“The spirit is like an ant, and the body like a grain of wheat which the ant
carries to and from continually.” -Rumi
The year 2007 was declared to be the year of Rumi, by UNESCO. It is the 800th
anniversary of the birth of Mevlana Celaleddin - i Rumi, who was a great
humanist,
mystic and poet, a Muslim spiritual and literary figure, whose teachings have
the power to unite humanity. As the reality of an inner dimension is common to
all of humanity, his teachings, poems unite us by reminding us of our
interconnectedness by this transcendent part of us called the immortal soul.
Rumi put his life’s work at the service of humanity by educating at the human
level. Rumi’s teachings are valuable for inspiring people to live together
harmoniously with themselves and with others. His teachings are timeless,
transcending cultural and religious barriers and are universal. They remind us,
of the importance and function of human values such as Fraternity, Solidarity,
Justice, Love, Generosity, Compassion, Tolerance, Patience, Authenticity,
Courage, Beauty, Truth, Simplicity and Understanding to name a few.
Today most of these values have been emptied of their true meaning or are not
even recognized anymore as valuable and essential. How can we live as human
beings if we
don’t even know what human values are, furthermore if we don’t practice them? To
learn to be human is the purpose of philosophical wisdom teachings, Rumi tells
us. The
focus of his philosophy is humanity and the objective is to achieve and to help
others reach the state of a true human being.
Let us reflect upon what it means to be human as opposed to living and acting
like human animals or machines. The choice is ours, if we care to awaken the
ethical, human, wise and just being inside of us, all we need to do is open our
hearts and minds towards wisdom.
www.worldphilosophyday.ca
