Mirza Shafi Vaseh

   -(pseudonym of Shafi Sadig oglu) (1794 Ganja-28.11.1852 Tbilisi) - Azery poet, pholosopher, educator. He was born in an architect's family. Vaseh was expelled from madrasa because of negative attitude to religion.

For some priod of time he worked as a calligrapher in Ganja, he taught M.F. Akhundov writing and agitated him against his desire of being a clergyman. In 1840 he moved to Tiflis and taught Azery and Persian languages in a district school.
     Vaseh continued managing the literal-philosophical medjlis "Divani-Hikmet", which he had found in Ganja. In this medjlis different point of wiews had been expressed on such topics as poetry, philosophy, ethics. A.A.Bakikhanov, M.F.Akhundov, F.Badenshtedt and others took part in this medjlis. In 1848 he returned back to Ganja and teached in a district school. In 1850 he moved again to Tiflis and teached Azery and Persian languages in a gymnasium.
    Vaseh wrote in Azery and Percian. He presented F.Bodenshtedt a handwriting of a collection of his poems. Having returned to Germany F.Bodenshted translated this collection into German and together with other Eastern poet's works published in "1001 ddays in East" (1850), "Songs of Mirza Vaseh". Later these poems were translated into English, Italian, Norwegian, Swiss, Dutch, Danish, Poland, Czech, Jewish, Russian and other languages. When these poems became famous in Europe Bodenshted declared himself as the author in 1875. The content of most poems, published under the name of Mirza Shafi Vaseh, had been distorted and suffered addition, making it difficult to correctly differentiate Vaseh's authorship. A very small part of his heritage has survived to our days; two poems in Persian and the poem "Waiting for your letter" were found in 1964. Vaseh mostly wrote lyric poems. He sang of the world's blessings and beauty, opposed love to the regious belief. Vaseh also has poems against region, ascetism and tyrany. The Akhund (main clergyman) of Ganja called Vaseh kafir (apostate), because of his sharp satirical poems against clergymen.
    Vaseh played a significant role as an educator. In 1852 along with I.Grigoryev, an Eastern languages teacher of the Tiflis gymnasium, he compiled first textbook in Azery. This textbook, called "Kitabi-turki" had been used for along period of time as a manual for studying Azery language. A.G. Rubinstein composed music on Vaseh's poems. Ideal pantheism, combining sufism and Indian philosophical school charvaka, makes the foundation of Vaseh's world view. In many cases Vaseh equals the God and the Nature, and shows that a man can't violate the rules of nature; the only thing a man can do is to understand the existance and study the mysteries of the nature. Vaseh opposed against fatalism, criticized the tyrany, ascetism, fables about Edem and Hell, calling people to value beauties of reality and fight for happy life and freedom of personality.
    He expressed strict protested against the thought: "a man is subjected to suffering" and every chance available he called people to resist those who give suffer. Vaseh demanded freedom for women and respect for their mind. A number of artistic works have been dedicated to Mirza Shafi Vaseh.