Whirling Dervishes in a State of Bliss

A Dervish or Darvesh (from Persian درویش, Darvīsh via Turkish, Somali: Daraawiish, Arabic: درويش‎, Darwīš) is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity. The whirling dance or Sufi whirling is only one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach religious ecstasy (majdhb, fana). It is believed that the soul is temporarily loosened from the nervous-system prison of the body and is able to be connected with the Greater Spirit of the universe(s) when dancing in a circular way like the planet rotating on its axis.

37 by 20 inches
Acrylic and Oil Impasto