Theory and Practice of Sufism

I begin in the name of Lord, the most Beneficent and Merciful

Sufism is as old as man himself. There is no word like Sufism in the study of the subject. The German scholar while studying the science and the learning of the Sufis wrote a book terming the subject as Sufism. From then on the western nations and western scholars have been calling the study of Islamic mysticism as Sufism, which study in Islam is known as ‘Irfaan’, the knowledge of your own self or ‘Tasawwuf’, the depth of the knowledge of the Divine. How did this Sufism arrive and has it got any basis and has it got any logic is an often question asked by strangers to this subject. People confuse religion with mythology. The atheist and empirical minded say that mythology is based on superstitious believes of the people and they being in dark always assume that some strange things happen in the cosmos and there is influence of the planets and that creates problems in the world. There is a lack of understanding of their own self and its nature.

Sufism is a subject which has been made into a theory. It is more of practice to reach the Divine. The belief is that God was a secret and wanted to reveal Himself. It is believed that the Creator of the whole universe, the Creator of all that is there in the space, moon and all the universal bodies, the Creator of all the matter, is a Single Unitary Being. Being which is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. And He has no partner, no avatar and He is existing from ever and will exist forever.

He just said “KUN” (Be) and the whole universe came into existence.

It could be akin to the theory of big bang when universe has come into existence. Lord gave the command “BE” and the command has fulfilled itself in bringing into existence the entire ever expanding cosmos. The Lord after having revealed Himself in the form of beauty and love, desired to place His vicegerent, a representative on the earth in His own image. So He created man, whose first name was Adam, with four elements of fire, water, dust and air. He blew His soul into this Adam’s clay. It’s believed that the soul did not sustain inside the dark being of Adam. So He had to create light and Muslims refer this light to be the light of Prophet Mohammed (Saw), Christians believe it to be the light of Jesus, and Hindus believe it to be the light of Brahma. This light along with the soul of the Lord dwelled in the heart of the Adam. The first beings created are the angels from light, who were commanded to bow down before Adam, but the arch angel, who was a Jinn created from fire, refused to do so. The arch angel was thrown out from the presence of the Lord and he became a devil or Satan. The belief is that Satan took permission from the Lord to way lay Adam and the generations to be born from the seeds of the man.

God created from the rib of Adam, his life mate Eve. They dwelled in the garden of bliss. God had commanded them not to go near the tree of knowledge but Satan instigated Adam who refused to heed Satan but Eve fell to the glib and honeyed talk of the devil. Eve instigated Adam to eat the fruit of knowledge and that resulted in their banishment. After God taught them the secret words and all the names of the Lord they sought pardon. God commanded them to adjourn on earth to do good deeds, stay away from the bickering, to stay away from the instigations of the Satan. Lord commanded man to know his own self and cleanse his own self and purify all the blemishes of the heart and mind. So that the Effulgence of the Lord shines in the heart. Thus, the knowledge of the inner self dawned from the primordial time, from the time when God created Adam and thus God commanded man to search for him in his own self.

You would see the reflection of the Divine in every particle of the matter, in every particle of space. It is the Divine who runs the whole show, and we are all mere puppets. This is the belief of Sufi poets, who would put this thought in their poetry. The Lord has been sending great Prophets and men of letters, men of learning and men of wisdom from ages to enlighten man. Men of very high accomplished thinking, logic and inner understanding would enlighten all those who come to them. That is how the subject of law has come into existence. Thus, evil was driven away by the acts of goodness.

When Gautama Siddhartha left for the search of truth and found that it is the attachment to one’s own self, which gives rise to frustration in the mind and the heart. You have to rise above frustrations to reach ‘moksha’, the peace, the internal peace ‘As-salaama’. You have to live above all the worldly desires and surrender to the Great Being.

The qualities of Mercy and Beneficence are very close to the heart of God. So He commands man to color his own being in these great two qualities of the Lord of Mercy and Compassion. All religions of the world teach compassion and mercy. Now in order to reach the pinnacle of success of beneficence and mercy, man has to free himself from all that is disturbing in his mind and heart and his living has to be a life of purity. Purity of mind, purity of soul and purity of heart is the basic teaching of Sufis. Thus, Sufism has arrived in this world from the time of the birth of man. Man has been in search of his own Master.

Moulana Jalaluddin Rumi, one of the greatest poets and a great Sufi of erst while era wrote a great Mathnawi, a long poem of more than 20,000 lines in which he has written and taken strength from the stories of the times and from them has drawn the philosophy that the man, who has lost his roots needs to go back to the Divine. The method to reach the Divine is by love and it is only through love, forgiveness, patience, thank fullness, gratitude and all such heavenly qualities, that can take man to the Divine. His every particle in his being should speak of the Divine and Divine alone. His life should become pure, his living should become pure. So also his work should become pure, his actions should become pure. He has to live a life of purity and for that he has to be put in to the cradle of love, which he found in abundance when he was born in his mother’s lap. The mother gives love, nurtures the child with love and affection. Thus, the Sufis believe that if at all we have to reach the heaven then we have to serve our mother. Heaven lies at the feat of the mother, so said our Prophet (sas). These heavenly qualities are dealt in-depth by an adept, a Sufi master, who has received this training from his master and the chain goes up to the Prophet (sas).

To reach the kingdom of heaven one has to practice the principles of honesty, truthfulness, integrity and these qualities have to be inculcated in the mind and heart. It is the Sufi Master who keeps looking at the eyes of the disciple and reads his mind and heart and would be able to tell him as to what is troubling him; whether it’s the ego or it’s the pride or it is the baser elements of lust or such other baser qualities which disturbs the pupil. The master is a trained adept, who has conquered his inner self and reached the Divine by purification of his soul. Sufis live a life above themselves and they live for others. They are the most recluse persons, they live a life of total subjugation, a life of surrender to the Lord and surrender to the Prophet’s commands and live a life of purity.
Sufis wore wool. The wool is soft and warm signifying kindness and warmth of the heart. They always sit in the first line in the assemble of prayers and they are the first to acknowledge the greatness of the Great soul of the cosmos. They refuse to believe that God could transcend into the human self and that self could become his avatar. They only believe that the man has been created for worship and he has to subjugate himself and find the path to reach the Divine but not claim himself to be divine or a god himself or become mini god himself. That philosophy of avatars or avatars taking birth or the guru becoming god is not accepted in Sufism or in the religion of Islam or in any other monotheistic religions.

What are the teachings of a Sufi master and how does one search for a Sufi master? Moulana Jalaluddin Rumi warns that many devils are in the garb of Sufi masters. He warns man not to lend his hand and become a disciple of the person claiming to be a Sufi master or a peer or a peeran unless you are satisfied that he is a totally surrendered person and a person of truth, a person of honesty and a person of integrity and his only interest is to make you perfect, help you polish your mirror of the heart, so that you can see the Divine in your own self. A Sufi Master should have no other desire, no other attachment, no other plan. Neither he has a desire to acquire money and wealth but his only desire is to reach the Divine, to spread the knowledge of the Divine. Only such a person is entitled to teach Sufism. You may say it’s very difficult to find such a Master in this world. If you search in your own self then the Divine will show you the path.

The Holy Quran speaks about the three inner consciousnesses. As a human being, the biologist say that man is a product of evolution and that he is an evolved being from the apes and the monkeys. If this be true then the carnal desires in man is the animal consciousness that is ‘nafse-e-ammara’. The Sufis recognize that man has initially acquired all the instincts and behavior of an animal. An animal will always search for food, satisfy his hunger, satisfy his lust, fight for his territory, conquer anyone who would attempt to seize him and he lives for his own desires and his lust. In such a person, the inner consciousness is filled with anger, jealousy and other instincts of ego and greed. The animal consciousness makes a person proud and his heart turns into a stone.

So the first and foremost aspects of the teachings are that a person’s heart and mind and soul is filled with animal consciousness and that man should conquer the animal consciousness. This has to be conquered by the various methods as taught in Sufism.

The second stage is ‘nafs-e–lawwama’, the consciousness which teaches you about right and wrong. You are told as to what is right and what is wrong. Man keeps developing moral consciousness which keeps telling him as to what he shall do and what he shall not do. This is based on the teachings of the society and also about the purity which dwells in the heart and mind. The moral consciousness reminds man not to do a wrong, a wrong which hurts another human being and which takes away the liberty of other human beings. A wrong destroys the goodness of the man and nature.

The third consciousness is referred to as ‘nafs-e-mutmainna’. In this self dwells divinity. The self which seeks the Lord; man begins to live by the dictates of the Lord and remains in the purified state. He practices day in and day out to remain in that position. He keeps remembering the names of the Lord. The cleanliness of the body is by taking regular bath by water. The cleanliness of the tongue is by shunning evil talk. The cleanliness of the mind is to remove all that disturbs the mind, to maintain equanimity; to maintain the benevolence of the mind and heart. So the ‘nafs-e-lawwwama’ achieves the Divine. This perfection is achieved through daily attempt to retain the light in the heart and mind. This process is carried out from morning till evening. A Sufi master teaches his pupil to be true to his own self, to be true to his mind and heart and carry on the dictates of God. As a humble servant, one is required to carry out all the duties assigned to one’s self in a most perfect manner and without disturbing one’s mind and heart. The main focus of life is to see the inner light and to enlighten oneself. To enlighten one’s being with the knowledge of the Divine. To live a very honest, simple, humble and sublime life.

Sufism or Tasawwuf or Irfan, the inner core of Islam, teaches humanism, love, brotherhood and oneness and believes in creating a world citizenship through “Tauheed” (monotheism). Sufism or Irfan is a way of life to achieve perfection in manners, cultivate and culture the mind and heart with purity of thought and good behavior, through possession of all virtues and negation of all vices by a process of self-annihilation, self realization, self sacrifice and surrender of will before the Supreme Will of Almighty Allah. Sufism is an absolutely peaceful and totally non-violent movement to awaken the soul to greater grandeur through simple living and practicing lofty ideals, through meditation, Zikr’ (incantation), Sama (singing of holy hyms) and other Sufi practices, by accepting the Risalat (Prophethood) of our Holy Prophet Mohammed sallallahu alaihi wasallam; by strengthening of faith, servitude (yaqeen), by protecting the precepts of Holy Prophet, performance of daily Namaz (prayers); acts and deeds of righteousness, seeking and observing ‘Taqwa’ (awe of Allah); ‘Taubah’ (repentance). “Tawakkal” (full surrender and trust in Allah);‘Ikhlas’ (Sincerity), ‘Sidq’ (Truth fullness), ‘contentment (Tawakkul), ‘Haya’ (shame), ‘Sabr’(patience), ‘Shukr’ (gratitude, thankfulness), ‘Zikr’ (remembrance), ‘Zohad’ (renunciation),‘Khauf’ (Fear), ‘Rida’ (hope), Khushu’ (fearfulness, humility), ‘Istiqamat (uprightness) a ‘state’in which Allah’s grace comes perpetual for it implies the perfect performance of Allah’s service, ‘Firasa (insight) as Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said “Beware of the believers insight, for he sees with the sight of Allah”; ‘Wara’ (abstaining, that is from all unnecessary and unseemly occupations) and ‘Simt’ (silence). The Prophet is quoted as having said “Whosoever believes in Allah and his last day, let him speak good or else let him be silent”. Silence is interpreted both literally as meaning that the man should learn to govern his tongue and metaphorically is referring to a heart that silently accepts whatever Allah may decree), ‘Adab’ (Decent manners, as Prophet (sas) said ‘Allah mannered me and taught me good manners” live in righteous conduct; Dua (Prayer, seeking constantly supplicant to Allah, for Allah says, pray for me and I will answer you”) ‘Faqr’ (poverty) for Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said “The poor shall enter paradise five hundred years before the rich, ‘Tafakkur’ (meditation), ‘Muraqaba (contemplation)and ‘Muhasabah’ (Self examination), ‘Tauheed’ (belief in one Allah), ‘Mahabba’ (love), ‘Shauq(yearing), Uns’ (intimacy), ‘Rida’ (satisfaction). Truth is realized by daily submission to the rule of law laid down by Allah, for achieving the perfection of human self by “Mujahida; a collateral form of Jihad’ to mean ‘earnest striving after the mystical life”. As the Holy Quran says “And they that strive earnestly in our cause, we surely guide upon our paths (Quran 29: 69). Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam says that the “greater warfare (Al Jihad ul Akbar) is against the earnest striving with the carnal soul (mujahidat un nufs). It is by seeking refuge in Allah and seek His protection from the animal and satanic forces working in man, by observing ‘Saum’ (fasting) for the purpose of purification of inner and outer actions of man, by ‘Kurbani’ (sacrifice) so as to enable man to break away from the shackles of selfishness, self centeredness and to break away from the indulgence of pleasure seeking, materialism, ritualism, taboos and superstitions so as to achieve perpetual peace and “As-Sakina” (eternal peace) through deeds of everlasting goodness(Baqiyat us Salihat), thus to achieve Allah’s realization.

Sufism enlightens the mind, sharpens the wit, broadens the outlook and purifies the heart and thinking. Above all Sufism or Irfan makes a person humane and a perfect gentleman in every sense of the term. Sufism is a branch of Islamic spiritualism and its study and practice is known as “Tasawwuf” (Gnosis). The study is divided into four branches “Shariat” (common law), ‘Tariqat’ (spiritual path), “Ubudiat (servanthood – unity with Allah) and ‘Marifat’ (Allah’s realization – Gnosis). Sufism begins with acceptance of ‘Tawheed’ (monotheism) and Risalath of Prophet Mohammed sallallahu alaihi wasallam by observance of personal hygiene, strict disciplined life, doing charity and earning through the sweat of the brow.

Secularism and Secular Values

Secularism is the principle of the separation of the government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious dignitaries. One manifestation of secularism is asserting the right to be free from religious rule and teachings or in a state declared, to be neutral on matters of belief, from the imposition by government of religion or religious practices upon its people. Another manifestation of secularism is the view that public activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be uninfluenced by religious beliefs and / or practices.

Secularism draws its intellectual roots from Greek and Roman philosophers such as Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius, from enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Dines Diderot, Voltaire, Baruch Spinoza, Jane’s Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine and from more recent free thinkers and atheists such as Robert Ingersoll and Bertrand Russell.

Secularism means setting up democratically elected governments and laws passed by parliament and legislatures uninfluenced by religious dictates and scriptures. The rule of law is supreme and all citizens are equal in the eye of law. The actions are judged by courts manned by skilled judges and proceedings are conducted with help of trained and skilled lawyers. The government collects taxes direct and indirect from citizens and manufactures and sellers of goods and provider of services under due process of legislated laws. No person can be punished, censured without due process of law and can be done only after following the principles of natural justice. The state is governed by its constitution wherein is enshrined the fundamental rights to its citizens.

Historical Background

India on gaining independence adopted secular socialistic democracy with three wings -legislature, Judiciary and Executive. The constitution of India enshrined basic fundamental rights to its citizens and all citizens to be treated equally and guarantying equal protection with reservation for socially and economically backward classes including schedule caste and schedule tribes for their upliftment and betterment. People are granted liberty and freedom to practice their faith and religion. Liberty and freedom are the foundation stones of the Indian constitution.

Secular Society

In studies of religion, modern democracies are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near complete freedom of religion (beliefs on religion generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions. Nevertheless, religious beliefs are widely considered by most to be relevant part of the political discourse in many of the secular countries (most notably in the western society the United States). This contrasts with other western countries as Britain and France where religious references are generally considered out-of-place in main stream politics.

The aspirations of a secular society could characterize a secular society as one which:

  1. Refuses to commit itself as a whole to any one view of the nature of the universe and the role of man in it.
  2. Is not homogenous, but is pluralistic.
  3. Is tolerant. It widens the sphere of private decision-making.
  4. While every society must have some common aims, which implies there must be agreed on methods of problem-solving, and a common frame work of law; in a secular society these are as limited as possible.
  5. Problem solving is approached rationally, through examination of the facts. While the secular society does not set any overall aim, it helps members realize their aims.
  6. Is a society without any official images. Nor is there a common ideal type of behavior with universal application.

Positive ideals behind the secular society

  1. Deep respect for individuals and small groups of which they are a part.
  2. Equality of all people.
  3. Each person should be helped to realize their particular excellence.
  4. Breaking down of the barriers of class and caste.

Some societies become increasingly secular as the result of social processes, rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement; this process is known as secularization.

Secularism in India 

Secularism in India means equal treatment of all religions by the state. The laws implicitly require the state and its institutions to recognize and accept all religions, enforce parliamentary laws instead of religious laws, and accept pluralism. India does not have an official state religion. The people of India have freedom of religion, and the state treats all individuals as equal citizens regardless of their religion. In matters of law in modern India, however, the applicable code of law is unequal and India’s personal laws-on matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, alimony-varies with an individual religion.

Secularism as practiced in India, with its marked differences with western practice of secularism, is a controversial topic in India. Supporters of the Indian concept of secularism claim it respects Muslim men’s religious rights and recognizes that they are culturally different from the Indians of other religions.

Secularism is a divisive, politically charged topic in India.

Secularism in India, thus, does not mean separation of religion from state. Instead, secularism in India means that a state is neutral to all religious groups. Religious laws in personal domains, particularly for Muslim Indians, supersede parliamentary laws in India; and currently, in some situations, the state partially finances certain religious schools.

Secular values

The secular mind is better equipped than religion to reach reasoned and compassionate judgments. Religious minds tend to become irrational and fanatical leading to inter religious differences, violence and bloodshed. The more potent form of faith seeks to justify doctrines and practices that defy rationality and compassion. Religious minded refuse abortion, even a case of rape, incest or severe foetal abnormality. Secular mind on the other hand value human rights and makes the society tolerant.

Therefore, secular values are simply those values derived not from any religious source. Separate from any religious concerns. All stemming from “Secular” meaning not connected to any dogma or doctrines. Anything said to be secular including values, is that which has been reached through purely ‘human’ means.

Secular values are those values which people come up with that focus on the effects certain actions actually have on people ( ….. other organisms, the planet etc) instead on ignoring /overriding such concerns to focus on the commands of some religious text/traditions or whatever. Secular values are derived from rationality and based scientific findings that superstitious believes or religious dogmas.

Secular humanism is a comprehensive life stance or world view embraces human reason, metaphysical naturalism, altruistic morality and distributive justice, and consciously rejects super natural claims, theistic faith and religiosity, pseudo-science, and superstitions.  It is sometimes referred to as Humanism. Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and doesn’t accept supernatural views of reality (According to the international Humanist and Ethical Union’s(IHEU) By law 5.1)

Countering fascism and fanaticism to strengthen secularism and secular values

The way to counter fascism and strengthen secularism and secular values is to meet its challenges posed by materialism and consumerism.

In a parliamentary democracy, the majority party holds the reigns of the government. Where a party having strong religious learning with religious ideals as their agenda then their functioning and rule is bound to effect the ideals and values of secularism. This has been demonstrated in our country with umpteen communal riots and suppression of rights of minorities, schedule caste, tribes and backward classes. Recent excesses shown in enforcement of ban on cow slaughter is one pointer. Ram temple issue also brought in series of communal clashes and affected the harmony and peace of the country. The question facing the country is as to how to strengthen secularism and secular values by facing the challenges posed by fascism and fanaticism?

The old Indian spiritual life and custom have been replaced by western modes and western way of life. The two great world wars had a little impact on our country; instead, it stirred political consciousness among the masses, which played a great part in bringing the change in the life style of Indian people. The traditional caste system and the hold of upper castes have been broken and a more cohesive society has been created. The social revival of the masses with the ushering in of right of self-determination, rule of law and concept of social welfare has indeed shaken the traditional faction ridden caste society. The improvement of social lives of poor masses, schedule caste and tribes, by enforcement of democracy into the hitherto highly religious society has brought in tremendous changes in the social life style of Indian people. The economic changes and the changes of the village life-pattern to a more sophisticated urban life have equally not been free from malaise. The emergence of evils of western civilizations like poverty, crime, prostitution, alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, gambling beggary, materialism, consumerism, dissolution of joint family, divorce and break down of traditional social life has helped in the growth of religious fanaticism. At one hand the concept of state and involvement of people in their state affairs has become total, but on the other hand the waning of spiritual life also become apparent. The growth of materialistic life style, high cost of living and the inability of political parties to solve these issues and help in development of socialistic philosophy and democratic life style has there by created a water shed in the Indian polity. This has been a major cause of the revival of religious fanaticism. Even before the concept of free thought and expression and democratic living could become a way of life of the last Indian, the religious forces have revived there by effecting secular values and secularism. These religious forces are more from persons who are pseudo-spiritualists and god men. The true spiritual guides and philosophers of India, who have mass influence, have become scarce and rare. This has given room for fascist force to grow in the leaps and bounds endangering secularism and secular values among the Indian people. The greatest harm the fascist, fundamentalist and religious politicians have done is to run down the supremacy of the rule of law and to weaken the functioning of the democratic institutions, besides causing the destruction to the growth of true spiritualism.

The answer lays in the search to bring in cohesion between philosophies of ancient spiritual sages with those of present concept of rule of law. The way to counter fascism and strengthen secularism and secular values is to meet its challenges posed by materialism and consumerism. It is by reviving true spiritualism in the Indian religious context rather than use of ritualistic symbols, religious rites in all secular democratic institutions.  Use of religion in politics should be prohibited. Political parties should not be allowed to use any religious rites or symbols. All religious processions in public places should be discouraged. Democratic living and only true spiritualists should be encouraged, who give the message of brother hood, humanism, compassion and mercy. The sacred spaces in India where people practicing their respective religions gather to celebrate common festivals are required to be strengthened to help secularism and secular values. So also secular values have to be strengthened in all public schools, public institutions and public places.

Why bad things happen to good people?

Man is a product of evolution having evolved from single celled amoeba. It has taken billion years to reach the stage of Homo Sapiens. There has been constant struggle for existence and only survival of the fittest has existed. Man is not a perfect being if it were so the evolution would have stopped. He is a hunter in the jungle of life. He hunts or gets hunted. It is his constant mental growth and intelligence which enables him to conquer the challenges posed by both the benign and cruel nature.  Nature always and ever poses challenges in the form of drought, floods, tsunamis, diseases and ever difficult problems. But the integrity of man with his power of mind over comes the same. Man ever since he passed the stone age, copper, bronze and iron age built up societies and societies gave birth to town, cities and civilizations. Thus culture, architecture, music, painting, dance and various arts have arisen in human civilizations. It is the accumulation of knowledge, collective wisdom which has benefited mankind. Man’s capacity to philosophies gave birth to dogmas, myths, mythologies ad religion. This has been evolving over a period of time.

It is the human living within the norms laid down by the society for a healthy and peaceful living which has given the term of goodness and evil

When rain falls, it falls on all. When sun shines it shines on all.

The ancient man continues to live in him. A person is possessed with both nature, negative and positive qualities and it is his behaviour and conduct in society which labels him as a good or evil person. But from the evolutionary point of view, man is in ever struggle for his survival and does all that is required for his beneficial living. He continuous to be selfish, self-centered and self-possessive. His actions are bound to harm his fellow patriots. Every nation struggles for its survival through trade and economics. Thus, has come a notion that “Nothing is good or bad but it is thinking that makes it so”. “All is fair in love and war”. Everyone wants to succeed by hook or crook. The so called “good people” are unable to face the challenges possessed by a compatriot and due to the submissiveness, succumb to the harsh ways of a challenging person who by “hook or crook” wins his battles of life. Such a person who is rough and tough, brutal pushes his way for success is labelled as “bad person”. Person labelling him as “bad person” forgot that the nature’s constant struggle for survival is in full force and all the population are not prophets, buddhas, Mahavira’s and Christs. All are common people and they need to survive and survival of the fittest exists.

From the heaven dawns grace and wrath. It does not distinguish between good or bad. When rain falls, it falls on all. When sun shines it shines on all. There are several religious philosophies, myths, superstitious which are creation of man. It may be truth or may not be. We cannot judge that one is infallible and above any harm. Each one gets affliction in due measure. It is only combined effort of humanity that can bring goodness to society or harm. Success and failure are part of life. The struggle goes on…

A great hope on this Year 2019

The pages of my lovely dairy are empty,
I do not know what the march of Time will reveal
To fill the pages of life.
The events are all ready with Damocles sword
Shining sharp held in mighty hands
To slash the head of boastfulness.
To lay trickery on the slippery path.
To sledge, to allow you to do experiments.
To make you burn your fingers.
Or to present you with feathers in your cap.
Or lay flowers in all your paths
Or make you walk on thorns.
With sultry and blistering sun,
Above your bald head to sweat and fume.
To create gardens of bliss
Or lands to follow for hunger and thirst
To plead for mercy and forgiveness.
To seek golden keys to open the doors of love.

To Err is human but to forgive is Divine

Man from the time of his creation has been a bundle of contradictions and born weak. Had Hz. Adam, the First Man, created from Allah’s Own Hand’s not sinned by breaking the commandment of the Lord, he would not have been removed from Lord’s presence and from the paradise. Hz. Adam had to undergo severe trial and tribulations. Lord the Almighty showed Mercy and Adam was pardoned. Adam was to live an earthly living to procreate, create food and live as per Allah’s commandment. His sons quarreled and first blood was shed in the form of man slaughter. Like-wise the future generations of Hz. Adam were quick in committing wrongs and sins. God in His Mercy has been sending great souls to redeem humanity from the consequences of the wrongs and sins committed by the whole society. Thus, we find in history, thousands of Prophets, saints and good law abiding people, who have shown through their examples and exemplary lives a way out for the erring souls to fight back the battles of life to gain victory, solace and peace. Peace is not a cheap commodity available on the desk of a store. It is a precious metal like gold, diamond and platinum to gain from the virtuous living; by being dogmatically steadfast in our correct daily living. Only then can we spiritually elevate ourselves to win our most daring open enemy i.e., our own erring soul and the Devil, the Satan.

The present modern civilized society is as a result of many million sacrifices done by our ancestors, prophets, saints, political leaders, scientist, social workers, farmers, businessmen and workers. Rome was not built in a day. It took a millennium to reach this stage of a scientific era. Even in present times, millions and trillions of good hands are working for the good of the humanity by daily sacrifices. Many a times, millions lose out and find themselves ever in loss due to their own short comings and doings, than the social system or due to any adverse situation created by our wrong friends, adversaries and dogmatic people around us. Many a losing battles have been won by being virtuous, exerting and excelling in patience during troubled times and by avoiding pleasing our cheap senses and by avoiding to indulge in bonhomie, mirth and pleasures. Lot of injustice is perpetuated in this world. In umpteen situations in life, we are victims of such quagmire happenings. It is in such a situation that we are required to exert patience, remain silent and forgive our adversaries. We have to remain steadfast on the commands of Allah then enter into bickering, ending in quarrels, fights which may ultimately result in our losing our face, name, fame and even our wealth. The adversaries would pounce for a weak move on our part to gain control over us and blast us for ever and ever. A little patience and observing silence and forgiving our erring adversary would save us from ruination. It is our ego and erring self, which is our stark enemy than our real adversary. Satan would wait for such moments when our equilibrium is lost and when we lose our self control to mislead us into the quick sand, so as to destroy us fully without any scope of any redemption to even save our face; so that we could one day again redeem ourselves. It is so easy to err and become victim to our passions, sentiments and emotions but it is ever so difficult to regain our composure, maintain our dignity, poise, manners, courtesy and never failing virtue of patience in all our troubled times. To forget and forgive an ugly moment is a divine service to our own ugly soul. This would elevate our status then push us down before our stark enemy.

Study of lives of great men would disclose how they were brow beaten a million times by their opponents. There are none who have not faced opposition in life. We triumph when we remain cool like a cucumber, maintain our poise, manners and virtue of patience and silence. And never let our erring soul and real adversary, the Devil to have a better say in all the affairs of our life. Momentarily we may feel grave injustices have been done to us to take to sword or pen to enter into a controversy, arguments to establish our rights. We may ultimately fail, never to regain our lost prestige. We will be left with lots of time for regret, if not, to continue the battle with ever grave situations for ourselves, for our descendants and all our friends. Our ever best friends would be left helpless and would not be of any help. This would again alarm us more and we may feel let down more and more. We would never gain a situation to have a plus point except to lose forever and never to win. Sometimes, we may win an argument but in the result may lose thousands of friends and admirers. It may look easy to win an argument and a point but ultimately we may not win friends and most importantly the love of humanity.

Our troubled mind should be put to peace. We need to buy peace quickly by compromises and adjustments, than open widely our mouth giving out only bad breath. If we can find a situation for dialogue, we shouldn’t miss it, so also a situation to shake hands and make amends. This is far more advantageous and puts us in comfortable situation. It is like saving for a rainy day. It is the experience of generations that none are given comforts for joys and exhilaration forever. Nature has designed its plan such that we are required to face many seasons. For every season, one should prepare to face it or else be prepared to lose the ground and let yourselves be defeated and let down. Many a crime on humanity is when we lose a ground in an ugly moment and a situation, to allow our erring soul to gain over our self to commit a wrong or a sin only to be punished by law. Thus, to err is human but to forgive is Divine.

“Our Lord! Forgive us therefore our faults, and cover our evil deeds and make us die with the righteous.”

The Quran 3: 193

On Love

When you say “I love you”, does it not mean that you are obliging the other person with your attention if not your total care?

This term love raises a few questions? Can this feeling be made universal? Does it mean that you are personally attached to the loved one? Are you expecting the said person to whom, you have uttered this word, to bend towards you, oblige you, look at you as some one more important and that such continued attention is required to be bestowed on you, to enable you to keep uttering this term.

This term love may imply that your senses are numbed and you are soft, sentimental and obliging to the person towards whom you feel the love. Does love feeling in you, demand from the person, to whom it is directed, some expectation in return? Expectation to gather more and more feeling of sacrifice from that person. That person should feel inferior to you; give up a part of their personality to you. You expect sacrifice, hard work, surrender to you and you get a feeling of being a boss, to bully the other person for your continuous needs! If it is not forthcoming, you feel despondent, hurt and letdown? In order to please the other person to give her best to you, you also bend so much that much of your individuality is lost including right thinking, right actions and also good thoughts. Love, as they say, is a psychological trauma. However, a feeling of respect, without any expectations in return, is a different matter and may not involve the person’s inner self and its anxieties.

If I have felt “love” towards my wife, it is a psychological trauma of “expectancy” of reciprocation of “giving’ and ‘taking’ of each other’s self’. You bend and expect the same or more from the other person. Just because of this one word, you may expect more from the other person and nonfulfilment of your wish and desire may lead to resentment, anger, frustration and you may try to impose your will on your wife more violently to subjugate her to your ways.

“Love thy neighbor as thyself’, does it imply that yourself love should be exhibited to your neighbor and bring within its arena, all of them. Does it leave any choice? I may be seeking self-pity, sympathy and over attention. Which and what part of you is to be shared?

‘Love your God’, ‘Your parents’, ‘You wife and children’, ‘love your family, brothers and sisters’, have all a ring of selfish motives, desires of expectancy attached to it and an element of giving and taking’.

Is this term ‘ Love’ any more relevant, in the present life governed by material acquisitions, which is on an hourly basic and life revolving around ‘profit’ and ‘gains’, and the acquisition of personal  talents for acquiring more personal comforts? Should ‘love’ be ‘shared’ and ‘gained’ or ‘ lost’ with these motives in aim? What does then ‘love’ imply in the present context of enormous stresses and strains, tensions and turmoil, uncertainties and irregularities in every aspect of time, space and living? Should it mean, to share one loaf of bread, which is hardly sufficient for yourself with umpteen number of dependents and “love thy neighbor as thyself’. Do you expect a similar treatment from your “neighbor” and all others to you profess to have ‘love’ or expect them to ‘ love’ you?

What then is this ‘Love’? Does it end with being ‘sweet’ to the person you like or think you like’ or be just ‘smiling’ at them? Does ‘love’ implore you to ‘love’ your enemy, who is preparing to destroy you, create problems for you, make everything, difficult for you? Does ‘love’ mean ‘liking the other person’ if that person accommodates you in their ‘feeling’ and their private life or you feel that they could share your comforts and joys, jealousies and hatred?

Well, one should not confuse ‘love’ with ‘concern’ for each other’s welfare. We, as human beings, have found a need to form groups and societies, to protect ourselves from the predating animals, calamities arising from natural forces: and to work for each other’s needs. In this regard, delicate rules have been framed for smooth functioning of the groups and societies for our each other’s ameliorations, recreation, safety, welfare and protection. We have learnt to govern ourselves by a system of rule of law, which has been evolving from time immemorial for its effective functioning and to maintain its balance by good governance through well laid down principles of justice, equality, brotherhood and other well tested principles are being applied for common good and well being of all.

However, aspect of study and reflection pertaining to “Love” and Sharing “has been within the realm of morals, philosophy and religion. Wise men have analyzed the aspect of ‘love’, ‘concern’ and ‘feeling for others’ and felt that these feelings are required to be personally regulated in terms of a recognition of some super-natural force, which has been termed as “God”, thus an idiom has come up that “Love is God’ or ‘God is Love’. This is to make ‘love’ all pervading, all existing and lasting, Thus, it has been recognized that just as we need to have ‘concern’, for humanity, for working for common good of all, likewise, it should be preceded by feelings emanating from heart and mind, so that we are not propelled by a brute mechanical force, but by a feelings of willingness, which feeling should bring joy and happiness, rather than pain and suffering. Pain and suffering accepted voluntarily, due to a strong feeling of likeness to the person to whom it is directed in the form of “Love”, does not cause destruction, but it propels a person towards a ‘life force’ or ‘magnetic force’, which is everlasting.

We see in nature, forces acting in unison or in harmony. Likewise, in order to direct the feeling of ‘love’ towards everlastingness and prevent it, from becoming a destructive force and a psychological barrier, great religious leaders have out of deep spiritual experience, shown us way of regulating these feelings of ‘love’ to make it lasting and to prevent it from being guided by selfish motive of ‘self preservation’ alone. Thus, ‘love’ has neither to be excessive nor passive but a via media, just as ‘concern’ for each other is for our common good and welfare.  Love neither should be demanding nor profuse. It should neither be trusted nor compelled or forced upon another. ‘Love’ should be for ‘Love’s sake’. It is a silent cool stream and its water is pure and sweet. It should neither be poisonous, nor bitter. ‘Love’, should bring joy and happiness and remove the feelings of bitterness, moroseness, self possessiveness, hatred and jealousy. Love should bring in us magnanimity and generosity of Sun, truthfulness, simplicity, beauty and grace of Moon; contentment and tranquility of an Ocean, love should make us forgiving, merciful and compromising in all seasons; purity and shine of white snow of Himalayas, vastness of a desert and enormous good will and everlasting goodness.

Each one of us chooses a guide. For Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has been a beacon of light and has been a shining example of Love.

It is quoted in Imam Ghazali’s “Ihya Ulum-di-din( Vol.iv) at the conclusion of the chapter on “Love and Attachment”.

“Hazreth Ali karramallahu wajhoo said: I asked the Prophet about his Sunnat and he said: Marifat is the root of my favour, wisdom is the root of my religion, love is my foundation, attachment is my conveyance, Zikr of God is my friend, certainty of faith is my secret treasure, sorrow is my companion, Wisdom is my sword, patience is my sheet, contentment is my valuable treasure, failure is my business, sure faith is my power, truthfulness is my intercessor, divine service is my object of love, Jihad is my nature and prayer is the coolness of my eyes.”

Thus it has come to be known that “Love and affection are the most beautiful flowers in the garden of Life.

Sharing Love

Love a divine spark, hidden in depths of heart
 For man to cherish, till death doth him apart
 To give meaning to life, and life – after 
 A binder and a coagulator

 Love is sacrifice and sacrifice is to die
 A sincere attempt to give up every lie
 The inner being gets effaced for the Beloved
 Immersed in thoughts, drunk in His breath.

 Where love lets lovely springs to flow
 In its bottom lies dormant sorrow
 To creep up and let streams of tears
 On sad thoughts, for love to share.

 A bleeding heart bears gems within 
 To emit rays of hopes, to wash off sin.