Beshno az Ney (sung by Ayeda Husain Naqvi in Persian and Urdu - with English translation).wmv

In the opening poem of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi's Mathnawi, Beshno az Ney, or the Cry of the Reed, we hear the lament of the reed flute as it tells us about the pain of separation. Just as the reed is cut from the reed bed, burned, hollowed, and drilled with holes, so must man in his unnatural state of separation from the Divine go through the trials of life and learn to be that empty before he can turn his suffering into joy, or in this case, beautiful music. It is the pain of separation that will eventually bring him Home. Listen to the cry of the reed flute Listen to its song of separation: Ever since I was cut from the reed bed I have made this crying sound and made men and women weep with me I need a heart torn by separation So you may understand the pain of loves desire Whoever has been taken from his Source Always longs to go back Listen to the cry of the reed flute Listen to its song of separation