Reflection is an operation that consists of treating the circumstances in which one is as an object and looking at it, with reflection responsibility arises. Mevlana poses a a great challenge to everyone who aspires to grow in person or in his/her relationship with life.. What is better for humanity? Thoughtful following of a tradition or aimless imitation of certain stereotypes in behavior and conduct?
We cannot practice or follow anything unless we have a touchstone, a true standard against which the merits and demerits of our performance can be measured and evaluated. However, Islam is a Deen in favour of humanity where the mercy of God prevails over the wrath. So how can God be so unfair that He does not offer us any standard and expects of us the great performance? So He blessed us with Prophets, saints and sages whose life and life style were a touchstone of merit. All we need is to learn to look into ourselves as we look before a mirror and see if our physical appearance was becoming or not and where ever we find a fault, we immediately correct it, whether it�s in our dressing, hairstyle or make up. We try to adorn and ornament ourselves in best of manner to impress and influence others; mostly our intention is to leave a powerful positive impact. Can we repeat such exercise with our values, beliefs, attitudes and morals reflected in our everyday behaviors?
Such a mirror gifted to us by Allah Subhan o Ta�lla is the �heart�. Mevlana has drawn our attention to it, to look for the heart; to care for it and do not let it get rusted. Human heart is the mirror where Allah Subhan o Ta�lla wants to see His perfect image. If the mirror is rusted that image will never appear in all its brightness, colour and form; it will cause the pain and loss to the beholder; because beauty brings joy in human life and Allah Subhan o Ta�lla is the most magnificent and the most beautiful. Thus quite consciously we have to brazen our hearts with the right knowledge so that it may not get rusted. In modern diction it can be called the art of reflective thinking and practice, constantly examining oneself for self improvement and knowledge, however, the focus of modern concept is personal professional life, whereas the focus of Mevlana is not just personal but aiming at improvement at overall perspective of life, well defining one�s relationship with oneself, with God, with everything around us, with the whole cosmos within and without us.What is peculiar to human beings is that we can reflect on what we live and say "I don't like it!", and suddenly there we are, going in another direction, and we begin to conserve another manner of living. We are racing behind our self created shadows; we ride on a wooden horse, and engaging ourselves in some stationary movements we presume that we are on a ride to spiritual ascension. |
