Love: A Good Medicine – 11

Love: A Good Medicine – 11

Similarity > Love

In course of my deep research into ‘Love’ and its different aspects, while I was studying what Islam talks about love (Reference 1), I bumped into two most impressive stories narrated by the 13th century Sufi Mystic Rumi (Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, 1207-1273) in his creation ‘Masnavi’ (References 2 & 3), which I feel tempted to share with you while talking about ‘Love’. I feel these two stories are relevant as they talk about ‘Love Gaze’ which I have just discussed.

The ‘Masnavi’ (also written ‘Mathnawi’ or ‘Mathnavi’) is an extensive poem written by Rumi. It is one of the most influential works of Sufism, ascribed to be like a “Quran in Persian”. Some Muslims regard the ‘Masnavi’ as one of the most important documents of Islamic literature, falling behind only the Quran. It has been viewed by many commentators as the greatest mystical poem in world literature. It is a spiritual text that teaches Sufis how to reach their goal: BEING TRULY IN LOVE WITH GOD.

Rumi’s first story is about a very wise and well-known Greek physician who asked his disciples for some specific medicine for himself. His disciples were shocked.

They said: “Oh, Sir! The medicine that you have asked for is for the treatment of madness, but you are the sanest and wisest person that we know. Why are you asking for it?”

The master replied: “On my way to this place from my home, I met a mad person. As he saw me, he looked into my eyes with a look of love and smiled at me. Now, I am afraid, he must have found some SIMILARITY between me and himself. Otherwise, why should he engage his gaze and smile at me? It seemed he really enjoyed looking at me. ”So, the lesson Rumi had wanted to convey was that ‘Similarity breeds love’.

Although, his second story is not about humans, but about birds, Rumi’s message is the same. The second story relates to another wise man. This man saw a raven who had formed a bond with a stork. They were so full of affection and love for each other that they were inseparable. They perched together, and flew together. The wise man could not understand how the birds of two different feathers have been flocking together. He watched them from close and discovered that both had only one leg.

It is a soul-touching story. If you want to know more about how males and females having disabilities fall in love and get married, please read Marisa DeBellis’s “A Group Home Exclusively for Married Couples with Developmental Disabilities: A Natural Next Step”. (Reference 4).

[References:

1. “Human Love”, Al-Islam.org

2. “Rumi” – Wikipedia.

3. “Masnavi” – Wikipedia.

4. Marissa DeBellis, “A Group Home for Married Couples with Developmental Disabilities: A Natural Next Step”, Touro Law, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, July 2012, Vol. 28, No.2.]