Reflection on the Quote:

A message from Dr. Fariba Enteshari, Founder & Executive Director

How do we learn?

How do we grow?

What is the tree of life?

As Rumi asks, “Who are we in this entangled world?”

The Themes in Rumi’s teachings on human nature are endless.

In this verse, at the first glance, I thought, Rumi the cleric, not the poet, is teaching us a lesson of the past, but when I looked deeper, I was awe…

Let’s focus first on who is able to learn from the mistakes of others and grow through witnessing. The wise know the history of a tribe who rejected the teachings of a monotheistic Prophet named Hud. Their actions resulted in their destruction by a firestorm.

The wise learn by paying attention to significant errors that happened in the past. Thus, they are able to find the common cause of the horrifying disaster, self interest, and are able to avoid the temptation of self indulgence.

Does this ring a bell for you?

Here we are in the 21st century absorbing a knowledge passed on to us from the 13th century. Still, we are functioning based on a part of our human instinct that chooses material existence over awareness! Except on rare occasions, we call a person a “hero” if they care for someone else’s existence more than their own welfare.

If only, we could learn from past mistakes.

If only, we automatically did not choose our own selfishness over everything else. Would we have wars if we were able to learn and conceptualize the knowledge we could gain from our foolish past behaviors instead of repeating them? Would we call crazy, emasculating leaders strong, because they are able to destroy all in their way?

If only, we could learn from what happened to the tribes who chose the doctrine of “I am god” over “Unity”.

If only we could link the tree of life to the tree of knowledge and find the tree of wisdom in our love for each other. If only we could learn form the mistakes of the past. If only, we could learn to love our neighbors as ourselves. Rumi is teaching us about tough love which is putting our concern for the whole before ourselves.

-Dr. Fariba Enteshari

عاقل از سر بنهد این هستی و باد

چون شنید انجام فرعونان و عاد

“The wise won’t let the temptation of self interest take over the mind, as they know the stories of the Pharaohs and ʿĀd*.”

~Rumi

Source: Mathnawi I, 3122

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