Mevlana: Birth and Migration

According to the accounts of two dervishes of the period, Sipehsalar and Eflaki, who became Mevlana’s adepts, a disagreement arose between the scholar Bahaeddin and the learned men of Balkh. In the two separate accounts of these dervishes -the Menakibname -we read that the lord of scholars, disturbed by the divergence of opinions in Balkh, determined to migrate eastwards with his family, away from the city of Mevlana’s birth. In actual facts, his migration undoubtedly had much to do with the Mongol threat over Balkh and the region. The Mongos had by then reached the outskirts of the city, and the inhabitants scattered, along with other townspeople and village folk from the region, seeking refuge in Iran, Iraq, and Anatolia -‘ Diyar-i Rum’ (the Roman provinces). Bahaeddrn, taking into account the general attitude of the notables and even the Harzemshahs of Balkh, left the city under threat and joined a caravan for Nishapur.

One of the leading theosophists and poets of the day, Ferideddin Attar was, at the time, living in Nishapur, and it is said that Bahaeddin stayed with him for a few days, during which time, the Nishapuri scholar was impressed by the intelligence and knowledge of the child Mevlana, and presented him with a copy of his work, the Esrarname. From Nishapur, Veled and his family traveled to Baghdad, where he remained for a short time at the madrasa of the renowned Sufi, Seyh Sehabeddin Suhreverdi. He next traveled towards Kufa, intending to go from there to Mecca.

But when asked from where and to where he was traveling, the scholar wanted to reply: ”Whence and whither? We came from God, it is to God we return. Who has the power to divert us from this eternal, never-ending road? We come from a sphere without form or place, and it is to this sphere that we return…” Veled and his family finally arrived in Mecca, where they carried out the ritual’s attendant on the pilgrimage to the Kaaba and Holy Places, and traveled on to Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, and finally Aleppo. it was at this point in their wanderings that Veled is reputed to have said: ”God has inspired us to go to Anatolia. That country draws our caravan towards it …” and so saying, he arrived in Anatolia, stayed briefly at Malatya and Erzincan, went on to Sivas, Kayseri, and Nigde, arriving finally at Larende (Karaman). Bahaeddin Veled is thought to have arrived in Karaman in 1221, at the height of Anatolian Seljuk rule. The Seljuk state was ruled by Alaeddin Keykubad who, on the one hand, was engaged in extending the Seljuk territories westwards against Byzantion, and on the other in re-building the cities of Anatolia. On his arrival at Karaman, the local governor, Emir Musa, the renown of the scholar of Balkh, received him with all honors, establishing him in the madrasa he himself had built at Larende. Here, Veled remained for seven years and attracted a wide circle of students to his madrasa. In 1225, Mevlana married the daughter of his father’s adherent, Serafeddin Lala, Gevher Hatun, who bore him two children, first Sultan Veled and later Alaeddin Celebi. Meanwhile Mevlana’s mother, Mumine Hatun then his elder brother Muhammed Alaeddin died and were buried at Larende.

“Go, go rest yourself, leave me alone. Stop this hopeless, helpless, grieving despair that paces and turns in the night. I struggle with waves of devotion from night to morning, night after night. If you will, come and pardon me, or if you will, go and torment me”.

The next day, on the 17 December 1273 (5 Cemazi’uI-ahir, 672) a bright winter sunday sun rose and fell over the Takkeli mountains west of Konya. As it fell, one mystical light departe from the temporal world, to rise over the spheres of eternal life.

After his death, Konya, which had become a centre of pilgrimage for those in search of the mystical truths, was deprived of its spiritual centre. It is in the hearts of the initiate. But he was much mourned. For Mevlana, death was a form of rebirth into the devotion, the divine love he sought throughout his life, a into the ultimate reality, an understanding of which he had attained during his temporal existance. The night of his death he described as the night of union-Seb-i Arus- as he regarded it as the instant when his physical entity attained union with the universal entity and thus with everlasting life.

His funeral was an extremely emotive occasion for the whole of and thinkers of the Islamic world was not merely a philosopher in the conventional sense. He felt that philosophy, in isolation, was lacking, as it was basically an intellectual pursuit. He explained his mistrust of conventional philosophy with the words: “The intellect has no explanation for the ecstasy of love. Only love itself can explain its own ecstasy and devotion in the true sense…

But neither was the great mystic merely a poet. For Mevlana, poetry was a means to grasping the meaning of an idea, the medium to his mystical system. He actually complained of the restraint into which he was forced by verse, the rhyme and meter imposed upon his ideas: “I concentrate on meter while the object of my devotion exhorts me to think of nothing but his face (the vision of devotion). ‘Ah, you, who thinks of meter, to me you are Konya. Members of all sects and of all inclinations were present, alongside the ordinary folk of Konya, ready to pay their last respects to one whom they considered one of mankind’s greatest leaders. The funeral procession lasted the entire day. Sadreddin-i Konevi, one of the leading mystics and scholars of the day was to lead the ceremony, but was unable to speak, fainting as he rose to take this dais. His place was taken by Kadi Siraceddin. Mevlana was buried beside his father’s grave. The present tomb was built over the site of their graves.

Mevlana Celareddin-i Rumi, one of the greatest philosophers and poets in the Islamic world, was born in the city of Balkh, in present day Afghanistan. Although his birthdate is usually given as 30 September 1207, recent research seems to point to a date of at least seven or eight years earlier. He was born the second son of Bahaeddin Veled, a scholar renowned in the region during the beginning of the 13th century. He received his earliest instruction from his father, whose scholarship and fame as a mystic had led to his being awarded the title 'lord of scholars' -Sultan'ul Ulema-and to his being in considerable demand as a teacher in the madrasas of Balkh, and extremely popular as a preacher in the mosques of the region.

But when asked from where and to where he was travelling, the scholar wanted to reply: ''Whence and whither? We came from God, it is to God we return. Who has the power to divert us from this eternal, never-ending road? We come from a sphere without form or place, and it is to this sphere that we return...'' Veled and his family finally arrived in Mecca, where they carried out the ritual's attendant on the pilgrimage to the Kaaba and Holy Places, and travelled on to Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus and finally Aleppo. it was at this point in their wanderings that Veled is reputed to have said: ''God has inspired us to go to Anatolia. That country draws our caravan towards it ..." and so saying, he arrived in Anatolia, stayed briefly at Malatya and Erzincan, went on to sivas, Kayseri and Nigde, arriving finally at Larende (Karaman). Bahaeddin Veled is thought to have arrived in Karaman in 1221 , at the height of Anatolian Seljuk rule. The Seljuk state was ruled by Alaeddin Keykubad who, on the one hand was engaged in extending the Seljuk territories westwards against Byzantion, and on the other in re-building the cities of Anatolia. On his arrival at Karaman, the local governor, Emir Musa, the renown of the scholar of Balkh, received him with all honours, establishing him in the madrasa he himself had built at Larende. Here, Veled remained for seven years and attracted a wide circle of students to his madrasa. In 1225, Mevlana married the doughter of his father's adherent, Serafeddin Lala, Gevher Hatun, who bore him two children, first Sultan Veled and later Alaeddin Celebi. Meanwhile Mevlana's mother, Mumine Hatun then his elder brother Muhammed Alaeddin died and were buried at Larende.

The years passed quickly. Mevlana, aged from toil, fasting and self-deprivation, fell ill during the winter of 1273, a particularly harsh winter during which Konya was struck by a number of earthquakes. News of his illness shook Konya. The ailing Mevlana was visited by the Seljuk Sultan Giyaseddin Keyhusrev III, and his viziers and emirs in turn. Two imperial physicians, Nahcivanlı Tabib Ekmelülüddin and Gazanferi It were constantly at his bedside. Mevlana, however, after lying ill for forty days, passed away. His son, Sultan Veled, who was at his side to the last, took down his final verses he lay dying.

In the nave of the church, above the entrance door, we see the death scene of the Virgin. In this scene, Mary is seen lying on a catafalque. On both sides of her, apostles, clerical dignitaries, and seers of oracles stand. One of the apostles holds a censer in his hand, whereas the other people are portrayed leaning towards the bed in deep sorrow. Behind the bed, Jesus in an oval halo joins the gathering. Here, Christ holds a baby in his arms. This baby symbolically represents the soul of his mother. Around Jesus, in the upper zone of the big oval halo, we see angels singing. Above this, Ashrael, the angel of death, is flying, and on the right, two sky torches are climbing up with a great speed. From of the way people stand, from of the twist and folds of their garments, and finally, from their facial expressions, it is deduced that the scene is depicted with elaborate fineness and reality.

In this nave of the church, on the frontal surface of the rank of the apse, and on the right, we see the Virgin with the child Jesus in her arms. This panel of mosaics, which is framed like an icon, is partly in a bad shape. On the north wall of the apse, we find the mosaics of Jesus. This panel has also reached our era with considerable damage. On this panel, Jesus holds an open book in his hand. In this book, there is an inscription meaning" All those with great fatigue and under great burdens, come up to me; I shall give you peace".