Çilingir Sofrası 19 / Aşure (with English subtitles)

0:00Çilingir Sofrası 19 / Ashura Translated by Prof.Dr.Nükhet Kardam

0:02Once the individual self is emptied out,

0:07it meets with and becomes one the Universal Self, that is, Brahma.

0:19Let’s talk about the individual self.

0:21The individual self- who am I?

0:23Let’s say I am Turkish or Japanese

0:27or Serhan asked earlier: once I am emptied of my self, what am I?

0:34Nothing

0:36But you still exist.

0:38And you contain the potentiality of becoming anything or everything like stem cells

0:41You became existent

0:44with your parents, your culture, education,

0:51Your beliefs and your work and that’s how you are known.

1:05All right, what would have happened if you were born in Japan?

1:09We assume you still have your capabilities.

1:12This time you are in Japan with your capabilities.

1:19You would not be called Serhan

1:26But you may have been called "Seranoke."

1:33And we are assuming that your capabilities still manifested themselves.

1:39If you were born in Sweden,

1:42then you would still be different.

1:45Let’s suppose a Swedish jazz player,

1:48with his particular culture, habits, ways of playing jazz meets with Serhan.

1:57That is possible, right?

2:00They might say, let’s play together.

2:04They have a lot in common in terms of their art,

2:08but their capabilities are different

2:10as they are shaped by their culture, education, just like food.

2:14Let's try.

2:16I don’t have what you have, and I can contribute something that you don’t have.

2:19Sinan: They have different colors like the colors on a pallet.

2:21You play something, and let me respond to it.

2:24Let’s see if we can meet somewhere.

2:26For a while they search

2:29Once they meet, it is like a jam session, moving along like a train.

2:34So now we are talking about ‘tevhid’, moving along like a train.

2:38Of course, there would be differences between them.

2:42There are differences of taste in what a Turk, or an Arab or a Japanese might offer,

2:46or a Scandivanian.

2:49Sinan: This is not a ‘mosaic’ but ‘aşure’ (ashura) as you said before.

2:51Some people think the two are the same. But we have been insisting on using the metaphor ‘aşure’.

2:59Why?

3:00Because in aşure, differences do not disappear,

3:03or get buried or frozen in concrete like a mosaic.

3:07Instead, they are united with jelly.

3:09So in this case, the taste is one, their hearts are one,

3:12but their opinions and behavior are different.

3:16Their colors are different,

3:18but the taste is the same.

3:20If the taste is the same, we want to get rid of all differences

3:26or if differences remain, then we end up fighting, we are in conflict.

3:30"Tevhid" means Unity which goes beyond differences

3:35It doesn’t mean erasing the differences.

3:39The Ahi, Bektashi and Alevi cultures in Anatolia represent this understanding.

3:49A cosmopolitan understanding.

3:51Christians, too, are part of this common culture and still maintain their Christianity.

3:56For example that was the case in Cappadocia,

4:00In Cappadocia, the Ihlara valley

4:03there is a one dergah at one end,

4:04and another on the other end.

4:08at one end we have the Bektashi Dergah (Haji Bektashi Veli)

4:12and the Mevlevi Dergah (Rumi) on the other.

4:15the Ihlara Valley, one and Hace Bektash and the other Mevlana (Rumi)

4:21Why did they settle there?

4:23Because there were gnostic Christians who already lived there.

4:25The official ideology of Byzantium did not accept these Christian people.

4:35They lived in Ihlara Valley, in caves, they didn’t care about living in palaces.

4:42But we live by our own faith.

4:46Historians are available, documents are available,

4:52Where are they now? We know they lived there. They didn’t just evaporate.

4:54They weren’t killed. What happened to them?

5:01What happened is that the Bektashi and the Mevlevi belief systems transformed them.

5:08Because they were capable of receiving these teachings.

5:12they already had a gnostic basis.

5:15They were able to understand ‘Tevhid’.

5:19So they were ready to receive the teachings of

5:24Mevlana Celaleddin (Rumi)

5:27and Haci Bektash.

5:30They were attracted to them because they were ready.

5:33What about Ibn Arabi who traveled all the way from Spain?

5:38At that time there were no airplanes, buses, cars,

5:44or even horses.

5:48Horses were used by the military not by ordinary people.

5:50Serhan: When we say Ibn Arabi, some people may think he came from Arabia. We should emphasize that he came from Spain.

5:57That’s right, he lived in Spain in Seville.

6:00Sinan: in Andalusia

6:01Yes, he is Spanish.

6:07Sinan: his roots are from Spain

6:09Yes, he is from Spain, in terms of location, not in terms of race.

6:17We are not talking about race here.

6:23Everybody has a race.

6:26Ibn Arabi leaves Spain,

6:29there is no bus, train, or airplane, no horses.

6:31Sinan: horses were only used by the military.

6:33People did not use horses.

6:36Only the top echelon of society may have had horses.

6:40Sinan: Horses were very precious

6:42Among people, if they were well to do, they might have had mules.

6:46Ordinary people rode donkeys,

6:49poor people carried what they needed on their shoulders.

6:51Think about such a culture, such a history

6:56There emerges a shaikh called Ibn Arabi at that time

7:03His real name can be looked up.

7:08He leaves Spain, crosses to North Africa

7:12He travels on foot,

7:14Serhan: He is walking

7:16Yes, this is not a joke

7:18comes to Mecca and Medina

7:21and then to Damascus, Syria.

7:24He then goes to Erzurum, Malatya, Konya, Kayseri

7:34At last, he decides on Konya

7:36and gets married there.

7:37He has a stepson, Sadreddin Konevi.

7:40Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi is the next generation after Ibn Arabi.

7:47He travels to so many places but settles in Anatolia

7:52and then travels to Damascus and dies there.

7:54But his main teachings are produced in Konya.

7:57Why?

8:02Look at all the geography.

8:04I wish they made a movie of his travels

8:08I have in fact two requests from artists and filmmakers.

8:13Maybe someone would respond to my requests.

8:17One is a film on Ibn Arabi’s journeys

8:22and the other is on St. Paul's journeys.

8:25St. Paul is from Tarsus, who traveled

8:32to Ephesus, to Athens and from there to Rome.

8:37An amazing journey.

8:40They say: what do we care about St. Paul?

8:46But this is a parochial mindset.

8:50If you open the Qur’an,

8:54you will read about Christ and his twelve apostles there.

8:56They are mentioned as Allah’s prophets.

9:01But we deny it.

9:03Even though we say we believe in the Qur’an.

9:05They are mentioned as Allah’s prophets in Qur'an.

9:10They say St. Paul is not one of us, he is Christian.

9:15Serhan: Does Prophet Muhammed deny St. Paul?

9:18Sinan: No

9:20No, it is in the Qur’an

9:28Serhan: Because we say we go by his Sunna

9:31Forget the Sunna, how about Farz (duties and obligations laid out in the Qur’an)

9:36Sunna are the traditions and practices of Prophet Muhammed.

9:47There is also Sunnetullah.

9:49That means nature or the universe.

9:56Serhan: That is everything we see.

9:57Bravo.

9:59And there is also ‘Farz’ and those are our obligations laid out in the Qur’an.

10:06In the Qur’an, the apostles of Christ are considered sacred.

10:13There are 27 Prophets mentioned in the Qur’an and in the work of Ibn Arabi called Fusus al Hikam.

10:20They all have Semitic roots.

10:26The roots go back to the Bible and the Torah.

10:40Nowadays some Muslims say that they hate Jews.

10:45Well if you are an enemy of Jews, then you are also an enemy of the prophets.

10:50I don’t like this race, I am angry at these people!

10:54All of these are based on parochialism and on ignorance.

10:58But at least people who consider themselves spiritual leaders, people of wisdom should be more aware.

11:04If they are not, why are they sitting in positions of leadership?

11:08Instead of sharing their wisdom, such people may lead others to greater ignorance.

11:16What is Tevhid then?

11:18What does the Prophet ask from us?

11:20What does the Qur’an say about our obligations?

11:22I am sorry that I harp on these matters.

11:26but I feel that they are very important.

11:31So please excuse me.

11:41So what is a person before he or she becomes an ‘individual’?

11:50Just an ordinary person, or anyone.

11:52Let’s say I was born at this time, into this culture.

11:57Do I choose the culture, the time, the geography I am born into?

12:03Do I choose my parents? No.

12:06So I have no responsibility in any of these.

12:10I was born in Türkiye so I am Turkish.

12:14Serhan: I didn’t know I was going to be Turkish..

12:17Serhan: I didn’t know I was going to be Japanese if I was born in Japan either.

12:21So none of that is in my willpower. Therefore, I can’t praise or look down on any of this.

12:30Serhan: So it is neither a fault, nor a particular station to be proud of.

12:33But I found myself there. I am just anyone.

12:38What does this mean? I am no different than anyone else.

12:46I am just anyone. I don’t even have a name.

12:51Turks have a very nice tradition.

12:54A person has no name (Adsız) until he or she has undertaken a heroic task.

13:08Adsız (without a name) and Atsız are the same. In Central Asia, the letter ‘t’ was used instead of ‘d’

13:12Atsız also means not having a horse (At) So having no name is synonymous with having no horse.

13:18So if you didn’t have a horse, that is, you did not have the courage to ride a horse (atsız), you did not have a name (adsız).

13:22"Ad" (Name) and "At"(horse) are the same.

13:29In Central Asian Turkish, ‘At’ meant both name and horse.

13:36So you had to have the courage to ride a horse in order to deserve a name.

13:42Someone who is "Atsız" meant both someone without a name and without a horse.

13:48Serhan: So someone who did not deserve to ride a horse yet, also did not have a name

13:51Bravo

13:53So one had to have a capability in society

13:57to deserve a horse

14:02as well as a name.

14:05See what a beautiful tradition this was.

14:08Sinan: This is so meaningful and brings up so many layers of meanings

14:14In other words, someone with no name is a nobody,

14:19He or she is nothing

14:22What that means is he or she cannot be distinguished from the rest, just an ordinary person.

14:31To be seen, a person has to be riding on a horse.

14:36Serhan: We need to define ad or at (name) here.

14:39It means a person who is being called.

14:42In order to be called, you have to be known.

14:46Sinan: So you can call someone ‘Hey’ or you can call him by his name, let’s say ‘Ahmet’.

14:53What does it mean that you have to be known in order to be called?

14:56For example,

14:57Serhan, by playing your guitar you have attracted our attention.

15:01We said: Serhan, could you please play a piece for us?

15:03We called you, you have a name.

15:04You have a horse, you have an art that you practice.

15:09You are a hairdresser, I can call you and ask: please can you cut my hair?

15:14Serhan: For example, with Native Americans, we have seen in movies,

15:19that someone is looking at the sky

15:24and then he might be given the name: skygazer

15:32Sinan: He or she has that capability.

15:35Serhan: let’s say a baby is born, and he starts gazing at the sky, and they say,

15:41this child is gazing at the sky, this is his capability, let’s call him skygazer.

15:46Yes, when you talk about capability, you are already talking about essential attributes (Ayan-ı Sabite)

15:50They would say your name is Skygazer.

15:55Sinan: Another child was called Angry Bull because he liked to fight.

16:01Serhan: Or someone else might be called Fast Hunter.

16:03Serhan: I am trying to give examples from the Native American tradition. Sinan: Those are the capabilities of those people.

16:08This is very important.

16:11First our parents give us a name.

16:15That’s not really our name

16:16That’s not our essential attribute.

16:19Our essential attribute (Ayan-ı Sabite)

16:21is our potential capability from birth that we are obligated to manifest

16:28That’s our ‘Rab’.

16:30Çilingir Sofrası 19 / Ashura Translated by Prof.Dr.Nükhet Kardam