TEHRAN -- An Iranian scholar and expert on Iqbal, Mohammad Baqaii Makan, believes the Persian New Year, Noruz, teaches an individual the full admiration of mankind and the world.

“This love finally culminates to the Lord of the creatures, since the admiration of love and beauty actually means respect for the Lord”, he told the Persian service of MNA on Tuesday.
Regarding the secret behind the survival of Noruz in our land, he said, “We need to seek the secret of the nature in this tradition. The tradition of Noruz and its rituals cleanse the tarnish from our hearts and bring us closer to one another. It bestows brightness to the eyes and spreads the light of hope into our hearts. It turns hostility into friendship; this is what individuals are looking for.”
“And, if we look carefully, we can see that the collection of all of this creates life; that means Noruz is life itself, and as long as the mankind exists, Noruz will exist that long as well,” he remarked.
He also spoke about how Noruz can help introduce the Persian culture to the world, and said, “Tradition is the manifestation of a society and it originates in cultural and historical roots. It is a process that epitomizes all the standard thoughts of a society, therefore, Noruz, along with its traditions, is the manifestation of the values of the cultural Persia.”
“We know that Noruz is celebrated in our neighboring countries and the Persian-speaking countries. Noruz is even celebrated in Kashmir, and all of this discloses the broadness of Persian culture,” he concluded.
Makan has received the Pakistan’s National Medal of Distinction, the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, from the Pakistani ambassador in Tehran in 2006.
The 24-volume treatise “In Retrospect of the Thoughts and Works of Iqbal” is among Makan’s credits.
Photo: A Noruz “Haft Seen” spread, which includes seven items that begin with the Persian letter “seen”, which is pronounced in the same way as “s” in English. This “Haft Seen” spread features sib (apple), samanu (a sweet pudding made from wheat seedlings), seer (garlic), sekkeh (coins), sumac (a spice), serkeh (vinegar), and sabzeh (green sprouted seeds)