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Dr. Ali Sahebi, Psychologist: Mawlana Rumi is a response to modern mankind’s need to reach meaning of life

SHAFAQNA- Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, also known as Mawlawi, is one of the prominent, famous and influential figures in the history of Iran and the Islamic world, whose poetry and thoughts are still novel and attractive, not only for Iranians but also for the world, seven centuries after his death, and everyone considers him as a teacher of love.

Dr. Ali Sahebi, a psychologist, lecturer and researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia, says about Mawlana:

Mawlana in Masnavi is really a Coach, that is, he wants to guide people so that they can have a good, happy and moral life. If we read Masnavi carefully and do not keep the theories of psychology as a template and do not put material from Masnavi, Divan-e Shams and even Fihe Ma Fih, in these templates and say that it gives the same meaning, Mawlana sees himself as a mentor and others as those who want to guide them so that they can live in this world in such a way that they have both the world and the Hereafter.

Mawlana is practically a Coach and Masnavi is a very clear Coaching book

If we consider Coaching as unleashing the potential of people to optimize and maximize their performance in life, Mawlana is practically a Coach and Masnavi is a very, very clear Coaching book because Coaching focuses on present and future opportunities and it does not deal with past mistakes.

Mawlana’s intention is to create awareness and a sense of responsibility in the individual. There is a model of psychology in Masnavi, but a model of coaching can be easily seen in it. Masnavi means Mawlana’s attempt to search for the lost paradise of man on the earth. It is a kind of roadmap for traveling within oneself and calling for awakening and moving. This is, of course, what I think Mawlana is doing in Masnavi.

In some cases, Mawlana has made statements that are consistent with the theories of behaviorism, or, for example, Mawlana also says in a way the beliefs of Cognitivism, or what Freud says about the complex, but theoretically, we do not see such a thing in Masnavi, which means that it has explained the construction, evolution and appearance of a behavior in human beings. Mawlana introduces the seven traps as the traps of life and instead, he introduces seven steps we can take to build a good, happy, and moral life for ourselves.

Mawlana is looking for Coaching in Masnavi, because he wants to respond to the turmoil, disorder and human suffering. Mawlana considers the reason for human suffering as ignorance and the fact that a person does not know where he came from, where he is going and to where he wants to lead his life, such a person is lost due to ignorance. Masnavi is not a scientific discourse that we want to adapt to scientific theories, but the presentiment call of a lost and confused person that he does not know where to go.

Whole of Masnavi is man’s relationship with himself or his relationship with God 

Mawlana’s main concern is the liberation of human life. When we look at the works of all thinkers, we see that man has three types of relationships in his life; One is man’s relationship with nature that the natural sciences deal with, and there is no discussion at all in Masnavi about how we should use wood, iron, soil, or anything else. Our second relationship in life is the relationship of human beings to each other in society, which the social sciences must address. Mawlana did not talk about man’s relationship with his neighbor and other human beings, but in some cases he said about love. There is a third relationship, and that is man’s relationship with himself. The whole of Masnavi is man’s relationship with himself or his relationship with God and the creator of the universe.

Mawlana Rumi and Shams Tabrizi, 2007, Masterpiece of Persian miniature by Professor Mahmoud Farshchian, Iran.

He says that human beings suffer because they do not know themselves and are cut off from the world. Based on my view of Masnavi, I believe that Mawlana says that there are seven traps in human life that make him miserable, and he must take seven steps to save himself from these seven traps. So an important part of everyone’s life is to see who they are.

Should I feel not fresh and know not my own duties, how can I play a role in democracy and economics? So first I have to be a lively person, I have to know my own duties, I have to know my life values ​​and my own abilities, and I have to recognize my identity in order to play a big role. Therefore, we are not needless of works like Masnavi under any circumstances.

Mawlana wants to help us find the meaning of life

Even today, that there is Democracy in the West, books or millions of pieces of music are sold by a musician, and this means they are looking for happiness. Therefore, Mawlana, Hafez, Plato, Socrates, and the Stoic philosophers all said that you should know yourself, man. The life which is not tested is not worth living, otherwise, even you enter democracy and a flourishing economy and a prosperous civilization, it will be your first misery because you are being abused and you are not getting anywhere.

Therefore, we should not expect Mawlana to talk about democracy, just as you should not expect me, a psychologist, to offer an economic theory. Today, many people ask what is the use of Masnavi for us?
The answer is to get the meaning of life.

A life is not just pleasure. Because pleasure alone, leads to suicide, that is, along with the enjoyment of welfare, democracy and human rights, the meaning of life must be reached. Mawlana wants to help us find the meaning of life. For this reason, Masnavi is being published more than ever in the United States.

Many Western thinkers and psychologists use Mawlana’s teachings to explain their theories

Thomas Moore, a well-known Western writer who researches in the field of work, says what work a modern man should find, because now everyone is looking for work and going to work, then they get frustrated, they get nervous, or they even commit suicide. The author goes on to say that human beings must find their inner work and do something that they love and that makes sense to them, and not just get paid for it. This author has used Mawlana to explain his theory, because Mawlan says: “Do your job, do not do others’ work”, “Everyone is made for a job (Horses for courses)”.

The modern world, full of democracy, human rights and a prosperous economy, lacks many things, so they refer to Masnavi and many thinkers and psychologists use Mawlana’s teachings to explain their theories.
We need to know ourselves, our abilities and our inner values ​​in any situation, including the conditions of tyranny, injustice or democracy and justice, in order to overcome those conditions and to have effective control over life and to have a good, happy and moral life.
Masnavi is used for every human being and in every economic and social situation and is one of our wings. We do not develop with Masnavi, because it is not a development book at all and we should not expect it to be our everything, but we should use Masnavi in ​​its own field, in such circumstances. It is a good Coach for us, but if we want to use it to manage offices, we need to know that the office will be falling apart.

This news is originally published by IQNA Persian and translated by Shafaqna English.

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