President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, met with teachers in an online interview organized by the Children and Teacher Reading Club, discussing his book “Yunus Therapy”. The place of Yunus Emre’s teachings in contemporary psychology and modern humanity's search for meaning were discussed. Describing our era as a “modern interregnum period,” Tarhan drew attention to the distraction and loss of values brought about by digitalization. Emphasizing the need to integrate Anatolian wisdom into the modern education system, Tarhan highlighted the education system's need for modern dervishes through the metaphor of Yunus Emre wearing a tie and being brought into schools and lessons.
“The era Yunus Emre lived in was a period of interregnum…”
Meeting online with educators who read his book "Yunus Therapy," written by Nevzat Tarhan, Tarhan emphasized that to better understand Yunus Emre, one must look at the conditions of the period he lived in. Tarhan stated; "The era Yunus Emre lived in was a period of interregnum, just like during the times of Mevlana and Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli. At that time, the Knights Templar and Mongol invasions had left great destruction in Anatolia. Almost no one remained in their village whose sheep had not been stolen, or in their family whose child had not been kidnapped. At a time when the Seljuks had disintegrated, Anatolia was left ownerless, and the environment of trust had completely vanished, Yunus Emre completed his education, received guidance from his master, traveled through various lands, and attained different spiritual ranks. When he reached his eighties, he penned his work named 'Risâletü'n-Nushiyye,' in which he gathered all his poems. Upon hearing a shepherd he encountered while wandering in the mountains recite his poems from memory, he said, 'Alright, I have fulfilled my duty,' and passed away shortly after. In fact, Yunus Emre tried to heal those deep social and individual traumas in Anatolia through the language of poetry. Poetry is a field that directly mobilizes emotions and restores the soul."
"Modern Dervishes" are needed in the education system
Emphasizing that Yunus Emre should be re-explained according to today's context and Anatolian wisdom should be integrated into the modern education system, Tarhan highlighted the education system's need for modern dervishes through the metaphor of Yunus Emre wearing a tie and being brought into schools and lessons. Tarhan stated, "Yunus Emre is one of the greatest masters of our Anatolian wisdom. However, especially with the pandemic and accelerating digitalization, our family institution has become unable to fulfill its function of cultural transmission for the last two or three generations. Now, this transmission is undertaken not by families, but by media and digital platforms. This situation leads popular culture to permeate and harm our family structure. If we cannot present Yunus and Mevlâna to our youth by dressing them in the attire of this age, our children will lose their own original culture and become parts of popular culture. In the coming years, many cultures around the world will face the danger of extinction. If we do not want to be among these disappearing cultures, we must remain resilient. Currently, the only power that can resist the global capitalist system with its spiritual depth is Islamic civilization. If Yunus Emre, Mevlâna, and Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli had not prepared that intellectual and spiritual ground, the emergence of Ottoman civilization would not have been possible. Just as the seeds of monotheism sown by Prophet Muhammad in the Age of Bliss reached the sea with the Umayyads after his death, Central Asia with the Abbasids, and Byzantine lands with the Ottomans, Yunuses and Mevlânas also undertook the task of renewal during those periods of interregnum. Today, we are also experiencing a kind of modern interregnum. Therefore, we should not merely commemorate Mevlânas and Yunuses; we must implement the spiritual construction process they achieved in their time today and re-explain their truths in a language suitable for this era."
“The digital world offers effortless and cheap dopamine”
Referring to the consequences of the short half-life of information, Tarhan said; "His Holiness Ali has a very valuable saying, 'Raise your children not according to the age you live in, but according to the age they will live in.' The biggest mistake we make today is trying to shape our children according to our own habits and the conditions of the past. This naturally leads to generational conflict. In fact, generational conflict has existed since ancient times. We find traces of this even in Socrates' texts, Egyptian papyri, and Hittite tablets. However, while the generational gap used to be 20-30 years, today change is so rapid that serious disconnections occur even within 5-10 years. The half-life of information, which used to be 30 years, has now dropped to as little as 3 years. As educators, we know that 20-30 years ago, a student's attention would only wander after the 15th minute, and it was possible to refocus them with a small joke. Unfortunately, the attention span of children today has declined to 3 to 5 minutes. As emphasized in the book 'Attention Thief' published in France, the endless scrolling movement on social media has severely weakened individuals' deep thinking and focus skills. The human brain develops only through challenge. It is necessary to challenge and exercise the frontal lobe, the center of cognitive skills, which is the front part of the brain. Today's digital world hinders deep thinking by effortlessly offering this effortless and cheap dopamine to the brain."
“Our goal should be the happiness of both worlds”
Stating what the vision in child-rearing should be, Tarhan said; "Can there be a more valuable gift that a mother and father can leave to society and humanity than a well-raised child? Is establishing a successful factory, being a good manager, or attaining respected positions in society more important than raising a good child? Here, raising a beneficial child for society is the most magnificent investment in humanity's future. Furthermore, the spiritual trade dimension of leaving behind a virtuous child should not be forgotten. As stated in some narrations, those who enter the grave as sinners may emerge as people of salvation and inhabitants of paradise, saved by a virtuous child, a continuous charity (sadaka-i cariye), or beneficial knowledge they left behind. The matter has such a deep spiritual dimension. Therefore, when raising our children, we should not limit our vision to just today or this world. Instead of short-term calculations, we should act with a medium and long-term perspective. Our goal should be the happiness of both worlds, encompassing both this world and the afterlife."
“Our values compass has been severely damaged”
Stating that one should look inwards instead of focusing on the external world, Tarhan said; "In human life, there is an inward gaze and an outward gaze. Unfortunately, modern man is entirely focused on the external world instead of turning his gaze inwards. He always links happiness to external reasons. He falls into the misconception of 'If I buy this, I will be happy' or 'If I achieve this, I will find peace.' However, Yunus Emre's prescription at that time was to start with oneself instead of trying to change the world. Today, we live in an era where those who try to change the world by correcting others are themselves corrected by the system. Because we are swept away by the winds of this era, we uncontrollably model the faulty behavioral patterns offered by modernity. In this process, our greatest loss has been the deterioration of our inner compass. Our moral compass and values compass have been severely damaged. Since this spiritual compass that helps us find our direction is broken, our priority should be to repair it and set it to the correct direction."
“Multiplying goodness is the best method to neutralize evil”
Stating that the values of Anatolian wisdom should be adopted as a guide, Tarhan said; "In our inner world, good and evil, light and darkness, or hot and cold are in constant interaction. The most effective method to combat darkness is to light a candle. While fighting evil, one should also light a candle for goodness instead of merely 'stoning the devil.' When you light a light, darkness begins to recede. If you increase the number of candles you light, darkness further diminishes. Therefore, multiplying goodness, both in our inner world and the outer world, is the best method to neutralize evil. Unfortunately, in the era we live in, the boundaries between good and evil have blurred, and a chaos of values has emerged. The values imposed on us by the global system no longer align with true human values. Today's global system glorifies egoism and hedonism, that is, a pleasure-oriented philosophy of life. It promotes the understanding of 'what you like is good, what you do not like is bad.' However, Aristotle divided happiness into two 2,500 years ago. The first of these is hedonic happiness, which capitalism also bases itself on today. That is, a life based solely on pleasure. If a person only pursues pleasure, they become an object and slave of the global system. But if they succeed in pursuing meaning, they can find the answer to all the confusion in their mind. If we want to be the subject of our own lives, not mere figures in the global system, we must adopt the values of Anatolian wisdom and the civilizational heritage of these lands as our guide."
“Awareness does not develop without experiencing crises”
Giving examples from Yunus Emre's 'Elif' metaphor, Tarhan said; "Yunus Emre's 'Elif' metaphor holds vital importance in terms of understanding one's own weakness and realizing the oneness of Allah, monotheism. Being honest in life, standing upright, and looking at everything with the straightforward gaze of Elif completely changes the meaning of existence. Elif here represents both monotheism and that unwavering verticality. Indeed, when the verse 'Be upright as you are commanded' was revealed, Prophet Muhammad said concerning the weight of this responsibility, 'This is the verse that aged me, that made me old.' Elif means transitioning from crookedness to straightness, from dispersion to the center, that is, from multiplicity (kesret) to oneness (vahdet). However, one cannot reach the light of Elif without tasting darkness. Awareness does not develop without experiencing crises. The crises brought by this age should actually open the door for us to illuminate our inner world, to know ourselves, and ultimately to transcend ourselves. For only when one transcends oneself can true happiness be attained through surrender and simplification. This process will add that deep meaning we need to our lives."
“Humility is the ability to build horizontal relationships”
Stating that love and knowledge multiply as they are shared, Tarhan said; "Imam Ghazali says, 'If you fill a room with evils, pride opens its door; if you fill a room with good deeds, humility opens its door.' At this point, the humility people emphasize is not self-abasement, but the ability to build horizontal relationships with everyone. That is, neither to oppress nor to be oppressed. Such a stance undoubtedly requires richness of heart. A person can only give what they possess; someone poor in love and emotion cannot offer love to others. Therefore, we must first become generous in love by increasing our affection for humanity, nature, and the Creator in our inner world. Unlike money, love and knowledge do not diminish when shared; on the contrary, they multiply. However, justice must also be observed in love. Love given to the undeserving or in excess can sometimes foster evil. We see the most striking example of this in the story of Prophet Jacob. Prophet Jacob loved his son Prophet Joseph so much and showed this love so clearly that it paved the way for the jealousy of the other eleven brothers and Joseph's being thrown into the well. Consequently, a severe trial began for both the father and the son. This means that being just in love and distributing love equitably is essential. Yunus Emre gave us clues to this balance. First, we must beautify and enrich our inner world. A person, just like a candle, illuminates its surroundings as it burns itself. To be a light to others, we must first ignite that fire within ourselves and enlighten our own soul." He concluded his words.