An event titled 'Understanding Mevlana' was organized by Üsküdar University's Health, Culture and Sports (SCS) Department on the occasion of Mevlana's 750th Anniversary of Reunion. Prof. Dr. Ali Güzelyüz, Head of the Department of Persian Language and Literature at Istanbul University, attended the event as a guest. Güzelyüz, who mentioned that Mevlana's thoughts can undoubtedly help today's people and the world, provided information about Mevlana's life.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that bringing Mevlana into the present and dressing him in the attire of this era would add value to human life, stating that renovation, not reform, is needed.
Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör attended the event held at the Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall, Central Campus of Üsküdar University.
The opening speech of the event titled 'Understanding Mevlana' was delivered by Özcan Demir, Head of Üsküdar University's Health, Culture and Sports (SCS) Department.
Later, SCS Manager Sadık Paksoy spoke to the participants about Mevlana and his sayings.
Prof. Dr. Ali Güzelyüz: "Mevlana's thoughts can help people and the world"
Prof. Dr. Ali Güzelyüz, Head of the Department of Persian Language and Literature at Istanbul University, delivered his presentation titled 'Information About Mevlana'.
Güzelyüz said: “Mevlana is a universal figure whose works are researched worldwide and translated into various languages. Throughout centuries, Mevlana's universal ideas have garnered interest from people of all walks of life. This interest continues to grow daily, inspiring more and more individuals. One of the qualities that keeps Mevlana perpetually relevant is the profound thoughts in his works and the love and peace that humanity always needs. Mevlana's thoughts and words appeal to all people, regardless of religion, language, or race. His noble ideas can undoubtedly help today's humanity and the world. They can guide them toward their goals. His thoughts are oriented towards rationality. They are enlightening and instructive not only for his own time but also for contemporary people and today's world.”
Peyman Jaferi: "To find the truth, we need to embark on a journey"
Peyman Jaferi, Head of International Relations Department at Üsküdar University, noted that one small step to finding the truth could be to free oneself from prejudices. Jaferi said: “What Mevlana is trying to tell us is not about materialism, but that we need to embark on a journey towards science and to find the actual truth. One small step to finding the truth might be to rid ourselves of our prejudices. It is very common in our society.”
In the program, also attended by Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Tarhan pointed out that bringing Mevlana into the present would be a value that adds something to human life.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: "We need to dress Mevlana in the attire of this era"
Tarhan said: “It is important for young people to understand Hz. Mevlana and to strive in this regard. Actually, we are looking at it in a way that would please Mevlana. Normally, we shouldn't go back to the time of Hz. Mevlana and examine his ideas under the conditions of that day. We need to take Hz. Mevlana's ideas, thoughts, and perspective, bring them to today, and address them with today's attire, today's methods, and today's methodology. If you go back to that day, it just becomes a historical value. However, if we bring Mevlana to today, he will be a value that adds something to our lives. If we can look at Mevlana with this perspective, we must dress him in the attire of this era in our current lives. If we dress him in the attire of that era, he will be misunderstood; we would merely say, 'He was a very good person, he served greatly, he has historical value, and thank him,' thereby valuing him, but his contribution to us would be very weak. For this reason, we need to bring Hz. Mevlana to today and think, 'How can we implement his ideas under today's conditions? How can we apply them? How can we make them a means for the enrichment of our inner world?' Indeed, those who first understood Hz. Mevlana were those who succeeded in embarking on an inner journey of discovery. Someone who fails to discover themselves, to embark on a journey of discovery, to know themselves, cannot understand Mevlana nor Sufism. Sufism emphasizes a person's ability to maintain balance between inner reality and outer reality. If a person can evaluate their inner world and reality in some way, it is especially important for Mevlana's ideas to guide us like traffic signs. If we see Mevlana merely as a doctor, as a historical figure, if we see him only as our cultural heritage, we would be doing him an injustice.”
Tarhan: "Not reform, but renovation is needed"
Tarhan underlined that in order to explain Mevlana to the younger generation, his stories need to be adapted to today's needs; “Those who were the sun illuminating their era, illuminated that era, but they preserved the essence of that era and used its methods. They didn't really reform, but rather renovated. As you know, reform means changing the roof. So, if you're reforming, you change the structure. If it's renovation, you change the details while preserving the essence; this is what is needed. If we cannot do this, we particularly cannot explain Hz. Mevlana to the younger generation. For us to be able to explain it to the younger generation, it is important to take Mevlana's stories and adapt them to today's needs. His stories are already used in medicine and in third-generation psychotherapies. It's called narrative therapy. You use narrative therapy by drawing an analogy, taking a metaphor. You take a story, an anecdote metaphorically, and use it by making a comparison. This method is a scientifically used method. It's like this: what do you do when you cannot see a truth that is far away? To show that distant truth, this idea is written in Bediüzzaman's books, very impressive. He says, 'If the truth is far away, you use binoculars to see it.' What do binoculars do? They bring the distant closer. In comparisons, it takes an issue used as an analogy and makes a comparison. You bring a distant truth closer, as if looking through binoculars, see it, and understand it. The human brain also has a characteristic; the human brain does not accept information as true knowledge unless it conceptualizes it, makes it understandable, and eliminates uncertainty.”
"Without rational belief, we cannot understand Hz. Mevlana"
Tarhan, speaking about the need for a rational belief for people in this era, said: “This is the age of communication, an era where everyone encounters all kinds of positive and negative information in their daily lives. In such an era, the method of meaningful interpretation, conceptualization, and eliminating uncertainty is different. Therefore, it is necessary to make it align with reason for everyone. Scholars used to do this. People then trusted and appreciated scholars. Now, everyone questions everything like Ibn-i Sina. Because they question, it is necessary to make sense of the truths. They ask, 'Why should I believe in truths?' There are paths leading to truth.
4 paths leading to truth!
These are: first, experimental and observational methodology; second, reasoning methods; third, rational intuition; and fourth, rational belief. Non-rational belief is not convincing. I went to Japan, and there was a Crow Temple there. I said, 'Can there be a Crow Temple?' I didn't believe it. I asked a friend, it's very nice, right in the middle of Tokyo. People go into the temple, throw money into a pool, and say, 'It will protect me for a year.' It removes the uncertainty in their minds for a year. If we told this to a Japanese youth now, they wouldn't believe it. So what will you do about this? People of this era need a rational belief. That belief is Tawhid. There are 4,300 religions. Among 4,300 religions, which one is the closest to reason? It is the belief of Tawhid. When you say, 'Form a conception of God,' if it is a conception of God in the form of Tawhid, it becomes rational. Therefore, without rational belief, we cannot understand Hz. Mevlana. If a person has doubts about believing in Allah, they will only listen to Hz. Mevlana's words like a story and cannot internalize them much.”
Musical recital held
Following the conclusion of the speeches, a 'Musical Recital' was presented to the participants by the Aşkefza Turkish Music Ensemble.
The event concluded with a group photo session.