Masnavi

Suleyman Dede, 1976.

Dervish teaching tales defy single interpretations. Stories are told and then discussed in sohbet (the gathering of the dervishes for conversation). There are three (stock) characters in the story found at Masnavi, Bk. I, 2161-2198: God, God’s Caliph, and a wandering troubadour of love. The scene (a graveyard) is also quite common. Some of the themes for contemplation include: the relation between the lover and the Beloved; wealth and poverty; power and weakness; insight (gnosis); mortality; faithfulness and infidelity; mindfulness and distraction.

The Masnavi is one tale like this after another, continually interrupted with digressions, asides, songs of praise, open-ended questions, admonitions to silence, and more. It is known throughout the world as “the Qur’an in Persian.” It is sung and sets people to whirling counterclockwise—the great unraveling.

God bless Coleman Barks, but he does not do Mevlana justice.