And here is another dervish with a lion painted Padareth.
If a bear represents nafs over which the dervish has gained controlled what does lion represent?
Ranjit Hoskote says:
In Indian Sufism, there is often a symbolic equivalence between ‘qalandar’ (questor) & ‘haidar’ (lion). Idries Shah writes that ‘qalb al-nimr’, the ‘heart of the lion’ indicated a step in the initiatory process of the Sufi. And, of course, Imam Ali was Asadullah, the Lion of God.
Dervesh and Lion
