he worships and desires so that even indirectly people will relate themselves to him, particularly if his own image is somewhat tainted. He also requires others to relate themselves to him by sacrificing and working for his glory.

In brief, he alienates himself by becoming a means to power, lust, and wealth; in turn, others, in becoming his property, suffer the same fate. Rumi also emphasizes that these vain individuals in their conceit and indulgence in passion become slaves of pleasure without knowing that this thirst derives from self-conceit. Such people permit their self-conceit for an object to increase, with the result that their illness grows. Either power enslaves them, or they humiliate themselves in order to satisfy their pleasure-seeking goals. Habituation to certain pleasures leads to undesirable habits. By pursuing only that which secures their unhealthy situation, these people will gradually alienate themselves from others. To maintain the status quo they become prejudiced, and their prejudice eliminates opposing individuals and their ideas. Here Rumi compares the interpersonal relationship of powerful individuals to those whom they ruled, or the divergencies of power between different sects as Jews versus Christians, Muslims versus Zoroastrians, and within each of these. The one who is power-driven destroys his opposition by using fear and other means. For example, he may psychologically relate himself to a dominant leader of the simple people and at the price of blind loyalty may manipulate people so as to attain his selfish goal. Such a man, if in that position, pretends to devote himself to their spiritual aims and convinces them that he can arbitrate and guide their actions. The people, ignorant of his true aims, judge him only outwardly and impart their secrets to him. Their trust in him creates conformity and strengthens his cause. In time he designs plots to divide those of the same faith and creates rivalries among leaders so that they may, in turn, eliminate themselves.

Rumi illustrates this point with the story of a strong-willed vizier who, in the service of a powerful Jewish king, parsuaded him to carry out a plan to destroy the Christians. As part of this scheme, the vizier planned to develop an image of himself among the Christians so that he could entirely misguide them. At his own insistence the vizier requested that the King cut off his ears on the pretence that he was a Christian and exile him. In this way the vizier readily gained the confidence of the Christians. In due time he presented to each of the twelve lead...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• CONTENTS
• Introduction
• I. An Analysis of Persian Culture
• II. Rebirth in Love and Creativity : An Analysis of Rumi
• III. The Human Situation and Self-Realization
• IV. The Contribution of Rumi to the Situation of Modern Man