Have you ever seen Dervish whirl? Take a look at this brief video from Cairo and see for yourself. Believe it or not, the man in the middle spun on stage for almost thirty minutes. People became dizzy just watching him!
The dervishes actually come from the mystical Sufi mystical sect of Islam. When they whirl, they re-enact a turning towards the truth, during which the follower symbolically grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and arrives at the "Perfect".
The dervish also provides a wonderful metaphor for balance. We all feel that sometimes we are spinning out of control. Yet the Dervish somehow maintains calm at the center, balanced. He does this by concentrating inwardly, on his own core, rather than the crazy world around him.
At the same time, the spinning itself provides a pathway to God. In this sense, we need to realize that spinning is part of life. We cannot stop the spinning. To stop spinning would be to stop life. And it is through life that we learn to embrace God.
The next time you feel like life is spinning out of control, picture the whirling Dervish. Spinning is the way the Dervish arrives at the "Perfect." And, by remaining calm at the center, he is able to let the perfect into his heart, mind and soul - without getting dizzy!
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