The Mevlevi whirling ceremony, known as *sema*, is a disciplined form of moving meditation whose central purpose is remembrance of God (*dhikr*) and the realization of spiritual union with the Divine. Through the continuous turning, the dervish seeks to keep heart and consciousness oriented entirely toward God, using the body itself as an instrument of worship. The practice is thus not intended as entertainment, but as a structured mystical rite ordered toward direct God-consciousness and experiential knowledge of the Divine. In this way, the dance becomes an embodied prayer, in which every movement is subordinated to the act of worship.

At a deeper level, the whirling is understood as a symbolic enactment of the spiritual journey. The circular motion reflects the movement of all existence around a divine center, mirroring the ordered rotation found throughout creation. Within this symbolism, the dervish passes through stages that represent the path from apparent separation to spiritual return, moving from multiplicity back to the One and then returning to the world with an awakened awareness. The ceremony thus dramatizes the Sufi ideal of traveling from the self to God and then back to creation in a state of service.

The inner work of the *sema* focuses on the dissolution of the ego (*nafs*) and the purification of the heart. By surrendering to the disciplined rotation, the practitioner aims to transcend ordinary consciousness, loosening attachment to worldly concerns and personal identity. This can give rise to states of spiritual ecstasy (*wajd*) and to the experience of *fana*, the annihilation of the separate self in the presence of the Divine. In this sense, the whirling functions as a method of spiritual cleansing and preparation for higher states of awareness, aligning intention, body, and spirit toward the single aim of nearness to God.