What Really Matters During These Unprecedented Times

Self-knowledge

Nature has been involved through spirit into matter, and evolves through different stages. Man is the result of the involution of spirit and the evolution of matter; the final effect of this cause is “self-realization”, which means that the Knower arrives at that stage of perfection where He can know Himself…

‘Thou art a mortal being,

And thou art the Eternal One;

Know thyself, through light of wisdom,

Except Thee there exists none.’

The human being is inherently capable of self-knowledge; but to know oneself means not only to know that one is John, Jacob, or Henry, or short, tall, or of normal height, or to know that one is good, bad, and so forth, but also

• to know the mystery of one’s existence, theoretically as well as practically:
• to know what one is within oneself,
• from whence and for what purpose one was born on earth;
• whether one will live here forever, or if one’s stay is short;
• of what one is composed, and which attributes one possesses;
• whether one belongs to angels, contemplating the beauties of God’s nature, or if one belongs to the animals, who know nothing other than to eat, drink, and be merry; or whether one belongs to the devils.

It requires perfection in humanity to attain self-knowledge. To know that I am God, or we are gods, or to know that everything is a part of God, is not sufficient. Perfect realization can only be gained by passing through all the stages between man, the manifestation, and God, the only Being; knowing and realizing ourselves from the lowest to the highest point of existence, and so accomplishing the heavenly journey.

Love

The greatest principle of Sufism is, Ishq Allah Ma’bud Lillah (God is love, lover, and beloved).

When Ahad, the only Being, became conscious of his Wahdat, only existence, through His own consciousness, then His predisposition of love made Him project Himself to establish His dual aspect, that He might be able to love someone. This made God the lover, and manifestation the beloved; the next inversion makes manifestation the lover, and God the Beloved. This force of love has been working through several evolutions and involutions, which end in man who is the ultimate aim of God.

The dual aspect of God is significant in Zat and Sifat, in spirit and matter, and in the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human kingdoms, wherein the two sexes, male and female, are clearly represented. The dual aspect of God is symbolized by each form of this wonderful world.

This whole universe, internally and externally, is governed by the source of love, which is sometimes the cause and sometimes the effect. The producer and the product are one, and that One is nothing but love.

A church, a temple or a Ka’ba stone, 
Qur’an or Bible or a martyr’s bone, 
All these and more my heart can tolerate, 
Since my religion now is Love alone. (Abul Ala al-Maari).

“Love is the reduction of the universe to the single being, and the expansion of a single being, even to God” (Balzac).

Love is that state of mind in which the consciousness of the lover is merged in that of the object of his love; it produces in the lover all the attributes of humanity, such as resignation, renunciation, humility, kindness, contentment, patience, virtue, calmness, gentleness, charity, faithfulness, bravery, by which the devotee becomes harmonized with the Absolute. As one of God’s beloved, a path is opened for his heavenly journey: at the end he arrives at oneness with God, and his whole individuality is dissolved in the ocean of eternal bliss where even the conception of God and man disappears.

Although love is a sweet madness, 
Yet all infirmities it heals. 
Saints and sages have passed through it, 
Love both to God and man appeals.

Perfection

Baqa

The ideal perfection, called Baqa by Sufis, is termed Najat in Islam, Nirvana in Buddhism, “Salvation” in Christianity, and Mukhti in Hinduism. This is the highest condition attainable, and all ancient prophets and sages experienced it, and taught it to the world.

Baqa is the original state of God. At this state every being must arrive some day, consciously or unconsciously, before or after death. The beginning and end of all beings is the same, difference only existing during the journey.

There are three ways in man’s journey towards God.

1. The Way of Ignorance

The first is the way of ignorance, through which each must travel. It is like a person walking for miles in the sun while carrying a heavy load on his shoulder, who, when fatigued, throws away the load and falls asleep under the shade of a tree. Such is the condition of the average person, who spends his life blindly under the influence of his senses and gathers the load of his evil actions; the agonies of his earthly longings creating a hell through which he must pass to reach the destination of his journey.

With regard to him the Qur’an says, “He who is blind in life, shall also be blind in the hereafter.”

2. The Way of Devotion

The next way is that of devotion, which is for true lovers.

Rumi says, “Man may be the lover of man or the lover of God; after his perfection in either he is taken before the King of love.”

Devotion is the heavenly wine, which intoxicates the devotee until his heart becomes purified from all infirmities and there remains the happy vision of the Beloved, which lasts to the end of the journey.

“Death is a bridge, which unites friend to friend” (Sayings of Mohammed).

3. The Way of Wisdom

The third is the way of wisdom, accomplished only by the few. The disciple disregards life’s momentary comforts, unties himself from all earthly bondages and turns his eyes toward God, inspired with divine wisdom. He gains command over his body, his thoughts and feelings, and is thereby enabled to create his own heaven within himself, that he may rejoice until merged into the eternal goal.

“We have stripped the veil from thine eyes, and thy sight today is keen”, says the Qur’an.

All must journey along one of these three paths, but in the end they arrive at one and the same goal.

As it is said in the Qur’an, “It is He who multiplied you on the earth, and to Him you shall be gathered.”