THE JOURNEY OF LOVE
-May we come in, Bacim Sultan? -Come on in, sir.
-Good luck with your work. -Thank you.
Come, Yunus.
My sheikh said Yunus Efendi had to take his medicines.
-Welcome. -Thank you.
Yunus Efendi came to take his medicines, Ali Taygu Efendi.
Come in, Ali Taygu Efendi.
I'll get the medicine right away.
You're better, inshallah?
I am.
It is not easy, of course. You were bedridden for a month.
You couldn't even drink water.
Mikel Efendi is a good doctor.
We wouldn’t have felt comfortable if it hadn't been for him.
Such a coincidence.
When you were appointed to Nallihan, you went to his office...
on your first day here.
Here they are.
Hopefully, it’ll cure you quickly, inshallah.
Inshallah.
Uncle Mikel said that you shouldn't neglect it.
Come on, let’s go, Yunus Efendi.
Two bunches.
Kasim Aga, welcome.
Thank you, Sister Kira.
Is Mikel Efendi not in?
My father's gone for a patient.
What is it? I hope you are not sick.
No, I am not.
There was an issue.
I came for advice.
Please do tell.
If I can be of assistance...
It's a private matter.
A relative of mine had an accident.
I was going to consult him about that.
What happened?
Well...
he fell off a cliff while shepherding.
They brought someone from a village at night though.
Which village was it?
Kara...
Karatepe. Karatepe village.
They didn't bring him to us.
What's his problem?
It’s been about a month since the accident...
but he doesn't seem to remember anything.
He doesn't recognise faces or places he’s been to.
It's as if he sees the world for the very first time.
It happens but I do not know why.
My father says it happens to people after receiving a blow on the head.
Some forget everything, some forget some parts.
Do they not remember later on?
Of course, they do.
But how? Does it happen suddenly?
Or slowly? My father didn't mention it.
Don't lose hope.
Bring him in if possible, for my father to see.
My father has treated people who even forgot who they are.
Now they live their lives as before.
Who are you?
Who are you?!
I'm not worthy of your respect, son.
Sit, come on, sit.
Is your bed comfortable?
Well?
You must have been used to comfortable beds in Konya in three months.
We do not have cotton mattresses in the cells, as we have at home.
Well?
Is there anything you want, anything you want to say?
Then excuse me, I'll go now.
My sheikh!
When words dominate silence, even the tongue cannot stop them.
Come on, tell me.
Who am I?
Who am I, sheikh?
Everybody knows who you are.
Only you don't.
Who are you?
If you don’t know yourself, what good is everyone knowing you...
and you knowing everyone?
I cannot tell you who you are.
But if you want...
and if you have strength...
we may go out and walk a bit.
Well, as the saying goes...
feet walk, mind works.
Come on, then.
Look, she knows you too.
Ask her.
How does she know you?
Stop!
Stop, stop!
Then, I must assign you a new duty.
Here, take this.
This shall be your new duty.
You'll take care of Karabas.
Until she is tamed, you are responsible for her.
My wife prepared her food, ask her to fill the bowl.
Where is Karabas?
I do not know, my sheikh.
Do not say 'I know', do know that you do not know.
It must be gone, sheikh.
If you let it loose, of course, it will run away.
Go on, find it.
It's not disciplined nor has it been educated.
Once it's satisfied its worldly desires, of course, it'll vanish.
Go find it at once and bring it back.
One must put a leash on those that aren't disciplined.
If it persists...
put the leash on and drag it here. Search the market.
Every corner, every street, every shop.
Wherever they give her food, there she will be.
Come, my girl.
Are you powerful enough to look for yourself?
Let us see what the horses are doing.
These friends carry our load for years.
Seemingly, they carry our load...
but actually they carry our burdens.
You brought along this guest.
Do you remember it?
Look at it a bit.
It is trying to tell you something.
What does it say?
Please, don't.
Look at it.
What does Nallihan say to you?
Look at that square...
At those streets.
-Isn't he the qadi? -What qadi?
The qadi that resigned, Yunus Efendi.
-Yes, that's him. -No way!
Take that dog away from me.
The deranged who can’t look after himself has gone and got a dog.
Yunus!
Please, don't.
This is the square of Nallihan.
The square is...
where the Example Stone is.
They say, 'lords, gentlemen, qadis...'
'we leave the centre of the town empty'.
'We'd get the axe and force your head on a log in the middle of the town...'
'just to set an example'.
There.
The owners of the square.
-Peace be upon you. -And upon you.
Get well soon, Yunus Efendi.
Thank God that you are up and about.
Thank you.
Hasan.
How quickly you forgot...
Minberci, Qadi Efendi.
Hey!
Stop!
Minberci Hasan is innocent.
Come on.
-Peace be upon you. -And upon you.
Where are you coming from, where are you going?
I am on a never ending journey.
I'd like to assign a new task to you, Yunus.
I think you're the only eligible one to do this task in our lodge.
From now on, you'll say, 'I do not know'.
Whatever they ask you...
just say, 'I do not know'.
Whoever wants to hear your opinion about anything...
say, 'I do not know'. Keep on saying that.
As dhikr is obligatory for a disciple...
from now on, to say 'I do not know' is obligatory for you.
Have a good night, Yunus Efendi.
You too, Kasim Efendi.
May I come in?
Come on in.
I am glad you are better.
The dervishes are happy for you but they're worried too.
Naturally.
So I wanted to ask how you are, if you were awake.
Yunus Efendi should know himself best.
Whatever we say can only be a guess.
Do you have time?
Can we talk a bit?
I do not know.
JOURNEY OF LOVE
Don't you want to hear what the dervishes say about this matter?
I do not know.
Have a blessed morning. Are you ignoring me, fellow?
-I do not know. -I guess you haven't slept a wink.
I do not know.
They say you'll resume your career.
They wonder when Yunus Efendi will return to the courthouse.
I do not know.
To tell you the truth...
I'm sad as much as I'm happy for you.
But there must be some good in it.
A friend of mine, who has benefited from our sheikh, will be a qadi.
Our sheikh has never advised anyone appointed by the state...
to leave their post and become a disciple in the lodge.
Had it been more propitious, he'd have asked you to do it.
Did he not order you so?
I do not know.
Of course, you will decide your future.
We can only wish you well for your future.
It is late, fellow.
I should not bother you anymore.
May you have a good evening.
You too, Kasim Efendi.
Bless your heart, my dear girl.
When did you start the lessons?
It was during winter, father, it's been five months.
You may carry on the lessons with Hafiz Fatma Hanim from now on.
She gives lessons in the central mosque.
I know, father.
You may go with your mother.
You may go with Kira.
I will start tomorrow, father.
Well, all right then.
May you have a good night, dear.
How will you go to Konya?
I have my horse in the inn.
Were you a dervish I'd say domination of another being is wrong.
You take the road and see where it leads to.
Is it you, Yunus?
Who are you? What is your name?
I do not know.
Do you not even know your name?
I do not know.
Fine.
Well, do know from now on.
Your name is Yunus.
Your tongue and mind have been purified by the 'I do not know' dhikr.
You are no longer obliged to do it.
-Permission, my sheikh. -It is yours.
Since I'm no longer obliged to perform the I do not now dhikr...
may I perform a new one, shikh?
Come, come closer.
Come.
I will tell you something...
but most of them are secrets.
One cannot tell them to the incompetent.
If you give a dervish secret to an incompetent...
that secret would turn back and take you hostage.
They may not be able to hold their tongue in the wrong place and spurt it out.
Raise your head.
Let me see the gap between your brows.
What did I say?
God.
Okay, son, so since you are back...
you are in our dervish book.
May God let you go further on this journey.
Our himma is with you.
Do not take them as superstitions.
A dervish by heart has power granted by God.
It affects objects but this is a secret.
This secret is not given, it is taken.
Those who seek it, walk the path as they are meant to do and reach it.
If they cannot walk properly, they cannot reach it.
Well, those who do not reach it...
say, 'It is not a path, it is just a superstition'.
We do not know whether we are on a path or in superstition.
We like to live as we believe.
That's it.
There is no other truth.
'We are on the path to God, they are in superstition.'
We do not say that either.
Has anyone reached the destination to see who is right or wrong?
We chose this nice path that we believe in.
Then, what is the nice path?
Tawheed.
Unity.
Not in the lips, tongue or words...
but in the heart.
This is a matter of feelings.
Feelings cannot be expressed on book pages.
Only letters.
The heart speaks every language.
Letters cannot make up the book of hearts.
When they see us, they think we are fanatics.
That we perform dhikr here and there.
Or that we are mad, and such and such.
Dhikr purifies the dervish's soul.
It has a method.
How can ordinary people know that?
The secret is given only to the apprentice dervish, so to speak.
We're not to hire a town crier to shout the secrets to the people.
I'm an old man at the beginning of a journey.
I do not know whether the road is straight or crooked.
But if someone comes and personally asks...
we give them the directions.
But if someone does not come...
we do not send an invitation.
Everyone will walk their own way.
From now on keep repeating the Tawheed, Yunus.
Let your dhikr be 'La ilaha illallah'.
Do not ever forget that...
only dhikr may discipline one's tongue.
If you are with other people, do it silently.
If you are alone, audibly.
When with people, do it from the heart, not from the mouth.
These are the ways. The ways of fellows.
Do not ever forget...
everything has a way.
If you do not start the road, you cannot reach.
Walking is not for wearing out our shoes...
our aim is to reach the destination.
The road is one, the destination is One, being is also one.
Well, an animal, a plant...
in water, on the ground, in the air or the heavens.
Visible or invisible.
They are all the same.
Say you have a mirror in your hand and hold it to the sun.
The mirror will reflect many suns.
Now, is each of those reflections a sun?
No, it isn't.
Well, are they not of the sun?
Do they not originate from the sun itself?
Of course.
It is the sun.
Can you have its reflections without the sun being there?
So, the road leads you to the sun.
Now to explain everything to you...
will not help you nor will it have a meaning.
It would only be useless blabber.
They are on the path.
Those who want to see them should see them.
If you know how to see...
if you do not, you cannot see.
The eye cannot see it by itself.
On this path, the blind can see...
the sighted may become blind.
Come on now.
The goodness in your tongue may show you the way, inshallah.
Go on.
You want to say something.
Can you give me a new duty, sheikh?
Keep repeating the dhikr.
Let me think.
I will think and give you a suitable duty.
May I...
May you have a good morning, fellow.
My your fate be good, fellow.
Let us eat some soup.
Come, Aynali. Sit here.
Come, Aynali.
Let him in, fellow.
Come, sit.
Fellow, give him some space.
Subnahallah.
Ali Taygu Efendi.
If you don't mind, we might like...
to drink our soup in our cell.
So Aynali Efendi can drink here.
Is it suitable?
Let him go.
Fill his bowl, give him his spoon, let him have it in his cell.
Come along, Aynali.
Gentlemen.
You don't want me here?
Is this what you mean?
What is this ridicule?
What is this disrespect and indiscipline?
This is not a madhouse.
Yes, we have some madmen amongst us.
But we let them stay here.
We protect them.
They have their own space.
We are not mad.
To people, he is a crazy.
But to us, Aynali is a wali.
We are not Prophet Solomon.
We don't have a seal in our hands.
We cannot tell who is crazy and who is a wali.
Well then.
Enjoy it.
May I come in, my sheikh?
Come, Yunus, come.
I've been waiting for you.
I've thought about it a bit.
Finally, I've found a suitable duty for you.
You'll be the water-bearer of our lodge, Yunus.
You'll take the leather water pouch, fill it up from the fountain...
go to Nallihan streets to give water to the poor, travellers, innkeepers...
children, and everyone in Nallihan.
I would be honoured, my sheikh.
I am joyous that you've given this duty to me.
Keep repeating your dhikr meanwhile.
Dhikr burns the heart of the dervish.
Without burning, you cannot even become a brick, let alone a lover.
The dervish has to burn within.
He should boil like a wheat cauldron.
With the water pouch on your back, some would think...
you may not carry water with that fire within.
Water cannot be carried without the fire within...
if you know what I mean.
You're our water bearer. Carry the leather pouch from now on.
It's not suitable to go in there frequently, even when permitted.
Please pay more attention to customs and manners, fellow.
In the end, we lead a social life here.
So, if you have something to say to our master...
say it to me, I will tell him, if it is suitable.
God forbid, a methodical error might lead to a fundamental one.
Warning each other to obey customs and manners is customary, fellow.
I know what our sheikh says.
No map, no journey.
Yunus Efendi, good luck with your work.
May He give peace to your heart.
We are going to the market.
Hafiz Fatma is her instructor now. She needs her approval.
-Inshallah. -Inshallah.
Hope to see you soon.
His pain has not subsided.
Anytime he turns that way, the arrow wound kicks in.
He made the arrows himself, Bayram Agha.
So he really is a good blacksmith.
If he hadn't beg Yunus Efendi...
he'd have melted like a candle in front of the Cadi.
He's my brother but his brother in law.
Instead of shouting at me, he should turn and shout at himself.
Peace be upon you, gentlemen.
-And upon you, my sheikh. -And upon you, welcome.
You are talking intensely. What is wrong?
How are you? Is everything okay?
The devil is going to light a fire, we carry the wood, sir.
May you be as pure as water, son. Thank you.
Thank you, Yunus Efendi.
You gave life to Bayram Agha. Now you give people water.
May God never give anxiety to your heart, Yunus Efendi.
Thank you.
All right, see you later.
Dervish Efendi!
I'm just a water bearer, the water is not mine.
I only hand it out.
They only did not teach how to be a dervish in Karatay.
Are you learning it in Nallihan at Tapduk Emre’s lodge?
If they taught dervishhood at a madrasa, we'd have learned it.
Well.
Tell us, Yunus Efendi.
How are the people? Are they thirsty?
To the dervish, the water of a fountain cannot be bitter or sweet.
The water of the fountain is the water of the fountain.
Stating that the water is bitter or sweet is not in our manners.
Water is a reflection of the truth.
You have to fill both of them.
If I put my cup beside the fountain without filling it...
would it fill in 1000 years?
If you do not put your heart under the waterfall of truth...
would it fill?
Who is the source of this fountain of truth?
Find someone enlightened man to get the answer.
How do I know?
While we are talking about it...
let me tell you the actual relation between water and being.
Water is the first and strongest symbol of being in the material world.
There is fire above water...
and air above fire.
The existence of air and fire do not have a form.
The first matter to have a form is water.
That is why...
water is the symbol of truth.
Water may be in different cups...
may meander in different ways...
may be painted in different colours but these are not important.
It may be in Yunus’ leather pouch...
or in a golden cup in a palace in Baghdat.
To judge water by its cup...
is against the manner of dervishes, the travellers of oneness.
These are the basics.
Those who believe there is nothing else but God, also believe in water.
Not bitter water or sweet water.
Good, bad; bitter, sweet...
beautiful, ugly or similar judgments are futile.
It is against the Oneness of God.
A dervish is not supposed to utter such things.
We always use this word: dervish.
What does this mean?
What do we mean by dervishhood?
Der-viz.
In Persian, 'dar' means 'door'...
'viz' means 'wanderer'.
Der-viz became dervish.
Ah!
That's the literal meaning.
Let me tell you what it means in life.
A follower of a wise mentor who sets on the road...
to a journey of devotion.
But what is its basics?
What does it stand on?
I mean, what's this thing called dervish?
Not just a coat or a turban, I suppose?
In that case, they'd be sold in the market.
What is sold in the lodge, then?
Let me tell you.
You cannot hear these things everywhere.
I will tell you the origin.
The Great Prophet once said...
"My poverty is my pride".
What does poverty mean in this context?
Poverty as we know it. Not possessing anything, being poor.
The Prophet says, "I take pride in having nothing".
Then what is a dervish?
The answer is from the Prophet.
A dervish is poor.
Someone who has nothing.
Poverty, having nothing...
means not attributing an independent ego to his own soul.
To know that being belongs to God.
You're asking, "What's this man talking about?".
-Not at all. -Not at all.
All right.
Let me explain.
Ahmad Yasawi Hazrat...
narrates from Hazrat Ali about dervishes...
"If someone does not get up to pray at night..."
"does not serve during the day..."
"but claims to be a sheikh, all his efforts would go in vain."
Then what does Yasawi narrate from Hazrat Ali?
"O dervish!"
"Know and beware!"
"You should first know the meaning of sharia..."
"then the meaning of tariqa..."
"thirdly, the meaning of haqiqa..."
"and fourthly, the meaning of marifa."
If someone claims to be a Sufi...
without knowing these, then he is not a Sufi.
It's not me, Hazrat Ali says it.
So...
this is how Hazrat Ali defines dervishhood.
this is how Master Yasawi defines dervishhood.
Then there is a way and process.
If you begin the journey without it, you cannot reach your destination.
Four doors.
40 steps.
They are the other secrets.
This is a journey of love.
Hypocrites cannot pursue this path.
Without leaving your ego behind...
without being fearless of condemnation...
without any material possessions, just like his disciples...
living in the courtyard of the Prophet...
without turning your back to worldly things and living simply...
you cannot become a dervish.
Put a piece of leather on your shoulder under this, fellow.
It's very hot, he's right.
Your might have bruises.
Here is a piece of leather.
Put it on your shoulder.
You used to have a donkey, Guyende.
It used to carry the water pouch.
It ran away.
Now, it is done. Not for one day or two.
Yunus Efendi!
If I broke your heart with my words about method and custom yesterday...
please forgive me.
It's all right.
A friend warns, a foe gossips.
One may think I did it out of personal gains...
but I was only giving the directions.
If I become someone else's disciple...
I may not know their manners too...
so someone would come and warn me.
I only know the manners of my own road.
That being said...
if you are not my friend, unless I consider you a friend...
why would I give you the directions?
I won't keep you busy anymore.
This is the former Qadi Yunus Efendi.
How do you know that?
I know him. They say he's become a disciple of Tapduk Emre Hazrat.
Ertegun Effendi, you say that this man robbed you...
but you have neither proof nor a witness.
I was in Beldibi village at the time.
Gokhan, an apprentice in the market, is my witness.
-That is right, Cadi Efendi. -This boy is a false witness.
If you tell me where Kerimoglu is...
and compensate Ertegun Effendi's loss...
I will forgive you.
I am sorry, I thought you were someone else.
Welcome.
Is Uncle Mikel not in?
No.
I saw Yunus Efendi in the market, he had a pouch on his back as a water bearer.
Sit down.
The great Cadi Yunus Efendi?
He is not a cadi anymore, he is a dervish.
I knew that but when I ran into him with the pouch on his back...
while returning from the class...
Why would anyone resign as a Cadi to become a dervish?
How can you explain it?
They say they have money in their stomachs.
Let it go, they cause warts.
Are you scared, boy?
I'm not! Why should I be scared? Just let it go.
We need to break its shell, the money is underneath.
My grandfather saw one in the garden one time.
"This was in Malazgirt when Sultan Alp Arslan conquered it," he said.
This is the longest living animal.
Then let’s break its shell, let the gold coins drop.
A dervish is coming! Run, run!
What happened to your neck, old man?
Your wound is bleeding.
Come on now.
My mother wanted to buy a few clothes. My lesson's over but she's not back.
What is your hurry? We could go together.
Where is Uncle Mikel?
He's gone to the village to treat a wounded man.
Welcome.
Is the doctor not in?
Kira Hatun says he's gone to the village.
If you have a question...
Kira Hatun is her father's student at the same time.
If you tell me the problem, I will do what I can.
When the children were playing in the square...
they wounded its neck.
It doesn't look like a wound.
Like someone cut it deliberately but not to harm it.
Maybe it had a tick.
What are you doing, father?
I am waiting, dear.
He says he is waiting for the turtle.
He's waiting with a knife in his hand.
I will clean it with limewater. It is a good deed.
Are you going yet?