The ShinsungHwa of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (2019): Visualizing the Mystic’s Divine Energy
A Brief Description of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi’s ShinsungHwa
The multiple layers of mandorla surrounding his form create a striking visual impression. The spiritual path manifests as a double helix, spiraling upward toward the divine center, where the symbol of light emerges. Energy radiates from the area around his head, representing his exceptional intellect. Through his ShinsungHwa, we can perceive that Rumi transcended his identity as merely a poet.
Quote
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
“What you seek is seeking you.”
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”
The Poet Who Danced His Way Into Hearts
Rumi was a 13th-century poet whose work has stood the test of time remarkably well. Even today, more than 750 years after his death, people around the world still read and connect with his poetry.
What made Rumi special wasn’t just his way with words, but where he found his inspiration. Rather than spending all his time with books, he drew from real-life experiences – his friendships, personal losses, and his practice of whirling meditation. This spinning dance wasn’t just a spiritual practice for him; it was how he connected with something deeper and found the rhythm for his verses.
Rumi’s poetry has a unique quality that transcends cultural and linguistic barriers. His poems about love, spirituality, and human connection continue to resonate with readers today, making him one of the most widely read poets in the world.
A Boy’s Great Adventure
Rumi’s story begins like an epic adventure tale. Born on September 30, 1207, in the ancient city of Balkh—located in what we now call Afghanistan—young Jalal ad-Din Muhammad came into a world of learning and wisdom. His father, Baha ud-Din Walad, was a respected Islamic scholar, the kind of teacher people called “Sultan of the Scholars”. The family lived comfortably in their scholarly world until danger knocked on their door.
When Rumi was just a boy, the fearsome Mongol armies of Genghis Khan swept across Central Asia like a terrible storm. Faced with this threat, his father made a brave decision: the family would leave everything behind and journey to safety. What followed was an incredible trek of over 2,000 miles westward—a journey that would take them through Baghdad, across Persia, and even to the holy city of Mecca for pilgrimage.
During their travels, something magical happened in the city of Nishapur. The family met Fariduddin Attar, a famous Persian poet who took one look at young Rumi and declared, “This boy will grow into a light for the world”. Attar even gave Rumi a special book called The Book of God, as if he could see the greatness that lay ahead.
Building a Life of Learning
After years of wandering, Rumi’s family finally found their new home in Konya, a beautiful city in present-day Turkey. Here, under the protection of the Turkish Seljuq dynasty, they could build a peaceful life again. Rumi grew up surrounded by books, ideas, and the rich Islamic traditions his father taught at the local religious school, called a madrasah.
When his father passed away in 1231, 24-year-old Rumi stepped into his shoes, becoming the head of the madrasah. He was brilliant at his job—teaching Islamic law, giving sermons at the mosque, and helping his community solve problems. People came from far and wide to hear his wise words and seek his advice. Rumi seemed destined for a life of quiet scholarship and steady teaching.
But destiny had other plans.
The Wanderer Who Changed Everything
On November 30, 1244, Rumi’s life took a dramatic turn when he met a wandering mystic named Shams al-Din, which means “Sun of Religion”. Shams came from the city of Tabriz and was unlike anyone Rumi had ever encountered. He was a dervish—a kind of spiritual seeker who had given up worldly possessions to focus entirely on connecting with God.
Shams asked Rumi deep, challenging questions that made the scholar think in completely new ways: “What is the purpose of life? What do you love most in the world?”5. These weren’t the kind of questions you could answer from textbooks. They required looking deep into your heart and soul.
The two men became inseparable friends. For months, they spent their days and nights together, talking about life, God, love, and the mysteries of existence. Rumi was so captivated by Shams’s wisdom that he began neglecting his teaching duties and even his family. This friendship opened Rumi’s heart to the mystical side of Islam called Sufism, which emphasizes personal spiritual experience over formal religious study.
When the Heart Breaks, Poetry Flows
Rumi’s disciples and family members grew jealous of his intense friendship with Shams. They couldn’t understand why their respected teacher was spending all his time with this mysterious wanderer. The pressure became so great that Shams was forced to leave Konya in February 1246.
Rumi was heartbroken. His son Sultan Walad eventually managed to bring Shams back from Syria, but the reunion was short-lived. The family’s resentment continued, and one dark night in 1247, Shams disappeared forever. Modern historians believe he was actually murdered by people who couldn’t accept his influence over Rumi.
This devastating loss transformed Rumi from a scholar into one of history’s greatest poets. His grief and longing for his lost friend poured out in verse—over 40,000 lines of poetry that captured every emotion of love, loss, and spiritual searching. He wrote as if Shams were still speaking through him, even signing many poems with his friend’s name instead of his own.
The Dancing Poet
Rumi developed a unique way of creating his poetry that amazed everyone around him. Instead of sitting quietly at a desk, he would spin in circles, entering a kind of trance where words and images flowed through him like music. As he whirled, he would call out verses to scribes who wrote them down. This spinning dance became known as the practice of the “whirling dervishes,” and it’s still performed today by followers of the Mevlevi order that grew from Rumi’s teachings.
His most famous work, the Masnavi (also called Mathnawi), is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Persian literature. But Rumi didn’t just write in Persian—he also used Arabic, Turkish, and even some Greek in his verses, showing how his poetry could bridge different cultures and languages.
Rumi’s poems weren’t just about missing his friend. They explored the biggest questions of human existence: What does it mean to love? How do we find meaning in life? How can we connect with something greater than ourselves? His famous verse captures this spirit: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there”.
A Voice That Speaks Across Time
Today, more than seven centuries after his death in Konya on December 17, 1273, Rumi remains one of the world’s most widely read poets. His works have been translated into dozens of languages and continue to inspire people of all backgrounds and faiths. In 2007, he was even called “the most popular poet in America”.
What makes Rumi’s poetry so timeless? Perhaps it’s because he wrote about experiences every human being can understand—the joy of friendship, the pain of loss, the search for meaning, and the power of love to transform our lives. His words remind us that despite our different cultures, languages, and beliefs, we all share the same hopes, dreams, and struggles.
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