Eid with Mirza Bidel

Eid is arriving
everyone is in preparation,
Everyone is taking pleasure
whether rich or poor

But me,
without you,
I look at my state
I see that Ramaḍān is still
ahead of me.

عید آمد و هر کس پی کار خویش است
می نازد اگر غنی وگر درویش است
من بی تو به حال خود نظرها کردم
دیدم که هنوز هم رمضان در پیش است

Eid āmad-o har-kas payī kār khish ast
mināzad agar ghanī wa-gar darwīsh ast
man bi-tu ba hāli khod nazarhā kardam
dīdam ki hanuz ham Ramaḍān dar pish ast

Poet: Mirza Abdul-Qadir Bidel
(Trans. Nasim Fekrat, July 06, 2016)

Ustad Sarahang has sung this lyrics in a very commendably touching sense. Here is the video that you can enjoy listening.

Bidel: We are the messengers of the nothingness

Across ages, we are being amused at expressing worthlessness
and we are the opener of pages of the stories of nothingness
You could expect nothing from us, but name
we are the messengers of the world of nothingness

عمریست که سرگرم ِ بیان ِ هیچیم
طومارگشای  داستان ِ هیچیم
با نامی از آن میان، ز ما قانع باش
ما قاصد ِ پیغام ِ جهان ِ هیچیم

’aumrîst kî sargarm-e bayân-e heechîm
tumâr gushâyee dâstân-e heechim
bâ nâmi az ân mîyân, zi mâ qane’a bâsh
mâ qâsed-e paighâm-e jahân-e heechîm
                                                                      By Mirza Bidel
                                                                     Translated by Nasim Fekrat

The above quatrain reflects the depth of the Buddhism philosophy, and it also shows how Bidel was greatly influenced by Buddhism, and perhaps Hinduism's philosophy of life. There is no wonder to think of Bidel as one of the most modern thinkers and of a sufi poets of our age. He thinks and talks of our age, our meanings of life and he sees and says what we can't.

Bidel: The soft earth reflects the footprints

هرکه رفت از دیده داغی بر دل ما تازه‌ کرد
در زمین نرم نقش پا نمایان می‌ شود

Harkî raft az dîdah dâghe bar dîl-e mâ tâzah kard
dar zamîn-e narm naqsh pâ nomâyân meshawad

whoever left us

ailed us

and left a wound in our heart

like the soft ground 

reflecting the footprints

                                                                       Poem by Mirza Bidel
                                                                      Translated by Nasim Fekrat

Note: this poem was translated a while ago. It was republished on the web without reference. I changed the translation, not for that reason, but because I realized it was not translated accurately.

Bidel: The Paradise That Reflects Your Avarices

O the consumer of the residue of imagination, blessing is something else
You are being vain with illusion; the truth is something else
The paradise that is adorned with gems and gold
reflects your avarice -- the paradise is something else

ای زلـّه کش ِ خیال! نعمت، دگراست
مغرور توهّمی، حقیقت دگر است
خـُلدی که به گوهر و زر آراسته اند
مجموعۀ حرص تست، جنت دگر است
 
Ai zalla-kashî khiyâl, ne’mat digar ast
maghror-e tawahumî, haqîqat digar ast
kholdî ki ba gawhar wa zar ârâsta-and
majmo’aee heers-e tust, janat digar ast
                                                                            Poem by: Mirza Bidel
                                                                           Translated by Nasim Fekrat

Don't Be Bewitched By Your Cupidity

قناعت ساحل امن است افسون طمع مشنو
مبادا کشتي درويش در کام نهنگ افتد

qanā’at sāhīl amn ast afsūn-e tam’a mashnaw
mabādā keshtīyi dervish dar kām-e nahang oftad

Contentment is a safe shore, listen not to be bewitched by cupidity
Lest the dervish’s ship fall prey to the whale.
                                                                                  Poem by: Mirza Bidel
                                                                                 Translated by Nasim Fekrat

Bidel: You cannot quaff the ocean except as a whale

You cannot quaff the ocean except as a whale
You cannot sprint the mountain, unless a tiger
The sea of time and place, for you, is but one gulp 
Limit not your boundless imagination

دریا نکشی، اگر نهنگی نکنی
بر کوه نتازی، ار پلنگی نکنی
یک جرعۀ تست، قلزم ِ کون و مکان
ای حوصلۀ خیال تنگی نکنی

Daryâ nakashî, agar nahangî nakunî
bar kooh natâzî, ar palangî nakunî
yak jur'a-e tust, qulzam-e kown wa makân
ai hawsêla-e khîyâl tangî nakunî                                                 
                                                                          Poem by: Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel
                                                                                   Translated by Nasim Fekrat

The above Rubāʿī  or quatrain is one among many famous Ruba'iyyat of Mirza Bidel. The translation might not be exact and clear enough, but reading the verses and delving into the meaning of images and imaginations that form a complicated concepts of mystical fascination of life which are unique in poetry of Bidel, I tried to remain loyal to the origin of the poems rather than conceptualizing them. After reading Bidel's poems, it has always been an awe-inspiring experience for me to be thrown into another world beyond myself, beyond my routine, and beyond explanation.

Meaning:
The first line: You cannot be the person that you want to be if you do not have the courage to take the risk.
The second line: You cannot survive in the mountains if you are not a tiger. In another way, if you want to survive among many other wild beasts in the mountains, you must be strong like a tiger. Consider your situation in a society where you are surrounded by numerous social traps. These traps can be your social coterie, meretricious decor, styles, marks or social networking sites that could have complete control of your life.
The third line: Here, Bidel, says, if you have the quality of self-control and forbearance, then, a world's ocean would seem a gulp to you, but Bidel lays down a condition in the last line: These are all possible if you are patient enough, that if you possess the power of self-control and most importantly, control over your free will.

Bidel: Humbleness, a Path to Harmony

به هزار کوچه دویده ام، به تسلی نرسیده ام
ز قد خمیده شنیده ام، که چو حلقه شد به دری رسد

Ba hazār kūcha dawīdam-am, ba tasallī narasidam-am
Zī qad khamida shinīda-am, kī chū halqa shud ba darī rasad

Running into thousand of streets, brought me no tranquility
I heard from an elder that the one, who turns to a ring, reaches the door.
                                                                               Poem by: Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel
                                                                                  Translated by Nasim Fekrat

In this poem, Bidel, demonstrates the ultimate humbleness that one should possess if undertaking a journey to reach harmony. He says that he ran through thousands of streets, spent nights and days, and endeavored pain to reward himself with tranquility, and peace. For Bidel, the word ‘tranquility’ is an allusion to the achievement of the reality of the existence; also, it is an insinuation to his beloved one, whoever might be; and finally, ‘tranquility’ is an allusion to his God. Bidel says that life has a meaning, and that meaning is not easily attainable. The significance of the first line’s meaning manifests itself in the second line.

Bidel says I perceived from an old man that the path to harmony is to become a door’s ring. This multifaceted line, at first glance might drive the reader into complete perplexity and wonder. However, it is no wonder when the readers find themselves confused, Bidel has unique style and he has used the most complex and implicitly difficult meanings to extract his imagination of humbleness.

So, to put it an understandably meaningful way, Bidel says that I spent all my life to reach harmony, but I was failed. Then he says: “An old man told me that in order to achieve the state of harmony and tranquil, one should be humble enough.” The word ‘ring’ has a special and an implicit meaning here. Bidel uses ‘ring’ to symbolize the old-age and the U-bend of life. Symbolically and humbly, Bidel pictures himself as a door ring at the gate that he might refer it to God. In another way, Bidel uses ‘ring’ to symbolize bowing; the gesture of humbleness, and obedience to God. Finally, being a ‘ring’ at door that implicitly pictures humbleness is a supreme virtue.

So, what is Bidel’s wisdom for us?
Modesty is the core of success and a path to harmony. Be modest in your clothing, in your talking; do not show off your knowledge and your wealth to others. Demonstrate humbleness and kindness to others, life is short, and at the time you realize you have ran thousands of streets and still running to find harmony, but you cannot, pause and ponder how modest and humble you were.