Simurgh

“My religion is my admiration in nature, and my worship is to delve into it.’’ “There is no underdeveloped country, but a country that is badly governed.” Albert EINSTEIN

In this issue, I would like to express my opinions in a few lines without going into details of residential elevators and accessibility, and leave that to its experts. I am sure they have important technical details to share with you.

Undoubtedly, raising such an important topic reveals Elevator World’s vision in its service to the sector.

In my opinion, accessibility is the capacity to access.

A healthy person with full accessibility today may be a disabled person or an elderly person who has lost his capacity to access tomorrow. These are the holistic processes of life. In general, accessibility can be defined as easy access to all social, cultural and public services by all segments of the society, especially by the ones who have limited access, who are disabled or old.

People with disabilities

People with disabilities are the ones who have a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or perceptual impairment that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

I’m sorry, but Turkey’s accessibility scorecard has never been good, and it’s getting worse and worse, because the 67% of the living quarters are inaccessible for the disabled and the old people. Can you imagine? 67% of the existing elevators are not suitable for the disabled people. This makes life more difficult for these people, and it is unacceptable. It is a data based on a research made by Turkish Statistical Institute in 2011. Considering that there are 5.5 million disabled people and 20 million old people in our country, we may understand the importance of accessibility more clearly.

In terms of accessibility, there are lots of things to do both in the long and short term, but  there is a long path ahead. First of all, however, we need a mentality change, I believe.

Why do we need a mentality change?

At this point, the question “does the state exist for the people or the people exist for the state” is important. In underdeveloped countries and developing countries like Turkey, although it is considered that the state exists for the people — and the laws support this view — the above accessibility figures prove that it is not the fact. If the laws and their practices in a country do not work for the favor of human life, then a mentality change should be inevitable. Otherwise, that is just the way it goes, and nothing changes over the years.

Who will change the nation’s mentality, and how?

When it comes to accessibility, and human as a result, I should tell you about Simurgh. Some of you may ask what it has to do with that topic, but let me tell.

For centuries, the human has always been in an effort to know and find himself. In this sense, Simurgh teaching has an efficient place in Persian and some other Eastern cultures.

Simurgh is a Persian Word. Si: 30, Murg: Bird. Simurgh: 30 Birds.

I would like to share with you its story, as has been told so far:

Simurgh, the emperor of the birds, lived in a branch of the tree of knowledge and knew everything. The other birds believed in Simurgh and thought he would save them. But, none of them saw Simurgh. Finally, as no one saw Simurgh, they became suspicious about him and despaired. Simurgh’s nest was on the top of Mount Kaf over the clouds. One day, a team of birds from a faraway land found Simurgh’s feather. The birds understood that Simurgh exists; they gathered and wanted to visit him and ask for help for the things that do not go well.  

They flew to the sky all together, while the ones who had less desire and who dealt with earthly affairs failed. They got tired and fell down. They flew over the Sea of Love and then the Valley of Separation. They crossed the Plain of Ambition and took the Lake of Jealousy. Some of the birds dived into the Sea of Love, and some of them straggled in the Valley of Separation. Some of them fell into the plain with ambition, while some of them sank into the lake with jealousy.

First, the nightingale returned because of his love for the rose; then the parrot, using his feathers as an excuse (but he was imprisoned because of these feathers). The eagle could not abdicate the throne, the owl could not leave the ruins and the heron missed the swamps.

Finally, after passing five valleys, almost all of the birds lost their hopes in the sixth valley, which is the Valley of Confusion, and the seventh, the Valley of Annihilation. Only 30 birds arrived at Mount Kaf, and realized Simurgh means “Thirty Birds.” Each of them was a Simurgh. These 30 birds understood that what they were seeking for all these years was themselves; the real journey was the inner journey.

Rumi says:

“Cross and Christians, end to end, I examined. He was not on the Cross. I went to the Hindu Temple, to the ancient pagoda. In none of them there was any sign. To the heights of Herat I went and to Kandhar, I looked. He was not on the elevation and not on the low lands. Resolutely, I went to summit of the fabulous mountain of Ka’af. There was only the dwelling of the Anqa bird.I went to Kaaba at Mecca. He was not there. I asked him from Avicenna the philosopher. He was beyond the range of Avicenna. I looked into my own heart. In that place I saw him. He was in no other place.”

Can Dündar:

“Being Simurgh and reaching Simurgh is difficult. Passing through valleys of love, selfishness, denial, frustration, jealousy, confusion and absence is difficult. Realizing that one is the Simurgh itself, which is waited, wanted and needed, is more difficult. Rising from his ashes is not for everyone. And talking about freedom and a beautiful future is not easy, unless each of us is a Simurgh, and we all dare to become Simurghs. It is not easy keep going without faltering or giving up in a long and difficult marathon of struggle with faith, consciousness and resistance. The history of humanity shows that this is a very long and very difficult journey. One needs to be Simurgh in order to reach Simurgh.”

The holiest path is the path that one takes for his own quest!