{"id":5566,"date":"2017-01-04T09:51:10","date_gmt":"2017-01-04T16:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=5566"},"modified":"2017-01-04T09:51:10","modified_gmt":"2017-01-04T16:51:10","slug":"shah-nematollah-vali-the-point-of-the-circle-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/04\/shah-nematollah-vali-the-point-of-the-circle-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Shah Nematollah Vali – The Point of the Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Point of the Circle
\nby Shah Nematollah Vali<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The point appeared in the circle
\nAnd was not;
\nBut it was the dot
\nThat the circle begot.<\/p>\n

The point appears
\nAs a circle, as it revolves
\nIn the eyes of him
\nWho a circle draws.<\/p>\n

When the point
\nCompleted the circle
\nIts beginning and end
\nWere one.<\/p>\n

When the compass
\nDid the circle complete
\nIt was wrapped up
\nAnd rested its feet.<\/p>\n

Without existence
\nNot-being are we;
\nWe who are Not
\nAnd You existence free.<\/p>\n

I said the whole world was His dream;
\nThen I saw His dream was He.
\nSweeter than the words of our guide,
\nNimatullah knows no other words.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi<\/a>, Translated by Mahmood Jamal<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by ratravarman<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

When I was in high school I loved geometry. Something about the visual, spatial nature of geometry just clicked for me. This poem reminds me of the way I\u2019d get lost in geometrical contemplations on hot afternoons in the classroom\u2026<\/p>\n

The point appeared in the circle
\nAnd was not;
\nBut it was the dot
\nThat the circle begot.<\/p>\n

The point appears
\nAs a circle, as it revolves\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

In geometry, a point has no dimension. It has no diameter, no depth. It does not really exist in space; it is only an idea, a point of reference. Yet when you start to move it in a single direction, its trail creates a line. Move it around another point, you create an arc. Continue describing that arc, and its end will eventually meet its beginning, and form an endless circle. <\/p>\n

From nothing, something has taken form. From the point, a circle emerges. It is the existence of the circle that proves the existence of the point. The point is not-being; the circle is being.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another image: A circle encloses a limited area. We can calculate the area with the formula pi multiplied by the radius squared. Yet, although the area is limited and specific, we can still fit an infinite number of points within the circle. Since a point does not take up space but can still have a location, its possibilities within the circle are unlimited. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s meditate on this for a moment. Imagine that you are that point and the circle is the canvas of reality \u2014 your life. Your life has a limited number of years to it, a limited number of places you can go, people you will meet, experiences you will have. Being human, we instinctively rebel against that feeling of limitation. But we are like the point within the circle: Within the limited area of our lives, the possibilities available to us are, in reality, without limit. Just the slightest shift in point-of-view, and everything around us is made new. So, is our limited life really limited?<\/p>\n

These are the sorts of things nerdy teenaged Ivan used to daydream about in geometry class\u2026<\/p>\n

I said the whole world was His dream;
\nThen I saw His dream was He.<\/i><\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Shah Nematollah Vali<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nIslamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n
\n\"Shah<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nShah Nematollah Vali<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Iran\/Persia (1330 \u2013 1431) Timeline<\/a>
\nMuslim \/ Sufi<\/a><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Shah Nematollah Vali (or Nimatullah Wali) was born to a Sufi family in Aleppo, Syria. He traveled widely through the Muslim world, learning the philosophies of many masters, but not at first finding a personal teacher he could dedicate himself to. During this time, he also studied the writings of the great Sufi philosopher and mystic, ibn \u2018Arabi.<\/p>\n

Shah Nematollah finally met Shaykh Abdollah Yafe\u2019i in Mecca, and became his disciple. He studied intensely with his teacher for seven years until, spiritually transformed, he was sent out for a second round of travels, this time as a realized teacher.<\/p>\n

He temporarily resided near Samarkand, along the great Central Asian Silk Road. It was here that he met the conqueror Tamerlane, but, to avoid conflict with the worldly ruler, he soon left and eventually settled in the Persian \/ Indian region of Kerman.<\/p>\n

When Shah Nematollah died, his fame had spread throughout Persia and India, and it is said he initiated hundreds of thousands of followers. Today the Nimatullah Sufi Order is one of the most important Sufi orders of Iran.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Shah Nematollah Vali<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Point of the Circle by Shah Nematollah Vali The point appeared in the circle And was not; But it was the dot That the circle begot. The point appears As a circle, as it revolves In the eyes of him Who a circle draws. When the point Completed the circle Its beginning and end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1367,1369,2028,2029,1370,19],"class_list":["post-5566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-circle","tag-geometry","tag-limitation","tag-nematullah","tag-shah-nematollah-vali","tag-sufi-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5567,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5566\/revisions\/5567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}