The individual human soul which inhabits a body seeks company. It has been said that all souls exist in the company of other souls in a place of happiness and peace, content in being where they are with each other. When a child is born, it is natural that it cries, for it is the soul that is mourning it's leaving from the peaceful place of it's pre natal existence. In the life of this world, that soul is ever searching for what it may have known in the past, whether that soul inhabits the body of a lifetime spouse, a teacher or a friend. So, encouraged by the mysterious power of love, we move on searching and seeking that which will enhance our growth in this life so that we may attain fulfillment in the next, another soul that seems to complete us and allow us to realize the existence of God. The bliss of meeting, recognizing and knowing that soul is unexplainable. But we know it when it happens. Joy is the offspring of the meeting, a feeling of sheer delight that accompanies our hopes and dreams, the realization of possibility and certainty. There is little else as powerful or memorable as that meeting. It reminds us that of that which is greater than our existence, that which is beyond time and space. It is a cosmic event, and this event is ours and ours alone.
So, Jalaludin Rumi wrote in his Mathnavi "ah, but for a friend to mingle all their soul with mine", he was repeating a prayer that everyone in their hearts expresses at one time or another. A prayer for a meeting with a being who will transform the soul that yearns for completion into a soul of fulfilled dreams and satisfied longings, receiving answers to life's questions, garnishing one's being with the stamp of knowledge and, most importantly, attaining a trust with the very creator or powers of creation of the universe itself. Thus, it is a well known theme in spiritual literature that for enlightenment, a person may need to meet another who would break the chains that hold the person back from achieving this enlightenment, imbue them with their blessing and knowledge, and move on. In the epic of Gilgamesh, oldest story in the world, Gilgamesh the King sets out to discover and learn. He meets Enkidu, a wild naked man of the forest. Their initial fight and wrestling represents the struggle of Gilgamesh with his ego. The two then become close, go on exploits together, and Gilgamesh learns how to become a man. Enkidu dies, and Gilgamesh about learns life's greatest mystery, which is death. In a similar manner, Moses goes into exile in the desert and meets Elijah, who takes him on a journey of enlightenment, imparting sacred knowledge and learning to the once prince of Egypt who will become God's law giver. Jesus meets John the Baptist, who lives in he desert, is rebellious and somewhat uncouth compared to the rabbis of Jerusalem, yet he preaches of a God of love and might to whom all lovers must be 'baptised' in faith. This man dressed in sheep's wool confides to Jesus knowledge and secrets, then is beheaded. Jesus then goes on to his destiny. In the Hindu tradition, Krishna meets Arjuna and teaches him what he must know. Buddha goes out into the world and meets those who would teach him about the meaning of our existence. The Moghul emperor Akbar, once a mighty warrior who could behead prisoners with one stroke of his talwar with astonishing precison, marries the beautiful and wise Jodya, a rajput princess who instructs an Akbar reeling and remorseful from his bloody past and seeking the knowledge of a forgiving, all loving God. He then becomes the most tolerant ruler in his world, enlightened by his marriage to this princess of the Rajputs, a people fierce and defiant to previous Moghul conquerors. King Arthur is bested by the mysterious roaming knight Lancelot, becomes like brother to him. He is dismayed that he would make love to his beautiful wife Gueniviere, and so banishes Lancelot from Camelot. The once and proud city deteriorates due to man's greed and obsession with pride and a search for a Holy Grail, but in the final battle between good and evil the loyal and loving Lancelot returns, to fight by Arthur's side. They both learned that humans are not perfect, but can always improve and live up to the highest standards we all agree are the highest. This is the Grail, within our hearts. So, the meeting of the learned scholar or the cultured king and what seems to be the person of God or the essence of goodness in the 'wild' is an old story and a common theme. Souls search for each other, in this case to impart divine knowledge to a hero, a deliverer, or a prophet.
This is still the case to be found in varieties of spiritual education. In India, the Hindu Guru/Shishya relationship or in the Sufi tradition there is the Murshid/Muhip. Both systems depend on the master and disciple relationship, with the disciple making an oath to question nothing and to do as told. In the Indian and Japanese musical traditions, a teacher might instruct the student to do nothing but sit with an instrument and not play even one note. Strange, perhaps, but something is to be gained from doing nothing. I had a friend who wished to study Japanese Shakuhachi flute, and was instructed to sit on his knees for an hour a day and breathe, continuously. When he complained that he wanted to play, and question as to why he had to do this seemingly silly practice, the teacher dismissed him. When pressed for an explanation, the teacher explained that to get a proper sound from the instrument, one had to develop breath control and a straight back, which could only come from practicing sitting in this way. Absurd as it sounds, my friend said that he now agrees that his teacher was right and he simply young and impatient. In these traditions, like in the stories I mentioned, we are asked to perform the outrageous so we learn to break our ego. There is no enemy to enlightenment like our self.
The well documented meeting of the 13th century scholar Jalaludin Rumi and the wandering Shamsi Tabrizi is but a personal story that has been enacted many times over in the ancient past. It was Shams, the wanderer, the mysterious homeless man of the roads and byways, who would instruct the erudite scholar Jalaludin, tame his ego and break his will, teach him the way to trust and love, thereby becoming a close companion of God. What he could not learn from books, Jalaludin would learn from life itself. Shams, on the other hand, was like a boiling cauldron of God intoxicated love that needed a daily emptying. So, these two souls were destined to meet and give and take. It was their destiny, a destiny written long ago in another dimension.
One cold Anatolian November morning in the city of Konya, modern Turkey, saw the great scholar Jalaludin Rumi riding majestically upon a horse. He had just given a lecture at the College of the Cotton Merchants. Various merchants and craftsmen formed guilds, known as esnaf, in those days, and they sponsored teachers, the arts and education. Rumi's students accompanied the great sage in the street, honored to guide his horse by holding onto the stirrup. As the entourage passed by the Inn of the Sugar Merchants, a mysterious ragged man dressed in an old patched wool robe and owning no possessions, seemingly penniless, jump out and grabbed the bridle of the horse. He shouted "teacher of the Muslims: who was greater, Abu Yazid Bistami or Muhammad the Prophet?"The crowd was astonished, but Rumi's eyes were transfixed to Sham's, feeling a power that he never felt before. He answered "The Prophet was greater". Shams then continued, holding tightly to the bridle of the horse as the students stared and became a bit perplexed at this stranger. "Did not the prophet say 'we have not known ye as ye should be known' while Abu Yazid exclaimed 'how great is my glory? I am exalted, my dignity upraised, I am the Sultan of Sultans?" Rumi answered "Abu Yazid satisfied himself with a mouthful of water, but Muhammad sought to drink every day, more and more. That is why he said 'we have not known thee as thou should's be known'." At hat response, Shams called out to God and fell to the ground. He had found the one to whom he could outpour the secrets of his heart. Rumi dismounted, and keeled on the ground next to Shams, and the two embraced. The two souls, long separated, had found one another in this world. They recognized in each other the divine light. Both beings had a lesson to impart to one another. Their destiny was being fulfilled.
Happy in the moment when we are seated in this palace, you and I
With two forms, two figures but one soul, you and I
The colors of the grove and the song of the birds will bestow immortality
At the time when we come into this garden, you and I
The stars of heaven will come to gaze upon us
We shall show them the Moon itself, you and I
Individuals no more, we are mingled in ecstacy
Joyful and secure from foolish babble
The bright plumed birds of heaven will devour themselves with envy
In the place where we shall laugh in such a fashion, you and I
This is the greatest wonder that you and I, siting in this same nook
Are at this moment both in Iraq and Khorasan...you and I
Shamsi Tabrizi, the 'king in the patched robe' taught Rumi about simplicity and true love of and trust in God, though sometimes in a rather unorthodox manner. What he could not learn from books and studies Rumi learned from the script of the human heart. Enlightenment is not a fixed place Shams taught. It could be at the top of a mountain or at the bottom. Enlightenment is the beginning of every movement. "You must live what you know" Shams said one day as he threw a disturbed Rumi's books into a pool of water. "These books of theories are meaningless, but if they mean so much to you, I'll fetch them and they will be dry". Rumi learned that the knowledge of he heart surpassed all that he learned from his books.
Humans are human, after all, and jealousy is a human emotion. Rumi, caught up with his beloved friend, reciting zikr together and praising their creator daily, spent less time with his devoted students. Rumi was becoming enlightened beyond measure, being filled with the presence of the divine, like a battery being charged, a fire being kindled.
The man of God is drunk without wine
The man of God is full without meat
The man of God is distraught and bewildered.....
The man of God has ridden from non being
The man of God is gloriously attended
The man of God is concealed, Shamsidin
The man of God do thou seek..and find!
The students had enough. They registered their complaint and it was agreed hat Shams should go away for a short while, traveling to Damascus. But the love these two great men had for each other was a love like no other, and Shams returned to Rumi's joy. They continued as before, contemplating God and praising his name. But the students could not see or understand what was happening. They wanted their teacher's undivided attention, and decided to get rid of this mysterious man once and for all. They plotted to murder Shamsi Tabrizi. On a May night in the year 1247 AD, Shamsi Tabrizi emerged from the cell where he and Jalaludin had spent so much time together, and entered the garden to get some air. There, the students surrounded him and stabbed at him. He cried out "la illah ila Ana"...there is no God but me! And with that the consciousness of his attackers was shattered. When they came to, all that could be found was a few drops of blood. Shamsi Tabrizi was gone. For a month those close to Rumi searched and searched for his beloved Shams, but no body was ever found. He refused to believe his friend was dead. Once some person said they thought they saw Shams in Damascus. Rumi gave the man his turban and robe. When told the story was probably fabricated he exclaimed "I have given my hat and robe for a lie. For the truth I would give my head."
Lost in sorrow and trying to make sense of it all, Jalaludin Rumi walked alone everyday aimlessly. He prayed and fasted, his body becoming thin. What could this all mean, what is the purpose that this stranger in a patched robe would come into one's life, then leave suddenly? He began to remember that Shamsi Tabrizi taught that we get everything we need, and when we don't need it anymore, when we learned what were supposed to learn, it leaves us. A wine glass is useless once the wine has been drunk, the drinker in a stupor because of the wine, not the glass.
One day, as Rumi was walking past the Gold beater's bazaar, where craftsmen beat gold into beautiful jewelry, plates and dishes, he heard the beating in rhythm. As he heard this beating in time, all he could hear was 'All-ah All-ah All-ah'. The days spent with Shams reciting God's name over and over manifested in Rumi's heart center. He began to turn and spin, dancing in the streets as the prophet David had in his time, intoxicated in God. Everywhere he gazed, every sound he heard was God. Nothing else existed for him. Shamsi Tabrizi was gone, but his lessons and teachings illuminated Jalaludin Rumi so that he could achieve a God consciousness unimagined. Now the reason for the meeting was clear.
It was after this that Rumi, now called Mevlana, or master, lay the basis for what became one of the foremost and well known Sufi orders, the Mevlevi. To this day, they partake of the mystical dance and perform music during the ceremony known as the sema, and recite the poetry of the Mathnavi, the collection of Rumi's writings often referred to as the Quran in Persian. Mevlana's philosophy is one of love and tolerance, regard for all beings and creatures. God is not to be found in the mosque, temple or church, even in the holy Kaaba. But you will find God in the human heart. Shamsi Tabrizi, mysterious and strange, dressed in a patched robe, came to teach the well dressed and regarded learned scholar Mevlana Jalaludin Rumi and pass on eternal knowledge so a seed could germinate into a flower who's fragrance would intoxicate lovers and seekers many centuries later. God is love, God is the act of Love, only Love exists, therefore only God exists. All else will eventually vanish except his face.
Come whoever you are
An unbeliever, a fire worshipper
Our convent is not of desperation
Even if you have broken your vows a hundred times
Come, come again
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