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HAFIZ AS AN ORACLE AND SPIRITUAL GUIDE
The practice of using the Divan of Hafiz as an oracle and spiritual guide began even before Hafiz’s body was buried and has continued over the centuries to the present day. This first known instance of when his poems were used in this way was so successful that probably no day has passed since that day, when someone, somewhere in the world, has not asked Hafiz’s advice on a particular problem. Housewives ask Hafiz to help them, and also businessmen, kings and queens, politicians, poets, artists, soldiers, and of course seekers of spiritual Truth and knowledge. All over the world, people are still asking Hafiz for advice on a great variety of problems and are receiving instant help from the Divinely inspired poet and Perfect Master. Hafiz’s immortality is a fact of life, evident every moment of the day in the effect that he has on all who read his work, whether they are ignorant or spiritually advanced, rich or poor, educated or not. Why do people continue to consult the poems of Hafiz to gain advice? Masud Farzaad in his book ‘Haafez and his Poems’ gives some of the reasons: ‘What strikes me as the most essential characteristic of the man Hafiz is that his emotional and intellectual reactions in the face of life’s situations were above all, rational. And being lord both of language and literary design, he succeeded in transforming the dictates of this crystalline common sense into poems of unsurpassable beauty in a language that is second to none in the beauty of her poetry. We have now lost the clues to most of the particular situations which made him feel, think and write as he did; but reading any poem of his, we do recognise in it the universalisation of some experience which we ourselves or our acquaintances have had, are having, or are quite likely to have in the future. This is, I believe, the basic reason for the rise and the continuation of the time-honoured practice called (tafa’ol) or seeking a fore-knowledge of one’s fortune by random reference to his book of collected lyrics. Ordinary men and women are sure, after centuries of trial, that the particular type of dilemma in which they may find themselves at any time, confronted Hafiz too; and that he not only had something sensible to say about it, but also said it so clearly and beautifully that they can hardly help enjoying it and remembering it long afterwards. Like all men of good sense and deep sensibility, Hafiz finds himself on more than one occasion a stranger among his fellows; at war with some his social superiors; hating and hated by hypocrites; struck dumb by loud, unscrupulous, mendacious mediocrities; wondering why such people and things should be. He finds that (to borrow an immortal phrase from Shakespeare) ‘cold reason’ has, in his own case at least, failed to solve the problem of life’s complexities, where all the most essential facts seem perpetually and deliberately to be hidden behind a psychological curtain more solid and more effective than any iron curtain. Furthermore, no means other than this same poor, inadequate reason has been vouchsafed to man for the solution of this painful riddle. Finding himself and his fellow humans incapable of answering these burning question he tries two diametrically opposite solutions. One, as symbolized by Wine (and sometimes Love) is the path of unreason, of the unconscious. The other as symbolized by the Elder of the Wise Men (pir e morghan) is objective; for this is the path of Pure Reason, and he is the Complete Man who knows the truth, and the secret of life; and is incidentally (or perhaps, consequently) cheerful, tranquil, and tolerant: a man in short, whom every seeker should strive to resemble as nearly, or at least as closely as possible.’ So, Hafiz has experienced all the ups and downs of ordinary people: the sorrows, joys, anguishes, betrayals, and longings, and after much questioning arrived at the twin-solutions of unreason, or drunkenness, or love, and Pure Reason; that is obedience to the Perfect Master and the following of his example and guidance. Hafiz is ‘everyman,’ for he has walked every step of the path to the Truth; and when he finally discovered the Truth after forty years of search-ing, loving, suffering, patience, and obedience to his Master Attar, he then also became a Perfect Master. Then, in the poems that he wrote after this Realisation, he retraced many of the steps he had taken and gave perfect advice on how to avoid the traps along the Way. Hafiz wrote of all the stages and situations while experiencing them, and afterwards wrote about them from the Authority of Godhood. In this sense he was truly ‘Everyman.’ But all of this still does not explain why, when one opens Hafiz’s Divan with a nagging problem in the mind or heart, the couplet or the whole poem that appears is a subtle and sometimes powerful explanation or piece of advice that is exactly what was needed. My explanation for this is twofold: It is contained in the nature of what it means to be God-realized, to have true Immortality, and secondly it is a gift that Hafiz, out of his Divine Generosity and Wisdom, has given to all mankind for all time. All souls who have not realized their own True Self (God) have individualized minds that are subject to time and space. All Perfect Masters and the Godman have experience of Universal Mind that is not subject to time and space but exists forever in the Present. The poems of Hafiz exist in that aspect of Universal Mind that is Hafiz’s own Divine Individuality. The Divan or the physical book of Hafiz contains the symbol of that Divine Individuality in the physical world. When we ask Hafiz to help us in all honesty and respect, the book of Hafiz is one medium through which the God-realized of the time extend their help and knowledge. Through our subconscious mind they direct us without us understanding the process, to open the book at a certain page and couplet that will help and guide us. This is one of the reasons why Hafiz’s poems are always ‘modern.’ They never date because they are connected with Existence in the Eternal Now, God’s Existence. Every Perfect Master and the Godman in each appearance, through compassion and love leaves a ‘gift’ for all mankind to help us through this ‘long dark night.’ It might only be one line of Truth that has rung through the centuries and helped dispel fear and hopelessness as when Hallaj said: ‘I am the Truth’; or John the Baptist’s example of bravery; or Rumi’s great collection of poems and stories; or Francis of Assisi’s respect for all forms of life; or Zoroaster’s: ‘Good thoughts, good words, good deeds;’ or in the case of Baba Kuhi, a promise that Hafiz remembered. With Hafiz it is his Divan, and contained in this great gift is the possibility of help in our darkest hours, our longest nights, our struggle to see the Light. Hafiz has given us a book in which to find a Friend, and a Friend in a book; and even before his physical form was buried he had made clear to us all by an obvious example, that he wishes this gift to be accepted and used whenever it is needed. There have been many famous instances in history where Hafiz’s Divan has been consulted with remarkable and sometimes humourous results. Many are contained in a small book titled ‘Latify-I-Ghaybiyya’ that was written by Muhammad b. Muhammad of Darab and finally published in Tehran in 1886. The first instance records the experience of Shah Isma’il the Great who founded the Safawi dynasty and made the Shi’a creed Persia’s official faith. He was so energetic in doing this that he ordered the tombs of anyone suspected of leaning towards the Sunni faith to be wrecked. One day he visited Hafiz’s tomb and with him was a fanatical and ignorant priest who was called Mulla Magas (‘Magas’ means ‘fly’ in Persian). The Mulla told the Shah that Hafiz was orthodox in belief (Sunnite) and also a drunkard. The Shah was not too sure of the wisdom of this advice so he consulted Hafiz’s Divan and opened it at the following: At morning Gemini placed before me the Koran’s preserving: The Shah was pleased with this answer, considering that the famous poet was loyal to him. Happily, he opened the book once again and received, a couplet that was intended for his companion. Fly, in presence of the Simurgh is not the place for you to be; ‘Fly’ in Persian is ‘magas,’ and upon hearing this answer it is most likely that the priest disappeared in a hurry. Another example refers to a king of the same dynasty named Shah Tah-masp who dropped a ring that he greatly valued when he was playing with it one day. All his servants were ordered to search for it everywhere but it couldn’t be found. Eventually he asked Hafiz and received the following ... Heart that found the Hidden Secret, cup of Jamshid’s might has, On hearing this couplet the king clapped his hands from such a happy surprise at the appropriateness of it, and the ring which had become caught in his sleeve fell into his lap. The third story is about another king of the Safawi dynasty, Shah Abbas the Second (1642-1667), who received the following couplet when he was contemplating a campaign against Adharbayjan where Tabriz is the capital ... Hafiz, with your sweet verse you have captured Iraq and Fars: The king was so happy with the reply that he decided to take Hafiz’s advice and was successful in his campaign. There is another story about the same king. He had a servant who was named Siyawash who bore the brunt of the jealousy of his fellow servants. They went to the king, slandering him, and tried to have him put to death. The king asked Hafiz and the answer was ... The King of the Turkans listened to the suggestions of enemies: Another instance is given by the author of this little book, about his own experience. In 1642 he reached Ahmadabad which was at that time the capital of Gujerat in India. While he was there he became friendly with a well known person of the district, a certain Kan’an (Canaan) Beg who had a brother by the name of Yusuf (Joseph) Beg. Yusuf, who was in the army, had only recently been posted as missing in battle. His brother was extremely upset until Hafiz was consulted and a couplet was received which proved to be true, for later his brother returned. The couplet received was ... That lost Joseph will return again to Canaan: do not grieve; Imam-quli Khan had a son called Fath-Ali Sultan who was extremely handsome and known to the author, Muhammad of Darab. He visited Hafiz’s tomb on a day towards the end of the month of Rajab which is set aside for people to visit Hafiz’s tomb and ask the poet for help. The handsome youth was dressed in a green coat lavishly embroidered with gold and was a bit tipsy from drinking some wine. He opened the Divan of Hafiz and received this couplet from Hafiz ... When You pass by intoxicated in Your garment that scatters gold, The youth cried out: ‘What’s one kiss? I make a promise to give you two!’ A week passed and again he visited the tomb and the couplet that he received You said: ‘I’ll become drunk and will give you two kisses:’ On reading this he called out: ‘What’s two kisses? I promise to give you three!’ He left again without fulfilling his promise. When another week had passed he returned and received ... The three kisses you promised as my portion from your two lips, On reading this the youth fell upon Hafiz’s tombstone kissing it again and again and again. There are many other instances in history recording Hafiz’s Divan being used as an oracle. Those recorded by the Moghul Emperor Jahanger are famous and it is said that Queen Victoria never made an important decision without consulting Hafiz first. For my own case, out of the many thousand times that I have been helped by Hafiz I will record two here that seem appropriate. Some years after I began reading Hafiz I read that his Divan was used as an oracle and I could not make up my mind if Hafiz wanted his Divan used in this manner, and so I asked him. The couplet I received which was the first time I consulted the Divan as an oracle was ... I’ll only relate about the Friend in the Friend’s presence; I took this couplet to mean that Hafiz will not divulge God’s Secrets to those unworthy, but will still be a friend to them and help them in other matters; and if one sees the Friend (God) in Hafiz and in the words of Hafiz, then it is God in the person Who sees this. Sometime later I consulted Hafiz again and asked whether he wanted me to try to make an English version of his book of poems. The answer was - (my daughter’s name is Chanthan, which means ‘moon-faced’) ... After serving pleasure and loving those fair moon-faced, METHODS OF CONSULTATION There are a number of methods of consulting the Divan of Hafiz for advice. The simplest and most popular is to think of the question or the wish, close the eyes and open the book. Whatever poem the eyes first set upon is the one that is read. For an answer that is more exact, the person who is consulting the Divan should use the same method but also place a finger on the page and whatever couplet it falls upon is Hafiz’s reply. The other couplets in the poem can then be read for a more detailed explanation if the situation calls for it. If you are using an e-book version of my book HAFIZ: THE ORACLE, simply using the cursor move the box on the right of the screen past this Introduction then close your eyes and press it down and when the ‘feeling’ comes to stop, stop, and whatever poem is in the majority on the screen is IT. For a more detailed answer, when you stop, place your finger on the screen and the couplet it falls on (or nearest to) is your answer and the poem it is a part of is the one to read. (Note: I’m sure e-book readers will find many other ingenious methods of consulting HAFIZ: THE ORACLE.) Haafez and his Poems by Masud Farzaad. London. 1947 Divan of Hafiz English version by Paul Smith. New Humanity Books. 1986. Hafiz: The Oracle. English Version and Interpretations by Paul Smith. Shiraz Books. 2005, 2006.
Copyright Paul Smith. 1986, 2005. |
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