How?

"The Thousand and One Nights" became one of the most well known stories in the Arab world, which sort of bothers me given the fact that is was looked down upon by the Koran. The Koran looked down upon fiction considering it "lies" and therefore "The Thousand and One Nights" never really came to be considered as a classical Arabian literature, and was even banned by Arab governments due to the fact that it was considered "immoral". So given all this, how did "The Thousand and One Nights" become so well renowned among the Arabian population? One would intuitively figure that the work ceased circulation early on.

A Thousand and One Nights

I do not know about you guys but I really enjoyed reading the stories from A Thousand and One Nights. Some of the stories, like The Merchant and the Ox and the Merchant and the Demon, remind me of stories I read when I was little. I particularly remember reading a lot of Aesop's Fables, many of which are the same stories as A Thousand and One Nights. They all have some moral value they want to portray and emphasize. For instance, in The Merchant and the Ox, it is to not be lazy and to do your job (the donkey convinces the ox to not do his job, and they donkey is then punished by doing to ox's job). I guess all of those stories just gave me a nice memory of my childhood and the stories our parents told us and that we would read whose moral stories affected how we turned out as we are today.

Rumi poems and interpretations?

One Rumi poem I liked was #25 on page 1045. It's short but it expresses the state of faith and wonderment, that many people struggle with. He calls God "Friend" and states their relationship: "anywhere you put your foot, feel me in firmness under you." this seems to be strongly related to the translation of "Muslim" which is one that submits to Allah. He faithfully and humbly and lovingly recognizes  Allah. Then he asks "how is it with this love, I see the world and not you?" the rest of his poems try to answer that question or make sense of it. They inspire others to look beyond materials and the physical world around them to connect fully with the spiritual essence of the world.  Sufism and other religions search to find god or the spirit and ask that same question. Other poems and interpretations?

The Take of the Merchant and His Wife

At first, I was really shocked when I heard the Tale of the Merchant and His Wife. The excerpt that we read from The Thousand and One Nights mostly taught the reader some moral. Like the Tale of the Ox and the Donkey taught not to be deceitful, the Story of the Merchant and the Demon taught not to be too harsh in punishments. But the lesson in the Tale of the Merchant and His Wife teaches that men should beat their wives to control them. Now, perhaps beating women was acceptable at the time when The Thousand and One Nights was written, but it was still shocking to me when I read it. But then, the lesson of the tale was completely ignored by Shahrazad. Her father tells her the story to get her to obey him, but Shahrazad says she will not listen and her father doesn't beat her, but lets her do as she wants. So perhaps the lesson in the story is the opposite of what the story presents. In the context of the story by itself, men can beat women to force obedience, but in the larger context of The Thousand and One Nights, the lesson is that women will not listen even if beaten. I don't know. What do you think?

Rumi and Plato

I've noticed a huge similarity between Rumi's poems and Plato's Allegory of a Cave. The idea that truth cannot be gathered from the objects around us, which are worldly and can only be understood by the five senses. Rumi emphasizes the idea in his poems that we do not see truth because we are too distracted by worldly things and ideas, that we must empty our souls of all distractions and look within ourselves to find truth and God. Likewise, Plato states that what we perceive through the five senses is false and that truth can only be reached through one's intellect, which is also only reserved to the individual and not his or her surroundings. Using one's intellect in this sense therefore implies that one has discarded all other considerations and utilized what's inside, whether it be the reason of intellect or the tranquility of the soul, to arrive at truth.

Sufism vs. the Bhagavad Gita

I believe that the poems that stem from the teachings of Sufism have a few similarities to the way the Bhagavad Gita is written. Like the Bhagavad Gita, Rumi's poems have a didactic feel. They both attempt to teach their readers something about how to live their lives. Whether it is through respect for one's elders, discipline in the face of temptations, or kindness that needs to be exhibited towards others, both Rumi and the author of the Bhagavad Gita offer a path for its disciples to follow throughout life. Also, when reading the two works, they both sometimes have a lyrical and rhythmic feel to them. I realize Rumi intended this when writing his poetry, but whether or not it was a goal in the composition of the Bhagavad Gita I do not know. Does anyone have the same feeling?

What’s up with self-deprivation?

I've seen it everywhere, and I know that you have too. It’s this notion that one needs to refrain from anything good in order to reach enlightenment, nirvana, the way, heaven, or whatever other extremely sought after destination (usually associated with religion). Some people seem to think that it is necessary to relinquish all of your earthly values and submit yourself to solidarity if you want to achieve happiness. But why? I can understand the argument that you should use everything in moderation and be wary of the overly extravagant, and I happen to agree with them for the most part. I am talking about the extremists who exile and starve themselves. I just can’t see why so many people preach that earthly pleasures are a one way ticket to hell. I’m not trying to be hedonistic here, but what’s wrong with letting go every once in a while and enjoying yourself. Discipline and self-control have their place, so why don’t frivolity and disinhibition? (this very well may not be a word, but I found it on the internet, so it must be legit.) I am in no way trying to denounce anyone’s opinions here; I've just never been able to wrap my head around the thought of avoiding happiness, for happiness. Maybe it’s one of those things ill “figure out when I am older,” cause I am a little uncomfortable disagreeing with those who have spent their whole life trying to figure out the afterlife, while I’m just some teenager looking forward to the weekend. (2 more days)