Life Increasing Light

It is said that a great king came to visit a great saint of the time, and as a gift he brought a pair of priceless golden scissors adorned with diamonds and rubies. With great humility, he fell at the feet of this great saint and handed him the scissors he had brought as a gift with great respect. The sultan of hearts takes the scissors in his hand, examines them, and says the following while handing them back to the king: "Thank you, my king! These scissors are really very beautiful and a very valuable gift. However, I do not need them at all. I would have preferred you to bring me a small, simple needle." "I don't understand, sultan!" says the king, utterly bewildered, "If you need a needle, you will surely need scissors."

To this, the great sultan replied: "I don't want scissors because it is a dividing and separating object. It cuts and tears everything, but the needle is the unifier, it sews and unites what the scissors cut and divide. I teach love, all teaching is love. My aim is to unite everything. So the next time you visit, please bring me just a small simple needle."

This may be a small parable, but there is much to be learned from it. Like a pair of scissors with diamond stones, it is easier to divide and fragment society with fancy words, and to discriminate against various beliefs and thoughts, than it is to unite and gather like a small, simple-looking needle. As long as this world tailor shop exists, it is inevitable that various scissors and needles will be needed. While some people cut and tear like scissors, others try to unite the broken and separated pieces like needles. Heartful arifs, on the other hand, watch all these things in silence and only in an arifane way. Ibrahim Hakki Hazretleri of Erzurum:

Allah makes good out of evil

Don't think that it's not true

The sage watches the moment

They have expressed this state very beautifully by saying, "Let us see what Mevlâ will do.

I regret to say that since I cannot be in that state of perfection, I cannot stay out of the whys, wherefores and questionings, incapable of keeping silent and watching.

Recently, as we all know, there have been some speculations about Hz. Mevlânâ and his path. The most remarkable of these is undoubtedly the ones that try to portray the Prophet as belonging to a sect and a tradition.

But there is something very strange, very difficult to understand, and that is, "As long as I live, I am the servant of the Qur'an. I am the soil of the path of the Prophet Muhammad. If someone quotes my words other than this, I complain about the quote and the quote."(1)

The way, the trail of the Prophet is love.(2)

The religion of love is separate from all religions. It was the fact that those who said, "We are on the path of Hazrat Mevlânâ, we are Mevlevi", whose path, trace, religion and sect were clear, whose path, trace, religion and sect were known, whom the whole world referred to as the "Sultan of Lovers", were also in search of and discussions about this sect.

How was it that some of our Mevlevi friends, who embraced the whole world with love, friendship, brotherhood, feelings of love, friendship, fraternity, with the tenderness of a mother, who, like the sun, did not discriminate any creature, but illuminated them with his divine light, came out from under the umbrella of love of Hazrat Mevlana, still in search of a spiritual identity, under the broken umbrella of a narrow thought that illuminated only its own surroundings like the flame of a candle, remained in sectarian strife, in search of identity.

These events are not very new, they are rooted in very old years. Our researcher and writer Şefik Can, who devoted his life to Hz. Mevlânâ and his works, in the communiqué he presented to the 10th National Mevlânâ Congress, "Today's Mevleviism" symposium organized by Konya Selçuk University on 02.05.2002, he summarizes the subject as follows:

"I am very sorry to say that even we Mevlevis are divided into two. One is the way of Shams and the other is the way of Veled. The path of Hazrat Mevlana, who was a path of complete wahdat, unity, love and affection, who always talked about unity and said "Don't think of me as falling into duality", has been divided into two by his lovers, if you allow me, I would like to explain how this situation has come to this situation by talking about my memories. Many years ago, I had very dear close friends like Hacı Muzaffer Ozak and Raif Yelkenci, who sold books in Istanbul bookshops. One day Mr. Raif Yelkenci invited me to his shop and showed me an old, handwritten memoir of the Sheikh of the Egyptian Mevlevi Lodge. In these handwritten memoirs, which Mr. Raif Yelkenci and I read and analyzed together, the Sheikh of the Egyptian Mevlevi Lodge said the following:

'Until the Janissary Quarry was abolished, all Mevlevi lodges were serving in unity in the way of the Prophet Mevlana. When the Janissary Quarry was abolished, Bektashi lodges were closed down, and when the Bektashi fathers who were mufti were persecuted, some of them took refuge in Mevlevi lodges and were protected and helped by the Mevlevi grandfathers of the period. After the Bektashi fathers took refuge in Mevlevi lodges, some Mevlevi lodges remained under the influence of the Bektashi fathers, while others continued on their paths that had continued after the Prophet Mevlana. Thus, Mevlevism was divided into two, the Bektashi followers were called the Shams branch, and those who continued on the path of Hz. Mevlânâ were called the Sultan Veled branch.'

I have tried to present them to you from a handwritten memoir I read. Of course, you are the judge."

While Şefik Can leaves us alone with our understanding and comprehension, we see in historical facts that Yenikapı Mevlevîhânesi in Istanbul has been the representative of the Sultan Veled branch and Bahariye Mevlevîhânesi has been the representative of the Shams branch, which was influenced by the Bektashi. In our recent history, Abdülbâki Gölpınarlı and Midhat Bahari Beytur, one of the sheikhs of Bahariye Mevlevîhânesi, who are well known for their works on Hz. Mevlânâ and his works, represented the Shams branch, and Tahir'ül-Mevlevî Hazretleri, who grew up in Yenikapı Mevlevîhânesi, represented the Veled branch.

One of the very important reasons for the misunderstanding of Hz. Mevlana in this regard is that the poems of some poets with different views and opinions have been mixed into the works of Hz. Pîr. Midhat Bahari Hazretleri translated Divân-ı Şemsü'l-Hakâyık by Hidayet Han, one of the Iranian poets, into our language in three volumes. This translation was published by the Ministry of National Education. I regret to say that in this three-volume translation there are many poems that do not belong to the Prophet Mevlana. These poems are the poems of some Shiite and Ismaili poets. Unfortunately, the translation of these poems into our language without any sorting out has led to the misrecognition of the Prophet Mevlânâ in our country.4

While these poems were being translated, our teacher Şefik Can told Midhat Bahari that it would be very wrong to translate poems that did not belong to Hz. Mevlânâ and that he could voluntarily review and weed out these poems, which belonged to other poets, if permission was given. However, upon the request of the then Minister of National Education Hasan Âli Yücel, who wanted the poems to be translated, and Midhat Bahari, who translated them, the work was translated and published with the poems that did not belong to the Prophet. Although our teacher Şefik Can later applied to the Ministry of Culture with a petition and stated that he wanted to voluntarily correct this translation, which could cause misunderstanding of Hz. Pir, his efforts in this regard remained fruitless.

Of course, it is quite natural that those who read these poems, which are outside the beliefs of the Prophet, may have different opinions, if they are of a slightly different persuasion.

Whether we accept it or not, within these historical facts, Prof. Dr. İzzettin Doğan, with the support of some of our Mevlevi friends, has clearly revealed his wishes and desires, which have no affinity with Hz. Mevlana and his teachings, in front of the visual and written press, by making Hz. Mevlana a partner in his thoughts and wishes, despite the fact that he has no material, spiritual or legal basis for his work within the framework of his own ideas, his expectations from our state and nation, his personal problems, and his personal problems.

The fact that he expresses his expectations on behalf of all Mevlevis scattered all over the world in various colors and languages, when he does not have the necessary knowledge and the right to speak about Hz. Mevlana and Mevlevis, has deeply wounded not only me, but all Mevlevis who devote their hearts to Hz. Pîr without any concern for political rant and interest.

By saying "If I am the city of knowledge, Ali is its gate...", the Prophet showed the most sublime gate to knowledge, wisdom and humanity. As the Prophet said, it is not possible to limit that great door of knowledge, whose boundaries are limitless, whose spiritual power and greatness have been confirmed by the Lord of the universe, neither to a sect nor to a religion; We are not the property of a few like gold, we are like the sea, we are like the mineral, we are the property of everyone. We are not the property of a few people like gold, we are like the sea, we are like the mineral, we are the property of everyone. We are not fit for words or numbers, we are a priceless treasure, (5) and we cannot consider the Prophet Pîr as the property of any association or foundation just because "Mevlânâ" is written on his door, and we cannot squeeze a vast ocean into a glass of water and a great sun of love into a small candle flame. All associations and foundations can say whatever they want on behalf of their organizations within their own framework. However, no one has been given the authority to speak on behalf of all Mevlevis in the world, to make statements, and to have material expectations from our state and nation.

Love is the classroom where we learn.(6)

"Just as in the madrasah where fiqh is taught, the reasons for expulsion and expulsion are tied to rules and customs, know this well that the madrasah of love also has laws." (7) The way of the Prophet, who said, "The greatest answer to an ignorant person without understanding is to remain silent." (7) Of course, the way of the Prophet has a method and etiquette. Those who have the real say in this matter, in the face of these irresponsible and very wrong behaviors, have followed the guidance of the Prophet who said, "The greatest answer to an ignorant person without understanding is silence." (7)

In the tailoring shop of this world, while some are cutting and cutting with scissors in their hands, "We are the zülfîkâr of Hz. Alî in war, we are not the sultan of bribes. We sew and patch the shredded cardigans of the heart." (8) Mevlânâ, with the needle of love in his hand, tried to unite what was cut and collect what was scattered.

Love is where we are taught. And it is Allah, the Owner of Jalal, who teaches us spiritually (9)

The path of love is outside the beliefs of seventy-two nations.(10)

The religion of love is separate from all religions. Allah is the Shari'ah and the sect of lovers.(11)

I don't know how to swear, but let me tell you that I am neither this nor that.(12)

With some couplets in the Masnavi and Dîvân-ı Kebir, which I have tried to briefly present to you in the lines above, Hz. Mevlânâ has explained the path and spiritual identity of himself, and therefore of all Mevlevîs who try to follow the same path. It is not possible for even a single Mevlevî, who has taken these divine words of the Prophet as a guide, to have any material expectation from our state and nation, or to be involved in a religious and sectarian dispute. If someone says: "We are only trying to make Hz. Mevlana and his teachings known to a wider audience, we are working for this cause", of course it is not for me to say anything, because Hz. Mevlana gave the best answer to those who pursued personal ambitions by hiding behind his blessed name centuries ago.

Do not remember us. There is no need for that, because we are without "us", we are the wind and we blow everywhere.(13)

If you are not going to cleanse yourself of spiritual impurities, stay away from us! Our own beauty is enough for us.(14)

  1. Ş. Can, Mevlânâ, Rubailer, 1311.
  2. Ş. Can, Mevlânâ, Rubailer, 49.
  3. Sh. Can, Masnavi, c. 11, 1768
  4. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr preface.
  5. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, vol. 11, 842
  6. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, c. 1, 162
  7. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, c. 1, 145
  8. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, c. 11, 755.
  9. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, c. 1, 162.
  10. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, c. 1, 135
  11. Sh. Can, Masnavi, c. 11, 1768.
  12. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, vol. 11, 805
  13. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, c. 1, 93.
  14. Ş. Can, Divân-ı Kebîr, c. 11, 742.