They whirl and whirl, with right palm up (to receive blessings from God) and left palm down (to transfer said blessings to the earth), in conical hats and white clothing! Do you love them? Desire to whirl along? Have you seen them? Say!
http://www.sln.org.uk/re/images/whirlingDervish/dervish16bw.jpg
― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Friday, 9 September 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)
Get this: they typically whirl for 10 MINUTES, then break to kneel. Repeat 4x.
Could you manage it?
― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Friday, 9 September 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)
They are actually stationary. They are making the world whirl around them: that's what's so incredible.
― moley, Friday, 9 September 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)
i'd whirl, but then i'd be dizzy.
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Friday, 9 September 2005 23:07 (twenty years ago)
I'm kind of interested in this! I just read somewhere that they actually plant one foot and don't move it, apparently they're serious about this because sometimes a nail is driven between the big toe and the next one, so that the foot spins in place around the nail. Anyway, they cross the free foot over and pivot, cross and pivot, repeat for however long. Must require really good balance and centered posture.
I'd get dizzy and puke.
― Laurel, Friday, 9 September 2005 23:28 (twenty years ago)
Following a recommended fast of several hours, Sufi whirlers begin with hands crossed onto shoulders and may return their hands to this position if they feel dizzy. They rotate on their left feet in short twists, using the right foot to drive their bodies around the left foot. The left foot is like an anchor to the ground, so that if the whirler loses his or her balance, he or she can think of their left foot, direct attention towards it and regain balance back.
The whirling is done on the spot in an anticlockwise direction, with the right arm held high, palm upwards, and the left arm held low, palm downwards. People who feel discomfort from whirling anti-clockwise can change to clockwise. The body of the whirler is meant to be soft with eyes open, but unfocused so that images become blurred and flowing. A 15 minute period of slow rotation is followed by a gradual build up of speed over the next 30 minutes. Then the whirling takes over.
When the whirler is whirling so fast that he or she cannot remain upright, his or her body will fall by itself. The whirler does not consciously make the fall a decision or attempt to arrange the landing in advance; if his or her body is soft he or she should land softly—and the earth will absorb the energy. If the idea of letting oneself fall is too much for the practitioner then the whirler should allow his or herself to slow down very slowly. If the whirler has been whirling for an hour then the process of slowing down might take some time—even 10 minutes or more.
Once the whirler has fallen, the second part of the meditation starts—the unwhirling. The whirler rolls onto his or her stomach immediately so that his or her bare navel is in contact with the earth. If anybody feels strong discomfort lying this way, he should lie on his back. The practitioner feels his or her body blending into the earth, like a small child pressed to his mother's breasts. Eyes remain closed and the whirler remains passive and silent for at least 15 minutes. After the meditation whirlers try to be as quiet and inactive as possible.
― wikichecker, Friday, 9 September 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)
Total classic, see also Rumi's poetry.
― Sufian Tiger, Saturday, 10 September 2005 06:47 (twenty years ago)
A man local to me is a Sufi and dresses like that guy in the photo.
― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 10 September 2005 06:51 (twenty years ago)
i saw dervishes in pakistan in december, asim took me to see this amazing drummer guy called papu sains (i am 100% sure that's not how you're meant to spell it) and there were dervishes there. fincredible. totally classic.
― emsk ( emsk), Saturday, 10 September 2005 10:36 (twenty years ago)
two years pass...