Theology of Play in Omar Khayyam: Unacknowledged Parallels Between Hinduism, Persian Sufism, and Khayyam’s Quatrains
Abstract
:1. Introduction
desires nothing and needs nothing. Yet he continues to act. Because this is so his actions are not to be understood as instrumental; they are not the result of cause and effect. There is nothing desired nor anything to be achieved. Divine actions as such proceed from a fullness, an overflowing abundance. And so they are properly called play.1
Līlā is a Sanskrit noun meaning ‘‘sport’’ or ‘‘play.’’ It has been the central term in the Hindu elaboration of the idea that God in his creating and governing of the world is moved not by need or necessity but by a free and joyous creativity that is integral to his own nature. He acts in a state of rapt absorption comparable to that of an artist possessed by his creative vision or to that of a child caught up in the delight of a game played for its own sake. […] In the Hindu thought-world in which this term arose, the description of God’s acts as sport was intended to negate any notion that they are motivated, like the acts of human beings, by acquisitive desire (kāma) or are necessitated by the retributive impetus of the actor’s previous deeds (karman) or by the requirements of duty. Since God forever possesses all, he has no wants and no desires. His ever-desireless acts entail no retribution. He is not the instrument of duty but duty’s creator. The spontaneity and autonomy of his actions are absolute.3
For a moment the earnest seeker may cast off the veil of delusion and obtain a glimpse of Him, and discover that He is both spectacle and spectator—both creator and the thing created, the Undifferenced Self. He is in fact the Player and the Looker-on, and for his own pastime He contrives the game of Eternity, Himself rehearses it, and Himself beholds the sport.5
Khayyam’s philosophical and religious opinions were in certain essential points based upon the teaching of the Vedantas. He must have been familiar with the general scope of their philosophy, although attaching himself, as we have seen, to the ranks of the Sufi Mystic.6
2. The Divine Player
Although I have fine hair, a handsome face,Cheeks fresh as a tulip, and the stature of a cypress,No one knows why, on this earth as in a pleasure house,The eternal Painter has drawn me so well!12
Here is a cup! Reason admires it,And tenderly poses a hundred kissed on its brow.The eternal Potter makes such a fine cup,Then throws it to the ground and shatters it.13
We see in every-day life that certain doings of princes or other men of high position who have no unfulfilled desires left have no reference to any extraneous purpose, but proceed from mere sportfulness, as, for instance, their recreations in places of amusement. We further see that the process of inhalation and exhalation is going on without reference to any extraneous purpose, merely following the law of its own nature. Analogously, the activity of the Lord also may be supposed to be mere sport, proceeding from his own nature, without reference to any purpose. For on the ground neither of reason nor of Scripture can we construe any other purpose of the Lord. Nor can his nature be questioned.—Although the creation of this world appears to us a weighty and difficult undertaking, it is mere play to the Lord, whose power is unlimited. And if in ordinary life we might possibly, by close scrutiny, detect some subtle motive, even for sportful action, we cannot do so with regard to the actions of the Lord, all whose wishes are fulfilled, as Scripture says.14
We are puppets and Heaven, the puppeteer,This is a reality and not just an image.While we play on the stage of life,We fall, one by one, into the coffer of nothingness.16
You are the river that turns the Green Wheel;You are the [beautiful] face that astonishes the moon and Venus;You are that kingly polo-stick that, in the field of the spirit,Sets all the balls rolling in harmony.17
I thought I would ask the firmament’s ball about the state of things.It said, “I endure so much from His polo-mallet that you wouldn’t want to know!”18
Every day brings me madness with another game,For I am His plaything, bewildered by His games.20
What is this highly regarded old Wheel but?Time and space, without beginning or end![…]He who is not bound by this time and space,22Becomes courageously liberated.Since the Deity Itself calls the world “game and amusement”,
No sane person seeks a station there!23
3. The Playful Designer
Regard everything as one and be one—When you become one, you will see the Painter.24
Everything in both worlds plays out as game and fantasy on the Veil of Imagination.30
What is the world? A veil of shapes and phantasms—Remove the veil and see It exposed!31
But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place; I should hardly think of the answer which I had before given, that, for anything I knew, the watch might have always been there.32
So that you may know, this is a Kingdom39 in whichWhatever happens is gratuitous.40
I said, “give us a purpose in this game [of life].”He said, “I play this game beyond purpose.”42
God gives existence without reason,
And the chivalrous one gives up that existence without reason.43
Last night, I smashed my jug on a stone;I was drunk when I acted so absurdly.The broken jug seemed to tell me:“Once I was like you; you will be like me.”45
Yesterday, at the bazaar, I saw a potter.He was repeatedly trampling a lump of clay.That clod of earth seemed to tell him:“Once I was like you; treat me well.”46
I have been on the potter’s wheel a thousand times,Turning into pots, jars, and bowls.Even if I became a jar a thousand more times,The bitter taste of death would remain.47
4. The Playful Dancer
If I call You “Venus,” it’s because,You dance and sing well.49
You will find all atoms of the Cosmos dancing.Once the Light of the Sun becomes evident to you.50
O You who have brought every atom of my being to dance.In the atmosphere of your incomparable Sun’s Beauty.51
The lover is constantly engaged in a spiritual dance—even when appearing motionless.52
O King, from your banquet, the Cosmos is engaged in dance and samá’—Do not let merriness let go of this song-whispering.53
5. Discussion
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Correction Statement
1 | |
2 | See (Hein 1995, p. 13). |
3 | |
4 | Throughout this paper, I have used pronunciation-based transliteration where necessary. As a result, some names may appear in forms different from those commonly recognised by English speakers. The only exception is Khayyam: due to his widespread recognition in the West, his name is presented in its familiar form; otherwise, I would have used “Xayyám” for greater accuracy and consistency. For clarity, below is a list of names of prominent figures referenced in this paper, along with their common transliterations: Attár Neyšáburi: Attar of Nishapur Háfez: Hafiz (or Hafez) Nezári Qohestáni: Nizari Quhistani (or Nizari Ghohestani) Sádeq Hedáyat: Sadegh Hedayat Šabestari: Shabestari Šáh Nematolláh Vali: Shah Nimatullah Wali |
5 | |
6 | |
7 | |
8 | Although there are also strong parallels between Khayyam’s poetry and Buddhism, this paper focuses exclusively on Hinduism. |
9 | There is no need to assume that Khayyam was deeply familiar with Hindu or Buddhist philosophy. As mentioned, Dara Shikoh provided the first translation of the Upanishads into Persian. Dara Shikoh’s efforts aimed to demonstrate the close affinity between Sufism and Hinduism—something he explicitly wrote about in his Majma’ al-Bahreyn. Therefore, it is probable that, just as Dara Shikoh suspected, since Truth is one according to both Sufism and Hinduism, Khayyam’s investigations led him to the same Reality observed centuries earlier by the Hindus. |
10 | See (Keshavarz 2006, p. 40). |
11 | See (Keshavarz 2006, p. 39). |
12 | |
13 | |
14 | |
15 | See (Lipner 2022). |
16 | |
17 | |
18 | |
19 | See (Hedáyat 2011, pp. 291–92). |
20 | |
21 | See verses 6:32, 29:64, and 47:36. |
22 | Meaning, he who is not attached to this world. |
23 | |
24 | |
25 | |
26 | Ibid., secs. 598a–598b. |
27 | See (Plato 1997, sec. 598b). |
28 | See (Shankara 1970, pp. 41, 59, 64, 76, 86, 106, 114, 117, 136, and 147); see also (The Vedânta-Sûtras with the Commentary by Śaṅkarâkârya 1890, pp. 25–26, 189, and 251). For clarity, it should be noted that there is a dispute about whether Shankara himself authored Viveka-Chudamani. Nevertheless, the work has been traditionally attributed to him. |
29 | See (Shankara 1970, p. 95). |
30 | |
31 | |
32 | |
33 | |
34 | |
35 | |
36 | |
37 | |
38 | It is also possible that Khayyam scholars are so focused on their specific subject that they are unaware of the abundance of so-called “Khayyamian” themes in the works of Sufis in general. |
39 | The word translated here as “Kingdom” is “mellat”, which has two literal meanings: religion and nation. |
40 | |
41 | |
42 | |
43 | |
44 | See verse 15:26. |
45 | |
46 | |
47 | |
48 | |
49 | |
50 | |
51 | |
52 | |
53 | |
54 | |
55 | See (Feldman 2022, p. 195). |
56 | See (Molavi 2007, sec. 196). |
57 | |
58 | See (Elgood 2010, pp. 84–85). |
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Yansori, A. Theology of Play in Omar Khayyam: Unacknowledged Parallels Between Hinduism, Persian Sufism, and Khayyam’s Quatrains. Religions 2024, 15, 1266. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101266
Yansori A. Theology of Play in Omar Khayyam: Unacknowledged Parallels Between Hinduism, Persian Sufism, and Khayyam’s Quatrains. Religions. 2024; 15(10):1266. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101266
Chicago/Turabian StyleYansori, Ali. 2024. "Theology of Play in Omar Khayyam: Unacknowledged Parallels Between Hinduism, Persian Sufism, and Khayyam’s Quatrains" Religions 15, no. 10: 1266. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101266
APA StyleYansori, A. (2024). Theology of Play in Omar Khayyam: Unacknowledged Parallels Between Hinduism, Persian Sufism, and Khayyam’s Quatrains. Religions, 15(10), 1266. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101266