We celebrated the day in three stages. in the morning, we practiced our turning. Thjs week we have had several hours of lessons and practice time in the Sema ritual of the whirling dervishes. A few of us are now able to turn for a few minutes in a relaxed and graceful way without dizziness.
After lunch, we went two hours early to the tomb of Mevlana Rumi for the 4 pm service of recitation in his honor. We were prepared for a crush of people seeking to be in Mevlana's presence on this holy day, either to pass by the tomb and museum or to remain inside for the service. It was not a place for those uncomfortable in crowds! Those of us who have attended very crowded general-seating rock concerts had to use all the survival skills we learned at those events to crowd our way into the tomb.
People were generally polite and as graceful as possible in an uncomfortable situation. Ibrahim Baba led the way in. His stature ( and height) means that he remains visible as people defer to him and he moves ahead more quickly than we do. Soon our group is spread out. Some of us find places to sit or stand near Baba, and others are elsewhere jn the tomb and museum.
During our two hour wait, we sat in meditation, read Rumi's poetry aloud, and interacted with those around us. Kathleen had a particularly vivid experience that she wanted to recount:
"Once inside the tomb, the sounds of the ney (a flute like instrument) were piped in; a lovely haunting melody that blended with the low murmur of the crowd. I started rocking back and forth to the music. I wasn't thinking of anything in particular, had no feelings that I could identify, when suddenly, I found myself weeping. Not just sniffling, but tears rolling out of my eyes, and dripping on the ground. Rather than try to hold them back, I just let them come. I wept for what seemed like a long time, when the man standing beside me, who was the translator for a sheykh who spoke at a previous zikkr, said: "tears mean that that you are accepted here..." in other words, he was saying that whoever sheds tears at the Mevlani wedding night is a gift to Mevlana (Rumi) and that the gift has been accepted. I had not anticipated such an emotional response; nor had I remember feeling so moved before a service had actually begun!!
In the Sufi tradition, tears are a way for the heart to be cracked open, like a cardamon seed, in order to release it's fragrance and essence. The power of the presence of all those pilgrims, standing patiently side by side to pay homage to Rumi was intensely moving.
Wayne continues: After the recitation service, we made our way out slowly, partly because of the crowd and partly because people recognize Ibrahim Baba as a sheykh, and want to receive a blessing or ask for a photograph with him. He moves graciously through this spiritual rock star attention unfamiliar to religious leaders in America.
The third stage of our Shebi-Arus celebration was our final evening of Zikr in Konya. This one started at 8 pm and continued until 4 AM, with peak attendance and a very very crowded room at about 10. We left around midnight, after two rounds of singing, chanting, reciting, praying and dancing in various degrees of intensity.
Walking home to our hotel, we both agreed, it was a wedding we would never forget!
Location:Konya, Turkey
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