Body & Mind Training Center

Dear Ostad Jalilzadeh and dear Hamrahan, I wish to continue the “journey” at the side of the birds in the search for the Simorgh, taking a look at the pretext given by

-the nightingale
-the parrot
-the peacock
-the goose
-the partridge
-the huma
-the falcon
-the heron
-the owl
-the finch
-all the birds


The Hoopoe talked to the other birds revealing the existence of their King, a King unrivaled whose name was Simorgh, and that lived beyond the mountain of Qaf, where was the World's end.
He was so close to them but they were so far from him, and the birds started to fancy about this King and a strong desire to reach him took hold of their hearts.
But being the path so hard and difficoult they were taken by anxiety and sarted to cop out adding excuses.

THE PRETEX OF THE NIGHTINGALE

The nightingale in love came singing about a world of unfathomable mysteries and about the secrets of the spirit.
The passion make his soul alike a sea in tempest, but if he is taken away from his love, the nightingale stop to sing and to reveal his secrets and become silent. For a nightingale the research of the Simorgh is too much, and the love of a rose is enough, and when she unveil, at him she adress the loving laughter.

The hoopoe answer to the nightingale not to be proud of his love for beauty, because beauty will know the decline. The love for something that is bound to decay causes disgust to perfect. And he urges the nightingale to let alone the rose that every spring laugh at him.

THE PRETEXT OF THE PARROT

Came the parrot with the beak filled with sugar, with a wonderful green plumage and a golden collar. Everything in the world seemed to have taken its color from him, and the words coming from him were always sweet.
The parrot said that the journey to reach the Simorgh was too much for him, that he had not enough energy to reach his court, so to him it was enough to find a trace of the water of life and to take a sip to this water to become then a king in his little cage where he could be imprisoned, and all the same because of this sip feeling to be a king in there.

The hoopoe warned him that won't ever become a man the man that is not able to let go of his existence. The water of life has to be searched inside the heart and nowhere else. It is not a real man the one that is not able to die to himself. Then he told him to go away, as he was only peel without pulp.

THE PRETEXT OF THE PEACOCK

Then was the turn of the peacock of the plumage of hundred thousands colors and with the golden mantle.
The peacock told the others birds that the invisible artist to paint him turned the fingers of the chinese into brushes, but the fate had not been favorable to him. He loved the horrible snake of Eden and for this he was banished from there.
All he wished was to come back to the Eden where he came from, his lost paradise, and his lost home, because his feet are weighed down by the strains that make it impossible to him to fly to reach the court of Simorgh, and that to him it would be enough to know the caretaker of the realm.

The hoopoe answer him that if someone crave to reach the palace of the King, he would go to any lenght to try to reach it. The body is the paradise of the desires but the heart is the refuge of the truth. Eden is only a small drop of water compared to the sovereign, that is like the immense sea. If he wish to be perfect he has to contemplate the whole, search for the whole, be whole and become and choose the whole.

THE PRETEXT OF THE GOOSE

Then came the goose coming out from the waters. She said that nobody was more pure than her, that was spending all her time in the sacred ablutions.
If taken from the water, it would be impossible to her to survive, and she could never pass through the deserts to reach the Simorgh. And she ask how could wish to reach the Simorgh those that are satisfied with living on the waters.

The hoopoe answer her that she let few drops of water to blind her, and ask how she could keep her sight clean in presence of so many dirty faces that in this water are reflected.

The two worlds, the lower one and upper one, are like a drop of water, meaning that they exist and they don't exist. Everything takes his genesis from the water, but everything that comes from it is destined to deteriorate. The water is unstable and nothing can be grounded on it.

THE PRETEXT OF THE PARTRIDGE

Came the smiling pardridge full of himself, with a purple mantle. All the time he searched the cave to find the gems, and the love for those gems enchained him to the mountain where he search endlessy. He knows the value of that mountain and of all the gem that are hidden in the ground. He could never put down the sword and belt that are adorned with them. The way that leads to the Simorgh is difficoult and his feet are sinking into a slimy mass of pearls and gems.

The hoopoe answere that the gems he is searching for are nothing more that colored stones, and who is interested in the truth gems is not interested in simple colored stones. His passion for them hardened his heart.
The gems, “gawahar”, are both symbol of human vanity and spiritual essence of humans, so the partridge in search for the gems has lost the real gems to find only colored stones.

THE PRETEXT OF HUMA

Huma was the fenix or the falcon from whose shadow were created the kings. She was called “the lucky” because nurtured unlimited ambition.
He said that he wasn't a common bird, and has nothing in common with cowards and ignobles. He
thrown a bone to the dog of the senses in order to preserve his spirit from his teeth.
From the shadows of his wings came the Kings, so he ask why the Simorgh would search his friendship? he was satisfied with his power to create kings.

The hoopoe tell him he is prisoner of his pride, and he is not the nurse of Kings but only a dog with the bone in the mouth. He ask him to get free of that bone, and that if the kings wouldn't see his shadow they would be saved by their ruin in the day of judgement


THE PRETEXT OF THE FALCON

The falcon came at the assembly to unveil the secrets of the spirit.
He said that for the love of the royal princes he forgot the people and he took his head under a hood only to let his claws rest on royal shoulders. To him is enough to be fed by a royal hand, why should he in vain fly to his court? All he wants is to live at the side of a sovereign to hunt according to his desire

The hoopoe call him a prisoner of lies, separated from the royal attributes and slave of outer forms. The power of a sovereign belong to the Simorgh, and is not a sovereign those who found his power over foolishness
A real King is the one that stand on his throne alone, and has loyalty and moderation as only companions. So he warned the falcon to stay away from the princes of the world, because they are like fire. To be happy he say he has to stay away from them as his sphere of action will be reduced.

(to be continued)

THE PRETEXT OF THE HERON

Then spoke the Heron, that loved to live on the shore of the sea, and not being a member of the sea people, he was longing for the water and at the same time destined to die on those shores. The love for the water became all to him, he claims he would never have the strenght to reach the distant Simorgh, and he ask himself how someone that took his origin from a drop of water could ever become one with him.

The Hoopoe warned him, he doesn't know the secrets of the sea. It is populated by frightening monsters, and it is unstable and moody creature, in perpetual motion and without law.
An endless number of ships were destroyed by the sea, and sailors swallowed by its vortices.
It is not possible to receive consolation by someone that doesn't know loyalty!
He ask the Heron to separate from the sea to avoid being swallowed by him. The sea is only a stream that comes from the house of the divine.


THE PRETEXT OF THE OWL

Like a fool came the Owl, that built his home in ruins and abandoned places. Being weak and corrupted the Owl visited hundreds of cities but always to discover discomforts and disadvantages. In this places he live with heart full of anxiety, and he still searching this places for the hidden treasure that he fell in love for.
To the Owl the love for the Simorgh is only an illusion, and not being worthy of his love he take satisfaction in his love for ruins and treasures.

The Hoopoe answered he is poisoned by the search for the treasures. If he would find one he would end dying on it, throwing his life away without having reached his goal. Only the unfaithful get in love with gold and treasures.


THE PRETEXT OF THE FINCH

Then was the turn of the Finch of the weak heart and of the thin body. The Finch says that he has become weak and unsure, laking of courage, nurishment and strenght and drained of energy he could never endure the journey. He could never aim for the Union and he would never be worthy of that Union. For this reason to him is enough to keep the search of his Joseph.

The Hoopoe answer him that he won't be deceived by his pretext and hypocrisis! he will never believe to such lies, so he push him to close his beak and start the journey.
Joseph, the son that was taken from his father Jacob is not to be found in this life. The love for his son and the longing to find him became so big to overcome the love for God. So by Gabriel he was warned to avoid to spell his name again and so he did. But when in a dream he saw the son, even if he didn't called his name his soul let go a scream so deep that when he woke up Gabriel told him he broke the agreement . Then Jacob surrendered to the Will and never spelled again the name of Joseph.


THE PRETEXT OF ALL THE BIRDS

All the birds found weak excuses and pretests giving voice to their ignorance.
How could such creatures reach the phoenix? If you don't have the strenght of an atom, how can you get united to the sun? If you're shipwreaked in a drop of water, how can you emerge from the depth?

So the birds mill around the hoopoe asking how could they ever reach the simorgh if not thanks to a miracle. How could a prince be willing to unite with some miserables?

The Hoopoe answer that as the shining Sun when the Simorgh showed his face hidden by a veil, he projected on earth endless shadows that he then contemplate with his pure sight, and from this shadows arose countless birds!

The disparate faces of the birds are nothing else that the face of the Simorgh himself!
If you don't have eyes for the Simorgh it means your heart is not like a mirror.

Indeed, being impossible for human beings contamplate such a beauty he created a mirror for us that is located in the heart. If you want to contemplate his face, it is there that you have to watch.

Dear Ostad Jalilzadeh, I thought to help my italians Hamrahan doing the translation of the story of Mehrmatora.
This is the same thing translated in italian.
Thank you so much again.
TO'A

Almost 30 years ago the Grand Master Mirzaii used to write some stories that where published in the Magazine “Boys and Girls”. In my opinion, one of the things that made those stories great and “eternal” was and is the fact that the message that is carried on is universal, and goes beyond the boundaries of space and time. So, if they were written by him with some specific topic in his mind (thing that probably we will never know), it is also true that they are so general that they can be related to the life of every individual, at every level, and they are a deep source for a fruitfull insight and thinking about what is all around us.
One of this stories is Mehrmatora.


MEHRMATORA (KHORSHID SAMURAI)

Mehrmatora is the name of the son of the Sun, the bright side of the Samurai.
At the time, the Samurai were people living in a land that was lost in the darkness, a land that was called by themself “The land of Hate”. In this land, everybody was hating and fighting each other, the people was selfish and they were only capable to love themselves. The only person that they didn't hate, was their King, that they believed to be their God, along with their Sword. They defended this King/God from whoever or whatever represented a threaten, so that they were always fighting and killing each other and the other people, in the name of this King/God, and their sword were always covered in blood.
The King/God of this dark land dominated by hatred and selfishness wished his people to live in such condition. He was always holding the distance with them, this way he could avoid to share himself or whatever was related to him with them and he could always stay above them all.
If someone wished to reach for him, he would have lost his or her life and his or her body would have joined the corpses that were filling the large ditch that was separating the King/God from his people.

On the other side, there was the land of the To'a people, that was completely different. The To'a people used to call their land the “Land of Beauty”. This was the place where everybody loved each other, where people lived in harmony, and they always used to look to the bright side of the life.
In this place there was “Okima”, that was the messenger of To'a that brings news from the To'a city.
One day he decided to send “Osima”, that is the Simorgh, to meet the King/God of the “Land of Hate”.
Osima, that was a strong and very smart fighter, covered himself in black before having reached the land. He covered in black his face, put some black boots on, and put on a black sash, then he went to reach the land.

When the Samurai that were the people of the “land of Hate” saw him, they thought he would have brought troubles, and they were scared by him even if “Osima” was coming in bare hands and had no weapons with him, so they started to throw at him whatever they found, stones and spears. But Osima was strong and smart and found his way through them and reached for the King/God.
When he reached the ditch he passed through, above the dead bodies of all those selfish people full of hatred, and when he was in front of the King, he took his mask off and showed himself to him.

His face was so bright that the King had to hide himself to avoid to be blinded by this brightness. Then Osima turned himself to the people at the other side of the ditch and told them to look at their King. They were fighting for him thinking he was a God, but he was not able to bear the light coming from his face.
He covered the space that was separating him from the King/God and he got so close to him that the King got blinded and the only thing he could do was listening to his words.
So he spoke to the Samurai. He asked them to take their swords out and hold it high against the Sun. What they were seeing was for the first time something different from the blood that used to cover the blades. This was what their King/God couldn't bear: the bright light of the Sun was something that he couldn't stand. For this reason he pushed them to fight all the time for him, so that their blade would have been always covered with the blood, fruit of the hate, and could never reflect the light and he could have been their King/God forever.

When the big and expert Samurai realized the truth and that there was no other choices, they started to kill themselves doing Harakiri.




This is the story that was shared by Yaromeh. I was asking myself what was the possible message he was trying to comunicate to the people. Of course the history of Iran was troubled, but I think that what he tried to say was something above the political matter. Of course, maybe a part may have been realted to it ( probably we will never know ) , but I don't think his interntion was simply this.

What we find here is the opposite principles:
*Light-Darkness, that remember so much Goodness and Evilness
*Love-Hate, the feelings of human hearts
*Selfishness-Altruism, the way the people direct their actions.

And we find also two different type of leader:
*A King that need to create distance and to spread hate to keep his place, and that most importantly needs to keep his people in the ignorance, and in the ignorance of the existence of another condition, another way of feeling and acting toward the others, another way of living.
*At the other side we find Okima, that found his way to the perfection, and that send a message to the people and the King, and his message comes through Osima. Okima send his messenger to help other people to reach the happy condition of harmony that is experienced by his people. He wants them to open the eyes and to allow others to share the same good things he has.

Osima is the Simorgh. What it is striking in my opinion, is that he choose the image of the 30 birds of the history of Attar, to send the message. The Simorgh is the union of those few ( thirty among the ten thousands) that took the jouney in the depth of themselves and won the weakness and all the vices and in the end became the Simorgh in union of those alike him.

But how did the Samurai reacted to the sight of Osima (Simorgh)? They were scared by him, by something they didn't know and understand, so they oppose him and try to hurt him with all their means. This too bad is a well known rule of the human nature, that tends to attack what is seen as a possible threat, or that tends to be scared by what is unknown.
But I would also say the “Simorgh”, the union of 30 that found their way and in harmony becomes one. And against him (them), at the other side, the people of the land of Hate, that are the opposite, not united, lost in the darkness. Scared by a Union they don't know and understand and for this they oppose.
But even after being attacked he doesn't give up and go on with his mission.

The message carried by Osima goes to the King,but goes to the people too.

He shows the King that his power comes from keeping his people in a bad condition and in ignorace, but as long as his people realize the truth of his weakness his status will change. The power that comes from hate is a fake power that is destined to fall, it can't last forever.
He shows to the people that there is another way of living, not dominated by selfishness and hate, and that if they try to lay down the blades and the swords that made become their God, they will be able to see another existence.

What Yaromeh seems to say is: “keep your weapons clean, don't put them in service to the hate. Allow them to reflect the light and be in service for the good and positive things”

One last thing come in my mind. The light is usually represented in white, a white color. The blood is red.
This reminds me so much the Otayme, that is red outside and white in the center. This is symbol of the human aggressivity, what we have to pass through, to reach the center, that is white, and represent the peace.

So if I should put the two things side by side, I would think he was asking to get clean from the agressivity to reach the peacefull condition that allows us to have a better life.
But as always is To'a, what is true in relation with the others is true also in relation with ourself.
So maybe the message could be to put down the external aggressivity along with the internal one, the one we find in relation with the others, but also the one that hide inside us, to reach the others and another way of life.

Dear Ostad Jalilzadeh, first of all let me thank you again for having me taught about the story of Mehrmatora.
As you know, some of my italians Hamrahan have some troubles with english, and I think that the message of this story is so deep that I wish to help them. For this reason I translated in italian too the same words I wrote in english.
Please, alllow me to share it.

This is the link of the site where it is written in farsi and in english (someone "loose the directions" with the left-right/right-left writing)

kungfutoa.ca/index.php/fa/2012-12-31-02-.../2013-11-24-17-21-34

Again, endless thank you for everything you do for us!

TO'A!


TRANSLATION:

Quasi 30 anni fa il Grande Maestro Mirzaii scrisse alcune storie che vennero poi pubblicate nella rivista “Boys and Girls”. É mia opinione che quello che rende queste storie importanti ed “eterne” era ed è dovuto al messaggio veicolato, che è universale e va al di là dei confini dello spazio e del tempo. Pertanto, se è possibile che siano state scritte avendo in mente un argomento preciso (cosa che probabilmente non sapremo mai), è anche vero che sono così di portata generale da poter essere messe in relazione con la vita di ogni individuo ad ogni livello, e sono una fonte profonda di riflessione su noi stessi e quello che ci circonda.
Una di queste storie è Mehrmatora

MEHRMATORA (KHORSHID SAMURAI)

Mehrmatora è il nome del figlio del Sole, il lato luminoso del Samurai.
All'epoca, i Samurai erano un popolo che viveva in una terra persa nell'oscurità, una terra che loro stessi chiamavano la “terra dell'odio”. In questa terra, tutti si odiavano e combattevano reciprocamente, la gente che la popolava era egoista ed era capace di amare solamente sé stessa. L' unica persona che i Samurai non odiavano era il loro Re, che assieme alla loro spada credevano essere il loro Dio. Difendevano questo Dio/Sovrano da chiunque o qualunque cosa rappresentasse una minaccia, tanto che erano costantemente impegnati a combattersi ed uccidersi l'un l'altro in suo nome, e le loro spade erano sempre ricoperte di sangue.
Il Dio/Sovrano di questa terra dominata dall'odio e dall'egoismo voleva che il suo popolo vivesse in questa condizione. Manteneva sempre le distanze in modo tale da evitare di dover condividere con esso sé stesso o qualunque cosa lo riguardasse, restando così sempre al di sopra di tutti.
Se qualcuno voleva o tentava di raggiungerlo finiva per perdere la vita, ed il suo corpo andava ad accrescere il numero dei cadaveri che riempivano la vasta fossa che separava il Dio/Sovrano dalla sua gente.

Dal lato opposto, c'era il popolo della terra di To'a, che era completamente diversa.
Il popolo To'a chiamava la propria terra la “terra della bellezza”, in questo luogo tutti si amavano, vivevano in armonia e guardavano al lato luminoso dell'esistenza.
In questo paese si trovava “Okima”, che era il messaggero del To'a che portava notizie dalla città di To'a. Un giorno Okima decise di mandare “Osima”, che è il Simorgh, a incontrare il Dio/Re della “terra dell'Odio”.
Osima, che era un combattente forte ed intelligente, prima di partire decise di coprirsi completamente di nero,ed indossato un drappo nero per mascherare il viso, degli stivali neri e lo Sash nero, partì per raggiungere quella terra.

Quando i Samurai, che tutti assieme formavano il popolo della “terra dell'odio” lo videro arrivare iniziarono a pensare che questo uomo costituisse una minaccia e che dal suo arrivo sarebbero seguiti solo problemi. Nonostante il fatto che Osima stesse avanzando a mani nude e non portasse con sé armi , ne erano ugualmente spaventati a tal punto che incominciarono a lanciargli addosso qualsiasi cosa avessero a disposizione, lance e armi ma anche sassi. Ma Osima essendo un guerriero forte e scaltro trovò comunque il modo per aprirsi un varco e raggiungere il Dio/Sovrano.
I cadaveri di quei Samurai egoisti e pieni di odio che avevano perso la vita cercando di raggiungere il loro Re riempivano la fossa che separava il Dio/Sovrano da Osima, che trovò il modo di superarla e di passare al di sopra di quei corpi e giunto di fronte a lui si tolse la maschera e scoprì il suo volto.

Il suo viso era così splendente da costringere il Dio/Sovrano a proteggersi per evitare di rimanere accecato da quella luce. Osima si voltò e parlò al popolo che stava dalla parte opposta della fossa e chiese di guardare il Re. Disse loro che stavano tutti combattendo per lui credendo che fosse un Dio, ma non era nemmeno in grado si sopportare la luce che emanava dal suo volto. Coperto lo spazio che lo separava dal Dio/Sovrano gli si fece così vicino che il Re rimase cieco e l'unica cosa che poteva fare era ascoltare le parole di Osima.
Così iniziò a parlare ai Samurai. Chiese loro di sguainare le loro spade e di tenerle alte di fronte al Sole. Quello che stavano vedendo era per la prima volta qualcosa di diverso dal sangue che di solito ricopriva le loro lame. Ecco cosa il loro Dio/Sovrano non riusciva a sopportare: la luce splendente del Sole era qualcosa che non riusciva a tollerare. Per questa ragione li spingeva sempre a combattere continuamente per lui, in questo modo le loro spade sarebbero state sempre ricoperte e incrostate dal sangue, frutto dell'odio, e non avrebbero mai potuto riflettere la luce permettendogli di rimanere il loro Dio/Sovrano per sempre.

Quando i Samurai più anziani ed esperti iniziarono a capire la verità e che non c'erano altre vie di uscita, iniziarono a togliersi la vita facendo Harakiri.



Questa è la storia che Yaromeh condivise. Mi stavo chiedendo quale potesse essere il messaggio che stava cercando di comunicare alla gente. Sicuramente all'epoca la storia dell'Iran era molto tribolata, ma credo che quello che stava cercando di dire andasse al di là della questione politica. Certamente una parte forse poteva essere collegata (cosa che probabilmente non sapremo mai), ma non credo che la sua intenzione fosse semplicemente questa.

Quello che ritroviamo qui sono i principi opposti
*Luce-Oscurità, che ricordano tanto il Bene ed il Male
*Amore-Odio, i sentimenti che riempiono i cuori delle persone
*Egoismo-Altruismo, la direzione dei comportamenti della gente.

E troviamo anche due diversi tipi di leader:
*Un Re che ha bisogno di creare distanza e di diffondere odio per poter mantenere la sua posizione, e che, cosa ancora più importante, ha bisogno di mantenere la sua gente nell'ignoranza, e nell'ignoranza dell'esistenza di una diversa condizione, un modo diverso di sentire e agire nei confronti del prossimo, un modo diverso di vivere.
*Dall'altro lato troviamo Okima, che ha trovato la sua via verso la perfezione, e che manda un messaggio al popolo ed al Re, e questo messaggio passa attraverso Osima. Okima manda il suo messaggero per aiutare la gente a raggiungere quella felice condizione di armonia che la sua gente vive. Vuole che aprano gli occhi per permettere anche all'altra gente di condividere le buone cose che lui ha raggiunto.

Osima è il Simorgh. Quello che è sorprendente dal mio punto di vista, è che il Grande Maestro Mirzaii ha scelto come messaggero l'immagine dei 30 uccelli della storia di Attar. Il Simorgh rappresenta l'unione di quei pochi ( trenta dei diecimila) che intrapresero il viaggio verso le profondità di sé stessi e vinsero le debolezze ed i vizi ed alla fine nella loro unione divennero il Simorgh.

Ma nella storia come reagirono i Samurai alla vista di Osima (Simorgh)? Erano spaventati da lui, da qualcosa che non conoscevano o comprendevano, e perciò gli si opposero e cercarono di ferirlo con ogni mezzo. Questo purtroppo è un comportamento noto e comune all'animo umano, che tende ad attaccare ciò che è interpretato in termini di minaccia, o che tende a temere quello che non conosce.
Ma direi anche che il Simorgh è l'unione dei 30 che trovarono la loro strada e in armonia diventano uno. E contro di lui (loro) dal lato opposto, troviamo la gente della terra dell' Odio, che è l'esatto opposto, non unita, persa nell' Oscurità. Spaventata da una unione che non conoscono e non capiscono e che per questo oppongono.
Ma anche dopo essere stato attaccato, non abbandona l'impresa.

Il messaggio portato da Osima va al Re ma anche al popolo.

Mostra al Re che il suo potere deriva dal mantenere la sua gente in cattive condizioni e nell'ignoranza, ma quando la gente capirà la verità il suo status cambierà. Il potere che deriva dall'odio è un falso potere che è destinato a cadere, e non può durare in eterno.
Mostra al popolo che c'è un modo diverso di vivere, non dominato dall'egoismo e dall'odio, e che lo potrà vedere se prova a deporre le lame e le spade che sono diventate il loro Dio.

Quello che Yaromeh sembra voler dire è:” mantenete pulite le vostre armi, non mettetele al servizio dell'odio. Permettetele di riflettere la luce e di essere al servizio di cose buone e positive”

Un'ultima cosa mi viene in mente. La luce è generalmente rappresentata con il colore bianco. Il sangue è rosso. Questo mi ricorda molto l' Otayme, che è rosso all'esterno e bianco all'interno, e simboleggia l'aggressività umana che dobbiamo superare, per raggiungere il centro, che è bianco, e che rappresenta la pace.

Pertanto se mettessi le due cose una di fianco all'altra, penserei che ci sta chiedendo di liberarci dell'aggressività per raggiungere la condizione di pace che ci permette di godere di una vita migliore.
Ma come sempre in To'a, quello che è collegato agli altri è vero anche in relazione a noi stessi.
Forse perciò il messaggio potrebbe essere anche quello deporre l'agressività esteriore ma anche quella interiore, quella che si può attivare nella relazione con gli altri ma anche quella che ci cela nel nostro animo, per raggiungere un modo di vivere diverso e migliore.