On Thursday, October 17, Pacifica Institute hosted Hakan Yesilova, Editor-in-Chief of Fountain Magazine. Mr. Yesilova discussed Fountain Magazine, Islamic leader Fethullah Gulen, and “the Other-Indicative Philosophy.”
Hakan Yesilova is the editor of the U.S.-based Fountain Magazine. With an education in languages and political science, Yesilova has been a professional publisher since 1995, with experience in various editorial and marketing positions in both Turkey and the United States. In addition to his editorial position, he organizes international conferences on themes explored in The Fountain, such as media ethics, education, peaceful coexistence, and intercultural dialogue. He writes on civil society and human rights.
The Fountain Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine distributed throughout the world, covering the themes of life, belief, knowledge, and the universe. The Fountain’s website (www.fountainmagazine.com) states, “in an age of overspecialization in learning and over-indulgence in day-to-day occupations, The Fountain’s discourse refers to an overarching coverage of human life, with content as diverse and rich as human life itself, yet with a common thread and pattern that is neatly knitted all the way through our diverse departments under humanities and sciences.” Mr. Yesilova added to this, saying, “If The Fountain is ambiguous, it is ambiguous as life itself. If it is enjoyable, it is as enjoyable as life itself. If it is thought-provoking, it is as thought-provoking as life itself. if it is nebulous, it is as nebulous as life itself.” The Fountain seeks to reconcile science and religion, and believes they are two aspects of reality, and that the ideal person and society exist within the union of both. Fethullah Gulen states that a comprehensive life is necessary in order to seek and try to understand the divine. The Fountain challenges us to question life and restore universal human values.
Mr. Yesilova discussed the Other-Indicative Philosophy. This philosophy is built on the understanding of love put forth by Rumi and other great Sufi mystics. In his Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi discusses the concepts of “mana-i harfi,” the Other-Indicative worldview, and “mana-i ismi,” the Self-Referential worldview. The Other-Indicative worldview states that we can’t stand on our own, we depend on the Ultimate Other. We must turn our gazes from ourselves and toward the Ultimate Other. According to Nursi’s notion of the Other-Indicative, all actions are considered worship when one’s intentions are pure and Other-oriented. Nursi says that any action is sacred if it is connected to God and carried out in God’s name. Thus, the sacred and profane become states of mind, not states of existence.
This notion of living for the Ultimate Other extends to a love for humanity in general. Every human being becomes honorable and sacred. It encourages brotherhood, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence. It encourages us to embrace the other as they are. We must come together in communion with others in order to learn about ourselves. It encourages humility and awareness of our own powerlessness in the grand scheme of the universe. Our life has no real, lasting presence, it only has meaning when it faces the divine. That is the core of Other-Indicative philosophy.
One of the final points Mr. Yesilova made is that we are encouraged to transform our faith from faith of imitation to faith of investigation. He calls this the investigative approach, calling upon us to take an active role in seeking wisdom and the divine.
Pacifica Institute would like to thank Mr. Hakan Yesilove for sharing his wisdom with us, and we would like to thank all of our guests for attending.