Finding Rumi in Afghanistan

Finding Rumi in Afghanistan
by Le Anne Clausen

We were surprised and fascinated to learn that within our guest house existed a longtime scholar of Sufism in Afghanistan, in the person of our guide’s father-in-law. Now serving daily as a guard for the guest house, he assisted in producing two Canadian film projects on the topic.

The father of Sufism, Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammed Rumi Balkhi, indicates a tribal name of Balkhi, ‘of Balkh,’ in Afghanistan. He was born there in 1207 CE and remained until the family moved to Baghdad to continue his father’s academic theological career. “Sufi is nothing more than another face of Islam,” summarizes our scholar. In the development of Sufi spirituality, he distinguished between exoterism, or the external respect of law as followed by adherents of a religion; and esoterism, or appreciation of the internal aspects of Qur’an–from which Muslim mysticism comes.
Rumi’s father was given the title, Sultan Ulama, or “King of Theology,” acknowledging his prominence as an exoterist. When the family moved to Konya, Turkey, for his father to continue teaching, Rumi met famous the dervish, Shamis Tabrez. The encounter changed Rumi completely, shifting him into Esoterism and Sufism. Rumi, who was following in his father’s footsteps, quit teaching as before. He began to explore chanting, music and dance not used in exoterism. Flutes took on special importance in his spirituality. A guiding reference is found in La Masnerii, the main collection of Rumi’s work: “Listen to the sound of the flute, how it tells its sorrows...”
Sufism sees humankind as cut off from its origins and always in search of it. This is the ‘purification of the ego’–the ego always in progression. In the first stage of the progression, the soul is consumed with evil and the desire for wrongdoing. By force of meditation, one can arrive at the second stage of reproaching oneself, asking, ‘Why do I do this?’ The third stage, fulfillment, evolves perfectly towards contentment. It’s also to achieve contentment that we work to achieve perfection of the ego, which is the goal of Sufism
Meditative chant and dance are some of the various methods used towards goal. The variations occur among the different schools of Sufism. The Naqshbandia use meditation and silence. The Qadriya originated in Baghdad, and practice mediation with vocal repetition of the 99 names of God, and movement. The Teshtia use music and voice together, meditation, and celebrations yearly in India and New Delhi. In Sufism, dance is not regarded as a material body performance but as meditation. These are the main schools; others pay attention to the breathing patterns or looking where one is putting his feet. The varieties spread among different countries, including those in Northern Africa.
Rumi’s impact is still alive today in Afghanistan. Although exact numbers are not available, a sizable minority of Sunni in Afghanistan still adhere to the Hanafi school of Sufism.[1]
[1]http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Discrimination_against_non-Muslims_in_Afghanistan, 9/17/05