“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 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism