Commentary on Murshids Teachings

ZIKR LESSON 30.11.07. Commentary on Murshid’s Teachings.

Concentration on the Goal and not on the things one meets on the Path.

"The journey begins with a path of thorns, and the traveler must go barefoot." Murshid.

"One who loves the effect must surely love the cause as well. Therefore do not stick at the effect; come to the cause. Do not stay with the names; come to what is named. Do not stop at the word; come to the meaning". Sheikh Muzaffer.

…Do not stop at the world; come to the Creator of the world.

There are two different stages in human evolution; the minor and the major stage.

The minor stage is that of childhood….not in terms of physical age but with regard to a state of being and understanding. This stage is characterized by one being aware only of one’s own needs and wants and of being happy only when one gets what one wants….just like a child. This obsession with self-gratification is the result of man being totally immersed in the world of senses. Here man only desires what he sees, hears, perceives, touches and beyond that does not care for anything else.

The major stage on the other hand occurs when man has experienced life to a certain extent, has known its joys and sorrows, enthusiasm and disappointments and has realized its inconstancy.

These two stages have little to do with physical age or a particular kind of education. They depend upon the inner life or the life of the soul. It is the penetration of life in the world to its ultimate, that leads to the realization of an emptiness within which can not be filled by the world. Therefore it is only the soul that has experienced life in the world that has the chance of arriving at enlightenment.

It is important to go toward indifference through interestedness otherwise the risk of falling prey to the temptation of the world always remains. The man who is in the minor stage should not be forced into the major stage; he must sleep well before he can truly awaken.

When, however, a man who is still at the minor stage does happen upon the spiritual path, he remains concerned with mental calculations…thinking that he would like to travel the Path but where will he arrive? He is concerned of his safety on the path, whether he will go alone or be able to keep the company of his friends. And if the friends are not going then maybe he too would opt out. He has many doubts and questions. He wants to figure out the "when’s" and "how’s" of the path right at the outset. He is ruled by fear, looking back and forward at the same time. He wants to know how far he is from the goal and when he would arrive. The mystical hints for him are like toys that keep him busy trying to see his location on the spiritual map. Although he wants to travel on, he is restless like a child.

About the conditions of the major stage, the Bible says, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The Prophet s.w said : Die before you die.
One cannot be born again before dying and therefore the latter saying confirms the former.

If it were asked what the journey really is, the answer would be that the purpose of the whole of creation was this journey.

Even before a person consciously starts upon this journey, he practices it in some form or the other though only in play.
For e.g a person desiring to be rich will devote all his time and energy to that goal and so will be journeying toward that goal. Someone may want power, another fame, and so he strives toward that but all this is play compared to the true goal and the true striving and the proof is that every time he attains the object he desired, he develops a desire for something else. Satisfaction keeps eluding him. The Holy Quran says: Surely in the remembrance of God is the tranquility of hearts. It is only when man finds God that he comes to peace and rest.

Outwardly man is busy in the pursuit of worldly things, but his soul is yearning for its Source. This becomes the cause of all restlessness.

Rumi says: What is in the reed flute that appeals to your soul, that goes through you, pierces your heart? And the answer is the crying of the flute in anguish of separation from the reed-bed, its source. Rumi also gives the example of one who has left his original country for a long time. He may roam freely and enjoy what he sees and experiences, but there will come a moment when a strong yearning for his own land will rise in his heart.

The most effective way for God to turn man’s attention to Himself is making him disillusioned and broken-hearted in the world. When man suffers he wishes to be alone and when he is with himself, he discovers the One waiting with open arms for such a soul to come as a child comes to its mother.

"You must know that if you can see God in your beloved, you will be saved from the sin of associating partners with Him. But if you divide love in two, you fall into this sin of association. Love of God admits of no partnership. If you attach your property and your children to yourself, some calamity will attach them to God. If you know God to be the cause------glad be the tidings for you." Sheikh Muzaffer.

God is the Consoler greater than any in the world, a Friend dearer than any in the world and a Protector stronger than any earthly one.

In the end it is realized that the most Trusted and Worthy Guide and Helper is to be found nowhere but within oneself. He is hidden in our own hearts. This is our own True Being.
Although it is our own True Being yet we may not call it our self for when the Greater Self is compared with the present realization, one is smaller than even the drop in the ocean. Man cannot call the Friend himself, until he has forgotten himself, or he is no more himself.

The conditions for the Wayfarers are different to the outer world. The true knowers of life practice quietude, no argument and no dispute. The one who says "I Know" knows not. And the one who knows does not have to say he knows.

What has removed man from his Divine inheritance is the way of the religious authorities by which they have kept humanity ignorant of the Knowledge of God and have only given it a belief in God. Lack of this knowledge has made the man of reason rebel against what he could not understand. With no link remaining between knowledge and belief, the reign of materialism spread. Materialism led to chaos and unrest in the world. Many wish to do good but do not know how. The spirit departed and the form remained.

The Manner and Method of the Journey.

1. Rising above all things of the world such as power, wealth, possessions, pride and vanity. Once free of these then the desire for True Remembrance and the perfection of Love and Peace will come to reside in the heart. No one can pretend to have arrived at this stage. Every moment of a man’s life speaks louder of what he says than what he really is.
2. To have a loving and charitable attitude to the extent that forgiveness dictates all our actions. To be patient and tolerant with our fellowmen, considering that each one has his/her stage of evolution. He does not expect another to act better than his stage of evolution permits.
3. When our attitude becomes truly loving, when we develop the tendency to serve, to forgive, to tolerate and respect all , that is when we are ready to consciously begin the journey.
4. This path is described best by the symbol of the cross. No one without courage, strength of will and patience can follow this path.
5. Make your character as soft as a rose so that you do not hurt others like thorns. The thorns can hurt the rose but the rose cannot tear the thorns.
6. It is not always easy to be patient, tolerant, refraining from judging others and loving your enemy. But then it is only the dead man who can walk this path….one who has drunk the bowl of poison.
7. The beginning of each path is difficult and uninteresting. Like the one learning how to play the violin…he cannot even form the tunes. But as one approaches the goal with steadfastness, Grace turns the difficulty into ease and tiredness into enjoyment.
8. When one starts on the journey, the lower nature rises up and one’s follies and weaknesses want to drag us down again. We need great strength to break these chains.
9. Next is the struggle with beauty of matter and spiritual beauty. Beauty in form and colour is more tangible, spiritual beauty is hidden. But the stage comes when spiritual beauty becomes THE beauty. The inner takes precedence over the outer.
10. When man has acquired knowledge and through this knowledge power, he becomes puffed up with spiritual pride. One should struggle against this tendency as well and not take any pride in one’s attainments. Spiritual egotism is an enemy that stays with one throughout the path.
11. Only a steadfast and sincere traveler will be able to rise up every time he stumbles. The one who journeys with sincerity will receive Divine Help. Christ said: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God , and all these things will be added unto you.
12. The Goal is important and the soul’s attitude towards it. To live for God, with God and in God.