Status Report - A Sufi Story

One evening a very influential and wealthy shipping magnate
was having dinner with several powerful members of government in
a city where the tycoon was visiting. While this businessman dealt
with all manner of exported and imported goods throughout the
world, the bedrock of his fortune revolved around the transport of
crude oil.

Although this man was very rich, his financial and social status
had not always been so exalted. As a boy, he had been quite poor, but
through hard work and some extraordinary good luck which his
efforts were able to take advantage of, he steadily built up a global
shipping empire.

Despite his considerable wealth, the ‘shipping wizard’, as he was
affectionately known in many places, was a very humble, down-to-
earth individual. His mother had been a mystic of some note, and,
consequently, the boy had taken an interest in spiritual matters from
an early age due to his mother’s considerable influence.

Among other things, they were discussing the status of the
world’s economy and the impact which terrorist activities might play
in undermining the shipping industry, in general, and this shipping
magnate’s operations, in particular. There was considerable concern
in many economic and political circles about the issue, because,
recently, there had been an increase of strikes against commercial
shipping, both on the open seas, as well as when docked, and the
government officials at the dinner table were among those whose
nerves were beginning to fray under the constant tension of
uncertainty surrounding the time, place and extent of damage in
relation to the next set of terrorist attacks.

The dinner group was nibbling away at a variety of appetizers,
waiting for the first course to be served, when a middle-aged man
approached the table in a rather agitated state. The man was one of
the tycoon’s close aides.

The aide hovered at a respectful distance from the spot where the
businessman was seated, waiting for an opportunity to catch the eye
of his employer. Clearly, the aide was in a controlled state of panic
and in great need to be relieved of the burden with which he had
come to the table.

Finally, one of the other members of the dinner party, who
recognized the businessman’s associate, touched the arm of the
tycoon and motioned in the direction of the aide. The shipping
magnate turned, recognized his assistant, noted the man’s frantic
condition, and waved him to the table.

His assistant came to his boss, leaned over and began whispering
in his employer’s ear. “Sir, I am sorry to say there have been
massive, simultaneous attacks upon your shipping interests by
unknown terrorist groups, and the early reports are that the vast
majority of your ships have been destroyed, and many others have
been damaged extensively, perhaps irreparably. There are additional
indications that quite a few of your port facilities in different
countries have been rendered largely inoperable. I fear, sir, your
shipping empire is listing badly and in danger of sinking altogether.”

The other people at the table had been watching the shipping
wizard during this whispered exchange, and his expression never
changed. He listened calmly to the information he was being given,
and when the aide had unloaded his terrible cargo, the tycoon was
silent for a moment, seeming to gaze at something in the distance,
and, then, he remarked: “That is good,” told his assistant to return
to his duties, and, once again, began talking with his dinner
companions.

Several hours passed and the dinner engagement was still going
on. The group was working its way toward dessert and coffee, and
the dishes from the previous course had just been removed from the
table.

As the waiters were arranging things at the table in preparation
for the remainder of the meal, the aide who had visited the tycoon
earlier in the evening entered the dining area and, once more,
approached his employer. This time the aide’s entire mood was up-
beat and excited, as if very happy about something.

The tycoon had seen his assistant come into the room and
followed his progress to the table. When his aide was relatively close,
the shipping magnate moved the fingers of his hand in a beckoning
motion to signal for his assistant to come to the table.

The aide did as was indicated. He leaned down and whispered in
his boss’ ear: “Sir, wonderful news. The previous reports concerning
your empire were in error. It was not your interests, holdings, and
property which were damaged but those of one of the other global
shipping empires. Your empire is completely safe and intact.”

The tycoon listened impassively to what was being said. When
his assistant had finished delivering the happy news, the shipping
wizard again appeared to stare into some space in the distance and
commented: “That is good,” after which he thanked his aide for
keeping him informed of what was going on, and, then, dismissed
him with: “I’ll see you back at the office in an hour or so.”

A little over fifty minutes later, the shipping magnate came into
his offices, where he found his aide watching the latest television
updates concerning the multiple terrorist attacks which had taken
place earlier that day in different parts of the world. As the aide saw
the tycoon come in the assistant began supplying details of all that
had transpired -- at least as far as the aide knew.

After completing his summary and answering a few cursory
questions for his boss in relation to the day’s events, the assistant
sought permission to ask a question of his own and the businessman
acceded to his aide’s request. The aide remarked: “You know
something puzzles me about tonight. When I told you during my first
trip to the dining table that, apparently, your shipping empire had
been ruined, you simply said: ‘That is good.’ Yet, when I came on the
second occasion with the good news, you also said: ‘That is good’. If
I am not being out of line here, or too personal, could you tell me why
you responded the same way on both occasions?”

His boss smiled slightly in relation to the question. He said:
“Well, you aren’t being insubordinate, and my remarks are neither
classified information, nor are they too personal. In point of fact,
each time that you whispered in my ear and I listened to what you
were saying, I was concentrating on my inner spiritual condition by
carefully checking to see whether, or not, your news altered my
heart’s equilibrium.

“When I saw that your initial report did not upset my spiritual
condition, I said: ‘That is good,” and when I witnessed that your
happier news also did not disturb the condition of my heart, I said:
‘That is good.’”

 

Text of talk by Anab given at Fordham University, New York City - Sufi Circle Interfaith Conference, April 2007

Genesis 11: 1-9

(1) And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

(2) And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

(3) And they said one to another, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.

(4) And they said, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

(5) And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children built.

(6) And the Lord said, Behold, the people are one, and they all have one language, and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do.

(7) Let us go down there and confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech

(8) So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of the earth, and they left off to build the city.

(9) Therefore is the name of it called Babel [confusion]; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of the earth.--------------------

For the purposes of this talk, it doesn’t really matter whether one considers the passage from Genesis to be historical narrative, myth, a moral teaching story, revelation, or some combination of these possibilities. From whichever perspective one wishes to engage the Babel-theme, there are some instructive elements for what is going on in the world today.

Some of the themes encompassed by the foregoing Biblical passage concerning Babel are:

-- choice/free will … the capacity to select among possible avenues of behavior … in the case of Babel, choosing to make a tower. God permitted this to happen but only up to a point, and, so, there are limits beyond which God will not permit things to proceed.

-- Another theme of the Babel story concerns intention … the motivation for doing things, and in the case of Babel the intention was for the people to make a name for themselves so that in the event that they came to be scattered across the earth, people would know of them and what they had accomplished.

-- A third theme of the Babel passage involves methodology … the way which is chosen through which to implement one’s intention … in the case of the people of Babel the methodology was expressed in terms of the exterior physical world, technology, and rational planning. However, God already had provided humankind with an esoteric, internal, way to approach Divinity – at least to the extent of the capacity which humankind has been given – and the way which Divinity had provided to humankind was not through outward, superficial, very limited and often distorted theological or rationalistic means.

Therefore, on one level God was angry with the people of Babel because they had sought to invent their own modality for reaching God. They had sought to reinvent the wheel of spirituality and rejected the mode of spiritual transportation with which God had provided them.

The bricks of stone and the slime used for mortar symbolize the arbitrary, rule-governed systems of logic – whether theological, scientific or rational -- which were being used to reach up towards God. The people of Babel committed the foregoing error in methodology and so have all too many Muslim, Christian, and Jewish theologians down through the ages.

-- Another theme which is present in the Babel story is that of creative imagination … the inspiration through which a plan or method is conceived. In the case of Babel, the manner in which creative imagination was to be used by the people was not pleasing to God. Among other things, it showed a lack of appropriate restraint concerning human behavior as well as a lack of insight concerning so many dimensions of Being – especially with respect to the fact that life did not exist primarily for human purposes but rather Creation existed for Divine ones.

--the issue of consequences is also present in the Babel incident… for every choice we make, there are consequences … sometimes the consequences are fortuitous and sometimes the consequences are not so fortuitous… and, as with almost everything else, what turns out to be a problem for some becomes a potential boon for others.

The consequences for the people of Babel were that they became scattered and were isolated from one another due to problems of communication and confusion. Furthermore, one of the consequences of the Babel event was that although the people did make a name for themselves – after all, thousands of years later they are still being talked about – nonetheless, and as previously indicated, this did not come about in the way that the great thinkers of Babel had envisioned.

Consequently, one should be careful of what one intends because while we humans have our plans, God also has Divine plans, and as the Qur’an indicates God is the best of planners [Qur’an 8:30]… and to God belongs the conclusive argument [Qur’an 6:149]

On the other hand, however difficult the consequences may have been for the people of Babel, the good news is that they and history got to continue. And, here we find ourselves today with an opportunity to reflect upon, and, possibly, make use of some of the lessons of Babel.

In the matter of Babel, the wrong choice was made [namely, how to use the gift of time], the wrong intention underlay that choice [in other words, to serve ego rather than to glorify Divinity], the wrong methodology was used to try to reach God [i.e., that of external, legalistic, arbitrary, rule-governed methods rather than through principle-bound indigenous, esoteric methods] and creative imagination was inappropriately used and called upon to serve human purposes rather than Divine purposes, and although the people of Babel got their wish – a name for themselves – it was not quite what they had in mind when they started their venture.

---------------------------

Today, we [meaning the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim peoples], who are the inheritors of the Abrahamic Prophetic tradition, often find ourselves to be uneasy if not hostile neighbors of one another. We find ourselves this way because, among other things, of what we have inherited from the times of Babel … we have become separated through the confusion of communication … we have become separated and isolated from one another through our collective wrong choices, and our collective wrong intentions, and our collective use of problematic methodologies, and our collective use of inappropriate modes of creative imagination, and of our collective failure to take responsibility for the many consequences which are the direct and indirect result of all that we, collectively, are doing wrong with respect to choice, intention, methodology, and creative imagination.

We always have grievances against one another, and only very rarely do we have grievances against ourselves. Yet, the world is like it is today because we are like we are today… it is not the other who is at fault, it is we who are at fault. Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said that insanity is to keep doing the same things while expecting different results, and if this is the definition of insanity, then, many of us qualify to be so diagnosed.

What is going on between Palestine and Israel is insane – and I mean there is insanity transpiring on almost every side of this issue. What is going on in Iraq is insane. What is going on in Darfur is insane. What is going on in Afghanistan is insane. What is going with respect to terrorism – both in relation to its perpetration [by individuals and by nations] and the manner in which it is handled – all of this is insane. What is going on in the United States, as well as around the world, with respect to violence, poverty, health care, injustice, race hatred, sexual and spiritual abuse, as well as environmental degradation are all expressions of the presence of pathology.

Yet, the beat of insanity goes on in all these places. We keep doing the same things, but we expect different results.

Do we need more proof than the foregoing abbreviated list of collective tragedies to demonstrate that we all seem to be having problems communicating with one another? Do we need more proof that the consequences of Babel are still with us … that the people of the Abrahamic prophetic tradition are – to paraphrase George Bernard Shaw – one people divided by a common spirituality?

There are those within the Muslim community who have arrogated to themselves the delusional mission of being the saviors of Islam and, as well, they believe, the saviors of the whole of truth. There are those within the Christian community who have arrogated to themselves the delusional mission of being the saviors of Christianity, and, so, they believe, the saviors of the world. There are those within the Jewish community who have arrogated to themselves the delusional mission of being the saviors of Judaism and, so, they believe, the redeemers of all humankind.

God does not need such saviors. God has the whole thing under control … even if we don’t think so. Things will take place and events in this world will end nowhere but in accordance with Divine edict.

The reason why I refer to the messianic fervor which influences so much of the behavior of certain theological elements within the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities as being delusional is because, among other things, all of the people to whom I am alluding seem to be of the opinion that they are greater than every one of the Prophets who make up the Abrahamic tradition. Such people are deluded because they believe that they can accomplish what no Prophet was ever able to accomplish … namely, the redemption of the world and all humankind.

During the time of the Prophets, some of the people, by the Grace of God, believed in the sacred, spiritual nature and purpose of existence, and some did not. Yet, if all of humankind were destined to realize their essential identity and unique spiritual capacity, then this would have happened in the time of the Prophets but it did not happen then, it is definitely not happening now, nor do I believe this will happen in the future.

Yes, God willing, the Messiah will come and, yes, God willing, Jesus (peace be upon him) will come a second time. And perhaps, who knows, Jesus (peace be upon him) and the Messiah (peace be upon him) may turn out to be identical with one another.
For those who have ears with which to hear, and eyes with which to see, and a heart through which to know, there shall be, God willing, great blessings. But, this will be brought about through Divine generosity and not through the oppression and killing of other people by those who have grandiose, arrogant, self-serving flights of self-delusion about their place in the scheme of the universe.

Indeed, oppression is so odious to God that the Qur’an indicates it is worst than killing [Qur’an 2:191, 2:217] However, one might never know this by looking at the Muslim world and within which many Muslims oppress one another, as well as others, in a variety of ways.

All of the deluded individuals (that is certain of the Muslims, Christians, and Jews who are being alluded to) are secretly and openly plotting, planning, fighting, quarreling, manipulating, exploiting, abusing, and maneuvering to bring about the final reckoning – to bring about Armageddon so that their delusion might become everyone else’s nightmare. Apparently, all such people believe that fighting and killing are the only way in which Divine purposes can be achieved.

Why is it that so many people are willing to trust God when killing is their method of choice to bring about so-called just ends, yet, they do not seem to be willing to trust God and use peaceful means to realize such just ends?

Albert Bandura, a psychologist, once indicated that people usually do not engage in harmful conduct until they have justified the alleged morality of their actions to themselves. This is what all too many Muslims, Christians, and Jewish individuals have done … convinced themselves that harmful conduct toward others has been sanctioned by Divinity … convinced themselves that God has sanctioned the declaring of war on anyone who does not think, act, pray, dress, speak, believe, worship, or live as they do.

This is all the legacy of Babel. This is the legacy of the wrong choices, the wrong intentions, the wrong methods, and the wrong forms of creative inspiration which are the signatures of the Babel event. We continue to live out our version of the Babel myth in the most modern and most destructive of ways.

If you dislike the idea of insanity being the governing principle at work in much of what goes on in the world today, then I have another -- possibly even more sobering -- idea to put before you. A fair amount of psychological research indicates that 1 in every 25 people has sociopathic inclinations.

These individuals are scattered across every strata of society and every kind of occupation … from the poorest to the richest, and from the business world, to military, educational, governmental, and religious institutions. These are people who, among other things, are indifferent to the suffering which their actions cause for others and who camouflage their conscienceless motivations with political, philosophical, economic, and/or religious rhetoric.

What is even more disturbing is that as experiments like those of Stanley Milgrim at Yale back in the 1960s and early 70s have shown is that a great many of the general population can, under the right circumstances, be induced into becoming what I term ‘ideological’ or theological sociopaths. These are people who are willing to inflict a great deal of harm and suffering on others because the former individuals have been unduly influenced (by other individuals, groups, religious leaders, the media, or government officials) to believe that the damage or pain which is being inflicted is okay … that it allegedly serves some ‘higher’ purpose and, therefore, is supposedly justified.

More than seventy years ago, W.B. Yeats, the Irish poet, once wrote, in reference to the sort of circumstances in which we find ourselves to day, that:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned,
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

-----------------------

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said:

“There are 71 sects among the Jews, and only one of them is correct. There are 72 sects among the Christians and only one of them is correct. There are 73 sects among the Muslims, and only one of them is correct.

At the heart of the Abrahamic Prophetic tradition, there are those Jews, Christians, and Muslims who give expression to a set of choices, intentions, methods, and use of creative imagination that reflects Divine guidance and purposes. Ah, but who are those blessed people?

It is said that there are four kinds of individuals. Those who know and know that they know. These are the Prophets and saints, and one should follow them. Then, there are those who know but don’t know that they know. These people are asleep and need to be awakened. Then, there are those who don’t know and know they don’t know. These people are capable of learning and, therefore, should be taught. Finally, there are those who don’t know and don’t know that they don’t know. These are the ignorant, and one should stay away from them.

The truth of the matter is that within each of us reside these same four kinds of individuals. There is a part of us which knows and knows that it knows, and, God willing, it gives expression to the very best of our spirits, hearts, and souls. There is also a part of us which knows but needs to be woken up because that part of us is asleep to the truth of things even though we have the capacity to know the truth. As well, there is a part of us which knows that we do not know, and, consequently, we have a desire to seek and learn the truth. And, finally, there is a part of us which does not know and doesn’t know that it doesn’t know, and this is the ignorance and darkness of our egos.

The problem is that when we are ignorant we often have delusions of grandeur and believe that our ignorance is the part of us which knows and knows that it knows, when, in reality, it is the part of us which does not know and doesn’t know that it doesn’t know. This is the mode of “being full of passionate intensity” which marks the worst of us and against which Yeats warned us in his poem.

When we are unduly influenced by this aspect of ourselves, we are so certain and convinced that we are right, we are prepared to insist that everyone see and do things our way. In such a condition, we are prepared to impose our solutions for life and death on others. We are prepared to sacrifice others on the altar of our own sense of self-righteousness.

The Qur’an warns about such wrongheaded, wrong-hearted, and wrong-spirited conviction when it says: “Shall we tell you who will be the greatest losers in their works? It is those whose striving goes astray in the present life while they believe they are working good deeds.” [18:104]

So, who are the ones among the Jewish, Christian and Muslim peoples to whom the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was alluding in the previously cited hadith concerning those who are correct

In the Qur’an, Surah Shams begins with the following:

By the Sun and his brightness,
And, by the moon when she follows him,
And by the Day when it reveals him,
And by the Night when it enshrouds him,
And by the heaven and He Who built it,
And by the earth and he Who spread it,
And by the soul and Him Who perfected it,
And inspired it with knowledge of lewdness and Godfearing.
He is indeed successful who causes the soul to grow,
And he is indeed a failure who stunts its growth. (Qur’an 91:1-10]

My spiritual guide taught me that the rhetorical style of the Qur’an is such that whenever God wishes to draw attention to the importance of something, an oath is used … such as ‘by the moon’, or ‘by the sun’, or ‘’by the heavens’ or ‘by the earth’ and so on. Nowhere else in the Qur’an does one find as many oaths heaped on one another as one does in the opening verses of Surah Shams.

So, to what is God seeking to direct our attention to that is of such importance God is directing our attention to the choice with which we all are faced – namely, between being among those who devote themselves to the spiritual growth of the soul and, God willing, succeed, or being among those who are the ones who obstruct the spiritual growth of the soul and, as a result, fail in life’s purpose.

Who are the ones among the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim peoples who, God willing, have found the right way? Well, the following list of qualities is by no means definitive, but it offers up some spiritual food for thought:

The ones to whom the Prophet is referring are the ones who, in accordance with Surah Shams spend their lives purifying their own souls rather than trying to purify the souls of others.

They are the ones who, in accordance with the Qur’an know that “ritual worship preserves one from lewdness and iniquity, but, verily, remembrance of God is more important.” [29:45]

They are the ones who, in accordance with the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) -- and in accordance with what has been the teaching of all of the Abrahamic Prophets – are likely to agree with the reply of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he was asked about what actions are most excellent and is reported to have said:

-- “to gladden the heart of a human being;
-- to feed the hungry;
-- to help the afflicted;
-- to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful;
-- to remove the wrong of the injured.”

The correct ones among the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities are the individuals who know, and act upon such knowledge, that they must die before they die … not kill before they die.

In this regard, one might note the instance in which a fellow Sufi once was talking with Ra’bia of Basra (may God be pleased with her) on a hillside overlooking the city and the man pointed to the town below and said in a somewhat condescending tone that the people of the city often did not fast or pray or go on hajj, but the man quite proudly indicated how he had done so many extra fasts, prayers, and pilgrimages … above and beyond what was required of him. The man was about to go on when Ra’bia (may God be pleased with her) gave the man a hard look and said: “Thy existence is a sin with which none other can compare.” – it is the death of the existence of the ego which is to be sought before we die our biological death, and when we kill others we rob them of the opportunity to do this.

The ones to whom the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was referring are the ones who are likely to agree with the Qur’an when it says: “Say: Surely my prayer and my service of sacrifice … my life and my death are all for God, the Lord of the Worlds.” [6: 162] There is nothing in this about killing others.

The ones to whom the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is referring are the ones who are likely to agree with Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) when he said: “Realization of our inability to attain comprehension of God is itself comprehension.” These are the people about whom Yeats said that the best were those who lacked conviction because they know that reality and the whole truth are beyond the capacity of any single individual to circumscribe, and, as a result, they had great humility when it came to the truth and who realized that above every person of knowledge there is One who possesses still greater knowledge [Qur’an 12:76].

The correct ones among the Jewish, Christians, and Muslims peoples to whom the Prophet alluded are the ones who are likely to follow the guidance of the Qur’an which says: “So follow the Deen [the way] of Abraham, the upright. He was not of the idolaters. [3:95]

The correct ones to whom the Prophet alluded are the ones who understand and who act in accordance with what the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) meant when the Prophet is reported to have said: “This world is maintained in existence by illusion.” And when the Prophet is reported to have said: “Assist any person who is oppressed, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.” And when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “Your most hostile enemy is your soul enclosed between your two sides.” And when the Prophet is reported to have said: “Kindness is a mark of faith and whoever has not kindness has not faith.” And when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “You will not enter Paradise until you have faith, and you will not complete your faith until you love one another.” And, when the Prophet is reported to have said: “There is no person who is wounded and pardons the giver of the wound but God will exalt that person’s dignity and diminish that person’s faults.”

The ones among the Jewish, Christian and Muslim peoples to whom the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is alluding in the previously cited saying of the Prophet are those who would find resonance with the prayer of Ra’bia of Basra (may God be pleased with her): “O Allah, if I worship Thee out of desire for heaven, then, deny me heaven, and if I worship Thee out of fear of Hell, then throw me in Hell, but if I worship Thee out of love for Thee and Thee alone, then, grant me Thy vision.”

The Qur’an says: “Allah does not change the condition of a people, until they change their own condition.” [13:11] The insanity of our choices, intentions, methodologies, problematic use of creative imagination, and the consequences ensuing from such pathology will not change until we begin to struggle toward changing our own spiritual condition.

The problems of the world will not change as long as our energies and efforts are mostly directed toward trying to change others through violent, oppressive, or presumptuous methods. The problems of the world will change from insanity to sanity when, God willing, we begin to work to change ourselves.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) often stressed the importance of character. For example, he is reported to have said all of the following:

-- “The best thing on the Day of Judgment will be a beautiful character.”

-- “The most perfect of the faithful in faith is the most beautiful of them in character.”

-- “I have been given all the names, and I have been sent to perfect good conduct/behavior/character.”

The individuals among the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim peoples who focus on the acquisition of character or akhlaq are among those who, God willing, are on the right path.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also is reported to have said: “Shall I not inform you of a better act than fasting, charity and prayer? Making peace between one another – enmity and malice tear up heavenly rewards by the roots.”

Making peace is considered to be better than fasting, charity and prayer … three of the five pillars of Islam.

If and when we follow such guidance, then, God willing, we may, finally, free ourselves from the legacy of Babel. When we learn to listen to the spiritual – and not theological -- voice through which God is addressing our souls, hearts, and spirits – our essential identity – then, and only then, will the confusion brought into our lives by the din of egos all trying to speak over one another begin to subside and we will be able to join one another in a peace quest … I do not know if we will ever reach such a propitious moment, but our fate lies in our respective willingness to change ourselves and not try to change others.

Such a peace-quest can only be pursued when we are ready to enter into a monologue with God … where Divinity speaks to us, and we listen with our souls, hearts, and spirits such that we all become united in one voice … that of God.

In closing I would like to refer to an anecdote involving Enrico Fermi, one of the great physicists of the twentieth century who is reported to have said: “Before hearing your lecture on this subject, I was confused. Now having heard you, I am still confused, but on a higher level.” I hope that perhaps having listened to me, that, at the very least, if you are still confused about things, then, God willing, I hope you are confused on a higher level.

Sufi Reflections Podcast No. 20

Download: SufiReflections20

New Blog - The Essence of Democracy

As we all know, there are many issues swirling about the idea of democracy. A new blog has been created entitled The Essence of Democracy which seeks to explore these issues and problems. However, this new blog seeks to creatively consider some possible solutions as well. It is a fairly lengthy first entry, but I believe if one reads the initial blog posting in its entirety, the reader may find it to be a rewarding experience and a source of hope for the future. I invite you to read the material and post your comments.

Anab

Gardens

Gardens, both wild and cultivated, appear to have an attraction of near universal proportions for human beings. Different races, ethnic groups, nationalities, religious traditions, and eras all have been drawn to gardens.

One might wonder why this should be the case. Why do gardens appeal to us in such a deeply satisfying manner?To be sure, the flowers, shrubs, trees, grass and so on, have both individual, as well as collective, beauty. In addition, the diversity of shapes is intriguing, and the endless combination of flora arrangements is fascinating. Moreover, everything contributes to the wonderful bouquet of aromas which vary in character throughout the day and night.Toss in the mystery of the unfolding of life going on in the garden, and one might suppose all of the foregoing explains why most people are inclined to gardens.

The answer, however, may run deeper still.We find gardens peaceful and restful. Gardens seem to induce us to reflect on life. We find varying degrees of contentment and joy from gardens.We come away from gardens refreshed. There appears to be some kind of energy or source of renewal which we take away with us from gardens.There is almost a timeless quality to gardens. Things do change, but, somehow, time often seems to be suspended. The rest of the world recedes.Our senses are somewhat intoxicated from the effects of the garden. Our minds are massaged.

Gardens tug at our hearts and emotions. Every aspect of our being seems to be connected to, and affected by, gardens.We are captivated by the balance and harmony in gardens. Thoughts and remembrance of God tend to arise naturally in the context of gardens.Sufi masters indicate physical gardens are only one variety in a spectrum of infinite diversity.

In fact, the gardens of the physical world are but a distant reflection of the gardens associated with spiritual possibilities.Whatever contentment, peace, joy, happiness, rest, refreshment, wonder, beauty, fascination, intoxication and satisfaction we may receive from physical gardens is virtually nothing compared to what can be experienced in different kinds of spiritual garden.Indeed, on the basis of experience and not theoretical speculation, the Sufi masters note there is no way to describe the intensity, depth, richness, subtlety and diversity inherent in spiritual gardens. At best, one only can allude, in a very limited way, to a few superficial dimensions of the experiences involving non-physical gardens.

Our senses, mind , heart and soul are drawn to gardens because their many qualities strike a resonance deep within our being. For people of insight and understanding, such as the Sufi masters, the qualities of the gardens of the physical world are but a sign of the existence of other non-physical gardens which have garden-like qualities capable of reaching even further into the possibilities of our essential being.

The meaning of "garden-like qualities" in the foregoing refers to the capacity of non-physical gardens to generate, albeit on a much grander scale of both majesty and beauty, a sense of peace, joy, refreshment, contentment and so on, just as physical gardens do. However, the ultimate character of these non-physical gardens may not have anything in common with the structural forms given expression through physical gardens. In fact, some spiritual gardens are without any form, per se, whatsoever, yet induce in us extremely intense experiences which are somewhat analogous - in a distant sort of way - to those experiences engendered in us in physical gardens.

One does not necessarily have to leave the physical plane in order to get some semblance of taste of a non-physical garden. For example, in the garden of association with one's spiritual guide, one experiences garden-like qualities.When one is with one's shaykh or teacher, one feels at peace. One is happy, joyful, restful. One discovers a contentment in the presence of one's spiritual guide.Time almost seems to be suspended. The rest of the world becomes relatively unimportant.Life seems to have more balance and harmony while in the company of one's teacher. One finds thoughts of God and remembrance of God come more easily in the presence of the shaykh than when one is removed from the teacher. One is more given to spiritual reflection when associating with one's spiritual guide.One is drawn to the inner beauty of one's shaykh. One keeps discovering new facets of wonder and fascination in her or him.One can become extremely intoxicated or ecstatic in the presence of the teacher. One comes away from the spiritual guide refreshed and invigorated. One longs to return to the garden of spiritual association as quickly as possible.

Sufi masters refer to many other kinds of garden. There are, for instance, gardens of remembrance which are accessed through saying, and becoming absorbed in, the Names and Attributes of God.

When, by the grace of God, one is summoned into the reality of these Names and Attributes, as well as opened up to their infinite meanings of overwhelming beauty and majesty, one is transported to gardens unlike any in the physical realm. One is given entrance to gardens beyond all description.There are gardens of forgetfulness in which one is released from the veils of the false self. There are gardens of subsistence in God when one's true, essential self is realized.

There are gardens of gnosis. In these gardens, one has direct, certain, unmediated knowledge of God. In these gardens, God discloses different dimensions or facets of Divinity.There are gardens for every spiritual station. There are gardens of repentance and longing. There are gardens of dependence on God. There are gardens of gratitude, patience and sincerity.

One travels, if God wishes, from gardens of friendship to gardens of exclusive friendship. By the grace of Divinity, one is transported from gardens of passion to gardens of ardent affection.There are gardens of intense love in which the spirit soars in flights of intimacy with Divinity. During such flights, one becomes both enslaved and bewildered by the infinite beauty of the face of the Beloved manifested through these gardens.There are gardens of uniqueness. If God wishes, one is opened up to the mystery which is breathed into one's essential nature by Divinity at the advent of Self-realization.

There are countless other gardens. No two gardens are the same.No two spiritual gardens give the same kind of joy and happiness. No two gardens give the same modality of contentment, peace and satisfaction.No two gardens disclose the same Divine colors. No two gardens share the same wonder and beauty.No two spiritual gardens bring the same flavor of ecstasy. No two gardens show the same kind of breathtaking balance, symmetry and harmony.

The point of embarkation for the possibility of journeying to any and all of the aforementioned gardens is, God willing, in the garden of spiritual association with the shaykh. Without this association and the grace and barakah, or blessings, of Divinity to which it gives expression, the nearest one will come to a first-hand experience of any of these other gardens is a spiritual travelogue such as the one being itemized in this essay.

Detachment from a Sufi Perspective

Indifference is not a synonym for mystical detachment. The individual who, by the grace of God, has acquired the quality of detachment is not above it all, but very much in it all.The secret lies not just in how one is in it all. The secret also concerns the nature of that which one is all in.

One cannot be detached, in the Sufi sense of the word, without submitting to the will of God. Detachment means to become disengaged from one's own will and to become a locus of manifestation for the will of God. In fact, the process of becoming detached from one's own will is an expression of becoming attached to the will of God.

As long as we prefer our own perspective to God's will, we cannot achieve detachment. As long as we persist in being entangled in our desires, moods, and attitudes, we are not free to align ourselves with the will of God. To the extent we insist on pursuing the gratifications generated by the dialectic of ego, body, and the world, we will be separated from the condition of detachment.

Upon hearing about the idea of mystical detachment, many people react negatively and wonder how, for instance, a detached person can be loving and compassionate. Detachment sounds so cold and uncaring.

In reality, we cannot be truly loving and compassionate until we are oriented toward everything by means of detachment. The attachments, preoccupations and entanglements of our egos prevent us from being loving and compassionate human beings. Like the destructive form of cholesterol, ego and worldly attachments cling to the walls of our spiritual arteries and block the passage of the flow of love and compassion.

In ways reminiscent of medical practitioners, Sufi masters tell us to refrain, as much as we can, from a steady diet of the attachments of the ego because of their injurious effects on our spiritual system. Nonetheless, we continue to consume all the worldly things which are harmful to us.

One cannot be suffering from the spiritual counterpart to arteriosclerosis and, yet, be free from the symptoms of the disease. One experiences a pain and discomfort in the heart which spreads to other parts of one's being. The heart becomes dysfunctional in a variety of ways. One has difficulty breathing in the joy and beauty of life. There is a general lassitude and drop in spiritual energy levels. One becomes more sensitive to, and less able to constructively deal with, stress and strain. One feels a sense of existential malaise.

Someone who is caught up in the throes of the disease process tends to withdraw, to varying degrees, from the activities going on around one. One might like to show compassion for, or help, others, but due to one's disabled condition, one is not in a spiritual position to do so.

When the heart has been cleansed of attachment to other than God, the heart becomes a fountain of love and compassion which is offered freely to all of creation. The love and compassion of the heart of detachment is inherently generous and active and dynamic. The heart of detachment gives expression to part of the spiritual legacy of the human being. Such a heart is operating in accordance with the specifications called for by the Divine blueprints. The heart of detachment is charismatic and magnetic. It has an appeal which is extremely attractive to almost everyone coming into proximity with its radiating sphere of influence. Consequently, we tend to want to attach ourselves to the people of mystical detachment.

Detachment is like an inertial guidance system. No matter what the nature of the potentially disruptive forces are which are acting on the individual, the person of detachment always stays on course. Whatever adjustments need to be made to counter the effects of such forces are implemented.The person of detachment locks on to the will of God and does not permit any other kind of guidance to take priority in his or her journey.

However, this process of locking-on does not imply rigidity, inflexibility, or fanaticism of any kind.

All too frequently, when we believe we are locking-on to the will of God, we are merely tuning into the noise of our own likes and dislikes. In our confusion we sometimes become unyielding in our approach to things as we operate under the mistaken belief we are doing God's will when, in fact, we only are doing our own will.

Although the will of God permits many things to transpire in the affairs of human beings, some of our intentions and motivations are more consonant with the spirit and essence of Divine will than are other instances of our intentions and motivations. Compassion, love, kindness, generosity, forgiveness, co-operation, peace, justice, tolerance, mercy, nobility, fairness, and patience are but a few of the qualities close to the heart, so to speak, of God's will.

An individual who, by the grace of God, is cloaked in the above mentioned attributes, is someone through whom the will of God can be manifested in a way which is capable of benefiting humanity and all of creation. Someone who is cloaked in such qualities tends not to be inflexible or rigid or fanatical. Instead, this individual tends to operate creatively and aesthetically through a set of permissible degrees of freedom which allow accommodations to be made without compromising the person's submission to the will of God.

The gateway to becoming adorned in these kinds of quality is detachment. Until one has cast off the garments of the ego, one will not be allowed into the Divine fitting room.

Detachment permits one to focus on the essential in all circumstances. Detachment removes one from the distractions of the ego and the world. Detachment fortifies one against the onslaught of forces seeking to corrupt intention and motivation. Detachment allows one to distinguish between the true self and the false self. Detachment provides the understanding and freedom through which to recognize, and do, the will of God in a way that is pleasing to God.

How Fraudulent Shaykhs can Abuse Legitimate Principles of Spiritual Guidance (Part 2, continued from yesterday's post)

I'll just touch, in passing, upon the sixth rule of Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him).

6. Compassion for the weak.

For a fraudulent teacher to fake compassion for the weak and for anyone else is really child's play. Spencer Tracy (an academy-award winning actor from the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s) once said that the key to becoming a good actor is to learn how to fake sincerity -- when an actor can do this, he or she has got it made, and false teachers become very adept at faking sincerity, compassion, generosity, honesty, and a lot of other qualities as well.

Shaykh Suhrawardi's (May Allah be pleased with him) seventh rule for shaykhs is:

7. The purifying of speech.

Spiritually purified individuals do speak from the heart and because their hearts are uncontaminated with the machinations of nafs or ego, the purity is reflected in their speech. There are all kinds of predators in nature who imitate what is considered by some other species to be 'tasty', safe, or innocuous, in order to make breakfast, lunch, supper or a snack from the unsuspecting 'victim'. Among human beings, sociopaths are extremely adept at imitating the surface features of emotion, etiquette, and socially approved behaviors, in order to set up a situation which will be to their advantage. The serial killer Ted Bundy was an extremely charming, polite, 'considerate', friendly person right up to the time he raped and killed his victims. Parents who sexually or physically abuse their children are often considered to be upright and moral people by the rest of the community. They are often thought of being moral exemplars by everyone outside of their families. How do they do this? Well, among other things, they have nice ways of talking, and they use all the right code words for: love, goodness, truth, honesty, kindness, and so on, but, the problem is, there is no reality behind what they say when it comes to their children. Spiritual frauds are experts in knowing what linguistic and verbal buttons to push in order to program people they meet to believe that the former are good, decent individuals.

Spiritual frauds are artists in getting people to feel guilty or ashamed for harboring even the least kind of negative suspicion concerning the actual motives of the alleged 'teacher'. While most of us try to say what we mean and mean what we say, the spiritual fraud takes this general principle of behavior and induces us to believe that he or she operates according to the precise same principle, when, in fact, something other is the case. Spiritual frauds rarely say what they mean or mean what they say, and in our desire to think the best of people who carry the label 'spiritual' we are reluctant to suppose otherwise.

8. Exalting the heart to God in the state of speech.

Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Baker, Jim Jones were constantly exalting the heart to God in the state of speech, but, the problem was that this did not carry over, or transfer, very well to the sphere of action. Satan loves God and can talk with the best of them in the language of exalting the heart to God in the state of speech, but it is meaningless, for the nature of the heart is such that it can be influenced by both the nafs/world and the realm of spirit -- and, depending on what is controlling the heart, exalting the heart to God in the state of speech can have very different meanings and ramifications. Niyat or intention is extremely important, and if niyat is not purified, then, no matter how wonderful the exalting sounds, the heart which is under the influence of the darkness of nafs, or dunya, or Satan or unbelievers, tends to create disharmony and destruction, not harmony and constructive acts and words.

A woman once approached the Prophet (peace be upon him) with her child in tow and asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to educate the child not to eat so many sweets. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked the woman if she could return with her child the next day and the lesson would take place at that time. The woman did as she was asked and went away. The next day she returned with her child ready for the lesson. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sat with the boy and told him that he shouldn't eat so many sweets. The mother was perplexed and inquired why the boy couldn't have been told the same thing yesterday. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied that yesterday when they had come to him, he was eating a date, and did not wish to counsel the boy not to eat sweets while he was doing precisely the thing that the boy was being instructed not to do. For the Prophet, the state of speech matched the condition of his heart, and this is one of the reasons why people's condition changed, by the Grace of Allah, when in his presence -- because of this concordant harmony between what he said and what was in his heart.

Unfortunately, for those who are false teachers, the situation is precisely the reverse, and although their speech may wax eloquent as if the reflection of a heart which was engaged in the exaltation of God, in truth, something quite different is going on there, and over time people's spiritual condition is also affected by this state of affairs but in a very different direction and in a quite different manner than occurred in relation to the Prophet (peace be upon him). God knows what is going on in the heart of a human being. But we do not. God knows who the true, authentic servants are whose hearts are exalting God in their state of speech. But we do not always know even though the speech may appear to be noble and exalting in nature ... for, an outward appearance which is not rooted in an inner reality cannot be of any substantial spiritual assistance although from the external point of view things may seem otherwise.

9. Speaking ambiguously.

When in the student the shaykh sees something detestable and wishes to admonish him, so he may strive to remove it. The shaykh should cast it before the assembly ambiguously.

The spiritual himma or aspiration of a true teacher is such that they can focus that himma on the individual within the group for whom a teaching or story my be intended and ensure that the message is received and felt by the intended recipient. However, there is a tendency within most of us to suppose that, in one way or another, everything which is said by the teacher is applicable to us, whether it is or not.

Sometimes seekers become so hypervigilant when it comes to the teachings of the spiritual guide that they see themselves in everything the teacher says -- especially when it comes to faults, weaknesses, sins, errors, blunders, and so on.

Spiritual frauds know this, and by speaking ambiguously, they induce most of the people in the group to begin to seek to change in whatever way is being hinted at in order to please the false teacher, and the seekers assume that the indicated changes are part of the spiritual path when, in truth, the changes are according to whatever agenda the false teacher may be promoting. A great deal of mental and emotional programming of seekers goes on in this way during the public sessions which are held by a sham spiritual guide.

10. Preserving the mysteries of the student.

Fraudulent teachers can fulfill this condition in their sleep since they don't know what the mysteries of the students are to begin with, and, therefore, they have nothing to divulge. Moreover, whatever experiences may be undergone by a seeker -- be they good, bad or indifferent -- can be re-framed by a false teacher into something which either 'shows' that the teacher is 'authentic' (in other words, the argument is this: if an experience appears to have been positive, good, constructive, pleasant, or the like, then, in order for such a 'good' experience to have been possible, the teacher must be authentic -- or, alternatively, if the experience was negative, bad, difficult, and problematic, then, surely, the behavior of the seeker is at fault, and the experience has been a warning for the seeker to change his or her ways to better resonate with the teachings of the guide. In addition, a false teacher could take the above rule of Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him) and use it as a tool to lend obscurity to the situation. By claiming that a true spiritual guide is under a duty to 'preserve the mysteries of the student', then, the false guide can always indicate that although he or she 'knows' what the spiritual condition of a seeker is, adab or spiritual etiquette forbids the so-called teacher to talk about it.

11. Pardoning the students blunders.

Although tolerance, forbearance and forgiveness are all admirable qualities, nonetheless, if a false teacher doesn't really care what a seeker does as long as the seeker does not upset the teacher's own self-serving agenda, then, it is easy for such a person to pardon any and all acts -- and, in fact, a false teacher can use this as a technique to gradually program the student to do whatever the teacher wants because the student is so grateful to have found someone who accepts them as they are -- warts and all -- that they are prepared to do almost anything for such an individual -- not seeming to realize there is a difference between being accepted by someone for what one is, and being used in certain ways because the individual's weaknesses are of value to the false teacher's master plan. Some false spiritual teachers even make use of the 'weaknesses' of some of their students and get the latter to serve as pimps for the teacher by instructing such students to seduce people and, then, bring the ones so seduced to the teacher for further disposition. Some false guides even get such individuals to troll the Internet looking for those who are psychologically vulnerable and likely to succumb to emotional assaults which are designed to exploit those vulnerabilities.

12. Descending from his own right

While in an authentic teacher, this quality of foregoing his or her own rights is a sign of integrity and nobility, false teachers frequently will reframe issues to give the impression that things in which they are not interested to begin with are rights that they are foregoing out of the strength of character. There is no virtue involved when people sacrifice that in which they have no investment or to which they have no right in the first place. Furthermore, among authentic guides, there would never be any talk about rights which are foregone. Such matters almost always are handled discretely and privately so that no one else would know either that such a right existed or that the individual declined to exercise such a right due to some higher purpose or commitment -- such as love for Allah, the Prophetic tradition, the saints, the truth, justice, and so on. On the other hand, oftentimes in the case of false teachers, staged 'leaks' are organized so that others come to learn about the 'magnanimity' of character being allegedly being exhibited by the false teacher. The leaks are staged so that the teacher doesn't appear to be tooting his or her own horn, when, in fact, this is what is actually going on.

13. The allowing of the student's rights.

Many people will gladly give up all their rights if they believe they will get peace, truth, knowledge, love, happiness, and self-realization in exchange. Little by little, a person can be manipulated into freely handing over every spiritual right which she or he has because that individual has been led to believe that one will get in return, things which are considered to be much more important than such individual rights. After all, if Rule 12 noted above, indicates that a true teacher is someone who 'descends from his or her own rights', then, by emulating this rule, the student believes that he or she is on the path to having the interior spiritual states which the teacher is assumed to have, and in the interim, all of the student's rights have been given, freely, to the teacher ... the teacher hasn't had to ask for anything or lift a finger -- the student has done it all on her or his own.

14. The distributing of times in respect to Khivlat ( retirement).

Some false teachers claim that their spiritual work was completed years before and that all of their current efforts are dedicated to sharing the knowledge derived through such rigorous practices with the seekers after truth. Such teachers suggest that the first part of their life was devoted to practices such as seclusion, and, now, they are on a journey of return from the spiritual heights and have come back to the lowliness of the world to be with people and through detachment and service they continue to practice their seclusion in the midst of life. The return is described as a great sacrifice and service since they are depriving themselves of being totally immersed in the ways of mystical ecstasy in order to help ordinary people. Oftentimes, the only thing false teachers are in 'retirement' from is authentic spirituality. They are in seclusion, all right, but it is seclusion from the truth of spirituality, and if a seeker does not know what the nature of mystical truth is, then, such individuals become vulnerable to almost any story a false teacher wishes to say about any aspect of spirituality.

15. Increasing of the works of supererogation.

In order not to attract attention, an authentic teacher often will do all their acts of supererogation in private so that the left hand (the nafs and its desire for the praise of others) does not know what the right hand (the spirit) is doing. But, in the case of a false teacher, there are no such private acts because a false teacher has no desire to seek God's favor or blessings -- whether in private or in public. I once knew a so-called teacher who would explain how no one would ever witness anyone saying prayers or doing zikr (remembrance) in his house because all acts of supererogation were done in private so as to avoid tempting the nafs to seek to be well thought of in the eyes of others. The real intent of this proclamation, however, was to misdirect people away from the disparity between the talk about prayer and remembrance and the lack of actual practice with respect to these activities. And, thus, lying about such things was made to appear to be a noble and humble attempt to preserve the sincerity of supererogatory acts which never took place.

The rule about increasing supererogatory acts is a good one. Yet, just as all of the other rules cited by Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him) could be corrupted and reframed from the perspective of counterfeit spirituality, so, too, can this last rule for identifying the qualities of a true shaykh be exploited by those who, for whatever purposes, are intent on misleading others.

The bottom line on all of the foregoing is not to try to suggest that mysticism is an impossible path or that there are no authentic spiritual guides. In fact, coming to such a conclusion is one of the most destructive possibilities inherent in spiritual abuse ... for, a very natural tendency is that once one has been spiritually abused, one wishes to give up the quest because of the terrible pain and sense of betrayal one feels as a result of such spiritual abuse. Unfortunately, it is far too easy for some people to counterfeit what is authentic and debase the spiritual currency in the process, poisoning others in the process.In truth, spirituality is a pursuit that, in some ways, is really no different than any other -- we learn from our experiences and from the mistakes which have been, and once these mistakes have been made, recognized, and repented of, then, we push on ... a little wiser than we were before, and, hopefully, prepared to be a little more cautious about jumping too quickly toward possible spiritual opportunities than previously may have been the case. The only thing worse than making mistakes is not learning from them.

The more distant from the time of the Prophet we become, the more careful we must be with respect to the mystical path because there any many occult and satanic forces operative today which seek to mislead us and destroy our thirst for true spirituality, and there are, unfortunately, a diminishing number of authentic shaykhs in the world through whom to receive assistance. Consequently, all too frequently, finding counterfeit forms of spirituality these days is a lot easier than locating authentic forms of mysticism tends to be.

How Fraudulent Shaykhs can Abuse Legitimate Principles of Spiritual Guidance (Part 1)

Sometimes, when the issues of fraudulent shaykhs or spiritual charlatans arise, a person listening may remark that, down through the ages, various authentic shaykhs have listed and discussed a number of indications which can be used for differentiating between a legitimate spiritual guide and a fraudulent one. For instance, some of these individuals make reference to the exemplary work of Hazrat Suhrawardi (may Allah be pleased with him) and the 15 rules governing the conduct of a shaykh which might be used in this context for identifying authentic teachers.

There are some problems which surface, however –– at least, potentially –– in conjunction with the 15 rules that are cited ... problems which indicate that the difficulties surrounding the recognition and choosing of a spiritual teacher can be fairly complicated and not at all straightforward. Nevertheless, none of what follows should be construed as a criticism of Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him), since the material he provided was really not intended to deal with the cleverness or duplicity of spiritual charlatans and the manner in which such individuals often alter the teachings of the great shaykhs to accommodate the needs of a false teacher.

For example, let’s examine the first rule put forth by Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him).

1. The purifying of resolution and the searching for the cause.

He should seek out of himself that the cause not be the desire of precedence, the desire of being a shaykh, or the desire of being followed.

While it is true that someone who is a shaykh should not have a desire to be a shaykh, or to be followed, or to have any wish for precedence in the eyes of either the would-be guide or others, let me ask a question: If I am looking for a spiritual guide, how do I know what is in the heart or intention of another human being? Yes, I can spend time listening to what is said, as well as watching behavior and trying to determine if I can detect any trace of the foregoing desires in the man or woman I am considering, but if the person I am thinking of taking initiation with is clever –– and many of the spiritual frauds and charlatans who are out there are very clever and they know the game inside and out -- then, two things are likely to be the case. First, what the sociologist Irving Goffman referred to as ‘front room’ behavior (to distinguish it from how people behaved when they were in ‘back rooms’, out of people’s sight), is likely to appear exemplary. Indeed, the whole advantage that a counterfeiter has is that she or he knows –– from either reading or personal experience –– what the object being imitated (in this case, a spiritual teacher) is supposed to look like. The spiritual fraud knows, for example, that a true shaykh or teacher is supposed to be, among other things, humble, kind, generous, compassionate, loving, considerate, thoughtful, ethical, and so on. Consequently, the ‘front room’ or public arena in which people meet the counterfeit shaykh are often carefully managed and staged to generate exactly this kind of impression in the minds and hearts of unsuspecting individuals.

Secondly, many people who are seeking spiritual guidance will never get a whole lot of time, under a variety of circumstances and settings, to be able to form any kind of informed judgment about what the actual state of desire in a spiritual teaching candidate may be. A seeker’s exposure to an alleged spiritual guide tends to be very restricted, and, consequently, information about a so-called teacher tends to be managed under highly controlled circumstances.

Someone, who was being asked for advice, once asked the advice-seeker who was trying to decide whether to become involved, in some way, with another individual if the man (that is, the advice-seeker) had either been on a journey with the other individual or had any business dealings with that person. The question was asked because such close contact often provides one with some reliable information about the character and temperament of a person under conditions which are not of a person’s choosing and over which they tend to have little control.

Prior to making a decision about whether, or not, to be initiated onto the Sufi path through a certain individual, 99.9999% of the people doing this know, in reality, almost nothing about the actual interior state of the person with whom they are taking initiation. To be sure, a person seeking initiation may have impressions or feelings which are positive in relation to the alleged spiritual guide based on such things as having read a book by the person, or having listened to talks by the individual, or having received the personal testimonies of other people whom one may know who also have had some exposure to the ‘teacher’, or having watched the ‘teacher’ interact with his or her followers, but all of this information is capable of being spun in any direction which an alleged teacher wishes to spin things. Politicians are managed in precisely the same way –– that is, things are done to create certain positive impressions and feelings in the minds and hearts of the electorate.

Let’s move on to the second rule noted by Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him)

2. The knowledge of Capacity.

The shaykh must regard the capacity of the student.

Again, there is nothing wrong with this rule. In order to be a good shaykh, a person does need to take into account what the spiritual capacity of a seeker is, and this is necessary for a variety of reasons. For example, the practices which are assigned to a given seeker should be aligned with what a person can handle, and what a person has the potential to handle is an expression of that individual’s spiritual capacity. If a shaykh does not take such things into consideration, a seeker is likely to encounter difficulties which could prove harmful to that individual’s spiritual well-being and growth. We do not grow out of our spiritual potential. Rather, we grow into our spiritual potential, and if an alleged teacher does not understand what that potential is, then, the spiritual instructions given will not be conducive to a healthy, constructive unfolding of the capacity which is present in a given seeker.

Nonetheless, having said this, there are still some problems surrounding this rule. To begin with, if a seeker knew what her or his spiritual capacity actually was, then, someone with that much understanding of one’s own spiritual condition likely would not be in need of spiritual guidance for such a person already would be in direct contact with that for which one steps onto the spiritual path to discover –– that is, the realization of one’s unique, essential spiritual capacity. Lack of knowledge is one of the things that sets us in motion to seek a teacher –– someone who, hopefully, knows what we do not, and someone who will be willing to share with us what she or he knows so that our lack of knowledge can be lessened to whatever extent we are capable of doing. So, when we try to select a teacher who will help us in this respect, we are looking for someone who, as Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him) points out, has a knowledge of the spiritual capacities of the seekers who come to him or her. But, knowing this rule doesn’t help a seeker one iota, because the seeker really doesn’t know what such knowledge looks like –– that is why he is called a ‘seeker’ rather than a ‘knower’.

A charlatan can say whatever she or he likes to in this regard, and the seeker won’t know the difference. All a sham-teacher has to do with respect to the issue of ‘capacity’ is have a gift of gab which enables the con-artist to throw things together in a way that sounds interesting, desirable, plausible, and mysterious, and many would-be seekers get hooked –– even when they know about this second rule of Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him), since knowing about this second rule provides an individual with absolutely no insight concerning what the issue of ‘spiritual capacity’ really entails. Seekers are trusting the teacher to know this. And, therefore, a seeker’s trust is either well-placed or misplaced depending on the actual spiritual authenticity of the individual in whom the trust is being invested.

Let’s take a look at the 3rd rule cited by Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him):

3. Being pure in respect of the students property.

The shaykh must show no greed for the property or service of the student.

Again, this is a perfectly sound rule. The spiritual integrity of a true teacher should be such that like greed have long since disappeared from the interior life of an authentic teacher. After all, one of the purposes of the mystical path is to undergo a process of transformation in which reprehensible properties such as greed become rehabilitated, so to speak, into useful allies rather than spiritual obstacles. For instance, the object of the focus of greed should be directed away from the ego and dunya (or our entanglements with the world) and become occupied with constructive purposes –– thus, the Qur’an describes the Prophet (peace be upon him) as being ‘greedy’ (Harith) for the spiritual welfare of his ummah or community.

Be this as it may, fraudulent spiritual guides are very adept at using a technique which is known as “reframing”. We are all familiar with the fact that how one frames a photograph or painting will determine what will be seen and what will not be seen in relation to that painting or picture. One can select frames which hide certain things (say, flaws in the original) as well as frames which tend to bring out certain colors or features of a painting or photograph. One also can select frames which dominate a painting or picture and take attention away from what should be the center of focus. In addition, one can choose frames which either complement a given painting or picture, and, therefore, leave one with a sense of harmony, or one can select frames which are discordant with the subject matter of a painting or photograph and create a sense of discord. The possibilities for reframing things in the context of human interaction are enormous and very complicated. Among other reasons, this is because we human beings have within us a great many weaknesses which are very vulnerable to being influenced by the manner in which things are presented to us –– quite independently of issues about the actual intrinsic value of what is being presented for consideration ... and smart sales professionals and advertisers have known this for centuries.

Yes, an authentic shaykh should show no greed for the property or service of a seeker. If I am a false spiritual guide and I wish to utilize this rule for my own self-serving purposes, what this rule says to me is this: as long as I don’t do anything which “shows” that I have greed for either the property and/or service of my followers, then, I can actually have greed for their property and/or service –– all I have to do is convince them that I don’t through the art of influence, manipulation, hypnotic suggestion, and reframing. For example, if a false teacher can induce someone to believe that, say, serving the teacher is good for the spiritual condition of a seeker, then, even without asking for service, the false teacher can command service because the whole situation has been reframed –– from one of greed for service on the part of the false teacher, to that of a seeker feeling that it is incumbent on her or him to serve the teacher and, thereby, make spiritual progress through such selfless devotion. The false teacher, through writing, discourses, stories, and so on, indirectly plants in a seeker’s consciousness that serving the teacher is a good thing, a noble thing, an act of love, and, consequently, lo and behold, without having to ask for anything, the teacher is served in more ways than one can shake a stick at.

Now, lest anyone get the wrong idea, service to others is a good thing when it has a proper niyat or sincere intention behind it. But, an unscrupulous teacher can take advantage of this and make it appear that his or her desire for the property or service of others is not present and that, instead, what we are dealing with here is merely the wish of others to serve and give to the teacher –– in fact, from time to time, the false teacher can even put on a big show about how he or she wished one’s followers wouldn’t do these things, but, in the end, bow in humility to the offer of love which is being made to the would-be teacher and accept the gift of property or service with a ‘well, what can one do’ shrug of the shoulders ... which will endear the false teacher to his or her followers even more so.

The forth rule of Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him) is:

4. Offering

Delights of offering and of severing attachments are incumbent on the shaykh.

Once again, the teaching is impeccable. A true teacher takes delight in giving to others, serving them, and severing attachments of the nafs or ego in relation to its entanglements with various dimensions of interior and exterior life. However, where there is a will, there is often a way, and the will of false teachers is inclined to look for ways of turning sound spiritual advice –– such as that which is given by Shaykh Suhrawardi (May Allah be pleased with him) –– inside out and using it to their own advantage.

Consider the technique of ‘priming the pump’. More specifically, most people know that if one wishes to get a water pump or a fuel pump or the like, going, then, sometimes, one has to add some water or fuel first in order to get the pump functioning properly. False teachers often are very good at giving things away as a means of priming the pump of material goods and/or service, so that this pump will begin to function ‘properly’ –– that is, so that followers will freely give back to the teacher without the teacher having to say much, or anything, except receive what is offered. Thus, a false teacher might give, for example, a hundred dollars to someone in need, knowing that, in time, either that individual and/or those to whom the needy person talks to about the gift, will interpret the gift-giving as indicating that the false teacher is a humble, charitable, compassionate, loving, selfless individual who is sacrificing his or her own meager resources for the good of others, or a false teacher might arrange to underwrite the expenses of a trip for someone far away to come and visit the teacher (and, more often than not, the money does not come from the teachers own resources but from the resources of someone whom the false teacher controls), and to the recipient of such a seemingly generous and selfless act of friendship, the offer and arrangements are overwhelming to such an extent that the recipient has great difficulty even considering the possibility that something evil or untoward or unsavory may be behind the offer –– which is precisely what the offer has been intended to do ... misdirect attention away from the actual motives to making someone feel guilty or ashamed for being so cynical as to suppose that the offer is not entirely sincere.

In addition, a fraudulent spiritual guide can put on great performances in the public sphere about severing attachments with issues of power, sex, money, property, comfort, control and so on. However, because most of the seekers have no clue about what actually goes on outside of the domain of publicly viewable events, it is the publicly consumed events which shapes people’s opinions, attitudes and judgments of the teacher. Moreover, in most cases, the only people who are permitted to get close to the teacher are those (1) who either have been so corrupted that they have vested interests which parallels those of the teacher and they will not blow the whistle on what is going on and, thereby, undermine their own advantages in the overall set-up, or, (2) those who have become so mesmerized by what is going on that they are ready to re-frame anything which the teacher does –– no matter how destructive and reprehensible –– as being something other than it is, or, (3) those who, however vaguely, do see what is going on, but whose psychological and emotional vulnerabilities are so intense that they cannot bring themselves to act upon what they know and, thus, suffer in silence, not knowing what to do about such knowledge, and experiencing a great deal of anxiety, stress, and fear as a result.

Shaykh Suhrawardi’s (May Allah be pleased with him) fifth rule for identifying an authentic spiritual guide is:

5. Concordance of deed and word in invitation.

Indeed, there should be no inconsistencies or disharmonies between what one says and what one does. Unfortunately, as with everything else, there are ways of circumventing this teaching and transforming it into a tool for misleading people. One of the easiest ways of accomplishing this is to allude to knowledge that the seeker does not have but that if he or she did have, the seeker would be able to utilize in order to reconcile, in a harmonious manner, what, on the surface, appear to be inconsistencies of words and deeds with respect to a false teacher. For instance, almost everyone who has done any reading about the Sufi path or who has heard what are sometimes referred to as ‘Sufi teaching stories’, is likely to be familiar with the Quranic account about Moses (peace be upon him) and Khizr (peace be upon him), the mysterious patron saint of the spiritual path who, from time to time, enters into the lives of certain people in order to teach them or assist them in some spiritual manner. When Moses (peace be upon him) encountered this mysterious figure, the former person had an intuition that this latter individual was someone who possessed hidden or esoteric knowledge which Moses (peace be upon him) hoped to learn. Moses (peace be upon him) asked permission to accompany the stranger, and permission was given with one condition –– no matter what happened, no questions could be asked, and that if any questions were asked that would be the end of the association. Moses (peace be upon him) agreed to this condition. To make a longer story somewhat shorter, there were three events which took place that offended the moral sensibilities of Moses (peace be upon him). On one occasion, Khizr (peace be upon him) put a hole in a boat that belonged to a poor fisherman. On another occasion, Khizr (peace be upon him) killed the young son of a couple who both believed in God, and, finally, on a third occasion, Khizr (peace be upon him) repaired a wall outside of a town where the two had been mistreated. Moses (peace be upon him) believed Khizr (peace be upon him) to be one who believes in, and submits to, the truth of God’s teachings, and, yet, Moses (peace be upon him) was confronted with three deeds which each seemed to conflict with what Moses (peace be upon him) understood to be the truth about treating the property of other people, the sanctity of life, and how one should behave when someone mistreats one. In each case, Khizr violated the expectations and beliefs of Moses (peace be upon him). Each time Moses (peace be upon him) asked a question. Each time, Moses (peace be upon him) was reminded of the promise he had made to not ask any questions no matter what happened. Each time, Moses (peace be upon him) sought pardon and forgiveness for having violated his promise. Each time –– except for the third instance –– he was forgiven and allowed to continue on the journey with his mysterious companion. On the third occasion, Moses (peace be upon him) was informed that the association had now come to an end, but before going their separate ways, an explanation was given of why Khizr (peace be upon him) had done what he had done. In the case of the boat, Moses (peace be upon him) was told that there was an advancing army which was confiscating all boats to use in a war, and that if a hole –– which was easily repairable –– had not been put in the boat, the fisherman, whose entire livelihood depended on that boat, would be ruined. With respect to the youth who was killed, the youngster was no good and unsalvageable and, in time, could undermine the faith of the parents who were good people, so, the youth was eliminated in order to save the parents. Finally, in the town where the two had been thoroughly mistreated by the inhabitants, a wall was repaired because it contained, hidden within it, an inheritance which belonged to two orphans who lived in the vicinity and that if the wall had deteriorated much further, the hidden contents would have been discovered by the miserable town people and they would have stolen it, and, therefore, in order to protect the inheritance of the two orphans –– who in time would be led to the treasure –– the wall was repaired to hide the secret it contained.

Fraudulent teachers can take this teaching and convert it entirely to their own unsavory purposes and all the time, come off smelling like a rose because the surface acts which “appear” reprehensible are really being described as mere camouflage for an underlying and hidden principle which serves the truth and God. If Moses (peace be upon him), as great and knowledgeable as he was, wasn’t able to fathom the truth when a servant of God (namely, Khizr –– peace be upon him) was performing in front of his eyes with God’s sanction, then, how do the rest of us, who are far removed from the elevated spiritual condition of Moses (peace be upon him), know how to differentiate between apparent discrepancies involving words and deeds which can be reconciled on a deeper level of truth, and real discrepancies between words and deeds which cannot be reconciled on a deeper level but are passed off to us as if they could be so reconciled if we only ‘knew’ what the fraudulent spiritual guide allegedly knew and which sometime, perhaps, when we become spiritually mature, we too, will have access to such secrets ... but not just now.

To be Continued tomorrow, insha'Allah.

Authenticity of Sufi shaykhs

There are teachers and, then, there are 'teachers'. A teacher may, or may not, be a spiritual guide. The fact that one can learn from someone does not necessarily make the person from whom one learns either a teacher, a 'teacher', or a spiritual guide, for, among other things, teaching and guidance both depend on the presence of a certain kind of intention.

Although what I 'know', in some sense of this word, about E.J. Gold is limited -- and none of what I 'know' is based on direct experience with him - nonetheless, the dilemma with which he (along with many others) presents a seeker may be instructive. Moreover, all of this can be done without passing judgment on Mr. Gold - either positively or negatively.

Apparently, Mr. Gold is one of those rare individuals who is both multi-talented and quite intelligent. He writes, draws, paints, sculpts, makes jewelry, takes pictures, plays jazz, and does business - and, moreover, he does all of these with a great deal of skill, knowledge, and talent. In addition, he is a consummate speaker, a scholar of considerable resources, and a very insightful and intuitive observer of the human condition.

Jesus (peace be upon him) exhibited few of the foregoing, qualities, and with the exception of, possibly, the realm of business, neither did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). So, I suppose, the moral of the story is that we should stop listening to such individuals like Jesus (peace be upon him) and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and, instead, follow those individuals who exhibit talent and, as a result, are capable of impressing us in one way or another.

People such as Mr. Gold lead very interesting lives. I am sure that his life experience and the understanding which has arisen out of that life experience are valuable resources for those with whom he comes in contact.

However, neither talent, intelligence, an interesting life, intuition, nor being a valuable resource make someone a spiritual guide, and this is true quite irrespective of whether such people speak, write, or teach about spirituality. A person can write books about spirituality, or go on speaking tours which focus on spirituality, or conduct workshops on spirituality, and none of this, in and of itself, makes someone a spiritual guide - and, this remains so, even if someone who reads a book, or listens to a lecture, or participates in a workshop with such an individual comes away with 'food for thought' which has a spiritual flavor to it.

There is only one factor which can make someone a spiritual guide - that is, someone who serves as a locus of manifestation for the concentrated and consistent transmission of barakah or Divine Grace through which self-realization of essential identity and unique spiritual capacity is, God willing, made possible. This sine qua non of the mystical quest is that the person who serves in the capacity of a spiritual guide has been appointed as such by Divinity.

Divine niyat is the sole key to the issue of someone's being, or not being, a spiritual guide, and the authentic Sufi masters have always alluded to this reality by, among other things, citing the Quranic ayat: "Enter houses by their doors." (2:189). Just as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "I am the city of knowledge, and 'Ali is the gate," so, too, every authentic shaykh (and God determines authenticity, nothing else) becomes a door to the mystical house to which a silsilah gives expression, and becoming such a door is only possible through a Divine decree that is made known via the mouths and actions of authentic shaykhs, just as Hadith Qudsi constitute the unveiling of Divine intentions by means of the agency of the voice of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Someone does not decide to become a spiritual guide. Someone does not take courses on how to be a shaykh, or become a shaykh by receiving a certificate or diploma from having successfully fulfilled the requirements of a given curriculum or program. Becoming a shaykh is not a matter of scholarship, research, intelligence, talent, or even knowledge since there are, by the Grace of Allah, many people who have become Self-realized who do not, thereby, become shaykhs.

There are no elections or balloting associated with becoming a shaykh. Zikr, fasting, seclusion, night vigils, prayers, community service, meditation, contemplation, recitation of the Qur'an, going on hajj, and the giving of zakat does not render one a shaykh.

The performance of 'wondrous deeds' which, seemingly, break the known laws of physics and/or biology does not make one a shaykh. Indeed, the final dajjal (i.e., imposter) will exhibit all manner of facility with respect to the manifestation of 'wondrous deeds' - including, raising people from the dead - but this does not make the dajjal a shaykh.

Others may proclaim one to be a shaykh. Others may even pay to read one's books, or attend one's workshops, and feel that they are getting good value for the money spent, but personal testimonies and written endorsements do not make someone a shaykh.

One may believe or feel that one has a calling to be a shaykh. However, the existence of such a belief or feeling is not sufficient to make someone a shaykh, and, in fact, there are a number of famous examples of people [e.g., Hazrat Qadir Gilani (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him)] who ran away from such responsibilities, not feeling adequate to the task to which they clearly were being called.

There is only one element which makes a person a shaykh. If this element is present - while intelligence, talent, scholarship, and accomplishment are absent, then, one is a shaykh, but if this element is absent, then, irrespective of whatever gifts, diplomas, or kudos can be listed next to one's name, one will not be a shaykh ... and this one element is Divine niyat or intention.

There is nothing paradoxical about the spiritual guidance of the Prophets or the saints or the great shaykhs. It is our ignorance which makes things seem this way.

There is nothing paradoxical about kindness, forgiveness, tolerance, empathy, compassion, love, sincerity, honesty, humility, modesty, poverty, steadfastness, faith, patience, gratitude, piety, wisdom, and friendship. Yes, there is something Divine about all of these qualities, but there is nothing inherently paradoxical about them, although, sometimes, those who seek to pass themselves off as teachers try to reduce mysticism to a series of paradoxical teachings.

There is a difference between a paradox and a mystery, and no matter how many paradoxes one may resolve, the mystery of Self will remain a mystery unless God wishes otherwise. Mysticism, unlike the Bastille, cannot be conquered by assault, but, instead, one gains entry only through inside help - help which has been appointed by Divinity and not help which has been self-appointed as a result of delusion and illusion.

When it comes to people like Gurdjieff or E.J. Gold, what others say about the spiritual qualifications of such individuals really is irrelevant, and, moreover, what those people themselves say about themselves in this respect, is also irrelevant. The only voice which counts is the Divine one.

Trying to discern what the Divine voice is saying to us is not an easy task. Whole lifetimes are often consumed with dealing with such a challenge, and, the result is not always successful.

Trying to step onto the spiritual path is an inherently dangerous activity. There are no guarantees even if one should be fortunate enough to discover, or be discovered by, an authentic teacher.

Furthermore, the problem of trying to differentiate between authenticity and inauthenticity is fraught with peril because we start from a position of ignorance about such matters and, as well, easily become confused due to the many forces acting on us, both from within and without, which have a vested interest in misdirecting us away from the truth in relation to this issue. Ironically, even though the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave many clues concerning the advent of the Latter Days, and even though every last one of the many minor signs indicating the nearness of this time have now come into evidence, and even though the Prophet clearly indicated that such times would be filled with spiritual darkness and all manner of dajjal, all too many people suppose that spirituality has never been more advanced than it is today and that almost any Tom, Dick or Harry who has a following qualifies as an authentic shaykh.

Truly, the human capacity for self-deception is seemingly bottomless. And, indeed, human kind continues to prove ourselves to be "extremely oppressive and ignorant," (33:72) and there is no one who is more oppressive and ignorant than someone who claims, or is claimed to be, a spiritual guide who has not been appointed by God - and, this remains true regardless of whatever intelligence, talents, gifts, wit, beauty, scholarship, or charm someone brings to the table.