Old and New
Categories: concerts
Date: 23 August 2008 04:12:25
My new glasses are a bit more "curved", which did give an interesting perspective as I walked out -- at least I think it is due to the curve: I think also, although my prescription was kept the same, some other adjustments to the lenses were made by the optometrist [who happened to be the sister of a friend of mine!]. I felt "taller"; I cannot explain it any other way. My perspective have changed, albeit ever so slightly, and it was noticeable. We shall see how it goes.
Seeing Al Madeheen last night was simply a superb, fascinating and truly heart-stirring evening. On the way in, I bumped into my Arabic teacher from earlier this year, whom I spent some time talking to. It was great to see him again. Once seated, I had a great seat in the second row [going solo does have some benefits in seat allocation!], a fellow I had worked with as part of my uni "industrial training" [work experience, in other words] from Nov 1996 to Feb 1998 came up to me -- he was sitting in the front row and had recognised me. We had a quick chat too. Truly fascinating whom you can meet and where.
But to the members of Al Madeheen and their performance, and as the lady who had organised their tour to various parts of Australia said to us [a packed theatre] at the beginning, "We were in for a spiritual treat, and one she hoped would be a great blessing." -- and that we were and that it was. And as she explained at the end, in a similar fashion to what we as Christians believe, our hearts do become hardened, and it is important, our purpose, to soften the heart towards the God, the Creator. And, as far as I could gather, from this introductory experience, for Sufis the more meditative practices are key.
The lead vocalist had a voice with an extraordinary range, truly bringing me to tears at one point with its beauty. The other members were exceptional as well, and tambourines and what I took to be some form of electronic percussion instrument added to the atmosphere. They encouraged the audience to join in some chants, and there was a rather lot of yelling, what I took to be encouragement or a religious blessing, from the audience at various times.
The man playing the percussion instrument arose twice to perform the whirling dance, a religious act, part of the Sufi tradition within Islam, with the aim of brings him into closer union with the Creator. I had only heard of "whirling dervishes" before, and had no idea what it was for -- I had assumed it was cultural. But seeing it performed, to the chants and beats of sacred music, its religious purpose, although perhaps not clear in terms of what it all meant, was evident. The Wikipedia page linked provides this deeper explanation:
In the symbolism of the Sema ritual, the semazen's camel's hair hat (sikke) represents the tombstone of the ego; his wide, white skirt represents the ego's shroud. By removing his black cloak, he is spiritually reborn to the truth. At the beginning of the Sema, by holding his arms crosswise, the semazen appears to represent the number one, thus testifying to God's unity. While whirling, his arms are open: his right arm is directed to the sky, ready to receive God's beneficence; his left hand, upon which his eyes are fastened, is turned toward the earth. The semazen conveys God's spiritual gift to those who are witnessing the Sema. Revolving from right to left around the heart, the semazen embraces all humanity with love. The human being has been created with love in order to love. Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi says, "All loves are a bridge to Divine love. Yet, those who have not had a taste of it do not know!"A truly fascinating, and even inspirational evening. I am convinced of the claims of Christianity, and while I do hope for all to see the Truth in Christ Jesus, I can still not help me moved by the traditions of others -- and particularly by the small sample I got from Al Madeheen where, while they practice a different religion from myself, I noticed a much similarity in belief [for example "the softening of the heart"] and also practice [for example, meditative and musical practices of religious expression, which appeal and resonate with me] in my beliefs. Though, I admit, there are differences -- and large differences at that. And, for me, I do believe it important that as much as we learn from and share with each other, we do so openly and honestly, and do not seek to be false for the sake of "niceness" or the fear of offending. We can be open and non-hostile and non-offensive: this, to me, is a way forward.
I can but hope, if anything, the increase of knowledge between different cultures and the coming together of people to learn and understand from one another can only be a good thing for multi-cultural and multi-faith Australia.