RUMI'S INFLUENCE IN THE WEST

As widely known, Islam attaches a high value to science and knowledge. The Prophet said: "Seeking knowledge is an obliga­tion upon every Muslim. " In another tradition, he said: "Wisdom is the lost property of the believer. He takes it wherever he finds it, encouraging the Muslims to seek knowledge and wisdom wherever or in whatever country it may be. It is for this reason that during the reign of Caliph Mansur, the founder of the city of Baghdad, the Muslims took Kalila and Dimna which is among the greatest master pieces of the world from the East and translated it into Arabic, just as they translated the works of Plato, Ptolemy, Porphyry, Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Galen from Greek into Arabic. Islamic scholars have written commentaries on and criticisms of these Western works. They almost preserved these books for humankind because before the Renaissance, these ancient Greek texts had been banned in Europe by the clergymen who had turned their backs on true science. For this reason, it can be said that after the Renaissance European scientists learned Greek philosophy from the works of the Muslim scholars who tru­ly loved scientific thought.

Science and knowledge or rather civilization is not the pos­session of a single nation or religion. No nation can claim that civilization belongs exclusively to it. Civilization is the common product of all humankind. From the stone-age up to today, humans of different colors and different religions have lived in different parts of the world and spoken different languages, and all have contributed to civilization. Islam and Islamic scholars have made many contributions to the Western civilization of which Westerners are proud.

The biggest mistake of the West was that it lacked love and mercy. In an open letter to Jesus written by Suleyman Nazif, a modern Turkish poet, Nazif complains of the exploitation, oppression, and injustice that Westerners were committing toward weaker nations that could not protect themselves. Iqbal mentioned that the spirit of Jesus was crucified everyday by Westerners. Just as there have been people who loved justice and truth in all parts of the world, even if few in number, there have been also such noble-spirited people in Europe and America. For example, Washington Irving in America, Thomas Carlyle in England, and Goethe in Germany saved themselves from religious in tolerance and showed sympathy toward Islam. When the American historian Washington Irving was in Spain as an ambassador, he was fascinated by the art­work that remained from the Andalusian Muslims of Spain. After deepening his knowledge about Islamic history, he wrote books on Muhammad and his Companions. In his book Heroes, the English historian Thomas Carlyle wrote sections praising the Prophet of Islam that reflect the truth. To those who did not understand the Prophet because of religious bigotry, he said: "Humanity should listen to the voice of Muhammad. His voice is God's voice.

Goethe, who not only is one of Germany's but also the world's greatest poets, was more courageous. He thoroughly studied Islamic history and literature. He brought forward the Prophet Muhammad's character in many of his books, criticisms, and poems. In his works, Goethe compared the East and the West and tried to show that they complement each other. Goethe's interest in Islam and his being inspired by Islam until the end of his life was possible in particular because of the direction of Herder, a scholar, philosopher, and literary man. Goethe carefully studied the Latin and German translations of the Holy Qur'an and explained some of the verses according to his understanding, and hence he took pleasure and inspiration from it. Goethe also wrote a play called Muhammad in the year 1773. The play began with a prayer called "Muhammad's Supplication. " In the play Prophet Muhammad is depicted in his youth. The Prophet had retired to the desert, praying under the stars in the open sky. The supplica­tion of Muhammad ends with these words: "O heart that is renewed and revitalized with love! Ascend toward your Creator! O Lord, you are my only God. You are the love that encompass­es everything. O my God, you are the One who created the sun,the moon, the stars, the earth, the sky, and me. " Goethe, who was a poet as well as a natural scientist and philosopher, saw the truth, showed interest in the East, and had respect and love for Islam and the Prophet of Islam. He was not only a great scholar but also a man of gnosis. His following view is a living example of his gnosis: He did not distinguish people as being Easterners or Westerners, viewing all humanity as one: Goethe says, "A person who duly knows his identity and human nature knows that the West and the East are interrelated, and it is impossible for them to be separate. "

If this view of Goethe and the view of Rumi, who viewed all human beings as siblings, were adopted by the administra­tions of the stronger nations that rule the world today, wars would stop and people would not massacre each other. Hunger, oppression, tyranny, imprisonment, exile, and massacres would be erased from the face of the earth. The rights of the people with black skin in South Africa would have been recognized ear­lier. The guerillas would not slaughter innocent people. The Turks in Bulgaria would not be tortured because of their beliefs. Bombs would not rain down on the towns and villages in Afghanistan. Just as America and Russia worked hand-in-hand to save the whale that was stuck in the ice at a cost of two bil­lion dollars, they would also feel compassion toward and save the oppressed people that armed soldiers kill and torture by beating them with sticks, which we watch on television almost every night like a sporting event.

Understanding that Islam is a religion of love and affection that sees all as equal regardless of their skin color, or race, Bernard Shaw (d. 1951) said: "The future religion of humanity is going to be Islam. " Goethe had understood this truth before Bernard Shaw when he said: "If Islam means to submit to the will of God, then we all live and die with Islam. " Goethe, who was so sympa­thetic to Islam and the Prophet of Islam, was of course destined to discover Rumi, the lover of humanity and the lover of God. In his book entitled The West-Eastern Divan, Goethe recites the following quatrain from Rumi: "You arc seeking peace and comfort in this world. But this world passes like a dream. You want to travel and see many places. But destiny makes you trip and it will not let you. You can tolerate neither heat nor cold. And the flow­ers you attempt to smell wither at once. "

Until the end of the eighteenth century, very little was known about Rumi and the Mevlevi order in Europe. Toward the end of that century, a French ambassador named J. de Wallenbourg, who lived in Istanbul for some time, translated the complete Mesnevi into French. Unfortunately, there was a fire in Beyoglu in 1799, and this important work was burnt to ashes. Hammer, who was a very well known German Orientalist in Turkey and author of The Ottoman History, was also interested in Rumi's work. Indicating the importance of the. Divan-i Kabir, Hammer writes:

By separating from the exoteric differences and world affairs of all the positive religions, Rumi found the Supreme and Everlasting Being, and on the wings of highest spiritual joys and pleasure, he rose to levels that other poets (including Hafiz) could not reach. Rumi not only transcends the sun and the moon but also time and space, creation, the assembly of Alast, and the Judgment Day and reaches infinity, and from there he attains the Absolute Being that is Everlasting and Everpresent and represents the ultimate servant, the infinite love and lover.

Unfortunately, Hammer's translations of the Mesnevi and the Divan-i Kabir are not as beautiful and eloquent as his trans­lations of Hafiz. But although these translations did not reflect the wonderful, deep meanings of Rumi's poetry, they were very important because they introduced Rumi to the West. Hammer also came to live in Turkey for some time. It can be said accu­rately that during his time in Istanbul, he regularly visited libraries and attended ceremonies in Mevlevi lodges, where he also collected couplets and quatrains that were recited during these ceremonies. The following couplet is among these poems that he collected and appears in Rumi's original Persian: "Alas, love, its states and its pain! The fire of love has burnt my heart. "

In those years the odes of Friedrich Ruckert (d. 1866) were published in Germany These odes all expressed divine love. Ruckert, who is regarded as the most well-known German Orientalist, tried to introduce the divine love that Rumi expressed in his poems to the Germans by employing the ode form for the first time in Germany In fact, Friedrich Ruckert was not only a great German Orientalist but also a great Sufi. With the encouragement and help of Hammer, he learned Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. He was a lover of God in spirit. He fell in love with Rumi after read­ing the honorable Mesnevi and the Divan-i Kabir. He found him­self in Rumi. He translated forty-four of Rumi's odes into German verse. He published these translations that he composed with love and feeling, their deep meanings in his heart, in Stuttgart in 1820 under the title Odes. After two years, Ruckert's selections were published in Leipzig under the title Ostliche Rosen (Eastern Roses). Afterwards he translated in verse form poets like Sa'di, Hafiz, and Jami. With his work, Ruckert wanted to show Europeans the greatness of the Sufis of Islam and make them feel the divine love that these Sufis express. In order to have an idea about the translations that this great poet and Sufi com­posed, I am presenting the poem The Rose' selected from the Divan-i Kabir and translated into German with its original. This poem smells of roses:

Today is a spring day, a day of joy and happiness. This year where the roses bloom more than usual is the year of the roses.

In this season of spring our state and condition are very good. May the state and condition of the rose be good as well.

Help has arrived from beyond, from the rose garden of the Friend's face. Therefore, our eyes won't see the rose wither and its leaves falling.

Everybody's eyes are in awe before the rose's beauty, elegance, magnificence, color, and smell. In the garden it is smil­ing with its beautiful mouth. Sesame is whispering the secrets of the nightingale's love and the virtues of the rose into the ear of the cypress tree.

In order to do us a favor, to make us sense its fragrance better, the rose has come to us running and tearing its clothes. We, too, are tearing our clothes because we have reunited with the rose, and we want to be closer to the rose.

The rose has come from beyond; it is from the other world. That's why this world cannot encompass the rose.

The rose is so graceful, so elegant that the world of dreams is too narrow to dream of the rose.

Who is meant by "the rose"? A messenger from the garden of the intellect, from the grove of spirit? What is "the rose"? A document that describes the beauty and the highness of the rose of truth that neither turns brown nor withers.

Let us hold onto the rose's skirt and be its fellow traveler so that we may journey happily to the origin of the rose, the ever­lasting rose shoot.

The origin of the rose, the everlasting rose shoot, has sprung from the sweat of Mustafa, peace and blessings be upon him, and has grown from His grace.

Thanks to that Gracious Being, it turned from a crescent to a full moon. You may pluck the rose's leaves and break its branches and yet they grant it a new spirit, a new life, they bestow it with hands and wings.

See how the rose has answered the invitation of the spring. Just like Abraham's, the Friend of God, four pigeons that were resurrected after being killed and returned to their master.

O Master, be silent! Don't open your lips. Sit in the rose's shadow and just like the rosebud; secretly smile with your lips.

This poem, every line of which smells of roses, was translated by Ruckert, a lover of Rumi and a lover of God.

Through Ruckert's odes, Rumi became known in Germany, and with this book the ode form entered German literature. Soon, another German translation of Divan-i Shems-i Tabrizi, which contains selected poems from Rumi's Divan-i Kabir., appeared. Toward the end of the last century scholars and intellectuals all over the world have begun to show interest in Rumi and his works. In one of his books, Ethe, a famous German Orientalist described Rumi as "the greatest Sufi poet of the East and at the time. " In Germany, Rumi's work has been studied extensively by Helmut Ritter, who also is very well known in Turkey. This great scholar produced very valuable studies about Rumi's life, poetry, the reed flute, and whirling ceremonies that were based on the oldest manuscripts. With his studies on the history of Sufism, he helped us to understand better many aspects of Rumi. One also should not forget the great poet and lover of Rumi, Hans Meinke (d. 1974), who was influenced very much by Rumi. Meinke, who first got to know Rumi through the works of German Orientalists, was fascinated by the Divine Love in Rumi and dedicated all his poetry to Rumi. He also traveled to Konya to rub his face against the threshold of Rumi's tomb. Although this poet did not know Persian, he felt Rumi's spirit and especially the infinite Divine Love in Rumi's poems and reflected it surprisingly well in the hundred odes that he wrote in Rumi's name. As an example, I am presenting one of his poems as it appears translated from German into Turkish by Mehmet Onder:

O Rumi, since I became you,
The turmoil stopped..,
O Rumi, since I became you,
North has become south and south has become north.
One pole has created the other pole.
Chaos has melted in harmony.
At the shore of the pulsating sea,
Tell me if there has remained any silent gulf.
Tell me if in your sight,
Has there remained any meaningless word?
Is there a man who doesn't dance?
O Rumi, I am the center of the circle of the heavens,
Till I became you.

We also should remember the famous orientalist and an admirer of Rumi, Prof. Annemarie Schimmel with respect. Of the orientalists in the West, Schimmel has written the largest number of books and articles about Rumi. She not only has written about Rumi in German, English, and Turkish but also has translated Iqbal's Javidname into Turkish and has written a commentary on it.

Just as different people understand and value Rumi accord­ing to their own personal views, talents, inclinations, perceptions, and thoughts, different nations have approached Rumi in their own ways. A careful study will show that among all European nations, the Germans and the British are the nations that have concentrated most on Rumi. The disciplined, hard working, skillful German nation has at the same time a mystical spirit. For example, Martin Luther (d. 1546), who began the Reformation, is a German. Since Germans are inclined to faith and religion in spirit, they have identified themselves with Rumi and have worked on Rumi's books more than any other nation in Europe, except for the British.

As far as the British interest in Rumi, Hippolyte Taine (d. 1893), an expert in English literature, maintained that the inhab­itants of the British Isles, which are separated geographically from continental Europe and surrounded with thick fog and high waves, were not content with their surroundings and feel ing the urge to open up to the outside world, they sought out something overseas. Unlike the French who are theoretical and Italians who are artistic and ponderous in nature, the determined and pragmatic British also have a strong inclination toward mys­tical thought. Their love of experimentation, dislike of concepts imposed on them, and more logical approach to emotions have lead the British to understand Rumi more deeply and study him thoroughly.

We shall end this section with the British admirers of Rumi. In 1881, Sir James W Redhouse translated in verse the first vol­ume of the Mesnevi into English. He also included a number of stories from Aflaki's Manqibu'l-Arifin at the beginning of his translation. E. H. Whinfield studied all six volumes of the Mesnevi. He then translated in verse selected passages and published them in 1898 under the name Mesnevi-i Manavi. In his shortened Mesnevi in verse, Whinfield summarized the stories and then dili­gently translated into English the portions about spiritual matters in rhyme and meter. The fact that this Mesnevi translation was republished twice in 1979 and 1984 shows how positively this translation was received. In 1898, in the foreword of the first edi­tion, E. H. Whinfield introduced the. Mesnevi to the English read­ers, writing: "The Mesnevi addresses those who leave the world, try to know and to be with God, efface their selves and devote themselves to spiritual contemplation. "

E. H. Palmer, who is known in England for his remarkable studies in Sufism, published selected poems of Rumi in a work titled Song of the Reed. With this publication, Rumi was intro­duced not only to the British audience but also to all the people in the English speaking world. In a periodical published in 1886, ascholar named J. Scherr wrote about Rumi: "I swear that there has appeared no lover of God sweeter and more charming than Rumi in the world. " R. A. Nicholson, regarded as one of the greatest Orientalists and Rumi scholars, produced his first work on Rumi with the translation of a number of selected poems. In this book titled Selected Poems from the Divan-i Shams-i Tabriz there are forty-eight poems selected from the Divan-i Kabir. The original text of each ode is included in the book as well as its translation, which is placed on the following page. There are also explanations at the end of this book. One should confess the fact that in Turkey, there is no Rumi anthology published that is as well prepared, as tastefully and carefully selected, nor as inclusive of the original text.

One also should note that the previously mentioned Orientalists-the British scholar Graham, the German Orientalist Hammer, and the German Sufi poet Ruckert-declared that all the poems in the copies of the Divan-i Shamns-i Tabrizi and Divan-i Shamsu'l-Haqa'iq to which they had access were authen­tic poems by Rumi. Since the edition of the Divan-i Kabir that was put together carefully by the Tehran University Professor Furuzanfar and published in Tehran did not exist at that time, these works that contain poems that do not belong to Rumi have misled Western Orientalists.

This great lover of Rumi worked all his life and with Rumi's inspiration and spiritual influence translated many invaluable works of other Sufis and other poets into English and showed the path to many people with a taste for gnosis. But the most important work of Nicholson is the translation of and commen­tary on the six volumes of the Mesnevi. In this work that was published in eight volumes beginning in 1925, Nicholson pro­duced the Mesnev's most reliable text as well as its translation and commentary. Nicholson was not only a great Orientalist and a renowned scholar but also a great lover of God. As related by his friends and students, he would shed tears during Mesnevi lectures, becoming enraptured. In a room of his house decorated in oriental fashion, he would prepare the explanation of the Mesnevi dressed in clothing wearing the long, round Mevlevi hat on his head. It is said that Nicholson completed this commentary in forty years.

A. J. Arberry who headed the Oriental Languages Department at Cambridge University after Nicholson, followed the same path as his predecessor and continued to translate Rumi's works into English. In addition to translating Rumi's quatrains and Fihi Ma, fih into English, he also published a selec­tion of tales from the Mesnevi in two volumes. A few years prior to his death, Arberry said to a close friend: "I will devote the remaining years of my life exclusively to study Rumi's work because it is possible to find spiritual cures and consolation for the miseries of our time in it. "

I also should quote these sentences from a speech by E. W E Tomlin, former chairman of the Turkish-English Cultural Committee, that he delivered at the memorial celebrations for Rumi in 1960: "In spite of the elevation of Rumi's thought there is also a phenomenon called concrete imagination. This infiltrates the reader's spirit and attracts him to itself. Whenever I read passages from Rumi, it reminds me of Chaucer. But Chaucer (d. 1400), who is one of the most distinguished per­sonalities of English literature, does not have religious views as deep as those of Rumi. One cannot reach the truth immediately. As Rumi says in the first book of the Mesnevi 'God has set up a ladder in front of us. We have to climb it step by step. ' I find the truth that Rumi has brought not only to his home country but also to us all in the fourth book of his Mesnevi: 'The believ­ers are many but men are one. ' I will conclude my speech with a quote from Rumi that points to the same truth and is an exam­ple of the above-mentioned concrete imagination: 'The sunlight from the sky is thousand-fold with respect to the courtyards that it illuminates. But if you remove the walls from in between, all these fragmented lights arc one and the same thing. '

Although in the last few centuries Turkey has had the strongest contact with the French people among the European nations, the Erench did not exhibit the same interest in Rumi as did the British and the German. However, the French explorers who traveled through the Ottoman Empire were very interested in the whirling ceremonies in the Mevlevi lodges. They had included these ceremonies in their memoirs, and some painters painted whirling dervishes, which increased this interest. C. L. Huart, a French Orientalist who visited Konya in 1897, wrote a book on Konya. He later translated Maid's Manaqibu'l-Arifin into French under the tide Whirling Dervishes. This translation led Maurice Barres, a famous literary figure and a French Academy member, to visit Konya. Barres, who visited Rumi's lodge and shrine in Konya in 1919, took notes which in 1923 he published under the title An Interview in the Eastern Countries. Mehmet Onder translated some sections from this book in 1969 under the name In the Presence of Rumi.

Maurice Barres, this lover of Rumi, begins his memoirs as follows:

I can't wait. I want to see Rumi's lodge, whirling hall and shrine, experience his Divine rapture and hear the melodies of his poetry. He is such a genius that odor, light, music, and a lit­tle bit of bohemianism emanate from him. His original expres­sions in the poetry arc vivid and divine. It enraptures the reader. Only the reader? No. Jalal al-Din Rumi himself is in rapture and whirling in his poems. He placed a book in our hands so as to draw us into his magical atmosphere. If I am fortunate I will see the Mevlevi dervishes, the followers of his path, who very proficiently perform his music. His memory has been liv ing for seven hundred years from generation to generation, and his name is mentioned around his tomb more enthusiasticallv every day. How fortunate am I!

From Asaf Halet Celebi's translation of the same book, Barres confesses: "In my opinion, the life of no poet, whom I consider to be the messengers of the world of enthusiasm, light, and joy, com-pares to the life of Rumi. After seeing the dervishes whirling and singing to his rhythm I noticed that there is something lacking in Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, and Hugo. " Barres' book received much attention in France and many French scholars, literary per-sonalities, and poets were introduced to Rumi. Also Mme Myriam Harry published a book entitled Mevlana Jalalu'd-deen in 1956. Today in Paris Prof. Eva de Vitray has been studying Rumi and his works, and has completed a work titled Rumi find Sufism. Prof. Irene Melikoff, a lover of Rumi, also works in this area.

In Italy, too, there are admirers of Rumi. We must remem­ber the Rome University Professors Alessander Bausani and Anna Masala. In Holland, Prof. Brakell Busy and Dr. Carp, in Denmark, Prof. Asmussen, and in Switzerland, Prof. Burgel, all are among the admirers of Rumi. In recent years there is increasing interest in Rumi in Russia. The broad research done in 1972 by Radi Fis in Moscow on Rumi's life, views, and books is an example of this interest.

In the United Stated there is great admiration for Rumi. He deserves the title of the most read poet in America. His influence is evident in academia as well as Sufi circles. There are many names who have written on Rumi. William Chittick, Kabir Helminski, Colman Barks, and recently Franklin Lewis are some examples. Also, there arc institutions dedicated to the teachings of Rumi.

I grabbed reason by its ear and said: "O reason! Get out, today I am saved from you. O reason, take your hand off me. Today I attained insanity, and held on to it. "

May the people with reason be far from the lovers of God. May the smell coming from the drain pipe of a bath remain far from the zephyr. If someone with reason comes to our assem­bly do not let him in, but if a lover of God comes, welcome him and say, 'Welcome, you have honored us' to him hundreds of times. Love shies away from the light of reason. It is a very bad thing to become old at a young age.

You have two heads. One is the head of earth that belongs to this world; the other is the spiritual head that belongs to the heavens.

What Rumi describes as the reason that provides us with material benefits, makes us superior to the animals, is apparent­ly the reason that is our material mind, which Rumi calls "the head of earth." At the first stage, Rumi praised this kind of rea­son, and then he found reason to be insufficient, rejected it, and left it behind. After saying that it is crazy to carry this material reason, he began describing the other spiritual reason that is in our other head that belongs to the heavens. It is clear that we can attain God and truth only through the reason in the pure head that belongs to the heavens.

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