A new book from Bilquees Press: Science, Spirituality and Symmetry by Bill Whitehouse

The premises at the heart of this 100 page extended essay are the following: (1) the principles that constitute the methodological processes of science and spirituality/mysticism closely mirror one another; (2) in addition, both sets of methodological processes entail the property of symmetry -- which, reduced to its essential nature, involves the preservation of invariant properties (that, hopefully, reflect some aspect of truth) across the set of transformations that give expression to the respective methodologies of science and spirituality. In the process of developing the foregoing two premises, this book also takes the reader through an overview of a number of the unsolved mysteries of modern science, together with a biographical synopsis of some of the life events that led the author along the path toward formulating the ideas which make up the essence of this work.

This book is now available in the Amazon Kindle store:

http://www.amazon.com/Science-Spirituality-and-Symmetry-ebook/dp/B005V253WM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318607020&sr=8-1

This ebook is also available at Barnes and Noble and will soon be available in the iBookstore and Kobo Books.

Spiritual Capacity - A Sufi's Perspective

Spiritual Capacity

 

From the perspective of the Sufi path, every human being has a unique spiritual capacity. However, not every capacity necessarily will be realized to its full extent, or even in part.

Life is the opportunity provided by God to become busy with doing the things required for bringing one' s essential capacity on line. Whether or not we take advantage of the chance extended to us, is a matter of choice and an exercise in free will.

Spirituality is only one of the potentials we have been given. We each have been outfitted, so to speak, with other non-spiritual capacities. For example, the capacity for life itself is expressed through our biological nature. Our bodies, including the brain, have been equipped with sensory and locomotor modalities. In addition, we have, in varying degrees: intellectual abilities; creative capacities; a spectrum of emotional possibilities; talents of one sort or another, and a capacity for language.

The Sufi masters also sometimes talk of a wide variety of other powers and capabilities which are, under the right circumstances, available to human beings. These capacities range from: the ability to dream, to various kinds of so-called psychic and occult powers.

Many of these latter kinds of capacity are so infrequently accessed or encountered in any direct way, they are considered to be fictional in nature by most of us. Nonetheless, although such abilities are not really part of, nor pertinent to, the Sufi path, the masters of the way do confirm their existence.

Our numerous capacities generate a multiplicity of experiential possibilities, each of which is conducive to extended exploration. In fact, as human beings, we have such a diverse set of capabilities, potentials, capacities, and powers available to us, we easily become confused about, or distracted from, the purpose of life.

According to the Sufi masters, even if we succeed in developing a whole slew of our many abilities, yet, ignore our spiritual possibilities, we will have failed in life' s primary mission. On the other hand, if we sincerely attempt to realize our spiritual capacity, but fail in relation to some of the other capacities, we, nevertheless, will have chosen the right priorities in life as far as the Sufi path is concerned.

To be sure, there are individuals who, by the grace of God, realize their spiritual capacity and, as well, realize one or more other capabilities. These people may be great musicians or artists or poets or leaders and, yet, not have neglected their spiritual dimension.

The foregoing sort of people tend to be relatively rare. They certainly are individuals of immense ability and good fortune.

They are not necessarily the standard by which most of the rest of us ought to gauge our lives. We can appreciate such lives without either feeling compelled to emulate them or feeling one' s life is somehow impoverished for not having been as accomplished as them in various ways.

The primary focus should be on realizing our essential, spiritual capacity. Indeed, according to the Sufi masters, if one goes about the task and challenge of spiritual realization properly, one, generally, will have little interest in, or inclination toward, doing anything else - except in some minimally necessary manner that still will permit justice to be done to other facets of one' s life.

When one becomes absorbed in God, everything else becomes arranged and organized as a function of that absorption. Priorities are set, and attention is given, in relation to how possibilities and activities can be accommodated to, or become expressions of, one' s spiritual orientation.

God may inspire us to do great things. Nevertheless, this is God' s will acting on us for Divine purposes. For us, on our own, to seek to do great things above and beyond the business of realizing one' s spiritual capacity is a sign of the presence of ego. Many of us sometimes mistake the call of the ego for the call of God.

God has a part waiting for us in the Divine passion play. Whether we opt for the role of the fool who squanders his or her spiritual potential, or we strive for the part of the servant of God who struggles to realize her or his essential spiritual capacity, will make no difference to the beauty and majesty of the play.

In either case, we will bring our own, inimitable style to the existential stage. In success or failure, our contribution will be unique.

Either kind of uniqueness will fit equally well into the unfolding of the play. Our choices will neither improve nor diminish the quality of the production or staging process.

There is room for heroines and heroes. However, villains and villainesses are welcome as well. If anything, the presence of antagonistic forces merely heightens the dramatic tension of the whole affair.

In one sense, the choice of roles is entirely up to us. On the other hand, there are a variety of twists, turns and mysteries involved in the plot line.

Sometimes we can have our heart set on playing the bad guy and, suddenly, our world is turned upside down and we start acting, much to our disgust, the part of the hero or heroine. At other times we may be quite prepossessed with being on the side of right and good only to find ourselves falling head first into the underside of life.

Some of these role reversals are temporary. Some of them are permanent. In all cases, they are reflections of capacities within us, and we all wonder where we will end up when the music stops and the house lights are turned on.

We have a unique potential to know God and to experience Divinity. We each have a unique capacity to give expression to the Names and Attributes of God.

Sufi masters maintain that human beings, alone in all of creation, have the capacity to reflect all the Names and Attributes of God. Other aspects of creation do reflect various dimensions of the Names and Attributes of God according to their capacity, but none of the rest of creation has the potential given to human beings.

As indicated previously, there are differences in spiritual capacity among human beings. However, each of these capacities, if realized, can reflect the full, infinite spectrum of Divine Names and Attributes. Each has the potential to do so in a unique fashion.

Because spiritual capacities are unique, there really is no basis for comparison. All jewels have their own beauty and appeal. Each jewel brings something that cannot be offered by any other jewel.

The only ground for comparison lies within the individual. The sole criterion for such comparison is what a person has been able to actualize in the way of spiritual realization, as measured against that individual' s essential spiritual capacity. The degree of success or failure in life is a function of the status of the ratio of these two factors

Intoxication - A Sufi Perspective

Both spiritually induced intoxication, as well as intoxication induced by spirits of alcohol, involve departures from the realm of rationality. However, each does so in a completely different way from the other. Moreover, each form of intoxication leads an individual to totally different results and ramifications.

Alcohol is a general depressant of biological functioning, in general, and of neurophysiological functioning in particular. Different factors affect how quickly, and to what extent, any given person's biological functioning will be affected.

Nonetheless, on the whole, most people do not have to drink a great deal before their memory and thinking faculties become impaired. Not only does one begin to lose the ability to concentrate on, and carry out, a variety of logical/rational operations, but one's capacity for making different kinds of judgement also is diminished after drinking a certain amount of alcohol.

After drinking, all too many people get in their automobiles and cause death and tragedy, of one sort or another. Almost invariably, this is as a result of their impaired: reflexes, reasoning abilities and capacity to make rational judgements.

In addition, there is a strong link between the consumption of alcohol and both spousal abuse, as well as, the sexual and physical abuse of children. This sort of abuse may go on even independently of the presence of alcohol, but the problem becomes much worse when the influence of alcohol is added to the equation. Furthermore, the presence of alcohol consumption may, in many cases, induce abusive behavior with respect to one's spouse or children which might not happen were the abuser not under the influence of alcohol.

There also is a long history between consumption of alcohol and sexual assault. Perhaps alcohol is used as an excuse by some in order to diminish the moral blame associated with such acts. Maybe these people would indulge in acts of sexual assault even without the alcohol, but the alcohol becomes a convenient scapegoat. Alternatively, due to the diminished capacity induced by alcohol intoxication, people often find themselves doing things which would be repugnant and horrifying to any rational person.

Even when no sexual assault is involved, many people end up doing degrading, demeaning things to themselves and others while operating with impaired reasoning processes due to alcohol intoxication. People wake up the morning after the previous night of intoxication only to discover they have done terrible things of which they have either no, or only a foggy, recollection. One does not have to commit criminal acts in order to seriously injure, emotionally and psychologically, others or oneself.

None of the foregoing necessarily touches on the more complex problem of alcoholism. In other words, one does not have to be an alcoholic in order to become involved in the sort of problematic ramifications of alcohol consumption which have been outlined in the foregoing examples of impaired rational thinking and judgement.

Many people who get intoxicated may never, ever do anything injurious to anyone. Whatever impairments of reasoning and reflexes which occur with these people may be just harmlessly amusing. Nonetheless, this is just not so for millions of other human beings.

The nature of spiritually induced intoxication is an entirely different kettle of fish. Although this kind of intoxication also involves a departure from reasoning processes, this is not due to any sort of impairment of rationality or judgement.

In the case of alcohol induced intoxication, there is a sense in which one cannot keep up with the realities and requirements of rationality. On the other hand, in the case of spiritually induced intoxication, the processes of rationality cannot keep up with the realities and requirements of transcendence.

In relation to the condition of spiritual intoxication, rationality actually constitutes a state of diminished capacity. In fact, some Sufi masters liken the condition of rationality to a state of being inebriated with the wine of logic. No matter how good the vintage of this wine may be, it impairs one's spiritual judgement and interferes with mystical understanding.

The practitioners of the Sufi path note, however, that mystical understanding does not interfere with rational processes. Rather, such understanding informs and illuminates those processes.

Mystical understanding helps place rationality in its proper perspective. Mystical understanding shows some of the limitations of rationality.

When one spends time with Sufi masters, the nature of their logic, judgement and reasoning is impeccable. The counsel and advice they give is very practical, logical and down-to-earth.

Inwardly, these people are spiritually intoxicated, but outwardly they are sober. The outer sobriety entails an understanding of the nature of this world and how it works. The inner intoxication entails an understanding of the nature of the spiritual dimension of things and how that affects worldly matters.

Sufi masters use reason, logic, and rational judgement to help people with their worldly and spiritual problems. Nevertheless, in order to be of help, the reason and logic must be infused with, and oriented by, the realities of spirituality and mystical transcendence.

Rational processes, in and of themselves, are not enough. One cannot reason one's way to spiritual truth or wisdom.

Mystical truth and wisdom only can come through mystical experiences and only after these experiences are properly understood. Spiritually induced intoxication is one medium or channel through which such truth and wisdom come.

People who are spiritually intoxicated in the Sufi sense of the term never sexually assault anyone. Those who are in a condition of spiritual intoxication do not abuse their spouses or children. Somebody who is spiritually intoxicated does not get in her or his car and proceed to maim or kill others or herself or himself.

Although there may be certain theologians who would disagree, a person in a state of spiritual intoxication does not do anything to degrade or demean oneself. Moreover, a spiritually intoxicated individual does not sober up later on only to discover some terrible deed or deeds which had been committed while in an intoxicated condition.

At best, a person who becomes intoxicated through the consumption of alcohol may get a certain amount of relaxation and enjoyment from the experience. There are no deep truths or wisdom which arises out of alcohol intoxication. One is pretty much the same after the experience as one was before it.

Spiritual intoxication brings overwhelming ecstasy and joy. One comes away from the experience with a very different perspective concerning the nature of reality and one's relation with reality. In addition, there are deep truths and wisdom which are communicated during the experience of spiritual intoxication.

Not all conditions of spiritual intoxication are of the same intensity or depth. The vintage of the spiritual wine being imbibed by the individual will make a big difference in the quality and character of the experience of spiritual intoxication. Furthermore, the spiritual level of the individual who goes into a state of ecstasy is also an important factor affecting the intensity and depth of such experiences.

According to Sufi masters, outward manifestations of spiritual intoxication are, under certain circumstances and conditions, perfectly acceptable. Indeed, such mystical states are a sign of God's grace.

Nonetheless, Sufi shaykhs indicate that when an individual is permanently in a state of outwardly manifested intoxication, this condition is problematic as far as making continued spiritual progress is concerned. Such people are, in a sense, transfixed by their overwhelming experiences of spiritual intoxication.

Consequently, they are unlikely to move on to further stages of the mystical path. Their progress is arrested at a particular stage and state. Spiritually speaking, their permanent condition of intoxication sacrifices movement toward the full realization of human potential for the bliss and ecstasy of the on-going condition.

Although such permanently, spiritually intoxicated individuals are harmless and, quite often, are sources of blessings for many who come into contact with them, in their own way, many of these people (but not all) are the alcoholics of the spiritual world. This is so in the following senses.

These people are irresistibly drawn and, in a sense, addicted to the continuously intoxicating experiences with which their spiritual condition is saturated. Moreover, like their worldly alcoholic counterparts, those who permanently are in a condition of outwardly manifested intoxication frequently lose the capacity to function in a "normal" way in society and the work-a-day world.

Sufi shaykhs recommend travelers of the Sufi path should become outwardly sober, while remaining inwardly spiritually intoxicated. In other words, one needs a foot, so to speak, in both the physical world and the spiritual world in order to be a fully effective human being in both worlds.

Sobriety is expressed through the observance of spiritual etiquette. To be sober in the spiritual sense, one must fulfil one's spiritual duties and obligations on all levels of existence. Nevertheless, one cannot perform these duties properly unless sobriety is underwritten by the truths and wisdom of spiritual intoxication.

States, Stations, Stages, and Practice

To borrow a phrase from fractal mathematics, the Sufi path tends to be ‘self-similar’, rather than ‘self-same’, when considering the experience of different individuals. In other words, since every human being is unique, even while sharing in the general set of properties which differentiate human beings from other species of being, and since the tajalli of Divinity (the descent or rupture of Divine modalities into manifested form) do not repeat themselves in any self-same manner, one cannot necessarily speak of suluk, or spiritual travel, as consisting of a linear sequence of states (hal) and stations (maqam).

Different individuals have outlined the path in varied ways which reflects their own experience of suluk rather than necessarily reflecting some set of hard and fast steps which must be taken in a ‘just so’ order. Thus, some people say the Sufi path consists of ‘x’ number of states and ‘y’ number of stations, while other commentators say that tasawwuf entails ‘r’ number of states, and ‘t’ number of stations.

In addition, there are, sometimes, disagreements about whether a certain stage of spiritual travel involves a hal or a maqam. Again, such variation in opinion are more indicative of the differences which people bring with them to the path than they are necessarily reflective of ‘truths’ independent of human engagement of reality.

Generally speaking, a hal is characterized as a temporary spiritual condition in relation to which intentional effort of striving has not been expended or directed, and, therefore, comes as a gift of Divinity. Maqam, or station, on the other hand, is often characterized as more permanent than are hal, and, as well, are said to be spiritual conditions for which struggle and striving must be exerted in a concerned manner. As such, maqam tend to be described as spiritual conditions which must be earned, while hal are not earned, per se.

However, since spiritual effort does not cause spiritual progress, but is, at best, a necessary condition, then, whether one is talking about states or stations, these are both gifts of God and could not be experienced or sustained without Divine succor. Moreover, although there are instances in which individuals who are not on any particular spiritual path are recipients of Divine Grace in the form of this or that manner of hal, the likelihood of undergoing one or another spiritual hal tends to be increased when one is actively and sincerely pursuing the mystical path under the guidance and care of an authentic shaykh.

Yet, one might keep in mind that the Qur’an stipulates: “If Allah were to take humankind to task for their wrong-doing, God would not leave hereon a living creature, but God reprieves them to an appointed term.” (16:61) So, whether one is talking about hal or maqam, neither is deserved but comes by the Grace of Allah.

Finally, some expressions of hal are longer lived than are other manifestations of hal. Therefore, whether one believes one is talking about a condition of hal rather than maqam may be somewhat arbitrarily decided.

Spiritual conditions share some of the same qualities as dreams. This is especially so in the sense that both dreams and spiritual conditions require the presence of insight by an experienced guide or knowledgeable and Divinely supported individual in order to properly appreciate the nature of what is transpiring through either the dream or a given spiritual condition.

Najm al-Din Razi (may Allah be pleased with him), in his book: The Path of God’s Bondsmen from Origin to Return uses the example of fire to illustrate the complexity of the problem. Someone who is traversingthe path of tasawwuf may see the attribute of fire and, depending on the nature of one’s spiritual condition, this attribute will have a different meaning in different states and stations.

For some, the appearance of fire is an indication that the quality of anger is dominant. For others, the presence of fire may signify the light of zikr or the individual’s ardor for the spiritual quest. For still others, the fire may exemplify the presence of guidance as with the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), or it may give expression to the quality of devilry as with Iblis. And, for still other individuals, the quality of fire may symbolize the condition of gnosis or love or witnessing. There also are additional modalities of fire which indicate the presence of other manner of states and stations.

The attribute of fire is but one of many, many qualities which may emerge within an individual’s experience and serve as a tell-tale sign of a person’s spiritual condition. However, as with dreams, insight is needed to understand the significance of the presence of a given quality.

Similarly, when an individual passes through stations involving the attributes of clay, water, air, fire, firmaments, heavenly bodies, the malakut (or soul) of the planets and the stars, animals, and a thousand other realms, different kinds of tajalli may be manifested according to circumstances and an individual’s spiritual condition. Just as there is no reliable book of dream interpretation in which all one has to do is scour the index for a given dream and, then, proceed to the page with ‘the’ correct interpretation, so, to, there is no standard dictionary of spiritual states and stations which always are manifested in the same way across individual experiences.

I recall, once, when my shaykh, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him), talked about such matters. He indicated that in very special cases - and he referred to such instances as being among the most supreme of spiritual conditions - an individual may traverse the journey of suluk and not have even one ‘mystical’ or anomalous, non-ordinary experience. These are individuals from whom God has kept secret the nature of their own spiritual condition.

Many people speak about the alleged great differences between, say, the doctrine of Wahdat-i-Shuhud (the Unity or Oneness of Witnessing) and Wahdat-i-Wujud (the Unity or Oneness of Being). In fact, great controversies have been instigated on the basis of such differences of approach to the hermeneutics of experience, and, yet, again, I remember that my shaykh, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him), said that after all was said and done, there really wasn’t much difference between the two.

I might add a brief note at this point to indicate that Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote his doctoral dissertation on the life and teachings of Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him). The latter shaykh was a champion of the doctrine of Wahdat-i-Shuhud. One of the examiners for Dr. Baig's (may Allah be pleased with him) thesis was no less an authority than A.J. Arberry who considered the thesis to be the best exposition of the Sufi path to be written in the English language up to that time.

Following many of his 40-day seclusions, Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) would set about revising and improving his thesis on the basis of what had been experienced and disclosed during the previous period of seclusion. In many ways this was a life-long project for him which never saw the light of day - that is, it was never released to either the general public or even to his mureeds.

Among other things, the process of constant revision in the light of subsequent experience is a hallmark of the path. This process of needing to continuously revise one's understanding represents one of the reasons why one should refrain from speaking about the path as if it were a static thing in which one can sum up its components in some simple, linear fashion.

When I first stepped onto the path, more than 30 years ago, I must confess that my head was filled, to a certain extent, with ideas of ‘wondrous deeds, powers, exalted, non-ordinary states of consciousness, and other such artifacts of ignorance. Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) had an interesting way of dealing with such nonsense.

To those who came to the path from a very conceptually- laden direction - treating the Sufi Path as if it were just another species of philosophy about which one could read, learn, and debate - Dr. Baig (may Allah be pleased with him) would assign some treatise of one, or another, Sufi Shaykh which was of such a difficult nature that the individual would soon come to the realization that he or she didn’t really know much of anything, irrespective of how much they had read. To others, such as myself, whose heads were preoccupied with other-worldly states and stations, he would assign the book Introduction to Islam by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah (may Allah be pleased with him) which was quite excellent, but very down-to-earth, dry, and rooted in practicality.

Many people are familiar with the following prayer of Ra’bia of Basra (may Allah be pleased with her). “O Lord, if I worship Thee out of desire of Paradise, then, deny me Paradise, and if I worship Thee out of fear of Hell, then, throw me into Hell, but if I worship Thee out of love for Thee and Thee alone, then, grant me Thy vision.”

Without wishing to criticize this great saint - because I really am not fit to carry her sandles (if she had any) - nevertheless, I do have a question. Why make the last part of the prayer conditional?

Is not Divinity present in the state and/or station of sincere love? Is not Divinity present in every aspect of experience, and, indeed, experience is not possible without giving expression to the underlying play of Divine Names and Attributes which makes such experiences possible and provides them with their structural character?

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “This world is prohibited to the people of the next world, and the next world is forbidden to the people of this world, and they are both forbidden to the people of Allah.”

Seekers are seeking what? They are seeking something beyond what they believe to be present, and, yet, what they are actually seeking - as a poem of Hazrat Muin-ud-deen Chishti (May Allah be pleased with him) points out - is with us night and day ... hiding in plain sight. And, yet, we go seeking - from horizon to horizon - for what is already present.

Instead of seeing Divinity, we see veils. The veils, of course, mark the presence of Divinity, as well, but we want an unveiled look at Divinity, when, in truth, we can only see what God has given us the capacity to see at any given time or instance.

All practices - from: shahadah, to: prayers, zikr, fasting, seclusion, fatiha, hajj, contemplation, meditation, sacred turning, various forms of charitableness, service to the shaykh, and the performance of good deeds - have one thing in common: namely, the realization and expression of truth. Each kind of practice engages the truth, reality, Haqq from the perspective of its own form and character.

When we exclude practices, then, we cut ourselves off from ways of engaging different facets and dimensions of the truth. As one friend of Allah said, ‘there are many keys to spiritual realization, if one key does not work, then, try another’ - and one might add, if it is not already implicit in what was said, one should not just try a given key once but on many different occasions, because one never knows when all the tumblers will fall into place and be receptive to the use of a given key.

Similarly, each state and station serves as a locus of manifestation for the kind of truth to which such a state or station gives expression. The truth of expansion is not the truth of contraction. The truth of patience is not the truth of repentance. The truth of longing is not the truth of arrival. The truth of love is not the truth of dependence. The truth of difficulty is not the truth of ease. The truth of chastisement is not the truth of ascension.

Yet, when one weaves together all of these different modalities of truth in the form of experiential tajalli, then, an individual approaches the fullness of truth as a limit, and in mathematics, as in life, a limit is a function which approaches more and more closely to a given point, without ever reaching that point except, theoretically, at infinity. However, in the latter case, the Qur’an has something of relevance to say here: “and over every lord of knowledge, there is one more knowing.” (12:76)

The truth - reality - cannot be exhausted. It is infinite, and, consequently, there are no set of stages, states, or conditions which can encompass the infinite.

We engage truth according to our essential capacity, fitra, or ‘ayn al-thabita. We engage truth according to the condition of being veiled which constitutes our spiritual condition and degree to which our spiritual potential has been realized.

Different individuals have different capacities. The spiritual capacity of the Prophets is not the spiritual capacity of non-Prophetic saints, and the spiritual capacity of ordinary believers is not the spiritual capacity of the saints, whether Prophets or other manner of awliya. Moreover, within these different categories of human beings, there are gradations - as indicated in the Qur’an: “We have made some of these prophets to excel others” (17:55) and, “We raise by grades (of Mercy) whom We will.” (12:76)

Mind, heart, sirr, ruh, kafi, and aqhfah are potentials of fitra. Consequently, these potentials cannot exceed their limits.

On one occasion, the son of Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the shaykh and presented something of a conundrum to the shaykh. The young man indicated that he had an experience in which he seemed to rise higher than the station of the Prophets, and, since this contradicted what was understood to be possible, the young man was confused by the experience.

Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) resolved the problem in the following manner. He said that associated with every human being, there are two points - one marking the station of origin and the other marking the station of ascension.

He further indicated that, on occasion, the ascension of a non-Prophet might rise higher than the station of origin of a Prophet. However, in no case would the station of ascension of a non-Prophet ever rise higher or approach the station of ascension of a Prophet of God.

Thus, for each of us, the station of origin and the station of ascension are fixed within the degrees of freedom which are permitted by Divinity. Consequently, the ways in which mind, heart, sirr, kafi, ruh, and aqfah are given expression depends on the character of the fitra or fixed form in question.

Some people define heart, mind, spirit, and soul in ways which are all-inclusive. In other words, for such people, the heart constitutes our entire potential for realizing the truth, and, then, they proceed to describe different stages, states and stations of the heart which outline the path to ultimate realization - such as: (a) breast, (b) qalb, (c) the aspect of the heart which is preoccupied with the love of human kind; (d) fo’ad (the seat of vision), (e) the dimension of the heart which gives expression to an exclusive love for Divinity; (f) the core of the heart which involves spiritual kashf or unveiling concerning the realms of the unseen about which angels have no knowledge; and, finally, (g) mohjat al-qalb which, when realized, gives expression to the lights of Divine attributes.

Other people do this in conjunction with the nafs. For example, people speak in terms of: (1) nafs-i-ammara (the soul which commands to evil); (2) nafs-i-mulhameh (the soul which is inspired by God with knowledge of lewdness and God-fearing; (3) nafs-i-lawwama ( the reproachful soul); (4) nafs-i-mutma’inneh (the tranquil soul); (5) nafs-i-radiya (the contented soul in which God is well pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with God); and, (6) nafs-i-safiya, the pure soul.

Others talk about the attributes of the spirit: (1) luminosity (with its branches of hearing, speech, and vision); (2) love (with its branches of sincerity, yearning and seeking); (3) knowledge (with its branches of will and cognition); (4) forbearance (with its branches of modesty, tranquility, dignity, and endurance); (5) familiarity or uns (which gives expression to a primordial intimacy with one’s Creator and encompasses the branches of compassion and pity);(6) permanence or baqa (with its branches of persistence and steadfastness); and, finally, (7) life (with its branches of intelligence and understanding).

However one parses human nature - and, therefore, irrespective of where in one’s theoretical typography one locates such faculties as mind, heart, sirr, ruh, kafi, and aqfah - there have been different practices which have been recommended by shaykhs down through the ages as aides to drawing out the potential of such faculties. For example, the practice of zikr is often mentioned in conjunction with the qualities of the heart - as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “There is a polish for everything which takes away the rust of that which is polished, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance (zikr) of God.”

Nevertheless, there are many forms of zikr, and different shaykhs go about this in different ways. Zikrs vary in length, content, whether they are open-ended (said as many times as one likes), or closed-ended), said aloud or quietly, as well as the time of day and circumstances in which they are said.

Moreover, the nature of zikr may not be encapsulated within a certain Quranic formula. In other words, since every event is a word in the lexicon of the All Merciful which is Self-referential, there are many ways of doing remembrance which are not necessarily tied to the saying of phrase or ayat from the Qur'an.

Furthermore, some may suppose one can remove a zikr from the context of its spiritual ecology and the zikr will continue to operate with the same efficacy as is the case when that zikr is recited within the context of a specific spiritual ecology - that is, having a relationship with an authentic shaykh in a given silsilah. This is not necessarily so, and one proceeds at one’s own risk.

Another practice is that of muraqabah. This is described, alternatively, as a careful watching of, or over, of the condition of the heart or as an emptying out of the sirr which, when the latter is operating properly, is said to guard the heart from being receptive to any influences which are other than the remembrance of God.

Alternatively, there is the process of fana in which - seemingly sequentially, but, in reality, these are all different variations on the same theme - one ‘passes away’ in a loving awareness of one’s shaykh, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and, ultimately, Divinity. There is no one way or no one set of steps which leads to the evaporation of self (small-s)-awareness.

Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) described the process of fana in the following way. If one is outside at night on a clear evening and far from the lights of a city, one can see the stars very clearly. But, when the sun rises, the starts are no longer visible to the naked eye due to the over-powering radiance of the sun.

Similarly, when something of the reality of one’s shaykh, the Prophet, or Divinity rises in one’s consciousness, then, awareness of the self disappears. Yet, the self still exists just as the stars continue to exist despite being rendered invisible by the presence of the sun.

There are many ways to help an individual to struggle toward fana. There are many ways to induce an individual to remember Allah. There are many ways to assist a person to empty the sirr of all other influences other than Allah and to keep a close watch on the condition of the heart. There are many ways to illumine the heart. There are many ways to traverse the stations of repentance, longing, dependence, sincerity, gratitude, patience, piety, and love.

How does one clean and furnish a house? One uses whatever works as long as such means fall within the code book for permissible house cleaning practices, and as long as the method of equipping the house takes into account the structural limitations of that house .

Similarly, there is no set recipe for spiritual realization, although there are a variety of general guidelines which are intended to be used in flexible ways within variable contexts. Everything depends on the nisbath or relationship between an authentic shaykh and the seeker.

Whatever is given, whatever is undertaken, the purpose is always to provide one with another opportunity to engage the Real and to revise one’s understanding of the True and to act in accordance with what one knows on the basis of what has been disclosed to one through direct experience. There are many ways, God willing, of helping to transform the nafs, or purify the heart, or illumine the spirit. These ways are overlapping, reinforcing and not mutually exclusive in the sense that, for instance, what helps the heart, helps the nafs to transform, and the spirit to be enlivened, and, similarly, what transforms the nafs also has benefits for the heart and spirit, and so on.

Ultimately, the only thing which really matters is the presence of Divine Grace. Talk of methodology, states, stations and stages have their place, but one should never confuse the surface phenomenon for the Realities which make such contingencies possible.

One follows the teachings and practices of a shaykh because, God willing, these have the capacity to help open us up to the barakah which courses through these practices and teachings as extensions of the presence and support of a silsilah rooted in the Prophetic tradition. These practices and teachings are the excuses which Divinity uses to extend different kinds of blessings to us, and through these blessings our understanding and behavior are affected.

Once, back in my days of even greater ignorance, I happened into a store in a rural area and, along with some friends, got an ice cream cone - one which was hand-scooped by one of the employees of the store. The ice cream cone I got was enormous, and I muttered words to the effect of: “Boy, I’ll have to remember this place.” The person behind the counter responded with: “You should remember the person who gave you the cone.”

Many people think aboutf the Sufi path as a supply depot from which one can acquire whatever one needs in the way of teachings, practices, and format in order to be able to make progress on the spiritual path. In truth, as with the ice cream story above, one needs to remember the person through whom one gets whatever one gets for it is the person who, by the Grace of Allah, makes all the difference ... not the place.

Rizq or Divine Apportionment

There is a concept of rizq in Islam which, usually, is rendered as referring to the Divine apportionment for Creation - both collectively and individually. Often times, when people speak about rizq, they do so in terms of permissible and impermissible means of striving for what is fated for one.

Rizq does not refer to just material goods. It encompasses everything, on every level, in every realm within Creation.

The rizq of spirituality transpires at the same time as the rizq of material gain and losses. In fact, Creation gives expression to a multi-dimensional set of rizq transactions ... everything which occurs is the manifestation of the principles of rizq at work, and rizq is but a simple term which is underwritten by the Divine play of Names and Attributes in accordance with Divine purpose.

The profits, the losses, the blessings, the Divine gifts, expansion, contraction, illness, well-being, family, talents, birth, death, spiritual progress, sin, repentance, wisdom, understanding, learning, forgetting, insight, faith, unbelief, redepmption, food, comforts, difficulties, poverty, and wealth are all manifestations of the principles of rizq transactions at work. Human beings stand at the heart of such transactions and, unlike the rest of creation (with the exception of the species of being known as jinn) have a unique role to play with respect to rizq transactions.

More specifically, through our choices, through the degrees of freedom which are extended to us, we align ourselves or oppose ourselves to the rizq transactions which take place. The choices we make will not affect the rizq transactions which take place one way or the other, but the intentions with which we engage those transactions matter - to us and to God.

To engage rizq transactions with the right intention is what forms the basis of, among other things, right livelihood. When the right intention is present, then, work becomes a form of ibadat and zikr, for one realizes that whatever happens this is a manifestation of the Divine Himma in the form of a rizq transaction of which one is a part.

All rizq transactions have a right over us because such transactions constitute the way in which God wishes events to unfold. We can work with such wishes or we can seek to treat them with kufr and shirk - that is, we can cover up/deny the truth of what is transpiring or we can propose alternative ways of accounting for what is going on that give explanations which are dependent on something other than Divinity as the causal principle for what takes place.

Everything in existence is unique - even if it shares some similarities with other beings of its class of Creation. The nature of Divine creation is such that nothing is repeated - everything manifests ever different modalities of Divine beauty and majesty in infinite combinations of possibility.

Each human being is unique. Each human being has a unique role to play with respect to the realm of rizq transactions. God uses each of us differently to serve as loci of manifestation for rizq transactions.

Our souls have a right over us in this respect for each of must seek to find what is uniquely inherent in the fitra which is our spiritual potential and, then, we must strive to, God willing, give expression to this. There is a beauty, harmony and spiritual quality which arises from rizq transactions which are engaged through the right niyat or intention ... a niyat which is rooted in awareness, understanding, faith, integrity, submission, dependence, love, and character ... such beauty, harmony and spiritual quality are, themselves, part of the rizq transactions which God ordains.

The lives of the prophets and saints bear witness to the foregoing. There is the aura of beauty, harmony, and spiritual quality emanating from their lives as they engage in the dance of rizq transactions which is utterly captivating.

One’s heart and mind are drawn to the purity and sincerity of intention by means of which rizq transactions are manifested through their lives. We seek to follow their example as best we can, according to the rizq of spiritual potential we have been apportioned.

To do what is right for oneself and, simultaneously, right for the world is to enter into rizq transactions with the quality of intention which is most pleasing to God. To achieve this level of quality is a very difficult thing to do for it consists of, God willing, purifying, calibrating, and bringing into active form all of the different dimensions of the human being - including mind, heart, sirr, spirit, kafi, and aqfah - which give expression to the ‘so-called’ perfect human being - which is not really perfection per se (for only God is perfect) but rather the expression of capacity to its fullest extent ... something which varies from person to person.

No matter what one does for an occupation, there should be a vocation or calling which underwrites it. The vocational aspect is the spiritual quality with which one seeks to embrace all of life, including the means through which God uses to provide one with the material rizq of day-to-day living.

There are many people who earn their livelihood through permissible means. There are very few people who do this with the sort of spiritual balance, beauty, wisdom, and quality which transforms such means of livelihood into the acts of worship and zikr which human beings have been given the capacity to achieve if God wishes.

Ascension

Ascension is any spiritual experience which brings one closer to God. However, because God is always near, ascension involves any spiritual experience that brings one to a realization, of whatever degree, of God's nearness. In this sense, ascension involves a falling away of the veils obstructing the individual's awareness and understanding with respect to the intimate presence of God in our lives.

Since there are thousands of veils of darkness and ignorance and density which obscure our relationship with God, there can be many different kinds of ascension. Just because one has had certain experiences in which some of these veils are lifted, does not mean one has realized the presence of God to the fullest extent possible.

There can be much confusion about this on the Sufi path in particular, and with mystical journeys in general. More specifically, there have been instances in which people have had one, or more, intense spiritual experiences and concluded, incorrectly, that all veils between themselves and God had been removed. These are very subtle matters in which one can be easily led astray unless one clings tightly to the garment of the counsel of one's spiritual guide.

One can be making progress on the spiritual path and still be in considerable ignorance and darkness. Indeed, this is part and parcel of what a path is. It is a way filled with: twists and turns; hills and valleys, as well as dangers and places of relative safety.

One may come to know something of the portions of the path one has traversed or is currently traveling through. Nonetheless, what lies ahead is largely unknown.

There is often a very strong tendency on the part of travelers to believe - due to imperfections such as impatience, pride or arrogance - that they are near, or at, journey's end. Consequently, such people believe they have ascended to the heights of spiritual possibility.

However, as has been said in another context: "It ain't over & #145;till it's over". The spiritual journey is a very long one.

In fact, from a certain perspective, there really is no end to the process of ascension. God is infinite and, therefore, can be engaged through ever-new modalities of spiritual experience.

Some experiences of ascension are short-lived. They are transitory states which descend on the individual in the blink of an eye and may depart just as quickly. Such experiences may range from: the momentary feeling of compassion one may have for another human being, to flashes of insight which may be bestowed on the individual concerning some aspect of one's spiritual life or the nature of existence.

Some experiences of ascension last longer and may mark important way stations along the path. Qualities of: repentance, longing, patience, dependence, gratitude and love, when absorbed into the fabric of the individual's life, can all give expression to significant experiences of ascension.

Sometimes we are raised up to a certain height by the Grace of God, only to be lowered down again. Sometimes this happens as a sort of foretaste of what is to come at a later time in a more permanent manner. Sometimes this occurs in order to motivate the individual to struggle harder. Sometimes it is done to show the individual what might have been but will never be due to some flaw in that individual.

There are occasions in which people are transported tremendous spiritual distances as a pure gift of God's Grace. Unfortunately, people respond to this possibility in different ways.

Some try to make such a gift a function of causality in which they are, somehow, deserving recipients due to their character or devotions or the like. Such people fail to understand that gift's of Grace are entirely independent of considerations of being deserved. One could be a scoundrel and still be the beneficiary of God's magnanimity.

Other people hear about the possibility of what amounts to a "free lunch", spiritually speaking, and become like members of some modern day cargo cult. They just sit and wait for the Grace to descend and do nothing in the mean time, allowing their lives to slip away into stagnation and indolence.

On the spiritual path, one is either ascending, descending or standing still. If one is standing still, the slippery slope of descent is dangerously close by. If one is descending, reversing course may not always be possible.

Sometimes experiences of spiritual ascent are, from a certain perspective, a curse in disguise. This is so in those instances when a person permits his or her ego to assert its acquisitive nature and claim the experience for its own.

The desires of the ego undermine the whole purpose of the process of spiritual ascent. This process is designed to diminish, if not eliminate, one's awareness of the presence of the ego, while enhancing awareness of the presence of God.

This draws attention to one of the biggest obstacles - and some might say the only obstacle - on the path of ascent toward God, namely: our awareness of ourselves as beings separate from God. This awareness disguises itself in many different ways at various points along the path. In fact, we are so good at deluding ourselves that the very quest for spirituality can be feeding our ego rather than our essential selves.

In the foregoing sense, we all are truly our own worst enemies as far as spiritual ascent is concerned. Like golf duffers, we keep wanting to see how far we have hit the spiritual ball and what this says about us as individuals. We would be much better off paying attention to form, technique and discipline, and let the distance factor take care of itself.

Quite frequently, people - even people on the Sufi path, have a very distorted idea about the process of spiritual ascension. We read about the wondrous, reason-defying deeds of some of the practitioners of the path, and fantasize about having such powers and abilities ourselves. Sometimes we get so caught-up in all the talk about miracles, that the idea of spiritual ascent becomes, in our minds and hearts, reduced down to being nothing more than this.

To put the foregoing in perspective, one Sufi has indicated there are at least 100 stages to the spiritual path. The capacity to be a locus of manifestation for miracles weighs in at about the 17th stage.

If one's spiritual horizons are limited to this aspect of things, one will be deprived of the other 83 stages of spiritual ascent. In short, one will have completely misunderstood the nature and purpose of the spiritual path by getting mesmerized by peripheral matters involving miraculous deeds.

The spiritually mature people of the Sufi path consider such powers and gifts to be, at best, distractions, and, at worst, severe tests of one's spiritual character. From time to time, and for various constructive purposes, such powers and gifts may be exercised.

Among Sufi masters, however, the tendency to use the gifts of God is done sparingly. This is so, God willing, one will not become seduced by, and preoccupied with, such activities rather than concentrating on the real business of the path - becoming more and more immersed in the nearness and presence of God in one's life.

Spiritual ascent is about the process of coming to know one's essential self and how that dimension of being is capable of reflecting the Names and Attributes of God. To realize this kind of knowledge, and to engage existence through such knowledge, and to act in the light of that knowledge, is to fulfil the purpose of the quest for spiritual ascension.

Sufi Reflections Podcast No. 28 is now available for downloading. This episode includes a poem by Rumi, Quranic recitation, an essay entitled Dependence, a short story called The Ceremony, and a commentary entitled Shari'ah, Part 1. We hope you'll join us.

This photograph is in memory one of our two cats, Callie, who recently passed away. We miss her.

Sufi Reflections No. 28

Sufi Curriculum

Many people believe mysticism is just a lot of pie in the sky, cloaked in bizarre rituals. These same people tend to maintain mysticism is highly subjective, with little practical relevance to the real world. In addition, there is a strong suspicion among such people that spiritual guides are flim-flam artists who either want your money or wish to enslave you, or both.

Mystical teachings are considered by many people to be come-ons which are vague and confused, promising fantastic powers but delivering little, if anything, which is substantial and tangible. Moreover, many people operate under the assumption there is really no difference between mysticism and either magic or the occult.

Generally speaking, people who hold the foregoing kinds of view have never met, or spent time with, a genuine mystical guide. Most, if not all, of their ideas on the matter are opinions based on received doctrine from someone else who, also, is essentially ignorant about things mystical.

They may have come in contact with individuals who claimed to be authentic mystical teachers but who, in reality, were not genuine. However, just as there is a difference between a counterfeit article and that which is being counterfeited, so too, there is fundamental set of differences between, on the one hand, true mystical teachers and teachings, and, on the other hand, pseudo mystical teachers and teachings.

As is the case with all other subjects, there are people who know what they are talking about when it comes to mysticism, and there also are people who do not know what they are talking about but try to sound as if they do have such knowledge. If the audience being addressed on such matters is ignorant of the truth, a false teacher can appear to be as impressive as a true teacher.

The problem faced by the average individual who is interested in mysticism is the following: trying to figure out how to differentiate between genuine tender and its counterfeit. A little gift of the gab, along with a modicum of charismatic showpersonship, plus a dash of chutzpa, can dazzle a lot of people into confusion and error.

Mysticism has absolutely nothing to do with the occult or magic. There may be dimensions of reality which do give expression to magical and occult phenomena, but the mystical path is independent of, and entirely transcendent to, such phenomena.

Mysticism is not about pie in the sky. Mysticism is about the nature of the reality of our essential capacity and identity.

Mysticism is not impractical. It gives expression to eminently useful principles and practices which help us resolve and deal with the problems of day-to-day life.

Mystical teachers are not flim-flam artists who have an abiding interest in money and control of other people's lives. Genuine mystical teachers are artists of truth and love who are unfailingly dedicated to compassion and helping people to realize their full capacity as human beings.

Mystical teachings are not a collection of rambling, obscure and vague pronouncements. True mystical teachings are very specific, often in-your-face, challenges to, and confrontations of, the false self.

Mysticism does not give expression to the ruminations of fanatical subjectivity. Authentic mysticism is the exact opposite of subjectivity.

The more subjective one is, the further from the truth one is. One of the objects of the mystical path is to induce us to give up the many subjectivities which govern and ruin our lives.

The promises of the mystical path are rather substantial and concrete. We will have to struggle and persevere. We will have to exercise patience and do justice. We will have to sacrifice our egos.

We will have to accept difficulty and hardship with equanimity. We will have to learn how to swim in a sea of incredibly strong undertows of confusion and doubts.

We will have to generate not just feelings of compassion for others, we will have to strive to actively and tangibly show compassion for others. We will have exercise sincerity in all we do. We will have to undergo the greater pain and trauma of the death of the false self before we endure the pain and trauma of the lesser death of the physical body.

If, by the grace of God, we are able to accomplish all of the foregoing, then, if God wishes, we will attain the peace, joy, freedom, understanding and love which comes with the realization of our essential capacities and our true identities. Sufi masters have themselves experienced all of this, and their lives give a running testimony to the truth of what has been promised, both with respect to the struggles and difficulties, as well as in relation to the possible fruits of one's endeavors.

A curriculum is sometimes described as the means or method used to bring an educational goal to completion. The curriculum of the Sufi path involves a no-nonsense, rigorous discipline which has a beginning, a middle and an end.

The goal of the mystical path is to know, love, worship and serve God in an unceasing, intense and direct manner. In order to have a chance of realizing this goal, a variety of subjects and methodologies must be experientially engaged, ingested and implemented in the fabric of one's life.

One must study the psychology of the false self. One must be trained in the requirements and nuances of spiritual etiquette which are capable of not only combating the false self but also are able to give expression to spiritual qualities of purity and harmony which supplant the machinations of the false self.

One must learn the nature and significance of objectivity. In conjunction with this, one must become well versed in the sources of spiritual distortion, bias and error.

One must come to understand the parameters and possibilities inherent in different spiritual instruments and modalities within us. In addition, one must learn how to calibrate these instruments and modalities so they give reliable, useful experiential results.

One must be helped to gain facility with a variety of practices and techniques such as chanting, meditation and contemplation. The how, when, why, and what of these practices involve a variety of principles and cautions which are not always easily acquired or implemented.

One needs to develop a taste for, appreciation of, and insight into, the meaning of the events and experiences which one encounters along the Sufi path. The scope of human potential is immense, and learning how to sort out the numerous forces (both problematic as well as beneficial) which act on us and through us, is a very complex issue.

One must learn how to bring balance, harmony and justice into all dimensions of one's life and one's interactions with the rest of creation. The middle way is the golden mean to a properly ordered life in each of these respects. However, coming to understand exactly what this involves in any given instance, requires much practice and struggle.

All of the foregoing areas of investigation are part of the Sufi curriculum. They each have important contributions to make in assisting the individual toward the realization of the goal of the Sufi path.

Anyone who, God willing, sincerely pursues the mystical curriculum under the guidance of a genuine guide, will come to experience, first hand, that mysticism, in general, and the Sufi path in particular, are very, very different from what most people suppose to be the case. Such people will come to know mysticism is not an incoherent, subjective, impractical, occult-like set of speculations and theories which are incapable of satisfying the promise of self-realization and direct experience of Divinity.

This regression line is our link of faith with our experiences. The slope of the regression line is a ratio of what has been experienced to our assessment of that experience.

We extrapolate and interpolate with respect to the future on the basis of that regression line's slope. As new experiences and assessments are added, we stay with, or plot a new, regression line.

According to Sufi masters, the more one experiences the states, stations, tastes, expansions, contractions and so on of the path, the deeper, richer and stronger will one's faith become. There is nothing blind, dogmatic, closed, irrational, or static about this process.

As one learns, grows, develops, changes, and matures on the path, the structural character of one's faith undergoes growth, maturation, development and so on. This transformation of faith is a function of one's own direct experiences and the teacher's guidance in helping one to come to an understanding of the significance, value and meaning of such experience.

As is the case with all mundane species of everyday faith, so, too, mystical faith weds together knowns and unknowns. On the basis of what is known or understood, one develops a commitment to certain dimensions of what is unknown and unseen.

As faith develops, the horizons of the unknown may be pushed back to varying degrees. However, the horizon symbolizes the inexhaustible nature of existence and our relationship with God. No matter how much we advance toward the horizon, the horizon always recedes into the distance.

God willing, we increase in spiritual understanding, insight, wisdom and knowledge, but there will always be unknowns which modulate our interactions with Divinity. Nonetheless, we continue to use what we know as the basis of our orientation toward what is unknown.

When we have faith in God, we rely on God to be our trustee in all affairs. As we acquire enhanced degrees of faith, our faith is transformed, God willing into a certitude that God will never abuse our faith or trust. This certitude is based on reflective experience and not on blind, unthinking, dogmatic belief and opinion. Unfortunately, a lot of people confuse being convinced of something with being certain in the mystical sense. Mystical certitude is a function of direct demonstration and experiential evidence of a sort that brooks no doubt as to its authenticity and truth. The experiences are overwhelming and incontrovertible in nature, and, more importantly, they are corroborated in independent ways by other people and other experiences.

To be convinced of something, however, merely means one has a strong opinion. Furthermore, this strong opinion is often held in the absence of any direct experiential demonstration.

In addition, such an opinion of conviction often is rooted in an interpretation of experiences which leaves room open for considerable doubt. An individual might acknowledge the legitimacy of such doubt under these circumstances if the person meditated on the matter very much or with any degree of rigor, care and consideration.

However, all too frequently, people of strong convictions, whether spiritual or non-spiritual in character, are uninterested in entertaining any doubts concerning their firmly entrenched beliefs. On the other hand, with practitioners of the Sufi path, the examination and exploration of doubt can lead to some very beneficial insights and understandings. One is encouraged to work with doubt, not to deny and repress it.

Book Sale - First Edition of Streams to the Ocean by Anab Whitehouse

For a limited time, the first edition of Streams to the Ocean - A Contemplative Introduction to the Sufi Path is being offered at a reduced price. This book was written in 1996 and is a great introduction to the Sufi path. It has also been enjoyed by people who are not new to the Sufi path.

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