HAFEZ: Lost in Translation

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HAFEZ: Lost in Translation
by Hafez for Beginners
10-Mar-2012
 

In much of classical Persian poetry and thought are echos of the idea that humanity is fighting over the same God! That a higher spiritual power has manifest itself to all of mankind in different places, but it's been man that's mistaken these different manifestations as tools to uphold as weapons against each other.

RUMI: "Grapes"

In Rumi/Molavi's Massnavi there's a tale about "Grapes"/Angour. 4 hungry and poverty stricken men were sitting along a wall, perhaps to keep cool in its shade. They were each from a different place: one was a Turk, one an Arab, one a Persian and the other a "Rumi"/from the Eastern Roman Empire. (Which incidentally, is why Rumi is named so - "Rumi" is the name for "Rome"- as he had emigrated to the Eastern Roman Empire where Turkey is today, to get away from the Mongols invading Khorassan, Iran.)

A passerby glances over at the 4 men and could tell that they were all hungry. He gives them a "deram"/a unit of money - so that they could all buy something to eat and relieve themselves from their acute hunger. It is at this point that the men start squabbling. The Persian wants "Angoor", The Turk wants "Ozum", The Arab wants "Anab", and the Rumi wants "Estafil." They bicker badly, with all their energy  consumed in this fight. Another passerby, this one a particularly learned man, comes across the commotion. He goes in and listens to all 4 sides - and being proficient in all 4 tongues, understands what the issue is. That they are all saying "Grape." All 4 men are saying  they should buy grapes as they are nutritious and delicious. But they're all saying it in their own different tongue and it's all getting lost in translation.  He steps in, and assures them that if they give him the "deram" he'll present them with a solution that will please them all! He goes off to a fruit stand and buys some grapes and returns. At first, each person gets boastful,assuming they had been favored over the other 3; only to then be humbled by the learned stranger into realizing there were no winners and that they'd infact been fighting over the same thing!

HAFEZ: The principles of this concept is echoed in the couplet/Beyt from Hafez today: 

Hossn-eh Rooyeh to beh yek jelveh keh dar aiineh kard

In hameh naghsh dar aiineh-yeh oham oftad 

 

Your Beauty, your Goodness, with a single reflection in the mirror of the human heart

Has scattered a whole host of design  in the mirror of man's imagination

 

That one manifestation, a single epiphaney of the Goodness and Beauty of the Beloved, of God, has resulted in plans and designs capturing that same epiphany in a spectrum of ways. And these different designs are that which we are all fighting over. They are all the same nutritious "Grape" - having lost in translation our common desire for the same entity.

AFSANEH 

 

We hold Hafez classes in DC - come and join us, and I'm mostly posting this as further insight into the background of where these posts are coming from: YOUTUBE: "Learning from Hafez in DC":

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUhIXQoxwzE

 

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more from Hafez for Beginners
 
Hafez for Beginners

Iraj Khan: Thanks and I

by Hafez for Beginners on

Iraj Khan: Thanks and I always enjoy when people respons with Hafez - and the line inspired me to post the below, myself. Thanks, again.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wp4O7v5320

 


iraj khan

welcome back

by iraj khan on

مگذران روز سلامت به ملامت حافظ

چه توقع ز جهان گذران میداری


Hafez for Beginners

merci Anglophile

by Hafez for Beginners on

Afsaneh


anglophile

Welcome back dear Afsaneh

by anglophile on

That beautiful ghazal by Saadi came to my mind the instant I saw your blog for the first time after all those months of absence. As for "hosn" vs "khoobrooyan" I think we have been over this long time ago. I believe that in Hafez's view of life, philosophy if you will, these two concepts are not necessarily synonymous, though ideally they should go hand in hand:

 

گفتم ؛ ز مهرورزان رسم وفـا بـیـامـوز

گفتا ؛ ز خوبـرویان ایـن کار کـمـتــر آیـد 

 

and here he contrasts between the physical beauty and the spiritual one:

 

حسن مهرویان مجلس ... گر چه ... دل میبرد و دین

 

بحث ما ... در لطف طبع و خوبی اخلاق ... بود

 

but never loses sight on hss ideal beloved who possesses both attributes:

 

ایـن که می‌گـویـنـد : آن خوش‌تـر ز حُسن

یـــار مــا " ایـن " دارد و " آن " نـیــز هـــم 

 

Nice to see you back.

 

ps - I am a "phile" not a "phone" :) 


Hafez for Beginners

thanks for your Sa'adi

by Hafez for Beginners on

Anglophone: Thanks for your post that I believe is Sa'adi? "Khoubrooyan" as it comes towards the end of your post is a fascinating concept - like "Hossn" that came up in today's Hafez post: a recurring theme in Persian poetry - the idea that beauty and goodness are intertwined, that without goodness an entity can't truly be beautiful.


anglophile

دیر آمدی‌ای نگار سرمست

anglophile


دیر آمدی‌ای نگار سرمست

زودت ندهیم دامن از دست

بر آتش عشقت آب تدبیر

چندان که زدیم بازننشست

از روی تو سر نمی‌توان تافت

وز روی تو در نمی‌توان بست

از پیش تو راه رفتنم نیست

چون ماهی اوفتاده در شست

سودای لب شکردهانان

بس توبه صالحان که بشکست

ای سرو بلند بوستانی

در پیش درخت قامتت پست

بیچاره کسی که از تو ببرید

آسوده تنی که با تو پیوست


چشمت به کرشمه خون من ریخت


وز قتل خطا چه غم خورد مست

سعدی ز کمند خوبرویان

تا جان داری نمی‌توان جست

ور سر ننهی در آستانش

دیگر چه کنی دری دگر هست