Showing posts with label Bilquees Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bilquees Press. Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2018
Bilquees Press Catalog
Recently, I have updated my books in a variety of ways -- including formatting changes as well as, in some cases, the introduction of new material. You can find out more about the aforementioned changes by either going to the: Bilquees Press Catalog page or by downloading a free copy of the catalog software (right-click on the previous link) that contains information about 39 books and one DVD (The catalog software will only work with Windows, Parallels, Fusion, and Boot Camp enabled computers).
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.
Friday, October 14, 2011
A new book from Bilquees Press: Science, Spirituality and Symmetry by Bill Whitehouse
This book is now available in the Amazon Kindle store:
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Spirituality-and-Symmetry-ebook/dp/B005V253WM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318607020&sr=8-1
This ebook is also available at Barnes and Noble and will soon be available in the iBookstore and Kobo Books.
Monday, January 04, 2010
States, Stations, Stages, and Practice
To borrow a phrase from fractal mathematics, the Sufi path tends to be ‘self-similar’, rather than ‘self-same’, when considering the experience of different individuals. In other words, since every human being is unique, even while sharing in the general set of properties which differentiate human beings from other species of being, and since the tajalli of Divinity (the descent or rupture of Divine modalities into manifested form) do not repeat themselves in any self-same manner, one cannot necessarily speak of suluk, or spiritual travel, as consisting of a linear sequence of states (hal) and stations (maqam).
Different individuals have outlined the path in varied ways which reflects their own experience of suluk rather than necessarily reflecting some set of hard and fast steps which must be taken in a ‘just so’ order. Thus, some people say the Sufi path consists of ‘x’ number of states and ‘y’ number of stations, while other commentators say that tasawwuf entails ‘r’ number of states, and ‘t’ number of stations.
In addition, there are, sometimes, disagreements about whether a certain stage of spiritual travel involves a hal or a maqam. Again, such variation in opinion are more indicative of the differences which people bring with them to the path than they are necessarily reflective of ‘truths’ independent of human engagement of reality.
Generally speaking, a hal is characterized as a temporary spiritual condition in relation to which intentional effort of striving has not been expended or directed, and, therefore, comes as a gift of Divinity. Maqam, or station, on the other hand, is often characterized as more permanent than are hal, and, as well, are said to be spiritual conditions for which struggle and striving must be exerted in a concerned manner. As such, maqam tend to be described as spiritual conditions which must be earned, while hal are not earned, per se.
However, since spiritual effort does not cause spiritual progress, but is, at best, a necessary condition, then, whether one is talking about states or stations, these are both gifts of God and could not be experienced or sustained without Divine succor. Moreover, although there are instances in which individuals who are not on any particular spiritual path are recipients of Divine Grace in the form of this or that manner of hal, the likelihood of undergoing one or another spiritual hal tends to be increased when one is actively and sincerely pursuing the mystical path under the guidance and care of an authentic shaykh.
Yet, one might keep in mind that the Qur’an stipulates: “If Allah were to take humankind to task for their wrong-doing, God would not leave hereon a living creature, but God reprieves them to an appointed term.” (16:61) So, whether one is talking about hal or maqam, neither is deserved but comes by the Grace of Allah.
Finally, some expressions of hal are longer lived than are other manifestations of hal. Therefore, whether one believes one is talking about a condition of hal rather than maqam may be somewhat arbitrarily decided.
Spiritual conditions share some of the same qualities as dreams. This is especially so in the sense that both dreams and spiritual conditions require the presence of insight by an experienced guide or knowledgeable and Divinely supported individual in order to properly appreciate the nature of what is transpiring through either the dream or a given spiritual condition.
Najm al-Din Razi (may Allah be pleased with him), in his book: The Path of God’s Bondsmen from Origin to Return uses the example of fire to illustrate the complexity of the problem. Someone who is traversingthe path of tasawwuf may see the attribute of fire and, depending on the nature of one’s spiritual condition, this attribute will have a different meaning in different states and stations.
For some, the appearance of fire is an indication that the quality of anger is dominant. For others, the presence of fire may signify the light of zikr or the individual’s ardor for the spiritual quest. For still others, the fire may exemplify the presence of guidance as with the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), or it may give expression to the quality of devilry as with Iblis. And, for still other individuals, the quality of fire may symbolize the condition of gnosis or love or witnessing. There also are additional modalities of fire which indicate the presence of other manner of states and stations.
The attribute of fire is but one of many, many qualities which may emerge within an individual’s experience and serve as a tell-tale sign of a person’s spiritual condition. However, as with dreams, insight is needed to understand the significance of the presence of a given quality.
Similarly, when an individual passes through stations involving the attributes of clay, water, air, fire, firmaments, heavenly bodies, the malakut (or soul) of the planets and the stars, animals, and a thousand other realms, different kinds of tajalli may be manifested according to circumstances and an individual’s spiritual condition. Just as there is no reliable book of dream interpretation in which all one has to do is scour the index for a given dream and, then, proceed to the page with ‘the’ correct interpretation, so, to, there is no standard dictionary of spiritual states and stations which always are manifested in the same way across individual experiences.
I recall, once, when my shaykh, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him), talked about such matters. He indicated that in very special cases - and he referred to such instances as being among the most supreme of spiritual conditions - an individual may traverse the journey of suluk and not have even one ‘mystical’ or anomalous, non-ordinary experience. These are individuals from whom God has kept secret the nature of their own spiritual condition.
Many people speak about the alleged great differences between, say, the doctrine of Wahdat-i-Shuhud (the Unity or Oneness of Witnessing) and Wahdat-i-Wujud (the Unity or Oneness of Being). In fact, great controversies have been instigated on the basis of such differences of approach to the hermeneutics of experience, and, yet, again, I remember that my shaykh, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him), said that after all was said and done, there really wasn’t much difference between the two.
I might add a brief note at this point to indicate that Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote his doctoral dissertation on the life and teachings of Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him). The latter shaykh was a champion of the doctrine of Wahdat-i-Shuhud. One of the examiners for Dr. Baig's (may Allah be pleased with him) thesis was no less an authority than A.J. Arberry who considered the thesis to be the best exposition of the Sufi path to be written in the English language up to that time.
Following many of his 40-day seclusions, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) would set about revising and improving his thesis on the basis of what had been experienced and disclosed during the previous period of seclusion. In many ways this was a life-long project for him which never saw the light of day - that is, it was never released to either the general public or even to his mureeds.
Among other things, the process of constant revision in the light of subsequent experience is a hallmark of the path. This process of needing to continuously revise one's understanding represents one of the reasons why one should refrain from speaking about the path as if it were a static thing in which one can sum up its components in some simple, linear fashion.
When I first stepped onto the path, more than 30 years ago, I must confess that my head was filled, to a certain extent, with ideas of ‘wondrous deeds, powers, exalted, non-ordinary states of consciousness, and other such artifacts of ignorance. Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) had an interesting way of dealing with such nonsense.
To those who came to the path from a very conceptually- laden direction - treating the Sufi Path as if it were just another species of philosophy about which one could read, learn, and debate - Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) would assign some treatise of one, or another, Sufi Shaykh which was of such a difficult nature that the individual would soon come to the realization that he or she didn’t really know much of anything, irrespective of how much they had read. To others, such as myself, whose heads were preoccupied with other-worldly states and stations, he would assign the book Introduction to Islam by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah (may Allah be pleased with him) which was quite excellent, but very down-to-earth, dry, and rooted in practicality.
Many people are familiar with the following prayer of Ra’bia of Basra (may Allah be pleased with her). “O Lord, if I worship Thee out of desire of Paradise, then, deny me Paradise, and if I worship Thee out of fear of Hell, then, throw me into Hell, but if I worship Thee out of love for Thee and Thee alone, then, grant me Thy vision.”
Without wishing to criticize this great saint - because I really am not fit to carry her sandles (if she had any) - nevertheless, I do have a question. Why make the last part of the prayer conditional?
Is not Divinity present in the state and/or station of sincere love? Is not Divinity present in every aspect of experience, and, indeed, experience is not possible without giving expression to the underlying play of Divine Names and Attributes which makes such experiences possible and provides them with their structural character?
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “This world is prohibited to the people of the next world, and the next world is forbidden to the people of this world, and they are both forbidden to the people of Allah.”
Seekers are seeking what? They are seeking something beyond what they believe to be present, and, yet, what they are actually seeking - as a poem of Hazrat Muin-ud-deen Chishti (May Allah be pleased with him) points out - is with us night and day ... hiding in plain sight. And, yet, we go seeking - from horizon to horizon - for what is already present.
Instead of seeing Divinity, we see veils. The veils, of course, mark the presence of Divinity, as well, but we want an unveiled look at Divinity, when, in truth, we can only see what God has given us the capacity to see at any given time or instance.
All practices - from: shahadah, to: prayers, zikr, fasting, seclusion, fatiha, hajj, contemplation, meditation, sacred turning, various forms of charitableness, service to the shaykh, and the performance of good deeds - have one thing in common: namely, the realization and expression of truth. Each kind of practice engages the truth, reality, Haqq from the perspective of its own form and character.
When we exclude practices, then, we cut ourselves off from ways of engaging different facets and dimensions of the truth. As one friend of Allah said, ‘there are many keys to spiritual realization, if one key does not work, then, try another’ - and one might add, if it is not already implicit in what was said, one should not just try a given key once but on many different occasions, because one never knows when all the tumblers will fall into place and be receptive to the use of a given key.
Similarly, each state and station serves as a locus of manifestation for the kind of truth to which such a state or station gives expression. The truth of expansion is not the truth of contraction. The truth of patience is not the truth of repentance. The truth of longing is not the truth of arrival. The truth of love is not the truth of dependence. The truth of difficulty is not the truth of ease. The truth of chastisement is not the truth of ascension.
Yet, when one weaves together all of these different modalities of truth in the form of experiential tajalli, then, an individual approaches the fullness of truth as a limit, and in mathematics, as in life, a limit is a function which approaches more and more closely to a given point, without ever reaching that point except, theoretically, at infinity. However, in the latter case, the Qur’an has something of relevance to say here: “and over every lord of knowledge, there is one more knowing.” (12:76)
The truth - reality - cannot be exhausted. It is infinite, and, consequently, there are no set of stages, states, or conditions which can encompass the infinite.
We engage truth according to our essential capacity, fitra, or ‘ayn al-thabita. We engage truth according to the condition of being veiled which constitutes our spiritual condition and degree to which our spiritual potential has been realized.
Different individuals have different capacities. The spiritual capacity of the Prophets is not the spiritual capacity of non-Prophetic saints, and the spiritual capacity of ordinary believers is not the spiritual capacity of the saints, whether Prophets or other manner of awliya. Moreover, within these different categories of human beings, there are gradations - as indicated in the Qur’an: “We have made some of these prophets to excel others” (17:55) and, “We raise by grades (of Mercy) whom We will.” (12:76)
Mind, heart, sirr, ruh, kafi, and aqhfah are potentials of fitra. Consequently, these potentials cannot exceed their limits.
On one occasion, the son of Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the shaykh and presented something of a conundrum to the shaykh. The young man indicated that he had an experience in which he seemed to rise higher than the station of the Prophets, and, since this contradicted what was understood to be possible, the young man was confused by the experience.
Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) resolved the problem in the following manner. He said that associated with every human being, there are two points - one marking the station of origin and the other marking the station of ascension.
He further indicated that, on occasion, the ascension of a non-Prophet might rise higher than the station of origin of a Prophet. However, in no case would the station of ascension of a non-Prophet ever rise higher or approach the station of ascension of a Prophet of God.
Thus, for each of us, the station of origin and the station of ascension are fixed within the degrees of freedom which are permitted by Divinity. Consequently, the ways in which mind, heart, sirr, kafi, ruh, and aqfah are given expression depends on the character of the fitra or fixed form in question.
Some people define heart, mind, spirit, and soul in ways which are all-inclusive. In other words, for such people, the heart constitutes our entire potential for realizing the truth, and, then, they proceed to describe different stages, states and stations of the heart which outline the path to ultimate realization - such as: (a) breast, (b) qalb, (c) the aspect of the heart which is preoccupied with the love of human kind; (d) fo’ad (the seat of vision), (e) the dimension of the heart which gives expression to an exclusive love for Divinity; (f) the core of the heart which involves spiritual kashf or unveiling concerning the realms of the unseen about which angels have no knowledge; and, finally, (g) mohjat al-qalb which, when realized, gives expression to the lights of Divine attributes.
Other people do this in conjunction with the nafs. For example, people speak in terms of: (1) nafs-i-ammara (the soul which commands to evil); (2) nafs-i-mulhameh (the soul which is inspired by God with knowledge of lewdness and God-fearing; (3) nafs-i-lawwama ( the reproachful soul); (4) nafs-i-mutma’inneh (the tranquil soul); (5) nafs-i-radiya (the contented soul in which God is well pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with God); and, (6) nafs-i-safiya, the pure soul.
Others talk about the attributes of the spirit: (1) luminosity (with its branches of hearing, speech, and vision); (2) love (with its branches of sincerity, yearning and seeking); (3) knowledge (with its branches of will and cognition); (4) forbearance (with its branches of modesty, tranquility, dignity, and endurance); (5) familiarity or uns (which gives expression to a primordial intimacy with one’s Creator and encompasses the branches of compassion and pity);(6) permanence or baqa (with its branches of persistence and steadfastness); and, finally, (7) life (with its branches of intelligence and understanding).
However one parses human nature - and, therefore, irrespective of where in one’s theoretical typography one locates such faculties as mind, heart, sirr, ruh, kafi, and aqfah - there have been different practices which have been recommended by shaykhs down through the ages as aides to drawing out the potential of such faculties. For example, the practice of zikr is often mentioned in conjunction with the qualities of the heart - as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “There is a polish for everything which takes away the rust of that which is polished, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance (zikr) of God.”
Nevertheless, there are many forms of zikr, and different shaykhs go about this in different ways. Zikrs vary in length, content, whether they are open-ended (said as many times as one likes), or closed-ended), said aloud or quietly, as well as the time of day and circumstances in which they are said.
Moreover, the nature of zikr may not be encapsulated within a certain Quranic formula. In other words, since every event is a word in the lexicon of the All Merciful which is Self-referential, there are many ways of doing remembrance which are not necessarily tied to the saying of phrase or ayat from the Qur'an.
Furthermore, some may suppose one can remove a zikr from the context of its spiritual ecology and the zikr will continue to operate with the same efficacy as is the case when that zikr is recited within the context of a specific spiritual ecology - that is, having a relationship with an authentic shaykh in a given silsilah. This is not necessarily so, and one proceeds at one’s own risk.
Another practice is that of muraqabah. This is described, alternatively, as a careful watching of, or over, of the condition of the heart or as an emptying out of the sirr which, when the latter is operating properly, is said to guard the heart from being receptive to any influences which are other than the remembrance of God.
Alternatively, there is the process of fana in which - seemingly sequentially, but, in reality, these are all different variations on the same theme - one ‘passes away’ in a loving awareness of one’s shaykh, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and, ultimately, Divinity. There is no one way or no one set of steps which leads to the evaporation of self (small-s)-awareness.
Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) described the process of fana in the following way. If one is outside at night on a clear evening and far from the lights of a city, one can see the stars very clearly. But, when the sun rises, the starts are no longer visible to the naked eye due to the over-powering radiance of the sun.
Similarly, when something of the reality of one’s shaykh, the Prophet, or Divinity rises in one’s consciousness, then, awareness of the self disappears. Yet, the self still exists just as the stars continue to exist despite being rendered invisible by the presence of the sun.
There are many ways to help an individual to struggle toward fana. There are many ways to induce an individual to remember Allah. There are many ways to assist a person to empty the sirr of all other influences other than Allah and to keep a close watch on the condition of the heart. There are many ways to illumine the heart. There are many ways to traverse the stations of repentance, longing, dependence, sincerity, gratitude, patience, piety, and love.
How does one clean and furnish a house? One uses whatever works as long as such means fall within the code book for permissible house cleaning practices, and as long as the method of equipping the house takes into account the structural limitations of that house .
Similarly, there is no set recipe for spiritual realization, although there are a variety of general guidelines which are intended to be used in flexible ways within variable contexts. Everything depends on the nisbath or relationship between an authentic shaykh and the seeker.
Whatever is given, whatever is undertaken, the purpose is always to provide one with another opportunity to engage the Real and to revise one’s understanding of the True and to act in accordance with what one knows on the basis of what has been disclosed to one through direct experience. There are many ways, God willing, of helping to transform the nafs, or purify the heart, or illumine the spirit. These ways are overlapping, reinforcing and not mutually exclusive in the sense that, for instance, what helps the heart, helps the nafs to transform, and the spirit to be enlivened, and, similarly, what transforms the nafs also has benefits for the heart and spirit, and so on.
Ultimately, the only thing which really matters is the presence of Divine Grace. Talk of methodology, states, stations and stages have their place, but one should never confuse the surface phenomenon for the Realities which make such contingencies possible.
One follows the teachings and practices of a shaykh because, God willing, these have the capacity to help open us up to the barakah which courses through these practices and teachings as extensions of the presence and support of a silsilah rooted in the Prophetic tradition. These practices and teachings are the excuses which Divinity uses to extend different kinds of blessings to us, and through these blessings our understanding and behavior are affected.
Once, back in my days of even greater ignorance, I happened into a store in a rural area and, along with some friends, got an ice cream cone - one which was hand-scooped by one of the employees of the store. The ice cream cone I got was enormous, and I muttered words to the effect of: “Boy, I’ll have to remember this place.” The person behind the counter responded with: “You should remember the person who gave you the cone.”
Many people think aboutf the Sufi path as a supply depot from which one can acquire whatever one needs in the way of teachings, practices, and format in order to be able to make progress on the spiritual path. In truth, as with the ice cream story above, one needs to remember the person through whom one gets whatever one gets for it is the person who, by the Grace of Allah, makes all the difference ... not the place.
Different individuals have outlined the path in varied ways which reflects their own experience of suluk rather than necessarily reflecting some set of hard and fast steps which must be taken in a ‘just so’ order. Thus, some people say the Sufi path consists of ‘x’ number of states and ‘y’ number of stations, while other commentators say that tasawwuf entails ‘r’ number of states, and ‘t’ number of stations.
In addition, there are, sometimes, disagreements about whether a certain stage of spiritual travel involves a hal or a maqam. Again, such variation in opinion are more indicative of the differences which people bring with them to the path than they are necessarily reflective of ‘truths’ independent of human engagement of reality.
Generally speaking, a hal is characterized as a temporary spiritual condition in relation to which intentional effort of striving has not been expended or directed, and, therefore, comes as a gift of Divinity. Maqam, or station, on the other hand, is often characterized as more permanent than are hal, and, as well, are said to be spiritual conditions for which struggle and striving must be exerted in a concerned manner. As such, maqam tend to be described as spiritual conditions which must be earned, while hal are not earned, per se.
However, since spiritual effort does not cause spiritual progress, but is, at best, a necessary condition, then, whether one is talking about states or stations, these are both gifts of God and could not be experienced or sustained without Divine succor. Moreover, although there are instances in which individuals who are not on any particular spiritual path are recipients of Divine Grace in the form of this or that manner of hal, the likelihood of undergoing one or another spiritual hal tends to be increased when one is actively and sincerely pursuing the mystical path under the guidance and care of an authentic shaykh.
Yet, one might keep in mind that the Qur’an stipulates: “If Allah were to take humankind to task for their wrong-doing, God would not leave hereon a living creature, but God reprieves them to an appointed term.” (16:61) So, whether one is talking about hal or maqam, neither is deserved but comes by the Grace of Allah.
Finally, some expressions of hal are longer lived than are other manifestations of hal. Therefore, whether one believes one is talking about a condition of hal rather than maqam may be somewhat arbitrarily decided.
Spiritual conditions share some of the same qualities as dreams. This is especially so in the sense that both dreams and spiritual conditions require the presence of insight by an experienced guide or knowledgeable and Divinely supported individual in order to properly appreciate the nature of what is transpiring through either the dream or a given spiritual condition.
Najm al-Din Razi (may Allah be pleased with him), in his book: The Path of God’s Bondsmen from Origin to Return uses the example of fire to illustrate the complexity of the problem. Someone who is traversingthe path of tasawwuf may see the attribute of fire and, depending on the nature of one’s spiritual condition, this attribute will have a different meaning in different states and stations.
For some, the appearance of fire is an indication that the quality of anger is dominant. For others, the presence of fire may signify the light of zikr or the individual’s ardor for the spiritual quest. For still others, the fire may exemplify the presence of guidance as with the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), or it may give expression to the quality of devilry as with Iblis. And, for still other individuals, the quality of fire may symbolize the condition of gnosis or love or witnessing. There also are additional modalities of fire which indicate the presence of other manner of states and stations.
The attribute of fire is but one of many, many qualities which may emerge within an individual’s experience and serve as a tell-tale sign of a person’s spiritual condition. However, as with dreams, insight is needed to understand the significance of the presence of a given quality.
Similarly, when an individual passes through stations involving the attributes of clay, water, air, fire, firmaments, heavenly bodies, the malakut (or soul) of the planets and the stars, animals, and a thousand other realms, different kinds of tajalli may be manifested according to circumstances and an individual’s spiritual condition. Just as there is no reliable book of dream interpretation in which all one has to do is scour the index for a given dream and, then, proceed to the page with ‘the’ correct interpretation, so, to, there is no standard dictionary of spiritual states and stations which always are manifested in the same way across individual experiences.
I recall, once, when my shaykh, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him), talked about such matters. He indicated that in very special cases - and he referred to such instances as being among the most supreme of spiritual conditions - an individual may traverse the journey of suluk and not have even one ‘mystical’ or anomalous, non-ordinary experience. These are individuals from whom God has kept secret the nature of their own spiritual condition.
Many people speak about the alleged great differences between, say, the doctrine of Wahdat-i-Shuhud (the Unity or Oneness of Witnessing) and Wahdat-i-Wujud (the Unity or Oneness of Being). In fact, great controversies have been instigated on the basis of such differences of approach to the hermeneutics of experience, and, yet, again, I remember that my shaykh, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him), said that after all was said and done, there really wasn’t much difference between the two.
I might add a brief note at this point to indicate that Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote his doctoral dissertation on the life and teachings of Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him). The latter shaykh was a champion of the doctrine of Wahdat-i-Shuhud. One of the examiners for Dr. Baig's (may Allah be pleased with him) thesis was no less an authority than A.J. Arberry who considered the thesis to be the best exposition of the Sufi path to be written in the English language up to that time.
Following many of his 40-day seclusions, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) would set about revising and improving his thesis on the basis of what had been experienced and disclosed during the previous period of seclusion. In many ways this was a life-long project for him which never saw the light of day - that is, it was never released to either the general public or even to his mureeds.
Among other things, the process of constant revision in the light of subsequent experience is a hallmark of the path. This process of needing to continuously revise one's understanding represents one of the reasons why one should refrain from speaking about the path as if it were a static thing in which one can sum up its components in some simple, linear fashion.
When I first stepped onto the path, more than 30 years ago, I must confess that my head was filled, to a certain extent, with ideas of ‘wondrous deeds, powers, exalted, non-ordinary states of consciousness, and other such artifacts of ignorance. Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) had an interesting way of dealing with such nonsense.
To those who came to the path from a very conceptually- laden direction - treating the Sufi Path as if it were just another species of philosophy about which one could read, learn, and debate - Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) would assign some treatise of one, or another, Sufi Shaykh which was of such a difficult nature that the individual would soon come to the realization that he or she didn’t really know much of anything, irrespective of how much they had read. To others, such as myself, whose heads were preoccupied with other-worldly states and stations, he would assign the book Introduction to Islam by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah (may Allah be pleased with him) which was quite excellent, but very down-to-earth, dry, and rooted in practicality.
Many people are familiar with the following prayer of Ra’bia of Basra (may Allah be pleased with her). “O Lord, if I worship Thee out of desire of Paradise, then, deny me Paradise, and if I worship Thee out of fear of Hell, then, throw me into Hell, but if I worship Thee out of love for Thee and Thee alone, then, grant me Thy vision.”
Without wishing to criticize this great saint - because I really am not fit to carry her sandles (if she had any) - nevertheless, I do have a question. Why make the last part of the prayer conditional?
Is not Divinity present in the state and/or station of sincere love? Is not Divinity present in every aspect of experience, and, indeed, experience is not possible without giving expression to the underlying play of Divine Names and Attributes which makes such experiences possible and provides them with their structural character?
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “This world is prohibited to the people of the next world, and the next world is forbidden to the people of this world, and they are both forbidden to the people of Allah.”
Seekers are seeking what? They are seeking something beyond what they believe to be present, and, yet, what they are actually seeking - as a poem of Hazrat Muin-ud-deen Chishti (May Allah be pleased with him) points out - is with us night and day ... hiding in plain sight. And, yet, we go seeking - from horizon to horizon - for what is already present.
Instead of seeing Divinity, we see veils. The veils, of course, mark the presence of Divinity, as well, but we want an unveiled look at Divinity, when, in truth, we can only see what God has given us the capacity to see at any given time or instance.
All practices - from: shahadah, to: prayers, zikr, fasting, seclusion, fatiha, hajj, contemplation, meditation, sacred turning, various forms of charitableness, service to the shaykh, and the performance of good deeds - have one thing in common: namely, the realization and expression of truth. Each kind of practice engages the truth, reality, Haqq from the perspective of its own form and character.
When we exclude practices, then, we cut ourselves off from ways of engaging different facets and dimensions of the truth. As one friend of Allah said, ‘there are many keys to spiritual realization, if one key does not work, then, try another’ - and one might add, if it is not already implicit in what was said, one should not just try a given key once but on many different occasions, because one never knows when all the tumblers will fall into place and be receptive to the use of a given key.
Similarly, each state and station serves as a locus of manifestation for the kind of truth to which such a state or station gives expression. The truth of expansion is not the truth of contraction. The truth of patience is not the truth of repentance. The truth of longing is not the truth of arrival. The truth of love is not the truth of dependence. The truth of difficulty is not the truth of ease. The truth of chastisement is not the truth of ascension.
Yet, when one weaves together all of these different modalities of truth in the form of experiential tajalli, then, an individual approaches the fullness of truth as a limit, and in mathematics, as in life, a limit is a function which approaches more and more closely to a given point, without ever reaching that point except, theoretically, at infinity. However, in the latter case, the Qur’an has something of relevance to say here: “and over every lord of knowledge, there is one more knowing.” (12:76)
The truth - reality - cannot be exhausted. It is infinite, and, consequently, there are no set of stages, states, or conditions which can encompass the infinite.
We engage truth according to our essential capacity, fitra, or ‘ayn al-thabita. We engage truth according to the condition of being veiled which constitutes our spiritual condition and degree to which our spiritual potential has been realized.
Different individuals have different capacities. The spiritual capacity of the Prophets is not the spiritual capacity of non-Prophetic saints, and the spiritual capacity of ordinary believers is not the spiritual capacity of the saints, whether Prophets or other manner of awliya. Moreover, within these different categories of human beings, there are gradations - as indicated in the Qur’an: “We have made some of these prophets to excel others” (17:55) and, “We raise by grades (of Mercy) whom We will.” (12:76)
Mind, heart, sirr, ruh, kafi, and aqhfah are potentials of fitra. Consequently, these potentials cannot exceed their limits.
On one occasion, the son of Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the shaykh and presented something of a conundrum to the shaykh. The young man indicated that he had an experience in which he seemed to rise higher than the station of the Prophets, and, since this contradicted what was understood to be possible, the young man was confused by the experience.
Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) resolved the problem in the following manner. He said that associated with every human being, there are two points - one marking the station of origin and the other marking the station of ascension.
He further indicated that, on occasion, the ascension of a non-Prophet might rise higher than the station of origin of a Prophet. However, in no case would the station of ascension of a non-Prophet ever rise higher or approach the station of ascension of a Prophet of God.
Thus, for each of us, the station of origin and the station of ascension are fixed within the degrees of freedom which are permitted by Divinity. Consequently, the ways in which mind, heart, sirr, kafi, ruh, and aqfah are given expression depends on the character of the fitra or fixed form in question.
Some people define heart, mind, spirit, and soul in ways which are all-inclusive. In other words, for such people, the heart constitutes our entire potential for realizing the truth, and, then, they proceed to describe different stages, states and stations of the heart which outline the path to ultimate realization - such as: (a) breast, (b) qalb, (c) the aspect of the heart which is preoccupied with the love of human kind; (d) fo’ad (the seat of vision), (e) the dimension of the heart which gives expression to an exclusive love for Divinity; (f) the core of the heart which involves spiritual kashf or unveiling concerning the realms of the unseen about which angels have no knowledge; and, finally, (g) mohjat al-qalb which, when realized, gives expression to the lights of Divine attributes.
Other people do this in conjunction with the nafs. For example, people speak in terms of: (1) nafs-i-ammara (the soul which commands to evil); (2) nafs-i-mulhameh (the soul which is inspired by God with knowledge of lewdness and God-fearing; (3) nafs-i-lawwama ( the reproachful soul); (4) nafs-i-mutma’inneh (the tranquil soul); (5) nafs-i-radiya (the contented soul in which God is well pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with God); and, (6) nafs-i-safiya, the pure soul.
Others talk about the attributes of the spirit: (1) luminosity (with its branches of hearing, speech, and vision); (2) love (with its branches of sincerity, yearning and seeking); (3) knowledge (with its branches of will and cognition); (4) forbearance (with its branches of modesty, tranquility, dignity, and endurance); (5) familiarity or uns (which gives expression to a primordial intimacy with one’s Creator and encompasses the branches of compassion and pity);(6) permanence or baqa (with its branches of persistence and steadfastness); and, finally, (7) life (with its branches of intelligence and understanding).
However one parses human nature - and, therefore, irrespective of where in one’s theoretical typography one locates such faculties as mind, heart, sirr, ruh, kafi, and aqfah - there have been different practices which have been recommended by shaykhs down through the ages as aides to drawing out the potential of such faculties. For example, the practice of zikr is often mentioned in conjunction with the qualities of the heart - as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “There is a polish for everything which takes away the rust of that which is polished, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance (zikr) of God.”
Nevertheless, there are many forms of zikr, and different shaykhs go about this in different ways. Zikrs vary in length, content, whether they are open-ended (said as many times as one likes), or closed-ended), said aloud or quietly, as well as the time of day and circumstances in which they are said.
Moreover, the nature of zikr may not be encapsulated within a certain Quranic formula. In other words, since every event is a word in the lexicon of the All Merciful which is Self-referential, there are many ways of doing remembrance which are not necessarily tied to the saying of phrase or ayat from the Qur'an.
Furthermore, some may suppose one can remove a zikr from the context of its spiritual ecology and the zikr will continue to operate with the same efficacy as is the case when that zikr is recited within the context of a specific spiritual ecology - that is, having a relationship with an authentic shaykh in a given silsilah. This is not necessarily so, and one proceeds at one’s own risk.
Another practice is that of muraqabah. This is described, alternatively, as a careful watching of, or over, of the condition of the heart or as an emptying out of the sirr which, when the latter is operating properly, is said to guard the heart from being receptive to any influences which are other than the remembrance of God.
Alternatively, there is the process of fana in which - seemingly sequentially, but, in reality, these are all different variations on the same theme - one ‘passes away’ in a loving awareness of one’s shaykh, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and, ultimately, Divinity. There is no one way or no one set of steps which leads to the evaporation of self (small-s)-awareness.
Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) described the process of fana in the following way. If one is outside at night on a clear evening and far from the lights of a city, one can see the stars very clearly. But, when the sun rises, the starts are no longer visible to the naked eye due to the over-powering radiance of the sun.
Similarly, when something of the reality of one’s shaykh, the Prophet, or Divinity rises in one’s consciousness, then, awareness of the self disappears. Yet, the self still exists just as the stars continue to exist despite being rendered invisible by the presence of the sun.
There are many ways to help an individual to struggle toward fana. There are many ways to induce an individual to remember Allah. There are many ways to assist a person to empty the sirr of all other influences other than Allah and to keep a close watch on the condition of the heart. There are many ways to illumine the heart. There are many ways to traverse the stations of repentance, longing, dependence, sincerity, gratitude, patience, piety, and love.
How does one clean and furnish a house? One uses whatever works as long as such means fall within the code book for permissible house cleaning practices, and as long as the method of equipping the house takes into account the structural limitations of that house .
Similarly, there is no set recipe for spiritual realization, although there are a variety of general guidelines which are intended to be used in flexible ways within variable contexts. Everything depends on the nisbath or relationship between an authentic shaykh and the seeker.
Whatever is given, whatever is undertaken, the purpose is always to provide one with another opportunity to engage the Real and to revise one’s understanding of the True and to act in accordance with what one knows on the basis of what has been disclosed to one through direct experience. There are many ways, God willing, of helping to transform the nafs, or purify the heart, or illumine the spirit. These ways are overlapping, reinforcing and not mutually exclusive in the sense that, for instance, what helps the heart, helps the nafs to transform, and the spirit to be enlivened, and, similarly, what transforms the nafs also has benefits for the heart and spirit, and so on.
Ultimately, the only thing which really matters is the presence of Divine Grace. Talk of methodology, states, stations and stages have their place, but one should never confuse the surface phenomenon for the Realities which make such contingencies possible.
One follows the teachings and practices of a shaykh because, God willing, these have the capacity to help open us up to the barakah which courses through these practices and teachings as extensions of the presence and support of a silsilah rooted in the Prophetic tradition. These practices and teachings are the excuses which Divinity uses to extend different kinds of blessings to us, and through these blessings our understanding and behavior are affected.
Once, back in my days of even greater ignorance, I happened into a store in a rural area and, along with some friends, got an ice cream cone - one which was hand-scooped by one of the employees of the store. The ice cream cone I got was enormous, and I muttered words to the effect of: “Boy, I’ll have to remember this place.” The person behind the counter responded with: “You should remember the person who gave you the cone.”
Many people think aboutf the Sufi path as a supply depot from which one can acquire whatever one needs in the way of teachings, practices, and format in order to be able to make progress on the spiritual path. In truth, as with the ice cream story above, one needs to remember the person through whom one gets whatever one gets for it is the person who, by the Grace of Allah, makes all the difference ... not the place.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Bilquees Press
Bilquees Press books by Bill Whitehouse (Anab) are now available at Amazon.com in the UK, France, Germany, and Canada.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sam Harris and the End of Faith: A Muslim's Critical Response
Sam Harris and the End of Faith: A Muslim's Critical Response is now a Mobipocket eBook, as well as an Amazon Kindle Book.
If you would like to read more about this 70 page book, just click on the following:
New Bilquees Press eBook title
Also, Shari'ah: A Muslim's Declaration of Independence is now a Mobipocket eBook. To find out more, you may click on the following:
Shari'ah
Monday, October 13, 2008
Book Sale - First Edition of Streams to the Ocean by Anab Whitehouse
For a limited time, the first edition of Streams to the Ocean - A Contemplative Introduction to the Sufi Path is being offered at a reduced price. This book was written in 1996 and is a great introduction to the Sufi path. It has also been enjoyed by people who are not new to the Sufi path.
You will not find this edition available for sale at Amazon.
To purchase your copy, click the "purchase" link.
By purchasing this book, you will be supporting the Sufi Reflections Podcast and helping us make room for new inventory and print new titles. Thank you. We hope you will enjoy the book!
PURCHASE STREAMS TO THE OCEAN - A CONTEMPLATIVE INTRODUCTION TO THE SUFI PATH (First Edition)
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Kashf (Unveiling) - A Sufi Perspective
There are two kinds of unveiling (kashf) which occur on the Sufi path. One of these is potentially detrimental to the mystical wayfarer. The other can be a source of great blessings for, and help to, the individual.
The first mode of kashf or unveiling concerns the nature and events of the world. The second form of unveiling gives expression to spiritual realities which transcend the realm of the world.
When, by God's command, an individual is provided with a method for: accessing foreknowledge of worldly events; or, being a witness to events going on elsewhere in the world, without leaving one's residence and without any modern technological assistance; or, becoming privy to the details of the past, present and future of whomever one likes, then such a mystical wayfarer is confronted with a very substantial trial and risk.
There are two options for dealing with this situation. The individual can use her or his discretion for determining whether or not to utilize the abilities which God has made available. The person can wait for instructions from Divinity concerning the use of those abilities.
Whenever the mystical wayfarer uses his or her discretion with respect to whether or not to access hidden knowledge concerning the world, two contingencies come into play. First, this individual will have to answer to God on the Day of Judgement for each and every discretionary use of worldly kashf. Secondly, every time one makes discretionary use of worldly kashf, one runs a risk that one's spiritual progress will come to a standstill.
An individual may believe she or he is using worldly kashf only to help others. This may or may not be so. However, one thing is certain. The intentions, motivations, attitudes, understandings, goals, and purposes of a person who makes discretionary use of worldly kashf will come under the closest of Divine scrutiny and cross-examination.
The individual cannot presume she or he will come through the rigors of this investigation in unscathed fashion. The ordeal of being subjected to the intensity of the aforementioned scrutiny is, in and of itself, likely to raise the question of just how necessary was such discretionary use of worldly kashf.
Nevertheless, on the Day of Judgement, second thoughts don't count. One must be prepared to accept the consequences of the choices one makes in the present life. So, as is sometimes said in the military: "Be advised!".
Having access to hidden knowledge concerning the world and its people, can be very seductive and tempting. One may start out in a seemingly innocuous manner, only to discover, if one is fortunate, one is getting caught up in the world in, yet, another way.
Whether one is entangled in the world through "normal" means or through non-ordinary channels, is a moot point. In either case, entanglement means one has lost one's spiritual purpose.
If one loses one's spiritual way on a "lower" level or on a "higher" level, one remains lost in both cases. In fact, one's predicament may be much worse in the latter case since more is expected of the individual. This individual should have known better than to get seduced by the allurements of hidden knowledge concerning the world.
The foregoing comments notwithstanding, there are occasions when use of worldly kashf or unveiling may be required in the service of others. This especially may be true with respect to the kinds of thing a shaykh may do, from time to time, to help an initiate at certain stages of the mystical journey.
Nevertheless, one is better off when directives in these matters come from Divinity. Waiting, with patience, for Divine assistance is, spiritually, far superior to trying, with impatience, to take matters into one's own hands. The former approach is the best form of spiritual etiquette in these matters.
Some people may wonder why individuals should be given access to hidden knowledge while, simultaneously, being told to refrain from taking advantage of this kind of knowledge. One reason for juxtaposing such extraordinary possibilities next to the challenge of restraint is to test the individual concerning whether he or she prefers lordship over servanthood.
Ultimately, the Sufi path is a journey toward perfect servanthood. Those who become attracted to, if not addicted by, the discretionary use of worldly kashf, are indicating a preference for lordship. This inclination or preference becomes an obstacle to making further progress on the Sufi path.
In a sense, one becomes all dressed up with the powers of worldly kashf but with no spiritual place to go. At best, wherever one may be spiritually, on whatever level, one becomes stuck there and unable to fully realize the spiritual purpose of one's life.
At worst, things begin to deteriorate spiritually. One falls further and further away from the mystical path. Yet, the tragedy of this is one may not be aware this is happening because one still has use of the "toys" of worldly kashf.
The other kind of kashf, mentioned previously, concerns spiritual unveilings. These are transcendent to the sort of hidden knowledge about the affairs of the world which is the focus of the worldly mode of kashf.
Spiritual kashf involves unveilings in the form of experiences involving states and stations of the mystical path. Through Divine "flashes", intuitions, visions and so on, one receives knowledge, wisdom and insights about various spiritual realities.
The understanding gained from this form of kashf can be extremely useful to wayfarers of the Sufi path. Such understanding serves to guide, support, strengthen, protect, purify, perfect and illumine the individual's mystical travels.
Worldly kashf, for the most part, cannot assist the individual in any of the above mentioned ways. In other words, with certain exceptions, worldly kashf really has no useful role to play on the mystical journey.
There is only one cautionary proviso which needs to be stated in relation to spiritual kashf. This mode of mystical unveiling is not the goal of the Sufi path. Spiritual kashf is a means, not an end.
The goal of the Sufi path is to become a perfect servant of God through realizing one's essential identity and capacity. Spiritual kashf assists one in the pursuit of this primary objective of the mystical journey.
If one should become preoccupied with spiritual kashf, in and of itself, and, therefore, somewhat divorced from the proper focus of the Sufi path, one becomes spiritually at risk. These risks may not be quite the same as those which are associated with discretionary use of worldly kashf, but the risks to further spiritual progress are, nonetheless, still there.
More specifically, if one wishes to reach a particular destination, one cannot permit the beauty and majesty of the landscape to distract one from the original goal. This is especially the case if one is under a time constraint concerning how long one has to complete the journey to the intended destination.
If one spends too much time by the roadside smelling the flowers, one may never reach one's destination in time. As with everything else in life, one must keep things in a balance of proper moderation.
The first mode of kashf or unveiling concerns the nature and events of the world. The second form of unveiling gives expression to spiritual realities which transcend the realm of the world.
When, by God's command, an individual is provided with a method for: accessing foreknowledge of worldly events; or, being a witness to events going on elsewhere in the world, without leaving one's residence and without any modern technological assistance; or, becoming privy to the details of the past, present and future of whomever one likes, then such a mystical wayfarer is confronted with a very substantial trial and risk.
There are two options for dealing with this situation. The individual can use her or his discretion for determining whether or not to utilize the abilities which God has made available. The person can wait for instructions from Divinity concerning the use of those abilities.
Whenever the mystical wayfarer uses his or her discretion with respect to whether or not to access hidden knowledge concerning the world, two contingencies come into play. First, this individual will have to answer to God on the Day of Judgement for each and every discretionary use of worldly kashf. Secondly, every time one makes discretionary use of worldly kashf, one runs a risk that one's spiritual progress will come to a standstill.
An individual may believe she or he is using worldly kashf only to help others. This may or may not be so. However, one thing is certain. The intentions, motivations, attitudes, understandings, goals, and purposes of a person who makes discretionary use of worldly kashf will come under the closest of Divine scrutiny and cross-examination.
The individual cannot presume she or he will come through the rigors of this investigation in unscathed fashion. The ordeal of being subjected to the intensity of the aforementioned scrutiny is, in and of itself, likely to raise the question of just how necessary was such discretionary use of worldly kashf.
Nevertheless, on the Day of Judgement, second thoughts don't count. One must be prepared to accept the consequences of the choices one makes in the present life. So, as is sometimes said in the military: "Be advised!".
Having access to hidden knowledge concerning the world and its people, can be very seductive and tempting. One may start out in a seemingly innocuous manner, only to discover, if one is fortunate, one is getting caught up in the world in, yet, another way.
Whether one is entangled in the world through "normal" means or through non-ordinary channels, is a moot point. In either case, entanglement means one has lost one's spiritual purpose.
If one loses one's spiritual way on a "lower" level or on a "higher" level, one remains lost in both cases. In fact, one's predicament may be much worse in the latter case since more is expected of the individual. This individual should have known better than to get seduced by the allurements of hidden knowledge concerning the world.
The foregoing comments notwithstanding, there are occasions when use of worldly kashf or unveiling may be required in the service of others. This especially may be true with respect to the kinds of thing a shaykh may do, from time to time, to help an initiate at certain stages of the mystical journey.
Nevertheless, one is better off when directives in these matters come from Divinity. Waiting, with patience, for Divine assistance is, spiritually, far superior to trying, with impatience, to take matters into one's own hands. The former approach is the best form of spiritual etiquette in these matters.
Some people may wonder why individuals should be given access to hidden knowledge while, simultaneously, being told to refrain from taking advantage of this kind of knowledge. One reason for juxtaposing such extraordinary possibilities next to the challenge of restraint is to test the individual concerning whether he or she prefers lordship over servanthood.
Ultimately, the Sufi path is a journey toward perfect servanthood. Those who become attracted to, if not addicted by, the discretionary use of worldly kashf, are indicating a preference for lordship. This inclination or preference becomes an obstacle to making further progress on the Sufi path.
In a sense, one becomes all dressed up with the powers of worldly kashf but with no spiritual place to go. At best, wherever one may be spiritually, on whatever level, one becomes stuck there and unable to fully realize the spiritual purpose of one's life.
At worst, things begin to deteriorate spiritually. One falls further and further away from the mystical path. Yet, the tragedy of this is one may not be aware this is happening because one still has use of the "toys" of worldly kashf.
The other kind of kashf, mentioned previously, concerns spiritual unveilings. These are transcendent to the sort of hidden knowledge about the affairs of the world which is the focus of the worldly mode of kashf.
Spiritual kashf involves unveilings in the form of experiences involving states and stations of the mystical path. Through Divine "flashes", intuitions, visions and so on, one receives knowledge, wisdom and insights about various spiritual realities.
The understanding gained from this form of kashf can be extremely useful to wayfarers of the Sufi path. Such understanding serves to guide, support, strengthen, protect, purify, perfect and illumine the individual's mystical travels.
Worldly kashf, for the most part, cannot assist the individual in any of the above mentioned ways. In other words, with certain exceptions, worldly kashf really has no useful role to play on the mystical journey.
There is only one cautionary proviso which needs to be stated in relation to spiritual kashf. This mode of mystical unveiling is not the goal of the Sufi path. Spiritual kashf is a means, not an end.
The goal of the Sufi path is to become a perfect servant of God through realizing one's essential identity and capacity. Spiritual kashf assists one in the pursuit of this primary objective of the mystical journey.
If one should become preoccupied with spiritual kashf, in and of itself, and, therefore, somewhat divorced from the proper focus of the Sufi path, one becomes spiritually at risk. These risks may not be quite the same as those which are associated with discretionary use of worldly kashf, but the risks to further spiritual progress are, nonetheless, still there.
More specifically, if one wishes to reach a particular destination, one cannot permit the beauty and majesty of the landscape to distract one from the original goal. This is especially the case if one is under a time constraint concerning how long one has to complete the journey to the intended destination.
If one spends too much time by the roadside smelling the flowers, one may never reach one's destination in time. As with everything else in life, one must keep things in a balance of proper moderation.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Himma (Aspiration)
There are three general categories of aspiration within us. Normally, only one of these is spiritual in character, and this spiritual aspiration is opposed by, and in conflict with, expressions of the other two categories - namely, passion and anger.
The Sufi path involves three broad sets of transformation with respect to aspirations. One set of transformations entails reforming passion and anger so they become spiritual allies instead of liabilities. The other two sets of transformations consist of the purification and perfection of spiritual aspiration, especially in relation to the nature of the modalities or spiritual instruments through which we engage our relationship with God.
All three sets of transformations involve changes in the character of the "object" toward which aspiration is directed. In addition, a transition in the degree of intensity of aspiration occurs in all three transformational sets. More specifically, this change in intensity revolves around the process of becoming less dispersed, and more `gathered', in our intentions, awareness, understanding and behavior.
Although human beings are born with all three categories of aspiration, very shortly after birth, for most of us, passion and anger begin to dominate our lives, while spiritual aspiration is marginalized and relegated to the background. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but, generally speaking, the unfolding of spirituality, to the extent it occurs at all, lags significantly behind the unfolding of passion and anger.
Passion encompasses all those tendencies within us which seek to acquire. These acquisitive predispositions are directed toward procuring more and more: material possessions, power, money, fame, status, and physical gratification of one description or another.
Anger includes all the inclinations within each of us which are directed toward defending the passions against anything constituting a threat to past, present or future acquisitions. Hostility, antagonism, malice, conflict and rebellion are all expressions of anger in action. If one looks carefully at the situations in which these different modalities of anger arise, one will detect the existence of one or more vested interests of passion at the heart of the issue.
By dominating consciousness, intentions, motivations, thinking, attitudes, evaluations, judgements and behavior, the activities of anger and passion create the illusion of a self which is being served by such activity. In other words, our awareness is mesmerized, or a state of hypnosis is induced in consciousness, by the activities of anger and passion. As a result, awareness identifies with them as being possessions of, and acting on behalf of, consciousness.
Over time, a history of experiences, decisions and behaviors is generated. Memories are recorded and used by passion and anger to serve their respective agendas.
This entire ensemble of passion, anger, mesmerized awareness and remembered life history are the primary forces which underwrite the existence of the false self or ego. All aspirations which arise in the context of this ensemble are seen as aspirations of the illusory self.
This "self" has no substantive reality per se. In other words, this self had no existence prior to its invention or construction.
The false self or ego is merely an arrangement of convenience and circumstance. It is an artificial business arrangement which has been organized by our various modalities of passion and anger for purposes of carrying on different kinds of commercial transactions with the world.
Our God-given capacity for choice is usurped by the false-self conglomerate. Due to the state of hypnotic trance of ordinary consciousness, the process of exercising free will, within our capacity to do so, is arrogated to the false self through the manipulations, seductions and pressure tactics of passion and anger.
Judgements, decisions, and choices begin to get locked into interacting patterns of habit. These patterns reflect, and conform to, the collective dynamics of the various components of the false self or ego.
Exoteric values, practices and rituals have two important tasks to perform with respect to the ego conglomerate which has arisen. On the one hand, exoteric teachings try to help the individual close the gap between spiritual aspirations, which, for the most part, have lagged behind in development, and the dominant influence enjoyed by the aspirations of passion and anger in our day-to-day lives. On the other hand, exoteric teachings try to help the individual bring passion and anger into an acceptable spiritual balance.
The excesses and extremes of passion and anger must be constrained. A middle way of moderation must be discovered which will prevent the individual from transgressing beyond certain boundaries of spiritual propriety. Acquisitiveness and its protector must be trained to pursue their activities within Divinely sanctioned parameters of permissibility.
Exoteric teachings seek to strengthen the dimension of spiritual aspiration within the individual. At the same time, these teachings provide a framework of moderation which is intended to constrain passion and anger provided the framework is implemented by our developing spiritual aspiration.
If our spiritual aspiration becomes sufficiently mature, then, God willing, it begins to influence our capacity for choice. Over time, if everything goes well, we begin to discontinue some of the more injurious patterns of behavior generated through our aspirations of passion and anger.
The Sufi path is not content to merely constrain passion and anger. It seeks to transform them.
One of the themes of such transformation is to induce (through Sufi discipline, practices and so on) the individual to change the character of the object which is the focus of passion and anger. Instead of using anger and passion to seek the world, these two modalities of aspiration should be used to seek Divinity.
However, in order to have a chance of succeeding in achieving this transition in focus from worldly objects to Divinity, passion and anger cannot remain as they are. The intention underlying them must change, and, as well, passion and anger must come under the sphere of influence of all the qualities of spiritual etiquette.
Intention must become a servant of God. Everything which is done must be done for the love of God. Intention must be purified so nothing remains but the aspiration to please God.
The heart must be trained to collaborate with, and give expression to, spiritual aspiration. The heart's association with the aspirations of the false self or ego must be discontinued.
When, God willing, intentionality and the heart have been purified, then, by the grace of God, qualities of spiritual etiquette such as patience, perseverance, forbearance, compassion, and forgiveness come to ascendancy. These qualities have, God willing, a transformative effect on passion and anger, and, as a result, passion and anger come to serve spiritual purposes.
Under these circumstances, the only aspiration of passion is to seek, know, love and serve God.
Furthermore, the aspiration of anger becomes a tendency to protect this spiritual passion from, and defend against, anything which would undermine or corrupt it.
If God wishes, in later stages of the maturation of spiritual aspiration, different capacities within that potential become experientially active. Although the focus of those experiences always remains God, the structural character, so to speak, of that focus undergoes various transformations.
Sufi masters speak of some of these transformations in terms of gnosis, witnessing, and love. In each case, the experience of Divinity changes. Each kind of experiencing involves its own mode of spiritual etiquette.
On all levels, God responds to us in accordance with the character of our spiritual aspiration. When spiritual aspiration is at low ebb, God's way of relating to us will reflect the character of that kind of aspiration. As the quality and intensity of spiritual aspiration undergoes various developmental transformations, so, too, does God's way of responding to us reflect those spiritual transitions.
In reality, God does not change, from beginning to end, during the journey of development or unfolding of spiritual aspiration. The nature of Divinity always is what Divinity is.
However, as spiritual aspiration goes through various transformations, our essential capacity becomes sensitive and receptive to the modalities of experiencing and realizing Divinity which are consonant with the condition of our aspiration. Consequently, the way God responds to us is merely a reflection of the way we relate to Divinity.
The Sufi path involves three broad sets of transformation with respect to aspirations. One set of transformations entails reforming passion and anger so they become spiritual allies instead of liabilities. The other two sets of transformations consist of the purification and perfection of spiritual aspiration, especially in relation to the nature of the modalities or spiritual instruments through which we engage our relationship with God.
All three sets of transformations involve changes in the character of the "object" toward which aspiration is directed. In addition, a transition in the degree of intensity of aspiration occurs in all three transformational sets. More specifically, this change in intensity revolves around the process of becoming less dispersed, and more `gathered', in our intentions, awareness, understanding and behavior.
Although human beings are born with all three categories of aspiration, very shortly after birth, for most of us, passion and anger begin to dominate our lives, while spiritual aspiration is marginalized and relegated to the background. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but, generally speaking, the unfolding of spirituality, to the extent it occurs at all, lags significantly behind the unfolding of passion and anger.
Passion encompasses all those tendencies within us which seek to acquire. These acquisitive predispositions are directed toward procuring more and more: material possessions, power, money, fame, status, and physical gratification of one description or another.
Anger includes all the inclinations within each of us which are directed toward defending the passions against anything constituting a threat to past, present or future acquisitions. Hostility, antagonism, malice, conflict and rebellion are all expressions of anger in action. If one looks carefully at the situations in which these different modalities of anger arise, one will detect the existence of one or more vested interests of passion at the heart of the issue.
By dominating consciousness, intentions, motivations, thinking, attitudes, evaluations, judgements and behavior, the activities of anger and passion create the illusion of a self which is being served by such activity. In other words, our awareness is mesmerized, or a state of hypnosis is induced in consciousness, by the activities of anger and passion. As a result, awareness identifies with them as being possessions of, and acting on behalf of, consciousness.
Over time, a history of experiences, decisions and behaviors is generated. Memories are recorded and used by passion and anger to serve their respective agendas.
This entire ensemble of passion, anger, mesmerized awareness and remembered life history are the primary forces which underwrite the existence of the false self or ego. All aspirations which arise in the context of this ensemble are seen as aspirations of the illusory self.
This "self" has no substantive reality per se. In other words, this self had no existence prior to its invention or construction.
The false self or ego is merely an arrangement of convenience and circumstance. It is an artificial business arrangement which has been organized by our various modalities of passion and anger for purposes of carrying on different kinds of commercial transactions with the world.
Our God-given capacity for choice is usurped by the false-self conglomerate. Due to the state of hypnotic trance of ordinary consciousness, the process of exercising free will, within our capacity to do so, is arrogated to the false self through the manipulations, seductions and pressure tactics of passion and anger.
Judgements, decisions, and choices begin to get locked into interacting patterns of habit. These patterns reflect, and conform to, the collective dynamics of the various components of the false self or ego.
Exoteric values, practices and rituals have two important tasks to perform with respect to the ego conglomerate which has arisen. On the one hand, exoteric teachings try to help the individual close the gap between spiritual aspirations, which, for the most part, have lagged behind in development, and the dominant influence enjoyed by the aspirations of passion and anger in our day-to-day lives. On the other hand, exoteric teachings try to help the individual bring passion and anger into an acceptable spiritual balance.
The excesses and extremes of passion and anger must be constrained. A middle way of moderation must be discovered which will prevent the individual from transgressing beyond certain boundaries of spiritual propriety. Acquisitiveness and its protector must be trained to pursue their activities within Divinely sanctioned parameters of permissibility.
Exoteric teachings seek to strengthen the dimension of spiritual aspiration within the individual. At the same time, these teachings provide a framework of moderation which is intended to constrain passion and anger provided the framework is implemented by our developing spiritual aspiration.
If our spiritual aspiration becomes sufficiently mature, then, God willing, it begins to influence our capacity for choice. Over time, if everything goes well, we begin to discontinue some of the more injurious patterns of behavior generated through our aspirations of passion and anger.
The Sufi path is not content to merely constrain passion and anger. It seeks to transform them.
One of the themes of such transformation is to induce (through Sufi discipline, practices and so on) the individual to change the character of the object which is the focus of passion and anger. Instead of using anger and passion to seek the world, these two modalities of aspiration should be used to seek Divinity.
However, in order to have a chance of succeeding in achieving this transition in focus from worldly objects to Divinity, passion and anger cannot remain as they are. The intention underlying them must change, and, as well, passion and anger must come under the sphere of influence of all the qualities of spiritual etiquette.
Intention must become a servant of God. Everything which is done must be done for the love of God. Intention must be purified so nothing remains but the aspiration to please God.
The heart must be trained to collaborate with, and give expression to, spiritual aspiration. The heart's association with the aspirations of the false self or ego must be discontinued.
When, God willing, intentionality and the heart have been purified, then, by the grace of God, qualities of spiritual etiquette such as patience, perseverance, forbearance, compassion, and forgiveness come to ascendancy. These qualities have, God willing, a transformative effect on passion and anger, and, as a result, passion and anger come to serve spiritual purposes.
Under these circumstances, the only aspiration of passion is to seek, know, love and serve God.
Furthermore, the aspiration of anger becomes a tendency to protect this spiritual passion from, and defend against, anything which would undermine or corrupt it.
If God wishes, in later stages of the maturation of spiritual aspiration, different capacities within that potential become experientially active. Although the focus of those experiences always remains God, the structural character, so to speak, of that focus undergoes various transformations.
Sufi masters speak of some of these transformations in terms of gnosis, witnessing, and love. In each case, the experience of Divinity changes. Each kind of experiencing involves its own mode of spiritual etiquette.
On all levels, God responds to us in accordance with the character of our spiritual aspiration. When spiritual aspiration is at low ebb, God's way of relating to us will reflect the character of that kind of aspiration. As the quality and intensity of spiritual aspiration undergoes various developmental transformations, so, too, does God's way of responding to us reflect those spiritual transitions.
In reality, God does not change, from beginning to end, during the journey of development or unfolding of spiritual aspiration. The nature of Divinity always is what Divinity is.
However, as spiritual aspiration goes through various transformations, our essential capacity becomes sensitive and receptive to the modalities of experiencing and realizing Divinity which are consonant with the condition of our aspiration. Consequently, the way God responds to us is merely a reflection of the way we relate to Divinity.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Otherness (Ghayr) - A Sufi Perspective
In modern civilization one hears much talk of estrangement and alienation. For example, many of us speak about not feeling at home in our homes. We lament how familiar faces hide an existential strangeness and distance which separates us, in hard to define but fundamental ways, from the ones with whom we often are most physically and emotionally proximate.
We are lonely in the midst of people. We have affection for many people. We care about what happens to them. We seek varying kinds of companionship with them. We help them, and they help us in different ways.
Yet, there is an alien dimension to them which we frequently find frightening. There is an otherness (ghayr) about them which isolates us from each 'other'.
We experience this alien otherness with our spouses, our children, our parents and our relatives. Our friends bear the mark of otherness.
As we journey outward into the neighborhood, community, city, nation, the world and the universe, the sense of otherness intensifies in unpredictable and terrifying ways. We are haunted by the feeling things can go sour and turn on us at any moment.
We do not appear to live in a user-friendly world. In fact, we seem to be traveling in potentially hostile country almost on a continuous basis. The boundaries of that country extend from the beds in which we sleep and recedes outwardly through 360 degrees of arc, encompassing everything between us and the horizon.
The aura of otherness which pervades our lives affects virtually everything we think, feel and do. For instance, otherness is at the heart of the territorial imperative which governs much of our lives.
We spend a great deal of time, energy and resources marking and labeling that which is ours and to which the other is not entitled. We seem to need to constantly remind ourselves and the other that she or he is, indeed, the other.
We struggle with great diligence to reinforce the self/other boundary lines which distinguish our territory from all others. For most of us, life is a game of Go in which, both consciously and unconsciously, we seek to maximize our spheres of influence while minimizing the spheres of influence of the other.
Much of our sense of personal space is constructed from materials of otherness. The degree of access to our personal space which we extend to anyone is a function of their otherness classification.
Few, if any, are granted entrance to the sanctum sanctorum in the innermost reaches of our being. This means, for most of us, that everyone and everything is rated as other in one way or another.
Business, government, law, sports, marriage, family, economics, international relations, and religion are all saturated with the ramifications of otherness. We treat the environment as an emphatic other.
Ironically, otherness is not just reserved for others. Many of us have become other to ourselves. Indeed, many of us have become so confused we cannot differentiate, within ourselves, what is self and what is other.
If we don't know who we are, then how can we know what is other? Our uncertainty about our own identity is often reflected in the changing patterns of otherness which we perceive in the world.
In other words, as our ideas about ourselves change, so, too, do the otherness classifications we issue to the people and things of the universe. Access codes to personal space are constantly being reconfigured.
The confusion between self and other within us is the source of much of the ambivalence we experience concerning ourselves. We are both attracted to, and repelled by, the denizens of the deep within us. There is both fear and hope concerning whom we might be.
If we feel ambivalence toward ourselves, we cannot but project this ambivalence outwardly. In the mirror of the other, we see the image of our own ambivalence toward ourselves.
According to the masters of the Sufi path, the source of all otherness flows from our conscious decision to treat God as other. We are other to ourselves because we issue to God, just as we issue to everyone and everything else, an otherness classification. We have set the access code to the door of our hearts to reject God when Divinity buzzes us.
We treat God as other because we fail to recognize the presence of Divinity within us. We relegate God to otherness because we do not understand we are loci of manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes and cannot be other than this. We try to restrict God to our various conceptual and emotional categories of otherness because we get caught up in the forms of otherness and do not see the One Whom is the common denominator linking all of these forms.
We treat others as other because we fail to recognize that they, too, are loci of manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes. Otherness, strangeness, alienness, separation, and distance are all illusions generated out of our spiritual ignorance and projected onto our experience.
If we could witness the reality of Divinity within us, we, automatically and simultaneously, could not but witness the reality of Divinity in others. In fact, others would no longer be other, we would all be participants in the theater of Divine manifestation known as existence.
Moreover, according to Sufi masters, we could take this one step further, and, simply say, there is no we in existence. Being is the locus of manifestation through which the reality of the one and only "I" gives expression to diversity of forms and meaning.
We are like sunspots on the surface of radiant Divinity. We do not understand that our darkness is an artifact of a relative absence of Presence which has been made possible by Divinity Itself.
When the forces underwriting this localized and relative darkness are dispelled, the full radiance of Divinity again is manifested. "Otherness", "we" and the false "I" all disappear with the darkness.
Oddly enough, many of us fight tooth and nail to retain our darkness. We seem to fear the possibility of the Sun's return with the disappearance of the temporary and relative absence of presence which we experience as spiritual darkness.
Darkness may involve all manner of misery, but, at least, it is "our" darkness. We derive identity from our darkness and its concomitant misery.
We fear the lost of this identity, such as it is, because we do not know what will replace it. We seem to feel being "other" is better than not being at all.
The practitioners of the Sufi path tell us the only thing to be lost is the darkness. In losing the darkness, we will reclaim the radiance which always had been intended for us.
Sufi masters indicate the only thing that will cease to exist are the illusions generated by the darkness of otherness. The falsehood of our ego will be replaced by the reality of our essence.
The inertia of otherness stops us from seeking to dispel the darkness. Otherness has a vested interest in maintaining the system of otherness classifications through which it parcels up existence, including its own.
Sufi masters try to show us the nature of this system of otherness which we, through our darkness, have generated. They also try to help us, God willing, to activate and realize our potential for radiance which dissolves all sense of otherness.
We are lonely in the midst of people. We have affection for many people. We care about what happens to them. We seek varying kinds of companionship with them. We help them, and they help us in different ways.
Yet, there is an alien dimension to them which we frequently find frightening. There is an otherness (ghayr) about them which isolates us from each 'other'.
We experience this alien otherness with our spouses, our children, our parents and our relatives. Our friends bear the mark of otherness.
As we journey outward into the neighborhood, community, city, nation, the world and the universe, the sense of otherness intensifies in unpredictable and terrifying ways. We are haunted by the feeling things can go sour and turn on us at any moment.
We do not appear to live in a user-friendly world. In fact, we seem to be traveling in potentially hostile country almost on a continuous basis. The boundaries of that country extend from the beds in which we sleep and recedes outwardly through 360 degrees of arc, encompassing everything between us and the horizon.
The aura of otherness which pervades our lives affects virtually everything we think, feel and do. For instance, otherness is at the heart of the territorial imperative which governs much of our lives.
We spend a great deal of time, energy and resources marking and labeling that which is ours and to which the other is not entitled. We seem to need to constantly remind ourselves and the other that she or he is, indeed, the other.
We struggle with great diligence to reinforce the self/other boundary lines which distinguish our territory from all others. For most of us, life is a game of Go in which, both consciously and unconsciously, we seek to maximize our spheres of influence while minimizing the spheres of influence of the other.
Much of our sense of personal space is constructed from materials of otherness. The degree of access to our personal space which we extend to anyone is a function of their otherness classification.
Few, if any, are granted entrance to the sanctum sanctorum in the innermost reaches of our being. This means, for most of us, that everyone and everything is rated as other in one way or another.
Business, government, law, sports, marriage, family, economics, international relations, and religion are all saturated with the ramifications of otherness. We treat the environment as an emphatic other.
Ironically, otherness is not just reserved for others. Many of us have become other to ourselves. Indeed, many of us have become so confused we cannot differentiate, within ourselves, what is self and what is other.
If we don't know who we are, then how can we know what is other? Our uncertainty about our own identity is often reflected in the changing patterns of otherness which we perceive in the world.
In other words, as our ideas about ourselves change, so, too, do the otherness classifications we issue to the people and things of the universe. Access codes to personal space are constantly being reconfigured.
The confusion between self and other within us is the source of much of the ambivalence we experience concerning ourselves. We are both attracted to, and repelled by, the denizens of the deep within us. There is both fear and hope concerning whom we might be.
If we feel ambivalence toward ourselves, we cannot but project this ambivalence outwardly. In the mirror of the other, we see the image of our own ambivalence toward ourselves.
According to the masters of the Sufi path, the source of all otherness flows from our conscious decision to treat God as other. We are other to ourselves because we issue to God, just as we issue to everyone and everything else, an otherness classification. We have set the access code to the door of our hearts to reject God when Divinity buzzes us.
We treat God as other because we fail to recognize the presence of Divinity within us. We relegate God to otherness because we do not understand we are loci of manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes and cannot be other than this. We try to restrict God to our various conceptual and emotional categories of otherness because we get caught up in the forms of otherness and do not see the One Whom is the common denominator linking all of these forms.
We treat others as other because we fail to recognize that they, too, are loci of manifestation of Divine Names and Attributes. Otherness, strangeness, alienness, separation, and distance are all illusions generated out of our spiritual ignorance and projected onto our experience.
If we could witness the reality of Divinity within us, we, automatically and simultaneously, could not but witness the reality of Divinity in others. In fact, others would no longer be other, we would all be participants in the theater of Divine manifestation known as existence.
Moreover, according to Sufi masters, we could take this one step further, and, simply say, there is no we in existence. Being is the locus of manifestation through which the reality of the one and only "I" gives expression to diversity of forms and meaning.
We are like sunspots on the surface of radiant Divinity. We do not understand that our darkness is an artifact of a relative absence of Presence which has been made possible by Divinity Itself.
When the forces underwriting this localized and relative darkness are dispelled, the full radiance of Divinity again is manifested. "Otherness", "we" and the false "I" all disappear with the darkness.
Oddly enough, many of us fight tooth and nail to retain our darkness. We seem to fear the possibility of the Sun's return with the disappearance of the temporary and relative absence of presence which we experience as spiritual darkness.
Darkness may involve all manner of misery, but, at least, it is "our" darkness. We derive identity from our darkness and its concomitant misery.
We fear the lost of this identity, such as it is, because we do not know what will replace it. We seem to feel being "other" is better than not being at all.
The practitioners of the Sufi path tell us the only thing to be lost is the darkness. In losing the darkness, we will reclaim the radiance which always had been intended for us.
Sufi masters indicate the only thing that will cease to exist are the illusions generated by the darkness of otherness. The falsehood of our ego will be replaced by the reality of our essence.
The inertia of otherness stops us from seeking to dispel the darkness. Otherness has a vested interest in maintaining the system of otherness classifications through which it parcels up existence, including its own.
Sufi masters try to show us the nature of this system of otherness which we, through our darkness, have generated. They also try to help us, God willing, to activate and realize our potential for radiance which dissolves all sense of otherness.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Soon to be released: The Essence of September 11th by Bill (Anab) Whitehouse
Bilquees Press, 325 pages
If there is only one book you read about the 9/11 controversies, this work provides the best summary of the essential themes, issues, facts, and questions concerning the tragic events of 9/11.
The Essence of September 11th engages the issues surrounding 9/11 from a very different perspective -- namely, that of a member of a hypothetical grand jury which is faced with the task of critically examining the available evidence concerning all manner of 9/11-related topics in order to determine whether or not a further public inquiry into 9/11 is appropriate and necessary.
The Essence of September 11th takes an in-depth look at the very heart of the many controversies swirling about 9/11. These issues range from the response to 9/11 by the FAA, NORAD, and the FBI, to the 9/11 Commission Report, as well as the various technical theories put forth by NIST, FEMA, and different scientists and engineers which purport to explain how the Twin Towers and Building 7 collapsed or which supposedly account for what transpired at the Pentagon on 9/11. In addition, a very careful analysis is pursued in conjunction with a book pubished by Popular Mechanics entitled Debunking 9/11 Myths.
Seeking to walk a line between aligning itself with either the government's own 'official' conspiracy theory or the many versions of conspiracy theory that are not 'official,' The Essence of September 11th avoids getting sidetracked with irrelevant considerations such as trying to identify guilty parties and attempts, instead, to focus strictly on an impartial analysis of the evidence in order to determine the essential features of 9/11.
Many questions are raised in The Essence of September 11th. The only certain answer which arises out of the pages of this book is that, after careful review, the available evidence indicates the government's 'official' version of 9/11 is not tenable in either principle or detail.
Soon there will be a new blog and website dedicated to the book The Essence of September 11th as well as the issues surrounding, leading up to, on, and following the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Within a few days, this book will, God willing, be available in e-book form and in about a month in non-virtual form. Please check back for further updates in the coming days.
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