A sixteenth-century mystic poet from Sivas,
about whose early life very little is known.
He lived under Suleyman the Magnificent, was involved in a Alevi rising and was hanged.
His poems, immensely popular for centuries among the Alevis all over the Ottoman Empire,
bear traces of social and political protest and are written in the simple spoken Turkish of his time.
I asked the yellow crocuses:
Where do you spend the winter?
Dervish, what are you asking us?
We spend the winter underground.
I asked the yellow crocuses:
What do you live on underground?
Dervish, what are you asking us?
We live on bits of the mighty power.
I asked the yellow crocuses:
Why are your faces so pale?
Dervish, what are you asking us?
We draw on the fear of God.
I asked the yellow crocuses:
Have you father and mother?
Dervish, what are you asking us?
The earth's our mother, the rain's our father.
I asked the yellow crocuses..
Staffs in their little hands,
Scriptures on the tip of their tongues,
The crocuses are one with the dervishes.
Pir Sultan is with the dervish brothers,
Face full of holy light,
With the white-bearded forefathers,
The crocuses are one with the dervishes.
Asik Veysel 1894-1975
I go and my name stays
Let friends remember me
A wedding a holiday
Let friends remember me
The soul does not stay in a cage it flies away
The world is caravanserai where one settles then moves off
The moon goes round years pass
Let friends remember me
The soul will depart from the body
The chimney does not smoke and the fire does not burn
Let there be armfuls of salaams
Let friends remember me
I would neither have come nor gone
Day by day my troubles mounted up
My place and my village stay desolate
Let friends remember me.
Hatayi (Shah Ismail) 15th-16th centuries
"In this world a light shone forth"
In this world a light shone forth
On the night of Mohammed's birth
A light came down from the green celestial lamp
On the night of Mohammed's birth
The Friend is Ali, the Master is Ali
Men of God have donned their pelisse
I do not want silk clothing
The cowl and pelisse are enough
O Mohammed, o Ali
Mohammed came from his mother's womb
Disbelievers lost their minds
A thousand idols crumbled
The houris of paradise came down
They asked Mohammed about his faith
They swaddled him in light
On the night of Mohammed's birth.
Al the angels attended
They sang the praises of Mohammed
The doors of paradise opened
On the night of Mohammed's birth
I am Shah Hatayi, tell the dervishes
Tears flow from my eyes
I bring tears to their eyes
Trees leaned in prosternation
On the night of Mohammed's birth
Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi 1207-1273
"Be a lover,a lover.!,
Choose love that you might be a chosen one."
To give up one's own existence and become non existent in God,that is,to bind one's heart completely to God,is the shortest way to God.Whoever has given his heart to the Divine Truth has no "self" left.It is God Who moves every particle of him.In this way that person no longer acts in accordance with his ego,doing the bad things that would cause harm to others.He has become enfolded in the moral principles of God.The Exalted Mohammed,Exalted Ali and the Exalted Mevlana are examples of these qualities for us.
Quatrain
In fact,my soul and yours are the same,
You appear in me,I in you,
We hide in each other.
That's the deep meaning of relationship,
Between us there's neither you nor I.
Yunus Emre (1238-1320)
One of the greatest and the deepest poets of the Turkish folk literature. Yunus Emre is a great poet who managed to turn the Anatolian dialect into a language of literature and who succeeded in reciting poetry and chanting hymns in pure Turkish.
He has written about issues which looked
extremely complex.
Written in a pure and easily understood Turkish, some of his poems, which seem to be over simple at first glance, carry a deep meaning and have a certain quality which grips the reader and excites him, weaving a special magic. Yunus in most of his poems declares his great love for the God. He has felt the elusive excitements of the love of God and also made others to feel it.
I am not at this place to dwell,
I arrived here just to depart.
I'm a well-stocked peddler,I sell
To all those who'll buy from my mart.
I am not here on earth for strife,
Love is the mission of my life.
Hearts are the home of the loved one;
I came here to build each true heart.
My madness is love for the Friend,
Lovers know what my hopes portend;
For me duality must end;
God and I must not live apart.
Love for You took me from myself; it is You I need,You.
I burn for You both night and day; it is You I need You.I take no joy in worldly wealth, nor feel dismay at poverty.I am content with Your love; it is You I need,You.Their love of You destroys Your lovers; it plunges them in love's sea.It fills them with the sight of You; it is You I need, You.If I were intoxicated by love's wine, and should become mad and destitute,
My concern would be of You night and day; it is You I need, You.
The mystics need their gatherings for conversation; the brothers need the other world
Majnûns need their Leyla; it is You I need, You.
If they should kill me and fling my ashes to the sky,My dust would cry there, "It is You I need, You."Yunus Emre is my name; my fire increases day by day.In the two worlds my goal is this: it is You I need, You.
