Maulana Rumi...

[Ꮙℓἇ∂ἇ ኔጡ።]

 

 

Oh Beloved,
take me.
Liberate my soul.
Fill me with your love and
release me from the two worlds.
If I set my heart on anything but you
let fire burn me from inside.

Oh Beloved,
take away what I want.
Take away what I do.
Take away what I need.
Take away everything
that takes me from you.

Tonight is a night of union for the stars and of scattering,
scattering, since a bride is coming from the skies, consisting of a full moon.

Venus cannot contain herself for charming melodies, like the
nightingale which becomes intoxicated with the rose in spring-time.

See how the polestar is ogling Leo;
behold what dust Pisces is stirring up drom the deep!
Jupiter has galloped his steed against ancient Saturn, saying
“Take back your youth and go, bring good tidings!”

Mars’ hand, which was full of blood from the handle of his
sword, has become as life-giving as the sun, the exalted in works.

Since Aquarius has come full of that water of life, the dry
cluster of Virgo is raining pearls from him.

The Pleiades full of goodness fears not Libra and being
broken; how should Aries flee away in fright from its mother?
When from the moon the arrow of a glance struck the heart
of Sagittarius, he took to night-faring in passion for her, like Scorpio.

On such a festival, go, sacrifice Taurus, else you are crooked of
gait in the mud like Cancer.

This sky is the astrolabe, and the reality is Love;
whatever wesay of this, attend to the meaning.

Shamsi-Tabriz, on that dawn when you shine, the dark night
is transformed to bright day by your moonlike face.

 

MAULANA’S LAST LETTER TO SHAMSI

Sometimes I wonder, sweetest love, if you
Were a mere dream in along winter night,
A dream of spring-days, and of golden light
Which sheds its rays upon a frozen heart;
A dream of wine that fills the drunken eye.

And so I wonder, sweetest love, if I
Should drink this ruby wine, or rather weep;
Each tear a bezel with your face engraved,
A rosary to memorize your name…

There are so many ways to call you back-
Yes, even if you only were a dream.

how long
can I lament
with this depressed
heart and soul

how long
can I remain
a sad autumn
ever since my grief
has shed my leaves

the entire space
of my soul
is burning in agony

how long can I
hide the flames
wanting to rise
out of this fire

how long can one suffer
the pain of hatred
of another human
a friend behaving like an enemy

with a broken heart
how much more
can I take the message
from body to soul

I believe in love
I swear by love
believe me my love

how long
like a prisoner of grief
can I beg for mercy

you know I’m not
a piece of rock or steel
but hearing my story
even water will become
as tense as a stone

if I can only recount
the story of my life
right out of my body
flames will grow..

~Rumi

 

 

The Ceremony

Whoever has heard of me, let him prepare to come and see me;
whoever desires me, let him search for me.
He will find me – then let him choose none other than I.
Shamsuddin of Tabriz

The steps of the way to union with the Divine are performed according to strict rules. Within a circle the sheikh stands at the “post”. It is the highest spiritual position, marked by a red rug indicating the direction of Mecca. Red is the colour of union and of the manifested world. The musicians’ platform faces. There are 24 colour of union and of the manifested world. The musicians’ platform faces the sheikh; the whirling dervishes take their places to his left.

The N’aat, a poem of praise to the Prophet, opens the ceremony. It is followed by a recitation from the Qur’an. The kudums (drums) then break the silence to introduce the flute solo that conveys the yearning for the union with God. The next step is the Sultan Veled Walk when the dervishes, following the sheikh, circle the hall three times, stopping to bow to each other at the “post”.

The first selam (salutation) introduces the dance: the dervish obtains his permission to whirl by kissing the hand of the sheikh. The master of the dance directs him to his position: As the musicians play and the chorus chants, the sheikh stands at the “post” and the dervishes unfold and turn repeating their inaudible “Allah, Allah, Allah. . .” This part of the ceremony lasts approximately ten minutes and is repeated four times. At the fourth selam the sheikh joins the whirling. He represents the centre (the sun); the dervishes represent the orbiting planets turning around him and around themselves in the solar system of Rumi.

The Ceremony is concluded by the recitation of the Fatiha, the opening chapter of the Qur’an, followed by a prayer to Mowlana and Shamsuddin of Tabriz. All dervishes then join in chanting the “Hu” which is the all-embracing Name of God, the One.

What is to be done, O Moslems? for I do not recognize myself.
I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem.
I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea;
I am not of Nature’s mint, nor of the circling’ heaven.
I am not of earth, nor of water, nor of air, nor of fire;
I am not of the empyrean, nor of the dust, nor of existence, nor of entity.
I am not of India, nor of China, nor of Bulgaria, nor of Saqsin
I am not of the kingdom of ‘Iraqian, nor of the country of Khorasan
I am not of the this world, nor of the next, nor of Paradise, nor of Hell
I am not of Adam, nor of Eve, nor of Eden and Rizwan.
My place is the Placeless, my trace is the Traceless ;
‘Tis neither body nor soul, for I belong to the soul of the Beloved.
I have put duality away, I have seen that the two worlds are one;
One I seek, One I know,One I see, One I call.
He is the first, He is the last, He is the outward, He is the inward;
I know none other except ‘Ya Hu’ and ‘Ya man Hu.’
I am intoxicated with Love’s cup, the two worlds have passed out of my ken ;
I have no business save carouse and revelry.
If once in my life I spent a moment without thee,
From that time and from that hour I repent of my life.
If once in this world I win a moment with thee,
I will trample on both worlds, I will dance in triumph for ever.
O Shamsi Tabriz, I am so drunken in this world,
That except of drunkenness and revelry I have no tale to tell.

From Divan-i Shams

[MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA]

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