Layla and Majnun relation to Sufism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Layla and Majnun relation to Sufism - Essay Example 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 ap proached 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 â€Å"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 S ufis. 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