Pointing out that a human needs wings to fly, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that one of these wings is the mind and the other is the heart. Tarhan, noting that Mevlana used these two wings very well, said: “Philosophy uses only the wing of the mind, while Sufism uses only the wing of the heart. We see that Mevlana also used the wing of the mind. If we use both wings in this era, we can find and treat a person's erroneous beliefs within scientific methodology. Hz. Mevlana was doing this.”
“Everyone explains Mevlana in the context of his time”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that he wrote the book Mesnevi Therapy by bringing Hz. Mevlana into the conditions of this era and contemplating what method he would apply in the 21st century; “While writing the book Mesnevi Therapy, I combined two concepts. The first is Mevlana and his Mesnevi works, and the second is psychiatry. There are hundreds of books and websites that write about Hz. Mevlana. I wanted to approach him from a very different perspective. Generally, everyone considers Mevlana in the context of his time, like in ancient times. I am taking Mevlana and, with the work I have written, bringing him into today's conditions. In the environment of the 21st century, with the methods, style, and attire of the 21st century, what would Hz. Mevlana do and what method would he apply if he lived in this era? I addressed this in the book I wrote. Imagine Hz. Mevlana as living among us today, in today's clothes, without a turban and robe. What would he say to us, what would he do? In past ages, religious soundness was important, but in this era, scientific soundness has replaced religious soundness for people. In scientific soundness, they question everything with scientific methodology. There is serious intellectual freedom, objection, and intellectual rebellion. Freedom and critical thinking are the most important methods of this era. When Hz. Mevlana is approached with critical thinking, today's people misunderstand Hz. Mevlana, and some even say he left the religion. My proposition here is to take the main framework, the theme, in Mevlana’s ideas, find his intention and see his efforts under today’s conditions, and then examine how we can apply this under these conditions.”
“Mevlana's pursuit of difficulty was important”
Tarhan emphasized that Hz. Mevlana always pursued difficulty, and the reason for pursuing difficulty was the pleasure of Allah; “A teacher was always giving religious Sufi education to the children of wealthy families. Mevlana, however, was more interested in the wayward types, wherever they might be. When the teacher, who was interested in the children of wealthy families, asked why he wasn't interested in the children of decent families like mine, Hz. Mevlana said, ‘The pleasure of Allah is here.’ Mevlana chose this and developed methods to connect these people to Allah. This worked wonderfully in that era, which is why it has come down to this time. His works emerged with inspiring words created by his emotional and mental efforts. For these words to emerge, Mevlana's pursuit of difficulty was important. He did not repeat the old but tried to do new things. This also has a counterpart in this era. We just spoke of scientific soundness. Scientific soundness is measurement and evaluation. Science is methodology; the methodology applied to search for truth is called science. However, the primary goal of science is to search for and find the truth. When searching for truth, the first stage is experiment, the second is observation, the third is reasoning, and the fourth is beliefs, intuitions. When we look at Hz. Mevlana with the aim of searching for truth, he serves not only a person's worldly happiness but also their happiness after death. Most importantly, when Mevlana is mentioned, Şeb-i Arus comes to mind. Şeb-i Arus is the naming of death as a wedding night. Hz. Mevlana assigns such a meaning to death that this assignment defines death as a wedding, a day of reunion with the beloved. Currently, people of this age cannot succeed in assigning meaning to death.” He said.
“Mevlana used the wings of mind and heart together”
Tarhan emphasized that Mevlana did not dwell on a single concept like only the mind or only the heart, but reached people correctly by combining mind and heart, underlining that a person's ability to fly would be possible with wings, and these wings are the mind and the heart. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Hz. Mevlana is also present in sociology. All of these are a chain of wisdom. Wisdom is the search for truth. Mevlana, within the seeker of truth, combines religion and the world, and with the methodology he used, he appealed not only to people's minds but also to their hearts. Hz. Mevlana activated the heart but did not say to forget the mind. Most of Hz. Mevlana’s followers forgot the mind and only went to the heart. If you go with only the heart, you will be like a one-winged bird. A chicken cannot fly because its wings are short; to fly, it needs wings strong enough to fly. A human needs wings to fly. One of these wings is the mind, and the other wing is the heart. Both wings need to be used. Philosophy uses only the wing of the mind, while Sufism uses only the wing of the heart. We see that Mevlana used both the wings of the mind and the heart. If we use both wings in this era, we can find and treat a person's erroneous beliefs within scientific methodology. Hz. Mevlana was doing this. He finds the thought patterns that cause a person to be depressed, unhappy, and ruin their life, and he tries to correct them. With the methodology of this era, we measure a person's erroneous thoughts. Mevlana’s stories are like medicine for this. By using these stories, we enable people to correct their erroneous thoughts and learn correct ones. Mevlana also provides preventive mental health services. He is a person who falls within the interest of positive science. I think of him as an extremely powerful example who provided a way and direction, combined the wings of mind and heart to reach people correctly, and used both mind and heart to reunite with their Creator.”
Mevlana’s method in this era: Positive Psychotherapy
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that Positive Psychotherapy is the method Mevlana would use in this era. Tarhan; “There are two types of therapy. One is treatment performed by opening a wound, i.e., carried out by surgeons. The ideal is therapy performed without opening a wound, without harming the patient. It is about strengthening the patient and enabling the body to overcome the illness. Its equivalent in psychiatry is Positive Psychotherapy. In Positive Psychotherapy, the method used without delving into the person's pathology, wound, and problems strengthens the person's psychological defenses, ego strength, and psychological resources, so that when the person is strengthened unknowingly, they correct erroneous thoughts and reinforce positive ones. The pathology corrects itself, and the person does not even realize it. This method is the answer to the question of what method Mevlana would use if he lived in this era. The book contains plenty of stories. By interpreting these stories, we tried to explain which erroneous thought Hz. Mevlana corrected with which story.” He said.
“Hz. Mevlana teaches to open one's heart to Allah with justifications”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan recorded his statements; “The most important thing that humans cannot solve is existential problems and crises. Hz. Mevlana solves this very beautifully. Hz. Mevlana actually appeals not only to older and middle-aged people. He also appeals to young people. Currently, we face a questioning generation. They question everything and believe only if they are convinced. A person confident in their ideas does not question. We are confident in our ideas, and we explain them. Let the youth ask, and we will answer. Young people want to believe this way, and they are right. This is the method of this era. There is no generation that lives according to traditions by looking at their mothers and fathers. We will explain to them with justifications. Hz. Mevlana also teaches to open one's heart to Allah with justifications. Thus, he teaches us to beautify and enrich our lives.”