Rumi's Nest 11/16 Issue 1

Rumi's N est M ev l ev i Cu l t u r e M agazi n e I ssu e 1 | N ov em ber 2016

"Only the unity pulls down the ca stle of na fs..."

Ha zr at Sha ms

In dex 3

Hello

4

The Self and t he Man

8

What is Naf s?

12

I nside Me

16

Poem s f r om Divan-?Kebir -Na't -?Ali

18

The Jeweler of t he Univer se

22

I nt er view of t he Mont h

30

Love of Ahl al-Bayt

34

Fr om Soul To Soul

38

Sult an Veled Divan?

40

Hum an Being I n Love Wit h His Own Cor

42

The Lodges of Mevlevi Der vishes I n Tur key and On The Wor ld

44

Mevlevi Or der

48

Relat ionship Bet ween Mevlevi Or der and Music

52

A Holy and Aest het ic Discipline in Mevleviyeh: Lit erat ur e

56

Finding t he Fr iend

60

The I nvit at ion of t he Exalt ed Rum i f r om Being a Ser vant t o Being a God

62

The St or y of Ayaz

66

I n The Pr esence of Divine Love

Photos and Illustrations: Çetin Güne?, Teoman Atalay, Didem Andaç, Turner Baydar, Teoman Y?lmaz, Yusuf Köro?lu ve Anonym

Translations: Zafer Ali Gezgin, Salih Ökten, Asl?Dikenelli, Nur Y?ld?z, Sena Palab?y?k, P?nar Dinçkurt, Cansu Z. Kaplanta?, Burak Ülker, ?eniz Do?an, Özlem Bilge

3

H

ello to all ?Rumi?s Nest? Readers, Inside Hazreti Mevlana?s Mesnevi, volume 1 (b.685), it says;

?We were all spread out and were the only essence.

There we were headless and footless, were the essence like the sun, were untangled and pure like water.

When that beautiful and elegant divine light turns into an image, the numbers are revealed just like the castle tower ?s shadow.?

We have prepared our magazine to introduce to you the Mevlevi teachings and practices in order to reach unity from all numbers.

We wanted to share with you all the Mevlevi guardians that lived from the past to our date, the details of the road they have weaved containing knots, their customs and fundamentals, the dervish lodges where they lived and engaged in education, music, craft and worship. We start this issue with with the first section of the interview we realized with our spiritual leader, Hasan Dede.

We tried to introduce the key figure for the phrase ?I am slave to the Quran as long as I live. I am dust of Hazreti Muhammed?s feet. If anyone quotes me any other way, I will be agitated of him and will be complaining of that statement? , Pir Muhammed Celaleddin Rumi with different sections from his life, known as the founder of Mevlevi teachings and practices. Later we shared wishes and thoughts from yesterday and today including ?What is nafs (self)? , ?Inside Me?; Introduction to Mevlevi rituals and composers from the past to today; ?Ayaz?s Story? from Mesnevi, ?Na?t?Ali? from Divan-?Kebir, Eulogy selected from Sultan Veled?s Divan, "Ahl al-Bayt", "Human Basic of the Universe", "Finding the Friend" and "Human is in Love with ?t?s Own Essence", as well as search for love, submission, struggle with soul and places where the soul nourishes. The resources we have consulted to are the work of our Pir and the guardians that have followed and stood side with him. With this respect in our magazine it is him that is describing Himself.

No matter what our title is, in its essence we share Hazreti Mevlana?s guidance for enlightening power; the soul treasure of our Hasan Dede who liberally mentions the merit of how to be a ?Human? through all his conservations; the power of love that transforms us, matures us and beautifies us! ?Even if you are a solid stone, or end up as marble, if you reach a sould holder, you will become a pearl.?

We wish that with every page you turn, it will introduce and share the teachings with new knowledge of Hazreti Mevlana and his representative today, Hasan Dede, nurturing your soul.

Looking to be UN?TED with every issue through beauty? Hu!

The Heritage of the Universal Mevlana Lovers - EMAV

The Self and the M an Hasan Dede

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G

lorious Mohammad says: ?If I told you about the enemy hidden in you, you?d be scared to death, even the greatest minds would be destroyed. The shine of prayer would be erased from the hearts, they?d have no strength for fasting or namaz. The one who knows this is like a mouse in the hands of a cat, surprised like a sheep that just saw a wolf.

He also said: ?If you knew what I knew; you?d cry a lot and laugh little. You?d have no appetite for food. You wouldn?t even drink water with desire. You wouldn?t go under a roof for shelter. You?d running towards the mountains and hills, hitting your chest and crying for your self.?

The hidden enemy inside us is the self, the ego. It will scare you and leave no appetite in you for the world, but you still have to face it.

You will only see God In your soul if you seek that treasure hidden in your self.

Master Rumi says: ?There is a soul within your soul, seek it, There is a treasure in your mountain, seek it, If you?re looking for the walking dervish, don?t seek him outside, Seek him in your self.?

This seeking is not easy for sure, it is challenging. The mud will have to settle for the clarity to appear and that depends on the suffering you go through.

Glorious Rumi also says ?To settle the dust and reveal the purity, our minds have to go through so much suffering. Summer and Winter tests, the heat of Summer, the Spring full of life, the winds,

the clouds, thunders, all happenings , these are all for the precious gem to appear in the earth. The warriors heart will be light some days and heavy the next, in and out of trouble.?

In Sufism there are seven levels of liberation from the self. As you go through these steps you start to gain control over your ego. But glorious Rumi cuts to the chase and simplifies our way. He summarizes this journey in three steps: ?I was raw, I was cooked, and I got burned..?.

Self is the biggest enemy on the road to getting cooked and Rumi describes this dragon that stands on our way with these words and warns us: ?Don?t ever become a friend with your self, any other friends are welcome! Be wise and detach yourself from your ego! That is your true scary enemy.?

In reality, having such a great enemy is the indication of how great man really is. There is a hidden essence in humans. Rumi says in his book FihiMafih: ?They say there is something in the self of humans which is not available in animals or devils...this doesn?t mean that man are more evil than those creatures. The true meaning is that humans have a hidden essence that is hidden behind these bad habits, evil and sins. The bigger the treasure, the greater will be the chest that is necessary to hide it. So in our case, sins and evil thoughts are the cases of our pearls, our essence. This case can only be broken with hard work. If the lock is big, there must be something valuable behind it. Behind a big curtain must be a great ornament.

There is an evil snake on top of the treasure but don?t worry about its ugliness, keep your eye on the treasure.?

Rumi also likens human body to a chest. Since the essence of human being is arrested within the chest, it suffers. However if the disciple gives his love and affection to a higher being, his character disappears and the higher being starts to reveals itself through this person. This whole world is tiny when compared to the glory of our true nature. We can?t put it into words because words are limited to the limited extent of our minds.

"I wa s r aw, I wa s cooked, a nd I got bur ned..."

Mevlana Rumi

Why? Because these aren't things that can be explained to everyone, you can try but they won't be able to grasp it. That's why Rumi says "If I were to try and explain Human, that would take forever."

Then why does the mind which is full of desire for God and the Truth, so easily loses against the self which is full of cruelty?

Glorious Rumi's answer is: "Why?

6 Because this body is the cozy home of the self, where the mind is an exile. Even a dog would feel like a scary lion at its own home."

But Rumi's door is not a door of despair. He has a stronger antidote against this enemy and its poison; he says: "In this world which is ruled by the egos, there are such great minds that leaves the ego powerless.

This land of poison also erupted an antidote to beat it, dear son! Come and take shelter in me. I'm closer to you than the self. The words of the self are like a spell which destroys you. My words may also sound like a spell, l but they have the power to break the spell of the self."

So who is this antidote? He is Mohammad, Rumi and all the enlightened beings that followed their paths and claimed their souls.

The seeker of God is thirsty, and the enlightened master is the fountain. The master is the water of life for the seeker. Similarly, a patient would go to a doctor to be healed, not the other way around. So if the seeker wants to purify his/her soul, break free from ego and bad habits and know God, he/she should find a master and become a disciple. He/she should be full of compassion, love and faith towards the master and surrender completely.This is the only way to becoming a beautiful human being, in peace, free from ego and troubles.

Everything comes into being from non-existence. All enlightened beings annihilated their selves in the presence of a master and resurrected. After rebirth they continued to follow the path and created benefit for for their communities as beautiful human beings.

Annihilation as described above is to become free from bad habits and attain spiritual enlightenment. Unless you die this way, you're never really alive. You're not alive until you stop living in duality, with an ego and self.

Consequently, the fastest route that takes a human being to God is love. Love takes you to God and makes you disappear in God and attain nonexistence.

Whatever you give your love to, will appear and manifest through you. Hence the seekers should examine themselves carefully and figure out if their passion and desires originate from ego or their true being.

Master Ali who has been raised as a disciple of our glorious master Mohammad says:

7 "They didn't notify you of your birth, nor will they notify you before you die. Always be ready."

"The seeker of God is thir sty, a nd the enlightened ma ster is the founta in..."

Hasan Dede

Sermed Berktav

Our glorious Rumi, inspired by Ali's words above, says: "Dear human beings, your bodies are letter being sent to the Sultan, if they are worthy of being received by Him go ahead, if not tear it apart and write a new one, because you don't have much time..."

Here Sultan refers to God. As soon as we're born, we're on our way to Him...Hence we should be ready every single moment. If readier we are, the more we win. If we don?t care, we'll regret it when the day comes but it'll be too late. What does it mean to be ready? It means to get worldly things out of our hearts and to fill it with the beauty of God. I greet you all with my love and respects. May your every moment be full of light, your hearts be serene, your lives be full of feelings and your path lead you to beauties forever. May the greeting and blessings of the Mohammad, the light of the universe, the Ehlibeyt and our glorious master Rumi be upon you. May God be with you.

W hat is Nafs?

Cezmi I??k

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T

he word ?nafs? was almost written 300 times in Koran. This word was used by philosophers, savants of word, Islamic law, and comment as several meanings such as soul, spirit, heart, body, conceit, reality, core and whole of something. The fact is, the word ?nafs? cannot be written in words because it has deeper meanings. That?s why Kamil Velis are the ones who conceived the nafs best.

We should know that nafs is the roots of all evil.

Savants, saints thought that seeking refuge in Allah to avoid the harm of nafs is more necessary than seeking refuge in Allah to avoid the devil. Because the devil leaves a person in some circumstances. Devil cannot attack to those who approaches Allah with taqwa(abstaining from evel deeds). However, nafs-i ammara(animalistic soul) is not like that. It doesn?t stop following people.

In the descriptions made by many savants nafs was described as; ?the source of diseased qualifications, the origin of all the malignancy and indigenous strength blocking the spirit from increasing to its real universe with its characteristic which hits inside.

Almighty Allah said that: ?Whomever afraid of the position of Rab and forbade obeying to nafs (desires), the one will certainly arrive to the heaven.? [2]

The greatest obstacle for the servant of God in the right way is his nafs. Nafs which cannot be cleaned from intangible dirt is veiled by Almighty Allah, away from obedience, deprived from divine love. This provision is valid in every era. Wild nafs captures a person so bad that it turn that person into its serf. ?Have not you ever seen somebody that sees his whims as his divinity? [1] verse shows how nafs has gone wild and the person by him hit the ground. If one will fear for his faith and religion, the one should fear for his own nafs.

HOW WILL WE DISCIPLINE OUR NAFS Nafs calls people to the sin. Who answers that call and follows nafs may fall to deadlock, cliff or a swamp. Reasonable person is who can discipline his nafs. So, is it possible to defeat nafs? People keep fighting with their nafs all the time in life. Sometimes nafs overcomes us and sometimes we win over it. It is very important for a person to overcome the nafs which is extremely hard. Muhammad, the prophet of Allah, said in one of his sayings that ?your most vital enemy is your nafs inside you.? And drew attention how dangerous nafs is. Nafs uses various weapons to

10 mislead a person. One of the weapons is the lustful command (such capabilities as eating, drinking, speaking and sleeping).

Nafs wants to overcome people by influencing the feelings such as eating drinking and sleeping. One of the poets narrates this fact with this verses: ?Nafs is like a child, one you wean it, it falls. Of you don?t wean, it wants to such more and more. If it grows upon it, you can?t stop it. It gains power and you can?t prevent it. That?s why you need to wean it.?

EAT LESS, SLEEP LESS One can restrain his nafs by providing only the necessary amount of eating and drinking, avoiding the ways which lead a person to extremism and avoiding every kind of word and behavior that remind them. Ibrahim Hakk?

Highness said ?Eat less, sleep less.

Be astonished, be mortal to Divine Truth. Find the everlasting life, be the guest of it in the nights." and sums up the situation perfectly.

The less a person eats and drinks, the less he will sleep. As long as eating, drinking and sleep are decreased ?if Allah lets- Allah will bestow upon dominance on nafs.

Nafs?second weapon is indignation force. Indignation means getting angry easily ? which means burst with anger in colloquial language-, making even a little issue nothing. It is very important for a person to stop himself, not being angry in bad conditions, restrain his nafs. One should be able to calm himself in bad condition that can make him angry. If he can?t calm himself, it means nafs used its anger force.

NAFS USES THE BRAIN Nafs?another weapon is mind. It

"Eat less, sleep less. Be a stonished, be mor ta l to Divine Tr uth. Find the ever la sting life, be the guest of it in the nights."

Hazrat ?brahim Hakk?

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uses mind weapon by engaging in demagoguery, defeating people, showing falsehood as true, illustrating black as white. If one uses this weapon as his nafs, it means he is defeated. If one avoid cheating people and himself with wordiness, he will restrain his nafs and doesn?t let nafs use this weapon.

NAFS CAUSES ANXIETY Besides, a person can think these to restrain his nafs: ?When a person completes his mission, the soul accompanying him will flutter like a pigeon and fly away. It will revert to an infinite universe, ??nna lillahi ve inna ileyhi raciun?( We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return) secret will appear and the person will go the presence of Allah. He will answer to Allah for what he did.

Everything he has done in the world, from needle to strand, will be brought to book.? A person who thinks his end like this can block the anxiety caused by nafs

and he can restrain it. Another method is to think that Allah is omnipresent. Therefore, it will be possible to break nafs?s bones by saying ?Why would I be blind by obeying my nafs??

Kaynak: Nefis nas?l terbiye edilir. Notlar; 1.Casiye/23 2.Naziat, 40-41 3.Semerkand Dergisi, Nefis ve Ahret 7.Yar ?le ?imdi, Dr. Ahmet Ça??l

Anecdote: A friend sent from Allah had this kind of a dialog: ?There was a man in the ancient times. He prayed to Allah for 70 years continuously. He fasted. He broke fast Saturday to Saturday. One day he wished for something from Almighty Allah, however he was rejected.

Therewith, he said to his nafs: Because of your curse, my wish hadn?t been accepted. If you were good, my wish would be accepted certainly! After this, thanks to the sincere words about his nafs of the man, Almighty Allah sent an angel looking like a person. The angel said: ?Dear humankind! For you to denigrate your nafs is more propitious than your prays lasted for 70 years. [7]

"W homever a fr a id of the position of Ra b a nd for ba de obeying to na fs, the one will cer ta inly a r r ive to the heaven."

Hadith

Inside of M e Erdem Ergin

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he journey to "the Truth" for human being, who is divine ego and human ego combines is painful.

Those who can complete that journey succesfully are the ones that can know themselves and the truths people undertake. The purpose of this spiritual teachings under the leadership of a competent master, is that the mortal identity of human evolves, and, that the beauties of the soul, which is a divine breath of Creator, can be one step ahead of carnal instincts and the temporary pleasure (satisfaction) obtained by them. In other words, it is that human who goes after his whims, turns the way of longing for eternity, in which he looks for those whims, into the Divine Beauty, which is the everlasting truth. It will not be wrong if we name the journey of human as a spiritual transformation, in Tasawwuf.

Though the self of human is only one, it has two poles. One is ego(?nefs?), while the other is ?soul?; the positive side is soul, while the negative side is ?nefs?.

Self stands via two poles. We know that Koran has two explanations about human: Man was created from clay, he is the breath of God. In short, soul is the whole things endowed by God, while nefs is the whole things rising from physical body. Since nefs was a general name of all physical things in the body, its quality was associated to the statements in which spoke of our earthly side in Koran.Much of characteristics of God have been gathered in the soul. Some characteristics such as evilness, deficiency and lust are belonging to ego(the nefs).(1)

In The Holy Koran, Almighty God says: ?Whatever good, (O man!) happens to you, is from God, but whatever evil happens to you, is from your own soul. We have sent you as amessenger to instruct mankind. And enough is God for a wittness? (Women, 79) And He says, paying attention to the nefs in human being: ?Those saved from the covetousness of their own souls,- they are the ones that achieve prosperity?.(The Gathering, 9) ?Those who purify their nefs,-indeed, they are considered as the salvaged ones.?(Shams, 9) He pointed out that the ego could not be illuminated with the light of deific beauty unless nefs had enough time to become free from impurities. As our prophet Mohammed declared previously, It?s an inner war against ego(news) which will rescue human from his bonds, and, which will take him to the real freedom, it is the greatest war.

Great Saint, Sultans of Lovers, The Exalted Rumi says that we have to remove the tie of body from the foot of soul, first of all, in order that we can win that inner war, He adds that the human body resembles a forest, that many wild animals wander in this body forest, that he is affected by whichever temper is more dominate inside of him. Although human appears physically weak, he who can put even the wildest animals under his command with his intelligence, who invents many things mind-blowing around the world unfortunately has been defetaed by the animal in him.

According to The Exalted Rumi, we have to turn our heads to the sky as our place is not that dirty earth.

?Each grass will grow if it is inclined to grow. It will blossom day after day; however, if it turns its head to the earth, it will become smaller day after day and will wither. If your soul is inclined to reach supremacy, you will reach it spirituality. But, when you drop your head, you will be devistated.

In Koran, God informed from the tongue of prophet Abraham: ?When the night covered him over, He saw a star. He said: This is my Lord. But when it set, He said: I do not love those that set." (The Cattle, 76)(2)

"Those who pur ify their nefs, indeed, they a r e consider ed a s the sa lva ged ones."

Shams, 9

Thus, we must raise our heads, not to bow like animals, not to be on the earth. And we must wash that body, which is contaminated with dirty soil, in the pool of the heart.

O man whose body gets dirty!

Return to the edge of the pool of the heart and walk around. How can a man purify himself while he is out of the pool? How can a man who is far away from the pool, refine himself? That?s the pool of the heart, but there is a hidden

14 way from that pool to the sea of truth. The heart has become muddy, however, the body has been cleaned in the pool of the heart.(3) ?Every sound that drags you to supremacy stems from Him. Know that! Know that every sound which makes you more ambitious, which raises your desires and your lust is a furious wolf to dismember you. The courageous man, put the sky under your feet! Hearken the pleasent words above the skies. Take out the cotton of misgiving from your ear so that you can hear the enthusiasm of universe. Do not be hopeless. Do not go to the darkness. Arrive at the suns. Heart takes you to the land of the heart master, body takes you to the prison of water and mud.(4) We must find the "Divine Essence"which the sky and the earth are afraid of accepting, and find the divine source in our-selves so that we might get rid of animalistic desires, which our body hauls, and, which our nefs is feed. We depend on earth with our body, however, our heads are on the sky. We are human with the divine source within us. The food that nourishes our body comes from the earth, but the sustenance of our souls is on the sky.(5) Human cannot be free in real terms unless he rescues from the bondage of his nefs. ?A free man is not the slave of his throat and lust. But, slaves have been named as a shah. The slave of his lust, temper and desires is named as the vizier.?(6) The Exalted Rumi estimates the circumstances of a man who is in captivity of ego(nefs) and who is deprived of real freedom, like this: ?His soul did not taste the real freedom, the room that he is in is a chest, full of forms.?

His wit is always a captive of forms, it wanders from cage to cage. (7) But, what is freedom? Dear Rumi respons: If your physical characteristics dies, the sea of the secrets of truth will uplift you over your head. (8) ?Fruit will be appear when trees fall leaves. When body is broken up, soul will be appear. The fruit is the meaning, while the flower is the form. Flower is the good news, while the fruit is the blessing. How can the bunch of grapes become wine unless they are squeezed??(9) ?Soul is inclined to wisdom and enlightinment, while body is inclined to garden, greens and grape. Soul is willing to spiritual journey and ascension, while body is willing to income, grass and food.?(10)

15 ?When the branches and leaves become free from the jail of earth, they will raise, will be companion with the wind.?(11) ?When the slave souls, which depends on water and earth, get rid of them, their heart will be cheerful, they will dance due to the pleasure of love of God, they will be complete like a fulmoon.? (12) He mentions about the necessity of behaving maturely so as to win the greatest war and to reach the truth: ?Know that personable, but ill-bred traits are unfavorable, it is worthless. However, you can be tied to anybody in a bad appearance, but with kind habits.

Know that the meaning is permanent, visible form will disappear. Until when will you waste of your time with shape and the ornament of pitcher? Do not mess around. Go and look for the water.? (13) Even if stages of spiritual transformation is notably difficult for human, the aim should turn into the great souls like Rumi who rose in the tower of mankind, who spreaded over the world His consciousness of ?we?, not ?I?; leaving selfishness, as entranced by the love of God with the help of the cardigan of nonexistence, wrapping yourself up in melamet (denounced ego) from the nefs which can become selfish as much as they draw the wrath of God on themselves, for behaving cruelly (for being a Pharaoh or a Nimrod).

That time, we will have reached to the realities in the verses of Sheik Galib who was inspired by The Exalted

Rumi, which was the best expressions to tell what human wasactually. ?Bir ?ulesi var ki ?em-i can?n Fanusuna s??maz asuman?n Bu sine-i berk-a?iyan?n Sina dahi görmemi? ni?an?n?

(That candle of soul has such a bright flame that it never fits into even the bell jar of the sky. Although The Mount Sina was honored with becoming manifest, by God; however, it could not move next to the chests of lovers where each was a nest of everlasting lightning of becoming manifest? ) May love be with us!

REFERENCES; 1-)Öztürk,N.Y.,Kuran ve S.G.Tasavvuf,s.95-97,Y.Boyut Yay.,?st.2003 2-)Rumi, Celalettin Mevlana, Mesnevi, C.II, b.1812 3-)a.g.e. C.II, b.1361 4-)a.g.e. C.II. b.1958 5-)Kur ?an-?Kerim, Ahzab,72 ve Zariyat,22 6-)Rumi, Celalettin, Mevlana, Mesnevi, C.IV, b.3122-25 7-)a.g.e. C.V.b.4510-11 8-)a.g.e.C.I,b.2838 9-)a.g.e.C.I.b.2129-32 10-)a.g.e.C.III.,b.4438-39 11-)a.g.e.C.I.1342 12-)a.g.e. C.I.b.1346-47 13-)a.g.e. C.II, b.1018-21

Poems from Divan-?Kebir Na't-?Ali Fatma Albayrak

That descripting imam, saint of God, is a existential sun for the man of delight. It is necessary to gain the virtues, inner and external purities and character of that imam who is with God on land, in the sky and beyond space and time. That?s because he is free of curses and hypocrisy, he is clean...

The world of oneness is his home. He is beyond worldly and humanly attributes. He is the truth and soul of human beings. Everything is ephemeral except the soul which never dies. It moves by the mercy of the eternal being that is forever alive. He wanders around immortality, he is eternal like his creator. The high attributes of the creator are Ali's characteristics. There is no separation between them anyways. He got hold Of God and became Him. He is the hidden treasure of the spiritual world.

Because he appeared from God, with God. His endless knowledge was the specie of that treasure. That knowledge itself refers to the Glorious Ali. He's the only one that knows the unknowable intensions of God. He is the master and knower of all things.

He is the one with no beginning and no end. He is the one who helped the prophets, he is the eye of the saints that see. His shining bright face created a Sun, which is a reflection of that face. He is with God, eternal with God; God reflects through Him! The soil that Adam is made of, is created by his light.

That?s why He became the crown of angels, and Gods' names appeared through Him. Thanks to the wisdom of that pure and glorious imam, Adam was able to understand everything. Since that light was the unique light of the creator, angels bowed down in His presence. With the light of that imam, Adam realized all heavenly names...

The prophet ?it saw the light of Ali in himself and realized the higher heavens. Noah found whatever he desired in him, until he attained his ultimate goal. He attained salvation thanks to the great storm, the huge trouble that Ali gifted him. Phophet Khalil respected him as a friend and the fire turned into a red tulip for him. The fire of Nemrut turned into roses and tulips for that lover of God. He again was the one who willingly sacrificed his sheep for Ismails' sake. Joseph remembered him in the well and found the throne that decorated the sovereignty of country. Jacob cried so much at his feet that he

attained Joseph's smell, which opened his eyes. Moses, the son of Imran saw his light, long nights became full of delight. He was in ecstacy for forty nights; with the joy of reunion. Then he said: Dear God! Please give me a sign indicating your blessing. He said; here I give you the Yed-I Beyza, the hand of light.. He is the door to the city of spiritual wisdom. In truth, he is the master of both worlds.

Mohammad the sultan of the two worlds, saw His mystery at the night of reunion with God, the night of merger with the ultimate. He listened to Ali's speech, from Ali. There is no-one else there, at the point of reunion with Ali. Those who took the path to God are the requesters, and Ali is the requested. Those who say, speak and go silent. He doesn?t go silent, He speaks. Eternal wisdom has appeared and shined through his chest. He received the secrets of the revelations as truth, and submitted them. He blared out to the crowds: - Ali is your guide on the path to God. Those with good heart turn their faces to Him. He is the shah, the guide to the way of truth, the master?

He possessed the secret of all prophets. Glorious Mustapha says, He was apparently with me. He is the one with no beginning and no end. He was the one that is intimate with God? I told you these so that you can reach the higher meaning and a higher consciousness. Know this clearly that He is the one who is truly glorious.

Dear master! Don?t fight with me, it's useless. This is how it is. The truth is that we are all particles and He is the Sun. We are drops, he is the sea.

Dear the Sun of Religion! If you're in love, sacrifice your life to Love for Rumis' sake, let your soul reach the Beloved, become a guide to Love.

Glorious Rumi, Selected Poems from Divan-?Kebir c.I s.3,4,5 Mithat Bahari Beytur

The Jeweler of the Universe Özlem Bilge

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A

sunny friday in Belh? .

Children gathered in the garden are playing games? . One of them yelled out to his friend; ? Come here and let?s jump from one roof to another!?

Young Celaleddin smiles; ?Hey brothers, these kind of actions can be done by cats, dogs and other living beings. If you truely have the strength and desire, come and let?s fly towards the skies. Let us walk through the stages of the mystical intuitive knowledge of spiritual truth attained through ecstatic experience (Melekut).?

And later he dissapears from eye sight of the community! The public is confused from all that has happened? A little later Celaleddin returns looking pale.

With that status he explains: ? At the time I was speaking to you, a group wearing all green took me from among you, roamed around bushes of the skies, showed me the unseen things of the spiritual world. When I heard your screams they brought me back here.? The year was 1213? it was six years later his birth on September 30, 1207. ***** After his father SultanĂź'l Ulema Hazretleri?s and Seyyid Burhaneddin Tirmizi Hazretleri?s strong religous teachings through the years, Muhammed Celaleddin went to Damascus in order to dig deeper in the zahir sience (exoteric or apparent meaning of the Quaran) and reach to a complete maturity. There he was educated in science for seven years, then departed for Rum. After finally arriving in Kayseri he was greeted by noble scientists and wisemen. One night in Kayseri, Burhaneddin Tirmizi and

Muhammed Celaleddin sit silently in the seminary? . His excellence Seyyid orders out; ?Thank goodness and gratefullness to Almighty that you are a hundred times ahead of your father in evident science; however I want you to dive into unforseen sciences in order to explain the precious pearls of Almighty?s knowledge as well. My desire is for you to stand alone.? During Mevlana?s forty day stand alone, there is nothing but some water and bread? . At the end of forty days, upon his excellency Tirmizi?s opening of the door, he is peacefully in his corner and is pre-occupied with the observation of astonishing things of the spaceless world; he has wandered into the secret of the verse ?There are signs in their essence, they can not see this?

(Quaran verse, 51:21) ?Humankind, Almighty?s Book copy!

into a wavy sea due to ectasy?

You are the mirror of beautyiness of the creator of the universe.

?O my Allah ! I want you to show me one of your covered loved ones !?

You are everything. Whatever exists in the universe, is not external to you.

Whatever you desire, ask from yourself, search within yourself.?

His excellency Tirmizi went out and covered the cell?s door. After returning from the second tribulation, Mevlana was up for worship? His tears were running as in the verse ?They have fountains running? (Rahman, 55:50). He payed no attention to Seyyid Burhaneddin. His excellency Tirmizi covered the door once more? With the completion of the third tribulation, upon his master ?s rush to the cell and embracement of the two, Mevlana?s holy eyes had turned

?See the vision of our friend dancing in his two eyes and pupils!? Seyyid Burhaneddin put his head to prostration and gratefully said: In this condition you now know the secrets of the unforseen sciences, being watchful of the character of reality, exploring the concealed and have become one of the few pointed out by the Prophet and his curators. Walk in the name of the Allah, smother mankind?s spirit with fresh life and with unmeasurable compassion; bring to life the dead of the universe consistent as seen with your meaning and love.? A short while later, his excellency Mevlana starts travelling towards Konya with his family? ***** One of the nights? ?ems-i Tebrizi who is entranced is praying while drawn into Almighty?s emergence;

Answer from Almighty comes ?What you desire is hidden from all eyes, beautiful and talented soul, he is SultanĂź?l Ulema Baha Veled?s son from Belh.? ?ems then said: ?O my Allah! Show me his nobel face.?

Almighty asked: ?What will you give me as your returned thanks??

Without hesitation ?ems answered: ?My head!?? ?Because I have nothing but my head.?

A revelation came to ?ems saying ?In order to reach your objectives and desires you must go to Rum

20 land!?. ?ems started his travel to Rum land with fidelity and great love?

To set the jeweler of the universe on fire? . To give his head! ***** Year 1244, October 23rd, Saturday? . Had started out just like any day of calendar. After the class at the seminary (medrese) which lasted through the afternoon, Mevlana sat with the guest hocas for a while. He was now being addressed as Mevlana which has the meaning of ?master ?. When the crowd lessened, they left Altun Aba Seminary to go home.

Their encounter with ?ems-i Tebrizi happened at the market place. Holding onto Mevlana?a horse headgear, ?ems-i Tebrizi asked: "Oh scholar of the scholars, tell me who is greater, Hazreti Muhammed or Bayezid Bistami ?"

Mevlana who was affected and astonished by this traveler ?s question who had crossed his path, answered Hazreti Muhammed. ?ems continued on: "Then why does Hazreti Muhammed state ?I ask my lord for forgiveness seventy times a day? while Bayezid states ?I keep myself away from shortcoming titles, there is no other being inside my body but Allah.?

Mevlana answered this question as: "Hazreti Muhammed was reaching seventy different dimensions every day. For every mighty dimension he arrived at, he asked for foregiveness because he became aware of the lacking knowledge at his prior dimension. Whereas Bayezid was in ectasy due to the mightiness of the dimension he had reached. His power was limited and it was for this reason how he had spoken.

Upon hearing this response ?ems from Tebriz yelled out ?Allah, Allah? and hugged Mevlana. Yes, he was the scholar of scholars he had so much sought!

Sources have referred to this location where this meeting took place as Merec-el Bahreyn (the point where two seas have merged).

As a result of this meeting with ?emsi Tebrizi who was full of love and ectasy, Mevlana stopped preaching at the pulpit and giving lessons in the seminary, and sitting at high authorities... He started reading the secrets written in the soul pages? This friendship was the embracement of two oceans, from one soul to another?

?Love boils the sea like a pot. Love is like sand crushing and melting the mountains. Love cracks the sky, opens hundreds of splits. Love, shakes the earth with no reason.? ?Love is such a blaze that when it glares, it burns everything except for the lover.?

During the four year friendship that had interruptions, ?it was not known who was the master and who was the student?.

After Hazreti Pir ?s loss of ?ems, the lyrics he had voiced in Divan-?Kebir, tells the entire world the effects of this friendship had on him, and the burning-transforming power. It caused an unseen flooding of emotions in Mevlana; ?Not more than three statements, My whole life is these three statements: I was raw. I matured. I burned out? ? ***** Mevlana Celaleddin never had a moment lacking inspiration? Later, jeweler Selahaddin became Mevlana?s confidant? Their long ago started and continuing friendship even during the years he was together with ?ems, made naturally quiet Selahaddin to be a perfect mirror for Pir to see himself? Their close friendship that had started while whirling in front of the jewelry store and continued on until Selahaddin Zerkub?s passing on. ***** During his later years of his life, Mevlana spent his time with his young friend HĂźsameddin, whom he was committed through chat and sympathy? The start of the journey they took was one of a kind, starting with HĂźsameddin?s request to write about his wisdom; ?Listen to the reed how it tells a tale, complaining of separations.

Saying, ?Ever since I was ported from the reed-bed my lament hath coused men and women to moan.

I want a bosom torn by severance, that I may unfold (to such a one) the pain of lovedesire.

Everyone who is left far from his source wishes back the time when he was united with it? ?

21 These verses later take place at the start of his eternal masterpiece Mesnevi. The stories found in Mesnevi have been read over and over for centuries globally? Hüsameddin had followed Mevlana everywhere and written the verses coming through his lips instantanously. Quran verses, deeds, events told as if fabric weaved from thousands of thread and advice was organized inside one another.

Mesnevi is a ?unity store?. ***** December 17, 1273? .is a day of reunion with the Friend, wedding day for Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi; ?eb-i Arus!

As the bird of soul is about to escape from it?s worldly cage, he soothed his close ones and friends. It is because all prophets and saints work to remind mankind about the divine source sent to them and show the road to Allah, the endless-lover; ?Once my coffin starts moving the date I die, don?t think that the world will have grief for me or that I will be concerned for leaving this world, don?t doubt this. Don?t think that I will be concerned with the world?s problems once my coffin starts moving the day I die. Don?t cry for me; Don?t say ?what a pity, what a pity!?

Time to say what a pitty will come when I fall into the trap of the devil, be drawn to it?s order.

When you see my funeral don?t try to say ?Ouch separation, separation!? ; it is the time for me to meet and reunite.

When you lower my coffin to my grave dare not to say ?goodbye, goodbye!? because graves are the curtains for heavenly groups. If you?ve seen submerge, watch the rise; what damage comes to the sun or moon when submerged?

It may seem like submerge for you, however it is in fact rising; that grave may seem like a prison, however it is freedom.

Which seed doesn?t grow when plotted in the soil; then why do you think of mankind?s seed does not end?

Which bucket hasn?t come up fully full when dropped in a well; why should mourn soul of Yusuf from the well?

If you close your mouth here on this side, open it on

the other side; your nature and character is now in the emptiness world of spacelessness. ?

The next day, the crowd coming to say their farewell have almost flooded the streets. Scholars, mystics, friends, ranks of trades, ranks of the heart, state workers, people from all religons were carrying Mevlana. Sounds from sema ceremony (whirling), ney and rebabs (musical instruments) being played and sobbing were all mixed up. His prayer was carried out only by the evening, when he set rest in the hearts of people. Mecalis-i Seba which contains sermons for the people; Fihi Mafih made up of philosophic, mystic and eartly thoughts ; Mektubat compilation of his letters; Mesnevi, Divan-?Kebir, Rubais (poems) all that he has left behind, have been blessed to the world! The torch he has lit, continues to light up the world even today. ?Dont search for our graves on earth. Our graves are in the hearts of the wise!?

Resources: Bediuzzaman Firuzanfer, Mevlânâ Celâleddin (trc. Feridun Nâfiz Uzluk), ?st. 1963 Abdülbaki Gölp?narl?, Mevlana Celaleddin, ?st.1999 Annemarie Schimmel, I am Wind,You are Fire: Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (trc. Senail Özkan) Hazreti Mevlana, Mesnevi, Divan-?Kebir

Interview of the M onth Yusuf Kรถro?lu

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ear readers; in this fine issue we made an interview in the style of writing series with Hasan Ç?kar Dede, Honorary President of the Foundation of Universal Lovers of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi (EMAV), who is spiritual basis, leader and founder of Contemporary Lovers of Mevlana Society; we feel the importance of this interview with all our hearts and are excited about presenting it to you. I owe thanks to primarily our Hasan Dede who allocated his time to us for the interview and to my valuable elder friends Sema ?nal, Özlem Bilge, Fatma Albayrak and Sibel Safiye Avc?who make contributions and do not deprive their support of all kinds continuously. I hope you will follow our interview in coming issues with attention as well.

Answers that our Hasan Dede gives to our questions are composed of messages not limited by time and space which will reach beyond centuries.

His answers will serve as a huge projector for souls who will need enlightened view of our Mevlana in any period of history. I salute you all with esteem and love and pray from our Great Creator that we would be constant customers of the Unity Store of our Exalted Mevlana. Yusuf Köro?lu

Y.K: My honourable Dede! Firstly, I present my thanks, since you gently accept our offer. In history, all Mevlevi sheikhs were defined as ?Dede?. What does ?Dede? mean? Can everybody be dede?

Hasan Dede: Sheikh efendis are called ?dede? in Mevlevi order. Even people call also sheikh efendi .

Sheikh efendis have knowledge (ilim). Dede is ümmi (person who does not have formal education).

However the post of dede is taken but not given in Mevlevi order. Because it is taken, the post of dede is a spiritual gift and these people guide their wayfarers.

There are some dedes who are granted. Among these granted dedes, Murshid Kamil (Spiritual Guide) appears in dreams of dervishes having the utmost affection to this path in time. Then, it means that from now on this person can be dede in the place of spiritual dede sitting on the ? post (woolfell).?

I expect that this would realise when I am alive. But there is nothing yet. Veils in between will be removed; that person will see manas (dreams) I see; I will see manas he sees. This process lasts three-five months.

What murshid (dede) feels in his heart will make reflection in mürid (dervish), what mürid feels in his heart will make reflection in murshid. Then, dede (murshid) will spiritually reveal himself to that person.

24 After he reveals himself spiritually, dede no more makes conversations. He makes the person to whom he revealed spiritually make conversation. For instance, I spiritually wore(became) Hakk?Dede. Every Saturday dedes were gathering in my atelier. They used to request Hakk?Dede that ?Hakk?Efendi, make a conversation?. Afterwards, Hakk?Dede used to leave the floor to poor (Hasan Dede), take his jacket, say ?excuse me? and quit. When Hakk?Dede told this word, I used to cry. Now, his image is coming in front of me.

Exalted Muhammed also spiritually presented all his knowledge to Exalted Ali and revealed to him. One who knows Exalted Muhammed in the most beautiful way and acquires all of his beauties is Exalted Ali. This is the case. Spiritual sheikhs wore(became) their sheikhs who guided them. In frankly speaking they wore Exalted Ali. If Dede has not worn Exalted Ali, he cannot take his wayfarer to Exalted Muhammed. ?ems-i Tebrizi spiritually revealed himself to Exalted Mevlana. Afterwards, Exalted Sultan Veled came to the room of ?ems-i Tebrizi at dawn one morning. At that moment ?ems-i Tebrizi took his brick under his head and rested. When Exalted Sultan Veled entered the room, ?ems stood up and asked the reason of the visit in this early time. Sultan Veled said ?I have come so that you would teach me also the spiritual secrets which you teach to my father.? But ?ems-i Tebrizi advised that ?Nothing remained in me. Any hair of your father ?s beard is a ?ems. Go and see me in your father.?

Because, after that point, ?ems-i Tebrizi spiritually gave all his knowledge to Exalted Mevlana.

Y.K: We see the most beautiful example of it in the Museum of Exalted Mevlana, don?t we, my dear Dede?

Hasan Dede: Yes, my son. When you go Exalted Mevlana there, he points at Hüsameddin Çelebi; Hüsameddin Çelebi points at Sultan Veled; Sultan Veled points at Ulu Arif Çelebi? you find the last coffin before the door by going this way. That coffin points at the door and says that ?Go and ask me from the representative who is alive.?

Y.K: I don?t forget the day I met you. In that day you named yourself as ?Fakir (poor)? at the beginning of all sentences you made. And I thought and surprised ?Hasan ÇIKAR Dede who is the representative of Exalted Mevlana of our day is spiritually so rich, nevertheless he calls himself fakir/poor.? Why do you describe yourself as fakir/poor, what is the reason of this?

Hasan Dede: For example, Exalted Yunus Emre calls

25

"We a r e not poor since we la ck goods a nd pr oper ties.

We a r e poor of Exa lted M evla na " Hasan Dede

himself ?Miskin (poor) Yunus.? We name ourselves as ?Fakir Hasan Dede? We are not poor since we lack goods and properties. We are poor of Exalted Mevlana. As he realises his entity in us, we are rich with him. All goods and properties will stay in this world. However Exalted Muhammed is prevailing both in this world and in the other world.

We are poor of Muhammed Ali. We wish them in every breath, we are willers of them. If we don?t wrap ourselves up in poorness, our words will not be listened in presence of enlightened people. Do you know why? Because, if you are proud of what you do, you fall into self.

After you fall into self, spirituality disappears. You will use the addressing of ?I? only externally. Why? So, people don?t find you strange in the society. You give yourself poorness again within you.

You don?t withdraw yourself from that manner. But, if you introduce yourself as fakir/poor to the society, they will tease you. You must know where and how you use your words.

Y.K: Again in that day I met you, you sent me off to the outer door in person. I was embarrassed, because you sent me off; and told you that ?My Dede, give me blessing ? You said ?Son, firstly serving, later blessing ? What is the meaning of the word ?firstly serving, later blessing ??

Hasan Dede: For instance, no craft can be learnt without serving.

You did no apprenticeship in a craft? and suddenly want to be master. Therefore you will firstly serve. Blessings will appear according to your services. Exalted Hac?Bekta?-?Veli (Peace be upon him) asked Yunus Emre three times whether he wanted wheat or blessing. Yunus Emre said he wanted wheat each time. Then HĂźnkar Hac?Bekta?-?Veli gave Yunus Emre what he wanted. Yunus went ahead, but made contemplations and thought the meaning of blessing. He understood that if he had taken blessing , it would have been deemed above all wheat of the world. However, spirituality didn?t let him take it. He came back to the presence of Hac?Bekta?-?

26 Veli and said that he abandoned wheat and wanted blessing . Hac?Bekta?-?Veli told Yunus that Tapduk Emre would give his blessing.

Afterwards Yunus Emre came to Tapduk Emre, served and attained to blessing.

Y.K: Shortly before, you said that Hakk?Dede did not make conversation to those who wanted him to make conversation by stating he spiritually revealed himself to you and gave all knowledge to you and that he pointed at you. How did Hakk?Dede spiritually reveal himself to you?

Hasan Dede: You asked poorness a little while ago. Sufi's path of faith is their wealth. God showed Its most beautiful face in Exalted Muhammed. All saints, peace be upon all of them, saw Our Master Exalted Muhammed in their dreams and Exalted Muhammed made them lovers to himself. God created the universe, and created human at last. And He created Himself in human.

Our master Mevlana says that ?God is love from top to bottom.?

If a human gives his heart to something and loves it above anything else, he has made it his God. Given jthat he loved money? his God has become money. Let?s think that he loves his wife most. Then God of that person has become his wife. But indeed, God realised Its entity in Our Master Exalted Muhammed with Its sublimity. Our Master Exalted Muhammed spiritually revealed himself to Our Master Shah Exalted Ali. Head of all of these saints had been Exalted Ali. All of these beauties presented to the world were presented from the tongue of Exalted Ali. Exalted Ali says that ?I saw and heard all divine light (nur) and words Exalted Muhammed grasped.?

Murshid Kamils also leave their entities and devote themselves to the path of faith they believe. Then, Master 's path of faith, Exalted Ali, Exalted Muhammed, God show their presences in that ?Murshid Kamil.? All saints are spiritual brothers of Our Master Exalted Muhammed. Accordingly, if you love and respect one of them, it means that you love and respect Resulullah (Messenger of God).

There is no room for duality. When you count

"God cr eated the univer se a nd cr eated huma n at la st. And He cr eated Himself in huma n."

Hasan Dede

27

"The ma in objective is to find number "One". W hen you find number "One", you will have a nswer s to a ll."

Hasan Dede

ten, one comes to the fore; when you count a hundred, one comes to the fore. The matter is to find ?one?on this path. When you find ?one?, you will have found everything.

Now let?s present a statement from Exalted Mevlana.

People asked Exalted Mevlana that ?What do you utter about prophets?? Then he gave this answer: ?One hundred and twenty four thousand prophets came to this world. All of them are Ahmed in my sight.?

Exalted Mevlana saw all prophets as Exalted Muhammed. Do you know why? Because, they all set foot on this world with divine light of Exalted Muhammed. They spoke according to their own times. People asked Exalted Mevlana a question again and said that ?How do you assess religions?? He said that ?In my sight there is a difference of worshipping among religions but the purpose is the same. All of them are praying for God that I believe in. Their expectations are from It. Religions are also one in my view? and turned to the person asking this question and said ?You have one hundred candles in your hand. You lit one of the candles. The function of the candles is to remove darkness. And duty of prophets is to direct those who approach themselves from pessimistic thoughts towards enlightenment. Now you may connect yourself to the first candle or the

last candle. The main objective is to find number "One?. When you find number "One", you will have answers to all."

Therefore, the path we are in gives us the duty of presenting truths. There is no place for words here that cheat somebody and lead them to dreams. I always speak truth here.

Do you see me now?... Look, fifty years ago I became Hakk?Dede? He spiritually revealed himself to me and he has become Hasan now. Body changed, but the same meaning continues. When we move forward, by following our murshids we reach Our Pir Exalted Mevlana, then Exalted Ali and up to Exalted Muhammed.

We talk about past times in our conversations. If I don?t mention Our Prophet, Our Pir, Our Shah in the past, they will conceal themselves in the spirituality in me.

I make them mirror to myself. I utter them. Do you know why? Because, a murshid kamil is a world of living of a hundred and twenty four prophets and numerous saints.

They all live with us?

(TO BE CONTINUED)

I a m a soul, But I have a hundr ed thousa nd bodies.

W hat is a soul? W hat is a body?

Both a r e me.

You know that ther e is 'The Other ', That a lso is me!

I n or der to be plea sa nt for 'The Other ', I become one of the other s.

I a m a soul, But I have a hundr ed thousa nd bodies.

I f a ll other s a r e me, Then I need not mention a bout a ny other s but myself.

Let my hea d be seen on top of my body just a s in a wave, So that you ca n look closer at me!

The one showing his hea d is a lso me.

I a m a soul, But I have a hundr ed thousa nd bodies.

W hat ca n I do; my mouth is tied.

I have seen thousa nds of people, All of them tur ned out to be me.

Yet, I have not been a ble to see me a mong them.

Hasan Dede

Sermed Berktav

Love of Ahl al-Bayt Serkan Fincan

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rophet Muhammed, in one of his undescribable states of love, combined the hands of Mother Hatice on his knees and looked into her eyes as he says:

?O my dear Hatice! You carry such a unique pearl in your belly - whose name is Fatima. Her light will be prolonged as the time is prolonged and will continue until the Day of Resurrection, and she will make the upset hearts - who turned away from the deceptive states of this world - feel the warmth of a mother (The God) with her mercy.

When Fatima was immaculately stepped on in the realm of this world, her musky smell and the holy light on her face enraptured the sky and all the decent souls screamed and cried out in joy.

Holy Saints (The Enlightened) already knew that the heaven was enlightened from her glittering beautiful face - even before the earth existed - and all the decent souls were dazzled by the grace of her rosy cheeks.

They also knew that, the realm of this world meant separation from that beautiful Friend. For them it was the place to wait wistfully for the time of Reunion.

Mother Fatima then reached adolescence. When the important people of Quraysh tribe demanded to marry her, Prophet Mohammed said as follows: "I've never been apart from my God in any action; I didn?t consider Him outside of my own. I will wait for my heart to speak to me also in this case.?

Anas bin Malik (Peace be on him) recalls those days as follows: ?One day I was beside the Prophet Mohammed. When the divine revelation appeared on His holy face, he said: "O Anas! The time has come for (divine) light to reunite with (divine) light. Almighty God wants Fatima to get married to Ali! Now gather the notables of the Muslims!?

Then he spoke to the community: " God has got orders and a final judgement! Time has come to reunite light with light. I will join Fatima-Zahra and Ali Mortaza in marriage. And you will witness it. " They immediately prepared Ali Mortaza. Prophet Mohammed said "Ya Ali! With the will of Allah, I marry you to Fatima. O my beloved child Fatima!!

With the will of God, I marry you to Ali.? and said the following prayer; "O my Lord! Protect her and her

32 lineage from evil! Clean them up both as you did to me.?

When Prophet Mohammad turned towards the room?s door which was illuminated with the holy light, Mother Fatima began to cry. Prophet Mohammed said "O my beloved child, don?t cry! Thank God, you got married to the greatest person of all, the one who has more dignity than anyone else. He is the closest one to me among my Ahl al-Bayt, the most virtuous of all my friends and the most honorable of the Ensar '?'s.

In the name of Allah - the owner of my self - I married you to the master of eternity and the greatest helper of all people who want to reach God in this world.?

Mother Fatima said goodbye to him in tears: ?My dear father I do not hesitate to get married to Ali; I feel sorry because I have to leave you and l will miss you, I will not be able to be with you and at your service any more.

Sorrow and suffering had never left Ahl al-Bayt. They were reality and the reason for the existence of the Universe. They were modest, they were living with the public and they were suffering for the public.

One day, leaned agains the walls of Masjid al-Haram, Prophet Mohammed was in deep contemplation. A group of ladies in fancy dresses called him and said: ?O Mohammed, the important ladies of the town will come together this evening, to rebuild our friendship bond would you send your daugter to come with us?

Their aim was to humiliate Mother Fatima because of her poverty and to laugh at her.

Although Prophet Mohammed felt their intention, he didin?t decline their invitation. He told about the invitation to Mother Fatima and told her to get ready

"Sor r ow a nd suffer ing ha d never left Ahl a l-Bayt. They wer e r ea lity a nd the r ea son for the exista nce of the Univer se."

33 to go. Mother Fatima said: ?O my compassionate father, I would also like to accept the invitation but what am I going to wear while going there? All those ladies probably put on their fancy dresses and sit on high couches. If I go there with this dress and this canvas gown they will insult me to upset you and they will say harsh words.

Prophet Mohammed said : ?O my beautiful daughter! They can see this world and the ornaments that belong to this world only. They have no idea about the realm of the meaning . O my beloved child, don?t be sorry, our unique, beautiful God in our hearts is our

fancy dress.The only real and eternal fact is His existence. Why sould we get upset when we are together with Him? The ladies were impatient to see Mother Fatima when she left home to join them. They were laughing and saying that Fatima would be so suprised and upset when she sees their high couches and magestic crown. And then she would burst into tears in her raggle-tagle patched dress.

Soon after when Mother Fatima entered into the room, her beauty and the greatness of her soul weighed down on them, they were all dazzled by her beauty. There was a crown with a piece of

jewelry on her holy foreneck, and on her left and right hand side there were servants sprinkling roses . The ladies couldn?t get their eyes off her. They were looking at each other asking ? Which Shah?s daughter is this??

That day, many of those ladies in the community started to believe in Prophet Mohammed and became Muslims after seeing mother Fatima?s humble attitude and the nice words praising her father.

Resources: Conversations of Hasan Dede, Sibel Safiye Avci Garden of Pleasures, Fuzuli

"The only r ea l a nd eter na l fa ct is His exista nce.

W hy should we get upset when we a r e together with Him?"

From Soul To Soul Sema ?nal

35

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ello, Dear Friends?

In this issue of our "Rumi's Nest" I have started off to share primary information with you on Mevlevi music, accordingly Mevelvi Ayins(ceremony) and composers from the past to the present day.

The most important sources that I have utilised while I have been preparing this writing series are ?Mevlevi Order After Mevlana? of Abdülbaki Gölp?narl?and ?Mevlana and Mevlevi Order ? of Asaf Halet Çelebi.

Music historians and theoreticians analyse Turkish music under three major titles as Military, Religious and Secular and define Religious music as Mosque music and Sufi (Tasavvuf) music. When we regard the matter in that point, we need to present Mevlevi music as one of the most important forms of sufi music, and surely what is meant

by Mevlevi music is Mevlevi Ayins.

First of all it is necessary to state that Mevlevi Ayins have the feature of not being listened only as a music, which is common and true for all Sufi music forms. In this kind of music, works are parts of a whole; they accompany dhikr (invocation) by being named as ilahi; when they praise Our Exalted Master Prophet they are called Na?t; they are named as Mukabele-i ?erif(ceremony) or with its much more known name Sema?Ritual during the performance of Mevlevi Ayins.

Sema?which is a spiritual journey towards God and a worship where the soul matures and reaches the unity, means ?to hear ? in dictionary. As a term, during listening musical melodies; it is

acting by being enraptured, running to Friend without head and feet in soul drunkenness and heart throb. Sema?is to see manners of Friend; to hear the secrets of the world of lahut ?the secrets of God from veils of that invisible world. Sema?is to hear the voice of souls?response ?Yes! We do testify!? to the question of ?Am I not your Lord?", to be entranced and reach God!..

Since sema?which is worship and invocation of Mevlevis, is performed necessarily together with music as mentioned above; musical training was provided in Mevlevihanes (Mevlevi dervish lodge), therefore the greatest composers of Turkish Music were educated in Mevlevihanes. The influence of Mevlevi Order on our Music is so significant that it can be said ?Classical Turkish Music developed in Mevlevihanes.?

Sema?, during the period of Exalted Mevlana, was performed with the mood of a religious and sufistic enthusiasm without depending on any particular rule.

It, later, as of the period of Exalted Sultan Veled and Exalted Ulu Arif Çelebi until the period of Pir Adil Çelebi, had been brought under a full discipline and linked to a firmer system; its performance had become teachable and learnable. Thus, Sema?Ritual took its last form in the 15th century, and later Na?t-??erif was added to it in the 17th century.

Sema?symbolically; means formation of the universe, incarnation of human in this world and his tending towards ??nsan-?

Kamil? (human who has reached spiritual maturity) by grasping his servitude and awakening with love for the Sublime Creator. After

mutr?b (music group) composed of neyzen (ney player), kudümzen (kudüm player), na?than (na?t singer) and ayinhans (ayin singers) and semazens (sema?performers) give salaam to post (woolfell) of Dede (Sheikh) and take their places in semahane (place for sema?); Dede enters semahane, gives salaam to mutr?b and semazens and sits on post. Post is the greatest spiritual rank, it connotes birth and existence with its red colour and Dede represents Exalted Mevlana.

"M evlevi music is one of the most impor ta nt for ms of sufi music."

Sema?Ritual commences with ?Na?t-??erif.? Na?t-??erif is a poem of Exalted Mevlana that praises Our Exalted Master Muhammed who is the most sublime one of the created and the reason of the creation of the universe. Na?than sings this work on foot and without instruments. It was composed in Rast maqam by Buhurizade Mustafa Efendi ?also known as ?Itri?- who was one of composers in the 17th century.

After the sound of kudüm giving God?s command of ?Kün!? (Be!) to

36 the universe following Na?t, ney taksim starts. God firstly created the body of human and animated him by blowing from Its own spirit. Ney taksimi represents this divine breath. That when taksim finishes, semazens stand up by hitting their hands on the floor in the name of God (Darb-?Celali) means resurrection after death; because they come to Sema Ritual together with their sikkes on their heads, tennures on their bodies and h?rkas on their shoulders by burying their selves, even being covered with shrouds and being dead before death. While semazen is entering meydan (place where sema?is performed), his hands are tied crosswise on his shoulders. He looks like ?elif ? (first letter of Arabic alphabet) and points at the unity of God. After he commences sema?he opens his arms towards two sides in such a way that right hand will turn upwards and left hand will turn downwards. This means ?We take from God, disseminate to people and arrogate nothing to ourselves.? Together with Pe?rev, Dede and semazens make three cycles with a circular walk from right to left in sema?meydan. This walk is called ?Devr-i Veled.? The first cycle describes God?s creation of the sun, the moon, stars and all inanimate entities. The second cycle symbolises the creation of plants and the third cycle symbolises the creation of animals.

The line that is assumed to exist between entrance door of semahane and Dede post is called ?Hatt-? ?stiva.? It is venerated by Mevlevis and never be stepped on; it is the shortest path which attains to the truth and goes to unity. During Devr-i Veled, an event which gives Sema?Ritual its name comes true in front of post: ?Mukabele? that is mutual stance? Semazen comes to the alignment of post from the right of meydan and turns and passes to opposite side without stepping on Hatt-??stiva and turning back to post. So he becomes face to face with semazen behind him. Two souls, looking each other ?s eyes in a moment, bend their heads and prostrate themselves in each other ?s qiblas of hearts. After the completion of the third cycle, the head of kudĂźmzens ends pe?rev with different beats and mutr?b starts the performance of ayin following a very short taksim played by the head of neyzens. Ayins, entitled with maqams in which they are composed, represent the phases of ?eriat (religious law), Tarikat (dervish order), Hakikat (truth), Marifet (wisdom) in Sufism and consist of four parts called ?selam.? The first selam begins when semazens leave the world completely by taking their h?rkas off. The meaning of the first selam is that lover grasps that he is the servant of God by getting rid of doubts and believing in the

37 unity of God. The second selam is that human understands the meaning in the creation and melts his all entity into this divine unity in front of the greatness and power of God. The third selam means sacrificing of mind for love, submission and disappearing in the beloved after feelings of admiration for the creator convert into love. The fourth selam presents that semazen attains to maturity, returns to his servitude and duty in the creation again following the end of his spiritual journey; it means, in other words, reaching at union of ?disappearing? within ?existence?. Another special meaning of the fourth selam is that Dede enters sema?and performs sema?on Hatt-??stiva, and this is Post sema?. During that, Dede opens the collar of his h?rka with his right hand and holds two ends of his h?rka with his left hand. He means, by this act, that he opens his heart to everyone. Performance of the fourth selam ends during post sema?, mutr?b commences the last pe?rev and the last YĂśrĂźk Semai is played later. Thus, the entrance belongs to the last taksim that the head of neyzens plays. In the course of this taksim Dede and semazens continue sema?in which the mood of rapture arising from reaching love

and sadness arising from approaching the end of Mukabele(ceremony), are interlacing. What are heard in that moment are only feet scrapes coming from the wooden floor of semahane and cry of ney echoing on the walls. At the end of ayin, Dede comes back to post. With A?r-??erif(ten verses of the Quran), after he comes to post, Mukabele(ceremony) ends.

And, Dear Friends? the journey finishes in this way.

But in fact, this is one part of the spiritual journey of those who are on the path of Exalted Mevlana, follow the path of love and seek God within themselves, -(the journey) which they experience in every moment of their lives.

I finish my words with a rubai of Our Mevlana, Sultan of Hearts and wish to go on our journey of Mevlevi ayins and composers in time in ?UNITY/TOGETHER.? ?Sema?is the falcon of God zĂźlcelal Sema?is the servant for hearts of people of manner Sema?is forbidden in the sect of deniers Sema?is halal (allowable) in the sect of lovers?

Sultan Veled Divan? Çi?dem Zehra

For Gods sake I am light, not fire.

His mercy decorated me like a fresco.

Dear sultan of the beauties, I'm a tiny slave to your mercy with all my soul and heart.

No light like mine has arrived from His Sun.

Dear soul, I thought you were mine, I was sure that I was yours.

If I were to take my head off, no shadows would remain.

My religion and direction is always love.

The moon and the sun are specs of dust when compared with me.

Why am I as unstable as the sky? They are only matter and I'm the honorable soul.

Why would I associate myself with them?

As a soul, I'm as great as the highest heaven in the skies.

Why bother if I'm so small as flesh? My inner being is now free of good and bad.

I have no one in the world, just Him. My heart became an enemy of both the animalistic soul and the flesh, so that the Beloved loves me.

When I saw His face which is like the Sun, I shrinked like the crescent moon.

Veled says: At the time of union I'm ecstatic, at the time of separation I'm in the suffering of a hangover.

Why would I not see your beautiful face?

This is how I am since my mother gave me birth.

You ask me to sacrifice my life for your love.

This is how I always am, for the sake of your face.

For the sake of those lips, those eyes and those eyebrows, I'm alive as long as I see that face.

I may appear as a physical form on earth, but I went beyond the heaven with the wings of your love.

Veled says: I became your lover. See the apperent sign on my forehead.

Falling into the trap of your love made me accept death and sacrifice my soul.

When your fire falls into the heart like this, you give me to the wind for sure.

After He took my heart, He asked for my soul.

Why would I choose someone else in this world?

I whirled and gave my soul swiftly. He knocked my door next morning and asked me to open.

Which tree in the garden is more beautiful, and yielding hundreds of kinds of fruits?

I was exhausted but I opened. When He saw me like that, He pitied me and cried.

Dear soul, you'd rather say: Beauties are the ring, and I'm the precious stone on the ring.

He sat next to me with mercy and compassion.

Pages: 1098, 1099, 1100

Human Being is In Love W ith His Own Cor Salih Ă–kten

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olly Mevlana says in his Mesnevi:

??Somebody who is seperated from his own core/source is waiting longingly for time of reunion again??

All the existance(forms) of the earthly life are made out the sea foam of the waves from the creator ?s Existance Ocean.The foams are resolved again and again in this Existance Ocean in truth. All came from creator/ Allah and All goes him back who is their own core/source. In another saying, we came from Man and return back to Man. This is a obvious urge, passion and thirst of reunioning with the core for Perfect Human Beings but this is hidden for imperfect Human Beings.

Perfect Human Beings can not be pleased or foolled by the things of earthly life. But imperfect Human Beings quite contrarly, struggle of satisfying his hidden desire/hunger within himself out of lust and greed by seeking pleasure and amusement nevertheless he is fed up everything and stays inappeasable. He never understands the reasons and depths of this inappeasable greed and lives in a dark agony miserably. He is unable to seek the beauty and truth in his own being due to his ignorant and blind unawareness. Holly Mevlana compare, in Fihi Ma-Fih, all the sweetness and comfort of earth are like a stairs. Stairs are not a place to sit but move through to? Shall the one be happy, who understands this, climbs up the stairs rather fast, awakens rather quick. Then the way shortens for him and he saves this lifetime

and, doesn't waste.Human beings needs a mirror to see his own truth and depths of beings. This mirror is so called Mursid-i Kamil (Guide of Perfect Human Beings).

He is the one whose hands you should hold to, who shows you your own soul and takes you to the depth of your own being and guides you from yourself to your-self.

How diffucult is for modern people to meet with himself, contact and interrelate his own.

Because life goes on very fast and hectic. Attentions are just spilted all over the things and objects of world of crowd. This makes humans to distracted and unable to concentrate on a single thing.It is even worse for cyber world.

Attentions reduced to a bits per seconds. But love needs concentrations, pay attention by all means and focus on a single fleck.A french teacher of literature describe the figurative expression of love such like ??it is a form which a person relates with himself through the relationship with third party(other person).??

The lover loses interest with outside world but revert his own self and longing for solitude. This description helps us to figure out Mevlana?s saying; ??the figurative expression of love is a bridge to Divine Love.??

Holly Master; tells about fire of the love in the following related couplet" the voice of this reed is a fire not a wind. Who does not have this fire, just vanish into the blue."

Hope from fire is the fire of the divine love. In other words, the one who is disconnected with his own core, longs for the unity of ante because he is in love with his own core wholeness. This love is

quite seenable and clear on Perfect Human Being as stated, even his single word is also pure fire of The Divine Love as well.

Those are the words of heart, not the words of vanity which are made for gaining folks respect by memorised from the books due to the greed of ego. These words are the Divine inspiration and revelation. Those inspirational words brings ecstasy for the ones who are also longing for reuniting their own core/source. But this fire can not affect the ones who are lost in their ego and flesh, who are poor in Divine Love. So if, the one who does not hold the desire of reunion with core/source, first must leave his own false being, also should abdicate his intellect and theoritic, speculative knowledge.

Saying " just vanish into the blue" is not a curse. In truth, Perfect Human Being never damn a curse on the creatures of Allah. Because he is disciplined and well behaved by the ethic of divine and Mohammed. Thus, our holly prophet Mohammed was wounded by polytheists during the Uhud war. They break prophets teeths. But He, exalted leader of humanity, just prayed to God for the forgiveness of his people while wiping the blood from his cheeks. Crying to God ?? please my beloved God! Show them the right way, because they don't know the truth??. He never ever damn a curse on anything.

And sometimes, saying of " just vanish into the blue" is a pray. In old times, Dedes thanked to the dervishes in the lodge " just vanish into the blue", when they serve water or etc? meaning dissolve your ego/self. Could it be a better pray than that?

The Lodges of M evlevi Dervishes In Turkey and On The World Gürcan Kaftan

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he lodges have been in the service of islamic sufism for the followers and public to meet and pass over the culture and philosophy of sufism since second century of hijri calender.

During the time of Seljukian, the Sultan Veled who is Mevlâna Celâleddîn Rûmî?s son, had systematised philosophy of mevleviyeh and set the distinctive rules of sema (whirling ritual) after the death of his father on 1273 in Konya. The places were also called as The lodges where the dervish accommodated in that period, where as now just for the use of sema (whirling rituel) The Mevlevi lodges had been taken their places on Ottoman territories in history starting from Konya to all over. 99 Mevlevi lodges were registered as active from Bagdad to Benghazi, Mecca to Mostar.

The Sultan Veled, named the philosophy and teaching of his father as Mevleviyeh. The way of Mevleviyeh means the the philosophy and teaching of Mevlana, the Rumi. The foundation was established in Konya during 13th century of Anatolian Seljukian Sultanate.

The Mevlevi Lodges are two type as âsitâne and zawiyah. So called Âsitânes were the lodges of full-fledged buildings. They were approximately 15. The most important of them is ?Âsitâne-i Aliyye? in Konya.

Here is head center, and the cemetery of Holly Mevlana and all Çelebis who were postni?in(spiritual master) of mevleviyeh. Zawiyah which are smaller lodges, are about one hundred.

Mevlevi lodges are mostly planed as islamic-ottoman social complex and built as in the middle of a large garden. The Lodges consist of semahâne, concourse, mausoleum, çilehane, cells, mutriphâne, reception, practice places, music room, harem, kitchen, cellar, small rooms and dormitory for dervishes.

Mevlevi lodges devotedly functioned for engraining in friendship, moral, beauty, social ethics to the public. Here in Mevlevi lodges, music and science are blended over centuries and influences the Turkish Culture deeply.

The public who were in relation with the institution were educated in many art and science fields.

And those who were educated became very well known due to their educations.

The partly aim of the sufi education in lodges is to train dervishes according to their talents. While a dervish fullfilling 1001 days education period(suffering/passion), they were also trained in music, caligraphy, carpentry, clockmaking etc?

Poetry and music can not be seperated easily. The chants which are sang in the lodges also ensures this unity of poetry and music. By this way, philosophy and art together brings delicacy, innocence, grace and merge each other producing much more beauty. When this beauty served to the hearts, nurture the souls and enabling to experience the ecstasy of Divine.

The call in the Mesnevi-the language of the truth- and enthusiastic poetry of Divan Literature are a reply the search of

millions seeking of heart/soul, and also brought them inner enlightenment.

The reason of those work not being forgotten may be, the people from many different culture are reading them over over over again and come to the lodges with a urge of seeking soul desire. So, the conversations and semas (whirling rituals) done in lodges are ?the cure and nourishment for the soul?. They remind of us our own misdemeanors, missings and longings without offend and hurt.

Mevlevi lodges are runned by charitable foundation as they have mutual sided function educational and spiritual. But nowadays , govermental body of general directorate for foundations runs the Mevlevi lodges, together with other thousands of the charitable foundations on behalf of the donaters. In short, all the lodges are under the liability of general directorate for foundations including all old or new belongings and works. All lodges are entitled as Relic due to their architectural value. But most of them are damaged over years.

However, the lodges and zawiyah were closed by the time of Turkish Republic, it is our duty to keep them functioning and maintenance the soul and the philosophy of Mevlevi lodges according to the necessities of the time. There is just small number of Mevlevi lodges survived as orginal but the others are serving their semâhâne used as mosque although they were built as social complex.

Bibliography: Mevlana Celaleddin, Abdülbaki Gölp?narl?? Ayd?n Seçkin SÜMAM publications: 5 / Series: 2 / Year: 2010

M evlevi Order Gülsen Suçsuzer

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he Sufis created a system of human development grounded in love and using the power of love to awaken and transform human beings. Rumi taught that it is everyone?s potential to master the art of loving. Love is the answer to the problem of human existence.

The way to God passes through servanthood. The point is to love and be connected with others in that love. The form of Sufi work is typically a group or spiritual family. The Sufis created a milieu in which human love was so strong that it naturally elevated itself to the level of cosmic love. All forms of love eventually lead to spiritual love. ?Ashq olsun,? they say. ?May it become love.? They cultivated a kindness and refinement in which love fermented into a fine wine. They encouraged service to humanity as an expression of the love they felt. They accepted a rigorous discipline in order to keep the fire of love burning strongly.

The porter runs to the heavy load and takes it from others,

has its adab, including coming into the presence of Truth (Al-Haqq).

The model of adab in the Sufi tradition is the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing upon him), who said: ?None of you will have authentic faith until your hearts are made right nor will your hearts be made right until your tongues be made right nor will your tongues be made right until your actions be made right.?

As one begins to become aware of the benefits and possibilities of adab it becomes strikingly clear how much has been lost in contemporary culture in the name of some hypothetical personal freedom and individuality.

When a dervish steps over the threshold into a Sufi tekkye, he leaves the ?world? and its concerns behind.

The tekkye is the school of love. We come here to observe, listen and learn, and to practice service? not to pursue the ambitions of the world, not to satisfy or promote our own egos, nor to consume exciting ?spiritual? experiences? (to be continued)

knowing burdens are the foundation of ease and bitter things the forerunners of pleasure.

See the porters struggle over the load!

It?s the way of those who see the truth of things.

Home/Lineage/Practice and Adab/Adab: The Courtesy of the Path , Adapted from traditional sources by Kabir Helminski

Paradise is surrounded by what we dislike; the fires of hell are surrounded by what we desire.

Rumi, Mathnawi II, 1834-7 We are not merely Love?s passive instruments; we are also it?s servants. In order to know how to serve, Love needs to be grounded in knowledge. Love without knowledge is dangerous. With love alone we could burn ourselves and others. With love alone we could become lunatics. Love is such an extraordinary and complex power and the human being has such a great capacity for love that to dismiss it as an unknowable mystery is like standing in awe before a fire and saying we don?t know what this is, how it started or what to do with it.

Adab is courtesy, respect, appropriateness. Adab is not formality; it helps to create the context in which we develop our humanness. Every situation and relationship has its proper adab: between students on the path, in relation to family members and elders, in relation to one?s shaikh. Every level of being also

"Ada b is cour tesy, r espect, a ppr opr iateness.

Ada b is not for ma lity; it helps to cr eate the context in which we develop our huma nness."

HA SA N DEDE

&

THE UNIVERSA L M EVLEVI W ISDOM

Watch t he videos on Yout ube...

Relationship Between M evlevi Order and M usic Veli Vural / Emre I??k

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evlevi order and lodges used by Mevlevi dervishes affected both Turkish and the other country?s literary and artistic works in all around the world for seven centuries; and they were one of the most important sources for Ottoman ? Turkish music especially since 14th century when Ottoman ? Turkish music turned into an institution.

The enthusiasm of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi and his son Sultan Veled (both of them played rabab) for music underlies the relationship between Mevlevi order and music.

Mevlevi order is different from the other orders because it explains itself with not just religious leverages but with philosophical and mystical ways. In this perspective, Mevlevi order became known all around the world and it sparks so many foreign researchers?interest.

Mevlevi lodges which are foremost in Konya and all around the Turkey are visited by so many local and foreign tourists in each year. This interest actually is because of both unique Mevlana precepts and whirl and music. Moreover, Mevlevi ceremonies draw so many attentions because of whirl and music.

It is still discussed whether music and whirling is illicit or not.

Undoubtedly, Mevlana was discussed about this topic.

However, music and whirl was so important for Mevlana because he thought that a person could not be educated completely without music and whirl. Music is a unique treatment method to heal and glamorize human soul in Mevlevi philosophy. The following quotes

from Mevlana?s Divan-?Kebir explains it very well. ?Enjoy your soul with two-wire and three-wire instruments everyday.? ?Voice of Rabab is the voice of all the people who is from Turkey, Greece or Arabia, if they are in love.? Until 16th century, music during whirl was played by a board consists of the period?s singer and musicians. The songs played in those days were mostly anonymous. Ceremonial method started to be shaped in 16th century. In the lodges used by Mevlevi dervishes, a train about both Mevlevi customs and methods and music was provided since the beginning of foundation date of the Ottoman Emperor.

Talented students were chosen to be educated in the lodges and then those students were trained by both academically and theoretically. Education method with practicing, namely playing music was based on teachers and the teachers taught the methods with repetitive way.

Each of the students learned his or her teacher ?s attitude and this education method continued.

Music education was provided in Mevlevi lodges?classes called as cell and in lodges used for whirl and ceremony. Students were grouped as their knowledge and they were educated according to their area. Singer and musician teams were classified as those areas of expertizes and then all the students who became an expert of his or her branch had a right to join musician board. In the beginning, orchestra just consisted of a small double drum, a rabab and a reed flute; but, in 17th century orchestra started to consist of an oud, a violin, a quanun, an hammered dulcimer, a

drum, a kemencha, a girift, even a piano and a cello. However, the piano and the cello was used for just a few ceremonies. Lodges used by Mevlevi dervishes in ?stanbul were: Yenikap?Lodge, Kulekap?s?Lodge, Be?ikta?

(Bahariye) Lodge, Galata Lodge, Üsküdar Lodge and Kas?mpa?a Lodge.

The most important teachers, composers and musicians were: Buhurizade Itri Dede, Hamamizade ?smail Dede Efendi, Zekai Dede, Hac?Faik Bey, Sultan III. Selim Han, Neyzen Salih Dede, Hüseyin Fahrettin Dede, Neyzen Emin Dede, Rauf Yekta Bey, Ahmet Avni Konuk, Nayi Osman Dede, Aziz Dede and Neyzen Emin Dede.

Mevlevi order affected Turkish music directly and mostly. All the most important musicians and composers in Ottoman Emperor were educated in Mevlevi lodges.

In the publication of Mevlevi ceremonies book provided by Mr. Rauf Yekta with the contributions of ?stanbul University, Rauf Yekta states that; ?During writing about epic history of Turkish Music, it might be seen that all the famous Turkish composers were from Mevlevi order. Those composers dedicated their wisdom and talents to compose Mevlevi ceremonies.?

Kaynakça: Abdülbaki Gölp?narl?, Mevlâna?dan Sonra Mevlevilik, ?nk?lâp ve Aka Yay?nevi, ?stanbul 1983, s.455 / Necip Faz?l Duru, ?Mevlevi ?airlerde Ney Metaforu?, Uluslararas?Mevlana Sempozyumu,c. I, (?stanbul: Mas Matbaac?l?k, 2010), s. 351; ayr?ca bkz. Eflakî Menak?b-ûl Arifî'n C.II, s.176-177. Divan-?

Kebir, VI, 244, B. 2429. Divan-?Kebir, IV, 154, B. 1402. Gölp?narl?, s. 456. / Fatma Adile Ba?er, ?Tahrir-ü Tahririyye I????nda Mevlevi Ayini Formu?, / Uluslar aras?Dü?ünce ve Sanatta Mevlana Sempozyumu Bildirileri, (Konya: Rumi Yay?nlar?, 2006) 700 / Fuat Yöndemli, Mevlevilikte Sema ve Musiki, Nüve Kültür Merkezi Yay?nlar?, ?stanbul 2007, s. 175. Gölp?narl?, s. 455. Gölp?narl?, s. 371.

Fuat Yöndemli, s. 338.

"The lea f of ever y tr ee br ings a messa ge fr om the unseen wor ld.

Look, ever y fa lling lea f is a blessing."

Mevlana Rumi

Sermed Berktav

A Holy and Aesthetic Discipline in M evleviyeh: Literature Nur Y?ld?z

53 nder the title of ?Mevleviyeh and Literature?we will try profoundly to get information on the relationship between Mevlevi Dedes and sufis, that are filled with divine love due to their Mevlevi upbringing, and literature, belles-lettres which were said with a lofty aim and will try to consider the essential part of Turkish Sufi Literature. While doing this, surely, the only light will be Mawlana Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi, who is the voice of divine and enthusiasm.

U

In this context we need to explain what literatĂźre is.

Literature is a meta-language which aesthetically can be putting down on paper of emotions and thoughts and it realizes via language.

As is clear from the definition, a language that humans speak ( apparent ) and also from a parent language ( batinĂŽ ) is mentioned .

Brief literature on language and its use as a tool in daily life and we are beyond taking also into an upper tongue finds life as a reality that manifests itself in a form aesthetic emerges .

An art with literature, especially of Turkish literature, the Mevlevi sect , with significant impact and contribution to our considerable intellectual and artistic life has fostered a considered way . When we take into account and click on ' aesthetic ' concept in the above definition , we at all times get the chance to observe Mevlevi culture of the elegance of the peak , traditional ( Divan Literature) even our modern literature how gives momentum for both, reading and living . Even this effect has spread

to other writers and poets around the world, particularly the Supreme Mevlana's immortal work , including Masnavi , opening an irreversibly literary breakthrough with the other works , the unity of philosophy and vision almost been instrumental in the spread to the entire world population.

Mevlevi lodges from the beginning until today, has worked as an arts and cultural institutions as well as the activities of the sect , that has been the center of many poets and writers were grown.

Again, a concept contained in the same definition When we mentioned that what the metalanguage, the true identity and function in Sufi literature we have kept enough light. As a matter of inner world ,the literature is an external reflection from the friends of God that has endless ocean of divine of their inner world. Externally as a style is reaching the public, and as a world, it appeared to humanity as a final stop of the discipline of Sufism. Almighty in the Mawlana's words, people have been able to taste the appearance of this world in proportion to their bucket.

Lover of the God became mortal in God, giving his heart has removed his personality and each particle is God's work and on the reach of God morality dress he wore became the language of the divine presence and then He has acquired a language beyond the apparent pre-owned ' metalanguage ' and presented to the public as literature. In the past it is said so literary language of God. Right now he is speaking of God , and he is called humanity in an aesthetic grounds as the voice

of God Almighty . This, no doubt , could be realized through a grace gained through overcoming the self -order during the spiritual journey. Because as our Lord Pir said ?God is sheer love, grace?.

However, the human condition in this way , seated on the agenda of humankind , this divine presence status can create their own unique language. Literature is the nameof discipline that emerged in this language. Hazrat Mawlana frequently uses in his works the statement of?tongueless - lipless '.

It allusion to the divine presence

"God is sheer love, gr a ce."

Mevlana Rumi

that he has essentially the inner world , the way she appeared in my Adam is a discourse manifestation of a particular language. It irony, that the existence of god , the original owner 's inner world is a manifestation of human progress resulting from the specific language. God to talk , God to feel , the God to scream and God found his language on the basis of the aesthetic . Lover of the God,

54 mingled with the greatest blessings of love in the country of absence , he has achieved a unique pearls diving to the depths of the ocean to the homeland and then It is offering a bunch of people cheer the hearts of those pearls. He has gifted to mankind as insatiable tune whispers on the true identity of the mysterious and captivating for ears with the Tongue of the Gods.

About all this gushing from overflowing the lover ?s body is divine words. Still yet, the word ?adab?constituting the origin of the literature word , we realize that it is still sourced from the immutable principles of Sufism.

Hence, literature is only a top area of the metalanguage of decency country that it?s people can gain this.

Or for what other reason would our almighty book, the Koran also be called a Love Letter , only to be seen in Mevlevi tradition? Mankind has read these beautiful love letters sent to Habib from Almighty God for centuries . Following in the footsteps of our Lord all Evliyaullah (Lovers of the God) perform their literature reading of this holy letters; both externally and mostly internally while forming their literature .

While our Mawlana calls out , ?Fall in love , chose love so that you can be a selected human,?he emphasizes that the work of literature may be the manifestation of the exclusive Essence . Because literature is a necessary consequence of love.

The journey to the inner world and Miraciye is the door into the literary output saints . In Mevleviyeh is the only reality of God's existence, it is being seen as there is no reality ; existing is God manifested through these entities. Every moment is recreated in the universe and become opponents unto everything is relative in this world , The world's people do not know the true meaning of God 's servants in gold and silver , they will be slaves . The only way to get rid of slavery is love of God. Given this aspect of mysticism in general , is the country 's language and literature in particular freedom of the Mevlevi Order .

Love Sultan Mawlana , his works provide us with literature, it has excited the hearts of a guardian of peace, as a pir, murshid have a wash in the light of the human mind , peace of mind and were saved from pollution and duality and clean.

Every moment we hear and see something about everywhere about Mevleviyeh, aiming to look from its window in the first presentation of our literature Mevlevi this series , we want to put an end the with his literature of living Mawlana Mevlevi Hasan Dede:

55

ROSE GARDEN...

"I wa s with my Lor d at a r ose ga r den I even looked at the r oses without his knowledge M y Lor d sa id to me, Sha me on you!

You a r e looking at r oses when I a m her e!.."

Finding the Friend Cemre Genรง

57

W

e need (beams of) light that will waken the flame in us and carry us to eternity. We need lives that will hear our screaming and give hope to our miserable souls. We need souls to lead us into the light and friends to end our loneliness. We need to live as a human and cherish others. Even if our bodies come to end some day, we need people who will enlighten our souls.

Rumi says in his Mathnawi (V ? 1730 - 1735) : ?Continually from Heaven (spiritual) water and fire will be coming to thee and increasing thy provision. If it (thy aspiration)bear thee tither, ?tis no wonder: do not regard thy weakness , regard thy search (aspiration). For this search is God?s pledge (deposited) within thee, because every seeker deserves something sought (by him).

Strive that this search may increase, so that thy heart (spirit)may escape from this bodily dungeon. People will say poor so-and-so is dead, (but) thou wilt say ?I am living. O ye heedless ones! Though my body, like (other) bodies is laid to rest, the Eight Paradises have blossemed in my heart. ? (translated text used from: The Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rumi (by R. A. Nicholson) V ) What Rumi noted in his Mathnawi, this desire of God

that allows the evolution of human spirit is perhaps the starting point of all religions. Without this desire, we would remain just as a body. But through this desire we have learned to know and to be conscious.

God has increased diversity in order to raise consciousness. That?s because every single thing would occur with its opposite. In fact each opposition became a proof for each other - until reaching the ?One?.

In Fihi Mafih (Chapter 2) Rumi says ?He who knows his own self knows his Lord."

Just as the? astrolabe reflects the movements of the heavens like a mirror, so the human being ? as mentioned in ?We have honored the children of Adam.? - is the astrolabe of God. Those who have been moved by God to see the one reality and learn Its ways through the astrolabe of their own being, behold moment by moment, flash by flash, the testament of God. Indeed, it is an infinite beauty that never leaves their mirror. (translated text used from: The Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rumi (by R. A. Nicholson) I & II) When I look out of my window, I see people rushing around and colliding each other, honking cars in the traffic jam. I am getting depressed; the world is

58 shrinking and it becomes meaningless; I think how shallow is everthing. Suddenly I realize that like always I?ve fallen into this feeling of emptiness and pessimism, out of habit. Then I want to look at this outer World once more.

This time not through the imaginary past thoughts that I?ve created myself but realistically, without prejudice and by putting my mercy in the front; I watch things again.

Running people, playing kids, salesmen, young people talking on their phones, students coming from school, drivers horrifying others by improperly passing in traffic, beggars, poor, each one shows himself on present-day?s stage with different life stories. They look like they?ve got caught in their desires and wishes. Their lives are passing by blaming the God or sometimes priding themselves on. And sometimes they poison their environment with their pessimism and insatisfaction? in fear and anxiety, they neither catch the time passing by nor get any satisfaction from the lives that they?ve created themselves. It seems like they are not aware of it, or they are aware but don?t know what to do with it.

Rumi says in Fihi Ma Fihi Chapter 2: ?It behooves us to strip away all our prejudices and seek out a friend of God. However, when we?ve spent our whole life in the company of people who lack discrimination, then our own discriminative faculty becomes weak, and that true friend may pass us by unrecognized.

Discrimination is a quality that is always hidden in a person. Don?t you see that an insane person possesses hands and feet but lacks discrimination? Discrimination is a subtle essence within you. Yet, day and night you have been occupied with nurturing the physical form that does not know right from wrong. Why have you devoted all your energies to looking after the physical, entirely neglecting that subtle essence? The physical exists through that essence, but that essence in no way depends on the physical.? (translated text used from ?Discourses of Rumi (or Fihi Ma Fihi) based on the original translation by A.J. Arberry ) As in the phrase ?He who knows his own self knows his Lord?, human being is the one

"I nside ever y soul, ther e is a pen wr iting a nd a hea r t r ea ding..."

Exalted Rumi

59 reflecting God and the discrimination quality of the God exists in him. ?Inside every soul, there is a pen writing and a heart reading. The Mevlevi teachings and practises help us realize God?s conversation among the soul and the heart.?

Human is a realm. This world is created for the sake of him. But unfortunately he doesn?t appreciate that. ?Human! You are the Divine book. You are a mirror reflecting the God?s beauty. Whatever exists in this universe, it is not outside of you. Whatever you ask, ask it from your own self; everything that you seek, you are already that.? Rumi You said ?Die before dying?; I kept feeding my self.

You said ?Give up your ambition?, but I kept fueling my fire. You said ?Don?t break hearts? and I crushed and crushed. You said ?Stop despair ?and I closed the door of hope. ?Don?t be fragile? you said, I put up concrete walls and lives. I blamed myself and everyone else because it was easier. I apologize for not obeying you my Lord.

Someone said: ?I have neglected that true purpose.?

Rumi replied: When this thought enters a person?s mind and they criticize themself, saying, ?What am I about, and why do I do these things?? When this happens, it is a sure proof that God loves them and cares for them. ?Love continues so long as reprimands continue,? said the poet. We may reprimand our friends, but we never reprimand a stranger. (translated text used from ?Discourses of Rumi (or Fihi Ma Fihi) based on the original translation by A.J. Arberry ) Our world is a realm of opposites, each and every single thing has its opposite. Love, hate, good, evil, sour, sweet. But all is the same to us, all is One. Rumi says in Fihi Mafihi Chapter 58: If night lasted forever, our eyes would become dazzled and our brains would go insane. Therefore we rest and sleep at night, and the brain, thought, hand and foot, hearing and sight, all gather strength. By day they expend these powers.

So all things appear in opposition, but to the wise they all work together and are not opposed.

Show me an evil in this world without good, or a good thing without evil. For instance, a man

intent on murder becomes preoccupied with some other evil things (the man?s wife), and as a result he sheds no blood. There is no doubt that (taking the man?s wife) it is evil, but since this saves (her husband?s) his life (she also sees this)it can also be seen as good. Therefore evil and good are one thing and inseparable.? (translated text used from ?Discourses of Rumi (or Fihi Ma Fihi) based on the original translation by A.J. Arberry ) Prophets and Saints are people who have mastered their art. Their aim is not to be appreciated, it is to warn and grow the people who want to develop themselves and to give them their identities. How can you compare the people?s appreciation to God?s appreciation?

Mithat Bahari Beytur says in his book ?Rumi Through The Eyes of The Mathnawi? : ?The qualifications of God?s Saints are spoken out to make others want to have them (qualifications). The nearest road that leads to God is a conversation with God?s Saints. What one gets from a conversation with them for a day, he can?t get that much in a year ?s work by himself. As long as the heavens and the earth remain, their (God?s Saints) existence also remains.

The existence of universe is created for their existence. ?

When I think of those Saints - those lovers of God and servants of the Prophet ? I imagine them saying ?Hey my friend; the road is not out there, it?s inside you.

You?ve got the ingenuity to revive, flourish and to give up.

You?ve got the ingenuity to fill yourself with the God. You should ferment the dough well if you want to be relishable. I do not have anything other than God, whatever comes out of me, it?s nothing but His existence. Now it?s your turn to understand the truth.

If you ask why it has to be the Saints; whatever you need in this world, there is someone to fulfill this need. Just like teacher fulfills the need for learning, doctor cures the illnesses, if you set off on a journey then you need a guide who knows the way; for friendly conversations you need friends; and if you want to know your own self, then you need the Saints. None of them is out of you, but since you didn?t study their discipline, it is not inside you either.

You can?t do any of it by yourself, you certainly need a ?Friend? to accompany you.

The Invitation of the Exalted Rumi from Being a Servant to Being a God Esin Kaya

61

I

n the shining path of The Exalted Rumi, in the pursuit of self-conscioussness instruction of our Hasan Dede, in which has infinite supremacy, we are obliged to look at all universe affectionately.

When we say ?all universe?, we mean an infinite and a wide universe from stone to earth, from plant to animal and all sort of people.

As long as we live with our carnal-self, we discriminate, and thus, be in duality. If we try to penetrate into the looks of our prophet Muhammed which is a great mercy to all world, even if just a tiny drop, which is our essential aim, then, we will be looking at all world with unity look. We only request the right way from God for those who have deviated from that look.

To grok the instruction of The Exalted Rumi which invites us to know the true estimate of mankind is to set out on a journey to know ourselves. Come on! Let?s step together in order to proceed on this path.

We shall step on the the path of knowing and understanding of ourselves, excerpting (and reading them) from His masterpieces. We should not forget that the steps of an ant are small, nothing is certain but the unforeseen. It can climb over the hills, which is bigger than itself, with patience. And it can achieve its goal.

What sort of a path of The Exalted Rumi? What do people find in it?

We shall listen to His words.

The story is told in The Feats of the Knowers of God. One day, three men asked The

Exalted Rumi: ?What is your path??

He responded with a verse of The Koran: ?That?s my path. We invite our followers to God with a certain evidence.? Thereupon, three of them became His disciples.

The Exalted Rumi who invites community to Lord presents us information about this path downrightly. He explains God like this: ?All prophets and saints nothing said about the truth of God, and also they could never make decision about what God was. I say, based on the secret of the divine light of Prophet Mohammed, God is pleasure from top to toe. Those who does not taste cannot understand it. I completely dived into that pleasure. The pleasure of the community is the reflection of it because the faith is completely pleasure.?

The Exalted Rumi wants His disciples to catch those pleasure moments and find them in their souls: ?In the eyes of lovers, I am not a physical object, not a body ; but the pleasure and mildness in the mouth of disciples, when they hear my name and my words.

Once you have caught it in your soul, you should regard it as a prize and be grateful for that. I am that pleasure.?

The Exalted Rumi wants us to give our hearts to God. He says that: God informs: ?We pay attention to the hearts, not to the form, which is made up of water and earth.?

You may say that you have heart, however, the heart?s place is higher than the ninth heaven, not downstairs! The Exalted Rumi draws a parallel between our heart and earth, which mixes with water. He goes on telling: ?Watch out our water(essence) and see, it

is trapped in the earth.? It is possible that earth can absorb the water and thus, can decay. How can it be? He explains like this: ?Whatever you are apt to, property, position or bread, they finally start to get you drank.

When you cannot find them, you will have a terrible headache.

Thus, our situation shows us why we are in this present case. We are drank because of the things we cannot find. The slave of property, position or bread is the slave of this earth! The Almighty Rumi who says ?God is with those who looks at His own works, and, is not with those looks at Himself ? also adds: ?To reach anything (or anybody) apart from God is possible by approaching it. However, one can reach God only with patience. He is more visible than the sun.

Whoever still wants to look for evidence after reaching Him, he will lose.?

We can understand how The Exalted Rumi values His disciple, from the words in The Feats of the Knowers of God:" Whether world knows or not, our body is the soul of our disciple, and, the body of our disciple is the soul of the world.?

There are so nice words in Mathnawi, as well: ?God created and brought saints to this world so that each can spread over mercy to the all world. They invite folk to the harem(privacy) of God.?

He informs us in His Great Divan in order that we shall be beautiful souls: ?If you are with God always spiritually, you will be a beautiful soul. Oo, the soul of my soul! If you are so, then, how bright you will be finally. Thus, it is the time to cheer up, calling out to Heyy, Heyy!?

The Story of Ayaz Cansu Z. Kaplanta?

63

A

s servant Eyaz was very clever, he had hung his old cutting-curb and hide into a room.

Every day, he used to come in that empty room and say, it is your cutting-curb, do not become haughty!

Some people talked about him to padishah, they said that he had a secret room, that he had put his collected gold, silver and pot of golds.

He never let anybody to come in.

His door was always locked.

Padishah said that it was strange and added: What was the thing that servant hold out on us?

He commanded on a governor that he had to go and come in that room, and ransack whatever he found, and, that he told everything to the fellows.

He asked if he accumulated gold and silver although he was honoured with numerous gift and respect, attained grace by us, as he was so greed.

You! This servant! The one who cheated on being fidelity, on uttering his love, on getting enthusiastic.

Everything except from servitude is haram for those who find some aliveness in love.

In midnight, that governor went to open the door of Ayaz, with his thirty trusthworthy fellows.

Lots of brave men lighted the torch, were going to the room exultingly.

They said: That was the order of our padishah. We were going to open it and get the bags of gold.

One of them said:?Hey, what is the gold? Give me the news about carnalian, garnet and pearl?

As that servant was the most special creature in treasure house of padishah, he was valued at a life for him.

Compared to love the padishah has got, can anybody mention about ruby, garnet and carnalian?

The padishah did not have doubts on the servant. It was only a joke for tryout.

He thinks that the servant was far from the all tricks. However, his heart again was shivering due to his anxiety.

He said: God forbid! What if the story was true! Then, Ayaz could be hurt when he realized. I did not want him to be hurt, He might have not done it. Even if so, well. He is my friend, my beloved. He could do whatever he wanted.

It means I did it! I am a veil, however, he is indeed composed of me. I am he, too.

It is a nonsense word, a futile phantasy because the servant is quite far from that kind of bad habits.

It is impossible that Ayaz did something like that since he was an abyss ocean.

If you rescue from dissension, why do you think ill of him and be a hypocrite?

The actions of those who have bad suspicion about human are always unsavory. Then, he will read his own book about even his friend.

Those lowlifes who were totally erroneous named prophets as

"Ever ything except fr om ser vitude is ha r a m for those who find some a liveness in love" Mevlana Rumi

64 wizard and erroneous. Those governors who were totally erroneous and were actually lowlifes suspected of Ayaz.

They claimed that Ayaz had the treasure in his room. Do not see others in your mirror.

Padishah knew that he is completely pure, and, he wanted Ayaz inspected for the governors.

And padishah said to the governors that they should open the door of Ayaz so that he could not notice it.

Thus, his opinions would be clear. Afterwards, we would know what to do (about punishment) I bestowed the all gold and silver on you. But, inform me about what you find.

On one hand, the heart of the padishah was shivering for Ayaz, who was unique for himself.

These confident governors standed at the door of him as to find treasure, gold and pot of gold.

They unlocked with great joy and hundreds of ability.

It was locked safely, does not resemble other kind of locks.

Ayaz had locked his room to hide his secret from public, not to hide his property or treasure.

He thought that some could accuse of himself being a twofaced and that some could build bad hopes.

These ambitious governors opened the door with hundreds of eagerness.

They entered, trampling each other, like the flies flocked into smelly ayran and fell into it.

Flies move to ayran with haughtily and without a second thought, however, it is undrinkable when they plunge to it. Their two wings get wet and get stuck in the middle.

They looked around when entering. (There) were nothing, but only a cutting-curb and a hide.

They said : The room cannot be empty, this cutting-curb must be something to hide the real. We shall bring pickaxes to dig the ground.

They dug everywhere, made a hole in. While digging, the ground began to talk and said to them that there were not anything in the soil.

Finally they were embarrassed for their suspicion when nothing found. They started to fill again the ground with soil.

65 Each was praying, La Havla. The birds of avarice were undernourished.

Clefts on the wall and at the door were the witness of their dottiness for nothing.

It seemed as if they were not walls. They were the adverse witness so that the governors could not deny.

The wall and the ruin bears testimony when an innocent has been implicated.

In conclusion, they arrived at the presence of the padishah, in dust and dirth, in shame.

Padishah hide his opinion and asked them: ?What?s the matter? In your armpits, there is neither gold nor packet.

If you hide the money and nice cloths, then, where is the joy on your face?

Some says that the root secretly proliferates, but its harvest is seen on its face. Its leaves are green.

Whatever that grown branch absorbs from the sugar and from the poison in the root, has declared what it eats.

If there are not any bud in the root, what are these green leaves on the branch?

Even if the soil seals the mouth of root, the branches of ?hand and foot? bear testimony.

Those confident governors apologized all together, like shadows, kowtowing in the presence of padishah.

We did what we were deserved. The Almighty padishah, do for us what you wish. The padishah who illuminates our hearts, you are right if you do not forgive our offense; but it will be a grace for us if you forgive. You are counted as though you acted like night in night. And you are counted as though you acted like daytime in daytime.

The padishah said: I do not want those moanings for myself because it is Ayaz?s right. That malefic things were not to me, but to him. This wound was made to the vessels of that beautiful slave.

Oh Ayaz, judge them. Oh you, the one who is completely pure, and, who bewares of misdoing hundred times.

I cannot find any cheat on you even if I put you to the proof, boiling two hundred times.

Folk is ashamed of being tested, but you put everybody to shame in tryout. This is not only an knowledge ; a bottomless sea, simply mountain, hundreds of mountain.

When the padishah told these sentences, Ayaz responded: My , this grace and gift are yours. I know it in this way. I already consist of that cutting-curb and hide.

Therefore, the prophet said that: Whoever knows his nefs (himself), knows God.

The Exalted Rumi, Mathnawi, Volume V, Couplet 1857

In The Presence of Divine Love Sibel Safiye Avc?

67

"J

ust? God! All void, just God!..?

The sound of the cold wind was mixing with the call for the evening prayer. I tried to get my collars closer together, hardly feeling my frozen fingers. I didn't want to be late, so I walked faster.

The snow I was crushing with my feet were accompanying my rush with their clump. I hugged my notebook tighter. Did I take my pen with me? I suddenly put my hand on my guldeste (a Mevlevi belt). Yes it was there. I exhaled deeply with a relief. It was cold, probably Konya was having one of the strongest winters ever. My master Rumi's smiling face appeared in front of my eyes suddenly? "Come on son, where have you been?" he said with the sweet tone of his voice, looking at me with the hazel eyes that burn my pupils like in a glow, warming my soul. It was like the sun rising suddenly, I wasn't cold anymore?

I walked faster, I ran into our temple to reach my Rumi right away?

"Dear rider of the Gods' way! If you are in love with this way, this order, do you know what the key to the doors of faith and love opened by the enlightened ones is? It is to repeat the words "There's nobody but God- La ilahe illallah" as frequently and as nicely as possible."

This is the order of my master Rumi, in other words our home.

Every inch of it is a glass palace, just like the embracing heart of my master Rumi? That's why I always walk slowly here, because

every step we take here has deep and significant meanings. Every brick on the walls of our temple, every stone in its corridors, each candle that lightens up our ways, all roses in the garden, and even each dew drop that lands on the roses at dusk, every string the musicians play, the melodies from the reed flute of the neyzen, each rotation of the hemlines, each whirling of the dervishes, if you listen carefully, chants the One...

Chants God? Chants Love. From my perspective, it chants my master Rumi.

"These beautiful feet would keep walking to sultans' room in ecstasy. These gentle hands would organize the roses in the garden and make bunches."

You might ask how come I'm accepting my master as God. I would like to answer this with my master Rumi's love and truthful words, to his master Shams. When people asked him "Why do you idolize Shams so much? Why do you call him God? You are worshipping a human being, not God. Our religion says this is blasphemy. How can a human being be God?" My master answered them: "Why do I idolize him? Because in him I see the light of God, I see Mohammad, Ali. The whole wisdom of the truth, I attained through him. He told me about me, he taught me what man is, gave me my identity. Who would I idolize if not him?" Then he looked at his master Shams and continued ?No matter if they call me an infidel, no matter if they take my words as blasphemy. No matter if they burn me in hell, as long as I'm with you. Without you

heaven and hell are the same, dear light of religion! With you, even hell becomes heaven. I won't leave the true way? God chose me for his identity, taught me the secret of his identity. Whatever comes out of my mouth is the word of God, nothing less, nothing more.Nonetheless, it's not right to reveal all the secrets, tell the whole truth. It is better to speak according to the listeners understanding. God knows better? ? Then he said ?Hayy? ? and started whirling. The whole universe was whirling with him. Of course, this could only be noticed by the eyes that see. When he opens his arms to whirl, the earth and the sky would come together with love. Unheard melodies from the sky would cheer up the ears.

This again, is only available to the truly hearing ears? ?What is it that honors the skies?

What is it that once it leaves, it is obvious that something valuable has gone? The gathering is lost, the cheer is lost. To demonstrate that the spiritual, immaterial joy doesn't come from the reed flute or the timbrel, it comes and goes without notice."

As soon as I entered the room, my eyes met with my masters'. I bowed to him with deep love and respect. Then I did the same for his master Shams sitting next to him, and his son on the other side, Sultan Veled. Shams was sitting in great dignity and humility like always. His appearance reminded me of a gentle gazelle with a fearless lion inside. He was a musk scented gazelle that brings lions to heels.

68 "Such a gazelle came from the plains that the male lions put their tails into hot sand out of her fear."

My sultan, Veled was already on a journey to his soul through the strings of his rebab. He used to watch his father Rumi all the time and follow his lead. And rebab actually was an instrument my master Rumi used to play. Although we were at the same age, I had enormous respect for Sultan Veled. He was my sultan, almost a remembrance from my master Rumi.

"There are so many nuances and secrets from the world of love that won't fit into words and expressions.

Glorious God reveals them through instruments like the rebab.?

As I was thinking about these, my master Rumi turned to me and as always said: "My soul Husameddin! Why were you so late? My eyes were on your way? " and smiled. I would always get a little shy and embarrassed when he says this, because I would be so scared of not being worthy of his attention and imminence. Fear is also needed in this way, but not a fear caused by the lack of faith. It's the fear of hurting that dear friend you're so fond of, the fear of loosing his fellowship.

Because he's such a charming friend that accompanies you through this road. It's critical to be aware of his value and hold the cup of love upwards, not downwards so that it won't spill. Your friend also always wants to be in your heart, and to be alone there. He'd be scared of the evil eyes that may follow you.

"Dear soul! I'm the most worthless creature of this world. You however are the greatest, biggest and strongest of all creatures that exist. Dear love, you are scared of me while you are away from me. I am with you. If you are with me, there is no need for fear." (to be continued)

69

"The gather ing of lover s is differ ent. The dizziness of this wine of love is differ ent too...

The science lea r ned in school is a lso differ ent fr om the wisdom of love..."

Mevlana Rumi

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