“Your Real Face Is So Beautiful, If Only You Knew ".......Maulana Rumi
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
16 July
2022
Taqleed (Blind
Following) Must Be Avoided Because That Makes You an Imitator and You Dissolve
Your Individuality and Originality
Main
Points:
1. The problem
with humans is that this imitation is not just limited to appearance, but on
all counts.
2. In an
attempt to look like the other person, we all lose our individuality and
originality
3. Question
everything and every person.
-----
This quote
of Maulana Rumi, which I originally read in Persian, has always fascinated me.
It's so pregnant with profundity. Every face is so beautiful but whole life, we
keep striving to look (like) someone else.
Recently, a
Brazilian model spent a fortune to look like a famous model and realized her
mistake when someone told her that her own face was far prettier than that of
the model she wanted to look like.
The problem
with humans is that this imitation is not just limited to appearance, but on
all counts. In an attempt to look like the other person, we all lose our
individuality and originality. We tend to imitate, whereas we should emulate.
The basic difference between imitation and emulation is, while the former is
blind and thoughtless aping, the latter is to imbibe the spirit and internalize
(process) that. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. emulated M K Gandhi and absorbed the
spirit of Gandhian philosophy. But he (Dr King) retained the essence of his own
persona.
This is a
desirable human attribute. You don't have to be a Muqallid (a blind
follower/conformist). In other words, Taqleed (blind following) must be avoided
because that makes you an imitator and you dissolve your individuality and
originality. Rumi's quote has deeper connotations. It urges us to retain our
independence in thoughts and actions. Jami called it ' Ghazif, ' (literal
meaning: Following but not swallowing). We must follow, but at the same time,
we must also eschew 'swallowing' (metaphorically, blind following). One must
use one's own prudence in all matters. Just because someone 'great' said something,
cannot be an assurance of infallibility. All the so-called ' truths, ' however
sacrosanct they may be, must be tested on the anvil of inquiry and scrutiny.
This applies to questioning all long-standing religio-scriptural 'truths' and
rejecting them if they're not in consonance with the Zeitgeist (spirit of the
current times).
We all have
been following borrowed thoughts, borrowed looks and borrowed truths. To quote
Ravish, “Musta’ar Pe Guzari Hai Hayaat/ Mere Vajood Ka Koi Ma'ani Nahin”
(Life spent on borrowings/My existence has no meaning).This is vicarious
intelligence, at variance with our innate wisdom. Just the way moon shines with
reflected light, we too bask in the reflected 'wisdom' of our gurus, books,
religions and prophets. Put all in the dock of time's perennial court.
Question
everything and every person. An unexamined life is not worth-living. Remember
the pithy words of Sa'adat Hasan Manto, “Adalat-e-Waqt Mein Har 'Sach'
Mujrim Hai “(Every 'truth' is an accused in the court of time).
So, stop
being someone else. To end it with Rumi's full quote, " It's too bad that
you want to be someone else. You don't see your own face, your own beauty. Yet,
no face is more beautiful than yours. “Trust your own nous and follow none.
----
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
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/face-maulana-rumi-taqleed/d/127492
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