"When I come to Love, I am ashamed of all,
Concerning this same idea, Maulana Shebli Nomani has said, "One who dies for the love of the material
world, dies a hypocrite. One who dies for the love of the hereafter, dies an ascetic. But
one who dies for the love of the Truth, dies a sufi."
Sufism : An Overview
The substance of Sufism is the Truth and the definition of Sufism is the selfless experiencing and actualization of the Truth. The practice of Sufism is the intention to go towards the Truth, by
means of love and devotion. This is called the Tariqat, the Spiritual Path or way towards God. The sufi is one who is a lover of Truth, who by means of love and
devotion moves towards the Truth, towards the Perfection which all are truly seeking. As
necessitated by Love's jealousy, the sufi is taken away from all except the Truth-Reality.
For this reason, in Sufism it is said that, "Those who are inclined towards the hereafter
can not pay attention to the material world. Likewise, those who are involved in the
material world can not concern themselves with the hereafter. But the sufi (because of
Love' s jealousy) is unable to attend to either of these worlds."
Sufism : A Way Of Being
Sufism is a school for the actualization of divine ethics. It involves an enlightened inner
being, not intellectual proof; revelation and witnessing, not logic. By divine ethics, we are
referring to ethics which transcend mere social convention; a way of being which is the
actualization of the attributes of God. To explain the Truth is indeed a difficult task. Words, being limited, can never really
express the Perfection of the Absolute, the Unbound. Thus, for those who are imperfect,
words create doubt and misunderstanding. Yet:
Philosophers have written volumes and spoken endlessly of the Truth, but somehow their efforts have always fallen short. For the sufi, philosophers are those who view the Perfection of the Absolute from a limited perspective; so all they see is part of the Absolute, not the Infinite in its entirety. It is indeed true that what philosophers see is correct; nevertheless, it is only a part of the whole.
One is reminded of Rumi's well-known story of a group of men in India who had never seen an elephant. One day they came to a place where an elephant was. In complete darkness they approached the animal, each man feeling it. Afterwards, they described what they thought they had perceived. Of course their descriptions were different. He who had felt a leg, imagined the elephant to be a pillar. The man who felt the animal's ear, described the elephant as a fan, and so on. Each one of their descriptions with respect to the various parts they had experienced was true. However, as far as accurately describing the whole, their conceptions had all fallen short. If they had had a candle, the difference of opinions would not have come about. The candle's light would have revealed the elephant as a whole.
Only by the light of the Spiritual Path and the mystic way can the Truth really be actualized. In order for one to truly witness the Perfection of the Absolute, one must see with one's inner being, which perceives the whole of Reality. This witnessing happens when one becomes perfect, losing one's (partial) existence in the Whole. If the Whole is likened to the Ocean, and the part to a drop, the sufi says that witnessing the Ocean with the eye of a drop is impossible. However, when the drop becomes one with the Ocean, it sees the Ocean with the eye of the Ocean.
In order to follow the way to Perfection, one must first rectify these incorrect thought
processes and transmute one's desires and fears. This is accomplished by coming into
harmony with the Divine Nature. This way of harmony (the Spiritual Path) consists of
spiritual poverty, devotion, and the continuous, selfless remembrance of God. In this way,
one comes to perceive the Truth as it really is.
Sufism : Towards Realization Of Perfection
Man is dominated by his self's desires and fears. Those who are ensnared in these
habitual impulses are out of harmony with the Divine Nature, and thus ill. As a result of
this illness, feelings become disturbed and accordingly, thoughts and perceptions become
unsound. Thus, one's faith as well as one's knowledge of the Truth strays from what is real.
"This one eats and only,
It is clear then, that Sufism is not based upon ascetic practices such as abstinence from
food. In Sufism, the traveler on God's Way is only instructed to abstain from food
when he is sick or entangled in excessive desire or fear. In this case, the Master or
Spiritual Guide permits one to refrain from eating for a brief period of time, and instead
directs one to concentrate on spiritual practices. In this way, the excess is transmuted and
the seeker's inner being becomes harmonious. Then, the dervish will be enabled to
continue on the dangerous ascent to the Infinite.
Some have thought that by fasting the strength necessary for purification is attained. On
the contrary, in Sufism abstinence alone is not enough to purify the self. It is true that
asceticism and abstinence give one a certain spiritual state, and in this state one's
perception may be clarified. But if the self is likened to a dragon that by fasting becomes
powerless, it is certain that when the fast is broken and enough food is eaten, the dragon
will revive, and stronger than ever will go about attempting to fulfill its desires.
In Sufism, it is by the Tariqat (Spiritual Path) that the self is gradually purified and
transformed into Divine Attributes, until there is nothing left of one's compulsive self. Then
all that remains is the Perfect, Divine Self. In such extensive and precise work, asceticism
and abstinence are virtually worthless.
Sufism : Annihilation of Self
In order to travel the path, the sufi needs strength supplied by proper bodily nourishment.
It has been said that whatever the sufi eats is transformed into spiritual qualities and light.
However, the food of others, since it but serves their own desires and fears, only
strengthens their selfish attachments and takes them further away from the Truth.
Stinginess and envy result.
While that one eats and there is but,
The light of the One.
This one eats and only,
Impurity comes about.
While that one eats and all becomes,
the Light of God."
These stages occur in the course of the selfless remembrance of God (zekr). The first
stage, becoming emptied, entails letting go of negative qualities, the desires which
originate from the self. The second stage of becoming illuminated involves polishing the
heart and soul of the tarnish of belief in and attachment to the self. In the third stage, one's
inner being becomes adorned by Divine Attributes. Ultimately, the being of the disciple
becomes completely filled by the Attributes of the Truth-Reality, to the extent that there is
no sign of his own limited existence. This fourth stage is called "self-having passed-away" (fana).
"I thought of You so often,
The Sufi, through these stages of purification, travels the inner way, the Spiritual Path (Tariqat). But he or she can do so only by following the duties and obligations of Islam
(Shariat). Having traveled this path, the disciple becomes a perfect being and arrives at the threshold of the Truth (Haqiqat). Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) said, "The Shariat is my speech, the Tariqat my actions (way of being), and Haqiqat my states."
One could liken the journey within the Haqiqat, within the Truth, to training in a divine
university, the "Tavern of Ruin" (kharabat). In this true center for higher education there
are no professors, one's only guide being Absolute Love. Here one's only teacher is
Love, one's books are Love, and one's being is Love.
Before a perfect being enters this university, he or she can be defined. However, upon
entering the Truth, one is indefinable, beyond the realm of words.
"Footprints but come to the Ocean's shore;
If you ask his name, like Bayazid, he answers, "I lost him years ago. The more I seek
him, the less I find." If you ask of his religion, like Rumi, he answers:
If you ask how he is, like Bayazid he answers, "There is nothing under my cloak but
Allah." If he speaks, like Hallaj, you may hear him sing, "I am the Truth." Such words can truly come only from perfect beings who have lost their 'selves' and
become the manifestation of the Divine Nature and Divine Mysteries. Their selves have
departed and only God remains.
"Hot-u tuhinji hanj-a mein puchin kuh-u paryan-a,
"Beloved within you and you seek him here and thereSufism : Purification of Self
In Sufism the stages of purification are:
1. self becoming emptied
2. self becoming illuminated
3. self becoming adorned
4. self-having-passed-away (fana)
That I completely became You.
Little by little You drew near,
And slowly but slowly I passed away."
Therein, no trace remains."
........Rumi
"The way of a lover is not among the religions;
The church and state of lovers is God."
"We nuhnu aqrab ileh min hablul wareed" tuhnjo tohin san-u,
Pahnjo aahey pan-u aado ajiban kh-e."
He is "closer to you than your vein jugular,"
Yourself is the hurdle, between your love and you."
................Bhitai
Sindh : My Motherland My Fatherland
Makhdoom's Quest For The Truth
Makhdoom's Quality Quest