Edinburgh Mevlevi Tekke

  We had another virtual gathering in the Edinburgh Mevlevi Tekke this evening. David Bellak Dede shared sohbet (spiritual conversation) with us, exploring among other things the need for a spiritual group to come together with a kind of desire, especially a desire for "the unknown" - creating a space through our conscious intention whereby 'something' can manifest, something you could say of the Divine. He spoke of the simplicity of Rumi's way - becoming nothing, not trying to learn something or know many things, but simply Remembering the Name of God (Zikr). From the heart to the heart runs the Way, he stressed in Turkish. He said Suleyman Hayati Dede was once asked about being a dervish, and he replied something like this: "When I was 12 I began to learn about Mevlana. When I was 18 I entered the tekke as a student. Later they gave me a Destar (dervish hat wrapped in green cloth) and made me a shaikh. Now I am 74 years old. God willing, before I die I may ...

  Fortnightly online Zikr and Spiritual Conversation (Sohbet) with Shaikh David Bellak of the Edinburgh Mevlevi Tekke Next gathering - Monday 14th September 2020. 7pm-8.30pm UK Summer Time (20:00 GMT) Come! Come! Whoever you are! Join us for an hour or so of practice in the lineage of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, mystic saint of love and music. Here grapes ripen in the sunlight and secrets are discovered beyond anything words can tell... A path of human unfolding and growth, taught afresh in each generation. Email willowtreeblues@gmail.com for more details. There is no charge for our gatherings, and all are welcome, of any religion or background. David Bellak was in the service and a student (murid) of the late Suleyman Hayati Dede, Mevlevi Shaikh (master) of Konya, Turkey (d.1985). In the 1970s David Dede served as student, translator, secretary and confident to the sheikh at a time when the teachings and philosophy of Rûmî were finding their way to new Western audiences. Today Rûmî ...

        David Bellak Dede, our Shaikh in the Mevlevi Sufi Way, would like to invite people to a fortnightly online session for recitation of the Zikr - the Remembrance of God - in the manner that has been passed down in Rumi's spiritual family. The sessions will last around 45 minutes, and will be very simple - most likely, beginning with a short reading of a spirtitual text to set the tone, followed by zikr and silence. If you would like to find out more or join us, please message willowtreeblues@gmail.com, and we'll let you know more details. David Bellak was a close student of the late Suleyman Hayati Dede, Mevlevi Shaikh of Konya. David completed the traditional 1001 day "chille" training of the Mevlevi Way in the mid 1970s in Konya, and served as Suleyman Dede's secretary, travelling companion, semazenbashi (overseer of the whirling dervishes) and was eventually appointed as a teacher and asked to return to the West to share Rumi's Way with others.

"We are the remedy of all problems, relief of the helpless. We are like the Sun on this Earth. We have come to give life to all, to be beneficial and helpful to the whole humanity. To be friendly to the people whose hearts have been broken and become destitute; we came to share their sadness and grief. We are born to bring them, who have fallen into contempt, who fell on the ground, and those who were disregarded, to the rose garden and grant them mirth. We are not the property of a few people, like gold. We are like oceans, mines; we are the property of everyone who lives in this world" Rumi (painting: Mahmoud Farshchian)

  What people call "Paradise! Paradise!" Is a few houses and houris. Give them to whoever wants them But I long for You. Rumi

    Eid Mubarak  Fasting is as our sacrifice, It is the life out of soul; let us sacrifice all our body, Since the soul has arrived as guest. Fortitude is as a sweet cloud, wisdom rains from it, Because it was in such a month of fortitude That the Koran arrived. When the carnal soul is in need, The spirit goes into ascension; When the gate of the prison is broken, the soul reaches the Beloved. Rumi

David Bellak Dede shared the following words of reminder from the Mevlevi Wird this week. The Wird is a collection of devotional prayers and passages from the Holy Qu'ran particular to each Sufi Order, and traditionally recited daily in the early morning. For those in our circle drawn to the Wird, David Dede suggests finding a few short sections that speak to our heart, and bring them into our daily pratice of meditation and zikr. These lines are one of his suggestions:   1. I have readied the following words: facing all fears, “There is no God but God.” 2. Facing all sorrows and sadness, “May it be as God wills.” 3. Facing all benefits, “Praise be to God.” and facing all abundance, “Thanks be to God.” 4. And facing all astonishment, “God is subtle beyond all knowing.” 5. Facing all sins, “I ask God’s forgiveness.”; facing all scarcities, “Allah is enough for me.” 6. Facing all calamities, “We belong to God and to Him we shall return.” 7. Fa...