The ‘Other Presence’ and its Relation with "Meaning of Life" in the Thought of Mawlana Jalaluddin (Rumi)

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of the 'other presence' on the 'meaning of life' in the thought of Mawlana Jalaluddin (Rumi), which has been addressed with a descriptive-analytical approach. Rumi's thought, in the mystical position of the Sufi sect, is essentially a non-separatist and unifying approach. The basis of his thought does not completely reject the presence and influence of the 'other' which is called 'another' in Eastern mystical thought, but it considers the level of matter as meaning. Rumi considers the other presence intertwined in finding and realizing the meaning of a relative life and in close connection with the love of God. By another classification of 'Heaven other' and 'Hell other', he has clarified his opinion and explained the central offer of his reflections on the relation between the meaning of life and the presence of the other in such a way that only in a romantic relationship with heaven other, the most original meaning of life is realized. Regarding the meaning of life, Rumi goes beyond the limits of naturalistic thought and agrees with the approach of meaning discovery. Finally, the culmination of the connection between the meaning of life and the presence of the other in his belief is that discovering the meaning of life begins at the lowest level and manifests itself in a romantic relationship with the 'transcendent other', God, in its highest form. Rumi, by telling educational anecdotes and allegories in the form of poetry and prose, repeatedly warns man against talking and associating with the other and considers him a cause of misguidance and alienation from man, while self-knowledge and self-remembering is the first and most basic principle that man needs to know the other and also to discover the meaning of life. In the analytical course of Rumi's views on the subject of research, it is clear that in Rumi's view, 'meaning' is a real and objective thing that is present in the world and, contrary to the views of atheist existentialists, is not made by human fear and loneliness. Rather, there is meaning in life and it must be found. In this sense, he is in the group of those who believe in the theory of 'discovering the meaning of life'. Regarding the meaning of life, Rumi believes that in order to properly understand what the meaning of life is, we must have self-knowledge and make self-knowledge the first step in the search for meaning because it is only then that we realize our human value and status and manifest ourselves as the universe and God. At this level of knowledge, we are not preoccupied with superficial and transient pleasures, and we find the way to the meaning of life, which is to attain divine love. It is noteworthy that such a goal cannot be achieved without the 'other' because unity and oneness are absolutely impossible in the material world. In addition, our perception of 'self' is the result of the interaction of 'self' with 'other'. If we accept the 'other' as a subject like the 'self', we can experience his meaningful presence in life. Thus, the presence of the 'other' is an essential factor in the knowledge of the 'self' and seeks to know what the 'meaning of life' is. Mawlana Jalaluddin has also defined the types of relations between 'self' and 'other', not all of which are equally constructive, but 'others' are valued differently from Mawlana's point of view, and some of them may even be considered as the cause of damage and the cause of crises exist in man and society; like what was previously referred to as 'hell other' and Rumi also calls them cannibals and warns against associating with them. In fact, Rumi's other levels can be examined from two perspectives. 'Other' means other than 'self' and in another sense, 'other' as 'self'. Rumi classified the other as 'hell other' and 'heaven other' in a general way. The other is an identity that has forgotten the true homeland of man and the inner originality and has remained in the most superficial layers. In relation to the 'I', he also seeks the object and the possession of the ‘I’, and the relation between the 'I' and the other is constantly defined in the same cycle. In contrast, the other in relation to the mirrored 'I' seeks to self-consciously and transparently identify the 'I'. In this relation, the parties to the relationship do not seek to possess each other, but to fly to the other in order to open up to the world of meaning in their existential evolution. Thus, the meaning of light life is the result of relation with heaven other, and the meaning of heaven life requires the presence of heaven other. Rumi introduces 'love' as the meaning of life, which is the result of the romantic relationship of 'self' with 'other' of the same type, that is, heaven. The main teaching of his mystical thought is that loving human beings is both the source and the result of loving God. In other words, loving people is a manifestation of loving God. Love of God as the genuine 'other' causes man to enter into a loving relationship with the universe, to break down the barrier of 'self' and to reach beyond it. Therefore, for Rumi, love is the meaning of life and the driving force of creation.