THE THEOSOPHY OF ISLAM.
LETTERS
FROM
A SÛFÎ TEACHER
SHAIKH SHARFUDDÎN MANERÎ
OR
MAKHDÛM-UL-MULK.
Translated from the Persian
by
BAIJNÂTH SINGH
Theosophical Publishing Society.
Benares City and London
Theosophist Office, Aydar; Madras, S.
Printed By Thakur Das Manager,
at the Tara Printing Works, Benares.
All Rights Reserved.
Registered under Act XXV of 1867.
FOREWORD.
Shaikh Sharf-ud-dîn was the son of Shaikh Yahiâ. His birthplace is Maner, a village near Patnâ in Behâr (India). A love of knowledge and the religious life, and signs of spiritual greatness, were found in him from his early childhood. A strange Being was once seen by the cradle of the baby. The mother, frightened, reported the matter to her father, Shahâb-ud-dîn, a great saint. The latter consoled her, saying that the mysterious Presence was no less a Being than the Prophet Khezar[1] Himself, and that the baby was expected to be a man of great spiritual advancement. He acquired secular knowledge under Ashraf-ud-dîn, a famous professor of those days. He first refused to marry, but had to yield when, being ill, he was advised by the physician to take to marriage as the remedy for his disease. He left home after the birth of a son, travelled in many places, and was at last initiated (at, or near Dehli) by Najîb-ud-dîn Firdausî. The latter made him his deputy on earth under a deed drawn twelve years earlier under the direction of the Prophet of Islâm Himself, asked him to leave the place, and quitted his body shortly after.
[1] A mysterious Personage, according to some, a Prophet; according to others, a Walî or 'Friend of God'. He is supposed to be an Immortal Being, an invisible Teacher and Helper of Mankind. Moses was sent by God to seek His instruction. 'Khezar' literally means 'green', a metaphorical expression for auspiciousness, blessedness, wholesomeness and fertility.
On his initiation, Sharf-ud-dîn lived for many a long year in the woods of Bihiâ and the Râjgiri Hills. In his later days he adopted Bihâr (now a subdivisional town) as his residence, at the request of some of his friends and disciples. He died on Thursday, the 6th of Shawwâl, 782 Hijra, in the opening years of the 15th Century A. D. His titular name is Makhdûm-ul-Mulk, 'Master of the Kingdom or the World.' He was equally proficient in secular learning and esoteric Knowledge, and possessed superhuman powers. His tomb at Bihâr is still resorted to as a place of sanctity by a large number of devout Mahomedans. He wrote many works, of which three only have yet been published. These are:—
(1.) Maktûbât-i-Sadî, a 'Series of a Hundred Letters' (or rather essays on definite subjects) addressed to his disciple Qâzî Shams-ud-dîn in 747 Hijra.
(2.) Maktûbât-i-Bist-o-hasht, a 'Series of 28 Letters', being replies to the correspondence of his senior disciple, Mozaffar, the prince of Balkh.
(3.) Fawâed-i-Ruknî, a number of brief Notes prepared for the use of his disciple Rukn-ud-dîn.
The present booklet consists of the translation of copious extracts from Maktûbât-i-Sadî, the most elaborate and comprehensive of the three published works, with Notes occasionally added from the other two with a view to elucidate or complete the subject in hand. These extracts, it is hoped, will cover the greater part of, if not all, the principles inculcated in these books, and are expected to give the reader a fair knowledge of the Teaching of the Author in all its phases. Matters relating to mere exoteric rites, legends and traditions have been omitted. The translation does not pretend to be always very literal, but an honest attempt has been made to present a faithful rendering of the original to the English-knowing public, that they may be able to better appreciate the Teachings of Islâm, and that the Brotherhood of Creeds may have one more advocate to plead its cause before the tribunal of the human intellect.
Gayâ, (Behâr.)
BAIJNÂTH SINGH.
1908.
CONTENTS.
LETTERS FROM A SÛFÎ TEACHER.
On Monotheism (Tauhîd).
Masters of the path have divided monotheism into four stages. The first stage consists in repeating, vocally, without any inner conviction, "There is no God save Allâh."[2] This is hypocrisy, and does not profit on the day of resurrection. The second stage consists in repeating the said logion vocally with an inner conviction based upon conventional imitation (as in the case of ordinary people), or some form of reasoning (as in the case of an intellectual theist). This is verily the visible body of monotheism, frees one from gross polytheism and from hell, and leads to heaven. This second stage, though safer than the first, and less unstable, is for all that a low one, fit for old women.[3] The third stage consists in Light shining in the heart, which reveals the One Agent alone as the root of all phenomena, and the non-agency of all else. This is quite unlike the conviction of ordinary people or that of an intellectual theist. Such a conviction is a fetter to the soul, whereas the vision of the Light breaks all fetters. There must be a difference between one who believes a certain gentleman to be in his house, on the testimony of others (as in the case of ordinary people), another who infers the residence of that gentleman in the house, because he sees his horses and servants at the gate (as in the case of the intellectual theist), and another who actually sees the gentleman in the house (as in the case of the third stage). In the third stage one sees the creatures and the Creator, and distinguishes them from Him. This much of separation still persists—hence it is not perfect union in the eyes of the Masters.
[2] Lâ elâha ill' Allâh.
[3] Weak souls.—Trs.
The fourth stage consists in the pouring forth of the Divine Light so profusely, that it absorbs all individual existences in the eyes of the pilgrim. As in the case of the absorption of particles floating in the atmosphere in the light of the sun, the particles become invisible—they do not cease to exist, nor do they become the sun, but they are inevitably lost to sight in the overpowering glare of the sun—so, here, a creature does not become God, nor does it cease to exist. Ceasing to exist is one thing, invisibility is another.... When thou lookest through a mirror, thou dost not see the mirror, for thou mergest it into the reflexion of thy face, and yet thou canst not say that the mirror has ceased to exist, or that it has become that reflexion, or that the reflexion has become the mirror. Such is the vision of the Divine Energy in all beings without distinction. This state is called by the Sûfîs, absorption in monotheism. Many have lost their balance here: no one can pass through this forest without the help of the Divine Grace and the guidance of a Teacher, perfect, open-eyed, experienced in the elevations and depressions of the Path and inured to its blessings and sufferings.... Some pilgrims attain to this lofty state only for an hour a week, some for an hour a day, some for two hours a day, some remain absorbed for the greater portion of their time....
Beyond the four is the stage of complete absorption, i. e., losing the very consciousness of being absorbed and of seeking after God—for such a consciousness still implies separation. Here, the soul merges itself and the universe into the Divine Light, and loses the consciousness of merging as well. "Merge into Him, this is monotheism: lose the sense of merging, this is unity." Here there are neither formulæ nor ceremonies, neither being nor non-being, neither description nor allusion, neither heaven nor earth. It is this stage alone that unveils the mystery: "All are non-existent save Him;" "All things are perishable save His Face;" "I am the True and the Holy One." Absolute unity without duality is realised here. "Do not be deluded, but know: every one who merges in God is not God."
The first stage of monotheism is like the outermost shell of the almond; the second stage is like the second shell; the third stage is like the core; the fourth stage is like the essence of the core—the oil of the almond. All these are known by the name of the almond, but each differs immensely from the others in status, result, and use.
This note should be studied patiently and intelligently, since it deals with the basis of all developments, activities, and supersensuous phenomena. It will explain the phraseology and the allusions in the writings of the saints, and throw light on the verses on monotheism and the stages thereof.
O brother! though an ant, thou mayest turn out to be a Solomon. Do not think thou art an impure sinner: though a gnat, thou mayest become a lion.... God raises the monotheist out of the dualist, the faithful out of the faithless, and the devotee out of the sinner.—Letter 1.
[The following extracts on monotheism from The Series of 28 Letters, another work of the author, may be aptly added.—Trs.]
According to a tradition of the Prophet, all beings were created out of Darkness, but each took in Light according to its capacity, and thus became luminous. Hence all beings are sparks of the Divine Light, and their luminosity is derived from It. Now one can fully understand the sacred verse: "God is the Light of heaven and earth."—Letter 17.
Thou-ness and I-ness pertain to our world. They do not exist in the region of the Beloved. He is the one Reality: futile is the assertion of any existence but His.—Letter 2.
Turning to God or Conversion (Taubâh).
Taubâh literally means to turn back. But the nature of the turning must be different with different individuals according to the difference in their conditions and stages. Ordinary people would turn from sin with apology in order to escape punishment; middling ones would turn from their deeds to secure the regard of the Master; the Elect would turn from all worlds, here and hereafter, and feel the insignificance and non-existence thereof in order to realise the glory of the Maker. The turning of a beginner cannot be permanent. A saint says of himself: "I turned back 70 times and failed each time; but my seventy-first turning proved steady, and I failed no more."
Khwâjâ (Master) Zunnoon of Egypt observes that the Taubâh of ordinary people consists in turning from sins, that of the Elect in turning from heedlessness.
Khwâjâ Sobaid and many others are of opinion that Taubâh consists in remembering one's past transgressions and being ever ashamed of them, so that one may not grow proud of one's many virtues. On the other hand, Khwâjâ Junnaid and many others hold the view that Taubâh consists in forgetting past transgressions, i. e., in expunging their impressions from the heart, so that it may become as pure as if it had never committed them.
Taubâh is obligatory for all pilgrims at all times, since for each pilgrim there is always a stage higher than his present one. If he halts at any stage, he stops his pilgrimage and commits sin.
Taubâh consists in a firm and sincere resolution to abstain from sins, so as to assure God of one's unwillingness to commit them in future; and in compensating, to one's best ability, those one has harmed in any way....
Taubâh is the basis of all developments, as the ground is for the foundation of a building. The chief requisite is Îmân (peace, faith, or moral sense). Taubâh and Îmân appear together, and the latter illumines the heart in proportion to the former.
The real Taubâh lies in turning from one's nature. When the disciple turns from his nature he becomes another; i. e., he does not become another man, but his qualities change. Then he unfolds true Îmân, which sweeps away many-ness and leads to unity. Ere the turning, Îmân is but conventional and nominal. "How long will you worship God with your tongue only? This is no better than worshipping desires. So long as thou dost not become a Moslem from within, how canst thou be a Moslem merely from without?" The lame ass of conventional faith and the lip-behaviour that we have cannot help us to tread the Path.
None ought to despair under any circumstance whatsoever. Here work is without a motive, and requires no payment. Many are instantly raised from the level of image-worship to a stage higher than the angels and heaven. The Lord does whatever He wishes. "How" and "why" find no room here. May God make thee a seer of His, and remove thee from thyself! Do thou aspire high, though thou art low at present. O brother, human aspiration should stoop to nothing, either on earth or in heaven! "Such men are so constituted as to care for neither hell nor heaven. They seek God and God only, and spurn what is not He."
Theosophy (Tasavvuf) is ceaseless motion, since standing water becomes stagnant. A man may corporeally be in his closet, yet his spirit may run to the Malakût[4] and the Jabrût.[5] Rapid motion, like the morning breeze, can neither be seen nor grasped.—Letters 2-4.
[4] The astral and lower mental planes.
[5] The higher mental plane.
On Seeking the Teacher.
The Saints on the Path—blessed be they—unanimously declare that it is incumbent upon a neophyte, after the maturity of his conversion (Taubâh), to seek a Teacher, perfect, experienced in the elevations and depressions of the Path, its joys and sorrows, possessed of balance, and versed in the internal ailments of a disciple and their remedies....
Though in the beginning one does not need a Teacher, and the seed can be sown merely with the help of Divine Grace, the seed, when sown in the soil of the heart, does need a Teacher for its further growth, for the following reasons given in the books of the saints:
1. Since one cannot go to the Kâbâ[6] without a guide, albeit the way is visible and sensuous, and the pilgrim possesses eyes and feet, it is impossible without a guide to tread the occult Path trodden by 120,000 prophets, which has no visible track and is supersensuous.
[6] The Sacred Shrine at Meccâ.
2. As there are many thieves and robbers on a sensuous way, and one cannot travel without a guide, so on the occult Path there are many robbers in the guise of the world, the desire-nature and the elementals, and one cannot travel without the guidance of a Master.
3. There are many precipices and dangers on the Path, leading to one or other of the many heretic schools formed by those who, having entered the Path without a Perfect Guide, on the strength of their own intellectual resources, fell and perished in the forest and deserted the Law. Others, more fortunate, have safely crossed those dangers under the protection of Masters, and have seen the victims, and known where and why they fell. All pilgrims are liable to these dangers. If one secures the help of a mighty Teacher, one can be saved and progress with the help of His secret hints and instructions, else one may fall into some heresy and lose the fruit of one's labour.
4. The pilgrim may pass, on the way, through certain spiritual conditions, and the soul may put off the physical garment, catch the reflection of the Divine Light, display superhuman powers as a Divine agent during the continuance of the experiences, taste the relish of "I am God, the Holy One," and become proud of having reached the goal. The pilgrim cannot understand this intellectually: but if the soul, during the continuance of these experiences, is not helped by a mighty Master, he may, it is feared, lose faith, and fall a victim to a false notion of unity.
5. The pilgrim on the way unfolds supersensuous powers, and sees supersensuous phenomena—devilish, passional, and divine. But he cannot understand them, as they are spoken in a supersensuous language (i. e. revealed through an unfamiliar medium).... If, at this stage, he is not aided by a Teacher, helping him on behalf of God, and versed in the interpretation of supersensuous words and symbols, he cannot progress further....
When God opens the eyes of a man, so that he distinguishes good from evil, and resolves to follow the one and avoid the other, but does not know how to do it, he must betake himself to a Divine Man and make a firm determination to change his condition. Then the Divine Man will take him up, help him to subdue the desire-nature, gently induce him to abstain from his defects and blemishes, and keep him away from bad companions. A disciple can, with the help of a Teacher, do in an hour what he would do unaided in a year....
It is said: a disciple may reach the goal with the help of a single Teacher, or of more than one Teacher. (In the latter case) each Teacher may be the means of the revelation of one stage only; yet it is more consistent with decency and politeness for the disciple to refrain from looking upon such a stage as the limit of development attained by his Teacher, ... inasmuch as the Perfect Ones are not at all concerned with the business of stages and conditions. But one cannot leave one Teacher for another without the permission of the former. Who does so deserts the Path.
It is the practice of the Masters—blessed be They!—to impose a threefold discipline on a student. If he observes it, he receives the Robe (the real one, not the conventional)—else he is rejected. The threefold discipline consists of: 1. Service of the world for a year. 2. Service of God for a year. 3. Watching the heart for a year.—Letter 5.
On the Qualifications of a Teacher.
Broadly speaking there are five qualifications:
(1) Devotion to God. One cannot be thus devoted, unless one is free from servility to all save Him.
(2) Capacity to receive truths direct from God without any intermediary. One cannot unfold this capacity without completely getting rid of the lower human nature.
(3) Nearness to God. One cannot approach God unless one is equipped with the Divine character, and one's Spirit reflects the light of the Divine attributes.
(4) Acquisition of knowledge from God without any intermediary. For this the heart should be cleansed of all impressions, sensual and intellectual.
(5) Being an Elect of the Heart Doctrine, which relates to the knowledge of the Divine Essence, the Divine Qualities, and the Divine Works. One cannot attain to this stage without a second birth. "One born of the mother's womb sees this world; one born of the Self (i. e., quitting the lower human nature) sees the supersensuous world."
Nevertheless it is said that the qualifications of a Teacher are indescribable and innumerable. A Teacher is not the body, the head, or the beard, visible to man. He is in reality the inner being by the side of God, in the region of Truth, clothed in Divine mercy and glory.... Here is a query: How can a beginner find out such a Teacher and Guide, know and follow Him? It is not meet for a beginner to weigh Divine Men with the balance of his little intellect and to look at Them with his limited vision. Nor is it meet to follow another on his mere assertion. Then how to know if such a one is a genuine Teacher or a mere pretender?
Answer: Each seeker is furnished with materials appropriate to his lot. He cannot transcend them, ... nor can anything hinder him from using them.
Query: Is there any sign whereby to distinguish a pretender from a true Teacher, the worthy from the unworthy?
Answer: There are many signs, but it is impossible to describe and fix them. For all that, there is no sign or mood, the presence or absence of which alone would mark a Teacher or a pretender. In short, one blessed with the Divine Grace should set his feet on the Path, turn away from sensual pleasures and passional gratifications, and fix his attention on God. Then the glance of some Perfect Teacher will shine in the mirror of the heart.... When a true disciple catches such a glance, he instantly contracts a love for the Beauty of His Godly Strength, becomes restless and uneasy, and comes to the Path. This uneasiness forbodes fortune and success. Perfect discipleship consists in perfect love for the Beauty of the Teacher's Godly Strength. A disciple should follow the wishes of his Teacher, and not his own wishes.... In each locality there is a Teacher who protects men living in that area. The King of the time is only one, but there is an ordinary teacher in each town. According to tradition there are always 365 Friends of God, who are the props of the world and the channels of the transmission of blessing and mercy from heaven to earth.... O brother, know for certain that this work has been before thee and me (i. e., in bygone ages), and that each man has already reached a certain stage. No one has begun this work for the first time. Everything is according to Divine dispensation. Do you suppose 100,024 prophets to have ushered any new work into the world? By no means. They stirred up what lay already in the bosom, and led man to what was ordained for him by God....—Letter 6.
On Discipleship.
Desire is a craving in the heart for a certain object. The craving produces a stir in the heart, the stir arouses a tendency to seek for the object. The nobler the object, the purer the desire....
Desire is threefold:—
(1) Desire for the world. It consists in the absorption of a man in the seeking of worldly objects. Such a desire is a downright danger. When it clouds the heart of a neophyte, it keeps him back from all virtues, and lures him to failure. A life spent in the gratification of such a desire deprives one of eternal happiness after resurrection.
(2) Desire for heaven. The soul transcends the previous stage, longs for the heavenly state and permanent happiness, and practises lifelong asceticism, so that he may attain his object on the day of resurrection. The desire for heaven is nobler than the desire for the world....
(3) Desire for God. A man (at this stage) unfolds the inner sight, aspires to transcend the created universe, and considers it disgraceful to seize anything contained in that area—so that he develops a longing for the Creator Himself and is respected in heaven as well as on earth. When a disciple ceases to hanker after the world and heaven, and regards everything save his Object as a hindrance to his (onward) march, he should heartily endeavour to seek God, come manfully to the Path, and resort to a compassionate Teacher, so that the latter may help him in treading the Path, and tell him of its dangers, thus securing him a safe journey without any break or failure.
The Teacher cannot turn an unruly candidate into an earnest disciple.... If the spirit of the Path lies latent in a candidate, it will unfold by His company and service. The Divine Law works in this way.
On Discipleship. (Continued.)
When a man calls himself a disciple, he ought to justify the title to the fullest extent and firmly tread the straight Path. He should constantly use the collyrium of turning back (Taubâh), put on the robe of detachment from connexions and from self, drink the wine of Seeking out of the cup of Purity, draw the sword of Magnanimity from the sheath of Religion, dismiss the cravings of the infidel Desire, practise absorption, and not care for the higher or the lower worlds. When he has become proficient in the truths of discipleship and the subtleties of Seeking, has gathered the fruits of purification and asceticism, begun to tread the Path and passed through several stages of the journey—then, if asked whether he is a disciple, he can say: "I may be one, God helping." Thus is discipleship justified, and pretension avoided.
This is the way of those endowed with insight and divine Wisdom. Not to look to personality at any stage, nor to depend upon its possessions. Many saints with a lifelong devotion have slipped down from dizzy heights.... A disciple who concentrates in himself the purity of all the angels and the piety of all men is self-conceited and sure to fall, if he knows himself to be better than a dog.... The beginner has a tongue, the proficient scholar is silent.—Letter 54.
A disciple is a worshipper of his Teacher. If his rest and movements are in accordance with His commands, he is a disciple; if he follows his own desires, he is a follower of his desires, not of his Teacher. A disciple is he who loses himself in the Teacher. He shakes off his desires, as a serpent casts its slough. If he has even the least remnant of desire left in him, and doubts and protests find room in his heart, he is a worshipper of himself, not of the Teacher.... A disciple should be a worshipper of the Teacher, [so that he may become a worshipper of God]. One who obeys the Messenger verily obeys God.—Fawâed-i-Ruknî.
God has concealed precious gifts under the difficulties He has imposed upon these men (i. e. the disciples). A disciple should manfully discharge his duties without fail, in spite of the hardships and trials of the Path. God does not work in one way only, and it is difficult to know which way will lead the disciple to Him—joy or sorrow, gifts or privation. There is a divine secret underneath all sufferings and enjoyments in the world.—The Series of 28 Letters, Letter 1.
"A long journey is needed to ripen the raw." As a fruit requires both sunshine and shadow for its maturity, so a pilgrim requires the dual experience—joy and sorrow, union and separation, presence and absence,—for his perfection.—Ibid, Letter 5.
There is no bar to the reception of the Divine Light. If there is any, it is due to lack of capacity. How can an unpolished mirror reflect an image?... The pilgrim needs patience and endurance, not hurry and unrest. God knows each man as he is, and sheds the Light when he deserves it.—Ibid, Letter 4.
Contentment is a sine quâ non; one without it should abandon occultism and go to the market.
The performance of duties to the best of one's abilities cannot be dispensed with, as it is necessary for the safe passage of the pilgrim. While sane, he should follow Truth. Truth in words and conduct is ever beneficial, never harmful.—Ibid, Letter 15.
The Friend of God—(The Walî).
The Walî (or the Friend of God) is one who constantly receives the favours of the Deity, which consist in his being guarded against all troubles, the hardest of which is the commission of sins. As a Prophet must be sinless, so must a Friend be protected. The distinction between the two is this: The one is beyond the commission of a sin; the other is liable to commit a sin on rare occasions, but does not persist therein.... The Friend is endowed with all possible virtues.... Again, it is said, the Friend is he who does not fail in his duties to God and the universe. He does not serve through hope and fear of agreeable and disagreeable consequences. He does not set any value on his individuality....
A Friend may be either known or unknown to the people. If unknown, he is not affected by the evils of fame....
A Friend is he who does not long for the world or for Heaven, who forsakes himself for the Divine Friendship and turns his heart to the True One.... The Friends are the special objects of the Love of God. Owing to their devotion, they have been chosen as the Governors of His Kingdom, the channels of His Activities, receive special powers, and are liberated from the bondage of the desire-nature. They do not desire anything save Him, nor feel attachment to anything save Him. They have been before us, are in these days, and will be till the end of the world....
They are to-day the appointed Agents of God to serve as channels for the propagation of the messages of the ancient Prophets, and to govern the world—so that the rain may pour from heaven by Their blessings, that plants may grow from the earth by Their purity, and that the faithful may prevail over the faithless by Their strength.
Superhuman powers are a kind of idols in this world. If a saint is content with their possession, he stops his onward progress. If he turns away from them he advances the cause of his union with God. Here is a subtile mystery, and it is this: True Friendship consists in the rejection of all save the Beloved. But attention to superhuman powers and reliance upon them means the rejection of the Beloved, and satisfaction with something other than Himself.—Letter 8.
The Brotherhood of Friends.
[There is a passage on the hierarchy of Divine Friends in Fawâed-i-Ruknî, another work of the author, which is translated below as a supplement to the present subject.—Trs.]
There are 4,000 Walîs who are not known to the world. They do not know one another, nor are they conscious of their exalted position. They ever remain veiled from the world, as well as from themselves.
There are 300 Akhyâr (the Charitable or the Benevolent) who solve the difficulties of the world and keep the gate of the Divine Sanctuary. There are forty Abdâl (the Substitutes); 17 Abrâr (the Liberated); 5 Nujabâ (the Pure); 4 Autâd (the Pegs); 3 Nuqabâ (the Watchers); 1 Qutub (the Pole), also called Gaus, the 'Redresser of Grievances'. All these know one another and are interdependent for the discharge of their respective duties. (Total, 370—Trs.)
According to another authority (Majma-us-Sâerîn) there are 356 Walîs ever working in the world. When one of them retires, another takes his place, so that there is never any diminution in the number 356. They are made up of 300 + 40 + 7 + 5 + 3 + 1. The One is the Qutub of the world, the preservation of which is due to His holy existence. If He retired without another to take His place, the world would fall to pieces. When the Qutub retires, one of the Three takes His place; one of the Five fills up the gap in the Three, one of the Seven fills up the gap in the Five, one of the Forty fills up the gap in the Seven, one of the Three Hundred fills up the gap in the Forty, and a man is posted to the vacancy in the rank of the Three Hundred—so that 356 ever continue working in the world, and every spot is blessed by Their auspicious Feet. Their outer life is similar to that of ordinary people, so the latter cannot know Them. Inwardly, They are united with God. Love, Friendship, and the Mysteries have to do with the within, not with the without. They (the Walîs) are too strong to be hindered by earth, water, fire, air, plains and hills. Being in the East, They can see and hear men in the West. They can instantly go from the East to the West, come from the West to the East, go to and come back from Arsh (the Divine Throne). Theirs are many superhuman powers of like nature.
Polytheism, and the Friendship of God.
Polytheism is twofold:—
(1) The outer, which consists in worshipping a god other than the One Highest God....
(2) The inner, which consists in thinking of a being, other than God, as a helper at the time of need.
Some say that to see anything save Him, is polytheism for an Occultist.
Some say that to refer to any separated self in any way, to be inclined to do anything with one's own will, and to resort to one's own schemes and plans in any emergency, are all forms of polytheism....
The chosen Friend is he who is of God alone, both without and within. He neither acts nor thinks against [the Divine Will]. He does not mix with the desire-nature, forgets his services in the presence of the Master, and cannot do without Him.... He is so filled with Him in all respects—both without and within—that it is impossible for anything else to enter into him.... He loses his desire, will, and all individual qualities, and exists merely through God's Desire and Will. He gets what he wills—not because he wills anything other than what is God's will, but because his will is one with God's. Nay God unfolds His Will in him.—Letter 9.
Lights.
When the mirror of the Heart is cleansed of impurities, it becomes capable of reflecting the supersensuous lights. They appear in the beginning as flashes, but gain in power and volume as the heart becomes purer—manifesting [gradually] as the lamp, the flame, the stars, the moon, and the sun. The forms of flashes arise from ablutions and prayers ...; those of the lamp, the flame and the stars, from the partial purity of the heart; that of the full moon, from its perfect purity; that of the sun, from the Soul reflecting its glory in the perfectly purified heart. A time comes when [the inner light] is a thousand times more luminous than the [external] sun. If [the visions of] the sun and moon are simultaneous, the latter signifies the heart reflecting the light of the Soul, the former the Soul itself. The light of the Soul is formless, but is seen behind a veil distorting the idea into the form of the sun.
Sometimes the Light of the Divine Attributes may cast its reflection in the mirror of the heart according to the purity of the latter.... This Light distinguishes itself by a feeling of bliss in the heart, which shows that it comes from God and not from others. It is hard to describe this bliss. It is said that the Light of the Constructive Attributes is illuminative, but not scorching; that of the Disintegrating Attributes scorching, but not illuminative. This is beyond the comprehension of intellect. Sometimes, when the purity of the heart is complete, the Seer sees the True One within him, if he looks within, the True One without him, if he looks to the universe. When the Divine Light is reflected in the light of the soul, the vision gives bliss. When the Divine Light shines without the media of the soul and the heart, the vision manifests formlessness and infinity, uniqueness and harmony, the basis and support of all existence. Here there is neither rising nor setting, neither right nor left, neither up nor down, neither space nor time, neither far nor near, neither night nor day, neither heaven nor earth. Here the pen breaks, the tongue falters, intellect sinks into nothingness, intelligence and knowledge miss the way in the wilderness of amazement.—Letter 12.
The Unveiling of the Supersensuous.
The essence of the Unveiling lies in coming out of the veils. The seer perceives things not perceived by him before. The "veils" mean hindrances keeping one back from the perfect vision of the Divine Beauty, and consist of the various worlds—according to some, 18,000 in number, according to others, 80,600—all present in the constitution of man. Man has an eye correlated to each world, with which he observes that world during the unveiling. These worlds are included under a twofold division: Light and Darkness, Heaven and Earth, Invisible and Visible, Spiritual and Physical,—each pair expressing the same sense in different words.... When a sincere pilgrim, impelled by his aspiration, turns from the lower nature to follow the Law, and begins to tread the Path under the protection of a Teacher, he unfolds an eye for each of the veils uplifted by him, to observe the conditions of the world before him. First, he unfolds the eye of intellect and comprehends the intellectual mysteries to the extent of the uplifting of the veil. This is called the Intellectual unveiling, and should not be depended on. Most of the philosophers are at this stage and take it as the final goal. This stage transcended, the sincere pilgrim comes to unveil the heart, and perceives various lights. This is called the Perceptual unveiling. Next, he unveils the Secrets; this is the Inspirational unveiling, and the Mysteries of creation and existence are revealed to him. Next, he unveils the Soul; this is the Spiritual unveiling, and he can now view Heaven and Hell, and communicate with the Angels. When the soul is completely cleansed of earthly impurities, and is thoroughly pure, he unveils Infinity and is privileged to gaze at the circle of Eternity, to comprehend instantly both Past and Future, getting rid of the limitations of Space and Time, ... to see both fore and aft ... to read hearts, know events, and tread on water, fire, and air. Such miracles are not to be relied on.... Next comes the Innermost unveiling, enabling the pilgrim to enter the plane of the Divine Attributes.... The Innermost is the bridge between the Divine Attributes and the plane of the Soul, enabling the Soul to experience the Divine vision, and reflect the Divine character. This is called the Unveiling of the Divine Attributes. During this stage, the disciple unfolds esoteric knowledge, revelation from God, His vision, His bliss, real absorption, real existence, or Unity,—according as he unveils the Divine Attributes of intelligence, audition, sight, construction, disintegration, stability, or oneness. Similarly one may think of other qualities.—Letter 13.
[The last two extracts tacitly refer to the following Sûfî classification of the human constitution:—
1. The Body (Tan), the brain-consciousness, or intellect, correlated to the physical plane (Nâsût).
2. The Heart (Dil), the desires and the lower mind, correlated to the astral and lower mental planes (Malakût).
3. The Soul (Rûh), the higher mind, the Ego, correlated to the higher mental plane (Jabarût).
4. The Spirit (Sirr, or the Mystery), correlated to the spiritual planes (Lâhût)—Trs.]
On the Same.
[The following supplementary notes from The Series of 28 Letters may prove both instructive and interesting.—Trs.]
You say you hear certain words, but not from the organ of speech, or through the organ of sound. Speech and Sound belong to this world: what you hear belongs to Malakût.—Loc. cit., Letter 10.
A pilgrim may hear the sound in his body, nay, in the minerals, plants, and animals. But if he hears from them the same Zikr (i. e., the sacred formula) as practised by him, it is but an echo of his practice—an imaginary phenomenon, not a real one: whereas, if he hears from them the Zikr peculiar to them, the phenomenon is real.... The universe being endless, the phenomena are endless.—Ibid, Letter 15.
Powers and phenomena are trials for a pilgrim. Regard them as obstacles, and never care for them.... It is a rare boon to pass from the Name to the Named.... The Vision of the Prophet Khezar foretells your success on the Path.... The odours, sacred and unearthly, experienced by you, pertain to the Malakût: how can you find their likeness on earth?—Ibid, Letter 16.
Illumination.
There is a difference between Divine illumination and Soul-illumination. When the mirror of the heart is cleansed of all impurities, and has become thoroughly clear, it may serve to focus the rays of the Divine Sun and so reflect the Divinity and all His Attributes. But this boon is not enjoyed by every clean heart. Every runner does not catch the game (lit., the antelope), but only he who runs can catch it....
A clean heart reflects some of the qualities of the Soul. If thoroughly clean, it may at times reflect all the qualities. Sometimes the Essence of the Soul—the Divine Viceroy—may display its nature, and assert "I am the True One" by virtue of its viceroyalty. Sometimes the whole universe may be seen making obeisance at the viceregal throne, and the soul may mistake the Divine Viceroy for God.... Such mistakes are common, and cannot be avoided without the Divine Grace and the help of the Teacher. Now to come to the difference:
(1) Soul-illumination conquers the lower nature temporarily, i. e., so long as the illumination continues;—Divine illumination conquers it permanently.
(2) Soul-illumination is not inconsistent with the foulness of the heart, does not solve all doubts, nor does it impart the bliss of Divine Knowledge;—Divine illumination is the reverse of this.
(3)—Soul-illumination may induce pride, self-conceit, and egoism.... Divine illumination does away with all these, and increases the fervour of Seeking.
'Illumination' and 'obscuration' are two words generally used among the Sûfîs. The former means the unfolding of God, the latter means the infolding of God. These expressions do not apply to His Essence, since It is changeless. As when one finds the solution of a problem, and says, "the problem is solved"—the problem is not solved, but one's mind unfolds so as to grasp the problem; knowledge being called the solution of the problem, ignorance its obscuration—so, when one sees all from God, and not from self, when Self does away with the lower nature and sees the Unknowable,—this is designated Illumination.—Letter 14.
Dreams.
First, a pilgrim passing through the earthly qualities sees in his dreams heights and depths, streets and wells, gloomy and deserted sites, waters and mountains. Secondly, passing through the watery qualities, he sees greens and pastures, trees and sown fields, rivers and springs. Thirdly, passing through the airy qualities, he sees himself walking or flying in the air, going up the heights. Fourthly, passing through the fiery qualities, he sees lamps and flames. Fifthly, passing through the etheric, he finds himself walking or flying over the heavens, going from one heaven to another, sees the circling of the sky, and the angels. Sixthly, passing through the starry region, he sees the stars, the sun and the moon. Seventhly, passing through the animal qualities, he sees the corresponding animals. If he finds himself prevailing over an animal, it indicates his conquest over the corresponding quality. If he finds himself overcome by an animal, it denotes the predominance of the corresponding quality, and he should guard himself against it.
The pilgrim has to pass through thousands of worlds, and in each world he perceives visions and experiences difficulties peculiar to it.
O brother, the soul is for the Goal. It should boldly cry out: "Let me either cease to live, or reach the Goal."—Letter 16.
On Misconceptions.
Many men fall from doubt and suspicion. A class of people say, "God does not need our worship and services, and has no concern with our virtues and vices: why should we restrain ourselves?" Such a doubt arises from sheer ignorance, and supposes that the Law enjoins duties for the sake of God. No. Duties are for the sake of man alone.... An ignorant man of this sort fitly compares with a patient who, being prescribed a certain treatment by his physician, does not follow it, and says that his abstinence does no harm to the physician. He speaks truly enough, but works his own destruction. The physician did not prescribe to please himself, but to cure him.
A second class of men transgress the Law and depend on the Divine Mercy. God is both merciful and a chastiser. We find that there are many distressed and poor men in this world in spite of His Mercy and His mountains of Treasure, that not a single grain of wheat grows without laborious cultivation, and that no man can be healthy without food, water and medicine. As He has ordained means for health and wealth without which they cannot be had, such is the case in the moral sphere also. Denial and ignorance are poisons to the soul, and idleness its disease. The antidotes for the poisons are knowledge and wisdom alone. The remedies for the disease are prayers and worship alone. He who takes poison while depending on the Divine Mercy, kills himself. The disease of the heart consists in desires. He who does not restrain his desires risks his life if he knows them as sinful. But if he does not regard them as harmful he has no life to risk, since he is already dead. For such disregard is denial, and denial poisons faith.
A third set would understand by self-discipline, as imposed by the Law, complete freedom from lust, anger and other evils. When they fail after practising self-discipline for a length of time, they regard the task as impossible. "Man, as he is constituted, cannot be pure, just as a black blanket cannot turn into a white one. Why should we undertake an impossible feat?" (So they think).—It is ignorance and vanity to suppose that the Law enjoins complete freedom from lust and other impulses inherent in human nature. The Prophet has said, "I am a man, and may be angry," and signs of anger were at times visible in him. God praises one who controls anger, not one who is devoid of anger. Again, the prophet had nine wives, and a man destitute of the sexual desire should be medically treated. The Prophet has countenanced the begetting of progeny and the perpetuation of the race. But he has instructed that the two (lust and anger) should be subdued so as to be under the control of the Law, as a horse under the control of the rider, or a dog under the control of the hunter. The animals should be trained, else they will set upon and overthrow the man. Lust and anger are like the dog and the horse, and it is impossible to catch the heavenly Game without them. But they should be under control, else they will destroy us. In short, the object of self-discipline is to break and subdue these impulses, and this is possible.
A fourth set proudly declare that everything is according to the Divine Will. What is the use of exertion?—When the Prophet spoke of the Divine Will, his companions said, "We shall depend upon it and refrain from exertion." The Prophet replied, "Ye shall exert, and [then] what has been ordained will be given." Thus, man should not refrain from exertion. If he has in the beginning been ordained to a noble destiny, he will attain to it [by exertion]. Good and evil destinies hinge upon virtue and vice, in the same way as health and death upon food and starvation.—Letter 18.
The Outer and Inner Ailments.
Man has been formed of two different substances, the earthly and the heavenly. As his earthly frame is liable to ailments, so is the heavenly; and there are doctors for the treatment and cure of both. The doctors of the bodily ailments are the physicians, and those of the moral ailments are the Prophets and [later on] the Saints who are their successors. As a sick man would certainly die if not treated by a skilled physician, so a soul suffering from the moral diseases would certainly die, if not helped by a Prophet or a perfect Saint. As a physician examines the pulse to ascertain the disease of a patient, and recommends him to resort to one thing and abstain from another, with a view to restore physical equilibrium and health,—so also the Divine Messenger ascertains the moral ailments of the disciple, and prescribes different duties based on the Law according to his receptivity and capacity, recommending this, disallowing that, so as to reduce his inner perplexities and desires to a state of harmony required by the Law, and bring about moral health in the shortest possible time. As a sick man going against the instructions of his physician gets worse and worse and has to die, so a moral patient disobeying the Law gets more and more perverse and has to perish through ignorance.—Letter 19.
The Origin of Theosophy
The institution of Theosophy (Tasavvuf) is ancient. It has been practised by the Prophets and the Saints. As evil impulses predominate in the world, the Theosophist (Sûfî) is looked down upon by men. The Theosophist is one who has lost the self, exists in the True One, is beyond the reach of the lower nature, and is at one with Truth. A Theosophical student (mutasavvif) is he who seeks to become a Theosophist through asceticism and purification, and disciplines himself in the ways of the Theosophist....
The Prophet had a place in his mosque set apart to discourse privately with his elect companions, who trod the Path. There were senior disciples such as Abû Bakar, Omar, Osman, Alî and Salmân; and mediocre ones, such as Belal and others. The Arab chiefs and his ordinary companions were not admitted there. The elect companions were about 70 in number. When the Prophet wished to shew his special regard to a particular companion (Sûfî), he favoured him with a piece of his garment (N. B. The word Sûfî may be derived either from Safâ, purity, or from Sûf, dress.—Trs.)
The first Theosophist was Adam, and the last Mohammad; and Theosophy has continued amongst the followers of Mohammad.—Letter 22.
Seeking the Path.
The aspiration of the Seeker should be such that, if offered this world with its pleasures, the next with its heaven, and the Universe with its sufferings, he should leave the world and its pleasures for the profane, the next world and its heaven for the faithful, and choose the sufferings for himself. He turns from the lawful in order to avoid heaven, in the same way that common people turn from the unlawful to avoid hell. He seeks the Master and His Vision in the same way that worldly men seek ease and wealth. The latter seek increase in all their works; he seeks the ONE alone in all. If given anything, he gives it away; if not given, he is content.
The marks of the Seeker are as follows. He is happy if he does not get the desired object, so that he may be liberated from all bonds; he opposes the desire-nature so much, that he would not gratify its craving, even if it cried therefor for seventy years; he is so harmonised with God that ease and uneasiness, a boon and a curse, admission and rejection are the same to him; he is too resigned to beg for anything either from God or from the world; his asceticism keeps him as fully satisfied with his little all—a garment or a blanket—as others might be with the whole world.... He vigilantly melts his desire-nature in the furnace of asceticism and does not think of anything save the True One. He sees Him on the right and on the left, sitting and standing. Such a Seeker is called the Divine Seer. He attaches no importance to the sovereignty of earth or of heaven. His body becomes emaciated by devotional aspirations, while his heart is cheered with Divine Blessedness. Thoughts of wife and children, of this world and the next, do not occupy his heart. Though his body be on earth, his soul is with God. Though here, he has already been there, reached the Goal, and seen the Beloved with his inner eye.
This stage can be reached only under the protection of a Perfect Teacher, the Path safely trodden under His supervision only.... It is indispensable for a Disciple to put off his desires and protests, and place himself before the Teacher as a dead body before the washer of the dead, so that He may deal with him as He likes.
Virtue and vice have their uses and evils. Often a virtue throws one the farther from God, and a vice leads one the nearer to Him.... The virtue that begins in peace and ends in pride throws one the farther from God; the vice that begins in fear and ends in repentance leads one the nearer to Him.—Letter 23.
The Pillars of the Path.
Their words enliven the heart; their deeds liberate men; their compassion is universal; they do not care for feeding and clothing themselves, but feed and clothe all; they do not look to the evil of others, but stand as their saviours, return good for evil, and bless them that curse. Why?—For they are protected: no gale save the zephyr of Love can blow over the world from the horizon of their heart. Their compassion shines as the sun over friend and foe alike. They are humble as the earth, trodden by the feet of all. They are not hostile to any man, nor do they grasp at anything of the world. All creatures are their children, they are not the children of any. They are absolute Compassion for the whole universe, for east and west,—for they are liberated and see all from the One Root.... One void of these qualities cannot tread the Path.
In the case of a Theosophist, the heart goes first, then comes the tongue. In the case of a worldly-wise man, the tongue goes first, and then the heart.—Letter 24.
Religion, the Path and Truth.
Religion (Sharîat), the Path (Tarîqat), and Truth (Haqîqat).
Religion is a way laid down by a Prophet for his followers, with the help of God. All Prophets equally call the attention of men to Monotheism and service. So there is but one Religion, one appeal, and one God. Their teachings cannot be contradictory, as they are based on Divine inspiration. The difference is merely verbal and formal, but there is no difference in the essentials. They are the [spiritual] physicians of humanity, and have prescribed religions for their respective followers according to their needs. Religion consists of a series of injunctions and prohibitions, and deals with monotheism, bodily purification, prayers, fasts, pilgrimages, the holy war, charity, and so on.
The Path is based on religion, and consists in seeking the essence of the forms [dealt with by religion], investigating them, purifying the heart, and cleansing the moral nature of impurities such as hypocrisy, avarice, polytheism, and so on. Religion deals with external conduct and bodily purification; the Path deals with the inner purification.
Religion is the soundness of external purification. Truth is the soundness of the inner condition. The one is liable to alterations, is the work of man and can be acquired; the other is immutable, the same from the time of Adam to the end of the world, and is the Divine Grace. The one is like matter, or the body. The other is like spirit, or the soul.—Letters 25 and 26.
[A higher stage is simply mentioned, in Fawâed-i-Ruknî, as Mârfat (the Divine Knowledge), without any detailed explanation. Thus, Sharîat corresponds to the exoteric religion of any given nation; Tarîqat to the Lesser Mysteries of the ancient Western mystic, or the Probationary Path of the Eastern mystic; Haqîqat to the Greater Mysteries of the ancient Western mystic, or the Path Proper of the Eastern mystic; Mârfat to the stage of the Perfect Man, or the Master.—Trs.]
Accessory to Prayers.
After the morning prayer, the twilight should be spent in muttering the Divine Names, sacred recitations, repentance and apology. One should not speak at this time, except to obey an express injunction or prohibition of the Scriptures, to bless or benefit the faithful, and to instruct a student in need of knowledge. The company of a Saint, a knower of God, or one's own Teacher, if available, is preferable to mutterings and recitations.
Before the sunset prayer, some time should be spent in attentively examining the desire-nature i. e., reviewing the gains made and the losses incurred during the day.
One should go to sleep pure, and with holy recitations, and should not sleep unless overpowered. One should get up in the latter part of the night before twilight, and immediately take to the sacred duties.—Letter 28.
Purification.
It is purity which makes man respectable. It is the storehouse of all boons and virtues.... Islâm is based on purity, and cannot tolerate the slightest stain. She does not show her face to the impure.
First:—the purity of the body, the garment, and food.
Second:—the purity of the senses, i. e., abstinence from sins and transgressions.
Third:—the purity of the heart, i. e., renunciation of all evil qualities, such as uncharitableness, envy and malice.
With the first purity, the disciple takes the first step on the Path; with the second, he takes the second step; with the third, the third. This is the essence of Taubâh—turning from impurity to purity. At first he was a temple of idols; now he becomes a mosque. At first he was a demon; now he becomes a man. At first he was dark as the night; now he becomes bright as day. It is now that the sun of Îmân (peace or faith) shines in his heart, and Islâm shows her face and leads him to the Divine Knowledge. Any work whatsoever, without this purity, is but a ceremony or tradition on the lines of the forefathers, but is not Islâm.
Know God as your constant guardian. Living under His ever-watchful Eye, one ought to be modest and feel ashamed to bring one's transgressions to His notice.
As prayers cannot be duly performed without the outer purity, so the Divine Knowledge is impossible without the inner purity. As fresh water—not water already used—is necessary for the one, so pure Monotheism—not mixed—is necessary for the other.[7]
[7] See "[Monotheism"]—Trs.
The inner purification is hinted at in the Prophet's prayer: "O God, purge out hypocrisy from my heart."—Letters 29 & 30.
The Motive.
The value of a disciple's act lies in his motive. The motive is to the act as life is to the body and light to the eye. As the body without life or the eye without light is useless, so the acts of a disciple without a pure motive are mere forms. With the Seers, forms are denial and destruction, not faith and salvation. A valid motive arises from purity, as rays from the sun and sparks from the flame. When the motive is not biassed by worldly attractions, it is called ascetic purity by the Sûfîs. When the motive is not biassed by heavenly attractions, it is called spiritual purity. It is said that the motive of a man is according to his knowledge and wisdom. If desire and love of the world predominate in the heart of a man, all his acts will be worldly—even his prayers and fasts. If desire and love of heaven predominate in his heart, all his acts will be heavenly—even his eating and sleeping. Again there are others, of loftier aspiration, caring neither for earth nor for heaven, but for God only. All acts done by such men will be purely divine....
A disciple should always be careful to purify his motive and to get out of mere forms. For this, he should obey the instructions of a Teacher, his motive, though in the beginning mixed with hypocrisy and insincerity, will ultimately be purified by obeying His instructions.... The disciple should act as the earth, so that the Teacher may act as the sky—wet him with His rains, warm him with His sun, shade him under His clouds, perfume him with the fragrant breeze of His compassion—and thus help his growth.—Letter 31.
Prayer.
The daily routine of a disciple, in the absence of his Teacher, should be such as to secure purity of heart, whether by prayer, sacred study, mutterings, or meditation.
The secret of prayer is inexpressible. When the disciple, renouncing separateness, stands for prayer in a mood of self-surrender, his body ranks with Kâbâ's shrine, his heart with Arsh (the Divine Throne); and his spirit sees the Vision Divine....
The devotee mostly prays with the fire of Love without observing external forms (e. g. kneeling and prostration), takes all devotees as one, and does not stigmatise any man with the brand of infidelity and damnation.
In the state of prayer, one merged in the Divine cannot be conscious of anything else; as Alî, while praying, was operated upon, and an arrow drawn out of his thigh, but he did not feel it.—Letter 32.
Invoking the Divine Help.
Opinions vary as to which is the better course, invocation of the Divine Help, or self-surrender to the Divine Will. In some cases the one is preferable, in others the other, according to the tendency and condition of each individual. If invocation induces unfolding, it is good. If it induces infolding,[8] it should be stopped. If it induces neither the one nor the other, its performance and omission are of equal value. If knowledge preponderates at the time of invocation, it is to be continued, for such an invocation is a worship in itself. If Divine Wisdom preponderates at the time, silence is preferable....
What is the use of invoking the Divine Help, if the Divine Will is irrevocable?—Answer: The revocation by invocation is also in accordance with the Divine Will, the invocation being simply an ordained means, as a shield is a means to repel an arrow, and watering is a means to grow seeds.
If one resorts to an invocation, it is to be repeated three, five or seven times.—Letter 36.
The Divine Allegiance.
The Divine Allegiance gives freedom and the sovereignty of the whole world....
God never made anything so precious as the heart of His Servant, because it is there that He treasured up the wealth of His Wisdom: "I cannot be contained in heaven or earth, but I am contained in the heart of My faithful Servant."
What is Service?—To be resigned to the Divine Will without a murmur. A Servant is he who does not think of wages, and has been liberated from the bonds of desire. He who serves God for wages is the servant of the wages, not of God.
Khwâjâ Hasân Basri says: "Seek the Knowledge that is revealed by Service, and seek the Service that is revealed by Knowledge." Knowledge and Service are equally necessary, but Knowledge is superior, being the root and guide. Hence it is that the Prophet says: "Knowledge rules conduct, and conduct follows it." Again, He says that the sleep of the wise is better than the prayers of the ignorant, and that the ignorant do more evil than good by their acts.—Letters 37-39.
The Sacred Formula.
The disciple should ever practise the formula: "There is no God except Allâh"—vocally or inaudibly, whether he be alone or in company. Let him not for a moment step out of this fort. The fort is made of the negative "no God" and the affirmative "except Allâh" phrases; and it protects the pilgrim entering therein against the two highway robbers: the desire-nature and Satan. When the disciple unfolds the inner eye in the plane of Unity, he transcends affirmation and denial, as they are inconsistent with Unity. Affirmation and denial inhere in the nature of man, and a disciple does not attain to Unity unless he goes beyond human nature. Affirmation and denial are in themselves a form of polytheism, since a valid affirmation and a valid denial each need three elements—the affirmer, the affirmation and the affirmed; the denier, the denial and the denied. When a believer in two is a polytheist, how can a believer in six be a monotheist? When the non-God has no existence, what is to be denied? When thou thyself art not, how canst thou affirm?... This is the zenith of Unity, and the stage of the Perfect Ones.... He who sees with the eye of Unity finds the non-God non-existent....
Whenever Mohammad, transcending the realm of His mission, looked with the inner eye into the realm of Unity, He eagerly and yearningly wished His personality blotted out, the dividing line erased, and the human limitation cast away. But the Compassion of the Beloved would ever intervene, and bring Him back to the realm of His mission for the delivery of the message.—Letter 40.
The Naked Faith.
Intellect is a bondage; Faith, the liberator. The disciple should be stripped naked of everything in the Universe in order to gaze at the beauty of Faith. But thou lovest thy personality, and canst not afford to put off the hat of self-esteem and exchange reputation for disgrace....
All attachments have dropped from the Masters. Their garment is pure of all material stain. Their hands are too short to seize anything tainted with impermanence. Light has shone in Their hearts enabling Them to see God. Absorbed in His Vision are They, so that They look not to Their individualities, exist not for Their individualities, have forgotten Their individualities in the ecstasy of His Existence, and have become completely His. They speak, yet do not speak; hear, yet do not hear; move, yet do not move; sit, yet do not sit. There is no [individual] being in Their being, no speech in Their speech, no hearing in Their hearing. Speakers, They are dumb; hearers, They are deaf. They care little for material conditions, and think of the True One [alone]. Worldly men are not aware of Their whereabouts. Physically with men, They are internally with God. They are a boon to the Universe—not to themselves, for They are not themselves....
The knowledge that accentuates personality is verily a hindrance. The knowledge that leads to God is alone true Knowledge. The learned are confined in the prison of the senses, since they but gather their knowledge through sensuous objects. He that is bound by sense-limitations is barred from supersensuous Knowledge. Real Knowledge wells up from the Fountain of Life, and the student thereof need not resort to senses and gropings. The iron of human nature must be put into the melting-pot of discipline, hammered on the anvil of asceticism, and then handed over to the polishing agency of the Divine Love, so that the latter may cleanse it of all material impurities. It then becomes a mirror capable of reflecting the spiritual world, and may fitly be used by the King for the beholding of His own Image.—Letter 41.
The Inner Polytheism.
The Prophet says, "Polytheism in my followers is more imperceptible than the motion of an ant on a black stone on a dark night." Such a polytheism, though not affecting the [exoteric] faith, injures the essence and fruit of Faith. Pure gold and an alloy of gold are both gold, but the latter cannot be as precious as the former. True Faith consists in Monotheism, which is the antithesis of polytheism. Real Monotheism appears only when the root of polytheism[9] has been destroyed. In order to secure true Faith or Monotheism, every impurity that stains it should be cast away. Such impurities constitute the inner polytheism. Looking to any save God for help or hindrance; hoping or fearing from any save Him; hypocrisy, anger and pride, even in their most subtile forms; pleasure and pain at being praised and blamed by others; regarding virtue and vice as means of union with and separation from God—all these come under the inner polytheism. In short, no one can be established in Faith unless his character comes up to the standard: "He is wholly from God, by God, and for God."
[9] Separateness.
Again the Prophet says: "There is no peace for the faithful except in the presence of God, and death is anything save His Presence."—Letter 44.
The Divine Knowledge.
Divine Knowledge is the essence of the faithful soul. One destitute of it does not really exist. The Knowledge of the Creator follows from the knowledge of created objects, and leads to the safety and permanence of the knower.
One way to the Divine Knowledge is to see the whole universe as subject to the Divine Will, to sever connection from all, and to realize the Unity of God and the Eternity of His Nature and Attributes.
Another is through one's own nature. "He that knows his own nature, verily knows his God." God first shewed His Powers in the universe to enable monotheists to gain Knowledge of Him by observing it. This way being too long for the Sages, He placed in Man the essences of the entire creation, thus making Human Nature the facsimile of the whole universe and the ladder to His Knowledge. Pilgrims tread the Path of Divine Knowledge in themselves, look for the pure and the foul in themselves, and find the indication and proof of that Knowledge in themselves.
God engages some men in observation, and they know Him by pondering over His creation. He leads others to His knowledge through asceticism. There is another class of men whose hearts He illumines at once. Again, some are debarred from the essence of the Divine Knowledge, others from the Path itself. "The Divine Beauty has thousands of aspects, each atom presenting some peculiar one."
Noori was asked: "What is the proof of God?" He replied: "The proof of God is God Himself." They asked him again: "Then what is the use of intellect?" He said: "Intellect is a failure, it cannot lead save to what is a failure like itself." Intellect can only look upon an entity either as body, essence or accident; or in Space and Time. It cannot go beyond those limitations. If it fixes any of those limitations on God, it sinks to infidelity. If, bewildered, it exclaims: "I do not find any existence save with these properties. So, God being without any of these properties, is perhaps naught,"—it is still dragged down to infidelity.... In short, Divine Knowledge depends upon Divine illumination alone.
Divine Knowledge is the knowledge of God as He is in His Essence, Attributes, and Works. The Sage should know God in the same way as God knows Himself, and as He has described Himself in the Qurân. There are two theories as to the perfection of this Knowledge. Some Intellectualists hold that the Sage knows God in the same way as God knows Himself. If he does not know Him perfectly, he knows a part of Him. But God is partless. So Sages are equal in Divine Knowledge. Intellectualists hold to the possibility of perfect Divine Knowledge. The other theory is held by the Sûfîs and a few intellectualists as well, viz., that no one knows God perfectly. They know Him to exist, and know it to the extent necessary for their salvation. They do not hold to the possibility of perfect Divine Knowledge.
With the Masters of the Path, Divine Knowledge is the actual and direct perception of God: with the Intellectualists, it is the sound intellectual knowledge of God.
It is incumbent on a pilgrim not to be satisfied and stand still until he reaches the Goal. The more he knows, the more he should seek.... The whole world is satisfied with a smell or a word (i. e. very little), and no one has received even a drop from the holy cup. "I asked Him, 'Whose art Thou with all this Beauty?' He said, 'I am My own, for I am verily ONE. I am the Lover, the Beloved, and Love; I am the mirror, the image and the beholder'."—Letter 45.
Love and Devotion.
This world and the next are intended to be used in seeking God. An objection raised against such a use of the next world is untenable: for prayer and fast, pilgrimage and the holy war, and all the exoteric obligations cease as such in the next world; but devotion—seeking after God—ever endures. If you go to heaven, each day of the heavenly life will open up new vistas of Divine Knowledge. An endless work is this, may it never end!
When God loves a man, He inflicts troubles on him and takes away his wealth, wife and children, so that he may be bound to naught, and estranged from all save Him. If he suffers patiently, he receives boons without toil. If he endures cheerfully, he is purified of all evils.
Again, God's love for a man makes him aware of the defects of his desire-nature, so that he becomes its instructor and censor.
The following are the signs of a man's love for God:—
1. Being given to prayer and seclusion.
2. According to others, preferring the Divine Word to human words, the Divine Presence to the sight of man, the Service of God to the service of the world; and not grieving for any loss save separation from Him.
3. According to Junnaid: Not being tired in His Service.
4. According to a certain Sage: Avoiding sins.
It is dangerous to assert one's love for God.
The word "Mahabbat" (love) is derived from "Hibba" (a seed.) The seed is the germ of life, as it is there that lies the real plant. The seed is put into the soil, lies concealed therein, and receives sun and rain, heat and cold, without any [apparent] change. When the time comes, it sprouts, flowers, and fructifies. So, when Love takes root in the heart, it bears presence and absence, joy and sorrow, union and separation, with equanimity....
Devotion is the perfection of Love. Worship makes a servant, knowledge makes a knower, abstinence makes an ascetic, sincere seeking makes an earnest aspirant, sacrifice of all the world makes a Friend, self-sacrifice makes a Lover, losing the perishable and imperishable elements of self in the Beloved makes a Devotee.
It has been said: Devotion is born of the Light of the Presence of the Eternal Beloved. It is like a flash of lightning, illuminating the eye of the Devotee, speaking to his ear, enlivening his movements, and alienating him from all the world—so that his acts are not for self nor for others, but are works of impersonal Devotion to the Beloved.
Devotion is beyond words, intellect, and astral perception. "I am Devotion, beyond this world and the next; I conquer all without arrow or bow; I shine as the sun in every atom, yet my presence for its very brightness is unperceived; I speak in every tongue, I hear in every ear; yet, strange to say, I am tongueless and earless; as every thing in the Universe is verily Myself, My like cannot be found therein."—Letters 46 to 48.
[The following extract from Fawâed-i-Ruknî may appropriately find place here.—Trs.]
As prayers and fasts are the outer duties, so Love and Devotion are the inner duties. Their ingredients are pain and sorrow. Devotion leads the devotee to God. Hence Devotion is necessary to tread the Path. Know Devotion as Life, its absence as death. The privilege of Devotion is not granted to every man, nor does every man deserve it. He who deserves it is worthy of his God; he who does not deserve it is unworthy of Him. A Devotee alone can appreciate the value of Devotion. A vast multitude seek after heaven, while very few seek after Devotion; for heaven is the lot of the desire-nature, while Devotion is the lot of the Soul.
Get rid of the notion of selfhood, and give up thy self to Devotion. When thou hast done so, thou hast reached the Goal.
Dost thou know why so many obstacles have been set up on the Path?—In order that the devotee may gradually develop strength, and be able to see the Beloved without a veil.
The boat on the sea [of life] is Devotion; the Boatman is the Divine Grace.
Seeking God.
Nothing is more binding upon you than to seek God. If you go to market, seek Him. If you come home, seek Him. If you enter a tavern, seek Him. If the Angel of Death come to you, take care not to neglect the Seeking. Tell him, "Do thou thy work, I do mine." ... If you be taken down to hell, you shall not neglect the Seeking. Say to the Angel of Hell, "Strike my useless personality with the whip of chastisement: I, on my part, tread the Path of Seeking"—so that the Work may go on. If you are taken up to Heaven, do not look to the houris and palaces, but speed on the Way of Seeking. "Tho' they offer me both the worlds, I will not have them without Thy Presence."
The first stage on the Path of Seeking is Humility. The Great Ones say: 'Humility is the messenger from God to man.' Sown in the heart, it impels to God. Practised for some time, it turns into Courage. Masters unanimously hold that Love cannot put up save with the Courage of the Disciple. Practised for some time, Courage turns into Seeking. This Seeking is led by the Divine Will to the secrets of [the holy formula], "There is no God except Allâh." The drum of Seeking proclaims at the gate of the Divine Sanctuary, "He who seeks God obtains Him." A cry resounds: "Let neither sky nor earth, heaven nor hell, hinder the Path of My Seekers, for they seek Me, and I am their Goal." These are the steps on the ladder of human progress. Each pilgrim has his own stage, according to his aspiration.
The vigilant Seeker should kill out self-conceit and self-respect with asceticism and purification, transcend both the worlds, and be ready to lose his life. It is unlawful for him to aspire after anything in the universe. "One does not unite with the All, unless one parts with all."
It is said:
When Adam was lodged in Paradise, the Law commanded him not to approach the Tree, while the Path dictated to him to turn away from all. Adam said unto himself. "This Paradise is full of wonders, and I am its lord. But my heart longs to visit the abode of sorrow: lordship will not serve my purpose." A voice spoke to his spirit, "Adam, wilt thou remove to a foreign country?" "Yes," answered Adam, "for I have something to do." The voice said, "Do this work here." Adam: "The other is more important." The voice: "Heretofore, Paradise and the angels have been thy servants. Now thou shalt have to exchange the home of peace for the abode of condemnation, the crown for poverty, reputation for disgrace." Adam: "I accept all these, and will proclaim my freedom throughout the universe." So it cannot be said that Adam was deprived of Paradise, but rather that Paradise was deprived of Adam.—Letter 50.
The Way to God.
Khwâjâ Bâyazîd was asked, "What is the way to God?" He replied: "When thou hast vanished on the Way, then hast thou come to God." Mark this: If one attached to the Way cannot see God, how can one attached to self see God?