Not a blog but a talk... about time I posted something!
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The Narrow Path to the Vastness of Truth – Sufism
ASK conference World religions & Spiritual Illumination held at the Rasooli Centre in
South Africa 6-9th March 2014
“Sufism has been defined, outlined
and explained in over two thousand ways. The sum of all of these definitions
goes back to: truthfulness in turning to Allah. Every definition goes back to this.”~ Shaykh
Ahmad az-Zarruq (d.1493)
"Sufism is that you should be with God, without
any attachment." ~ Imam Junayd
Al-Baghdadi (d.910)
***
"Sufism is that you should be with God, without any attachment”…
To
unpack this means to answer the following: You – who are you? God – what is
‘He’? Without attachment - what is the
nature of attachment and how to abandon it? Hopefully some of the answers will
be alluded to through this talk which is not about the historical reality of
Sufism but reflects something of the
experienced reality.
We all use the terminology of journeying when we refer to our
spiritual progress or realizing aspirations of any kind. The allegory of a road or path to be travelled
on in pursuit of our spiritual needs is tremendously useful but also misleading. Useful in that we live in time - we
grow physically, our eyes and feet face forward, we make progress in learning
skills, behaviours, sciences. Useful in that we live in space and much of our
sensory perception is dictated by us in relation to other points in the space
we perceive around us. We can relate to the idea of following a spiritual way
of life as following a path, as a linear journey from point to point. We anticipate that the journey has a
beginning and an end. It is finite in its promise. Awakening, enlightenment, inner illumination all sound as if they will
set us free.
And for
anyone who has spent time in the company of the Sufis or their literature,
particularly of Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri, or any of the tawhidi traditions in other
religions, will already know that the
dimensions of space and time exist as convenient frameworks in which we can
experience ‘life as we know it’; that our cognition is imbued by the faculty of
the khayaal (and indeed other inner
senses) to engage with the universe around us in ways that both collectively
and individually make sense. We do experience
space and time very much as coherent realities.
Sufism the Science of Unified Being
Sufism or the science of tasawwuf is therefore the practice and knowledge of calling the
self’s bluff off the notion that we exist in separation, tucked away in
space and time, away from our happiness, our salvation, our freedom, cut off or
‘far away’ from God. And of the idea that to get to it we must endure arduous
and grueling journeys. Or that only the best, most pious or assiduous will
attain or achieve their goal. The great Shadhili Master Ibn ‘Ata Allah wrote
that a mistake that takes you to the carpet of humility is better than a
righteous one that makes you smug and self-satisfied.
What tasawawuf debunks is separation from our Source, from the
lode-stone of all power, life, love, glory, splendor, majesty and beauty; from
the vastness of creation and beyond. What tasawwuf
teaches is that there is no atom of which Allah is unaware, no space or place
or moment or nanosecond. Indeed all is embedded in His consciousness, His
beingness, His love. In some unfathomable way we are folded into layers of
something beyond our ken.
The Sufi mission, as it were, it to
heed the call from Allah to witness His presence around and in us. La ilāha illa’Llah. To unite outer and inner, to stress
the inner as the key to the outer. Some spiritually perceptive contemporary
scholars identify that the work of Sufism is to cultivate the soul. This brings
it in synch with many ancient and New Age philosophies and practices. But we
can discern a differentiated focus in our teachings.
As a student of
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri I have been shown a more evolved and refined
understanding of this idea, namely, that
the soul in essentia cannot be
cultivated, for it is from the command of the Lord, and the Lord is perfect.
As a beam of light from the source of all perfection, of Light itself, the
nature of the soul is perfect and therefore not in need of cultivation. What does need cultivation is the way this
soul manifests, through the refining the dross of the self into the gold of
higher consciousness.
When the Qur’an
repeatedly talks of the self or soul it uses mostly one word: nafs. But this has to be read with
insight of inner core (lubb) to
understand which part of the self is
being addressed. At times what is meant is the soul or spirit, the ruh. What SFH has clarified is that individual consciousness is made up of a
spectrum, at the lower end elemental, animalistic, governed by priorities
of survival and therefore presenting a consciousness that is conditioned by
multitudinous forces, and at the higher, more rarified end of meaning and
essence, closer to pure consciousness, and therefore governed by priorities of
arrival.
So the
vastness in which we seem to think we exist can only be accessible from the
point where we found ourselves. That is to say the narrow portal is through self-awareness. We start here and
gradually, through grooming and practice and flashes of insight we realize we are not here and He is not
there, but that there is no place He is not. No second that He is not.
Imam Ali famously said, ‘…You presume you are a small entity
but within you is enfolded a vast world...’
And we also realize that He is not He
nor She nor It but just is. It enfolds all qualities of the opposites and multiple
layers of subtlety in between and is not limited by them.
Our Paradoxical World - Duality Underlying Unity
Any student
of the Academy of Self Knowledge is familiar with the mapping of conditioned consciousness and pure or supreme
consciousness and the powerful interplay of duality that works throughout our
experiential reality.
As such we are familiar with the
precept that while pleasures are easily acquirable in this life, enduring joy
is more elusive. That if our inner state is to satisfy it has to emerge from
consciousness that is not tied to the ephemeral, the relative or contingent. For everything perishes. Entropy
rules. Moods can darken or sour in a moment. We have been taught and seen with
our own insight that we can access a state that is unperturbed by the
oscillating graph of experiential life. We know that the more our happiness is
anchored in that zone, the more likely it endures in this zone. The more we are aware of pure
consciousness, the freer we are from our conditioned consciousness. The
ultimate freedom as far as dimensionality of existence is concerned is death.
For then individual consciousness emerges with pure consciousness. Everything
returns whence it came. And all that remains is what has been, is and will be,
what we allude to in words like Allah’s glory, His love, His beauty, His
majesty.
We are
compelled to practice that death now through sleep and disappearing from the weight of our conscious selves because we
know deep down, or have a good suspicion, that we are not just who we think we
are – role defined, role maligned. We can taste this freedom through prayer and
meditation and states that come upon us when we leave our sense of limited self
and disappear into the unfathomable and vast ocean of Beingness, of Truth. These
tastes are intoxicating and draw you in more and more.
Gathering, Listening, Following – the Path
It has been
said that tasawwuf is gathering, listening and following.
If there is
a path then it is the grooming and practice
(listening) and cultivation of understanding and insight into the
nature of reality and our relationship to it - embedding the body in a
practice, the mind in a discipline, the heart in purification.
The path
also implies guidance (following) and
mentorship: a realized guide or teacher is essential.
And it also
implies companionship (gathering).
The company of other genuine aspirants helps to reflect in us greater self-awareness,
encouragement and hope.
Gathering - Companionship
Companionship
has always been a recognized aspect of the path. Gathering to be with the
Shaykh or refined beings on the path or for the purposes of communal worship
and invocation has been a natural
cornerstone of tariqah practice for
centuries. Recognition that one becomes the company one keeps and therefore
one should choose wisely is a sine qua
non of prophetic guidance. The Prophet (S) said ‘The Mu’min is the mirror of the Mu’min.’
The
prohibition on monasticism in Islam does not contradict the strong monastic or
ascetic tendency among Sufis. The need
for regular retreat or uzlah, in
order to contemplate inner realities and disconnect from falsity, or khalwah, solitary meditation in order to
empty out and meditate exclusively on Allah, has been incorporated into the
practice of each silsilah.
Ultimately, however, it is the very
practice of Islam – of surrender (taslim)
- that acts as the vector of
transformation. Each prayer can be the magic carpet of ascension which the
Prophet Muhammad (S) experienced in his Mi’raj.
Gathering is above all symbolic of
unity (tawhid): bringing the individuated
multi-hued self into the orbit of the luminous soul. Coming together means
becoming one. And One is the secret of two.
Listening - Practice
Practice
begins with the fara’id, dhikr, withdrawal, study, reciting and
listening to the Qur’an. Early Sufis emphasized practising asceticism, doing
without, hunger, simple dress, wandering; then onto deeper levels of charting
the topography of the inner journey, adab
and service. Contemporary Sufis now focus on awareness, consciousness,
mindfulness.
The practices of Islam are all
designed to render us sensible to - to
listen to or heed – the call of the soul. Yet, we see that what Deen and Sunna have become a minefield of confusion and bitterness as
various groups or firqas stake claim
to the real version of Islam, to various triumphalist, reactionary and politicized
agendas that have forgotten to address
the world of the unseen, the hidden depths within the human heart or soul,
and merely focused on form and technique. In this regard Shaykh Fadhlalla has
been steadfast in his guidance: Go back to the Qur’an always - ‘That is the
book, no doubt in it…’ [3:2].
Piety and
asceticism indeed characterized the early Sufis. The Prophet (S) had said, ‘I
came to perfect character’. Noble
conduct, moral behavior and ethical practice is the default setting of the
Sufi.
"Sufism consists of noble behavior (akhlaq karima)
that is made manifest at a noble time on the part of a noble person in the
presence of a noble people." ~ Muhammad
ibn Ali al-Qassab (d.888), Junayd’s master.
Following - Guidance
‘If you have no guide Shaytan is your
guide.’ Sufi precept
The role of the teacher has always
been central. Connected with this has been the formal commitment (bay‘ah),
which implied loyalty and service. One might serve one master for a lifetime,
as many as did, or several, as several did. This loyalty is symbolic of loyalty to Allah, to the covenant – the
convenant of ‘Alastu’ – ‘Am I not
your Lord?’ (7:71). The
allegiance is to Allah. The guide is the reflector, the protector from your
self. As a realized being he has cast aside his vain passions and taken a firm
foothold in service to Allah. He echoes the Prophetic guidance. [1]
The guide
must have several distinguishing features, but perhaps above all what Sura
YaSin describes as ‘Follow him who asks of you no reward’. He must be
established in the practice of Islam, expert and observant of the Shari'a.
Nonetheless the traditions of tasawwuf recognize the reality of the
Owaysi, after the Yemeni Oways al-Qarani who reportedly followed the Prophet
without having met him. Nowadays we can all benefit from being Owaysi through digital technology.
There is however no substitute for
the quality of transmission from being in the physical presence of a realized
master. I believe
the vibrational signature of the ‘arif
or shaykh easily penetrates the falsity of the aspirant’s persona so the light
of truth can shine into the darkness of the self’s shadows. This truth also
explains the ongoing effect, post-death, of the awliya’. The imprint of their presence resides and radiates not
only from the physical place where they are buried, but also from the etheric
plane, in so much as one attunes oneself to their flavor and light.
But the ultimate Guide is Allah Himself, in
His manifestation of al-Rashid, al-Hadi and other attributes. We have
been called and unto Him we return.
Delighting the Soul – ma'rifa
The goal of
the practice of the Deen, dhikr, and of following the guide is ma‘rifa or ‘irfan (from ‘arafa to
know), or gnosis - God consciousness.
Only by escaping the contingent
reality of the limited self and its animalistic tendencies, can the aspirant
escape to the realm of lights, the soul’s reflection of Divine Perfection. There, beyond space and time and
the confusions of duality, lies a profound harmony, peace and stillness which
deifies even these descriptions. We can only allude to them. The more this state is accessed, the
stronger its echo becomes and what remained deeply almost unconsciously
internalized, gradually extrudes, imperceptibly, into the very substance of
life. Here it is that baraka is experienced
- serendipity, and perfect sustenance.
When asked about tasawwuf Junayd replied: "Our madhhab is the singling out of the
pre-eternal from the contingent, the desertion of human brotherhood and homes,
and obliviousness to past and future.”
It can be a
struggle. It is not easy. Holding oneself to account means practicing
ever-deepening self-awareness. How can one ever be satisfied with anything of
this world, when it is ephemeral and unreliable? At times it can feel like a
battle. Junayd also said of Sufism, "It is a war in which
there is no peace."
Language
A few words
on language and the term. Sufis found their literary expression
through a rich tradition of treatises, lexicons, collections of aphorisms,
commentaries on the Qur’an, and above all poetry. Over
time the terminology of Sufism has developed, for it is a living tradition that
reflects time, place and circumstance. In its earliest manifestations it
wasn’t even known by the name or ‘ism’
of Sufism. Terms like ‘irfan and ma’rifa were more common in certain
geographical areas. The term tasawwuf eventually became the catch all
term to denote the phenomenon of those who would focus on the inner worlds
as the direct and necessary complement of outer worlds.
Over time a technical lexicon has grown to help
identify states and stations and realities of the journey, which benefits
from being revisited and rehoused into present times. Society has changed.
Lifestyles have altered. Priorities differ and the global stranglehold of
materialism has altered how we think. How does one apply zuhd, for example, in a time where living without insurance or
stuff is almost impracticable? The inner
reality of what these terms signify never changes, but how our consciousness
connects does. We need to read the sickness of the times in order to apply
the appropriate remedies.[2]
The power of the word - the goodly
word - is dyed into the spiritual fabric of Islam through the divine revelation
of the Qur’an. From
the beginning its recitation – the word of God - was the main avenue to
connecting to a higher state. The word as command – KUN! – preceded form. The
word is energy. The word transmits. And then we have to go beyond mere words.
The Qur’an is the fundamental directional point for the path of tasawwuf, for the Sufi seeks to realize
the pre-creational covenant of ‘Alastu’
in his waking consciousness. Before being self aware, each of our souls had submitted
and agreed to Allah’s Lordship over us. Once born into self-differentiated
beingness, tasawwuf calls us to honour that covenant by our own volition and
bending ourselves into submission or alignment with that reality.
The Organ of Gnosis
Gnosis or ma’rifa, deep inner knowing, is not a
by-product of mere intellection, of exercising the faculty of reason. It is a higher order of intuitive knowing
which we can relate to consciousness. The Sufis, especially luminaries like Ibn ‘Arabi, emphasized that it is the heart (qalb) which is the organ which produces
gnosis of Allah. It is the interface whereby we can connect to ‘ilm al-Batin, the science of inner
beingness. As long as the qalb is
free of attachment, turning on its unitary axis (qalb derives from the verb to turn or revolve), its radar will pick
up all the signs on the horizon and within ourselves.
The
business of tasawwuf therefore is the
polishing of the heart. Emptying the heart from its attachments and idols is
the daily work and the cause of our vigilance.
Concluding Remarks
I feel there is no
narrowness, no path, no dimensions in the approach or awakening to Truth. Truth is.
It encompasses everything, vast beyond measure.
At most the Sufi stops
being a self.
The self cannot comprehend the Truth
unless through the light of the soul. Less self = more soul = more vision,
certainty and witnessing perfection.
From shamanistic
times through the growth of religions until the post-industrial Cartesian
times, human civilization has been largely compliant to a notion of Godhead or
higher authority. Now, however, it is no longer God or the Supernatural that we
feel we must obey but other imperatives like social order, progress, and self fulfilment,
etc. Pleasing God is now pleasing the self.
Yet the self will never be pleased –
appeased maybe, but only if it submits to and serves the soul’s purpose, which
is to resonate harmoniously with its qualities of light, harmony, generosity
and all the other virtues that reflect infinite Divine Attributes. All else is aberration and waste
within the realms of time and space.
Once life-experience
cease the truth is self-evident. The veils of existence are finally torn and in that pure light everything vanishes.
The goal of tasawwuf, of this ‘path’, is to render your form and substance unto
your Essence through the free turning of the heart, the locus of consciousness.
You die to yourself,
to your evil attributes. You die to creation, to even good attributes. You die
to attachments to attributes and principles. A series of deaths befalls you so you come alive to your soul, in
small tastes, in larger ones, through practice, company, guidance and
reflection.
"Tasawwuf
means that Allah causes you to die to your self and gives you life in
Him."
[1]
After I gave this talk, I was asked why I hadn’t emphasized following the
Prophet Muhammad, so I have added this sentence here. Love of Allah goes hand
in hand with love of the Prophet (S). Doubtless this is but one of many
shortcomings of this general talk. I hope, however, that the idea of following
and loving the example of the Prophet (S) is implicit overall.
[2]
The last few sentences have been added subsequent to delivering the talk as I
had skipped this part from my notes.
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