Sultan of the Heart

My friend Majid sent me a link to the live Sema from Konya this morning and I am listening to the ceremony on line as I write this.

The sweet sound of the flute and the beginnings of zikr as the chorus joins in is holy music to my ears this snowy Sunday morning.

The snow is funneling down in huge wet flakes this morning but is supposed to turn to rain by noon or thereabouts. I am in my apartment preparing to leave for work but part of me is in another country, another world transported by the music I am hearing, swept up in these elegant devotions that are so ancient.

This year is said to be Rumi’s 800th anniversary and celebrations are still going on all over the globe to honor this famous “Sultan of the Heart”, mystic and poet and author of the Masnavi, a collection of his writings that are the holy book of many in the world these days as his name has now become known to so many.

Thanks to Majid and some other friends of the heart I have had the honor of joining in the musical assembly gathered for the sema and have experienced the whirling dance from the perspective of a musician playing for the semazens (dervishes).

This music brings me back into the sacred circle of praise and joy.

To listen, click on the link below:

http://www.semazen.net/news_detail.php?id=646