Everything
in the
universe turns
- planets around a sun, Earth on its axis, the protons,
electrons
and neutrons in our body. The
Whirling Dervish does the Sema (listening, turning) and aligns
with this basic cosmic movement.
Sema
is an active meditation, a prayer
during which a
dervish’s
body can open to channel divine invisible energy. "Dervish"
literally means "doorway" and is thought to be an entrance
from the material world to the spiritual world. In
order to open, the dervish attempts to be empty of ego or
sense of self. Whirling
in place with one symbolic palm
extended upward
to receive and one extended downward to give, the dervish does not
attempt to hold onto energy but to be a vessel for it to pass the onto
the hearts of others. Sema
is an open
secret - the
Whirling Dervish tries to get out of the way to reveal it but as
in any type of
meditation, it is a struggle.
The
origin of the Turkish Sufi Mevlevi whirling ritual, lies
with the
Persian mystic
philosopher and poet Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (1207-1273). It is
said that he began
whirling out of ecstacy after his beloved and teacher Shams
disappeared.
Mevlana's son
founded the Sufi Mevlevi
Dervish
Order in 13th century Anatolia. The Mevlevi's ritualized the practice
of
whirling, but there is strong evidence that the practice of
whirling has even more ancient African roots still alive today. It is
currently practiced
in
Turkey, Canada, U.S., Italy, Spain, Syria,
Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and others.
Each
December, a Rumi festival takes place in the city of Konya, Turkey to
celebrate
Sheb-i-Arus (Mevlana's "Wedding
Night"). It is a rejoicing of Mevlana's passing to spirit and
union with
the
divine. During the festival, there are presentations of Sema and zikr
(Sufi chanting)
is practiced throughout the town. For more information visit mevlana.net
Whirling yields benefits on many
levels:
-Access to
deep states of meditation
-Sensitivity
to others
-States
of ecstacy
-Intense
workout at advanced levels
