Hafiz: The Mystical Poet

CEBU, Philippines -  Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz (1320-1389) is one of the most beloved poets of the Persians, and is considered by many – from different cultures – to be one of the seven literary wonders of the world. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe both agreed. As Emerson said of Hafiz: “He fears nothing. He sees too far, he sees throughout; such is the only man I wish to see or be.” And Emerson gave Hafiz that grand and famous compliment, “Hafiz is a poet for poets.”

Both Emerson and Goethe translated Hafiz. And Geothe, after deep study of Hafiz, simply – though remarkably – stated, “Hafiz has no peer.”

Hafiz poems were also admired by such diverse notables as Nietzsche and Arthur Conan Doyle, whose wonderful character Sherlock Holmes quotes Hafiz. Garcia Lorca praised the Sufi poet. Johannes Brahms was so touched by his verse that he used several in his compositions. And even Queen Victoria was said to have consulted Hafiz in times of need – which has been a custom in the Middle East for centuries.  The Fal-e Hafiz, is an ancient tradition in which a reader asks Hafiz for advice when facing a difficulty or at an important juncture in a client’s life – treating the mystic poet’s books as an oracle and opening them with a deep wish from their soul for guidance.  

The range of Hafiz is indeed stunning and provocative at times: “I am a hole in a flute/ that the Christ’s breath/ moves through – listen to this music.”

Hafiz is a rare master of ‘the utility of light’ – or ‘the sun’. And ‘the utility of art’. His poetry bestows its benevolence and ability to comfort, enliven and enrich those in need. Art should be a lover; it should radiate and allow one to warm oneself if in any way cold.

Art can quench inner thirst and hunger.  And in studying the lives – and working with the poetry – of Rumi, Michelangelo, St Francis, Kabir, Mira and Hafiz, and several of the other great poet-seers, East and West, one comes to learn that there was a wonderful common denominator in their work.

In my case, they helped me form a three-word definition of art, which I then felt was a true gauge for success of any of poems or writings I ever become involved with, including my own. As Emerson saw Hafiz as a genuine measure of himself in all of his interactions, I too try to keep Hafiz before me when dealing with another person – or animal, creature or even plant. As water is poured through a cloth to collect impurities, I try and pour myself through the poems of Hafiz, and my images of him. 

“In the moment.” Those three words that Hafiz exemplifies, that came to me in studying the lives and works of those greats I just mentioned, are an important definition and goal of art, and a standard I hold myself to: engage and give.   

Perhaps one of the greatest attributes and values of art is to capture and exploit another person’s attention. For when beauty does that the witness, or audience, always benefits. As Hafiz says: “The mountain’s face lifted me higher than itself. A song’s wink aligned me with joy. And a tune paradise hums I came to know. The forest, letting me walk amongst its naked limbs, had me on my knees again in silence shouting – yes, yes my holy friend, let your splendor devour me.”

To be engaged by a true teacher like Hafiz is to have lasting ingredients put into your mind, that when cooked through contemplation help you lead a better life. Inherent in engaging someone’s interest is to make them present. And with so many suffering the tyranny of some past event or anxieties about the future, what a gift being in the moment can be, especially then if a jewel can be slipped into your pocket by some magi’s brush stroke, writings, sculpture, instrument, or ballet step. Hafiz helps us inherit a treasure that is already ours, decreed at birth; and he speaks directly about that in some of his poems – how to file your claim!

In hundreds of ways Hafiz addresses what impedes us from living a more fulfilled life. With unique, charming metaphors that he seems able to rain from the ground up, he longs to help the highest aspects in us lead all the other parts to a place where we can breathe easier and kick back more and say: “Ahhhh, this world isn’t so bad, as a matter of fact – it is amazing!” 

Two stories of Hafiz come to mind that my own teacher told me, and here again, these show the great range of Hafiz, and to me his rather incredible ability to never bore. To constantly engage and give. And so creatively lead.

The first story goes:

Once a young woman came to Hafiz and said, “What is the sign of someone knowing God?”And Hafiz became very quiet, and stood in silence for nearly a minute... lovingly looking deep into the young woman’s eye, then softly spoke, “My dear, they have dropped the knife. The person who knows God has dropped the cruel knife most so often used upon their tender self – and others.”

The second story echoes a sensuousness, that is so much a part of the human dynamic, and that Hafiz fully embraces, and often uses as a springboard to heaven – as the body and its desires can be. It goes:

A rather serious – maybe too serious – university student from another country came to Hafiz to personally ask for his permission to translate some of Hafiz’s poems into a little book. And he said to Hafiz, “What is the essential quality in your poems that I need to incorporate in my translations to make them abiding and authentic?” And Hafiz smiled, and placed his arms on the man’s shoulders, then said, “Do you really want to know?” And the young man said, “Of course.”

“Well, well then,” Hafiz began and continued, “My poems lift the corners of the mouth – the soul’s mouth, the heart’s mouth. And can affect any opening that can make love.”

Like the wondrous life the sun and earth give in their miraculous utility, so can the artist sometimes share in that, and any human being who is full of buoyant passion – or willing to die for some great cause, or sublime ideals.

So can the mind that knows all forms are part of an ultimate Self, and treats everything with respect. And a sacred hand reaches out from Hafiz’s profound compassion and wisdom. A gentle embrace is there from his perhaps omnipresent spirit. The mosaic of illumined consciousness in his poems leads us to a greater self-awareness, empowerment and freedom. His wild onslaught of playful genius is a gold mine. And a beautiful romance can begin with all who hold dearly his books. (www.bbc.com)   Daniel Ladinsky   (FREEMAN NEWS)