Insights from Sufi Poet Molana Rumi “ The messenger of God”
هدهد خندان باغ را خندان کند / صحبت جانانه از جانان کند
دل مده الا به مهر دلخوشان / مهر پاکان در میان جان نشان
مولانا
“The laughing “ Hoopoe bird “ will make the whole garden shine in laughter.
She will speak the spoken words of the beloved.
Do not give your heart to anyone but the one coming from the circle of lovers.
Put only the love of the pure hearted ones in your soul.” Molana Rumi
Namaste my beloved soul friend,
Few months ago in the Summertime, as I was walking in the garden I noticed this beautiful bird right in front of me! I took her picture right away as I had my phone in my hand to send a message to a group of my students from my” Dance Of No Name” training.
She just sat there for some time with me then went back and left a black and white feather on the ground which I kept on my altar as a reminder that the universe reveals always its secrets if we open our hearts to it…
I called it my Joy messenger as beloved Molana Rumi is saying it beautifully in his poem…
Yes! It was a Hoopoe bird…
In the Sufi culture and poetry the Hoopoe bird called “ Hod Hod” is a very sacred bird and it is called “ The messenger of God”.
It represents the Sufi master who guides the disciples along the path to God.
A Persian Sufi Poet of 12th Century ( Farid-din-Attar) Or Attar Neishaboori, wrote a beautiful story in his masterpiece called ( Mantegh-al-Teyr) about the pilgrimage of the birds to reach to the ultimate bird representing ( God ) called “ Si-Morgh”. In Farsi the meaning of the word ( Si-Morgh) is 30 birds. But the word itself is similar to the mythical bird in ancient Greek called phoenix .
In the story, The Hoopoe steps out and recommends the birds to embark on a journey to meet “ Simorgh”. He guides them throughout the journey and they have to pass through a 7 gates called “ The seven valley of Love ” in Farsi language : ( Haft Shahre Eshgh).
A large part of the poem is the conversation between each bird and Hoopoe, addressing each bird’s concern and excuse along the way.
Among thousands of birds by the end only 30 remain who pass through the Seven gates and reach to the last valley to meet the Simorgh.
The Seven valleys are represented as :
1. Valley of the Quest (Talab) :
where the wayfarer begins by putting aside all dogma, belief, and unbelief.
2. Valley of Love (Eshgh ):
where reason is abandoned for the sake of love.
3. Valley of understanding ( Marefat) :
where worldly knowledge becomes utterly useless. To know god by all your heart.
4. Valley of Detachment (Esteghna) :
where all desires and attachments to the world are given up. Here, what is assumed to be “reality” vanishes.
5. Valley of Unity ( Tohid ) :
where the wayfarer realizes that everything is connected and that the Beloved is beyond everything, including harmony, multiplicity, and eternity.
6. Valley of Astonishment ( Heirat ):
where, entranced by the beauty of the Beloved, the wayfarer becomes perplexed and, steeped in awe, finds that he or she has never known or understood anything.
7. Valley of Nothingness ( Faghr va Fana) :
where the self disappears into the universe and the wayfarer becomes timeless, existing in both the past and the future.
When in the valley of Unity, the Hoopoe talk about the Lovers who have become ONE.
“ When you are me and I am you, what use is it to talk of us two?
All tak of two implies plurality
When two have gone there will be UNITY.”
The same concept of unity also “Molana Rumi “ talks about :
“You and I should live as if you and I never heard of a you and an I”
By the end of Attar’s poem , as the 30 birds reach the seventh valley, who after looking at their own reflection on the lake realized that the “ Si-Morgh” was actually the circle of them all together.
And as Attar explains in his poem :
“God doesn’t exist in the form of some external substance or separately from the universe, He reflected in the summation of all that exists. “
“We are what we seek”
Going back to Molana’s poem we started with :
“The laughing “ Hoopoe bird “ will make the whole garden shine in laughter.
She will speak the spoken words of the beloved.
Do not give your heart to anyone but the one coming from the circle of lovers.
Put only the love of the pure hearted ones in your soul.” Molana Rumi
When you are in the path of Love , you pass through many phases, but look at the signs, purify your heart and keep shining your light as there is an immense Joy when you surrender your heart to the beloved.
And protect your heart. Find the community of Lovers through whom you will recognize the Beloved and like the Simorgh, you will all reflect the Love of the divine through your pure hearted and shining souls…
Life has always it’s challenges, ups and downs but you choose where your attention goes.
There is always light at the end of a tunnel , but in the middle when you don’t see the light and are surrounded by darkness, remember that the light is in you and by focusing on the light , shine your light to illuminate your way toward it…
And
When we reach the ocean of beloved’s delight we are all one!
We are all Love.
Love is what we are made of and Love is what will remain of Us…
With LOVE to all you my beloved soul friends…
May your garden of heart be filled with laughter and may your souls shine in the lights of Love…
Nobieh
www.nobiehkiani.com