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Showing posts with label Anab Sufi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anab Sufi. Show all posts
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Unfinished Revolution: The Battle for America's Soul
The Unfinished Revolution: The Battle for America's Soul by Bill Whitehouse is now available in the Amazon Kindle Store and soon will be available in the iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores as an eBook and a hard copy book.
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Click to go to the Amazon Kindle Store
To purchase this book from us click this link.
The 'Occupy Movement' took many people by surprise with both its scope, as well as with the manner in which it resonated with the deep sense of discontentment that appears to be felt by many people in the United States concerning the economic and political character of American life. This book is intended to help bring a sharper focus to the concerns that are inherent in the dissatisfaction that people have concerning the idea of 'politics as usual' by offering a clear differentiation between the way of power (i.e., poltics as usual) and the way of sovereignty that gives expression to a very different notion of democracy ... one that is constructive, not destructive.
To purchase this book from us click this link.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Baqa - A Sufi's Perspective
Deep within us there is a longing for permanence and stability. We dream of a place or condition in which we can feel completely at rest in some fundamental way.
In our heart of hearts we fervently hope that an abiding, essential sense of peace and security will somehow come into our lives and embrace us. We scan the horizons within us and around us for some trace of the very archetype, as it were, in which the idea of home, in the best sense of the term, is rooted.
This deep sense of longing or dreaming or hoping shadows us for much, if not all, of our lives. It is pervasive and persistent, and, yet, seems like a will-o'-the-wisp which cannot be pinned down in any concrete, determinate manner.
We have a feeling we might be able to recognize the object of this longing if we ever were to come face to face with it. However, in the meantime, the longing just manifests itself as: an ineffable emptiness waiting to be filled; or, as an amorphous cosmic alienation waiting to be dissipated.
Many of the activities we pursue throughout our lives are actually attempts to satisfy the aforementioned longing. We entertain a wide variety of candidates during the course of our existence on Earth.
We seek to derive experiences of essential belonging in different organizations, groups, political parties, institutions and communities. We try to resolve the longing through relationships, marriage, sexual intimacy and families. We look to careers to fill the emptiness which haunts our waking hours.
Sooner or later, most of us discover that none of the foregoing, either individually or in combination, are capable of satisfying our longing. As a result, many of us pursue activities which will either anesthetize the pain or distract us from such pain.
Thus, some of us drink to excess and take drugs. Some of us become promiscuous. Some of us take up hobbies. Some of become sports fanatics.
Some of us gamble. Some of us go shopping. Some of us become inveterate party-goers or fitness buffs. Some of us bury ourselves in our work and so on.
Sometimes we plunge into these sorts of activity as a kind of distant consolation. In other words, they don't necessarily quench the longing inside, but we find them enjoyable and, perhaps, even satisfying in certain ways.
Many of us, for the most part, have given up on ever finding a way to resolve our essential longing. Therefore, we try to find whatever small consolations in life we can and let it go at that.
In addition, due to our lack of success in locating the key or keys that will unravel the puzzle of unrequited longing, many of us gravitate toward bitterness, frustration, and disillusionment. As a result, we become prone to depression and cynicism.
Furthermore, since many of us are ill at ease with ourselves due to our feelings of alienation from things in general, as a result of our inability to experience a sense of being at home within ourselves and within the universe, many of us become easily annoyed with other people. Consequently, we tend to become involved in endless rounds of bickering, conflict and disputations.
Most of us may not even have any inkling why we do these things. They kind of just happen. We have plenty of rationalizations but no real answers.
In fleeting moments of reflection, we may feel the reverberations of the longing. However dimly we understand its significance, we often sense that satisfying that hunger is the key to many of our problems.
Yet, the solution to our dilemma remains as elusive as ever. Time moves on. The reverie evaporates before our eyes.
We long for stability and permanence, but we are inundated by transience and instability. Whatever happiness we find, it does not last. Whatever joy we find, it comes to an end. Whatever peace we stumble onto is but a brief reprieve in the eye of life's storms.
Like a roller coaster, our lives creep ever so slowly up the track to that first peak. Childhood and adolescence seem to last forever. Suddenly, our stomachs slam into our throats, and the descent of our lives takes us careening down the track through a few twists and turns to the end of the line.
We cannot get off. We cannot stop it. We only get one ride.
Desperately, we try to make sense of the ride. However, this is very difficult to do because everything is changing so quickly. Moreover, almost all of our attention and energies are spent screaming and trying not to regurgitate our lunch.
The Sufi masters indicate that essential permanence (baqa) can be realized, if God wishes, under certain circumstances or conditions. The Sufi path gives expression to these circumstances and conditions.
To find permanence and stability in the midst of fluctuation, one must permit God, through the exercise of one's free will, to remove everything except the will of God from one's soul, heart and essential being.
God alone is permanent. Consequently, everything which veils the presence of such permanence must be dissolved.
The guidance of the Sufi masters, the practices, the moral training, the struggle, the litanies, and so on are all supports provided by God to assist the individual to work toward permanence. Permanence is realized when the true self is, and the false self is not.
Only the true self is capable of giving expression to the will of God in an undistorted fashion. Only the true self is capable of participating in the quality of permanence. Only the true self has the capacity for essential and complete servitude before God. Only the perfect servant is able to reflect the will of God as God wishes it to be reflected through such a capacity.
God desires permanence for us. This is so because through permanence human capacity realizes its purpose and potential as an expression of God's will.
The reality of permanence cannot be described. It can only be experienced. Nonetheless, the experience of permanence colors, directs, shapes, informs and orients everything which the individual thinks, says, feels, does and is. This is what is entailed by those whom abide in God's permanence and, as a result, journey with, and by, Divinity.
In our heart of hearts we fervently hope that an abiding, essential sense of peace and security will somehow come into our lives and embrace us. We scan the horizons within us and around us for some trace of the very archetype, as it were, in which the idea of home, in the best sense of the term, is rooted.
This deep sense of longing or dreaming or hoping shadows us for much, if not all, of our lives. It is pervasive and persistent, and, yet, seems like a will-o'-the-wisp which cannot be pinned down in any concrete, determinate manner.
We have a feeling we might be able to recognize the object of this longing if we ever were to come face to face with it. However, in the meantime, the longing just manifests itself as: an ineffable emptiness waiting to be filled; or, as an amorphous cosmic alienation waiting to be dissipated.
Many of the activities we pursue throughout our lives are actually attempts to satisfy the aforementioned longing. We entertain a wide variety of candidates during the course of our existence on Earth.
We seek to derive experiences of essential belonging in different organizations, groups, political parties, institutions and communities. We try to resolve the longing through relationships, marriage, sexual intimacy and families. We look to careers to fill the emptiness which haunts our waking hours.
Sooner or later, most of us discover that none of the foregoing, either individually or in combination, are capable of satisfying our longing. As a result, many of us pursue activities which will either anesthetize the pain or distract us from such pain.
Thus, some of us drink to excess and take drugs. Some of us become promiscuous. Some of us take up hobbies. Some of become sports fanatics.
Some of us gamble. Some of us go shopping. Some of us become inveterate party-goers or fitness buffs. Some of us bury ourselves in our work and so on.
Sometimes we plunge into these sorts of activity as a kind of distant consolation. In other words, they don't necessarily quench the longing inside, but we find them enjoyable and, perhaps, even satisfying in certain ways.
Many of us, for the most part, have given up on ever finding a way to resolve our essential longing. Therefore, we try to find whatever small consolations in life we can and let it go at that.
In addition, due to our lack of success in locating the key or keys that will unravel the puzzle of unrequited longing, many of us gravitate toward bitterness, frustration, and disillusionment. As a result, we become prone to depression and cynicism.
Furthermore, since many of us are ill at ease with ourselves due to our feelings of alienation from things in general, as a result of our inability to experience a sense of being at home within ourselves and within the universe, many of us become easily annoyed with other people. Consequently, we tend to become involved in endless rounds of bickering, conflict and disputations.
Most of us may not even have any inkling why we do these things. They kind of just happen. We have plenty of rationalizations but no real answers.
In fleeting moments of reflection, we may feel the reverberations of the longing. However dimly we understand its significance, we often sense that satisfying that hunger is the key to many of our problems.
Yet, the solution to our dilemma remains as elusive as ever. Time moves on. The reverie evaporates before our eyes.
We long for stability and permanence, but we are inundated by transience and instability. Whatever happiness we find, it does not last. Whatever joy we find, it comes to an end. Whatever peace we stumble onto is but a brief reprieve in the eye of life's storms.
Like a roller coaster, our lives creep ever so slowly up the track to that first peak. Childhood and adolescence seem to last forever. Suddenly, our stomachs slam into our throats, and the descent of our lives takes us careening down the track through a few twists and turns to the end of the line.
We cannot get off. We cannot stop it. We only get one ride.
Desperately, we try to make sense of the ride. However, this is very difficult to do because everything is changing so quickly. Moreover, almost all of our attention and energies are spent screaming and trying not to regurgitate our lunch.
The Sufi masters indicate that essential permanence (baqa) can be realized, if God wishes, under certain circumstances or conditions. The Sufi path gives expression to these circumstances and conditions.
To find permanence and stability in the midst of fluctuation, one must permit God, through the exercise of one's free will, to remove everything except the will of God from one's soul, heart and essential being.
God alone is permanent. Consequently, everything which veils the presence of such permanence must be dissolved.
The guidance of the Sufi masters, the practices, the moral training, the struggle, the litanies, and so on are all supports provided by God to assist the individual to work toward permanence. Permanence is realized when the true self is, and the false self is not.
Only the true self is capable of giving expression to the will of God in an undistorted fashion. Only the true self is capable of participating in the quality of permanence. Only the true self has the capacity for essential and complete servitude before God. Only the perfect servant is able to reflect the will of God as God wishes it to be reflected through such a capacity.
God desires permanence for us. This is so because through permanence human capacity realizes its purpose and potential as an expression of God's will.
The reality of permanence cannot be described. It can only be experienced. Nonetheless, the experience of permanence colors, directs, shapes, informs and orients everything which the individual thinks, says, feels, does and is. This is what is entailed by those whom abide in God's permanence and, as a result, journey with, and by, Divinity.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Free Downloadable Qur'an With Audio
Unless you own a Mac that runs Parallels, Fusion, or Bootcamp software which permits a Mac to run Windows programs, then the following offer is directed primarily to PC users. The packages to be downloaded both carry an .exe extension.
Go to: BillWhitehouse.Com, and scroll down to the menu on the lower right portion of the page. The link you want is: 'Free Qur'an' toward the bottom of the first column of links.
The downloadable software is virus free, but one of the two packages is fairly hefty in size and, depending on your internet speed, could take more than hour to download. If your internet connection is through a phone line, then the download could take quite a bit longer, and, therefore, you might consider doing the download over night.
Package 1 contains Surahs 1 through 49. Package 2 contains Surahs 50 through 114. Although the second package is much smaller than the first package, it still will take a little time to download ... again, depending on the speed of your internet connection, maybe 10 to 20 minutes.
Each package contains English text of the Qur'an. Moreover, each package contains an accompanying audio portion that includes both Arabic recitation and an English translation of the recitation.
The written, English translation in the downloads is somewhat different from the spoken English translation. This was done intentionally to remind one that a translation is not the original Arabic but is based on the original, and, as a result, sometimes the way in which Arabic words are rendered into English may reflect only minor differences, and sometimes such alternative renderings give expression to more substantial differences.
I tried a number of things to get the Qur'an with audio and written text into one software package. However, no matter what I tried, the software which I use to make e-books tended to spin its wheels after a certain point in the conversion process. There may, yet, be a way to get everything into one volume, but, for now, I believe the challenge exceeds the capacity of my e-book generating software, and, therefore, I made a strategic retreat and went with two volumes.
Software package 1 contains Surahs 1 through 49. Software package 2 contains Surahs 50 through 114.
The search function for the software is not all that great and is restricted to the web page on which you are. I had hoped to be able to do something in connection with the downloadable software package that was similar to the fairly good search function that is associated with the Qur'an that is on the Sufi-Mysticism.Org Web Site. However, here too, my efforts were withouh success ... although I continue to look for ways to improve upon things with respect to the search function issue.
My suggestion is to download package 2 first. The link for this download is located to the right and, then, up toward the top of the column.
Once the software e-book (with audio) is downloaded, you can try it out and see if you like it. If you do, then you can think about finding the right time to download the much larger package 1.
Remember to right click on the links in order to be able to save the related software to your computer Also remember where you store the download ... or, maybe, when prompted to do so, just indicate in the dialogue box for the download that the software e-book should be sent to your desktop.
If you have any problems with the software -- such as links not working -- please let me know. I will do my best to fix the problem as quickly as I can and upload a new version of the problematic software.
Moreover, don't forget that the on-line version of the Qur'an -- the one found on the BillWhitehouse.Com web site [the link is called 'Qur'an' and is found on the home page in the second column on the lower right portion of the page] -- does contain a fairly good search function which can be found on the main menu page for the Qur'an (just above the menu-table), and this search function will not only search the Qur'an for the English word you are seeking [it is better to use single words than phrases, since it is more unlikely that the search will find a match to your particular phrase], but, as well, the search results page will provide a context for the word you are seeking and a list of all the passages in which your word can be found.
Go to: BillWhitehouse.Com, and scroll down to the menu on the lower right portion of the page. The link you want is: 'Free Qur'an' toward the bottom of the first column of links.
The downloadable software is virus free, but one of the two packages is fairly hefty in size and, depending on your internet speed, could take more than hour to download. If your internet connection is through a phone line, then the download could take quite a bit longer, and, therefore, you might consider doing the download over night.
Package 1 contains Surahs 1 through 49. Package 2 contains Surahs 50 through 114. Although the second package is much smaller than the first package, it still will take a little time to download ... again, depending on the speed of your internet connection, maybe 10 to 20 minutes.
Each package contains English text of the Qur'an. Moreover, each package contains an accompanying audio portion that includes both Arabic recitation and an English translation of the recitation.
The written, English translation in the downloads is somewhat different from the spoken English translation. This was done intentionally to remind one that a translation is not the original Arabic but is based on the original, and, as a result, sometimes the way in which Arabic words are rendered into English may reflect only minor differences, and sometimes such alternative renderings give expression to more substantial differences.
I tried a number of things to get the Qur'an with audio and written text into one software package. However, no matter what I tried, the software which I use to make e-books tended to spin its wheels after a certain point in the conversion process. There may, yet, be a way to get everything into one volume, but, for now, I believe the challenge exceeds the capacity of my e-book generating software, and, therefore, I made a strategic retreat and went with two volumes.
Software package 1 contains Surahs 1 through 49. Software package 2 contains Surahs 50 through 114.
The search function for the software is not all that great and is restricted to the web page on which you are. I had hoped to be able to do something in connection with the downloadable software package that was similar to the fairly good search function that is associated with the Qur'an that is on the Sufi-Mysticism.Org Web Site. However, here too, my efforts were withouh success ... although I continue to look for ways to improve upon things with respect to the search function issue.
My suggestion is to download package 2 first. The link for this download is located to the right and, then, up toward the top of the column.
Once the software e-book (with audio) is downloaded, you can try it out and see if you like it. If you do, then you can think about finding the right time to download the much larger package 1.
Remember to right click on the links in order to be able to save the related software to your computer Also remember where you store the download ... or, maybe, when prompted to do so, just indicate in the dialogue box for the download that the software e-book should be sent to your desktop.
If you have any problems with the software -- such as links not working -- please let me know. I will do my best to fix the problem as quickly as I can and upload a new version of the problematic software.
Moreover, don't forget that the on-line version of the Qur'an -- the one found on the BillWhitehouse.Com web site [the link is called 'Qur'an' and is found on the home page in the second column on the lower right portion of the page] -- does contain a fairly good search function which can be found on the main menu page for the Qur'an (just above the menu-table), and this search function will not only search the Qur'an for the English word you are seeking [it is better to use single words than phrases, since it is more unlikely that the search will find a match to your particular phrase], but, as well, the search results page will provide a context for the word you are seeking and a list of all the passages in which your word can be found.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Rizq or Divine Apportionment
There is a concept of rizq in Islam which, usually, is rendered as referring to the Divine apportionment for Creation - both collectively and individually. Often times, when people speak about rizq, they do so in terms of permissible and impermissible means of striving for what is fated for one.
Rizq does not refer to just material goods. It encompasses everything, on every level, in every realm within Creation.
The rizq of spirituality transpires at the same time as the rizq of material gain and losses. In fact, Creation gives expression to a multi-dimensional set of rizq transactions ... everything which occurs is the manifestation of the principles of rizq at work, and rizq is but a simple term which is underwritten by the Divine play of Names and Attributes in accordance with Divine purpose.
The profits, the losses, the blessings, the Divine gifts, expansion, contraction, illness, well-being, family, talents, birth, death, spiritual progress, sin, repentance, wisdom, understanding, learning, forgetting, insight, faith, unbelief, redepmption, food, comforts, difficulties, poverty, and wealth are all manifestations of the principles of rizq transactions at work. Human beings stand at the heart of such transactions and, unlike the rest of creation (with the exception of the species of being known as jinn) have a unique role to play with respect to rizq transactions.
More specifically, through our choices, through the degrees of freedom which are extended to us, we align ourselves or oppose ourselves to the rizq transactions which take place. The choices we make will not affect the rizq transactions which take place one way or the other, but the intentions with which we engage those transactions matter - to us and to God.
To engage rizq transactions with the right intention is what forms the basis of, among other things, right livelihood. When the right intention is present, then, work becomes a form of ibadat and zikr, for one realizes that whatever happens this is a manifestation of the Divine Himma in the form of a rizq transaction of which one is a part.
All rizq transactions have a right over us because such transactions constitute the way in which God wishes events to unfold. We can work with such wishes or we can seek to treat them with kufr and shirk - that is, we can cover up/deny the truth of what is transpiring or we can propose alternative ways of accounting for what is going on that give explanations which are dependent on something other than Divinity as the causal principle for what takes place.
Everything in existence is unique - even if it shares some similarities with other beings of its class of Creation. The nature of Divine creation is such that nothing is repeated - everything manifests ever different modalities of Divine beauty and majesty in infinite combinations of possibility.
Each human being is unique. Each human being has a unique role to play with respect to the realm of rizq transactions. God uses each of us differently to serve as loci of manifestation for rizq transactions.
Our souls have a right over us in this respect for each of must seek to find what is uniquely inherent in the fitra which is our spiritual potential and, then, we must strive to, God willing, give expression to this. There is a beauty, harmony and spiritual quality which arises from rizq transactions which are engaged through the right niyat or intention ... a niyat which is rooted in awareness, understanding, faith, integrity, submission, dependence, love, and character ... such beauty, harmony and spiritual quality are, themselves, part of the rizq transactions which God ordains.
The lives of the prophets and saints bear witness to the foregoing. There is the aura of beauty, harmony, and spiritual quality emanating from their lives as they engage in the dance of rizq transactions which is utterly captivating.
One’s heart and mind are drawn to the purity and sincerity of intention by means of which rizq transactions are manifested through their lives. We seek to follow their example as best we can, according to the rizq of spiritual potential we have been apportioned.
To do what is right for oneself and, simultaneously, right for the world is to enter into rizq transactions with the quality of intention which is most pleasing to God. To achieve this level of quality is a very difficult thing to do for it consists of, God willing, purifying, calibrating, and bringing into active form all of the different dimensions of the human being - including mind, heart, sirr, spirit, kafi, and aqfah - which give expression to the ‘so-called’ perfect human being - which is not really perfection per se (for only God is perfect) but rather the expression of capacity to its fullest extent ... something which varies from person to person.
No matter what one does for an occupation, there should be a vocation or calling which underwrites it. The vocational aspect is the spiritual quality with which one seeks to embrace all of life, including the means through which God uses to provide one with the material rizq of day-to-day living.
There are many people who earn their livelihood through permissible means. There are very few people who do this with the sort of spiritual balance, beauty, wisdom, and quality which transforms such means of livelihood into the acts of worship and zikr which human beings have been given the capacity to achieve if God wishes.
Rizq does not refer to just material goods. It encompasses everything, on every level, in every realm within Creation.
The rizq of spirituality transpires at the same time as the rizq of material gain and losses. In fact, Creation gives expression to a multi-dimensional set of rizq transactions ... everything which occurs is the manifestation of the principles of rizq at work, and rizq is but a simple term which is underwritten by the Divine play of Names and Attributes in accordance with Divine purpose.
The profits, the losses, the blessings, the Divine gifts, expansion, contraction, illness, well-being, family, talents, birth, death, spiritual progress, sin, repentance, wisdom, understanding, learning, forgetting, insight, faith, unbelief, redepmption, food, comforts, difficulties, poverty, and wealth are all manifestations of the principles of rizq transactions at work. Human beings stand at the heart of such transactions and, unlike the rest of creation (with the exception of the species of being known as jinn) have a unique role to play with respect to rizq transactions.
More specifically, through our choices, through the degrees of freedom which are extended to us, we align ourselves or oppose ourselves to the rizq transactions which take place. The choices we make will not affect the rizq transactions which take place one way or the other, but the intentions with which we engage those transactions matter - to us and to God.
To engage rizq transactions with the right intention is what forms the basis of, among other things, right livelihood. When the right intention is present, then, work becomes a form of ibadat and zikr, for one realizes that whatever happens this is a manifestation of the Divine Himma in the form of a rizq transaction of which one is a part.
All rizq transactions have a right over us because such transactions constitute the way in which God wishes events to unfold. We can work with such wishes or we can seek to treat them with kufr and shirk - that is, we can cover up/deny the truth of what is transpiring or we can propose alternative ways of accounting for what is going on that give explanations which are dependent on something other than Divinity as the causal principle for what takes place.
Everything in existence is unique - even if it shares some similarities with other beings of its class of Creation. The nature of Divine creation is such that nothing is repeated - everything manifests ever different modalities of Divine beauty and majesty in infinite combinations of possibility.
Each human being is unique. Each human being has a unique role to play with respect to the realm of rizq transactions. God uses each of us differently to serve as loci of manifestation for rizq transactions.
Our souls have a right over us in this respect for each of must seek to find what is uniquely inherent in the fitra which is our spiritual potential and, then, we must strive to, God willing, give expression to this. There is a beauty, harmony and spiritual quality which arises from rizq transactions which are engaged through the right niyat or intention ... a niyat which is rooted in awareness, understanding, faith, integrity, submission, dependence, love, and character ... such beauty, harmony and spiritual quality are, themselves, part of the rizq transactions which God ordains.
The lives of the prophets and saints bear witness to the foregoing. There is the aura of beauty, harmony, and spiritual quality emanating from their lives as they engage in the dance of rizq transactions which is utterly captivating.
One’s heart and mind are drawn to the purity and sincerity of intention by means of which rizq transactions are manifested through their lives. We seek to follow their example as best we can, according to the rizq of spiritual potential we have been apportioned.
To do what is right for oneself and, simultaneously, right for the world is to enter into rizq transactions with the quality of intention which is most pleasing to God. To achieve this level of quality is a very difficult thing to do for it consists of, God willing, purifying, calibrating, and bringing into active form all of the different dimensions of the human being - including mind, heart, sirr, spirit, kafi, and aqfah - which give expression to the ‘so-called’ perfect human being - which is not really perfection per se (for only God is perfect) but rather the expression of capacity to its fullest extent ... something which varies from person to person.
No matter what one does for an occupation, there should be a vocation or calling which underwrites it. The vocational aspect is the spiritual quality with which one seeks to embrace all of life, including the means through which God uses to provide one with the material rizq of day-to-day living.
There are many people who earn their livelihood through permissible means. There are very few people who do this with the sort of spiritual balance, beauty, wisdom, and quality which transforms such means of livelihood into the acts of worship and zikr which human beings have been given the capacity to achieve if God wishes.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Ascension
Ascension is any spiritual experience which brings one closer to God. However, because God is always near, ascension involves any spiritual experience that brings one to a realization, of whatever degree, of God's nearness. In this sense, ascension involves a falling away of the veils obstructing the individual's awareness and understanding with respect to the intimate presence of God in our lives.
Since there are thousands of veils of darkness and ignorance and density which obscure our relationship with God, there can be many different kinds of ascension. Just because one has had certain experiences in which some of these veils are lifted, does not mean one has realized the presence of God to the fullest extent possible.
There can be much confusion about this on the Sufi path in particular, and with mystical journeys in general. More specifically, there have been instances in which people have had one, or more, intense spiritual experiences and concluded, incorrectly, that all veils between themselves and God had been removed. These are very subtle matters in which one can be easily led astray unless one clings tightly to the garment of the counsel of one's spiritual guide.
One can be making progress on the spiritual path and still be in considerable ignorance and darkness. Indeed, this is part and parcel of what a path is. It is a way filled with: twists and turns; hills and valleys, as well as dangers and places of relative safety.
One may come to know something of the portions of the path one has traversed or is currently traveling through. Nonetheless, what lies ahead is largely unknown.
There is often a very strong tendency on the part of travelers to believe - due to imperfections such as impatience, pride or arrogance - that they are near, or at, journey's end. Consequently, such people believe they have ascended to the heights of spiritual possibility.
However, as has been said in another context: "It ain't over & #145;till it's over". The spiritual journey is a very long one.
In fact, from a certain perspective, there really is no end to the process of ascension. God is infinite and, therefore, can be engaged through ever-new modalities of spiritual experience.
Some experiences of ascension are short-lived. They are transitory states which descend on the individual in the blink of an eye and may depart just as quickly. Such experiences may range from: the momentary feeling of compassion one may have for another human being, to flashes of insight which may be bestowed on the individual concerning some aspect of one's spiritual life or the nature of existence.
Some experiences of ascension last longer and may mark important way stations along the path. Qualities of: repentance, longing, patience, dependence, gratitude and love, when absorbed into the fabric of the individual's life, can all give expression to significant experiences of ascension.
Sometimes we are raised up to a certain height by the Grace of God, only to be lowered down again. Sometimes this happens as a sort of foretaste of what is to come at a later time in a more permanent manner. Sometimes this occurs in order to motivate the individual to struggle harder. Sometimes it is done to show the individual what might have been but will never be due to some flaw in that individual.
There are occasions in which people are transported tremendous spiritual distances as a pure gift of God's Grace. Unfortunately, people respond to this possibility in different ways.
Some try to make such a gift a function of causality in which they are, somehow, deserving recipients due to their character or devotions or the like. Such people fail to understand that gift's of Grace are entirely independent of considerations of being deserved. One could be a scoundrel and still be the beneficiary of God's magnanimity.
Other people hear about the possibility of what amounts to a "free lunch", spiritually speaking, and become like members of some modern day cargo cult. They just sit and wait for the Grace to descend and do nothing in the mean time, allowing their lives to slip away into stagnation and indolence.
On the spiritual path, one is either ascending, descending or standing still. If one is standing still, the slippery slope of descent is dangerously close by. If one is descending, reversing course may not always be possible.
Sometimes experiences of spiritual ascent are, from a certain perspective, a curse in disguise. This is so in those instances when a person permits his or her ego to assert its acquisitive nature and claim the experience for its own.
The desires of the ego undermine the whole purpose of the process of spiritual ascent. This process is designed to diminish, if not eliminate, one's awareness of the presence of the ego, while enhancing awareness of the presence of God.
This draws attention to one of the biggest obstacles - and some might say the only obstacle - on the path of ascent toward God, namely: our awareness of ourselves as beings separate from God. This awareness disguises itself in many different ways at various points along the path. In fact, we are so good at deluding ourselves that the very quest for spirituality can be feeding our ego rather than our essential selves.
In the foregoing sense, we all are truly our own worst enemies as far as spiritual ascent is concerned. Like golf duffers, we keep wanting to see how far we have hit the spiritual ball and what this says about us as individuals. We would be much better off paying attention to form, technique and discipline, and let the distance factor take care of itself.
Quite frequently, people - even people on the Sufi path, have a very distorted idea about the process of spiritual ascension. We read about the wondrous, reason-defying deeds of some of the practitioners of the path, and fantasize about having such powers and abilities ourselves. Sometimes we get so caught-up in all the talk about miracles, that the idea of spiritual ascent becomes, in our minds and hearts, reduced down to being nothing more than this.
To put the foregoing in perspective, one Sufi has indicated there are at least 100 stages to the spiritual path. The capacity to be a locus of manifestation for miracles weighs in at about the 17th stage.
If one's spiritual horizons are limited to this aspect of things, one will be deprived of the other 83 stages of spiritual ascent. In short, one will have completely misunderstood the nature and purpose of the spiritual path by getting mesmerized by peripheral matters involving miraculous deeds.
The spiritually mature people of the Sufi path consider such powers and gifts to be, at best, distractions, and, at worst, severe tests of one's spiritual character. From time to time, and for various constructive purposes, such powers and gifts may be exercised.
Among Sufi masters, however, the tendency to use the gifts of God is done sparingly. This is so, God willing, one will not become seduced by, and preoccupied with, such activities rather than concentrating on the real business of the path - becoming more and more immersed in the nearness and presence of God in one's life.
Spiritual ascent is about the process of coming to know one's essential self and how that dimension of being is capable of reflecting the Names and Attributes of God. To realize this kind of knowledge, and to engage existence through such knowledge, and to act in the light of that knowledge, is to fulfil the purpose of the quest for spiritual ascension.
Since there are thousands of veils of darkness and ignorance and density which obscure our relationship with God, there can be many different kinds of ascension. Just because one has had certain experiences in which some of these veils are lifted, does not mean one has realized the presence of God to the fullest extent possible.
There can be much confusion about this on the Sufi path in particular, and with mystical journeys in general. More specifically, there have been instances in which people have had one, or more, intense spiritual experiences and concluded, incorrectly, that all veils between themselves and God had been removed. These are very subtle matters in which one can be easily led astray unless one clings tightly to the garment of the counsel of one's spiritual guide.
One can be making progress on the spiritual path and still be in considerable ignorance and darkness. Indeed, this is part and parcel of what a path is. It is a way filled with: twists and turns; hills and valleys, as well as dangers and places of relative safety.
One may come to know something of the portions of the path one has traversed or is currently traveling through. Nonetheless, what lies ahead is largely unknown.
There is often a very strong tendency on the part of travelers to believe - due to imperfections such as impatience, pride or arrogance - that they are near, or at, journey's end. Consequently, such people believe they have ascended to the heights of spiritual possibility.
However, as has been said in another context: "It ain't over & #145;till it's over". The spiritual journey is a very long one.
In fact, from a certain perspective, there really is no end to the process of ascension. God is infinite and, therefore, can be engaged through ever-new modalities of spiritual experience.
Some experiences of ascension are short-lived. They are transitory states which descend on the individual in the blink of an eye and may depart just as quickly. Such experiences may range from: the momentary feeling of compassion one may have for another human being, to flashes of insight which may be bestowed on the individual concerning some aspect of one's spiritual life or the nature of existence.
Some experiences of ascension last longer and may mark important way stations along the path. Qualities of: repentance, longing, patience, dependence, gratitude and love, when absorbed into the fabric of the individual's life, can all give expression to significant experiences of ascension.
Sometimes we are raised up to a certain height by the Grace of God, only to be lowered down again. Sometimes this happens as a sort of foretaste of what is to come at a later time in a more permanent manner. Sometimes this occurs in order to motivate the individual to struggle harder. Sometimes it is done to show the individual what might have been but will never be due to some flaw in that individual.
There are occasions in which people are transported tremendous spiritual distances as a pure gift of God's Grace. Unfortunately, people respond to this possibility in different ways.
Some try to make such a gift a function of causality in which they are, somehow, deserving recipients due to their character or devotions or the like. Such people fail to understand that gift's of Grace are entirely independent of considerations of being deserved. One could be a scoundrel and still be the beneficiary of God's magnanimity.
Other people hear about the possibility of what amounts to a "free lunch", spiritually speaking, and become like members of some modern day cargo cult. They just sit and wait for the Grace to descend and do nothing in the mean time, allowing their lives to slip away into stagnation and indolence.
On the spiritual path, one is either ascending, descending or standing still. If one is standing still, the slippery slope of descent is dangerously close by. If one is descending, reversing course may not always be possible.
Sometimes experiences of spiritual ascent are, from a certain perspective, a curse in disguise. This is so in those instances when a person permits his or her ego to assert its acquisitive nature and claim the experience for its own.
The desires of the ego undermine the whole purpose of the process of spiritual ascent. This process is designed to diminish, if not eliminate, one's awareness of the presence of the ego, while enhancing awareness of the presence of God.
This draws attention to one of the biggest obstacles - and some might say the only obstacle - on the path of ascent toward God, namely: our awareness of ourselves as beings separate from God. This awareness disguises itself in many different ways at various points along the path. In fact, we are so good at deluding ourselves that the very quest for spirituality can be feeding our ego rather than our essential selves.
In the foregoing sense, we all are truly our own worst enemies as far as spiritual ascent is concerned. Like golf duffers, we keep wanting to see how far we have hit the spiritual ball and what this says about us as individuals. We would be much better off paying attention to form, technique and discipline, and let the distance factor take care of itself.
Quite frequently, people - even people on the Sufi path, have a very distorted idea about the process of spiritual ascension. We read about the wondrous, reason-defying deeds of some of the practitioners of the path, and fantasize about having such powers and abilities ourselves. Sometimes we get so caught-up in all the talk about miracles, that the idea of spiritual ascent becomes, in our minds and hearts, reduced down to being nothing more than this.
To put the foregoing in perspective, one Sufi has indicated there are at least 100 stages to the spiritual path. The capacity to be a locus of manifestation for miracles weighs in at about the 17th stage.
If one's spiritual horizons are limited to this aspect of things, one will be deprived of the other 83 stages of spiritual ascent. In short, one will have completely misunderstood the nature and purpose of the spiritual path by getting mesmerized by peripheral matters involving miraculous deeds.
The spiritually mature people of the Sufi path consider such powers and gifts to be, at best, distractions, and, at worst, severe tests of one's spiritual character. From time to time, and for various constructive purposes, such powers and gifts may be exercised.
Among Sufi masters, however, the tendency to use the gifts of God is done sparingly. This is so, God willing, one will not become seduced by, and preoccupied with, such activities rather than concentrating on the real business of the path - becoming more and more immersed in the nearness and presence of God in one's life.
Spiritual ascent is about the process of coming to know one's essential self and how that dimension of being is capable of reflecting the Names and Attributes of God. To realize this kind of knowledge, and to engage existence through such knowledge, and to act in the light of that knowledge, is to fulfil the purpose of the quest for spiritual ascension.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Our ebooks at Barnes and Noble
Our ebooks are now at Barnes and Noble. To locate them at the Barnes and Noble website, just do a search for Bill Whitehouse.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Government - A Sufi Perspective
If we were asked, and sometimes even if we were not asked, about what we believe to be the problem, if any, with the way various public officials go about their duties, most of us would be quite prepared to share our opinions on this matter. We all seem to feel we have some insight to offer about the difference between good and not-so-good government.
Interestingly enough, whatever the accuracy of our perceptions about the political process may be, many of us tend to be oblivious to the quality and character of governmental operations within ourselves. This lack of awareness could be because many of us may not consider what goes on inside of us to be much like a governmental process.
However, the politics which goes on in the external world does not rise ex nihilo. It comes from within us. Indeed, external politics is, in a sense, internal politics writ large.
The characteristics of internal politics are quite similar to properties found in external political processes. For example, there is a need for decision making and the implementation of such decisions. In addition, within us, there are activities which resemble: think-tanks, spin doctors, lobby groups, image consultants, intelligence gathering operations, ethics committees, regulatory agencies, judicial review boards, dirty tricks operations, military forces, legislative bodies, prison systems, and revenue generating enterprises.
All of the foregoing internal processes affect the character and quality of the decisions made by the individual. Moreover, because of the problems and pressures generated by the dynamics of the decision making process, one finds many other features of our inner government which share some common themes with certain aspects of politics.
For instance, many of our internal governments are capable, in various ways and degrees, of: biased agendas; partisan politics; corruption; dereliction of duty; human rights violations; grid-lock; revolution (both peaceful and violent); fraudulent conduct; cover-ups; repressive measures; irresponsible spending programs; breaking promises; and both minor, as well as, major scandals of one sort or another.
Like external governments, our internal governments: make both good and bad decisions. Similarly, our internal governments, like their external counterparts, get both good and bad advice from a variety of sources.
Again, like external governments, our internal political systems often are involved in crisis management operations. These operations, frequently, are as much a reflection of the problematic way we govern ourselves, than they are an expression of life-problems arising independently of our style of mismanaging our internal government.
When the ego is running our internal government, our affairs are in the hands of a politician exemplifying all of the characteristics we tend to associate with the stereotypical bad politician. Indeed, bad politics on whatever level is, in general, a function of the activities of the ego.
The ego, like many politicians, tends to be very charismatic and polished in public situations. However, at the same time, the ego is ambitious, vain, and arrogant.
The ego knows, as almost any politician does, how to get things accomplished through pushing the right emotional and psychological buttons. In fact, a considerable portion of the resources available to the ego, are expended to gather intelligence about the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the various players in the political game.
In addition, the ego has the gift of gab and is always on the stump making internal political speeches, filled with stirring platitudes, about this and that issue or situation or person. Like its external world twin brother, the ego is forever making solemn promises and undertakings which are rarely kept.
The ego, as either head of the internal government or as leader of the 'loyal' opposition, knows how to threaten, cajole, manipulate, flatter, pressure, compromise, bribe, neutralize, and cheat for purposes of political gain. Political gain, however, is not necessarily measured in terms of worthwhile accomplishments.
More often than not, political gain is a matter of doing whatever is required to stay in power or to be able to influence the decision making process in a manner which is favorable to one's interests. The doing of things, whether good or bad, are merely means to the more important issue of securing or maintaining control.
The ego, of course, is not as much in charge of things as it often likes to give the impression is the case. The ego is under constant pressure from a variety of intense lobbying groups that are extremely demanding, temperamental and fickle. Some of these lobby groups are: jealousy, revenge, malice, prejudice, hostility, lethargy, lust, greed, and desire.
When the ego blunders and commits public relation gaffes in its dealings with the external world, the spin doctors of the ego go to work. Their assignment is to try to make things appear as if what everyone knows is the case is not the case. The spin doctors are incessantly trying to give a take or a slant on things which puts the ego in the best possible light with respect to its intentions, motives, and conduct.
In ways reminiscent of its external, political counterpart, the ego is subject to becoming entangled in bribery, corruption, scandals and kick-backs of one sort or another. For the ego, such things are just unfortunate risks it runs, on occasion, in order to get, or keep, its government up and running.
Like many politicians in the external world, the ego doesn't really care what damage it does to others or to the environment in the pursuit of its political agenda. Compassion, generosity, fairness, kindness, servitude, sincerity, honesty, integrity, justice, equality, rights, freedom and so on are, all too frequently, just empty words which are trotted out every so often to enhance the image and dazzle the suckers.
Nonetheless, the ego understands, as do many politicians in the external world of government, some degree of discretion must be exercised in the implementation of its governmental policies. If one steps on too many toes or ruffles too many feathers, there will be negative, perhaps, embarrassing, political fallout.
Consequently, the ego tends to play a maxima/minima game. The object of this game is to generate strategies which will permit the ego to give up the least for the most return on it's efforts. Quite a few rational think-tanks in the employ of the ego are set to work on this task.
In an attempt to establish, at least, the appearance of order and intelligibility within the world of internal politics, the ego sets up: various planning groups; watchdog committees on ethics; regulatory agencies, and assorted judicial bodies. Unfortunately, like its external world Doppelganger: plans are not carried out; violations of the ethical codes are often overlooked; regulations are not enforced, and a great many arbitrary, unjust and inconsistent judgements emerge from the appointed judicial bodies.
The ego's short-term and long-term goal is control along with the perks which come with such power. Everything and everybody else must be accommodated to this program.
One of the biggest fears of the ego in this respect concerns the possibility that the rightful heir to leadership of the internal government should seek to return from the exile to which it is has been banished by the ego.
The rightful heir is the spiritual essence of the individual.
The ego has powerful resources and allies on which it can call if there is such an uprising. The body, emotions, desires and the rational mind can all be employed to suppress any move toward spiritual liberation of the homeland.
Dirty tricks, negative campaigning, disinformation, filibusters, procedural delays, and terror campaigns can all be used by the ego to prevent the rightful heir from returning to the seat of executive power. Moreover, the ego can lead the internal government into an emotional and intellectual gridlock so that nothing gets accomplished and, thereby, the status quo is preserved.
Fiery, impassioned addresses will be given by the ego. In these speeches, numerous charges of censorship, repression, rights abuses, and curtailment of freedoms will be leveled against the spirit and its supporters. The spirit will be painted as a threat against all that is good and right with the present, incumbent government of the ego.
If necessary, steps will be taken to imprison, or lay siege to, the one who would depose the ego. Various deployment of troops, blockades, minefields, and ambushes can be arranged by the ego for these purposes.
Through years of mismanagement, bungling, neglect, short-sightedness, selfishness, and corruption, the ego has done tremendous damage to the spiritual infrastructure and the ecological balance of the internal world. Therefore, a tremendous amount of work is necessary to bring about a reform of government.
There are many frustrations, setbacks, difficulties, and obstacles involved in such a spiritual reclamation project. Many sacrifices will have to made before the internal government starts operating according to its potential.
This, too, the ego will try to use to its tactical advantage. As with all corrupt governments, there is an inertia and malaise which settles on the land.
The ego has distributed patronage in various forms. Pleasures, ease influence, status and comfort are at risk if the ego loses control.
To resist the flow of things in such a world, is extremely hard, dangerous work. It takes a lot of effort.
The ego can offer, in the present, ease, comfort, gratification, diversions, and so on. Alternatively, the spiritual side only can offer a future dream of realizing our essential potential through struggle and sacrifice in the present.
The psychological and emotional advantages all seem to be on the side of the ego. Yet, the spirit has a nobility of cause and purpose which resonates very deeply and powerfully in the halls of internal government.
The call of spirituality has a purity and integrity which is very appealing and alluring. Furthermore, there is a sense of justice, beauty and truth inherent in the call of spirituality which cannot even be remotely simulated by the tawdry, impoverished political style of the ego. The possibility of happiness, peace, satisfaction, contentment and love which are part of the platform on which spirituality runs is very attractive.
Restoring decency, honor, and integrity to internal government is a very complex task. The magnitude of the challenge intimidates many of us.
Many of us believe reforming external government is somewhat easier and more practical than to attempt to reform internal government. We often tend to believe, under the influence of the ego, that the problems of the world are generated, for the most part, by others and not by ourselves.
Consequently, many people direct their efforts, energies, time and resources toward working on the problems of the governments of the external world. In effect, we embark on a quest which is dedicated to get other people to change in certain desirable ways, when we, ourselves, often are not prepared to change in equivalently desirable ways.
However, according to the Sufi masters, this kind of thinking has its priorities confused. We will not be able to reform the governments of the world until we have reformed our own internal governments. The chaos of the world is but a reflection and projection of the chaos of our internal worlds.
The foregoing priority of the Sufi masters does not mean we have to abandon the external world until after one has completed the task of reforming the internal government. Instead, they suggest we see our interaction with the outside world as opportunities to work toward developing programs, policies and projects which operate in line with, and give expression to, the spiritual principles necessary for the reform, care and maintenance of good internal government.
Acting in accordance with the foregoing dialectic cannot help but have, if God wishes, positive, constructive ramifications for enhancing the quality of the social and political atmosphere in the external world. The development of better communities and governments in the external world requires that we repair the problems in our spiritual infrastructure. We, then, need to take the benefits which are made possible by these repairs and invest them in, among other things, rebuilding our families and communities through the spiritual lessons learned while reconstructing the infrastructure of our souls.
Interestingly enough, whatever the accuracy of our perceptions about the political process may be, many of us tend to be oblivious to the quality and character of governmental operations within ourselves. This lack of awareness could be because many of us may not consider what goes on inside of us to be much like a governmental process.
However, the politics which goes on in the external world does not rise ex nihilo. It comes from within us. Indeed, external politics is, in a sense, internal politics writ large.
The characteristics of internal politics are quite similar to properties found in external political processes. For example, there is a need for decision making and the implementation of such decisions. In addition, within us, there are activities which resemble: think-tanks, spin doctors, lobby groups, image consultants, intelligence gathering operations, ethics committees, regulatory agencies, judicial review boards, dirty tricks operations, military forces, legislative bodies, prison systems, and revenue generating enterprises.
All of the foregoing internal processes affect the character and quality of the decisions made by the individual. Moreover, because of the problems and pressures generated by the dynamics of the decision making process, one finds many other features of our inner government which share some common themes with certain aspects of politics.
For instance, many of our internal governments are capable, in various ways and degrees, of: biased agendas; partisan politics; corruption; dereliction of duty; human rights violations; grid-lock; revolution (both peaceful and violent); fraudulent conduct; cover-ups; repressive measures; irresponsible spending programs; breaking promises; and both minor, as well as, major scandals of one sort or another.
Like external governments, our internal governments: make both good and bad decisions. Similarly, our internal governments, like their external counterparts, get both good and bad advice from a variety of sources.
Again, like external governments, our internal political systems often are involved in crisis management operations. These operations, frequently, are as much a reflection of the problematic way we govern ourselves, than they are an expression of life-problems arising independently of our style of mismanaging our internal government.
When the ego is running our internal government, our affairs are in the hands of a politician exemplifying all of the characteristics we tend to associate with the stereotypical bad politician. Indeed, bad politics on whatever level is, in general, a function of the activities of the ego.
The ego, like many politicians, tends to be very charismatic and polished in public situations. However, at the same time, the ego is ambitious, vain, and arrogant.
The ego knows, as almost any politician does, how to get things accomplished through pushing the right emotional and psychological buttons. In fact, a considerable portion of the resources available to the ego, are expended to gather intelligence about the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the various players in the political game.
In addition, the ego has the gift of gab and is always on the stump making internal political speeches, filled with stirring platitudes, about this and that issue or situation or person. Like its external world twin brother, the ego is forever making solemn promises and undertakings which are rarely kept.
The ego, as either head of the internal government or as leader of the 'loyal' opposition, knows how to threaten, cajole, manipulate, flatter, pressure, compromise, bribe, neutralize, and cheat for purposes of political gain. Political gain, however, is not necessarily measured in terms of worthwhile accomplishments.
More often than not, political gain is a matter of doing whatever is required to stay in power or to be able to influence the decision making process in a manner which is favorable to one's interests. The doing of things, whether good or bad, are merely means to the more important issue of securing or maintaining control.
The ego, of course, is not as much in charge of things as it often likes to give the impression is the case. The ego is under constant pressure from a variety of intense lobbying groups that are extremely demanding, temperamental and fickle. Some of these lobby groups are: jealousy, revenge, malice, prejudice, hostility, lethargy, lust, greed, and desire.
When the ego blunders and commits public relation gaffes in its dealings with the external world, the spin doctors of the ego go to work. Their assignment is to try to make things appear as if what everyone knows is the case is not the case. The spin doctors are incessantly trying to give a take or a slant on things which puts the ego in the best possible light with respect to its intentions, motives, and conduct.
In ways reminiscent of its external, political counterpart, the ego is subject to becoming entangled in bribery, corruption, scandals and kick-backs of one sort or another. For the ego, such things are just unfortunate risks it runs, on occasion, in order to get, or keep, its government up and running.
Like many politicians in the external world, the ego doesn't really care what damage it does to others or to the environment in the pursuit of its political agenda. Compassion, generosity, fairness, kindness, servitude, sincerity, honesty, integrity, justice, equality, rights, freedom and so on are, all too frequently, just empty words which are trotted out every so often to enhance the image and dazzle the suckers.
Nonetheless, the ego understands, as do many politicians in the external world of government, some degree of discretion must be exercised in the implementation of its governmental policies. If one steps on too many toes or ruffles too many feathers, there will be negative, perhaps, embarrassing, political fallout.
Consequently, the ego tends to play a maxima/minima game. The object of this game is to generate strategies which will permit the ego to give up the least for the most return on it's efforts. Quite a few rational think-tanks in the employ of the ego are set to work on this task.
In an attempt to establish, at least, the appearance of order and intelligibility within the world of internal politics, the ego sets up: various planning groups; watchdog committees on ethics; regulatory agencies, and assorted judicial bodies. Unfortunately, like its external world Doppelganger: plans are not carried out; violations of the ethical codes are often overlooked; regulations are not enforced, and a great many arbitrary, unjust and inconsistent judgements emerge from the appointed judicial bodies.
The ego's short-term and long-term goal is control along with the perks which come with such power. Everything and everybody else must be accommodated to this program.
One of the biggest fears of the ego in this respect concerns the possibility that the rightful heir to leadership of the internal government should seek to return from the exile to which it is has been banished by the ego.
The rightful heir is the spiritual essence of the individual.
The ego has powerful resources and allies on which it can call if there is such an uprising. The body, emotions, desires and the rational mind can all be employed to suppress any move toward spiritual liberation of the homeland.
Dirty tricks, negative campaigning, disinformation, filibusters, procedural delays, and terror campaigns can all be used by the ego to prevent the rightful heir from returning to the seat of executive power. Moreover, the ego can lead the internal government into an emotional and intellectual gridlock so that nothing gets accomplished and, thereby, the status quo is preserved.
Fiery, impassioned addresses will be given by the ego. In these speeches, numerous charges of censorship, repression, rights abuses, and curtailment of freedoms will be leveled against the spirit and its supporters. The spirit will be painted as a threat against all that is good and right with the present, incumbent government of the ego.
If necessary, steps will be taken to imprison, or lay siege to, the one who would depose the ego. Various deployment of troops, blockades, minefields, and ambushes can be arranged by the ego for these purposes.
Through years of mismanagement, bungling, neglect, short-sightedness, selfishness, and corruption, the ego has done tremendous damage to the spiritual infrastructure and the ecological balance of the internal world. Therefore, a tremendous amount of work is necessary to bring about a reform of government.
There are many frustrations, setbacks, difficulties, and obstacles involved in such a spiritual reclamation project. Many sacrifices will have to made before the internal government starts operating according to its potential.
This, too, the ego will try to use to its tactical advantage. As with all corrupt governments, there is an inertia and malaise which settles on the land.
The ego has distributed patronage in various forms. Pleasures, ease influence, status and comfort are at risk if the ego loses control.
To resist the flow of things in such a world, is extremely hard, dangerous work. It takes a lot of effort.
The ego can offer, in the present, ease, comfort, gratification, diversions, and so on. Alternatively, the spiritual side only can offer a future dream of realizing our essential potential through struggle and sacrifice in the present.
The psychological and emotional advantages all seem to be on the side of the ego. Yet, the spirit has a nobility of cause and purpose which resonates very deeply and powerfully in the halls of internal government.
The call of spirituality has a purity and integrity which is very appealing and alluring. Furthermore, there is a sense of justice, beauty and truth inherent in the call of spirituality which cannot even be remotely simulated by the tawdry, impoverished political style of the ego. The possibility of happiness, peace, satisfaction, contentment and love which are part of the platform on which spirituality runs is very attractive.
Restoring decency, honor, and integrity to internal government is a very complex task. The magnitude of the challenge intimidates many of us.
Many of us believe reforming external government is somewhat easier and more practical than to attempt to reform internal government. We often tend to believe, under the influence of the ego, that the problems of the world are generated, for the most part, by others and not by ourselves.
Consequently, many people direct their efforts, energies, time and resources toward working on the problems of the governments of the external world. In effect, we embark on a quest which is dedicated to get other people to change in certain desirable ways, when we, ourselves, often are not prepared to change in equivalently desirable ways.
However, according to the Sufi masters, this kind of thinking has its priorities confused. We will not be able to reform the governments of the world until we have reformed our own internal governments. The chaos of the world is but a reflection and projection of the chaos of our internal worlds.
The foregoing priority of the Sufi masters does not mean we have to abandon the external world until after one has completed the task of reforming the internal government. Instead, they suggest we see our interaction with the outside world as opportunities to work toward developing programs, policies and projects which operate in line with, and give expression to, the spiritual principles necessary for the reform, care and maintenance of good internal government.
Acting in accordance with the foregoing dialectic cannot help but have, if God wishes, positive, constructive ramifications for enhancing the quality of the social and political atmosphere in the external world. The development of better communities and governments in the external world requires that we repair the problems in our spiritual infrastructure. We, then, need to take the benefits which are made possible by these repairs and invest them in, among other things, rebuilding our families and communities through the spiritual lessons learned while reconstructing the infrastructure of our souls.
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