Sufi poet Hafiz celebrates love

Hafiz is a lively spiritual companion. He is like the Persian Shakespeare, a master word-smith whose verses continue to shed light on the human condition. Many recite and sing his poems as a pathway to divine illumination.

Although Rumi is much better known in the West, Hafiz is the most beloved poet in his native Iran where his works outsell that of Rumi and even the Koran. Both are Persian poets in the Sufi mystical tradition. Rumi lived a century before and his works informed Hafiz.

Why is Hafiz virtually unknown to Westerners when he continues to inspire so many in modern day Persia? The answer is simple. Something was lost in translation. What is so amazing about Hafiz and why the analogy to Shakespeare is apt, is that in the original Persian, his words have multiple layers of meaning. He wrote in a poetic form called ghazal which is an ode or song of rhymed couplets. Often in trying to capture the rhythm of the language or to rhyme in English, the passion and meaning of the poetry has been significantly weakened.

Daniel Ladinsky has brought the spirit of Hafiz into English. As he does not know Persian, Ladinsky does not claim to offer translations, his books are subtitled “Renderings of Hafiz”. He offers Westerners not a literal translation of the text or a recreation of the meter but a rendering of the poem’s spirit complete with emotion, humor, and insight. Ladinsky did this with the guidance of Avatar Meher Baba, a modern spiritual teacher with whom he studied in India for many years.

Shams-ud-din Muhammad was born in Shiraz, city of roses and nightingales sometime around 1320 AD. To give a sense of the historical period, his lifetime mirrors that of Chaucer. Even though he was poor and served a baker’s apprentice, he proved himself as a scholar at an early age excelling in memorization and calligraphy.

“Hafez” means “memorizer”, a title given to those who memorize the Koran in its entirety. The ability to recite scripture from memory is a way to be a channel of the Divine. A Hafez spends years not only memorizing but perfecting the recitation of all thirty chapters of the Koran. Hafiz did more than memorize the Koran and other great Persian poets, with the guidance of his spiritual teacher, he is said to have attained “Cosmic Consciousness” or “God-realization.”

The idea of attaining “Cosmic Consciousness” or “God-realization” conjures an image of someone with a holier-than-thou attitude. Someone with his head in the clouds, removed from the challenges of living and above earthly pleasures. One of the reasons that Hafiz is cherished as a spiritual companion to this day is because he is quite human. He understands the bereavement of losing loved ones—his father died when he was a boy and both his wife and only child passed away. Hafiz recognizes the struggles of life that can keep us from realizing our true nature. Unlike the dualism of some traditions that uphold the spirit as holy and the body as evil, Hafiz relishes the pleasures of the body as a manifestation of the sacred.

Hafiz continually celebrates God’s Love. His name for God is the Beloved. Instead of a judge, God is a kind loving presence who longs for our happiness if we only get out of the way. Hafiz calls on all people to become intoxicated with the beauty and sensuousness that surrounds us. The mystic invites us to have a crush on each miraculous living being that crosses our path.

If the Great Ones, all the spiritual teachers of various traditions are correct and Love is the energizing elixir of the Universe then how is it that we experience so much resentment and loneliness in our every day lives? Could it be as simple as Hafiz suggests—that we’re spiritually dehydrated? With all of our busyness and serious responsibilities, we neglect the most essential activity of life, drinking and serving Love. What if this ancient sage is not crazy? He could be right that “All a sane [person] can ever care about is giving Love”.

In the week ahead, notice when you feel cranky and judgmental and consider if you have taken time for Love. Unlike water, Love is free and readily available. You will find it in your own heart and all around you. You will find it when you smile at a stranger, breath in the fresh air, give thanks for the gifts of food that sustain your body, and soak in the energy of the sun.