Much Before Paulo Coelho, Rumi Understood The Generous Power Of The Universe
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
18 July
2023
In 2006, one
Rhonda Byrne wrote a book 'The Secret'. It was about the power of the
subconscious. The book influenced the entire world, esp, those who love to read
books on pulp philosophy written by the Brazilian Paulo Coelho and Ayn Rand.
The predominant concept of the book, ' The Secret ' is the benevolence of the
Universe and affirmations. Paulo Coelho wrote that if one earnestly asks the
Universe to help and intervene, things happen miraculously. Shah Rukh Khan made
it famous in a film that hit the marquee a few years ago.
But the
point is: Is the whole phenomenon of a benevolent Universe something unique and
did no one before Rhonda Byrne, Paulo Coelho or Louise Hay touch upon this
subject? While reading Lesley Wines' ' Rumi: A Spiritual Biography' (Lives and
Legacies), I stumbled upon a statement made by the legendary Reynold A
Nicholson of Cambridge who translated Rumi's Persian poetry into sublime
English. He said that Rumi's Turkish poetry, written towards the fag-end of his
life, talks about the power and benevolence of the Universe. Nicholson quoted Rumi's
early Turkish couplet, "En Met Biz Kin Unt Ep/ Re' Lip Phiken En' Kep"
(Universe in its own way/ Listens when you pray). This was a revelation to me
because in Persian poetry, Rumi talks of the Cosmos only as the shadow of the
kingdom of the Almighty, accruing no divinity to it (Universe) but towards the
end of his life, say circa 1266 till he passed away in 1273 CE, he was
intrigued by the cosmic benevolence and wrote about that.
In fact,
Rumi's exhortation, ' Repeat and get ' has the seeds of Cosmic Munificence.
Though the advanced understanding of consciousness and subconsciousness may not
have taken place in Rumi's times, he was aware of the idea of consciousness or
spirit (the essence of existence) because elsewhere, Rumi wrote that even those
not believing in any god, religion or divinity can pray and get what they want!
Who should such people pray to? He (Rumi) must have had the generosity of the
Universe on his mind while stating that.
Not
disparaging Paulo Coelho, Rhonda Byrne or Louise Hay and their popular
philosophy of the magnificent Universe and its enigmatic ways, one must say
that the same was already understood and written by Jalaluddin Rumi Balkhi
nearly a millennium ago.
----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/paulo-coelho-rumi-universe/d/130236
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