RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

Introduction to Religious Experience

Introduction to Religious Experience

Introduction

Reading Rumi is an entirely new experience to me, as he has presented religion in a completely new perspective, which not many philosophers/writers have talked about. After reading Rumi one gets to understand the true meaning of oneness of God, which is the fundamental concept in Islam. Jalalu'din al-Rumi was a Turkish Sufi, and was born in Balkh. He is regarded as one of the greatest of Sufi poets. Rumi was also a philosopher, and his major writing was the massive Mathnawi. To release one-self from human wishes and thoughts, the outward impressions of the senses, and human needs were Rumi's teachings in the Sufi doctrine as the main aim of life; so that one may become a mere mirror for the God. I have experienced and read about different religions that are practiced in the world, but Sufism was a concept that was found to be different from all other religions. This paper serves as a reflective essay on teachings of Rumi that act as a religious experience.

Body

Muhammad Jalalu'din Balkhi, widely known as Rumi in the West, has acquired extensive recognition, mainly for his spiritual teachings. My experience before reading Rumi was religions preaching about kindness, patience, love etc towards God's creations, but Sufism by Rumi happened to be an entirely new dimension in religion. The wide-ranging theme of Rumi's thoughts is essentially that of the concept of Tawhid (i.e. oneness of God). Rumi believed passionately in the use of dance, poetry, and music as a pathway for reaching God. For Rumi, God is the ground as well as the goal of all existence. Religion was typically a personal experience for Rumi, and not restricted to perceptions of the senses or logical arguments (Este'lami, 2003).

One thing that I especially appreciate about Rumi is that Rumi provides the most extensive defense of toleration in Persian, and was undoubtedly one of the most vocal advocates of toleration in the medieval Muslim world. In addition to his intellectual and academic impact, no other Persian poet has had the same influence over the Persian folkloric literature, and many concepts in Rumi's writings have found their way into Persian axioms used in daily conversations. In addition, for a number of years, Rumi has exercised an influence in the West unmatched by any other Muslim author. At a time of suspicion and distrust, a person who can speak to ...