The Case for Joy

Some travel-buys come to mean a lot later, than when the impulse manifested. This particular tile representing the magical ritual of the Sufi swirl, has become one such special one N picked up on his trip to Istanbul. It makes a strong case for reaching deeper into the source for true Joy and abandon of the Ego in the search. It made perfect sense thus to make it a part of a more permanent fixture at home, a beautifully wood crafted shelf that hosts some other stories too! 

Sufi whirling (or Sufi spinning) is a form of Sama or physically active meditation which originated among Sufis, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. It is a customary dance performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes (also called semazens) aim to reach the source of all perfection, or kemal. This is sought through abandoning one's nafs, egos or personal desires, by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning one's body in repetitive circles, which has been seen as a symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the sun. As explained by Sufis.

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