What is Dhamal?

Dhamal is a Sanskrit word that originally referred to fire-running by Muslim fakirs (Holy men). In modern times that definition has changed to denote a Sufi trance dance, designed to attain union with the Divine.

The sole goal of Sufis is to attain union with God. You may be familiar with the whirling dervishes of Turkey but Dhamal is less constrained to rules and regulations of movement. It is a unique way to express your own personal link with Divinity. No-one can dictate how you should experience the Divine in your life and the drumming to which dhamal is done speaks directly to your spirit, by-passing dogma and inhibitions.

How to do it

Prepare your dancing space by clearing physical space and perhaps, if you like, lighting incense (Jasmine or Rose are my preferred scents but only use those which you personally find appealing).

Prepare yourself mentally to communicate with a higher intelligence.

Sit comfortably on the floor and place your left hand on your heart chakra (see below for the six basic Sufi chakras) and your right hand on top of your left one.

Imagine a beam of light coming from above and connecting with your crown chakra.

Imagine the colour of the light beam to be whichever colour you feel drawn to at that time, whether pure white, iridescent black, dark blue, green, red, yellow or any other colour that you prefer. Even a complete lack of colour (like rising heat) is fine as long as you can imagine or feel that the beam is there.

Now, imagine you have become a puppet that is connected by a wire or string, in the shape of that beam of light, and that the string is in the hands of a compassionate, divine, higher intelligence.

After you are connected in this way, start to play a suitable drumming CD and return to the place at which you were sitting.  

Start dancing only when you feel a real urge to. Do not resist the urge and also do not try to force the urge upon you. It should come automatically without any effort on your part. Sometimes it takes a few seconds and sometimes a few minutes but have faith in that higher being and it will definitely come upon you.

When dancing, do not pay any attention to the movements of your body. Let your limbs and any other parts of your body express their own rhythm and movements. Only listen to the beat of the drum. This beat through the beam of light is giving the instruction to your body to move.

If you find yourself repeating movements, stay with that monotony. Those movements are vital for unblocking your particular problematic chakra or chakras. You will literally be healing yourself through the dance and the connection that it stems from.

Your inner mood will change with the different movements (chals) of the drum. There are seven movements in a classic dhamal CD.  

The whole experience of Dhamal is to lose control of yourself and to hand over your body to Divine energy. It is a release and is naturally extrovert in nature.

So feel the flight, the vastness and the blessing of the dancing. Be thankful that you are able to move in spontaneity, in unique movements that are created for just for you and just for that space and time.

The chakras in Sufism

There are six basic chakras which are as follow:

1 Point of carnal self. Its centre is in solar plexus (just below the belly button). The colour is yellow.

2 Point of heart. Its centre is an inch or so below the left breast. Its colour is red.

3 Point of soul. Its centre is an inch or so below the right breast. Its colour is white.

4 Point of mystery. It is situated between the point of heart and soul in the middle of chest. Its colour is green.

5 Point of veiled. It is situated in the middle of forehead, popularly known as third eye. Its colour is dark blue. It is the meeting point between soul (spirit) and the body. Everything from the Divine comes to this point and is then distributed into other points.   

6 Point of mantle. It is situated in the crown of the head. Its colour is a shining, iridescent black.