A Pantheistic Journey through Sufi Rumi’s Thought: Fostering Alliances of Civilizations

By K.S.Chow

Introduction

Rumi (1207-1273) was a 13th century C.E Islamic Sufi whose love for humanity was radiated to all nationals and races.His original name is Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī. He has been the best selling poet in the United States for the past several years. It mirrors the Americans are wise enough to appreciate Sufi teaching. In close scrutiny, Sufi wisdom of Fanā, which connotes destruction of self or ego, is synonymous with Prajñāpāramtā (Perfection of Wisdom) of the Zen Buddhism of Mahāyāna tradition.

As a Buddhist Theosophist myself, I’m captivated by Sufi Rumi’s profound message of Wisdom or Truth and the universal Love expressed through his Sufi poetry. Sufi Rumi a true Man of Perfection (al-insān al-kāmil) known as the ‘True Man without rank’ in Chan or Zen Buddhism. Frankly speaking, for the non-discerning ones, the wisdom of Fanā or Zen is abstruse. Paradoxically, Rumi’s Sufi poetry is relatively unknown even in many Islamic countries in Asia. The same situation is applicable to the Chan or Zen poetry in Buddhist countries in Asia. Zen is more popular in the west. It is thought widely in American universities. This mirrors that the American religious awareness is relatively high.

Popularity

Professor Majid M. Naini, a leading Sufi scholar of Rumi with a Ph.D in Computer Information Technology, was so enthusiastic about the works of Rumi that he made an penetrative research into Sufi works of Rumi. Following his research and development, he has emerged eventually as Rumi Scholar expounding the Rumi’s message of Sufism through books and conferences and seminars. Professor Majid has composed his latest book on Rumi’s Wisdom entitled ‘ Rumi’s Teachings on Global Peace and Harmony.’ Even a world renowned television station has described Rumi as the most popular poet in America. His poetic talent is, of course, a portion of the attraction but most importantly, his Sufi poetry communicates the Truth of God.

The Truth of God is best elucidated with the metaphor of Ocean of Unity (Waḥdat al-Wujūd). The central theme of the metaphor of the Ocean of Unity reveals the intimate relationship between man and God through the parable of the waves and the borderless Ocean. All creation or phenomena are akin to the waves; God or the absolute Truth is likened to the borderless Ocean. Rumi’s thought of Ocean of Unity is influenced and impacted by the most influencial Islamic Sufi philosopher, Ibn ‘Arabī.

Ocean of Unity

This concept of Ocean of Unity elucidates the ultimate Truth of the cosmos thus: One in many and many in One. One is the absolute Truth of Unity or Non-duality. It may be designated as either God, Brahman or Buddha which is an ineffable Truth. Many refers to the multiplicity or diversifying differentiation of the world which is cosmic illusion. The cosmic illusion deludes us and veils us from seeing God, Brahman or Buddha. The multiplicity is merely the shadow of God. Through the multiplicity, saints perceive the eternal Truth of Unity called God.

God-Realization

Rumi moved esoterically or inwardly towards the Truth of God, and developed spiritually  through Love (of Truth). He abandoned the ego, found the Truth and arrived at the Greatest Perfection (Baqā) consummated by God-realization or Truth-realization. Rumi revealed his God -realization which is self-realization of Truth when he affirms thus:

Why should I seek ?
I’m the same as He.
His Essence speaks through me.
I’ve been looking for myself.

The poetry unveils the secret of the world: Whoever know himself knows the Truth or God. Though Rumi’s message is brief but very profound in its quintessence of pantheism. This first principle of knowing that God is everything and everywhere (pantheism), is universally applicable to all esoteric religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Vedānta or Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Both monotheistic and non-monotheistic religions expound an identical emancipating Truth of Unity, Non-duality or Insubstantiality at the summit of spirituality. This is the central theme of pantheism. All esoteric religions are pantheistic. They preach an identical Truth of Unity which is beyond all religions. Therefore  the approach is very scientific. Both Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, the two towering scientists of the modern world, admit that they are pantheists.

 This Truth of God is eternal and therefore ineffable. Any Truth, that can be spoken, expressed or described, is not eternal, infinite or unlimited. Human language has a limited capacity or function: It can only express truth which is finite, substantive or limited. It cannot express Truth,such as God which is infinite. God is therefore is ineffable as it is beyond the human senses.

 Almost all adherents of modern religions seek refuge exoterically or outwardly. Consequently, the Truth of God is beyond their reach. Hence, they remain fallible. This accounts for the increasing clashes of civilizations today. But, God or Truth (Pāli: Sacca; Sans.: Satya; Arab: Ḥaqq), designated dissimilarly as Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah, is to be sought esoterically or inwardly. This innate treasure lies within at the centre of the heart of everyone irrespective of the type of faith to which one belongs. This Sufi message is not only true for the muslims who practise Sufism  but is also universally applicable to all religious Truth seekers seeking self-knowledge of salvation.

 To truly know, love and fear Allah, a genuine muslim must first annihilate his animal or low Self (the false notion of Self or Ego). A saved muslim is a complete obedient servant to the beloved Allah. He adheres and surrenders fully to divine commands in absolute servitude to his Lord. All these knowledge, love, fear and obedience in relation to God become possible only after the genuine Sufi practioner has discerned the profound message of Unity or Oneness (Waḥ̣dat or al-Wạ̄ḥid ). Likewise, in order for a Buddhist to be liberated, he or she must also love, and obey the Buddha’s admonition. He must have fear for his kammic retribution. Buddha represents the highest Truth of Dhamma. Dhamma is God which is eternal, divine Truth applicable to all living beings.

The message of ‘Waḥdat or Wāḥid’, in Buddhist perspective, is actually the perception of the Unity of Dependent Co-arising (Paṭiccasamuppāda). Alternatively, the Buddhists perceive Insubstantilaity (Anattā) or Emptiness (Śūnyatā) in order to discern the eternal Truth of Unity. The insight to actualize salvation is realized if and only if the illusive self (attā) or ego (ahaṃkāra) has been annihilated. This is the universal principle of salvation. No religious salvation or emancipation can transcend this foremost spiritual requirement. Ignorance must be obliterated before deliverance can be won. The superimposition of illusive self or ego onto the human personality is sheer ignorance. The central struggle or holy war (individual jihad) is to defeat the self or ego.

 The Unity of the cosmos is excellently elucidated through the Hua-yen Buddhist concepts of Infinite network of interdependence and interrelationship of all phenomena in the cosmos (Dharmadhātu-pratītyasamutpāda). Hua-yen Buddhist expresses the notion of cosmic Unity in terms of the Dharma Realm of Unity. In Buddhism, the Buddha categorically admonishes us to take refuge esoterically or inwardly in order to be saved. Before the parinibbāna of the Buddha, the Buddha promulgates thus:

Regard yourself as an island and take refuge in your own island.

Every human being is innately divine or endowed with Buddha-nature. Taking refuge in oneself is seeing the Buddha within. The Buddhist should seek the Buddha-nature within through the development of Wisdom of insight. Wisdom connotes the annihilation of self or ego. Similarly, God only dwells in the heart of a saved muslim if the self or ego has been obliterated. Therefore a Sufi seeks God through the centre of the heart by contemplating inwardly or esoterically.

 Wisdom dispels the ignorance of the worldlings pertaining to the true nature of Buddha, God or Tao which connotes the eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality. The Absolute Truth is expressed with the metaphor the Borderless Ocean of Unity. The illusive multiplicity of Conventional Truth is likened to the metaphor of  the waves of the Sea. The eternal Truth of Unity is akin to the metaphor of the borderless Ocean. Whoever discerns the relationship between the borderless Ocean and the waves perceives the Absolute Truth of Unity behind the multiplicity. The Unity is One, the multiplicity is many. One is all; all is One. This wisdom of discerning ‘One is all and all is One’ is the knowledge of wisdom. This knowledge of wisdom is known as the Perfection of Wisdom from the Buddhist perspective. It is designated as Chan or Zen wisdom of Mahāyāna tradition.

 The knowledge of wisdom in Islam is the union with God (Baqā).Baqa is, in essence, the wisdom of Non-duality between the lover and the Beloved. The former is the saved believer and the latter is the God beloved. Therefore, we perceive that Sufi tradition and Chan or Zen tradition expound a similar esoteric Truth of Unity. Both Islam and Buddhism are pantheistic.

Not only Sufism and Buddhism converge and intersect esoterically or internally at the same Absolute Truth of Unity but also all major esoteric religions, such as Unpaniṣads or Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Taoism, Judaism and Confucianism do so. At the summit of spiritual attainment, the one and the only Truth of cosmic Unity is intuitively discerned. Thus, all major esoteric religions of the world today are pantheistic. This is universality of religions by which mankind can be reunited through reconciliation rather than confrontation. Reconciliation to unify concurs with the Truth of God. Confrontation evoking disunity and collision is rebellion against the Truth of God. Global peace can be regained if religious faiths are comprehended thus. This is not a dogmatic interpretation of divine Truth. This is a genuine interpretation of the basis of the eternal Truth for all.

Ignorance of Own True Self

Rumi describes the common Absolute Truth of all esoteric religions thus:

The great scholars of the age have gained total knowledge and complete mastery of things that have nothing to do with  them. But which is important and closest to him than anything else, namely his Own Self, this he does not know… wretched humanity! Not knowing this own Self has come from a high estate and fallen into the lowliness!

We cannot deny the immense contributions contributed by the worldly or mundane scholars in terms of intellectual knowledge. They have acquired profound knowledge of conventional truth. But unfortunately, they are still ignorant of their self-knowledge- discerning their Original Nature. Owing to this ignorance, they are still vulnerable to downfall into unfavourable planes of existence in the afterlife. In the present life, they still manifest their fallibilities.

Spiritual ills and human fallibilities can not be solved by such mundane knowledge. The knowledge of the one’s own Original Self (Universal Self or True Self) is the greatest treasure hidden or concealed from our knowledge. Only the perfect knowledge of the Original Nature can destroy the fallibilities of Man and brings forth the infallibilities of Man. Knowledge of one’s True Self is manifested in the forms of Wisdom and Love which benefit oneself and others.

Conclusion

The human world is currently distressed and imperiled globally because of many political, religious or racial collisions in many parts of the world evidently and unevidently. The clashes of civilizations are evident between two conflicting blocs, between two or more warring nations, between people of different creeds, colours and races in the same country. Many seemingly peaceful countries are troubled internally except that they are controlled by the authorities but are unreported in the mass media. Tensions, conflicts, violence and other forms of enmities in general elections mirror the underlying disunities and differences.

The United Nations can only help reduce tensions between warring nations or parties within a nation. Eventually, the decisive solution must ensure from the hearts of restraint, tolerance, mutual respect, compromise and reconciliation in terms of unity of brotherhood of humanity. Esoteric religions or Theosophy teach us that we are intrinsically brothers and sisters in the network or web of interdependence and interrelationship between all contigent beings in the infinite cosmos.

If we do not surrender our illusive selves or egoes (the lower or animal selves), God or Buddha cannot help us. The common religious exposition of Truth is crystal clear: GOD IS NOT A SAVIOR TO ANYONE WHO IS ATTACHED TO IILUSIVE SELF OR EGO SUPERIMPOSED BY AN ORDINARY HUMAN BEING ! IN ORDER TO BE SAVED, WE MUST CEASE SUPERIMPOSING SELF OR EGO IN US BY LIVING THE TRUTH. THE TRUTH IS REPRESENTED BY THE DESIGNATIONN ‘GOD’ OR ‘BUDDHA’. ONE CAN ONLY BE SAVED BY LIVING THE TRUTH. WE CAN NOT BE SAVED BY THE NAME OF GOD. GOD’S WORD IS MERELY THE FINGER POINTING AT THE MOON. WE SEE THE MOON OURSELVES.

 It is a sheer folly to think that God can save us all if we do not rectify our hearts ! I have personally heard words from religious adherents who do not repent (rectify their hearts) for their moral flaws and yet they falsely console themselves thus, “ My God will forgive me for all my sins because my Lord is all-merciful.”

 In reality, God can only help and save those who cease to be sinful. To cease to be sinful, one must repent. Without repentance, one cannot receive God and to be born of God. Repentance is mental purification. Without mental purity, God cannot dwell in one’s heart and be received. The leading capital for salvation is purity of the heart or mind.

 In actuality, God will help only those who help themselves. God is merely our guidepost or road map to salvation.How could we arrive at our destinations without travelling? Success is a journey but not a destination. We must save ourselves by comprehending and practising the Word of God (the holy Canonical Texts or Scriptures). Genuine self-cultivation is purification of the mind. There is no free lunch in the world. Without the initial individual work of annihilating self or ego or mental puirfication, how could God be one’s savior ? The annihilation of self or ego occurs only if one has taken the trouble to comprehend the Word of God – the holy scriptures and purify oneself.

Editor’s Note:

It is important to distinguish between exoteric or outward dimension and esoteric or inward dimension of Islam. The exotericism of Islam is the Islamic laws applicable only to the muslims. The esotericism of Islam is Sufism. Sufism is seeking the eternal Truth of Unity (Tawḥīd) and the elimination of illusive and superimposed self or ego.

Sufism is meant for the whole mankind not merely for the muslims. A genuine muslim political leader must treat all his citizens, both muslims and non-muslims non-discriminatively and righteously. Otherwise, he is sinful and is separate from Allah or God.

Essentially, the practice of Sufism (al-Fanā) is synonymous with the practice of Chan or Zen Buddhism. Both Sufism and Zen are popularly practised in the west today. Esoteric religions unite the west with the east fostering the alliance of civilizations.