Introduction

Many of Rumi's teachings are beyond certain religions. He considers the main goals of religions and the achievement of the truth rather than confining himself in the form of a particular religion. According to him, all religions came from a single light and pursue a common goal. Therefore, Rumi’s mysticism for many followers of the other religions has a special attraction. Rumi has a special insight into the attitude of the world. His ontology is a mystical one which focuses on the Unity of Being. The basis of this ontology is the Unity of Being and the unity of manifestation; "that is, the world is created with a manifestation of God"; “the world is God in the mirror” and the secret of this manifestation is love, which is the origin of the world. Therefore, in Rumi’s ontology, which is based on the theory of Unity, everything is Unity.

Love is the key to dynamism, the movement, and power of Rumi’s ontology. Love has a central position in Rumi's thoughts. The separation which was stated in the beginning of the Mathnavi and speaks of the pain of anxiety, is the pain of love. Rumi's mysticism does not deny the world and worldly aspects. His words emphasize that this world is not false and futile. This world has its destination; man is the original result of the true meaning of divine truth. Human soul in mystics’ belief is a wave of the vast sea, which has been called God, without these waves, there is no sea and without the sea, there are no waves. As Rumi indicated, “the profound nature of love ('ishqor mafiabbah), a nature which can completely transform the human substance, by saying that in reality love is an attribute of God and that through it man is freed from the limitations which define his state in the world” (Chittick, 2005, P.11).

In Rumi’s ontology, Man and God are presented as an interconnected unit. From his point of view, nature is alive. It does not only include tangible, or organic objects. Mysticism knows the universe as the essence of God and the fruit of His manifestation and His followers. Accordingly, this is the perception and the cutting of the duality and drowning in the Unity of Being; Rumi considers himself above all religions, thoughts, and as an element dependent on the same unit of interconnectedness. He explicitly stated:

Why think thus O men of piety

I have returned to sobriety

I am neither a Moslem nor a Hindu

I am not Christian, Zoroastrian, nor Jew

I am neither of the West nor the East

Not of the ocean, nor an earthly beast

…..

My place is the no-place

My image is without face

Neither of body nor the soul

I am of the Divine Whole. (Shahriari, 1998, P.57-8)

Rumi’s ontology was expressed in his two poetic and original works, the Divan Shams and the Mathnavi Manavi, which are considered as the most important mystical works in the Persian language with complete fluency. The language which has been used in these two immortal works, is the language of metaphor, allegory, narration, storytelling, pouring the seeds of meaning into the stylistic modes, and using a storyline to express the delicacies. Mysticism has a long and consistent background in the human ontology. Rumi is a different person whose ontology differs from philosophy, logic, and science because neither Rumi is seeking argument nor is looking for intellectual discussion and not taking sensory experiences seriously. Rumi's innumerable glamor lies in mysticism, he wanted to conceal the mystery of the universe not with wisdom but with love. Rumi can only be recognized with mystical passion and mysticism; therefore, in order to know Rumi; a person has to have mystical emotions; that is, to be a mystic neither the philosopher nor the logician.

In the present article, we will be glad to be with him with our thought, As Rumi says: “Every one became my friend from his own opinion/ none sought out my secrets from within me” (Nicholson, 2011, Mathnavi I: 6)

1. What is mysticism?

“Mysticism has been called "the great spiritual current which goes through all religions." In its widest sense it may be defined as the consciousness of the One Reality—be it called Wisdom, Light, Love, or Nothing” (Schimmel, 1975, P.4). The essence of mysticism is love, which is the bond or trust that God is given to the mystic and the seeker to reach him to the main home, so mysticism and Sufism have no meaning without love. Love to God and the creatures of the universe, because all is God. As Schimmel put it:

Mysticism can be defined as love of the Absolute – for the power that separates true mysticism from mere asceticism is love. Divine love makes the seeker capable of bearing, even of enjoying, all the pains and afflictions that God showers upon him in order to test him and to purify his soul. (1975, P.4)

2. Difference in mystical ontology with philosophical and scientific ontology

To determine Rumi's ontology, it is necessary to recognize its place at least. By understanding the distinction between mysticism, philosophy, and science, the mystical ontology will be perceived. Therefore, we will look at the difference of mysticism with philosophy and science.

1. 1. Love the foundation of the mystical ontology

A lot of books have been written about love, and different sciences have been devoted to this: Biology, philosophy, psychology, education, mysticism and other sciences also discussed love. Mysticism does not have a debate about love because it is love itself. Therefore, in order to understand mysticism, one must fall in love, apart from this, there is no way. So let's talk about what love means.

In Persian literature, two kinds of love have been mentioned: true love and virtual love. True love is the same as pure love, which differs from virtual love and is totally spiritual; there is no relation to sex, while virtual love is the biological issue of love that is criticized for true love, so mysticism is true love.

True love “cannot be defined, though its traces can be described” (Chittick, 2000, P.77). True love is spiritual and divine. “On the divine level, love can be called the motive force for God’s creative activity” (Chittick, 2000, P.77).

It should be said that the foundation of mysticism is love, the emotion which has been inhaled in Sanai’s soul and reaches its peak in Rumi.

1. 2. Sense is the foundation of science

From the point of scientists’ view, the sense is the criteria for finding the truth. In the sense that we do not have much beyond our senses to receive the truth, this view also denies even reason, the difference of reason and sense in the history of philosophy has a long history that begins with the era of the Sophists; Sophists had a sense of sight, Socrates and Plato, were supporters of reason. If we consider the difference in the Renaissance, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Leipzig, and Spinoza are advocates of reason, but Bacon, John Stuart Mill, and Jeremy Bentham are supporters of sense.

So, in terms of science, everything in human life can be manipulated for the experimentation and the advancement of science, even human itself, because science treats man as a machine. However, reason can accept or not accept this by argument, but mystical love makes science a destructive one. The only progress and the most realistic progress in terms of mysticism is the advancement in love, which brings humanity to its Origin and Truth, which is essentially the essence of God and saves him from the material and worldly prison.

1. 3. Reason is the basis of the ontology of philosophy

“Philosophy is the art of forming, inventing, and fabricating concepts” (Deleuze, 1991, P.3). So one cannot conceive of reason with the philosophy. From the word reason, as many other words, there are very different meanings, however, reason can be understood as meaning capable of drawing a clear distinction between good and evil, the ability and composition of cognition. So it cannot be said that reason is philosophy, but the reason is from a subject taken in philosophy seriously, and philosophy begins its questions with the meaning of reason.

From the point of view of mysticism, the foundation of life and creation is neither science nor reason, but love, so a person has to go with love and passion to know the essence of creation. As Rumi said: “The lover's ailment is separate from all other ailments: / love is the astrolabe of the mysteries of God” (Nicholson, 2011, Mathnavi I: 110)

3. Rumi, the great mystic

Rumi is a mystic, all passion and love, a perfect man. It is true that Rumi's life was changed by Shams. After this meeting, Rumi left logic and philosophy, left behind two great books: the Divan Shams and Mathnavi Manavi; the Divan Shams expresses Rumi’s passion, and the Mathnavi Manavi is the connecting point of Sanai’s Hadiq al-Haqiqa and Attar’s Mantiq al-Tayur, in fact, completed these two mystical works. Mysticism reaches its peak with the Mathnavi Manavi. Rumi, as a great mystic with his own mystical style and background, introduced humanity as an independent knowledge separate from logic, philosophy, and science, the recognition which is impossible except by love.

a. Rumi’s mystical passion

In every company I uttered my wailful notes, I consorted with the unhappy and with them that rejoice.

Every one became my friend from his own opinion; none sought out my secrets from within me.

My secret is not far from my plaint, but ear and eye lack the light (whereby it should be apprehended).

Body is not veiled from soul, nor soul from body, yet none is permitted to see the soul. (Nicholson, 2011, Mathnavi I: 5-8)

According to the perception of these mystical Rumi's verses, it can be said that Rumi’s passion has a deep and abundant effect on Rumi’s own capacity, which apart from Rumi, no one is walking in that love, only Rumi saw everything and others express what they say, not from Rumi’s perspective, but their own idea. Therefore, Rumi’s mystical passion cannot be considered as a transitory moment in the ecstasy of passion. Rumi, with a persistent mystical euphoria, expressed the passion of mysticism, which is beyond description.

Rumi's passion is endless, which is included in the mystical realm of Rumi; this capacity cannot be measured by philosophy, logic, and science. It should be said that this is Rumi’s mystical persuasive passion, which is made his knowledge more charm, the charm which cannot be found in theology and the expression of any other mystic.

b. Love is the foundation of Rumi’s ontology

In philosophy, they give more credit to the brain, but in mysticism, it is given to the heart, which is the place of love. As Rumi said: “Hence the heart is the substance, and the world is the accident: how should the heart's shadow (reflexion) be the object of the heart's desire?” (Nicholson, 2011, Mathnavi III: 2266). So, Rumi's view of the world is a romantic view. He considered love as the source of the world. Therefore, only love can be understood as the essence of being. Rumi loves the world. His ontology is based on the foundation of love. He did not praise love unconsciously, hence he knew the nature of love; he himself was love.

In these verses of Rumi, the nature of love and the essence of the world of love can be considered:

The lover's ailment is separate from all other ailments: love is the astrolabe of the mysteries of God.

Whether love be from this (earthly) side or from that (heavenly) side, in the end it leads us yonder.

Whatsoever I say in exposition and explanation of Love, when I come to Love (itself) I am ashamed of that (explanation).

Although the commentary of the tongue makes (all) clear, yet tongueless love is clearer.

Whilst the pen was making haste in writing, it split upon itself as soon as it came to Love.

In expounding it (Love), the intellect lay down (helplessly) like an ass in the mire: it was Love (alone) that uttered the explanation of love and loverhood. (Nicholson, 2011, Mathnavi I: 110-15)

Rumi's romantic ontology is real love, not virtual, which seeks for color and appearance; he loves the truth. No one can understand the nature which Rumi discovered. The best way is to experience Rumi's romantic ontology in a mystical atmosphere because it can’t be understood in word, writing, and speech.

4. Rumi’s understanding by rational discussions

Rumi is not at all anti-rational and anti-science, but he doesn’t accept the ordinary wisdom and science by the man’s claim; he considers this intellect and science unable to understand the truth of being so whenever Rumi speaks of reason and science it does not mean ordinary wisdom and science, the reason and science which evolved with austerity and love.

5. Conclusion (Rumi is the culmination of the mystical ontology)

Although it is impossible to talk about Rumi and his ontology simply because Rumi and his ontology are so wide, which is only in the soul of Rumi. Hence, our perception cannot provide a satisfying result from Rumi's ontology. But the result of the present article can be expressed which the basis of mysticism and mystical knowledge is epistemic love, Rumi as the greatest mystic of today's Muslim world and the mystic of mankind has risen the mystical ontology. So it can’t be understood by today's rational philosophical and scientific systems (academic sciences). Rumi's mystical ontology should not be compared with such systems; his knowledge of humans can be experienced by the austerity and the love of the soul.

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