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.

The Mystique of Mystics: Spiritual Energy and Sufi Meditation

You can feel the spiritual power of this Sufis dancing in this video. You can feel the energy that emanates from their chanting, their circling, the clapping and pounding.
This kind of ritual is rare in the Muslim world, but still exist in some part of the world.

They are Chechen Sufis as part of a larger group of Sufi brotherhoods. Chechnya is mostly Muslim, and they relate to the Shafi'i school of thought. Their mystical tradition is mixed of muridism (according to Arabic Al-Ma'ani dictionary, murid means adherent or disciple) and in which a Murshid (spiritual teacher or guide) plays a central role in the spiritual journey. Some of Chechen associate themselves with different branches of Sufism. Mainly there are two tariqas (order) in the north of Caucasus region: Naqshbandiyah and the Qadiriyah.

The word that they keep repeating is 'Yahu or Yahoo (which in English means oaf or a lout person),' not the website though, it is an Arabic term and is a pronoun for God. In Hebrew language, it means God. You also here the chant, "La ilaha illallah," which means there is no deity but God.

I shared this video with someone who asked me, "where are the women?"
I wrote back and said: That is a question that can't not be answered so easily. There have been women Sufis but not many, and they were mostly secluded from public gathering like the ones you see in the video. The reason is very obvious. From religious and Sufi point of view anything that is considered distracting, or source of temptation must be avoided. This is a backward belief, which dates back to maybe one thousand years ago, but there are some changes made in recent decades. Let's hope that one day Sufis wouldn't think women as threat to their purifying spiritual endeavor, rather see them naturally a graceful and blissful companions.

Bidel: I Just Recalled my Love

Dew is perished
as soon as the dawn’s veil has taken away
Companion!
I just recalled my love,
au revoir!

Tā sahar bi-parda gardad, shabnam az khod rafta ast
Al-widā' ay ham-nishīnān! delbaram āmad ba yād

تا سحر بی پرده گردد، شبنم از خود رفته است
الوداع ای هم نشینان! دلبرم آمد به یاد

Poem by Mīrzā Abdul-Qādir Bidel

(Trans. Nasim Fekrat, May 26, 2016)

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.

The Path of Humbleness Leads to Perfection

"Bidel, way to honor lies in humbleness
This path, led the new moon to its perfection"

بيدل دليل مقصد عزت تواضع است
زين جاده، ماه نو به جهان كمال رفت

Bidel, dalil-e maqsad-e ezat tawāz‘a ast
zin jādeh, māhi naw ba jahān-e kamāl raft
                                                                 Poem by: Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel                                                                                                                  Translated by Nasim Fekrat

I chose this verse because to remind myself of a humble person that I have met recently in a coffee shop. He was a short man with white beard, probably in his 60s. I can’t remember what sparked a conversation with him but a brief chat with him was worth million moments that I routinely spend in vain.

He was leafing through pages of a new book that he just opened it from its mailing envelope. I asked him the title of the book, he lift up his demure face and told me: “I’m embarrassed to show you the title of the book.”

The book contained a series of scholarly articles inspired by his work and it was published to honor him and his academic research in the field.
For the past few days I have been thinking about him and his humbleness. Today, I came across one of Bidel's poems that says the path to perfection is humbleness, what the old man has been following.

PS: Every Saturday, I plan to translate a poem of Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel, one of the greatest 17th century’s Persian mystic poets.