ABIDANCE FINDING THE HEART AND STAYING IN IT CONTENTS PART 1 Guidance to Abidance - The Sufi Path Abiding in the Peace and the Love Harmonizing the Seven Selves, The Sufi Pathway to Perfect God- Realization Guidance to Abidance - The Sufi Path The Principle of Health and Education in Islamic Sufism - About Sympathy for the Victim Abiding in the Peace and the Love Abidance!!! "If I could just stay there!" - The Search for Innocence - The Key to Self-Acceptance is to Investigate Rejection - Guilty by Popular Consent - Clearing Guilt and Depression - Understanding Poverty, Failure and Humiliation - "As we believe, so shall it be" - The Myth of Original Sin - Devotion to Separation - Our Standards, Imagination or Truth? - The Key to Success is in you Concept of it - Your Achievements, Are they Really You? - Guidance to Abidance - Stay Where? Harmonizing the Seven Selves, The Sufi Pathway to Perfect God- Realization PART 2 Prayer of the Prophet Defining Elements of the Sufi Way Prayer of the Prophet What is reality? - Mental Purification (Pure God-Realization) is the means and Goal of Islamic Psychotherapy - Knowledge of God through Love and Knowledge of Self Defining Elements of the Sufi Way The Application of a New Vocabulary to Significant Elements of Life - Defining Meanings, and the Definition of "definition" and "meaning" - Understanding Understanding - The Meaning of Reality 1
PART 3 What is Sufism Self-Realization - The Goal, Means and Reality of True Spiritual Healing What is Sufism Disconnected from your personal Truth? - What is Enlightenment? - Principles of Instantaneous Transmission - The Veil of Unity - The Principles and Importance of Spiritual Healing in Islam - The Science of Health, Love and Religion Self-Realization - The Goal, Means and Reality of True Spiritual Healing Feeling Good is Feeling God - Understanding the Nature of Self-Destruction - Suicide, The Ultimate Pain-killer? - Dissolving Illusion, an Alternative to Suicide - Unity is Reality - Acceptance of Death - And the Point is - Self- Realization - The Importance of Self-Realization 2
PART 1 Guidance to Abidance - The Sufi Path Abiding in the Peace and the Love Harmonizing the Seven Selves, The Sufi Pathway to Perfect God-Realization 3
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GUIDANCE TO ABIDANCE - THE SUFI PATH The Principle of Health and Education in Islamic Sufism The theme of the earlier writings is pointing out soul discovery (selfrealization) as the goal and ultimate point of life, death, accidents, ill health and healing. If this is the case, which I and many other spiritual teachers believe it to be, then all the healing techniques and schools are but parts of the whole of the self-realization movement, which is manifesting in the myriad of enlightenment schools arising around the theme of "Success in life through discovery of the Authentic self". Even though this movement is couched in the phraseology of western materialism and positioning itself to be what it is, a better way to achieve one's goals in life, it is nevertheless a step in the direction of all-out God realization and religious reform. Because, as all the spiritual paths teach, to know the truth of one's self is to know God. Self-realization is a spiritually motivated process, but getting to know the self is getting to know the soul in its innate, unfettered nature, and this is a stated purpose of all religions, and especially the religion of Islam. And nothing could be healthier. Knowing the soul is listening to divine guidance, and divine guidance heals like no other energy there is. Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj says: Good health and longevity are secondary effects of the fundamental responsibility of a human life, which is devotional surrender to participation in the Divine Reality. Communion with God is naturally regenerative." Islam calls to the Truth of God. It is regretful that the violence of the angry has been allowed to carry the banner of Islam and that the Western media has fallen prey to such an untrue representation. Even though major news broadcasters have done much work to correct that impression, and many in the media are trying hard to give the faith of one fifth of the world's population a fair shot, it's an uphill battle, to say the least. But in spite of the media war it behooves the thinking person to reason clearly about the existence and the reasons for the existence of Islam, and investigate it to one's own satisfaction. Strange as it may seem, material acquisition is not the only purpose for life. And even if it were, discovery of the authentic self, or soul-recognition, would still be the best way to accomplish that success. So self-realization has become a religion in it's own right, with all the enlightenment schools as its congregations, and all the teachers as its 5
preachers. And it is obvious to the self-realized that self-realization is a goal of religions, and most assuredly, Christianity. Christ was born realized (the original Indigo child) and invited all to the ways of the realized. And the Sufis claim that Islam is no different in this respect, but that it adds further knowledge from God that was not previously revealed. Not only does it behoove enlightened and self-realized masters to study all religions but, in the light of the Sufis, especially Islam. It is the claim of the second portion of my work that just such a study is the key to "Abidance", which is the word I'm using to indicate the perception of staying positively in the love of God and the realization of the true self. It is the realized self that understands most the need for forward movement and is still on the search for it, even though the first stage of the search has ended, and discovery has been made. The truth of oneself has been found, but now what? As I've written before, we are faced with two choices. One is to move forward and the other is to stand still. Both work, but the latter is fraught with the difficulty of dealing with the memories of the past, which continue to arise even though the truth has been discovered and their illusory power can be dispelled. But we have not totally completed the individuation process until we have separated from the process. We have not separated from the individuation process until we are no longer involved in it. We must then necessarily involve ourselves in something else, but in what? In what way can we become involved that will continue to affirm and confirm the truth and reality of our truths and realities? These are the human questions for seeking guidance from The Real - forward into deeper truth, and away from the struggle against illusions and reactions to "ghosts" and memories from our so-called "past". This is the asking for the "Way to Stay", or Abidance. And in response to this prayer/search for guidance, we are sent religion/guidance. Religion is for everyone and guidance is for each. We are encouraged thereby to complete our detachment from struggling with the enemy by engaging with the Love of the Friend. And with that ends the search for the means for Abidance. Healing is a matter of individuation and re-education. We can un-involve ourselves from the process by juxtaposing ourselves on the "other side" of it, i.e. by realizing our master, as opposed to feeling our victim. We can shift ourselves to being part of the solution, and thereby terminate decisively our continued involvement with being part of the 6
problem. We do this by upgrading our commitment to Allah so that it is no longer solely through our commitment to ourselves even though we thoroughly realize that the commitment to ourselves was primary and essential in order to get to the knowledge of Allah. But once having gotten to the knowledge of Allah through the knowledge of our selves by means of the process of self-realization through healing and individuation, we must separate from the process in order to no longer be involved in it. We can only do this by shifting the focus of our attention from ourselves to Allah - from the struggle to leave victimhood by leaving it and entering into mastery. But how can we do this if the only way we know Allah is through ourselves? Simply by coming with our true selves to the aid of Allah and His people, namely the religion of Islam. It doesn't need you but invites your support. You do this by stepping into your mastery of self-realization and soul recognition in surrender, and inviting others to it. By learning and teaching the religion of Islam in the Sufi (Pure) way. That's why the Sufi way is the way of the masters. In the end, it's only the masters that you can teach, anyway. Islam is the religion of the Surrender with which we are all so familiar and in the reality of which we wish so fervently to abide, and it is the guidance we seek, to Allah, from Allah, by Allah and for Allah. But study it, learn it and teach it in the Sufi way, the way of the practice first, the teaching by example, the attaining of mastery before the teaching of mastery. Either we are guided by the struggle with our selves, or we are guided by positive religious and spiritual direction. It's a choice. If we are guided by the struggle we are guided and thereby controlled by our selves. Then do we feel lonely, isolated, unsupported, and un-helped? If we are guided by positive religious and spiritual direction, them we are guided by Allah, free, and supported by that guidance. The therapeutic psychology of Islam, as I've mentioned before, is that of offering the same forward motion for the two groups of people. For the healthy and the sick, the realized and burdened, the victim and the master the medicine and direction is the same, whether we are administering it to others or taking it for ourselves. It is simply the motivation that is different. For the ill and the burdened, the motive is health and enlightenment. For the healthy and enlightened, the motive is staying there by learning and serving, i.e. "Abidance". So it becomes obvious that we must help others to do "this thing that we do" in order to stay "helped" (by Allah) ourselves. So "Stepping Forward into Mastery" is the course to avoid falling back into the "Release from Victim" process. Unless, of course, you want to stay there. 7
It's just like the war of liberation. The slaves cannot free themselves, but with the help of the liberators, they can. But once they are liberated what is there to do if their habits are those of slaves fighting for liberty? One solution is to join the liberators and focus on becoming one. So we study and practice their teachings. And we do it out of gratitude. If "Islam" means Surrender, and Surrender is the key to and brings the liberation we have so longed for, then it becomes obvious that we need to know more about the teachings of Islam. So the second portion of this work, the initial writings of which are to be found in the ensuing pages, will deal with the problem of "Abidance" and the classical Sufi response to that dilemma. The teachings of Islam orients our desire to the pleasing of Allah, rather than to the pleasing of our self, which we can never do. Allah can please us but we cannot please ourselves. And we should be pleased with this, as it orients us to the immediately possible and away from the endlessly impossible. It brings us to truth and reality, and away from falsehood and illusion. Learning how to learn It is difficult to learn while we are still fighting the war of liberation. As I will discuss at greater length in another essay, ("Seven Selves - the Sufi Pathway to Perfect God- Realization"), the work of liberation or the experience of surrender and self-discovery is covered in the first four steps of a classical seven step learning process. The understanding of and means to Abidance is provided in the final three stages of that process, which deal with selfeducation - learning and teaching - learning what to teach and how to teach it. The first half is liberation and experience. The second half is education. The balance is completion. In the first half we must release the control that the mind has over the heart, that we can experience the heart to its fullest and thereby know the Reality of God. Soon after abiding in the reality of God long enough the mind will become a totally clear vessel which will seek, by its own nature, to be full again. At this point we must begin the re-education process by filling it with the holy teachings of Islam, otherwise it will naturally gravitate to the familiar feelings of grappling with and sympathy for the victim. About sympathy for the victim The master knows that there are no victims, only M.O.'s (Methods of Operation - contrived ways and means of getting what one thinks one needs or wants). But we don't get to that knowledge without direct education. 8
MO's are contrived agreements that the self makes with the outside world in order to do what appears necessary to survive. These agreements with the outside world are consciously approved of as temporarily satisfactory and accepted by the soul, with the knowledge that the day will come when they can and will be removed. But the MO's becomes veils to our true reality, concealing it from others and eventually ourselves. We soon become addicted to, believers in and victims of our own self-created MO's, even the MO of being a victim. It is the choices we make that "make" us victims. We may deliberately throw ourselves to the wolves in search of sympathy, which is just another MO for seeking companionship. The underlying motivation for seeking companionship is the desire for self-recognition, which is already provided by the self. It is simply deliberately not focused upon due to a belief that it is not what we are looking for, or will not get us what we think we want. It is thence forgotten. Sympathy for the victim is collusion and does not help the master. Helping the master to emerge is the whole point of the exercise. If we are not detached from the victim within ourselves then we will identify with it in others. This does not help. In reality, we are only trapped by ourselves and by the decisions we've made. When we get to the point of realizing that, we can realize our ability to change our decisions and thereby change our lives. If we cannot help another master emerge from his victim then we are not yet in mastery ourselves. Seeking the direct help and guidance of a realized master for this dilemma is the best thing one can do for oneself and the others around one. Some people are looking for pity and willing to pay for it. Many are those ready to provide it. But underlying it all is the soul's search for freedom, and few they are who can confirm that. -------------- So the absence or presence of mastery is what keeps us in or takes us out of continued involvement with the process of individuation, or "separating" from our "past". But mastery of what, you might well ask? For the Sufis, it is the mastery of the religion of Islam that brings the completion of the knowledge of Allah. And that cannot be had by harboring any resistances to it, but by a whole and open-hearted acceptance of it, which can be acquired by learning from one who has it already. This is why it is taught that the focusing on Allah and the teaching of Islam is the straight way to and in the heaven of our hearts, which is the real life, for it fills our minds with the Truth fro and our hearts with, the Love of Allah. 9
Abidance is the second half of the way. Learning about the religion of Islam is the first step of Abidance, for it is the way to walk and stay in the love of Allah, and teaching it is the second, although they go hand in hand. These two stages of self-education are represented by the Arabic words "Radhiyyatan", "Mardhiyyah", Pleased and Pleasing. They are the fifth and sixth stations of the self. We are "pleased" with what we are learning (from Allah) (for it draws us "closer", and because we now know its significance and "how" to learn it), and we are "pleasing" to God and others when we teach it and set other free by means of our teaching. These are the stations of Mureed and Murad, Desiring and Desired. And this part of the work is referred to as "Sulook", or "Seeking the good pleasure of Allah". The completion of the Sulook is the completion of the Self. When Allah is "pleased" with us, we are "pleased" with ourselves. And Allah is pleased with us when we are seeking his pleasure through learning His religion with the intention to teach and pass it on. Students with the intention of the master will succeed. Students with the intentions of the student must change. But enough! Enjoy the essays as they progress through my own discoveries as I plow the way through my own life in an attempt to chronicle, evaluate and disseminate them to my students and readers on the website. In Peace and Love, Salaam and Namaste Ali 10
ABIDING IN PEACE AND LOVE - THE WAY TO SUCCESS IN SURRENDER UNDERSTANDING OUR SEARCH FOR INNOCENCE, SURRENDER AND SELF-DISCOVERY ABIDANCE!!! - "If I could just Stay there!" How many of us know from experience that the Peace and the Love is surely there somewhere and wish only that we could find it when we need it or stay in it when we've found it? We all have moments when the self lets go and we catch glimpses of our greater reality. How can we identify that? It feels totally great, like the resolution to ALL our problems. But how can we "capture" it, and where do we find the time? The real question here is "What is the Way to Permanent Abidance in Divine Peace and Love?" Believe it or not, this quest "to Abide Permanently in Divine Peace and Love" is the underlying spiritual motivation for ALL human actions, no matter how we judge them or by what standard. The Search for Innocence Just as surely as death itself is that abidance, it can be known here and now. But death will be feared if we are still carrying the shame of guilt, for that is what prevents us from experiencing and expressing our innocence. As long as we are claiming it or searching for it, we are not in it or acting from it. What we need is total absolution. The ego will remain as long as there is felt the need to defend. The need to defend comes from feelings of guilt and "worthiness" of punishment from God. These feelings are quickly and effectively annihilated by the true Surrender and acceptance of Islam in the pure Sufi way. It is only through total surrender that the absolution and healing power of peace may be experienced, and it sweeps us directly into the arms of love in which we so desperately long to abide. That is the essence of the Sufi invitation. We are invited by the surrendered and absolved to Surrender and Absolution. Therein lies the bliss that we are seeking, for it is the annihilation of all guilt, fear and shame. And this is what Sufi teaching is all about - inviting you in the Sufi way to Surrender - to "accept" surrender, cleansing and guidance, from the Divine, to the Divine, by the Divine, and in the Divine. We can only offer what we have. 11
The Key to complete Self-acceptance and God-realization is to Investigate Rejection So what, again, is the way to permanent Abidance in Divine Peace and Love? I reply, "Self-Acceptance" and God-realization. And the key to complete self-acceptance and God-realization is to investigate rejection, and specifically any motivations for rejection of religion, Islam, or a God Who reveals. And it is to help you with this investigation that the masters of the Sufi way offer their services. We are here to help you with your acceptance and understanding of Islam because we know how important it is, both to you and to society at large, that we come to peace with our selves, religion and God. Peace with God implies accepting all things as from Him, and a fearless willingness to investigate all things as from Him. There is no fear that there is something "not" from Him, somewhere that we should "not" go, a dark closet in which something fearful may lurk. So investigate rejection. In it we find our deeper truth. Investigate it through sensing reactions and feeling resistance. Surrender and listen. Investigate all things inwardly and outwardly rejected. Re-accept yourself, including your "darker" side, over and over again. Investigate what you reject, what you have rejected, and why your reject, because in that is the key to greater self-understanding and acceptance. It is only when we can accept our whole self completely that we can claim the real success of liberation and freedom from our fears. And that's when the real world opens up to us. It is important that we investigate our preferences and their motivations, because - it is easy, and they are the keys to our beliefs, i.e. understanding why we believe the way we do. We definitely prefer to be the way we are and to not be some other way, but why? It is the part of ourselves that we have rejected that holds the greater influence over us. It is true, much as we prefer to not believe that. So investigate rejection, the act, the motivations and the objects. Rejection is the active opposition to acceptance. It is the means by which we block knowledge. We simply "don't want to know", so we reject either through condemnation or aversion. We condemn unwanted knowledge as invalid or untrue, which indicates a prior commitment and prejudice, or we reject by quick aversion, which comes from a recognition that it is true but an unwillingness to hear it, which is also from some inner fear that feels important to keep. So investigate your motives for rejection and re-question their origin and validity. 12
Guilty by popular consent Hidden in every frustration is a desire to express innocence. Often the expression of our innocence becomes defensive, but if the necessity for that is not present, then our expression will be simply "of" innocence, and from that, beauty and love is discovered. That is why we like babies, music and inspirational art and literature. They help us to feel and understand our innate innocence. In our early attempts to express ourselves, which were the expression of innocence itself, we have at one time or another been "judged", and we have, in one way or another, felt forced to accept that judgement. That's how we "learn" or are "taught" to get along in a world of harshness, judgement and uninvestigated assumptions. This "education" continues to deeply influence our attempts to express ourselves in our current adult life. Chances are, even now, we're expressing what we think we "ought" to be expressing in an attempt to be or remain popular or prosperous, and suppressing, to the point of total denial, our true feelings, all in the name of and for the sake of an illusion of outward "accomplishment". "This is the way it is done", we believe, so we follow the false religion of faith in lies and deceitfulness in the name of social acceptance for the benefit of material gain. All the while our true selves are rotting and lonely in a prison of our own construction. And we think this is right. Any attempt to liberate our feelings from this oppression is considered socially unacceptable, so we even self-punish ourselves for trying. We tell ourselves that we are bad, before and to avoid anyone else doing it. So we assume the guilt, and think of our inner selves as bad, and our outer selves as "trying" to be good. And then we joyously justify it by accepting the doctrine of "original sin". Clearing Guilt and Depression Inherent in the reestablishment of our purity and innocence is the joyous freedom from fear of death and the willingness and ability to accept, share and live in the love of God and abide together in a joyous peace. The discovery of this authentic self requires a willingness to recognize and work through our self-imposed limitations as well as our concepts of success. It is the release of our spirit and soul from our driven motivations and the reestablishment of our innate joy and innocence. It is what we all long for. But how to find it and even if we do, how many of us can stay in it all the time? In Islam, as well as other spiritual paths, it is stated that the Divine knows we cannot do it alone and that's why help in the form of revelation is sent. "As we Believe, so shall it Be" 13
The Relationship between Belief and inward and outward Reality If it is true, and it is, that "as we believe, so shall it be", why then should we not seek and believe the highest possible? And who is more capable of informing us of the highest beliefs possible than The Divine Oneness of all Unity, the Author of all Creation who understands Divine purpose better that anyone. So accepting the helping hand of Divine revelation is of course the way to walk toward the fulfillment of our personal needs and desires. It may be difficult to understand, but we believe that the rule of logic is that "it IS that way, that's why we believe it is that way." The "IS" in that statement is an objectification, coming from a belief that is, for the most part, accepted without question. "Since that's the way it IS, I would be an obvious fool to question even the most fundamentally and commonly accepted and functional foundations of our human reality, wouldn't I?" It is because of this belief that the real truth remains hidden and reality is referred to as "mysticism". But this is changing rapidly in the American scene. So we are taught to believe that the outward reality comes first, and thence our belief in it. That's our belief and we have never questioned it. We accept, on our own faith, a reality that only appears to us when we look at it. We "objectify" it, prefer it to our feelings, and project it as real. And then partake unquestioningly in our own projection. Starting to feel a little uneasy about this? Does this not prove the truth of "as we believe, so shall it be"? How easy is it for us to change our beliefs? Very! We do it all the time, but never before at the level of our fundamental concepts of reality. Islam is sent to expose the myth of Original Sin Islam comes as a direct challenge to those "fundamental" yet somewhat illusory and intangible concepts of "materialism as the only way". Islam, the way of the true Surrender, would replace them with something rock-solid, and completely reliable, a direct and transformative revelation from the Lord of the Worlds, the One in Whom we ALL believe, other than Whom there is none. Now you can question this all you want. It will withstand your investigation - but not your derision. So please do not turn away from this message, thinking so highly or little of yourself as to seek solace in the derision of your friends and fellow human beings who are offering you the help that you are looking for. It is because you know it to be true and do not feel worthy of 14
it that you turn away. If this were not true, you wouldn't need turn away in derision of anything. But you are worthy, and is not worthiness itself a major issue? So what harm will it do you to accept and investigate Islam, the religion of Surrender, as the truth, in the Sufi way, which is your way? To simply accept that the One true God in Whom we all believe can reveal whatever He wants to whomever He wants whenever He wants. At least accept that as truth. So what truth do you accept? And where can we meet? Are you willing to investigate the validity of your resistances to accepting a Divine revelation? It is only in your acceptance of belief structures that they release their hold over you. There's that word again, "Acceptance". Acceptance leads to full self-realization. And that is a goal worth striving for. Devotion to Separation The quest for comparative success creates the separation in the mind that causes the acceptance of some things as fitting the pattern, dream or picture, and the rejection of others as not. And that devotion to separation keeps us from attaining the deeper success that all the other successes are designed to produce. Take for example "finding time". Do you have "no time"? Then just how smart do you think you are? No time to rest leads to collapse and loss of more precious time. No time to love leads to no love. No time to take care of yourself means no self. No money to spend on healthy food leads to no money and indebtedness to health "professionals" to take "care" of you. Denial, denial, denial. Endlessly complaining about what we do not have is a constant rejection of what we do have. Our Standards - imagination, or truth? It's only through permitting the possibility of an "objective truth" in the inward way that we can posit the idea of a genuine standard of truth by which we can gauge the proximity of our imagination. By the standards of outward success, some moves are cool and other flop. Some of us "make it", and some of us don't. It's all comparative, but to what? The contradistinction of success or failure is a common driving dichotomy, and one becomes the standard of the other. So "failure" is the standard of "success", and success is the standard of failure. Which is "real", either or neither? One is always judged by the other, so they are in perpetual opposition, and this leads to the war mentality. Opposition with preference leads to struggle, conflict of interests and war. War, or inner conflict, leads to degeneration, ill-health and destruction. 15
A unified self is not in conflict and is established in peace and surrender, which is the basis for health and longevity. Peace is the resolution of differences, and it IS possible. God (Al-llah!) is Peace. God is the Author of the deepest peace, love, tenderness and subtlety imaginable. He also places within us the potential for anger and destruction, which results from our perception of inability to express ourselves innocently and thereby reinforce the resolving power of deep peace and love. GUIDANCE TO ABIDANCE The Spiritual Psychology of Islam Islam the Easy Way There is a part in each and every one of us that is already deeply surrendered, believing and faithful, already "Muslim", otherwise the statement that Surrender (Islam) is the Way Back to our True Basic Nature (Ad-Din ul-fitrah), would not be true. Understanding that "Islam" means "Surrender", and that "Surrender" is the return, through the thick of our fabricated lives, to the authentic truths of our innocence and basically adoring nature, makes it very easy to comprehend and put into practice. "Islam", in Arabic, is a command and means, "Surrender" (to God), pure and simple. This is the real meaning of Islam, and that's why there is a part of us, a quality of our soul, that is already Muslim (Surrendered). The rest of the work is simply in maintaining the recognition and honoring of that part - our souls. The masters of "Abidance" in the Sufi way make it very easy, and say that it takes only a little practice, and a little willingness to explore the validity of the factors in your life that distract you. Abidance requires guidance. Liberation without guidance is fraught with difficulties arising from the past. We simply do not know what to do, and especially in face of the failure of all our best laid plans. Guidance manifests as positive, affirmative spiritual practice and leads to success. So I'm saying do as I have done and do, follow the guidance of the masters to your own. Mastery means in both worlds, because there is no separation. You may not "feel" it, but you ARE liberated and operating under your own steam. So why do you make the choices you make? Freedom from emotional bondage is the underlying motive of even our "bad" choices, and in that light, there are no "bad" choices. 16
Stay where? The deep peace and love does not "go" anywhere. We simply choose to explore some interesting looking distraction and end up getting so involved that we forget where we are. Why? HARMONIZING THE SEVEN SELVES THE SUFI PATHWAY TO PERFECT GOD-REALIZATION Body - Experience and Surrender - Finding the Peace and the Love Mind - Learning and Teaching - Abiding in the Peace and the Love Introduction As you have read, it is my assertion that enlightenment without an understanding of religion and especially of Islam as understood by the Sufi masters, flounders without direction at best, seemingly endlessly scratching its own head trying to figure itself out (for the thousandth time). The Sufis refer to the "non-duality" of Advaita and many others of the contemporary "enlightenment" schools as a self-evident existential reality, and not to be dwelt upon for a moment in the light of revelation. I'm a little more tolerant, (hehe) having come from the Western background, and can realize the attainment of freedom from emotional confusion for the creditable achievement that it is. We refer to it as the fourth and estimable level on the standard of perfection described by the Sufis called the seven stages to the perfection of Self-Awareness and God-Realization. From this point, continuing on becomes a choice, and accepting a religion becomes a choice. It is perfectly understandable to want to stay there, and reasonably safe, but "abidance" becomes difficult work without the guidance offered by some form of forward progress. Hence the continued search. It is also my assertion that enlightenment is the natural state of man, needing only to be recognized, by God or a few good people in teaching schools. The work of this recognition is started by only a few at first, but they are sufficient for them who seek, and powerful enough to cause a serious shift in spiritual polarity. Continuing with that understanding, it then becomes direction which is needed and sought, and which, for that very reason, is sent. Hence the Revelation of the Religion of Islam (Surrender) as believed, taught and understood by the Sufis. In response to that felt need for direction that I write the following. 17
An Explanation of the Seven Stages to the Perfection of God- Realization The path to the above-mentioned fourth level of understanding and awareness, called "Nafsi l Mutma`inna", the Contented or Fulfilled Self, is well documented in almost all spiritual lore and traditions. It simply exists, the stages are described briefly below, and its realization is the end and goal of most paths. But it is the essential beginning of the Sufi Pathway to the Lord of the Throne. Surrender may be, but until a Pure Faith in the Divine revelation has entered and guides the heart, there is still something to be learned and done. The final three of the seven "stages" on the Sufi path to perfect religious and spiritual understanding deal specifically with the issue of Learning and Teaching Religion. Completing them is the completion of Religion and the manifest perfection of Surrender. Religion is how we believe, and our beliefs influence everything in our daily and spiritual life. And please remember that the doctrine of "no religion" is also a religion, and a form of rejection. That is why it is stated in other writings that the road to perfect self-knowledge and thereby to Godrealization includes a thorough investigation of our motivations for rejection of anything. Since the realization of the Holy and Divine Unity and thereby the fulfillment of desire and the end of suffering is nothing less than the truth of our existential reality, it becomes obvious that it is only the beginning of a true spiritual path. When looked at like this it is easier to understand why the success of Islam from the work of the Sufis has been so manifest. Rather than puzzling over enlightenment, what it is and how to attain it and transmit it, it is assumed immediately to be the initial God-given state of man, needing only to be recognized and confirmed as such by affirmation. And therein lies the secret of Instantaneous Transmission. For that reason we have the Shahada, the ritual and religious repetition of the words of truth and witnessing, La ilaha illa 'llah, Muhammadun Rasulullah. It keeps us grounded in the reality. And the person of the Holy Prophet, upon who be Allah's peace and blessings, serves as a central focal point and a grounding example for our personal behavior in this life. And the re-affirmation of our witnessing to the truth and reality of our existential unity is contained in the words "la ilaha illa 'llah", which can be interpreted in many creative ways. Such as, "there is no multiplicity, only Unity", "there is no idol worship because there is only God" "There is no god (as in idol or distraction), only Al-llah! (Unity, The One). But it most basically affirms our 18
belief that there is only one God. It is comprises the quintessential and only correct form of denial, that of multiplicity and division, and the quintessential and only perfect form of affirmation, that of the singularity of God. All affirmations of the unity of existence are, in some form or another, an affirmation of the uniqueness and singleness of the Author of that unity, Who IS worthy of worship and gratitude, and Who IS capable of revealing what He wills to whom He will. So belief in and following the guidance of revelation becomes obligatory upon us. This is a self-imposed obligation although, in reality, there is no self to impose or to be imposed upon. So the attainment of absolute clarity is a simple reconnection with our true and natural state. It is the realization of our True Self, and therefore called the pathway of Self-Realization. It IS the Buddha-mind, enlightenment and Nirvana. It is the Fana` of the sufis, the "annihilation" of illusion and the beginning of Baqa`, "abidance" in truth. These are the four selves, or states of being, dealt with on the pathway to realization of the actuality of Surrender. 1. An-nafsil `amarra - The commanding self - the one who will not let go. 2. An-nafsil lawamma - The doubting, self-reproachful self - the dawning of conscience, questioning and self-investigation - the one who questions the one who will not let go. 3. An-nafsil-mulhama (or aamina) - The inspired, trusting, believing self - the one who no longer questions. The beginning of Surrender. 4. An-nafsil-mutma`inna - Self-realized - the fulfilled, illumined, enlightened, satisfied self. The one who knows, and is, Unity. This fourth step to perfection is nothing less than the realization of our true selves. It is our only cleared and natural state of being and the beginning of the search for true spiritual wisdom. In a sense it might be said that there is nothing "spiritual" about it at all, in that it has nothing to do with faith and belief but everything to do with simply realizing God, or the perfection inherent in our very existential reality. Again, Abidance Once the perfection is realized, the problem then becomes how to stay in it. I will now propose the relationship between abidance, intention and intentionality (a new word for being intentional), and the manifestation of intention, learning and teaching. In simple terms, if we intend to stay in it, and do the work of staying in it, we will. And if we truly have it we must cherish it, and that requires us to learn more about it and most definitely teach it to others. What to teach and how to teach it is what you learn from 19
the Sufi Masters. It can only be taught directly since, as you will come to understand, the student is the teacher, and the question contains the answer. It cannot be taught by writing about it. So firstly in our quest for abidance we must seek out the teachers who teach it. For it is assumed that from their company and teaching we will find our establishment in it also. It is also understood that there is absolutely no reason why we should try or want to do it alone. One of the signs, and dare I say requisites, of a teacher in abidance is that he or she be inviting to it by teaching about it and the way to it. This will become more clear as we investigate the way to stay in it, through an understanding of the three final stages of self-perfection, called in Arabic An-nafsir radhiyyatan and an-nafsil mardhiyyah, and, as previously mentioned, annafsil Kaamila, the perfected or completed self. These last three of the seven stages deal with Belief and Perfection. These stages or states of being are not fully accessible without understanding the fullness of Self Realization described above in "Finding the Peace and the Love" as the result of an intention toward perfect surrender. Islam, Iman, Ihsan In the Islamic tradition we have yet another way of looking at the stages of development. The first is Surrender (Islam), the second is Belief (Iman), and the third (Ihsan) is the Perfection of understanding and realization found in a balanced incorporation of the two. The first four states of being are dealt with in the category of Surrender (Islam), the way of attainment of realization through physical Surrender. Surrender is the beginning, and the practice that brings the fruits of realization, which are success, health, peace and happiness. The four stages of the self to the realization of Surrender are described above. The next two of the seven, to be described below, comprise the second of the three, our beliefs, that in which we put trust. Faith is the result of trusting in and following guidance. It may be difficult without the realizations obtained from the practice of Surrender. That's why we teach the healing of Surrender first, and that's why Belief is the second half of perfection. There are two stages to it and these are the fifth and sixth stages of the seven. Nafsil Kaamila - The Perfect Being - Perfection is the seventh stage. It is the height of intentionality. It is described as the worship of God through seeing Him. And if you don't, then know that He sees you. Imam `Ali is reported to have said, "I would not worship a God I could not see". The Sufi 20
understanding of this description of perfection (Ihsan) is that you are either a gnostic of Allah (`Arif billah), or a seeker on the path (saalik) to being a gnostic of Allah. Parallel interpretations are master or disciple, teacher or student, mureed or muraad, etc. Jalaal, Jamaal, and Kamaal Kamaal is also one of three words to describe the harmony and balance of the inward and outward realities. The outward life is called the Jalaal, the manifest, the life of hardship and struggle. The inward life is called the Jamaal, the life of beauty and peace. And the Perfection, holding the balance between the two, is called the Kamaal. A deeper understanding of the meanings and origins of "Radhiyyatan, Mardiyyah" can be found in the introduction. I repeat: Abidance is the second half of the way. Learning about the religion of Islam is the first step of Abidance, for it is the way to walk and stay in the love of Allah, and teaching it is the second, although they go hand in hand. These two stages of Abidance through self-education are represented by the Arabic words "Radhiyyatan", "Mardhiyyah", Pleased and Pleasing. They are the fifth and sixth stations of the self. We are "pleased" with what we are learning (from Allah) (for it draws us "closer", and because we now know its significance and "how" to learn it), and we are "pleasing" to God and others when we teach it and set other free by means of our teaching. These are the stations of Mureed and Murad, Desiring and Desired. And this part of the work is referred to as "Sulook", or "Seeking the good pleasure of Allah". The completion of the Sulook is the completion of the Self. When Allah is "pleased" with us, we are "pleased" with ourselves. And Allah is pleased with us when we are seeking his pleasure through learning His religion with the intention to teach and pass it on. Students with the intention of the master will succeed. Students with the intentions of the student must change. The seven stages of the nafs is also a perfect parallel to the development of our outward lives and to a simple educational pattern of children to adults. Stage one corresponds to (approximately) the first seven or eight years of life wherein the demands of the child both must and should be met. In the second seven years he is beginning to realize some autonomy and giving the parents a break, so to speak - still demanding but becoming self-aware. In the third he is learning to believe in himself and in the fourth (21/25 to 28/32) earning self-sufficiency. In the fifth he turns to learning and in the sixth to teaching, and by the completion of the seventh should be a recognized master. 21
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THE ROAD TO SUCCESS Revelation is to be believed. This is why we are called believers. Revelation reveals what is to be believed - the "truth", so to speak - that by it falsehood, which abounds in this world, may be discerned and avoided. When "the faith" - that which is to be trusted as true - has entered into the heart, then that heart is guided by it, and the person is considered to be "rightly guided", and a guide to others. This is the Essence a Free Sufi Muslim, surrendered and cleared by the Masters of the Way. This is the goal to be striven for. For then you are free - free of your burdensome, tiring self, free of false responsibilities and concerns, clean, innocent and forgiven, teaching and living by the Religion of Choice, Surrendered to the God in Whom we all believe and guided by Religion in the right way. What more could be asked for. It is then and only then that the ways of true success in the world will be opened for you, for it is no longer coming from your will but from Allah's will, which must come to pass, and to which you are completely surrendered. So now let me "reveal" to you the nature of your religion. "I am the Lord thy God. Your lives and provision have been decreed. I want only of you recognition, not that you provide for yourselves. Let Me provide for you, and you worship Me. I have created you for this recognition. There is no way that you "can't" do it, I have built it into the depths of your very being. But there are created many distractions for you to test your will and improve your strength and insight, so many of you "won't", for now. And it is for that choice that I have given you a free will. "Knowing me is as simple as leaving your desires. To guide you in my direction I have sent you a revelation through a prophet perfect in character and understanding, yet human, that you be not discouraged. He describes for you that which you should practice and that in which you should trust, and exemplifies in his being the balance between them, the holding of them both in perfect harmony. He describes for you the religion of Surrender, which is the direct way of knowing Me for each one of you. He describes for you your faith. And He shows you the way to outer peace through inner peace. So believe now in Me and follow the way I have revealed for you. It will lead you out of the suffering of your mortal illusions and into the true life that I have created for you. " 23
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PART 2 Prayer of the Prophet Defining Elements of the Sufi Way 25
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PRAYER OF THE PROPHET "O Allah! Show me all things as they are." "Allahumma, Ara`ani kullu shay`in kama hiya" This is the constant heart prayer of the true Gnostic and the vocal expression of the essence of the endless, ongoing quest. To know, see, and be in reality at all times is, at least, to be free from the trap of our mental perceptions and it can be done, or at least asked for. This prayer, even though ongoing, is answerable, and here's how I feel the answer. "Things as they are" are never as they seem. We are asking for a direct vision of reality. This certainly implies its possibility. And if the certainty is not granted immediately upon request, it implies the presence of veils, which are also part of the reality, and which must become known and recognized in order to be removed. So now we must accept the reality of "veils". The removal of veils implies the removal of the visual impedances held in the outer, central and deeper regions of the hearts by incorrect or unreal beliefs in "other than" Allah, which are the results of and cause our personal distortions of reality. Distortions in perception are not changes in reality but misguided interpretations, incorrect assumptions and understandings that keep us "out of touch" with it. The singular "cure" for this is the seeking and following of guidance. This search for and following of guidance is called sulook. It is the long-honored process of self-education in the approach to reality, or on the pathway to God, as we like to say. What is Reality? Reality can never be what we "think" it is simply because by the time we get a "mental" fix on it, it has changed and we are left with a flash picture, like a photograph. Our perception of reality is made up for the most part of photos in archive, and the only way we can ever get through it is to posit the existence of a transcendent, objective truth, a goal, and approach it. Otherwise we are left collecting pictures of ourselves, wading through our own archives, destroying pictures. That's why the Zen people teach the phrase, "Zen mind, beginner's mind", because every moment is a new beginning. How, then, can we "trust" anything? You might well ask. 27
Reality is quite reliable on its own and neither asks of us nor needs of us any mental participation. It obviously does not exclude such, but the results of mental participation become "reality" too, "our contribution", so to speak. Hence the confusion and difficulty in distinguishing between what is "really" true, and what is just true for a moment. The mind is based on attainment, but the soul is already established in the love of God. Shifting our focus from one to the other is the process of the journey. Self-acceptance (Surrender to the reality of Soul) is what dissolves the illusion of conceptual self. It simply melts in its own reality. "I see who I am and surrender to that", is the first step of "seeing things as the are". Then we come to understand the phrase "The world is but a reflection of how we see ourselves in it." Mental purification (God-realization) is the means and goal of Islamic Healing So we start in our minds, positing the existence of God, the Divine Being from Whom and by Whom all things emanate. Then we investigate what religions and spiritual paths have to say about such a being. Upon conclusion that such a being exists, we set about our search for means of discovery. And soon we discover the heart of the matter, ourselves. When we realized that the depth of the secrets of reality lies within our own beings, we also realize what lies within the depths of other beings and we set out on our journey in earnest, to be healed and educated by others, and to thereby bring healing and education to others. This necessity and quest for self-understanding is what brings humanity together. We approach those in whom we feel the healing energy and wisdom of truth, peace, love and, and while discovering them on our paths, we ourselves are discovered by others on a similar quest. Among the religions and paths to be investigated, we will come across Islam. We in the West will investigate it in honest hopes that it is not for us but will conclude that there are in it some points of extreme value, particularly in the spiritual Psychology of the Sufis and the pathway to the knowledge of God (Allah) in our hearts. We will discover that there are some genuine masters of this science and that it is alive and doing very well, thank you. We may ignore it for extreme lengths of time, going in many directions and learning many things, but we will likely not forget, and see that all paths lead back to the central focus of the Sufis, Knowledge of God, through Love and knowledge of Self. And eventually, if we are lucky, we may set out on the quest to meet a Sufi Master. 28