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Dialogos as the Anatolian Tradition of Sohbet

2020-07-02T21:12:13+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Transcripts|Tags: a dervish lodge, Anatolian, Ashura, dargah, Dialogos, interculturality, Mishkan, monologos, Moses, Shekhina, Tabernacle, tent of Moses, the Language of Rabb, the lotus position, Tradition of Sohbet|

Is there any way for us to reflect upon and criticize our own consciousness without being involved in any self-delusion and self-consolation? Dialogos is the only means for such an attempt. Dialogos is the conversation (or correspondence) between two consciousnesses. Unless we reveal our consciousness to another, and most particularly to a more competent consciousness (in other words, unless we are engaged in an activity of inter-consciousness), we are not capable of reflecting upon ourselves. To be able to reflect upon our own consciousness, we need to share our language and our thoughts with the others. Unless there is [...]

The Problem of Communication

2020-07-16T00:36:54+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Essays|Tags: alienation, art, Communication, consciousness, Existence, globalization, Language, Love, peace, philosophy, religion, spirituality, spiritualization, wisdom|

As is well known, communication is a relationship in which messages are conveyed between two sources. If the messages flow only in one direction, no communication takes place. Feedback is a must for communication. Today, the word “communication” has mostly technological connotations. When we hear the word communication, we think of radio, television, newspapers, phones, computers, the Internet, and the like, and this technological dimension means that information can today flow between countries, nations and individuals in an unrestrained way, crossing borders freely. Communication provides the infrastructure for interaction, but is commonly used in a sense that covers interaction [...]

The Concept of Feminine Principle in the Hajj Ritual

2020-07-02T21:12:40+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Transcripts|Tags: Adam, Feminine Principle, Hajar, Hajar-al Aswad, Hajj Ritual, harmony, Hijr-al Ismail, Kaaba, Prophet Muhammad, Quran, salah, tasawwuf, theosophy|

Going back to the source in the terminology of Tasawwuf (theosophy/sufism), we find the feminine principle; the mother. In the Arabic language, umm means “mother” and ummah means “children” (ewlâd). The concepts of umm, ummah, and ummî derive from one another. Although it is used in the singular form, ewlâd is a plural word and means “unity in purity”. If people are one in purity, they are an ummah; however, if they have not attained unity in purity, it means they are not an ummah yet. Umm is a significant concept in the ritual of Hajj (pilgrimage) and is [...]

The Problem of Culture

2020-07-16T00:22:03+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Essays|Tags: Anatolia, Central Asian, Civilization, coexistence, Culture, Gnostics, Mother Cybele, mystics, Noah, Saints of Khorasan, solving problems, subconscious memory, Values, Zoroaster|

Solving problems first requires them to be understood. Culture is a phenomenon that encompasses lifestyles and relationships. People form their cultural worlds by changing and transforming the inputs from nature through their feelings, thoughts, and actions. Cultural objects acquire a completely new existence with the human essence and form added to their natural essence and form. The human hand leaves a mark on every object it touches, and so every cultural object is like a reflective device, a mirror; and the imagination, thought and purpose it manifests turns it into a different object. The most salient feature of culture [...]

Let Us Get to Know One Another

2020-07-16T00:05:14+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Essays|Tags: Allah, Anatolia, Christianity, Civilization, Exodus, Far Eastern, Greco-Roman, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Quran, Sanskrit, sufism, symbols, temple, The Messiah, Western civilization|

“Let us get to know one another, for it makes things easier; let us stop being strangers, let us love and be loved; for the world is no one’s to inherit.” Yunus Emre A person of Anatolia can play an active role in the development of a mutual understanding, being situated between the East and the West, and with a deep awareness of both civilizations. The key difference between the civilizations of the East and West is that while the former is “verbal” and “conscientious”, the latter is “visual” and “rational”. Far Eastern and Sanskrit civilizations may also be [...]

Anatolia, Ashura and Sohbet

2020-07-01T18:57:59+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Transcripts|Tags: Anatolia, ancient wisdom, Ashura, Gospel of John, harmony, logos, Logos was God, Quran, Sahabe-i Kiram, Socrates|

The efforts that I have put into studying the wisdom of Anatolia are not restricted to a geographical region; these are studies which I usually refer to as the Wisdom of Anatolia or the Ancient Wisdom to stress the importance of it on the intersection point of Anatolian lands. I prefer to focus on portraying the great culture and the vastness this culture entails, because the wisdom I am talking about is not something that can exist entirely within a limited geographical area. *** Anatolia is called as the cradle of culture. According to ancient records, Anatolia, with its [...]

People Are Born Thrice

2020-07-16T00:34:35+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Essays|Tags: consciousness, contemporary societies, cultural setting, dependence on authority, education, enlightenment, positivism, religion, revolutionary, tradition, Understanding|

The first birth is surrounded by the “cultural setting”; the second birth is into “education”, when the person is shaped via pedagogical, psychological and scientific methods; and the third birth is when a person “gives birth to themselves”, referring to time when one can shape one’s own life through one’s own free will. When we are born, we enter the world with nothing but genetic features, abilities and natural tendencies. We start to become shaped by the references of the cultural setting into which we are born. We cannot choose our parents, race, religion, locality or history; in short, [...]

Jerusalem: The Heart of the World – Part 2

2020-07-01T19:12:02+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Transcripts|Tags: ancient wisdom, compassion, Ethiopian Jews, Golden Dome, Holy Bible, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Kotel, Old Testament, Prophet Muhammad, Qabatullah, Qubbet’us Sahra, Quddus, Queen of Sheba, Quran, religion, temple|

When we were in Jerusalem, we wanted to go into Qubbet’us Sahra, the building with the golden dome, where Prophet Muhammad ascended to miraj and the Muallaq Stone is kept, but the attitudes of the guards there were displeasing. They treated the visitors very rudely and scolded them angrily. They urged people to recite the kalima shahadah or a verse from the Quran. They said if they did not recite it, they would not be allowed to go in. These were really offensive and not pleasant at all. I say that the heart of the world is Jerusalem, but [...]

Jerusalem: The Heart of the World – Part 1

2020-07-01T20:15:03+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Transcripts|Tags: Ashura, Bektashi, Dar-us-Salaam, House of Peace, Jerusalem, Prophet David, Prophet Solomon, Quddus, Quran, Temple of Peace, Yerushalayim|

When we say Jerusalem, we mean the old city surrounded by walls. With its other parts which remain out of the city walls, Jerusalem is a modern city with new settlement areas; a modern Mediterranean city like Tel Aviv, Haifa or Akko. But in Jerusalem there is a history, a religious history as well as a cultural history. And in terms of art, it is also a sophisticated city. What attracted my attention in the first place was the cult of Stone. They have used the specific Jerusalem stone everywhere. There are no ferro-concrete buildings, no other building materials [...]

The Problem of Awareness of History and Identity

2020-07-16T00:30:12+03:00By Metin Bobaroğlu|Categories: Essays|Tags: Awareness, Culture, freedom, History, Human, Identity, individuality, Liberation, Love, weaknesses|

Humans are historical beings “in this world.” Their nature, culture, genetic heritage, language, and social existence are historical, and as such they are finite and temporary beings. In other words, humans emerge and exist only for a certain period in the history of the world. Humans are children of nature, but are also children of history or time. The biological aspect of humans represents a possibility. They are equipped with certain capabilities that are to be realized. Humans lack the advanced instincts found in other animals; as instead, nature has equipped us with intelligence. Dealing with life requires the [...]

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