my first love story,
... I started looking
for you,
not knowing
how blind
that was.
Lovers
don’t finally
meet
somewhere.
They’re
in each other
.... all along.
- Rumi
The elect friends of God are graced with extra-ordinary way of communicating even from behind the veil of their disappearance. The true words of Rumi carry the ability to stamp profound effects on the heart of many, even after so many hundreds of years. Rumi is one of the most read poet of our time, even though his worldly pen stopped about eight hundred years ago. But everyday his poems continue to open many hearts towards divine love. Infact for many who came to spiritual journey, came through Rumi's words. The visit to the tomb of Mevlana Rumi in Konya, Turkey has a special place. There are many who have extra-ordinary awakening, dreams, visions and guidance before, during and after their visit to the perfumed tomb of this great friend of God. I personally have heard also from people who made such pilgrimage of the other-worldly experiences they were given out of the visit.
Tonight I came across a lovely account of a visit to Mevlana. Sidra Mushtaq shares his experience of visiting the resting place of Mevlana Rumi in his blog, Healing Hearts. Below is a selection:
"I had always wanted to visit Konya, just so I could visit the blessed tomb of Mevlana Jalāl ad-Dīn Rumi, one of the greatest mystical poets of all times. I had been to Istanbul a couple of times before, but for one reason or another, I never got the chance to visit Konya; however this time, I was determined to make that extra journey and go spend a day in Konya. So, on the 28th December 2009, I got a flight from Istanbul to Konya. I had no knowledge of what Konya was like, nor did I bother to read up about the city, and to be very honest, I didn’t really care because my prime aim and purpose of the trip was just to visit the blessed tomb of Mevlana.


I first came across Mevlana Rumi about 5 years ago, when I didn’t really have any interest in poetry, or even Sufism at that point in my life! But something about Mevlana’s words had an impact on me, and I started reading more of his poems and quotes. I’ve often found great solace, and many answers to my problems/issues in his poetry and advice, therefore for me to visit his blessed grave was something very special and personal. I stood there giving salams on behalf of all those who had asked me to, and then made du’a (supplication). I cannot fully describe the feeling I got whilst standing there, one really has to visit and experience it themselves in order to understand.
[>] To read the post in full and to view more photos at the Tomb in Konya, visit here.
# Also:
. Konya: Mevlana and the Center of Sufism
. Trip to Konya
. Entering Rose with Rumi
. Photos of Mevlana Rumi's Tomb via Flickr