Rumi Online

American Institute of Masnavi Studies

2010-04-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

**One of the most detailed and thoroughly researched English sites on Rumi's life and teachings, I highly recommend visiting American Institute of Masnavi Studies if you're a Rumi aficionado or looking for scholarly articles on Maolana.**

"RumiMevlevi.com is the activity of the American Institute of Masnavi Studies (AIMS) on the Internet. The Institute is affiliated with the International Hazrat-i Mevlânâ Foundation, in Istanbul, Turkey. The president of the Foundation is the hereditary and actual world leader of the Mevlevi order--the 33rd Chelebi Efendi, Faruk Hemdem Chelebi, the 22nd generation great-grandson of Hazrat-i Mevlânâ Jalâluddîn Rûmî.."

American Institute of Masnavi Studies

Poesia de Rumi en Español

2010-04-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Dondequiera que estés, sea cual sea tu condición y hagas lo que hagas,
sé siempre un buen amante

El movimiento de las olas,
día y noche, viene del mar,
tú ves las olas, pero, ¡qué extraño!
no ves el mar.

Cada momento se precipita hacia nosotros desde todas partes
la convocatoria del Amor.
¿Quieres venir con nosotros?
No es momento para quedarse en casa,
sino para salir y entregarse al jardín...

Ven,
Te diré en secreto
Adónde lleva esta danza.

Mira como las partículas del aire
Y los granos de arena del desierto
Giran sin norte.

Cada átomo
Feliz o miserable,
Gira enamorado
En torno del sol.

Una persona no está enamorada
si el amor no ilumina su Alma.
No es un amante
si no gira como las estrellas alrededor de la luna.

Excepto el amor intenso, excepto el amor,
no tengo otro trabajo;
Salvo el amor tierno, salvo el amor tierno,
no siembro otra semilla.

Todo he paladeado. Nada hallé mejor que Tú.
Cuando me zambullí en el mar, no hallé perla como Tú.
Abrí todos los toneles, he paladeado de mil vasijas,
Mas ninguno excepto aquel rebelde vino tuyo
tocó mis labios e inspiró mi corazón.

Esas palabras tiernas que nos decimos uno al otro
están guardadas en el corazón secreto del paraíso.
Un día como la lluvia, ellas caerán y mojarán todo y
su misterio crecerá verde sobre el mundo.

Cuando estoy contigo, estamos despiertos toda la noche
Cuando no estás, no puedo dormir
¡ Que Dios bendiga estas dos insomnias !
y la diferencia entre ellas

Solía ser tímido.
Tú me hiciste cantar.

Solía rechazar cosas en la mesa.
Ahora grito por más vino.

En solemne dignidad, solía sentarme
sobre mi tapete a rezar.
Ahora los niños corren a mi lado
y me hacen muecas.

El camino del amor
no es un argumento sutil.

Su puerta
es la devastación.

Los pájaros dibujan grandes círculos en el cielo
con su libertad.
¿Cómo lo aprendieron?

Ellos caen, y mientras caen
les dan alas.

La Belleza del corazón
es la belleza duradera:
sus labios brindan
el agua de vida para beber.
Verdadera es el agua,
quien la vierte,
y quien la bebe.
Los tres se vuelven uno
cuando tu talismán está hecho añicos.
Esa unidad no la puedes conocer
por medio de la razón.

¿Quién hace estos cambios?
Disparo una flecha a la derecha
Cae a la izquierda.
Cabalgo tras de un venado y me encuentro
perseguido por un cerdo.
Conspiro para conseguir lo que quiero
Y termino en la cárcel.
Cavo fosas para atrapar a otros
y me caigo en ellas.
Debo sospechar
de lo que quiero.

Noche y día el Mar tiene espuma.
Ves la superficie espumosa, pero no el Mar.
¡Qué increíble!
Estamos chocando unos con otros como barcos:
nuestros ojos están a oscuras, aunque el agua esté clara.
Dormidos en el bote del cuerpo, flotamos
ajenos al Agua del agua.
El agua tiene un Agua que la conduce;
el espíritu tiene un Espíritu que lo llama.

Deja tus preocupaciones
y ten un corazón completamente limpio,
como la superficie de un espejo
que no contiene imágenes.
Si quieres un espejo claro,
contémplate
y mira la verdad sin vergüenza,
reflejada por el espejo.

Si es posible el metal pulir,
hasta que parezca un espejo,
¿Cuánto es posible pulir,
del corazón el espejo?
Difieren solo en un punto
el corazón y el espejo,
el corazón secretos oculta
ninguno guarda el espejo.

La muerte pone fin a la angustia de la vida.
Y, sin embargo, la vida tiembla ante la muerte...
Así tiembla un corazón ante el amor,
como si sintiera la amenaza de su fin.
Porque allí donde despierta el amor,
muere el Yo, el oscuro déspota.

A través de la eternidad
La Belleza descubre Su forma exquisita
En la soledad de la nada;
coloca un espejo ante Su Rostro
y contempla Su propia belleza.
Él es el conocedor y lo conocido,
el observador y lo observado;
ningún ojo excepto el Suyo
ha observado este Universo.

Cada cualidad Suya encuentra una expresión:
la Eternidad se vuelve el verde campo de Tiempo y Espacio;
Amor, el jardín que da la vida, el jardín de este mundo.
Toda rama, hoja y fruto
revela un aspecto de su perfección:
los cipreses insinúan Su majestad,
las rosas dan nuevas de Su belleza.

Siempre que la Belleza mira,
el Amor también está allí;
siempre que la belleza muestre una mejilla sonrosada
el Amor enciende su fuego con esa llama.
Cuando la belleza mora en los oscuros vallecitos de la noche
el Amor viene y encuentra un corazón
enredado en los cabellos.
La Belleza y el Amor son cuerpo y alma.
La Belleza es la mina, el Amor, el diamante.
Juntos han estado
desde el principio de los tiempos,
lado a lado, paso a paso.

No vayas a ningún lado sin mí.
No dejes que nada suceda en el cielo aparte de mí,
o sobre la tierra, en este mundo o en aquel otro,
sin mi ser en su suceso.
Visión, no veas nada que yo no vea.
Lengua, no digas nada.
La manera en que la noche se conoce con la luna,
sé eso conmigo. Sé la rosa
más cercana a la espina que soy .
Quiero sentirme en ti cuando pruebes la comida,
en el arco de tu mazo cuando trabajes,
cuando visites amigos, cuando tú solo
subas al techo por la noche.
Nada hay peor que caminar por la calle
sin ti. No sé a dónde voy.
Tú eres el camino, y el conocedor de caminos,
más que mapas, más que amor.
Rumi.

Cortesia de http://www.nocturnabsas.com.ar

El Instituto de Estudios Sufíes

2010-04-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

El Instituto de Estudios Sufíes

Navegando por Internet, encontré este excelente Blog dedicado al Rumi y Sufismo en Español y lo recomiendo ampliamente: El Instituto de Estudios Sufíes

"El Instituto de Estudios Sufíes de Barcelona es un centro independiente dedicado al estudio y el cultivo de la vía sufí del poeta y místico persa Mawlânâ Yalâl al-Dîn Rûmî (1207-1273), inspirador de la escuela sufí "mevleví" de los derviches giróvagos. Información: sufismo786@yahoo.es"

Rumi on Jesus Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection

2010-04-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Rumi on Jesus Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection

Persian/Farsi to English translation by Sologak

آن گمان ترسا برد مومن ندارد آن گمان
که مسیح خودرا به چلیپا میکشد
هر یکی عاشق چو منصورند خودرا می کشند
غیر عاشق وانما کی خویش را عمدا می کشد
اکنون مکن دوا که مسیح تو برزمینست
چون شد مسیح بسوی فلک فوت شد دوا

The Christians believe and Muslims don't
That Jesus was crucified.
Anyone who's a lover like Mansur [Hallaj]
Will end his own life.
Except for a lover,
Who will so deliberately sacrifice himself?
Today,
Don't look for Jesus' "Cure"
As Christ is still on Earth
When Jesus Christ rose up to Heaven
The "Cure" got buried.

Rumi.

Ney ve Sema: Outstanding Site on Rumi:

2010-04-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

I came across this amazing site Ney ve Sema through my Facebook's Newsfeed. In Turkish and English, and embedded with Rumi's quotations from Masnavi and Discourses, it's truly worth a visit: http://www.neyvesema.com

Mysticism of Hazrat Baydel (part1)

2010-03-31T18:05:00.000-07:00

Mirza Abdul-Qader Baydel(1644-1721)

Mysticism of Hazrat Baydel (part1)
by Sologak

The incomparable 17th century Indian-born Afghan poet of Mughal Court, Abdul Qader Baydel, is one of the least known of Persian Sufi poets--even amongst the Persian speakers!-- If you've ever been to Delhi in India, particularly, if you've visited The RED FORT in Old Delhi, the Persian writings on its walls are precisely Baydel's outstanding Sufi infused poems.

Sadly, while Rumi is a household name and the widely read Persian poem here in our beloved America, Baydel's deep mystical poetry is still very little known. Baydel's lack of recognition is not limited just to America or the West in general, but it's also a known fact even amongst the Persian speakers-- while Baydel is a household name, revered as a saint, a sage and a seer, and the third most important poet in Afghanistan [after Rumi and Hafiz]; in Iran and Tajikistan, Baydel is barely known or just recently is being paid attention to.

In my humble opinion, the main reason behind Baydel's lack of recognition, both in the East and the West, lies in the fact that his style of writing, and the deep mystical thoughts that each of his rhythmic verses hold are very difficult to grasp--even for the native Persian speakers! Each poem of Baydel must be read, reread, and read again, in order to understand its intended Sufi infused mystical meanings and messages.

So, it's against this challenging backdrop that I've attempted to translate some of his poems. I'm neither a scholar of Baydel, nor a professional translator, therefore, if you're reading my amateurish translations and feel that they're not doing any justice to Baydel's mysticism, please feel free to share your comments and constructive criticisms.

Baydel is a proud and unapologetic poet, and he bluntly warns us first hand:

معنی بلند من فهم تند می خواهد
سیر فکرم آسان نیست، کوهم و کتل دارم
بحر فطرتم بیدل، موج خیز معنی هاست
مصرعی اگر خواهم سر کنم، غزل دارم
ترک سود و سواد کن، قطع هر تمنا کن
می خور و طربها کن، من هم این عمل دارم

The superior level of my meanings
Requires a strong intellect
It's not that easy to grasp my thoughts
I'm like a mountain
I've got steep hill!
My sea of temperament, Baydel
Is the swell waves of meanings
Whenever I feel like writing a verse,
I've already got the whole poem!
Quit learning and profiting
Quit any desires and wishes
Drink wine and live joyously!
That's what I do for living!

شعر آن باشد که خیزد از دل و جوشد به لب
هست شاعرآنکسی کاین طرفه مروارید، سفت

A poem is:
What rises from the heart
And burns the lips.
A poet is:
The one who makes a rare pearl
From the scratches!

خداوندا به آن نور نظر در ديده جا بنما
به قدر انتظار ما جمال مدعا بنما
نه رنگي از طرب داريم و نه از خرمي بويي
چمن گم كرده ايم آيينهء ما را بما بنما
شفيع جرم مهجوران بجز حيرت چه مي باشد
به حق ديدهء بيدل كه ما را آن لقا بنما

O Lord
Place that "Light of Sight" in my eyes.
Compensate my waiting for you,
With the beauty of your "Divine-decree".
I'm neither colored with the joy of life
Nor smelling the Date-fruit
I'm lost in this Garden
Hand me my own Mirror.
Except for the amazement,
What else can it be
The intercessor
For the offense of the "Separated ones"?
Fulfill the duty of Baydel's vision:
Show me that Face!

بيدل به سجود و بندگي تو ام باش

تا بار نفس به دوش داري خم باش

زين عجز که در طينت تو گل کرده است

الله نمي توان شدن آدم باش

Baydel:
In your worshiping and bowing downs
Be as you're!
As long as you carry
The load of your ego on your shoulders
Keep bending your back!
Learn from this inability
That's embedded in your nature:
You can't be God, be human!

چنين کشته حسرت کيستم من

که چون اتش از سوختن زيستم من

نه شادم نه محزون نه لفظم نه مضمون

نه چرخم نه گردون چه معنيستم من

اگر فانيم چيست اين شور هستي

وگر باقيم ارچه فانيستم من

بناز اي تخيل ببال اي توهم

که هستي گمان دارم و نيستم من

در اين غمکده کس مميراد يارب

به مرگي که بي دوستان زيستم من

بخنديد اي قدر دانان فرصت

که يک خنده بر خويش نگريستم من

Who am I
Dying like this from the regret
Yet still surviving like a fire
That's staying alive by burning itself?
I'm neither the sad nor the happy.
I'm neither the word nor the content.
I'm neither the Wheel nor the Planet.
Then what's my sense of being here?
If I'm in the Sufi state of Fana or self-annihilated,
Then what's this burning passion for life?
If I'm in the Sufi state of Baqa or perseverance in God
Then why am I still annihilated?
Be proud o imagination, be proud
For I still believe in life
Even though I'm already annihilated!
O Lord
In this "House of Despair"
No one has endured the death that I endure:
I live to die without my Friend.
Have a good laugh
O appreciators of the moment
I saw myself laughing at myself!

Filosofía y Mística: A propósito de Ŷalāl al-Dīn Rūmī

2010-03-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Filosofía y Mística: A propósito de Ŷalāl al-Dīn Rūmī
Dr. Rafael RAMÓN GUERRERO
Facultad de Filosofía. UCM
Cortesia de: http://www.lenguapersa.com/

En una clásico trabajo publicado en 1958, el Prof. A. E. Affifi señalaba que ninguna descripción del Islam es completa si no se tienen en cuentan los esfuerzos realizados por los diversos grupos musulmanes para comprender el Islam, entendido como una religión viva que recibe su vitalidad de la gente que la profesa; es, decía, un gran movimiento que ha pasado por diversos estadios de desarrollo a lo largo de su historia. Entre las interpretaciones que han contribuido al enaltecimiento del Islam está la de la escuela mística y su actitud ante algunos de los problemas fundamentales de las creencias y prácticas del Islam. A la hora de estudiar esta actitud, Affifi señala que ningún otro movimiento ha contribuido tanto como el místico a profundizar el significado de su religión y enriquecer sus enseñanzas. Desde sus inicios, la mística musulmana fue una revolución espiritual contra determinadas formas y sistemas y adoptó, tras largos períodos de lucha, dos formas de manifestación: como una filosofía religiosa y como la religión popular del Islam.

Cuando Affifi habla de una “filosofía religiosa”, ¿a qué está aludiendo? ¿Se trata de una filosofía que se ocupa de la religión, a la manera de la moderna disciplina “filosofía de la religión”? ¿Se trata, más bien, de una forma del pensar religioso a la que por su contenido se le da el nombre de “filosofía”? ¿O consiste en un pensar constituido por elementos de la tradición filosófica griega?

Lea el articulo completo:
Filosofía y mística. A propósito de Ŷalāl al-D īn Rūmī
|PDF|11 Paginas|Español|

I'm Also This I'm Also That, a Poem by Rumi

2010-03-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite poems of Rumi. Maolana is at his best in conveying his melancholic and distressed state of mind in this very personal and heartfelt poem. Rumi's is simply letting all his frustrations out, and just ignoring any and all regards for the often painstakingly managed poetic rhyming formulas and methods of classical Persian poetry. Reading in between the lines, one can clearly sense Rumi's profound sadness, frustrations, and the ever growing pain of longing. Rumi's unorthodox, even revolutionary, poetic style of repeating the same line "I'm also this I'm also that" at the end of his poem is simply ground breaking. One can hardly find a Persian poet who could match Rumi's bold and deliberate challenging of the established writing style of classical or modern Persian poetry.

I hope my amateurish translation can capture Rumi's poetic genius.

پير منم جوان منم
تير منم كمان منم
دولت جاودان منم
من نه منم نه من منم
سرو من اوست در چمن
روح من اوست در بدن
نطق من اوست در دهن
من نه منم نه من منم
زين واقعه مدهوشم
با هوشم و بي هوشم
هم ناطق خاموشم
هم نوح خموشانم
زان رنگ چه بي رنگم
زان طره چه آونگم
زان شمع چو پروانه
يارب چه پريشانم
هم ساقي و هم مستم
هم فرقم و هم بختم
هم محنت و هم بختم
هم دردم و دمانم
هم خونم و هم شيرم
هم طفلم و هم پيرم
هم چاكر و هم ميرم

هم اينم هم آنم
هم اينم هم آنم
هم اينم و هم آنم
يارب چه پريشانم

I'm also this I'm also that
A Poem by Rumi
Persian/Farsi to English translation by Sologak

The old is I
The young is I
The arrow is I
The bow is I
The eternal wealth is I
I'm neither me
Nor me is I.

In my lawn
The Cypress is He
In my body
The Soul is He
In my mouth
The Speech is He
I'm neither me
Nor me is I.

I'm stupefied
By this incident:
I'm also conscious
And unconscious
I'm also the silent speaker
And the hushed wailing
Of the silent ones.

Compared to that Color
I'm so colorless
To that Lock of Hair
I'm so clinging
To that Candle
I'm the moth
O LORD
I'm so distressed.

I'm also the wine-bearer
And the drunkard
I'm also the bad luck
And the good luck
I'm also the pain
And the remedy
I'm also the blood
And the lion
I'm also the infant
And the old
I'm also the servant
And the master.

I'm also this
I'm also that

I'm also this
I'm also that

I'm also this
I'm also that

O LORD
I'm so distressed.

Rumi's "I Died as a Mineral" Poem and Arberry's Mistranslation

2010-03-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

Rumi's "I Died as a Mineral" Poem and Arberry's Mistranslation
By sologak

While browsing the Net, I came across Rumi's famous "I Died as a Mineral" poem which is translated into English by the great 20th century British "Orientalist", Arthur John Arberry. Fluent in Arabic and Persian, Professor A.J. Arberry is considered as one of the most imminent scholars in the field of Islamic studies. His contributions to the field of Islamic studies are of enormous proportions, as he not only translated the Holy Quran, but also the major works of Rumi.

Yet despite his scholarly imminence and command of Persian/Farsi language, I humbly disagree with his English translation of Rumi's famous "I Died as a Mineral" poem. I'll begin my argument by presenting Rumi's original poem in Persian/Farsi and Professor Arberry's widely accepted and circulated English translation. I will then present my "Literal" translation of mentioned poem, followed by a brief explanation of Rumi's intended Aristotelian and Platonic argument which is deeply embedded in his "I Died as a Mineral" poem.

Sadly, it's precisely Professor Arberry's following mistranslation of Rumi's poem that has served as the basis of meaningless attacks on Rumi, accusing him as a "Sufi Darwin" and "Believer of Theory of Evolution", by the Muslim fundamentalists. In my humble opinion, Rumi's entire philosophical argument in the following poem is based on Plato and Aristotle's "The Inanimate, the Animate, and the Supernatural” logic. It has nothing to do with the "Evolution Theory". But a Muslim fundamentalist writer, Aboo Idaarah shrewdly writes in http://forum.athaar.org: "Jalal-uddin al-Rumi (d. 1273), an infamous Sufi philosopher, in his book Masnawi, confirms his belief in the theory of evolution. The following lines are recognized as the central theme of Rumi's work: "I died as mineral and became a plant, I died as a plant and rose to an animal, I died as an animal and I was a man.."

Here is Rumi's origin poem in Persian:

از جمادی مُردم و نامی شدم
وز نما مُردم بحیوان سرزدم
مُردم از حیوانی و آدم شدم
پس چه ترسم کی ز مردم کم شدم
حملهء دیگر بمیرم از بشر
تا برآرم از ملایک بال و پر
وز ملک هم بایدم جستن ز جو
کل شییء هالک الاوجهه
بار دیگر از ملک پران شوم
آنچه اندر وهم ناید آن شوم
پس عدم گردم عدم چو ارغنون
گویدم کانا الیه راجعون

"I Died as a Mineral"
Translated by A.J. Arberry

I died as a mineral and became a plant,
I died as plant and rose to animal,
I died as animal and I was Man.
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soar
With angels blest; but even from angelhood
I must pass on: all except God doth perish.
When I have sacrificed my angel-soul,
I shall become what no mind e'er conceived.
Oh, let me not exist! for Non-existence
Proclaims in organ tones, 'To Him we shall return.'

Here are my "Literal/Word by word" translation and verse by verse explanations:

از جمادی مُردم و نامی شدم
وز نما مُردم بحیوان سرزدم

My literal translation:
I died as an "Inanimate" and became "Animate"
I died as "Animate" and originated as animal.

Prof. A.J. Arberry's translation:
I died as a mineral and became a plant
I died as plant and rose to animal.

If you're a Persian speaker, note that in above verse, Rumi has used the Persian words jamaadi and naami.

جمادی jamaadi in English = Inanimate
نامی naami in English= Animate

The argument:
How did Prof.Arberry come up with "Mineral" and "Plant", if Rumi was referring to Aristotelian logic of "Inanimate and Animate?

مُردم از حیوانی و آدم شدم
پس چه ترسم کی ز مردم کم شدم

My literal translation:
I died as an animal and became a human being.
So why should I fear?
When did I become less of a Mankind by dying?

Prof. A.J. Arberry's translation:
I died as animal and I was Man.
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?

The argument:
Why Prof.Arberry completely ignored Rumi's cleverly playing with the Persian words مُردم-Mordam[I died] and Mardoom-مردم [Mankind], as Mardoom[Mankind]- in second line- is entirely missing from Arberry's translation?

Mordam in Persian = I died.
Mardoom in Persian = people, man, Mankind, creature.

حملهء دیگر بمیرم از بشر
تا برآرم از ملایک بال و پر
وز ملک هم بایدم جستن ز جو
کل شییء هالک الاوجهه

My literal translation:
Another attack and I shall die as a human
And I shall draw feathers and wing like the Angels
But I must also give up seeking
This state of Angel-hood
As "All except God shall perish."

Prof. A.J. Arberry's translation:
Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soar
With angels blest; but even from angelhood
I must pass on: all except God doth perish.

The argument:
Why Prof.Arberry decided to use "Angels blest", if Rumi was hoping to draw "feathers and wing" like the Angels?

بال و پرملایک-in English = Angel wings and feather
Angels blest in Persian = ملایک

بار دیگر از ملک پران شوم
آنچه اندر وهم ناید آن شوم

My literal translation:
Once again, I shall fly away from the Angel-hood
And become what's out of the imagination.

Prof. A.J. Arberry's translation:
When I have sacrificed my angel-soul,
I shall become what no mind e'er conceived.

The argument:
Where did Prof. Arberry see the word"Sacrifice" in Rumi's above Persian verse?

Sacrifice in Persian = قربانی- فداکاری کردن

پس عدم گردم عدم چو ارغنون
گویدم کانا الیه راجعون

My literal translation:
Then I shall become non-existent
A non-existence that's telling me
Like The Organon[Aristole's Organon]:
"To Him we shall return."

Prof. A.J. Arberry's translation:
Oh, let me not exist! for Non-existence
Proclaims in organ tones, 'To Him we shall return.'

Argument:
Despite my profound respect and admiration for Prof. Arberry's vast scholarly knowledge and genius, I entirely disagree with his translation of this last verse. Where did the "Oh, let me not exist!" come form?

If you're a Persian speaker, note that Rumi is cleverly using the Persian word [پس so,then], as a concluding remark in the last verse, to sum up his animist argument. But, [پس so,then] is entirely missing form Arberry's translation.

Also, Rumi uses the Persian word - ارغنونArghanun which has two meanings:
a- The Organ- a musical instrument.
b-The Organon-Aristotle's Logial Works.

If Rumi has based his entire above poem on Aristotle's Animism, isn't logical for him to end it with a reference to Aristotelian Organon?

And finally, what was the purpose of Professor Arberry's using a musical instrument, the Organ as opposed to Aristotles' The Organon?

For in-depth study of Animism and Aristotelian Ethics, please visit:
Aristotle's Logic
Animism
Plato's philosophical theories of soul

Hafiz Shirazi, El Mejor Representante De La Poesia Sufi

2010-03-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

El gran Poeta Persa y Meastro Sufi, Hafiz Shirazi

Tumba Memorial de Hafiz en Shiraz, Iran

HAFIZ, EL MEJOR REPRESENTANTE DE LA POESÍA SUFI
NASROLLAH S. FATEMI

Traducción del Ingles
MARIELA ALVAREZ Y
GUILLERMO QUARTUCCI

LOS ELEMENTOS COMUNES AL JUDAÍSMO, budismo, cristianismo e Islam, pueden ser mejor apreciados en el sufismo, "testimonio de la experiencia en constante profundización del alma de los creyentes que se vuelcan sinceramente a Dios".El sufismo ha sido definido como "la aprehensión de las realidades divinas" y también como "un mensaje universal de amor, hermandad y unidad del hombre". No se trata de una religión, ni significa una nueva iglesia o secta, e intenta, en palabras de Rumi, "eliminar los conflictos, enemistades y luchas, para unificar a la gente en amor y armonía".

El sufismo es un idealismo panteísta que presenta dos aspectos: uno filosófico y otro místico. Los sufis tratan con Dios directamente. Él es la Verdad absoluta, el Bien absoluto y la Belleza absoluta. Su naturaleza divina puede ser descubierta a través de la meditación trascendental, la negación de sí mismo, el amor a la humanidad, la gnosis y el altruismo.

E l objetivo de los sufis es introducir el espíritu ecuménico, así como espiritualizar y purificar el sistema islámico desde dentro, para otorgarle profundidad mística e infundir en todas las religiones el espíritu de amor y libertad. Estas ideas elevadas fueron diseminadas especialmente a través de la poesía persa y árabe. El sufismo produjo grandes nombres y famosos oradores-poetas en una vasta área del mundo, desde España a Indonesia. Nombres tales como Al-Ghazali, Rumi, Al Junayd, Ibni Arabi, Dhul N u n,Hafiz, Sadi, Mansur al Hallaj, Nizami, Omar Khayyam y Khalil Jaobran e Iqbal son conocidos más allá del mundo islámico.

Lea el texto complet:
Hafiz, El Mejor Representante De La Poesia Sufi
|PDF|Español|20 Paginas|

Tumba Memorial de Hafiz en Shiraz, Iran

Happy Easter!/Felices Pascuas!/عید قیام عیسی مسیح بر مسیحان مبارک باد

2010-03-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

Wishing all Christians a very blessed and joyous Easter 2010!

April 04, 2010

"La Pascua de Resurrección es la celebración cristiana que conmemora la resurrección de Jesucristo.En el cristianismo occidental, Pascua marca el fin de los cuarenta días de la Cuaresma, un período del ayuno y penitencia en la preparación para Pascua que comienza el Miércoles de Ceniza y termina el Domingo de Resurrección. La semana antes de Pascua es muy especial en la tradición cristiana: el domingo anterior es el Domingo de Ramos, y los tres días anteriores al Domingo de Resurrección son Jueves Santo, Viernes Santo y Sábado Santo. Los primeros tres días conmemoran, respectivamente, la entrada en Jerusalén, la última cena de Jesús y la Crucifixión. Oficialmente, las festividades de Pascua concluyen con el día Pentecostal."

"Easter is an important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion. Many Christian denominations celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday, two days after Good Friday..In Western Christianity, Easter marks the ending of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline in preparation for Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday."

Easter/Pascua-عید قیام عیسی مسیح

"
مسیحیان بر این باورند که در این روز عیسی مسیح پس از اینکه به صلیب کشیده شده بود دوباره زنده شده و برخاست (رستاخیز). به عید پاک، در انگلیسی ایستر گفته می‌‌شود-در باورهای مسیحی، عید پاک روز رستاخیز مسیح از مرگ یا دوباره برخواستن او پس از به صلیب کشیده شدن است، بنابراین آيينی است که پایه‌های اصلی و اعتقادی مسیحیت بر آن استوار شده است.رستاخیز مسیح، طبق باورهای مسیحی روز سوم پس از به صلیب کشیده شدنش اتفاق می‌افتد و او از قبر خود برمی‌خیزد و به دنیای زندگان باز می‌گردد، چهل روز میان یاران خود به سر می‌برد و سپس برای همیشه به آسمان می‌رود. طبق روایات انجیل‌ها، در این یکشنبه زمانی که مریم مجدلیه بر سر گور مسیح می‌رود، آن را خالی می‌یابد و سپس در می‌یابد که او زنده شده است. در روایتی دیگر، پطرس روز سوم پس از تصلیب مسیح به سوی گور او می‌رود و آن را خالی می‌بیند
"

Afghan Christians Web Site

Iranian Christians Web Site

Now-Rooz/New Year Song by Afghan Artists

2010-03-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite New Year/Now-Rooz songs by the hugely talented Afghan artists: Vaheed Qasemi & Hangama.

آهنگ قشنگ نوروزی از دو هنرمند پراستعداد افغانستان عزیزما: وحید قاسمی و هنگامه

Now-Rooz Song-هله نوروز آمد- Vaheed Qasemi & Hangama

New Year Invitation, a Poem by Rumi

2010-03-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

Rumi is simply at his best in this short poem celebrating the Persian New Year (Now-Rooz), and the joyous arrival of the Spring. I dedicate my following translation to anyone who celebrates the 3000 years old Persian New Year (Now-Rooz) traditions. Happy Now-Rooz 1389 to all!

New Year Invitation
By Rumi
Persian/Farsi to English translation by Sologak

مستی و عاشقی وجوانی و یار ما
نوروز و نوبهار و حمل می زند صلا
هرگز ندیده چشم جهان این چنین بهار
می روید از زمین و ز کهسار کیمیا
پهلوی هر درخت یکی حور نیکبخت
دزدیده می نماید اگر محرمی لقا
اشکوفه می خورد زمی روح طاس طاس
بنگر سوی او که صلا می زند ترا
کی خوردنش ندیدی اشکوفه اش ببین
شاد باش ای شکوفه و ای باده مرحبا
سوسن به غنچه گوید: برجه چه خفته ای
شمعست و شاهدست و شرابست و فتنها
ریحان و لاله ها بگرفته پیاله ها
از کیست این عطا ز کی باشد جز از خدا
سنبل به گوش گل پنهان شکر کرد و گفت
هرگز مباد سایه یزدان ز ما جدا

For our drunkenness
And being a lover
For our youthfulness
And our companionship
The New Year
The early Spring
And the Aries
Are sending us an invitation!

The eyes of the world
Have never seen
A Spring like this:
The Alchemy is growing
On the mountain base and from the Earth.

Peeking behind a tree
A happy Nymph
Is surreptitiously glancing around!

The Blossom is drinking
The wine of the Soul
Cup after cup!

Look at the Blossom
It's sending you an invitation
If you didn't see its wine drinking
Watch its full blossoming!

Be happy O Blossom!
Welcome O Spring wind!

The Lily is telling its Bud:
Wake up! Why are you still asleep?!
There is the candle
And the handsome youth
There is the wine
And the seductive lover!
The Sweet Basil and
The Tulips are also raising glasses!

Who's gift is all of this
If not bestowed by the Almighty God?

The Hyacinth flower
Discretely but sweetly whispered
To the ear of a hidden flower:

May the protective Shadow of God
Never be separated from us!
Rumi.

Claude Chalhoub: Virtuoso Lebanese Violinist

2010-03-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

Claude Chalhoub's MySpace Page

"Claude Chalhoub was born in Beirut and is successful both as a classical violin player as well as with his blend of Arabian and Western music.The beauty of Claude Chalhoub’s music is that it doesn’t sound "new“ at all. It sounds familiar, even if you have never listened to Arab music (or classical music) at all. As if it had always been there. It’s as natural as breathing. And that’s what great art is all about – making the difficult seem easy.." For complete biography of Claude Chalhoub, please visit his Facebook Page

Claude Chalhoub-Live performance

Claude Chalhoub-Baddour

Claude Chalhoub-Live performance

Roots Reggae Arabic: Momo Cat

2010-03-12T06:09:00.000-08:00

Momo Cat's MySpace Page

"In reggae circles a genuine multiculturality seems to be a matter of course in a manner which most rock and pop bands can only dream of, but even so, Momo Cat is a man of the world like very few others. Born in Morocco as Quiat Mohammed, he moved first to France and then, in 1990, to Finland. It did not take him long to find a bunch of soul-mates even in this land of sleet and snow: first he had a band called Saganor, with which he supported such reggae legends as The Wailers and Black Uhuru on their visits to Finland. Then, after a short period as a solo artist, he joined the country's arguably most important rhythm combo Soul Captain Band. He has also collaborated with artists like Mariska, performed in Morocco, Lithuania, Turkey and France, and even taken part in the Finnish semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest. On his brand new album Rocky Road he speaks his mind about the system in English, French and Arabic, but his roots reggae never loses the playful attitude and the groove that will, without a doubt, set even the pebbles on the Rento Stage beach dancing.."

Roots Reggae Arabic-Momo Cat
**Amazing Roots Reggae vibes..Momo is simply genius..**

39oul nass-Momo Cat
**This is as Roots as it gets..Jamiacan Patois meets North African Arabic..**

Play on-Momo Cat

**Extraordinary remake of Bob Marly's smash hit..Momo's rendition with his Jamaican/Patois accent is simply Irie!..**

Persian Jazz From California: Hafez Modirzadeh

2010-03-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

Bay Area tenor saxophonist, Hafez Modirzadeh

"Multi-reed player and composer Hafez Modirzadeh has been recorded on more than a dozen releases, including four under his own leadership: the seminal 1993 In Chromodal Discourse, the critically acclaimed 1996 The People's Blues, and his most recent, By Any Mode Necessary, all on the X-dot label.Born in 1962 of an Iranian father and European-American mother, Modirzadeh grew up in France and the U.S., identifying strongly with blues and jazz as well as the rich traditions of classical Iranian music. His invention of the "chromodal" method allows for a nonlinear improvisational practice that is able to adapt to and incorporate multiple systems of music, permitting a cross-cultural conversation. He is a renowned scholar in ethno musicology and professor at California State University in San Francisco, and is the recipient of two NEA Jazz Fellowships as well as an Artist-in-Residence Grant from the California Arts Council."

Hafez Modirzadeh-Live at Granada Jazz Festival

Jazz Árabe: Chemón Arabic Jazz

2010-03-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Chemón Arabic Jazz en MySpace

"Chemón Arabic Jazz es un proyecto musical del compositor y músico sevillano José María Cortés "Chemón". Es un proyecto constituído por composiciones propias, en la que se mezclan dos mundos en apariencia tan dispares como el Jazz y la música árabe, pero que cuentan con un nexo común: el mundo de la improvisación. Para este proyecto tiene la inmensa suerte de rodearse de grandes músicos, creando una formación sólida integrada por Chemón al Ud (laúd árabe) y composición, Nacho Botonero al saxo, flauta y fliscorno, Javier Delgado al contrabajo y Jaouad Jadli a la percusión y voz."

Chemón Arabic Jazz -Maestro Amin

Chemón Arabic Jazz -Ud Perdone

Chemón Arabic Jazz -La pila del pato

Chemón Arabic Jazz -Quedamos en tablas

LOVE AND LOVER TRANSFORMED: THE SUFI PATH TO GOD

2010-03-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

“LOVE AND LOVER TRANSFORMED: THE SUFI PATH TO GOD”
John A. Napora, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
Kutztown University
napora@kutztown.edu

In the following, I describe the Sufi Path (tariqa) as a dialectical process which transforms the person through love. I examine the belief system of Islamic mystics as a journey involving both creativity and passion. I do so by using a fresh approach, a perspective that has heretofore yet to be applied to the spiritual alchemy of the Sufis. Each step or stage in the Path will be seen as a metaphor, a symbolic inclusion with what came before and an extension to what is yet to come. Such a perspective allows us to have a greater understanding of the logic of the tariqa, and thus a better appreciation of Sufi beliefs and the statements and commentary through which their transformation is described.

The Sufis can be seen as developing and describing a syntagmatic chain of motivation, for each step in the journey can be seen as a part of a greater whole which propels them to seek yet another until the entirety is realized. Each stage is a metaphoric transformation which is linked to the next, and through the various transformations, the person draws ever closer to God, and is cumulatively transformed.This is to be effected through and for love (mahabba) (e.g. Schimmel, 1975 p. 130; Chittick 1983).

Done for love, the entire Path is an expression of it. For the Sufi, one’s yearning for God provides a means to be ultimately consumed with and by love (e.g., Harvey, 1996, p.138). Since the Path as a whole is a transformation of love, it can be seen as a master trope which informs each stage in the journey, effecting each of the minor transformations and enabling its ultimate culmination.

The most dramatic example of a Sufi transformed by love is Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj whose striking, ecstatic pronouncement “I am Reality” (ana’l-haqq in Arabic, Reality being one of the names of God) can be seen as a point to be interpreted and perhaps as the culmination of the Sufi way. His statement was of course considered blasphemous, and was in keeping with his preaching to the masses that God could be discovered within one’s own heart (Massignon, 1971, p.100). Perhaps for such reasons, well as perhaps implied political ones, he was put to death by the authorities in 922 A.D. His death may also be instructive. Attar (d. between 1220-1230), the most famous hagiographer of the Sufis, records his death in the following way:

When Hallaj was in prison he was asked: “What is love?” He answered: “You will see it today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.” And that day they cut off his hands and feet, the next day they put him on the gallows, and the third day they gave his ashes to the wind. . . .(Schimmel, 1975 pp.63-64) From each of his dismembered limbs came the cry ana’l-haqq, from each drop of his blood the word Allah was formed, and even his ashes did not fail to proclaim the Truth (Arberry 1966, pp. 270-271).

It can be asked what enabled and motivated such passion, that it was said to continue even after death? Or to put it another way, what allowed for the person to be seen as so transformed, that every part of Hallaj’s body was seen as imbued with sanctity, if not divinity?

Read entire article below:
“LOVE AND LOVER TRANSFORMED: THE SUFI PATH TO GOD”
|PDF|English|13 Pages|

Oriental Jazz Violin: Jasser Haj Youssef

2010-03-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Jasser Haj Youssef-جاسر حاج يوسف

Jasser Haj Youssef is a Tunisian composer and violin virtuoso of classical, traditional Arab music, and jazz . He currently lives and works in France. For complete biography of Jasser Haj Youssef, please visit his Official Facebook Page

Jasser Haj Youssef-Live in concert

Jasser Haj Youssef-Broad

Jasser Haj Youssef-Viola d'Amore

Maolana's World (a biography of Rumi in Persian/Farsi)

2010-03-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

The following biography of Rumi in Persian/Farsi, as well as all the extraordinary icon designs, are courtesy of Mr. Sayed Abdullah Samangani انجنير سيدعبدالله سمنگاني
http://www.sabdullah.net/index.htm Mr. Sayed Abdullah Samangani, an Engineer by profession, is also an accomplished Afghan poet and Rumi aficionado-I've emailed the mentioned author requesting his permission to hopefully translate this profoundly researched biography of Rumi into English. In the meanwhile, if you're a Persian/Farsi speaker, please read and enjoy Engineer Samangani's outstanding biography of Maolana Jalaludin Balkhi (Rumi) in Persian.

Rumi's World

Author: Sayed Abdullah Samangani

Foreward

Maolana's World
(Rumi's birth and childhood in Balkh)

Neyshabur
(Young Rumi meeting the great Persian Sufi poet, Attar)

Mongols' Attack
(Genghis Khan's destruction of Balkh)

The Balkh Caravan heading towards Baghdad
(Rumi and his family fleeing Balkh prior to Mongols' attack)

Baha Walad's attachment to Larenda
(A town near Konya, Turkey where Rumi's family first settled)

Konya, Baha Walad and his son's last refuge
(Rumi's adopted Turkish hometown, Konya where he's buried)

Sayed Burhan Muhaqeq Termizi
(Rumi's first Spiritual-master)

Shams Tabrizi
(The mysterious Dervish who turned Rumi's world upside down)

Zarkob of Konya
(Zarkob, the goldsmith who became the vision of Shams for Rumi)

Husamuddin Chalabi
(Rumi's last spiritual companion who convinced him to write The Masnavi)

The illness and passing away of Rumi

The thoughts and spiritual path of Rumi

Rumi's major works

List of Sources and References

http://www.sabdullah.net/mawlana.htm
Copyrights © 2007 SAbdullah.net - All rights reserved

Lila Downs: My Favorite Mexican-American Singer/Songwriter

2010-03-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

Lila Down Official Website

"The daughter of a Scottish-American father and a musical Mixtec Indian-Mexican mother, Lila Downs spent her youth moving between the musical traditions of both Mexico and the United States. Embracing a wide array of regional and international styles, she successfully used her back-and-forth, border-hopping youth to create a seamless musical celebration of Latin, Anglo, and Native American traditions and produce a multilingual political statement.."
Read more: Lila Downs complete biography.

Lila Downs-Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps

Lila Downs-La Llorona (Live performance)

Lila Downs-Paloma Negra (Live performance)

Shaykh Qadri Issues Fatwa(Religious Edict) Against Terrorists

2010-03-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

**It's with such pride and pleasure that we witness that at the dawn of 21st century, and in these turbulent times of profound religious animosities and mistrusts, a Sufi Shaykh is, once again, rising to the occasion by not only condemning and rejecting any and all acts of prejudice, hatred, and terrorist activities by the fanatic Muslims, but also preaching the genuine teachings of respect, tolerance, and the interfaith-dialogue and plurality of Islam. To read the 600-pages Fatwa of Shaykh Qadri in English , please click on above image or visit: "Fatwa: Suicide Bombing and Terrorism" (in English)

If Rumi were alive today, he would have overwhelmingly approved Shakh Qadri's noble Sufi act. Rumi would have also addressed his fellow Muslims through these meaningful and mystical verses:

It is your turn now,
You waited, you were patient.
The time has come,
For us to polish you.
We will transform your inner pearl
Into a house of fire.
You're a gold mine.
Did you know that,
Hidden in the dirt of the earth?
It is your turn now,
To be placed in fire.
Let us cremate your impurities.
Rumi.

_______________________

Shaykh Qadri issuing Fatwa(Religious ruling) against terrorists in London today.

"The world needs an absolute, unconditional, unqualified and total condemnation of terrorism. No person in the whole world can provide a single evidence from Koran who would create any exceptional permissibility to committing suicide bombing..So that the whole world may know that whatever the terrorists are doing, they no link with Islam, and I wanted to give this message to the youth in Western world also, that these kind of activities will lead them to hellfire, and they're not involved in any kind of martyrdom operation. Rather they are doing an act which is an act of disbelief...The reality is that whatever these terrorists are doing it is not martyrdom. All these activities are taking them to hellfire.."
Excertps from Shaykh Qadris' Fatwa (Religious Ruling) on Terrorists.

Sheikh Issues Fatwa Against Terrorists
3 Mar 2010

(Newser) – An influential Islamic scholar has issued a sweeping and unreserved condemnation of terrorism in all its forms as un-Islamic. "Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it," Sheik Tahir ul-Qadri wrote in his 600-page fatwa ruling against terrorism. He warned that suicide bombers are not martyrs but "heroes of hellfire" whose actions can never be considered part of holy war.

Qadri is far from the first Islamic scholar to condemn terrorism, but he goes further than most by declaring terrorists unbelievers instead of merely declaring terrorist acts forbidden, the Independent notes. His ruling is one of the few available both online and in English, and experts hope it may sway Western-born Muslims leaning toward extremism. An Urdu-language version will soon be issued in Pakistan, where a close friend of Qadri's was assassinated last year after issuing a similar fatwa.

____________

Related article:

Masnavi of Rumi (a lectrue by Shaykh Qadri)

Sufism in the Light of Orientalism

2010-03-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

Sufism in the Light of Orientalism
Algis Uždavinys,
Research Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts

This article offers a discussion of the problems regarding different interpretations of Sufism, especially those promoted by the 19th century Orientalists and modern scholars. Contrary to the prevailing opinions of those European writers who “discovered” Sufism as a kind of the Persian poetry-based mysticism, presumably unrelated to Islam, the Sufis themselves (at least before the Western cultural expansion) regarded Sufism as the inmost kernel of Islam and the way of the Prophet himself.

The title of our paper is rather paradoxical and not without irony, especially bearing in mind the metaphysical connotations of the word “light” (nur in Arabic), which is used here, however, in the trivial ordinary metaphorical sense and has nothing to do with any sort of mystical illumination. It certainly does not mean that Orientalism would be regarded as a source of some supernatural light, although the “light of knowledge”, upon which the academic scholarship so prides itself, may be understood simply as one hermeneutical perspective among others, thereby establishing the entire cluster of interpretative tales, or phenomenological fictions which are nonetheless sufficiently real within their own imaginative historical, if not ontological, horizons.

The scholarly term “Sufism” (with the “-ism” ending characteristic of the prestigious tableaux of modern Western ideological constructions) was introduced in the 18th century by the European scholars, those who were more or less connected to the late 18th century policies of the East India Company. It appeared in the context of certain ideological and cultural predispositions as well as highly selective and idealized expectations. This context included the myth of the philosophical wisdom of the ancient Persians, invented or rather revived by the Neozoroastrian reformers in Moghul India. The myth itself was saturated with the Neoplatonic ideas of Ishraqi philosophers (reinterpreted in Iran under Safavids) when the famous Suhrawardian concepts (hikmat al-ishraq) and ambivalent claims were persistently but incorrectly attributed to the ancient Persian sages. The discovery and publication of such semi-phantasmagoric Neozoroastrian texts as Dabistan al-Madhahib (The School of Religions) and Dasatir (rendered as The Sacred Writings of the Ancient Persian Prophets), which stemmed from the school of Adhar Kayvan and had very little to do with real Zoroastrism, supported the distorted but fascinating view that Iranians possessed a distinguished metaphysical heritage which they had entirely forgotten. Therefore, no wonder the newly discovered “Sufism” is regarded as a fundamentally Persian spiritual phenomenon to be traced back to the estimated Indian roots.

Read entire article below:
Sufism in the Light of Orientalism
|HTML|English|12 Pages|

Anatolian Electro Chill-Out: Orient Expressions

2010-03-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

Orient Expressions

**Orient Expressions is a collective of musicians based in Istanbul. It is composed of Dj Yakuza (Can Utkan), Cem Yıldız, and Richard Hamer. Together, they combine electrophonic sensibilities with Turkish Folk/ Alevi song and instrumental forms. The threesome combines electrophonic sensibilities with Turkish Folk/ Alevi song and instrumental forms to render a well-integrated sound that moves through polyharmonic, jazzy vibes with darbuka and traditional percussion-laden grooves.**

Orient Expressions - Kok ve Dal

**The sadness in her voice is simply captivating..**

Orient Expressions-Beats of Pera

**Superb music, reminds me of the incomparable Turkish DJ, Mercan Dede..**

Orient Expressions-Istanbul
**Amazing chill-out..I listen to this on my after-lunch walk @ work!**

IMPACT OF SUFISM IN INDIA

2010-03-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

IMPACT OF SUFISM IN INDIA

The contacts and conflicts between sufis and yogis became more frequent and meaningful. The various branches of qalandars and sufis of the Rifa’iyya order, confined mainly to Turkey, Syria and Egypt, were significantly influenced by wandering yogis. Unfortunately existing literature throws little light on yogis, who are constantly referred to as “jogis”. In one reference the perfect yogi is associated by Shaikh Nasirud-Din Chirag-i Dihli with the Siddhas. The topics discussed at the jama’at-khana gatherings of Baba Farid were of great interest to visiting Siddhas whose beliefs were founded on Hatha Yoga. Supplementing these scraps of information is al-Biruni, unquestionably a profound authority on comparative religions, who notes sufi parallels in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, which he himself translated into Arabic. He also mentions similarities with Samkhya, one of the six schools of classical Hindu philosophy, and with the Bhagavad Gita. Patanjali’s theories of the soul are defined by Al-Biruni as follows:

“The soul, being on all sides tied to ignorance, which is the cause of its being fettered, is like rice in its cover. As long as it is there, it is capable of growing and ripening in the transition stages between being born and giving birth itself. But if the cover is taken off the rice, it ceases to develop in this way, and becomes stationary. The retribution of the soul depends on the various kinds of creatures through which it wanders, upon the extent of life, whether it be long or short, and upon the particular kind of its happiness, be it scanty or ample.”

He goes on to say:

“The same doctrine is professed by those sufis who teach that this world is a sleeping soul and yonder world a soul awake, and who at the same time admit that God is immanent in certain places—for example, in heaven—in the seat and the throne of God (mentioned in the Quran). But then there are others who admit that God is immanent in the whole world, in animals, trees and the inanimate world, which they call His universal appearance. To those who hold this view, the entering of the souls into various beings in the course of metempsychosis is of no consequence.” Referring to the Samkhya theory of the rewards of paradise as being of no special advantage, Al-Biruni adds: “The sufis, too, do not consider the stay in Paradise a special gain for another reason, because there the soul delights in other things, but the Truth, that is, God, and its thoughts are diverted from the Absolute Good by things which are not the Absolute Good.” On the nature of liberation from the world and the path by which this can be achieved, Al-Biruni quotes Patanjali’s text as follows:

“The concentration of thought ont he unity of God induces man to notice something besides that with which he is occupied. He who wants God, wants the good for the whole creation without a single exception for any reason whatever; but he who occupies himself exclusively with his own self, will for its benefit neither inhale, breathe, nor exhale it (svasa and prasvasa). When a man attains to this degree, his spiritual power prevails over his bodily power, and then he is gifted with the faculty of doing eight different things by which detachment is realised; for a man can only dispense with that which he is able to do, not with that which is outside his grasp.”

According to Al-Biruni the sufi parallel is contained in the following theory:

“The terms of the sufi as to the knowing being and his attaining the stage of knowledge come to the same effect, for they maintain that he has two souls—an eternal one, not exposed to change and alteration, by which he knows that which is hidden, the transcendental world, and performs wonders; and another, a human soul, which is liable to being changed and being born.” Al-Biruni also quotes this passage from the Yoga Sutra to indicate the relation of the body to the soul. “The bodies are the snares of the souls for the purpose of acquiring recompense. He who arrives at the stage of liberation has acquired, in his actual form of existence, the recompense for all the doing of the past. Then he ceases to labour to acquire a title to a recompense in the future. He frees himself from the snare; he can dispense with the particular form of his existence, and moves in it quite freely without being ensnared by it. He has even the faculty of moving wherever he likes, and if he likes, he might rise above the face of death. For the thick, cohesive bodies cannot oppose an obstacle to his form of existence (as, for example, a mountain could not prevent him from passing through). How, then, could his body oppose an obstacle to his soul?”

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IMPACT OF SUFISM IN INDIA
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The Rumi Ensemble

2010-02-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

Rumi Ensemble Official Website گروه رومی

"The Rumi Ensemble was founded in Norway by an Iranian/Norwegian musician and composer Javid Afsari Rad in 2007 for Rumi´s 800th birth anniversary. With the Strings, Percussion, Flute, Lute, Santur and Persian classical chant, Rumi-Ensemble creates music that takes you to hidden depths, yet at the same time brings you outward to the very edge. It has connotations of both the Sufi tradition and the western classical music in its alternation between the tranquil and meditative as well as the seductive and ecstatic moods. The program starts with the secret flute of "Ney", which Rumi describes in his master piece "Masnavi", as the narrator of life and creation. The singer´s introduction of Masnavi along with long notes of the strings and other instruments produce the sound scape of the old and the new. The music follows by the percussion of "Daf", the instrument which is mainly used in Sufi rituals, and takes the audience to a journey of the mystical world of music and poetry. The music develops into an energetic climax of rhythms associated with the dervish’s dance in the state of trance. Rumi´s poetry reflects the ecstatic nature of his words and is inspired by rhythm. For him, dance and music are important media to approach the higher levels of joy, understanding and exploration of life.."

Rumi Ensemble-Live performance in Geneva

Rumi Ensemble-Live performance in Norway

Rumi Ensemble-Live performance in Geneva

VIDA Y OBRA DE JALAL-DIN MUHAMMAD BALKHI( SUPREMO POETA SABIO PERSA)

2010-02-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

VIDA Y OBRA DE JALAL-DIN MUHAMMAD BALKHI(SUPREMO POETA SABIO PERSA)

POR SEYYED MOHAMMAD DAMADI

Universitat de Barcelona / Universidad de Teherán

RESUMEN:

El presente artículo es una aportación más para familiarizar al lector español con la vida y obra del Supremo e Insigne poeta y sabio persa Jalal-Din Muhammad Balkhi “Rumi” (Balkh 604/1207 – Qonya 672/1273). Su definitiva influencia no sólo en el sufismo y en el mundo islámico en general, sino también en el misticismo occidental gracias a obras tan imprescindibles en la literatura persa como el Mathnawi el Diwan-Shams Tabrizi o el Ruba’iyyat entre otros muchos le colocan como una figura relevante en la literatura universal, a pesar de que lamenta- blemente sus obras no fueron traducidas a lenguas occidentales hasta el siglo XIX, gracias al impulso de los estudios orientales.

PALABRAS CLAVE:

Literatura persa, Jalal-Din Muhammad Balkhi “Rumi”, Poesía, Sufismo, Mathnawi, Diwan-Shams.

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VIDA Y OBRA DE JALAL-DIN MUHAMMAD BALKHI( SUPREMO POETA SABIO PERSA)
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Roots Reggae Latino: Fidel Nadal

2010-02-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

Fidel Nadal en Musica MySpace

Fidel Nadal se inició en la música durante la mitad de la década de los ’80 escuchando a Peter Tosh, Bob Marley y Skatelites. El reggae fue su principal influencia musical que más tarde se vería reflejada en su sonido. Formó Todos Tus Muertos, banda que mezclaba reggae, ska y punk y que fue más que emblemática durante la incipiente escena de los ’80. Editó seis discos y después también integró Lumumba. En el año 2000, luego de la separación de Todos Tus Muertos y Lumumba, Fidel comieza una nueva etapa como solista y productor, sacando su primer material editado por su sello Kdusanbesa "Selassie Dios Todopoderoso". Luego de ese año, Fidel emprende un largo viaje alrededor del mundo grabando y produciendo nuevos y viejos talentos de la música reggae, y de esa forma lanza por sus distintos sellos una importante cantidad de discos por todo el mundo. En septiembre de 2008 editó "International love", grabado en Tixarecords con la participación de Amlak Safari, Pablo Lescano, Hugo Lobo, Martino Gesualdi y Sergio Rotman.

Fidel Nadal-Luz y compañía

Fidel Nadal-My Princess

Fidel Nadal-Emocionado

Fidel Nadal-Dale Calidad

Hz. Mawlana's love of the Prophet (pbuh)

2010-02-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

Hz. Mawlana's love of the Prophet(pbuh)
By Şefik Can
Courtesy of: http://akademik.semazen.net

Rumi has a special place in his heart for the Prophet of Islam because he proposed a high level of ethics for humanity, such as freeing slaves and taking care of the poor. Historically speaking, there is no historical personality like Muhammad who brought freedom to the slaves and the lower classes. Therefore, not only Muslim saints but philosophers like Thomas Carlyle and the German poet Goethe have fallen in love with Prophet Muhammad because of his service to humanity throughout his life. In their books, they have expressed their reverence for Prophet Muhammad. Very recently, Michael Hart has written a book about the hundred most influential historical personalities and ranked Muhammad number one.

Throughout the history of Islam, Muslim scholars and poets have expressed their love for the Prophet of Islam. These poems and writings have constituted a tremendous amount of literature about the love of the Prophet in Islamic literature. Rumi is one of the prominent Islamic mystics and poets, who wrote on the same subject. When he writes about the Prophet, his poetry receives an excitement and warmness because the poem involved in the love of the Prophet is illuminated by his light. For example, in the following poem, he speaks of the love of God, and he immediately jumps to the love and remembrance of the Prophet.

We hear all the time the voice of divine love from right and left.
With the influence of this voice we are ascending to the heavens.
Who has the capacity of watching us?
Before coming to this world we were in heaven.
We were friends of the angels.
There is our real homeland, and we will return to it.

How distant are the pure pearl of the divine and the dirty world of the soil. Without thinking of your honor, you came to this lower world. Pick up your properties and tie up your burden. This place is not ours. We have to migrate.

The young chance is our friend. Sacrificing the soul is our job. And the head of our caravan is Mustafa, the Prophet, of whom the whole universe is proud.

Mustafa, peace and blessings be upon him, is so high a being that the moon did not dare to see his face and split.

The fragrance of the wind of this spring comes from his blessed hair. The shining of our imagination comes from his beauty' which reminds us of the newly rising sun.

In these poems, Rumi remembers the Prophet and his love. He speaks of the Prophet sometimes with the name of Ahmad and sometimes with the name of Muhammad and sometimes with the name of Mustafa. These are honorable names of the Prophet. As well known, every saint in Islam has his own way and focus on specific things. As far as Rumi's way is concerned, love, love of God, and love of humanity because of their manifestation of God's love are all emphasized. Because of Rumi's great love for humanity, he tolerated the mistakes of people. Therefore, one has to consider Rumi's love for the Prophet from this perspective. The well-known title of Prophet Muhammad is Habib (of) Allah or the Beloved of God. The Prophet is the ideal model of all human beings. Therefore, his love for the Prophet is based on this principle. In his famous poem, Rumi says:

I am the servant of the Qur'an as long as I live. And I am the soil where the foot of Muhammad stepped.

With this Rumi expresses his deep love for Muhammad. Therefore, Rumi can be considered one of the great poets who emphasized the love of the Prophet in his poems. In some of his poems, he dedicates the entire ghazal to the Prophet. These are called na't in which the attributes of Muhammad are narrated. In some cases, Rumi, while speaking about various things, suddenly refers to the love of the Prophet. For example, while speaking of the relationship between the heart and love, Rumi refers to Prophet Muhammad and his great Companion Abu Bakr, Rumi says:

Heart and love have become friends, like Ahmad and Abu Bakr became friends in the cave. These two friends' names were diferent, but their spirits was one.

In another poem, Rumi expresses Prophet Muhammad's light, as the light enlightening the whole world.

The light of Muhammad has become distributed in millions of pieces and has encompassed the whole world.
The Prophet was like the lightening of that light.
When it strikes, all veils of unbelief are torn, and thousands of monks are influenced by Muhammad and run toward him.

In another poem, Rumi speaks of unbelief in the light of Prophet Muhammad.

When Muhammad's light came, unbelief put on its black clothes.
When the period of the eternal kingdom came, the unbelievers hit the drum to prevent death.
The whole face of the earth had become green. The heavens envied the earth and tore its sleeve. The moon had become split. The earth received life and became alive.

Last night, there was a big commotion among the stars because a peerless star had descended to the earth.

Rumi speaks of the love of the Prophet in his monumental work, the Mesnevi. He says the following:

If the face of Muhammad is reflected on a wall, the heart of the wall will become alive.
The wall, through his blessed reflection, will have such great happiness that even the wall will be rescued from hypocrisy.
It was a shame for the wall to have two faces while the pious and the pure had only one.

In another poem, Rumi speaks of Prophet Muhammad's intercession in this world and in the other world.

The honorable Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is the intercessor in this world and the other.
This world is the world of religion and the other world is the world of paradise.
He shows them the way in this world, and in the other world, he shows them his moonlike face.
Muhammad's secret and evident prayer was to say:
"O my Lord, show my followers the right path. In fact, they don't know. "
With his blessed breath, the doors of the two worlds were opened.
His prayer had been accepted in both.
No one like him has come to the world, and no one like him will come.

According to Rumi, as indicated in one of his poems, all Muhammad's words came from the ocean of reality. He says:

His words totally are pearls from the ocean of reality

Because his heart was united with the ocean of truth.

In another part of his Mesnevi, Rumi narrates miracles of Muhammad in several of his poems with great enthusiasm.

It has been narrated from Anas, son of Malik, that a certain person became his guest.
He (that person) related that after the meal Anas saw that the table napkin (was) yellow in hue,
Dirty and stained; and said, "O maid-servant, throw it into the oven at once. "
Thereupon the intelligent (maid) threw it into the oven, which was full of fire.
All the guests were astounded thereat: they were in expectation of (seeing) the smoke of the (burning) napkin.
After a short time she took it out of the oven, clean and white and purged of that filth.
The party said, "O venerable Companion, how didn't it burn, and how too did it become cleansed?"
He replied, "Because Mustafa (Muhammad) often rubbed his hands and lips on this napkin. "
O heart afraid of the fire and torment (of Hell), draw nigh unto such a hand and lip as that!
Since it (the Prophet's blessing) bestowed such honour upon a lifeless object, what things will it reveal to the soul of the lover!
Inasmuch as he (the Prophet) made the clods of the Ka'ba the qibla, do you, O soul, be (as) the dust of holy men in (your) war {against the flesh).
Afterwards they said to the maid-servant, "Witt not you tell (us) your own feelings about all this?
Why did you (so) quickly cast it (into the oven) at his behest? I suppose he was acquainted with the secrets, (But) why did you, mistress, throw such a precious napkin into the fire?"
She answered, "I have confidence in the generous: I do not despair at their bounty.
What a piece of cloth? If he bid me (myself) go without regret into the very essence of the fire,
I, from perfect confidence (in him), will fall in: I have great hope of them that are devoted to God.
I will throw myself, not (only) this napkin, because of my confidence in every generous one who knows the mystery"
O brother, apply thy self to this elixir: the faith of a man must not be less than the faith of a woman.
The heart of a man that is less than a woman is the heart that is less (in worth) than the belly.

Rumi in a poem in his Divan-i Kabir, speaks of the influence of the Prophet of Islam on his Companions and how they were amazed by his personality and teachings."

In another poem from his Divan, Rumi speaks of the light that Muhammad brought to humanity, and how people that were bewildered in the darkness of disbelief came to life with the light brought by Muhammad.

In another poem from his Divan, Rumi speaks of the light that Muhammad brought to humanity, and how people that were bewildered in the darkness of unbelief came to life with the light brought by Muhammad.

In another poem, again in his Divan, Rumi speaks of Islam that Muhammad revealed to humanity and the strength that remained in this religion even after centuries.

In the Mesnevi, Rumi speaks of the Prophet of Islam and the Qur'an, which have remained unchanged as a promise of God.

This displays the strength of Islam and its Prophet, according to Rumi.

Resource: Fundamentals of Rumi's Thought : A Mevlevi Sufi Perspective by Sefik Can.

Muhammad as the Pole of Existence

2010-02-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

Muhammad as the Pole of Existence
By Professor CARL W. ERNST

Carl W. Ernst is a specialist in Islamic studies, with a focus on West and South Asia. His published research, based on the study of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, has been mainly devoted to the study of Islam and Sufism. His most recent book, Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World (UNC Press, 2003), has received several international awards, including the 2004 Bashrahil Prize for Outstanding Cultural Achievement.[pictured left].

***I'd like to thank Professor Carl W. Ernst for graciously responding to my email request and granting me permission to publish his outstanding Sufi and Islamic related articles. Professor Ernsts' extraordinary articles are A MUST READ for anyone interested in Sufi and Islamic related studies, and the relationship between Vedantic and Yoga practitioners of Hinduism and Muslim Sufi mystics in Medieval India. To read from a rich selection of his must read articles, please see my previous post: Professor Carl W. Ernst's Selected Sufi Related Articles***

Muhammad as the Pole of Existence
By CARL W. ERNST

The peculiar concerns of modern society tend to furnish the lenses through which figures like Muhammad are viewed today. That is, modern biographies of the Prophet tend to see him chiefly as a leader responsible for establishing a movement, the significance of which is to be gauged mainly in terms of its social and political impact. His prophetic role is often understood primarily in terms of the establishment of ritual and legal norms that in principle governed the habits of an emerging Islamic civilization. The modern European concept of multiple religions carries with it assumptions about a contest between major religions for establishing a dominant position in the world today. Thus a prophet who is viewed as the founder of one of the world's major religions is
inevitably seen in retrospect, mostly as a key player in this historic struggle. This observation holds both for non-Muslim Euro-Americans alarmed about the very existence of Islam, and for Muslim triumphalists who take refuge in Islam as an anti-colonial identity. Modern reformist Muslims tend to downplay suggestions that the
Prophet could have had any extraordinary status beyond ordinary human beings, and the Protestant inclinations that characterize much of the contemporary climate of opinion on religion (for Christians and non-Christians alike) reinforce the notion that Islam is a faith that lacks the supernatural baggage to be found, for instance, in Catholic
Christianity. The legacy of anti-Islamic polemics among Christians since medieval times has also helped focus attention (mostly negative) on Muḥammad as a political and military leader.From such a socio-political perspective, it therefore might seem surprising that Muḥammad has also been seen for centuries in a quite different light, as the prophet whose spiritual and cosmic role is the most important aspect of his career.

Far from being viewed as a mere postman who delivered a message that happened to be of divine origin, Muḥammad, for a considerable portion of premodern Muslims, was the primordial light through which God created world, viewed in semi-philosophical terms as the “Muḥammadan reality.” The ascension of Muḥammad into the heavens and the divine presence, possibly alluded to in a couple of passages in the Qur’ān, became a
major theme defining his spiritual supremacy as “the seal of the prophets.” Muḥammad was described as a human being of perfect beauty, immune from sin, whose life was marked by miracles testifying to his extraordinary status. He became the focus of a speculative prophetology, which, particularly in the hands of mystical thinkers of the Ṣūfī tradition, drew upon the metaphysical concepts of philosophers like Ibn Sīnā to
formulate a cosmic understanding of Muḥammad's role in relation to the emerging notion of sainthood (walāya). Concomitantly, the Prophet became increasingly invested with the power of intercession for the souls of the faithful on Judgment Day, a concept that would have wide repercussions on popular religious practice. This salvific power of Muḥammad became tangible in the form of devotional performances of literary texts in
different languages, as well as the dreams and visions through which both elite mystics and ordinary believers could have direct access to the spirit of the Prophet. For these mystical understandings of the Prophet Muḥammad, we are particularly indebted to the research of Annemarie Schimmel, whose work is the standard reference on this subject.

Muhammad as Light

Since the literature on the Prophet's mystical qualities is vast, it will be convenient to begin with a short text that illustrates a number of important themes occurring in later Muslim piety. This is one of the short essays in rhyming Arabic prose composed by the early Ṣūfī and martyr, al-Ḥallāj (d. 922), entitled Ṭā-Sīn of the Lamp. Without dwelling on the esoteric letter symbolism alluded to in the first words of the title, one can quickly recognize the powerful imagery of light that occurs throughout this passage, presenting Muḥammad as the vessel through which the light of God is communicated to humanity. Moreover, Ḥallāj makes it clear that Muḥammad not only is foremost among humanity's elite, the prophets, but also has a transcendental status beyond the confines of space and time. While Ḥallāj securely anchors the career of Muḥammad to the Sanctuary of Mecca and the historical context of his companions such as Abū Bakr, he nevertheless identifies the actions of the Prophet as transparent reflections of the will of God and even as an indication of his unity with God: A lamp appeared from the light of the hidden realm; it returned, and surpassed the other lamps, and prevailed. A moon manifested itself among the other moons, a star whose constellation is in the heaven of secrets. God called Muḥammad "illiterate" (Q 7:157) to concentrate his inspiration, "man of the Sanctuary" to increase of his fortune, and "Meccan" to reinforce his nearness to Him. God “opened his breast” (Q 6:125), raised his rank, enforced his command, and revealed his full moon. His full moon arose from the cloud of Yamāma, his sun dawned in the environs of Tahama, and his lamp radiated a mine of generosity. He only taught from his own insight, and he only commanded his example by the beauty of his life. He was present before God and made God present, he saw and informed, he cautioned and warned.

No one has seen him in reality except his companion, (Abū Bakr) the Confirmer. For he was in agreement with him, and then he was his companion, so that no division would occur between them. No one really knew him, for all were ignorant of his true description. "Those to whom We gave the Book know Muḥammad as they know their own sons, but there is a division among them, who conceal the truth although they know it" (Q 2:146). The lights of prophecy emerged from his light, and his lights appeared from the light of the Hidden. None of their lights is brighter, more splendid, or takes greater precedence in eternity, than the light of the Master of the Sanctuary.
His aspiration preceded all other aspirations, his existence preceded nothingness, and his name preceded the Pen, because he existed before all peoples. There is not in the horizons, beyond the horizons, or below the horizons, anyone more elegant, more noble, more knowing, more just, more fearsome, or more compassionate, than the subject of this tale. He is the leader of created beings, the one “whose name is glorious (Aḥmad)" (Q 61:6). His nature is unique, his command is most certain, his essence is most excellent, his attribute is most illustrious, and his aspiration is most distinctive. How wonderful! How splendid, clear and pure, how magnificent and famous, how illuminated, capable, and patient he is! His fame was unceasing, before all created beings existed, and his renown was unceasing before there was any "before" and after any "after," when no substance or colors existed. His substance is pure, his word is prophetic, his knowledge is lofty, his expression is Arabic, his direction of prayer is "neither of the East nor the West" (Q 24:35), his descent is paternal, his peer (Gabriel) is lordly, and his companion (Abū Bakr) is of his people.

Eyes have insight by his guidance, and inner minds and hearts attain their knowledge through him. God made him speak, the proof confirmed him, and God dispatched him. He is the proof and he is the proven. He is the one who polished the rust from the mirror of the suffering breast. He is the one who brought an eternal Word, timeless, unspoken, and uncreated, which is united with God without separation, and which passes beyond the understanding. He is the one who told of the ends, and the end of the end. He lifted the clouds and pointed to
“the house of the Sanctuary” (Q 5:97). He is the perfect one, he is the magnanimous one, he is the one who ordered the idols to be smashed, he is the one who tore away the clouds, he is the one sent to all humanity, and he is the one who distinguishes between favor and prohibition. Above him, a cloud flashed lightning, and beneath him, lightning flashed and sparkled. It rained and brought forth fruit. All sciences are but a drop from his ocean, all wisdom but a spoonful from his sea, and all times are but an hour from his duration. Truth exists through him, and through him reality exists; sincerity exists through him, and companionship exists through him. Chaos exists through him, and order exists through him (cf. Q 21:30). He is "the first" in attaining union and "the last" in prophecy, "the outward" in knowledge "and the inward" in reality (Q 57:3). No learned man has attained to his knowledge, and no sage is aware of his understanding. God did not give him up to His creation, for he is He, as I am He, and “He is He.” Never has anyone departed from the M of Muḥammad, and no one has entered the Ḥ. (As for) his Ḥ, the second M, the D, and the M at the beginning: the D is his permanence (dawām), the M is his rank (maḥall), the Ḥ is his spiritual state (ḥāl), and the second M is his speech (maqāl). (God) revealed his proclamation, He displayed his proof, “He caused the Criterion (the Qur’ān) to descend” (Q 3:4), He made his tongue speak, He illuminated his paradises, He reduced his opponents to impotence, He confirmed his explanation, He raised his dignity. If you fled from his field, then where would be the path when there is no guide, you suffering one? For the wisdom of the sages, next to his wisdom, is “shifting sand” (Q 73:14).

The density of the qur’ānic allusions that Ḥallāj summons to evoke his mystical portrait points to what was already in his time a tradition of deep interiorization of scripture combined with speculation about the text's relationship with the messenger who delivered it. The theme of Muḥammad as light seems to be anticipated in the Qur’ān, where the Prophet is called "a shining lamp" (sirāj munīr, 33:46), a phrase to which Ḥallāj clearly refers by the title of his treatise. Several other qur’ānic texts dealing with light have also been frequently understood as symbols for the Prophet Muḥammad, particularly the famous "light verse" (24:35), where the eighth-century interpreter Muqātil understood the “lamp” (miṣbāḥ) mentioned there to be once again a symbol for the Prophet as the vessel of the divine light. Likewise, sura 93, "The Morning Light" (al-ḍuḥā), was convincingly interpreted as an address to the Prophet. The stage had been set for the interpretation of Muḥammad as the light of the world by Ḥallāj's teacher and predecessor, Sahl al-Tustarī (d. 896), who explicitly states that Adam was created from the light of Muḥammad: When God willed to create Muḥammad, he displayed from his own light a light that he spread through the entire kingdom. And when it came before (God's) Majesty it prostrated itself, and God created from its prostration a column of dense light like a vessel of glass, the inside being visible from the outside and the outside being visible from the inside. In this column of light Muḥammad worshiped before the Lord of the Worlds a thousand thousand years with the primordial faith, being in the revealed presence of the invisible within the invisible realm a thousand thousand years before the beginning of creation. And God created Adam from the light of Muḥammad, and then Muḥammad from the clay of Adam; and the clay is created from the column in which Muḥammad worshiped.

The key to this striking image of the light of Muḥammad is clearly his emanation from the divine light and his priority over Adam as the beginning of the sequence of prophecy. As Schimmel has observed, the subsequent elaboration of the symbolism of the light of Muḥammad owes a great deal to the Andalusian Ṣūfī master Ibn ʿArabī (d.638/1240) and his interpreter ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jīlī (d. ca. 810/1408), and there are numerous reflections of this doctrine in poetry composed in Arabic, Persian, and other languages.4 On a more abstract level, this light symbolism merges into the notion of the "Muḥammadan reality" (al-ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya), which in turn is interpreted in terms of the "perfect human being" (al-insān al-kāmil), combining both a cosmic and a revelatory function that is inherited by the prophets and, eventually, the Ṣūfī saints. In dramatic terms, most striking aspect of the spiritual itinerary of the Prophet is undoubtedly his ascension (miʿrāj) into the heavens, and that voyage is commonly merged into the account of his night journey (isrāʿ) from Mecca to Jerusalem, which
becomes the point of departure for the heavenly journey. Muslim interpreters have typically seen two Qur’ānic texts (17:1-2, 53:1-18) as the locations for these events. A large narrative tradition has emerged on this topic, beginning with stories found in the standard Ḥadīth collections, but expanding beyond that to encompass a broad range of texts in various languages, which may be fruitfully compared with the heavenly journeys found in other religious traditions of the Near East. Some of these texts are accompanied by extraordinary miniature paintings depicting the story’s celestial landscapes and encounters with angels and prophets.

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Muhammad as the Pole of Existence
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Paths to Transcendence according to Shankara, Ibn Arabi and Meister Eckhart

2010-02-24T17:39:00.000-08:00

Paths to Transcendence according to Shankara, Ibn Arabi and Meister Eckhart
By Reza Shah-Kazemi
Reviewed by Renaud Fabbri

Brahma satyam
jagan mithya
jivo brahmaiva na'parah.

Reza Shah-Kazemi is a Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London and one of the most prominent contemporary Perennialist writers. Although initially written as a Doctoral Thesis, this book is dedicated to the memory of Frithjof Schuon, and presented as a demonstration of the “transcendent unity of religions” based on a comparative study of three major figures of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, -namely Shankara, Ibn Arabi and Meister Eckhart - and their respective approaches of the non-dual Absolute. Each study is divided systematically into three parts: a first one on the doctrine of the Absolute, the second one on the spiritual path and the last on the return of the God-realized man to the creatures. The book concludes on the “essential elements of communality” between the three perspectives.

In very substantial appendices, Reza Shah-Kazemi criticizes some of the more contemporary attempts to “reduce transcendence” in academia but also by pseudo-Perennialists such as A. Huxley. This long-awaited book certainly represents one of the more important work recently released by World Wisdom. In this review, I will focus on Reza Shah-Kazemi’s study of Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta and more particularly sadhana (spiritual discipline): how does one Brahman is real, the world is illusory, the Self is not different from Brahman. This critic was partially anticipated in Reza Shah-Kamezi’s article “Tradition as Spiritual Function”, which will be presented in the next issue of Vincit Omnia Veritas.

What is the Advaita path to Transcendence? This review won’t be exhaustive..

Read entire article below:
Paths to Transcendence according to Shankara, Ibn Arabi and Meister Eckhart
|PDF|English|9 Pages|

Nuevo Flamenco Perso: Armik

2010-02-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

آرمیکArmik's Official Website

"Armik (born Armik Dashchi) is an Iranian-Armenian flamenco guitarist and composer. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having attained this stature by virtue of his presence among Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. Launching his solo career in 1994, Armik drew upon his jazz roots and flamenco passions to create a twist on the emerging Nuevo Flamenco sound. His compositions and performances cover an entire range of provocative melodies honed throughout his formative years to his delicate balancing of flamenco and classical guitar to the Latin and jazz influences that listeners hear in his music today..."
Courtesy of Wiki.

Armik-Besos (from his 2010 album, Besos)
** If you're a fan of New Flamenco, I highly recommend Armik's just released album, Besos**

Armik-Isla Del Sol (Live performance)
** OLE MAESTRO!**

Armik-Gypsy Flame
**One of his internationally acclaimed Nuevo Flamenco hits..**

Armik-Alone with you
**Simply superb..Nuevo Flamenco at its finest expressions..**

Rumi and the Symbols used by him(by Professor Annemarie Schimmel)

2010-02-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

Professor Annemarie Schimmel, the renowned German scholar of Islam, who sadly passed away at the age of 80 in 2003, was a specialist on Islamic mysticism. Professor Schimmel published 80 books, and lectured at various universities including Harvard (where she was Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture from 1970-1992), Bonn, London and Ankara. She was fluent in ten languages including Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, and Urdu.

Her major works include: |Mystical Dimensions of Islam|Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi|A Two-Colored Brocade: The Imagery of Persian Poetry|Deciphering the Signs of God: A Phenomenological Approach to Islam|Look! This is Love: Poems of Rumi|As Through A Veil: Mystical Poetry in Islam.

Rumi and the Symbols used by him
By Professor Annemarie Schimmel
Courtesy of http://gonashgo.blogspot.com

Download PDF version of this article
To download: Right click on above link|Click on Save As..

Abstract

Rudolph Otto draws an allusion between God and a mighty mountain, the summit of which is invisible in eternal darkness. According to this great German theologist, a very small part of this mountain is visible, and this appears as a promontory of good hope. We see this minute promontory, through the haze and the smoke of this world and consider it as the final. Whenever we observe a Providential manifestation, we endeavour to commit it to memory by words or allegories. However, every word we find or every symbol we use to commit the manifestation is in one sense untrue. Therefore, and in accordance with all religions, the proper description of the Divine Secret is silence. It is not possible to describe the secret of the Divine Being which is entirely different from all creation.

The human being who discovers this secret and the final truth must not reveal it. As Rumi asserted and reasserted, it is impossible to get near the sun. The light and fire of the sun will destroy instantly anyone who attempts to observe it without the veil. For these two reasons, the mystics who experience this observation in ecstasy use symbols for its description. They do this either to show an image of the final truth or to veil the merciless fire of this truth with a coloured curtain. The works of Rumi are, therefore, saturated with such symbols. There is no other mystic poet either in the East or in the West to equal Rumi in the usage of such rich and resplendent symbols.

Eternal Sun – Shams Al-Din

The most important symbol Rumi used was the sun. This is not extraordinary because his first and original beloved teacher was Shams al-Din. He saw the reflections and the rays of the Eternal Sun, the face of the Beloved, everywhere. In the absence of this sun, no roses will grow and no fruits ripen. The sun crowns the thorns of the bush with roses and turns the rough stones into red ruby through a process which lasts centuries. In similar manner, the Divine Beloved gives new life and eternal beauty to all lovers who love, suffer and wait longingly. But no one can enter this sun because His glorious magnificence burns all. The sun is a very nice and appropriate symbol to allude to the beauty and the majesty of God. However, one single symbol, no matter how deep and meaningful it may be, cannot be sufficient for the comprehension of the diverse aspects of the Divine Reality. Rumi always searched for and found his symbols in nature. Orchards and gardens, birds and flowers, told the story of the lover and the beloved. The spirit was symbolised by a bird, which symbol was used from the time of the ancient Egyptians to the present day. The allegory of the rose and the nightingale, the duck which escapes into the sea, all allude to the central fact that the spirit desires to return to its original domain. The smallest thing, whether it be a butterfly or a drop of water, in the hands of Rumi gains transparency and reveals the light of the Divine Secret.

Man must become lost within the immense ocean of God like a drop of water, because man is like a small wave or fleck of foam created on that ocean. The fortunes afforded by God ebb and flow on that ocean and meet the shores of human life. But according to the wise, the occurrences which take place in our time and space are nothing but the reflections of the tides of fortune and misfortune which occur on that ocean which exists outside the realms of time and space. Whoever meets dissolution on that ocean immediately turns into the mother-of-pearl creating ocean. An absolute abandonment must create an absolute gain.

One of the characteristics of Rumi is that the symbols he used had not only one meaning, but were full of different meanings. These symbols can be taken as having a positive or a negative meaning. The fire, for instance, could be taken to mean the fire of hell, which can be extinguished either by the water of mercy or by the light of magnanimity; or it could also be taken to mean the fire of misfortunes which are made to purify the hearts. Where misfortune is used as a symbol of Divine love, it must mean the Fire of Love.

In all religions, there are certain symbols to allude to the religious truths and to the relationship of God and His creatures. Most of these symbols allude to the ancient rites and primitive customs. One of the most celebrated examples of these symbols is wine. Rumi draws a comparison between the indescribable intoxication caused by ecstasy and the intoxication caused by wine. In eternity, in (Ruzi-i alast) God, in the shape of a cup-bearer, will hand the wine of love to the crying man away from home, longing for the scent of this cup, thereby indicating to His creatures his original domain or the way to his Beloved. This world is like an empty cup; when the lover sees the cup he becomes intoxicated. Because if the beauty of the cup-bearer becomes manifest and if there is a chance for the lover to drink the love from the lips of the beloved, the lover will perish by the majesty of the beloved. The cup-bearer is also a music-maker. He plays the flute, the lute and the lyre. The melodies produced on these instruments are always nostalgic. Man is like a lyre in the hands of his beloved, playing the tunes of torment; or man is like a lute in the lips of his beloved, inquiring the everlasting longing.

The flute, used as a symbol in many religions since ancient Babylonia, was a most favourite symbol with Rumi. According to him the roof and the doors of the house of love were made entirely of songs and poetry. The lover who can understand the voice of the flute responds to its tune and joins in the Sama and flies resplendent around the perpetual light of the Divine Beloved, like a planet or a star around the sun. In the Samaof Rumi and in all symbols relating to the Sama there is the deepest meaning. Because the mystic lover eternally flies resplendent around one centre only; he wants to get near to one goal only and attempts to introduce his secret by using new symbols. The mystic lover finally understands the futility of his poetic endeavours and resumes silence and in silent gratitude flies resplendent around the beauty and majesty of God like an atom around the sun. He listens to His communication, and he gets completely dissolved into a state where there is no dhikr, no speaker and hearer. And the mystic lover flows into dissolution in the midst of all the symbols of different shades and colours and in the darkness of light.

The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam

2010-02-19T18:08:00.000-08:00

The incomparable 11th century Persian poet and philosopher, Omar Khayyam

حكيم عمر خيام نيشابوري

The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam

Including the translations of Edward Fitzgerald (101 quatrains) with Edward Heron-Allen's analysis, E. H. Whinfield (500 quatrains), J. B. Nicholas (464 quatrains).With prefaces by each translator and a general introduction dealing with Omar's place in Sufism by Robert Arnot.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The earliest reference to Omar Khayyam dates from the middle of the seventh century of the Hijra. Mohammad Shahrazuri, author of a little-used history of learned men, bearing the title of Nazhet-ul-Arwah, devotes to Khayyam the following passage:

Omar Al-Khayyami was a Nishapuri by birth and extraction. He [may be regarded as] the successor of Abu 'AH (Avicenna) in the various branches of philosophic learning; but he was a man of reserved character and disliked entertaining (sayyik al- atari). While he was in Ispahan he perused a certain book seven times and then he knew it by heart. On his return to Nishapur he dictated it [from memory] and on comparing it with the original copy, it was found that the difference between them was but slight. He was averse both to composition and to teaching. He is the author of a handbook on natural science, and of two pamphlets, one entitled Al-Wujud(or Real Existence) and the other Al-Kawn W'al Taklif. He was learned in the law, in classical Arabic, and in history.

Read the entire book online below:

Read Omar Khayyam's original quatrains in Persian/Farsi:

Blues Arabicana: No Blues

2010-02-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

No blues on MySpace

"No blues is a unique project which explores the connection between two musical worlds: Americana and Arabic music.In the No blues sessions the musicians soon succeeded in establishing a singular integration of folk-blues and Arabic music. A cross-breeding of Americana and Arabic music, we call Arabicana. Songs about ordinary folks, love and sadness, played and sung in the tradition that is characteristic for folk-blues as well as Arabic traditional music.

Both folk-blues and the Arabic taqsim (the improvised interplay without a fixed rhythm) are exceptionally suited for storytelling; the former in a somewhat rawer way, the latter mostly lyrical and melodic. In the same way as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie documented their era in the early 20th century, the instrumentalist is the torchbearer of a centuries-old tradition in the virtually unwritten Arabic music culture. Traditional Arabic music differs from other music cultures in the way in which the music scale is subdivided. Thus the music can adopt forms that are nearly impossible in the western octave system.."

No blues-Live
**If you're a fan of Blues music, you'll be amazed by these talented artists..**

No blues-Live
** Arabic lute and Muqam & Blues from deep deep South..**

No blues-Columbus Stockade
** My favorite..this is as Blues as it gets..**

Professor Franklin Lewis On Rumi's Masnavi (Eight-part Series)

2010-02-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

Franklin Lewis is associate professor of Persian in the department of near eastern languages and civilizations at the University of Chicago. He is also the incoming Deputy Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago. His current interests include works in Persian languages and literature, medieval Islamic mysticism, Arabic literature, Sufism, translation studies and Iranian religion. He has also published extensively in the field of Baha'i Studies.

Professor Lewis did his graduate work in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. His dissertation work was on the life and works of the 12th century mystical poet Sana'i, and the establishment of the ghazal genre in Persian literature, winning the Foundation of Iranian Studies best dissertation prize for that year. After graduation from the University of Chicago in 1995, Prof. Lewis taught Persian at Emory University, where he attained the ranks of Associate Professor of Persian and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies. Dr. Lewis is also the founder of Adabiyat, an international discussion forum on the literatures of the Islamic World (including Arabic, Turkish, and Urdu, in addition to Persian literature).His books include Rumi: Swallowing the Sun (Oneworld, 2007) and Rumi: Past and Present, East and West (Oneworld, 2000)

The following extraordinary articles by Prof. Franklin were first published in http://www.guardian.co.uk (in How to believe Series).

"Rumi is thus seen, not just as an icon of Islamic civilization (or of Afghan, Iranian, Tajik or Turkish national heritage), but of global culture. And, indeed, the popular following he enjoys in North America as a symbol of ecumenical spirituality is evident in bookstores, poetry slams, church sermons and on the internet.."
Professor Franklin Lewis.

_________________

Rumi's Masnavi, part 1: World figure or new age fad?

Rumi's influence has long been felt throughout the Muslim world. Will his recent success in the west prove as long lasting?

Rumi's Masnavi, part 2: Under the surface

For Rumi, the reality accessible to our senses often obscures the true meaning that lies beneath..

Rumi's Masnavi, part 3: Knowledge and certainty

Can learning lead to God? For Rumi, knowledge is always partial. The Sufi way, however, can provide a taste of true reality..

Rumi's Masnavi, part 4: Rumi's Sufism

Sharia and the external observance of religious rules are only the beginning for the seeker after truth..

Rumi's Masnavi, part 5: On love

For Rumi, love is the astrolabe of God's mysteries and the animating force of creation..

Rumi's Masnavi, part 6: Unity of being

In Rumi's theology of love, the 'death' of the baser self is the only way to achieve union with the divine..

Rumi's Masnavi, part 7: God's grace

For Rumi, God's grace allows us to be judged on our intentions, and to recognize our common dependence on him..

Rumi's Masnavi, part 8: Echoes of celestial music

Rumi's teaching transcends the petty human squabbles that keep us divided. His words are a path to the divine..

Mulla Nasruddin Khodja a Major Character of Muslim Satiric Literature

2010-02-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

Mulla Nasruddin Khodja a Major Character of Muslim Satiric Literature

The following article is courtesy of: http://www.muslimheritage.com(a MUST SEE site for anyone interested in the rich Islamic culture and civilization).For in-depth research and articles on major aspects of Islamic culture and history, please visit muslimheritage.com to "Discover 1000 years of missing history and explore the fascinating Muslim contribution to present day Science, Technology, Arts and Civilization."

Introduction

Nasruddin Khodja, known also as Mulla Nasruddin or simply Nasruddin, is the starring character in a vast number of amusing tales told in regions all over the world, particularly in countries in or near the Middle East. Each tale depicts Nasruddin in a different situation, and through his viewpoint they humorously reveal commentary and lessons on various life themes. The great allure of the Mulla Nasruddin tales is that they are funny as well as lesson filled, philosophical, and thought provoking.

According to different sources, Nasruddin Khodja was a philosopher, wise, witty man with a good sense of humour. His stories have been told almost everywhere in the world, spread amongst the tribes of the Turkish World and into Persia, Arabia, Africa, and along the Silk Road to China and India, later also to Europe. Of course, all these stories currently attributed to the Khodja for about 700 years haven't originated from him. Most of them are the product of collective humour of not only Turks but also other people of Islamic and Asian cultures. Nasruddin is known to us under different names in the world. The main variants are: Turks say "Nasreddin Hoca", for Kazakhs he is "Koja Nasreddin"; Greeks call him "Hoja Nasreddin", whilst Azerbaijanis, Afghans and Iranians refer to him as "Molla or Mulla Nasrudin;" in the folklore of Arab peoples in the Middle East and North Africa, he is "Juha". Some spellings of the Arabic form of his first name Nasr al-Din are: Nasreddin, Nasruddin, or Nasr ed-din. The year 1996 was proclaimed "Nasreddin Hoca Year" by UNESCO. He is, now in 2007, 799 years old.

Biographical sketch

Nasruddin was the label of the most popular character of humour prose narratives in the whole area of Turkish-Islamic influence, ranging from the Balkan area to the Turkish-speaking peoples of Central Asia and in other areas of the Islamic world. He is a renowned personality whose historical existence is still problematical, as the various theories regarding his biography did not succeed to build certain facts. From the 16th century onwards, this personality served increasingly as a point of crystallization for an otherwise formless, popular tradition of aphorisms, epigrams, jokes, jests, and anecdotes of different origins.

Stories credited to Nasruddin Khodja can be found in manuscripts from as early as the 15th century. The earliest story occured in Ebu'l-Khayr-i Rûmî's Saltuk-nâme (1480). According to anecdotes in this book, Nasruddin was a dervish of Seyyid Mahmud Hayrani in Aksehir, in the northwest of modern Turkey. Other anecdotes about him in the Turkish language are quoted in Lami Celebi's (d. 1531) story book Letâ'if. However, there is no exact agreement among chroniclers as to the real identity of Nasruddin Khodja. While Lami Celebi mentions Nasruddin as a contemporary of Sheyyad Hamza (14th century), the decisive influence for subsequent popular tradition, and notably, later European learned discussions, derives from Evliya Celebi, who visited Nasruddin's alleged tomb in Aksehir in the 17th century and quotes an anecdote in which Nasruddin is depicted together with the Mongol ruler Timur-leng, who died later (d. 1405).

In later centuries, Hüseyin Efendi (d. 1880), the Mufti of Sivrihisar, writes in Mecmua-i Maarif that Nasruddin was born in 1208 in the village of Hortu (today Nasreddin Hoca Köyü) in the region of Sivrihisar and died in 1284 in Aksehir, the town to which he had immigrated. According to this source, he was educated respectively in Sivrihisar and Konya schools. He learned fiqh (jurisprudence) and met Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rûmî (1207-1273) in Konya and learned Sufism from him. He followed Seyyid Mahmud Hayrani as his Sheikh. By doing so, he went to Aksehir and married there. He became an imam and, later, a judge there. In this city, his high sense of humour and smart comments, decisions and anecdotes made him a notable and sought after member of the society.

There are two different deed of trustee documents (waqf-nâme) mentioning Nasruddin's existence in the middle of the 13th century in Konya. One of them belongs to Seyyid Mahmud Hayrani in 1257, while the other one pertains to Hajj Ibrahim Sultan in 1266-67.

Nevertheless, there are limited established facts about Nasruddin Khodja's life. It is certain that he lived in Anatolia in the second half of the 13th century. An acceptable fact also is that he was born in Hortu, a village in Sivrihisar in the region of Aksehir in the late 13th century, and then settled in Aksehir city, and later in Konya. His tomb is in the city of Aksehir, near Konya. His grave has an iron door with a huge padlock on it. But if one intends to pay him a visit, there is no need to feel dispirited by the locked door. There are no walls around the grave !!

Another element is linked to Nasruddin Khodja's biography. There is a tomb stone in the Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rûmî's graveyard which is said to be Nasruddin's daughter Fâtima. According to the tomb stone she passed away in 1326. This tomb stone supports that Nasr al-Din lived late in the 13th century around Konya.

The early manuscript tradition of anecdotes on Nasr al-Din presents a comparatively small collection, which in following centuries was continuously enlarged. The printed collections in Northwest and Middle-Asiatic Turkish languages mostly derive from the first Tatar imprints, themselves, constituting almost identical renderings from the Ottoman Turkish sources. Nasruddin stories started to collect from the 15th century onwards. But they were first printed in 1837 in Istanbul in Matbaa-i Amire (Royal Printing House) with the title Letaif-i Hâce Nasreddin (Pleasant stories of Khodja Nasruddin). The first miniature of him was painted in a 17th century manuscript held now in Topkapi Palace Museum Library. This miniature depicts him sitting backwards on his donkey.

Beginning in Turkish tradition, Nasruddin's reputation soon extended all over the provinces of the Ottoman territory, the character meanwhile integrating narrative materials originally attached to other characters. Beside Turkey, Nasruddin himself and his anecdotes are well known in different places of the world, especially in Arabic and Persian folklore. His stories are told in a wide variety of regions, and have been translated into many languages. In many areas, Nasruddin is a major part of the culture, and he is quoted or alluded to frequently in daily life. Since there are thousands of different Nasruddin stories, one can be found to fit almost any occasion. His stories are renowned in various regions and languages such as Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Bosnian, Hindi, Pashto, Persian, Serbian and Urdu folk tradition, Croatian and Caucasian languages even in Chinese in similar name.

The interchange of the additional repertoire thus introduced by the Arabic and Persian versions with following Turkish tradition has not yet been scrutinized. Yet it is obvious that at the latest by the end of the 19th / beginning of the 20th century, Nasruddin had gained such an amount of popularity in the whole region under Ottoman dominion that the origin of the narrative materials attached to him did not play a crucial role. On the contrary, it had become permissible to attach to the character any tale that might fit into the general frame outlined by popular sensitivity.

From a point of view contemporary to the manuscript tradition, it may safely be assumed that these tales did not constitute a major offence; rather it is to be supposed that they represent humorous attitudes of a direct and outspoken kind, not yet submitting to restrictions by the requirements in content and form that later were established by refined literary developments. While it must remain doubtful whether the early collections represent anything that safely might be termed as "folk" literature, it seems most certain that this kind of crude story still today enjoys a large reputation.

Apart from the intentionally offensive portions, the repertoire of stories attributed to Nasruddin contains a large amount of tales otherwise documented in international narrative tradition. For these tales the attachment to the character of Nasruddin is often, but one station on the way they travel throughout the Near East, the Balkan region and the Mediterranean.

In this context, it may well be claimed that the majority of stories attributed to the Khodja can easily be in origin a product of the communal humour, the philosophy and the mind of the Turkish people that were widely diffused in the areas culturally and linguistically connected with Turkish influence.

You have only to mention the name of the Khodja and every Turk will get ready to laugh. He has not the least doubt that he is about to hear a story which will appeal to him. Even the stories that may sound dull to others invariably have something appealing to a Turk. Take for example the story in which the Khodja throws yeast into the salt-lake near Aksehir. He knows perfectly well that just a little bit of yeast cannot ferment the great lake into yoghurt. But well, what if it should! Wouldn't it be wonderful?

As generations went by, new stories were added, others were modified, and the character and his tales spread to other regions. The themes in the tales have become part of the folklore of a number of nations and express the national imaginations of a variety of cultures. Although most of them depict Nasruddin in an early small-village setting, the tales deal with concepts that have a certain timelessness.

Nasruddin's tales

Nasruddin stories are known throughout the Middle East and have reached cultures around the world. Apparently, most of Nasruddin stories may be told as jokes or humorous anecdotes. They are told and retold endlessly in the coffee houses and caravanserais of Asia, North Africa and elsewhere, and can be heard in homes and on the radio. But it is inherent in a Nasruddin story that it may be understood at many levels. There is the joke, followed by a moral – and usually the little extra which brings the consciousness of the potential mystic a little further on the way to realization.

The anecdotes attributed to Nasruddin reveal a satirical personality with a biting tongue that he was not afraid to use even against the most tyrannical rulers of his time. He is the symbol of Middle-Eastern sarcastic, ironic and satirical comedy and the rebellious feelings of people against the dynasties that once ruled this part of the world. A part of the background of the stories represent also a critical attitude against dominant social morals, where people seek selfish interest without paying real attention to principles of good doing.

Some stories of Nasruddin are also adapted and used as teaching stories by Sufi order followers. This is such a common practice that, given the nature of many of Nasruddin's jokes, multiple interpretations are to be expected.

A Few anecdotes of Khodja

You can't please everybody

The late Nasruddin Khodja was on his way to the village with his son. The boy was riding their donkey. They met two women on the road and they heard one say to the other. "Oh, for the days of youth! The boy rides in ease while his old father walks. Amazing!" "Father," the boy exclaimed, "you insisted I ride, didn't you? Come on, don't be stubborn. You ride the donkey!" and they went on down the road, Khodja riding, the youth walking after awhile they met two old men limping alone. "Hey, old man!" they said, "Your bones are already old and dry. You've got one foot in the grave. But this young sprout, does he deserve to dry up like you? Let him ride!"
After they had passed, Khojda pulled his son up onto the donkey with him. They went along under the hot sun and then they came to a group of busy bodies sitting beside the road. "Oh, the cruelty! That poor animal. It's too much, two people riding! The poor beast it's about to die. Look at this guy, and he's even a Khodja!" "Oh, for God's sake," Khodja said. He got off the donkey and they walked along together, driving the donkey in front of them. But in the next moment they encountered two men standing beside the road. "Allah Allah, look at these idiots! The donkey goes on ahead, jumping and hopping with no load on its back, and they walk behind, streaming with sweat and covered with dust. What stupid people there are in the world!" Finally Khodja turned to his son and said, "Look here! Hooray for the one who can escape from the tongues of people! There will always be someone who is not pleased with your doings. So work only to please Allah."

Backwards on the Donkey

One day Khodja and his students were on the way to their lesson. Khodja was sitting backwards on his donkey. "Khodja, they asked him "Why on earth do you sit that way? Isn't it uncomfortable?"
"If I sit the other way," he answered, "you would all be behind me and we wouldn't be face-to-face. Riding this way is better."

Aren't we moving in here?

One night a thief entered Khodja's house and stole all kinds of things. After he left, Khodja grabbed the first thing he could put his hands on, which happened to be a strainer, and followed him out the door. He followed the thief all the way to his house, and even tried to go in after him. The surprised thief said, "What are you doing in my house?"
"You're bringing all our stuff here... I thought we were moving in, too.

Those who know can tell the others

One day master Nasruddin Khodja was giving a talk from the pulpit in the mosque. "O believers, do you know what I am going to say to you?"
The audience replied "NO", so he announced "I have no desire to speak to people who don't even know what I will be talking about" then he came down from the pulpit and left the mosque. The people felt embarrassed and called him back again another day. On another day, he went up to the pulpit and asked the same question, and this time, everyone answered, "We know," "Well, since you already know what I am going to say, I won't waste any more of your time" and he left them again. Everyone was really perplexed. "The next time he comes, we'll say some of us know and some of us do not." Sure enough, another day came and Khodja stood in the pulpit asking the same question. The ones on the left said, "We know," And the ones on the right said, "We don't know." "Well," Nasruddin said "The half who knows what I am going to say, tell it to the other half" and he left!

Untrustworthy calculation

One Ramadan the late Nasruddin Khodja said to himself, "why should I fast like everyone else? I'll find a pot and every day I'll throw a stone into it. When there are thirty stones in it, I'll have a feast!"
But afters a few days, his daughter saw what he was up to and she threw a handful of stones in, too!
A few days later- someone asked, "Khodja, what day of Ramadan is it?"
"Wait awhile and I'll let you know," he said. He went home, emptied out the pot, and began to count the stones. When he found a hundred and twenty stones, he thought to himself, "If I tell them the truth, they'll say I'm crazy." He went back to them and said, "It's the forty-fifth of Ramadan."
"Khodja, whatever are you saying? There are only thirty days in Ramadan!"
"Oh, but I'm being very reasonable indeed! If you go by the pot's calculation, it would be the one-hundred-twenty-fifth of Ramadan!"

Sufismo Y Psicoanálisis: ¿Qué es el Sufismo?

2010-02-04T16:01:00.000-08:00

Sufismo Y psicoanálisis
(¿Qué es el sufismo? Parte I)

Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh
http://www.nematollahi.org/
http://www.redcientifica.com/doc/doc200205090001.html

El texto que a continuación les ofrecemos corresponde con la primera parte del artículo del doctor Javad Nurbakhsh, titulado: Sufismo y psicoanálisis, que fue publicado en The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 24, Nº 3. La primera parte del artículo, bajo el titulo: ¿Qué es el sufísmo?, ofrece al lector una imagen general de lo que es el sufismo, y en especial, el sufismo de origen persa. La segunda parte hace una novedosa comparación entre el sufismo y el psicoanálisis.

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El sufismo es la escuela de la iluminación interior y no la de la discusión, y el sufí es algo en el que uno "se convierte" y no algo que uno aprende intelectualmente. Ahora bien, lo referente a la iluminación interior no puede expresarse con palabras. Por tanto, según afirman los grandes maestros sufíes, "aquello de lo que se puede hablar no es sufismo". O bien, en palabras de Ýalãl-ol Din Rumi

Por mucho que hable de amor o lo defina,
cuando llego al amor me avergüenzo de mis palabras.
(Rumi 1926, p.10).

De aquí que todo lo que han dicho eminentes sufíes acerca del sufismo sea tan sólo un intento de expresar con palabras sus propios estados interiores. Puede servir para dar una muestra de la naturaleza del sufismo y de sus características, pero no puede constituir una definición general y completa del sufismo. En un intento de formular una definición completa podríamos decir lo siguiente: "El sufismo es un camino hacia la Realidad Absoluta, cuya fuerza motivante es el amor, y los medios que se aplican son el continuo recuerdo de Dios (zekr) y la vida en un estado de estabilidad en cualquier circunstancia; el objetivo de este camino es Dios". En otras palabras, al final de la senda sufí nada queda sino Dios.

Objetivo del sufismo

El objetivo del sufismo es el conocimiento de la Realidad Absoluta, no como nos la enseñan los hombres instruidos, a través de la lógica y de la demostración, sino tal como es en sí misma. Este conocimiento sólo se puede alcanzar con el "ojo del corazón", esto es, mediante la iluminación y la contemplación.

Definición del sufí

El sufí es aquel que recorre la senda del amor y de la devoción, dirigiéndose hacia lo Absolutamente Real. Cree que el conocimiento de lo Real sólo está al alcance del Hombre Perfecto y que el hombre imperfecto está impedido para alcanzarlo en razón a su propia imperfección. El sufí considera que el hombre "común", con sus imperfecciones, sufre una enfermedad que hace que su percepción y su discernimiento sean constantemente erróneos. Por tanto, la gente ordinaria distorsiona su concepción de la Realidad, debido a su misma imperfección, e inconscientemente se extravía.

La psicología moderna ha demostrado que la mayoría de los actos y de los comportamientos del ser humano se determinan inconscientemente. El sufismo, por su parte, sostiene que el nafs-e ammãra (el yo dominante, el ego) [ Nota 1 ] ejerce un control tiránico sobre el pensamiento y la conducta humanos. Como consecuencia, el discernimiento del individuo que se halla bajo su influjo no puede ser puro, sano y desinteresado y, por tanto, no puede en modo alguno ser correcto ni justo.

Aquellos que proclaman conocer el Sufismo

Aquellos estudiosos que, por su conocimiento de la situación sociológica o de la doctrina del sufismo, afirman que entienden el sufismo, no poseen, por supuesto, las características de los sufíes o, mejor dicho, no hay ninguna razón para que tengan las cualidades reales y los atributos de los fieles del amor. No se puede decir que hayan, de ningún modo, realmente conocido o entendido lo que los sufíes ven con el ojo del corazón. Por tanto, para los sufíes, las afirmaciones de esas personas carecen de valor, si bien, sin embargo, pueden ser interesantes para los no sufíes interesados en el estudio del sufismo desde el exterior.

El Hombre Perfecto

Desde un punto de vista teórico, y con un sentido espiritual e interior, el Hombre Perfecto es aquella persona que ha escapado a la dominación del yo dominante. Su realidad, tanto exterior como interior, ha quedado determinada por cualidades de una Naturaleza sublime, de lo que resulta la liberación del ego individual y la unificación con Dios. En una palabra, se ha convertido en un espejo que refleja en todos los aspectos a lo Único Real. Mirándole, uno no ve sino la Verdad.

El sufismo afirma que la única manera disponible para el hombre de transformarse en Hombre Perfecto es convertirse en discípulo de un maestro espiritual perfecto (Qotb), para conseguir purificarse y alcanzar la perfección. Este periodo de formación guiado por un maestro así se llama Tariqat o Senda. La Shari'at, los preceptos religiosos, se considera como la escuela primaria para el sufí. La etapa de formación más avanzada, que se realiza respetando la Ley, se llama Tariqat y en la etapa final el sufí es llevado a alcanzar la Haqiqat, o la Realidad Absoluta.

Los sufíes toman como base para dividir el camino espiritual en tres etapas el siguiente dicho del Profeta Mohammad: "La Shari'at son mis palabras, la Tariqat mis actos y la Haqiqat mi estado interior". A la persona que entra en la Tariqat se le llama morid o discípulo, mientras al maestro se le llama morãd o qotb.

Talab, la búsqueda

Considerando el significado del siguiente versículo del Qorán: Tú no eres responsable de guiarles, Dios es quien guía a quien Él desea (2;272), el sufismo afirma que todo avance hacia la Senda espiritual o Tariqat está determinado por la Voluntad de Dios. El estado que produce este movimiento se conoce como talab y puede considerarse como una especie de tensión que atrae al hombre hacia su meta final, la perfección. Basándose también en el versículo: Ciertamente tú guias a los hombres hacia el camino recto (Qor 42;52), los sufíes consideran que el Qotb posee las cualidades para guiar en el camino espiritual.

La atracción o búsqueda en el sufí es la fuerza que constantemente le motiva en la Senda hacia la perfección. Puede decirse que es una intensa añoranza la que anima y da fuerzas al discípulo, en todo momento, en la Senda. Es un anhelo que continuamente provoca en el caminante de la Senda insatisfacción con el recorrido ya realizado, y deseo de acercarse aún más cerca de su Objetivo final. Su añoranza y su anhelo refuerzan constantemente su aspiración de escapar de su estado limitado, y de alcanzar un mayor nivel de calma y de sosiego donde poder saborear el deleite de una existencia más segura y armoniosa.

El amor y la búsqueda del sufí le llevan hacia la belleza, la bondad y la perfección, y a intentar poseer por siempre esas cualidades. El movimiento y el ardor del amor resultan del hecho que el amor trata constantemente de crear la perfección eterna, ya que sólo mediante una continua creación y generación puede ser eterna la perfección.

Faqir

En el sufismo se considera que el anhelo del amor nace del faqr (pobreza espiritual), y a aquel que lo posee se le llama faqir. Faqr se debe a la no posesión de una cosa y al deseo de poseerla. En otras palabras, aquel que siente en sí una cierta carencia de la sublime perfección humana, y que desea sinceramente remediarlo es un faqir.

Morid, el discípulo

En la "escuela secundaria" de espiritualidad, la Tariqat, existe un programa específico que debe realizar el discípulo y que es determinado por el Qotb. El objetivo de la disciplina y de la formación incluidos en este programa es transformar las tendencias pasionales y diabólicas (nafs-e ammãra: el yo carnal) del viajero espiritual, o sãlek, en tendencias modificables (nafs-e lawwãma).

Las tendencias pasionales del alma humana conducen al hombre a satisfacer todos sus instintos animales, sexuales y agresivos. Las tendencias modificables son aquellas que reprochan al alma el tener sus instintos pasionales y animales, y que desean alcanzar la perfección y remediar las imperfecciones del alma. Finalmente, el estado del alma cuando asume las cualidades de sublimidad y serenidad (nafs-e motma'enna) corresponde al abandono de las pasiones y a su transformación y su sublimación en atributos más elevados. Cuando alcanza esta estación el discípulo ha llegado al final de la Tariqat. Y, conforme al versículo: Oh alma apaciguada (nafs-e motma'enna) regresa a tu Señor, contenta y agrada a tu Señor (Qor 89;27-28); se considera que un hombre con tal perfección ha entrado en la presencia de Dios.

Al cumplir con sus obligaciones hacia la Tariqat, el discípulo va escapando gradualmente de la presión de los conflictos psicológicos. Sus tendencias animales y pasionales se transforman, y la energía que servía para alimentar a las pasiones se convierte en el modo de pulir el espejo del corazón y de abrir la vía para la iluminación del espíritu. El discípulo luego, en la etapa final, queda purificado de sus propiedades básicas para ser adornado con los Atributos Divinos. En palabras del poeta Hãfez

Primero lávate y luego entra en el jarãbãt
no sea que esta taberna se vuelva impura con tu presencia.
(Hãfez 1983, Vol. 1, gazal 414, verso 3)

La expresión "lávate" se refiere a la purificación del corazón por medio de la Tariqat, mientras que jarãbãt (taberna) es una imagen poética común para designar la aniquilación del ego, el anonadamiento del yo, la última etapa de la Senda sufí, que es en realidad equivalente a alcanzar la Realidad Absoluta.

El objetivo de la primera etapa de la Tariqat, el periodo inmediatamente previo a la iniciación formal en el sufismo, es que el buscador de lo Real desarrolle una creencia firme en el maestro espiritual o Qotb. Debe tener la seguridad de que el maestro le va a guiar hasta la meta final y hasta la perfección a la que aspira. Por su parte el Qotb debe observar en el discípulo potencial la sinceridad y la devoción que pueden hacer de él un candidato válido para ser guiado. Una vez que el maestro y el discípulo potencial se han aceptado mutuamente, se le asegura a este último, en primer lugar, que todos sus pecados y errores pasados le serán perdonados, a condición de que se arrepienta sinceramente y se aparte de las pasiones y de los actos prohibidos.

En la terminología del sufismo se considera a la entrada en el círculo de los sufíes como un segundo nacimiento, y como testimonio están las palabras de Jesús, "El que no nace de nuevo, no puede ver el Reino de Dios" (Jn 3;3). Desde el punto de vista del sufismo todos deben pasar por dos nacimientos. El primero consiste en nacer a este mundo y el segundo, mucho más difícil, en dejar este mundo de la materialidad y la multiplicidad para entrar en el mundo del amor, de la devoción y de la Unidad.

Se considera que esta etapa preliminar de la Tariqat debe durar, como máximo, entre siete y doce años. Refiriéndose a esta etapa, dice el poeta:

El pastor de los fieles [Moisés] llegó a encontrar un guía,
después de servir largos años a Sho'eib.
(Hãfez, op. cit., gazal 449, verso 6).

Tras arrepentirse y después de haber aceptado la autoridad del maestro espiritual, el discípulo se hace digno del honor de ser formalmente iniciado, luego de lo cual se le revelan las técnicas espirituales de la Tariqat.

Morãd, el maestro espiritual o Qotb

El maestro espiritual es un Hombre Perfecto que, como mínimo, ha recorrido las etapas del camino espiritual. Pero, por supuesto, el mero hecho de proclamarse Qotb no es suficiente para demostrar que ha recorrido, de hecho, las etapas del camino. Su designación como maestro debe venir, de hecho, del Qotb bajo cuya dirección ha realizado su periodo de discipulado. Por esta razón, los Qotbs y sheijes sufíes deben indicar claramente la cadena de iniciación que les ha llevado a ser sufíes- o, en terminología sufí, el Qotb debe mostrar su jerqa o túnica de iniciación.

Básicamente, existen dos formas de recorrer la Senda espiritual. En la primera, Dios, por la acción de Su gracia y de Su benevolencia, atrae en un solo paso a una de Sus criaturas a Su presencia, liberándole de su ego individual. A estas personas se les llama maýzub (raptado) y son casos muy raros. La segunda forma es la Tariqat. Al contrario de lo que ocurre con el maýzub, la Tariqat precisa del esfuerzo y de la voluntad del discípulo. A ello se refiere Dios cuando dice: Pero a aquellos que luchan por Nuestra causa, con seguridad los guiaremos por Nuestros caminos (Qor. 29;69). La travesía de la Senda espiritual se llama, tanto en persa como en árabe, seir wa soluk (el recorrido interior y la conducta exterior). Sólo se puede acometer bajo la dirección y guía de un Qotb.

Conviene recordar aquí que ni el maýzub, ni la persona que tan sólo ha recorrido la Senda espiritual están calificados para convertirse en Qotb. Esto se debe a que el Qotb debe haber recorrido el camino de las dos maneras. Debe haber completado las etapas de la Tariqat después de haber sido un maýzub, o bien haber sido raptado en el curso del recorrido de la Senda. O sea, tanto aquel que sólo ha sido un maýzub, como el que sólo ha recorrido la Tariqat son incompletos. En resumen, el Hombre Perfecto o Qotb debe haber tenido una visión verdadera de la Senda, haberla recorrido de principio a fin, y debe conocerla bien para poder guiar a otros por ella.

Disciplina y cortesía en la Senda

El discípulo devoto debe percibir en el espejo de su corazón el arquetipo espiritual de su maestro y estar ardiendo de amor por él, un amor que en lo sucesivo será la fuente de todo su gozo. Mientras el discípulo no tenga este amor por su maestro espiritual, no será capaz de aceptar sin rechistar y con los brazos abiertos cualquier instrucción que el maestro le pueda dar; porque, de hecho, el discípulo realiza la voluntad de su maestro, y no sigue sus propios caprichos. Por ello dijo el poeta, "Oh corazón, si quieres que el Bienamado esté satisfecho contigo, debes hacer y decir cuanto Él te ordene. Si dice, '¡Llora sangre!', no preguntes, '¿Porqué?'; y si dice, '¡Muere!', no digas '¿Es lo adecuado?'".

Queda pues claro que la primera y más importante obligación del discípulo es aceptar, sin cuestionarlas, todas las instrucciones del maestro. También sobre este tema escribe Hãfez:

En el camino de la casa de Laila (la Bienamada), donde acechan peligros mortales,
la primera premisa es perder la razón (Majnún).
(Op. cit., gazal 1, verso 3) [ Nota 2 ]

En el relato del Qorán sobre Moisés y Jezr (18,61-83), Moisés le pide a Jezr ser su discípulo y éste le contesta lo siguiente: Si me sigues, pues, no me preguntes nada sin que yo te lo sugiera (18,69). El discípulo no sólo no debe cuestionar al maestro; debe además realizar todos sus actos de acuerdo con las observaciones y las instrucciones del Qotb. Nunca debe actuar sin su aprobación, ni revelar ninguno de los secretos que existen entre él y el Qotb. Es más, es su obligación informar al maestro de todas aquellas cosas fuera de lo normal que vea estando dormido o despierto.

El discípulo no debe nunca intentar adelantarse al Qotb ni en palabras ni en actos. Conforme al versículo: Oh creyentes, no os adelantéis a Dios ni a Su mensajero (Qor 49,1), el discípulo tiene la obligación de permanecer siempre humilde en presencia del maestro, para evitar cualquier tipo de protagonismo, de no decir nada sin estar autorizado, ni de hacer nada sin que se lo pidan. En este sentido es por lo que se dice en el sufismo, "El amor es refinamiento y buenas maneras". La Tariqat es en sí misma el respeto de la ética y el modo correcto de comportarse. El discípulo no debe hablar en voz alta en presencia del maestro: Oh creyentes, no habléis más alto que la voz del Profeta (Qor 49,2). Esto se debe a que los sufíes creen que su maestro es respecto de sus discípulos como el Profeta con los miembros de su comunidad.

Programa a seguir en la Tariqat

De lo que se ha dicho anteriormente queda claro que el programa de la Senda espiritual empieza con la eliminación de los "nudos" psíquicos, de los complejos y de las tendencias pasionales del discípulo, con lo que alcanza, después de un cierto tiempo, el equilibrio psíquico y la salud moral. La segunda etapa de la Tariqat es la asunción por el discípulo de las virtudes espirituales, quedando entonces adornado por las Cualidades y Atributos Divinos.

A fin de dirigir el desarrollo espiritual del discípulo, el maestro controla su comportamiento, hasta el último detalle. Un aspecto que concentra en gran medida la atención del Qotb, y que hoy en día concita el interés de los psicoanalistas, aunque no se den cuenta de su aspecto espiritual, es el de los sueños. El maestro soluciona los problemas psíquicos y espirituales del discípulo analizando sus sueños, que sólo se cuentan al maestro en persona.

Por tanto, la primera fase de la Tariqat es un periodo de "psicoterapia espiritual" que varía de discípulo a discípulo. Y, de paso, anotemos que el trabajo de los psicoanalistas de hoy en día es una imitación imperfecta del que realiza el Qotb, pues prescinde totalmente de la relación con Dios.

Al ejercer sus métodos de curación, el maestro "lava" y purifica al discípulo de sus tendencias pasionales y diabólicas por medio del "agua de la Devoción y del Amor". Sustituye las cualidades negativas del discípulo por los Atributos Divinos.

Para iniciar la disciplina espiritual de la Tariqat, el discípulo debe cumplir ciertos requisitos indispensables. Debe (a) ser creyente; (b) ser caritativo con los demás; (c) mantener los misterios de la Tariqat; y (d) obedecer las instrucciones del maestro hasta el final de la Senda. Sólo cuando el maestro observa que se cumplen estas condiciones en el discípulo, y cuando sabe que es digno de la Tariqat, es cuando le hace el honor de permitirle emplear el zekr, el recuerdo permanente de los Nombres Divinos.

Zekr (continuo recuerdo de Dios)

El zekr consiste en la repetición metódica de ciertos Nombres de Dios, inculcados, a la hora de la iniciación, al discípulo por el maestro. Se corresponde con el sentido del verso del poeta:

Durante tanto tiempo se sentó el Amado frente a mi ávido corazón,
que éste se transformó del todo en Él.
(Magrebi 1990, gazal 156).

Los sufíes creen que si un discípulo medita constantemente en Dios, su alma se irá gradualmente impregnando de las Cualidades Divinas, y sus tendencias pasionales desaparecerán.

El objetivo de esta constante invocación de Dios es, en primer lugar, crear en el discípulo una concentración perseverante. El discípulo, que hasta entonces había estado invadido por pensamientos dispersos y por miles de intereses y de deseos, empieza progresivamente a concentrar todo su poder mental en un solo punto, y este es Dios. Gracias al zekr, deja de gastar su energía en agitación mental para concentrarla completamente en el recuerdo de Dios. Queda entonces liberado de conflictos psíquicos y dotado de equilibrio, calma y seguridad.

Mientras practican el zekr los sufíes repiten varios Nombres de Dios, y enfocan su atención no sólo en la pronunciación de los Nombres sino también en su significado. Teniendo en cuenta que el hombre conoce el sentido de las cosas por la palabra, el objetivo de pronunciar constantemente una palabra es el de llegar a realizar su sentido. Los sufíes creen que si uno se fija solamente en la pronunciación del Nombre durante la invocación se trataría tan sólo de idolatría. La palabra en sí no tiene eficacia alguna. Por supuesto, ni que decir tiene que al inicio de la Senda el discípulo no puede evitar el fijarse en la pronunciación misma. Sólo después de algún tiempo empieza a familiarizarse con el sentido espiritual y no formal, y a separar el Nombre de su articulación verbal. A propósito de esto Rumi dice en su obra Masnawi:

Borraré las palabras, los sonidos y los discursos,
para poder, sin ellos, conversar contigo.
(Rumi 1926, Vol. 1, línea 1740).

Durante el zekr, el discípulo debe olvidarse no sólo de todo lo que le une a este mundo y al del más allá, sino que debe olvidarse incluso de sí mismo. El discípulo que permanece consciente de que está realizando la invocación ha caído, de hecho, en dualismo y, por tanto, ha profanado la realidad de la Unicidad Divina, el tawhid. Por ello es por lo que en el zekr se suprime la partícula vocativa y, por ejemplo, en lugar de decir "Oh Dios" (yã Allãh) se usa solamente el nombre de Dios. En efecto, si se usara la partícula "Oh" (yã), quedaría claro que alguien se estaba dirigiendo a Dios, mientras que la doctrina de la Unicidad Divina indica, en su raíz, que toda existencia es ilusión, excepto Dios mismo. En realidad se considera al zekr como un torrente que, además de eliminar las cualidades indeseables del discípulo para substituirlas por los Atributos Divinos, elimina, en última instancia, el ego individual de tal manera que no queda rastro del "yo". Este es el final de la Tariqat y el inicio del océano del anonadamiento o fanã en Dios.

Debe tenerse en cuenta que el zekr sólo es eficaz bajo la guía estricta del maestro. La devoción del discípulo hacia el maestro es la que hace que el árbol del zekr alcance la madurez y produzca el fruto del anonadamiento

Algunas palabras sobre los Nombres y los Atributos de Dios

Los sufíes consideran que Dios tiene un número ilimitado de Nombres, y que cada uno de ellos describe uno de Sus Atributos: A Dios pertenecen los Nombres más bellos (Qor. 7;179). Cada Nombre tiene su correspondiente Atributo y cada Atributo implica un modo particular de conocimiento. A su vez, cada uno de estos modos manifiesta un aspecto particular de la Divinidad que requiere una forma particular de adoración y de veneración.

La imagen que un Atributo Divino adopta en el molde de un Nombre depende esencialmente de la capacidad y de la aptitud del receptáculo humano. El Atributo se refleja en cada momento en el corazón del sufí bajo las formas teofánicas del mundo imaginal (mundus imaginalis) , dándole así paz y sosiego. A cada instante el sufí experimenta éxtasis indescriptibles e iluminaciones inefables, que le revelan siempre y a cada vez los múltiples aspectos de los Nombres Divinos.

Milagros

En principio, el sufismo ni siquiera tiene en cuenta el karãmãt, los milagros y los actos carismáticos atribuidos a los amigos de Dios. Los sufíes no se declaran capaces de realizar hechos extraordinarios ni actos ajenos a la experiencia humana normal. Un verdadero sufí niega todo aquello que no es Dios, incluso se niega a sí mismo; por tanto, cómo podría pretenderse capaz de realizar milagros, afirmando así su ego individual, cuando de hecho él mismo no existe. Su principio arquetípico es la negación de su propio "yo". Por tanto, los grandes sufíes han considerado la declaración de realizar milagros como una falta que priva al hombre de la cercanía a Dios.

No obstante, debe añadirse que ocurre que un discípulo, en su intensa devoción hacia su maestro, vea en éste, por la influencia espiritual que ejerce sobre el discípulo, la manifestación del karãmãt. En estos casos, corresponde al maestro instruir al discípulo, cuando alcanza una determinada etapa de la Senda, para que ignore estos fenómenos, no sea que le lleven al dualismo y idolatría.

Libre albedrío y determinismo

Como se dijo anteriormente, el sufismo confía en la fuerza de voluntad del discípulo. Al inicio del camino espiritual al viajero místico o sãlek le asaltan múltiples presiones procedentes de su falta de equilibrio psíquico y de su debilidad frente a sus pasiones. En esta etapa de la Senda, el viajero debe creer en el libre albedrío, como dice el versículo: El hombre tendrá en su cuenta sólo lo que haya ganado (Qor. 53;40). En efecto, sólo ejercitando su voluntad podrá eliminar sus tendencias pasionales y diabólicas y prepararse para ser adornado con los Atributos Divinos. Sólo podrá alcanzar su objetivo sublime mediante la atracción Divina conjugada con su esfuerzo individual. En este sentido dijo Hãfez:

Aunque la unión con Él no se dé por tus esfuerzos,
¡oh corazón! esfuérzate hasta el límite para conseguirlo.
(op. cit., gazal 279, verso 5).

Pero debe señalarse que en las etapas realmente avanzadas de la Senda, cuando el sufí ha sido adornado con los Atributos Divinos, cree entonces en el determinismo, aunque en el contexto de la absoluta libertad. Esto es porque ahí ya no existe el ego individual, y todo lo que realiza el sufí es por voluntad Divina.

Intimidad con Dios en el seno de la sociedad

Para el sufí, la pereza y la ociosidad son cualidades negativas. Intentará, por tanto, en la medida de lo posible servir a la sociedad en la que habita. En cualquier caso no le queda más remedio que ejercer alguna actividad externa y, por ello, estar aparentemente ocupado con los demás miembros de la sociedad; interiormente, sin embargo, está ocupado con Dios. A propósito de esto dice Sa'di:

¿Has oído hablar alguna vez de alguien que está ausente y presente al mismo tiempo?
Yo vivo entre la gente, pero mi corazón está en otro lugar.
(Sa'di s.f. , p. 554).

La forma más ardua de ascetismo y de mortificación para un sufí es vivir en armonía en la sociedad. Más todavía, el sufismo considera que esta armonía es el símbolo de la perfección humana y cree que aquel que es incapaz de vivir en buenos términos con sus vecinos está, de hecho, enfermo. Considera, por tanto, a aquellos que se retiran de la sociedad y adoptan la soledad para desarrollar su vida espiritual como seres imperfectos y desequilibrados.

En otras palabras, el recorrido interior no es suficiente para el viajero. Para alcanzar la perfección debe también ser capaz de adaptarse a la comunidad y vivir en armonía con ella. No sólo debe servir a los demás sino además no sentirse nunca inquieto ni molesto cuando está con la gente. De hecho, el contacto con la sociedad es para él la prueba de su deseo de progresar hacia la perfección, ya que es en el mundo donde debe demostrar que está libre de tendencias pasionales y que ha dejado atrás su ego. En este estado avanzado el sufí nunca se siente perturbado por el daño que otros le puedan hacer. Se considera que el discípulo que se siente perturbado o molesto es aún un incrédulo. Por eso dijo Hãfez:

Amor ofrecemos con paciencia y felicidad, que en nuestro camino
el ofenderse es la infidelidad misma.
(Hãfez, op. cit., gazal 385, verso 3)

El discípulo que se siente perturbado está, de hecho, viendo doble; se considera aún a sí mismo como real y, por tanto, no ha cesado de "asociar" a un otro aparentemente real con lo verdaderamente Real, Dios.

El hecho de que, con frecuencia, se considere al sufismo como retiro del mundo y ascetismo, no significa que la soledad, la mortificación y el ayuno sean elementos de la Senda hacia la perfección. Sin embargo, puede ocurrir que, en ciertos casos, el maestro espiritual vea en el discípulo un cierto desequilibrio psíquico y que le ordene retirarse temporalmente del mundo y abstenerse de comer productos de origen animal hasta que recobre el equilibrio y esté listo de nuevo para servir a la sociedad. Por tanto, para los sufíes, la "soledad" y la "mortificación" constituyen un tipo de remedio contra desórdenes psíquicos y no una prescripción para la perfección espiritual. Por el contrario, los sufíes siempre han sido muy conscientes de la necesidad de una alimentación correcta para tener la energía necesaria para esforzarse en el camino espiritual y en el servicio a la sociedad. Como dice Rumi:

Uno come y se vuelve más hambriento, más vicioso,
mientras que otro come y se convierte todo en luz divina.
Uno come y se vuelve más impuro y apartado,
mientras que otro come y todo él se vuelve luz del Único.
(Rumi 1926, Vol. 1, línea 273)

El sufí aprovecha su alimentación para permitirle realizar tareas de naturaleza espiritual, mientras que la gente común pone toda su energía al servicio de sus pasiones y sus caprichos.

La escuela de la Realidad Absoluta (Haqiqat)

Esta "escuela" tiene dos fases, fanã (anonadamiento) y baqã (subsistencia), simbolizando el fanã a la entrada en la jarãbãt. Ya hemos visto que cuando el discípulo alcanza el final de la Tariqat, llega en primer lugar a la contemplación de la Divinidad. Este es el estado de fanã, o muerte del ego, del cual existen dos clases, exterior e interior.

El fanã exterior es la aniquilación de los actos del discípulo por la manifestación de la Voluntad Divina. El discípulo alcanza un estado en el que está sumergido en el océano de los Actos Divinos, de tal modo que ve la Voluntad Divina en todo lo que ocurre y no su propia voluntad ni la de los demás. En esta etapa queda totalmente privado de libre albedrío.

El fanã interior es la aniquilación de los atributos y del ser del sufí. En esta etapa, contempla en algunos momentos los Atributos Divinos, en los cuales sus propios atributos han quedado aniquilados, y en otros instantes contempla el Ser de la Divinidad, que aniquila por tanto su propio ser. Al principio del fanã interior, el discípulo queda privado de toda sensación; pero gradualmente, de acuerdo con sus capacidades, se vuelve consciente del mundo exterior, aunque su ser haya cesado de existir. Su estado interior es de aniquilación en Dios, mientras exteriormente está presente en el entorno y es completamente consciente de lo que ocurre a su alrededor.

El baqã consiste en la subsistencia en Dios y se realiza cuando Dios concede al discípulo una nueva voluntad, que procede directamente de Él, para sustituir a aquella que quedó aniquilada en el recorrer del camino. Esta subsistencia, o "permanencia", se obtiene a cambio de la aniquilación interior, que consiste en la desaparición del ser y de los atributos temporales del discípulo, que son como un velo que lo separa de lo Real. En este estado tan avanzado, Dios ya no es un velo que oculta el mundo a los ojos del sufí, ni el mundo un velo que oculte a Dios; ya no existe más ninguna clase de separación, y la dualidad se ha transformado en Unidad.

Reproducido con el permiso del autor a partir del artículo publicado en The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 24, Nº 3.

Personas y obras citadas

# Arberry, A. J. (1964). The Koran Interpreted, Londres.
# Freud, S. (1961). Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis, J. Rivière (trad.), Londres.
# Hãfez (1983). The Diwan, P. N. Khanlari (ed.), Teherán.
# Nurbakhsh, J. (1959). The Life and Works of Shah Ne'mato'llah Wali, Teherán.
# Perry, W. H. (1966). 'The Revolt against Moses', Tomorrow, Londres.
# Racker, H. (1966). Transference and Countertransference, Londres.
# Rumi, J. (1926). The Mathnawi, R. A. Nicholson (trad.), Londres.
# Rumi, J. (1956). Ghazaliyãt-e Shams-e Tabrizi, M. Moshfeq (ed.), Teherán.
# Ruzbahãn (1970). 'Abharo'l-'Asheqin, Dr. J. Nurbakhsh (ed.), Teherán.
# Saýãdi, I. (1960). Farhang-e mostalahãt-e 'orafã', Teherán.
# Sheij Bahã'i (s.f.). Kashkul, Qom.
# Shãh Nematollãh Wali (1964). Rasã'el, Dr. J. Nurbakhsh (ed.), Vol. IV, Teherán.

[1] El término nafs en la terminología sufí posee un amplio significado, como, por ejemplo: el alma, el yo, el ego, etc,. Para más información sobre el nafs y sus diferentes niveles, véase el libro "La Psicología Sufí" del Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh. [ Volver ]

[2] Laila y Majnún: los dos protagonistas de una de las historias de amor más bellas de la literatura persa, obra de Nezami Ganyawi (siglo XIII). Esta obra posee especial valor para los sufíes, por su contenido interior. El significado de la palabra Majnún es "el loco". [ Volver ]

Sobre el documento

Este artículo fué publicado en la revista Sufí, número 3. Ed. NUR. c/Abedul 11, 28036 Madrid (España). Tel. 91-3502086 darwish@nematollahi.org
http://www.nematollahi.org/

Sobre el autor

El Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh nació en Kerman (Irán), doctor en psiquiatría, ha sido profesor y Director del Departamento de Psicología de la Universidad de Teherán, y director del Hospital psiquiátrico Ruzbeh, cargos que ejerció hasta su jubilación. En 1974 recibió el doctorado "honoris causa" de la Asociación Mundial de Psiquiatría y fue elegido Presidente de la Sociedad de Psiquiatras iraníes, escribiendo y publicando numerosos trabajos de psiquiatría tanto en revistas iraníes como occidentales. Autor de numerosas publicaciones sobre el sufismo, es el actual Maestro de la Orden Sufí Nematollahí, posición que ocupa desde los veintiséis años, y actualmente reside en Londres.

Jazz Syriana: Lena Chamamyan

2010-02-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

Lena Chamamyan Official Site لينا شماميان

"Lena Chamamyan (لينا شماميان) is a Syrian singer of Armenian descent. Born in Damascus, Syria, she started singing at an early age giving her first concert when she was five years old. After graduating from the Faculty of Business in 2002 she studied eastern classical song at the Aleppo Conservatory, but also ventured into jazz and traditional Armenian music. On her first album “Hal Asmar Ellon” (2006), which reflects her style of oriental music mixed with elements of jazz, Lena has collaborated with the Aleppo-born instrumentalist and trumpet player Basel Rajoub. In September 2006 Lena Chamamyan and Basel Rajoub were declared winners of the first Radio Monte Carlo Moyen-Orient Music Award at the Al Hussein Cultural Centre in Amman, Jordan. In May 2007 Lena launched her new album entitled ‘Shamat’ at Al Hamra Theater in Damascus..."

Lena Chamamyan-Bali Maak-لينا شماميان - بالي معاك
**Extraordinary fusion of Jazz & folkloric Arabic/Armenian song..**

Lena Chamamyan-
**Heavily Jazz infused song..she has an amazing Jazzy voice..**

Lena Chamamyan- Youma La La

Lena Chamamyan-Dayuni Ajodu
**My favorite.. this song is simply mesmerizing..the Ney-flute's wailing is simply devastating..**

The Greek Poetry of Rumi

2010-02-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

Πού είσαι συ, αφέντη μου (όμοια ευεργετικέ κι όμοια φεγγαροπρόσωπε)
Να είπω σαρακηνικά (πώς είμαι εγώ και πώς είσαι συ).
(Ω λαέ, ήρθαμε σε σας με την πρόθεση να θυσιαστούμε για την αγάπη σας)
(από τότε που σας είδαμε οι επιθυμίες μας έγιναν φανερές).
(Αν μου δώσεις ένα κρασί, εγώ θα χαρώ κι αν εσύ πάλι με βρίσεις, εγώ πάλι θα χαρώ.)
Αφέντη ό,τι θέλεις συ, θέλω και παρακαλώ.
(αν εμέθυσεν ο δούλος άκου εσύ τώρα λόγια κομματιασμένα.)
Βοήθησ' με κανάκι μου, σήμερα παρακαλώ.
...
Πού είσαι τσελεμπή, πού είσαι, έη πού 'σαι; αγαπώ σε.
(Όντας χωρίς υπόληψη, χωρίς υπερηφάνεια, την πνοή τώρα της καρδιάς μου αναζήτα.)

Where are you my master?
the dispenser of benevolence and the moon-faced charmer?
I will say in Sarrazin who I am and who you are.
I came to you, friend to be sacrificed for love,
and when I saw you my desires were magnified.
If you give me a glass of wine, I'll be happy.
and if you abuse me, I'll be happy.
My lord, what you desire I desire and I seek.
When I am drunk, listen to my babbling.
O Lord, help me in my chattering!
Where are you Chelabi
Where are you?
Where are you, dear? Where?
I have abandoned pride and principles, console my heart!

Αφέντης μας έν κι αγαπούμεν τον
κι απ' εκείνον έν καλή η ζωή μας.
Γιατί γύρισες, γιατί βρώμισες;
πε με τι έπαθες, πε με τι έχασες!
(Άι καρδιά μου, άι ψυχή μου!
άι το ετούτο μου, άι το εκείνο μου,
αχ σπίτι μου, αχ στέγη μου!
Αχ θησαυρέ μου, αχ χρυσοπηγή!)
Έλα καλέ μου, έλα σάχη μου·
χαρά δε δίδεις, δος μας άνεμο!
Που διψά πίνει, που πονεί λαλεί·
μηδέν τσάκωσες, καλέ, το γυαλί;

He is our Master and we love him
and because of Him our life is good.
Why have you come back, why did you get dirty?
Tell me what happened to you, tell me what you have lost!
(Oh my heart, oh my soul,
oh my this, oh my that,
ah, my house, ah my shelter!
Ah, my treasure, ah golden spring!)
Come my darling, come my shah,
you give no joy: give us the wind!
Who thirsts, drinks; who hurts, cries out;
darling, have you smashed the glass?

Καλή τύχη απάνω σου, έη αφέντη τσελεμπή,
(μεσάνυχτα στ' όνομά μας την μεγαλοσύνη αναζητάς.)
(Με μαύρα ρούχα και ραβδί γυρίζω σαν) καλόγερος
(και με τουρμπάνι και κοντάρι ξένος γίνομαι άραβας.)
(Είσαι το κάθε τι που είμαι, εμίρη εσύ, εμέθυσες σκληρέ λιονταροπιάστη.)
(Όποια γλώσσα θέλεις μίλα, Χοσρόη, γλυκοχείλη.)
Ήρτε με η αγάπη σου, κάηκα παράταιρα·
(Είσαι του θεού το φως ή μήπως είσαι συ θεός, άγγελος ή προφήτης.)
Καλή μέρα λιγερέ, πώς <εί>στεν, καλά 'στεν;
Άς κλέβεις, τσελεμπή, έμπα έσω, έλα 'δώ.
(Ξεχάσου μια στιγμήν εσύ που έχεις γλυκειά την χάρη.)

Good luck be with you, oh Sir and Master
(at midnight in our name you seek greatness)
(With black clothes and a walking stick I wander like) a monk.
(And with a turban and a pole, I became a stranger, an Arab.)
(You are everything I am, my lord; you're drunk, tough lion-tamer.)
(Speak whatever language you want, sweet-lipped Khusrow.)
Your love has come to me, I am strangely burned.
(Are you God's light, or might you be a god, an angel, or a prophet?)
Good day, my slender one, how are you, are you well?
You can keep stealing, sir, get inside, come here.
(Forget yourself for a moment, you with such sweet grace.)

Rumi's above verses are macaronic with (Persian) and Arabic (which Rumi calls "Saracen" in Greek).

Rumi's verses and Greek & English translations are courtesy of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae.
(TLG) is a research center at the University of California, Irvine.

For an in-depth research paper on Greek poems of Rumi and his son, please visit Greek Verses of Rumi & Sultan Walad

Ποιήματα απο τον Ρουμί

**In Rumi's major work , Dīwān-e Kabīr (Great Work) or Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (The Works of Shams of Tabriz; دیوان شمس تبریزی named in honor of Rumi's master Shams, besides approximately 35000 Persian couplets and 2000 Persian quatrains, it contains 90 Ghazals and 19 quatrains in Arabic, a couple of dozen or so couplets in Turkish (mainly macaronic poems of mixed Persian and Turkish), and 14 couplets in Greek(all of them in three macaronic poems of Greek-Persian).**

The Greek Poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi
http://www.khamush.com

Medieval Sufi masters where Islamic scholars who were well versed with the Koran and the Hadith and frequently quoted from these sources in their speech and writing. They were also imbued with early Islamic mysticism. Nevertheless, they were attacked by orthodox ulemas, accused of heresy and blasphemy, and even subjected to persecution and execution. This was perhaps due to alien ethnic origins of Sufism, with emphasis on love, harmony, and some elements of pantheism versus the rigidity of other orthodox Muslims. Arguments about the roots of Sufism in ancient Indo-Iranian religions (Zoroastrian/Vedanta) are well recorded are not relevant to the present discourse. On the other hand, the Greek influence, which came much later, is attested by Greek poetry of Rumi and his son, Sultan Valad. As the Sufi orders developed, they deviated in many ways from the early Islamic mysticism. Sufi doctrine grew in several stages, enriched by contacts with Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, and even Buddhism. They were also influenced by Greek philosophy, especially the works of Aristotle, which reached them through Islamic philosophers like Avicenna (d. 1037) and Averroes (d. 1198).

When Rumi and his movement were established in Konya, the city was still under the influence of Christianity, and the Greek language was common among communities around the city. Thus the Sufis could not avoid being influenced by the Greek culture and philosophy that were promoted by the Christians. The English orientalist, F.W. Haslucke, describes these situations and states that in a mosque in Konya, that was formerly the St.Amphilochius church, was a tomb that was beloved to be that of Plato and the Muslims in the city had reverence for it and even some considered Plato a prophet*. There are also indications that both the Sufi masters and Saljuq monarchs encourages harmony and friendship between the Sufis and Christians. Much later when the Ottoman Sultans ordered the persecution and massacre of Armenias, Sufis sheltered and saved the lives of some of them. Under these circumstances, we can assume that Rumi and his son knew Greek and wrote the so-called Greek poems. Both Rumi and his son Sultan Valad wrote their poetry and prose primarily in Persian but there are occasional writings, in the orders of frequency, in Arabic, Turkish, and Greek. The Greek verses are mixed with Persian and Arabic lines and Turkish words, and they are written in the Persian/Arabic alphabet! Sultan Valad has more Greek verses, as attested by the following count of the poems in his Rabab Nama.

* Persian: 7,745
Turkish: (Ottoman): 157
Arabic: 35
Greek: 22

The following is a translation of a poem by Rumi in Greek (Ghazal 2264). An earlier literal French translation of these poems with a few misreading and lacunae has been published. The Turkish scholar Abdulbaki Golpinarli has translated these poems into Turkish with the aid of a Greek scholar, Mir Miroghli.The original poems are longer, with most of the lines in Persian. For example Ode 2264 consists of 18 couplets in the Foruzanfar edition of Rumi's Divan of Shams. I am recording here the Greek lines and lines counting Greek phases. According to Miroghli, the Greek language used is that of the common folk in Anatolia at the time of Rumi.

Were are you my master?
The dispenser of benevolence And the moon-faced charmer?
I will say in Sarrazin who I am and who you are.
I came to you, friend
To be sacrificed for love,
And when I saw you
My desires were magnified.
If you give me a glass of wine, I'll be happy.
And if you abuse me, I'll be happy.
My lord, what you desire I desire and I seek.
When I am drunk, listen to my babbling.
O Lord, help me in my chattering!
Where are you Chelabi
Where are you?
Where are you, dear?
Where?
I have abandoned pride and principles, console my heart!