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The rose occupies a central place in my work around Sufi art and spirituality.
Each moment of Sufi dance seems to me as a celebration and a deep prayer, it seems essential to me to keep the ritual alive. Rose water, as a rite, marks the passage from the terrestrial world to the celestial world.
The symbolism of the rose is found in Persian mystical poetry, in which it represents the mysteries and beauty of the spiritual path. If flowers symbolize the world of the soul, the rose embodies the path of life of the human being.
The rose also represents fullness. During the spiritual journey towards oneness, obstacles and difficulties represented by the thorns of the rose must be overcome. Indeed, there can be no spiritual progression without trial. The pain, the waiting, the separation or loss of a loved one are so many thorns encountered during the quest, yet necessary for the encounter with the state of grace.
It is by seeking one’s own truth that one can advance and flourish in the mystical quest, despite the trials of this long journey.
Our heart contains within it a beauty and purity similar to that of the rose. It is during life that its perfume is revealed, invisible but perceptible by those who know how to feel its presence.
“The rose had the beauty of the beloved, the nightingale loved her.
He couldn’t love anyone else, and she didn’t say a word.”
Hafez
During the Sama ritual, the Samazan enters a deep state of spiritual listening that connects him to the Cosmos.
The spiritual state in which he finds himself allows the liberation of his soul. It is then that the soul, like an aura, encircles the body and becomes the receiver of the divine light.
The rose water poured over the practitioner’s heart opens the door of the soul and shows him the way home. Thus the soul takes refuge in the fragrance of the rose. It reveals its presence and becomes visible in the invisible.
In Sufism, this sacred plant represents mystical intoxication called “the colorless wine”.
It purifies the body and heals the pains of the heart, thus soothing the torments of the soul.
Both a symbol of strength and fragility, its energy reveals the source of love.
Considered as the emblem of guidance, its fragrance is a path of consciousness for the development of the being.
Like an awakening of the Hal, the beneficial water of the rose opens the path of elevation to access the state of transcendence.
My rose water ritual:
A few drops of rose water on the hand
Perfume your forehead, the hollow of your ears, your heart
Spreading around you in protection of the people around us
Throw a few drops to the sky to give thanks to the Cosmos