The enrapturing of the sufis by God, or rather the ‘pull’ of God, keeps the sufi continually in spiritual inner dance and movement. Whenever a wave of such Divine rapture strikes the heart of the sufi, it creates turbulence in his or her inner being. This, in turn, causes the body to move. Upon seeing such movement, non-sufis have often supposed that the sufi is dancing. In reality, however, it is the waves of the Ocean of the Truth that are tossing and turning the anchorless vessel that is the heart of the sufi.
Some superficial people have supposed that by dancing one can become Divinely enraptured and reach God. While it is true that all dancing can undoubtedly give one a feeling of intoxication, this kind of dancing is willful. However, sufis in love have no will of their own, and therefore dance involuntarily. Their feet dance upon both worlds, and their hands let go of al the beauty of paradise. They have given up all thought of existence.
Thus, the sufi comes to ‘dance’ only when taken from himself or herself.
- Dr Javad Nurbakhsh
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- New Issue of Sufi Magazine with an article from Yours Truly (mycaravanofdreams.com)
- The Sufi Question (via Darvish) (mycaravanofdreams.com)
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- The Path of Initiation and Discipleship: The Meaning of Initiation by Hazrat Inayat Khan (3) (mycaravanofdreams.com)
