Stop Being So Religious
What
Do sad people have in
Common?
It seems
they have all built a shrine
to the past
And often go there
And do a strange wail and
Worship.
What is the beginning of
Happiness?
It is to stop being
So religious
Like
That.
I was sad one day and went for a walk;
I sat in a field.
A rabbit noticed my condition and
came near.
It often does not take more than that to help at times–
to just be close to creatures who
are so full of knowing,
so full of love
that they
don’t
–chat,
they just gaze with
their
marvelous understanding.
There is a Prophetic Tradition, in which the Prophet says, “One who knows one’s self knows one’s Lord.” Various interpretations of this tradition are possible, depending on whether we interpret ‘Lord’ to mean the one who commands, or God.
If we mean the former, then the psychological interpretation of the tradition is as follows:
We know that each person’s behavior is, by and large, motivated by unconscious or subconscious conditioning; in other words, one’s behavior is influenced by one’s pre-existing psychological state. Hence, one can say that whoever knows one’s self, meaning the character traits and behavioral characteristics that have been influenced by the personalities of one’s father and mother, as well as one’s childhood environment and training, knows one’s lord, which is, in fact, one’s psychological personality.
If we understand ‘Lord’ to mean God, however, then the literal interpretation of the Tradition would be that whoever knows one’s self knows one’s God. Yet, as philosophers and gnostics have pointed out, humankind is transitory and knowledge of one’s transitory nature does not amount to knowledge of the eternal. Furthermore, a transitory being can never come to know the eternal.
Sufis, however, strive to throw away the garment of transitoriness by the aid of love and annihilate themselves in God. In this way, through Him they come to know Him. Thus, in interpreting this tradition they say:
1. One who knows oneself in annihilation knows one’s Lord in Subsistence.
2. One who knows oneself in non-existence knows one’s Lord in Existence.
3. One who knows oneself as non-being knows one’s Lord as Absolute Being.
4. One who knows oneself as poor knows one’s Lord as Rich.
5. One who knows oneself as nothing knows one’s Lord as Everything.
However, becoming nothing is a difficult task indeed, for as long as any trace of being remains, you have not lost yourself in your Lord, who is everything.
The goal of the mystical school is the completed person. The completed person has added a degree of spiritual development to their other capacities. This spiritual development is accomplished through an interaction between the Master, the student and Path.
The school exists to help make the world a better place, one person at a time and is the original school/classroom without walls. Learning takes place on many levels and is directed by a Master who has completed the journey. This entire enterprise is blessed and guided by a Spiritual Hierarchy and the grace of the Path. In order for learning to occur it must be the right time, with the right people and in the right place.
In today’s spiritual market place there are many options. The student wishing to complete their spiritual journey is faced with different choices; often selecting learning experience which appeals to them, thereby missing other essential elements and failing to benefit from a complete system. Because the student thinks he/she can direct their own study or make a choice about which path to follow, the journey is often flawed from the start. While spiritual schools are similar to other forms of learning and past traditional learning experience is helpful, there are different or spiritual parameters which effect outcome. Most often the potential student is unaware of these and simply feels about in the dark.
The purpose of this discussion is to help the student understand some of the factors involved in the operation and selection process of a mystical school.
Before beginning, first the student must accept a humbling fact. In this area of inquiry, most ordinary rules do not apply and generally students have a limited understanding of how mystical schools operate. These schools are unlike other classroom situations or seminars that one takes. In these, if we are interested in the course of study, we apply to be accepted and meeting entry requirements, we pay our fees and begin. In some ways, these learning experiences are set-up like a business. The more students, the most gain for everyone. The assumption being, with correct preparation and desire, most students can benefit from what is being taught.
Yet, mystical schools are not set-up this way. They are very selective. You cannot gain entrance by applying for admission because you are interested. There must be an inner call which the Teacher or Master perceives in the student. This the Master does through inner spiritual cognition. This call, or higher impulse operating in the student, is the basic element which gives the school life and vibrancy; also, it is this elemental energy which the Master connects with to perceive, teach and function. In fact, the goal of the mystical process and the work of the entire school are the refinement and use of this elemental spiritual energy. The student meets the entrance requirement if this capacity is already at a sufficient level where it can be called forth and further developed. Additionally, the student must be leading a balanced life, free of limiting emotional disorder and part of the society in which they live. While spiritual capacity is in everyone, often, it is not ready to be worked on in a beneficial way. In most, this capacity is covered over by ‘the dust of selfish living’ and the student has work to do before this element can be refined by the school. To begin prematurely can harm the student and create unbalance.
Second, most mystical schools which specialize in the refinement of this higher impulse/energy are hidden. Generally, they do not take out advertisements in the local newspaper inviting applicants. Often, they do not look like schools with classrooms and buildings set aside for learning. They might take the form of a business, a professional society, be in a hospital, or a local highway department. The meetings might be held in someone’s home after work or in their office during lunch. Learning might be transmitted spiritually while the student is sleeping or while they are working. The student might be told to continue their normal routine of work and play and read a series of books. They might be directed to enroll in a correspondence course and given selected pieces to read and comment upon.
In this model, ordinary life is the classroom, the course of study is specific to the student and study is directed by a Master. Here there is a minimum of time away from others. The end product being a completed person; one who has added refined spiritual capacity and is better able to serve in their community. Students are taught to participate in the world and help make it a better place.
The completed person, who is Master or Guide, is able to show the way to potential students, because they have traveled the path themselves. The Master has completed the journey that is, reached a high degree of spiritual development, and has been given permission to teach and guide others. Not everyone is needed to do this. In the spiritual hierarchy, there are many functions and duties. Teacher-ship is one function and set of responsibilities.
Most students feel they can determine a Master by the way he/she speaks, makes them feel or by the powers displayed. Yet, it is the spirit as liberated that knows the true Master. Like calls to like and the Master embraces the student’s heart, located in the
Spirit- setting it free. The Grace of the Path is the enabling energy factor; acting as a nutrient to release the student’s inner spiritual capacity. Other characteristics of the Master include: an over riding concern for the student’s well being; provision of an individual course of study specific to the student which is varied with general practices for everyone; and the capacity to provide everything the student needs to reach spiritual completion.
The Master exists because of the student’s need. Both benefit from this interaction and form a strong bond. This is a spiritual bond and the Master’s primary responsibility is to show the student their own latent inner capacity and how to refine it. Without a Master few would reach higher; getting lost in the mire of self-deception, struggle for spiritual powers, and false teachings.
The Master can teach in any format. All things have an aspect of the Divine and the Master is able to show this to the student. Depending upon the culture and the needs of the people, the format will vary. In our culture, psychological, self-help, improved health and scientific vehicles are currently being employed.
Deep within, the student has a hunger, an emptiness, which can only be filled by the Light of Eternity. This ‘great hunger’ leads people in all kinds of directions and has been described as a burning desire, restlessness or unease. It is an inborn spiritual need and most people try to fill this primal hunger with secondary phenomena. Because of this action, they are never truly satisfied and rarely accept the primal emptiness for what it is. Sadly, many spend much of their lives never satisfied, seeking a variety of secondary phenomena, always looking in the wrong direction.
The Master calls to those students who are able to perceive this unease as a spiritual need. These students because of an inner sincerity, or latent degree of spiritual capacity, quickly connect with the Master’s call, thereby defining the inner hunger. This initial caress, felt in the heart, is an initiation by the Master into the mystical school. Spiritually, the Master caresses the student with the Light of Eternity and the student is accepted. This is an inner knowing which both the student and Master share; it is life changing and becomes the yardstick for future experience. The essence of the school and its course work is to refine the capacity to perceive this spiritual energy. The student is taught this through the initial spiritual caress.
In the journey to spiritual completion, the learning is without end. Many are the spiritual experiences and lessons. Quickly, the student learns these experiences and higher capacities are provided to make the student a better person who is more fully equipped to serve their community. This is a natural, gradual process of learning and the student is expected to maintain all areas of daily life- becoming more responsible. Spiritual responsibilities are in addition to other duties.
In this school, rarely, is a student asked to live apart from others and or not participate in the affairs of the world. If this occurs, it is for a short period and to teach something specific. All human capacities, skills, and abilities are needed to make the world better. Spiritual capacity is one aspect of a healthy, more complete life; serving as center from which other capacities emanate.
The Path consists of the Master, students, Spiritual Hierarchy (of which the Master is part) and the inner essence or energy. In this realm, the inner essence is most like the Universal Mind or Consciousness. Some call this Consciousness, the Light or God. This Consciousness is the very substance of the universe and gives life and direction to all living things. It is all loving and kind; giving life and vibrancy to the Path. Without this sacred essence all would wither and die. The Spiritual Hierarchy guards this essence and reflects it daily into the world. This is the very fabric of life.
Within each soul there is a spark of this Consciousness which connects us spiritually to all things. It is this essence, or heart, the Master calls to and awakens. When this consciousness is fully awake the student is completed and able to consciously participate in their own higher destiny and the higher destiny of the universe.
The Path exists to help each student reach completion and ensures the spiritual evolution of the universe. Each traveler must choose to embrace the Light and help others. This action cannot be forced. In part, it is the duty of the Spiritual Hierarchy to ensure that opportunity exists for students to awaken and protect the planet from spiritual harm.
In order for individual spiritual learning to take place, this learning must occur under certain conditions. These conditions include: right time, right place and right people. This alignment of factors precludes everything else and is contrary to the way things are taught in most other schools. The model of working daily on a subject is useful in some forms of learning, but is limited within the context of spiritual learning and higher knowledge.
In the ordinary classroom, the closest we come to spiritual learning or cognition is the ‘Aha!’ experience. Ordinarily, this learning experience occurs after a period of readiness and preparation. After the student has been struggling with a problem, suddenly, when the correct combination of factors align, the student grasps what he has been working on-‘Aha!’ From a spiritual perspective, this experience can be described as a holistic understanding of what is being taught. This coming together occurs on different levels of consciousness simultaneously.
Also, in another way, spiritual learning is unlike other forms of learning. You cannot gain spiritual knowledge simply because you want it and will work hard to get it. While these traits are useful in many things, in this endeavor, this mind-set will only slow you down. You cannot get there with linear thought- it only takes you part of the way. Holistic and spiritual thought have a different set of rules-like those mentioned above.
Higher cognition and intuitive perception develop naturally and gradually over a period of time. With the guidance of a Master, there is a period of preparation and a slow building of impacts; until the student is able to independently perceive on their own.
____________________
Also by Dr. Bitkoff, A Commuter’s Guide to Enlightenment (Llewellyn, 2008) and Journey of Light: Trilogy (Authorhouse, 2004); these books are available on Amazon.com or from publisher. To contact author go to www.stewartbitkoff.com.
I received this today from Dr Stewart Bitkoff, enjoy
After following indications of the theoretical dynamic behind traditionalistic meditation activity, it was when I was studying with Gulbaz Khan of Kalat (Baluchistant) that I came across what might be termed a developed theory of pupil-teacher meditation.
This is attributed to the remotest antiquity; though why it should be claimed that it was practiced by ‘Noah, Joseph, Jesus, Elias and Salman the Persian’ especially, I cannot say. In summary, the theory holds that there is a certain element in the human being which strives toward perfection.
This element (Nafs-i-Haqiqa = the True Being) will attach itself to anything-men, objects, ideas- in the hope of finding some conductor which will bring it to ‘maturity’ (Pukhtagi). When it comes into contact with a correct source of conduction- a teacher, it feeds itself for a time on his knowledge. This is the phase of attachment to a teacher. If the teacher accepts the pupil, he will first of all teach interchange concentration exercises. In these the mutual bond is strengthened.
The next step is for the teacher to induce students to interchange with one another, which they do by meeting regularly and all taking an interest in some common theme. They may think they are learning something from that theme. In fact, they are becoming attuned to one another. Next comes the phase in which pupils are able to spend some time, at will, interchanging with the teacher and with one another. When this stage has been reached, they have attained a form of directing capacity over their spiritual life.
The next form of meditation is when different subjects of meditation are given to each student. Now each has three types of practice. After that comes the succession of meditation. The whole community following signals from the teacher or his deputy (Khalifa) first collect themselves, then meditate upon themselves, then upon the teacher, then upon an object or idea, then upon the private objects or ideas.
In this way, it is believed by the mystics of the Chisti, Qadiri and other schools, the human capacity for connection with superior cognition is practices and brought to fruition.
_______________
The writer, Mir S Khan, is of nomadic extraction. He has made sociological studies of the Berbers and Afghan Kochis and is a member of several Sufi Orders.
From “New Research on Current Philosophical Systems.”
This piece appears in Robert Cecil, Richard Rieu, David Wade, The King’s Son, The Octagon Press for The Institute for Cultural Research, 1981, London, pgs. 152-153.
Hey Friends,
I remember many times reading that if a man wants truth like a drowning man wants air then he will get it instantly. It make me think a lot. I remember a quote from Hafez, it said [paraphrasing of course]
Union with the Beloved is a gift, its cannot be got by one effort, it is only given. Nevertheless Strive strive strive O heart
I read a similar quote today from Rumi and wanted to place it here for you all :
You imagined you would accomplish this task through your own strength, activity and effort. This is the wont that I have established: expend everything you have in Our Way. Then Our bounty will come to you. In this endless road We command you to travel with your own feeble hands feet. We know that you cannot traverse this way with feet feeble. Indeed, in a hundred thousand years you will not arrive at the first way station. However, when you travel this road until your legs are exhausted and you fall down flat, until you have no more strength to move forward. Then God’s grace will take you in its arms.
In the words of Irina Tweedie “Mysticism cannot be explained or comprehended by the mind. It belongs to another dimension, the dimension of the soul. In writing this I looked for a basic more or less terre à terre definition of mysticism to start off. This of course mirrors the true nature of mysticism. Outwardly there are many forms of mysticism but ultimately they are all at the core, the same. Sunlight maybe split into its constituent colors it may looking one way on this way on this wall and another way on another wall but it’s still light.
But what I really feel to start is a good is with quote from Hamlet’s Mill By Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha Von Deschend:
The Greeks, as early as the 7th century B.C., spoke of the quest of their first sages as the Problem of the One and the Many, sometimes describing the wild fecundity of nature as the way in which the Many could be deduced from the One, sometimes seeing the Many as unsubstantial variations being played on the One. The oracular sayings of Heraclitus the Obscure do nothing but illustrate with shimmering paradoxes the illusory quality of “things” in flux as they were wrung from the central intuition of unity.
The One in the many is the central mystery. The sufis have a similar principle wahdat al wujud, the unity of being. What this means is that there is no true existence except the Ultimate Truth (God)’. Or in other phrasing that the only truth within the universe is God, and that all things exist within God only. All of his creations emerge from non-existence to existence out of his thought only. Hence the existence of God is the only truth , and the concept of a separate created universe is falsehood.
Of course these words themselves don’t mean much. The experience that animates them does however. I would like to quote from Islamic Mysticism by the Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah where someone named Abdul Momin describes his experience, not ideology for a sheikh. He says:
Heavens and Earth and God’ throne and Hell have ceased to exist for me. When I look round I find them nowhere. When I stand in the presence of somebody I see nobody before me: nay even my own being is lost to me. God is Infinite. No one can encompass him
On the level of language and philosophical talk these words can be misconstrued and misunderstood but for anyone who has had this experience the feels and the implications are quite clear. There are still people arguing about the philosophical implications of the unity of being a few hundred years later. One the Sufi path there is nothing to become, only to give up. We hear in many ways that “In order to realize the Eternal Nothingness, the Reality of Realities, the ego must die; we must become nothing. I think writing No-thing-ness is more impactful than the generic nothingness. I remember Hamid saying to Reshad Field in The Last Barrier, “Have you forgotten that He for Whom you are seeking is not to be found in the world of form?”
What others have said on Nothingness
I would like to take some various quotes chosen at random and put them all here that talk about nothingness, and its relationship to mysticism in particularly Sufism.
‘In the eyes of the world the Sufi is mad. We are in love with an invisible Beloved! We want the Nothingness! We don’t care about job, career, position, salary! All that matters is the greatest adventure, the path to the Infinite. And once you seriously begin, you can’t go back. For there is nowhere to go back to. The world no longer exists as it used to. It no longer makes sense. And you have lost your old friends anyway, for they gave up on you. Your conversation and interests became boring. The other world that calls you is not even a distant dream to most people.’
An Arab once went to Persia and was astonished at the customs of the country. One day he happened to pass the dwelling of a group of [dervishes] and saw a handful of men who said not a word. They had no wives and not even an obol, but they were pure of heart and undefiled. Each held a flask of muddy wine which he carefully filled before sitting down. The Arab felt sympathetic towards these men; he stopped and at that moment his mind and heart fell onto the road. At this the [dervishes] said: “Enter, O man of nothing!” So he went in, willy-nilly, just like that! He was given a cup of wine and at once lost his senses. He became drunk and his strength was reduced to nothing. His gold and silver and valuables were taken from him by one of the [dervishes], more wine was given to him, and at last they put him out of the house. Then this Arab returned to his own country, one-eyed and poor, his state changed and his lips dry. When he arrived at his native place his companions asked him: “What is the matter? What have you done with your money and valuables? Were they stolen while you slept? Have you done badly in Persia? Tell us! Perhaps we can help you!”
“I was moving about in the street,” he said, “when I fell in with a group of [dervishes]. I know nothing else except that my possessions and I were parted and now I have nothing.” They asked him to describe the [dervishes]. He replied, “They simply said to me ‘Enter.’” The Arab remained ever after in a state of surprise and astonishment, like a child, and dumbfounded by the word “Enter.”
You too, put your foot forward. If you do not wish to, then follow your fantasies. But if you prefer the secrets of the love of your soul you will sacrifice everything. You will lose what you consider to be valuable, but you will soon hear the sacramental word, “Enter.”
Fana & Baqa
Fana means to cease to exist and to pass away. It is an important ’stage’ onthe sufi way. Through a series of stages and subjective experiences, this process of absorbtion develops until complete annihilation of the self (fana) takes place and the person becomes al-insanul-kamil, the “perfect man”. It is the disintegration of a person’s narrow self-concept, social self- and limited intellect (feeling like a drop of water aware of being part of the ocean). The stage is also called Fana fit tawheed (“extinction with the unity”), and Fana fil Haq (Extinction in the reality).
One of the important phases of mystical experience which is attained by the grace of God by a traveller on the mystical path is the state of fana fi Allah, “extinction of the self in God”. This is the state where the person becomes extinct in the will of God. It is important to mention that this is not incarnation or union. Most Sufis, while passing through this experience, have preferred to live in the greatest depth of silence which transcends all forms and sounds, and enjoy their union with the beloved.
The highest stage of fana is reached when even the consciousness of having attained fana disappears. This is what the Sufis call “the passing-away of passing-away” (fana al-fana). The mystic is now wrapped in contemplation of the divine essence.
Why is this important to this topic: take a look at the following
Losing oneself in God is the process of fanâ, of annihilation. As the seeker dissolves, so the presenceof the Beloved becomes greater and greater. So long as some duality remains there can be consciousness of His presence. But consciousness necessitates duality— a separation of subject and object. In states of total oneness there is neither subject nor object. When the lover is completely annihilated there is no longer any awareness; there is no longer any mirror in which His face can be seen reflected:
Neither am I aware of being a lover, nor of love,
Neither of myself, nor of the beloved.
Such complete annihilation is the goal of the lover: to be so lost that nothing remains. This is the stamp of the real master, who can be either living or dead. Through the relationship with such a teacher the seeker receives that same imprint within the core of his being and slowly he learns to merge into it.
“Only if the cup is empty can it be filled,” only through nothingness and emptiness can we merge more fully; the less the ego is present the more complete can be the union with the teacher. In the truest sense the teacher gives “nothing,” allowing us to touch our own nothingness, to become slowly absorbed “somewhere” far beyond the mind and the world of forms.
I will continue with my Thoughts/Experiences in part two.
Once upon a time there was a puppet made of salt who had travelled a long time through dry and desert places until one evening he came upon a sea which he had never before seen and didn’t know what it was.
The puppet asked the sea:
‘What are you?’
‘I am the sea’ it replied.
‘But’ the puppet insisted, ‘What is the sea?’.
‘I am’.
‘I don’t understand’ said the puppet made of salt. ‘I want very much to understand what I can do to know you!’
The sea replied
‘That’s easy, touch me!’
The salt puppet timidly touched the sea with the tip of his toes. At that moment he realized that the sea began to make itself perceptible, but at the same time he noticed the tips of his toes had disappeared.
‘What have you done to me?’ he cried to the sea.
‘You have given a little yourself to understand me’ the sea replied.
Slowly the salt puppet began to walk into the sea with great solemnity as though he were about to perform the most important act of his life. The further he moved along, the more he dissolved but at the same time he had the impression that he knew more and more about the sea.
Again and again the puppet asked
‘What is the sea?’ until the wave covered him completely.
Just before he was entirely dissolved by the sea he exclaimed:
‘I exist!’
The Empty Heart
Water in the boat is the ruin of the boat,
but water under the boat is its support.
Since Solomon cast the desire for wealth out
from his heart,
he didn’t call himself by any name but “poor”.
The stoppered jar, though in rough water,
floated because of its empty heart.When the wind of poverty is in anyone,
she floats in peace on the waters of this world.
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