Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made evaluations about the great Islamic thinker Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi on the 748th anniversary of his passing. Emphasizing that Mawlana was not only the person who enlightened and represented Anatolian wisdom, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that in an era where globalization is rapidly growing, and in a world with social and economic mobility, everyone needs Mawlana. Tarhan said, “Mawlana should enter every home; youth should appreciate his value. He is not local and national, but a global person.”
Mawlana should enter every home!
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, shared his views on Mawlana on the 748th anniversary of his passing.
Mawlana illuminates our present day as well
Tarhan, who is also the author of the books Mesnevi Therapy and Family Therapy with Mawlana, stated that Mawlana is a personality beyond times, cultures, place, time, and space. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Such a person illuminates not only his own era but also the present day. Nowadays, Mawlana is generally approached in two ways: 'Mawlana' and 'a Sufi teaching described by Mawlana'. There is a situation as if taking us from this time to Mawlana's time and experiencing the same thing. The real important thing here is to take the values that make Mawlana who he is and present them to today's people in today's context. If we can do this, Mawlana's universal value will be understood more easily and better.”
Everyone needs Mawlana
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that Mawlana was not only the person who enlightened and represented Anatolian wisdom, and continued his words as follows:
“In an era where globalization is rapidly growing, and in a world with social and economic mobility, everyone needs Mawlana. Especially after Covid, the world is experiencing a serious transformation. There is an introspection. This has been the topic Mawlana focused on most in the universe. One of his books is therefore titled Fihi Ma-Fih. He has a work with poems and conversations like 'describing what is within what is within'. Mawlana, when describing people, said, “Never belittle yourself, you are a walking universe.” Mawlana emphasizes that every human being is a separate world and a separate universe. This is also the most emphasized topic in Quranic ethics and teachings.”
During Sema, there is continuous seeking
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that all the movements in the Sema ritual have symbolic meanings, and said, “For example, the conical hat on the head symbolizes a tombstone, the white robe is the shroud, and half of the body represents the material world, and the other half the spiritual world. During Sema, there is no idleness; there is continuous movement and continuous seeking. In motion, they form the 'Alif' symbol diagonally. The Ney (reed flute) in the ritual, being a hollowed-out stick, is personal, and the sound of the Ney is a sign of that person's inner carving. All of these have symbolic meanings.”
Buddhists call Sema Sufi meditation
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that Mawlana takes people on an amazing inner journey, and said, “There are studies conducted on Buddhist monks. They wonder what happens to these individuals during meditation, what happens in their brains. These individuals call Sema Sufi meditation. In Buddhist meditation, a 256-electrode electrode is attached to the person's brain. When the person enters meditation, how the brain works is measured. When the person captures emotions during meditation, they feel integrated with the universe and that all their needs are met; they catch a moment where all their desires are fulfilled, and all their questions are answered. At that moment, the brain secretes an excessive amount of happiness hormone. A state of euphoria, a feeling of flying, occurs in the person.” he explained.
We observed the effects of Sema in 15 individuals
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that they applied a more advanced system than electrodes to see if the same situations occur in Sufi meditation, and continued his words as follows:
“In 2014, one of our master's students conducted a thesis using an MRI device. There is an 'Anterior Cingulate' region of the brain. There are analogies for this region, which regulates emotions, as the brain's gearbox. The same region of the brains of 15 participants in the study worked with tremendous enthusiasm during meditation. One person quit halfway, and 15 completed it. In other words, the area regulating the emotions of these 15 people's brains worked with enthusiasm. All of them experienced the same emotion. They felt an incredible sense of relief as if all their desires were met and all their needs were fulfilled. During this emotion, the brain rejoices. In fact, with Sema, the brain also performs Sema. We activate our brain with Sema. This is an inner journey. Today's people most need to regulate their own emotions. They cannot satisfy their desires, ambitions, and emotions, which are their greatest needs.”
Happiness level is constantly decreasing
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that there is immense economic wealth, but the level of happiness is inversely low, and said, “In the world, the money curve is rising, but the happiness curve is going down. When a person evaluates today, they actually put their past gains into practice. They make their biggest investment for the future. When evaluating today, it is important to live in the moment, not just experience the moment. When we examine Mawlana's methodology, there is a person's inner journey, self-revision, self-regulation, and connecting their heart to their Lord.”
An existential crisis is being experienced due to Covid
Tarhan stated that in Mawlana's Sema meditation, the world and the universe actually revolve around a leader, and continued his words as follows:
“So, there is a narrative of Tawhid (Oneness of God). Covid pushed people into an existential crisis. People started saying, 'What is death? Death is very near; there is loneliness.' They dull themselves with entertainment or various substance use; they are, in a way, deceiving themselves. Covid opened the eyes of people who had the intention to seek the truth. When Covid started, as a university, we conducted a study. We asked people 6 questions from the post-traumatic growth scale. There are results such as 'I improved my relationships with my relatives, I started giving importance to spiritual values, I started spending more time with myself, my children, and my relatives.' In Turkey, 60% of people took a position towards post-traumatic growth. This is actually true for the entire world. People did a 'stop, think, and restart'.”
The need for Mawlana became more evident
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, speaking about humanity that has forgotten its purpose of existence brought by modernism and the capitalist system, running after pleasure and speed, said, “In a way, fate shook people. From this, the need for Mawlana emerged even more. On the 748th anniversary of his passing, Mawlana needs to be talked about more. When Mawlana is mentioned, more emphasis is placed on individual happiness, drawing one's heart closer to Allah, and his reunion (with the Divine). But he prevented the Mongols from plundering his birthplace. He gave them money and prevented them from massacring people. He did something like that there. There are those who criticize him for not fighting blood for blood, but the Mongols left, and most of the remaining Mongols even became Muslims. Mawlana also has a peace-bringing side that the world needs.”
There is global interest in Mawlana
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that they extracted family-related stories from Mawlana's 'Masnavi' and conducted a study in the style of 'Family Therapy with Mawlana', and said, “The book Mesnevi Therapy, for example, was translated into English and had its second edition. There is global interest in Mawlana. One of the issues Mawlana is criticized for is telling very explicit stories. Everyone knows about sexuality, but they don't talk about it. Mawlana showed that courage. He addresses the traumas, conflicts, and difficulties experienced regarding sexuality, which is an open secret. He teaches something from them and establishes a connection with Allah.” he commented.
Shams brought out his inner beauties
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, ‘Shams became a mirror of the sun of truth and caused his inner beauties to emerge’ and continued his words as follows:
“We are in a century where humanity is experiencing an existential crisis. Mawlana responds to humanity not only in terms of internalizing the inner world of a person but also in terms of existential philosophy. It should be approached from that perspective. From a third perspective, Mawlana is not only a person of the afterlife but also a person of this world. He says, ‘Let the world's possessions and beauty be in your hands, but not in your heart.’ He does not say, 'abandon the world entirely,' but rather, 'abandon it in your heart.' But we see that many Sufi teachings say, 'go live in a cave, abandon the world physically.' He did not do that; he abandoned it in his heart. He chose the path of being with the Truth among the people. By doing so, he chose a tiring path. But he developed a methodology up to this point. Mawlana is a global value for us. Let's implement it, evaluate it. Humanity has a great need.”
Mawlana should enter every home
Emphasizing that a new Mawlana will not come and that Mawlana should be explained as a global value, Tarhan said, “Mawlana is a tremendous value. Mawlana should enter every home. If we live Mawlana but cannot explain him to people, then we are responsible. He has a teaching, 'Either appear as you are, or be as you appear,' which is his most well-known saying in the world. Everyone should teach all this to their children. In this time of chaos, a young person who befriends Mawlana can recover even if they encounter danger. We have a reference point like Mawlana, and we cannot teach it properly to our children. It was not in school books in old times, but it is now. Youth should appreciate its value. It should be taught more.”
Mawlana is not a local but a global person
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that they use the teaching 'Either appear as you are, or be as you appear' in third-wave psychotherapy in psychiatry, and said, “It is referred to as conscious awareness therapy. We can also call it metacognitive therapy. We know the metaverse, but we don't know metacognition. In fact, we can say that this therapy is a meta-mind therapy, like the metaverse. In the world, there are third-wave psychotherapies related to a person embarking on a meta-mind journey, recognizing and correcting themselves by seeking, finding, and correcting transcendent values. Unfortunately, the world (meaning, generally the US) discovers them, and we use them. In fact, we live on this treasure. His teaching is truly a universal teaching. Mawlana is not only national and local but a global person.” he concluded.