Layla and Majnun's Relation to Sufism - Essay Example

?Layla and Majnun relation to Sufism The legend of Layla and Majnun is symbolic of the rich tradition of folklore in the Middle East. One can see that legend of Layla and Majnun spread to the other parts of the world through poems, tales and other forms of literature. Within this context, the legend of Layla and Majnun is related to Sufism. When one tries to superimpose the story of Layla and Majnun into the context of Sufism, one can see that the core elements of Layla and Majnun and Sufism are same. Thesis statement: The legend of Layla and Majnun and Sufism are closely related because similar elements like love, madness, life in exile and self-realization can be seen in the legend of Layla and Majnun and Sufism. The relation between the legend of Layla and Majnun and Sufism The relation between the legend of Layla and Majnun and Sufism includes the elements like love, madness, life in exile and self-realization. A. Love The theme of the legend of Layla and Majnun is the love between the hero and the heroine and it’s after effects. To be specific, the legend of Layla and Majnun portrays the deep love between Layla and Majnun. Majnun considers that his ultimate aim is to unite with Layla, his beloved. So, he was ready to give up the worldly pleasures for the sake of his love towards Layla. In the legend of Layla and Majnun, the lover considers that his beloved is an inseparable part of his self and him ultimate aim is to be with his lover. He does not consider the obstacles in his life as important because his aim is most noble. His love towards his beloved helps him to suffer a lot in his life. On the other side, a Sufi saint undergoes the same process in his life because he is totally intoxicated with the thought of the search for eternal truth. He does not consider the worldly pleasures as important because his aim is most noble. His life is totally dedicated to the God, who created this universe. He is aware of the fact that worldly pleasures may not lead a person to find out the secret of life or the eternal truth. Instead, one who is ready to discard worldly pleasures can embrace the real love or eternal truth. Besides, Sufism considers that love towards the god is the real love, not the human desire towards worldly pleasures. B. Madness In the legend of Layla and Majnun, the lover becomes totally absorbed by his affection towards his beloved. This can be termed as madness because Majnun gradually began to ignore the real world. But he was not ready to give up his love and began to wander aimlessly. He considered that the imaginary world was the real world and vice versa. This helped him to compare the things in nature with the beauty of Layla. When a dog approached him he treats it with due care because it came from his beloved’s place. But when he happens to meet Layla, he totally ignores her. Now, he realizes that his aim was to reach the real love, the love of god. Sinha opined that “A further view is that the story of Layla- Majnun has merely been adopted by the Sufis as a fitting vehicle for expressing the mystical experience, and has thus subsequently been given a spiritual interpretation by them” (26). Sufism is the straight forward way to the god, without the helpful external forces. Sufism considers that those who are in search of the god do not like to have a mediator. One can see that Majnun’s relationship with the imaginary world acted the role of a veil (say, Layla) between him and the god. When he was able to discard his relationship with the imaginary world (mad love towards Layla), he was able to realize his ultimate aim. So, Majnun’s temporary madness is similar to the feeling of the Sufis. Besides, Majnun was not aware of his ultimate aim and this hindered him for a moment from reaching the same. On the other side, Sufis are aware of their aim and their single minded dedication helps them to attain their aim with ease. C. Life in exile Most love stories portray life in exile is an important factor which builds up the strong bond between the lovers. In the legend of Layla and Majnun, Majnun was forced to lead a life in exile. Abbas made clear that “In his despair for Layla, this poet and lover took to the forests and became a shepherd, with the animals becoming his friends” (105). Besides, one can see that Majnun was the member of Bedouin tribe. To be specific, Bedouins in the Middle East used to lead a nomadic life. Within this context, Majnun’s life is exile interconnected with the lifestyle of Bedouins and the marriage of Layla. Moreover, Layla’s marriage with another person forced Majnun to lead an aimless life. So, unfulfilled love forces Majnun to lead an aimlessness life. Among the different versions of the legend of Layla and Majnun, most of the stories consist of Majnun’s life in exile. But Majnun’s life in exile can be considered as an attempt to escape from the real world to a dreamy world. His life in exile did not help him to be with his lover. Instead, life in exile helped him to find out the real aim of human life. Sufism is interconnected with life in exile. One can see that most of the Sufi saints do not like to lead normal life. Sufism discards the normal way of life. Instead, Sufism encourages life in exile or the unending search for the secret of life. So, life in exile is an integral part of the legend of Layla and Majnun and Sufism. D. Self-realization In the legend of Layla and Majnun, love towards Layla helped Majnun to realize the real aim of human life. As a lover, Majnun’s life was totally dedicated to Layla. This helped him to realize his inner self in the end. From a different angle of view, unfulfilled love helped Majnun to realize the fact that his love was not real. Realization of self is not an easy task. For instance, Sufi saints make use of their teachers to know more about the universe. The knowledge on universe helps the Sufi Saints to realize that self-realization can help one to attain the god. Majnun’s madness helped him to realize the essence of human life. His love indirectly helped him realize his aim. When he began to lead the life of a wanderer, he used to develop attachment with nature. This helped him realize the importance of nature in human life. Gradually, his love towards his beloved became vague and he came to realize that it is unimportant in his life. Besides, he was a poet who used to compose poems related to his lover. The legend of Layla and Majnun is a tragedy, which portrays the hardships faced by the protagonist. Later, he came to know that his lover is no more. Then, he realizes the real aim of human life, the realization of one’s self. Sufism declares that realization of self through mediation and leading a life without attachment with worldly pleasures can help an individual to realize one’s self. So, Majnun’s life as a poet and lover, and the basic principles of Sufism are interconnected. Summing, the legend of Layla and Majnun portrays the elements of Sufism in the Majnun, the protagonist. To be specific, Majnun considered his love towards Layla as the most important thing in his life. When he came to realize that he is unable to unite with her, his love transforms into the love towards god. On the other side, Sufism chooses the direct way to attain god. Besides, the elements of love, madness, life in exile and self-realization related the legend of Layla and Majnun with Sufism. Works Cited Abbas, Shemeem Burney. The female voice in Sufi ritual: devotional practices of Pakistan and India. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002. Print. Sinha, Lalita. Unveiling the garden of love: mystical symbolism in Layla Majnun & Gita Govinda. Indiana: World Wisdom, 2008. Print. Read More