No One Can Ever Provoke You If You Don't Want To Get Provoked.......Jalaluddin Rumi

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 23 August 2022 Why Is Muhammad Criticised and Pilloried the Most? Because It Annoys Muslims and They React Violently, Thus Earning a Bad Name for Themselves and Ending Up Smearing Eggs On Their Faces ----- Jalaluddin Rumi ---- Yesterday night, I was reading Rumi's Masnavi, Book no. 3. Readers might be aware that Rumi, in addition to being a great mystic, was also a raconteur par excellence. His Masnavis are full of parables and allegories. One of his parables struck me, though I read that in Persian years ago when I was quite young and callow. There was a very sane and sensible man in a village. He never got angry with anyone. He had an abusive and cantankerous neighbour who would always provoke him. But the sane man never reacted. One day, that ill-mannered man abused that calm and cool man's mother and father. Yet, he remained unperturbed. Frustrated, that abusive man stopped provoking him and left the village. The moral of the story is: The more you get provoked, the more people try to provoke you. Ponder over Rumi's advice in a larger context and link it to your religion and relation/s. Why do Charlie Hebdo guys make objectionable cartoons of Muhammad? Because they know that it provokes a large number of bovine-brained followers of Islam. Why is Muhammad criticised and pilloried the most? Because it annoys Muslims and they react violently, thus earning a bad name for themselves and ending up smearing eggs on their faces. Have you ever heard or read that a fire-worshiper (Parsi or Zoroastrian) reacted when someone criticised his faith and sacred figures? First of all, Parsis are sagacious enough not to get provoked. Way back in 1960, one brainless Bengali writer wrote something very provocative about the Zoroastrian faith in a leading English daily. Parsis didn't even care a fig for what he wrote. Terribly embarrassed, that fool apologized. He later admitted that his objective was to provoke this peace-loving community. But when no one from the community reacted and he miserably failed in his mission of vilification, he felt mortally ashamed. This non-reactionary attitude is the need of the hour. Let anyone depict your prophet or deity in a negative manner. You must never react or get provoked. There's a Sutra in Tripitak, Thervad Buddhism. It's in Pali: Vrittanam abhi viniyogam (Don’t get involved in unnecessary things). In these times, all religions and their gods are actually useless things and sheer waste of time. So, why should you lose sleep over things that don't concern you directly? Provocation has an element of sadism. In fact, it's a sado-masochistic pastime for those who've nothing worthwhile to do. The prevalent perception that it's incumbent upon a person to defend his religious beliefs when provoked is an outright misconception. The perceived insult to one's prophet or deity can be dealt with discreet silence or a dignified smile. You've not been sent to protect your prophet or deity. Grow up. ----- 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/prophet-jalaluddin-rumi-zoroastrian-faith/d/127775 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