Excerpts from an interview with Cheikha Nur Artiran

[iljas]

"When you pronounce the name Rumi, the only thing that comes to people's minds is the whirling dervishes, nothing else! It is not only the fault of the ignorant in the matter but of those who, pretending to know, do not really fulfill the function they occupy of "masters of the red sheepskin". If educating Man was as important as teaching dervishes how to turn, the situation would be different. By studying Mevlana's biography, we find that he has practiced sama 'at most three or five times in his life. But he based it entirely on Muhammadan ethics."

"There has always been immense interest in Mevlana and her [sic] works in the West and in many other countries. Not everyone who reads his books will evolve spiritually, but at least they are aware of the message and they find peace and serenity. Why should superficial information, lived in imitation, not lead to Truth? Reading, knowing and feeling His Holiness Mevlana and his teachings, even at a superficial level, serves to spread love and compassion all over the world. Rumi said, 'We are there for all that is good, beautiful, and at peace; we are not there for war, violence and anger. We are together, not to separate, but to unite.'"

Translated from the French from https://consciencesoufie.com/le-sama-des-derviches-tourneurs-et-lenseignement-de-rumi-a-lepreuve-du-temps/

[Ibrahim]

Salām Iljas,

There is some mix-up here, due to translations going from Persian to Turkish to French to English. If one looks at the highly accurate translation from Persian to English of Aflākī's Manāqibu 'l-'Arifīn ("The Feats of the Knowers of God" by John O'Kane, 2002), there are numerous stories about Rumi's participation in Samā sessions that involved ecstatic movements inspired by mystical music and poetry. An earlier biography by Sepahsālār states that Shams-i Tabrīzī told Rumi: “Enter into the mystical concert [samā'], for that which you are seeking will become increased in the mystical audition [samā']” (p. 64; also  translated by Lewis, "Rumi: Past and Present", p. 311). It is true that the Mevlevi's followed strict rules for engaging in samā' sessions.

As for the words: "We are together, not to separate, but to unite," the following is the probable origin:

This concerns a quote from Rumi’s well-known story of Moses and the Shepherd: “A revelation came to Moses from God--“You have parted My servant from Me. Did you come (as a prophet) to unite, or did you come to sever? [tō barāy-e waSl-kardan āmad-ī * yā barāy-e faSl-kardan āmad-ī] So far as you can, do not set foot in separation: of (all) things the most hateful to Me is divorce”-- Masnavi 2: 1750-1752

http://www.masnavi.net/1/50/eng/2/1750/

In a book written by the former director of the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Dr. Erdogan Erol (“Mevlânâ’s Life, Works, and the Mevlânå Museum, 2005, p. 7) has prominently placed a quote from Mevlana at the beginning of the book. However, the authentic Persian text has been altered to:

mā barāy-e waSl-kardan āmad-īm *** nah barāy-e faSl-kardan āmad-īm (“We [=I] came for the sake of unifying; we [I] did not come for the sake of separating”)--translated in the English edition:  “I came here to unify not to divide. Mevlânâ”. The context as the words of Moses has been eliminated and a distorted Rumi verse has been created.

Ibrahim

[Christopher Starbuck]

Here is a beautiful and quite remarkable photograph of Shaikha Nur Artiran teaching at Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Holland a couple of years ago, with whom she now holds an annual inter-religious retreat. It shows the depth and reality of tolerance and relationship possible in the Mevlevi spirit. To some at first it may even be a difficult picture, but if you focus on the beauty, both in the image and in the intentions of the people involved, it's profound. We're blessed in the Mevlevi family to have such a teacher and shining beacon as Nur Artiran!

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