Please my friends, come and enjoy with me the Persian Arts !!!

In many ways all Persian art work springs from and works toward the reunification of man with God. The Persian belief in the ability of the arts, and music in particular, to effect the soul is seen in ancient myths pertaining to the creation of the world and humankind. It is believed that the sound of the heavenly orbs and creation resonates through living beings, and that Adam's soul was tempted to enter his body by the music that angles created therein sama. Furthermore, Sufis for example believe that their music reflects the first words of God which elicited such ecstasy when Adam first heard them. Lastly, it is said (by the sage, Ikhwan-al-safa) that the musical system revealed to Pythagoras was meant to allow the recreation of the music of the heavenly orbs by mankind. Thus, the soul, creation, and music are intertwined.
The ultimate goal of Sufi aesthetics, is, of course, the attainment of hal, an ethereal status of the soul which can not be described by words. I can only say that it is the slight alleviation of the angst ridden yearning of the soul for a return to its place of birth, a reunification with the celestial body.

Also inherent in the aesthetics is the belief that ours is but an imperfect reflection of the archetypal world consisting of the most unfathomably perfect reality. Music, poetry, and the related forms of poetic expression, illumination and calligraphy are in themselves and in their aims, a means of catching a glimpse of this perfection.
There are thus many spiritual relationships between music and poetry. Many formal relationships also exist between the two modes of expression. For example, poems are composed of self-sufficient double-verses (beyts), while dastgahs are composed of more or less autonomous gushes. Also, as Hafez once said, "Writing poetry is like stringing random pearls " ....... more

The classical music of Iran is based on the Radif, which is a collection of old melodies that have been handed down by the masters to the students through the generations. Over time, each master's own interpretation has shaped and added new melodies to this collection, which may bear the master's name.
The preservation of these melodies greatly depended on each successive generations' memory and mastery, since the interpretive origin of this music was expressed only through the oral tradition. To truly learn and absorb the essence of the Radif, many years of repetition and practice are required. A master of the Radif must internalize the Radif so completely to be able to perform any part of it at any given time.
Classical singing in Persian music is very pensive and florid at the same time. Based on ancient poetic texts, the singer brings out the sentiment of the music with vocal inflections. Often described as "melancholy," it is not sad but pensive or mystic (which outsiders often perceive of as sadness). To help us understand this pensive or mystic aesthetic, the following passage, written by Iranian musicologist Homaz Farhat, is useful:
It is a common tendency to label Persian music...as extremely melancholy. Although such judgements are based entirely on personal impressions, it is this writer's belief that if a single adjective describes the emotional quality of Persian music, it is not melancholy. To one who is able to understand the subtleties of this refined art, its spiritual effects seem to transcend such common worldly experiences as sadness or joy. Just as much of the poetry and other fine arts of Persia convey a profound feeling in which all human emotions and thoughts are blended into one, Persian music, as a whole, appears unconcerned with isolated expressions. Perhaps the not altogether lucid adjective mystic is best suited to describe the essence of Persian music.
The singer "has to learn how to improvise with talent in a spontaneous way so that like an accomplished orator, he can express what he feels effortlessly…" and that "Poetry is regarded so highly by Iranians" that the singer "must choose the poems he will sing with great taste, for the most popular singers are those who choose the most beautiful lines, those expressing the most profound thoughts."

The music of this region is usually performed by small ensembles of variable sizes. These groups typically consist of a singer or two, accompanying melodic instruments that are either stringed or reed (kamanche, tar, santur, setar, or ney), and sometimes a rhythmic instrument that is drum-like (tombak or daf). Even though they have unique sounds, these instruments are intertwined in the ensemble to maintain a monophonic texture.
The rhythmic patterns in classical Persian music are kept simple, but the tempo is usually rapid. Performances can transport the listener and performer to another level of consciousness with the music’s repetitive beat. From the progression of the songs, listeners are taken from their everyday concerns to a mystical realm where they are free to contemplate spirituality.
Links:
Wikipedia-Music of Iran
Beyound the Veil: Persian Traditional Music
Chamber Society: Iranien Classical Music
Master Musicians

The Sufi phenomenon is not easy to sum up or define. The Sufis never set out to found a new religion, a mazhab or denomination. They were content to live and work within the framework of the Moslem religion, using texts from the Quran much as Christian mystics have used to Bible to illustrate their tenets. Their aim was to purify and spiritualize Islam from within, to give it a deeper, mystical interpretation, and infuse into it a spirit of love and liberty. In the broader sense, therefore, in which the word religion is used in our time, their movement could well be called a religious one, one which did not aim at tying men down with a new set of rules but rather at setting them free from external rules and open to the movement of the spirit.
This religion was disseminated mainly by poetry, it breathed in an atmosphere of poetry and song. In it the place of great dogmatic treatises is taken by mystical romances, such as Yusuf and Zuleikha or Leila and Majnun. Its one dogma, and interpretation of the Moslem witness: 'There is no god by God', is that the human heart must turn always, unreservedly, to the one, divine Beloved.
Who was the first Sufi? Who started this astonishing flowering of spiritual love in Lyrical poetry and dedicated lives? No one knows.
Early in the history of Islam, Moslem ascetics appeared who from their habit of wearing coarse garments of wool (suf), became known as Sufis. But what we now know as Sufism dawned unheralded, mysteriously, in the ninth century of our ear and already in the tenth and eleventh had reached maturity. Among all its exponents there is no single one who could be claimed as the initiator or founder.
Sufism is like that great oak-tree, standing in the middle of the meadow: no one witnessed its planting, no one beheld its beginning, but now the flourishing tree speaks for itself, is true to origins which it has forgotten, has taken for granted.
There is a Sufi way, a Sufi doctrine, a form of spiritual knowledge known as 'irfan or ma'rifat, Arabic words which correspond to the Greek gnosis.
Sufism has its great names, its poet-preachers, its 'saints', in the broad, irenical sense in which the word can be used. Names Maulana Rumi, Ibn al 'Arabi, Jami, Mansur al Hallaj are household words in the whole Islamic world and even beyond it.
Has it a future? Perhaps we may say that if, in the past, its function was to spiritualize Islam, its purpose in the future will be rather to make possible a welding of religious thought between East and West, a vital, ecumenical commingling and understanding, which will prove ultimately to be, in the truest sense, on both sides, a return to origins, to the original unity.
When one speaks of the Sufis as 'mystics', one does not necessarily mean to approve all their teaching or all their methods, nor indeed, admit the genuineness of the mystical experiences of this or that individual. But whatever one's preconceptions or reservations, it is difficult, after a careful study of their lives and writings, not to recognize a kingship between the Sufi spirit and vocabulary and those of the Christian saints and mystics ......... more
Links:
Western Encounters with Persian Sufi Literature
Iranian Sufism
Growing popularity of Sufism in Iran
What is problem of Sufis in Iran?
Iranian Sufi Leader's Arrest Roils Supporters

Agra
The Taj Mahal is the most extravagant monument built for eternal enduring love. It is India's most famous tourist attraction. Taj Mahal is a mausoleum known for its reflective pond leading to the fabulous monument. Completed in 1653, it was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. It was completed in 22 years, employed twenty thousand workers and was designed by the Iranian architect Istad Usa. Revered for its grace and detailed beauty, the Taj Mahal is considered to be the zenith of Indo-Persian architecture and the elaborate marble designs are inlaid with semi-precious stones such as jade, crystal, Turquoise and coral. The changing light and shadows affect the colour and patterns of the Taj Mahal. The Taj is pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines.
Links:
Islamic Architecture: The Taj Mahal

Isfahan
Imam Mosque
This outstanding blue tile covered mosque is the trademark of Isfahan. Previously called The Masjid-i-Shah (King's Mosque). This magnificent tile work takes a different shade according to the light condition. The mosque has built in an angle to face toward Kaba (Mecca). Has a main double layered dome (54 m high, 178') with twin minarets (42 m high, 138'). When you look at it from the courtyard, the minarets look taller than dome.
It was built over a period of 26 years by Shah Abbas I (Safavid Period) in the early 17th century. Great tile work, calligraphy, complex molding and perfect use of color make it worthwhile to visit.
The inner courtyard is surrounded by four halls. Underneath the dome, you see a few black paving stones, when stamped on you create seven clear echoes (go ahead and try it). In the courtyard look for the stone which shadow tells when noon is for prayer time.
Isfahan Pictures

Samarkand
Registan Mosque
The historic town of Samarkand is a crossroad and melting pot of the world's cultures. Founded in the 7th century BC as ancient Afrasiab, Samarkand had its most significant development in the Timurid period from the 14th to the 15th centuries. The major monuments include the Registan Mosque and madrasahs, Bibi-Khanum Mosque, the Shakhi-Zinda compound and the Gur-Emir ensemble, as well as Ulugh-Beg's Observatory.

So I entered the place where I usually prayed and mindful of the words of the holy man I began to say, "Holy God". At once I was so greatly moved to tears and loving desire for God that I would be unable to describe in words the joy and the delight I then felt. I fell prostrate on the ground, and at once I saw, and behold, a great light was immaterially shining on me and seized hold of my whole mind and soul, so that I was struck with amazement at the unexpected marvel and I was, as it were, in ecstasy. Moreover I forgot the place where I stood, who I was, and where and could only cry out, 'Lord, have mercy,' so that when I came to myself I discovered I was reciting this. But who it was that was speaking, and who moved my tongue, I do not know - only God knows.

Saint Symeon the New Theologian (Philokalia)

I felt as if my heart were being squeezed like a wet towel. I was overpowered with a great restlessness and a fear that it might not be my lot to realize Her in this life. I could not bear the separation from Her any longer. Life seemed to be not worth living. Suddenly my glance fell on the sword that was kept in the Mother's temple. I determined to put an end to -my -life. When I jumped -up like a madman and seized it, suddenly the blessed Mother revealed Herself. The buildings with their different parts, the temple, and everything else vanished from my sight, leaving no trace whatsoever, and in their stead I saw a limitless, infinite, effulgent Ocean of Consciousness. As far as the eye could see, the shining billows were madly rushing at me from all sides with a terrific Poise, to swallow me up! I was panting for breath. I was caught in the rush and collapsed, unconscious. What was happening in the outside world I did not know; but within me there was a steady flow of undiluted bliss, altogether new, and I felt the presence of the Divine Mother.

Ramakrishna

Divine love (bhakti) is of the nature of nectar (amrit), gaining which, one becomes perfect, divine, and contented; and having gained which, a man has no further desire.
... It is impossible to describe the nature of divine love precisely; one Is in the same predicament as a mute person asked to describe the taste of sugar. That inherent love may arise at any time or in any place within one who is fit to receive it. It has no distinctive characteristics, except that it is free of selfish motive. It is an extremely subtle inner experience of all-pervading Unity.
... Once that divine love is obtained, one looks only to that, one speaks only of that, and one contemplates only that, It is easily recognized; love requires no proof outside of itselfit is its own proof. It appears in the form of inward peace and supreme happiness. One who has attained it has no anxiety about worldly struggle; he has completely surrendered himself, the world, and everything to the Lord.

Bhakti Sutras

He is super-essentially exalted above created things, and reveals Himself in His naked Truth to those alone who pass beyond all that is pure or impure, and ascend above the topmost altitudes of holy things, and who, leaving behind them all divine light and sound and heavenly utterances, plunge into the Darkness where truly dwells, as the Oracles declare, that ONE who is beyond all.
That divine Darkness is the unapproachable light in which God dwells. Into this Darkness, rendered invisible by its own excessive brilliance and unapproachable by the intensity of its transcendent flood of light, come to be all those who are worthy to know and to see God.
We pray that we may come unto this Darkness which is beyond light, and without seeing and without knowing, to see and to know That which is above vision and above knowledge.

Dionysius the Areopagite

If the light of a thousand Suns suddenly arose in the sky, that splendor might be compared to the radiance of the supreme Spirit. And Arjuna saw in that radiance the whole universe in its infinite variety, standing in one vast Unity as the body of God.

Bhagavat Gita

Whosoever finds (Love), finds Nothing and All Things; that is also certain and true. But how finds he Nothing? Why, I will tell thee how. He that findeth it, findeth a Supernatural Supersensual Abyss, which hath no Ground or Byss to stand on, and where there is no Place to dwell in; and he findeth also Nothing is like unto it, and therefore it may fitly be compared to Nothing; for it is deeper than any Thing, and is as Nothing with Respect to All Things, forasmuch as it is not comprehensible by any of them. And because it is Nothing respectively, it is therefore free from All Things; and is that only Good, which a Man cannot express or utter what it is; there being Nothing to which it may be compared, to express it by.

Jacob Boehme

When I am in that darkness I do not remember anything about anything human, or the God-man, or anything which has a form. Nevertheless, I see all and I see nothing. As what I have spoken of withdraws and stays with me, I see the God-man. He draws my soul with great gentleness and he sometimes says to me: "You are I and I am you." I see, then, those eyes and that face so gracious and attractive as he leans to embrace me. In short, what proceeds from those eyes and that face is what I said that I saw in that previous darkness which comes from within, and which delights me so that I can say nothing about it. When I am in the God-man my soul is alive. And I am in the God-man much more than in the other vision of seeing God with darkness. The soul is alive in that vision concerning the God-man. The vision with darkness, however, draws me so much more that there is no comparison. On the other hand, I am in the God-man almost continually. It began in this continual fashion on a certain occasion when I was given the assurance that there was no intermediary between God and myself. Since that time there has not been a day or a night in which I did not continually experience this joy of the humanity of Christ.

Angela of Foligno

O grandeur of ineffable glory! O excess of love! He Who embraces all things makes His home within a mortal corruptible man, He by Whose indwelling might all things are governed, and the man becomes as a woman heavy with child. O astonishing miracle and incomprehensible deeds and mysteries of the incomprehensible God! A man carries God consciously within himself as light, carries Him Who has brought all things into being and created them, including the one who carries Him now. He carries Him within as a treasure inexpressible, unspeakable, without quality, quantity, or form, immaterial, shapeless, yet with form in beauty inexplicable, altogether simple, like light, Him Who transcends all light. And, clenching his hands at his sides, this man walks in our midst and is ignored by everyone who surrounds him. Who can then adequately explain the joy of such a man? Will he not be more blessed and more glorious than any emperor? Than whom, or than how many visible worlds, will he not be more wealthy? And in what shall such a man ever be lacking? Truly, in no way shall he lack any of God's good things.

Saint Symeon the New Theologian (Philokalia)

Hitherto I had frequently seen a light, at times within, when my soul had enjoyed calmness and peace. At times it appeared to me externally, from afar, or even it was completely hidden, and by its hiddenness caused me the unbearable pain of thinking I would not see it again. But when I lamented and wept and displayed complete solitude and obedience and humility it appeared to me again. It was like the sun as it penetrates through the thickness of mist and gradually shows itself a gently glowing sphere. Thus Thou, the ineffable, the invisible, the impalpable, the immovable, who always are everywhere present in all things and fillest everything, at all times, or if I may say so, by day and by night, art seen and art hidden. Thou goest away and Thou comest, Thou dost vanish from sight and Thou suddenly appearest. So bit by bit Thou didst scatter the darkness that was within me; Thou didst dispel the mist and dissolve the thickness; Thou didst clean the dim eyes of my intellect. Thou didst remove the barriers of my eyes and didst open them; Thou tookest away the veil of insensitivity. At the same time Thou didst put to sleep all passion and every fleshly pleasure and totally expel them from me. Having thus brought me to this state Thou didst clear the heaven of every mist. By "the heaven" I mean the soul Thou hast cleansed in which Thou comest invisibly (how or from whence I know not). Thou who art everywhere present art suddenly found and manifested like another sun. O ineffable condescension!

Saint Symeon the New Theologian (Philokalia)

The guarding of the intellect may appropriately be called light-producing, lightning-producing, light-giving and fire-bearing, for truly it surpasses endless virtues, bodily and other. Because of this, and because of the glorious light to which it gives birth, one must honour this virtue with worthy epithets… {Those who have become contemplatives} bathe in a sea of pure and infinite light, touching it ineffably and living and dwelling in it. They have tasted that the Lord is good.

Saint Hesychios the Priest (Philokalia)

When certitude about God Most High does occur in the heart…the heart becomes tranquil through the Majesty of God; then it abstains from what is other-than-God. So, it stands weak and is compelled to cry out to God for help. Then He who responds to the necessitous when they cry out to Him, responds to it. That radiant light settles into the heart and the darkness of preoccupation with what is other-than-God is extinguished therewith. Then the reality of the Realm (al-Malakut) becomes visible to it, and that is what Harithah meant when he said to the Messenger of God: "It is as if I see the Throne of my Lord distinctly." And the Messenger of God said, "The Light of God Most High is faith in one's heart."

Ibn' Ata' Allah

When the latent treasure of inner Shakti is released in meditation, you will soon ascend to the higher stages of meditation. You will see splendid sights and glorious forms. You will perceive internal divine lights. It is only by virtue of these lights that your body becomes beautiful and you feel love for one another. As the magnificent radiance sparkles in meditation, your craving for beautiful and loving forms will be satisfied. You will see the whole world as radiant.
Along with visions, you will hear inner sounds. Sweet, divine music will ring in your ears. As you listen to it, you will have such a sleep as is enjoyed only by heavenly beings. These melodious strains will compel you to dance in ecstasy and eradicate your indifference, distress, and ramblings of mind. Not only this, the inner music will release celestial ambrosia and you will relish its sweetness. This nectar, trickling from the palate, is the sweetest of all tastes. Each drop is worth more than millions. This elixir will expel all your diseases and fill you with gladness. Your anger will vanish. You will exude ambrosial sweetness. You will rejoice in your spouse and children. As you taste this nectar and become absorbed in it, you will be transported with inner delight.
0 my dear ones! You will also inhale divine scents. As your inner aroma is released, not only your home but your whole world will become tranquil; your body will shed its heaviness and sloth, and become lithe and vibrant.
When your inner Kundalini Shakti is stirred, She will release Her impulses of love throughout your body and its seventy-two thousand nerves. She will thrill your every blood cell with Her ecstatic joy. Only then will your craving for touch be truly gratified. You will recover the lost luster of your eyes. Your withered face will again glow with love and your lips will become rosy. Your world will quiver with beauty, joy, and love! You will become aware of the omnipresence of the Lord; you will realize that this entire world is His and that He is maintaining it.

Muktananda

Last night I learned how to be a lover of God
To live in this world and call nothing my own.

I looked inward
And the beauty of my own emptiness
filled me till dawn.
It enveloped me like a mine of rubies.
Its hue clothed me in red silk.

Within the cavern of my soul
I heard the voices of lovers crying,
"Drink now! Drink now!"-

I took a sip and saw the vast ocean
Wave upon wave caressed my soul.
The lovers of God dance around
And the circle of their steps
becomes a ring of fire round my neck.

Heaven calls me with its rain and thunder
a hundred thousand cries
yet I cannot hear …

All I hear is the call of my Beloved.

Rumi

Imagine if all the tumult of the body were to quiet down, along with all our busy thoughts about earth, sea, and air; if the very world should stop, and the mind cease thinking about itself, go beyond itself, and be quite still; if all the fantasies that appear in dreams and imagination should cease, and there be no speech, no sign: Imagine if all things that are perishable grew still - for if we listen they are saying, "We did not make ourselves; he made us who abides forever" - imagine, then, that they should say this and fall silent, listening to the very voice of him who made them and not to that of his creation; so that we should hear not his word through the tongues of men, nor the voice of angels, nor the clouds' thunder, nor any symbol, but the very Self which in these things we love, and go beyond ourselves to attain a flash of that eternal wisdom that abides above all things: And imagine if that moment were to go on and on, leaving behind all other sights and sounds but this one vision that ravishes and absorbs and fixes the beholder in joy; so that the rest of eternal life were like that moment of illumination that leaves us breathless:
Would this not be what is bidden in scripture, Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord?

Saint Augustine