In different places across the world, there are happening various memorial ceremonies for the Mawlana Jalal al Din Rumi similar to the celebration of ‘Seb-i Arus’ in his own words. Seb-I Aruz means a wedding day. Therefore the day he died, December 17, 1273, is the day when he met with his Beloved, with the Divine, that’s why it should be a celebration of long waited ultimate union rather than wailing after him.
For the celebration of Seb-i Aruz, Pacifica Institute organized Mawlana Jalal al Din Rumi Night last Saturday at Burlingame as well. About 100 people gathered for the memory of Rumi in Pacifica event.
The night started with a short introduction about the life, personality and spiritual guides and discipline of Mevlana which are based on the laws of Islam and teachings of Prophet Mohammed. Hatice Yildiz who is a volunteer at the Pacifica Institute explained, that he was an Islamic scholar, a spiritual master and poet of the late 13th century. His teachings have appealed to men/women of all sects and creeds because of the universal message they are carrying. Mavlana’s message focuses on unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love.
After the welcome notice, the program continued with the ney taksim (instrumental solo with reed flute) which later accompanied by Rumi poems. After musical and emotional introduction to Rumi’s life and discipline, the program continued with a visual introduction to his teachings with a short video. Throughout the night, sufi music and poems filled the hearts of people with compassion, peace and love.
The program ended with the life lesson of Rumi by which he used to summarize his own life in three statements as ‘I was raw, cooked and then burnt.’
Mevlana Jalal al Din Rumi’s love and promise for humanity will always remain fresh and alive over the centuries. Even today his compassion, goodness, tolerance finds its place in the hearts of millions of people and give them hope on the solutions for today’s social problems as an alternative.
