Naming a Blog

Naming a Blog

An hour or two spent researching which blog fits my preference between Wordpress and Blogger. A few hours more trying to figure out the navigation, templates, and configuration options. A few hours trying to make a picture for the title bar with the correct dimensions. I do feel like Majnun, searching through handfuls of sand with the panorama of the whole desert in front of me.

Briefly, the title "Majnun's Manifest" comes from an ancient Persian and Arabic lore about "true human love bordering on the divine". There are many versions of this tale. One of these is recounted in a book called The Seven Valleys where it explains "Majnun" was the title given to a man who fell in love with an Arabian princess called "Laylí" but then was denied the right to marry her. This drives him somewhat insane and he runs off into the desert. During his time in the desert a few travelers come across him sifting through the dust and an intriguing and mystical conversation takes place:

Travelers- "What doest thou?"
Majnun- "I seek for Laylí."
Travelers- "Alas for thee! Laylí is of pure spirit, and thou seekest her in the dust!"
Majnun- "I seek her everywhere; haply somewhere I shall find her."

Although Majnun is probably hallucinating from sun poisoning and dehydration what he says is very profound and enlightening. Without the act of searching it is impossible to find anything. What seems crazy to these travelers is really a noble cause. The author of The Seven Valleys, Baha'u'llah, after re-telling this story states, "The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved." Not until we give up everything, tear down those things which veil our sight, can a true search begin.

The fact that Majnun means "insane" is another interesting aspect to this story. Why is he labeled as insane? The travelers mock his attempts at finding Laylí. Yet Majnun's confidence seems to spawn from the act of searching and not so much from the goal. This is quite a revolutionary thought even for this age where we are judged by what we have and don't have. If the act is more important than the goal, how would our lives be different?

Finally, Majnun and Laylí could be interpreted as many things. A romance story. An insane man's illusion. A search for meaning in life. For me, this story speaks about Truth and the sometimes difficult road one must undertake to find it. Truth is all around us but without patience and the act of searching, it will never be found. This is why I choose Majnun to be the gate keeper of my Blog; a perfect symbol for our quest to Truth.