| The call for love, life, ecstasy and
celebration.
A powerful and ecstatic introduction to the world of
Sufism, which is neither a religion nor an ideology…it
is a vast sky of a particular quality of consciousness…
an ocean of remembrance …a merging with all of
existence…
One becomes a Sufi,
not by belonging to a particular order, but by dropping
from the head to the heart…being filled with love…
We will use different techniques like rhythm, breath,
voice, sound and dance to enter a state of centerdness
, silence, & emptiness…
Zhikr…
(a primary sufi technique, meaning remembrance) takes
us through the different layers of our being, &
bring us in touch with the beloved within.
Sama…Whirling…is
a human reflection of the cosmos, a movement where we
dissolve our selves into existence, & love &
wildness flower into the experience of meditation. In
this Mevlevi Sufi ceremony that symbolizes the union
with existence, we will also explore the beauty of sufi
poetry, with readings from Rumi.
The Sufis..
are an ancient spiritual freemasonry whose origins have
never been traced or dated…
Though commonly mistaken for a Moslem sect, the Sufis
belong to no religion or ideology…rather, all
that is valuable in all religions, flows into Sufism…
However, Islam has offered protection to the Sufis over
the ages.
Sufism is concerned with love…
The beloved is all of existence, & the goal, for
the Sufi, is merging into one -ness…whole-ness…
coming home to the beloved.
Intense , passionate love & a desire to merge with
the beloved…being in harmony with the whole…are
characteristics of the Sufi .
The way is one of love, rejoicing, celebration, &
ecstasy.
Music, Poetry & Dance…have grown out of this
ecstasy.
The Sufis talk of two kinds of love.
One is "muhabbah"…ordinary
love…lukewarm, omentary…without depth or
intensity…
The other is "Ishq"…authentic,
passionate, all consuming,, a fire that burns with total
intensity.
The Sufi alchemy creates "Ishq"…A madness
…A passion that comes from your center, &
propels you to merge with the ultimate…
"Tariqat"…is
the way that the Sufi comes into harmony with the whole.
Two things are basic to the method…
-
The first is Faqr...
simplicity, egolessness, inner emptiness
If you follow Faqr, you slowly dissolve the idea
of separation from existence, and achieve a state
of "Fana" or non being. You disappear…And
then suddenly another state occurs…"Baka"
or being.
A dewdrop must cease to be a dewdrop when it enters
the ocean.
This is Fana.
But the moment the dewdrop enters the ocean, it
becomes the ocean…
This is Baka. Sufism is a bridge between Fana &
Baka.
-
The second is Zhikr…
remembrance…
When you disappear as a person, then presence is
left.
In that presence, remember yourself, remember God…
La illaha ill Allah…
as this resounds within you, dance with it, whirl,
turn, & let this chant fill every cell in your
body. Slowly, something inside you starts to fill
with light, love…& silence...
Sufis call their assemblies "temples
of total ruin"-'kharabat' because you have to die,
you have to disappear, to be there.
When Sufis really meet, there is nobody to meet !!
An assembly of Sufis is a meeting of loving presences.
Sufis honor the body, & search for direct mystical
experiences through raising their energy to ecstatic
, psychedelic heights , without the use of drugs or
alcohol. The only drug is love…the only wine is
love.
Various chants & sounds are used, along with specific
breathing techniques. The sound "Hoo" is a
reference to the divine presence… The sound "ya"
is a plea, an invitation to the divine to enter within…
"Sama,"
or "Sema,"
refers to the ceremonial whirling which symbolizes dissolving
into existence… as well as to the space in which
this ceremony takes place.
One of the greatest Sufi mystics & poets in the
Persian language is Jalaluddin Rumi. "Whirling
Dervish" is the name given to the Sufis who collected
around Rumi,, & who used whirling as the primary
technique for spiritual evolvement.
Rumi's poems have been translated into several languages,
& recited & sung by celebrated artistes around
the world.
Sufis are not bound by any dogma or cult. They have
no sacred city, no monastic organization, no religious
instruments…
"We friends", or "People like us"
is how they refer to themselves, & they recognize
each other by a mutual instinct, which is difficult
to explain.
The natural Sufi may be a peasant, a lawyer, teacher,
housewife, anything.
"To be in the world, but not of it. Free from ambition,
pride, greed, blind obedience to custom"….that
is the Sufi ideal.
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