All that the mind possesses is rubbish. It keeps all the worldly things; it is full of all the words and letters. There is a verse which says:

Jahn bola tehn akshar aawa, jahn abol tehn mun na rahawa
Bol abol madhya Hayee joi, jas wahe tas lakhei na koi.

If you go deep into words you will need to understand those letters (aksharas). `Kshar’ means `one that dies’ and `akshar’ means “one that does not die.” Actually, we are not able to reach that true self which `does not die’. So, what should we do? When we speak, we naturally use words and when we are talking, our heart, our spirit gets involved and the spirit does not reach God.

But that supreme power is beyond words and our spirit, our imagination cannot reach that power.

Now, how do we reach out to Him? We cannot reach through words and our mind cannot reach that which is beyond words. So then how do we ever reach there? The mind will not be able to do this; it has a very narrow horizon and it will think of the scriptures the same way as it thinks of this world.

So, Shams says: “You have to come out of this rigmarole of words and reading. Just discard them.” And it is said, the day this incident of dreaming took place Shams picked all of Jalaluddin Rumi’s scriptures and threw them in water. Remember, those scriptures were not printed in any printing press. They were hand written, and the moment they were put in water, they were completely washed off.

At that time Rumi said he did not want to gain any more knowledge. “The knowledge that is taking me away from my God deserves to be burnt. I do not require that knowledge any more. It is this knowledge that has become an obstacle between me and my God. These philosophies, these words, scriptures are all stopping me from reaching my God.”

It was this Rumi who taught a new way of performing Zikr. Zikr that is performed in the standing position! Zikr, in which, for the first time music was used within the four walls of Islam.
Here I would like to tell you about another chain that is in vogue in Turkey. Like the mevlavi chain of Jalaluddin Rumi, there is one more chain in practice. It is a unique practice, followed by some Indian yogis too, and that is, to sit in Zikr after consuming alcohol. Why? It is then that the mind loses its sharpness and becomes less active.

As it is, if someone is troubled and distressed and consumes liquor, he starts feeling better. Who doesn’t have sorrow and troubles in life? Howsoever you may try to tell your mind that this is all a passing phase, it remains concerned about these worldly troubles.

So, these people found their own new way. While Rumi adopted music and poetry, thy adopted the practice of drinking before going in for Zikr. They do take a small drink.

Similarly, many such traditions and customs are followed. In Rumi’s style of Zikr, one keeps standing and then performs the rite in that position only with dum - breath. The way they have learnt to say `La Ilaha…’ with force, similarly, this Zikr is also done with dum; and one name out of ninety names of Allah, i.e. `Al Hayee’ is used. There are two meanings of this word, `Hayee’. One is `He Is’. Just to remind you, it is also one of the ninety nine names.

Sufis keep reciting `La Ilaha Ilallah, La Ilaha Ilallah’. So, somebody asked, “Why don’t you complete it by saying `Mohammad Rasoolallah’?” But they said, “No, only this much is Truth’.” Mohammed sahib conveyed the message to us. Worship, reverence, praise all go in his account. We are really grateful to him. But the real message is just this much and it is sufficient for us.
There is another Sufi who said, “What is the need to utter such a long name? It is sufficient to say just `Allah Allah Allah’. Our life is short, breath is small and this mantra is long. So, it is enough to say just Allah.” So, in this Zikr the name that has been used is `Hayee’. This mantra, Hayee is recited in a standing position and not in the sitting position.

The way it is done is really nice. Eight to ten people stand in a close circle. Keeping one hand on the other, they place it loosely near the stomach. Now, why in this circular manner? The ney is round; our backbone is also round. So, they stand in a circle and recite the mantra. When they speak deeply, all their energies keep getting collected at one place.

When you sit in meditation your body emits a bioelectrical magnetic force, which is normally present in every body. This is one thing. The other thing is the rising of the kundalini from our mooladhara chakra (at the base of the spinal cord). The energy that is produced by its rising has to be stored within our body.

Why is a jute mat or a blanket necessary? So that the energy produced in this manner inside the body is not passed on to the ground. So you keep that mat underneath and then sit on it.
Another outer circle is made in the Zikr of `Hayee’. They all stand in a circle and then say the mantras, that too, with love and with deep breath (dum); and the sound comes from inside, not from the throat.

When this recording of the two types of Zikr was done, that of `hu’ and `La Ilaha Ilallah’, it was alright, but when it came to this `Hayee Zikr’, they could not do it for more than one minute. They said they would fall down as their heads started spinning. When I came to know of this, I went to meet them. I explained everything to them. They just play the instruments and possess knowledge only about them; they have never sat in meditation. It is one thing to play a musical instrument at the time of meditation, but sitting in meditation yourself is an altogether different thing.

I asked one of them, “Have you ever taken drinks?” He said, “Yes, I do take sometimes.” I asked again, “How do you feel when you drink?” He said, “I feel good when I drink. My mind feels light and I feel wonderful.” So I asked him, “If you drink in excess, what would happen then?” He said, “Then my head gets heavy.” I said, “That’s it! When you did this for one minute, the bottle within you got uncorked. You are not aware of the taste of this inner liquor; that is why you felt that your head was spinning. Actually your head is not spinning, you are experiencing the intoxication of that spiritual liquor.”

They seemed to understand. Then I asked them, “Shall we do it now?” They said, “Yes, let’s do it.” So when we took the trial, they enjoyed it. During the rehearsals, new people joined in and when the first take was done, some of the new entrants again sat down with their heads in their hands. They said, “What is this thing, it’s so powerful! In fact it’s dangerous! What is it?” At the time of the final take of the rehearsal, there were about six-seven people. I have seen that when the Zikr of Hayee is performed with dum, it has a unique effect; it gets you in a peculiar state of intoxication.

Always remember, a person who reads one thing here and goes and tells others about it somewhere else can never be a good teacher. Professors in colleges or universities read the syllabus themselves and then go and rattle the same before their students. But whatever we tell you here, we first try it out ourselves before we tell others. We had first conducted research before teaching anybody else. It is like, we plucked the best Sufi flowers from the gardens of Turkey and are now garlanding you with the garland made with those flowers.
Let me remind you, when I had gone to that center, it was extremely cold in Turkey. I wore four sweaters, one on top of the other, and an overcoat; still I was feeling cold. The person who accompanied me was called Refet. He too was a ney player. Refet took me there. Something unusual that I noticed there was that you just need to get introduced to people. After that, you tell them that you want to see a particular thing or meet with a particular person and the response would be positive. All they would say is, “Alright!” They would themselves come, pick you up, treat you to good food and tea, and then even drop you back to your hotel.

This is pure affection. Sufis have said that a seeker should possess three qualities. The first is sijjat, purity of heart and thought; the second is karaamat, i.e. offering, distributing and sharing with others; and the third is humility and affection.

I was taken to the sheikh there. He met me in the Sufi-specific manner, right hand on his heart and head slightly bent. You must know that when a student wishes his teacher, the teacher also bows as much as the student does. Why? Frankly speaking, the sheikh should not bow his head but he still does. He bends his head to say, `God is present in your heart as much as He is in my heart. When you bow your head, it is not for me; it is to that light that is inside me. So my reverence is for the radiance that is within you’.

So, Refet introduced me as a Sufi from India. Then we had several rounds of tea and then started the process of Zikr. They sing Ilahis (composed hymns on mystical texts) together and sing for a long time. Then the Ilahis got over along with the song and the sheikh called out a slogan. This was to convey that the Zikr was going to start now. This being their daily ritual, they needn’t explain it to anybody; so they suddenly got up and started their Zikr.

They were all sitting and, all of a sudden, in that very position, they started with `Hayee’ and then got up one by one. They formed the round circle and in that circle they started calling Hayee with heavy breath. So much energy was produced by this collective Zikr that the whole room was filled with vibrations. That energy generated so much heat despite the cold conditions.

I was not participating that day; I was just a spectator. I had gone there as a guest and was seeing this entire spectacle of Zikr as a spectator, since I had gone to learn and to complete my research.

The most beautiful part is when, during this Zikr of Hayee, the sheikh picks up the duf (tambourine) and goes into the center of the circle. He keeps playing his duf and the sound of `Hayee’ carries on with it. So, when the sheikh played his duf along with the sound of Hayee, and when he himself sang `Hayee-Hayee’, it seemed as though millions of crackers were being burst. The sound and the brilliance together were spectacular!

Actually, what used to happen was, wherever we went we had cameras and other stuff with us. We thought we would record everything. But when we reached there, we would find that things were not as per our requirements. There were some places which had been done up for the sake of tourism by the government, so they often did not have the real thing going there.
Now, one must have the sense to understand what is original and what is an imitation. One would be able to segregate real people from show-masters only if one had that special radar fitted in one’s mind. Unfortunately, whenever we went to the right place, we never had cameras with us, and when we did have the cameras, the place turned out to be dubious. I wish I could record that day’s Zikr, it would have helped me understand it better on viewing it later, repeatedly.

Now, you do not see your faces while meditating. When you sit in meditation, even your faces look very beautiful. The most beautiful faces in this world are of those who meditate. When even the most ugly and foolish person meditates, the beauty of truth gets reflected on his face too. That is why it is said, if one wants to become beautiful, he should start loving and practice meditation. One who meditates is always beautiful. People in Turkey are, as it is, fair complexioned. Most of them seem to have white skins. And when they get down to do Zikr, their faces turn red.

That day, by the time their Zikr got over, it was about two o’clock. I signaled to Refet, “Shall we go? It is two o’clock.” We usually don’t keep awake till very late. We consider two in the night to be the time for demons. But for them, the night is a good time for Zikr. They say, “The night is not for sleeping. It is for doing Zikr.” Great!

One night, Shams and Rumi were sitting on the terrace. The moon was shining in the sky. The whole of Konya village was asleep. Looking at the full bright moon, Shams said, “Jalaluddin, look at the beauty of this shining moon and look at the people sleeping in a state of unconsciousness!” Rumi said, “They are sleeping. We should not wake them up.” Shams immediately reprimanded him affectionately and said, “Rumi, you are a sea of benevolence! Your job is to awaken people, whether they are of Konya, Istanbul or Damascus. Today you have said this but never say it again. It is your duty to wake up people lost in slumber.”

Later, when Shams went into hibernation, the poem that Rumi wrote has found a place in Mathnavi. He says: “I remember the moon that had paled in front of my moon.” He used to call Shams his `moon’. “I remember the moon that had paled in front of my moon because my moon is not a moon; it is a sun. O Shams! Now I suffer remembering those moments when we used to go round and round in that moonlit night and do Zikr.”

Rumi used to say, “I am the earth and Shams, my sun.” Rumi further writes in that poem: “Let me describe that night, the night when the earth and sun danced and gazed at the stars in the sky. I orbited around my sun and my sun revolved around its own self.”

During this whole camp, I have told you about just a few aspects of Zikr. We haven’t discussed the whirling part yet, the way they used to go round. What exactly is that revolving? It has a specific style; it is an art.

So the mantra is `Hayee’. Once again, not from the throat! Rumi’s words are: `Empty yourself from within — like a ney — so that, just as the Prophet kept his lips on one end of the ney and the Almighty’s songs began coming out from the other end, similarly, the ney of your heart be emptied of vanity, His songs begin echoing’. There is pain, suffering and appeal, like in a `sigh!’ in this Zikr.

You have to inhale twice through your mouth — not once, but twice. And then, the way the breath is taken with a deep resonating sigh - Hayee has to be said as though somebody is sighing in pain, in separation. Actually, this sighing is not done deliberately, it just happens.

So, Sufism is the -ism of love, of pain and devotion. Do not just use your tongue. It is a sin to do Zikr by the tongue alone. The pain should arise in the heart and then the heart needs to speak. Your heart needs to call. And in all this appeal coming from the heart, somewhere, somehow, the closed lotus of your heart opens up.