When We Read Poetry Through Mystic Lenses

 

This article aims at tracing some resembling features found in the creations by three illustrious poets of the world—Khalil Gibran, Walt Whitman and Jalal Uddin Rumi. Divine thoughts, particularly mysticism was a major aspect in the verses and discourses of all the three above litterateurs who belonged to three different nations and flourished in three different centuries, but one thing that makes them similar to each other in literary evaluation is a constant quest for the entity of God through humans and the natural phenomena that surrounds mankind. God is not the unfathomable shadow of a remote image, rather the presence of God is tangible through a delicate vision of human beings and their natural circumference—in broad terms this is the notion Rumi, Whitman and Gibran wanted to highlight. The reflection of God through the musings and actions of men and women is remarkably presented in their rhetoric.

Acknowledged as the greatest ever mystic poet of Turkey, Jalal Uddin Rumi (1207–1273) expressed his thoughts in such a lovely and fascinating way that his writings have overwhelmed believers of all religions for hundreds of years and the illusion cast by his spiritual ideas bemuses millions of readers worldwide till today. During the time while Rumi lived, monarchs, merchants, sages, theologians, peasants, common men and women of all beliefs used to meet him to hear his verses and sermons. When he died, his funeral was attended by tearful Muslims, Christians, Jews, Arabs, Persians and Romans. He was a scholar of such an enormous stature that he could touch the heart of everyone that came across him with his profound words. The true essence of humanism lies in the sense of sacrifice. “We have learned in order to give. We have not learned in order to take” said Rumi reminding us of the higher importance of dedication to uphold humanity. Over the years Rumi became all the more popular with the western readers and impacted the western school of thoughts even several centuries after his death. Rumi’s poetry has been so far translated into English by quite a few writers such as Coleman Barks, Robert Bly and A. J. Arberry.

Rumi’s honor for other religions on some occasions made him face unfriendly questions from contemporary theologians. One of them was Qonavi, a leading Muslim cleric of that time. He once confronted Rumi before an audience, “You claim to be at one with 72 religious sects, but the Jews cannot agree with the Christians, and the Christians cannot agree with the Muslims. If they cannot agree with each other, how could you agree with all of them?” Rumi answered to this, “Yes, you are right. I agree with you too.” Rumi was respected by the kings and noblemen of Persia, but still he was found more inclined towards tailors, carpenters, shopkeepers or even vagabonds. He focused on illuminating the most marginalized people of the society with the light of divinity.

 There was a story about Rumi that, one day Rumi was absorbed in deep contemplation while his disciples were sitting close by. At that time a drunk pedestrian was staggering along that way, who insensibly stumbled over Rumi. Rumi’s disciples were enraged at this incident and they all stood up to punish the drunk fellow, but Rumi raised his hand to stop them and said, “I thought this intruder was the one who was intoxicated, but now I see it’s not him, but it’s my own students who are drunk”. This is how Rumi instilled tolerance into the hearts of his followers.
Rumi glorified wisdom and placed it on top of power and pomp. Rumi’s love for wisdom with dignity, rather than for wealth is reflected through the following lines from his Discourses.

“The worst of scholars are those who visit princes, and the best of princes are those who visit scholars. Wise is the prince who stands at the door of the poor, and wretched are the poor who stand at the door of the prince”.

The resemblance of Rumi’s Discourses with 19th century American literature is noteworthy. Walt Whitman (1819–1892), the finest ever American poet once wrote in a poem:

“A child said, what is the grass? Fetching it to me with full hands……
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped,
Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we
may see and remark, and say Whose?”
We come across another example of Walt Whitman’s urge to blend with the entity of God in the following verses:
“Bath me O God in thee, mounting to thee,
I and my soul to range in range of thee.”

Looking for the presence of God in ordinary surroundings like grass, leaves, rocks remain the quest of Rumi in his Discourses and an identical tune is echoed in Walt Whitman’s verses too. Rumi’s mystic legacy is still going on through uncountable authors, analysts and readers from different countries and languages who have been seeking spiritual enlightenment from his Discourses. Rumi spoke of the intermingling of human body and soul into the entity of God like this “I don’t exist, God is all. There is no existence but God. If I shatter into pieces, it’s through the infinite grace of God’s unlocking of Himself. I am nothing.”

Now let us have a glance over another highly acclaimed literary work—The Prophet by Khalil Gibran (1883–1931), a Lebanese-born American author, poet and artist. The Prophet is a marvelous book with the magical power of enthralling the readers with poetic quotes on all aspects of life—so divine, still so lifelike. The fabulous depiction of Al Mustafa, “the chosen and the beloved” who is the Prophet, loved and honored by his people for thousands of years, is expected to illuminate the minds of his followers with the sagacity and divinity of a true Apostle. The warm ovation he received from his countrymen is described in Khalil Gibran’s exclusive mellifluence, “A noontide have you been in our twilight and your youth has given us dreams to dream………you have walked among us a spirit, and your shadow has been a light upon our faces……” these verses display how much the Prophet was adored and awaited by his masses. I can’t help quoting another few words said by the priests and priestesses to sublimate the Prophet, “Much have we loved you. But speechless was our love……yet now it cries aloud unto you, and stand revealed before you” and then we come across a classic aphorism that could only be crafted by Khalil Gibran, “And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation”.

The profound vision of Khalil Gibran delving deep into myriad aspects of life has made The Prophet an overwhelming masterpiece, as if the readers were walking through a large orchard with lots of trees bending down with ripe, mellow, fragrant fruits and flowers making it difficult to decide which one to pick. Such is the grandeur of Gibran’s diction. His neatly chosen words astound the readers with a lovely diversity of discourses on all earthly matters that human mind can ponder on. It’s the unique style of Kahlil Gibran—sewing up spiritualism in the finest ever poetic way through the folds of worldliness. In The Prophet Khalil Gibran envisioned the presence of God in and around humans in the following way.

“And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles. Rather look about you and you will see Him playing with your children. And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain. You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees”.

Khalil Gibran, as it appears from his prose and poetry, has endeavored to discover the hidden and genuine meaning of human life, which an average mind cannot comprehend, an average eye cannot view. And while doing so, he made exalted citations about humans’ mystic ties with God over and over again. In his works we come across an extensive and venturous dive into the realms of human thoughts, actions, achievements and failures and his immortal literary creations have transformed him into a poet and author for all eras and for all races of human beings.

 
Mahfuz Ul Hasib Chowdhury
is a contributor to different
English newspapers and magazines.