xii ABSTRACT
Widiarti, Intika Putri (2008).Mystical Experience as Revealed in Jalaluddin Rumi’s Poems: “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”. Thesis. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discussed and analyzed “The Tavern” and “How Very Close” (2004), two poems written by Jalaluddin Rumi. This thesis explored the concept of true happiness through mystical experience offered by Jalaluddin Rumi which was manifested into both poems. It was interesting to discuss mystical experience because it offered the values we could learn.
This thesis presented two main questions: 1.What does Jalaluddin Rumi say in his poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? 2. How is mystical experience represented in “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? This thesis is aimed to answer the problems mentioned.
The writer applied Structural-Semiotics approach by Julia Kristeva to answer the questions. To answer the first question, Structural approach was employed to get the meaning in the intrinsic level. The analysis of the intrinsic level was based on the elements of the poems in a text level which were seen from language, namely words, prosodic features, and the interpretation of the words written in the poems. Thus, the use of dictionary was essential. The second question employed Semiotics approach to explore the extrinsic level of the poems. To construct the meaning in extrinsic level, it needed information from the contextual background which were seen from religious ground, Sufism, Jalaluddin Rumi’s biographical background as well as the information suggested by spiritual practitioner. This information was employed as the supporting information in understanding the essence of the poems.
The findings of this thesis are, furthermore, two imperative messages that Rumi wishes to convey through both of the poems. The first finding in intrinsic level of the poem “The Tavern” refers to the finding of the author’s self identity while “How Very Close” refers to the intimacy of the author’s beloved. This finding directs to the same point of Rumi’s spiritual Journey. The second finding in extrinsic level, pointing to the same similarities, namely: ‘bondageless’ and ‘transcendent love’ as the mystical phase of Jalaluddin Rumi. To this point, the phase refers to his primary life reflection of his spiritual journey which enables him to attain higher level of spiritual understanding.
xiii
ABSTRAK
Widiarti, Intika Putri (2008). Mystical Experience as Revealed in Jalaluddin Rumi’s Poems: “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”. Thesis. Yogyakarta: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menganalisis dan membahas puisi berjudul “The Tavern” and” How Very Close” (2004) yang ditulis oleh Jalaluddin Rumi. Skripsi ini menggali konsep dari kebahagiaan sejati melalui pengalaman spiritual yang ditawarkan oleh Jalaluddin Rumi yang termanifestasikan kedalam kedua puisinya. Pengalaman spiritual merupakan suatu hal yang menarik untuk dibicarakan karena hal ini menawarkan nilai-nilai yang dapat kita pelajari.
Skripsi ini mengajukan dua pertanyaan utama: 1. Apakah yang Jalaluddin Rumi katakan dalam puisinya yang berjudul “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? 2. Bagaimanakah pengalaman spiritual yang direpresentasikan di dalam “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan yang telah disebutkan.
Penulis menggunakan pendekatan Structural-Semiotics dari Julia Kristeva untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang telah disebutkan diatas. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama, pendekatan Struktural digunakan untuk mendapatkan arti dalam lapisan intrinsik. Analisis dari lapisan intrinsik ini berdasarkan element-element dari puisi dalam level teks yang dilihat dari segi bahasa, element-element prosodik, dan interpretasi dari kata-kata yang terdapat didalam puisi-puisi tersebut. Oleh karena itu, penggunaan kamus sangatlah penting. Pertanyaan kedua t pendekatan Semiotik untuk menggali lapisan ekstrinsik dari puisi-puisi tersebut. Untuk membangun interpretasi lapisan ekstrinsik, dibutuhkan informasi dari latarbelakang kontekstual yang dilihat dari dasar religius, Sufi, latar belakang Jalaluddin Rumi, dan informasi yang diperoleh dari praktsi spiritual. Informasi-informasi ini digunakan sebagai informasi pendukung untuk mengerti esensi dari puisi-puisi tersebut.
Hasil dari studi ini adalah dua pesan yang sangatlah penting yang ingin disampaikan Rumi melalui kedua puisinya. Hasil pertama dalam lapisan intrinsik dari puisi “The Tavern” menunjuk pada penemuan identitas diri sang pengarang sedangkan “How Very Close” menunjuk pada hubungan yang sangat intim sang pengarang dengan kekasihnya. Hasil ini menuju titik yang sama yaitu perjalanan spiritual Rumi. Hasil penemuan kedua dalam lapisan ektrinsik menunjuk pada inti yang sama yaitu “bondageless” dan “transcendent love” sebagai suatu fase perkembangan kehidupan mistik Jalaluddin Rumi. Pada titik ini, fase ini menunjuk pada refleksi kehidupan yang terpenting dari perjalanan spiritualnya yang memudahkan Rumi mencapai tahap pengertian spiritual yang lebih tinggi.
RUMI’S POEMS:
“THE TAVERN” AND “HOW VERY CLOSE”
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By:
Intika Putri Widiarti Student Number: 031214142
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE AS REVEALED IN JALALUDDIN
RUMI’S POEMS:
“THE TAVERN” AND “HOW VERY CLOSE”
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By:
Intika Putri Widiarti Student Number: 031214142
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all I would like to express my thank to the Almighty God. He is not only the one who saves me, but He is a loyal and great companion. He gives me strength, He stays on my side, and gives me tremendous bless that I can stand up once again and again. He helpful hands support me that I can finally finish this thesis.
I would like to express my high appreciation to my major sponsorDr. Wigati Yektiningtyas Modouw, M.Hum.,for her patient, understanding and her motivating guidance in helping me finish this thesis. I will not forget those great moments we share together. My deepest gratitude also goes to my co-sponsor Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum. She assists me on my every page of this thesis. She is unbelievably efficient and critical although she has a very little time. I am honored to be one of her students.
I would also like to express my great thanks to all lecturers for their great contribution in my development, their honest and critical sharing and unforgettable memories. I would like to express my thanks to all staff in the secretariat, especially Mbak TariandMbak Danisupporting me since the first semester until now.
viii
caring. To my lovely sistersDitaandLilawho has become little angels in the house. No one can make me as happy, as sad, as proud, as angry, as confuse as they do.
My sincere thanks go to my best friends, Bunga Ajeng and her family, Timur Pamenang (Timmy), Fendi, Sharylin Childers (riil). I found precious friendship, honesty, and respect and share the greatest feeling of friendship with them. For all my ‘children’ gorgeous cats whom I love so much, Tukul (kungkung), Rio (yoyoh), eta’ and all her kitties, Hj. Maria chiripa and all her kitties, cindyand all her kitties, lusi, ruben (ubeng), iteng,andmas lilo.
I also thank to my precious friends of PBI: Bunga,Dera, Timur, Debby, Helen, Winny, Fendi, Ellen and mas moi, mbak Desty, Bertha, Cipox, Rinto
Dudung, Dudy, Andre 98, Andre 02 and others for the greatest support. Also, my friends Sharylin Childers, Mbak Citra, Mas Adi, Mbak Ayu, Eric Manning,
Jenny Hayes, Mas Hari, MD, Mas Indra, Mas Alex, Mbak Marina, Yobie
Rukanda as well as my family Mas Adit, Mbak Leni, Mbak Ivy, Papa and Mama Raharjo Yudhono, Bupoh Dien, Ajeng Hayu, Bude Anik, Bude Arum,
Mbak Yurni, and others whom I could not mention one by one here.
In addition, I give my best appreciation and compliment to Suma Ching Hai, Eyang Jimat as well Kuinjabihari who have always guided me in enduring my journey of life, released my pain as well as giving the enlightment, freedom and wisdom both for me and for all the living things in this world.
My great appreciation, finally, goes to my greatest man, Yogi Priandhika. Thanks for supporting words, inspiring encouragement, and greatest love. He is everything to me. He is the one I want in this life.
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE……... i
PAGE OF APPROVAL…... ii
PAGE OF ACCEPTANCE………... iii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY... PAGE OF DEDICATION... iv v STATEMENT OF PUBLICITY……….. vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS……….……… ix
ABSTRACT………..….….. xii
ABSTRAK………...….. xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION…... 1
1.1 Background of the Study... 1
1.2 Objectives of the Study... 4
1.3 Problem Formulation... 4
1.4 Benefits of the Study... 5
1.5 Definition of the Terms... 5
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE... 6
2.1 Theoretical Review... 6
2.2 Reviews on Religious Ground and Sufism... 11
2.2.1 Religious Ground... 11
2.2.2 Sufism……… 14
2.3 The Life and the Work of Jalaluddin Rumi………... 17
2.3.1 The Life………...……….. 17
2.3.2 The Work………...………... 20
2.4 Criticism... 21
x
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY... 24
3.1 Subject Matter... 3.1.1 “The Tavern”………... 3.1.2 “How Very Close”………... 24 24 25 3.2 Approach... 27
3.3 Procedures………... 28
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS... 30
4.1 The Explication of Jalaluddin Rumi’s Poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”…... 31
4.1.1 The Tavern……….….……….. 32
4.1.2 How Very Close………..………... 37
4.2 Mystical Experience Represented in Jalaluddin Rumi’s Poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”………. 44
4.2.1 Bondageless………... 44
4.2.2 Transcendent Love………….………... 54
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION... 72
5.1 Conclusion………...………. 72
5.2 Suggestion……….………... 73
5.2.1 Suggestion for the Further Researchers………...………. 73
5.2.2 The Implementation of Teaching Poetry………... 74
5.2.2.1 The Importance of Applying Biographical Background to Analyze Rumi’s poems in Teaching Poetry…...………...………. 74
5.2.2.2 The Implementation of Teaching Rumi’s Poems by Applying Author’s Biographical Background………...………... 76
BIBLIOGRAPHY……… 78 APPENDICES……….. Appendix 1 “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”………..…
xi
Appendix 2 Jalaluddin Rumi’s Biography………... 84
Appendix 3 Jalaluddin Rumi’s Picture………... 87
Appendix 4 The Middle East Map 13thCentury………. 88
The Ottoman Empire’s Map………. 89
The Middle East Map……….. 90
Appendix 5 Lesson Plan……….. 91
Appendix 6 Short Description about Poetry I………. 94
xii ABSTRACT
Widiarti, Intika Putri (2008).Mystical Experience as Revealed in Jalaluddin Rumi’s Poems: “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”. Thesis. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discussed and analyzed “The Tavern” and “How Very Close” (2004), two poems written by Jalaluddin Rumi. This thesis explored the concept of true happiness through mystical experience offered by Jalaluddin Rumi which was manifested into both poems. It was interesting to discuss mystical experience because it offered the values we could learn.
This thesis presented two main questions: 1.What does Jalaluddin Rumi say in his poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? 2. How is mystical experience represented in “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? This thesis is aimed to answer the problems mentioned.
The writer applied Structural-Semiotics approach by Julia Kristeva to answer the questions. To answer the first question, Structural approach was employed to get the meaning in the intrinsic level. The analysis of the intrinsic level was based on the elements of the poems in a text level which were seen from language, namely words, prosodic features, and the interpretation of the words written in the poems. Thus, the use of dictionary was essential. The second question employed Semiotics approach to explore the extrinsic level of the poems. To construct the meaning in extrinsic level, it needed information from the contextual background which were seen from religious ground, Sufism, Jalaluddin Rumi’s biographical background as well as the information suggested by spiritual practitioner. This information was employed as the supporting information in understanding the essence of the poems.
The findings of this thesis are, furthermore, two imperative messages that Rumi wishes to convey through both of the poems. The first finding in intrinsic level of the poem “The Tavern” refers to the finding of the author’s self identity while “How Very Close” refers to the intimacy of the author’s beloved. This finding directs to the same point of Rumi’s spiritual Journey. The second finding in extrinsic level, pointing to the same similarities, namely: ‘bondageless’ and ‘transcendent love’ as the mystical phase of Jalaluddin Rumi. To this point, the phase refers to his primary life reflection of his spiritual journey which enables him to attain higher level of spiritual understanding.
xiii
ABSTRAK
Widiarti, Intika Putri (2008). Mystical Experience as Revealed in Jalaluddin Rumi’s Poems: “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”. Thesis. Yogyakarta: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menganalisis dan membahas puisi berjudul “The Tavern” and” How Very Close” (2004) yang ditulis oleh Jalaluddin Rumi. Skripsi ini menggali konsep dari kebahagiaan sejati melalui pengalaman spiritual yang ditawarkan oleh Jalaluddin Rumi yang termanifestasikan kedalam kedua puisinya. Pengalaman spiritual merupakan suatu hal yang menarik untuk dibicarakan karena hal ini menawarkan nilai-nilai yang dapat kita pelajari.
Skripsi ini mengajukan dua pertanyaan utama: 1. Apakah yang Jalaluddin Rumi katakan dalam puisinya yang berjudul “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? 2. Bagaimanakah pengalaman spiritual yang direpresentasikan di dalam “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”? Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan yang telah disebutkan.
Penulis menggunakan pendekatan Structural-Semiotics dari Julia Kristeva untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang telah disebutkan diatas. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan pertama, pendekatan Struktural digunakan untuk mendapatkan arti dalam lapisan intrinsik. Analisis dari lapisan intrinsik ini berdasarkan element-element dari puisi dalam level teks yang dilihat dari segi bahasa, element-element prosodik, dan interpretasi dari kata-kata yang terdapat didalam puisi-puisi tersebut. Oleh karena itu, penggunaan kamus sangatlah penting. Pertanyaan kedua t pendekatan Semiotik untuk menggali lapisan ekstrinsik dari puisi-puisi tersebut. Untuk membangun interpretasi lapisan ekstrinsik, dibutuhkan informasi dari latarbelakang kontekstual yang dilihat dari dasar religius, Sufi, latar belakang Jalaluddin Rumi, dan informasi yang diperoleh dari praktsi spiritual. Informasi-informasi ini digunakan sebagai informasi pendukung untuk mengerti esensi dari puisi-puisi tersebut.
Hasil dari studi ini adalah dua pesan yang sangatlah penting yang ingin disampaikan Rumi melalui kedua puisinya. Hasil pertama dalam lapisan intrinsik dari puisi “The Tavern” menunjuk pada penemuan identitas diri sang pengarang sedangkan “How Very Close” menunjuk pada hubungan yang sangat intim sang pengarang dengan kekasihnya. Hasil ini menuju titik yang sama yaitu perjalanan spiritual Rumi. Hasil penemuan kedua dalam lapisan ektrinsik menunjuk pada inti yang sama yaitu “bondageless” dan “transcendent love” sebagai suatu fase perkembangan kehidupan mistik Jalaluddin Rumi. Pada titik ini, fase ini menunjuk pada refleksi kehidupan yang terpenting dari perjalanan spiritualnya yang memudahkan Rumi mencapai tahap pengertian spiritual yang lebih tinggi.
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is divided into five sections. The first section is Background of the Study. It deals with the reasons for choosing mystical experience as the main concern of the study. The second section is the Objectives of the Study. This section discusses the main purpose of this study. The third section is Problem Formulation, which contains questions to be answered by this study. The fourth section is the Benefits of the Study. It puts forth the advantages of conducting this study. The fifth section is Definition of Terms. It explains the terms used in this study in order to enable the readers to understand this thesis better.
1.1 Background of the Study
Every human wants to live in peace and harmony with nature and the society they inhabit. They expect to be happy. They have made many efforts and attempts to make their lives become more peaceful and harmonious. In relation to this statement, religions have been one of the main facilitators to control and improve human life1. The word religion is derived from Latin language. Re means ‘to come back’ and lagaremeans ‘to connect’. The purpose of religion is therefore to reconnect a soul to his Creator (1990:10). However, life is sometimes not easy as it looks. Over time, humans have abandoned the tenets of the religions which have been upheld for thousands of years as a result of modernity. It is due to this religions do not have the capacity to facilitate the practical problems that humans face in everyday life and in
1
the present era by preventing them for going in the wrong direction. When humans fail to solve the practical problems in everyday life and feel that God does not answer their prayers, humans tend to find another way which is much faster and easier to achieve what they want. The example of this phenomenon is Lia Eden’s case. She founded a new religion named Salamullah. This religion came about as a tool to answer the practical problems occurring in everyday life in the context of questions about God. While their former religions had failed to aid them in answering these questions, the Salamullah believers consider this religion as the answer to the questions they have been waiting for so long2.
In conjunction with the failure of religions to aid humans in answering practical problems occuring in everyday life, Bernard Lonergan has identified the shift in thinking as “the turn to interiority” (2003: 316). The interior side can be found in every religion. It empowers its believers to have a comprehensible understanding of the religions’ core objective. It directs people to the same point, which is to create a balanced life synchronized with nature and both living and non living creatures of God. For example, Islam, has an interior side called Sufism, with Jalaluddin Rumi being one of the most famous individuals who practiced Sufism. The role of the interior side in creating a balanced life is to provide the knowledge as well as the wisdom to its believer so that they feel God in everything they perceive through their five senses. Then, the understanding of God slowly changes. God is seen as a manifestation of the living and non-living creatures in the universe instead of God who just observes from the sky and is distant from His creatures. This
2
understanding is called mysticism, and the experience called mystical experience3. Margaret Smith explains the notion mysticism clearly as follows:
Mysticism is not to be regarded as a religion in itself, but rather as the most vital element in all true religions, rising up in revolt against cold formality and religious torpor. Nor is it a philosophical system, though it has its own doctrine of the scheme of things. It is to be described rather as an attitude of mind; an innate tendency of the human soul, which seeks to transcend reason and to attain to a direct experience of God, and which believes that it is possible for the human soul to be united with Ultimate Reality, when “God ceases to be an object and becomes an experience” (1980: 20).
Jalaluddin Rumi (1207- 1273) has been recognized as the greatest mystical poet of Islam, and as the supreme mystical poet of all mankind. He was born in 1207 C.E. in the city of Balkh, which was then in the Persian province of Khorasan but is now in Afghanistan. His most well – known work,The Mathanawi, contains a broad expanse of Sufi teaching and of Islam itself. It is considered by many as the most magnificent work of Persian ever written (1983: 11).
His insights into the human heart and soul are deep. Rumi’s universe is shaped by the Koran, the prophet of Islam, and the Muslim saints. Rumi’s message is nevertheless so universal and full of liberal use of imagery drawn from sources common to all human experience that his meaning is accessible to people of various backgrounds and religious perspectives (1983:9).
As one who is interested in Rumi’s teachings, I came to realize that many of his mystical doctrines and practical wisdom taken from real life are very interesting to explore since they offer valuable meanings for readers which can be implemented into one’s life. This study is employed in order to analyze and investigate the essence of mystical experience as it is found in Rumi’s poems. My intention is, therefore, to
3
explore and observe the messages of what Jalaluddin Rumi tries to convey through his poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”. I try to reveal the message of the concept real happiness through mystical experience which Rumi wants to convey. I hope this thesis is able to give a new perspective in understanding God better so that humans can make a deep consideration and self-definition of their lives.
In addition, I give the limitation to this thesis that I am a practical and empirical observer of English as an English education program student who is investigating and deepening my knowledge of the English language by exploring Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems. The analysis about mystical experience is taken from Jalaluddin Rumi’s point of view which is conveyed through his mystical poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close.”
1.2 Objectives of the Study
The study aims, first, to explore Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”’ and what Jalaluddin Rumi tries to convey in both of poems. The second aim of the study is to understand the meaning of mystical experience according to Jalaluddin Rumi which is manifested in his poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close.” These two objectives are undertaken with the view that Rumi’s message is highly valuable to humankind because it highlights other ways of understanding and appreciating God but also offer a concept of real happiness in life.
1.3 Problem Formulation
1. What does Jalaluddin Rumi convey in his poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”?
2. How is mystical experience represented in “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”?
1.4 Benefits of the Study
The study is beneficial for both readers and those who are interested in literary works. This study helps the readers to understand more about the poems, so that the readers are able to enjoy reading Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems. The readers can also enrich their knowledge of literary studies, particularly, about mysticism in the Sufi order and mystical experience as an inherent dimension of human existence. The other advantage is that this study may make a useful contribution to other researchers who want to analyze Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems “The Tavern” and ”How Very Close” on other topics related to Sufism.
1.5. Definition of the Terms
In order to clarify the meaning of the term ‘mystical experience’ used in this study, below is the definition of the term.
Mystical Experience
According to Rahner and Vorgrimler in Theological Dictionary mystical experience means the following:
(a) An experience, the interior meeting and union of man with the Divine infinity that sustains him and all other beings in Christian mysticism, in Judaism and Islam, with the personal God as well as,
6 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter contains mostly theories and approaches, which will strengthen and accompany my analysis of the work. This chapter is important to help me work objectively and develop my comprehension logically. The first section is the Theoretical Review which discusses the theories used in analyzing the poems. This thesis employs the Structural-Semiotics theory. The second section is the Review of Related Studies which is employed as the important element in deepening the analysis. This section is divided into two parts, namely: Religious Ground and Sufism. The third section is The Life and Work of Jalaluddin Rumi which later will be correlated with the Structural-Semiotics theory used to analyse the poems. The last section is the Theoretical Framework.
2. 1 Theoretical Review
unity of meaning, then, the approach is divided into two priorities, namely Structural and Semiotics.
The first priority uses structural theory to reveal information at a structural level of interpretation (intrinsic). A structural level of interpretation investigates the comprehensible linguistic signs. The analysis of the intrinsic level is based on the elements of the poems in a text taken from language, namely words, prosodic features, and interpretation of the language in the poems at the intrinsic level. In order to understand the meaning at the intrinsic level, the assistance of a dictionary1 is needed. The role of the dictionary is to explicate the structural meanings of the poems which later serve as a basic foundation in organizing the essence of the poem at a extrinsic level.
The second priority, semiotics, is employed to discover the essence of the poems through a deeper level of interpretation (extrinsic). Semiotics theory explores the extrinsic level of interpretation which is seen from the context of the poems. The context’s role is to provide information about the background which influenced Rumi and how he was able to create such poems. When we know how the background influenced Rumi to create such poems, we are able to infer the message of Rumi’s mystical experience and construct the essential meanings based on the information provided in its entirely. Thus, it is relevant that I provide information from religious ground, Sufism, Jalaluddin Rumi’s life, as well as the information about spiritual life suggested by Kuinjabihari.
The information from the extrinsic level is employed as referential information in understanding the essence of the poems. Religious ground plays a
1
significant role in explaining the essence of religion’s interior side which aim to create a harmonious life. The understanding lies in the explanation that, to create a synchronized life, humans need the correct concept of what a religion is. So, later, human feels happy in running his life.
Sufism is used as referential information for the reason that Sufism is the core of the religion of Islam (the interior side), the role of this information is to give knowledge for the readers. The readers will be able to understand and make a connection between Sufi concepts and the essence of the poems.
Jalaluddin Rumi’s life is used as the referential information of how he was shaped, through his journey in life, to be somebody who realized his true essence and was able to create such works in which his essence was manifested.
The information from a spiritual practitioner of Sufism named Kuinjabihari serves to give the significant in making sense of the theory I read from many written sources. It also helps readers and I understand what spiritual life is like, which is essential for readers to understand the poems deeper. The significance of this overall information is to help readers to have a better understanding of the poems.
The understanding of the poems comes when the readers know the context of Rumi’s life which influenced him to become a mystic, and the values explained in the religious ground and Sufism. Thus, by employing Structural-Semiotics theory, I expect to get the complete meaning of mystical experience according to Jalaluddin Rumi which is manifested in the poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close.”
structural criticism to grasp the sign meanings which correlate with the structure system. The science to analyze the signs is called semiotics (Preminger et al, 1974:980). Therefore, semiotic analysis cannot be separated from structural analysis.
The semiotic notion of intertextuality proposed by Julia Kristeva refers to the terms text and context. According to Julia Kristeva in her book entitled Desire in Language,text is defined as a trans-linguistic apparatus that redistributes the order of language by relating communicative speech, which aims to inform directly, to different kinds of anterior or synchronic utterances (1980: 36). The text, in brief, gives meaning directly through the structural level which is in the poems. This opinion is supported by Culler in his book entitled Structuralist Poetics, where analyzing and criticizing literary works are the efforts to catch and to give meaning to the texts of literary works (1977: VIII).
autonomous, but it is more on a part of difficult situation and from its relationship with other parts, the elements form meanings (Culler, 1977:170-1). Therefore, to understand poems, we have to notice the correlation of the elements as a part of the whole meaning.
Semiotics is science of signs. Signs have two aspects, signifier and signified: both elements function as aspects of the ‘indissoluble unity’ of the sign (Hawkes, 1977:126). Signs have various meanings which are based on the relationship between signifier and signified, namely icon, index and symbol. In the icon, the relationship between sign and object, or signifier and signified, manifests as ‘a community in some quality’: a similarity or ‘fitness’ of resemblance proposed by signs. A painting has aniconicrelationship to its subject in so far as it is resembles it. In the index, the relationship is concrete, actual and usually of a sequential, causal kind. Smoke is anindexof fire. In thesymbol, the relationship between signifier and signified is arbitrary; it requires the active presence of the interpretant to make the signifying connection. Saussure gives a following example, the major systematic manifestation of signs in this mode occurs in language. The observation of a leaf could be said to be theindexof a tree; where painting of a tree constitutes aniconof the tree, my utterance of the word ‘tree’ is a symbol of the tree because there is no inherent, necessary ‘tree-like’ quality in that signifier: its relationship to an actual tree remains fundamentally arbitrary sustained only by the structure of the language in which it occurs, and which is understood by its interpretant, and not by reference to any area of experience beyond that (1977:129).
textual level of the poems (the intrinsic level of the poem’s interpretation). Thus, the assistance of dictionary is needed to explicate the meaning in the structural text level. Meanwhile, Semiotics investigates the contextual level of the poems (the extrinsic level of interpretation): the information beyond the text which influences the author so that he is able to generate such works. The information of religious ground, Sufism, Jalaluddin Rumi’s life as well as the information suggested by the spiritual practitioner, Kuinjabihari, indeed, are relevant to discover the essential meaning of the poems in this study.
2.2 Reviews of Religious Ground and Sufism
2.2.1 Religious Ground
In this part, a discussion of religion as a vital element which has a role in the analysis of the poems will be put forth. This part is useful in the fact that it highlights for the reader the value of religion. This part is useful as it gives a significant description which supports the essential meaning of mystical experience through the poems written by Jalaluddin Rumi. Thus, this description will help to obtain a deeper understanding of Rumi’s works “The Tavern” and “How Very Close.”
Religion is seen as a trans-rational existential approach to human conditions; resolutions of these problems are searched for within an initial framework supplied by certain fundamentals assumptions about reality, a framework… (2005:383).
Friedrich von Hugel, in his workThe Mystical Element of Religion,lists three elements that are essentially present in any institutionalized religion. They are (1) organizational or institutional, (2) speculative or intellectual, and (3) experiential or mystical (1923:51-53). Although von Hugel is of the opinion that a proper balancing of all these three elements is necessary for a proper and healthy approach to religion as a unified reality, Chackalackal tend to think that any ignorance of the experiential or mystical dimensions of religion will misrepresent its own inner spirit, leaving only a lifeless structural construction, which in turn, would become a drained system incapable of providing any assistance to its believers in appropriating a transcendental or trans-rational perspective in approaching and realizing the ultimate nature of reality in finding answers to the ultimate questions about God and life . Moreover, Chackalackal also adds that
experientially-oriented or mystically disposed believers (if they are on the right track) will reinvigorate and sustain their respective religions against sheer emotionalism, self-centeredness, and unbecoming idiosyncrasies on the part of individuals… (2005: 384).
rational frameworks and sense-bound experiences. It requires an inward turn so as to identify the inner spiritual meaning. It calls for transcendence over the sensual and nonessential meaning and reach of those methods (including sacred scriptures, ritualistic observances, etc) to the mystical, which according to every religion has a prime, of place:
...the mystical belongs to the very essence of every religion, even though that essence usually contains other elements as well. Not only does it occasionally take a complete hold of some, but, more importantly, it shapes and informs, inspires and renews, all religious activity, whether it be ritual, moral, or theoretical. Without some share of spiritual experience religions withers away in sterile ritualism, arid moralism, or theological intellectualism... (1988: 6-7) For a person, belonging to religious tradition especially, experiencing the essence of his or her religion and being a mystic constitute an ongoing process, an unending pilgrimage in faith; bring someone to an end of love and trust in God. As Underhill puts it, a mystic is one “in whom the transcendental consciousness can dominate the normal consciousness, and who has definitely surrendered himself to the embrace of Reality.” (2006: 75).
What is essential in this regard, therefore, is orienting oneself totally and generously towards the Real by cultivating an open perspective motivated by an attitude of love and communion towards every being, living and non-living.
becomes an essential element in suggesting an approximation of the transcendental experience, encountered by the mystics. The incapability in explaining the transcendental experience would limit the value of symbolic expressions to a great extent.
The role of religion in facilitating mystical experience is crucial. A believer who is capable of distinguishing between the essentials and non-essentials and of accepting the absolute character of God wholeheartedly will definitely be able to soar high in religious experience without losing the firm foundations in radical faith (2005: 387).
2.2.2 Sufism
The word “Sufi” originates from Arabic word “Suf” which means wool, implying a cloak and refers to the simple cloaks the early Muslim ascetics wore. But one should also note that not all Sufis wear cloaks or clothes of wool. Another etymological theory states that the root word of Sufi is the Arabic word “saaf”, meaning pure, clean or blank. This etymology refers to the emphasis of Sufism on purity of heart and soul. One should notice and to be distinguished here that, Sufism is different than the teaching of Islam in general. In fact, commonly we know that Sufism belongs to Islam. However, according to Annemarie Schimmel, Sufism is in its early stages of development meant nothing but the interiorization of Islam.
way how to deeply recognize God by communing with Him instead of doing a tasteless or empty rituals of conventional religions:
While the Moslem Scriptures prescribe in detail the religious duties incumbent upon the believer, and regulate his behavior as a servant of God and a member of the faithful community, we are not immediately concerned here to summarize this aspect of the Koran. We are interested rather to examine those passage beloved by the Sufis as testifying to God’s Nature and Attributes, His self-revelation to mankind through the voice of Gabriel (the angel) speaking to Mohammed. For these mystical texts are the chief encouragement and justification of the Sufi in his belief that he also may commune with God (1950: 16-17).
In the same book, Arberry also explains that the Sufis seem to notice the essential message through a deep comprehension of the Koran. Such knowledge of the essence of God takes the Sufis to start and continue their appreciation toward God:
Remember God often is a phrase which constantly recurs in the Koran: in its context it has an obvious, neutral meaning, but the Sufis interpreted it in a special way, and the word “remembrance” (dhikir) acquired in time a very particular connotation. “Everything upon the earth passeth away, save His Face” seem where it stands to be innocent of all but its apparent intention;it is taken by the Sufis as the peg upon which to hang their characteristic doctrine of the passing away (fana’) of human attributes through union with God, whereby the mystic achieves the eternal continuance (baqa’) of spiritual life in Him (Arberry, 1950:22)
God, and especially the approach towards God through a series of progressive stages or stations and states.
The basic belief of Sufism is Love, since love is a projection of the essence of God to the Universe. Sufis believe that everything is a reflection of God. The Sufi conception of divine love is not restricted to what the term of "love of God" implies; it also includes human loves with a perspective that views everything a manifestation of God. The importance of Sufis is that they inspire man to lift his eyes to what exists beyond the physical world. Sufis believe that love is the most evident when the object of love is absent.
The chief aim of all Sufis then is to let go of all notions of ‘duality’ (and therefore of the individual self also), and realize the divine unity which is considered to be the truth. Islam, in general, believe that Humans are God’s slaves. However, as it is said above, Sufism does not believe in the duality which means God and humans are separated. Humans and God are One; and this also includes everything in this material world, as it was there before God created us. Humans come from God and must return to God whatever the way. Since Sufis follow that principles, God and humans are one, Sufism’s rituals, teachings and aims are to be united with God. The desire to experience God, the Creator, the Supreme Entity has brought about transcendent experiences. When they unite with God, the experience, then, is called a mystical experience.
2.3 The Life and the Work of Jalaluddin Rumi
2.3.1 The Life
Persian and Afghanis call Rumi “Jelaluddin Balkhi”. He was born on September 30, 1207, in Balkh, Afghanistan, which was then part of the Persian Empire. The nameRumi means “from Roman Anatolia.” He was not known by that name, of course, until after his family, fleeing the threat of the invading Mongols armies, emigrated to Konya, Turkey, sometime between 1215 and 1220. Due to Rumi’s years in which he fled to safe places to avoid the destructive army of Mongols, Rumi and the Sufis group “performing the pilgrimage to Mecca, returning northward to Syria and Asia Minor, visiting Sufi centres” (Shah, 1964: 132-133). This information may lead us logically to think that in the journey to find a safe place to reside, he stayed in or, at least was familiar with the tavern, since a tavern in early times was a hut placed at caravan stops in the Middle East for the shelter of traders and travellers. So, Rumi might have been familiar with taverns as a result of his travels from one country to another to find a safe place to stay due to the massive destruction of the Mongol army’s invasion of Persia and the Near-East in 1215-1220. It might help us to analyze the significance of a tavern in Rumi’s poem.
position of sheikh in the dervish learning community in Konya. His life seems to have been a fairly normal one for a religious scholar – teaching, meditating, helping the poor- until in the late fall of 1244 when he met stranger who put a question to him. That stranger was the wandering dervish, Shams of Tabriz, who had travelled throughout the Middle East searching and praying for someone who could “endure his company.
There are various versions of this encounter, but whatever the facts, Shams and Rumi became inseparable. Their friendship is one of the mysteries. They spent months together without any human needs, transported into region of pure conversation. This ecstatic connection caused difficulties in the religious community. Rumi’s students felt neglected. Sensing the trouble, Shams disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. Annemarie Schimmel, a scholar immersed for forty years in the works of Rumi, thinks that it was at this first disappearance that Rumi began the transformation into a mystical artist. “He turned into a poet, began to listen to music, and sang, whirling around, hour after hour.”
What makes Rumi’s mysticism different from any other mystics is that his relationship with Shams is considered as a homosexual relationship which makes both Rumi’s family and his scholars suspicious and envy about their togetherness, as it was said by Rumi: “You are the light of my house, don’t go away and leave me alone (Iqbal, 1983: 115).
According to Iqbal, it cannot be argued that both Rumi and Shams were looking for the essence of life, as it is stated below:
on account of their highly developed sense of intuition. Each of them felt like a traveller who reaches his destination after years of labour and toil. Perfect harmony was established between two. Both found the long-sought-for confidant in each other, and they opened out their hearts as they would do to no one else. The meeting brought about a unique peace and restlessness. (Iqbal, 1983: 113-114)
According to Iqbal, there are some reasons why Shams was not welcomed by the people closed to Rumi in Konya, namely:
(a)it was under his influence that Rumi gave up the professional gown for a peculiar dress of dervish; (b) to all appearances Shams did not rigorously follow the Islamic tenets and sometimes he uttered words which ordinary people attributed to irreligion; (c) to a casual observer Shams gave the impression that he did not care much about Islamic discipline (Iqbal, 1983: 119-120).
Word came that Shams was in Damascus. Rumi sent his son, Sultan Velad, to Syria to bring his Friend back to Konya. When Rumi and Shams met for the second time, they fell at each other’s feet, so that “no one knew who was lover and who the beloved.” Shams stayed in Rumi’s home and was married to a young girl who had been brought up in the family. Again the long mystical conversation (sohbet) began, and again the jealousies grew.
On the night of December 5, 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Most likely, he was murdered with the involvement of Rumi’s son, Allaedin; if so, Shams indeed gave his head for the privilege of mystical Friendship.
The mystery of the Friend’s absence covered Rumi’s world. He himself went out searching for Shams and went for journey again to Damascus. It was there that he realized and he wrote the poems as follow:
The Union became complete. There was fullfana,annihilation in the Friend. Shams was writing the poems. Rumi called the huge collection of his odes and quatrainsThe Works of Shams of Tabriz.
After Sham’s death and Rumi’s reunion with him, another companion was found, Saladin Zarkub, the goldsmith. Saladin became the Friend to whom Rumi addressed his poems, not so fierily as to Shams, but with quiet tenderness. When Saladin died, Husam Chelebi, Rumi’s scribe and favourite student, assumed this role. Rumi claimed that Husam was the source, the one who understood the vast, secret order of the Mathnawi, that great work that shifts so fantastically from theory to folklore to jokes to ecstatic poetry. For the last twelve years of his life, Rumi dictated the six volumes of this master-work to Husam. He died on December 17, 1273.
2.3.2 The Works
Rumi’s major works are the Diwani-Shams-i-Tabrizi of some 40,000 verses and the Mathnawi of about 25,000 verses. There also some collections of his talks and letters are Fihi ma Fihi (“In it is what is in it”), Majalis-I sab’ah (“Seven session”), and finally Rumi’s Makatib or “Letters,” 145 documents of an average length of one or two pages.
The Mathnawi(“Couplets”) comprises six books of poetry in a didactic style, ranging in length from 3,810 to 4,915 verses. TheMathnawirepresents a single work which was composed in its present order. According to Afzal Iqbal, the Mathnawi was called as ‘the Qur’an in the Persian.’ (1983: 175).
Fihi ma fihi,in fact, represents transcription of talks given by Rumi to various disciples. Like Mathnawi, it is very much a didactic work, explaining in detail and through a great variety of comparisons and analogies different dimension of Sufi teachings. The Majalis-I sab’ah is a short work which comprises a number of sermons obviously delivered not to an audience comprised only of Sufis but to a larger public.
The last work, Rumi’s Makatib is mostly addressed to various princes and noblemen of Konya and in fact are letters of recommendations or requests for various favours written on behalf of disciples and friends. A small number are addressed to family members and disciples. In contrast to many collections of letters by Sufi masters, theMakatibcontains only one letter addressed specifically to someone who has asked for spiritual counsel (Chittick, 1983: 5-7).
2.4 Criticism
Idries Shah, in his book The Sufis supports the familiarity of Rumi’s translated books among the readers in the West when he said that Rumi’s familiar presentation help people much to obtain the essential values in religion (1968:110).
In the same book by Idries Shah, Doctor Johnson, best known for his unfavourable pronouncements, mentions the undoubted quality of Jelaluddin Rumi: ”He (Rumi) makes plain to the Pilgrim the secrets of the Way of Unity, and unveil the Mysteries of the Path of Eternal Truth” (1969:115).
According to Iqbal, the values offered in Rumi’s work are always in accordance with demands found in each era along human’s histories. He also has an excellent mode of vision toward humanity (1956:132).
Another good thing from Rumi is his sincerity towards other religions’ ways of thinking. Rumi’s work can be received universally since they contain relatively the same experience in various religious backgrounds as it is mentioned by William C. Chittick in his bookThe Sufi Path of Love:
Rumi’s universe is shaped by the Koran, the prophet, and the Moslem saints, just as Dante’s is shaped by Christ, the Bible, and the church. But fortunately, Rumi’s message is go universal and he is so liberal in his use of imagery drawn from the sources common to all human experience that this obstacle (of reading Rumi’s book by Western readers) is not a fundamental one (1983:9). Many people admire Rumi’s work and Professor R.A. Nicholson is one of them who puts a high appreciation toward Rumi’s works: “The Mathnawi (one of the sources of The Essential Rumi) contains a wealth of delightful poetry” (Shah, 1969:117).
Rumi is a truly great artist. He is not afraid of death, for as a creative artist he draws his inspiration from his own immortal self for which there is neither decay nor death but which, on the other hand, grows and develops continuously (1956:136).
2.5 Theoretical Framework
In this thesis, I will just apply one theory; Structural-Semiotics in order to obtain a better understanding of the background and the message of mystical experience as revealed in Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems.
This theory is divided into two priorities, namely Structural and Semiotics. Structural explores the textual level of the poems (intrinsic). The analysis of the first layer is based on the elements of the poems which are seen from language, namely words, prosodic features, and interpretation of the language in the poems at the intrinsic level. To construct the meaning in the first layer of interpretation, the assistance of dictionary is needed. The role of dictionary is to explicate the structural meanings of the poems which later serve a basic foundation in organizing the essence of the poem at a deeper level.
24 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methodology in analyzing Rumi’s poems. There are three sections in this chapter. The first section is the subject matter, which concerns with the topic of the thesis. The second is the approach employed in answering the problem. The last section is the procedures, which discuss about the process in doing the study.
3.1 Subject Matter
3.1.1 “The Tavern”
“The Tavern” was taken from a bookThe Essential Rumi byColeman Barks, et al whom they have dedicated most of their life to interpret Jalalludin Rumi’s poems from Arabic to English. Coleman Barks, et al proclaim in the introduction of The Essential Rumi that the book is the compilation from many categories: the quatrains (rubaiyat) and odes (ghazals) of theDivan, the six books of theMathnawi, the discourses, the letters, and the almost unknownSix Sermons. This book is divided into twenty-eight divisions which shed a light on Rumi’s esoteric thinking of other realms. His collection of quatrains and odes is calledThe Works of Shams of Tabriz (Divani Shamsi Tabriz). The six books of poetry he dictated to his scribe, Husam Chelebi, are simply titled Spiritual Couplets (Mathnawi), or sometimes he refers to them asThe Book of Husam. The wonderfully title of the discourses,In It What’s in It (Fihi Ma Fihi,),means “what’s in theMathnawiis in this too”.
poem is taken from The Works of Shams of Tabriz, I fully realize that this poem is made intentionally to recall Rumi’s master, Shams of Tabriz. I definitely sure that this poem was designed deliberately to remember and give the best appreciation to his truly master. Even though Rumi felt so despair losing his mystical friendship, later in the development, he might have known that the person he was trying to seek for is in his heart (refer to Chapter 2). This poem was made when Rumi lost his mystical friend for the first time, later in the development Rumi asked his son to go to Damascus to bring Shams back to Konya. This is the time when Rumi started writing his mystical poems dedicated to his mystical companion to express his deep longing and grief whose feeling separated from his partner. This poem consists of 6 stanzas and 26 lines.
This poem describes about the origin of human being and the ecstatic union of the present of the Truth which enables human being to build direct connection to his own God and feel the union symbolizes with the mystical experience. This poem also describes how human in his grief and deep longing searches for the truth, thus human has to find the way back home to the true nature; Supreme Entity (God Hirmself), even how hard it takes. The obstacles to find the truth are so beautiful that human need to release worldly attachment which bound them to unite with the Supreme Entity, Rumi put this fighting into words which are awesome.
3.1.2 “How Very Close”
a kind of spiritual couplets and was created when Rumi was in his great grief of losing his truly friend, Shams. We can feel how Rumi in his great despair of losing Shams. To truly understand this poem, we suppose to think about somebody we love very much, our true lover. True love cannot be exchanged with something else in this world. We are to think about a truly lover in which between the lover and us, there is a strong connection of pure love that cannot be substituted with something else; love is the perfect unity between the lover and the love. As an addition, “How very Close” was translated by Nader Khalili. He is one of the devotee of Jalaluddin Rumi who has dedicated most of his life translating Rumi’s poems from Arabic to English. This poem consists of 7 stanzas and 35 lines.
This poem was made when Rumi lost his mystical companion for the second time and it was the time that changed Rumi to be a real devotee of God. The grief, longing and sorrow expressed in the poem turned out to be an intimate relationship with God (refer to Chapter 2), while it used to be; the first disappearance of Shams; expressed with a certain distance to unite with his beloved. This poem best describes as the union momentum between Rumi and God with the help of a master. This poem discusses about how Rumi intoxicated to the mystery of Divine Love. It also describes as a sense of total submission, completeness and devotion to something he loves more than everything in this world.
Since this thesis uses qualitative study, I do not include the whole twenty-eight divisions of the poems in the book, but then I chose two of them which mainly imply the relationship to the title of my study.
is a role of master significantly influences Rumi’s attitude toward his vision of life and by the assistance of a master, Rumi found the Truth which transforms and leads him to undergo mystical experience. This experience furthermore is manifested into Rumi’s mystical poems. The role of a master, in my opinion, is really essential since this is the starting point for Rumi to be the real devotee of God. Being a real devotee of God makes Rumi realize what a true happiness is. The notion to explain his happiness is called ‘ecstasy’. Coleman Barks in his book The Essential Rumi also highlights this noticeable relation:
“No one can say what such friendship is. In the commingling I heard a voice saying something close to my own sense of failure, joy, grief, ecstasy. Why is it so difficult to say the content of Rumi’s ghazals? I feel happy inside them, continuous, whole, in the simplicity of just taking in sunlight, no pretext, no excuse, empty in the present moment.” (2004: xvii)
It cannot be argued, anyway, that there are still some other poems which also seem to have relationship to my study, however, after reading the book several times I found that the two poems are the most suitable among all in terms of their correlation to my study. The reason why I choose those two poems is because I find that they are closely related to my thesis, which focuses on the mystical experience.
3.2. Approach
This thesis employs Structural-Semiotics approach in order to get better understanding of the background and the message of mystical experience as revealed in Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems.
interpretation). Semiotics investigates the context level of the poems (extrinsic level of interpretation). This approach is employed to get a whole unity of the essence meaning of mystical experience through Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close.”
3.3. Procedure
When I conducted this study, I applied two sources which, hopefully, guided me to explore each path of Rumi’s work. The sources were divided into two parts; primary and secondary source. The primary source was the two poems taken from The Essential Rumi. These two poems, hopefully, were the representation of Rumi’s mystical experience. While, the secondary sources were books which were significant to the work, i.e., the references of Rumi’s biography, religious ground, Sufism and also an approach Structural Semiotics as well as the other sources, namely articles, newspapers, magazines, websites, journals, etc. I mostly consulted my sources from Kolsani’s library and spiritual practitioners named Kuinjabihari. The importance of interviewing Kuinjabihari is to give the significance meaning in making sense the schemes of sources I read. It also helped me and readers to understand of how spiritual life was and it was essential for readers to understand the poems deeper. The significance of this overall information was to help readers to have a better understanding of the poems, in this case mystical experience.
continued reading the theory of Structural Semiotics. Next, I read others related literature and critics towards the author. Finally, I started my analysis toward the poems. The analysis assisted the information from Rumi’s biography, religious ground and Sufism as well. To investigate more information about Sufism and mysticism, I went to Solo to meet Kuinjabihari whose name means The God of the Universe on April 18, 2007 at 9:00 am - 01:30 pm. He is a spiritual practitioner whose belief is Sufism. I interviewed him to get any information related to Sufism and mysticism. I noted everything important and he explained clearly that to find our self essence, we needed assistance from an enlightened spirit in a form of human who helped us to bring us back to God or our true nature. Once a human has found his true nature, it was told that a man was considered to be a whole being. This stage means that human can directly communicate to God with the ability within the human being. In brief, to be a whole being is the manifestation of the characteristic of God hirmself. If human being has acquired the characteristics of God, it is told that he has united with the God. So every act, utterance and attitude was representation of God hirmself. When human has been in a stage of union with God, thus, it was possible for human being to communicate to God directly, as this messages revealed in Rumi’s poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”.
30 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter discusses Rumi’s appreciation toward God and his mystical experience expressed in the works. The analysis will consistently limit my scope of study only over a discourse of Mysticism in Islam i.e., Sufism. In order to have critical understanding of the work, I firstly try to explore the background of Sufism which later in the development will be strongly and directly connected to essence of mystical experience expressed in the poems. Although the experiences found in every religion are relatively similar, their ways to attain them are different.
Idries Shah describes the meaning of Sufism which is not far different from the Mysticism in other religions: “Sufism is the knowledge whereby man can realize himself and attain permanency. Sufis can teach in any vehicle, whatever its name” (1968: 312). Menahem Milson, in the introduction of a book Menjadi Sufi: Bimbingan untuk Para Pemula, describes that the Sufi read the verses of the Koran repeatedly. By doing so, they try to comprehend and internalize the essence of God’s words, and thus the process of approaching the Owner of the words is begun (1994: 12). In Islamic Mysticism, we can find two systematic states of having mystical experience namely “fana i.e., passing away from self and “baka i.e., the consciousness of survival in God” (please, see chapter II). These two states indicate a long hard effort to achieve the superlative state i.e., uniting with God.
them and the prophet. Since the later is also a man, the Mystics see an opportunity to have the same mystical experience.
Sufism believes that love is the essence of their core belief. Sufism believes that everything is a reflection of God. Through love, Sufism breaks the barrier of physical world which produces the loss of consciousness of everything which is distant to the Truth, even forgetfulness of our own state of forgetfulness (Brown, 1982: 542). This may lead Sufism to experience mystical experience or intoxication.1
The analysis is divided into two sections. The first section is to discuss the poems as seen in the intrinsic level. The usage of dictionary, then, is needed to explicate the meaning of the poems. The second section is to explore the poems in extrinsic level. It investigates the essence of the poems which Rumi wants to convey. Thus, the comprehension of religious ground, Sufism, Rumi’s biography as well as the information from spiritual practitioner Kuinjabihari have achieved in order to understand the concept of real happiness which Rumi wants to convey in both of his poems “The Tavern” and “How Very Close”. As an addition, the values both in the intrinsic as well as extrinsic level play important roles in shaping the concept of real happiness in life through Rumi’s mystical experience.
4.1 The Explication of Jalaluddin Rumi’s poems “The Tavern” and “How Very
Close”
This section analyzes text level of interpretation (intrinsic level) through the investigation of the comprehension linguistic signs. The analysis of the intrinsic level is based on the elements of the poems in a text level which seen from language,
1
namely words, prosodic features, and interpretation of the language in the poems in the first layer. Thus, the assistance of dictionary is needed. The role of dictionary is to help me to understand the meaning in text/structural level. The structural meaning of the poems, later, serves a basic foundation in organizing the essence of the poem in extrinsic level. Hawkes argues that structures can be obtained when the full significance of any entity or experience cannot be perceived unless and until it is integrated into thestructure of which it forms a part (1977:18). This section will be divided into two sub sections which contain Jalaluddin Rumi’s poem “The Tavern” and “How Very Close” of which analyzed according to its stanzas.
4.1.1 “The Tavern”
This poem consists of 6 stanzas and 26 lines. The rhymes used are free verse. This poem uses lyrical “I” expression. This poem is understandable since the diction is very simple and clear so that it will make the reader easy to understand.
The first lines of the poem expresses as followed: All day I think about it, then at night I say it
Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea
My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that and I intend to end up there
This drunkenness began in some other tavern When I get back around to that place,
I’ll be completely sober.
Meanwhile, I’m like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary
The day is coming when I fly off
But who is it now in my ear who hears my voice? Who says words with my mouth?
The speaker talks about a place for having fun. The speaker is so desperate, so he decides to go to a tavern. According to Macmillan English Dictionary for Advance Learners, Tavern is an old word for a pub (2002:1470). Still in the same sources, Pub is a place where people go to drink alcohol (2002: 1138). What comes to our mind is that a tavern is a sort of place where people drink alcohol and release their fatigues of their problems in life.
The word Tavern derives from the Latin taberna and the Greek
ταβέρνα/taverna. According to wikipedia encyclopedia, a tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and, more than likely, also be served food, though not licensed to put up guests. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, the earliest public houses were empty huts placed at caravan stops in the Middle East for the shelter of traders and travelers. To pilgrims, temples and religious houses gave rest and refreshment. Tavern is an old language which in present is no longer used.
which is able only to make him forget temporarily about all the problem of life he has.
According toMacmillan English Dictionary, Aviary means an enclosed area where birds are kept (2002:80). It is somehow understandable that the speaker go to the tavern is just a matter of releasing his fatigues, wearies and grief in his life, but still a part of his heart and mind yearn a deep longing for the warmth of house where house is a representative of a love; an empty feeling of yearning something satisfied of a warmth of love. The speaker feels he is separated from his own place. He feels longing, isolated and alienated since this place is not his own place. The speaker thinks that this place is like a prison which separates him from outside world. The speaker also believes that someone out there believes his story and trusts him. The speaker is truly sure that there will be someone else come to him and listen to his longing of home, definitely have the same view of his and release him from the distressful life he has by taking him back to his home.
Prior to the time of the Prophet Muhammad (632), Arabia was not known for its cultivation of the vine, but there were exceptions to this rule. Parts of Yemen produced wine, and wine of some quality was made in the Arabian cities of Medina and al-Ta’if. Somehow these supplies apparently could not keep up with the demand with which Christian merchants sold it to visitors from abroad. However, when we relate the origin of wine in the middle-east and the history of tavern, it sheds a light that Rumi moderately familiar with the tavern when his families fled from places to places, to find safe living area to stay.
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn’t come here of my own accord, and I can’t leave that way Whoever brought me here will have to take me home
believes that someone will help him to get his out of the prison and take him back to his origin place whom he misses very much.
According to Macmillan English Dictionary, prison is an institution where people are kept as punishment for committing a crime (2002: 1120). Based on this meaning, it is somehow understandable that the speaker, to some extent, feels like a people punished for committing a crime. Since the speaker beliefs that he is not supposed to live where he lives right now, he feels alienated as if he was a prisoner who yearns for a freedom. Prison to him is an obstacle that bounds him to find one sip of an answer about who he is and blocks his intention to go back again to his home. The speaker really wishes to escape from the place he lives now, which he thinks it is a prison, and drunks to shift his thinking for a while by going to the tavern.
This poetry I never know what I’m going to say I don’t plan it
When I’m outside the saying of it, I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.
The speaker is speechless, does not know how to convey the chaotic feeling he has. He has no exact planning about what he should do. When he thinks or says about the home that he really loves, he becomes so quiet and says nothing. For him, Home is love. He does not have anything to say because he really misses his home. All that he wants is just to go back over his home.
As a matter of fact, the true happiness comes when human has unified with his Source of Life.
4.1.2 “How Very Close”
This poem consists of 7 stanzas and 35 lines. The rhymes used are free verse. This poem uses lyrical “I” expression. This poem is understandable since the diction is very simple, common vocabularies and clears so that it will make the reader easy to understand.
The first lines of the poem expresses as followed: How very close
is your soul with mine I know for sure
everything you think goes through my mind
The speaker tells about the intimacy of his relationship with somebody he loves. The speaker shows about how he has a strong connection between himself and somebody he loves. He knows exactly what his beloved wants, no more blocks since the lover and the beloved are one.
gain magnificent kinds of relationship. This powerful relationship bounds and attaches the speaker and his beloved to encourage more intimacy to give their love again and again; a never ending circle of love.
I am with you now and doomsday not like a host caring for you at a feast alone
According to Macmillan English Dictionary, Doomsday is the time in the future when some people believe the world will end (2002: 412). The speaker shows the attachment they have; they are inseparable, now until the doomsday. In brief, the speaker and his beloved will remain together now until the future and forever that nobody can separate them. Logically, when a thing is in unity, somehow there’s one try to break them apart; to some extent; they will feel lonely, ineffective when one role can not cover the function, worthless when one thing breaks apart; a feeling of separated arise.
The speaker, if he is separated from his beloved, feels like he is a hostage, whose freedom is limited by someone else who intends to break his intimacy apart from his beloved. Macmillan Dictionary explains that a hostage is someone or something that is controlled by people or things that reduce their freedom (2002:694). It somehow makes sense that the speaker feels his freedom taken when someone change the beloved
