Fire of Ashk

 Hu Dost---


Elhamdullillah, it's fajr time one again. It's been an insane, but interesting week. To put it mildly. But, much to be very thankful for. Highlights include a wonderful Oovoo sohbet with Baba, a very good catching-up with my sister,  and the dostness of my dost Selma. 


As many of you know, "Dost" is a Farsi and Turkish word. I don't know all the subtleties of its meaning in Farsi, but in Turkish it conveys the idea of a true heart-friend-- like the English term "best friend" but not comparative.  Like a "soul-mate," but not necessarily romantic. It may even be a person you've met only once-- but your soul recognizes. I've had that feeling with people I met on a Greyhound bus traveling to Georgia. I've had that feeling reading the poems of Kaygusuz Abdal or the letters of Ibn Abbad of Ronda.  Frankly, I have that whenever I listen to  Iron and Wine, The Mountain Goats or even Warren Zevon. Or Bach. Or lately, the music of Gurdjieff (though I'm not so sure about his writings, the music was AMAZING).  It's that finding a soul-within-your-soul in another human being. That is the Dost. Turkish has two words for friend-- "arkadash" is a friend in the usual sense, and then "dost" -- that's what Hazreti Shams and Hazreti Mevlana were to each other... the friendship that is so deep that you are mirrors to one another. It's my favorite word in any language. Well, that and "lugubrious," but that's just because it has a comical ring to it. ;)



May we all become dost to one another, inshallah. 

So while we are on the topic of the dost... here is a clip of one of my favorite bands called HU DOST (named after a traditional Sufi greeting, recognizing the True Dost who manifests in all of us). I suspect that many readers here know this song, but some readers in Turkey and Albania know the song well but have never heard it in English before. Check them out on Itunes... it honestly made me cry to hear some of these songs again! 


Speaking of which, elhamdullillah,  it was wonderful to have a meshk with everyone on Oovoo the other day...