Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Mevlana was a revolutionary, he brought about a mental transformation!”
Organized in collaboration with Üsküdar University Institute of Sufi Studies and Kerim Foundation, the 'Friendship' themed talk within the scope of Hazrat Mevlana's 752nd Urs Anniversary Shab-e Arus Week was held at Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Üsküdar University, stated that Mevlana's messages still resonate strongly today, and said, “Even after 752 years, his spiritual influence seems to continue, and he keeps delivering messages to our present day.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated, “Mevlana was a revolutionary; he brought about a mental transformation.”
Rector's Advisor Cemalnur Sargut stated that a divine bond lies at the foundation of friendship, and said, “A true friend is God, or those who come together for the sake of God... Friend means trust, it means loyalty. No one can be trusted except God. But those who are together for the sake of God trust God and their friend.”
Prof. Dr. Emine Yeniterzi, Head of the Department of Sufi Studies Institute, stated, “Friendship is achieved through unity in heart and purpose. Hazrat Mevlana advises us to first show friendship to gain friends; to acquire virtues such as love, respect, loyalty, sincerity, humility, and generosity.”
Organized in collaboration with Üsküdar University Institute of Sufi Studies and Kerim Foundation, the 'Friendship' themed talk within the scope of Hazrat Mevlana's 752nd Urs Anniversary Shab-e Arus Week was held at Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall. Academics, students, and friends of Mevlana showed great interest in the program.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Üsküdar University, who delivered the opening speech of the event, stated that Mevlana's messages still resonate strongly today, and said, “Even after 752 years, his spiritual influence seems to continue, and he keeps delivering messages to our present day.”
“Can we bring Mevlana to this era and solve today's problems?”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, emphasizing the importance of understanding the crises of today's world through Mevlana's values, said, “When we consider Hazrat Mevlana; we are trying more to think if we can bring Hazrat Mevlana to this era and solve today's problems under today's conditions with Hazrat Mevlana's standards, values, and principles, rather than going to Hazrat Mevlana's time and solving today's problems under the conditions of that day. For this reason, Hazrat Mevlana delivers significant messages in this age. Mevlana was a revolutionary; he brought about a mental transformation.”
Referring to the increasing incidents of looting and violence among young people in the USA, Prof. Tarhan, expressing the social tension behind these behaviors, stated, “In the USA, young people, bicycle gangs, form gangs, enter a market, and rob it. Why is something like this happening among young people? In the world, 62 families control 50% of all global resources. There is enormous income inequality. For this reason, serious hostility towards wealth has started in the world.”
They teach Hazrat Mevlana's doctrine under the name 'mindfulness' in schools
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, stating that the search for solutions in the West has accelerated in the face of this situation, continued as follows:
“In elite high schools in the USA, children are taken to Mindfulness in the middle of lessons; awareness, forgiveness, empathy, gratitude journaling… They teach all of these. In fact, they teach Hazrat Mevlana's doctrine under the name 'mindfulness' in schools. They teach these in schools, in high school. But we couldn't start this in Turkey… This actually means knowing oneself and turning inward. The modern global system, on the other hand, constantly gives the message 'Get this, be happy, achieve this, be happy, own this, be happy.' However, Sufi culture teaches to link happiness not to external causes but to internal causes. As you know; what makes a kite fly is not the wind, but the position taken against the wind. How we position ourselves against events is decisive.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, stating that Sufism advises people to act with inner strength, said, “Mevlana explains this truth with many stories. Furthermore, according to Mevlana, what should motivate a person is not money, interest, or ambition, but love. He explains this with the famous compass metaphor: Let one leg be fixed in truth, and let the other leg roam the world. That is, be idealistic, but at the same time, do not lose touch with reality. This is also one of the important messages Mevlana gives to our age. Mevlana also teaches how pain can be transformed. The modern system suggests 'fighting' pain: fighting illness, fighting cancer… However, if we can add the right meaning to pain, we become able to manage it.”
Pain needs to be given meaning and managed
Prof. Tarhan, also touching upon the issue of giving meaning to pain in his speech, said, “When a person experiences pain, encounters a calamity or illness, if they can assign the correct meaning to this situation, that pain becomes manageable for them. Otherwise, pain turns into an uncontrollable force; the person is constantly alert, their vigilance never drops, stress levels rise, and this further exacerbates the illness. However, if a person believes in a higher power they can control; if they think that an omniscient and all-managing power has brought this event before them with an unknown wisdom, and if they can say, 'I must not be hopeless and pessimistic,' then this is called discerning despair. Sometimes people contract a serious illness, and doctors say challenging things. In such times, a person giving meaning to pain makes it manageable and minimizes the psychological problems it can cause. This is what Hazrat Mevlana constantly emphasizes. Furthermore, Mevlana teaches 'cognitive flexibility,' which we call mental flexibility. He advises being flexible in the face of events, managing change instead of fighting it. Because the people who resist change the most are those with high rigidity of thought, stubborn individuals.”
Forgiveness holds an important place in Hazrat Mevlana's teachings
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, explaining that forgiveness holds an important place in Hazrat Mevlana's teachings, similar to the forgiveness module in modern positive psychology, stated, “Just as there are things a person can forgive, there are also burdens they cannot forgive. In situations where they cannot forgive, a person should place this burden within a logical framework; and at points where their strength is insufficient, they should turn to submission and let time assist them. Because one of the ways to take revenge is to be successful. When a person achieves success, those who dislike them become upset; this is a kind of 'silent revenge.' Therefore, pursuing goals instead of seeking vengeance is more valuable.”
Mevlana centered divine love
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that Mevlana's divine love centered on a person recognizing God and turning towards Him, and said, “According to him, a person's main purpose in the world is to turn towards love. However, today, the path of love is sometimes a dangerous one; if a person embarks on this path uncontrollably, they can be swept away. That's why, according to Mevlana, before entering the path of love, a person must realize their state of weakness (acz) and destitution (fakr). To know one's own weakness, deprivation, and frailty before the Creator; to be able to connect one's heart only to Him… Love, of course, has degrees. Mevlana's love represents a peak. For us, remembering God should be possible not only during worship but at every breath, in every state.”
“Sincerity (Ikhlas) is a secret that even angels cannot write”
Emphasizing Mevlana's understanding of love and sincerity (ikhlas), Prof. Dr. Tarhan reminded that Sufism is built upon sincerity and purity of heart.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “Junayd al-Baghdadi says, ‘Ikhlas is such a secret that Satan cannot know it to spoil it, and an angel cannot know it to write it.’ Mevlana also advises turning the compass of the heart only towards Truth (Haqq).”
The talk continued with the theme of 'Friendship'
Following the opening speech, the program continued with the 'Friendship' talk held with the participation of Prof. Dr. Emine Yeniterzi, Head of the Department of Sufi Studies Institute, and Cemalnur Sargut, Rector's Advisor of Üsküdar University.
At the beginning of the talk, Prof. Dr. Emine Yeniterzi expressed that friendship is an indispensable need for leading a meaningful life, stating, “To live life deeply, to make it meaningful, we need a friend, we need friends. Even prayers and fasting can be made up for, but time spent away from a friend cannot be made up for. When you find a friend, you need to hold on tight.”
Friends develop each other, they elevate each other
In the talk, with a special emphasis on the friendship between Mevlana and Shams-i Tabrizi, Prof. Dr. Yeniterzi said, “Hazrat Mevlana was actually an academic who taught in four madrasahs simultaneously. After meeting Shams-i Tabrizi, he attained the science of the heart. This means that friendship is also a tremendous transformation. In other words, friends develop each other, they elevate each other.”
Prof. Dr. Emine Yeniterzi, citing Pakistan's national poet Dr. Muhammad Iqbal as an example, stated that friendship can occur even if not lived in the same time or geography, and said, “Conversation is a tool of friendship. If we want to converse with God Almighty, we read the Holy Quran; for conversation with Prophet Muhammad, we read Hadith books; and for conversation with Mevlana, we can read the Masnavi.” Yeniterzi, who said, “Everything that comes from a friend, whether grace or wrath, should be accepted as a blessing, should be regarded as a blessing,” also stated, “To gain a friend, we must first be a friend ourselves. By conquering hearts, doing good deeds, and showing true friendships, we can also gain the friendship of God Almighty. And that is the greatest good that can be gained in this world.”
Prof. Yeniterzi continued: “True friendship emerges when a person embodies divine ethics, meaning when God's names “Ar-Rahman and Al-Halim” manifest in the servant. Friendship is the reflection of God's attributes in humans, such as mercy, generosity, loyalty, and forgiveness. For this reason, friendship is, in a sense, a moral act of worship. When a person wins the heart of their friend, they actually approach intimacy with the Truth (Haqq). In short, the essence of friendship is love and sincerity (ikhlas); it constitutes the moral characteristics of the ideal Muslim as stated in verses and hadiths.”
“A Friend is God”
Rector's Advisor Cemalnur Sargut stated that a divine bond lies at the foundation of friendship, saying, “A true friend is God, or those who come together for the sake of God... Friend means trust, it means loyalty. No one can be trusted except God. But those who are together for the sake of God trust God and their friend. This is very important. Because they are loyal to them. Friendship is a very great love. It means expecting nothing else, not acting to please anyone, but only acting for the sake of God.”
Cemalnur Sargut, stating that true friendship is possible only through service done for the pleasure of God, using the story of Prophet Moses as an example, highlighted that mutual respect and reverence are at the foundation of friendship and commented, “Being a friend is a much higher level than being a sibling.”
One does not resent a friend…
Sargut, also pointing out the need to know how to be a friend, explained, “A friend does not see flaws. A friend does not think ill of a friend. A friend always has good wishes for a friend. A friend does not bring up past mistakes and shortcomings. A friend does not blame a friend for mistakes and sins. A friend does not disdain a friend. A friend sees a friend's fault as their own. A friend wants to go to heaven with a friend. A friend reminds a friend to respect the boundaries set by God. A friend tells a friend to conceal their spiritual ranks. A friend does not approach those who wrongfully show enmity to a friend in a friendly way. A friend stands up when a friend arrives. A friend never lies to a friend. A friend prays for a friend. A friend never harbors resentment or enmity. A friend listens respectfully. A friend does not try to test. When a friend does something wrong, one assumes they have repented and never mentions it. A friend does not resent a friend. A friend does not punish a friend. Good character is the greatest quality.”
In the talk, Cemalnur Sargut, explaining the depth of friendship bonds and the need for patience in divine dealings with stories from the Masnavi, said, “Hazrat Mevlana taught us this with all his teachings: Only God. There is nothing else. No anger, no resentment, no hatred. Hazrat Mevlana is a great example for us. The Masnavi is a great example.”
Spiritual Solution to Crowded Loneliness
Cemalnur Sargut, also speaking on the concept of 'crowded loneliness' brought about by the modern world, argued that moving away from spirituality leads people to loneliness.
Cemalnur Sargut said, “Loneliness is something everyone has asked me about this year. But there is no such thing as loneliness. There is no loneliness. How can we be lonely? If we are with our Owner, how can we be lonely? But they have never met. They have never met their Owner. God exists. God is always there.”
Sargut, offering advice to young people, added that the most valuable dowry families can leave their children is a spiritual life.
