Githa

Dhyana: Meditation

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

Ed—The following introduction is by the Sufi Order International. It illustrates the uncertainty of the author. According to Saadi Douglas Klotz these Githas were written by Samuel L. Lewis: “Hazrat Inayat Khan would not have had time to give enough classes to mureeds in San Francisco (or California) during the time of his visit to account for three series of ten papers each. There are two drafts of each paper in the first two series, a practice Murshid Sam frequently used. It’s likely that the second draft (in each series) was his later one. They are quintessentially Murshid Sam throughout.”

The italicizing mentioned below has not been maintained, but the peculiarities such as the extensive but inconsistent capitalization are retained and the indication of certain important words by leaving spaces between the letters in Series III are kept here by using bold letters. Another peculiarity is the use of words that are not in the dictionary. These “peculiarities” are common in other writings by Samuel L. Lewis.

Series II numbered with “A” are included in the “Complete works of Hazrat Inayat Khan.”

Introduction to Gita Dhyana

The five series of ten papers each known as Gita Dhyana have a complex and uncertain history which requires considerable explanation. Unfortunately, there remain a number of unanswered questions which must await the uncovering of more evidence before a convincing account can be given. Much of what follows is of necessity conjectural.

When Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan was in San Francisco in the spring of 1923, he gave many public lectures, of which the surviving texts are given in this volume. But, of course, he also gave private classes for the mureeds initiated on his behalf by Murshida Martin, who had so anxiously awaited his return after an absence of twelve years. Some of these classes, probably those for the more advanced mureeds, are the apparent origin of Gita Dhyana. Someone, perhaps Murshida Martin herself, perhaps Samuel Lewis, who belonged to that circle, must have taken down what Pir-o-Murshid said on these occasions (it is not known whether anyone there knew shorthand), and from these notes new sets of papers were created.

These were modeled on the series of “lessons,” later called “Githas,” worked out in London by Sharifa Goodenough in 1917-1920. In these series, the teaching on a particular subject is normally divided into ten short papers, designed to be read aloud to mureeds at the classes.

The Githa Dhyana, in the state in which it has come down to us, reflects different degrees of editing. Some of the papers remain very close to what Pir-o-Murshid might have said; others add words, phrases and even whole paragraphs exhibiting a mode of speech or line of thought quite different from the Pir-o-Murshid’s. It may be that in some cases the material from the classes did not suffice to make up a series of ten papers, so other materials may have been added to fill out those series.

This collection has become known in Europe mainly through the agency of Sirdar van Tuyll, who received it from the legacy of Murshida Martin. Sirdar’s wife, Saida, wrote in 1966:

“Although Sirdar at one time considered these series of Githa Dhyana as not authentic, later on, after Sirdar had passed away, many questions asked by other mureeds who owned parts of them (in German) caused Saida to read those she had in English once more. She gave them also to Sakina to read again, whereupon both came to the conclusion that these series Githa Dhyana must be for the greater part Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan’s own words, only taken down by Murshida Martin, who worked them out and rendered them in places in her own words. The underlined parts (words, phrases and sentences) in these three series contain expressions we never heard Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan use….”

After a very careful study of the papers, the present compiler concluded that in a few cases underlined words were in fact most likely to have been used by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan himself, whereas quite a few passages not underlined actually represent additions to what was said by him. Therefore, instead of here reproducing the underlinings of the old copies, all words now considered not to have been spoken by Pir-o-Murshid are put in italics, whether substitutions (of words or phrases) or additions (of sentences or paragraphs or more). These changes would appear to have been made by Murshida Martin, or, in many cases, by her pupil Samuel Lewis. The italicized material has not been indexed, and is included here for the sake of completeness of the Githas as they exist in the archives. Editing and stylistic adjustment must, quite clearly, also be assumed for the “authentic” passages.

Certain peculiarities of the texts have been retained here, such as the extensive but inconsistent capitalization and the indication of certain important words by leaving spaces between the letters. Those familiar with the teachings of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan will perhaps be surprised to find the name “Allah” used so often for God, or the word “talib” for the mureed, and a much greater than average frequency of other Arabic words. Murshida Martin was Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan’s first initiate in the West, and the teaching he gave her in 1911, not long after he had left India, made much use of traditional Sufi terminology, which of course continued in use in her centre. It may be that returning after twelve years, Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan was prompted by the established usage in that centre to take up this earlier terminology, even though he by that time had gradually been giving up the use of non-Western terms in his lectures in Europe.

A particularly vexing problem arises with respect to the numbering of the papers. In the case of both Series I and Series II, we have not one set of Githa Dhyana, but two. These papers in most cases are not, however, two versions of the same talk, but distinct treatments of related subject matter. In most cases, both sets appear to contain substantially the words of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan himself. There is no satisfactory explanation for the existence of these parallel sets. It might be that the second set in each case was drawn up from answers to questions asked at the end of the talks represented in the first set, as it was Pir-o-Murshid’s habit to entertain questions, and no other record of his possible answers has come down to us. This would explain the closeness of subject matter, but does not really explain why the papers should have been presented as though they were separate lectures.

In order to keep these parallel sets distinguishable, the compiler has added a bracketed A after the Arabic numeral identifying each paper of the second set. Thus we have:

            Series I, Number 1 and Series 1, Number 1[A] and so on to the end of Series 1
            Series II, Number 1 and Series II, Number 1[A] and so on to the end of Series II
            Series III, Numbers 1 - 10

These papers are in the archives in the form of carefully prepared copies made under Sakina Furnée’s supervision, typed by her secretary, Mrs. E. von Derschau, and checked by Sirdar’s secretary, Miss An Spirlet. They were made from originals in Sirdar’s collection which cannot presently be located. All of this applies as well to Series II, Numbers 1-10 and Series III, Numbers 1-10.

Series I, 1 - 10

This series exists in only one set, the carefully typed copy supervised by Sakina Furnée, (see Series I, 1 - 10) made from a copy originally in Sirdar’s collection in The Hague which can no longer be located.

Series I, 1[A] - 10[A]

In the archives of the Biographical Department, these papers exist in the form of a photocopy of an old typescript (o.t.) in a small type. Nothing is known about the location of the original from which this photocopy was made.

Series II, 1 - 10

These papers are again known in the typewritten copy prepared under Sakina’s supervision (see Series I, 1-10), of which the originals have yet to be found.

Series II, 1[A] - 10[A]

These papers are known in two copies, one in photocopy from files of papers used by Samuel Lewis in San Francisco (S.L.), the other a photocopy of a stenciled set in Sirdar’s files in The Hague (o.t.). There also exists a German translation of this set, apparently made quite early. Mrs. Laura Hoeber, an American mureed belonging to the San Francisco centre, went to the Summer School in Suresnes in 1923, and stayed in Europe to work for the Sufi Message (cf. Biography of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, London: East-West, 1979, p. 514). In 1924, Pir-o-Murshid gave her charge over the centre in Munich, Germany, and she may have wished to use Gita Dhyana in her work there, sent for a copy to Murshida Martin, and translated the papers. (Mrs. Hoeber may have been of German origin.) This is one possibility to explain the connection between these classes given in America and this early, literal German translation. Both the “o.t.” and this German translation are designated as “Series III”; however, “S.L.” is designated as “Series II,” and the closeness in subject matter to the other known set of Series II makes it clear that that is correct. The German translation appears to be closer to “S.L.” than to “o.t.,” and for this and other reasons we have taken “S.L.” as the basic text here.

Series III, Numbers 1 - 10

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 1

Meditation is the name given to the process of the stilling of mind which is most important in spiritual development. Without this stilling of mind, the Divine Spirit does not manifest in the personality, for otherwise one is held in the sway of the ego. Both quieting of mind and body and the soothing of the emotions are necessary if one desires to become a mastermind, which is to say, if one wishes to avoid the jarring disturbances of life which disturb most people.

In order to meditate attention is first given to the body, to see that it is relaxed, yet comfortable. Sitting in too soft a chair may make one too drowsy while too hard a chair may make one uneasy. A moderate degree of composure is desirable whether one is seated or in posture. The room should be neither too hot nor too cold, and it is generally best if one is not too hungry, although meditation after a full meal is not so easy nor always so advantageous.

One should learn to breathe rhythmically and to refine the breath by the process called Safa. In this respect the Sufi meditation differs from that of the Buddhists for the Sufis use the names of God, which is to say the ninety-nine names or attributes offered in Qur’an, or repeat some sacred phrase or Darood which helps to refine the breath. The refinement of breath is a balm to the body and also a chain upon the nufs which seeks refuge in the mind as the body is brought into control.

The doors of the senses should be held closed; shutting the eyes partly or entirely is beneficial. The room should not be too brightly lit nor too dark, but it is by self-control that one must shut out other disturbances. Nevertheless, especially for the beginning, a quiet place is desirable and sound-proof rooms may be used.

Rhythmic breath holds the mind in place also. Keeping the thought of God before one refines the breath. Sufis practice esotericism mostly, which has the same general effect as silent meditation, but when they meet in groups or when strangers are present such methods are undesirable. However if one can maintain a calm, rhythmical, refined breath, after a time he will not even have to keep the thought of God before him. Thus he becomes an empty cup, only in meditation one keeps the cup empty, one empties the mind of everything.

Meditation is verily the fasting of the mind.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 1[A]

The first thing that is necessary in meditation is to realize it is an act of attunement, an attunement with God. Therefore while it is necessary to relax, while it is important to control the emotions and the functions of mind and body, it is also important to raise, so to speak, the pitch of the heart, so that this attunement can be accomplished.

It is first necessary to relax the body, to be comfortable, but not to sit in too soft a chair or to lie down, for while the body is resting in meditation it is not in the same condition as in sleep. The reason is that the body is also in meditation, the body also breathes; it breathes through the pores of the skin, and it is necessary to keep the whole body in meditation. This is impossible while lying in a covered bed or among soft cushions. As mystical training is to make the body the temple of God, the body must not be neglected.

Neither must the mind be neglected. It is not enough to subdue thought, it is to raise the pitch, and although it may be said that to overcome one’s thoughts, to become master of one’s mind, is most difficult, one must face that battle. If one passes into sleep or into a dream or musing state, the mind is relaxed, but it is not properly relaxed. This is running away from the battle, thinking one has won it. One may think one has won the battle, but what has one won? The answer is easily seen when one looks at the great tasks which have been accomplished after meditations, which show that meditation is a positive action, not merely a relaxation.

This is what is meant when it is said that the Sufi is negative to God and positive to man, that he takes all that is given him, and gives alI that he has. The Fakir may resemble, so to speak, a strainer or colander, through which much passes, and which retains nothing. He is also a cup which must empty itself to be filled. And of what does the cup of the Sufi empty itself? First, it empties itself of itself.

When this is understood, such legends as those of the cup of Jamshyd and the miraculous pitcher of Baucos and Philamon become clear. The pitcher will hold milk no matter how often it is emptied, and the crystal cup of Jamshyd is always full of wine, the Divine Love. The same is seen in the stories of Christ dividing loaves and fishes. What were the loaves? They were Christ’s body. And what is Christ’s body? It is Divine Wisdom, Sufism.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 2

In meditation the control over mind is exerted through breath and mind. The breath is kept rhythmical and refined and it becomes ever more refined as the consciousness is turned upon it and the light of man’s inner being manifests thereon. If the breath is not kept in rhythm, thoughts will enter and this battle against thought, especially against ego-thought, is the battle that every saint and sage has to combat continually. For this also will-power is needed. So in Sufism the talib is given a symbolical concentration in order to strengthen the will-power, so that not only will this power manifest, but that it can be used to control one’s lower nature.

When the breath is kept in rhythm and is refined, the magnetism which is ordinarily consumed in the activities of mind and body is preserved. In whatever we do and in all our thinking and imagining we consume energy. This consumption of energy brings on old age and weakness. Contrariwise it may be that meditation of itself may cure man’s evils, whatsoever they be. For all arise out of nufs, and meditation is the best means to crush nufs.

When one does that, the magnetism which is ordinarily wasted or consumed, is absorbed into one’s personal atmosphere. This makes of him a battery of life. It is this battery which is used by teachers and healers and all mystics. It is the same energy which is mentioned in Nayaz, that it comes to man through the rays of the sun and the waves of the air and the all-pervading power of space. Through breathing the energy which is conveyed on the air enters the personality through the breath; by silence and by stilling the mind one draws upon the endless resources of space. This absorption is a veritable alchemy and the knowledge of it is the secret of the adept.

There is some benefit when meditation is performed constantly in one place, whether one has devotions in a room alone, or in a hall or chamber where many gather together. Such a place offers the right accommodation for the highest and finest vibrations and establishes an atmosphere of stillness. This makes it easier for others who come to such a place. The saints are often called upon to preserve the stillness of holy places.

The teacher can, by his presence, make the accommodation for still finer vibrations. So there is at least one advantage to have a teacher who is more than a leader, who can elevate the feeling of a room. Yet the faith of people, their prayers and their attitudes also help to strengthen the atmosphere of a chapel, a hall/ I/ or a temple. All things that lead away from self, lead to God.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 2[A]

Beloved ones of God:

In meditation the control of the mind and body is exercised through the breath, and not only in meditation but in all acts and aspects of life, the control of the mind and body is through the breath and this can be discovered when the sight is keen. There are two aspects of this.

First is the creation of one’s own atmosphere, and this also has two aspects. There is the regulation of one’s breath, the adjustment to the proper rhythm, together with the control of the body and mind. One constantly changing breath can neither meditate nor perform any other function. Therefore breathing exercises and practices are given. These affect the aura about one, and develop the personality. This is the gradual change which takes place during spiritual development unperceived, perhaps, yet very definite.

Besides building this atmosphere about oneself, one affects one’s environment. One is able to radiate a magnetism which may be healing, and not only in the sense of helping sick people, but of helping everybody. For who is not sick? It is not only those who have diseases of the body, but everybody who is in need in some way, and the spiritual person can help.

But the best atmosphere is that created in a place where one stays often. That is why it is so important to have a room, a room in which one meditates. The highest vibrations one is able to build up will always remain there, and when one builds still higher vibrations, they raise the pitch of that room. Therefore, when one meditates in such a room, they can heal themselves and send out healing and helping thoughts to another.

This helps us to understand the second aspect of building an atmosphere in meditation, that is the use of a chapel or room or temple where spiritual students can congregate. By combining their efforts, they collectively build such an atmosphere, an area of calm and quiet, the centre of fine vibrations, which becomes a healing center. People often imagine about healing pilgrimages and some do not believe in the miraculous cures, but this is a mistake. The faith of the people, their prayers, build up this atmosphere, and the healthy ones who go there actually heal the sick, and the sick, in the area of these purified atoms become well. Therefore the Sufi who understands, will never speak against this type of cure or healing; it may truly be said to be spiritual.

Finally, as one builds up an atmosphere in one’s room, so the spiritual teacher builds up the atmosphere in the meditation hall, bringing in his purified personal atmosphere, and raising the pitch so that all who can attune themselves will rise nearer and nearer to that consciousness which is the goal of all who travel on the Path of God.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 3

While one does not perform meditation for selfish purposes, nevertheless there is a great gain in personal magnetism and if one needs magnetism or desires it, there is no better manner of obtaining it than through meditation. For then it is that the battery is recharged which has been giving out so much energy in thought, speech and action. All of these things consume vital magnetism and the silence of the sages is to conserve the power that it might be transmuted or used only to benefit the world.

Such things as holding one hand in the other, or folding hands or crossing the legs under the body or even kneeling tend to keep the magnetism from scattering. The body is a bio-electric vehicle as the scientists are now learning. Breathing in the silence draws energy into it. The healing practices help even more. But besides this, when one restrains the ego in speech, thought and action, and when one refrains from these things, already the power begins to return to the vehicles of the soul.

Magnetism leaves the body through the nostrils, fingers, eyes, ears, tongue, lips, feet and all over. The controlling of these centres and organs makes of the body a human temple of God. Rhythmic breathing, rhythmical schedules and all practices of rhythm are also beneficial. Otherwise the gain that might come in meditation may be frittered away and lost.

To make sure of one’s gain it is best to meditate regularly at a certain hour, every day if possible, or less often if this is not possible. This adds to the music of life also. For the gain of one person in magnetism can be the gain of all. The teacher or leader in meditation helps the others because of his increased capacity and also because of his ability to draw the cosmic energy.

It has not been meant that we should be subject to pain, suffering and disease. It is even possible to live a long time in the body without feeling the ravages of years. Moses stayed one hundred and twenty years and departed in the full vigor of his energies because he knew how to tap what some have called the cosmic reservoir. Yes, no doubt the reservoir is there and it is not wrong to tap it. Sufism is wisdom and wisdom does not mean to refrain from everything that will bring personal satisfaction or happiness. One does not have to put these things first. One may lead a perfectly balanced life and obtain all the blessings thereof without any danger to oneself or hindrance of spiritual evolution.

The greatest gain, however, is peace, which is paramount even to magnetism. This is obtained in the silence by complete restraint especially against the ever constant activity of mind.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa                                                                           Series I: Number 3[A]

Beloved ones of God:

Something has already been said of the posture in meditation and also of the need of poise. The purpose of posture is to control the magnetism, to control the currents which are generated. If one went into a room where the vibrations are very poor and held out the hands, and separated the feet, the magnetism would be scattered. This might be good for the room, but would not help one very much.

The spirit enters through the breath, but the magnetism of that spirit is transferred to the nerves and blood and carried to the extremities. The magnetism that leaves the body is not through the nostrils, but chiefly through the fingers, the toes and the head area, and in the head area through the eyes, ears, and a little through the crown, chin, nostrils and through speaking. By controlling these avenues of egress one retains the strength from Prana, and in that way builds up his own powers. This develops not only the power of the breath, but the power of healing, the power of the word, all powers come through this breath.

The purpose of poise or position is to keep the body in equilibrium, so that one will not sway nor have to exert a force to retain this position, to keep steady. For this reason some mureeds are trained in certain postures and others otherwise, and each exercise or prescription given by Murshid may vary, for the purpose is to help the mureed according to his need.

Rhythm is also necessary, and this rhythm is of two kinds; rhythm in breathing and rhythm in daily life. In meditation the rhythm must be steady, as one learns in the study of Fikr. This is more important than to fix a rate, slow or fast, or to have a light or deep breath, although all of these are important in their effect on body and mind.

But as the whole body, mind and soul unite in meditation, it is important, to have a fixed hour or fixed periods for meditation, to arrange one’s time so there are hours for work, play and eating, studying and meditation, and to keep these hours as much as possible. When one is traveling a change may be necessary, but otherwise this should be kept foremost. Fifteen minutes a day regularly will help one much more spiritually than two hours a day at one’s convenience. Why? Because these fifteen minutes are devoted to God, and those two hours for the self, and this is not true meditation, which seeks for nothing but the realization of God.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 4

The atmosphere is itself most helpful to those in meditation. Of course there are monks and ascetics who meditate alone in different parts of the world, but even they build up their own atmospheres. There is a great deal of strength gained by a person who can retire to his own atmosphere, and the more sensitive he is the more will he feel it.

Meditation helps one to become more receptive. However if by this term is meant the receiving of knowledge or of wealth or of anything in particular it is not so. Yes, there have been in ancient times and there are today and there may be in later times also those who seek to use spiritual devices to obtain material or selfish ends for themselves. But ultimately they must pay for these things and they do not rise thereby above the real, of karmic interplay.

The receptive person draws the energy of the sphere into himself. For instance it is by such means that Shifayat, the healer, makes of himself an instrument whereby divine energy can find a channel through which it goes in order to reach ultimately the mind and body of a sick person. This shows that the energy can be directed, but in meditation one does not even think about energy. That would be a concentration and would draw forces in a particular direction. In meditation one tries to strip himself of every kind of thought and of every type of motive.

No doubt the one who practices meditation gains in sympathy and in insight. This ability to sympathize is most important for it helps to further break down the differences and distinctions which divide men. In the negative state one may feel the suffering, pathos and pain of another; if he remains there he cannot be helpful. For this reason Sufis practice Darood or repeat an Invocation before meditation, so that they can better be united with the whole stream of life, which manifests through the chain of illuminated souls, who form the Spirit of Guidance.

The development of insight leads ultimately to expression. One does not primarily practice meditation for the sake of gaining an answer to his problems or questions, yet if one is overburdened he can bring one question with him into meditation, sit quietly, remove all thoughts, watch the breath at every instant and find himself receive a knowledge or instruction as if the universe itself were speaking to him. Then and thus will he recognize the Voice of Wisdom. For in the Silence God Himself becomes the Teacher, the Teacher of all.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 4[A]

Beloved ones of God:

The Quality of atmosphere enables one to become more quickly receptive. Receptive to what? To the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty, the Only Being.

Some people believe that meditation brings a relaxation and then one should receive everything. This shows lack of discrimination for there are impressions and thoughts and suggestions that are of no value. What is attunement? It is altering the pitch of the personal will to the Will of God. Whatever one holds before oneself, to that will he become attuned, but if everything is allowed to pass before one’s mind, it can become affixed on nothing. It is the same as one first viewing a great city or marvelous scenery; they do not fix their gaze on anything. The Sufi, knowing this, fixes his gaze on God.

In healing, if one does this, he gradually draws the magnetism of the universe and dedicates his body for a healing work. But if he thinks that negativity means attuning to the sick patient, he draws on the condition of the patient instead of the Divine Help, and may take on the illness without helping the sick person much. This comes from a wrong view of sympathy.

Sympathy means an attunement, a feeling with, but there is a negative way and a positive way of sympathizing. In the negative way one feels the suffering, the pathos, the pain, and unites in grief but does not bring much help. In the positive way, one raises the other from sorrow; one is able to give them their better condition without taking on the lower condition. This is true healing. That is the reason why one must repeat “Towards the One” so much during the healing service, and gradually attune oneself to the Divine rays which are health-giving.

But this is not only so in healing, but in all forms of inspiration, in poetry, music, art, invention, and all aspects of the creative process. The more one meditates the more one rises to the essence of things, becoming a vehicle for divine expression. There every aspect of life becomes an art and a science.

One going to his meditation feeling, “God is my Teacher, I have something to learn from Him, I will listen attentively,” will be rewarded with the greatest blessing, receiving in the Silence and Meditation that which he is capable of understanding, and by this gradually his purpose of life will be unfolded.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 5

Nothing is more valuable in the spiritual life than meditation. If he only knew it is more valuable than food, sleep or any of those activities which seem so necessary to him. And this need is known even to the animals. For instance one often sees cats rest with their paws under them. They try to produce a state of calmness in which there is neither thought nor emotion. Many other animals make use of the silence although birds also indulge in praise to God aloud.

Even the machines that man makes break down and need reconditioning and overhauling. There being no perpetuality and there being action and reaction, man has to learn how to recharge his vehicles. Instead he usually argues that he “has not the time” for meditation. Yet meditation is the very thing that will give him the time, and most of all for his own self, for his own welfare.

Meditation is not only the way to healing, it is the key to all things. If all studies were stopped and if there was only esotericism and meditation nothing of Sufism or of spiritual philosophy would be lost. One can dispense with study papers and literature. The real truth is to be found within one’s own being. But if there is constant activity and if there is all attention to the world outside, how can man ever come face to face with himself? Instead he grows older with the years and displays loss of vitality so very often. For not only when body is fatigued or mind tired does this loss manifest, but in every display of emotion also.

Meditation is thus far more important than any and all intellectual study. Through the intellect one can only receive what has come to the intellect of others and as they are limited, so he is limited. Besides, he does not get their real knowledge thereby, he only obtains a reflection of it. It is only when one relaxes body and mind that he begins to learn the Cosmic Language. This language is universal and omnipresent, and is understood by the awakened heart.

There should be a balance between meditation and activity. If this is continued one will find his meditation even in his everyday life. So it does not mean retiring to the closet for long periods, expecting some reward therefrom. It is only as the ego is restrained, one increases the capacity within himself for the Divine Light and comes to a realization of his true being.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 5[A]

Beloved ones of God:

Actually nothing is needed more in life than meditation. It is more important than even food and sleep and all the activities of life. Those who are only a little observant will notice that cats often lie with the paws under their body, in a posture of meditation, and this is so, they are meditating. They meditate in Silence. Birds, on the contrary, practice Zikr, praise to God, but throughout creation, from rocks and trees to man, everything is in meditation sometimes.

Even the machinery which man makes will breakdown if it is not given rest and overhauling, but to man’s own vehicles, his body and mind, this is not considered so important or necessary. Many people constantly put off taking up spiritual studies because they “have not the time.” They do not see that a little spiritual training will not only give them more time for what they must do, but will enable them to know with their whole heart and soul what they must do. This will make it possible to eliminate all unnecessary acts in life, to devote one’s energy to what is vital. Even pleasure and pain become the greatest of mysteries and problems to those not on the spiritual path.

Meditation is not only the key to healing, it is the key to all things. If all the studies were dropped and only the spiritual practices, the invocation and the prayers were retained, nothing of Sufism would be lost. The soul would remain and could build up new bodies. It would be like throwing away one’s clothes and thinking the body is lost, but it might be the gainer by such an act.

Meditation is not only far more important than study, it is true study. When one completely relaxes the body and mind, and becomes receptive to God, then the Voice of God will speak to him in the language of the soul. This is true Sufism which can never be explained, yet can clearly be understood.

One can never meditate too much. This does not mean going into one’s closet, but it means keeping the heart fixed on God, to keep the mind fixed on the invocation, every moment day and night, so the very breath will keep on calling, “Towards the One.” Then the hour will arrive some time when the Talib will realize his true being. And what is that true being? It is God, the Only Being.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 6

Harmony is a most important essential in life. Although there have been multitudes who have proclaimed their belief in the brotherhood of man, the accomplishment of it seems to be far away. If one investigates he will discover that harmony between person and person is missing. This brings up a question, is there any way by which harmony can be produced? Yes, persons who mingle often in the same atmosphere may grow closer together, there will be a common bond.

There is one of the reasons why people meditate in group, with or without a teacher or leader. The teacher or leader serves to draw them closer together, to harmonize them, like the conductor of the orchestra harmonizes the musicians and their instruments. In the orchestra it is not only the instruments which are brought into attunement to each other but the players themselves. And in the meditation hall the atmosphere serves to tune the hearts of the devotees, to bring them, so to speak, into consonant pitch.

The Healing Service of the Sufis depends upon internal harmony. Therefore the number of participants has been wisely limited. The more persons who join the circle, the more difficult is it to create and preserve a lasting living harmony. Besides, negative persons in it would be attracting the energy to themselves and limiting the healing power. Sometimes even a single undeveloped person can destroy the efficacy of such a Service; sometimes a single undeveloped person may create a disturbance at a meditation group. To protect the group as well as themselves many teachers restrict the number and are careful to examine newcomers.

When a person who lacks understanding enters the meditation group he brings in his lower atmosphere as well as his undesirable thoughts. These interfere with the atmosphere already created and draw energy from it. To use the terms of electricity they discharge it. And sometimes it takes months to create a sacred atmosphere which can be so destroyed in a moment.

Therefore less developed persons are instructed in meditation alone, or they are given opportunities for silence at the Universal Worship and at other meetings which they can sustain. But for the undeveloped, the silence held too long can be harmful. People who have been over-strained in public corrective institutions have been known to go mad.

One should therefore begin with quite short silences and increase them as one is able to restrain the mind. The quality of the meditation itself may be quite as important as the length of time used in maintaining silence.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa  Series I: Number 6[A]

Beloved ones of God:

Harmony is most necessary when two or more mureeds unite for spiritual purposes. In the study of lessons, unless they have a cordial feeling, both will miss the purpose, which is as much to attune their personalities one to the other, as to gain intellectual development from the manuscript. One might even say that that was the real lesson. And when more than two come together, the same adjustment is needed, but when there are several persons, sometimes one or two serve to harmonize others who may not understand each other’s nature.

In the Healing Service the presence of a sick, or an unharmonious or an undeveloped person, or one who is not suited for this work, has the tendency either to draw the magnetism to that person or to disperse it, so it will not be of much value. For that reason, it is best to select properly fitted persons for this line of work, and groups should be limited to about seven people. Discrimination of the workers, however, is most important, and if there are less it does not matter, and if there are more, it is better to divide the work and have two groups.

The presence of an undeveloped person has the tendency to break the tension and to discharge the atmosphere. Under such conditions a true positive meditation is impossible. Among the oracles in ancient Greece, it was not only necessary to have the oracle and the seer lead a very pure life, but all those who assisted by forming a magnetic circle had to be pure.

When a person lacking understanding enters a meditation room, it makes it difficult for those who form the embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance, to direct the true spiritual work. They will not convey lessons or impressions or messages, or else they will require a silence on the part of the one who is learning from them. Sometimes it is important that such people be dismissed from the room. It is also important to arrange classes of people of the same degree of evolution, for they assist one another instead of hindering.

Of course, group silences, in the presence of a teacher, or in a room especially adopted for this work, have always been part of the Sufi training. In this congregation, the earlier Talibs are greatly benefitted, and the more advanced are not held back for they have learned to attune themselves to the atmosphere. By preserving the silence in the room, by closing the doors to the outside world, a condition is brought about so that in time the place becomes holy, and those who feel it will become more and more reverent, and this in turn will increase the sanctity of the atmosphere, that even those who are not on the spiritual path will feel in awe, and be constrained to silence and meditation.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 7

The laws of the unseen world are not different from those of the seen world although no doubt they concern more vital forces and atomic formations than we see in the objective manifestation. The same word “magnetism” is used to apply to various types of ultra-physical phenomena and the same principles hold except that the magnetism of the scientists is closely associated with iron and steel and some other metals; while the vital magnetism makes use of the elements and of the atoms and vibrations of all planes.

In the Healing Service the silence is used to increase the current between several persons; while in one’s own practices it is employed to revivify one’s own self. But when several persons join in the Service, those who do not give out absorb and by their absorption, they weaken the value of the service. But if all present have practiced meditation by themselves they can increase the vital electricity which is sent by thought-power to the sick person.

The undeveloped person acts like an insulator to the mureeds, and can discharge the electricity. This is why Christ said he felt a force leaving him when a woman touched the hem of his garment. To protect against this condition one should have his own room for private meditation, even if it be a cell. He should have his devotions there and not use it for any low purpose. Even smoking is inadvisable in such a place. Thus he will create his own atmosphere, add power and magnetism to it and make of it a centre for vital forces and electricity.

The same is true of the meditation hall. The less conversation of all kind that goes on there the better. Ordinary conversation should be restricted. But more subtle is the conversation that goes on within every person. For as soon as there is silence the thoughts begin to move about and to agitate. To overcome that one is urged to repeat a spiritual phrase or to watch the breath. In the presence of a teacher, however, all may concentrate upon the breath of the teacher or the heart of the teacher.

The teacher himself seeks to overcome the less developed breath of the pupils and thus increases their capacity. If the pupil has any difficulty in catching the rhythm of the teacher’s breath—and this is by no means always easy—then he can concentrate a little upon the teacher’s heart, doing this mostly by feeling, and gradually relax all his thoughts first, and then his feelings afterwards. Thus he enters the state that “I am not” which is most beneficial for all students on the path.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 7[A]

Beloved ones of God:

The same laws hold in spiritual development as in the physical world. This can be observed most easily in the study of electricity and magnetism. For instance, when a battery is made up of several cells united, the efficiency is determined by the condition of the poorest cell among them. If one cell is weak, the battery will be weakened, and if one cell is dead, the battery will not function.

In the same way, in the healing circle, if there is one who cannot contribute to the magnetic force, the whole circle is of no value; even if all the others are highly charged with spiritual power, they cannot function as a group with a negative person among them. Likewise, there is such difference between the meditation in the Universal Worship, and that for mureeds only. Therefore, the Murshid, who is a very positive power, does not lead the meditations in the Universal Worship, which are given to Cherags who do not read the sermon. At the same time, the most developed one should give the blessing, for the blessing is given in the center, where the personality serves as the instrument of all the illuminated souls, who form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

In electricity there are conductors which carry the energy, and insulators which do not, but the term is relative, as there are good conductors and poor conductors, and even the best insulator conducts electricity a little, although perhaps immeasurable. So, all persons are on the spiritual path, although most may not know it. But if they did not so function they would be dead in the truest sense, they would be entirely dissolved.

The undeveloped person is like an insulator among mureeds, and can discharge an atmosphere, exactly like the discharging in electricity. On the other hand, the Murshid constantly charges the atmosphere. The Murshid is like a dynamo which draws power from its Source and by means of which many electric lights may illuminate humanity. Without the dynamo the lights are nothing, and without the Source of Power the dynamo is nothing. In the same way, without the Murshid the mureed is nothing and without God the Murshid is nothing.

An electrical body may be charged to the limit which is called capacity, and a Talib may receive to a limit which is also called capacity. But the capacity of a body may be increased through certain means and the capacity of a Talib may also be increased. And after a body is charged and functions, the power of its function is called potential, which depends upon its own capacity and the capacity of the receiver of that electricity. Likewise the power of the mureed depends both on his energy and the ability of the person whom he is aiding. As an insulator will not receive electricity, but causes a discharge, so must the spiritual person have discrimination, otherwise it will be, as Christ said, casting pearls before swine and that which is holy to the dogs. Verily, in all departments of nature can one find God, if one truly seeks and looks.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 8

Many people claim that they desire enlightenment, that they seek self-purification and perfection and are looking for the highest wisdom. Yet when it comes to a question of the acceptance of someone as teacher, they refuse to look to any human being for guidance. They say that God has no favorites, that God is before all and that all are equal to God.

Yes, they are right, and besides God is the only teacher, we all learn from Him. But when they go to school to learn arithmetic or spelling or geography or music, do they learn from God? Then at least they accept the teacher in human form. They may have a little knowledge and they accept the teacher to learn more. When it comes to the esoteric sciences which are much harder to learn and far more subtle in form, then they want nobody, and this very attitude shows the lack of one of the greatest elements in spiritual unfoldment, self-surrender.

What is teaching but the manifestation of divine power through the human heart. It is not the personality of Sheikh or Khalif or Murshid which is the guide. It is that such people have reached a state wherein their own hearts have opened to the degree of making a suitable accommodation for the Spirit of Guidance. Then the light and wisdom may be communicated to pupils through speech or through silence.

The presence of the teacher at meditation acts like a condenser in electricity. It draws the atoms together quickly and charges them with living energy. This is like offering spiritual sustenance to pupils. Pupils rise when the teacher enters, not so much out of respect to the personality as to help in that attunement which may be of so much benefit to themselves. This inner harmony of itself can be a great help to anyone who is on the path to God.

Restraint of speech and thought is most helpful whether a person meditates alone or with others, in the presence of the teacher or not. After a while he comes to be at one with the atmosphere. Thus the first stage of development is accomplished. After that he begins to grow through that atmosphere and he also helps that atmosphere to grow. This is the second stage. The first stage is closely associated with fana, self-effacement; the second with baqa, realization. Those are the two aspects of spiritual development.

When the atmosphere of a meditation hall seems low or depleted, it can be restored through Zikr. Zikr helps elevate the material atoms and vibrations so that they also can become accommodation for baraka, spiritual blessings.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 8[A]

Beloved ones of God:

Many people seek enlightenment without a teacher. This shows they have no idea about it, for in enlightenment and with enlightenment there can be no separation, there is no “I” nor “thou.” What is the teacher? Is it the personality who is the guide? No, it is not that personality although we call such a one Sheikh or Khalif or Murshid or by other terms.

What is teaching is the Power which is manifesting through that personality, and the love which is in their hearts. It is the power and love which teach, not the personality. When that same personality is not reflecting power and love they are not teaching. The true guide will understand first his own processes, whether he is really reflecting power and love, and then he will understand the mureeds.

The presence of the teacher forms what corresponds to a condenser in electricity. Such a one draws the atoms together quickly and charges them; without a teacher the mureeds could no doubt attain the same condition after a time, but the Murshid does this immediately because he carries his atmosphere with him. When a Murshid enters the Meditation Hall, the atoms at once take the proper arrangement, they become charged, they stand up before Murshid. Therefore when the mureeds rise also, it is not only because of respect, but by that act they attune themselves with the very atoms, otherwise one could say the atoms have more spirituality than those persons. This is true in all cases, even in the Universal Worship, but to a less extent.

In the presence of the teacher, therefore, the positive meditation begins immediately upon his entering the room. The preparatory work should be completed. And how is it completed? By refraining entirely from speech and as much as possible from thought before the Murshid comes. Five, or even three minutes is sufficient for this, but fifteen minutes in the meditation room with the mind wandering, and especially with speech, is harmful. Those who must enter the Chapel for preparation should refrain from speech for at least fifteen minutes before the meditation time; half an hour would be better, but more than this is not necessary. Zikr chant must not be considered as speech, for it has the effect of arranging the atoms, in the same manner as the influence of the Murshid.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 9

Meditation may be regarded as consisting of two portions, the preparation and the performance. In preparing for meditation one should try to guard against all undesirable thoughts, speech and acts until the hour of the meditation. One should also sit in silence a little before the teacher arrives, watching the breath and keeping the mind as free as possible from thoughts of all sorts. Even idealistic thoughts are out of place in meditation.

Of course the preparation can continue until it includes the entire daily life. Then one can go on from that and identify meditation and the everyday life. This is its perfection. To accomplish this Sufis repeat Darood which is most helpful. It tends at all times to restrain nufs and uses the mind as the body is used. That is to say, just as there are certain hours for eating and others for abstinence from food, so there can be periods in which the mind is used for thought and other periods when it is not used.

The ultimate aim, of course, is to elevate the mind to its buddhic condition. The instructions on the cultivation of insight are also most important. The difference is that in developing insight one may do it consciously, one may be watching the heart and its impressions and thereby become responsive to the All-Pervading Spirit of Wisdom. In meditation one does not try to receive anything, but the purification of mind thereby often opens up the door to inspiration. At least it makes it much easier to receive impressions and hear the Voice which cometh constantly from within.

The teacher can, by his presence, raise the pitch of the soul. The mureed does not surrender before the teacher in order to give special reverence to the teacher as a personality. It is for his own sake that the disciple lays aside his desires and his thoughts. He lays them before the teacher when he practices fana-fi-Sheikh, while in meditation he lays them before God at all times, that is to say, whether the teacher be present or not.

By meditation one relaxes the mind so that it becomes recharged with magnetism. After a little practice one feels it a little; after continual practice one feels it more. Therefore one gradually lengthens the time in the meditation. He either meditates for the sake of resting and restoring the mind, or in order to receive impressions, that is, to develop his intuitive faculty.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 9[A]

Beloved ones of God:

Meditation should be considered as consisting of two parts, the preparation and the performance. The preparation consists, first, in refraining from all wrong thoughts, speech and acts until the hour of meditation, and in maintaining a short silence before the Murshid enters. If this is done, then one will be ready for the second part of meditation.

The teacher first charges the atmosphere and by this the true Silence is established. This Silence is of great help to spiritual knowledge; it is Saute Surmad or Abstract Sound, which cannot properly be called either Sound or Silence. By attunement with it, one becomes attuned to all in Nature.

But the teacher does more than magnetize the atmosphere. The teacher is the conductor, so to speak, of an orchestra. The instruments must be attuned, and there must be some key note, and it is the Murshid who supplies that key note. What is meant by Fana-fi-Sheikh or Fana-fi-Murshid is that first the Talibs must become attuned to their teacher. After that or during that process they become attuned to each other without the least effort; even those who have very different dispositions become attuned one to another.

This lesson is taught in “The Mysticism of Sound.” Unless it is practiced, the study of that book is of little value. And when can it be practiced? It is practiced in every spiritual study and in every meditation. It is not necessary that one should pretend to be friendly or harmonious with a person whose keynote is discordant to his; the way of the Sufi is to introduce other notes to produce a symphony.

The teacher by his presence raises the pitch of the soul higher and higher, the atmosphere becomes more and more peaceful. After a while the Talib begins to understand the function of meditation, that it is not only a period for rest and relaxation, and revitalization, but that it is a period of communion with God, for inspiration, for Divine Guidance. If this were not so, the Spirit of Guidance would not be the Spirit of Guidance, but when it is understood, one knows beyond doubt what is the Spirit of Guidance which leads one to the Goal.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 10

The breath of the teacher is, so to speak, a ladder by means of which the mureed climbs on his way to God. The breath of the teacher helps to establish rhythm in meditation and also to refine the atmosphere. The finer the vibrations that are received into the atmosphere, the more beneficial is it to those who participate in the silence. If the pupil is able to adjust his breath to that of the teacher it is most helpful. At the same time the teacher does what he can to reach the heart of every pupil in his presence.

The more the mureed sits in silence before the teacher, the easier is it to adjust the breath of teacher and pupil. It is by this means that the pupil receives the blessing from the teacher. This may be no special knowledge. However it does mean that the heart becomes more sensitive and through its sensitivity it can grow in wisdom, insight, compassion and love.

The Silence itself is a great healer and it is a mistake to depend upon the teacher too much. That is to say, the thought of the teacher can become a hindrance. Teacher should not be regarded so much as a personality before one as a gate to God. There is a fundamental purpose of life and this is uncovered as we remove the vestiges of self one by one. There are many ways by which different people can become sensitive to the silence. Whatever way is successfully followed brings something to the talib.

This is an increase of feeling for life itself. The body and mind become purer vehicles of soul. The radiance of the personality and the charm of manner often follow. Thus meditation provides a psychological and moral training.

It is also possible to take a problem into the silence and lay it before God. This means to bring the problem and hold it before one as if in concentration, in order to keep other thoughts away. Then to drop this thought, so to speak, into the lap of God. This is done by keeping silence of mind and repose and often it happens that then one receives the guidance. Fikr, of course, can be used to help in this.

The more the pupil can receive an answer to his requirements from the silence, the surer will he be in his footsteps forward and the closer every day of his life will he be drawing the Spirit of God toward himself.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series I: Number 10[A]

Beloved ones of God:

The breath of the teacher is, so to speak, a ladder by which the mureed climbs on his way to God. It is the breath of the teacher which establishes a rhythm in the meditation; just as his personality and atmosphere create the harmony. Both harmony and rhythm are necessary, also pitch.

In the attunement of a violin string, one must turn the peg slowly or the string will break; the same process is in spiritual development which is a gradual change in pitch, but very definite. The vibrations gather around the teacher and flow from the teacher’s being. All who are in the room benefit but even the atmosphere about, the building, the grounds, and the vicinity benefit.

After a time, the mureed will adjust his breath to the teacher. This cannot be done consciously by outward observation so much as by silent resignation. In resignation one uses his positive faculties to keep the thought and emotions quieted, but the negative faculties are surrendered to God. In the tuning of an instrument it is only necessary to adjust one string or one note to the key note, and then to adjust the other strings or notes to that one note. This is done not only in the orchestra but in the tuning of pianos and organs. The Talib therefore, should not endeavor to attune all parts of his personality to the teacher, but to gain the key note by resignation of his will.

The next step is to attune the rest of his personality to that Will which has become harmonized and attuned. Then he creates the harmony in himself, for the motto of the Sufi is Unity, not uniformity. At the same time, especially when one finds difficulty in this, one may adopt any customs or habits of the teacher. It is like the violin player who has difficulty in attuning his A string, but may adjust his E or G string with ease, and then fix his A string properly. Therefore, attunement with the teacher is most important, obedience and surrender of the will being most essential, but even imitation, personal devotion, strict attention to the words, to the study, to daily duties, all these help. This is explained also in the Bhagavad Gita that there is a best road, and at the same time there are many roads, and by whichever road one comes to God, for that person that is the best road.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 1

Some people try to meditate in order that they may receive a personal benefit. Others mean by personal benefit a particular gain such as health, wealth, youth or happiness or the attainment of some possession, fame or power. Yes, no doubt these things can be gained by use of inner power, but in the end a price will have to be paid for them.

When Boddhidharma, the great Buddhist Patriarch, came to China, the Emperor told him of all the fine things he had done and wanted to know what merit he had gained. He was told, “no merit.” For meditation is not a practice of the self as conceived and does not bring anything to self. It has nothing to do with gain or loss, good or evil. The continual practice of restraint of thought, however, does cultivate peace of mind. When the mind is properly cleared from thought it becomes like a palace of shining mirrors, which reflect easily the impressions gained from the life within or without.

The ability to receive these impressions and to respond to them correctly results in the development of the intuitive faculty. Besides that one may gain in ability to control emotions and speech, and so rise in the moral scale of evolution. This is sure to be so when one does not waste any effort thinking of oneself.

No doubt there are times when one should meditate on his own problems. Thinking quietly, one may obtain the answer after a while. This does not mean to hold the problem so much as to use it to drive away other thoughts, then let it slide away “as the dewdrop into the shiny sea.” The effort itself may often bring the answer without any long indulgence in silence. This shows prajna, kashf, or intuition, the living light from within.

By this means also one becomes able to help others, for that same light which brings wisdom to the mind concerning oneself can also bring wisdom concerning another. To help in this one should watch the surface of the heart; after a while one can feel the waves rise and fall. Then one can control those waves or rise and fall with them as one chooses. As those waves are of finer vibrations they take the consciousness beyond the sphere of mind.

Thus while in meditation there is a stilling of mind, there is not a stilling of life. Meditation is far removed from death or sleep. Rather does it increase one’s capacity for life and light although if one thinks about these things it is not so. The gain comes when one does not think. Then one may be said to be within the domain of Divine Grace.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 1[A]

 No one need ask: “What shall I gain by Meditation? In what ways shall I benefit?” If one only knew, it is by means of Meditation that all is gained, not only things are gained, not only attributes and qualities are gained, but even God is so gained.

It is God Who would reveal Himself to us, but so long as we keep our minds on anything else but God, He may be speaking but we do not hear. When we hear His Voice, all knowledge, all direction, all guidance will be ours, everything that we need will be ours. With this understanding one can breast the waves of life; to turn back the tide and to surmount obstacles will become possible.

Speaking of Intuition is of itself of little value. The mystic does not speak, he uses the inner faculties in everyday life and so Insight becomes a means of sustaining and understanding realities. To every question there is an answer and the key to the answer is in the question. One of the best means of finding the answer is to enter into Meditation. The question may arise: “Should I meditate on this problem?” It is not wrong to meditate on any problem but it is always wise to seek Divine Guidance. Meditating in a prayerful attitude, knowing that God will help, relieves one from further concern, and there is nothing in life more valuable.

Sometimes the answer will come as a simple direction, easily understood. Sometimes a feeling will come which may not seem so clear or direct, but when one follows the guidance which comes from the heart, often one will find the obstacles in life disappear like a dissolving mist. Care and worry prevent a proper solution, while surrender of self always helps to clear the path from the perplexities of life, bringing calm and peace. The Sufi who does this knows that God is All-seeing, All-knowing.

For that reason, over and over again the Invocation is repeated, repeated at different times and bringing each time one closer to the Reality which it expresses. All problems may be as tests in life. In the ancient Egyptian mysteries, the Hierophant is reported to have said to the neophyte: “You have nothing to fear but yourself.” It was Jesus Christ who said: “My yoke is easy, my burden is light,” meaning, give up your problems, take them before Allah in loving surrender and they will be solved and you will be healed.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 2

The great obstacle to be overcome in meditation is the false ego, or nufs. When the body is restrained it seeks refuge in the mind. People who are nervous, who have digestive troubles, or are suffering physically should not meditate in group. It is not for them to receive the finer vibrations. Yet meditation is the best medicine for them, if they can keep quiet only a few moments. Those who are indisposed should meditate often and for only short periods.

In preparing for meditation one should have regard for his stomach and body generally. That is why attention is first given to the physical vehicle by the Sufis. Those who might otherwise find it hard to keep silence may be instructed on the path of sound and develop through music and Zikr. While this training has the tendency to produce ecstasy, it also develops a capacity for receptivity of finer vibrations, and although in a different way from meditation, it is beneficial. The Meditation Hall itself can be elevated through the use of holy music and repetition of Zikr at certain times.

The repetition of the Invocation is the first step toward mental control. A concentration—if one wishes to call it that—on the Invocation may be used to soothe the ego-thoughts which are otherwise so disturbing. Whether reason or memory or imagination agitates, one should repeat the Invocation or perfect a Darood and keep on with his repetition in order to avoid any personal thoughts. For no one has room in his heart for God and self both, it is one or the other.

The tendency of nufs is to turn us from the One to the many, enticing us with the intoxication of the endless things of the manifest world. Thus man becomes attached to the stream of nothingness. Then he loses sight of his true being. This it is which brings him all his troubles. At first he turns to meditation so that his troubles will not bother him so much. Then he learns to control those affairs that have been troubling him. Finally he develops calmness and that calmness he can carry with him when he leaves the meditation hall. The stronger that calmness the surer he will find his footsteps in life.

Nevertheless one has to be sure of himself first and the wise have maintained their silence for long periods. Besides this helps those who take up concentration and thus indirectly helps man in every line of progress.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 2[A]

The great obstacle to be overcome in Meditation is the false ego or nufs. What is it that prevents us from concentrating our thoughts and feelings on God? It is the nufs. In the Hebrew religion there is the Shema or cry, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our Lord, the Lord is One.” And there is the answer to the Cry, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind.” And these directions should be considered as a unity for the light of the soul shines in the heart and is reflected in the mind.

Plato wrote that we lived in a shadow world, where we confused the shadow of ourselves with reality. This is the nufs, the false ego, which stands in the light before God, causing, so to speak, a spiritual eclipse. In Meditation, one does not have to hold such a thought for this false self is overcome through meditating upon the true Self, which in reality, is God. The modern devotee may repeat the Invocation, “Towards the One,” etc., instead of the Shema and it will produce the same effect. There is no difference between them in the language of heart and soul; the forms in words may be different, but the acts, thoughts, feelings and results are the same.

Whenever the nufs seems to hold us in its sway, it is through meditation we may find freedom. To the Sufi, pure meditation includes more than going into one’s room only; any act of life which is done with dependence upon Allah or which makes us aware of Him, whether in reading or studying or working or contemplation or prayer or meditation or any duty of everyday life—all may become part of a universal meditation which marks every breath and every heartbeat in life. Then as we observe more plainly the true purpose of life, the momentary obstacle which may have appeared like a great cliff, becomes as a tiny step through our growth and understanding, and by taking this step, what was once a hindrance becomes an aid to our development

The nufs turns us from the One to the many, enticing us with the things of the world. Then man attaches himself to one thing after another which brings at best momentary satisfaction; through his spiritual practices the Sufi learns to chain the nufs, to perceive it is only a shadow of reality, and finding the sun of truth within his being, looking upon it, one is no longer aware of the shadow.

Then the nufs is not destroyed but harnessed. The whole of man’s being is attuned to God and everything within him serves God. This is the work of all on the path of illumination, of whatever school they may be. There is no other obstacle than this false self and there is no better means of controlling it than by meditation and by practicing the Presence of Allah.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 3

Meditation is the one general practice which is open to all mureeds and to the generality as well. It is introduced as a silence in the Universal Worship and in the meetings of the social and educational department of the Sufi Movement, known as the Brotherhood.

Meditation is the most universal means of the spreading the message, which in a certain sense is no message, only the call of humanity to praise God and to show consideration one for the other.

As meditation is new to the West there may be practical aids which help in the first stages. For instance the talib, after his Bayat, may be given a sacred phrase to repeat, which will be generally known as a Wazifa. The Wazifa is based upon a sacred phrase which holds as though some attribute of God. It has a positive and negative use. The negative use is for purification and the positive use is to build up the characteristic within the personality which is needed for success and attainment in life.

Wazifas are generally repeated audibly, a certain number of times as esoteric exercises. But they may be repeated mentally and silently and thus used as Darood. This helps in keeping out all unwelcome incoming thoughts, by which is meant any thought that interferes with the goal in view. In meditation all thoughts, of any nature whatever, are wayfarers and should be removed. Unwelcome thoughts have no more place in the meditation hall than have unwelcome persons, only it is that we can easily prevent the unwelcome persons from entering, while a constant warfare is required to restrain the unwelcome thoughts.

Sufism is not a code of rules. The purpose of instruction is to help the pupil to help himself. Through peace of mind one not only helps himself, he can more easily help others. Peace of mind removes the obstacles which stand between personality and personality. If there is any loss which comes in not having peace of mind it is a loss which everyone can feel and know. Although in the spiritual life one need not seek happiness directly, the struggle for peace of mind removes most of those things which stand in the way of our experience of happiness.

Therefore as one is successful in maintaining meditation a short while, he is encouraged to keep up longer meditations. Those who find it hard to do this in the everyday life are welcomed to the practice of Khilvat by which they, at stated times, can withdraw from worldly activity and be guarded and protected in their hours of silence, meditation and devotion.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 3[A]

Besides meditation, each talib is given special instructions suited to his need, while journeying the path toward Unity. One such form of instruction is the Wazifa, or repetition of sacred phrases for various purposes.

If it be asked what is the purpose, it may be answered that as the purpose of all rain is to return to the ocean, so the purpose of every soul is to return to God. Some drops unite in little streams, to flow down the river which ultimately loses itself in the ocean. So the practice of each Wazifa may be for some particular purpose, yet all these purposes unite just as the streams unite, and finally come to their destination.

Wazifa is both positive an negative, to build up faculties which are necessary and to remove undesirable qualities. So Sufis use Wazifas in purification, but the Sufi always recognizes God as the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty, as the Perfection of all qualities, and as the Perfection of Perfections. If strength is needed, strength comes from God; if love is required, God is love; if one must perform Justice, God is Judge and Forgiver.

Wazifas may be repeated audibly or silently in the performance of any act or duty in life. By this means the devotee draws from God the help he needs, attuning himself to the qualities of God at that moment. So besides the regular practice of Wazifa a specified number of times as assigned to the talib by his teacher, so one may meditate upon the Wazifa at all times and use it even when it is no longer part of one’s spiritual exercises.

Sufism is not a code of rules; the purpose of Sufism is to bring souls to God realization. Allah is beyond all Attributes and Qualities, being All Essence. Understanding this, every breath can become a meditation wherein one puts full dependence upon Allah and there will be no moment which will not be a meditation, no moment of separateness from God.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 4

There is always a question of how much one can develop through silence and how much through sound. In answer it should be stated that ultimately all development leads to the Universal Sound which has been called the “Voice of the Silence” and which is silence with respect to the noises and clashings of manifestation but which is not nothing-ness or death.

Zikr practice is of tremendous advantage to the young in that it helps elevate their vital forces and even to experience ecstasy. Thus they are drawn away from passion and materiality. The music has a certain influence of itself, and along with the sacred phrases that form the words there is a most elevating effect. This elevating effect can be felt within the personality as one practices Zikr more and more so that after awhile he will be able to witness his own progress. It also has an effect upon meditation, that sometimes after Zikr meditation is much easier.

In the orient, especially in the Buddhist countries, gongs and other instruments summon the worshippers. After a gong is sounded one often finds it easier to meditate. No doubt it causes a certain stirring up of the air of the room and when this air vibrates it affects all the physical processes in the room. This effect is communicated inwardly through the channels of breath, and often results in the removal of the thought that has been present. Most forms of music in this respect tend to cleanse the mind of the thoughts it has been holding and may take it into a reverie.

Reverie itself is not meditation. Reverie helps to control thought but does not stop the memory or imagination. For this reason the mureed is instructed how to watch the breath and keep it flowing rhythmically. Every thought produces some change in the breathing. If the breath is held constant by will-power, it chokes off the incoming thoughts; then they find no rootsoil in the mind. But this is not enough. In addition one tries to purify the mind constantly. This is done through the use of sacred phrases although Zikr is also helpful in that. Then, after a while one may be able to control the elements of the breath, to keep the ether dominating, or to add to the light.

By such means the calm and peace of the soul come to the fore, and penetrate the outer personality. All exercises which aid in this accomplishment are to be considered as parts of the inner life. The theory of this is not involved and requires no knowledge of metaphysics.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 4[A]

There is a question, if meditation is required to develop in the Silence, why is Zikr sometimes chanted and why are some practices said aloud? The answer is, that there are certain purposes in each practice, and that the ordinary distinction between Sound and Silence does not hold true from the Divine point of view.

For instance, in Zikr one may become able to arrange the atoms in order and rhythm and harmony. When mureeds chant in groups, they often magnify the power of the atoms. Often this brings the same effect as the presence of the teacher, but generally Zikr awakens the soul so as to produce alertness or even ecstasy.

In Zikr the thought is kept on all the syllables and sounds, making it difficult to think of anything else. If the Zikr becomes automatic and is recited without proper thought and feeling, it still is of value because of the intrinsic power of the atoms responding to sound. Besides that, it harmonizes one with the atmosphere and attunes one with all Zikr atmospheres, so one cannot continue the practice without developing out of it the necessary thought and feeling which will then carry one along.

When this is accomplished, one becomes attuned to the spiritual souls higher in evolution and becomes awakened to impressions, and may even arise to that state when the separateness between mind and heart disappears in the realization of Zikr. So Zikr may be called the finest thought expressed in the finest material form with the highest spiritual purpose. It becomes the perfection of the sounds uttered by the tongue.

Zikr is best understood through its performance. In singing and chanting one purifies one’s being, even one’s mind. Then one develops into a Zakir, who is the embodiment of Zikr and the vehicle of the Message of God. The Zakir is the mureed perfected in Zikr.

The moral of Zikr is humility and in its performance the nufs is absorbed like the shadow when light is turned on it. Zikr is important for those needing power and inspiration, while meditation is for those desiring calm and peace. Each are necessary for those who seek God in all forms, and each is only of value when practiced; then each fulfills its purpose better than any explanation can give it.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 5

Fikr is a practice which is indulged in by most Sufis by which they keep before themselves the nothingness of ego and the Allness of God, to learn and feel until they know that God is the Only Being. One may say that the disciple in Fikr can be called Fakir, the poor one, the unattached person. For the fulfillment of Fikr is that there is nothing in the world, in heaven or upon earth, which can cling to the personality who is determined to complete his journey back to God.

Therefore Fikr aids much in the purification of mind. It forces the thoughts away, it may be called the vacuum cleaner of the mind. It helps to preserve mental magnetism and to restore it when lost. It is valuable in strengthening any mental faculty, and in restoring those which are lost. So in a certain sense Fikr accomplishes the same results as meditation.

Meditation consists of preparation, performance and application, which means action. Then when one holds the spirit of unity at all times the whole of life becomes a meditation. In this meditation differs from Fikr which has to be performed in a certain way and which cannot very well be done in the presence of others or when there is any possibility of a disturbance. The performance of meditation can reach the goal, however, when one can maintain full inner rapport without there being any impediment to outward activity.

Meditation aids greatly in the development of insight which can become the deepest faculty of the mind. There is no limit to the length of time one may indulge in it either. Akbar, the great Sufi Mogul Emperor of India, was able to get along with practically no sleep, often meditating for hours at night instead.

Meditation may be performed at any time although there is a certain advantage if the same hours can be used every day. The length of it does not matter so much although it often requires several minutes to accomplish that stillness which is the real meditation. Some persons cannot do it in less than thirty minutes; therefore a gradual lengthening of the period of meditation to that time is advantageous. But after one is able to control thought, it does not matter so much, one can obtain the stillness ultimately even with a single breath.

Nevertheless from time to time a meditation of two hours is valuable, or in its place, a silence over a longer period in which there is full restraint of speech and as much as possible of thought and action.

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Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 5[A]

Fikr is the perpetual possession of the Sufi, and the devotee has often been called Fakir, the poor one. But what is this poverty? It is the poverty of non-attachment, of those who are poor in spirit but blessed by Allah. The Sufi may be outwardly poor, yet inwardly he may not be called rich for he may be said to possess everything and nothing. His satisfaction is in God and he may be master of wealth, while those who own wealth among the generality are better termed servants of wealth.

Every meditation is a Fikr when rightfully performed. In meditation heart and mind are centered upon God, and this is true in Fikr also. Only in Fikr one is given special syllables or a special form, which is absent in general meditation. Yet Fikr can be called an intensification of the highest meditation, keeping the heart fixed on God.

Meditation consists of preparation, performance and application, which means action. So the true meditation is not separate from the rest of life. This is especially true when one gains power and magnetism through meditation to be applied in healing or other spiritual work.

In meditation there are two general results: the development of the faculty of insight and the growth of the personal atmosphere. Once this atmosphere is built, Fikr becomes a natural performance, and as it is said in Salat, at every moment of our lives we draw closer to God. Through this surrender of self, through keeping the gaze and concentration steadfast on God, all becomes natural, and it is the most natural thing in life to be ever aware and responsive to God.

The goal to be attained is that the spiritual condition be continuous through all of life. As the great Sufi saint, Abu Sa’id ibn Abi-l-Khair has said, the Sufi may eat and drink, work and play, sleep, and trade in the market, yet he does not forget God for one single instant. That is the life of the true Fakir and that is the Fikr, which unites the inner and outer lives in the completeness of God realization.

‘

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 6

The watching over the breath is important both in meditation and out of it. By guarding the breath one learns to control the ego, and from a practical view one develops in efficiency in action. For this purpose there are many esoteric exercises which are given the disciple by the teacher at various stages of his development, also according to his particular need.

In meditation one should observe the rhythm of the breath until one is able to get the mind quiet. If the mind cannot be quieted, one may just watch the rhythm of the breath continually. Yet one may also purify the breath, as by Darood. After a while there may be a tendency for the breath to become more and more refined. Then one will find that it is difficult to watch and indeed there is no need to observe breath when one enters the real silence.

As one enters the real silence he begins to receive the energy of space which is the energy of life. Nevertheless the talib should pay no attention to it. Sometimes he will become sensitive to light and after a while this light may increase more and more until his whole inner being may become radiant with light. Nevertheless he should pay no attention to it. The heart may pound, the heart may beat, the heart may consume all the fires of consciousness until there is no more thought. Nevertheless the talib should pay no attention to it.

There may be visions, or there may be light or there may be colors or there may be nothing .The talib should pay no attention. For those may be called the delights of heaven. If one is able to control all thought and emotion and then enters into a sphere or a state of unworldly phenomena, that only means that he has passed a certain place, it does not indicate his place of arrival. Anything which attracts or detracts keeps the seeker away from the goal.

Of course there may come a time when one is drawn into the light or drawn into the heart-sphere, when one feels that line of demarcation between person and person depart, when one is conscious of space being within oneself and not without, and when one has no longer any time-conception but feels as if living in eternity. Such a one may be said to be in meditation, such a one may be said to be at the gates of Samadhi.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 6[A]

It is often difficult to keep the mind in condition during some breathing exercise. In the Purification Breath it is not enough to keep the mind on the syllables Ya Shaffee, Ya Khaffee. At first the thought will bring strength and purity but the advancing talib should ever bear in mind that this practice and all practices are means of uniting the soul to God. God is the healer and the practice is His medicine which is used to heal and purify His vehicle so he may occupy and use it.

In the same way, the practice of Kasab can become more potent when faculties are unified. Concentration on the practice helps, but if difficulty occurs it is not wrong to do some self-examining. All conditions are reflected in the breath, and if any obstacles persist, one should consult the spiritual teacher. At the same time, proper meditation also helps, for any thought whatever has a harmful effect on a breathing practice.

Activity of the mind greatly alters the rhythms. Therefore Kasab is more related to concentration than to meditation, only it should be natural. So before all practices a meditation is of benefit, during which time, by the suppression of thought, the breath takes on a natural rhythm, invigorating the body and healing the mind, which makes the practice of Kasab easier.

The goal of all meditation is balance and in balance the goal itself is to be found. In the progress toward that goal rhythm may appear to be more important than balance yet nothing should be done to force the breath in its depth, in its power, in its otherwise natural movements. Disease and crime are often the result of irregularities of the breath, so of all things, this order and balance should be preserved and it is best preserved through meditation.

Therefore it is not necessary to consciously strive to alter the breath rhythms, but the steady repetition of those spiritual exercises which have been given to one by the teacher helps more than anything else on the path toward God.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 7

The inner life is not separate from the outer life, being only a larger life, which takes into consideration far more than appears on the surface manifestation. Although when we speak of “inner life” we include esoteric practices, meditations, dreams, visions and various experiences and efforts, it does not exclude the everyday life. Instead of adding any burdens to an over-troubled world, meditation shows how to avoid difficulties and overcome burdens.

One need not try any special posture in meditation other than that which is common to the country where he finds himself. Lying down, however, is not satisfactory for then the heart-currents change in direction and besides, it is easier to fall asleep, which would destroy the purpose of the meditation. Of course when one is alone one may use any position or posture which one finds convenient and beneficial. The object is always to get into the silence; the method is not so important.

Meditation, being universal in application and scope, need not be regarded as a substitute for prayer. In some countries people meditate, in other places pray, elsewhere they have different sacred customs. All of these basically maybe accepted by the Sufi. He prays when he is in need and he prays when he praises God; praise of God is his chief prayer, like it is that of the angels. Yet there is always need to enter into the silence above sound, and find the peace which is above even joy. Therefore meditation is an ultimate practice which stands alone and in this respect is above all other methods.

As man enters the silence, so does the silence enter into him. As he unites with the universe, so does the universe manifest in him. This is true, no matter what be his path or his training. Ultimately he arrives at this destination. But this is the silence of all-life, which without containing anything may be said to contain all-things. Therefore one is said to enter the world-egg or world-womb. This accounts for the teaching of the Mother of the World, the Divine Mother, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or Kwan-yin. It represents the stage of realization of union with the silence, and as all may so unite, all are said to have a common mother. The silence of the womb and the silence of Universal Sound are each used to symbolize the other.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 7[A]

The inner life is not separate from the outer life, but is a fuller and larger life. What is necessary is to put first things first. The mystic does more than quote scriptures; he not only says “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God,” his whole life is absorbed in that seeking. Therefore some people have thought that through meditation everything can be gained and all their desires be fulfilled. From a certain point of view this is true, but it does not take into account what is one’s desire.

The outer life is full of change and in all circumstances the desires are different. When a desire is granted often it is no longer a desire, and more often it does not have the effect sought. In many cases it is discovered that the thing or event brings a quite different and even contrary result than the one expected.

The Sufi looks to God for all things, praying to the God of Health for vigor and to the God of Wealth for his sustenance, keeping steadily before him the idea and ideal that there is one God, from Whom all blessings flow. He does not consider it wrong to seek guidance from God concerning his daily affairs. Yet as the heart strengthens and insight increases all becomes more and more clear, and at the same time life continually presents its puzzles. So most necessary in life are seeking the will of God and performing it. These things are more important than anything else.

So the talib makes God his continued need and often his daily problems become clear to him. Then one learns also to understand the difficulties of others, to sympathize with them and to help them. The difference between the ordinary person and the spiritual seeker is that the ordinary person is quick to praise and blame, enjoys being praised and seldom wants to be corrected; the seeker reserves his praise for God, is willing to take blame, striving to understand the critic and feeling sorry for his ignorance, which in the end only does the other one harm.

Sufism has been called the path of blame (malamat), of blame from and by the world. But Sufism is also the path of satisfaction, of satisfaction in and with God. In meditation one rises above praise and blame, above good and evil, above wickedness and virtue, and attains Wisdom. One sees the hand of God in all things and at all times and praises Him every moment of his life. This is the true spiritual way of living and is not connected with asceticism or needless discipline; it is a natural life, the most natural way of living.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 8

One speaks of entering into the Silence in meditation and one may wonder whether there is an entrance into the Silence which is different from the union with God. Christians speak of God as the Word and so associate God with life and movement. Buddhists accept the doctrine of the silence and ignore the existence of any God, and assume thereby that there may be no Universal God Who is All in All. Thus the different religions, based upon the same realization, have given out doctrines which are radically different. This is because no two mind-views or mind-moulds of supermental life may be the same.

The object in meditation is to enter the supermental life. One calls it entering the silence because one finds that silent life which is fundamental to all things, which is described in the opening section of “The Mysticism of Sound.” That, however, is the first step. For if one remained there he would enter the stage of no-being, instead of the stage of all-being.

According to the Buddhist teachings man first identifies himself, in thought at least, with the objective world; then with the subjective world; then with the union of the subjective and objective. But between the union with the subjective and the ultimate state there is one of nothingness, which has been called the Void. All have to pass through that and some mystics have called that stage, “The Dark Night of the Soul.” Then one seems to be alone and speaks of “The Flight of the Alone to the Alone.” But this is not the ultimate stage.

One does first have to contend with external noises in meditation. Then one has to struggle with one’s thoughts and this is such a battle that sometimes all of life is not enough. Yet there are periods when one can rise above the mind, when the mind grows fatigued, and falls below the will-power. Then one enters the silence. Often one abides there thinking this is the ultimate state. The Arhats of Southern Buddhism still think so with the result that their realization does not bring them into union with all things. They deny the existence of God, and it is no wonder, for their realization is not the Divine Union. They get into the Void, the nothingness and remain there.

But there is a higher stage and for this love is needed which comes through self-sacrifice on the one hand and heart-awakening on the other. Even in meditation, when the heart is alive, one may find that union. It often comes through union with the teacher first (fana-fi-Sheikh ); it ultimately leads to union with God (fana-fi-lillah). The realization it brings, baqa, proves to one that the false self is not the real self and the life which appears in us, which we refer to as ourself is not different from the universal life.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 8[A]

One can always take his questions to God. Of course one often has his spiritual teacher, his Murshid or Sheikh near at hand, who may and often must be consulted when doubt arises. The spiritual teacher can best help the mureed when the mureed looks upon the teacher as a link on the chain which connects him to God.

The saints and sages who have been gifted with insight often commune with God and through their inner heart development have been able to achieve God’s purpose in this world. In meditation one is consulting with God, feeling God. This does not mean that one has a special meditation for every little problem. Keeping fixed periods for communion with God, establishing rhythms and devoting the whole heart to God at those times helps more than anything else.

Especially early morning meditations are valuable for consulting with God, and receiving help. Gradually this spiritual communion will become such a power, such a reality, that it will continue day and night. The heart will awaken and the intuitions tell one how to act, when to move, to travel, to marry, to make any important change in life, or even to meditate or perform extra spiritual deeds. In this condition gradually all of life takes on a grand unity.

The Sufi always meditates before taking any important steps in life. When the mind is clear and passive and the heart awake, God will speak. The Sufi does not enter meditation for something special, for his desire may not be God’s desire. The true lover, the devotee, seeks union rather than reward and the union is the greatest of all rewards. Yet meditation is the method by which Allah Himself works and all great Murshids meditated when they had great duties to perform, for they realized that not they but Allah was the real Actor and Performer.

There are many blessings in meditation, there are many blessings in preparing for meditation, there are many blessings resulting from meditation, but meditation itself is the greatest of blessings.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 9

Students of Oriental art have observed that the methods and techniques used in the West are different from those in the East. The Occidentals seem to spend more time in execution, the Orientals in planning. Yes, this may be so, only when we study the fundamentals of Oriental art deeply we find that the real preparation of the artist is himself. If he can get himself into the right mood, if he has established the right rapport with his subject matter, the work is not so different from the playing of a piece of music in the West. Even though it is a creative, it seems to follow a silent pattern, an invisible form which is there to be copied, and the executive of which brings inspiration.

Now this shows that the Silent life is not the void and instead brings all the seeds of life. Those who are only able to go so far in meditation do not reach the place where they can partake of the tree of life. Sometimes they keep the self-conception before them. Often they do not surrender fully. And this may be because of a lack of response to beauty. The esthetic sense, which is not always far from the spiritual feeling, may be undeveloped in them.

In meditation one’s energies are turned Godward. That is to say, not only into the silence, but into the life which is the soul of the silence. Sufis call that, The perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty.” Often the single words “love: “harmony” and “beauty” fail to impress one fully. There is an expectancy of them from others. The true mystic instead seeks to uncover them from within himself. And the difference between the Sufi and the ordinary man is that in the former it is as if God Himself were speaking and acting.

Many know about the simile of the empty cup; few there be that find the attainment of it. It is as one voids oneself of one’s self, and then is filled with light. Man’s duty is to action, that is, the emptying of ego; to God go the fruits of the action, which come to man as the filling of light, which we call inspiration. Therefore Mohammed used to consider himself only as the pen of God. He refused to be classed along with authors and poets. He said that Qur’an was more than man’s poetry for it echoed the Divine Wisdom. He challenged his opponents to produce such a book, and they could not.

All the great artistic achievements of the Orient as well as Qur’an have come from the emptying of self, which is followed by the pouring in of the Silent life into one’s being. That Life represents all wisdom and beauty, in other words, God. Thus the artist who practices his meditations not only finds God, but makes use of his knowledge in his everyday life.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 9[A]

It is often wondered how artists and musicians in the Orient could advance in their development far beyond those of the West. The reason is that they spend so much time in meditation. Sometimes the whole life of an artist is absorbed in a single task, and many beautiful things have been made in this manner.

In truth it is God Who is the Master Mind. The great Sufi poets who have been among the most famous on earth spent much time in meditation. Their whole life was like a meditation and their poetry was the result of meditation and it consisted of praise of God, rejoicing in the Beloved and songs to the Source and Goal of humanity.

Even today we find some mystical poets and artists in the East. They meditate many hours before taking up their tasks. Without a definite purpose, a work has not much use or value and the efforts are often wasted. Real Beauty should not be considered as something different from Wisdom nor Wisdom as apart from Beauty.

In Meditation all one’s energy is turned Godward and so becomes strengthened many fold. This explains why it has been possible for mystics to write great works without becoming fatigued. There is no fatigue when one works as an instrument for Heaven. The difference between the Sufi and the ordinary man is that the Sufi realizes that it is God Who performs all actions. When the average man writes a letter, his arm becomes tired, yet the pen is not tired. But when God writes and man is His instrument, man is like that pen, he can work for a long period without becoming tired.

Mohammed used to consider himself only as the pen of God. He refused to be classed as an author. He said the Qur’an was more than man’s poetry for it echoed the purest Wisdom of God. So He challenged his opponents to produce a Qur’an and one proof of his Prophethood is that he alone was able to produce such a book.

Sufis and mystics have inspired much of the great spiritual architecture of the world, whether of India or the other parts of Asia and the Indies. The tomb of Akbar, the Taj Mahal, the temples of Angkor and Borobudur all point to marvelous spiritual inspiration. The men and women who labored in such places probably found great inner joy; they had to spend much time in meditation and their outward performance was the reflection of their inner lives.

The Sufi realizing God as the perfection of Beauty, is the lover of Beauty. He appreciates all true beauty and endeavors to make his life beautiful in all its aspects. There is nothing in life which cannot be brought to perfection.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 10

It may be asked if there is perfection in meditation, and the answer to this depends largely by what one means. Yes, there is a state called “Samadhi” wherein one continues to live, when one lives and moves and has his being in God, or at least one has a realization which is not limited by the ego outlook. The attunement to God which comes through meditation and heart-awakening is such that openly and consciously as well as conscientiously one finds himself beyond the distinctions and differences which divide men.

The term “Baqa” is used by Sufis to denote realization. It is then that one finds the Divine Life in the Silent Life. One can call it Silent Life which is the void, which comes when one is freed from attachment to subject and object, when one is attracted neither by the pleasures of this world nor the joys of the next. But if one continued in such a state there would be a tendency to retirement, to asceticism, to the crushing of the life-force in oneself, as if only by the destruction of life could sorrow and inharmony be terminated.

The Buddhists and Hindus have used the term Nirvana to indicate the state when one rises above distinctions and differences. This seems to have a negative emphasis to followers of other religions who emphasize rather the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom of God rightly speaking is beyond heaven. Heaven is really the kingdom of man, the state in which all of man’s desires are fulfilled. It is not the Kingdom of God. In Malakut no doubt all of man’s desires are accomplished, which makes Malakut the sphere in which Kadar, the human will “holds sway,” just as on earth, ladar, the necessity of nature “holds sway.” But there is beyond these another state.

Lahut is the name given to the plane of oneness beyond all differences and distinctions, in which one experiences the life as a whole and from which one receives all energies and functions and power, serving God there from. But Hahut, which has been called a plane, represents that in which God alone is, in which God is all in all, and there is none else.

The perfection of meditation is therefore that which produces the perfection of consciousness. It begins as a clearing of man’s mind, in removing the false ego. It terminates not only in the attainment of divine consciousness by man, but the reverberation of that consciousness through man as if in reality and in all realization only God exists. Sufis call this state Risalat, which is the perfection of humanity.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series II: Number 10[A]

It may be asked whether there is a perfection in meditation, and the answer may be “yes” or “no” or both “yes” and “no” and still neither “yes” nor “no.” For the perfection in meditation is the perfection of all perfections.

Through right meditation one becomes attuned to God and so to all creation including humanity. There are many grades and steps in spiritual devotion, wherein one becomes attuned to his teacher, to the world teacher, to the prophets of God, and to Allah himself. Even after one reaches the last stages it is only a beginning, for then man ceases to be and God lives truly in and through one. This is called “baqa” by the Sufis. Of this condition Christ has said: “Many are called but few are chosen,” and Krishna taught that very few realized his being and of these only a few sustained that realization.

The true work of the Sufi is not only to attain to God-consciousness but to make this realization absorb more and more of life. In that condition one never loses sight of Allah for an instant, day or night, asleep or awake. This may truly be called the purpose of life, the fulfillment of the inner life.

But progress does not cease there. In that state called fana-fi-lillah, when the soul is absorbed in God, one loses the false sense of being and finds the true reality. Then one finally experiences what is termed “baqa-i-fana” where the false ego is annihilated and merged into the true personality which is really God expressing Himself in some wondrous ways. This is the same also as Nirvana where the true reality of life is experienced and expressed. This means that the true life is in God, the Only Being, and through God-realization man finds his true self. Initiation is the beginning and perfection is the end, the making complete. But where is the beginning and where is the end? They are both in Silence, in God. In the Silence we were born and to it we return.

Therefore the perfection of meditation is meditation. It is the perfected souls who continue ever in meditation, being absorbed in meditation, creating from their meditation and living in that meditation. The spiritual life is the drawing of sustenance through the breath from God. It is a life of praise, yet of sobriety and balance, a life of fullness and emptiness both, being empty of self and filled with God. This is the true purpose of initiation and spiritual training from the moment the mureed takes Bayat until the Eternity of Eternities, Time without Ending.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 1

Meditation is the task of escaping from the control of the lower mind and living in the heart. It is only when the consciousness is in the heart that the soul can be free. By “heart” is meant not only physical heart but all that is physical that is connected with the heart, and at the same time it includes all the higher emotions, purer thoughts and deep intuitions. All these belong to the heart.

Heart differs from the mind and body in that body cannot heal itself and mind cannot heal itself. Mind can heal body, but this healing will not be permanent unless the mind is also purified. Heart not only heals mind and body, heart heals itself. Through the bloodstream heart heals the body, and to a certain extent helps the mind, but through breath, will and the inner light, heart can completely purge the mind of all its pain.

All birth, growth, and decay, as the blessed Buddha taught, are accompanied by pain. In disease and injury this pain is more acute, but the average man is continually in pain. As pain at ordinary times is less than during suffering, it is not noticed. Souls released from the body or enjoying the ecstasy or spiritual release while in the body, discover the great distance between what man has set up for himself and what God has ordained for him.

Pain arises from thought. If there were no thought there would be no pain. This is observed to some extent when nerves are removed. Even if thought were a chemical activity as some materialists claim, it would only mean that the pain took on a chemical form. It is not so difficult to understand that outer change requires adjustment and so brings some suffering, and the same is true with inner change—it is often accompanied with suffering.

When mental activity is inspired from within and though it is still associated with the senses without being dependent upon them, then the intellectual functions may continue without this pain and suffering. This is the true Nirvana, wherein faculties are continued unimpaired, without being joined to the nufs, the ego. Then the light of the soul, pouring from the heart, illuminates the mind. This is the buddhic or intuitional condition.

One of the main purposes of meditation is the control of thought so that the mind will be illuminated by this life and light from within. Spiritual practices which purify the breath make it possible for the breath also to be used as a vehicle of the soul. Breath is the greatest help yet can be the greatest hindrance. In meditations, especially according to the Sufi methods, no direct attention is paid to the breath, yet the more it is purified, the easier it is for the heart to illuminate the mind.

One physical aspect of this is that the whole being is in rhythm in meditation. The body is at rest, the flow of the breath and blood is rhythmical, the mind vibrations become quiet, and gradually through long practice, all the functions of the mind such as thought, reason, memory, I-ness, become dormant. Sitting at ease or in posture, holding a divine thought, the heart gradually controls the mind and the inner light becomes visible, so to speak, before the naked eye.

Another aspect is the activity of the blood itself. The bloodstream touches every part of the body and brain, so heart touches every aspect of life. It is this life in the heart which is the destiny of the soul to experience either upon earth or in Malakut, and one need not wait for it until he returns to the sphere of the heart itself. By meditation one not only brings heaven to earth, but reaches the heaven of heavens while here.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 2

Every manner of concentration draws blood to a center. In thought blood is drawn into the brain area. If all the blood were withdrawn the life would be withdrawn, and the nerves would become dormant. Alcoholics and dope fiends interfere with this rhythm and so destroy the connections between the physical body and more subtle vehicles of the soul. This may eliminate pain but it does so by destroying life. Strictly speaking, every drunkard and partaker of drugs is to a certain extent dead.

Whenever an injury occurs and whenever there is any damage done to the body from within, inflammation follows. That is, blood rushes to that part and if there is any break in the normal rhythm, pain follows. Keeping thought on the pain serves to increase it by drawing still more blood and giving more life to it besides increasing the irregularity of rhythm. On the other hand, suggestion sometimes turns the life force in other directions and relieves the physical and psychological strain.

Meditation has a great advantage over suggestion for it not only keeps the heart in rhythm, it places the center of life-force there. When the mind assumes a burden from the body, the body may benefit, but the mind bears the burden. But when the heart takes the load from mind and body, it heals itself. The heart is its own medicine. Therefore meditation can cure every ill of body, mind or heart.

All these are the negative value of meditation, the purgative processes by which body, mind and heart are purified. Yet life is more than negation or purgation. Life is something real, something positive, something magnetic. So continued meditation draws all strength to the center of one’s being, to the heart, and from there it radiates to all parts of body and mind.

Just as the body has its breaths with inhalations and exhalations, so mind has its periods for observation and inner concentration, and so heart has its periods of contraction and expansion. It is the contraction and expansion of the heart which draws the blood to it and circulates it through the body. The purified blood not only carries physical energy and prana, it is the vehicle for all spiritual energy in the body.

Just as the animals in the ocean draw their sustenance from the sea water, so the body of man really draws all sustenance from the blood. It is the blood which assimilates the food from the intestines and distributes it everywhere, and it is the blood which removes waste particles and poisons. So the blood and heart nourish, purify and energize this physical vehicle.

Likewise the heart and blood purify the mind and this is accomplished in meditation. People who do not read or think overmuch are not so susceptible to pain. Savage warriors often fall without a murmur. This is partly due to their daily life which does not focus all consciousness in the brain and partly due to their use of music and song which make them insensible to pain while under its influence. This magnetic anesthetic influence often lasts for hours or days.

It is our artificial and highly specialized intellectual life with unnecessary concern and worries which destroys the rhythm of the heart-beat and makes it difficult to place the center of gravity of the personality where it belongs. Sleep at best gives only partial relief. Meditation and the practice of the Divine Presence remove self-consciousness, the greatest obstacle to calm and peace. Pure meditation itself is the desirable condition and brings all desirable results.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 3

Pure meditation aids one to reach into the inner recesses of the heart. Concentration is principally concerned with mind, whereas meditation, while not entirely unconcerned with mind, centers the soul where it belongs: in the heart. Anyone can be called eccentric who has not found the center of his being, and spiritual balance is impossible until this is accomplished.

Spiritual life is one of unity, not of separation. Whoso believes that life in the heart means withdrawal from the body does not know the meaning of life. Blood plays a more important part in physical existence than anything else. Thus Sura 96 begins: “Read in the name of your Lord Who created, He created man from a clot.”

Now this has great significance for it is blood which distinguishes animal from vegetable more than anything else, and in the evolution of higher forms it is the organization of heart and veins and arteries which becomes most complex. They serve not only the physical body but make feeling possible. So increase of function in all worlds corresponds to the importance of the heart life in those worlds.

And what is heart? Heart is the seat of life. So Allah has been called the Beneficent and Merciful. The whole life becomes clearer when these processes are understood. It may even be said, there is more of divine energy in those animals where heart is most important, and there is still more divine energy when the consciousness is centered in the heart and bloodstream.

Now peace comes when self is in harmony with the rhythm of the heart. This is accomplished in two ways. In silent meditation all vibrations are stopped and one enters into the life-stream in the heart; in music, the rhythm and harmony are directed to and through the heart so that it takes up the proper pulsation.

Everyone knows that all music affects the heart, but such effects may or may not be beneficial. So for many it is not required to exercise this control over the heart and mastery comes through love and surrender. So if there is any form of concentration to be used in meditation, it consists in first getting into the rhythm of the heart, even though it be by watching the heartbeats, feeling them and harmonizing with them.

Then one centers all feeling in the physical heart and out of feeling selects love, and out of love, Divine Love. So meditation may be said to begin with a great sweep at the outside of a circle, getting further and further within that circle until one reaches the center of the circle, and at the same time that very centralizing of attention draws to one all that God has, for to him that gives all to God, Allah bestows whatever is his need.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 4

The Sufi does not wait until the hereafter to attain his spiritual independence. He does all he can here and now, realizing that the Presence of God does not depend upon the fact that he is inhabiting a gross or subtle body. Qur’an teaches that man is the Khalif of God, meaning that he can seek and serve God here and now.

Life in the heart is not dependent upon the soul being in Nasut, Malakut or Djabrut. Life in the heart comes when consciousness is centered in feeling. The first object of feeling is to attune feeling, thought and action within oneself. Among the Hindus Bhakti, Jnana and Karma Yoga are often considered as different, but in the Sufi system they are united. No attempt is made to consider any part of life as fundamentally separate from the rest of life or to consider each as intricate parts of a whole.

The mystic conceives life as a whole and does not separate it into divisions. The first unity to be attained is the unity of the self, the real self, and not only what thought can grasp of being. This self is higher than thought and thought is its faculty. In the common life instead of thought being a faculty of self, selfhood has become a faculty of the mind and this causes endless confusion.

This confusion comes to an end when God is perceived. By meditation one finds it is possible to exist without thought and that cessation of thought does not mean cessation of knowledge. Instead it often means the beginning of knowledge. When one escapes from the thought of self and self-consciousness, real knowledge becomes possible, which is called Ilm by the Sufis.

Of the faculties of mind, none are of greater importance to the soul than the collection of knowledge, yet knowledge is the means, not the end. When by centering consciousness in the heart one can perceive freely into the mind, the knowledge of both this world and that world are one’s possessions.

Meditation therefore leads to unity of one’s being by linking body, mind and heart to God. Cessation of movement, thought and feeling, instead of bringing death, bring life. All that was shut out when one depended upon his feeble insight, his limited intellect and his untrained feeling become the possessions of the heart, where the light of Allah is burning upon one’s inner shrine.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 5

Those who are always longing for peace with others, who want to lead others, to teach others, to bring others to God or to some earthly goal and who have not found peace or God or that earthly goal, what can they accomplish? Only those who have joined mind to heart can link the mind of another to heart. Man’s control over his body often makes it possible for him to move it or stop it at will, but for every thousand men who can stop their legs, perhaps one can control his mind, and for every thousand who can put brain to work or rest at will perhaps not even one has power over his heart to control all feelings.

Now the purpose of Meditation can be called a purpose of man or the requirement of God. Man needs Meditation to attain voluntary control over his being and to unify each part of his being with the whole. God also needs Meditation for in the beginning He existed without action or thought and when He completed the Universe, He again entered into His primordial state of stillness.

All conditions of God: rest, action, thought, concentration, meditation, love, ecstasy, song and silence are co-existing. God enjoys His Nirvana in His highest state and in His lowest state. Man, because of his faculty of analytical conception, considering rest and activity separate, finds it difficult to attain Nirvana here and now.

Man, engulfed in this world of activity, loses sight of his inner being, forgets how to rest and is a stranger to peace at heart. The great sages therefore have come to remind him of the treasures he carries with him and to attain them he has to enter into rest and silence. At the same time it cannot be said that one has attained to the highest condition of meditation until one is able to meditate even in the midst of action and struggle. If unity is once attained there, it is not so difficult to bring others to the doors of salvation.

Control of breath and mind are not so difficult when one knows the uses of Wazifa and Darood. To keep the heart at rest and peace, Fikr is important. If Fikr is continued at all times, day and night, asleep or awake, then it is God Who dwells there and this is the highest state man can achieve of himself. Anything of a marvelous nature that seems to come after that comes not of his effort but through the beneficent Grace of Allah.

Leader will he be who leads himself, ruler will he be who rules himself and benefactor will he be who has supreme control over his heart; who is not driven hither and thither by all the turbulent waves of life, who can control even passion and sentiment in his heart and who can keep his glance upon Allah whether he walk on a path of primroses or face the greatest difficulties in the turmoil of his life.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 6

Meditation contains the cure for all troubles, the remedy for every difficulty, the balm for every pain. What may be called Cosmic Consciousness may be considered in two aspects: A growth of sympathy and feeling, or the expansion of the heart until it is filled with nothing but the light, thought and feeling of God.

In the first condition while one may not be in the highest hal, yet one is a true hakim, a physician and a wise man who can heal himself and others. When the heart overflows with love, the body and mind are surcharged with magnetism and so great is the power of this magnetism that it can benefit others thousands of miles away. Yes, it is possible to concentrate on loved ones and through Meditation, when one is bathed in the Ocean of Divine Love, such factors as distance and time do not matter.

Thus religion teaches to pray for the dead. How can we benefit the dead? We can, if the prayers come from sympathy and benignity, but if they are painful duties we do little good to ourselves or others. Better than prayer is the communion of saints which becomes possible when Meditation is maintained in the heart; then the sympathetic vibrations pass from plane to plane and one on earth can help one in heaven and one in heaven can assist many upon earth.

The brotherhood of Sufis is not determined by time or space. Unity is beyond all imitations. The words of Khatum, recorded as prayer, are really assertions of metaphysical realities: God is the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty, Who is the Lord of Heaven and earth. He opens our hearts and then we hear His Voice which is constantly coming from within. He gives us His great Goodness and He teaches us His loving forgiveness. He raises us above the distinctions and differences which divide men, sends us the Peace of His Divine Spirit, and unites us all in His Perfect Being.

This is the state of God and becomes the makam of the sage. By placing himself in God’s position, and maintaining that attitude he attains to the first kind of Cosmic Consciousness, one of universal love and feeling. All growth of heart makes this more and more possible.

In Meditation, therefore, listen to Allah speak, and record your impressions. Feel His Love and Presence, perceive His Glory and Light. All are there within the heart of man, the arsh of God. And by constantly maintaining this state, all of life becomes a meditation and a blessing.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 7

When man speaks God is silent and when man is silent God may speak. It is foolish to talk and discuss Cosmic Consciousness. It is, perhaps, even less unworthy to speculate upon what to do when dead. It is easier to fly an airplane under earth, or for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for one to consider Cosmic Consciousness. When Jesus used this last phrase about the rich man not being able to attain to the Kingdom of God, he meant that one who cared for the things of creation left no accommodation for the Creator, and as man cannot serve both God and Mammon, either the heart is attached to those things which are smaller than itself—whether with the riches of earth or heaven—or it is filled with the Divine Light which is even greater than the heart. Yet the heart can become larger than all the Universe when filled with this light.

In the state of Unity there can be no variety. Bathed in the light of the Divine Sun, selfhood seems lost but only seemingly so. What is the soul? Ruh is the ray of the Divine Sun. As ray has no existence apart from sun, so soul is nothing but God. In the existence of soul beyond the heart sphere there are not souls strictly speaking. This has been called the oversoul; by mystics it is sometimes known as Nuri Mohammed, where man escapes manhood with its limitations and only God exists. And what is the condition of God there? It is there that Allah is clothed in all His Attributes, in His Glory and Majesty, upon His Great Throne.

Man does not approach God in His Throne except in the state of Godhood. This is told in the Masnavi in the story of the man who approached the highest heaven first as the servant and then as the slave of God, but was rejected. When he came the third time as the very self of God, he entered into the Glory of God. This same allegory is also the basis of the Mantiq-ut-Tair of Attar, with its tales of the Simurgh.

The purpose of Meditation is to enter upon a state of unity, thought of unity, feeling of unity, life of unity. When we study the Nature of Allah we find in His Higher State, when He had not yet touched the condition of Nuri Mohammed, He was in a condition of Unity. This state is called Wahdat; it is the condition of the Unity of God, where He is conscious of Himself and recognizes His Unity. In this state God was in Meditation, yet was conscious of Himself.

Now from this condition of Meditation He projected His being outwardly into the condition called Wahdaniat, and there all the merits of God appear: His Being, and Goodness and Love and all merits. They came in this projected condition which He projected out from the Heart of His Being when He was in Meditation in the state of Unity.

Sufism says: follow God. So first it is to attain to this condition of unity, which comes through Meditation in the heart. Then when one discovers the reality in the heart is nothing but God, and life is nothing but God, the next step is to attain to the Divine Grace, Hariat, as was projected into the condition called Wahdaniat as a condition of God, but Nuri Mohammed as the goal of the whole humanity, where every blessing is attained and the soul drinks of the waters of everlasting life.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 8

The life of God is an art. Without the practice of Meditation the spiritual man is a theoretical being. Meditation being an act based on the behavior of Allah, it is the means by which all divine attributes are attracted to man.

The spiritual man is not necessarily the same as the moral man from the worldly point of view. He is the master of morals, knowing that the true moral is Love. Through love for God and by Union with God he attains the state of Cosmic Unity where the life of God, baqa, becomes the reality. In fact when one reaches this stage of God-realization, he can no longer be judged. His actions are determined by Wisdom, not by judgment.

Bodhisattva was one who through Meditation had thrown off the shackles of the limited self and so experienced and expressed reality while on earth. The ideal of the Sufi is the same and the Sufi makes all life as one, so that his spiritual deliverance need not lead him to disobey the accepted rules or customs of life about him, and also, that by being an example to those around, he may lead other persons Godward without any interference in their general routine or manner of life.

One who has reached spiritual attainment through Meditation looks upon all aspects of life both as God and as man. As man he may or may not express personal preferences and exhibit distinguished habits; as the Khalif of God he does not place great value in anything except those acts which enable the soul to attain and retain union with God, such as Meditation, Prayer, Breath Control, Safa and Concentration.

The manner of the sage is important not as an end in itself, but as a means for helping others. Those who pattern their outer lives after a saint gain something through the harmony affected, but those who take for an ideal standard the inner life of the saint have definitely placed themselves on the ladder which leads upward to God.

Difficult as it is to attain Cosmic Consciousness, ten thousand times more difficult is it to retain that condition. So soon as one feels toward another, “Thou art different,” then it is lost. So soon as one sees another as other than Allah, then it is gone. Even kindness toward another without feeling of union, without deepest sympathy, turns one from unity to duality. Goodness, kindness, piety are not enough; any feeling except of unity debars one from unity and so from God. Consequently every breath may have to be watched, to maintain at every moment of our lives extreme care and watchfulness.

As Iblis, the angel of light, was rejected from Heaven because he would not bow down to man, so one who has attained the highest mystical states, who has entered into supreme union in Allah, Who has sat on the Arsh-throne higher than Djabrut, and to whom all the angels have given obeisance, even as Iblis, King of the angels, will he be expelled from Eden the instant he fails to bow down to the humblest man, and show every respect and consideration to the least of God’s creatures. For unity with God is only completed when God is seen as Love, Lover and Beloved, and when all in existence partakes not only of the Nature but of the very Essence of Allah.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 9

Meditation is the method for the attainment of all things, all states, all conditions. It is both a means and an end. It is the life of God in man and of man in God. The supreme achievement of Meditation is the constant condition of harmony with God, with oneself and with the world. This is called Samadhi by the Hindus.

In this state comes the end of desire and the satisfaction of the desire. Desire comes to an end because it is seen that all those things which attracted the limited self have no permanent value, and at the same time the love of Allah, which is the supreme desire, has its fulfillment in the peace and unification which comes to the heart. And again, if there is perseverance in Meditation, the state will give rise to indifference so that there can be no desire.

Heart is the source and fountain-head of life. Even physical life will be lengthened when people perceive the value of the heart’s functions, how even the most vital centers and organs of the body are dependent on it. Here is also the fulfillment of dreams, for when the light of the inner spheres falls upon the surface of the mind and is reflected in the eye, then the faculty of Insight is gained which makes life easier and enables one to see into the future.

Future is determined partly by the past and partly by the energy which is poured from the physical sun in this world and from its counterparts in the higher worlds. Even insofar as it arises from the past, this can only be perceived through the faculty of Insight, for until one is capable of rising above the intellect, one is bound by time, space and conditioned existence.

All disease and pain, all illness and affliction end when life is centered in the heart. Then through sympathy and harmony one controls the vibrations in others which have already been mastered in oneself. Sympathy and attunement make it possible to circulate one’s atmosphere of peace after it is once attained. This achievement of peace with oneself which comes mostly through Meditation, is the supreme achievement of man.

All the higher stages, all the higher grades, all the places in the Spiritual Hierarchy become filled only by those who have attained this inner peace. By that they have been able to touch the source of pain everywhere and anywhere and so bring healing to suffering humanity. This faculty of healing, this power of helping; this ability to teach need not be sought. Those who have trodden the path to God and acquired self-control through Meditation will discover that these possessions are theirs, only because their hearts have been set on God, they have not always been aware of the many gifts and treasures He has bestowed upon them.

Verily to him who hath surrendered to God, there is no end of power for wonder-working, but greatest of all wonder-working is the manifestation of Divine Love in and through and around one’s being.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa Series III: Number 10

In the Silent Life all this confusion that appears on the outside subsides into a gentle hum, a hum which can be called the music of the spheres. These vibrations fill all space within and without one’s being and can be heard by a keen ear. They may be called the vibrations of life itself which fill the Ocean of Life. All things live and move and have their being in them.

In Meditation as one approaches unity, one begins to perceive more of this inner silent life, and as it is expressed through one, one feels more of the Divine Purpose of being. All thought, action and speech then affect the heart favorably or unfavorably. This is much higher than conscience, for while conscience gives one the best in oneself, the illuminated heart can receive even the best that is in God.

Meditation is the suppression of all conscious personal thought and feeling. It is not the prevention of consciousness, feeling and thought. The conditions of Allah are these: That He became aware of Himself (Wahdat); that He gave rise to Love and all feelings because of this awareness (Wahdaniat); that He brought this consciousness to the surface through thought and so projected the created worlds.

Man, through habit, perceives the outer world and then carries that experience inward to his mind and then carries the thought deep into his heart. This can be regarded as the opposite of the Divine activity, but really it is the reciprocal. From the condition called Wahdaniat come all activities of Sifat, which manifest in all forms. It is only the power of spirit which makes this possible. While spirit condenses, so to speak, in matter, matter also etherealizes into spirit. When man transforms action into thought, he does it, and when he transmutes action or thought into feeling, he does it still more.

From the cosmic view it can be seen that all this work of man transmuting action into thought and action or thought into feeling is nothing but the reciprocal method Allah has used to bring spirit back to spirit, after it has entered the dense condition of matter. In other words, all this comes from the Divine Inhalation and Exhalation by which vibrations become coarse when passing from the One to the many and become fine again in passing from the many toward the One.

Even animal bodies are too coarse to complete this refinement. Only in man, the hu-man, is it possible, and only then when man has perceived this special union with God, which was true all the time, only the truth had not embedded itself in his consciousness. In his spiritual awakening he realizes this and so serves as the means by which the spirit can return to God Who gave it, as the Bible and Qur’an teach.

So while Meditation may be considered as the means by which man returns to God, as the means by which matter is re-transformed into spirit, as the means by which the cosmic balance and reciprocal activities and mechanics are maintained, in its final aspect it is the means by which God returns to God, by which Sifat is permanently united to the Zat and the ultimate and absolute Unity of the Cosmos eternally maintained.

Githa with Commentary

Murakkabah: Concentration

Series I

of

Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 1

Concentration Practices

GITHA: First Week: Take an object from the mantelpiece or from the furniture in the room, a fruit, or a flower. Place it before you, and focus your eyes upon it.

TASAWWUF: As concentration is a practice of the Sufis which can be performed in everyday life, it is not necessary to go far to find some object upon which to focus one’s attention and whereon to center one’s mind. Although concentration has for its highest purpose the union with Allah, yet God is to be found in all things and it is through concentration that this can be accomplished, especially in the outer world.

It is well to begin with a simple object. If a fruit or flower is selected, let it not be in the stage of decay. By “simple” is meant one of geometric or elementary design, not having too much detail so that even a little child would be able to grasp it. Symbols and pictures are not so desirable at the commencement, at least for class work.

The mureeds should not sit too close together, so that the breath of each may move freely. It is also necessary that each sit so that the object can be easily observed. Therefore it is not required that the object be placed upon an altar. It may be put upon a table in the center of the room, although if the class can remain seated in crescent fashion it is better. The less things can come under observance the easier the concentration.

GITHA: Inhale and exhale rhythmically without letting your glance waver.

TASAWWUF: Practice of Fikr is of great assistance to concentration. Also to keep the heart and mind on “Toward the One” with each inhalation and exhalation (Darood). This should be continued until all inhalations are equal and all exhalations are equal and there is a balance between inhalation and exhalation. Although this seems very simple it is one of the most important factors in the process of concentration and its very simplicity often causes it to be overlooked.

GITHA: Keep all other thoughts away from the mind.

TASAWWUF: The general condition of a person may cause the rhythm to be slow or rapid, deep or shallow, but it is rhythm and not tempo or quality that is important. Of course during concentration rhythm may change, but the first requisite is to establish some rhythm. The secret is, if the rhythm is maintained this will of itself automatically hold the glance. The glance wavers when one is not in rhythm, because than one is not in tune with one’s own being.

Fikr is assigned to talibs for this purpose. One most important object in concentration is to attain mastery on the mental plane. The first three years of discipleship are largely devoted to attaining some degree of mastery on the physical plane, so to speak, and then the next period, when the

Githas are studied, to attaining mental mastery. The spiritual practices are also assigned to assist in this growth and development.

The real secret of mastery comes in rhythm and attunement. If the breath is controlled by the will, it is not so difficult to keep other thoughts away. The will-power, used to regulate the breath, can be more easily co-ordinated to the glance, until this process becomes automatic, and so keeps away foreign thoughts from the mind.

GITHA: And impress the mind strongly with the object before you.

TASAWWUF: This is the real problem. If the talib constantly watches the breath, using Fikr when there are intruding thoughts, it will not be so hard to carve an impression in the mental atmosphere of the object viewed.

GITHA: Look at it for fifteen minutes and hold it in the mind for fifteen minutes, and continue to do so until the object is visualized concretely before your mind’s eye.

TASAWWUF: There are often obstacles in one’s path. If the mind is not strongly attracted to the object, it will not retain impression. Therefore Fikr is enjoined. After looking at an object with the eye, it is still necessary to keep the heart and mind protected against extraneous thoughts and impressions.

While doing this work it is sometimes wise to keep a diary, making more or less detailed reports of one’s progress. When symbols are assigned to talibs, especially at this stage or later, they often serve a double purpose of accomplishing the principles conveyed by concentration and also reaching the heart through attunement.

GITHA: Watch the progress each day and continue this for a week.

TASAWWUF: This time is arbitrary but serves as a norm for assignments. Even if the talib finds it easy to hold the object in the mind, it is often well to continue to full period as it brings greater light in the mind and so greater scope for development. However, along with spiritual growth comes increase in insight, and when spiritual experiences occur in concentration it is always important to note them. This will be especially true of clairvoyants of all classes.

GITHA: Second Week: Change the object; observe for twenty minutes, and hold the thought for twenty minutes.

TASAWWUF: It is almost impossible to select flowers which can be used for over one week. Objects as vases, geometric forms, wax flowers and some fruits, as apples, retain their form. Symbols, such as the six-pointed star, which are not usually used in the Sufic spiritual work, may also be used. Also books of some kinds.

At first the object is just to impress the form and so the inner meaning of things will not affect the exercises very much. If talibs are given short concentrations in the earlier stages they may not find this work so difficult and with some progress will be rapid. Beginning with three minute concentrations in the first year and increasing it to at least ten minutes in the third year, it becomes a preparation for longer concentrations.

GITHA: Third Week: Change the object; observe for twenty-five minutes, hold the thought for twenty-five minutes.

TASAWWUF: Arrangement of time can be by a monitor, or a teacher. The gong may be struck at the appointed time, or somebody may say, “Amen.” Sometimes an electric bell can be rung in another room, or some other signal which will not cause too great a shock. Should a mureed continue in the concentration over time, especially, in class work, it is not advisable to approach him unless it is evident he has fallen asleep. In that case it is sometimes well to ascertain the cause for sleepiness which is primarily due to lack of attention to the breath, maintaining its proper rhythm and equilibrium.

GITHA: Fourth Week. Change the object; observe for half-an-hour, hold the thought for half-an- hour.

TASAWWUF: This last practice can be continued indefinitely. The later lessons assign other methods for concentration, and for these the time may be altered, beginning with shorter periods and lengthening them. Also the ideal held in concentration is raised. One begins first with simple material objects, and seeks a definite effect on the mental plane from material objects. It is only later that one gradually adopts concentration for more spiritual purposes; yet this method, studied stage by stage and step by step becomes a ladder which brings one even to God-hood.

Of course this does not mean that the exercises stop at the end of four weeks. But what follows is determined first by the progress shown, and then by the need for higher development as well as the comprehension of the teachings of the Githas as they are studied.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 2

Impression of Mind

GITHA: What is impression of mind? Impression is the shadow of earthly objects fallen upon our mind.

TASAWWUF: The mention of shadow indicates at once that the mind is in essence a realm of light. Therefore the sphere of the mind has been likened to the sky, for during the day the sky is bright and during the night it is dark.

Now this light on the mental plane in its pure nature might be called spiritual. The difference between spiritual and mental is that in the spiritual condition there is no darkness, but a universal light; there are no shadows, only varying degrees of light. On the mental plane (Malakut) there is every degree of both light and shadow. When all on the mental plane becomes illumined, then there is the condition called Kashf which is called Insight.

When the mind is in shadow, it is under the sway of the nufs, and often immersed in matter. Nimaz, Wazifa and Fikr serve to raise it from that condition. In reality there can only be pure shadow when there is pure light. In illumination the light may come suddenly, flooding everything, being very different in nature from a torch. The average mind may be like a torch but the mind of a sage is like an ever flaming sun.

In symbolism and in the Scriptures, sky and mind are often interchangeable. The sphere of mind is called “That World” by the Sufis, or sometimes “The Other World.” The Kingdom of the Heavens means the control of the Mental World, or Malakut. Malakut by itself means kingdom, as well as sphere of the Messenger, Angel or Representative.

The attainment of the Kingdom of the Heavens mentioned in the Bible and in mystical traditions might be interpreted as attaining control over the mind. This control of itself brings that peace or Islam which all the world desires. It is the lack in human understanding which causes shadow and duality, and it is the presence of God which brings light and unity. Therefore God is the Creator of light and good, while unto man has been given the choice between good and evil. So Malakut is not necessarily identical with any concept of heaven or any idea of hell; it may be said to contain them both and more besides. Malakut may therefore be the meeting ground between God and man, but it is not the place of merging which is in the heart.

Impression in the mind is different from impression in the heart. The mind being the sphere of duality, an earthly impression causes darkness while a Divine Impression brings light. On the other hand, all impressions in the heart are of the nature of light, although there are varying degrees of light and various types of impressions there.

GITHA: This shadow develops by the power of will.

TASAWWUF: It is Will-power which makes us cognizant of the various spheres. A baby, when born on earth, still recognizes the plane he has inhabited. Therefore Prophet Mohammed said that all are born believers, all come into this world as Muslims, meaning that the incarnating soul brings into this world, something of the knowledge of that world, and that its faith in God is inherent. In this connection Jesus taught that infants possess the Kingdom of Heaven, for they still see beyond the veils.

It is through will-power that objects are discerned and that concentration is possible. A child or an animal is not always able to distinguish objects as against a background, confusing them. Feeling plays a greater part in their lives than sight. Through power of will the senses are exercised and it is also through the power of will that we can distinguish through the feelings.

In concentration the will is strengthened so it can control all faculties, especially those of the mind. When it becomes contemplation it finds its place in the heart.

The shadow upon the mind makes its definite impression by being held there and this is not so much through force as through the regularity of the breath and the control of thought by feeling.

GITHA: And makes before us a concrete picture of the object in accordance with the power of our will.

TASAWWUF: Much of memory, conscious and unconscious, comes through such a process. The difference between concentration and ordinary education is that in the former case we determine what impressions are to affect us and in the latter case we permit all impressions to register without any choice. It is this latter condition which is called Samsara by the Buddhists and it is then that we are subject to pain and sorrow.

Now if this shadow is increased, the same power that increases it also brings greater capacity for light. While man, by his own will cannot restore that Universal Light, which comes through the Grace of God, yet he can through will-power deepen the shadows from impressions. In other words, pure shadow comes through human will and pure light by Divine Will. In the spiritual training it is not the light nor shadow which are so important, but the purity and its perfection which is the aim of the work.

GITHA: Development: turning of the shadow into concrete form.

TASAWWUF: It is the nufs of a thing which preserves its form; it is the nufs which possesses that quality called inertia. The nufs is a mold about which thoughts gather to maintain a collective existence. Actually the nufs has no reality apart from the conceiver. The nufs of man has been conceived by Allah and the nufs of things by man, but the nufs is not the man nor is the nufs the thing. The nufs is the locus of atoms, mental or physical, formed by the breath, and combining these atoms to form things. Things do not exist in absolute reality but can take form and appear to live in conditioned existence. Yet the basis of their being is nufs or breath, so it can be said that there is breath or spirit in all things. These spiritual principles underlay all metaphysics.

The difference between the average man and the free man is that the average man accepts the shadows thrown upon his mind-screen as realities: the free man selects the shadows suitable for his purpose and through the practice of concentration transforms coarse (Kasif) vibrations into fine (Latif) vibrations in the beginning stage of concentration, and then learns to transmute the fine vibrations into coarse vibrations. The second practice is called Sadhana, which is the path of attainment.

GITHA: Our will being the ray of light thrown upon the shadow, that shadow develops into a concrete picture.

TASAWWUF: Mind has no existence in final reality but is an accommodation or akasha for that individual ray of Divine Light which becomes the human will. It becomes human after it has passed through the sphere of mind; beyond that it is Divine. Just as a ray of light is analyzed and broken by passing it through a prism, so the rays of Divine Light become broken in passing through the planes as they move outward from Arsh, the Central Sun.

Below the sphere of mind is the realm of shadows. Shadows are reflections of realities, they are not realities. As a fish lives in the water but cannot see above the surface of the water, so the nufs lives in the sea of manifestation and does not see beyond it. But just as a fish, by leaping above the surface of the water, or by becoming transformed into a frog, can see the sun—so the will of man, through sloughing the skin of the nufs can comprehend reality. This is the true rebirth, the being born from within or above as mentioned in the Scriptures.

As moonlight gives little shadow and sunlight much more, the more purified the nature of man, the stronger the light from within which falls upon his mind, and in this way determines impressions. So by taking interest in the work of concentration, and especially through the spiritual practices assigned by the teacher, one gets closer in spirit to the Divine Will and so is benefited in the mental sphere by the clarification of impressions made upon the mind either during concentration or during any processes in daily life.

GITHA: Is there any solution or power which works out the picture upon our mind? There are mental atoms which the physical eyes cannot see but the inner eye sees.

TASAWWUF: On the mental plane one sees thoughts as if of an objective nature, but that does not blind one to forms. One sees the form and yet sees more than the form, perceiving the purpose beyond form. That is what was originally meant by the word idea, which was something seen and also something thought. The history of language shows the relation between these processes. Thus the eye may see a million objects, yet it is the mind which classifies them and so makes memory and recognition possible. In the realm of mind, order and purpose are possible.

According to the story of creation as in the Hebrew Scriptures first there was chaos and then there was order. What brought about this order? It was God Himself who through concentrating upon His work developed that which is beautiful through the power of his thought, creating beauty from chaos. The Greeks have the same myth in their story of Chaos and Eros in Hesiod and the Chaldeans and Hindus have also similar traditions.

GITHA: These atoms have turned from pure radiance into color.

TASAWWUF: In Djabrut, the angelic sphere, there is nothing that we can call color, although there are various sounds and tunings. These become colors in the mental sphere. In Djabrut there is only the Divine Light, although there are several degrees of light and even shadow caused by light interfering with light. That is why it is taught that good and evil can extend even into the angelic sphere.

But what are known as color, as well as all differences arise in the mental sphere, assuming the form of realities there. Philosophers have long discussed the problem of the reality of qualities. They are real in a certain sense, especially in a philosophic sense, as philosophy may be called the science of mental examination, but above the mental plane they reach pure Oneness. The purpose of Safa,
purification, is to restore the pure radiance above color, which is behind color, and this is possible when feeling controls thought.

GITHA: And they group on the lines of the impression already there, and are perceived more or less in accordance with the light from within thrown upon them.

TASAWWUF: The Egyptian Ka or double was not so much the psychic figure as the personality built out of the thoughts. That personality was the same as the personality which appears on earth only it no longer required the physical body. Of what was this personality built?

It was composed of mental atoms which had become fixed either because the radiant atoms had been grouped around a focus made through accommodation in thought, or because shadows had been held in place until they assumed a form. This form has only a relative reality. The Divine Light has nothing which can be called a personality from the ordinary point of view; it adopts such forms for its purpose, for outer expression. The shadows of our thoughts select rays of light, and holding them through concentration, even if built upon slight interest, constitute forms of them.

Memory arises from prototype forms fixed in the mind through the activity of individual will. The will can readily mold the mind stuff of Malakut according to its type of experiences in the outer sphere. Now in concentration the light can be thrown upon these thought-forms from within, while the shadow is thrown upon them from without.

Concentration, especially spiritual concentration, deepens the shadow and intensifies the light. The light is really always there, yet being accustomed to it, one does not always perceive it as light until attention is drawn to it by contrast of experience. For that reason meditation is beneficial before long concentrations are tried, and when other spiritual practices are added to it the mind becomes purified and the will can control it to advantage.

Everything possesses not only form but quality and purpose. Therefore in mental vision one sometimes sees a duplicate of the physical object and at other times sees much more than the duplicate, finding the reality, the thing-in-itself of philosophy. Through concentration the atoms on the mental plane, which are the atoms of light on that plane, become subject to law and mastery through the power of will.

The real spiritual law of Moses was that which rendered such processes possible and the real Kingdom of God and the real Temple of God are not the buildings which man erects without of stone and mortar and clay, but are those edifices which he builds within out of the mind-stuff and light-stuff which Allah has permitted him to use for the benefit and salvation of humanity and for the Glory of Allah himself.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 3

Concentration as Holding and Letting Go

GITHA: Every experience we have through any of the five senses is an impression upon our mind.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, the experience of the senses adds to the composition of the personal mind, and in a certain sense adds color to the personality. It is not necessary, however, to discard the experience of the senses. The process of purification is one whereby one reaches a stage of development where the senses themselves become the doors to insight and observation becomes a valuable art.

Every movement, every activity produces some impulse. The mind can be affected from both within and without. Through self-mastery one does not have to disregard the senses. One learns to be open to impression or to be closed to impression and if the breath is kept in right rhythm and the thought is held by the feeling, the impression will not be harmful. For while we are living under Nufsaniat and know not how to control or subdue ego we lose the vitality which otherwise would be consumed in spiritual development.

Physical scientists confuse brain and mind. They say that the brain starts out as a mass of plasma, whose surfaces and convolutions increase in complexity of form as the brain is used. In geniuses and developed persons generally, there are many more folds and more grey matter. This shows that experiences and thoughts do affect the brain. People who are more animal-like or undeveloped have simpler brains; those of marked intellectuality have deeply grooved brains.

These changes in the brain actually correspond to changes that go on in the human mind, only we do not see our minds directly, at least not until we become masters in meditation and self-control. If we do no thinking there will be no ripples in our mental self. Sensation starts mind-waves in motion, they rise and full, and as they rise and fall they also make marks on the brain. Constant repetition of any kind, such as is followed in esoteric practices, makes a definite line or groove in the mind and this attracts the most refined vibrations. Therefore the repetition of the name of God has a wonderful effect upon the mind directly, and upon the brain indirectly.

Calmness, poise and indifference do not in any way hinder mental development, nor do they lessen the grooves of the brain. But they do hold back the emotional activities which rob us of vitality and cloud our consciousness.

GITHA: A word spoken by ourselves or heard from another, an action done by ourselves or done by another in our presence, becomes an impression.

TASAWWUF: We are impressed by every conscious word, deed or thought of ourselves. We are also impressed by all that we hear from another or by all that is done to us by another, at least except when we are indifferent. The master-mind learns not to be impressed by all that is unfavorable, and he avoids thinking unfavorably of others whenever possible. In this way he protects himself, as well as all the world.

GITHA: Its constancy depends upon the state of response on our part, also on the holding of that impression intentionally.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, we ourselves determine how much impressions remains with us. We can throw out the impressions. If we are not in a receptive or responsive frame of mind we will not even obtain the blessings that the cosmos offers us. Yet by not being responsive we can refuse to be affected by hatred, rage, envy or anything that we do not desire.

GITHA: There are some impressions which act to the benefit of ourselves or of another, and there are some impressions which act to the disadvantage of ourselves and of another.

TASAWWUF: We do not have to settle this matter intellectually. We do not have to reason whether impressions are favorable or unfavorable. If we keep the breath in rhythm and perform Darood, those impressions which would be undesirable do not affect us so much, while then we respond only to impressions which can benefit us. Besides we feel a certain weakness or loss before every undesirable impression, especially as we grow in sensitivity. This same process brings joy or inspiration from other impressions which are beneficial.

This same weakness or strength, pain or joy comes to us with any feeling or impression about others. Thus we can avoid harming or hurting others and we can also protect ourselves against harm intended for us. No doubt there are sensual and emotional impressions, and the emotional impressions touch the heart even more than the mind. But the sensitive heart readily recognizes them and the protection one assumes against all that may be harmful to oneself is also a protection to others against the same evil intent.

GITHA: Therefore the Sufi seeks the good-will of another, worthy or unworthy, and avoids at any cost, at any sacrifice, the ill-will of another.

TASAWWUF: We may consider as “another” any other person or even God Himself. In the ordinary stage of human development, we feel and think differences between other beings and ourselves, we feel and think difference between God and ourselves. Then, even if we would follow the Will of God we know not how to ascertain it and we can confuse our own will with the Divine Will. When the breath is in harmony with the Divine Will it is smooth, rhythmical and fine. It brings us joy, inspiration and a response to all that is beautiful. We do not harbor any ill-will against anybody; we feel incapable of ill-will.

The Sufi ordinarily tries to be just and kind and good to everybody and to apologize when there are differences or difficulties. He does not then justify himself for the one who would justify himself before man can even get into a habit that he would justify himself before God, feel himself different from God. Often the Sufi walks the path of malamat, or blame. The higher one advances on the path, the less is the likelihood that he will be fully understood, appreciated or not.

There are countless people, many countries, several continents, but one sky. Likewise there are numerous minds, but one Malakut and every cloud in the sky of the mind-world is a source of obscuration. When we obscure our own minds, we make life harder for others; when we clear a difficulty for another, help another we help ourselves. In a certain sense there is no individual karma apart from the universal karma. The attachment to individuality itself is one of the chief causes of, if not the only cause of human woe. We can feel as good words, good deeds and good thoughts those which harmonize with our refined breath. Keeping the breath rhythmical and refined we help to establish the brotherhood of man on all planes.

If there is any difficulty in getting along with our fellow man—or with ourselves, we may repeat the name of God or the Wazifas of purification. We may apply the lessons of self-protection, and thinking more of breath than of thought we can turn every defeat into a victory.

GITHA: The former falls as the shower of bliss, the latter rises as the blaze of fire.

TASAWWUF: It is this which produces heaven and hell, heaven being the region of fulfilled desire, hell the vision of the soul on fire. This fire comes out of our own being. Light, striking any surface, turns into heat. We can make use of the light as light, appropriating through our breath, after the breath is purified, to build up only those vibrations which are helpful and constructive. Or we can draw that light to our ego, and turn it into heat which is present as anger, envy and lust. The meaning of the word “Cain,” means drawing to a center, in other words, building nufs. Cain stands as the prototype of the ego-personality.

Increase of good-will can only lead to greater and greater good-will. When the force is set into motion, its very inertia continues it on its path through its own momentum. Generally the Jemali personalities who are softer, more gentle and graceful avoid harming others, while the Jelali personalities who are stronger avoid harm being done to themselves. But the Jemalis do not protect themselves and the Jelalis do not always avoid hurting others. For that reason balance is needed in life.

GITHA: Concentration is, therefore, meant to enable us to hold any impression we may desire and to forget any undesirable impression which with the average person abides, making the heart its abode.

TASAWWUF: In other words, the actual practice of concentration builds the accommodation for spirituality around thought. Thoughts which follow Fikr are sure to be helpful. And if one has any doubt about thought and he concentrates upon the thought, at the same time repeating Fikr silently, if the thought or impression is desirable it will attract light, and if it is undesirable it draws heat instead. This is one sure way by which man can learn to walk the right path.

Therefore the Sufi is instructed to keep the praise of God before him because the right praise of God brings inspiration and joy, and whenever anything interferes with that inspiration or joy it is undesirable. The breath will be thrown out of rhythm, there will be coarser vibrations, and a sensitive person may even become ill.

The purification of heart helps man to dominate all that is unfavorable. By watching every impression, favorable or unfavorable, the surface of the heart becomes quite sensitive. Then from beginning to notice the impressions man in time comes to discover his faculty of insight or intuition. This protects him from dangers within and without. Besides, when the heart is alive, we do not have to trouble our minds with problems, we can get rid of complexities, and as we feel the presence of God we shall become aware of that living love which fills the Universe. In the light of that love all will go well with us.

Those who seek Allah and keep the feeling of Divine Presence in their heart will find it easier and easier to harmonize with others. Those who do not harmonize, even with all claims to belief in God, are still in the stage of belief, they have not yet come to self-understanding and are in no way fit to direct others. Therefore, it is said that there should be glory to God who is the highest, and from that there will come peace and good-will to all mankind. One will become the embodiment of good-will himself; he will radiate good-will and Baraka, the spiritual blessings which feed the earth plane and all planes.

Therefore Murakkabah helps everyone to build his own heaven and his own hell. With the practice of concentration we pass from time to eternity. We live in the worlds above as well as in the worlds below. We enter a higher stage of prayer, when we actually cooperate with God instead of beseeching him constantly to work for us. The words, “use us for the purpose that thy wisdom chooses,” take on a new meaning. The development on the path is not separate from progress in concentration, from grade to grade.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 4

Three different States of Mind—Urouj, Kemal and Zaval

GITHA: As the sun has rising, zenith and setting, so the mind has the above three states, coming alternately.

TASAWWUF: The laws of Malakut, the mind-world, are in a sense reflected in our heavens, which we may study. The ancients used the same word “heavens” to apply to the starry sky, to the movement of the sun, and to the place of after-life. They did not always see the same difference that we see now, and their thoughts were not always arranged as ours are. The very language had a different molding. The study of ancient language often gives the key to their philosophy and religion.

We say that the sun rises and sets; we say it and yet know it is not so. This of itself should make us realize that language does not even convey material facts at all times. So we may also say that the light of intelligence is there, but our mind changes before it. We pass through phases and these phases constitute in a certain sense the time of mind. Solomon the wise has said, “There is a time for all things.” This may be better interpreted, “There is a rhythm for all things.” All things have their rhythms, their qualities, their rates of vibration, which are the distinguishing features. Man has since lost the Wisdom of Solomon, yet it can be recovered by his diligence in seeking his true nature.

GITHA: Urouj is that state of mind when a person thinks with energy and enthusiasm: “I am going to do such a thing.” This state of mind produces such a force and power in order to create the object, that in its excess it produces such a mist that the faculty of reason and justice is often dimmed.

TASAWWUF: The Sufi, whatever be his state of mind, whatever be the state of mind requisite, seeks rhythm and balance. In Urouj energy is supplied often as mental magnetism, often as psychic power. Energy is needed because otherwise there might be such a lethargy that the life might not reach the surface. There are persons who think a great deal, yet never carry their thoughts into action. We may be sure that they are lacking in Urouj. Yet the wise have conserved Urouj because thereby they increase their store of magnetism and add to the latent power.

It is Urouj which is the source of all civilization, which has given to mankind the power to construct great buildings, to find and apply many inventions including gigantic and complex machines, to institute great organization, and to embark in mass movements. Today when these movements are no longer controlled, they are called “subversive.” This may be applied to any movement which, because of continuance of Urouj or because of too much Urouj results in unwanted, even blind enthusiasm. Forces are produced through impulse, and moral restraint is lost. And when various groups are in Urouj they often become blindly antagonistic; this leads to war.

Urouj also manifests in childhood and youth. We see it wherever there is a manifestation of physical magnetism, in their dances and games. They become enthusiastic, even tyrannical; they waste energy because they are overbubbling with zest. It is possible to restrain them by a little instruction in breathing. Then it is not necessary to correct them much otherwise, they will obtain a restrain of their own which is natural to them, which is not imposed from the outside.

Metaphysical action in Urouj should be directed from the heart. That is to say, it ought whenever possible to be based upon intuition or deep feeling, and in applying it one should be more careful of moral behavior than at other times. The average man is often unable to rise above the mental plane, sometimes he even remains on the verbal level, and thus he depletes his mental and psychic magnetism if he even develops them. Then a mist, so to speak, appears before his metal eyes, which has the same effect upon his mind that physical mist has upon activity.

It is not necessary, however, to destroy Urouj. Our duty is to control it, and use it when it needed. When man can bring out the latent light from within, Urouj will cease to be so destructive. This faculty is gained through the practice of Murakkabah.

GITHA: The state of mind which is Kemal is perceived during that time when action is being done. This mist which the energy of mind has produced reaches, in Kemal, its culmination—which is the end of the joy or sorrow pertaining to the deed—because the excess of force becomes exhausted.

TASAWWUF: Kemal means perfection or culmination, for in this stage the energy of the former stage produces its fruits. It may be direct in the action itself and when there is no blinding emotion, it reaches the right rhythm which is most helpful in life. Whenever one accompanies one’s action with the spiritual exercise—and there are many spiritual exercises which can be adopted to the practical, daily life—he reaches Kemal sooner, restraining Urouj when it is no longer needed. Besides, Urouj tends toward accelerated rhythm, while Kemal maintains a direct, mobile rhythm, without change.

To reach and maintain Kemal patience is always needed; impatience itself may be associated with Urouj. Thus, when we say there is a time or rhythm for all things, we can through rhythmical breathing and right concentration discover that time and this is the secret of “right action.”

GITHA: Zaval is that state of mind when the power of enthusiasm is lost, the joy and sorrow of the deed are past, but the memory remains.

TASAWWUF: This may be called retarded rhythm and it involves either a slowing down, or softening or else a transition from one activity to another. Thus Zaval corresponds to the period of the setting sun, or the late afternoon. It is the period when emotions are assimilated and when in the calmness of an inner state one gets a better picture of oneself and one’s experience. Thus, from one point of view Zaval is most important; it enables us to assimilate wisdom from life.

Every experience within or without has an effect upon the mind and stores something in the memory. The memory however, does not belong to eternity. There is one aspect of it which may called moral, which becomes our conscience. The conscience is the result of the light of the heart falling upon the memory. One can increase efficiency of memory by right rhythm of breath, by concentration, even by meditation. Those who have studied hypnotism know that there is a tremendous amount of “stuff” stored in the memory, some of which is quite useless. Through purification of mind we can, and often do, remove what is of no value.

GITHA: If the impression is sorrowful, the needles prick through the sore of the wounded heart; if it is joy, a tickling and uplifting feeling is perceived, which diminishes and vanishes in time, in the entire assimilation in the essence.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, nothing abides forever and time heals all wounds. Ultimately all goes back to the essence because what is foreign to the soul does not remain with it; the soul borrows from the planes and returns to the planes. The mind is an accommodation for certain experiences and certain purposes. Each experience however brings with it some emotional content or emotion and that establishes a state of delusion which is very confusing.

Ultimately both the joy and sorrow that come out of separate experiences are wiped away. In the heart-life while there are definite periods of expansion and contraction, these are drawn from essence and not from things, not from the separate events of ego-life. Heart is not dependent upon such. The story of Adam holding on to the fruit of the tree of knowledge is that of man attaching to the joy and sorrow of experience. By doing so he bars himself from paradise. It is not that God or the Universe shuts him out; it is that he shuts himself out by holding on to these states which are the fruits of experience.

Perpetual bliss does not come in Malakut, nor do we necessarily face God when we rise out of the physical body and find ourselves clothed in mental sheathes. Mind is not God, although there is what may be called Divine Mind, or Alaya Vaijnana. The undesirable impressions which come to us from time or to time show either that we are on the wrong track or that we are facing tests. In the former cases we must examine ourselves to discover our shortcomings; in the latter cases we need more and more patience. By leaving the fruits of joy and sorrow in their places we ultimately arrive at baqa, the Divine Life.

GITHA: The master of concentration is he who produces at his will not only Urouj but Kemal and Zaval also, and attains self-mastery, when both sin and virtues bow at his feet.

TASAWWUF: The question may arise how to increase these three stages of Urouj, Kemal and Zaval. The spiritual practices throw the talib into the right rhythm. He does not have to control the stages consciously. If there is heart attainment they come by themselves. Yet if he continues in the attunement and in the spiritual practices, generally he will find it becomes easier to adopt that rhythm which is most advantageous at all times.

Each one of the sacred phrases attached to the name of God which form the ninety-nine beautiful “Pearls of Faith” has its own rhythm and its own special application although one may not have to use them all during life. Besides, concentration before any action helps to bring the right rhythm for the beginning, culmination and termination of that action. And again, the breath may be heavier or more rapid at the beginning, but in the end it should be clam. Calmness not only helps us to terminate any activity rightly, but also prevents any emotional or mental after-effects from confusing us in the next duty of life. By that wakt, or period, is established.

GITHA: It is he who may sneer at the pleasures of heaven and jeer at the tortures of hell.

TASAWWUF: For as soon as man controls his rhythms he is not controlled by them. Hell is the result of conflict between man and the laws of life. Heaven may be the reward for virtue. Yet the heaven of one is not the heaven of another, and those who picture any heaven or who enter into a state of joy in the after-life also tire of it. Every experience in the mental world passes through its period of Urouj, Kemal and Zaval. Even streets of gold and ivory would be tiring after the enthusiasm of Urouj is gone. Pleasures weary just as much in the next world as in this one.

The accommodation for the Divine Light in the heart and deep devotion help the talib to enter the life eternal even when clothed in the flesh. In the sphere of heart there is no longer this turning and the coming and passing of light, or change of day into night. And this is possible for all who apply themselves to the exercises assigned by the teacher on the path. This is not a reward; it is an accomplishment which each must most obtain by himself.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 5

Three Kinds of Concentration

GITHA: Concentration may be considered in three kinds. The first is visualizing a form; the second, thinking of a name, the form of which is not distinct; the third is the thought of any attribute which is beyond name and form.

TASAWWUF: Allah, in the creation of the Universe, as he passed from potentiality, designed three planes which the Sufis call Djabrut, Malakut and Nasut, or the worlds of the heart, mind and body. In this process, so to speak, Allah veiled Himself, yet actually this was not so, only a seeming. It is also a seeming by which man has lost contact with the worlds of finer vibrations. This seeming veiling is what the Hindus call Maya.

Now in concentration one employs a process of purification, of distinguishing each plane from the other and each principle from another, and in the end finds the relation of all to God. In visualizing a form, the soul, so to speak, turns the disk of the mind to the earth plane or physical world. In thinking of a name, the form of which is not distinct, the intelligence is kept on the mental plane, and in keeping the thought of an attribute, the light of the intelligence is reflected inwardly in the heart, toward the higher world called Djabrut.

GITHA: The one who has not mastered the concentration of form in its full extent must not try the second kind; and after trying the second kind of concentration thoroughly, one may try the third.

TASAWWUF: The first stage of concentration is based upon sensation and outer experience. The atoms of the physical plane are arranged in stable forms which do not dissolve quickly in the measurement of reckoning of time. In the mental plane the principle does not change but the time process is different. Therefore the physical plane serves as a mould for the accommodation of spirit. This is what was meant by prakriti in the Hindu philosophy. It is the mold for the accommodation of spirit, called Matter or Nature.

Just as in sculpture one makes a master form and can reproduce copies from it, so the mind first learns to handle concrete substance, and to copy from it. Then the will acts directly upon the mental sphere. This is the natural process of creation. The lowest organisms react to light and environment; the nervous system develops through evolution showing that higher plants and animals have better developed subtle bodies. Faculty of reason comes later and it is not so much form which evolves, although this is also true, as the establishment of better accommodations for the light of intelligence, the whole work of creation and manifestation culminating in man.

In individual concentration at first the will of man follows the same process as the stream of life. There is always the danger, however, of the rational faculty interfering with the will, and so causing confusion. In that case the intellectual light is diffused within the mental sphere. Through the process of concentration that light is recollected and then traced back to its source. But the collection and orderly arrangement of atoms and vibrations is most necessary and most important.

GITHA: Lack in the first concentration will go all the way in the second and third grade; therefore, the first must be well mastered.

TASAWWUF: Until this is accomplished, it can hardly be said that there is any will at all. Nufs is not will, for it is a product of breath and mind while the true abode of will is in the heart. Nufs is not will, for the basis of nufs is shadow and the essence of will is light. The contractive and expansive forces develop about nufs a power, and while this power is limited, the fact that it can be increased and decreased within its limits, narrow as they are, gives one the impression that the ego controls the will-power, but this is true to a very limited extent even on the mental plane.

Control over the physical world does not produce mental control. Neither has the mind alone very much control over the physical world. The strong man is not necessarily a thinker nor is the learned man able to carry weights. But when will-power is added to mental control, it first brings about the proper correlation between the different parts of the metaphysical man, and prepares the way for the true spiritual life.

In this way, what might be called the true self, is born or reborn, mastery of will comes from use of will. Either the will is controlled or it controls, and the secret of thought-power or any other power is the control of it by will, for it is only through will that God Himself is enabled to assist humanity, for so has he created him.

GITHA: There are three different sorts in the first kind of concentration: visualizing the form of an object, looking into the details of the form, and visualizing a multitude of forms at the same time.

TASAWWUF: In concentration it may be said that one begins with the species and goes to the genus; one commences with the individual and traces it back to the universal from which it was derived. Until outline is discerned objects cannot be known. Lower animals and babies do not always discern individual forms, and when the child learns to see forms, it does not at first distinguish details.

The infant first recognizes his mother by instinct, then by observation, then he distinguishes objects such as the mother’s features and belongings, and only later recognizes other persons and things. And rebirth into the spiritual kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven may be said to retrace the steps of the infant on earth. Any object may be used to focus the attention up, and then through control of breath and attention of will the consciousness is raised to the mental plane, and a symbol differs from other things, that it may even take one beyond the mental sphere.

GITHA: There are three sorts in the concentration of name, too. The first sort is the name of the person or object, unknown to you, held in the mind or formed by one’s imagination.

TASAWWUF: Concentration in name and form takes one from Nasut, the objective sphere, to Malakut, but concentration in name only can take one from Malakut to Djabrut, which is the same as Jannat, paradise, or the world of Adam. On that plane Allah gave to humanity the faculty to name things, and on that plane man, so to speak, has ability to call things into being. What are called akashic records are the knowledge stored up by the atoms in the sphere of Malakut.

In healing it is often necessary to endeavor visualizing a person one may not know. Concentration helps one to understand the meaning of all words, and takes one from the known to the unknown. Symbols serve as means by which man can rise from the concentration and comprehension of objectives to the knowledge beyond the senses. The continuous concentration upon Holy Murshid Inayat Khan, carried on by mureeds who will not have contacted him, brings them to a higher stage in concentration. A still higher one would be a concentration upon his murshid, Syed Mohammed Moudani.

This does not depend upon the evolution of the Pir, but on the faculties the devotee must use. Memory is not so high as imagination and sense-knowledge is not so valuable as love. The great sage whom the Sufis call Khidr is not even a name, but the name of a name or memory, the continuance of a soul in the hierarchal chain who serves humanity even though his name is no longer remembered. Thus he serves in heart who cannot illumine the mind directly.

There are many variations to these forms of concentration. One is to bring some object into the class, and without naming it, through mental concentration, its contents may be perceived. In this case there must be impression from within to bring light to the mind, which is very helpful. Continued practice of this kind can even develop faculties of detection and telepathy. And yet it is not so difficult if the breath is kept in rhythm and the heart be pure.

Concentration of this type also strengthens psychic vision in those who have it, and psychic power to all. Sometimes it becomes possible to visualize distant places, persons and things. Then it may be that first only the outline will be seen, then details will be observed and then many things. So the growth in this form of mental concentration is similar to the growth in visual concentration, only it is performed on a higher plane. This method can be perfected until one can actually transmute things at a distant or nearby mental power, especially benefiting them as in healing, but healing can be applied not only to sick persons, but to things, conditions, places and areas. Wherever, whatever or whoever needs help, the healing service or the Sufic healing practices can benefit them.

GITHA: The second is the name of the known person or object retained in mind with the memory of the same.

TASAWWUF: This is a pure form of mental concentration, which can be used to visualize persons at other places when one has known the other person. It can also be employed to recall memories of the past and to enable the consciousness to function on the plane of Malakut.

What is called Tasawwuri Murshid is a concentration on the teacher, the living teacher. When it takes an objective form, such as looking at a picture, it is not so high a concentration, and in that condition does not differ from fana-fi-Sheikh, except that in Tasawwuri Murshid one practices concentration and mental visualization. When one holds the teacher in thought through the use of the name, it becomes fana-fi-Murshid, when the teacher is a Murshid or Pir-o-Murshid.

When the name only is held is memory, the concentration on a Pir-o-Murshid is of a higher nature than by keeping a picture before one. For Sufis in the Western school it is permissible to use this form with Pir-o-Murshids Khwaja Moineddin Chisti, Syed Mohammed Moudani, Sheikh Abdul Kadir-i-Jilani and Moula Bux. Each of these has no doubt its purpose.

Concentration on Holy Murshid Inayat Khan includes all grades of fana. When a picture is used it usually develops psychic power of some kind; when memory is used without resorting to a picture, it is of a higher nature and develops mental magnetism with all its faculties and advantages. When a mureed is given this practice, who has never met Holy Murshid, it is a high concentration of fana-fi-Pir, and when it is connected with the Spiritual Hierarchy, it is fana-fi-Rassoul. The outer form of these practices may not appear so different, but the inner significance and effect is very different. At the same time, no higher practice should be tried until one has mastered the lower grades, and sometimes mastery of the first stages in concentration automatically develops higher powers and faculties.

Psychic energy is better controlled and employed in healing when persons known to Shifayat and assisting talibs are helped. It does not do much good to try the healing service for strangers. In fact prayer is often better in such cases. But in all such efforts it is most important to keep the God-Ideal before one. Otherwise one is working in vain.

The difference between occultism and mysticism is that occultism is satisfied to find name beyond form and power beyond name but mysticism continues its journey until the One Primal Unity is reached. Therefore self-effacement is required in mystical development. Any motion in the shadow world activates the nufs, and shadow always hinders clear perception. Therefore while occult power displays the transcendency of the will, it may be the human will, and unless the will continuously controls the mental atoms, there is a reaction in the shadow world below.

Here is where the greatest danger of psychism manifests. Conjuring name or form on the mental plane is one thing, controlling it is another. If one does not control that collection of mental atoms it may result in elementary forces controlling them, and in that manner gain a certain power over the individual on the physical plane.

In the mystical practices of concentration this danger is averted because the mystic is first taught to discover that Divine Power which is in his teacher on the physical plane, in his Pir on the mental plane, and in the Spirit of Guidance in the sphere of the heart where it may appear with or without name, with or without form. It is there that one contacts the feelings of Love, Harmony and Beauty and all higher feelings, and by this can rise even above the sphere called Djabrut to the world of Unity, Lahut.

This does not prevent manifestations and phenomena of any kind, only then they come by the Grace of God and not through the will of man. It is this most important factor which distinguishes all inner experiences of the talib from the psychic and occult manifestations of other persons. The initiate is under Divine Grace while all others are subject to Fate or Karma, and because they do taste the fruits of the tree of life, because they partake of good and evil, of light and darkness, they are restrained by the Angel with the flaming sword, which is the power of the Divine Will.

Communication with those on higher planes is therefore permitted under Grace for the sake of Allah and his cause. It should not be sought under any other circumstances. Developed in the right way, it may become quite natural. Then the mountain—that is to say, the place (makam) of manifestation of Divine Light—appears to Mohammed, the humanity under Grace.

GITHA: The third in this is the name of the entity that is difficult to be imagined, beyond the reach of the eyes or mind.

TASAWWUF: Through growth of the heart the consciousness may expand without limit. One does not seek contact with angels or jinns. This is the duty of those who live in those spheres. Power has been given to some masters to control the jinns. When this is done in the name of Allah no harm can follow. By self control, one can control the forces of the higher planes, and when this is accomplished, automatically, so to speak, one controls the corresponding forces of the outer world.

This stage of concentration has no limits and it is of great benefit to the creative imagination and to the heart. Yet this is still a concentration in name; a name may be given and the concentration upon it may bring great blessing. Yet this practice should never be tried until the other practices are mastered for it would be of no avail, name belongs to the mental sphere and one in this must have attained mental control first, and then can take the next step toward mastery.

Then it can be used to ascertain the meaning of spiritual practices. This is more than the translation of the words. As Fikr is used to help in concentration, this form of concentration can now be applied to Fikr and Wazifa to get the spirit of the sacred phrases and touch Allah in spirit, in attribute and in essence. The highest form of this concentration may be said to be on Allah or Hu, which is really contemplation.

So whether a word is mentioned which has some meaning in a foreign language, or a thought is held without expressing it, or a transcendental expression is given, one can by mastery over the inner world discern something of its meaning. This is a faculty of will, not of mind and at this stage the will becomes assimilated more and more with the Divine Will. The mind no longer exerts direct power, and soul and heart attuned use the mind as a vehicle in the manner for which it was originally intended. So the Hindus call one Master who has mastered all three worlds.

GITHA: In the third kind also there are three sorts. The first is the natural feelings, such as kindness, goodness, amiability, or bitterness.

TASAWWUF: We have now come to the discussion of what may be called contemplation, yet it is still concentration, only of a higher nature. The mind pierces, the heart envelopes. The mind is a tool which shapes according to the direction of the will; the heart enfolds by attunement.

These qualities and others which are similar are the Jemali qualities which appear in the heart. In Wazifa one feels the relation between these qualities and Allah. The question then arises, can there be bitterness in the heart? The answer can be proven in physics that by crossing two beams of light, shadows arise from the interferences, and the same thing is true in metaphysics: that so soon as there is any feeling of differences it is just as natural to hold ill feeling as good feeling. Real good feeling is not the same as amiability; it is the same as Unity. Amiability and bitterness alike are based on the idea: “I am different and you are different,” and this will be discovered in concentration that although amiability appears as light and bitterness as shadow, they are not so different metaphysically, both being born of duality.

Now the question arises, if evil comes from duality, why did Allah permit duality? The answer is that to attain manifestation, you cannot do it with one thing, you have to have something which is different and also something which unites these two opposing principles or forces. The dilemma arises in not seeing a purpose in it and making it appear as absolute opposition.

Now to attain the favorable Jemal qualities one may concentrate on some Holy Being who has developed them, as Buddha for compassion, Rama for wisdom, Moses for justice, as they are mentioned in Salat and in the Universal Worship. The other is to consider the qualities themselves, which are best for development in concentration and mastery, while the other method is to build up the qualities in oneself. All the qualities in Salat are symbolic and Salat contains many spiritual practices in concentration. (q.v.)

In the plane of attribution which is called Wahdaniat from the standpoint of God and Lahut from the view of man, only God exists, but not in the form of Absolute Unity so much as Harmony. Here the majestic Hu manifests in forms of light, of purified light which is music, containing no color except the continuance of marvelous harmonies.

This is the sphere of relative Unity. What are called kindness and goodness come in the state of Bast, expansion, and bitterness may arise in the state of contraction, Kabz. One can feel this by concentrating on these qualities and in the former cases the heart will be uplifted, while in the latter case it will seem to dry up and contract. One way to determine the difference between good and bad qualities, especially if these qualities are beneficial or harmful to the devotee is to perform these concentrations observing the effect on the heart. This can even be done in Gatha class to the benefit of students of morals and metaphysics.

There is a similar effect with purely physical substances, that bitter things cause the mouth to pucker up and sweet or pleasant things often bring a smile. And this is true in all aspects of life.

Duality is caused by the Divine Breath which animates all things. Inhalation and exhalation bring expansion and contraction. There are five aspects of breath which do not exactly correspond with the five elements, yet there is a relation between them. Jemal resembles water, and Jelal fire and Kemal ether. Urouj has a resemblance to the air quality in that the air breath can be retained within the body better than the other breaths and Nasoul seems to resemble the earth breath, for in that breath the exhalation can be sustained. The difference is that the principles Jemal, Jelal, Kemal, Urouj and Nasoul are not only found in the breath but extend upward through the heart plane.

All attributes are connected with elements, but in the higher stages of concentration not only must the breath and mental activities be mastered, but the awakening of the heart qualities becomes the problem. Attributes are the loans Allah makes to man for the development of personality. Therefore personality is born before the person. As the light of intelligence attracts the qualities of Allah, it forms a sort of unit which manifests as a discrete being.

In the evolutionary process, when one attains Lahut, not only all the desires return to Allah, not only all the accretions of mind and heart are returned to him, but the personality becomes effaced where all the illuminated souls unite to form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

GITHA: The second sort is wealth, or power, or position, influence, magnetism.

TASAWWUF: These qualities differ from the others, for they not only arise from experience but are connected with the Jelal principle. Jemal qualities are more likely to appear in the involutionary process of the soul, when there is a downward movement, for in some respects Jemal resembles water. Contrariwise, the Jelal force moves upward like fire and so collects these qualities when the soul is rising on its return journey.

In these forms of concentration the Sufi does not use a form but considers Allah as the source and substance of all qualities. It is not necessarily the work of the saint to concentrate on the Jemal qualities or for the Master to concentrate on the Jelal qualities. Saint is one who has qualities naturally and Master is one who has qualities naturally. All qualities may be used in concentration as no person is perfect and every one lacks even wherein he is most developed.

This form of concentration may also be called Sadhana, for if performed properly it helps one to obtain his desires or needs. The method of the Sufi is to keep Allah in heart and mind at all times. If Allah does not wish these qualities to come in material form, the heart will take a contractive movement, but if it is according to the will of Allah that we obtain even what appear to be our most selfish needs, the heart will take an expansive movement. So these concentrations may be given for our inner need and also for our outer needs.

GITHA: And the third sort is intuition, inspiration, blessing, illumination.

TASAWWUF: These are the Kemali concentrations, those of the perfection of humanity and the completion of the Divine Temple within. If there can be said to be a difference between concentration and contemplation it is that in the latter one discovers it has been God who has been seeking God and that man is but the means Allah the Lover has chosen to unite with Allah the Beloved.

It is the quality of love and the vision of Deity which finally distinguish occultism and mysticism. In Lahut that quality and faculty which had been considered as will is discovered to be nothing but love. In seeking reality in the vibrations of the heart one finds oneself merged in that Deity. Then the life of man ends and the life of God manifests. This terminates in Rassoul.

If fana, or the effacement of self is a distinguishing characteristic of Lahut, baqa, or the subsistence of the ever Abiding-Allah may be said to be the distinguishing feature of Hahut. On this plane, which is not strictly speaking a plane, not only are all attributes and characteristics merged in Allah, but consciousness also, which is at the basis of qualitatives. Therefore the Sufis call this condition of Allah Wahdat, or Oneness.

In Malakut man is Aish, the activity or will of God individualized, and in Djabrut he is Adam, or the Kingdom of Man. In his enfoldment through Divine Grace he becomes Mohammed. And corresponding to these stages are the practices of fana-fi-Sheikh, effacement in name and form, and fana-fi-Rassoul, effacement in name.

Then one passes to the condition called fana-fi-Lillah, which takes one into the absolute, wherein every man becomes a Mohammed, or Christ, even for an instant. What is called the second Adam, the son of God, the resurrected Christ and Mohammed, the man illuminated by Divine Grace; all these indicate the soul attaining its purpose in the sphere of Unity, Lahut.

But there is a purpose of God and this is fulfilled in the final stage of contemplation. All these concentrations which are given are to help one to realize the path and the goal. These end on the concentration or contemplation on the Zat or Essence of God.

Say Allah and Allah you will become: think Allah and Allah you will become, feel Allah and Allah you will become; let Allah alone be and the being in you will become Allah.

GITHA: A gradual progress, step by step, is advisable in concentration, which should be carried on with strength, courage and patience.

TASAWWUF: So it takes more than four weeks, four months or four years to do all these practices. And even if one knew the next step or the next ten steps, what is important is to perfect oneself in the concentration one has, and even if one keeps a concentration through life, in the end that may become more important than continually changing the object of concentration, which is not concentration. Anything that deprives one of the vision of Unity cannot properly be called concentration.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 6

Vibrations and Atoms

GITHA: Vibrations are that which becomes audible, and atoms are that which becomes visible.

TASAWWUF: Things are not in themselves heard but are recognized by the pulsations or vibrations which they emit. On the earth plane this takes the form of sound and is heard through the ears. On the mental plane it is also sound, but there sound appears as an attribute or property of things rather than as a vibration of the atmosphere. The sound of a thing may be said to be its personality, its persona, or how it sounds.

Bodies and forms are regarded as composed of atoms. We do not hear bodies when we strike them or when sound emanates from them; we hear because of the vibrations of air which come to our ears. On the other hand, we do not see light, but by means of light we see the material things which are composed of the atoms of this world, and on higher planes we see things as they are composed of the atoms of that world. But we can also see the atoms themselves as in the spinthariscope, and in spiritual practices we can see the mental atoms take form.

The word atom does not correspond exactly to its scientific usage, but to its philological meaning; that is, the element or unit which cannot be cut or subdivided. These atoms do arise out of light and are derived from light, but through a hardening process they impress us and so visibility results.

GITHA: There are two kinds of vibrations, fine and gross, and there are two kinds of atoms, which also are fine and gross.

TASAWWUF: Science speaks of these in various ways, but from our point of view all the material vibrations are gross, and arise from the all-pervading rays in the process of hardening as they emanate from the central power which may be said to be Allah. The fine vibrations arise as reactions against these grosser vibrations and form the substance of the heavenly spheres. The gross atoms arise from the grosser vibrations and the light atoms from the finer vibrations. All of this comes from the in-breathing and out-breathing of Allah by which the Universe is kept alive. This was one of the most important subjects considered in the philosophy of ancient India.

In concentration the will operates to direct the finer vibrations on the mental sphere. They are not so easy to control as the material of this sphere, which can be molded by hand. In fact it is not wrong to call concentration the art of Mental Sculpture. The form of the finer vibrations affect the coarser vibrations, and this is like saying the heavens were made and then the earth. And we see this in that thought does affect things. At the same time every physical body of any type has its counterpart of finer vibrations and atoms which persist in the mental sphere even after the physical envelope is destroyed.

GITHA: Fine vibrations are not perceived by the ears but are perceived by the sense of perception. These are the vibrations of feeling, which convey to us our sorrow and joy, and convey them to another to a certain extent.

TASAWWUF: These do not belong to the sphere of the mind so much as to the sphere of the heart. They act upon the mental plane forming the atoms of light there, and in turn the emanations from the physical plane throw shadows there. Thus in Malakut one finds both heaven and hell.

Beautiful objects, such as the jewels in the mineral world, as created here through a kind of reaction from the mental light back on to the physical world. Thus the Divine Light from the sphere of the heart creates the mental sun and the element gold on the earth plane. The mental sun creates the mental moon on its own sphere and reacts to affect the moon in the physical world and also the element silver. This process is very complicated, involving knowledge of music, astrology and all occult and hidden sciences, yet it is founded upon an absolute spiritual metaphysics. The difficulty is that these things are not so much the results of direct processes but of interplanic reactions and so are hard to fathom. However, spiritual concentration as well as other forms of insight enables one to understand something of even the most intricate operations.

The heart vibrations cause joy and the earthly vibrations cause sorrow. Sorrow is connected with the water element, and the movement of water such as tides, tears and even rain are connected with the relations between moon and earth, between mind and body. There are the same type of vibrations in joy and sorrow but the emotions are different, for these necessarily affect the breath differently. When the vibrations determine the activity of atoms all is well, but when atoms affect the course of vibrations all is not well. All that is good comes from the heart vibrations and all that is not good comes from the material and psychic control over the breath, which causes deterioration of the mental substance and so brings misfortune.

GITHA: The fine atoms are not seen by the eyes, but are seen by the sense of perception. These, grouping together, form the thought.

TASAWWUF: There is sensation before there is sense, and there is sensitivity even before sensation. That is, the soul has of itself the potentiality and capacity to receive from its environment; then it is affected by its environment, and then it becomes covered by every experience of life. On the physical plane it experiences life through the five senses, but these senses unite in sensation which is an attribute of mind. The mind perceives directly through itself and by agency of the breath.

Beyond the mind and its faculties is the heart to which belongs sensitivity. On the mental plane as well as on the physical plane, there is a difference between the within and the without, between the self and not-self. On Djabrut, the sphere of heart, it may be said that while selfhood persists, egoism disappears. The heart knows of its existence but does not recognize its separateness, that is, its discrete existence apart from its environment. The world of the heart is made of hearts.

Thought is not so much self-created as a selective process whereby the ego, so to speak, selects such vibrations as seem to suit its purpose. In pure thought this process is performed without intervention of the nufs. Through concentration by power of will one can select the atoms of light which really arise from the heart. Therefore feeling is most important and enables the human will to synchronize and harmonize with the Divine Will.

GITHA: The grosser vibrations are of sound and voice which our material ears hear, and grosser atoms are the atoms which form substances which our eyes can see.

TASAWWUF: Ear does not perceive form but does perceive vibration. Eye particularly sees the forms which result from vibrations. In this sense the eye is responsive to the activity of prakrit and the ear to purusha, for it is purusha which is the center of personality and prakrit which is the center of form. Sound is very closely associated with personality. Through sound we hear the spirit in matter and through sight in concentration we see, so to speak, the matter in spirit—that is, it’s taking on definite forms.

There is a growth in perception of sound on all planes which comes through the sciences of music and mysticism, and there is a growth through concentration, which is as much an art as a science by which one perceives light on all planes, until both reach the sphere of unity and become united. So all schools of Sufism in the end flow into one stream which empties into the universal ocean of life which is Allah.

GITHA: By concentration is meant the grouping together of the fine atoms on the model of the objects seen by our external eyes, so as to form upon our mind a picture of objects which are seen by our eyes in the external world.

TASAWWUF: It is this process which goes on consciously or unconsciously at all times. When there is no direction by the will, the thoughts pass through decay and death, and actually cause mental disease which wears out both the physical and mental vehicles. Through inspiration Creation builds earth from heaven and through power Creation reproduces the earth in the heavens. It is not enough to make earth like the heavens. It is also necessary to make heaven like earth. This is the meaning of the ancient teachings “as above, so below” which is found in the Gnostic traditions concerning Jesus Christ and elsewhere. The earth could not exist unless on its plane something was perfected, and the heaven could not exist unless on its plane something was perfected and in the spiritual life, all things are to be perfected on all planes, so that the real riches earth—the power of molding, fixing and retaining—can be carried along with one. In Astrology this is connected with the planet Saturn, which is also called the Great Initiator.

GITHA: It is difficult at first, because the mind has never been controlled; therefore it is not accustomed to obey.

TASAWWUF: In Alchemy this process has been referred to as the fixation of quicksilver, changing it to silver. The average mind is in a state of flux, constantly changing.

When we look at the earth, we can see what we call a mountain or a river or a continent or an ocean. These things, while they are material, exist as separate entities because our minds consider them as that. It is the mind which creates division and pluralism. In the theory of alchemy earth, as symbolized by salt, was mixed with quicksilver—that is, mercury. The earth represented fixity and formed a mold for the emotions represented by quicksilver. First the stabilizing process gave rise to silver, or the clarified mind, and later to gold, or the purified heart.

It is the mind which has been symbolized as the rough ashlar by the Masons and the wild horse in religion and mythology, when it is uncontrolled. Rhythm of breath and mastery by the will control it until it becomes the winged Pegasus or Garuda, the vehicle used by the soul. Therefore concentration becomes a form of purification—Safa—by which the mind achieves its purpose, becoming a spiritual instrument.

GITHA: It becomes tired when holding any thought grouped of fine atoms.

TASAWWUF: The mind has become used to facing the earth. Plato has given a beautiful allegory about it, liking this condition to the existence of men living in a cave, occasionally getting a glimpse of sunlight, but not venturing into the light. Habit has fixed it and prevented it from doing its best work. In the same way silver is subject to tarnish unless it is kept clean constantly. Now how can silver be purified, and how can the mind be kept clear? This answer has been given by chemists and alchemists that while silver is comparatively fixed it is not so noble as gold which does not tarnish easily. So there is a method for controlling the mind.

GITHA: But when the feeling is holding the thought, then it is held fast even against the desire.

TASAWWUF: This is the secret of spiritual concentration. Feelings are the outpourings of the heart, and desires are the results of emotions and nufs, which influence us through the sympathetic nervous system. As there can be no thought without blood entering the brain and as all blood comes from the heart, when consciousness and will become identified with heart and blood, it is impossible for the mind to act independently. This process becomes possible to the talib who has performed meditation and the other spiritual practices. They form a ladder by which the soul can remount to its proper condition. The Sahib-i-dil who trust in their feelings do not find it so difficult to hold their thoughts even as the sun holds moon and earth to their courses.

Unless the feelings have been awakened, the higher forms of concentration are impossible. It is the heart which united the search for God, preserving unity, with all the various concentrations in name, form and variety. Spiritual attunement therefore serves to keep the mental atoms in place. When the desire for Allah is greater than all else, it is easy to control the mind and keep it one-pointed.

GITHA: For the atom is the outcome of vibration, and when the vibration holds it, the atom is held. It is just like steel with a magnet.

TASAWWUF: All forces arise from vibrations: force of love, of will, of tenderness, of strength. Vibrations control the breath, utilize the breath and serve the breath. The mind is an akasha or accommodation of vibrations: if they are held within its sphere they develop into atoms. The same idea is now held in the science of physics that the physical matter of this world arises from cosmic vibrations becoming fixed in the sphere according to certain laws, and the same is also true on other planes as on the earth, for all the Universe follows the same general principles.

At the same time atoms formed of fine vibrations produce coarser vibrations, which in turn give form to coarser atoms, in a less subtle sphere. In this way the whole universe was produced through emanation, and by the contrary process, turning back toward God, the Creator, the mystic controls the thought by means of feeling and masters matter through the thought-power.

GITHA: Therefore, concentration is developed by holding an object by the help of feeling. In this is the mystery of all devotion.

TASAWWUF: What is the mystery? If one through thought masters matter and through feeling controls thought, the question arises, how can the feelings be held? The answer is that that power which cannot be obtained by conquest is obtained through surrender. The King, who is God, shares all things with his subjects. Who are His subjects that are his vassals? Those who have surrendered to him. How can they surrender? What can they surrender?

It is only the nufs, the shadow which perverts and impairs all feelings, which stands in the way. Conjecture is the enemy of concentration, while devotion can be called its mother. The symbol for concentration might be the ladder, marking the path of the devotee. In this is the secret of all the idols and forms worshipped by man. But Allah is recognized by the Sufis as being hidden in all names and forms, in all seen and unseen beings and in every aspect of life without and within.

So by the practices of Fikr and Darood, coupled with regularity of the breath, the power of concentration increases and in time the mind acts automatically to all that is poured into it by the heart of man. Therefore devotion can also be the greatest help to concentration, keeping the heart filled with love and so subjugating thought. Mind-Mastery begins and ends with Heart-Mastery over the mind.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 7

Memory

GITHA: Memory depends upon two things: right focus and steadiness of observation.

TASAWWUF: The same principles of focus and steadiness of observation lay behind concentration as behind photography and the magic lantern. Poor focus causes distorted impression and unsteadiness of observation dims the outline. The myths of tradition hold that there is a relation between mind, moon and silver, and there is not so much difference between the impressions made upon mind through the operations of light and shadow and the effects upon silver-salt plated.

In concentration one strives to erect a picture in light even though the background may be in shadow and in this it differs from ordinary photography. Focus depends upon attention and purity of breath and mind, and steadiness of observation upon rhythm of breath. So it can be seen that the basic principles are the simplest teachings of Sufism given even to beginners and these teachings make it possible for one to advance to the higher stages in concentration.

GITHA: Any object that passes from our sight unobserved by us, for a moment, is seen by us and yet not seen, for it has passed from our memory but has not been collected by it. In other words, it was wiped off at the same moment when it passed from our memory.

TASAWWUF: Everything we witness consciously or unconsciously makes some sort of impression. In order that the impression may be lasting, the form must continue long enough to build a counterpart on the mental plane. It is these counterparts which form what we call memory, which is a continued knowledge of names and forms we have experienced. And it can be seen that this process is also quite similar to photography.

GITHA: Focus makes an object fully seen.

TASAWWUF: All mental activity is an activity of light. Actually we do not have to penetrate far into the unseen to know the laws of the unseen. The traditions have told us that the worlds above were as the worlds below, and the worlds within as the worlds without and this can be understood some through a study of the phenomena of light even without much mystical experience. At the same time one learns more about light through mystical experiences than by any other method.

The action of light is similar on all planes. The mental atmosphere is not so different from the physical atmosphere, only the physical plane, being the locus of the most outward manifestation, cannot receive from any plans outside itself, while the mental sphere can receive from the more subtle worlds as well as from the dense earth below. Besides that, the mental sphere acts and reacts upon itself, and it is there that the law of justice and retribution is best observed.

The ancient Egyptians used to symbolize this by the Goddess Maat, who was the Goddess of Justice, and yet in another aspect the World Mother and the Goddess of the Horizons, governing man’s vision on all planes and returning to him in accordance to his deeds and needs. The object of the Sufi is to broaden his mental horizon but this cannot be properly done until focus is controlled. Repetition of the invocation makes this easier to effect.

GITHA: For all other objects become covered from our sight when the sight is keenly engaged in the observation of an object.

TASAWWUF: This is the ultimate purpose of concentration. As it says in Qur’an, we are to make Allah the sole object of our search. How can we do that when the sight is fixed either upon the things of this world or of that world? It may be true that in concentration our attention is turned from the world without to the world within, but if the consciousness is stopped at the mental plane, we have not entirely achieved that which it is necessary for us to attain. So long as other than Allah is the object of our search we have not touched Sufism and so long as thought is not controlled by feeling, neither through concentration nor through any other means can we satisfy the yearnings of our hearts and souls.

GITHA: This shows that steadiness of the sight and mind and of the object helps the impression to sink deeper into the memory, and focus of sight and mind makes the object clearer in the memory.

TASAWWUF: The purpose of mantras and Wazifas is to focus the atoms until even they sing in praise of God. A Wazifa without thought behind it can even purify the physical world and our bodies; when thought is added to it, it touches the mind. This is because of the effect of sound. But when in concentration the eye and sight help control the atoms; the inner effect can be much greater.

Man has the power both to give and to receive. He gives with the tongue and receives through the ear, but with the eye he both gives and receives. Therefore spiritual training through the eye is most important, and especially when one understands that the eye is the window of the soul and more spiritual magnetism can be conveyed through the eye than by any other means.

Wazifa and Fikr help purify the breath and this is of great benefit to the mind. Why does Fikr control the breath? Because the call to God controls all other calls, and dependence upon God controls all other forms of dependence. From the metaphysical point of view it is God’s breath which sustains the breath of all his creatures throughout creation. He who is dependent upon Allah is independent of all else, and all else can become dependent upon him. This is the secret of the control of creation and so makes mastery possible for Allah has placed all things beneath man’s feet.

As Zikr and Fikr build up the light-atoms on various planes through sound breath, so concentration collects these atoms through repeated activity on the plane where they are needed, and most important is this in the construction of a purified memory in Malakut.

GITHA: Those who complain of their concentration not being good will find by a little more study of oneself that either too much activity of their mind and sight is the cause of this, or lack of focus, which is caused either by lack of interest or by lack of patience in their nature.

TASAWWUF: To control the mind in concentration the invocation is repeated mentally, followed by a short meditation. If one is still uneasy Fikr should be repeated, even during the process of observation for this prevents the thoughts from wandering and keeps the mind clear and one-pointed. As both sight and thought can be controlled by the breath, sometimes one may concentrate a little on the breath to maintain its rhythm. If the breath is disturbed for any reason, it is better not to spend much time in concentration and to perform the proper spiritual exercises to benefit oneself first.

If lack of focus is due to bad eyesight in observation this can easily be adjusted. The spiritual student does not employ dim or dark objects which strain the eyes and do not help the mind. But lack of mental focus may be due either to lack of interest or the general condition of mind may be the cause. In that case the teacher assists the pupil first to overcome his mental weakness by the proper training.

Lack of interest and lack of patience are both due to nufs. Practice of Darood and observation of the breath help to overcome these conditions. It is seldom that the teacher selects something which will of itself cause lack of patience. However, if that should be so, then the object of concentration may be changed. The training in the elementary class is generally sufficient to overcome lack of patience in the talib.

GITHA: The first thing, therefore, the Sufis do is to acquire steadiness of pose and posture.

TASAWWUF: This comes through meditation and the spiritual exercises assigned to the talibs before entering the more advanced classes.

GITHA: And steadiness of mind.

TASAWWUF: This comes through the development of the breath, especially the rhythmical control of the breath, which always furthers steadiness of mind. Practice of Zikr is most beneficial, and should be increased if the mind continues to cause difficulty. In some cases the spiritual lessons in music help also, but generally combination of melodic and vocative Fikr will produce the proper effect bringing steadiness to the mind and even joy and great interest in life.

GITHA: Besides deep interest and patience learnt in everyday life, together with hope.

TASAWWUF: Development of interest holds the attention and patience enables one to maintain their state, but hope is the life-blood which gives life to the lessons. It is not enough to see or visualize or reproduce; it is necessary to give life to it. Until then it is like printing negative plates from which no copies can be made because there is no life in life. It is hope which gives life to our concentrations and visions.

GITHA: One who has the inclination to move, who has the inclination of changing thought, speech and action every moment, whose attention is attracted from one object to another, whose faculty of interest is as dead, will always lack concentration.

TASAWWUF: Therefore short assignments are first given to the talib and it is not so important to require very long periods for practices as to perfect those practices within some period. A single thought in absolute steadiness and concentration upon God is worth hours of wasteful prayer where the attention is wandering. So in the training of mureeds there is physical, mental and moral purification through the practices.

Of course these evils are found mostly in people who have developed a certain degree of insanity. But it may be questioned how sane anybody is. It is the spiritual education which produces sanity more than anything else as it always insists upon balance.

GITHA: But he who is steady-minded, balanced in the physical movements, patient, alert and keen in his observation, is the person who will concentrate well.

TASAWWUF: Some peoples are naturally constituted to be good in concentration. Then they are trained in devotion so that concentration may bring them to Allah. Others may fall down for many reasons, but chiefly absence of love and interest. For them Zikr is generally prescribed.

GITHA: And good concentration gives promise of success in all aspects of life.

TASAWWUF: The master concentrator has the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is he who is the rock to whom Christ has given the keys and who can become master of earth and heaven. By concentration Allah produced earth from heaven and by concentration man can draw heaven to earth and regain all which is lost or lacking. There is nothing which cannot be attained through concentration either the spiritual satisfaction through growth in God, or the attainment of all desires and needs here upon earth. There are no limits in Murakkabah, and one who has attuned his heart to God may make the spheres of body, mind and heart, all, the tabernacles of the blessed.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 8

Seclusion

GITHA: The life of the mystic teaches us. By observing it keenly we can learn many things.

TASAWWUF: Practice of Tasawwuri Murshid consists of two things: imitation and obedience. Actually this is the way the infant learns. First he imitates the actions of the parents, but later on he follows their will more and more. It is the same with the talib on the path to God. Actions of Murshids form the bases for customs of the men of the Khankah. The Hadith, traditions of Islam, have been the source for many customs following the personal habits of the blessed Prophet.

For the Sufis the actions of any holy being may serve as examples. More important than outward imitation is resignation, which means attunement of the will to that of the Spiritual Guide. Therefore obedience is better than imitation. But one may ask, how can one obey without knowing? The answer is that one can always concentrate on the form of a living Sheikh or Murshid and through feeling determine whether such action is appropriate or not. Concentration on the mind of the teacher is proper when one is in doubt or when the intuition seems asleep. This method has many forms which can be used to benefit.

GITHA: Sufis make Khilvat, seclusion, at a certain time in the day.

TASAWWUF: The hours of early morning and prior to sleep are generally reserved for meditations and spiritual exercises. The hour before noon and before sunset is also good. In the countries where Islamic rites are preserved, five or even more periods are kept sacred, especially those times when the generality are engaged in prayer, and also the hours assigned by the teacher for spiritual duties.

In the Khankah it is always good to maintain some periods daily when activity ceases and silence is maintained, as well as to have meditations in which all may unite.

GITHA: On a certain day in the week, in a certain week in the month.

TASAWWUF: Friday evening is sacred both to the Hebrews and Mussalmen. The Christians observe Sunday and other religions have their sacred days. The Sufi always tries to adjust his practices to the customs of the country and in presenting a world message no uniform regulations are suggested until the whole of humanity is ready for them.

The period of the new moon is the most sacred time in the month, and those who understand psychic and occult law are able to take advantage of this fact to gain much benefit. Activity is better when the moon is waxing and repose when the moon is waning, especially the beginning of action is preferable near the time of the new moon or during the waxing. Just prior to the new moon is the best for extra silence.

GITHA: Or in a certain month in the year.

TASAWWUF: Early spring is an excellent time for Khilvat, before the buds open. This corresponds to the Christian Lent, which is a custom founded upon the 40 day Khilvat which Jesus Christ observed. All the great prophets as Moses, Elijah, Buddha and Mohammed also observed Khilvat, and the Sufis have continued these practices both in imitation of the Holy Ones and in obedience to the Divine Law which they observed. The whole earth, so to speak, enters into Khilvat before the approach of spring.

Rules for Khilvat are based upon custom and need. Need is more important than custom but custom can grow out of need.

GITHA: The greatest among them have devoted a certain period of their life—in the early part, or when aged—which they call Gusha Nashini.

TASAWWUF: The Khilvatis are a school of Sufis, mostly of aged men, who spend much time in silence and seclusion. Sometimes neophytes have also spent 40 days and much longer alone, in prayer and meditation. One may read about it in the lives of many Sufis, especially Shams-i-Tabriz and Abu Sa’id ibn Abil ‘Khayr. Often such souls receive a Divine Call, as did the Prophet Samuel and also Jeremiah who served their apprenticeship to the Lord when very young.

Those who are destined to serve God in special capacities often receive such a call, even when young. However, it is generally the aged who practice Khilvat, for whom the world no longer offers any attraction, and who are no longer fitted to appear before the world to best advantage. The ancient Vedic religion taught that it was proper for all elderly people to spend their time in seclusion. In some Buddhist countries, the children do it instead, before they are ready to face the world and this is supposed to help them understand life’s problems better, as well as give their spiritual education along with their other needs.

GITHA: And have a shawl thrown over the head, keeping the eyes covered from all other objects in order to retain the object of concentration in the mind without any break.

TASAWWUF: The shawl not only serves as a disciplinary precaution but it preserves magnetism at the same time. Of course for those who could go into caves, such a message may not be necessary but Sufism teaches that spiritual development can and should take place in the midst of men. Spiritual energy is difficult to collect and easy to scatter, and especially for older persons, hard to retain. But magnetism also preserves the memory which in ordinary people often becomes weak with age. So besides any theoretical or purely spiritual advantages, Khilvat is of great practical benefit.

GITHA: The Christian monks and nuns showed in their life the tendency to seclusion.

TASAWWUF: There has been much discussion as to whether the Prophet Mohammed was opposed to the monastic life. The answer is that he was not opposed to any form of service to God, but favored natural living. Asceticism and celibacy are valuable if they lead one to God, but are not valuable if they rob one of manhood and womanhood. God’s being includes all aspects of life. Prayer, meditation, contemplation and spiritual exercises cannot be said to belong to any one particular religion, they belong to all.

The Sufis preserved many ancient customs, some of which have been found among the Christians as well as among other peoples. Many of these existed long before Mohammed and some are found as far back as history can be traced. But more necessary than seclusion is seeking God’s favor and following Divine Will. Therefore Khilvat of itself is not practiced except under spiritual direction.

GITHA: A veil is seen on the head of the nuns, covering their eyes from the impressions which may come from the right and left sides. The retirement of the yogis also suggests the same tendency for the purpose of concentration.

TASAWWUF: In concentration one-pointedness is necessary. The veil protects and preserves the magnetism of eyes and mind. It is also symbolic of the aura, or halo of light, of which there are both physical and mental counterparts. It also serves to remind one of the Divine Purpose of Being and the Goal which is being sought.

GITHA: We, busy as we are in our life with a thousand things in a day, naturally cannot have a good concentration, but our life needs more effort and seclusion than the pious ones who are already on the path. Therefore, our first lesson in the way of seclusion should be to practice the principle in our everyday life.

TASAWWUF: Concentration is even more necessary in everyday life than anywhere else. Meditation throws the consciousness within but concentration can be performed on any plane and so preserves unity in all worlds, that all are where God is and where light is, for wherever there is light, there is Allah. Meditation preserves, breath strengthens and concentration determines the direction of every form of Divine Energy.

GITHA: When doing some work, we must try and keep our mind on it, not allowing it to be attracted by anything, however important and attractive it may be. If not, we lose both, as in the story of the dog who went after his reflection in the water with bread in the mouth, and lost the piece he had already.

TASAWWUF: The whole cycle, whether of the hour, day, month, year or century, is divided into parts, each for its purpose. Every breath can become important when devoted to a single duty. Not only the mind but all of life is purified when there is a supreme purpose. At the same time, if one carries all actions, even the simplest, to their conclusion, less effort, less magnetism is lost, and every action retains a purpose, which is most beneficial.

Sufis constantly practice Darood, keeping the breath in harmony with the Divine Breath. This helps to achieve success in all things, preventing the mind from wandering when engaged in work, and keeping the body in order in health and in activity.

GITHA: If we are thinking of something, we must not let another thought break in, either on our part or on the part of another. We must think it out thoroughly before we venture to think of something else.

TASAWWUF: Spiritual exercises assist the will to control the mind, by keeping the mental atoms in their proper places. This control is to be increased so it will continue when the mind is active as well as when it is at rest. If a thought seems to destroy any form of concentration, Darood helps to remove it. If it persists, then the breath is to be examined. Especially if the breath be in Kemal, there may be a warning of some kind, or an intuition to break the condition, and do something else. Often this comes when the situation is undesirable whether a person knows it or not, and so serves to protect one in disagreeable situations, places and conditions. Intuitions arise from the light of the heart-plane being thrown upon the mind, and spiritual impressions are of the same nature, only more particularized.

GITHA: When we speak, we must not change the subject of our speech in the middle of the speech.

TASAWWUF: Silence is preferable to wandering speech. Wandering speech causes confusion of thought and confusion of thought leads to illness of ease at heart and so bring destruction and even sickness. Music as taught in India requires the playing of a single type of music at one time, and in the Chisti School the talib is kept upon a practice until it is perfected, even if it be constant repetition on one note.

Not only does concentration help purpose, but singleness of purpose benefits concentration. By having one object for study, it is possible to reach deeper soil than where several ideas are kept in view, and the fewer the subjects of conversation, the more benefit can be gained from such conversation.

Every change in discussion introduces a new note and often this new note may not harmonize with the music of another’s personality, even when it seems pleasing to us. The mystic therefore preserves a condition where it is necessary to continue it and only changes the subject when the former subject has been cleared up, or when it has reached a stage where continuance would cause harm.

GITHA: We should finish that topic, even if it were of less importance.

TASAWWUF: When a subject is studied or discussed, it affects the mental atoms as well as the physical atmosphere. If something is left unfinished, and the topic be changed, there may be a new vibration set up in the physical world which is not in harmony with the mental atmosphere. If even one person present is dissatisfied and wishes to speak further on the former subject, when the new subject is introduced, then the mental atmosphere is disturbed.

The principle of Unity is best served not in agreement in conclusion, but on agreement to consider or not to consider a particular theme. In a chorus, while all may sing to the same music, there are the soprano and alto and tenor and bass voices. When instruments are played along with the voices, according to the Western methods, there are many parts in the harmony. If even ninety-nine out of a hundred played one piece and another single instrument played something else, there would be disharmony and discord.

In conversations there are some ways to stop this disharmony. In spiritual classes, the word of the teacher should be accepted as final, and when uttered discussion should cease, although a meditation may be necessary at this point before introducing another subject. Of course unanimity is to be desired when possible, but very often silence accomplishes what all discussion cannot attain to, and while many believe they respond to reason, more respond to sympathy, music and feeling.

GITHA: By doing so, in thought, speech and action, we develop our concentration, attending to our daily affair at the same time.

TASAWWUF: The whole life can become music if everything is considered as music, whether it be thought, speech, act, feeling or relation. For the student of Murakkabah to be changing the interests of the mind continually destroys the power and faculties gained through concentration, as well as ability in it. Of course interest plays some part in this, and a spiritual person may have more interests than another, but restraint of speech is always better than change of subject, unless the type of subject be conducive to harm. Let them talk who will, while the talib keeps in tune with God, and he will learn to control the atmosphere and bring dignity to all gatherings, for there is no greater sign of sagacity than self-control, which is sure to bring us wisdom as we progress through life.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 9

Concentration

GITHA: The will plays the most important part in concentration.

TASAWWUF: While concentration may be called an exercise or a practice, it is also a step toward realization. While the mind may be called the real man, the mind is not fully the Hu-man until it is controlled by the will, for the will alone represents that Divine Energy as it penetrates the grosser planes of creation.

GITHA: Its first work is to collect the atoms from the storehouse of memory, and the next work is to hold them together, making one single vision to concentrate on.

TASAWWUF: Recollection is impossible without the use of the will. The very word recollect describes what is going on in the mental plane. The mind by itself cannot be said to remember, although memory is regarded as a faculty of mind. If this were entirely so, one should always be holding things in memory and confusion would result through inability of the mind to segregate its faculties, one from the other. This shows that the mind must be directed. Yet the mind has its value for it is within the sphere of mind that the atoms are collected which are stored in the memory. Every breath brings something to the mind and all these accretions are preserved there. But the process of continuous accumulation has no value until these mental atoms can be put to work, and this is accomplished through concentration when the mind becomes the sphere of the action of will.

GITHA: It is therefore that the strong-willed can concentrate better than the weak-willed.

TASAWWUF: Who can be considered as the strong in will? It is they who have overcome their passions and animal natures. And how is this done? This is accomplished by power of will. But when it is asked, what gives the most power to the will; it is through resignation to Allah, which unites the will of man to that of God. All the theoretical and practical aspects of Sufi training help to bring this about.

GITHA: Those who accomplish great works and difficult works and those who are always successful in every enterprise they take up are the possessors of a strong will.

TASAWWUF: Sometimes a person possesses an unusually strong will because of the obstacles he has had to face in life and sometimes one has as strong will because righteousness and morality bring it to one, and sometimes—and this is the most natural—it comes from the growth of love in the heart, whether this be toward God or man.

The ordinary strong-willed person may be successful in the things of this world but not always in regard to his own being. That is why many financiers and executives, no matter how capable they are in directing industry and employees, often fall victims to disease and family problems. Such a one has to combat the wills of all people about him, and when they are near and dear to him they may become even like enemies.

Now the person who has attuned his heart and soul to God can escape this dilemma. In the first place, the very attunement increases the cordiality in his being which makes it possible for him to harmonize with others. Very often he gains his desires without antagonizing or opposing another. But if the question is asked, suppose great opposition has to be faced and that victory has to be obtained, what can be done?

In this case one will find the breath out of rhythm and it must never be forgotten that to sustain concentrative effort or to attain one’s desires or needs properly, the breath must remain in rhythm. By practicing Fikr or Darood this may be accomplished but if one finds that one cannot maintain the equilibrium and rhythm of breath in the face of opposition, one has to consider whether victory is necessary for oneself or for God. If it is necessary, by keeping the heart and mind on “Allaho Akbar” with each inhalation and exhalation, the breath resumes normal rhythm and balance, and it is a sign that one must continue.

Then by concentrating mostly on the breath and on the sacred phrase, one can stand in the midst of enemies or hostile surroundings and still accomplish one’s aims. Only in this case one has to watch the breath more closely than ever, for if enthusiasm interferes—that is, one stresses too much the Urouj state of mind, when the Kemal condition is needed to accomplish action—then one may deceive even oneself. So dependence upon Allah is more valuable than anything else.

GITHA: Will develops concentration, and concentration develops the will.

TASAWWUF: Without will-power there could be no concentration. In insane persons the mental atoms have no focus and there is constant change and variation going on. We see this sometimes in restless people: this is caused by weakness of will. Every effort is sure to help, as it is said, “practice makes perfect.” And by holding tightly to the trust in God and maintaining observation of breath, success is sure.

GITHA: The people who are changeable and go from one thought to the other show lack of will as well as lack of concentration.

TASAWWUF: Attention is developed, and then perception. Through adhesion and cohesion are these physical atoms held together in our physical bodies, and by a similar process are the mental atoms combined in our mental vehicles. If there was no will, if it was entirely lacking, disintegration would follow, which is death. So only by this means can one prevent physical, psychic or mental disease, and one cannot obtain healing power without first developing the will to some extent.

GITHA: Every person, whether acquainted with mystical things or not acquainted, has naturally the faculty to concentrate, to a lesser or greater degree.

TASAWWUF: Because every person not only has a will, but rather will is even more fundamental than personality, for the latter does not extend itself to the depths of the soul. Persons without will often droop away and die, and others, if they live physically, are subject to mental diseases or are feeble-minded. Insanity and feeble-mindedness could be cured or prevented by means of concentration and regulation of the breath.

GITHA: Of course, by exercise one develops the faculty, and by not making use of the faculty, one weakens it.

TASAWWUF: It is not only a privilege of the Sufi to practice concentration, it is a duty; and it is a duty not only to oneself, but to God also. Spiritual evolution not only liberates man, so to speak, it is the means by which the Creator Himself as well as His Creation are liberated. That is why one reads of the new heavens and the new earth in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere, which come after the soul has been liberated. When man is freed, the Universe is freed. The master of self is the savior of the world.

GITHA: It is little known to the world, but it is a great secret understood and practiced by the mystics, that if the will is able to collect atoms from the memory and construct an intended vision and can hold it, in time it becomes capable to mastering all affairs in the world, however difficult they may be. And when perfection in this is reached, one has attained the power of miracle.

TASAWWUF: This is not impossible and many among the Sufis have attained to this state and naturally obtained such faculties and powers through their surrender to God and their whole-hearted desire to serve only Him. Strictly speaking the will is the arm of the Lord. However much there may seem to be an individual will, this is due to Maya, the illusion of the world, and the activity of nufs. Freedom of the will is the freedom of the soul. The very practice of concentration brings this freedom.

When the moon stands in front of the sun, there is an eclipse, there is shadow, but if the moon could hide behind the sun there would be no shadow. The moon represents the mind and the sun is the will (source of power) as well as heart (source of love). The heart in man sustains the nerves as the sun sustains the moon. The blood stream in man carries the will-energy everywhere in his physical vehicle, and wherever there is blood there is life. Paralysis of a nerve brings the end of pleasure and pain and all sensation. So it can be said that the life in man while in this body circulates with the bloodstream and the mental life also is utterly dependent upon the condition of the heart, if one only knew it.

Once it is possible to reproduce a single condition on the mental plane by the power of will, the faculty has been attained. After that it is possible to arrange the mental atoms as desired and by holding them in a single position they form the model upon which the physical atoms pattern themselves. Therefore there is a thought at the basis of each thing.

The faculty which is used in healing to make an individual better can also be used to heal or protect a group, a community, a country, or the whole world. And this same faculty which can build up can also destroy; that is, creation of health and destruction of disease are not entirely separate. Power over the mind secures power over matter, and power of mind over matter is determined by the amount of control will has over mind. And what in reality is will-power? It is God-power; that power which is in the will is God, for God is the only power or force, Allaho Akbar. It is not will-power that is powerful; it is God who is all powerful.

The miracle may be described as the unusual rather than the impossible. There is nothing which we can truly call possible or impossible, but it is important to understand what is profitable. Sometimes one on the path of the Prophet or Master may of necessity perform the unusual on this plane, even as the saint—though his faculty is hidden—may be performing the unusual on other planes.

Man performs no miracles, but through the Grace of God all things may be placed at his feet and all knowledge given unto him. Therefore the Sufi term for miracle is karamat which means nothing but Grace. Such acts are of Grace, not off power and they become possible when one contemplates Allah with all one’s soul, all one’s heart and all one’s might.

GITHA: That which is impossible for the world is possible for him.

TASAWWUF: The master of will is the servant of Allah. Control over the mental atoms gives corresponding control over physical atoms. In Hindu terminology such a one was called “master of great car,” and in Hebrew mysticism he was the rider in the chariot of the Lord. What is below is as what is above, and every arrangement of the atoms on the mental plane forms a blue-print or model. So by concentrating all force there it becomes possible for one to attain one’s desires, fulfill one’s needs and serve Allah as the agent who makes an accommodation for the Divine Force here upon earth. Therefore the master in Malakut will be master of earth, and all things are at his disposal who serves Allah in all things. Amen.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa           Series I Number 10

Developing Mind by Concentration

GITHA: Real concentration is the forming of the concrete picture of the object of concentration in the mind.

TASAWWUF: Steadiness of gaze is not enough nor even retention in memory. It is the definite effect upon the mental atoms, engraving forms and ideas in the light of that plane which proves the concentration.

GITHA: Lack of concentration comes from the wavering nature of the mind, and the mind wavers by lack of proper exercise.

TASAWWUF: The mind has been symbolized as water and as mercury, the waves of which are not so steady and have to be stilled in spiritual evolution. Use of the mind is not the same as exercise of the mind, any more than use of the muscle is the same as exercise of the muscle. Exercise is control under law for the purpose of strengthening and development. Sufis practice Safa, purification, which is the inner ablution of the mind and together with concentration bring that power to the mind which benefits it most.

GITHA: As the body develops with physical exercise so the mind develops by concentration.

TASAWWUF: And there is more in this also, that even as the body benefits more from proper breath-control than by mere lifting of weights, so in exercising the mind the breath can be of great assistance. As more work can be accomplished by the mind by the maintenance of rhythm of breath, so from the very beginning one is trained to maintain rhythm also in developing the mind and psychic power.

GITHA: The great hindrance that stands against concentration is the thought of one’s own being.

TASAWWUF: It is the thought of one’s own being which becomes the nufs and it is the greatest obstacle in one’s path in every experience of life if one only knew it. The nufs is not the thought of self alone so much as the thought of self which has been given power and life by continual concentration upon it, vitalizing it to such a degree that it seems to become of greatest importance.

Atoms on the mental plane are given life by continual thought, for what brings light to them brings life also. This particular thought, by receiving so much attention actually obscures other thoughts. It is not the self, and should not be confused with the self; nufs is the thought of self made apparently real and living through continual concentration and movement of breath until it produces a fog and a veil over the true being and usurps its place in life.

GITHA: When one thinks of one’s own presence and at the same time thinks, “I am concentrating on a certain object,” at that time it is impossible to have full concentration.

TASAWWUF: Because there are two thoughts upon the mind and where there are two thoughts there is not concentration. Besides that, every thought has—the tendency to cast a shadow over every other thought and thus interfere with the light of intelligence on the mental plane. The thought of self, more than anything else, interferes with all other thoughts and so stands as an obstacle to spiritual practices and all forms of concentration, spiritual or intellectual. It colors and shades all mental phenomena and thereby produces shadows. These shadows set up the condition of dualism in Ajsam and so befog the soul on the physical plane.

GITHA: The more one loses the thought of his own being from his consciousness, the more he becomes capable of concentration.

TASAWWUF: The thought of one’s being being a thought and not an essence, it naturally prevents concentration. The same is true if other interests or persons attract one more than the object or subject of concentration. Generally they are easy to discern for love takes on forms, which, whether desirable or undesirable, have effects on the mind of a definite nature, but the thought of self is often a life concentration and so much more powerful. It not only sets a mark upon the mind, but touches the consciousness also and keeps it covered by the denseness of the earth.

The basic purpose of spiritual training is to free the individual from this self-created “self,” so to speak, and let him live as a God-created “self,” which was the intention of creation.

GITHA: As self-consciousness is the enemy of a speaker, singer, doctor or a lawyer, so it is the greatest enemy of the one who concentrates. Concentration is to avoid self-consciousness, and at the same time self-consciousness is the only thing that keeps one from progress.

TASAWWUF: The Hindus have the method of repeating “neti, neti,” not this, not this. Sufis believe that the thought of negation of self has the same or a similar effect to the thought of the emphasis of self positively. In either case the nufs throws a shadow over the soul in manifestation, preventing it from perceiving its path.

On the higher planes the soul gives no attention to differences and so destroys their importance, but in Malakut it perceives as an individual, it sees itself as separate and pays so much attention to its distinct condition that this feeling of i-ness or Ahankara blinds it to the light which is its true self. Then the shadow continues before one as a veil over the purpose of existence.

Even self-consciousness may be called a thought. Consciousness is; the earth has no existence apart from the solar system and a person has no existence apart from the stream of consciousness. The reality is in the consciousness and the allusion in the separation, which is for convenience only. Therefore in Buddhism it is taught that there is no ego, there is no individual soul, the reality being the stream of cosmic consciousness.

GITHA: The Sufi, while concentrating, uses abstinence against the constant and uncontrollable activity of the mind.

TASAWWUF: Just as the earth is in constant motion, so the atoms of the mental sphere are in constant motion, being of a finer nature, their motion is much more rapid, fluidic and harder to fix. The Sufi, by use of Fikr and Darood gains a control over these atoms by first getting into the proper rhythm of being. That is, he attunes his inner being to the rate of vibration of these atoms and so can overtake them in their movements, as a man catching a wild horse has to get into a sort of attunement with his motions and then it is not so difficult to capture that horse. And this has been made the basis of much in symbol and in myth portraying this inner condition and struggle.

Whenever there is loss of attention, whenever it appears difficult to hold atoms together on the mental plane, whenever one feels a lack in concentration, Fikr of some form is practiced. Continuous Fikr with determination actually becomes a most powerful concentration, where feeling and will are united. This develops the rhythm of consciousness so it is much more rapid than mental activity, for the atoms of feeling are finer than those of thought and can easily control them when the consciousness is placed in feeling. Then, just as a more rapid object can overtake a slower one, the soul raised to this pitch by feeling and devotion controls all thought.

In the path of mastery there is one task—to seek God, and thereby all other tasks are accomplished and what for the average man is considered a concentration becomes for him a need and a delight.

Githa with Commentary

Murakkabah: Concentration

Series II

of

Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 1

Murakkabah or Concentration

GITHA: Concentration has two aspects. In the first aspect the mureed visualizes an object that is seen and retains it in his memory.

TASAWWUF: This is often the first kind of concentration that is given to any mureed. Even when he is told to use a symbol or picture, he may be told to keep it in his mind’s eye, until he reaches a certain stage of development when he is requested to use common articles in concentration. There are two aspects of this, the one being the training of his memory by the use of some form. The other is the reaction upon his character and the aid to his inner development through increased capacity for light.

Memory itself is connected with name and form. We derive sensations from the physical plane and impressions are made upon the mind. Perhaps all real studying is based upon this. Children go to school and there they learn to read books and to make observations and they do receive impressions. In ordinary education, however, not much attention has been paid as to how and why children are impressed or not impressed, and there has been little scient­ific investigation as to how to make them study, think and remember.

Of course if a person is undernourished, badly nourished or mentally crushed he cannot concentrate well, he will lack interest and his vital organs make such demands that he cannot focus his consciousness as well as he wishes. It is possible to live without much food and devotees have been successful in so habituating or disciplining themselves, but this is not so good for children, they need care, nourishment and peaceful surroundings.

Actually the same is true for all people, who are the children of God, and who need or will develop childlike qualities to enhance their spiritual evolution. Therefore the lesson of balance is taught and other preparations are made during the years of studying the Gathas wherein the mureed adjusts himself in many ways to the series of changes which usually accompany the life of the Path. He then learns that spiritual development and everyday life are not apart from each other and the ordinary things he sees and does can be adopted for the advancement in Murakkabah.

GITHA: But the second aspect of concentration is to imagine an object and improve upon it by the creative faculty of mind.

TASAWWUF: This is most important. If one could see into the mental plane he would know how fate operates. The light of the mental plane is the light of intelligence which draws its power from the heart-sphere. Our sun also draws its power from the inner spheres although that cannot be so easily proven scientifically. In Murakkabah there is ever increased capacity for mental development and to use it practically one adds the creative power and by that his skillfulness in the constructive use of the imagination and the application of intuition are enhanced.

When an inventor has an idea, when he gets some impression of a plan for something, he wants to make it as perfect as possible, even with his mind’s eye. He glances at it inwardly with all his will-power and he keeps on concen­trating upon it until it is clear enough for him to draw some plan or blue­print. If he stays in the Urouj stage he will keep on getting ideas and not advance to the stage wherein he can make his model. For that the Kemal rhythm is needed, and then during the Zaval stage he does not invent anything or try something new, he tests his model and finds out if it works. That is the Zaval stage. But at the same time he tries to improve it and to test it for defects. And the spiritual life is not different psychologically.

What the inventor does consciously or unconsciously the mystic also does until he becomes proficient in his conscious efforts. This is the lesson of skillfulness. The difference is that the mystic may be concerned with himself more until he includes in consciousness what the average person considers to be apart from himself. But the mystic says that all his thoughts, ideas, knowledge, friends, everything within his consciousness is himself and he tries to improve all that by concentration and devotion. Some have called this White Magic and perhaps it cannot be entirely distinguished from White Magic although pure mysticism and concentration together advance far beyond magic to mastery.

If one wants to improve the outer world he must hold a picture of it in his mind’s eye and correct his vision of it, holding the perfect form before him and putting all his energy and magnetism in it. If he keeps on doing this, sooner or later the elements, vibrations and atoms of the material world will become his servants and adopt themselves along lines that will harmonize with his thoughts. This is the way the mureed accomplishes his desires on the path of Sadhana end also it is the method used by the Saints and Masters in their holy duties.

The same thing is seen in the healing work, both in Shafayat and in the Healing Service. Their success often depends upon holding a perfected form in the mind’s eye, and concentrating upon it while drawing to earth all the spiritual blessings (Baraka) for which one has capacity.

GITHA: And instead of concentrating upon a single object, to concentrate upon a number of objects that make one scene.

TASAWWUF: In the Sufi Invocation the idea is given in the first words, “Toward the One.” For without unity there can be no concentration. A divided mind turns out in the end to be no mind at all; there is no directive power and no wisdom. A person with a divided mind will not be so sure of himself or his aims. But by “One” is not meant a single object alone; it means wherever there is or can be unification. So the Sufi also says “united with all” because when there is union with God there is separation from nothing, and the whole universe will be found within man.

So the talib is first trained to hold one thing in mind. Then he looks at the details and tries to hold the details. Then he has a concentration on several objects and he looks upon them and holds them together. Then to these is added the idea of improvement, and concentration becomes both an inner and an outer process.

An application of this may be found in fiction writing. First a person may try to draw a single character and he will hold that character before him until he is clear to himself. Then he will introduce other persons and also delineate them. Sometimes he will weave them around a plot and sometimes the plot will unfold through the mutual reactions of these characters. This gives life to the story, it makes it plausible and many of the best authors give reign to their characters concentrating firmly upon them and observing the results.

In Murakkabah, however, one must always hold tight to the impres­sions and not let the imagination get out of hand. Then there will be fantasy. By holding thought with feeling and keeping singleness of purpose one will probably not fall into this error. So no matter how Murakkabah is applied, either in the practical life or toward spiritual unfoldment, the unifying process is always necessary.

If we study the writings of Moses, we learn that the inspirations came to him first, and after the inspiration he received the various plans and laws which he bequeathed to the Beni Israel. Among these plans was one for the building of a temple. It took many generations before that could be accomplished and required much concentrating. Then came Solomon who was a master-mind and who had perfected himself in every grade of concentration. He held all forms and forces together in his mind as a unit and was the Perfect Master Mason, capable of directing other masters in the erection of a majestic temple to God.

That which Solomon knew in his day can again become human knowledge if there is some effort and self-sacrifice. There is nothing new under the sun but much of ancient knowledge and ancient methods have been lost and who is so wise to say that humanity would not gain by their recovery? The spiritual training in art, architecture and the bestowal of blessing will make it possible to use the arcane esoteric principles again in our lives.

GITHA: Really speaking when we analyze and see objects in detail we shall find that every object is formed of many parts, as many parts form one object.

TASAWWUF: It all depends upon the point of view. One may look at something and see a vase, an ornament, perhaps useful for holding flowers, perhaps for display only. Another will notice the design on the vase and point out the details thereof. Another will say that the vase was made in a certain factory out of certain clays and other materials. A chemist will analyze those clays. And we can take any material object and break it down to its ultimates which may be found to be vibrations of light of some sort and not matter at all. Thus a lump of clay may mean dozens of things to dozens of persons. This comes out of man’s faculty of analysis and identification, associated with nufs, for otherwise nothing is actually separate from the cosmos.

Things follow the laws of atoms, have certain properties, among which is impermanency. Therefore there is no-thing-in-itself and everything phenomenal is subject to change. And perhaps after all it is the state of mind and not objects which are really measured.

Because of this transmutation is possible. The master-mind can control the affairs of mind. He arranges the atoms and vibrations there according to his will and ability, and the magnetism and reflect-action in turn influence the affairs of earth. Thus be it in great things or small that physical changes can be brought about by mental means. And that is probably the reason for the successful application or suggestion, metaphysical methods and the non-materialistic approach to life.

The nufs of a thing may be said to be man’s concrete thought of it. How atoms form bodies may remain a mystery, but the true being of the object may be neither the nufs nor the knowledge of it, but the interaction between the forces of spirit and matter which enables vibrations to create atoms and atoms to align themselves into forms. So strictly speaking nufs is non-existent although in the divine there is no separation. Things form groups which are designated as flock, group, mob, gathering. The behavior of these groups is not always the same as that of individuals. Indeed the psychology and metaphysics of the group requires much study, whether we deal with atoms of the mineral kingdom, species of the animal and vegetable worlds or coopera­tion on the part of man. Each forms what Madame Blavatsky called a “group-soul” and what the modern Sufi refers to as a group unit, integrated individ­ual (individual formed by integration) or I-I.

The faculty of synthesis is not only one of the highest and best man can develop, it is very helpful for him to understand the life in the worlds within and without.

GITHA: This makes to the eyes of the seer the main truth clear, that there is variety in unity and unity in variety.

TASAWWUF: What the seer sees is a unity, whether it is something which the ordinary man regards as simple or whether it includes the multitudes. Christ spoke of the church and Buddha of the sangha while the Beni Israel formed a spiritual brotherhood. The principle involved in each was the formation of a unity or union composed of many individuals. Such institutions have only been successfully established by seers. The degradation and decadence in religion always follows when there is lack of true spiritual leadership.

The seer sees also the unity of the worlds within and without, below and above, and although he uses the same words as everybody else, the unfoldment of his life brings with it a point of view which cannot always be comprehended by the average man. The talib does not seek to become a seer, yet his practice of Murakkabah enables him to appreciate the seer and perhaps, gradually, to develop in himself the same faculties.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 2

Observation

GITHA: The first step to concentration is observation. The one who lacks observation cannot concentrate well.

TASAWWUF: The very beginning of life shows this. The child first has to learn to observe. It is then that his curiosity asserts itself and after that concentration becomes possible. Thus it is said that the heavens are born of the earth because the first contents of the mind are derived from the sensual activities and experiences of the infant. Indeed all the lower creation depends upon observation whether through direct sight or through other channels.

The capacity for thought is given to man on his journey toward manifestation. Prior to this capacity for thought there is the capacity for feeling. The angel feels and feeling is his chief faculty. He thinks, so to speak, only on the surface or outside of himself, just as the soap bubble is colorless but colors manifest on its surface. Angel and jinn do not concen­trate as man does, depending upon impressions. They receive impressions much more readily than man does but have little control over them because their will-power has not evolved as in man.

GITHA: Observation depends upon steadiness of mind and this steadiness can be brought about by interest.

TASAWWUF: When one is curious as is the child there is sure to be observation, but observation can be left unfixed and uncontrolled so that there is no study. Steadiness of mind means the focusing of the mind upon something and to keep that focus there should be feeling and there can be feeling when there is interest. Curiosity is a blessing when it makes man observant but it is a curse when it detracts the attention. By various spiritual exercises the talib learns how to keep the observation and mind steady and to become interested in whatever he does.

GITHA: Those who have no interest in anything or anybody have no steadiness of mind, and those whose mind is not steady cannot observe properly.

TASAWWUF: Lack of interest may come from lack of life. This is supplied by learning the way to breathe and how to apply the breath in every aspect of life. Also the gradual cultivation of the heart faculties makes one more “alive,” more keen and this very keenness increases interest. Although mystics have been accused of being other-worldly, the mystic is interested in all aspects of life within and without. An historical knowledge of the great Sufis proves that.

Students are often able to concentrate because there is some motive or some reward. To the esotericist life becomes its own reward. Those who desire greater capacity for life as well as for knowledge, those who have deep feeling take naturally to concentration. The world is filled with wonder and one gains knowledge of these wonders by shutting the ego from view and looking directly upon all things. And the secret behind this comes in heart-feeling.

GITHA: Bhakti Yoga among Hindus and Tasawwuri Murshid among Sufis both teach this secret.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, interest increases as heart experience increases. This is something which cannot be taught intellectually. Through Bhakti one feels the heart of the teacher and whatever knowledge the teacher’s heart has becomes one’s own. It is like drinking spiritual milk and honey only with the Bhaktis there is a strong tendency always toward intoxication unless Karma Yoga is added so that they can offer blessings to humanity while continuing their spiritual journey.

As love cannot be taught by other than love and as the spiritual teacher is one who has advanced in the heart-qualities and therefore in love, a heart-link may be established between teacher and pupil which is the greatest link in the universe. It is a link of hearts which leaves the minds free, which does not compel the disciple to accept the particular mental knowledge or views of his teacher, but gives him the blessings of the life-currents which flow through the teacher’s heart. This is called Tasawwuri Murshid.

GITHA: As long a time as a person observes an object, so long in proportion its memory lasts and comes at every time by his desire before the eye of his perception.

TASAWWUF: That the longer the observation the longer and deeper the memory is, may be called a law of psychophysics, a name given to a science of observation of mind and mental behaviorism by some German investigations (e.g. Fechner) of the nineteenth century. The idea of a science of psychophysics would indicate that there was an intuition that the laws of the mental world would correspond to the laws of the physical world. And perhaps the line between these two worlds is not so great; only the vision of man is not keen enough to penetrate the barriers.

But long observation also depends on the power of will and strength of impression. And when a strong impression has been made one can recall or see what has been fixed upon the mind. The eye of perception may even be the physical eye (although it is not nearly so limited) and one uses it in dreaming, visualizing, imagining. But what it sees is generally considered to be within man although it has not been proved that all vision is concerned with what is really within; there has been no absolute proof of objectivity, only a pragmatic or practical reason for accepting it as such.

GITHA: When we think of a certain thing and cannot recall it to our memory, at that time either our mind is unsteady or there has been lack of observation of that object when we saw it.

TASAWWUF: It may be noticed that some little children have to read a page many times in order to study it properly and that with others a mere glance will suffice. Generally the latter have more steadiness of mind. They are not thinking of anything else, and if they have mastery over steadiness even a single glance will be sufficient to give them the impressions which will be kept in the storehouse of memory and used when needed.

In the Islamic countries children memorize the complete Qur’an. They move their heads about and intone the words of the sacred scripture. The inton­ation makes a deeper impression than mere speech. Musical sounds invariably strike a loftier chord and that reaches to the depths of the personality. And the movement of the head keeps the mind from tiring, the blood circulates better and there is no chance to be distracted outwardly. All of this stimu­lates the mental faculties of the students.

In Zikr and some other Sufi practices the head is also moved around although not exactly in the same way as in the young Muslims. Nevertheless such movements are helpful as well as those of Nimaz. By them one learns to memorize better with even a little observation. For the mind is in some respects like a photographic plate which requires a certain exposure to “take” and when the time is short or the light not sufficient it will not “take.” The time process for the mind is the same, but the light of the mind comes through the breath and the development of the breath-faculty leads to mastery of mind.

Fikr and other breathing exercises are thus most valuable. Besides, constant rhythm is enjoined and when one finds difficulty the best thing to do is to watch the breath and not oneself.

GITHA: There is no better way of cultivating one’s memory than observation of a single object at a certain time.

TASAWWUF: This observation draws together all the mental forces. Usually they are quite scattered about and often man unknowingly picks up the vibrations of the sphere and calls that “thinking.” It is really a form of tuning in and it does not lead to profundity of mind, bring inspiration or help solve one’s problems. When all these apparent external forces are removed, then one can focus his mind fully upon something. This brings out the mental magnetism and the continuance of the act brings out more mental magnetism.

A single object serves to collect the mental atoms around it. Any object will, in theory, suffice. The power goes from the eye to it and from it back to the eye. The mental magnetism increases and often one will see much more light. That light has come from one’s inner being.

GITHA: The observants show by their very looks a powerful will, a steady mind and capacity for concentration.

TASAWWUF: That light is drawn out from the inner part of the personality when something calls it forth. It is always there; it is latent in every personality. It is waiting to be aroused and by concentration it is aroused. And that brings the gleam to the eye of which Jesus Christ has spoken. All spiritual persons have that gleam and by it they communicate blessings to their pupils and to all who become attuned to them.

The light of the eye is the light of the world reflected in the personality and is the sign of inner magnetism and light. That also brings power and this power we call the power of will. It is that which is exerted over the mind and body in concentration and which makes possible the stilling of the mind as well as the stilling of the body. This is the vehicle of the inner being and its use shows the extension of the spiritual life.

Such a one can hold on to a thought as long as he desires. When he speaks he does not change the subject of conversation and he tries to make himself clear to others. He is not detracted from his purpose by the efforts of others, for he is at one with his thoughts. He can pick them up or lay them down at will. Thus he collects the psychic energy and utilizes the psychic power on the physical sphere. He does not especially try to cultivate psychic power; it is there because he has the power of will and faculty of concentration. And the greater his inner attunement, the greater his capacity for concentration and his power for action.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa         Series II Number 3

Murakkabah or Concentration

GITHA: Concentration is much more important in life than any other activity, for it is neither activity nor repose and yet it is both.

TASAWWUF: For concentration includes the harmonization of feeling, thought and action and all success comes through that harmonization which makes a unity of the inner and outer personalities of man. When heart, mind and body are coordinated, the very light of the soul can find its way to the surface and bring success and happiness.

It has been said that what man thinks in his heart, that he is or he becomes. Thinking in the heart is feeling; feeling supplies the power and thought the content, and the maintenance of the same feeling with the same thought is concentration.

GITHA: It is activity in the sense of creating and constructing the object of concentration.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, during concentration either the mind is active or there is activity of some sort going on in the mind. The mind is not function­ing outwardly so much as on its own plane. After so-called transition or death the mind continues to act that way so that in fulfilling one’s concentration one is also demonstrating his immortality, although he may not think about it at the time.

According to all traditions Allah did not begin by actually creating the universe. First He entered into a deep state of concentration—by some it is said that that is His eternal state. Therein he conceived the world and all its part in the essence of perfection, and then objectified His concentration. That objectification we call creation. The Hebrew Bible speaks of it as “good” and philosophers have spoken of it as perfect. This is not to be taken in the human sense or even in a mental sense. When we consider that all objects and things obey laws, that there are not distinctions and special privileges in the Universe, and we think upon these matters, we come to a realization of goodness and perfection. But if we look upon things from a limited point of view we will reach no such conclusion. The wars of men are not the wars of birds or genii and the conflicts of insects may in no wise concern us; each creature has his own standard of goodness and perfection.

When the Sufi establishes the God-ideal he pursues it in every way until he comes, be it gradually or suddenly, to act as a divine-man or angel-man in his ways. And one aspect of that behavior, which is called the spiritual life, is his performance of right concentration.

GITHA: And it is repose in the sense that one holds the object on which one is concentrating at that moment; one controls by repose the further activity of the mind.

TASAWWUF: The great mistake made by many people is their intensity. This is not repose and it maintains Urouj, to the degree that instead of the forces gradually dropping to the physical plane and seeking their intended destiny in action, all the energy and magnetism is consumed on the mental plane. One says that such a person is thinking hard, but it is not concentration and it may even be brooding. One can see people frowning, holding their foreheads, feeling tense and then instead of there being clear thinking, there is often a degree of self-pity or self-recognition so that shadows are thrown across the plane of thought and little else results.

There is a difference between mental creation and ordinary activity. Ordinarily man loses vitality in his every act, thought and speech. In the true mental creation, although energy is given off outwardly, it is also received inwardly. This can only be in repose; that is why the symbol of the crescent moon is used. It signifies a person who inwardly is responsive to the light of God. That light includes in him the creative faculty, and instead of there being fatigue there is joy. The woman who remains in repose before childbirth is less likely to suffer thereafter and the child is more apt to be safely delivered. In mental creation repose does the same for thought, although most people never consider that the birth of a thought is in a certain sense the birth of a life.

It was said that Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge was born whole, a completed adult from the brain of her Father-God. This is symbolic of inspiration. True concentration leads to receptivity, to inspiration whereupon thoughts may appear whole and clear in the mind. This is normal to what has been termed the Buddhic state.

GITHA: It is like a rider holding the horse for a moment when it is standing on its hind legs, which is activity and at the same time repose.

TASAWWUF: The horse has been offered as the symbol of mind, and its limbs with their various movements of the breath. Among intellectual people there is a supposed identification of the self and mind. This is because with them there may be no knowledge of repose of mind and even when they practice it a little they do not recognize it as such.

When man is inspired the very energy of the cosmos comes into his personality and then he brings forth something which may seem new to the world. Instead of losing energy he gains it, and inner receptivity often brings knowledge, or better yet, understanding of things to which the mind may have been veiled. In other words, as has been stated, the one who follows the spiritual law is negative to God and positive to the world, passive within, active without.

Generally speaking the Western peoples have never learned repose of mind and while their activity has often been directed along constructive lines, it has not prevented them from devoting the faculty of genius to making instruments of torture and of war. And behind it may not be selfishness or ignorance alone; there is also the inability, it would seem, to control activity. The story of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” which has been set to music by Dukas is illustrative of this. It tells of a boy, apprenticed to a magician, who had enough knowledge to command a broom to fetch water but not enough knowledge to stop it. The result would have been a flood but for the timely return of the master. So the result to the world may at times seem like a samsaric flood but for the delivery of the Message, and even that does not stop the greater part of destruction.

GITHA: Concentration may be divided into three states, command, activity and control. First, the will commands the mind to become active and create the desired object.

TASAWWUF: As the average person does not distinguish between will and thought on the one hand or between will, wish and desire on the other hand, this leads to much confusion. Many people say they do not know what they want or others will say that of them. This is not surprising; it comes from ignorance of the nature of self.

Command is a great factor in life and accounts for the success of wicked people and for the failure of many good people. To be successful one must know what he wants and work to obtain it, even at the cost of pleasure and delight. This means the direction and the disciplining of mind. It is said that God Himself created the world by an Amr or “word of command.” He said “Be” (kun) and it was. But the whole power of the universe was in that Word.

First this brings the activity on the mental plane as in planning, or even in scheming and plotting. One has to be more careful to observe one’s own weaknesses then. It is not the opposition of the world which brings so many failures, it is personal weakness. So long as people are more interested in correcting the faults of others than their own, this will continue. When they seek self-perfection it will be the dawn of a new day.

GITHA: Next, the mind immediately carries out this command by constructing the desired object, according to its capability.

TASAWWUF: When the light of the soul is turned on to the mind there is immediate activity there, either in thought or in imagination or both. It is natural; the light produces it. The power of that light we call will-­power, and one may say it is human will-power yet it comes from the light of the soul and in another sense is Divine Power. It is man’s ego which stands before this light, and even a wicked person controls his ego somewhat when he is intentively devoted to his plans. And the more careful the mental activity, the surer the physical results.

Lack of coordination is a great weakness. People wish and wish hard, but they often depend upon others or they ascribe results to fate. There used to be overemphasis in the Western world upon self-action, that success depended, it seemed, upon the freedom of the self. There was a period which was called that of rugged individualism which saw the rise of many persons. This was largely due to the fact that their struggles were with nature rather than with each other. But when nature was tamed and the psychological outlook did not alter, people turned upon one another, and the age of plenty brought a world war instead of universal prosperity.

There is another attitude which has long dominated the East but which is beginning to disappear owing to Western influence, and at the same time becoming more prevalent in the West owing to Oriental influence. That is fatalism. While there is praying and wishing and longing, it is assumed that either God will grant the prayer or that if it is not in one’s destiny he will receive it, his bad karma stands in the way. So the thought of karma itself becomes a karmic force which is not the real karma. This thought of karma which people elevate becomes a mighty burden upon them.

The mystic has learned that these states of mind can be corrected by the knowledge of breath and the practice thereof. Sooner or later this brings about the unity of feeling, thought and action. And then the will-­power becomes a lamp which makes man more responsive to his intuition and to wisdom. No longer is it a matter of correcting others; one does not even have to correct oneself; one simply follows the feelings which become more and more vivid, the thoughts which become more and more clarified.

GITHA: And thirdly, the will holds the further activity of the mind as a master rider would hold the reins of his horse to stop it from taking any further steps from the place where he desires to stop.

TASAWWUF: Otherwise the mental activity goes on and on. Many people make promises and put intensity into their promises which are not carried out, and they do not realize why. This shows lack of mental control. All the energy is wasted in the mind and in speech. There is no control over the mind; the mind covers the will, so to speak. Sufi talibs therefore in their practice of Murakkabah learn to hold but one thought at a time, and work it out until its course is completed. The thought is born, matures, dies and fulfills its purpose.

It is one thing to build the thought, it is another to control it and control is necessary if one would avoid obsession on the one hand and mental idolatry on the other. These have been the curses of the world. By keeping the divine ideal to the forefront, one finds that light which enables him to move forward step by step. Then he discovers there is a world beyond mind, much greater than mind and this enables him to control mind, to use it or require it to rest.

The teachings of this lesson may be supplemented by a review of sections of In an-Eastern Rose Garden and The Mind-World together with their commentaries.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 4

The Control of Urouj, Kemal and Zaval

GITHA: The secret of continuing Urouj is known to the mystics, and it is their refraining from indulging in Urouj.

TASAWWUF: This seems a contradiction, that to continue Urouj one does not indulge too much in it. Every time one indulges in Urouj one sets forth a new stream of thought. If too many streams are set forth one may be overwhelmed by mental activity, there may be a contradiction between various thoughts or ideals, efforts will be divided, and there will be lack of clarity. To obtain excellence in Urouj one should during a period or Wakt keep as single-minded as possible devoting all energies to the thought or duty at hand.

In the elementary studies one is told that if a mystic were to live a number of years and it took him half that time to go up a mountain and the second part of the life would be spent going downward, he would make his pace slower and spend all of his time going upward, at the slower pace. This is another aspect of refraining from indulgence.

Still another aspect comes from restraint in partaking of the fruits of action and knowledge or even in identifying oneself too much with what the world calls personal experiences. Yes, they are personal from the worldly point of view, but when one says, “God, the Only Being,” how can there be any stress upon personality? These attitudes reproduce the influence of nufs which in turn brings confusion.

One can even see in the social and economic problems that cause so much disturbance this law of knowledge of Urouj, Kemal and Zaval as well as ignorance of their control. One might say that production belongs to Urouj and distribution to Zaval and consumption to Nasoul. With the growth of inventive machinery it is possible to make all things that man needs. This movement of rapid production shows the over-influence of Urouj. Urouj is the cause of civilization, progress and technology. Many have called upon the scientists to stop until ethics catches up. They do not know that the reason that ethics does not counterbalance inventive genius is the lack of knowledge of Urouj and insight. The moral law may be outside the realm of rhythms and the purest morals are not confined to time and space. One may say especially morality which can last with little change through dozens of civilizations.

This brings up the question, should Urouj be restrained by more emphasis to Kemal and Zaval. Yes, that is one way of doing it. Another way comes from knowledge of breath, for when one knows how to breathe and to feel there is less likelihood of any mad rush forward out of time and out of tune.

GITHA: For instance, if a dish be delicious, a greedy person would eat it all the faster, but a person who wishes really to enjoy the dish must eat more slowly.

TASAWWUF: Slow eating even from the physical point of view permits the gastric juices to flow better, and also stimulates the saliva in the mouth, which is healthful. This enables man to experience joy and beauty even in his sense of taste and in his food and drink. Although taste has been regarded as one of the lowest of senses, because it is so associated with the ego, a sensitive person may develop refinement and artistry even at the table.

The experience of enjoyment through eating is not prohibited. In the Hebrew Scriptures one reads about the Beni Israel partaking of the manna while in the desert and according to the traditions whatever taste they desired in the manna, that was there. This is really an allegory for manna does not refer to anything physical and may be derived from the same root as manas, meaning mind. Nevertheless the Hebrews to this day offer prayers of thanks for bread and wine, the fruits of earth.

The Japanese people have habituated themselves to the enjoyment of food. They often eat quite slowly, trying to get the full benefit of every mouthful, and they do not eat hurriedly. Even the colors of their dishes, the arrange­ment and preparation of the courses and all else tend to awaken in one a sense of beauty. Nor do Sufis hesitate to have feasts especially when there is a stranger in their midst.

Thus there is a course in life which falls midway between the indulgence of the gourmand and the self-denial of the ascetic, whose restraint is often for the purpose of receiving a reward in another life, showing selfishness.

GITHA: A greedy person would take a fragrant flower and would wish to smell one moment, and the next moment he may not have the desire to sense and enjoy the fragrances and the flower will have lost its fragrance.

TASAWWUF: Thus we are drawn through Urouj to enjoy experience and the exper­ience may contain an element of ecstasy. One can pass from ecstasy to ecstasy without loss or danger if there is rhythm and balance. Thus he (or she) enjoying perfume or incense or the fragrance of a flower, not indulging very much in it, will delight in it again and again. If he (or she) does not partake too much there will be joy in repetition.

Thus also there is beauty in the sense of smell. We can draw a flower slowly to us, take a deep breath, lay the flower aside, and repeat this slowly, deeply. We can restrain our breath and our enthusiasm in visiting a garden. If we leave with the desire to return or the ability to enjoy it upon return, then the experience has been valuable. And no doubt the day will come when, besides art to the sight and music to the hearing, there will be fields of esthetic enjoyment through smell, and even through taste.

GITHA: If one studies this secret in all aspects of life, one can enjoy life and could make even the passing joys of life stable to a certain extent.

TASAWWUF: It is not necessary to undergo austerities to attain to spiritual liberation although many have found the road to God thereby. The Sufi regards Allah as the perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty; he does not see the goal apart from the life as he finds it. The world seems to be full of difficulties and it is too often forgotten that the holy ones came to alleviate man’s conditions, not to make it harder for him. Christ in his day said that when he came eating and drinking he was called a wine-bibber and a glutton, but the people looked equally askance upon John who followed the path of austerity.

Every faculty that God has given to man has some supreme purpose and the enjoyment of life is not wickedness. It is only the ignorant and wicked who have discarded joy. The very training that one receives in Murakkabah serves to elevate his consciousness above the denseness of earth that he may find peace, solace, bliss by receiving the blessings of the divine lights which can penetrate even to this plane.

Sufis have made use of music to induce ecstasy. The goal is not ecstasy, but when the soul is elevated above the earthly conditions it finds such a freedom that it cannot always remain contained and bursts into its dance. The ordinary forms of ecstasy are only the shadows of this although each type in its own way seems to remind man that this earthly life is not all and the worldly state of consciousness is a chain from which he can be liberated. And not only music but art and every avenue to beauty and through beauty can help man to break his bonds.

GITHA: It is a thing which every soul desires but none can accomplish it save the mystic, who by patience and perseverance has conquered the self.

TASAWWUF: Perhaps all people seek beauty and seek joy. But the majority confuses pleasure end happiness and the pleasures at the moment give them a delight or intoxication which makes them insensitive to pain. Then after a while when the delight of the pleasure wears away they feel the torture of life as before. This shows that they have been slaves to pleasure, even under the delusion that they were masters of happiness and of destiny.

The mystic who undergoes esoteric training finds before him a definite path and as he walks that path, areas of consciousness awaken in him, and his zest for life increases. This is particularly true as he comes to under­stand the functions of breath and imbibes the blessings of the universe through the breath.

It was in this respect that Jesus Christ taught that once the Kingdom of Heaven was attained all things would come to man. If he could master his inner processes he would not have to take much thought of the morrow, for things would come to him. Only they would not come through any miracle; it is the master-mind that attains all and mastery requires constant application to the acquisition of mysticism and concentration or the other means to spiritual and holy attainment.

The selfish man draws in a greet breath and desires to attract all to him, but if he is not attuned to the cosmos or in rhythm with the conditions his efforts are in vain. He builds within himself an area of greater gas pressure than is found outside, but he does not attract. For as in the world forces move from all areas of high pressure to low pressure, so do the forces move on all planes. He who is poor in spirit, devoid of ego, in the end gains all.

Now one who is poor in spirit, devoid of ego, does not have such a coarse breath. His breath is more refined and there is within himself, so to speak, an area of low pressure. That draws things toward him. And the perfect example of this is the madzub who is sometimes utterly devoid of ego, and yet who does not accumulate. This makes him master of psychic power and he can obtain blessings for himself if he would, or for others, and most fortunate is one who obtains the good-will of madzub.

GITHA: And by conquering his self has mastered the whole of life.

TASAWWUF: For there is nothing which appears to be outside of man that cannot become man’s possession or his faculty. The result depends upon himself. The more refined he is, the more refined his breath, his capacity then extends to the finer and higher portions of the universe, and that increases the life current which flows back and forth to him, through him and from him. This is the ladder by which he may mount to higher regions and gain the needs or desires. Only he must keep in harmony with the divine will, the laws of the universe and the principles of morality.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 5

Murakkabah or Concentration

GITHA: The work of the mind is like playing ball or shooting at a target.

TASAWWUF: In the first place the mind is a tool or instrument. The mind is not man although the word man has been derived from the Sanskrit “manas.” Man has the supreme mental faculties and can obtain the Buddhic or illumin­ated condition of mind while he is on earth. Yet by a deep study the mind may be found to be part of his lower nature and the mind is not eternal although one might say that essence of mind is eternal.

The use of the mind by the soul operates largely in the world of karma. When one plays ball and throws the ball against a wall the ball bounces back. If one hits a ball with a stick it obeys the laws of mechanics and dynamics. These laws are not different laws; only man has made different observations and out of these observations derived the different sciences; many sciences yet one Nature behind all. And the karmic law brings back the bill or reward for every activity of mind.

Mental activity has been compared to shooting at a target because often there is a purpose in it and the nearer one gets to hit the center of the target the more satisfaction in life or the more growth. Jesus Christ himself used this simile, for the word “sin” found in the original Christian script­ures meant to miss the mark when aiming at a target. The target, like the wheel, has become a symbol for karmic activity.

GITHA: For in this the first thing necessary is that one should have strength in one’s arm to throw the ball or hold the gun steady. This strength can be developed by concentration.

TASAWWUF: The strength that is needed to hold the mind steady is power of will. It is really the same power that appears in the flesh but in a different direction of magnetism. People are constituted or people are educated or people by choice draw more magnetism and vitality to the physical plane or the mental plane or devoid it for psychic development; others use it little or not at all, and it can hardly be said of them that they are fully living.

When one aims at a target a line of psychic power is drawn between oneself and that target. That psychic power is actually used by marksmen and archers. In Japan, where the traditions have been better preserved, they still have this knowledge and avail themselves of it in archery. Indeed for them archery is a form of concentration and spiritual discipline. And persons indulging in many sportings where there is aiming, throwing, shooting, all feel this to a certain extent, and instinctively make use of it.

Rhythmical breathing is also necessary because otherwise the glance will waver and the line of power will not always hold still. Indeed this simple exercise is one of the most helpful things in life, for it brings the very life to man.

GITHA: The next thing is to aim at a certain object and right aim is kept by advanced concentration.

TASAWWUF: For besides all the theoretical aspects of concentration there is the practical side. One says “theoretical” when the talib devotes himself to increasing his scope for activity on the higher planets and “practical” when his consciousness is alert on the plane of his body, although both are needed, both together bring balance and there is no hard or sharp line between them.

In advanced concentration one may use his faculties on different planes. He has learned to concentrate on the planes of feeling and thought as well as upon the physical plane. He can sit in silence until his feeling becomes very strong and there is an urge in his heart which controls his thought, and as he concentrates upon thought he does not lose the feeling. Then when he concentrates for the action of action he loses neither thought nor feeling. This is advanced concentration and when man becomes perfect in it, feeling, thought and action can become one. The master-mind or seer may say a word, and the thing may come to pass.

GITHA: The third stage is when the object or the aim is hit. Its result is the proof of the accomplishment of concentration.

TASAWWUF: Nothing can take the place of evidence. Many people think they are concentrating when they think hard, but there is no result. They may not even be holding on to one thought or one thing. Yet almost everyone has had some examples of successful concentration in life even if it was nothing else than the solving of his arithmetic lessons in the grade schools.

The best way to work is to attain something simple until one has set his first foot forward on the path of attainment. After that it is not so diffi­cult to go ahead. Very often mureeds suppose that they are doing their best in concentration and there is no result. The chief reason for this is usually the persistence of the thought of self in the consciousness. Self-consciousness is always the enemy to concentration and to success.

The secret of concentration is that while man speaks of “self” and the rest of the universe is thought to be other than the self, or to be posited as “not-self,” in God there is no self or not-self. Therefore attunement to God brings one closer to the not-self. When one finds that those things which he may desire are not so far away their attainment becomes much easier.

GITHA: A Sufi sees how far he has mastered concentration by seeing the fulfillment of his wishes.

TASAWWUF: That is to say one can really measure his own successes. Many people think they are concentrating or try to obtain some goal in life and make excuses. They forget that God is the Forgiver of our short-comings and at the same time success is needed in life. One does not have to make much of his excuses, God does not. The thing to do is to concentrate upon success or attainment and to work for it unceasingly, and though one fails a thousand times to keep on trying.

As one maintains his inner concentrations, however, he will find that the world does not always place such obstacles in his path. Forces, people, things may come to him or to his help. They may not always be what he has desired and they may help him to gain something else than his original intention, or object of attainment. Yet the forces come to his assistance and this is a sure sign of growth. Practices such as fana-fi-Sheikh and fana­-fi-Pir, and the observance of Tasawwuri Murshid are also most helpful and advantageous.

GITHA: The sign of mastery is “Word spoken and action done.”

TASAWWUF: Or as one might say, when the word becomes the deed. And if we study the lives of holy men we may see that they did not always need much time to objectify their concentrations. When the feeling is alert the time element does not stand in the way. It may even be that a single breath is needed; or as was said of God in the creation, “He spake and it was done.” This divine breath was the undertone of the cosmos out of which all the overtones and forms have been derived.

Mohammed was very proficient in concentration in his day. After he received one set-back on the battlefield he saw that the main thing needed in life was self-control, which he exerted unflinchingly to the end of his days. Thus it was that not only he won many friends, he won his enemies over too, and they became his friends. He united all the tribes of Arabia through the power of his personality, his wisdom and his love. He instructed his disci­ples in the mysticism of sound and of silence and so great was the psychic power of Bilal, the first muezzin, that people came from miles around to attend the services. And what they gained at those services was a blessing far beyond the words.

Many of the prophets of the Beni Israel have also given examples of this. There has been the tendency to speak of the prophet as a sort of sooth­sayer who could foresee events. The real prophet is one who feels as if he actually controlled the events. What appears to be in the space to others appears as if within his own mind. Then he may apply his power and insight and thus foresee or even determine events. And even if he is not exact as to time, what he establishes or perceives in the world of principle will come into objectification sooner or later.

GITHA: When one knows how to handle it and how to work with it he has attained the kingdom of God.

TASAWWUF: The kingdom of God may be said to be that condition when one is thoroughly subject to God, when the heart has become so sensitive that the needs of the universe are reflected upon it. Although we may call Allah by many names there is not much merit until the magnetism and Baraka of those names are experienced by man. And there is a time in life when one devotes himself to God, which is called fana-fi-lillah. Yet one does not see God apart from anything therein or anything apart from God. There is no exclusion, there is all inclusion.

When one reaches that state there may be no planes before him and the limitations which make life hard for the average person do not exist for him. He assimilates more and more the divine attributes and the divine faculties. He becomes more tender and more careful about others; he sees all as the beloved ones of God. The more he can say “yes” to others, the more proof he is giving of his own attainment for when man says “yes” that is the sign that he has possession over something which he can give away or bestow upon others.

The Celestial Hierarchy on earth is composed of those who devote them­selves to the most holy duties. They serve God on earth while they remain in the form of man.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 6

Murakkabah or Concentration

GITHA: There are three kinds of concentration: 1. Holding in the mind an object without detail.

TASAWWUF: This is the first stage of concentration and during it one learns the principles which are few and simple but most important:
1. Holding the gaze steadily.
2. Keeping the breath in rhythm.
3. Control the thought with the feeling.

Along with them are certain derivated principles such as keeping away all other thoughts and holding the mind as steadily as the eye when this can be accomplished. During that stage the symbol or figure used may be an excuse, so to speak, so that one employs it as a tool.

In the training of little children, toys, flowers and bright objects are used and first one has to attract their attention, curiosity and interest. One cannot teach them anything much in the beginning. There has to be right focus, they have to become accustomed to the conditions. Constant repetition makes the knowledge easier. Their faculties grow along with them and thus they are prepared for the real education of life.

Disciples on the spiritual path are much older than little children and while the instructions for the inner path may contain no new principles, the mind which is the background, is in a very different state. Often a person comes to the path of enlightenment after much difficulty, a life of hardship and the mental akasha is covered with weeds, so to speak. There must be cleansing, physical and mental. During such a period one must gain the attention of the student.

GITHA: 2. Holding in the mind an object with every detail.

TASAWWUF: This is true whether one is trying to retain an image of something that one has first looked upon, or whether one is concerned only with the mental concentration. Unless one knows how to hold form and outline it is most difficult, if not impossible to hold the details; after one has learned those things it often becomes a simple matter.

Self-control is of extreme value. Many mediums and crystal gazers, who seem to possess a form of skill in concentration, are obsessed and instead of holding the image they are held by what they see. They may not be far from hypnosis. They are held in a certain state over which they have no control. The spiritual person, on the other hand, always retains self-possession.

GITHA: 3. Holding in the mind an object with possible improvement.

TASAWWUF: This is very important and ability in it makes of one a master­-mind. Through Murakkabah the talib is not only a reflection; his mind is something more than a mirror which receives light and the reflection of forms. Of course that reflection is important and it is a first step. Yet it is also true that all things are subject to change. The thought is associated with some thing, the thought one builds up in concentration or at any time has its birth, growth, maturity and decay, and it requires magnetism and vitality to sustain it. Nevertheless one can direct its growth and when the imagination is active the thought may always be in a state of change or flux. The differ­ence between ordinary and master-thought is this, that in the former case the change may be haphazard, in the latter case it is directed. This has already been explained; it is the Murakkabah of healers, masters, saints and others.

GITHA: The first kind is the concentration of the average man, who does not wish to give himself the trouble to look into detail, but holds in mind what comes naturally.

TASAWWUF: The mind of such a person is like a photographic plate and does not differ fundamentally from that of animals. Whatever direction the mind takes something comes to the mind, such a one is more subject to the forces of fate or nature. He will not gain in self-control, in whatever else he gains. Indeed it is the people who do not develop in concentration who are subject to moods, emotionalism and propaganda. Yet for beginning, for children, it is right to pass through this stage so that one’s faculties may be brought to light.

GITHA: The second kind is the concentration of a keen observer, who absorbs everything carefully and learns from everything upon which he casts his glance.

TASAWWUF: Artists, detectives and other specialists develop such qualities. They are most necessary for their work. Master craftsman, such as woodcarvers, watch-makers and others also develop it within limited degrees according to the nature of their work. Sufis say that after a mureed has passed the first stage in concentration he should pass on to the second stage. Besides the added value of it, he thus becomes a keen observer of life even without knowing it. He does not learn to stare, or have to stare. For when the faculties are coordinated and united the glance becomes powerful and brings more to the mind than with ordinary people.

GITHA: The third kind of concentration is the concentration of the artistic person. Whatever object he sees he feels inclined to improve upon.

TASAWWUF: One may also say that this is the concentration of the genius. In the genius world the mind works differently, the materials can be more easily handled; indeed there is an art there which might be called mental sculpture. There is less distance between thought and action. The dreamer who wants to make this a better world, the householder who is planning his garden, the architect drawing a plan for a home and many other people belong to this class. Inventors also, who have the gift of genius, although their approach may be different from that of the artist, also develop this form of concentration.

There are schools of art in which the student is required to draw only what he sees. There are others which require the improvement of the model, so that some idea, some color, some embellishment may be added; this is the Kemalic state. Then there are others who encourage the drawing of impressions. This is not true art. This is beginning with Zaval, and that which ought to be last is placed first. This can never lead to true art and inspiration.

GITHA: If he sees a plain cup, he thinks, suppose there were some lines of a beautiful color, suppose there were some flowers painted on it.

TASAWWUF: It is beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshippers through all aspects from the seen to the unseen. And it is also true that the uplifted heart delights in the beautiful, even delights in having others share in the beautiful.

And there are two approaches to this, the individual and the group. By individual approach is meant that the student or artist tries to improve upon that which is given him to do. He has a certain pattern to follow, certain directions, but nothing is said about details, embellishments, additions. And if he is inspired he will go ahead. And by group is meant, that one will feel that he can beautify something done by others or along with others. He feels he can better something already started, like painting a building or adding trees or flowers to a garden. All of this shows life for where there is life there is growth.

GITHA: Besides these three kinds, there are three kinds of the higher concen­tration. This is the concentration of nature, not of a single object, but a vast horizon, for the thought of the sea, or the sky or the forest or the desert, which is not one object.

TASAWWUF: By such methods one learns that the universe is inside of himself as well as outside. The realistic view is that we live in the world and may be of it, we do not know. The spiritual person has no special view in the beginning, he wants to find out and in his search he may discover that the universe is within himself. And that discovery leads to further discoveries and investiga­tions to the end that man can become the builder of the cosmos. For it was the supreme purpose of man, according to all mystical and spiritual traditions, to make this world a better place for his having been born here.

Concentration on the Sea. One should not be too near the sea in doing this practice until he has acquired a degree of self-mastery. For he can become identified in consciousness with the ocean; that is the outer samadhi. Then he will not be able to distinguish himself from the ocean, and may even drown himself without knowing it. One learns by this concentration something of the nature of the ocean and its life. One sees the resemblance between the ocean and the mind and one may even become able to control the waves of the sea as he controls his own mental waves. The masters along this line have protected sailors and voyagers on the high seas.

In ancient times voyagers used to pray to the god of the sea such as Poseidon and among the Christians and Buddhists there have been saints who were supposed to be the guardians. Perhaps there were such persons and if they arrived at their development no doubt it came through proficiency in the practice of samadhi with the sea, the control of waves and storms first by inner control and then by outer rapport. And whether one prays to Vishnu or to Allah, he will learn that it is the inner control that produces the outer peace.

Concentration on the Sky. This is marvelous for the imagination. In her poem, “Renaissance,” Edna St. Vincent Millay describes this samadhi in a beautiful form. Here there is a connection with the air element whereas in the sea-concentration one may have been concerned with the water element. This concentration, if successfully pursued, brings healing, purification, joyfulness, escape from sorrow, dullness, lethargy.

It is also a concentration which may be used with safety before going up in an aeroplane or even climbing a high mountain. It helps one to overcome dizziness, to withstand the lighter atmosphere of higher regions. In ancient times the people prayed to the God or Goddess of the Sky (thus, Varuna, whom the Greeks called Ouranos). The sky divinity was supposed to be beyond space.

Concentration on the Forest. If one associates the sea with water and the sky with air, then the forest is to be connected with earth. By this sort of concentration one feels in communion with the trees and flowers and shrubs and even with the animals dwelling in such a place. One has to be humble, impersonal and devoid of ego to advance in this concentration. Then, one may say of it that the lamb and lion may lie down together. In ancient times the sages of India dwelt in the forest and performed this concentration and they would be disturbed neither by snakes nor tigers nor any creatures; all became their friends.

In ancient times also spiritual teachings were offered in the forests, they were the places where one learned esoteric lessons from the master. They were considered the best spots for meditation. The early Buddhists built their temples and retreats in forests—they do so in some countries even new.

Concentration on the Desert. This is connected with the etheric element. That is to say either the concentration of this class helps to perfect the current of breath associated with the element named or the perfection of the breathing through mystical knowledge helps with the concentration—or both paths help one another so that mysticism and concentration may be studied and practiced together.

This concentration is not always very different from meditation. It helps to purify the mind, to remove all thoughts, desirable or undesirable (the teaching of Ziraat). It is excellent at the end of a cycle, when one wishes to remove something, to start anew.

Incidentally these concentrations correspond to certain stages in the lives of the holy ones and they are referred to symbolically in the sacred scriptures of the world. Moses took the Beni Israel through the desert in order that they might become entirely free from all the materialistic influences with which they had become infected while in Egypt.

GITHA: In this the first kind is nature’s picture, the second kind is with detail, and the third kind is with improvement. By this is meant not only the thought of the sea, but the sea and a ship and the sunrise all together, or the forest and solitude and moonlight.

TASAWWUF: That is to say first one looks at the object or holds the scene in thought as it is or as he thinks it is. Then he tries to get all the details in it, and then he makes the improvement which is the way to mastery. To illustrate: first one has to hold the thought of the sea or the vision of the sea which he has seen. After he improves in that he includes in his concentration such things as the waves, the shoreline, islands and whatever may have been there. Then he adds the ships, or the sun, and finally he continues until he reaches a stage wherein he can become the guardian of the sea, the protector of it in hierarchal post—in other words, the saint of the sea, or the Ghous.

The same is true with the sky. The sky of the day may be just the feeling of space. Then space with the sun and clouds and certain temperature, with or without wind, with or without birds or air-ships, until one cannot only hold the feeling and picture of the space as it is, but feel harmony with it. Then he is ready to take the highest step and become the guardian angel of Ghous for the space.

The same holds for the forest and desert, over which one may hold pro­tection. One may thus guard the forest from fires and the desert from floods. But in all things there must be the feeling for the people and even for the creatures that dwell in such places. The higher one elevates himself, the greater should his feelings be even for the smallest.

The instructions of the work of the Celestial Hierarchy are offered elsewhere. Not all souls may be destined for this supreme and holy work. Many have other paths of development and others do not remain on earth long enough to accept the responsibilities and perform the duties.

After one has passed through certain degrees of these concentrations, there may be combinations of them as ocean and sky, desert and sky, forest and sky, desert becoming forest, rain coming to the desert, etc. This is an advanced step. This step used to be taken by the prophets who knew the mystery of rain, who by concentration could bring clouds to the parched lands. What they held in thought became objectified. They had mastery over the water element and over all elements. As they controlled them within, so they could summon them without. This shows advancement toward universal harmony.

GITHA: This makes the imagination vast.

TASAWWUF: The imagination has been used by many, studied by few. It is talked of as unreal even by those who have constant recourse to it. The Sufi, instead of discussing the reality or unreality of it, strives to find out what it is, then develops and uses it, and develops it more.

This growth of the imagination is almost endless, but it depends largely upon the development of the heart–qualities and faculties. This subject is discussed in “Cosmic Language.” And it is this class of concen­trations which brings one the direct knowledge of cosmic language. Then one may commune with the birds of all classes, even with insects and flowers. The personal mind is stilled.

GITHA: The bringers of the divine message were so great in their imagination which, in fact, was the result of their highly developed concentration.

TASAWWUF: We do not have all the details of their practices although in India there is a fairly good record. In the time of Akbar a study was made of all the known forms of mysticism and religious tradition and put in a book called Dabistan or “School for Morals,” which is now regarded as a great work by many scholars. Jesus, no doubt, studied with the contemplative sects of Hebrews who lived in the desert, especially in Egypt. If one studies Philo first and then the Christian Scriptures and then the Gnostic remains, there will be a chain of events and a line of spiritual philosophy which is quite clear.

There is one difference with the message of this age that it is universal in the truest sense. The veil of geographical distance has been removed, and the secrets behind all religions are being revealed. Thus all men can come together and establish a brotherhood in the worlds within and without.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 7

The Nature of the Construction of an Object

GITHA: Every object that the eyes have once seen is stored more or less deep in one’s memory.

TASAWWUF: This has been discussed and explained both in the Sufi teachings and in the psychology taught in the universities. The surface of the mind has been likened to a sensitive place, and every experience of the senses and every impression that comes to it draws some line upon it, attracts some of the life of the mind and energy of the breath. The result is stored in the memory, or what has been called the subconsciousness mind because the average person is not able to recall everything to memory easily, and would probably be in constant confusion if he did. But there is a record of some kind in the akasha, or accommodation made for that purpose.

GITHA: But it in time scatters in pieces.

TASAWWUF: Impressions settle upon the mind and make some form of mold there. From these moulds thought-forms or thought-forces arise and the more thought that is given to them the more life they have. But when they are not fed by recurring thought, they lose the little vitality they have, and the atoms and vibrations which compose them are scattered back into their original elements. Advantage is taken of this in forgiving and forgetting. In that case one rids himself purposely of undesirable impressions.

GITHA: And when one remembers it, by the power of the will he gathers the pieces that were scattered once, making it whole.

TASAWWUF: Memory thus depends somewhat upon life or will. If one has no interest, the experience may hardly make a mark. Yet every glance affects the light of mind and every sensation is an activity upon two worlds, the world within and the world without. The glance of the spiritual person is trained so that it can be directed upon the consciousness of a talib or sick person or one seeking aid and there arouse in him the latent energy of his heart.

The longer one practices concentration and performs Fikr, the easier it is to arrange, control and rearrange the atoms and vibrations which are associated with his mind. He can collect and disperse the fragments at will. By holding them together he remembers, and by scattering he forgets. But the master-mind does both of these at will, and does not permit thought-patterns and thought-forms to obsess him.

GITHA: The question arises, “What makes the object scatter?” The answer is, shadows of the objects we see and store in the mind fall upon the object, cutting it to pieces.

TASAWWUF: Every impression that we receive from earth casts a shadow upon the mind and makes a mark upon the mind. If we continue to give thought to that impression we draw the energy from the light of the mental sphere to it, while if we give thought to other impressions their shadows are thrown upon the former impression which is thus covered and scattered. If this did not happen we could never think because impression would pile upon impression filling the mind to no purpose.

Indeed every thought throws a kind of shadow around it, just as every light throws shadows by falling upon objects, the shadow extending in the direction opposite to the light. Nevertheless the work of the mystic includes his drawing upon the light incessantly even though thereby shadows fall.

GITHA: And yet the pieces of every object remain close together; it is the affinity between pieces that holds them.

TASAWWUF: Every object, whether its form is merely temporary like that of a passing cloud, or more permanent like a tree or skeleton or mountain is composed of atoms of the same nature, combined together according to the law of attraction. By this law similar atoms are drawn together and held together; thus was the earth made and all form created. And one may have an impression of a mountain, and the mountain may not be destroyed when the impression is removed because of the law of affinity. Yet it is possible to destroy any physical form, and there are two mental methods for this. One is to give no thought to it, whereupon it will languish and die for the destructive movement is also going on every moment; the other is to use the thought to destroy it purposely.

GITHA: Man groups them by the power of his will and by the light of intelligence in his waking state.

TASAWWUF: It is the light of intelligence which illuminated Malakut as the sun illuminated the physical world. Were it not for some interference this light would shine continually and continuously. The influence of Nufsaniat is such that there are constant shadows thrown upon the mind-sphere; there is constant change and momentum.

While the ordinary man is not able to control his thoughts very much, one who concentrates because of the spirit of the genius within him, or one who is a devotee or lover develops this ability or has it naturally, but its scope is often limited. The master-mind learns to use his will-power at all times, to draw upon the power of that light of intelligence to give light and magnetism to those thoughts, ideals and ideas which he considers desirable and this automatically excludes the radiance from the undesirable thoughts which have difficulty in sending roots to his mind.

GITHA: When in a dream, sometimes he cannot group them properly, for the light of intelligence is dim and the power of the will is feeble.

TASAWWUF: When a person goes to sleep he may enter a realm of shadows. This is especially true when there are strong influences from his daily life; these influences remain with him and he has dreams. They are of no particular significance. They are merely the impressions which have been affixed upon his mind, and when his eyes are closed to the vision of the outer world he sees them in his mind, but they have no more significance than ordinary scenery which one passes by.

In sleep as the body relaxes the mind also relaxes a little. Then man can live in the mind-world. As he has not cultivated his inner light his consciousness remains in the shadows, so most people have what may be known as shadow dreams. They may consist of things connected with their daily life, or with wishes or ambitions, even with lusts. Various schools of interpretations of dreams offer various explanations, most of which are not completely satisfying because they overlook even the simplest ones.

There is a vast difference between wish and will. Wish is a temporary desire which, while it may be said to be the offspring of individual will, is a part of the will cut off by the shadow of nufs, as if it were possible to cut an individual ray from the sun. The fulfillment of wish in a dream may have an effect, good or bad. It may be called good when it supplements material action, it is considered bad when its effect is depleting. A wish-dream may or may not precede the material event connected therewith, it may be a substitute. Generally one has these dreams when the channel of breath is not clear; often when there is an accumulation of gases within the body, which affect both body and mind. Psychologists generally have ignored this important material factor in their explanations of dreams.

People of strong mentalities often need less sleep because their wills are more developed and they can control body and mind more. The will, as a ray of divine light, hardly needs sleep. Nor does the mind need so much sleep as it is developed more, especially when one is able to meditate properly. Sufis who practice meditation and concentration have found it possible to get along with comparatively little sleep. And when one grows accustomed to rising early in the morning, after a while one will find it unnecessary to sleep long.

GITHA: Therefore, sometimes one sees a lion with eagle’s wings or a man with the ears of the
elephant.

TASAWWUF: This is a state of uncontrolled imagination. Strange forms in dreams often indicate the condition of the dream. The subject of the dream may be symbolic or it may refer to something outside the ordinary sense-range. In ancient times creatures of higher evolution were often depicted through a combination of forms, the idea being that each form symbolized certain characteristics. But when man has such dreams it is generally because he has not strength of will to hold a form properly. Instead of it being a higher development, it may often mean a lesser development.

Drunkards and opium-eaters see strange forms, and it seems that under the influence of drugs they behold their wishes and make their own heavens. What happens, however, is that they establish a sort of gaseous-heaven, not having any power to hold forms in their minds. And when they have not the strength to keep the suitable forms before them, then monsters and monstrosities appear and the same thing which may have been a source of delight also binds the victim to a hell from which escape is not so easy because of delusion piled upon delusion.

GITHA: All things seen and unseen that man sees in his dreams are pieces of more than one object joining them together thus, owing to the lack of will and intelligence.

TASAWWUF: This reveals samsara or Nufsaniat. While the ordinary person cannot control this, the master-mind, by his power over the mental atoms, can produce a state wherein his mind does not dream at all. When he wishes to rest, he rests, and when he wishes to sleep, he sleeps. He can shut his mind from all the impressions. He can also by his concentration keep it in a state wherein it may be receptive also. This does not mean that holy men dream, they may not dream at all, but they can shut out all the undesirable dreams. Many people go to sleep, dream and wake up fatigued because during the night the mind has continued to consume mental magnetism.

GITHA: The master-mind sees real dreams …

TASAWWUF: That is to say, one who knows how to shut out all the earthly and all the undesirable impressions, who tranquilizes nufs, has the real inner vision and when there is real inner vision in sleep one has real dreams. This study of dreams is a subject of itself which is taken up by talibs on the path of occultism, which is to say, the science of inner phenomena. There are several classes of these inner dreams, such as direct and pure, indirect, symbolic, astral and spiritual. All of them depend to a greater or lesser extent upon man’s ability to assimilate the divine light.

GITHA: … because his will-power even in the dream is powerful and his intelligence even in that state is bright.

TASAWWUF: That is one reason why the talib performs many spiritual practices at night. Some, like the Wazifas, shut out all the shadows and shadow-forces which bring the delusions. Others like Fikr and Kasab, in their various ways, open up the accommodation for light. This makes possible the receiving of Divine Grace and Blessing. Even the words of the prayers, such as the last line of Saum can become actualized during sleep by the master-mind. And if one holds on to these words after he has gone to bed, after awhile be will have reached a state wherein he is protected from all evil influences, and may receive blessings and inspirations. Then his life will become complete, being closed to God neither day nor night.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa                Series II Number 8

Constant Dwelling Upon Thoughts

GITHA: Dwelling on a thought comes from two sources: one is something external, an object or being, that constantly brings to our mind a certain thought, and the presence of this reminds man of the same thought, which he may be willing to hold or unwilling.

TASAWWUF: Every external experience makes some mark upon the mind, even though that mark may be temporary. It is only by such means that external knowledge is gained. A mirror of itself may hold nothing; a photographic plate also receives light and the line brings impressions which are recorded upon it. So the mind receives and this process is called learning. And if the slate or record of the mind is to be cleared away that process may be called unlearning. The world has been so much interested in learning that it has paid little attention to the unlearning.

Thus ordinary learning consists of receiving impressions from the world and building thoughts upon these impressions. Repetition and other devices help in this. The whole Western accumulation of learning is based upon this method which is regarded as most practical. But there is too much of the tendency to open the door in one direction, to receive and accumulate facts, even to no purpose. And the result is that education and study do not bring wisdom, the cream of life. This is only possible when the mind gets into the Buddhic condition. Then it sees a purpose in every little experience and knows whether to store the impressions in the memory or to root them from the soil of the mind.

The mystic therefore passes through the phases of learning and unlearning both and after that he comes to transmutation. This is the perception of the life in thought, so that one can derive lasting benefit from it. It often requires a selfless attitude, and it has been found that through selflessness it is much easier to learn and unlearn both; then to see the deeper purpose behind every experience and perceive that the life is not confined to one plane, that all planes are close to each other.

Psychologists have talked about the association of ideas, a device which often helps a person to recall something he has forgotten through its relationship to something which is present in his mind. This device and others used in memory training, while they have some advantages also wear out the mind, they bring fatigue, they consume mental magnetism. A better way, perhaps, would be to learn concentration which can only be done through its practice, and by it one could develop greater mental faculties and awaken hidden genius-qualities.

GITHA: The next source is feeling, which holds a thought constantly before the mind.

TASAWWUF: This tells us a secret about what does hold a thought before us. If it were not for that there might be neither learning nor unlearning; the mind might remain blank. Yet it is also true that in the angelic world whose inhabitants depend upon feeling, that thought is not retained. It is reflected as an image is in a mirror but does not remain. But this is also true of every person, only he becomes interested in some reflections and not in others. He looks into the mirror, and then identifies himself with the mirror and finally comes to regard the reflections are realities and is thus caught in the web of delusion.

GITHA: It may be pleasure or pain. Pain lasts longer than pleasure, for the feeling of pain is deep whereas that of pleasure is passing.

TASAWWUF: Indeed when pleasure remains and becomes deep it often turns into pain. That which begins as a delight or source of delight and is persisted in often becomes a source of revulsion. Every person has experienced this with regard to food, sex-indulgence and every kind of pleasure. If one keeps on with them a long time the reaction comes which is not expected, proving that heaven and hell depend mostly upon attitude.

Both pleasure and pain indicate agitation of ego. Pleasure is that in which the ego delights. Pain requires the ego to move or to change its state or to be restrained. Therefore man shuns it yet he cannot avoid it because it is so connected with his false self. Besides under pleasure the mind often becomes intoxicated and only pain brings sobriety. So we learn through pain how to avoid those things which cause us pain.

GITHA: It is therefore that Sufis have considered love the greatest help to concentration for two reasons: First, the object of love stays constantly in the thought.

TASAWWUF: While pleasure and pain may be called the feelings of dualism, love is the feeling which takes one into unity. In love a relationship is established between the self and not-self which finds its consummation only in their union. Such love is all-powerful and when man is under the spell of love thought does not mean so much to him; he is moved by the love which radiates through his whole life.

What has to be avoided is the thought of love as a substitute for love. This has stood in the way through the ages. People speak of love and think of love and often are under the delusion that such concentration upon love is love. It is not love, nothing is love which keeps the ego in view; in love something or someone other than ego is in view at all times and there is constant attention to the person or ideal. This is the true concentration which carries one forward from stage to stage, from state to state.

Sufis and Bhaktis have used the method of love, and when once it is awakened it becomes all-compelling because the secret of life and the secret of love are one (Ishk Allah, Mahbood lillah). The lover makes his mind his servant, and the devotee also makes the mind his servant. And if one follows the stages of concentration carefully he will observe that as he advances he becomes freer from the agitations of ego and the countless thoughts and impressions which would burden the mind.

GITHA: Next, pain being the outcome of love, it makes the concentration stronger, as there is a verse, “The bringers of joy are the children of sorrow.”

TASAWWUF: There is the pain of separation and there is the pain of intense longing, which latter is one of the greatest forces in the universe. Under their spell one is more apt to become single-minded, to work and pray for one objective, for one ideal alone, even if it be nothing else than the surcease from pain. This makes a person tender and sympathetic, more apt to be compassionate and considerate.

GITHA: This accounts for the serious people being thoughtful and the jolly people being lighthearted.

TASAWWUF: Serious people have experienced pain and thus they become more solicitous for others. They do not wish others to receive blows as they have experienced. Every blow forces one to seek deeper into the heart, and though one may receive blow after blow as if a pile driver were forcing him down, the further down he goes the more treasures will he uncover.

There are two types of light-hearted people, those who have never experienced the pains of life and those who veil themselves, hiding their identity. The former may be called frivolous; the latter are veiled and thus protect themselves.

GITHA: This is natural concentration, which is done unintentionally.

TASAWWUF: There is nothing out of place in such concentration. Man was meant to have a certain awakening in order that his faculties might be developed and used. It was not destined for him to go through any particular process and if he has not been entirely caught in the web of delusion so much the better. Besides the path to God cannot be circumscribed by the Sufi Movement or even by spiritual training. “God moves in many mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.”

GITHA: This is the reason why it cannot be called mystical concentration.

TASAWWUF: Mystical concentration is impelled from within, and all the power is drawn from the heart, operating through the will, throwing light upon the mind. There is a very definite technique in it, and one does not develop in it because of the force of circumstances. He develops in it as he increases his capacity for the receiving of the inner light and all its blessings.

GITHA: For a mystic is powerful enough to hold a thought by the power of feeling at will, whether pleasure or pain, and would not allow any thought or feeling to work against his wishes.

TASAWWUF: As a lover holds one central theme before him so does the mystic, only the mystic does not limit his object or ideal of love. It may be that he sees the whole universe as an accommodation for love, or as an accommodation for duty, opportunity for growth. Or he may feel that his every effort should be in harmony with the divine will and he strives always for the accomplishment of that will. As nothing can stand before God, so he holds himself steadfast until he succeeds in his attainment. He does not permit his reason or that of another to stand before him.

For this reason the talib in Sufism is required to go through a course of Gatha “studies,” as they are called. This period is in reality one of probation and trial. If he endures it he becomes better fitted to carry on the respon­sibilities and also to receive the blessings which are poured upon him in his later development. This will continue until will and love flow together in the stream of Kaza, the universal will. Then the divine will and his will become united, he feels the Presence in whatever he does.

GITHA: He turns pleasure into pain and pain into pleasure as he may choose.

TASAWWUF: What the ordinary man calls pleasure may be a burden to the mystic and what the ordinary man counts as disagreeable or irksome he may find to his satisfaction. When pain comes he seeks the reason for it and often he finds that it is a purge to his heart, which ultimately gives him the strength needed for his next duty. When a pleasure is there he does not identify himself with it, but seeks the wisdom beneath it in identically the same manner as with pain. Thus he comes to search for God with every experience of life.

GITHA: To him both are the same and both serve his purpose. Sometimes sweet is pleasant and sometimes bitter is useful, as even poison serves as a means to heal, and sometimes sweet causes an increase in illness.

TASAWWUF: We know this to be true in the outer sphere. It is true also on the inner planes. What is before the mystic in his concentration is its usefulness, he has a purpose in it. The ordinary man delights in certain tastes and certain experiences without taking into account the results. The concentration of the mystic includes all the three stages of Urouj, Kemal and Zaval, and he sees them as parts of one complete whole. Therefore the immediate experience or state is not the final one.

There is a remarkable aspect to this also, that one who does this more easily responds to the Voice of the Silence or Spirit of Guidance (whichever one may choose to call it). Not that one hears anything during concentration, but at the same time he absorbs the vibrations of the light of intelligence through his practices.

GITHA: The master of concentration is he in whose command all thoughts and feelings stand in discipline and he can drill them as he likes.

TASAWWUF: That is the reason why one is carried through many grades in concentration, to learn to uplift the direction of his mental activities, to receive impressions on as high a plane as possible making capacity therefore, to uplift in every way his vision and to increase his keen sight. As one does that it becomes easier to rise above all the vibrations, agita­tions and movements which disturb the ordinary man making meditation and concentration so difficult and life so unsure.

As his plane of effort is higher and finer, the sage makes his heart like steel to withstand the blows that fall upon him, and yet like rubber that it remains tender even in the fact of blows. He avoids the dualistic attitude of finding things lovely or unlovely because so often these depend upon one’s point of view, one’s evolution or other factors. He seeks to uproot all evil and ugliness in himself, and then he finds it much easier to control his thoughts and feelings. As he breaks down the barriers which divide men he becomes mightier and mightier on the path to mastery.

GITHA: He becomes the commander of life and a king of the world within and without.

TASAWWUF: Not because he seeks it, but because it comes to him. He may not be thinking of himself at all. Or in another sense, as he finds the self so vast, so majestic and seeks to know more about himself, that search develops in him faculties of which the average man may not be aware. As his horizon expands so his influence may grow, expressed or not expressed, revealed or not revealed. Thus he comes to the fruition of his purpose of life.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 9

Murakkabah or Concentration

GITHA: When a Sufi develops concentration he does not need a regular concentration, although a Sufi likes to do it, for his life becomes a concentration.

TASAWWUF: One may mean by this that the talib who has become successful in holding images within his mind and in mastering the impressions maybe called a Sufi. Whatever is given to him as a concentration whether of the symbolic type, or through the grades of progression in Murakkabah, or to produce self-effacement (fana), he will be successful in. Yet all these types of concentra­tion reach their fulfillment when life becomes a concentration and when the method that he uses in his spiritual lessons is applied as the method by which he makes his way in the world.

There is one supreme purpose in life for every personality. Each one has his key note and with that keynote and its attendant notes he makes his music of life and that is the way of his character development. Then no activity becomes useless because he finds a purpose, a meaning in everything. His everyday life is the world where he applies his spiritual teaching and sacred knowledge.

GITHA: If he is speaking on a certain subject, he does not suddenly change the subject of his conversation.

TASAWWUF: The mureed is taught that there is the grade of learning the message, assimilating the message and spreading the message. These need not be separated one from the other; they may overlap and commingle. If one is taught that single-mindedness is needed in concentration, studying and development, it is also needed in application. The same principles apply to the world within as to the world without. And as unity in speech, thought and action makes for spiritual success, so this process of unification continues on at all times.

Besides that, right speech is dependent upon right thinking and no matter what thought be held in the mind, there is a thought-form established in the mind-world, and there is a karmic result from it. When that thought becomes speech and deed it is fulfilled in a certain sense. And if one starts to speak and establishes impressions half-way in the minds of others, then there are incomplete thoughts. These incomplete thoughts are the sources of confusion and obsession. Their fulfillment is the sign of right thinking.

GITHA: If he is thinking about something, he does not break his thought.

TASAWWUF: Even students in schools and universities feel that. Those who complete their studies on one subject before passing to the next are more likely to receive the best grades. Their minds become like machines of high efficiency. By this it is meant that the greater the effort the greater the result. The mind is more likely to retain what is studied when it is one-pointed.

When one starts a line of thought and adheres to it he is as a farmer who plants a tree and tends it, thinning it, weeding around it, pruning it and harvesting his crop in due seasons. He observes the teaching of Solomon, “There is a time for all things.” And he does not depart from his task until it is wise. Then the tree becomes stronger and stronger, more beautiful and less attention has to be paid to it. The thought will go out and do work as of itself. The tawakkuls will become the servants of such a master-mind.

GITHA: And if he is doing something, he does not change his mind and leave it half-done in order to accomplish something else.

TASAWWUF: There is more loss of psychic power thereby than in anything else. It is very unfortunate when the idea is given out that another task is more important than the one at hand. There is a life and thought given to every duty and when unfinished, the thought-forces connected therewith become as weeds upon the mind. Then one feels over-burdened, he is not free, he cannot be happy. He will be carrying burdens because of these unaccomplished duties.

GITHA: He continues at every moment the work he is doing at the time until it is finished. That is the secret of concentration.

TASAWWUF: This is also the secret of power and mastery. And if a person has several duties sometimes it is best to do the ones he does not like first, and finish them. There is a thought, a certain kind of breath with each activity of life. Each one has its element of Urouj, Kemal and Nasoul and when there is harmony and balance between them there is harmony and balance between all aspects of life. This teaching is also presented in “The Mysticism of Sound” for thereby harmony is established within man and after that it is so easy to become harmonious with the world.

GITHA: A person may practice concentration for a certain time in the day and then if throughout the day he keeps on changing his mind from one thing to the other he will not be able to accomplish concentration in a thousand years.

TASAWWUF: That is why it is so necessary to connect the everyday life with the spiritual efforts. As a person develops in concentration and as his faculty of insight increases he can learn to feel what he should do during the day. It is as if there was a scroll of time before him and he could read that scroll and follow the advice thereon. Each day can become a unity, a cycle, and the whole of life can be connected therewith. Then if one completes a duty, no matter how small, that particular day, it will add to his magnetism and psychic power and make his further tasks easier.

One can, of course, practice Darood and that will help him maintain the right rhythm with his duty and he will become more willing to apply himself. His very breath will become more harmonious with the universal atmosphere, and he will find himself on the path to peace.

GITHA: Single-mindedness is the secret of concentration.

TASAWWUF: If one will learn that, he will learn one of the greatest secrets of life. There are ignorant people who speak about concentrating upon several things. If they think about combining several things in a single concentration there may be some truth in it. But it is really nonsense to talk about concentrating upon several things because that is not concentra­tion. The desire nature runs after this and that and man has his lusts; they are not changed by his use of different words. The Buddha and all great teachers have advised against this very thing, and have warned man that if he wishes to rise above delusion and follow and attain to emancipation he must not desire in that manner.

Whether it be inventor or plotter, bank-robber or bank president, sage or scholar, it is by sticking to the path that leads to the goal of attainment that establishes success in life.

GITHA: Thereby man improves his manners. When a man speaking about something, before the subject is finished, begins to say something else, as many people do, and while doing a thing before it is half-done begins to do something else, it is all ill-manners besides lack of concentration.

TASAWWUF: One knows that in social affairs, when even only two or three are gathered, it is quite impolite to change the subject of conversation and to show one’s lack of interest in the remarks of others. Usually when there are several people, as the thought applied to the subject of conversation wanes, there is a period of silence and this makes it possible to change the subject without offense. Otherwise it can be done gradually.

Another way is to allow a person to be a sort of leader and to obtain the keynote from him. The mystic will try to attune the conversations of those present and will not always present the subject matter although he will always strive to bring about the harmonious results. And besides the social values in it there is a metaphysical advantage, for then one follows dharma, and as one sets such an example he helps others who will learn the same habit from him.

GITHA: There is also a possibility that a person with great development in concentration may become the slave of concentration, so that he may not be able to put out of his mind any thought that happens to come or he cannot stop humming a tune of which he himself has grown tired or he cannot throw off depression because a depressing thought holds his mind, the mind that is developed and capable of concentration.

TASAWWUF: Mostly this will indicate lack of knowledge of breath or defic­iency of heart-development. When the heart is awakened there is less liab­ility of depression and other undesirable psychological states. Also the master of concentration knows how to unlearn as well as how to learn. He not only receives the desirable impressions, he knows how to eliminate the undesirable impressions. Fikr helps in both and that is why the spiritual life is of tremendous advantage to the intellectual, who, though they may know how to concentrate well, are otherwise liable to become the slaves of concentration.

In the Buddhist teachings concerning the eight-fold path right-mindful­ness and right concentration (or meditation) are included. The ignorant only too often explain that this means there are right ways and wrong ways and we should avoid the wrong ways. The wise see in such terms mere empty words, because every person has his ideas as to right and wrong. But there is a way of harmony with supreme law and one may maintain harmony with supreme law or one may go on the path of self-will. In this sense one may say there is a certain “right” way and that may be called “dharma” and any departure therefrom would be “adharma.”

Therefore right concentration is that in which one observes all the moral, metaphysical and other principles which he has learned and makes no excuses for departing therefrom. Otherwise when he concentrates he may draw down upon himself mental forces and then cannot rid himself of them when he desires, as the sorcerer’s apprentice. If the mind is kept clear and pure, no one need fear such dangers.

GITHA: The Sufi therefore masters concentration but does not so let concentration master him. Mastery being the only motive that leads to perfection.

TASAWWUF: It has been explained how various concentrations lead to mastery, and how development along certain lines make of one a master though he has no such thought in his mind. One may say that concentration has rules or laws. These have been explained and when one follows them in all their simplicity and observes the rhythms of Urouj, Kemal and Zaval, his every step in life will become easier and easier. And if there is anything to add it is to keep in the consciousness that God is the only being, that man is the servant of God and his instrument and that in all our actions, thoughts and words we can be led by the Divine Spirit. Then we need never fear of being the slave of anything else.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa          Series II Number 10

Murakkabah or Concentration

GITHA: Sometimes one pictures an object in his mind’s eye and sees it, after a time, standing before him in reality.

TASAWWUF: This is the great accomplishment in concentration and is the sign of the master-mind. No matter how skillful one is in developing impressions and ideas and visions on the inner plane, life is not completed until this skillfulness is manifested without. And one may ask if this is the result of personal ability or the Grace of God, whether man attains it or whether God gives it to man.

Actually one can give no exact answer. For the development in Murakkabah is also a development in attunement, and the ego of the evolved person is not the same as the ego of the ordinary person. Success depends to a great extent upon divine attunement. Then one becomes the channel for divine activity and whatever he wishes may then be in tune with the divine will, and so it will come to pass. Furthermore the events of this world are patterned along the lines of mental activity and the greater one’s control of the mental atoms, the surer he is to direct his own life first and then the lives of others. And if there are any “Lords of Karma” then it is those that have thus mastered Murakkabah.

GITHA: The more concentration of mind a person has the more he has this exper­ience.

TASAWWUF: Concentration means constant effort and even constant repetition, and these in turn produce results. The line made on the mind becomes a deeper and deeper furrow. It draws great power to it until the world cannot stand before it because the material world is nothing before the master-mind and all the events of this world depend upon the conditions of the mind-world which permeate it.

While one begins with concentration as an exercise, drawing from the physical world to establish something upon the mental world, it is said that the real concentration is that performed as God performed it. And according to the theogonies of the world God Himself slumbered, then concentrated and then acted; only His action was instantaneous and did not require any time process to objectify it. Likewise as man approaches the divine threshold he requires less time to obtain results; the attunement and rhythm which he establishes or follows become the shortest path to accomplishment or attainment.

GITHA: I recall things that once I had pictured in my mind coming to reality even twelve years after.

TASAWWUF: For there is a time and rhythm for all things, and therefore patience is needed. Nevertheless what man wishes and longs eventually comes to pass. And the more he dwells upon such thoughts the sooner they will produce effects, or the clearer they will come into objectivity.

Many who have deep desires, selfish or unselfish, do not understand the principle of time. It requires a certain strength in concentration to draw anything toward oneself or to objectification.

Sometimes one has to combat the whole world, to meet many obstacles, even to controvert many enemies, and this requires much personal resourcefulness. Indeed the enemy within is always harder to overcome than the enemy without. Many who seek money talk and talk and thus waste effort which might be used to obtain the goal desired. And there are persons who presume that concentration is something that can be substituted for work and personal effort, a kind of magic or ethereal bribe.

There is nothing ignoble in work and personal effort. In India there is the path of Karma Yoga which seeks spiritual development through personal application, by working in the world and seeing that dharma is accomplished. The drawback has been that it has been set aside as a special path and there have been times in India where practices in concentration have led to gross selfishness, even to black magic. And today there is the same spirit in other parts of the world. People will concentrate for the sake of health, wealth, power and wonder-working, otherwise they may not want it.

When Buddha came into the world this condition was spreading throughout India, and he did his best to combat it. Some of the evils which existed in that day have never returned. And we can learn from Buddha that spiritual success depends largely upon selflessness.

Emerson says that we must be careful as to what we wish because it is most likely to come true. For every thought we have, even the most simple ones, work out their karma and manifest on this plane, although we do not know it. So if we wish to perceive peace, we have to learn to restrain all thought and personal effort, making no distinction between good and bad. This is the lesson of Ziraat, that there is no room for man and God, and in order to spiritualize the world, man must obtain supreme control over his own mind.

GITHA: A person wonders, is it that concentration made it in the course of time, or is it that concentration perceived beforehand what was going to come? The fact is that both things are right.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, concentration itself through the increased capacity for receiving impressions does help to develop intuition and foresight. And it is difficult to draw a hard line between the personality of man and the personality of the Universal God (Allah) in this. As one extends his horizon, even without thought, he sublimates his ego and absorbs the eternal life into his being. The lines between self and not-self become more and more dim. His desire harmonizes with the universal will and his feeling, attuned to the divine condition, both foresees and urges him to do that which is in accord with dharma.

Therefore whether one has a concentration selected by a teacher or another person or is following his apparently free will, the result becomes the same in the end.

GITHA: For instance, a person was thinking of buying a diamond of a certain shape, of a certain kind. He perhaps thought for some time strongly and deeply of this. And, after five years, when he had already forgotten about it, somebody presents him with a diamond ring.

TASAWWUF: This is one of the reasons for learning concentration; otherwise our wishes may come true when we may no longer desire it. Indeed they all come true at some time or other, whether we are still in this world or have been freed from earth and are establishing our heaven. Just as it takes time and life for the tree to bear fruit or the flower to blossom, so it is with thought. There are plants which bear flowers in a single year and there are others which require many years. And so it is with thought.

GITHA: Now the question whether his concentration made the diamond for him and made the friend give it to him or whether the diamond was to be given him and therefore he saw it in his concentration may be answered thus: no doubt there was a diamond in store for him, waiting to be given some day, which was his portion in life.

TASAWWUF: If this were not so there would be no feeling which could hold the thought. For there are many things in this world which we might each of us desire and even selfish persons will not desire all of them. They will feel no attraction for some things. This may be because it is not in their karma or because it is not related to the attunement of their heart which lays at the foundation of character.

One is sometimes able to determine whether a certain concentration is of advantage to him by the repetition of Fikr. If Fikr increases the facility by which he holds the object in the mind, then it is right for him and if Fikr does not increase the facility, then it is not his portion in life. Then, when it comes to application, Darood does the same as Fikr. If it is for man, Darood clears the pathway and if it is not, Darood takes away the zest for it, and destroys the Urouj rhythm. Once that enthusiasm is destroyed the desire will not remain. This is one of the ways also by which man seeks God’s will.

GITHA: But at the same time the fact of his thinking strongly made the diamond come straight to him without going, perhaps, into the possession of many, and without his striving for it.

TASAWWUF: The law of attraction operates on all planes. The same force which the cobra uses to draw his food toward himself may be used by any man to draw the object of desire toward himself (or himself toward it). Real concentration, however, is not entirely an ego-activity. One has to make an accommodation by which something is drawn toward himself. That is why breathing and feeling have to be united to wishing and thinking. Then whether one calls it striving or not striving it does not matter. The very nature of attunement brings things towards man.

GITHA: Although concentration helps in foreseeing things, yet it is not concentration, it is foresight that aids.

TASAWWUF: Concentration serves to remove all the thoughts which impede foresight in the ordinary man, but concentration is an activity of will operating in the mind whereas foresight is a heart quality which manifests when the heart opens. For the mind is limited by time whereas the heart is not limited. As we ordinarily conceive it, time and space are greater than mind, smaller than heart. Concentration does not of itself make us see ahead and if we have foresight without the faculty of concentration we can nevertheless see ahead in some manner just as the animals do.

GITHA: Therefore a thought of this kind need not be a man’s own thought, though at the moment it seems to be so.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, it is not an actual creation or idea of his. It is very hard to say exactly what is man’s thought. Sometimes several inventors will get the same or similar ideas at the same time. As soon as one of them conceives something it is a reality in the mind world and others thinking along similar lines, becoming attuned to it and never hearing of it before, believe they have the real inspiration and are the first in their field. Man may pass patent laws but it is very hard to establish a line of justice which would insure the person with insight and foresight to prior rights. How ever, if he continued and added concentration and action to these heart-qualities, he would always complete his work before others; his very foresight would keep him at the head of the procession.

Nevertheless in all aspects of life it is hard to distinguish between direct creative thought and ideas selected by attunement. Whatever appears in the mind-world is the property of possession of the universal mind or mind of Adam, and so it becomes the potential property of all humanity.

GITHA: Really speaking, it should be called a vision or an intuition, the former in sleep, the latter in the waking state.

TASAWWUF: Vision is something which appears directly before the mind and seems objectified before the mind although it is subjective so far as this world is concerned. Intuition is a direct form of cognition, an application of the sense of perception not limited to a particular plane. Perhaps more people seem to have vision than intuition because more attention has been paid to dreams and visions and their possible meanings but actually people have intuitions at all hours, day and night, only they pay less attention to them, they are not so impressed by them. And one of the great gifts that comes to the person on the spiritual path is his application of his faculty of intuition; he uses what others ignore.

GITHA: Concentration has the power of creating things.

TASAWWUF: For as man completes his work on the mental plane he establishes the lines by which things will appear on the physical plane. So long as he does not place himself in his view he can do this. It is not necessary that the one who concentrates is the one who will do. The master-mind directs affairs and others do things. An inventor gets an idea of a machine and may make the first model or direct its making. After that other people may buy or build that machine and use it in industry. Thus the original concentration ends in the creation of things.

The same is true of every type of concentration. What appears above appears below is an anciently known occult law. Indeed this world is sustained by thought and the more mankind can direct thought the more successful he will be in making the world a better place for himself and his
posterity.

GITHA: It can bring things that were not meant to be for a person.

TASAWWUF: For there is much useless thought. Often we hold thoughts of a nature that we consider all right if they are only held in the mind but we would not wish them to be objectified before our eyes. Yet they may be objectified somewhere and if not before our view then elsewhere. It has been said that many crimes are committed by weak persons who are responsive, who pick up the thoughts of others and carry them into action. One man hates another and keeps on hating but does nothing more; another one with little strength of character or perhaps with criminal intendencies will feel that influence and perform a crime. In the eyes of man he alone is guilty, in the eyes of the cosmos the hater is the real perpetrator.

GITHA: It creates things which otherwise the person might never have, if he had not concentrated his mind on the object.

TASAWWUF: For one can by concentration draw things which he would not obtain by honest work and effort. There have been schools of thought which have encouraged it and as has been explained, there was once a time in India when the knowledge of metaphysics was so misapplied. People see much injustice in the world and there are complaints of the uneven distribution of wealth, of power, of the good things of life. They do not always realize that those who gain do so because they apply the law of attraction, they use it and others do not use it. But it is also true that attraction becomes destruction when there is no moral consideration. Nevertheless talk does not do much to stop those who are concentrating; to overcome them one must make use of equal or greater force.

GITHA: In short, the master of concentration can raise himself from earth to heaven;

TASAWWUF: Which is to say that the master of concentration makes his own conditions. He reaches a point wherein he can arrange conditions on earth to his liking; he sees his wishes objectified. The elementals on the unseen and the machines and people on the seen plane serve him. All things come to pass as he wishes; only it may be he does not wish for much.

GITHA: Can turn a miserable person into a most happy one;

TASAWWUF: This faculty is the one which distinguishes the saint from the devil. For the true master of concentration will make use of his faculty to bring happiness to others, at least to help alleviate their unfortunate conditions. Laws do not change because time passes by and it is still the same human ego which stands in the way of the appearance of heaven upon earth. Yet the one who masters concentration stage by stage has made accommodation within his personality for grace, glory, wisdom, joy and peace. He can communicate something of their blessing to others, and in his presence others may feel their own hearts stir. This in turn changes their feelings for the moment at least and is a healing and purification. The one who does this for others may be a Buzurg or Pir or Rassoul.

GITHA: And can make a person who has always had failures successful.

TASAWWUF: For his suggestion to another will touch the depths of the other’s heart. That deep suggestion is sufficient to change the way of any person’s mind, which in turn reflects in his actions. Also the master-mind is able to remove something of the opposing conditions which stand in another’s way. Many people are unable to battle against fate. When they feel the blessing of a spiritual person they think that fate is not strong enough to keep them down any longer and that means an immediate change in attitude which turns failure into success.

A spiritual teacher’s successes are not marked by what he accomplishes personally in life. They are marked by the successes he causes to be manifested through others. This whole idea in concentration is that there is a stream of life, a brotherhood and it may be for one to concentrate and for another to do. In ancient times responsive souls were especially guarded that they might keep in attunement with the gods and goddesses and so protect society. This possibility has been lost in the materialistic age, nor is it necessary to restore the ancient wisdom in its ancient form. But the teacher may concentrate and the mureed may do, and this harmonization between personalities, until many act as a unit, is the greatest step forward toward the establishment of the brotherhood of humanity on earth, or anywhere.

GITHA: Hafiz says: “Befool not thyself, seeing these ragged sleeves (of a dervish) for under this ragged sleeve a most powerful arm is hidden.”

TASAWWUF: The dervish or fakir is one who has become devoid of ego, and thus there is no impediment before him. Thus he potentially possesses all wealth, all power, all faculties, although none may be manifesting in him. The Sufi Message is still the same universal message as in ancient times and it offers the same teachings, the same wisdom, the same path. One who follows this line may indeed become a dervish, or a prince of men. But to work together, teacher as master, pupil as executor, through attunement without words being spoken, the disciple discovering the thoughts and will of the teacher is the sign of the spiritual progress of the whole of humanity.

On the Performance of Zikr

An original Sangatheka

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

This paper was classified as a Sangatheka by Murshid SAM.

The papers on this level from Hazrat Inayat Khan were withheld

from him by the Sufi Movement et. al., so he wrote  his own.
“An Original Sangatheka” has been added to the title—Ed.

Table of Contents

     Explanation of Advanced Zikr Practice

     Sangatheka: Series I

          Introductory Lesson

          Allaho Akbar........................................................ Z: AA

          Alhamdu lillah...................................................... Z: AL

          Ya Azim................................................................ Z: AZ

          Ya Basir................................................................ Z: B

          Darood................................................................. Z: D

          Ya Fattah.............................................................. Z: FA

          Ya Fazl.................................................................. Z: FZ

          Ya Ghani............................................................... Z: G

          Ya Haqq............................................................... Z: HK

          Ya Hayy............................................................... Z: HY

          Ishk Allah, Mahbood lillah................................... Z: IM

          Ya Djawaunah...................................................... Z: J

          Ya Karim.............................................................. Z: K

          Allah Mansur........................................................ Z: M

          Ya Rahim.............................................................. Z: R

          Subhan Allah........................................................ Z: SA

          Ya Shaffee, Ya Kaffee........................................... Z: SH

          Ya Sami................................................................. Z: SM

          Ya Vali.................................................................. Z: V

          Ya Wahabo.......................................................... Z: W

     Sangatheka: Series II

          Etheric Element.................................................... Z: AK

          Air........................................................................ Z: AR

          Crescent............................................................... Z: CR

          Dove..................................................................... Z: DO

          Dot and Circle...................................................... Z: DC

          Earth.................................................................... Z: E

          Fire....................................................................... Z: F

          Heart.................................................................... Z: H

          Sun....................................................................... Z: SN

          Sufi Symbol.......................................................... Z: SS

          Star....................................................................... Z: ST

          Triangle................................................................ Z: TR

          Wine..................................................................... Z: WN

          Water................................................................... Z: WR

          The Cross............................................................. Z: X

     Sangatheka: Series III

          Abdul Kadir-i-Jilani.............................................. Z: AKJ

          Abraham Khalil.................................................... Z: ABK...................................... proposed

          Buddha Gautama................................................. Z: BG......................................... proposed

          David................................................................... Z: DA........................................ proposed

          Elijah.................................................................... Z: EL

          Jesus Christ.......................................................... Z: JC

          Jelal-ud-din Rumi................................................. Z: JR

          Moin-ed-din Chisti............................................... Z: MC

          Khidr.................................................................... Z: KH........................................ proposed

          Krishna................................................................. Z: KR......................................... proposed

          Mohammed Rassoul............................................. Z: MR

          Moshe ben Amram............................................... Z: MN

          Moula Bux............................................................ Z: MB

          Rama.................................................................... Z: RA......................................... proposed

          Solomon............................................................... Z: SOL....................................... proposed

          Siva....................................................................... Z: SI........................................... proposed

          Syed Mohammed Moudani.................................. Z: SMM

          Shamsi-din Mohammed-i-Shirazi al-Hafiz............ Z: HS

          Tansen.................................................................. Z: TN......................................... proposed

          Zarathustra Spitama............................................. Z: ZS.......................................... proposed

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Explanation of Advanced Zikr Practice

Inasmuch as through Zikr heart and consciousness enter into a state of expansion or “Bast,” it cannot be described in ordinary language, which would confine it to certain areas and limit the significance of any act, event or condition. Holy Murshid has said that Truth can no more be contained in words than the ocean in a cup. No matter how many words are used to relate to higher conditions they will never be sufficient.

The important elements in Advanced Zikr Practice are:

1.     To perform a Concentration of a few minutes, previous to the Zikr.

2.     To enter into the rhythm of that Concentration and maintain it while chanting or speaking Zikr, and as far as possible hold the feeling but never at the expense of the mantram.

3.     To remain in silence after Zikr until your mind appreciates somewhat the state of consciousness, degree and grade of light, and quickening (“quickening” in the sense of more life).

(Notes by Murshida Rabia Martin)

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series I

Introductory Lesson

These studies deal with methods for perfecting mureeds in Zikr. As a general course the Sheikh or teacher will instruct the talib long before these matters need to be explained. However, all should practice Darood at Zikr assemblies, and every person may or may not have to hold a sacred phrase in thought before beginning his chant either at assemblies or when alone.

In the Orient the Sheikh does not always chant at assemblies, watching the mureeds instead so he can determine their progress. At other times he may listen to them chant or recite alone. Sacred phrases given to a particular mureed may be repeated mentally before the chant whether given alone or in assembly. The explanations cover those generally used. Most mureeds who are instructed in Zikr have already attained to the purpose hidden within the remaining sacred phrases.

In extreme instances it sometimes becomes necessary for the Zakir to hold the sacred phrase in thought throughout the Zikr. This is also true where “Ya Shaffee, Ya Kaffee” is kept in mind in the Healing Zikr.

Papers are lettered, not numbered, and excepting the lesson on Darood, may be read or studied in any order by a group, while an individual may be given any exercise to use in the chant, or any paper to study, regardless of order, but according to his personal needs. When these practices are studied in class, only one lesson is given at a time and only after thorough discussion and understanding do the talibs pass on to another paper, whichever it please the Sheikh or teacher to select.

It is permissible to study some or all of Series II before taking up Series I, and some or all of Series III before taking up Series II. Yet if one has completed the practices of Series II it is well to study Series I; and if one is practicing the lessons of Series III, both Series I and II may be reviewed to advantage.

The reason is that the Zikr assignments depend upon one’s spiritual evolution, and the papers are best appreciated after realization. Yet a Zakir may be assigned a paper at any time if that method helps him to perfect Zikr, although in more instances he will be given the sacred phrase to add to his meditation before Zikr without any explanation. This enables one to perfect Zikr and to attain to inner realization through the Mysticism of Sound.

While individuals may receive single papers at any time, they are not usually studied in class except by those who have had considerable progress in Mysticism and Concentration.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series I  Z: AA

When “Allaho Akbar” is practiced with Zikr.

This is to strengthen the voice, sometimes to strengthen the character.

Generally speaking, whatever is done for the voice is also for the character. Some people are negative to other than God and they need this practice.

This is not for the weak and delicate, or for pure Jemalis. It is for the potentially strong who misuse strength for other than spiritual purposes, who waste their vital forces.

A delicate or refined nature does not need this method because perfection of fineness will bring the purest results. All qualities within a personality may be perfected through Zikr.

Sufism teaches that all qualities are of God. Even if one were a fiend, if he had strength, this practice would eventually turn him into a good being. By it the lions and tigers within us are tamed; by it mystics have attracted the wild beasts and lived in harmony with them.

Therefore it is used to combat evil elementals when one has willingly or heedlessly given them power over oneself.

A negative person is not to be confused with a refined person. Beauty with intelligence and firmness has all power, but this power is expressed other than physically, often other than mentally.

When gentleness is combined with fear one must learn to overcome weakness; when gentleness is combined with love, there is no need to exercise power, so this form of Zikr is not universally practiced.

To bring increasing power and magnetism to the speaker or singer, to enable one to dance without tiring or to play long and difficult passages upon musical instruments, particularly in forte movements, this form of Zikr is the most wonderful.

This can be a Zikr of construction or destruction if combined with a concentration, but only in a relative sense. In an absolute sense, Silence is always the source of perfection. The Infinite is expressed through Silence.

This is not given to the physically weak or sick or to those whose membranes might be strained.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series I  Z: AL

When “Alhamdu lillah” is practiced with Zikr.

This is for emotional people who are emotional without excess of life or spirit.

This brings balance to the body, assists in posture, helps to bring ease to the Zakir before his spiritual work.

This is excellent for nervous troubles. Such people are apt to be uneasy mentally. Therefore this sacred phrase is given to prevent the thoughts from wandering. By keeping one attuned to God, the pitch of the personality, so to speak, is raised.

Generally this Zakir also uses this phrase as Wazifa.

All psychic and emotional tendencies are controlled and sentimentality is transmuted into pure love.

This removes shadow—generally a sign of psychic difficulty—it increases the light about a person.

It is best performed when its meaning is perceived. The emphasis may be kept on Alhamdu, that is to say, the concentration is upon Glory. The realization proves that Glory is in essence nothing but an attribute of Allah.

In other words, there is a concentration upon Glory, Light, Magnificence, Intelligence and related concepts. The Zakir can be likewise instructed in the concentration upon concepts and qualities.

There are people who have kindness without intelligence; this awakens the intelligence and sobers the kindness of heart, preventing it from falling into sentimentality.

As a result moral magnetism is developed. This is fine for moral growth.

It is also good for increase of mental magnetism. Not that it makes one intellectual, but it enables one to appreciate better intellectual power.

It is fine for the irrational and is excellent in preventing tendencies toward mental disease. This is true whether one sings alone or in an assembly.

This prevents loss of life, magnetism and spirit when such loss is to no avail. It is also a conserving practice.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series I  Z: AZ

When “Ya Azim” is practiced with Zikr.

This is to awaken people. Therefore it strengthens Zikr, and helps the person when he is not chanting.

This is for the lifeless rather than for the sober person, where there is a general deficiency in magnetism.

Such a one often has low blood pressure or anemia, little physical strength, often lacking in faculty of concentration, though generally well meaning and kindly. This person is not necessarily sentimental and may have marked intuitions, knowing right from wrong.

Thus this person will often know how to protect himself, but will not always be able to follow through on accomplishing things. On the negative side he is developed, on the positive side undeveloped.

Often a young mureed who comes from a family of non-mureeds will benefit from this. Also the husband or wife who has suffered from the selfish dominance of another.

These people are clear-seeing and once awakened, can progress rapidly.

They do not have to chant loudly. They need more Zikr rather than vocal exercises to gain in quality or power of voice. Much Zikr and still more Zikr and this sacred phrase as Wazifa are very helpful.

This also prevents ebbing of spirit. It is very good for melancholic persons and can be used as Darood against fatigue and sloth.

It dispels delusions and some kinds of obsessions which are due to nothing but untrained imagination.

It also enables one to select an ideal, trace a path for the ideal and attain to it through the guidance of God.

Children who enter the spiritual path at an early age may be given this assignment. Older persons of this type may use it with oral (vocative) Zikr, but need not chant unless they long for musical development.

This is the finest practice for those who have been thwarted in their desire for self-expression through music. They may also learn the Azan [call to Prayer—Ed] to advantage.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka    Series I  Z: B

When “Ya Basir” is practiced with or before Zikr.

This is for the development of clairvoyance. Consequently it will increase the light generated.

If the seer is present at any Zikr assembly and does not chant, she should hold this thought until the assembly is concluded, nor leave the room until the close of her inspiration.

One performing this Zikr should remain in silent meditation for some time after its conclusion.

This Zikr brings great magnetism to the eyes and assists the vision of both the ordinary person and the clairvoyant.

Sometimes this practice is combined with a special concentration for a particular purpose.

This sacred phrase may be practiced as a Wazifa before the talib performs her personal Zikr.

When there is a great inspiration from the Zikr, the seer should practice Darood or repeat “Subhan Allah” until the completion of the inspiration.

The seer does not always chant, but many among the young may combine these methods.

While in Zikr the nufs becomes purified, yet in having visions some form or aspect of nufs is necessary to hold the atoms together. In the state of bast, or expansion, one becomes one with the vision. That is to say, there is a state of Samadhi.

Vision is not always a sign of progress in Zikr, and there are many kinds of visions, even of spiritual visions. If one is to be trained in the faculties of sight and insight, and Zikr interferes, sometimes Zikr may be discontinued, but this method enables one to combine them to advantage.

Other practices may increase the light and power or the inspiration, but this is used for very particular purposes. The best work of the seer is often after Zikr.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka    Series I  Z: D

When Darood is practiced with Zikr.

This produces the rhythm which may be sustained throughout the performance.

This also clarifies the notes. When in an assembly the voice is raucous or rough, the Zakir should cease to chant, practice Darood until the end of the measure, then resume unless the difficulty continues. If three times there is difficulty with the voice, the Zakir should stop the chanting but continue in Darood until the close of the assembly.

Darood sustains the breath which is most important for a fine quality in the voice. Fine quality is really spiritual quality; that is to say, the Divine Spirit is expressing itself through one. This leads to realization of the true Self.

No harm can ever come through Zikr, but there are lesser benefits and greater benefits.

The leader in an assembly should practice Darood about five minutes before chanting so that all are attuned together. When performed alone a shorter period of meditation is permissible, but if the voice is not smooth, Darood should be increased.

Remember Zikr is to God. The more one sings to God and forgets self, the greater the benefit derived.

Perfection of notes in Zikr is also gained by repetition of the syllable Hu on one note until a finer quality is perfected.

Although those in an assembly need not be equal, all must be tuned together. Chanting Zikr alone is the best exercise for the Zakir.

When in doubt, moderation is the best course as to pitch, quality and degree of loudness, which is called amplitude in music.

The Zakir need not be a trained singer, but whosoever desires to understand the mysticism of sound gains most through Zikr. The best Zakir is a devotee of God.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series I  Z: FA

When “Ya Fattah” is practiced with Zikr.

This is to remove every form of fear, phobia, inhibition, interfering thought or habit.

This person needs to realize dependence of outer success upon inner success. Inner success is accomplished through control of the mental world, for which music is an excellent means.

This one should chant Hu, blowing upon the heart, for the inner power thus aroused will aid in attainment.

This one may be lacking in moral magnetism. Lack of morals is always a sign of weakness. It is this weakness which stands in the way of both worldly and spiritual success.

This person may be physically strong, but to no purpose, and mentally educated, but to no purpose. Such a one also needs concentration upon an ideal.

This aids in understanding the purpose of one’s life and the fulfillment thereof.

Concentration upon an ideal or requirement together with this form of Zikr enables one to measure success or failure at every step of the way.

This Zakir may rise or fall in enthusiasm yet neither is important. The quality of Zikr will be the surest measure of success or lack of it.

Before starting any new venture or travel or even new inner activity, this form of Zikr is very good. Also as the opening Zikr in any place, although not incumbent.

Not everyone needs to know all variations in Zikr; what is necessary is perfection of Zikr. And what does this mean? Perfection in the realization of God.

Lack of this realization causes all failure; lack of harmony between the inner and outer man prevents all success.

This produces harmony of oneself with oneself. It also increases appreciation of harmony.

It is also given to those who have a poor ear for music, for those who have slight difficulties in physical hearing, especially where a passage is blocked. It is also given to the inattentive, those devoid of interest and having similar short-comings.

It is to be practiced as Wazifa by the Zakir before performing according to this method.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series I  Z: FZ

When “Ya Fazl” is practiced before Zikr.

This is mostly for those who require excellence in speaking.

One should concentrate on the room, to be especially at one with the room so that the voice will seem to have just enough strength to reach the furthest wall or ceiling, yet to lack the power to penetrate a single foot beyond.

This is the Zikr to one’s voice, and to God in the voice. One may think of God in the heart, God in the mind, God in the body, God within another, God within or without oneself, but with this practice one thinks of God in the Voice, although one may continue to feel God in the heart as well as in the breath.

This Zikr may be emphatic and should not be too weak; yet it loses its spiritual value when overemphatic. By letting go of oneself, which is most proper and natural in every form of Zikr, one finds the right tone and quality.

The Leader in an assembly should practice this somewhat, alone or with others, to accustom the voice to the room. While Darood blends the voices and makes them harmonious one to the other, producing inner harmony, this harmonizes the sound with the room and with external objects and so produces external harmony.

This keeps God before yet beyond and above one as a never attainable goal. Yet through Zikr one may attain to that goal.

It is the mind in Zikr which regards God as unattainable, while the heart realizes that even the Zakir is nothing but God.

Cherags benefit by this practice. It is also good for cleansing services and may also be used at the beginning of enterprises.

Vocalists and instrument players may also use this in concerts to attune themselves to audience chambers and halls.

Consequently this practice assists in all types of adjustments, producing the proper tune, tone, quality and pitch.

This practice also prepares one for an audience and prepares the audience through control of the atoms of the sphere.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka    Series I  Z: G

When “Ya Ghani” is practiced before Zikr.

This is for a person of strong nufs. Strong nufs is here to be distinguished from wicked nufs; it applies to nufs ammara, nufs mutmaina and nufs salima alike.

This personality is attached to his state, often to himself.

The pure in heart shall see God, but one attached to either virtue or vice becomes fixed in his habits. For them this method is best.

Piety without wisdom can become as great an obstacle to spiritual development as ill-doing by itself. Love of self disappears in the light of the love for God, of God and from God.

Although a person of fixed habits may seldom apply for Bayat, there are some who are quite self-centered while well meaning, and need this practice.

The active person may remain active and the passive person stay in a passive state so long as, in action and passivity, God is felt.

This type of person always benefits from much performance of Zikr. If unable to chant, then the oral Zikr may be employed; also constant listening to Zikr in assemblage.

This person is seldom really bad and may often be quite religious. Some mureeds who have been orthodox before entering the path to realization benefit by this Zikr.

This helps broaden the horizon so one can see from the point of view of others.

It is for those who have had narrow although not necessarily fixed views. Some people change from one narrow position to another and call this “broadness of mind.”

Real broadness is sure to follow this type of Zikr.

When the light of God illuminates the mind the proper quality is engendered in the personality.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series I  Z: HK

When “Ya Haqq” is practiced before or during Zikr.

This is for mental magnetism. It is very valuable in improving the memory, alertness, faculties of observation, concentration and insight.

It is fine for students of all ages, who wish to combine intellectual and spiritual development. It prevents dry intellectualism and puts life into philosophy.

This helps to relate philosophy to reality; it stimulates the intuitions and controls the reasoning faculty. It vivifies all inner processes of mind and heart.

The argumentative person needs this; those prone to partisanship and who carry superior feelings.

It cultivates true humility without debasing the personality. It is paradoxical in that it promotes exaltation and humility simultaneously.

It is the Zikr of the Sage.

Whether one wishes to learn inner or outer wisdom or whether one is facing a tremendous problem, this practice repeated before Zikr or even kept in mind while chanting Zikr is most beneficial.

This brings the purified mind. Therefore its effect is something like that of Fikr only it is more vitalizing and vivid. This is necessary for some types.

Lawyers and pleaders, counselors and statesmen or those studying or working along similar lines benefit from it.

When the mind is clouded, keep this phrase in it prior to Zikr or Fikr. God will help those who willingly surrender to Him.

This destroys worry and needless care. It brings equanimity in feeling toward the future, and without assuring success, at least destroys failure. It leaves to each capacity to work out destiny.

Therefore it helps the will to function properly, and by that God, Who is the Source of power and wisdom, can guide man.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series I  Z: HY

When “Ya Hayy” is repeated mentally or orally before Zikr.

This is mostly for young people and can be a kind of Zikr in itself.

This develops yet controls enthusiasm and ebullition of spirit, transmuting the passions. It arouses the vital forces, giving them an upward direction and so aids in spiritualizing both mind and body. It brings inspiration but not power, and of itself does not sustain activity nor stimulate intellectual growth as such.

It increases every sort of magnetism; physical, mental, moral and spiritual.

It can be used by those who have not reached physical majority; also by young dancers, and especially those who dance or move in Zikr.

It has the tendency to arouse body, mind and heart and greatly stimulate Sukr, spiritual intoxication. Therefore it arouses one from lethargy or sleep and helps with work and movement of any sort, with inspiration and enthusiasm.

It brings some degree of spiritual illumination: of God Who is Light and Life. Performed at the period of youthful conversion it has a tremendous effect upon the later life, often of very lasting good.

It can be used by those too young to meditate who, however, should engage in some prayer. But it is not for older people or for the nervous or those lacking in self-control.

It can be practiced with Zikr almost from the start of a spiritual career by those for whom it is intended. It spiritualizes yet enhances youth and vigor and protects one against loss due to the heedlessness common at the age.

It helps to overcome temper and distemper. It is fine for directing without suppressing the emotions.

It can occasionally be adapted to early morning Zikrs when the performants have difficulty in keeping awake. It is most powerful before early spring when it helps to arouse nature.

It should be balanced with Darood and other suitable practices. A general practice for young people, each of them can be given additional exercises for the sake of balance and development.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series I  Z: IM

When “Ishk Allah, Mahbood lillah” is practiced before Zikr.

This is for devotees, but always is to follow Darood. Darood should precede all exercises connected with Zikr.

The lover will practice this before chanting, but one who’s finer qualities are not aroused, who needs to develop his love nature, sometimes benefits by holding this phrase in mind throughout Zikr.

This produces a sweet and gentle tone and makes for generosity of heart.

This clarifies small obstacles in the voice, assists in the pronunciation of vowels and enables one to distinguish syllables, and thus speak or sing clearly.

This practice may also be used before singing love songs of any kind, and in every case where it is desirable to touch the heart of another.

In performing Zikr for a person needing love, as in healing, sometimes this practice is beneficial.

This is used mostly to draw one closer to God, to open the heart.

It may be used to awaken another, whether a mureed in the audience or far away, but it is not used for the benefit of groups. This is not the way to help a group.

Many in Zikr may hold different sacred phrases in mind, but Darood holds all together, so no further thought is necessary for the Zakir.

Generally the Zakir should not try to sing too low, yet this will lower the sound gently.

Zikr should not be whispered; if there is danger of being overheard by the unworthy, do not perform the chant. Substitute oral Zikr or practice Fikr instead, especially while traveling.

This phrase performed mentally before or while intoning Hu gives a gentle sweet touch to the voice, yet enables one to benefit others far away through the atmosphere.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

 Sangatheka    Series I  Z: J

When “Ya Djawaunah” is practiced during Zikr.

This is mostly for older persons who may use it while repeating their own Zikr or who attend an
assembly where they do not sing.

It is held in thought and combined so far as possible with deep contemplation.

It may be employed for former Zakirs, or by those who because of age, do not unite in the chant.

It helps restore magnetism and prevents diminution of the life-force.

It attunes the talib to the assembly and reawakens the vitality of the heart. In this way some of the enthusiasm of youth is aroused, enough to keep body and mind functioning properly.

If there is any fountain of youth it is within the heart. Those who cannot perform strenuous tasks because of an ailing heart may use this to profit.

This one may continue to move the head and blow Hu on the heart, while in assemblies which are chanting. Or he may keep perfectly still.

This one may also keep this sacred phrase in mind while performing any Zikr, especially when
practicing the Hu.

It is best to remain in silence for some while in the meditation hall after a Zikr assembly, as at that time the atoms of the space contain the most magnetism.

This mureed may permit outer processes to slow down while keeping the inner faculties alert.

This helps prevent loss of memory and other deficiencies due to age.

Older people who enter Khilvat may attend assemblies and may even use the above sacred phrase as Darood. But with it caution should be observed not to try to speed up processes because of restored vigor. It is for the glory of God that this is practiced.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka    Series I  Z: K

When “Ya Karim” is practiced before Zikr.

This helps place the tone in the heart.

This is important for people who have been thoughtlessly selfish, wrapped in their own thoughts, careless of others.

People who have been cruel, shown abuse to others or needlessly held wrong thoughts, benefit thereby.

It is also good for very analytical persons and those lacking in intuition.

There may be a concentration on the heart symbol. If in an assembly the Zakir’s voice is not good, silence is advisable with concentration upon the heart and repetition of Ya Karim as Darood.

This person is often well meaning but careless of others; one does not correct his habits but encourages him in the spiritual practices which awaken the heart. By this means the personality is purified.

This often sweetens the tone, but does not modify the amplitude. That is to say, a loud voice will remain loud, a soft voice soft—but the quality is improved.

This helps the atmosphere of the room or meditation hall very much. If there has been any disturbance, this is a good practice.

Whether persons have been disturbed or there has been confusion in the room or any agitation, this practice is excellent.

If one is talkative, give this practice as Wazifa, then as Darood. Have the talib hold the thought even during the performance of his Zikr.

This is also good for mureeds having thyroid trouble. In chanting Zikr for protection against thyroid epidemics use this method. This arises from lack of kindness in the generality; remember this as well as most diseases have psychological causes.

When the tongue controls the mind and the mind the will, this practice is most beneficial.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka   Series I  Z: M

When “Allah Mansur” is practiced during Zikr.

This sacred phrase is held in the mind only in extreme cases. If used with Zikr it is kept in the mind during the entire practice.

It is fine for those about to enter upon a battlefield whether in bloody war or before a court of judgment or any great strife.

It is also suitable when one has fear of impending trouble, whether this be due to intuition or weakness. It does not alter the event but prepares the Zakir.

Consequently it is also suitable for glandular disturbances and related difficulties in men and women. Also for the timid or those needlessly afraid (as in the dark).

It is like a spark needed to start a fire, but if continued can become a consuming flame.

It brings magnetism but not power to the voice. Once started the music of Zikr will of itself accomplish the desired result.

It does not have to be done often; faith in God should generally be sufficient to help the Zakir.

It is a very strong Jelal practice, and therefore should not be overused, except in case of war.

The Takbir gives power to the voice; this is for inner strength and brings inspiration rather than strength.

It removes tremolos which may be due to fear or nervousness.

It can be used by speakers having this trouble; also it is valuable in connection with the vocative Zikr and with Fikr.

It can be used with the whispered Zikr. The Takbir, making the voice loud, is unsuitable for this purpose.

This brings courage to oneself from oneself and can be used as Darood even upon the battlefield.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka    Series I  Z: R

When “Ya Rahim” is practiced before Zikr.

This is for the development of Jemali qualities, also to tone down the loud voice.

People with raucous voices and forward natures need this.

While apparently to bring mildness, in reality it helps to bring balance. One does not destroy strength, but one balances it with beauty or wisdom.

If a person has a tendency to sing or play too loud, this practice is given. The opposite type generally uses “Allaho Akbar.”

Gentle persons do not need it, should not use it.

This person may be a heart person, but also is often a muscular or physical type requiring restraint.

When one does not enjoy music, this helps to produce an inner appreciation.

This also helps to smoothen the voice especially when there is a physical defect or bad habit.

Among youths there are tendencies, especially in speaking loudly, which this Zikr can overcome.

An admonished person may resent a correction, but through Zikr one notices one’s own faults in the voice.

Nufs is a wild horse and this practice tames that horse but does not impair it. It helps to transmute it into Nufs Salima. For a still higher condition silence is preferable.

As the young and undeveloped are often unable to sustain silence, this practice may be given with Zikr. Young people who find it difficult to meditate, may repeat mentally this phrase before Zikr and practice the chant to benefit.

Where Darood fails, sometimes this may be added or substituted.

Ya Rahim was a practice of the gracious Prophet Mohammed.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series I  Z: SA

When “Subhan Allah” is practiced before Zikr.

This helps to raise the voice, so if a voice be pitched too low, it helps develop the higher notes.

Music has a decided effect upon the personality. The higher notes give more scope for expression of dormant qualities. Therefore this helps also to awaken the higher vibrations of finer bodies, so that mind and heart are benefited.

It stimulates imagination in the mind and increases joy in the heart.

Sober people should practice it when sobriety stands in their path of realization of God. Emotional people do not require it as Zikr itself brings enthusiasm.

When there are psychological difficulties this is a good preparation for Zikr. It helps to destroy what is sometimes termed “inferiority complex.”

Praise to God also removes egotism when there is too much spirit. This guides one along the middle path, but it is in the middle as the apex of the triangle is in the middle between the two base points; it is in the middle but above them both.

Therefore this Zakir sometimes concentrates on the triangle, according to his need for balance, success or progress.

This produces clarity in the upper notes and enables them to resound through one’s being.

Practice of “Hallelujah” at other times is beneficial. This last can be done even when strangers are within hearing distance.

Instrumentalists and dancers may use this when feeling listless. It awakens the spirit and controls it. It is a stimulating Darood.

To increase its potency, continue the thought through the Zikr.

This is mostly for the young. It also helps transmute sex activity without destroying it. The heart and brain are energized and the passions are controlled without being suppressed too much or destroyed. In other words, there is a sublimation in its truest sense.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series I  Z: SH

When “Ya Shaffee, Ya Kaffee” is practiced with Zikr.

This is for the benefit of others, generally for the benefit of Sheikhs or Murshids or for a group or area.

Sick persons do not perform Zikr, even orally. For them Fikr is better or a Wazifa or this phrase in thought.

This is called the Healing Zikr and the thought is retained throughout, whether chanted (which is preferable) or just spoken.

This Zikr is generally not practiced without permission except when the Sheikh or teacher is ill, when it can be practiced without permission. It may be used by the Shifayat, or by any Zakir who assists the Shifayat.

It is most valuable when performed just before a Healing Service. It may also be performed before a ceremony of purification according to the Universal Worship.

One does not perform this Zikr to aid single individuals. The Sheikh, Khalif or Murshid is regarded as a guardian of a flock and in this one protects the flock while aiding the teacher.

It can be used to aid a family especially when more than one mureed of a household is ill.

It can also be used to aid a Khankah, a group of mureeds anywhere, a city or area needing and meriting help physically, mentally or morally.

It may sometimes be used for one’s own benefit in case of impression of impending disease or indisposition. In this event it is practiced when one is alone, but is never used after one does not feel well. Then the breath and heart are not in balance and first this must be restored to bring full benefit.

There are many forms of Self Protection. Music is really a praise to God, for increase of life rather than for warding off death or disaster.

This form of Zikr is best when it is most impersonal.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series I  Z: SM

When “Ya Sami” is practiced with Zikr.

This is to increase clairaudience in all its forms. It is also used by clairaudients under certain conditions.

They may use it in place of or after Darood before Zikr is chanted in assembly. They may repeat it mentally while listening to Zikr at any time, whether in assembly or not. It is also practiced as Wazifa before the talib repeats his own Zikr in private.

There is psychic, mental and spiritual clairaudience. Psychic clairaudience without clairvoyance is not always valuable except for the physically blind who may require all manner of self protection and self expression.

Purity of heart, gained through Zikr, together with this method, assists in awakening both mental and spiritual hearing, and fostering keenness of mind and judgment.

When Jesus Christ said, “He that hath ears let him hear,” he referred to the inner process, the natural result of purification of heart.

This purity comes from Zikr and Fikr. Each process helps another; that is to say, the spiritual exercises are each towers of strength one to another.

The physically deaf do not use this method if their difficulty is due to an obstruction in the body, but the blind and dumb and psychic persons may learn it. It brings both development and protection against obsessions.

Some who learn lip-reading may practice this, but if deafness can be cured, that is always more desirable.

Mystics do not resort to magical processes. They work for the glory of God and realization of God.

God is the source of Universal Sound. Practice of intoning Hu is often more important than Zikr for the clairaudient, but the complete Zikr is universally employed to attain to purity.

The clairaudient need not chant; the vocative Zikr repeated orally, as part of spiritual education is always efficient.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka    Series I  Z: V

When “Ya Vali” is practiced with Zikr.

This is for persons who have difficulty in meditation through lack of self-control.

Generally they have a tendency to quicken the rhythm in chanting or singing or in work. Therefore in assembly they should follow the leader closely and keep the voice subdued.

Until the difficulty is overcome quality of voice is unimportant. These persons need correction in rhythm; often the sense of melody is good.

Daily habits should be scheduled so far as possible to make all of life as a music, and spiritual practices should be performed as regularly as possible at specified times.

Practice in meditation should show gradual development, at first being only a few minutes.

In Zikr the tempo should be watched. Darood also helps in this.

The same principle can be applied to all spiritual practices. Most people who have been accustomed to a rapid pace need this method.

Concentration in Tasawwuri Murshid or fana-fi-Sheikh is very beneficial. If the talib can cultivate the Sheikh’s manner of doing things, keeping to the Sheikh’s pace, weaknesses will be surmounted through self-control, which is the best method.

These people are often willing to learn.

Slow chants of other music, particularly of religious music, are helpful. Listening to the organ is sometimes good.

This prevents nervous breakdowns and mental disorders due to a rapid pace in life. Such persons should carefully avoid stimulants as much as possible, not only in food or drink but even more in work or play.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka   Series I  Z: W

When “Ya Wahabo” is practiced with Zikr.

This is for changeable persons, who start in one direction and then want to change.

One way to satisfy and yet control them is to have them practice Zikr with this variation. They think they are gaining a new practice and so are momentarily satisfied.

As they continue they may become pleased with themselves, then with the teaching and teacher and so gain confidence.

Tell this person to pay strict attention to every note and movement in Zikr; he will begin to notice his own shortcomings and be pleased with opportunities for correction.

Therefore this increases attention to detail in all walks of life, and makes for success through awakened self-correction.

This Zakir should practice slowly when alone. This for purpose of self-observation. Once this habit is inculcated it can be carried out in various phases of life.

Thus, it can be applied to other practices, to reading, speaking, and all movements, first of the tongue, then of the muscles, mind and all functions and activities.

Such a one is more benefited by concentration upon a person than upon a symbol.

This form of Zikr is also valuable for those who are poor in concentration. It increases power of concentration and aids in the fulfillment of desires.

By continually singing one learns to control the mental atoms, especially through singing Zikr; keeping the heart fixed upon God, one approaches the highest realization.

This person often both requires and desires more conferences with the Sheikh, so should be cautioned against too much conversation with other mureeds.

Have this one study carefully and observe attentively all practices and carry out this notice of detail into the daily life. This will increase and expand his interests and life will become more vivid.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka   Series II   Z: AK

Concentration upon the Etheric Element before repetition of the Kalama produces Fikr with movements, rather than a Zikr.

Like Zikr it is a stimulation and like Fikr it is a purification.

This may be performed when one is unable to chant, whatever be the reason.

It enhances the wisdom of the heart, and brings with it an inner beauty.

Combined with the other breaths, it modifies them without taking their characters away, and greatly increases personal magnetism.

It is a practice of communion rather than of action, but it can prepare one for action.

It enables one to understand others and to mingle with them harmoniously.

It is wonderful for the human body, and can take the form of a Zikr with closed lips. This is fine for the body.

It has marvelous purifying properties on all planes.

It increases joy and all the beautiful experiences may come to one.

It is not always tried, as the repetition of Zikr naturally increases the etheric element in the breath, and also purifies the body of its grosser elements and atoms.

It enables one to hear the Voice of the Silence and respond thereto.

Usually the concentration on the Sufi Invocation brings the desired result. When Zikr is preceded by meditation it has almost the same effect.

That is to say, Zikr of itself brings this about, often without special instructions on the matter.

Fikr with movements in this manner is stimulating and develops self possession and self control.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series II  Z: AR

The concentration upon Air and the mystical air breath is often of value in stimulating the imagination.

This Zakir will become inspired, even intoxicated.

Only persons of balanced temperaments should try this.

It serves to rouse energy but does not sustain it.

It dominates the moment always, and if the feeling in Zikr is stronger than the thought, it is valuable in leading others in Zikr chant, and so in other spiritual endeavors.

If one controls this Zikr it is the most beneficial of all, but it is the hardest to control as it tends to speed up the rhythm. At the same time it is for those who, young and capable, are too slow in their undertakings.

In the young it raises them above passion and sublimates the vital life force, but it brings it to the surface also and therefore is not for older persons or those in Khilvat.

If the heart is dead, this is an excellent method of bringing it to life.

This Zikr may be performed before the study of Masnavi to bring to one certain experiences. It teaches one the difference between the earthly and spiritual life and often causes agony of soul in the realization of separation from God.

Until the talib is very regular in habits and has established his life, this is not to be overdone, but those who lack charm and wit may repeat it more often.

This is not for psychics and dreamers; contrariwise it is fine for those whose inner vision is not opened, but it awakens the imagination even more than the intuitions if not closely watched.

This is a good form of Zikr for some poets and artists, and even sometimes for inventors.

It can also be assigned to the materially minded and skeptics.

It always has the tendency to quicken rhythms and speed in life, it makes one more efficient and capable and willing to move, but the emphasis must be on the Zikr, less one should go astray.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series II  Z: CR

When the Zakir concentrates upon the Crescent before performing Zikr, it is always the crescent within the heart.

This enables the talib to respond more readily to the teacher, to advance in obedience and devotion to the cause.

Argumentative persons who have stood in their own light, but who have been moral persons need this practice.

Also those who are fixed in habits so that they cannot advance.

People who want to be shown everything need to be shown this, and chant after some concentration.

This is a measuring of condition of mind and heart for those who practice it.

This increases the light from within, without bringing too much stimulation of intoxication.

It is fine for the mind, especially for those who cannot control impressions or who have slight but undesirable psychic adherences.

This brings calmness and peace, and strengthens those who need more meditation.

It is very restful and may be performed by those who cannot sleep well, especially if the cause of the difficulty is mental.

This chant is never loud, but must be strong enough to make the talib feel it all over.

This removes breaks in the voice and helps to purify the breath.

For those who are irregular in habit this is also a good concentration.

Those who have failing memories should have this concentration, and if not with Zikr, then before Fikr.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series II  Z: DO

The Dove

This concentration is often given after success in Zikr to further the success in it.

When persons have entered into hal and do not understand it and who are apt to misinterpret the experience, this is a very good practice.

Persons who have visions, who are clairvoyant or clairaudient, who have dreams and strong impressions, will spiritualize them by this method.

Those who have been bound by earthly ties will find release in this beautiful combination.

This induces the hal of gentleness, of love, of tenderness, with action and willingness.

This softens all qualities in order to make them more useful.

The healer can often benefit from this practice after magnetism has been developed; this regulates psychic magnetism and preserves spiritual magnetism.

This also relieves the mind from worries and is good for certain troubles, such as high blood pressure and acidity.

This may make the heart very sensitive; it is for the development of the intuitive faculty after it is once aroused.

It is best for very faithful mureeds and at the same time it strengthens the faithful. It can be given to doubters to remove doubt, or to the faint-hearted who do not find themselves advancing in Zikr.

This is not for those in retirement; it is for people who serve God or who live in the world; to remind them that Heaven is their home but that earth is their place for doing God’s work.

This strengthens obedience, inculcates the value of duty, and the spiritual blessings of honest labor.

It also removes pride and vanity and brings spiritual contentment.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series II  Z: DC

Dot and Circle

This concentration is to regulate the states of expansion and contraction of the heart, which are so apt to result from continued practice of Zikr.

By it one avoids extremes, for expansion of consciousness may come with sobriety, and contraction may occur without harmful reactions.

Nevertheless, the meaning of this practice and of Zikr is almost identical although the concentration is not so powerful as the chant.

It may be used with Fikr when Zikr is impossible, to take the place of Zikr. Or it may be used separately from Fikr at another time.

This controls strong spirited persons without humiliating them, leaving them with strength.

This one learns of harmony and unity through inner development, even more than through being taught by another.

When one cannot read, or is where there are no teachings, these practices together will give all the spiritual nourishment needed.

This concentration is also good for those who are deficient in the sense faculties, especially seeing.

This opens the eyes of the blind on all planes, to the wonders of those planes.

Through this one learns real spiritual humility without cost to honor or personality.

One also learns how to regulate his affairs with others.

The purpose of life becomes more realized through this practice.

This regulates the light of Zikr and transmits it to the body and mind without affecting the emotions very much. In general it tends to sobriety rather than intoxication and is very good for the emotional, as it always helps expand the heart at the same time.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka   Series II  Z: E

The talib is given the concentration upon Earth in order to bring out the earthly beauty of the voice and character.

This has a fine moral effect, making the talib lovable and pleasant, easy going yet energetic.

The voice of this Zakir becomes calm and quiet, and he is able to distinguish sounds both in hearing and reciting.

This harnesses the nufs and fixes the rhythm.

People who live a nervous and rapid life and who need calmness benefit by this practice. It is wonderful for excitable natures.

This attunes one to the denizens of the earth without in any way binding one to earth; it is for the master of earth.

It is not for the meek and lowly, it is for the advanced whose enthusiasm or rapid pace does not avail them on the spiritual path.

It brings out certain delicacies in voice and character.

It renders the life most harmonious.

It enables people to get along with others especially when they hold inferior positions.

It is also used by mystics to veil themselves so that their condition will not be known to others; they will impress them by the atmosphere or general rhythm and not so much by outer speech or manner.

This enables positive people to appear negative, especially to appear as docile, when within the fire of God is burning.

This prevents the mind and nufs from dominating heart and will.

This Zakir can reach the highest stages in spiritual training through music, in a quiet and humble way.

It attunes mureeds to Sheikhs, Sheikhs to their superiors and all to God.

In service to God or to humanity it is most beneficial, and even pleasurable.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka   Series II  Z: F

Concentration upon Fire or the fire breath is not often given to talibs, and yet it has very definite purposes.

It enables the Zakir to sing higher notes.

It is excellent before engaging in strife or turmoil as it banishes fear.

It brings latent power to the surface; if continued it can become harmful.

It warms the Zakir, and often makes him uncomfortable for this reason, yet even in cold weather it should not be overdone.

It may produce an outer intoxication; it always takes one away from sobriety.

In most instances it needs to be followed by action.

It is fine for lethargical people, to awaken them.

It aids very much in the circulation of the blood, which is really the mainstay of bodily warmth, mental perseverance and moral courage.

It enables people to stand up and often stimulates those who feel sleepy.

It is wonderful in protecting oneself from another, but it can cause fear and harm, and is not desirable before dealing with friends of the Zakir.

It may be used against the enemies of the moment, providing the Zakir always dominates the breath. Then it will achieve success.

When one has to be fearless, or cast aside sentimentality, it is very good.

This form of Zikr is often practiced by those who prepare to continue their evolution along the path of Malik.

It is sometimes used by the Nabi in his devotion to God when destruction is to be wrought on the earth-plane.

Woe unto those who oppose this Zakir; verily they kindle their own Hell-fires.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series II  Z: H

When the Heart is used in concentration before Zikr, alone or in combination with some other symbol, it is to awaken the intuitive faculty.

This is fine for those of strong intellect, or who are intelligent without always being alert.

For the logical and exacting, this is a good practice; it is to awaken the love nature.

This softens the voice and enables the talib to answer his own questions.

This stimulates one in hal and purifies the mind.

It is for mental and intellectual workers who are weak in will or who suffer from nervous and mental disorders.

It is inspiring without being over-stimulating and so develops mental magnetism without psychic disturbance.

It awakens devotion in the earnest and earnestness in the devotees.

The heart with wings is for the material minded, the heart alone for the intellectual persons.

All faculties of the heart may come to life in this manner; be it will power, love, intuitive ability, insight, inspiration or anything that arises from the heart.

This helps one to understand the lessons, then to understand all lessons of life.

It also awakens one more deeply to the inner life and to the eternal life.

It slowly arouses latent faculties, especially if they are natural to the soul.

If there is hidden genius in man, this practice will bring it out; if there is an angelic being in the body, this Zikr will bring it to life.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series II  Z: SN

Concentration on the Sun before recital of Zikr increases the light that the Zakir beholds.

It aids to develop enthusiasm and intoxication, stimulating joy and bliss.

It makes him appreciate values in life and respond more readily to the beauty in his surroundings.

It develops magnetism and personality, health and vigor.

It increases the light in his countenance and makes him winning and alert.

This also stimulates the intuitive faculty, and coordinates the heart, mind and body.

It is for the sake of power although not at the expense of beauty, as it builds up both sides of man’s nature and never weakens balance or rhythm.

It imparts a noble quality to the voice, and this is especially valuable for the speaker in public.

It is an excellent preparation for the higher concentrations in Zikr, and it makes the accommodation in the body for more attenuated experiences.

It stimulates hal, especially that of light, so that one can realize here and now the presence of God through His attributes.

It is never contrary to the spirit of Zikr, but it is the Zikr which has to be emphasized even more than the concentration.

For the aged who need strength, this concentration can precede Fikr.

It loosens the hold of timidity, vanity, extreme humility and shyness.

This banishes fear, and is wonderful in making people courageous.

It enables people to open their mouths in prayer to God, not be afraid of His presence, and yet it does not interfere with meekness or modesty.

This is fine for people of low blood pressure or heart trouble.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka   Series II  Z: SS

The Zakir who is to aid in spreading the Message may be given concentration upon the Sufi Symbol (heart, star, crescent and wings) before his chant.

This develops balance in action, and progressiveness of spirit.

It develops both the spiritual and material part of man.

All aspects are strengthened and all faculties vivified by this practice.

Especially when one has to travel in life this is of benefit; whether the traveling is physical or mental or spiritual, one advances by this path.

Devotees enjoy this practice and rejoice therefore, for it makes practical all spiritual teachings and revelations.

One who is inspired and wishes to give his inspirations to the world will find no better practice.

This clarifies the voice, removing impurities of all sorts, by purifying the cause of action.

No one can experience sadness or defeat who steadfastly repeats Zikr in this manner, for he is attuned to the spirit of God, the All-Victorious.

This is very valuable for the breath of the Zakir, for one who does not sing well because of difficulties in breathing, and who at the same time is devoted to God and His Cause.

This enables one to overcome all passion and baseness.

The teacher or leader who practices Zikr before a spiritual lesson is given, often uses this concentration, and one who reads papers alone will find more light in the teachings if occasionally preceded by this Zikr.

This ennobles the purpose of life and keeps one on the path of balance and purest success.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series II  Z: ST

The five-pointed Star is given as a concentration before Zikr when development of personality is to be encouraged, when there is need for more expression.

This is fine for artists and inventors, practical people and thinkers.

This coordinates the spiritual, the mental and the physical life of man, with action.

When one wishes to serve God every moment of his life, even in the most commonplace affairs, this is an excellent aid.

Dancers, musicians and those who are in danger of temperamental disturbances will never have them if they perform this Zikr.

Laboring people, athletes and those who have to be alert are also benefitted.

This is the Zikr of the so-called extroverts who have to look outside of themselves, so to speak.

This is a stimulation, and the benefits of Zikr last much longer, although for the moment the Zakir may not be so much aroused.

This sustains what Zikr and meditation and other practices gain.

By this means the divine energy is transformed within the personality and adapted to all the practical needs of life.

This is very beneficial to the glandular system and enables one also to rise above the demands of passion and instinct.

In going on a fast for the spiritual cause or in spiritualizing any effort, this is a good help.

The star combined with the heart brings one to spiritual liberation and is for older persons or those who are in sorrow or dismay. However, Zikr itself has such a tremendous value that the star may often be employed alone.

This regulates the light within one’s being and conserves one’s state.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series II  Z: TR

This concentration on the Triangle before Zikr is often given for success in life, both for inner and outer success.

It helps awaken understanding and also promotes stability and balance.

Those who wish to study philosophy and metaphysics from the mystical manner can benefit by this method, but if they wish to learn intellectually, another concentration is better.

This helps one to understand the nature of God, and the manner in which He works within His creation.

When it is necessary to keep a secret or retire into a silence this practice may be given.

When the mind or heart is particularly perplexed, this helps one to help himself.

When action is begun and obstacles stand in the way, this is the way of the Sufi to enable himself to go ahead in life.

This is the road of the practical will.

This leads to understanding of self, life and God, as well as to find the true basis of relationship with one’s fellows.

Whenever it is an affair between oneself and another which has to be dealt with, this concentration is fine, but when it is love, which makes a union, this is not used, as it supposes variety, albeit variety within unity.

This concentration may be given at the beginning of undertakings, and may be resumed again when there is danger or hindrances.

Devotees use it to fathom the mysteries of theology.

It also contains the key to the secret of the relationship between Jemal, Jelal and Kemal, as well as other mysteries.

Those who wished to be initiated in the mysteries always have had this concentration.

Whenever one wishes a change in circumstances, conditions or habits, provided it is in the divine direction, concentration on the triangle before the performance of Zikr (or Fikr) will help.

It is excellent for students in Sadhana.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series II  Z: WN

The concentration on Wine is not generally given to the Zakir until he has experienced hal or been blessed with Divine Grace.

Once one has entered ecstasy and it is desirable to have this repeated, this concentration may be given, either alone or in combination with other practices.

This raises the vibrations of the personality, and is so stimulating spiritually that it is best when one is in seclusion or can be protected from the world.

This is not for beginners; it is for those who have traveled, to enable them to maintain the states or even to advance. This Zikr always stimulates the mind after the heart; it never destroys the intellect, but it does increase love and heart qualities.

Often the Zakir forgets himself in the presence of God; it is well.

This is essentially a heart Zikr.

This concentration, together with the repetition of the syllable Hu awakens the deepest inner forces and the experience of paradise comes to earth.

By this method every kind of magnetism and vitality is increased, but unless meditation and restraint of speech are added, the gain can be quickly dissipated.

Ecstatics may perform this often if it increases spirituality; otherwise it is to be done only under guidance and direction.

While in seclusion, one should rest long after the Zikr before attending to other affairs so that every atom may be benefitted thereby.

This is the Zikr of spiritual communion and Divine Love, and sometimes the traveler can exist upon little food and drink. In fact it is well to abstain from all meat and to have a rather light diet generally during this stage of development.

This is for the inner life as distinguished from the outer life, but no emphasis is to be placed thereon, only an understanding, so that man can maintain at all times his relation to the Divine.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series II  Z: WR

The concentration on Water, or on the mystical aspects of water, is often assigned to mureeds before the practice of Zikr, and is sometimes held during its performance.

It is fine for psychics who want to advance along the path of the seer.

It enables one to have clearer dreams and visions, without disturbing the mind.

It enables singers to bring out the lower notes of the voice more clearly.

It enables people to get along with others, to adapt themselves to their surroundings and to mingle with all sorts of companions.

It makes one calm, quiet and tactful, and thoughtful before speech.

It also makes one more responsive and awakens the finer emotions, the imagination and the intuitions.

People who have been devotional or religious benefit greatly by this practice.

It opens the hand, heart and mind, and increases the Zakir in the qualities of love and affection.

It produces a very sweet tone that others often enjoy to hear.

This method of performing Zikr brings out all the characteristics, although sometimes another practice has to be added to make them useful.

Those on the path of Wali, and all who need not special training to any great extent can pursue this path to advantage.

The intellectual person, the fiery or passionate person, the argumentative, the persons of positive nature, the unresponsive, the inharmonious; in general, most classes of mureeds at some time perform this Zikr and it accomplishes more than a million sermons or corrections or disciplines.

This is always for softness of nature, and polishing of nufs, without depriving the person of anything.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka    Series II  Z: X

Concentration on the Cross before the performance of Zikr helps to increase the light without stimulating the state of intoxication.

This is excellent when the enthusiasm of the Zakir is greater than his devotion and when he is liable to be turned aside by phenomena.

This stimulates the heart and is very valuable in placing the voice so that the heart speaks.

This in turn means the experience of fana, selflessness, and by that the Zakir enters into the real Zikr which is the praise of God to God, when there is no more ego-shadow.

In other words, the light comes because the shadow goes.

This brings moral balance and self dependence.

This leads the way to Christ-consciousness.

This is a stage towards the true partaking of the sacraments.

This makes the heart very sensitive, and the Zakir becomes more responsive to God.

All qualities such as gentleness, humility and modesty are increased by this means.

The benefits derived therefrom are growth in wisdom and expansion in consciousness.

The Zakir who practices in this manner will need no explanation of the meaning of love.

This is the greatest blessing to mind, which purifies mind so that it will never usurp the place of the heart nor cover the light of the soul.

This helps the silent by revealing to them the immensity of the silent life.

It also helps the speaker by making the accommodation so that God may speak through him.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: AKJ

The Grand Sheikh and Pir Abdul Kadir-i-Jilani says:

There is no power or might save in God, and what you hear is that through the spheres.

Did God breathe His breath of life into man only at birth? No. It is God breathing His breath of life through us every instant. Therefore song which is born through breath is really the action of God.

God created the world through beauty and majesty, so beauty and majesty are the essential qualities of voice.

Power comes when God sings and weakness comes when man sings. It is noise when the music is of passion, it is beautiful when the song is to the ideal in name and form, but it becomes Beauty itself when the Voice is dedicated to Allah.

If there is no joy, do not sing; if there is no pleasure, do not sing; if there is no love, do not sing.

Whenever any thought obscures the vision of the Lord, by Sama and Zikr it may be removed; but one who seeks Sama and Zikr interposes a thought and so obscures the Lord.

The most beautiful music comes when the heart is purest and reaches beyond mortal ears to the abode of the immortals.

The Message of God is music. Through song and sound those above may communicate with those below, and those below may commune with those above. This is spiritual communion and spiritual communication and is nothing like the phenomena to which these terms are falsely applied.

The terror caused upon hearing a mighty sound is really due to the wickedness in one’s heart. In the sound of destruction heard in thunder is the Voice of the Lord; in the cry of the infant and in the soothing lullaby of the mother is the Voice of the Lord; and neither is it greater in the cooing of the dove and melody of the nightingale nor less in the shriek of the eagle or roar of the tiger.

By sound was the earth made and were the Heavens created. Only in a vacuum is there no sound where there are no things.

There are three ways of learning Zikr. The first is to learn the notes and syllables which even a materialist can apprehend. The second is the very subtle meaning which is not clear to philosophers lacking insight. The third is the attainment of union in hal by grace of Allah, when Zikr is experienced and its truth established beyond any doubt.

So the body sings, the mind sings and the heart sings, but the soul is the song, is Zikr itself.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: EL

By the Prince and Preceptor of all Initiates, Elijah, the Ghaib or Hidden One, the Sustainer of God’s Message:

Ham or Egypt is where man collects wealth, and Shem or Syria is where God distributes wealth.

The wealth of this world is material objects; the wealth of that world is the Divine Sustenance.

I may appear when the princes of this world cease to worship with Ahab, the work of men’s hands. I need not appear when men praise God, for in His Presence there is no need for aught.

God can only select for prophethood those who have selected Him for Master.

Every psalm is a paraphrase of Zikr.

The real son of David is he who creates psalms of praise out of his own being in pure love for the Divinity.

Who cannot praise God cannot love God, cannot serve God, cannot become God.

The so-called solar body of initiates is composed of the sacred sounds they utter, for Heaven, Shemayim, is the abode of celestial sound.

The light actually went out of Israel when they ceased to repeat Ya Hu and Hallelujah. Pronunciation of these phrases day by day, and hour by hour, actually illuminates our bodies, hearts and souls.

The Sufis who practice praise of God are the true Ya-hus, the true Christians, the true followers of Islam and the true disciples of Allah.

Now is the Merkabah mystery explained which comes from the master of the earth, water, air and fire breaths by the assimilation of the Divine Breath through the intonation of the praise of God, Shema, Zikr, Takbir and Azan.

Dedicating every breath to God, the chariot of the soul is perfected, which is the same as Burrak only that Merkabah is also the means of the creation of the world, the projection of God’s Divine Spirit as well as its return.

Continual repetition of the Holy Name builds in Heaven an accommodation for the Zakir which becomes a thebah or refuge for all souls. This is the true ark of the Lord which saves man from the deluge of perdition.

The Scripture says there was a wind and earthquake and fire and the Lord was not in them, but was in the still small voice. This shows that air and earth and fire as well as water serve the Lord, but in the Kemal breath of perfection is the Hu, the sound of the foundation of the world.

Many seek to perform little miracles not understanding the nature of the great event. What is the great event? When man becomes God. And when does man become God? By identifying himself with the words of His Mouth. How is this? Because the Scripture says the breath shall return to God Who gave it. What breath? The Zikr.

The Glory of the Lord becomes manifest to him who glorifies the Lord.

How does the Lord enter? Through the breath. How does He depart? When speech, sound and music are sacrificed to Him. This is the real sacrifice of the Spirit, to return to Allah that which He has bestowed.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: JC

The Prince of Judah and Galilee, the holy son of Mary, Jesus of Nazareth, anointed of God:

Know that my sacred prayer was a discourse on the Zikr, for how can we hallow His Name other than by repeating with devotion and fervor?

Shemayim, the Heavens, are the abodes of the praise of His Name, ha-shem, which also means Glory and Light. In other words, Heaven is the sphere of Glory and Light.

To do His will on earth as it is done in Heaven means to repeat the praise and glorification of God on earth as it is done in Heaven.

In Heaven they toil not, neither do they spin, yet God provides their wants. On earth they toil and spin but God does not suffice their wants who seek for other than Him.

The Kingdom of God is where His will is done and where all seek Him. Lovers of wealth are not the praisers of God. Those who praise God for His supposed gifts will find those gifts are loans subject to mortgage and withdrawal; but those who praise Him for His sake alone win everlasting bounty.

God’s Kingdom is not of this world because it is in the Heavens where the praise of God is repeated, but His Kingdom becomes established here whenever His prayer is chanted or the sacred formula repeated.

The heathens are they who repeat vain formulae, that is, they mumble syllables lacking the meaning or utter words without thought.

Heathen is he who repeats Holy Zikr without full love and devotion, knowing in his heart that it is true and that nothing exists but God.

Keep thy heart filled with God and His heart will be fulfilled in thee.

What is name? The sign of thought man has given to things. Why has man been given the faculty of naming? To designate that the One Universal Supreme Name is hiding under all forms.

Crucify thy name that His Name be glorified.

The Prayer means: O Lord Who is worshipped in the unseen worlds on high, may Thou also be worshipped in the world below. Grant us Thy sustenance and forgive us our shortcomings as the spirit of forgiveness and forbearance appears in us. May our love for Thee be so great that we shall be delivered from all the temptations and trials of this world.

Master of Breath and Zikr can never fall into temptation and will be delivered from evil because he knows no duality. In other words, the Prayer means: Grant us vision of Unity and rescue us from duality.

Repetition of the Prayer is of great value but limiting the Prayer to praise of God, hallowing His Name, is of supreme importance. This is the essence of teaching and of all the sciences elucidated by the Holy Ones.

It is Zikr which turns water, human thought, into wine, Divine Love; the marriage at Cana represents the union of the soul with God in ecstasial mergence.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: JR

Says Jelal-ud-din Rumi:

Patience is the attribute of God toward man, and if man would be Godlike he also must be patient to Allah above and to God below.

What is song? Song is expression of harmony between the two aspects of creation, between Will embodied in voice and Form expressed in the vehicle of music.

In the beginning God was silent; He sang and man came out of His lips. So it is proper to sing with man, but it is fitting to be silent in the presence of God.

Meditation is the way of harmonizing man with God and music is the way of harmonizing God with man.

In Fikr all thoughts and feelings belong to Allah directly, but in Zikr it is not wrong to harmonize with those above or below, who are attuned to the Celestial Hosts. Therefore Murshid is present during the Zikr.

Zikr is not only the surrender of man to God, it is the agency of man by God. As Zikr proclaims that nothing exists but God, in Wajud man is God and man’s acts are God’s acts.

There is an upward current and a downward current, and when man purifies the upward current, it brings to him a purified downward current, so that when he opens his mouth he proclaims God’s words. This is true Qur’an and true Masnavi.

Whenever one, in entering Zikr, holds a divine thought as well as a divine feeling, that thought may be expressed through his voice.

Fikr brings man to Wahdat, the place of Unity, and Zikr brings man to Wahdaniat the plane of Abstract ideas. So the counter-current in Fikr secures human unity and brotherhood, and the counter-current in Zikr brings to earth all the Divine Powers which manifest through man. This is the highest occultism.

Many from Wajud heal themselves, are impervious to pains and wounds and ills. So the Zakir by practicing healing Wazifa before rendering Sama, or by holding the thought and feeling that God cures all ills, can pour out the healing vibrations to humanity near at hand or far off.

Zikr is not necessarily the best means for healing oneself or another physically, psychically, mentally or spiritually, but it is often a practical method. Master Jesus said: “Speak the word and they will be healed.” That same word or sound comes through the proclamation of Islam.

All Wazifas for healing and helping oneself or another, for attaining to perfection in any divine attribute or moral, can be learned in combination with Zikr; first expressing them through oneself, purifying oneself, cleansing oneself, perfecting oneself, and then helping another.

Whatever vibrations of any beneficial or divine nature arising from God’s grace are expressed through the personality, the personality of anybody; these can be developed and poured out on the whole humanity. This is the meaning of Rassoul and the time of action is called the Day of Risalat, whenever it occurs.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: MC

Khwaja Moin-ed-din Chisti says:

All that is necessary is to perform one note in your heart. When Allah is singer and song, then Zikr is perfected.

If Allah would, Zikr would have been limited to one note. To make His creation beautiful, He built it out of the beauty of His Being and these vibrations gave rise to all the harmonies of the universe.

The perfection of a single note brings man to God and constitutes fana, effacement of self in Unity. The Sama of several tones in Zikr accomplishes the perfecting of the human body as the flute of Allah and constitutes baqa.

By perfecting his note man reaches God; by perfecting many notes man expresses God. The true self-expression is God-expression.

The development of the higher notes assists in self-expression, and the development of the lower notes is for self-control.

To develop high notes the practice of the perfection of Hu on one note is the best, and to be able to sing low notes the practice of Hu until perfection, is the best method.

As blood reaches all parts of the body, above and below the heart, so the perfection of a note of middle range sung in the heart, reaches the higher and lower ranges of pitch and automatically purifies and perfects them.

Spiritual perfection comes through concentration and meditation. It is not necessary to perform many vocal exercises. What is important is to purify the breath, the mind and the heart, to keep the body as the temple of God, the mind as the altar of God, and the heart as the shrine of God.

Sing one note perfectly before Allah and Allah will sing 10,000 notes perfectly through you.

For what was the nightingale created except to show that the Divine Surmad flows through even birds and animals.

Pray five times a day with your neighbor and he will become your friend. Sing five times a day before Allah and even the birds and beasts will become your friends.

The life of Orpheus was not a myth of one who won the hearts of lions and tigers through his music. Before Khwaja Muslim and Aryan were as one and Kafir and Mleccha were no more.

To become at peace with yourself, perfect your note; to become at peace with another, perfect your note; to become at peace with God, perfect your note.

If man does nothing more than to sing one selfless note before Allah, then the purpose of life has been accomplished and not only will his soul arise, but the atoms of his heart will find joy, his mental vibrations will attain peace, and the flesh of his body will experience repose.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: MR

The Holy and Blessed Seal of the Prophets, Mohammed Rassoul, in the Name of the Lord proclaimeth:

Real Qur’an is the living breath that gives utterance to words of praise.

Heavenly Qur’an is extended even as the Holy Spirit is extended which sustains the whole universe.

When the light of the Lord appears in man, he speaks the words of the Lord, as the light and breath are one.

Qur’an is my revelation, not my creation. God alone is Creator Who reveals through whom He reveals.

Be ye my followers by performing my deeds.

Recite thou, recite thou, recite thou—that is, repeat Zikr in thy mouth, Fikr in thy mind, and Mushahida in thy heart.

The Holy Scripture should be chanted, for that music riseth to Heaven. All music to the Lord elevates the soul and all other music keeps the mind in turmoil on the mental plane or below.

Whosoever proclaims Unity may not create divisions among men who are the handiwork of that Unity. Sing Unity and overcome division, think Unity and overcome division, act Unity and attain to peace.

What is Islam? It signifies peace. And how can peace be attained? By raising the consciousness above the turmoil and chaos of this world. And how is this done? Through the spiritual practices which purify mind, heart and body, permitting the Nuri Mohammed to unveil itself.

The friend of God has no enemies in God’s house.

Master-Zakir moves even the foundations of the world. That is why Orpheus and David and Daniel controlled the mouths of lions.

When the Divine Light falls upon nufs, enemies all are destroyed, from small to great. For that reason the initiate may not see God and live for one identifies his being with nufs. When the Shekinah vanquishes the nufs, it destroys the body entangled with it.

The Table that preserves Qur’an is the footstool of the Lord from which His Everlasting Word flows as a stream of living waters.

When Zakir becomes totally enrapt his body becomes a flame and his heart is full of light. The light shining through man’s body enables others to witness the Glory of God and then they praise Him.

Buzurg is he who kindles the flame in the soul of another so that the Divine Light may appear there.

Stars are the lights of Heaven, illuminated souls the lights of earth.

Seeker of the Lord, know the Lord is seeking thee. Whosoever takes to sanctuary in Allah, in him Allah will find sanctuary.

Thy good deeds shall be recorded in the Book of Mercy, but when thou art totally devoted to the Lord, already thou hast risen above judgment.

The true ark of covenant is the secret pact between man and God, placed within the living heart.

God’s mercy endureth forever and man’s sins may be destroyed in an instant.

Nur is Divine Light which can illuminate nufs; Naar is the resistance nufs displays toward Divine Power—this sets the soul afire.

God does not need man but seeks him and man needs God yet shuns Him. So the Mercy of Allah is incomprehensible to man.

Perform not Zikr; realize that there is one Eternal Life and repeat it and repeat again the solemn chant.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: MN

The Holy Prophet, the Prince of Legislators, Moshe ben Amram, in the Name of the Lord declareth:

Ya-hu-va Echad, V’shema Echad. That is to say; All that exists is one and all is sound.

The Unity of God is proclaimed not by the repetition of belief in the proclamation so much as in the repetition of the performance of the declaration.

Zikr and Shema are one. Their mystery cannot be discussed, which discussion is forbidden as the knowledge can only be gained in the utterance and the deed. Philosophy without life is dead.

The Name of God is the sound that penetrates the whole universe. Therefore it is not wrong to give God any name and yet no name properly befits Him.

Only on the Day of Atonement can the Name of God be uttered. Only in the hour of Atonement can the Name of God be understood.

The real name of the Hebrews, Ya-hu-dim, came from their constant repetition of Ya-hu. When they ceased from this the light went out of Israel.

There are two forms of Zikr in Israel, two forms and a third. The one is the Zikr Shema Yisrael Ya-hu-va Eloheinu Ya-hu-va Echad. The second is hallelujah. The third is the use of the first in serbahs: the second serbah being Ya-hu-va Echad; the third being Ya-Hu; the fourth being Hu.

Among the Beni Israel of Asia were the works of the Sufis translated. Why? Because inwardly they spoke the same language.

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. What is the law of the Lord? To live as God lives. And how does God live? He sings the note of His Inner Being and radiates light. And this is it which restores the soul.

Nothing else brings perfection except this Divine Law and its repetition in deed and in creed.

The ten commandments are:

1.     Only God exists.

2.     Worship only Him.

3.     Repetition of His Name elevates the soul; misuse of His Name deprives the soul of light, and use of any other name is idolatry.

4.     The father and mother are the first gurus.

5.     Remember to remember the Lord Who restores and preserves the soul. That is the real Sabbath.

6.    What God creates man should not wantonly destroy.

7.    God has created man out of His Essence according to law; let man procreate also according               to law, for it is a divine act.

8.    The earth belongs to the Lord and He will provide for all. The thief is not he that steals but               one who permits his brother to starve.

9.    Control the nufs by controlling the tongue. This was put in the mouth to praise God; when                it defames man it destroys all virtue.

10. Control the nufs by controlling the eye and the appetites. These are the ten commandments               of God, praise be to Him.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: MB

The Murshid Moula Bux says:

Sing Zikr in joy. If there is no joy in Allah, where in the universe is there happiness?

At night under the stars, at dawn with the rising of the sun are the hours when the music of the spheres is most effective.

If there is no love, why sing at all? First feel love in the heart. Without that no music can become of value and better silence than speech.

Bible says to love Allah with all heart and might and mind. Until Zikr is sung whole-heartedly and with pure mind and all concentration of will, it is not Zikr but mere sounds.

Each syllable of Zikr has its significance both in the meaning and in the power of the sound itself.

In singing a melody to God, perfect each note and put thy heart on God. Then the melody will take care of itself.

In singing to God, remember thou art singing to God.

Bible says: “Open my lips and my mouth shall sing forth Thy Praise.” Murshid says: “Sing forth God’s praise and He will open thy lips.”

Nothing clarifies the vocal organs and breath so much as songs of praise. Nothing purifies body so much as purified breath and nothing benefits mind so much as purified breath. Therefore mind and body both benefit from praise to Allah.

Until David had sung his songs, Solomon could not build his temple, O thou, who art both David and Solomon.

Until David had won his wars, Solomon could not enjoy his peace, O thou, who art both David and Solomon.

What Solomon built in his heart in a lifetime was destroyed in a moment, but the psalms of praise of David live on forever.

The Zakir has already attained Universal Brotherhood, having joined that company of Kawwals who sing praise to God everywhere.

Attunement to God attunes one to all attuned to God.

To achieve beauty in voice, cease to sing and let God sing through your mouth and breath.

The echo of God in the breath is the highest form of music.

There are no mysteries, only the veils of light and darkness. Darkness veils the sun at night and light veils the stars at day, but Divine Wisdom is limited by no conditions.

The only escape is from the thought that thou art imprisoned and limited. When thou-ness becomes the Thou-ness of Allah escape is already accomplished.

The master of song who performs all ragas, is he who has joined the angels even while on earth. Angels who are His messengers in Heaven continually sing His praise, so man to be His messenger upon earth should continually sing His praise.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka Series III  Z: SMM

Says Pir-o-Murshid Syed Mohammed Moudani:

Zikr is the purpose of the body and the body is the purpose of Zikr.

Purity of feeling will accomplish all that every quality and range of tone would attain.

It is not necessary to express in a loud voice or in a soft voice; keep the heart fixed on Allah and sing to Allah.

Sing to Allah a few minutes and He will sing to you continuously. This is attested by the sound in the left ear.

It is not necessary to study the metaphysics to know music, but to learn music in order to comprehend metaphysics.

Metaphysics is the study of God in idea and Sama is the attainment of God in action.

Creation came through Music. Man is man because of Music. Even God without Music is a God Who is unattainable and unintelligible to all that has name and form.

What shall the mind do in Zikr? If nought exists save Allah, what is mind?

The Zakir who is lover knows only love. The sigh of love is the source of music. Even the sigh of Allah in Love with Himself became that marvelous Hu which is the base of all sounds.

To repeat Zikr without feeling is to look upon beauty with closed eyes.

Self-effacement is the key to self-expression.

Lull the devil to sleep, quieten the body, rest the mind and soften the heart—then the words of God will be revealed through you.

Qur’anmullah—the revealed words of God are coeternal with creation. Disputes over the creation of Qur’an show ignorance of the nature of Qur’an.

The mission of Mohammed was accomplished when Divine Grace revealed Qur’an to him. All else thereafter was the work of humanity.

The true nature of Mohammed is only known to those who understand Qur’an.

The Islamic condemnation of music is not an opposition to the beautiful, but an affirmation of the universality of Allah. When Audition is practiced, deafness to the devil’s false melodies is incumbent.

The heart is a mystery. It must become soft to withstand the blows of life.

When Zikr becomes the practice of the heart, every moment of life and every breath is a praise to God; then man has attained his purpose and at the same time Allah has attained His purpose which is to show and recognize Himself in human flesh.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatheka  Series III  Z: HS

Says Khwaja Shamsi-din Mohammed-i-Shirazi al-Hafiz:

Sing Zikr with joy and pleasure. Music must be something more than strictly rhythmed cadence.

The difference between life and death is that life is more than a static geometry; it is pulsating, vibrant, mobile and magnetic.

One can use the word “love” all day long, but until that love is expressed in living form it is not love.

Really Zikr is life itself. It expresses growth, feeling, thought, energy, and all that life brings.

If you love God, express that love in your song. If you do not love God, be honest with yourself and express your Zikr to one you love. You have many choices—your loving mother, your kind father, your innocent child, your devoted friend, your inspiring Murshid. If you do not feel love for Allah, sing your Zikr to them, and in your development you will find that what you loved in them was nothing but God.

Hafiz loved his mother and his mother died; he was devoted to his father and his father was taken; he doted on his child and his child left earth, he was wrapped in his wife and she was removed from him. Then was he illumined by Allah and discovered that love was nothing but Allah, and Allah was nothing but love, and so he attained immortality.

If you sing in thought your song is only as wide as the thought, but if you sing in feeling you have risen above limitation.

The difference between chant and music is the difference between creation and Creator. The one is mechanical, forced and controlled; the other dynamic, free and unlimited.

Nowhere except in Zikr can all the forces in man rise to the surface, and at the same time reach to the depths.

When the life of God begins in you, that is the second birth, and when the life of man ends in you, that is the second death. When the second death precedes the first death, then one is indeed blessed.

All that can be written or explained about Zikr is as nothing in comparison to its performance.

No pain is too great to hinder Allah, and when life takes its toll, enter into union with Allah, the Ocean of life from which nothing can be taken, and you will recover your loss.

Love unites all things, all planes, all differences, all names, all thoughts and all gains.

Forget yourself, get into the spirit of song, rise and fall on the waves of ecstasy, and express pure being. Then you escape all differences, all divisions, all duality, all pain, all sorrow; but do not perform the Zikr of forgetting, perform the Zikr of attaining.

The Zikr of forgetting is to embrace Allah, to rise above turmoil and sorrow, but the Zikr of attainment is to embrace Allah for His own sake. This only can satisfy love.

Githa with Commentary

Ryazat: Esotericism

Series I

of

Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 1

Ryazat

GITHA: Esotericism is the ideal and the most essential subject among all other subjects connected with the mystery of life, for this is the process that leads to self-realization, which is the only aim of the Sufi.

TASAWWUF: The Sufi is one who seeks or has attained God realization through certain processes. No doubt Vedantists, Buddhists, and others have attained, but they do not use the methods known as Ryazat. In other words the Sufi is a specialized type of devotee who uses particular methods or is the channel of a particular aspect of grace in moving toward ultimate awakening.

Ryazat must not be confused with philosophy. It has to do with practices, devotions and disciplines and works toward their effectiveness. By effectiveness is meant the clarification of the mysteries of life as above.

GITHA: It is self-realization which is the ideal, not the process. Through whatever process one may arrive at self-realization, to the Sufi it matters little, as long as one can attain to this ideal.

TASAWWUF: It is here that the Sufi devotee differs from the orthodox believer. Orthodoxy is concerned with processes, not attainment. Orthodoxies divide the humanity. It is possible for an orthodox person to have the attainment—this is described in The Inner Life.

When Hazrat Inayat Khan met the Zen monk, Nyogen Senzaki, they not only entered Samadhi together, they remained there unaware of the passage of time. Literary writers and philosophers who have never had such experiences often confuse the humanity by descriptions and commentaries about experiences they have never had. Mysticism is in some respects comparable to Science because it demands experience, and the realization derived from experience.     

We can read in books written by the Sufis of the day that they are coming more and more to accept the universality of experience and the experience of universality. Such men as Lings, Schuon, Burckhardt and others are working in this unbounded area of universal experience and both its intellectual and mystical aspects.

No doubt the finality may be in Love. In some respects Love is attainment, Love is realization, and all expansion of consciousness are expansions of Love. Those who talk about “expansion of consciousness” without realizing in some degree an expansion of Love, Compassion and Mercy delude themselves and others.

GITHA: The first step generally taken on this path is Nimaz, the esoteric prayer, which consists of three objects:

TASAWWUF: There are two aspects of prayer, esoteric and exoteric. Exoteric prayer is that of religions and devotional people found in many parts of the world. They are no doubt very useful. They seem to have limitations, for they do not always tend toward self-realization, or God-realization.

Nimaz is an Arabic term. Exoteric prayer is called Salat in Arabic. By esoteric prayer we need not only prayers with inner meaning, but prayers done by the whole man and not just lips or mind or ego. In these days there is a growing objection to the customary exoteric prayers which seem to divide mankind and also seem to fail in gaining their objectives, limited, or not so limited.

GITHA: Moral Point of View: The building up in one’s mind of the God-ideal by thought that the love from the heart may gush forth, making it alive, which ordinarily is as dead.

TASAWWUF: The Suras of the Qur’an begin, “Bismillah er-Rahman, er-Rahim.” This literally has been translated “In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” The Arabic SM is the equivalent of the Hebrew SHEM. This means universal Light and Vitality. When it is restricted to mean just “name” this is placing God alongside man. To give God a name which is so separative often fails to allow the full functioning of the gushing of heart-love. When the heart love does not gush forth, the mind is not so enlivened. This is what has limited prayer to ritual and formality. Ritual and formality limit the prayer. Heart is beyond these.

GITHA: The prayer may be offered by the praise of God’s grace and power. The contemplation of Divine Grace widens the outlook of the devotee and enables him to view in life the mercy of God in all aspects; and this produces in him a thankful, contented, resigned and peaceful nature, which is most essential on this path.

TASAWWUF: Mohammed has said “Praise God in time of prosperity, and surrender to Him in time of adversity.” The devotee who asks places a limitation around prayer. The devotee who praises rises above any such limitation. These are examples of the lower and higher forms of separation. But in contemplation one rises above the barrier which separates man from God, creation from Creator. It is only this that can produce the thankfulness, contentment, resignation and peace which is the desire of every soul.

GITHA: The contemplation of Divine Power discloses before his view the Mighty Hand of God working through all things and beings. His justice and rule appear clearly before his eyes, keeping him right and orderly in life.

TASAWWUF: The Sufi term Mushahida, pure contemplation, is a blending of concentration and devotion. The root of this word is shahud, which is also presented in the literature. Also in the Azan, the Islamic call to prayer. In a sense it means seeing with the whole personality, or as is said in the Gathas, “It is the soul that sees.”

Contemplation (Mushahida) is in many respects one of the highest practices. It enables one to rise above self and this in the positive sense of fulfillment (baqa) rather than in the negative sense of effacement. It is God and man working together. But it is not God without all His attributes, it is not any abstraction, it is Reality; it is fulfillment.

GITHA: Philosophic Point of View: Prayer in thought only is seldom complete, for a thought in absence of action is considered no better than an imagination.

TASAWWUF: So many prayers are not self-fulfilling. People ask God, God apart from themselves. They do not realize that when man separates himself from God, God is, so to speak, separated from man. Sufis declare, “When man walks one step towards Allah, Allah walks ten steps toward man.”

The difference between the philosophical view, here expressed, and the metaphysical point of view as commonly accepted is that the philosophical point of view is all thought, no action.

No doubt the Cayce Foundation has beautiful intentions. They say, “Prayer is man speaking to God, and meditation is God speaking to man.” This may be an excellent statement, but it is all in the ego-mind because there is no physical accommodation for it. They also say, “Jogging may cure many ills.” But the average metaphysical person repeats these words without any action. So nothing is proved. In a similar fashion, perhaps, little is proved by prayer kept in thought without action. As such prayers go unfulfilled, many have discarded the institution.

The Sufi is different. He regards prayer without action as incomplete.

GITHA: A thought and action, without speech, are dumb. Therefore, in Nimaz, while the mind is in contemplation on the thought, the tongue and each organ of the body is busy in prayer at the same time, bowing and prostrating itself before the grace and power of the Creator. All this, done at one and the same time, keeps man, in all planes of existence, engaged in prayer, that if one plane has escaped from it, the other planes may drag it back.

TASAWWUF: Thus the Sufi devotee prays with body, mind, and heart. Even if the body moves mechanically, that may be sufficient; that is what the body does. And if the body were to move in certain ways, and to fulfill the psychic laws it would also help the mind and heart; it would help control the lower nature, it would aid in moral development; it would be serving as the temple of God.

There is a portion of prayer in the Hebrew religion; “We bow our head and bend our knees before the King of Kings.” There is something strange here. Many groups of Jewish devotees do not bow their heads; still more do not bend the knee. The orthodox of every religion think that they alone have the suitable form of prayer that pleases God. But if we go from temple to temple, from church to church, from one religious edifice to another, we shall see many people bowing the head and bowing the knee. This is also explained in the inner teachings on nimaz and salat of the Islamic faith. The psychic principles involved may be universal, the applications particular. Therefore, in the Elementary Study Circles psychic laws are discussed and explained.

GITHA: This makes God see, through the soul of the devotee, the devotion of his heart, and the heart reads the thought of the mind and is moved by it; …

TASAWWUF: This is, indeed, an aspect of Mushahida. In Mushahida the heart is active. There are stories of the Sufi saint Surmad, that when he was in prayer his heart could see and read the minds of everybody in the mosque. By so doing he aroused enmity, which resulted ultimately in his being martyred by the emperor, Aurungzeb. But if we read the lives of the Sufis, we shall find many examples of it.

This is also presented in studies on Metaphysics, Volume V of the published teachings.

GITHA: … and the mind listens to the repetitions chanted by the tongue of the devotee; and every atom of the body, conscious of the prayer going through the whole being, realizes itself also harmoniously joined with the other parts of one’s being. The effect is that the whole being of the person becomes exalted by witnessing his absolute being in prayer.

TASAWWUF: No doubt the term Mantra Yoga has become widely accepted to apply to all devotions in which the sounds of the tongue influence mind and body. This also applies to the use of musical sounds.

Saum indicates the five goals of “Thy Grace, Thy Glory, Thy Wisdom, Thy Joy and Thy Peace.” It may be that these result from prayer alone. Such would be an orthodox view. Grace, Glory, Wisdom, Joy, and Peace are no doubt the desires of the soul, because they are of the nature of the soul. These are the aspects of self-realization as presented in this study.

GITHA: Esoteric Point of View: Man exists in two aspects, one real and the other false. The real is the soul, which is of the Being of God the Eternal.

TASAWWUF: According to this interpretation, the term “esoteric” which means “that which pertains to the inside,” is also concerned with the eternal. Lord Buddha has said in the Odanna that behind this constantly changing evanescent world, there is the eternal, never-changing existence. We can hardly understand the meaning of Buddha’s mission without taking this into consideration. But when we do take it into consideration, we can see that all esotericisms are essentially one. Methods and mannerisms may be different, externals may be different, but essentials are one.

GITHA: The other consists of the mind and body, which are composed of borrowed properties from two planes, the mental and the physical, which are bound to be withdrawn in time by the elements to which they belong.

TASAWWUF: This also is in accord with Lord Buddha’s teachings of anicca and anatta. Hindu teachings differ a little in assuming several bodies or vehicles. In the end they reach the same point, for these are bodies of the physical and mental portions of the universe.

GITHA: And the soul, forgetting this, blinds itself in the false aspect of our being, and loses from sight the thought of the real and everlasting aspect.

TASAWWUF: In the religions of India the two universes, so to speak, are known as samsara and nirvana. In samsara there is constant change; in nirvana such terms as “change” and “changeless” hardly apply. Indeed, it is asserted by some schools of Buddhism that change itself is everlasting. But it may be argued, if such change is everlasting, what is changing? The Sufi may agree with Lord Buddha that this is a useless question and needs no answer. But the Sufi along with the deeper devotees of other faiths seeks the conscious realization of the everlasting process.

GITHA: Therefore, Nimaz, as the first lesson, lays the false aspect of one’s being helpless as it is and surrendered before that aspect of the self which is All in All, gracious and most powerful.

TASAWWUF: As has been explained, and will be explained further, the very words in the Nimaz have meanings and effects on all planes of being. If we assume the first words of Saum: “Praise be to

Thee, most Supreme God,” we already have the attitude of praise and the presentation of God being All Being. The attitude of praise is presented at many places in the teachings, under the caption of “Prayer” and otherwise. The second item as God being most Supreme, should make one reflect on this subject. But the supremacy of God includes His Graciousness, Mercy, Compassion and Love as well as “most powerful.” This becomes realized both in the prayerful attitude and in meditation.

The prayerful attitude require a laying down of self. True, at the lower level there are prayers in which the devotee seeks, but in the higher levels the seeking becomes unimportant if it has limitations, and all important if it does not.

GITHA: Therefore, Nimaz, to the devotee, is a moral culture, to the philosopher it is a spiritual progress, but to the mystic it is the first and most essential process to attain to self-realization.

TASAWWUF: Devotee. There is a vast amount of literature on this subject. The real devotee seldom needs any of it. The real devotee is carried by his own attitude.

Philosopher. All writings under TASAWWUF cover this subject.

Mystic. Mystics see the prayer as a whole, the different facets of it as sentences and phrases; even the words themselves. Prayer increases his inner and outer appreciations of the whole prayer and its parts. But the mystic is more capable than anyone else of utilizing the whole prayer, the sentences, the phrases and words as subjects for meditation and contemplation. In this is the perfection and ultimate fulfillment of prayer.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 2

Nimaz (2)

GITHA: Nimaz—the prayer—is an inherent attribute in every soul of man.

TASAWWUF: There are two aspects of prayer: praise and petition for guidance. As petition has often been decayed into appeals for possessions and power, many people have come to reject prayer. No doubt there are many kinds of prayers which are of very limited value. But this does not hold to the essence of prayer.

GITHA: Whatever and whoever appears to man beautiful, superior, precious, wins him—and he surrenders himself, conscious of his imperfection and dependence upon the object or being that has conquered him.

TASAWWUF: Gayan says, “All surrender to beauty willingly and to power unwillingly.” The whole history of man shows this tendency to worship. As scientists become more willing to learn the points of view of the illiterate and less literate people, they find plenty of evidence to support this. We can even see it in habits of standing, bowing, kowtowing, etc.

In actual worship—indeed in the ceremonial worship of all faiths—we find this demonstrated as if fulfilling psychic law. Indeed it is fulfilling psychic law: thus the head bowed in or out of worship.

GITHA: It is, therefore, for this reason that there have been so many objects, such as the sun, the moon, planets, animals, birds, spirits, and men, that different individuals have worshipped, adoring whichever appealed to them according to their evolution.

TASAWWUF: We find this all over the world, among all sorts of people from the low austroloids to the most advanced people. Among the ancient Egyptians, and to some extent among the Hindus, we may find many forms and objects of worship within the general religious social order.

No doubt some skeptics and philosophical people have refused or been unable to recognize values in all these institutions. But as man has become better informed and more tolerant, he finds it is very difficult to scoff at peoples as a whole, and institutions as a whole.

Sufism has been called the religion of nature. One aspect of this is to find wisdom in nature; another aspect is to find the elements of nature as worthy of worship, either because of themselves or because of their attributes. Thus one may see light in the sun and moon; beauty in a tree or flower; prowess in a lion or horse, and many worthy attributes manifesting in many creatures.

GITHA: But the inspired souls have, from the first day of creation, realized that all the objects and beings which bent the head of the admirer are in appearance many, but in existence, one.

TASAWWUF: It is therefore held by Sufis and others that Adam was the first prophet. Qur’an teaches that God has never left humanity without guidance. The guidance for everyone is in accord with his understanding. Therefore there is no people without some guidance, though this may not be clear to others.

RYAZAT: Bending the head is an aspect of admiration and surrender; also humility. Admiration and humility may by instinct bend the head, but if a person needs discipline in this direction, he is instructed to keep the head bent both in prayer and otherwise.

GITHA: Therefore that One is idealized as the Supreme Being, as the Sovereign of both worlds, as God. When all worshipped many, they worshipped the One, and have taught, under whatever religion it may have been, the same Truth, bowing to that One, Who alone deserves all kinds of bows.

TASAWWUF: If we examine the oldest complete institutional religion of the world—that is, that of ancient Egypt, we find exactly that. The more we recover the knowledges of this wonderful ancient land, the more we find this to be true. There is differentiated and undifferentiated light, but it is the same light. It manifests under a multitude of names and forms, but it is always the same light. Some aspects of this may be seen in the ultra-microscope; other aspects of it may be seen in the expanded and visionary consciousness of every member of the human race.

Pythagoras is said to have studied in ancient Egypt. On the surface his institutions seem quite different. But it is always the same: the worship of the One under the many and even under the various numbers: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 … and under the various geometrical forms: point, straight line, intersecting lines, triangles, squares and quadrangles, stars, circles, etc., etc. There is a tradition of Pythagoras that he said, “God geometrizes.” In the Sufi teaching the meanings of numbers and geometrical elements are explained.

To understand the meaning of the One and the Many, the Dot and the Circle, etc., one may examine the ancient religions. The Hebrew people were like the Dot, holding with firmness to the One but not giving ample room for the One to become the Many. Other peoples, who we call heathens, while not understanding the One did worship God under unlimited numbers of names and forms. The Sufi sees both of them as right.

The Indian religion or Dharma has institutions covering the worship of God, so to speak, in an endless variety of names and forms. At the same time, the superior forms of Vedanta picture the One excellently, and perhaps perfectly. Thus there is no fundamental difference between the Sufic and Vedantic philosophies as such.

After Moin-ed-din Chishti came to India he was found in communion with leading Indian sages. The impact of this is only slowly affecting the world but it is affecting the world.

Jelal-ud-din Rumi in a sense restored the Pythagorean mysteries in his dance forms, in his institutions, in his disciplines and in his inclusion of Muslim and non-Muslim alike as the Beloved Ones of God.

GITHA: As there have been so many kinds of people in the world, so many customs and manners, one bowed differently from the other. In one country, people bent down, in another country they folded the hands, in one country people knelt down, in the other they prostrated themselves.

TASAWWUF: This subject is explained in the Gathas, especially those on “Superstitions, Customs and Beliefs,” the commentaries thereon, and in the general principles of psychic behavior.

GITHA: The Nimaz, therefore, was a form adopted to reconcile with all and combine all customs in one form of worship, that they might not fight on the forms of worship when all worship the One and Same God.

TASAWWUF: No doubt every prophet wished his followers to become universal. It was first necessary to recognize the One God behind multiplicity. Then it was necessary that all mankind unite. Peoples whom we call heathens often united, while people whom we call “believers” often remained separated. Sometimes customs united, sometimes worship.

The Universal Worship presents the idea of all devotees joining. It would put into practice what many call “the brotherhood of man.” But “the brotherhood of man” remains as a sentimental phrase unless it is implemented by some active institution. Nothing in the world is necessarily wrong. Things do not fall into place unless wisely directed.

With the coming of the New Age, the tendency toward real brotherhood is manifested. At the same time there is a departure from the spirit of devotion. No doubt devotion has been necessary to bring and keep the spirit of man close to the Spirit of God. But devotion is not a substitute for morality, and often, piety hardens a man as much as sin does.

It is also true that Brotherhood remains a mere sentiment unless it is hallowed by some institution, by some ritual, by some activity. As the spirit of man awakens, by its very nature it will become devotional. Thus believer and unbeliever both may join in devotion.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 3

Nimaz (3)

GITHA: For the rise of every object or affair, its highest point should touch the utmost depth.

TASAWWUF: Thus the scripture says, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first,” or “I am Alpha and Omega.” The failure of traditional religion has been in the intellectual and practical separation of the highest point from the utmost depth. Then religion itself has become subject to criticism. Jesus has said, “Whatsoever ye do to the least of these my creatures, ye do it also unto me.”

One of the purposes of the Message of the day is to restore through religion. That is to say, to reawaken mankind to the Truth from which religion is derived.

As thought by its very nature seems unable to overcome the discrimination between “highest point” and “lowest depth” other means must be used. These other means include heart, intuition, and worship.

GITHA: The soul, which has descended on earth from its existence in the heavens and which has presumed for the time that it is this material body, rises again to its pristine glory on laying the highest part of the presumed self upon the ground.

TASAWWUF: This is a practice which is found among the devotees of all faiths. Priestcraft seeking to maintain an artificial prowess has misinformed their devotees, falsely teaching that it alone has this knowledge.

In the Hebraic ritual there is a prayer, “We bow our heads and bend our knees.” This is said. It is said without being usually done by the congregation. Indeed the Christian religion, although presumably accepting the Hebraic tradition, has relegated the bowing of the head into an esoteric ritual for the few. The many therefore do not benefit from it.

We also find it in many Buddhist and Hindu rituals, but without proper explanation. Mohammed coming as the Seal of the divine messengers made it incumbent on all devotees to bend their heads. He thus corrected a criticism of the Hebraic religion that its devotees were “stiff-necked.”

In Islam there are two aspects of this: shajda as part of personal and collective prayer; and shajda as a special disciplinary practice to further devotion, humility and self-surrender.

RYAZAT: To promote the spirit of Nimaz in the western world, there is a practice of shajda with head touching the ground and arms down on the floor, or earth, the devotee saying, “Ya Allah, I surrender to Thee and Thee alone,” and then raising the hands and head, but without changing the posture otherwise, repeating, “And Thou dost raise me spiritually.”

This is a special practice for mureeds only, usually for khilvat, but may be given to those of good morals but with too much pride; or to those who are in bewilderment from any and all causes.

GITHA: The mechanism of the body is kept in order by the regular action of the breath through every part of the body and by the regular circulation of the blood in all parts of the body, which can be properly done by the highest part of the body, the head, being placed on the ground.

TASAWWUF: We may give many reasons for each aspect of prayer, exoteric or esoteric. They may be explained by either psychic or physical laws. If these practices were given to the world as “yoga,” they would undoubtedly attract many people. The question is, how do we help people and solve problems? We cannot all learn to stand on our heads, and there is very little spiritual or moral gain by being able to do this. Gymnastics is undoubtedly beneficial to body and sometimes minds also. But it does not enable man to control the ego (nufs).

GITHA: The world is constituted, in its living beings, of egos—one ego assuming several forms and becoming several egos.

TASAWWUF: The ego is the nexus of form. While in reality multiplicity is in Unity, yet the manifestation is as if all the elements of multiplicity were separate.

Much of the world’s culture has been based on the presumed separateness of each item and atom of manifestation. This has led to the opposite position that all is illusory. Things are illusory only in the sense that they are separate. This means delusion rather than illusion, for in another sense everything is real and must be considered as real.

There is no good in misusing the word “maya” as meaning illusion. Maya means measurable and apparently separate. That is why devotees repeat “Toward the One … united with all.”

GITHA: Among this variety of egos, every one claims perfection, for it is the nature of the real ego within. Upon examination, this ego proves to be imperfect, for it is the imperfect division of the perfect ego.

TASAWWUF: In one sense unity is perfection and division is imperfection. When Jesus said, “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,” he did not impose a subjective standard of perfection. The Father in heaven is perfect; he represents the unity. He does not represent division.

In another sense, all mankind has been created in the divine image. In another sense, we are all bodhisattvas, which is to say, perfectable beings. The work of the guide in Sufism is to bring out the perfections of others. It is therefore not surprising that many people regard themselves as perfect, for they are at least in essence perfectable. It is only division that brings out the imperfections

GITHA: It is not perfect, yet it claims perfection in its ignorance, and longs for perfection when wise.

TASAWWUF: The English word “perfect” does not necessarily mean “without flaw.” It means having gone through experience, having done something, having something done to one’s self; and the result of this has been a changed and changing personality.

At the same time, everyone as a child of God, as a Beloved one of God, as a manifestation of combinations of attributes of God is perfect in essence.

GITHA: This perfection the imperfect ego can only attain by practicing, in the way of worship …

TASAWWUF: This way of worship includes prayer and other devotions. It does not stop there. In Saum it says, “Draw us closer to Thee every moment of our lives.” This can become a reality. The devotion is mostly just the first step. It can also become the last step. It may include all the steps between.

When the great Sufi saint Junaid of Bagdad became an old man, he used to say, “I have nothing left but a few prayers.” This great master of esotericism realized that the extension of devotional and disciplinary exercises had the single purpose of God-realization. With the experience of God-realization, all else became vanity.

GITHA: … and of life in the world, in which he may show such humility, meekness and gentleness that this false pretension which has formed the imperfect ego may be crushed; and then what remains will be the perfect ego.

TASAWWUF: The wise Solomon has said, “All is vanity.” But what is vanity? Every time anyone expresses himself, it is in some sense, vanity. Sometimes even non-expression is vanity. When someone tells another not to express himself, that may be worse vanity.

Western people often quote Chinese writings to prove that something is true. They find it very difficult to behave according to Confucian standards or Taoist standards. The emphasis on the exotic is itself both vanity and egotism. Every people have had their teachings, their guidance, their divine messenger. All the messages contain the teaching of humility, meekness and gentleness. The priestcraft of each group denies this to and of others, thus impairing its own positive proclamations. Fortunately mankind is recognizing universality and the evil influences of dividers diminishes.

GITHA: Nimaz is the first lesson for this attainment.

TASAWWUF: Nimaz in some sense is a common requirement for all devotees. If there should be some exception it is usually for those who pray apart, or keep their devotional spirit hidden. Spiritual development, even to the highest stages, even to the grade where man becomes a master or an adept, does not excuse him from pursuing a path of devotion.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 4

Wazifas

GITHA: Wazifa means the repetition of a word, and this has been the secret of the Oriental mystics, practiced by them for thousands of years.

TASAWWUF: The idea of repetition is impressed upon the youth of many western lands in their school yells. They never regard them as wazifas or mantrams. Wazifas and mantrams are very much the same; only the language differs.

No doubt many peoples have tended to repeat words from other languages which may be unintelligible to them. They feel some value in the sounds themselves. Often these sounds are used in children’s games. Jesus spoke against the “vain repetitions” of foreign peoples. Evidently the same habit was found in his time to repeat strange words as if they had special value. The same is also the theme of The Frogs of Aristophanes. From the same source we have such words as “hullaballoo” and “abracadabra” which have definite meanings in the Semitic languages but not in the Indo-Germanic languages.

Even today we find many people believing that Tibetan mantrams have special values. There is little evidence for this. But there is evidence that the Shema of the Hebrews had psychic merit. The Shema is one of the basic themes of the Hebrew Kabbalah. Many have been intrigued by the Kabbalah but really do not know it, for the Kabbalahis based on the Shema and the Shema itself on the existence God.

GITHA: In Wazifa such words are used which have a certain meaning for a physical, mental, moral or spiritual purpose. In the Vedanta it is called Mantra Yoga, and the importance of this Yoga is great, for its effect is quick.

TASAWWUF: Many people have been deluded into presuming that the term “mantra yoga” has special merit. There is no more merit in the words “mantra yoga” than in the word science. The merit of mantra yoga is in its practice; the merit of science is in its experience.

Physical. Sometimes the sounds have special effect. The difference between traditional and modern Sufism is that today we accept words and sounds connected with various languages but always connected with the essence (Zat) or attributes (Sifat) of divine existence. These sounds—not only OM, but other sounds, especially HU, seem to have been drawn from the empirium itself.

Mental. This comes when the Wazifa has a suggestion.

Moral. Concentration on the merits of Allah produces by reflection the same merits in man.

Spiritual. When the Wazifa is the means to union with God or even direct awareness of Allah, it fulfills this purpose.

GITHA: There are words used in a Wazifa, the effect of which is in their numerical value; there are words also which have been either practiced or have been spoken by great inspired souls, which have their value.

TASAWWUF: In a certain sense any word spoken with meaning a number of times establishes an accommodation in the Mind-world. The repetitions of words which have been used many times, even by ordinary people, increases the psychic power in them. This psychic power is somewhat lost or eroded when words are used superficially or in derision. But there is also a higher psychic power when the original sound words of great masters and prophets are repeated.

The term Allah did not originate with Mohammed. It is a very ancient term and probably came from the prophet Abraham. There are words or attributes which have values from their intrinsic sound or meaning. But words, phrases and sentences which originated from prophets and are repeated in forms as similar to those used by the prophet have a special power in them. That is why the Fateha of Islam has been so effective and several of the most important wazifas have been drawn from it.

There is also the consideration of Cyclic Law. This becomes effective when certain numbers of repetitions are used. We see this cyclic law reflected variously in the days of the week, in the principles found in astrology, in the rhythms of music, dancing and poetry. Corresponding number, multiples of them and larger numbers are used in devotional repetitions. The effectiveness has been corroborated in the lives of many celebrated devotees.

GITHA: Sometimes Wazifa is practiced for the accomplishment of a certain definite aim. In such cases it should be understood as good and pure, otherwise perhaps the aim will be accomplished, but the result will be bad.

TASAWWUF: It is often the spirit of devotion that makes the effect good. The repetition of a school yell is not necessarily good or bad. The chanting of repetitive phrases by a mob will be effective but not necessarily good. The repetitions of the devotee may often be effective and constructive.

**(This draft breaks off at this point)**

Further drafts continue.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 4b

Wazifa

GITHA: Wazifa means the repetition of a word, and this has been the secret of the Oriental mystics practiced by them for thousands of years. In Wazifa such words are used which have a certain meaning for a physical, mental, moral or spiritual purpose. In Vedanta it is called Mantra Yoga and the importance of this Yoga is great, for its effect is quick.

TASAWWUF: A great deal has been published on this subject, appearing in The Sufi Message literature since the time when these lessons were first given for disciples. In addition to that a number of books have been published, some very valuable from sacred literature and traditions, some not so valuable being commentaries and opinions of authors who have not submitted themselves to the practices about which they write.

In addition to this there has arisen a whole generation of young attracted to Mantra Yoga, who find delight in Mantra Yoga, and even make a play of it. The repetition of the Names of God is so important that even light considerations of sacred phrases have advantages not always found in traditional prayers and rituals.

The considerations of physical, mental, moral, and spiritual also appear in the literature, often from the standpoint of inducing greater response to the corresponding forms of magnetism and also to enable each person to himself become a source or transmitter of cosmic energies. Thus it is no longer a matter of philosophical or dialectical discussion.

Philosophies about Mantras, not accompanied by proper repetitions, have little value. Repetition of sacred phrases, even without any verbal or other explanations, often open the doors to the recesses of heart.

GITHA: There are words used in a Wazifa, the effect of which is in their numerical value; there are words also which have been either practiced or spoken by inspired souls, which have their value.

TASAWWUF: We have first to consider what has been called cyclic law. For example, in fairy folklore there is a saying “say it three times and it is so.” Sufis are generally found to use rhythms of ten, twenty, twenty-one, thirty-three, forty, one hundred and one, etc. No doubt the numbers have been derived from ancient occult sciences as that of the Pythagoreans. Although the tradition is that Pythagoras said “God geometrizes,” the Jewish mystical science known as gematria has to do with the numerical value of letters, words and sounds. This indeed is the basis of much that has been called Kabbalah. Among the great Sufi schools, that of the Kadiris have the symbol of the “Rose of Abdul Kadir-i-Gilani.” The petals of this rose are used to represent definite numbers of Wazifas repeated by the devotee. They are woven in such a fashion that they correspond to the dharani of India.

Sacred phrases have been transmitted in all mystical schools. They may have arisen from words expressed by the teacher or words concerning the teacher. The former have a greater value. Their psychic power is tremendous. They may have been a complete sacred prayer, a phrase or sentence from a sacred prayer, or they may have been sacred phrases apart from prayers. This is particularly true of the Wazifas which arose in Islamic culture, from the words of the Prophet Mohammed, and endowed also with the psychic power of utterances from a Messenger of God.

They have in them all the importance of magnetism arising from suggestion. Many times they also have the importance of sound which has cosmic value. For example take the two sounds Ya and Hu. There have been people that repeated Ya Hu. One of these became the Ya hu-dim, which is to say Jews. But there were also other people that have repeated the sound Hu and also sounds akin to Allah.

A phrase arising from a Divine Messenger has several values. Its very nature points toward God-realization. The multitude of its repetitions are marked in the cosmos itself. The devotee becomes attuned to this tremendous cosmic magnetism. Therefore it is often more beneficial to repeat phrases that have been uttered many times than to use familiar terms which are translations of these phrases but do not have the same echoes in the universe

GITHA: Sometimes Wazifa is practiced for the accomplishment of a certain definite aim. In such cases it should be understood as good and pure, otherwise perhaps the aim will be accomplished but the result will be bad.

TASAWWUF: This is the difference between spiritualism and magic. In spiritualism (Ruhaniat) the principle is that one becomes more and more aware of God, chiefly through His attributes, for the accomplishment of the purposes of life. In magic the purport is often personal. Thus in the commandments of the Hebrew faith it is said “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord Thy God in vain.” The Hebrew term here is Jehovah or Ya-Hu-Va. We might call this a Mantric term. In fact to avoid any difficulty here the people of the Hebrew religion stopped using it entirely and substituted a particular attributive word Adonai which means almost the same as the English “Lord,” the Hindu “Sri,” and the Greek “Kyrios.”

We see another example of it in many parts of the world when college students and rooters at athletic games repeat “Ra-rah” not knowing they are actually using a Divine epithet, but not for a necessarily noble purpose.

On the path to God there are many particular attributes formulated as Wazifas to help the seeker to attain an immediate or an ultimate purpose.

GITHA: Among the different purposes for which Wazifas is used are such as: increase of means, success in a certain affair …

TASAWWUF: Thus “Ya Azeem” may be used to help both the student and the businessman. It literally means something like “O Power” but this is more the power of the universe descending on the devotee the power of wisdom or grace rather than the material strength. For the latter “Allaho Akbar” is used.

The whole attitude in life may be “In unison with the Will of God, we …” So failure is not necessary. Besides the teacher takes it upon himself to try to help the disciple in all his adventures as well as in accomplishing the main purpose of his life. The teacher often considers he is to blame when the pupil falters. At the same time the success of the pupil may be the sign of wisdom or prowess to both teacher and pupil.

GITHA: … clearing the path of a certain difficulty …

TASAWWUF: For this “Ya Fattah” is repeated, generally with motion using the hands as if clearing the way. This movement and corresponding movements in the use of any Wazifa adds psychic power to effort. The proper use of psychic power also belongs to Ruhaniat. This also means utilizing the power of suggestion as appears in the literature, especially the works on psychology. In other words the Wazifa is an application of “When man walks one step toward Allah, Allah walks ten steps toward man.”

If one only knew it there is all perfection and wisdom in Allah, but the way of knowing is not limited to any intellectual attainment. It operates on all planes.

GITHA: … increasing charm and personality, appearance and atmosphere …

TASAWWUF: The repetition of the phrase “Ya Jamil” may be taken as an example here. We say “God is the perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty.” Now how to apply it? It is applied when a particular attribute is verbalized as devotion and used as Wazifa. When the world knows this it will not be necessary to purchase chemicals to beautify one. The alchemy of Allah is vastly superior to any chemicals, has no commercial value, does not produce karmic reactions and samskaras, and brings out the latent faculties which come from the soul itself into physical and mental manifestation. This is one example of what Jesus Christ has said, “Be ye perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”

GITHA: … developing power, such as psychic, occult, healing and magnetic power.

TASAWWUF: There are many Wazifas which have been used in various schools of Dervishes (that is, Sufis) which have been used through the ages. Some of these are quite selective. Some of them have direct intellectual, psychological or moral import.

Besides these there are the Ninety-Nine “Names of God” which form the rosary of “Pearls of Faith.” Most of these are effective. They are like specialized medicines to be used in special cases. The Caliphs and Murshids in the Sufi Orders are given special training in this field.

Elements of psychic science are offered to members of the Elementary Study Circle. Also we have considered this in the studies on Nimaz. Even in the lessons on the prayers with movements, which are offered at Bayat, the importance of these movements is taught and stressed. This work is further enhanced in the Dervish Dances.

Other aspects of developing power appear in the literature on psychology and in the Githas on psychology called Amaliat. The members of the Advanced Study Circle are given specific and general training along this line.

Also in the book Health there is the philosophy of the development of both healing and magnetic power. This may be done either by the spiritual teacher or the healer (Shifayats) and Khifayats. These latter are often chosen because of their magnetic and healing ability. Healers who have been successful because of their love and tenderness are also trained to develop magnetism which balances them and prevents their loss of power.

GITHA: The Wazifa is also practiced for turning an enemy into a friend …

TASAWWUF: There are several ways of doing this. Often the Darood (Toward the One, etc.) or invocation helps bring this desired condition. Meditating together or breathing in an atmosphere of a spiritual teacher is like a communion. The teacher consciously acts as a harmonizer.

But there are also specific Wazifas which help produce this result. For example, “Ya Haleemo”—this mellows those who have ill will, hatred, envy or jealousy. It also helps produce humility, meekness and mildness.

“Ishk Allah, mahbood lillah” awakens tenderness in the heart and consideration for all people. It is a very beautiful Wazifa.

GITHA: … helping another in his prosperity and success …

TASAWWUF: This practice is: “Bismillah, Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim,” which has been translated by
Hazrat Inayat Khan as “By the Name of God Who is the Most Merciful and Compassionate.” This is not basically different from the usual translation but as God is Supreme we can only properly use superlatives with respect to Him.

Hazrat Inayat Khan has said, “To whom you wish to see successful in this and that world, “Bismillah Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim” brings great success in all undertakings. Unimaginable things are done by recitation and repetition of this. Also develops all attributes of humanity, places you in connection with all Murshids in chain, from whom you receive constant help. This makes a person pious, honest and virtuous.”

Secretary’s Note (Wali Ali): This concludes draft version b which is clearly the most recently written draft of this particular number (#4) of the commentary. The version written by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis at an earlier time now follows in its entirety.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 4C

Wazifa

GITHA: Wazifa means the repetition of a word, and this has been the secret of the Oriental mystics practiced by them for thousands of years.

TASAWWUF: Although Christ spoke of “vain repetitions” he did not declare that all repetitions were vain. In his day the Hebrew people practiced the repetitions of certain sounds and phrases foremost among them being the “Shema.” In their sacred and mystical literature the “Shema,” the declaration of the Unity of God, is considered in almost the same manner and spirit as is their particular declaration, the Kalama, among the Muslims.

There were people of those days who had appropriated Hebrew words and used them without knowing the meaning, just as today we find the same thing going on. Whenever there is a pretender to some secret doctrine, he borrows words of an unknown or little used language, Hebrew or Sanskrit or even Tibetan and has his credulous followers repeat phrases without any depth of feeling or meaning.

If we study closely the religions of ancient times we shall find that they all had certain principles in common although their observations and practices might be quite different. These principles have been preserved by the esoteric or Inner School.

GITHA: In Wazifa such words are used which have a certain meaning for a physical, mental, moral or spiritual purpose. In the Vedanta it is called Mantra Yoga and the importance of this Yoga is great, for its effect is quick.

TASAWWUF: The people of modern times have been prone to adopt the Sanskrit words without always knowing the inner significance of them. There were verbal repetitions, those repeated alone or in group with cadence or chant or even song. Each had an intended purpose. The very sound of the phrase often had a physical or psychic effect. Thus “Allaho Akbar” itself requires a certain strength of voice and feeling and “Alhamdu lillah” another quality and feeling.

Each attribute of God—or in earlier times each name of a god—by repetition, concentration and feeling helped to induce and produce in the devotee some divine quality. He became assimilated to divinity in that manner. And the same is true today, as Master Ali said, “Say Allah and Allah thou shalt become.”

GITHA: There are words used in a Wazifa the effect of which is in their numerical value; there are words also which have been practiced or have been spoken by great inspired souls which have their value.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, a certain number of repetitions seems to have a definite effect on the mind. There is a saying, reputed to come from the fairies, “Say it three times and it is so.” The inner meaning is that in the world of mind, by saying or repeating in thought an idea a definite number of times it would objectify on that plane. A certain number of repetitions builds up a thought-form or thought-force and a certain number of repetitions definitely increases its scope.

Among the Kadiris there is in symbolical form the “Rose of Abdul Kadir-i-Gilani.” The petals of this rose are supposed to represent a definite number of repetitions of various Wazifas repeated by the talib. As he continues them and completes them he weaves that rose which is very much in the manner of the Dharani of the Shingon Buddhists who also practice Mantra Yoga. They have a different name for it but the same goal.

The sacred phrases which have been handed down in all the mystical schools were originally uttered by the divine Messenger or by some Rishi. Many of those of the Sufis have been traditionally handed down from the time of Mohammed although in principle they are older and words have been borrowed from Hebrew and Egyptian, perhaps also from Chaldaic. In these times the Message has been offered in English and although the English is a very involved and quite a derivative idiom, the power of the word of the teacher is indeed great and confers blessings to the pupil who repeats them. Thus the Gayatri have been particularly emphasized that their repetition may help those who desire a prayer or sacred phrases in their own language.

GITHA: Sometimes Wazifa is practiced for the accomplishment of a certain definite aim. In such cases it should be understood as good and pure, otherwise perhaps the aim will be accomplished, but the result will be bad.

TASAWWUF: It is not that the result will be bad so much as that it can not be controlled. There is no doubt that people have prayed for most selfish purposes and that many of the elements of religion have been used magically. In the text books of magic one often finds the sacred phrases of religion. But the Sufi also prays, “Use me for the purpose that Thy Wisdom chooseth.” If this be his keynote, no great harm can be done. And it is always much better to invoke the name of God than otherwise.

In the ancient times there was supposed to be a god presiding over each attribute and also over each aspect of social life. One prayed to that god for the attaining of that attribute for success in that department. But Mohammed showed that all these attributes belonged to Allah, the One and Only Being. And in Qur’an there are supposed to be ninety-nine sacred names or attributes which form the Pearls of the Faith. So if one has any desire or need he repeats the name of God along with that attribute, hoping thereby to develop that quality in his own being which will make for success in his hoped for attainment.

GITHA: Among the different purposes for which Wazifa is used are such as: increase of means, success in a certain affair …

TASAWWUF: The material problem is often one of the first which the pupil places before the teacher. In ancient times the pupil used to vouchsafe his wealth to the teacher especially upon entering a Khankah. The rich gave and the poor received. It was not exactly a communism. The teacher took or gave accordingly as he felt the pupil’s needs. But today we live in a different manner and while the teacher wants to help in what way he can, commercial relationships and effort upon the part of the teacher which would prevent the pupil from finding his own self-expression is unworthy. Often it solves the material problem, often it leaves the spiritual problem untouched.

Yet success is valued on the sacred path because success shows the overcoming of obstacles. It does not matter whether one sees these obstacles as in himself or outside of himself or in life. It becomes a sort of game well worth playing. It is only after the success has been achieved that one can abandon the fruits of action. Too many abandon without there being any fruits. This is the difference between the material poverty and the spiritual poverty. The true fakir can achieve and does, but he remains detached from wealth.

GITHA: … learning the path of a certain difficulty …

TASAWWUF: When the mureed is given his first Bayat or soon afterwards he is given the sacred phrase (or phrases) which will benefit him most at his stage of development. Although the teaching may be looked upon as metaphysical and some metaphysics is taught, nevertheless the inner life does not include the abandonment of the world when one enters the path of Sufism. Rather one faces the world. When a difficulty is cleared up that means a solid advancement.

GITHA: … increasing charm in personality, appearance and atmosphere …

TASAWWUF: It does not matter whether one comes to the path with a selfish or unselfish motive. Often selfishness covers unselfishness and often seeming unselfishness may be a form of egotism. Underneath there is the cry of the soul. The problem that the disciple brings is only his understanding of the real problem. Sufism being the philosophy of love, harmony and beauty, seeks to bring out these principles in its students.

Whatever one’s conception of heaven be, it is right that he should try to realize it upon earth. The best abandonment comes when he is sure of the realization. It is no surrender to give up what one cannot obtain. This is weakness and it is easy to be weak. The Sufi, in developing characteristics within himself helps the whole humanity and spreads radiance and blessing all around.

GITHA: … developing power, such as psychic, occult, healing and magnetic power.

TASAWWUF: This seems to involve a contradiction. The disciple is warned that if he seeks these things he should not enter the path. That is true. Nevertheless that which is his natural inclination or faculty should be developed, perfected. No one has any attribute or ability unless it is there by Grace of God, or unless it has been woven into the seed-personality upon the astral plane before the soul has come to earth. Besides there are many practical problems to be met with in the world such as casting out obsessions, curing mental and physical diseases, solving psychological knots.

In addition to that there are people who have preserved faculties which were used in ancient times to keep a rapport between this world and the next, so to speak. Talibs who have such ability are given all the help possible in Sufism for their own self-development and for service to the Cause.

GITHA: The Wazifa is also practiced in turning an enemy into a friend …

TASAWWUF: When the Wazifa is held in thought it becomes Darood. Either Wazifa or Darood may be used in any accomplishment for the sake of love or harmony or beauty, or for protection of oneself or another. For instance, holding the thought or repeating the phrase, “Ishk Allah, Mahbood lillah” disperses the fog of enmity, and if not quickly, then slowly. But if the enemy must be overcome first, then “Allaho Akbar” will suffice.

GITHA: … helping another in his prosperity and success…

TASAWWUF: The same lessons which are applied for self-protection or self-development may be used to protect or help another. It is always the appeal to God which is stressed. God rains blessings upon all alike, it is the same rain of His Mercy. So by a slight change of concentration or by keeping the needy one in mind during the sacred period the blessings (Baraka) of esotericism may be directed toward him. This idea is offered in the instructions on healing by a simple change of the phrases used, by repeating the suitable Wazifa, the blessing may come in the manner desired.

GITHA: … bringing victory during war …

TASAWWUF: If one has to war, then one should keep God with him in his heart even more. This is his best protection. Nor is it wrong to pray for one’s nation. If the nation is following Dharma the prayer is more effective, if its karma is against it, the prayer will still help. But the Wazifas are powerful practices and caused most of the victories of the Islamic nations in earlier times. Most ancient peoples repeated sacred phrases before going into battle.

This brings up a question of magic and no doubt the line is thin. But a master-mind whose heart is fixed with God has every right, even a duty to protect his fellow-citizens. If he is born or dwells within a nation and has the development and wisdom he lives among that people that he may aid and protect them. Even the ancient Hebrew prophets did that at times, and the Sufis, who were their successors, later. The persecution of holy men has brought the downfall of nations.

GITHA: … releasing sufferers from pain.

TASAWWUF: This includes the whole line of healing and it really applies to all forms of pain.

GITHA: Besides the above-mentioned purposes, there may be many other aims and objects for which Wazifa is practiced. In these cases the Wazifa is called “Amal,” (singular), and “Amalayyat,” (plural).

TASAWWUF: These practices enable one to awaken all the mental faculties of himself or another. And while they may be regarded as the practices of an individual they are really the practices of an individual in behalf of a group, whether it includes the disciples (if he be a teacher), or particular people (if he be a Wali), or every one he meets (if he be a buzurg).

GITHA: When Wazifa is practiced for unkind and selfish purposes, especially such selfish ends in which harm and injury are done to another, it comes under the heading of black magic, which ruins the life of the one who practices it and the one on whom it is practiced.

TASAWWUF: For in calling upon God it is God within Who calls also, although the talib may not know it. And whatever one seeks it is like the rain, it falls upon oneself or another. Besides, any concentration is made more effective through the use of a sacred name. However the one who is selfish has more difficulty in repeating the names of God, or he uses them along with other names. Among the Sufis the spirit of devotion is kept in the foreground that the heart and character remain pure.

GITHA: The proper use of Wazifa is to practice it for the release of oneself or another from trouble, or for an inspiration to oneself or to another, or for the development of devotion or spirituality.

TASAWWUF: In other words there are sacred phrases which fit every need and the spiritual teacher studies their value. But what a mureed has once had he may use at all times for himself or for another. And the secret of the relationship of “self” and “other” has already been explained.

GITHA: For such purposes, repetition of the Sacred Names of God and His attributes is advisable.

TASAWWUF: And if one does not know them, one can always look them up in the books explaining Qur’an or Islam or in Pearls of the Faith. There are the ninety-nine beautiful names of God. If one does not know them in Arabic or one does not wish to repeat them in that language, he may use his own or any tongue. The spirit with which they are employed is most important.

GITHA: On the contrary, to accomplish harmful and selfish purposes, the wicked names of the evil spirits are repeated by those who work black magic.

TASAWWUF: For the sacred name of God can not be repeated indefinitely to be used against His Creatures. The one who desires power selfishly has to draw to selfishness, to nufs. All movements of nufs are inward toward a narrow point, while the invocation of Allah spreads radiance, luster and blessing in all directions. The words used for the spreading of blessings cannot be profitably employed for the opposite purpose.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 5

Wazifa (2)

GITHA: Every spoken word is a re-echo of thought and every thought is the re-echo of an emotion. And, as the activity from within manifests on the surface, so the word spoken takes its reverse process: it is reproduced on the mind, and from the mind it is reproduced on the heart, the factor of feeling.

TASAWWUF: The relationship of thought, speech and emotion has so impressed the new school of Anti-Aristotelian philosophy that they refuse to regard them as separate and especially decry the dualistic view which has separated thought and emotion. While no doubt thought shapes our words, the quality is derived from the emotion behind them. Whatever emotion is uppermost will manifest in and through the quality of voice.

When a word is spoken, the feeling and thought from within touch the outer plane and immediately re-echo or react inwardly. Whatever one says touches the mind, then the heart of the listener. This is often obvious, but it also touches his own mind. The proof of that can be seen in that people saying a thing a number of times begin to believe it is true. They will read a book a number of times and if they have a certain feeling of reverence, of surrender, or credulity, the impression will become so great that they will not be able to criticize it or find any faults or weaknesses in it.

GITHA: That which comes from within comes involuntarily, and what enters within from without enters voluntarily.

TASAWWUF: There are two aspects of this involuntary movement. The first comes to the majority of people who are under karma. They are under the influence of the elements and whatever element is there in the breath, for whatever reasons it is there, will produce the emotion which will dominate the personality for that period (wakt) be it long or short. Yes, there will be changes in elemental influence and also in emotion and sometimes one can select an emotion, but if so, he does not control the reaction thereto.

The other aspect comes when one is under grace, and whereas in the former case the heart was covered with a shadow, here the heart is covered with light, it is like being veiled with light. Then often one will say in inspiration or under impression something for which he has had little reason, given little thought.

Nevertheless it is possible to check impulse and to speak just such words as will enable one to know something of the effect. For all that comes from within does not have to be changed into words and expressed on the material plane. That is because of the impulse of Urouj. The regulation and control of it helps produce the master-mind.

GITHA: Therefore, Wazifa is taught by Sufis as a voluntary production of a certain thing on the mind and in the heart, mind being powerful to produce that which is impressed upon it from within and without, and the heart being a still more powerful factor to produce that with which it is impressed from within and without.

TASAWWUF: In the studies and practice of Concentration one learns how to handle impressions. In the use of Wazifa one learns how to develop impressionability, in other words sensitiveness. The atoms and molecules and vibrations which constitute the inner heart have been drawn from the divine light and contain the essence of life. That life is covered in the ordinary person. Calling upon the name of God reawakens the pulsations or activities of spiritual atoms and forces and this produces the sensitivity and impressionability.

For instance, there is the Wazifa Ya Fattah. This was derived from an ancient Egyptian word, Ptah, the name given to the God of the Opening of the Way, the god to whom the neophyte prayed and devoted himself upon entering the sacred path. Mohammed saw the one God, Who was the Way and the Opening and he gave to his initiate disciples this sacred phrase, the repetition of which helps to open the heart and the Way. When the heart is open and becomes sensitive it begins to respond to the cosmic language as well as to the words and thoughts and feelings of others. Its outer response enables it to see the needs of the world, its inner response enables it to deal wisely with all.

GITHA: As many times as a word is repeated, even in a whisper, so many records it has produced in one’s mind and in the heart.

TASAWWUF: For the spoken word is the sound which has the effect upon the material plane. When words are spoken they either lead to some action or result materially or are lost and magnetism is consumed. If they are merely whispered so as to impress the devotee’s inner being they come in time to shape the character and tendency of his inner being. They become a great influence over him.

GITHA: But the number of repetitions is a question of consideration, that it must be in accordance with the law of numbers. The repetition of the same number every day, or a regular increase or decrease in number, set in time, shows rhythm, and in rhythm there is balance. But when there is no consideration of numbers, the rhythm is lost, and so the balance is lost also.

TASAWWUF: It has been found that certain numbers have the desired or best results such as 20, 33 and 100 or several hundred, to which one more has been added to keep the stream of activity flowing. In the study of concentration these three rhythms are explained. There is Urouj or the accelerated rhythm, Kemal or the mobile, steady rhythm, and Zaval as the retarding rhythm which is called in music relantando. If one uses any number and repeats words at any time during the day or week or month, no doubt there is some influence and some result but there is the loss of the advantage of this principle of rhythm.

Rhythm is a most important principle upon which music, mechanics and machinery are founded. The course of the planets, the movement of dynamos and motors, the wheel and disk and many devices invented or discovered by man depend upon the principle of rhythm. It is so all-pervading that it is neglected. It is found in the breath and heart-beat of man and it can be applied to his inner vehicles as well as to the physical body. Their growth, health and strength depend largely upon rhythm.

GITHA: The day and hour of commencement of Wazifa also has its influence upon its effect. A
Wazifa commenced during the rise of the moon has a progressive trend, because it is in harmony with nature’s tide.

TASAWWUF: Therefore that is the best time to have the mureed begin some new practice. Although it is regarded as a superstition by some, winemakers, for instance, have found that their success depends upon the observation of the moon. In earlier times sowing and planting followed the course of the moon. There is great psychic power in continuing such observations.

GITHA: But if it is commenced during the wane of the moon, there is always an upset or confusion, as confusion is natural during the darkness of night.

TASAWWUF: There are definite forces which pour out through the moon. They influence sex-life in the body and also thought in man. The currents which go up and down between the gonads and pituitary body move in harmony with the moon. During the waxing of the moon they go upward, during the waning they go downward. The ancient Hindu scientists who studied as well as practiced Yoga made many observations and were most punctilious in following the rhythmical principles. No doubt the influence of the moon can be overcome but it is just as well to have the moon on one’s side during the battles of life. In Salat one mentions the light that filleth the crescent moon.

GITHA: Sitting in the same place every day when repeating the Wazifa helps it, because it creates a growing atmosphere every day.

TASAWWUF: One can feel this oneself. One gathers one’s own vibrations in the place where one sits. The more one sits on a chair or cushion or bed the more one’s atmosphere will surround that thing. And the more one sits in one’s own atmosphere the easier will he feel. This helps develop an atmosphere and if one has such a place where he feels his atmosphere, he can gather life and strength there and use it for himself or for others.

GITHA: Repeating Wazifa at the same time every day is also desirable, because the invisible forces get accustomed to meet and help at the same time. Without a set time it becomes difficult to gather them.

TASAWWUF: Mohammed instituted the prayers which were to be repeated up to five times a day, and the mosque served as a gathering place where the conveniences were offered to the devotees for such repetitions. Thus every mosque became the center of psychic power and Baraka and a sensitive person will feel that. It is more important even than the outer architecture of the mosque, it may be called the soul of the mosque or mesjid.

The principle of rhythm for any act is important. In the Western countries there are fixed hours for work and recreation and these have made a marked influence on the people. In many Spanish speaking countries there are set times for the siesta, or relaxation, and this, too, has changed the character of those people. The breath of man changes accordingly and the breath is the channel of the life itself.

GITHA: Cleanliness of body, and purity of mind, and fragrance around, and beautiful thoughts in the mind are the things which give a quicker result.

TASAWWUF: The cleanliness of body is the first need of the mureed and the first initiation consists of cleanliness of body. Impurities of the flesh establish an aura and atmosphere which does not welcome certain thoughts and feelings and a clean body is the best receptacle for wholesome thoughts. Purity of mind is the next need for the mureed and later, in the psychological unfoldment, the advantages of constructive good thought are impressed upon him.

Incense and flowers help purify the atmosphere. The flowers of themselves consume the carbon dioxide and other objectionable gases. Incense makes it difficult to smell undesirable odors. And beautiful thoughts send the direction of the consciousness upward. An invocation or darood is also most valuable to keep away all earthy or selfish thoughts and feelings.

GITHA: Flesh food is sometimes undesirable for Wazifa …

TASAWWUF: On the whole it is well for talibs in this stage to abstain from flesh foods at least during certain periods, as in Khilvat, or not to eat it at certain meals, as at night, or not on certain days. The subject of food is discussed in the Gathas and their commentaries.

GITHA: … and disturbances of mind make it fruitless.

TASAWWUF: Yet there are also certain sacred phrases which can be used when the mind is not tranquil. In that case instead of Wazifa being employed for spiritual advancement it is used to avoid retrogression. It has to be employed in a certain way when there are dangers of obsession or psychic disturbances. But as a rule more attention has to be paid to the breathing first, and without right breathing the advantages of Wazifa may be lost.

GITHA: Weakness of character and an impious life, instead of bringing a good result, ruins the life of the one who repeats Wazifa.

TASAWWUF: When the sun of the inner spirit pours its rays more openly upon the personality it tends to perfect and magnify what is there. Therefore weakness stands out boldly before it. So it is possible to see a spiritual and kindly person who is weak, to fail to develop, through lack of faith and trust. Therefore the moral training and the metaphysical instruction are needed. Without them one does not progress far on the path.

If one leads an impious life, the strength and vitality that come to him will be wasted in ardor and passion. There are even persons who seem to awaken internally before a sage, who gather up a certain momentum which only becomes a further power for wrongdoing thereafter.

GITHA: The pride of repeating Wazifa should be avoided. It should be secret, and its effect should be kept secret also.

TASAWWUF: This will have the very opposite effect of the intention which is to bring to personality the divine attributes. Pride is the ego and shuts out the divine light. Speech wastes it and renders useless the efforts to collect and appropriate it.

GITHA: Wazifa should be taught by some blessed soul, or a permission should be taken from a holy person before repeating Wazifa.

TASAWWUF: Otherwise one will be repeating the name of God for some selfish purpose. This may result in the attraction of things, conditions, satisfaction of desires and removal of obstacles. But the effects may be only temporary and pain or trouble may come along with or after the acquisition of the desired result. When one receives from another, one is practicing humility. Besides that one receives a blessing. One can never bless oneself or assure oneself of blessing. A holy person, a spiritual teacher, a wali and even an innocent person can confer blessing.

GITHA: By doing so, a Wazifa produces a thousandfold effect, because there is some powerful thought working with you at the same time, which undoubtedly speeds the success.

TASAWWUF: That is another reason why it is important to have a suitable teacher on the path. When the Sheikh supplies the instructions he implies or offers a blessing. This is a real blessing. Besides, the initiation which is given the mureed of itself is a healing and blessing and offers an impetus for progress for which there is no substitution. Teacher and pupil together thus form an integrated individual and such an instrument is the means God has used to pour forth blessing and happiness upon mankind.

End of draft commentary

(Editor’s note: this lesson and all subsequent ones appear to be written during an earlier period)

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 6

Zikr

GITHA: Zikr is the process of repeating the sacred word with the concentration that it may impress on the entire self of the one who repeats it the meaning of the word.

TASAWWUF: The word Zikr means “remembrance” or “recollection,” and in the history of this word we find something of the mystery of human nature. The Hebrew word “zakar” is translated “male” but it also means “one who remembers.” In the Arabic language the root means “repetition” rather than just remembrance because they learned how to remember through constant repetition. Qur’an is memorized by constant repetition and the movement of the head. In Zikr also there is movement of the head, to impress the inner and outer being of man with the meaning of the words.

The sacred word in Arabic, “La Illaha El Allahu” is called Kalama, when standing by itself and this word may be translated as “declaration.” The usual translation of the phrase is, “There is no Deity but God”; the esoteric translation is “There is no (existing) Being but God” or “God is the only Being.” This interpretation is made into a realization through constant repetition and reiterated impression. Thus Zikr provides its own proof.

GITHA: The Vedantists have called this process Mantra Yoga or Japa.

TASAWWUF: A Wazifa is substantially the same as a mantra. In Zikr there is the added use of music and chanting. In the Vedic times already the use and benefit of musical tones was well known to the sages who taught it to their disciples. While Wazifas may also be chanted, the central theme of Sufism comes in the realization of the words of Zikr.

GITHA: The Sufis have in all times given great importance to this, for it is not only the mind, but the word with a motion in every part of the body which makes a perfect concentration.

TASAWWUF: The perfect concentration is one which touches all planes and all aspects of man’s being. There has to be the feeling first to control the concentration. Then the mind must be one-pointed in its focus. The motion of the body enables the body to join in the concentration or worship, and this motion with speech incidentally produces psychic power, although that is not what is primarily sought.

GITHA: For a sincere worker, it does not take more than six weeks to see its effect upon oneself.

TASAWWUF: It is easier to trace the development through Zikr than through other exercises. Many of the practices given to the pupils by the teacher are needed for purification or for development along some line and the pupil is not always able to measure his progress. Sometimes he even loses faith because he has been looking for visions or special experiences and they do not come. With Zikr there is a difference for there is often an intoxication of personality, there may be a change in the quality of voice and there are several manifest signs of progress.

GITHA: It is wonderful in giving power and realization.

TASAWWUF: The power that comes through Zikr is of a different nature from that obtained by the repetition of “Allaho Akbar.” For instance Zikr is not used for self-protection and is not a practice in any way associated with dualism. One does not often apply it against personal enemies or against malignant forces. Its performance does enable one to assimilate the magnetism of Ishk and also leads toward intoxication so that one may rise above the consciousness of the earth-plane and also above its limitations.

GITHA: There are hints given in many places in the Qur’an. “Repeat the name of thy Lord” …

TASAWWUF: Sometimes the Orthodox in Islam have objected to the use of prayers and sacred practices by the Sufis who seem to have departed from the letter of Mohammed. Now the Prophet himself at one time went through the spiritual training and the methods he received from his teacher and predecessors were essentially the same as those he imparted to his disciples. As Qur’an was given by revelation it could not very well include words and ideas which were the particular thoughts of the prophet. If he wanted to introduce himself into his scripture it would be a book of Mohammed, no doubt, but it would not be, as he says it is, a Qur’an from God.

Nevertheless in his moments of lucidity he at times referred to the sacred practices. His first mission and duty was to the generality for he could hardly be expected to reveal or teach to the ignorant, who had no background, the most esoteric and mystic methods. So he devised or was inspired to devise teachings for the multitude and in these teachings are references to those deeper instructions which had been given to him as a man and which he handed down to posterity.

Foremost among them was the repetition of the Sacred Name. This practice is common to all mystical schools, and even among the Buddhists who it has been said do not cherish the God-Ideal we find the same idea in practice. The repetition of a sacred name or sacred phrase which would elevate the devotee out of his ordinary human state of consciousness to a recognition of the divine has been offered at all times by all Messengers of God.

GITHA: … or “Cry in the name of thy Lord” …

TASAWWUF: This gives the idea which has been repeated in modern times as “speakest the word that is put into thy mouth.” For all teachers have instructed their pupils that when there is self-effacement, the tongue speaks for God and in the name of God. So when man as such is silent, then God speaks. And as one develops along the path he may speak more and more as the mouthpiece of Divinity. To reach this stage and accomplish this mission the repetition of the sacred name is most advantageous.

GITHA: … and “There are our worshippers who move like the branches of the tree in the air, when they repeat Our Name.”

TASAWWUF: This refers to the use of movement. There is movement in Nimaz and there is movement in Zikr and although there are different movements they each have their own significance. The difference between the movement of a tree and that of man is that the tree depends upon the wind or the column of air which is outside of itself, while man depends upon the air or breath or column of wind which is inside of himself, for his effective movements. But in either case, there is no self-will. Man becomes like the tree, freer in his movements as he dispenses with self-will.

GITHA: Shams-i-Tabriz says in this respect, “Allah, Allah say, and Allah thou wilt become.; again I assure thee, that certainly Allah thou wilt become.”

TASAWWUF: This teaching was given in a certain form by Ali and before his time by the Hebrew prophets whose basic teachings can be traced all the way back to Moses and even to Abraham. The repetition of the name of God can produce a tremendous influence upon the mind, especially as one forgets his own personality and concentrates his whole heart and consciousness upon God. But this is not something which can be proven by argument or logic; it comes as the result of effort, of effort in the pursuit of accomplishment.

When one considers the value of love in spiritual development one realizes that the lover loses all of his consciousness in the beloved. Majnun forgets himself so far that he could only utter “Layla” and in the most beautiful poetry of Jami we can learn and feel that if the soul of man feels so before God, man will only be able to utter the name of God. The Omnipresence of God will become impressed so deeply upon the human consciousness that there will be room there for nothing else. It is then that the spirit of man, so to speak, merges into the spirit of God and although man may continue to live and function as a human personality, inwardly he has the divine consciousness. He not only thinks of God, he may even think as God.

GITHA: The most wonderful people in the spiritual cult that are known to the world have always given this the greatest importance, for Zikr is a sure method of spiritual progress.

TASAWWUF: Zikr has always before it the repetition of the sacred phrase. It may be spoken or chanted. In this its use follows the lines of the “Shema Yisroel” of the Hebrew people. A great mistake has been made when in the comparison of these different words people have drawn conclusions about the effects of their various repetitions. This shows lack of development. No doubt if one actually practiced Shema as it is supposed to be repeated, and one was a Zakir or devotee through Zikr, the same goal would be reached. There would be a similar if not an identical development.

Pure music is pure music and the rightful selection and pronouncing of sweet sounds is of itself and in itself a different thing from the words that are used—which might be drawn from any language. The purest music is the language of heart not of head or intellect. The performance of musical chant, with the thought and concentration upon the highest, ultimately produces ecstasy. This feeling is more important than words and there is the great advantage of repeating the sacred phrases from the past for they carry along with them the magnetism of constant repetitions which is drawn forth from the atmosphere.

These sacred phrases may also be repeated without song and if there are movements, that means that thereby forces are invoked. In the various serbahs or methods of using Zikr, for instance, there are different stages in the awakening or opening of man’s inner consciousness. This has to be gradual, for those who force it gain nothing. They are only thinking of themselves, disproving to themselves the very words they repeat, thereby going contrary to the advice of Jesus Christ about vain repetitions.

Zikr is a positive practice which advances the devotee in consciousness beyond this plane, which
elevates his attitude and ideals and which cleanses his ego from attachments which bind it to earth.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 7

Zikr (2)

GITHA: The value of repetition has been known and realized by the ancient mystics of various cults in the East.

TASAWWUF: Many people throughout the ages have repeated sacred phrases without knowing the value of the repetitions, sometimes without even knowing the meaning of the words they have repeated. Ordinarily when one wishes to memorize poetry or prose, there is constant repetition. In learning a particular dance there has to be constant repetition. In the Chinese form of art which has been inherited by Japan, repetition is the chief thing and one has to repeat over and over again the same theme, the same idea, until it is so impressed upon the artist’s consciousness that he can reproduce it at will; it has become part of himself.

GITHA: Therefore, today, the Brahmans repeat their mantra, which they call Japa; the Parsees their Gathas; Jews repeat the names and verses from the Kabbalah.

TASAWWUF: We can find these repetitions among followers of different religions and generally it has been that they have derived or preserved the methods from the ancient past. The Vedas themselves were given in a chant-form. The great rishis who received them in a cosmic state of consciousness taught their disciples to reach the same or a similar state through the right use of words and musical notes. The Gathas of Zoroaster were also chanted, they were chanted when first given forth by the prophet and chanted by his followers. The words have been preserved even though the exact pronunciation has been lost, and there is a growing inability to reach the higher spiritual development through the methods connected with his name.

In the synagogues even today there is constant repetition of certain sacred phrases. All of these can not be found in the Bible, many of them coming from tradition. There are two sorts of tradition among the Hebrew peoples, the exoteric and the esoteric, the former comprising the Talmud (or teaching), the latter the Kabbalah (or that which is handed from one to another). The students of the Kabbalah learned the mystical method and practiced the esotericism after the orthodox dispensed with such methods as being worthless or superstitious. Nevertheless when there has been any effort or attempt to revive the religion, one always goes to the mystics who have preserved the teachings in the purest manner.

GITHA: Sufis have always understood the importance of repetition of the sacred words (kalma, kalam), which they have named Zikr.

TASAWWUF: Kalma, kalam, may be translated as “the word of words,” or “the utterance of utterances.” It stands out preeminently not only among all the words of man but even among the words of revelation and the actual repetition has produced the most desirable effects through the ages.

GITHA: Many consider it very monotonous to see the same thing, to repeat the same word, to think the same thought, but they are utterly unaware of its benefit. Every time that a Kalma is repeated, it has added power or illumination for whatever it may have been meant.

TASAWWUF: Every repetition tends to impress a line in the mind more deeply. It is the constancy of such repetitions which make the deepest impressions in the mind and by that, depth or profundity of mind is secured. Any concentration may in effect do that. Perhaps it may be argued that the constant repetition of anything dulls or stultifies the mind. What it does do is to dull or stultify the ego. It is the ego which feels the restraint for it wishes to pass from thought to thought as it desires and any constant or forced repetition works against the desire nature. This of itself is very beneficial for man both in his inner development and in the development of personality.

Of course if there is thought in the repetition itself it carries the mind to greater heights. If there is understanding or feeling the benefit is much greater, there is still greater development. Ultimately this can only be proved by one doing the actual repeating. But there is such power and magnetism in the names of God and in the most sacred phrases that the life-force from even the highest planes touches the personality and begins to make itself known in and through the personality by this practice.

GITHA: The importance of repetition may be seen in the success of a singer and in the skill of an artist. As many times the former sings, so much the song is mastered; and as much time the artist gives to his work, so much better result he produces in his art.

TASAWWUF: There are many things gained through repetition in music. First of all, of course, the words and notes of music are learned. Then quality and feeling are added. One may not be able to hold the quality throughout because this can only be mastered by effort and repetition is the method which must be used. As one repeats the same song again and again and again he notices the relationship between the consecutive notes, and how he can best pass from one to another. He develops skill in phrasing and then he begins to perfect the quality of all the notes. The consciousness of the details can hardly come until the basic outline of words and music becomes as of second nature. Then when no more thought need be given to them one can perfect the details.

The same is true in painting and in all arts, only that the painter either does or does not desire to repeat over and over again his theme. In the spiritual training of artists it is necessary to learn to draw the straight line, the vertical line, horizontal line, circle, heart, triangle and all forms with deep feeling until one recognizes them behind every work whether they are expressed or unexpressed.

It is by such means that art is given life and this applies to all the arts. It applies especially to dancing and to the movements of prayers. One may not notice the movement of every little muscle at first. After there is mastery and the body, mind and heart seem to be coordinated, even the smallest flaws impress one, or else one sees how to improve and when one can consciously see a way to improve himself he is becoming a real artist.

GITHA: There are people who have repeated kalmas for forty or fifty years in their life, and every year the word has brought a new power, a new realization, and every year it has increased.

TASAWWUF: One may not think about it directly but when one measures his general consciousness and ability from year to year, and he has been devoting himself to the practice of Zikr, he will find that there are changes. Not only those natural changes which come through the experiences of everyday life so much as a growth in a new direction. New faculties may be gained or a new outlook or a grander feeling or an ability to rise above diseases or resistance to disease. And more than that there may be a development in mercy, compassion and wisdom which otherwise might have been left unnoticed, perhaps being absent.

GITHA: First, progress is realized year after year, and if it is continued patiently, the progress is realized month by month, and the continuance of the same shows the earnest Zakir a progress day by day and hour by hour.

TASAWWUF: This time of progress has to deal with makam, the station or spiritual stage of development and of hal, the mystical state. Hal is the most important accomplishment in the spiritual life for only by rising above the consciousness of the earth-plane and the wall of the ego can one be sure of his true nature and know his development to be real. In other words hal is necessary in order to become conscious of reality.

Now one does not remain in hal, one comes back to ordinary human consciousness in order to do the work for which he exists in the world. Nevertheless after each hal there is a gain and one does not sink back again to his former level of consciousness and development. Thus his spiritual evolution has been enhanced and we say that he has risen to a higher makam. Thus Zikr makes possible the attainment and retainment of makam.

The word Zakir literally means a “rememberer” and is applied especially to those who perform Zikr. Because by this method it is possible to perfect the memory, both in aiding the disciple to improve his memory in regard to those things he would keep in mind, and also to enable him to throw out what he does not wish to have there so that he will not remain slave of any thought or stream of thoughts.

The importance of this, however, comes in the actual performance of Zikr. To help the mureeds in this there are several methods used by the Sufis both in the vocative or recited, and the chanted or sung Zikr. One may progress along either of these lines or both, showing in the latter the reflection of the development of character in the perfection of the development of voice. The practice of Zikr is reflected in the increased scope of range of voice, in the improvement in quality and in the ever increasing facility in the use of voice. In the vocative Zikr the improvement is seen in the change of manner and in one’s relations with others.

GITHA: There are souls who have realized the progress through Zikr every moment of their life.

TASAWWUF: Which is to say that for them there is no loss of makam. This would constitute the real path that day by day and step by step one will be drawing nearer to God, increasing the range of consciousness and acquiring ability and finesse which are not lost and which are the direct result of internal, spiritual effort.

GITHA: It is like the nature of capital and commerce; when there is less capital, it takes a long time for the commerce to flourish; as the capital increases, the commerce develops, and in the end, every moment brings enormous interest and benefit, when the capital is sufficient.

TASAWWUF: The same principle lies at the very foundation of the sciences of physics and mechanics, that force causes matter to move, and that the continued application of the same force increases the
velocity of the moving matter. In commerce capital operates as the force which produces the movement of wealth. In spiritual science the will is the power which, when applied, produces the wealth or results. Zikr requires the deeper will in order to counteract the desire nature. The very movements of the head in it are most effective. Besides the head is cleared out almost automatically of every selfish thought.

The more effort that is put into it, even the more Zikr is repeated increases the light one sees before oneself. This in turn aids the mureed in meditation and in self-assurance. For the manifestation of light on the one hand satisfies those who want to measure their spiritual practice through phenomena and on the other hand the nature of the light is such that it brings that intoxication and joy which uplifts the devotee above the clouds of the ordinary daily existence without impairing his faculties in any one or interfering with his duties.

Moreover the development which come through Zikr may be imparted to the personality as a whole and result in development along any and all lines.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

GATHA COMMENTARY                                                  Series I: Number 8

Zikr (3)

GITHA: Zikr has one great advantage over all other practices. That is, in the body and mind both, the re-echo of Zikr is produced, and both planes of the Zakir’s being are set to rhythm.

TASAWWUF: Very often when we repeat a phrase over and over again, even in ordinary circumstances or more especially when we need to memorize, we say that the phrase haunts us. Sometimes this haunting comes unconsciously and against our will. However it does keep in the foreground of the mind and it does shut out other thoughts and it does draw the body into its rhythm so that the acts of the body are as if covered by the shadow of the haunting thought.

This is especially true of the influence of music and because music has such an effect upon people and upon life generally Zikr has been set to music. In this it differs from many other practices. No doubt their power reaches into the mind also and does something to the music but the Zikr sets the atoms of both mind and body into motion and this motion continues on for some time after the practice is performed.

GITHA: Music constitutes rhythm and tone; and if they are both produced by the means of Zikr in one’s body and mind, the very being of the Zakir becomes musical.

TASAWWUF: One can study this in the effects of music in general. All music has certain effects such as for healing, psychic power, aesthetic refinement, and mystical and spiritual growth. The very sounds sometimes combine to produce very definite effects especially if the composer has the inner knowledge of the purpose and meaning of music. When words are used they can add or detract from the personal effects.

The ancients knew how to relate words and music in such a way that their combination influenced the hearers far more than either one alone, although no doubt properly read and written poetry has its effects and symphony music has its effects. The words combined with the music make a special impression upon the mind of man, much deeper than other words, for the words help one to remember the music and be effected more by it and the music also helps one to memorize the words.

When words embodying ideals or psychic power and especially when the name of God is used, there is a deeper effect than through any other combination of words and music because those words of power can reach as far into the recesses of mind as it was intended that they should.

GITHA: It is therefore that the music makes a great effect on Zakir in the assembly of Sama (the musical assembly of the Sufis).

TASAWWUF: The Sufis particularly of the Maulavi and Chistia schools have found, each in their own ways, the great advantage of chanting in groups simultaneously. The benefit of this group or choral assemblage was known in ancient times and one can read about it in much of the older literature of authority such as L’Awariful Ma’arif and Kashf al-Mahjub. There was a stimulating and intoxicating effect from the sweet sounds and especially as the non-participants remained in meditation did they get a fuller and richer effect. Besides the Qawwallis or chanters themselves seem to received something from one another.

As Sufism has been introduced in the West due provision has been made for this so that mureeds may unite in chanting. This makes out of the group an integrated individual. Such a group may begin with a concentration and end with a concentration, and even hold in abeyance that concentration during the actual performance of Zikr. This will establish between and among them the magnetic chain which develops psychic power.

Besides sitting in a crescent it is possible for them to hold each others’ hands during the chanting of Zikr, and also to dance. Each of these methods produces much power and even enchantment, although until Zikr has been learned so that the Zakirs themselves utter sweet sounds or have the feeling, they do not benefit much by the more complex developments. For even if there are a few weak or undeveloped persons present they may be drawing the magnetism to themselves rather than aiding in using it for some nobler purpose.

GITHA: It is therefore that the music of Sufis is fitted in emphasized rhythm and composed in ragas (modes) that produce the desired effect on the physical and mental being of the Zakir.

TASAWWUF: There is a decided physical benefit from Zikr. It seems to transmute the lower forces which manifest in the body very definitely. Thus it aids in the overcoming of passion and in the preservation or restoration of youth. It maintains the physical magnetism and also aids in the preservation and increase of mental magnetism. The Zakir will have less trouble with his memory and with all mental processes than any other person.

There is a difference between Zikr and Fikr in effect, that Fikr is a means of purifying the mind while Zikr stimulates the mind and aids in expression outwardly, so that speech, thought and action are more properly coordinated. While there may be a tendency toward intoxication and ecstasy this is more needed than one might surmise, in the Western world. The people who live in the material civilizations gain in certain directions and are misled in other directions.

If a question be asked, can the western modes be adapted to Zikr, it may be said that the western modes have aided in activity and in certain kinds of expression but at the same time they have produced some emotional instability. The music of Zikr is especially adaptable for the solution of some of the psychological problems that disturb the Occidentals.

GITHA: The Sufi is not only responsive to music but to all nature’s music—in other words, all that is beautiful—for he is living.

TASAWWUF: That is to say the continued practice of Zikr produces and increases sensitivity. There is a tradition that King Solomon learned the languages of animals and that there have been times when some adepts knew the language of birds. How was this possible? It became possible when there was great sensitivity, for this sensitivity made it possible for man to receive the vibrations and communications from other creatures through a delicate concentration. He came closer to them in feeling and they also came closer to him. Then he perceived their heart’s yearnings and felt at one with them.

GITHA: He who is not responsive to love and admires all the beauty that is around one is as dead. And the reason why he is not, is that he is unmusical; not in the sense of music that is played by musicians, but in the sense of the sublimity of nature, which is itself music.

TASAWWUF: One may notice that people who are prone to disregard their fellowman (or their own selves), who are not responsive to the laws and who lead a life of folly or crime, have great defects in breathing. This may be observed through their speech; even more is it evident through their inability to sing. Speech, laughter and music reveal the character of every person to the seer and likewise through right breathing it is possible to correct the defects made known through these three channels.

Rhythmical music of itself is a means by which the breath may be adjusted without much use of verbal corrections which are so repellent. Many a person who will not listen to advice will willingly learn some method of breathing or even try some new way of singing or chanting under a teacher’s counsel. The Sufis have found this method very profitable in consoling and helping mureeds and non-mureeds and they have permitted outsiders to visit their assemblies (sama) so that they, too, might benefit from hearing the sweet sounds.

No doubt this sense of rhythm can also be communicated through the dance. This will be very beneficial if there is not too much self-consciousness. There are ways by which the dance may be taught which enables the performer also to become more sensitive and to respond to nature which he feels as within his own heart.

GITHA: The Sufi therefore, names music Ghiz-i-Ruh, meaning “the Food of the Soul.”

TASAWWUF: And music seems to influence people on all planes. Even the elements of the mineral kingdom respond to it, which can be learned through a study of sympathetic vibrations and also through the observance that copper and other metal strings are used on some instruments and that metals also have been adapted to organ pipes, bells, cymbals and gongs. And the more life in the forms—the vegetable forms having more life than the minerals, the animal forms still more life—the more definite the effect of the music.

GITHA: The simile of the Zakir, the living man, in comparison with the unmusical, the dead man, is as a rock and a tree. The rock is stiff and steady and without progress, while the tree is bending, moving and delightful to look at. It is said in the Qur’an, “When Our true worshippers repeat Our Name, they move just like the branches of the tree.” For in motion is life; the motionless is lifeless.

TASAWWUF: This reveals that the practice of Zikr increases the life-force and the result of this increase of life-force is the development of skill and efficiency in the personality. What one has not been able to do, especially because of awkwardness or shyness, now one finds it easier and simpler to do. Then one becomes more responsive and sensitive, and this makes it possible for him to receive heavenly blessings (Baraka) which in turn help him to fulfill the purpose of life.

Many people pray, “Use us for the purpose that Thy wisdom chooseth,” without opening any door to God. They may pray and remain as firm and set in their views as the most obstinate person who is not a devotee. In fact prayer, instead of opening their hearts, may make them only firmer and more set, for then they use the argument of their prayer and devotion in favor of their fixed views. Yet this is lifelessness.

A question may be asked, if movement is so valuable would not the dance be even better than direct Nimaz. The Nimaz has the effect of magnetizing a certain place. This has to be learned first and it is learned through its accomplishment. If one cannot magnetize a point he certainly will not be able to magnetize an area. He can certainly give out all the magnetism he has collected and then his activities will be of no benefit.

The original pilgrimage or Hajj was a sort of dance around a sacred shrine or altar, performed with movement, rhythm and a degree of grace. The ceremonial or rite grew out of this. But before one can spell the words one has to learn the alphabet, and before one can write a book the meaning of words and the skill in their use must become one’s knowledge. So Nimaz and Zikr must precede any attempt or effort to extentionalize rites, ceremonies and dances.

GITHA: By Zikr the expression of the countenance becomes harmonious …

TASAWWUF: If there is a mureed who is not in harmony with other mureeds, or with himself, Zikr is a good practice. If there is a conclave of mureeds and lack of good feeling among them there should be practice of Zikr, and this may continue until there is the general good will. At the same time, if Zikr is practiced at the right time it will help to remove such ill feelings.

GITHA: … the voice becomes melodious …

TASAWWUF: This is important for all kinds of persons. It helps to correct those with speech defects and incidentally to remove the harsh features of anyone’s voice. As most mureeds have quite undeveloped or imperfect characters in their early stages, they benefit very much if they can learn to repeat sweeter sounds. The feeling engendered in Zikr also helps to elevate the consciousness and the idealism of the Zakir and these are reflected in the sweeter voice that results therefrom.

With singers it may be more important, and with speakers also. For through Zikr one learns to respond more and more to the Divine Voice and then it is possible to adopt any quality of tone which is best for a particular song or talk.

GITHA: … the presence becomes healing …

TASAWWUF: Zikr increases the mental magnetism, and the capacity for the body to become a vehicle of Baraka. It also helps to preserve physical magnetism and to transmute the lower forces which otherwise drain the inner personality. Those on the path of healing collect power and energy thereby, perhaps even without knowing it.

GITHA: … and man spreads magnetism in the atmosphere.

TASAWWUF: This is one thing of which he may become aware and measure his progress thereby. Magnetism is communicated to his clothes, to his prayer rug or bed, to his room, to his possessions, and ultimately to all with which he comes in contact. This atmosphere he carries around within, learning thereby to feel more of the spirit of others and also consciously or unconsciously to touch deep chords within them.

GITHA: There is nothing that by Zikr cannot be accomplished, either an earthly or a heavenly thing.

TASAWWUF: Zikr may be accompanied by concentration, the concentration being of such a nature that it will help in the desired direction. According to the goal or achievement desired the concentration can be arranged. But concentration alone does not produce the action. Zikr, with movement, increases the capacity of the flesh for spiritual and mental magnetism. This makes one more willing to act and to make the best use of inspirations. Whenever there is lethargy or a static condition, Zikr is helpful.

So many times have there been failures which could have been obviated, so many times a little magnetism or energy received from within would help toward a success otherwise lost. And all that is needed is a little more application and practice.

GITHA: Some by Zikr have liberated their souls from all bondages and attained ideal perfection, which Sufis call Najat.

TASAWWUF: Najat means spiritual liberty or liberation for which purpose the book A Sufi Message of Spiritual Liberty was written. Yes, there have been persons who, without any other practices but Zikr have accomplished all the stages of the sacred path. Of course this meant constant repetition of the Sacred Name, usually in song or chant. Then it becomes so that even when one goes to sleep or meditation the effect of the whirling movement goes on and on, either producing an ecstasy or bringing such stimulation and power that life becomes both easier and simpler.

While it is not necessary or even advisable to confine mureeds to this one practice, yet when all else fails they may rely upon it. The more they impress themselves with it, the more they, and the whole world, may benefit.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 9

Zikr (4)

GITHA: The physical mechanism of the body is so arranged that its health depends upon the regularity of its work …

TASAWWUF: Health depends, like music, upon time and tune although one may not always consider it as such. Nevertheless the importance of rhythm in everyday life is known to the scientists. The mystics of all times have considered it most important and in some ancient countries, as Chaldea, there was a detailed study as to the importance of rhythm and its effect upon life.

In modern times there have been many new studies of rhythm. For example, besides the effect of seasons, and the sun and moon upon the body, it has been observed that there are many other rhythms which effect life and health. The astrologers say that there is a relationship between the rhythms of the organs of the body and certain planetary movements. Dr. Abrams of San Francisco said in his time that every organ of the body has its normal rhythm which it achieved in times of health and fell below that rhythm or failed to achieve and attain rhythm at other times. And of course all physicians know something about the pulse, the breath, and related movements.

GITHA: … and regularity depends upon the soul, which possesses the body as its vehicle. The clock is so arranged that it goes on for the time it is meant to, but then it requires someone to wind it; if it is not wound it goes out of order.

TASAWWUF: Everyone suffers from fatigue, perpetual motion being impossible for the body. No one, at least no ordinary person, has been able to overcome sleep. Besides the real mystery and meaning of sleep is known only to a few, sages and adepts. The body does tire and the mind does tire. For the ordinary man there is no other means to rest it than through sleep and relaxation. However valuable these are, they do not of themselves restore all the vigor that was there beforehand. So when youth goes it goes, and when strength departs, it is not all brought back.

However, it is possible to recharge the vehicles of the soul. According to the mystics the soul is the source of the breath of life. The breath is sent into the body with all potentialities, the breath is the veritable manna out of which one can select any and all qualities one needs for any and all purposes. It happens, however, that the breath in its physical form is so simple, seems so simple, that few give credence to the supposition that it contains the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Yes, a few call it prana and assume that by giving it a strange name it thereupon is clothed in strange qualities. There is no harm in it; if one has to call it by some strange name to learn its value that is much better than not to learn its value at all.

By meditation and by esoteric practices one may recharge and revitalize the body. For the soul is the divine breath itself which makes this possible. And Zikr is one method by which it can be done; Zikr can reinvigorate and restore the physical body.

GITHA: The mechanism of the body requires winding too. Generally, irregularity of sleep, or food, or activity or repose sets the whole mechanism of the body in disorder.

TASAWWUF: One knows very well that the rest upon different nights is different. We do not always go to sleep for the same number of hours, always getting in bed or arising at the same time. Sometimes sleep provides rest and relaxation for the body, sometimes for both mind and body although if one is disturbed mentally he does not always benefit from repose, and if one knows how to relax, if the mind has been purified or at ease, there is more benefit from sleep. If one enters into deep sleep only does he get the full rewinding thereby.

Food has a more important effect upon the body and mind than the psychologists have given thought to. Besides the chemical properties of it, there are living values and definite vibrations in the food which effect the organism and also reach the mind. The decomposition and chemical changes that take place during the processes of digestion, assimilation and elimination change the gaseous atmosphere around one and interfere with the otherwise free flow of breath. Fasting at least removes some of the obstacles to the path of breath, and thus enables one to draw vitality from the sphere. The solution to this situation does not necessarily come through changes of diet although this often helps; one has to face the life as a whole and see, in view of the various changes and effects due to eating, what else might be done.

The problem of activity and repose is still a more serious one. In the western countries there is too much energy lost in wasteful activity. There seems to be a latent idea that happiness exists only in action. No doubt stillness is death and laziness and lassitude are certainly not virtues. One may spend much time in repose and benefit thereby, but if he does not fully live, he does not get the full enjoyment out of life. In India and other countries where there is more repose there is not necessarily more beauty or more harmony.

What the Western world needs is to learn more of repose, to practice repose and relaxation in order to maintain health and to increase human enjoyment, while in the East there is another need, to use energy wisely. The practice of esotericism helps man find a balance from either extreme.

GITHA: All illnesses come owing to lack of rhythm.

TASAWWUF: The physicians have noticed this, and the examination of pulse and watching of breath has given them some knowledge by which at least they are able to make certain diagnoses and are also able to determine whether a patient can be cured and how he is improving when he is under treatment. The full value of the vibrational activities of the body has not been generally recognized outside of the work of Dr. Abrams; there is, however, an acceptance of the use of color, light, ultra-violet rays, heat and sound. In other words, a recognition of the value of certain kinds of vibrations in restoring health. This is of course the internal application but the diet and regimen that are offered to patients by their physicians also supply other forms of rhythm, and according to the mystics health and rhythm go hand in hand. This subject is discussed in Health and in the commentaries thereupon.

GITHA: Zikr is a rhythmic suggestion to the heart, which at once sets it to rhythm when the Zakir is repeating Zikr, and the circulation of the blood that runs throughout the body from this center runs in rhythm …

TASAWWUF: The effect of Meditation of itself is similar in that it helps restore rhythm to the blood stream and thereby purifies both mind and body. There is one difference that in meditation the processes go on without the application of conscious will. In meditation one crushes the ego so to speak and the light of the soul floods the body and mind restoring them to a condition of purity which makes for perfection in life.

In Zikr one makes the suggestion to body and mind through the use of words, but one also makes the suggestion to heart; for the willpower is used in directing the currents to the heart. Often there is deep feeling within but that deep feeling is of little practical value because the physical heart, which is the instrument of the heart within, is not properly attuned or properly sensitive. Pain makes the heart sensitive but does not give one the strength to carry through those impressions which come from within. For a weak person may be very sensitive, but he is not spiritual, and a strong person may be able to do things, but these efforts will be of his own will only.

The movement of the head in Zikr helps in the first case to establish a rhythmical movement in the head and then in the body. The constant repetition of any series of words or thoughts also aids in the establishment of rhythm. The particular words of Zikr are suggestive, being based upon the sacred phrases which hold “that God alone exists.” When one keeps on saying or suggesting that, he feels more and more that the false nufs is only a creation of his, that it is not his real being and that it stands in the way of full health and life-expression.

Finally the concentration upon the heart with consciousness, breath and movement awakens more and more that sensitivity within. And when to these are added music, that music that strikes the deepest center of the heart, man’s inner being begins to awaken, and this awakening is of utmost importance in the life of the seeker.

GITHA: … the pulsation becomes rhythmic, and the development of every muscle becomes rhythmic. In other words, the physical body becomes rhythmic in every way, which is the first necessary step towards spirituality.

TASAWWUF: There have been many manifest tendencies to ignore the physical body, even to deny its existence. The talib in Sufism is first impressed that the physical vehicle is really the divine temple. He may be asked to repeat a sacred phrase to impress himself with the value of the body. This subject may be impressed upon all. Even the vehicle of flesh can become an instrument of light and when one comes to consider the existence of the Nirmanakaya body or the vehicle of light manifesting on the physical plane, it comes through that perfection which is possible only when there is a living heart.

There has been some interest in both the East and West in the effect of music upon the body. Only instead of studying the simple tones the people of the West, who are otherwise so scientific, have been trying out symphonies and dance tones and other complexities. When the rays of light have been used, they have been employed in their simplest forms so that their particular rhythms may effect and benefit the body; there is no use of many colors at once. But when symphonies are tried, there are so many rhythms and vibrations which reach the ear and consciousness of the patient, that there is no simple effect, and instead of benefit, the patient may become worse.

While Zikr is not used to restore health to the ill or ailing, it can and should be adopted to increase the vital capacity of everyone. In that way it becomes the best protection against illness. It aids in augmenting the capacity of the body for the vitality which exists in the space. There is one effect of musical tones that they increase the capacity of the cells of the body for light, for the living light which is brought in through the breath. The music helps the body to vibrate, and this vibration when started in and centered in heart touches all parts of the body and personality.

The same vibration is also communicated to the mind producing joy and ecstasy and in that state one feels relieved of all pain. For the ordinary state of health is largely freedom from disease, without being much more. To the mystic the health can grow, the body can progress in spirituality just as much as the mind and heart, and it is a mistake to suppose that the inner life is only a journey in one direction unbalanced by changes outwardly or in the everyday life. Spirituality promotes perfection in all that one lives and in all that one does.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series I: Number 10

Zikr (5)

GITHA: The mystics of the East have experienced and realized for thousands of years the importance of the power of sound and the mystery of repetition.

TASAWWUF: This principle was embodied in the mantras and gathas from the most ancient times and also in the psalms of the Egyptians and Hebrews. The sacred words were first, perhaps, uttered by the sages and munis in the inspired state. These inspired words carried with them deep feeling and deep meaning and deep power. The repetition of them helped to impress the inspired with the meaning and increase his capacity for feeling and power.

When to this repetition was added the music of the chant it helped to raise the state of consciousness of the disciple until he himself experienced more of the higher state which has been the goal of all seekers on the path. The usual translation of the word “Abraham” has been “Father of Mercy,” or “Father of Multitudes,” but Philo said it meant “Father of a Multitude of Sounds.” The same idea is in the phrase Nada Brahma, which conceals the principle that God is the Divine Breath, or to use the words of the Christian Scripture, “God is Spirit.”

When one understands the meaning of spirit in this sense, one learns from more direct experience the Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence of God.

GITHA: When Murshid gives to his mureed a word to repeat so many hundred times or so many thousand times, the mureed does it, without thinking that once repeated and understood was enough. There are adepts who repeat one single sound or a sacred word for years, and sometimes for all their life, without being tired of doing the same thing again and again.

TASAWWUF: And if one should ask a question, what is an adept? How is the adept developed? Can anyone be an adept? One may learn that the secret of adeptship comes through this very same principle of repetition. No doubt it begins as a discipline first, that there may not be so much enjoyment in it. One repeats a word over and over or says a phrase countless times. One does not see the direct effect upon himself—at least at first. But if he perseveres he will begin noticing and others will notice a change in his character, his personality, his faculties.

The repetition of a sacred phrase is of itself a concentration, and this concentration blanks the mind to thought of all else. It impresses one with the meaning and value of the words, first as if that impression were an idea coming from another source. Finally and ultimately one unites with the meaning of the words, one knows through Zikr not only that God alone exists—that being some thought of his, but ultimately he attains baqa, self-realization, and this is the foundation upon which adeptship is based and maintained.

When one listens to machinery in factories one can hear the hum or sound. It is the mantram of that machinery, and when there is a change of rhythm, there is a change of sound and when there is a defect there is also a change and sometimes one can tell the state of that machinery from the sound. The state and quality of man’s being is also revealed in the sounds he gives forth in cry, speech or music, but he can by a counter-effort overcome his defects and the music of Zikr is such that it becomes exalting.

GITHA: The result proves to them its value; every month and every year, by repeating the same word, the power becomes increased.

TASAWWUF: This knowledge can only become man’s through effort, and the development therein has already been discussed. Very often people want development along certain lines and suppose that it is a certain breath which, if used, will benefit them. No doubt it is so but the method of certain schools of Yogins supposed a rigid discipline. If one wants to develop by the use of breath alone it is certainly advisable to refrain from meats, to go into retirement and lead a secluded life. When this process is carried on, instead of man concentrating upon self-development he becomes too involved in breath-development. And while one may find recognition of many saints in India, both in historical and other records and in the pilgrimage customs of the day, few of those worthies have developed along the line of breath. Besides moral development does not always result therefrom.

There is a different way that by concentration and repetition of sacred phrases a refinement comes and one can measure this refinement in the breath. Or if there is need for power one will notice an increase of power in the breath. If one desires to hold the breath long or wishes to see if he can hold it long after many repetitions of a sacred phrase he will find it is easier; he has made a gain. Through Zikr and Fikr even without noticing it, there are many changes in the breath and in all of the talib’s faculties.

GITHA: Zikr has two aspects of its being, one its spirit and the other its body. The spirit is the breath, which is naturally prolonged through every repetition of Zikr.

TASAWWUF: The Zakir will find it is possible to hold the syllable “HU” longer and longer at the end of each line. It is not especially desirable to hold it long at the end of one line and not so long at the end of another line, but upon each performance of Zikr one may hold that syllable or the other syllables longer. Thus there will be a gradual process by which length and strength of breath are augmented without any strain and without the least sign or danger of reaction.

GITHA: The body of the Zikr is its words. The word produces the fire element, and the breath is life.

TASAWWUF: There is a law in the science of mechanics that if a force is constantly applied it will constantly add to the velocity, in other words establish uniform acceleration. The same is true in the repetition of words especially with movement; there is a constant acceleration and this acceleration leads toward the refinement of the atoms and cells of the body. First, no doubt, there is a process of cleansing and elimination but as one advances, every cell and muscle develops increased capacity for the life force.

The fire element is the vehicle of energy as the air element of breath and the water element of wisdom. In other words by Zikr there is a natural development of Jelal faculties as well as a tendency toward ecstasy. For just as fire rises, so the practice of Zikr elevates the state of consciousness above the face of the earth. But the words and concentration of Zikr add light and this light prevents the fire from ever being destructive.

GITHA: When fire is produced, the heart naturally becomes warmer, and coldness, which is the common disease of every heart, begins to vanish.

TASAWWUF: In the Bible it is said that the heart of Pharoah hardened and in the Kabbalistic tradition it is hinted that Pharoah stands for the glorification and deification of the ego. Egypt is the land of darkness of nufs aniat (Chem, Mitzraim) and while the heart is hardened the children of light, the Beni Israel, are kept in slavery. It is only through the softening of heart that there can be deliverance. Ultimately Pharaoh and his hosts were drowned in the waves of nufs aniat or Samsara, and the Beni Israel, the initiates, were delivered out of the state of slavery.

This deliverance is expressed in the first commandment of the Israelites, “Ani (or Anochi), the Lord Thy God, that took thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” This is identically the same principle as in Kalama which is the basis of Zikr. The same principle of the Allness, Oneness and Universality of Allah is impressed upon the talib until it becomes his realization. And in his search and efforts the heart becomes more and more sensitive. Then the life force enters through the opening of the inner gate of the heart which is said to be a special cell in its very center, protected by the muscles of the heart. And through that single cell, “smaller than the seed within the grain of barley corn” as the Upanishads teach, the Divine Light enters, purifies, glorifies and illumines man.

GITHA: Then the word, voice, atmosphere, glance, touch, all express warmth; and the presence of the Zakir radiates warm vibrations.

TASAWWUF: As one practices Zikr there is a growing tendency to “speak the word that is put into thy mouth”—in other words, to receive and utter inspirations, and to depend more upon the intuition before and when speaking. There is also a change in the quality of voice, the power of the fire being covered with the softness of the etheric element, and with light.

One carries a living atmosphere with him that others can feel even without there being any speech. The spiritual magnetism is communicated even through the glance that another, looking at the Zakir, feels the force of life there and that the Zakir sometimes reaches the inner being of another merely by a look. There is an increase in magnetism so that their hands are healing and blessing, and one feels that.

GITHA: The Zakir, in time, begins to respond to everything and every being.

TASAWWUF: For God is in every being and God is All-Being, and if the words are true, then their truth will impress itself upon the consciousness of the devotee. The finer the vibrations which become living within a personality, the greater the degree of attunement toward other personalities and things. One feels the “soul of objects” so to speak. All nature becomes living before the Zakir.

GITHA: This warmth in time makes the fire blaze up, and from it a flame springs forth that lights the path of the Zakir.

TASAWWUF: Just as from the glow the blaze or flame arises, so with the increase of devotion in Zikr from this fire comes light, and this light illuminates even the physical body. Many have been interested in the illumination of the flesh; some have discussed or desired it, but when it comes to the effort needed they are not so willing to apply themselves. This is most fortunate, for otherwise they would apply the teachings wrongly and bring harm to themselves and others.

It is the intensity of devotion which produces this light although concentration also helps, for the absence of all ego-thought is most beneficial on the path. Then from the increase of this light “which lighteth every man that comes into the world” first the outer, then the inner personality becomes more illuminated.

GITHA: Zikr is of special importance in the course of a Sufi’s spiritual advancement, and by this a Sufi attains everything on earth and in Heaven.

TASAWWUF: The importance of this has already been discussed. If one is in need of anything and has the right concentration beforehand, and the right attitude, then by the repetition of Zikr, especially under the teacher’s direction, one may achieve every attainment in life.

Githa with Commentary

Ryazat: Esotericism

Series II
of

Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan
by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary            Series II: Number 1

Fikr

GITHA: The breath is the current which is established between all planes of man’s existence. Its current runs from the life unseen to the life on the surface, thus uniting spirit and matter both.

TASAWWUF: If one studies the words for breath in the ancient languages one will find they are mostly identical with soul. Thus atma in Sanskrit means both breath and soul, and nephesh which is usually translated from the Hebrew language as soul also means breath. The Greek word psyche has been translated as soul and as breath, really that portion of the breath associated with nufs. The Hebrew word ruach which is often called spirit or wind is the same as the Arabic ruh which we call soul.

Now there are various conceptions to soul and also to breath and today there is no tendency to identify them. Yet the Sufi would say that the breath is a current by which the soul gives the life to the body. This current travels along the air element and in its lowest aspect depends upon the gas oxygen, and every movement of breath is accompanied by a chemical process of some oxidation.

The study of breath reveals its relationship to thought, speech and action. All are dependent upon it. One can stop the breath also and lose consciousness; it is then that the consciousness ceases to function in the body and in the mind showing that the breath must pass through both of them. When one develops to a certain point he is able by means of the refined breath to reach a state of realization which frees him from dependence upon mind and body and then he can use them as his vehicles and tools.

GITHA: When the breath leaves the material being of man, then comes what man calls death, which shows that breath is the sign of life and life itself, and its contact with the body keeps the body alive and its contact with the mind keeps the mind alive.

TASAWWUF: St. Paul has said, “I die daily,” and yet in a certain sense ones dies with every exhalation. If one expels all the breath from the body he will find it most difficult to speak or move or think. So soon as the breath is brought back these functions come naturally and simply. And yet it is possible through the exhalation to rid the body of poisons and the mind of unwholesome thoughts. When this process is properly carried out it is called Safa, or purification, which is needed by all students of mysticism.

It is possible to overcome death while man lives upon earth by the proper study and control of the breath-current. If one can let go of himself with each exhalation it becomes easier for him to receive the divine light with each inhalation.

GITHA: But neither body nor mind is life. If there is any sign of life we can trace on the surface, it is no other than the breath.

TASAWWUF: The proof that the life is not the body or that the life is not the mind can more easily be offered by direct experience and realization than by any logic. If one has had the experience one knows, and the purpose of esotericism is to train the talib to come to knowledge in this way. Yet in Paul Brunton’s works one has an excellent opportunity to study the arguments which prove that the real life is not the body or in the body, is not the emotions or in the emotions, is not the mind or in the mind.

The average person does not make a study of breath and when he does he wants some fancy breathing. He supposes that if he does something strange with the breath that is spiritual, and if he does something ordinary or simple that cannot be of much value. Yet many of the exercises of the mystics are most simple. One has to learn to regulate the breath, keep it in rhythm and refine it. By such means the controlled consciousness penetrates deeper into the personality and awakens many latent powers which are asleep in the generality.

GITHA: Therefore the Sufi takes the breath as the means of getting what he wants from the life unseen to the life on the surface.

TASAWWUF: Although even Christ himself has referred to the use of breath in the attainment of the Kingdom of Heaven, because of translations by the ignorant or the interference of the orthodox, this knowledge has been withdrawn from the western world and is only coming back after many centuries. However it is a very delicate and dangerous thing to experiment with breath; it is even worse than playing with high explosives. Many people who would not venture into the arts and sciences without a competent teacher have played with the breath without regard to the subsequent effects upon themselves and others. Then if something goes wrong the Yoga science is blamed, not the one who, thinking he was performing Yoga, has overlooked many stages of its practice and especially gone ahead undisciplined.

One can see a little of the part that breath plays in life by following the course of dreams. The light for dreams comes with and through the breath and sometimes an alert person can see the dreams and visions even on the surface of the breath. When there are impurities in the body due to putrefaction or other unwholesome causes the dreams also become unwholesome and when the body is purified the dreams often become cleared and filled with meaning.

GITHA: Also he makes it a means of sending what he wishes from the life external to the life within.

TASAWWUF: The breath is a highway which can bring anything to a person, not only health and strength, but even worldly wealth, if he have the concentration and does not merely wish or desire. For the power of the desire nature is limited, while one who has mastery of breath has control over the forces of the lower planes and can exercise it without difficulty. Meditation, concentration and spiritual practices in general help to remove the obstacles from one’s path. Not that thereby one should seek wealth but one should see that nothing outside blocks his path.

By the exhalation one can bestow blessings upon the world, one can draw down that which is in the worlds within, offering himself as a channel for manifestation. This is true of many people who do not know much about breath. Kindness and compassion depend upon the ability of man to give out, to surrender, and for this purpose one must be able to have a full exhalation, not being attached even to the breath.

GITHA: The breath may be considered as a lift that can take you to any floor up and any floor down. By the help of breath you can send your thought anywhere and to any plane and bring about desired results. In breath abides all the mystery there is.

TASAWWUF: In the literature and especially in In an Eastern Rose Garden this subject is discussed at length. Very few seem to realize its importance. The statement that the breath is a lift is not knowledge, it becomes one’s knowledge only where there is practice and application. In the teaching many suggestions are made and especially in the studies of the Gathas on breath, that thereby the talib may be able to advance on the spiritual path and at the same time overcome all those obstacles which stand in his way in life.

When one practices concentration he develops both force and refinement, which may be called the Jelalic and Jemalic aspects of breath. By force one can draw power to himself, can attract, and at the same time can overcome opposition. But by refinement he can penetrate where otherwise he would not have been able to go, and thus exercise his wisdom.

Telepathy and telekinesis (use of power at a distance) both depend upon breath. As the breath can penetrate to the higher spheres it can reach the plane where its expanse is greater than the earth itself. Then, through thought and feeling it can touch any part of the earth. This makes the thought- communication possible. For this, however, there must be attunement between hearts, considerable power on the part of the sender and refinement and delicacy on the part of the receiver. The common practice of Fikr is one way by which these faculties can be obtained and utilized.

A further refinement makes it possible to receive and send messages to the worlds unseen. This is especially valuable in establishing rapport between teacher and pupil after the teacher has left the world. The chain (silsila) of Sufis has been maintained in this manner so that for practical purposes it is of little importance whether the teacher is miles away on the same plane or is withdrawn to a subtler plane. Neither time nor space nor vibration will stand between him and his mureed.

If one reads the miracles of the various scriptures and wants to know the reason for it, he may be surprised to learn that it is all in the breath. Breath can establish a rapport between oneself and whatever is outside of oneself. One can, for instance, adjust his breath to take in a block of wood so that that block of wood becomes as a part of one’s very being. Then, however heavy it be, he may be able to lift it, the block supplying the needed power. This is impossible when one looks upon the block or a weight as separate, as something outside of oneself.

The healing and miraculous power of Christ and of all prophets, the ability to perceive visions clearly, to control the phenomena around one, even to master the weather depend upon one’s mastery over the breath. A well-developed breath is in tune with the whole earth, and as it becomes still more refined man begins to find the universe within himself and, although he may continue to look outward through his own eyes, he can feel within that which he perceives without.

GITHA: The Sufi’s object being self-realization by the ideal of God, he works for its attainment by the means of the breath, which he calls Fikr, and an ideal so attained becomes his property, his kingdom, forever.

TASAWWUF: Through Fikr the breath becomes more and more refined and as it so changes it penetrates more deeply into the inner spheres. Its deep penetration brings to man refinement, delicacy and most of all wisdom. Then, whatever one becomes attuned to, that becomes his property. And one may even attract or attain to material wealth in that manner although mostly the spiritual students have chosen other objects to answer their satisfaction.

The phrase “Be ye wise as serpents” indicates that when one practices concentration and becomes heart-fixed upon God, on the one hand he will obtain the power of attraction which the serpents have, and on the other hand he will develop along the path of wisdom; so Christ has also said, “Be ye harmless as doves.” For it is not necessary to force anything; whatever one thinks about with faith, perseverance and patience will be attracted.

If a question be asked, can one by Fikr learn to overcome his own problems and answer his needs, it may be said in reply that often this is true, and that also one can learn thereby to answer questions himself and receive impressions and inspirations from within.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series II: Number 2

Rhythm in Fikr

GITHA: Rhythm is the nature of motion, and motion is the nature of life. Life is not possible without motion, and motion is not possible without rhythm.

TASAWWUF: Life is a term which may not exactly be defined for it gives rise to forms and forces but itself is not made up of these forms and forces. It may be called the whole of which these are parts or aspects of manifestation. One definite characteristic of life is motion. We see little motion in the mineral kingdom and speak of it as “dead matter.” The vegetable kingdom is composed of species which grow and for growth movement is necessary, and the materials that make up the cells and bodies of plants, animals, and mankind we call “living matter” and it has the same general chemical composition.

In the universe there is the tendency toward uniformly accelerated motion in a straight line or steady velocity in a circle. It is this last kind of movement which gives rise to rhythm. Also, no force moves on forever ahead without some effect upon other forces and bodies, so that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When there is accelerated movement it is called the rhythm of Urouj and when there is retarded movement it is called the rhythm of Zaval. Neither of these is uniformly even.

Urouj tends to propel force in a certain direction and Zaval tends to slow down force. Nevertheless their velocities have been spoken of as rhythms for they can be measured in time. The steady, uniform, mobile, rhythm is called Kemal by the Sufis and this characterizes all the even rhythms of every grade and type of vibration.

GITHA: It is rhythmic motion which keeps the whole universe going, and the same motion is the hidden secret of our lives, as we are a miniature universe within ourselves.

TASAWWUF: With regard to the universe, if this were not so the universe would be speeding up or slowing down. There are astronomers who hold to either view, their contradictory opinions cancelling each other. For many have asked if this universe has already passed through an eternity, then we should have felt the effect of acceleration or retardation. But it may happen that there are periods of Urouj and of Zaval in the universe itself and the Hindus speak of the day and night of Brahm, the former giving rise to the manifestation and the latter embracing its dissolution.

Man experiences an Urouj period in which his body grows, and a longer one in which his mind may grow (although this is not always true). There is also later in life the Zaval period. But it is possible through control of breath to continue the steady rhythm throughout life and maintain vigor until the very end. So that as one sees before oneself the universe for practical purposes eternal, one can maintain a steady life in the body to the end.

GITHA: Our breath is both the cause and effect of this rhythmic motion.

TASAWWUF: For this rhythm is established by the first breath which enters the body. Then and from that first breath all the body receives its energy and establishes its initial rhythm. There is an immediate reaction to the inhalation with an exhalation and during infancy and early childhood the breath is not kept long within the body. Nor is it necessary to retain it; the gain which comes is derived from the refined breath which brings the light and life from the subtler planes. Afterwards, as the child becomes impressed with the material world, the breath becomes heavier, coarser, slower.

GITHA: Inhaling and exhaling is just like the pendulum of the clock. When it is regular the clock goes on regularly, when slow the clock goes slow, when quick the clock goes fast.

TASAWWUF: This would indicate that if we breathed rapidly all the time we would be losing our life force. We need that force to promote growth of mind and body, but as each inhalation is followed by exhalation and as the exhalation tends to return to the spheres from which it was borrowed, the rapid breath becomes intoxicating and does not enable one to hold anything together.

GITHA: So it is with us. When our breath is rhythmic, all things go well—the mechanism of our body, the working of our mind, and the work of our feelings, all are normal.

TASAWWUF: This knowledge has been preserved by the mystics and has been ignored by the world. Very few have observed the breath, noticed its rhythms, following its course into and out of the body, learned its significance in going in or out of either nostril or of both, paid much attention to the shape of the curve of its direction or the effect upon the emotions therefore. The Sufi considers rhythm as all-important for he learns the value of this rhythm to body and mind and especially when there is attunement to the will of God, any departure from the rhythm once established may mean a departure from that divine will and a loss of attunement.

There are many practices which may be used for self-protection or for success in one’s work which depend upon the rhythm of breath. One changes the quality through the change of concentration or else through the use of some other sacred phrase, repeated audibly or visibly. This may change the quality or quantity of breath, making it more or less refined or permitting more or less air and prana to enter and leave the nostrils during a period (wakt) without in any way impairing the rhythm— that is to say, the number of breaths during a fixed period.

One will find that when the channels of the breath are clear and the rhythm is maintained there is health on all planes. When there is any lowness either of thought or feeling or physical condition one will discover that the breath is not flowing freely, easily and smoothly.

GITHA: Therefore, all we think, speak, and do is normal and right.

TASAWWUF: Many people wonder whether at any time they are performing the will of God or “right action.” Instead of being troubled in conscience or fearing or wondering about every little item, the Sufi merely watches his breath and if it is rhythmical he even does, says or thinks according to his own will. Then his nature is attuned to the wisdom of the cosmos. Yet often a person who is in that condition will move out of the way to avoid conflict with another, and then he will be attracting to himself the rhythm (or lack of rhythm) of the other and be led astray by so doing. So it may be said that when the condition of the breath is right one should lead and when it is not right one should not try to lead or help another.

GITHA: When the rhythm of our breath is irregular, all illness comes, thoughts wander, feelings are upset, and our life becomes full of confusion. All we feel, speak and do has a bad effect, in other words, a wrong effect upon ourselves and others.

TASAWWUF: The question arises how to correct this and it is done by the observation and constant guarding of breath together with a Divine Thought. Silence is also valuable and then “one should agree with the adversary quickly” for there is a greater adversary at hand which is one’s own ego, which must be brought under control first.

In Sufism the disciple is instructed to surrender his will before the teacher for one secret and perhaps it is that the secret of the teacher is found in the refined and rhythmical breath. Meditation and rest also benefit and watchful control of rhythm is most important. And whenever there is any blockage of the channel of breath the wise refrain from advising others, even from dealing much with them except occasionally to follow them in order to restore their own healthfulness.

GITHA: Therefore, by Fikr the Sufi sets his breath to the proper rhythm; and when it becomes a habit, by a practice done every day, the Sufi’s whole life becomes orderly and regular ...

TASAWWUF: Very often Fikr is performed the first thing in the morning, upon awakening. This helps to establish a rhythm for the day, it provides a spiritual keynote and also cleanses the mind from any impurities that may have come with the dreams of the night. No doubt followers of other schools have been using other methods. The Sufis have found that Fikr accomplishes the same purpose as meditation, and in much less time.

If Fikr is practiced constantly it relates one day to another in a certain fashion. For although one can by Fikr purify the mind and make of each day a life or cycle by itself, as there are acts which require many days for their accomplishments and attainments which require many days for their fulfillment, the continued Fikr unites man to his purposes and aids him in the pursuit thereof.

GITHA: ... because the rhythm in time becomes a habit of the breath.

TASAWWUF: While this may mean a fixed period for the breath, so that to each day there may be a given number of breaths, it also means that these breaths become more and more refined. And the more refined the breath, the larger the inner capacity and growth. But it is also true that one can by this method gradually lengthen and deepen one’s breath without conscious effort and without strain and this improves the outer manner of expression and the character.

GITHA: And while awake or asleep, the breath goes on rhythmically, keeping all pulsations in rhythm, on which the health entirely depends.

TASAWWUF: This is much better than any concentration upon health. There is often a tendency to concentrate upon health when there is sickness and there is another tendency to concentrate upon health when there is weakness and fear of disease. Naturally a person should be sensible, naturally the condition of the body is most important. But it is still more important to know that real health is maintained without giving any thought to it. One may pray, “Give sustenance to our bodies, hearts and souls,” and one may repeat Nayaz. Outside of that one may follow Christ and “take no thought of the body” which does not mean to neglect it. It means that there may be a wiser method for keeping the body in the best condition than by thinking of it too much.

GITHA: The rhythm so produced by the breath keeps the thoughts in order ...

TASAWWUF: Once this rhythm is established all thoughts which are consonant to it will remain in the mind and those which are out of harmony with it can not be retained. Every kind of thought establishes a particular rhythm. One can learn that first through symbolism, that by concentrating upon a particular symbol one will notice that the breath takes a certain direction, time and degree of refinement and when one changes the symbol one is holding in concentration there may be a marked change in the period, direction and quality of breath.

This is even more so when one studies thought, for thought is related to Jelal, Jemal, Urouj, Nasoul and rhythm, as well as to the mystical elements. The ordinary person who is the slave of thought or who, worse, is obsessed, is unable to control his breath and his inability makes it impossible also for him to hold other thoughts. When Fikr becomes one’s habit, only those thoughts will remain in the mind which are attuned to or are harmonious with the breath in Fikr.

GITHA: ... the will powerful ...

TASAWWUF: This is most important for concentration. While concentration helps in the development of the will, the willpower also helps in concentration and one will ask, what are the other ways of developing willpower. One of the best and easiest is through Fikr. For the words of Fikr are such that the talib’s mind is fixed upon God, and so fixed that all else in time becomes excluded. Thus he attains the guidance first, and perhaps the wisdom later.

Fikr is also used by a Shifayat before many attempts at healing the sick. This prevents her from taking on the condition of the patient for then her will is too powerful and she is positive. Sometimes one has to repeat Fikr often, sometimes just a little, but the impression from Fikr is most important.

GITHA: ... the memory in order ...

TASAWWUF: Many people have some trouble in memorizing and this is because the channel of breath is not clear. Fikr both helps to clear the channel and to remove all thoughts. It not only removes the undesirable thoughts, it removes the desirable ones. Then the mind becomes as the empty crescent moon and through concentration and effort recollection is made possible and thus the memory improved.

GITHA: ... the feelings normal ...

TASAWWUF: This really means to awaken the intuitive faculty. The abnormal feelings are the emotions which pervade the personality whenever there is no control over breath or the willpower is lacking. When the channel of the breath becomes purified one gains in the faculty of insight and along with that one becomes more sensitive, responsive, and sympathetic. Thus is attained right feeling.

GITHA: ... and thereby all one’s affairs in life come into perfect and proper order.

TASAWWUF: The importance of esotericism is therefore so great that man needs nothing more, although one hears on all sides that one has not the time. This is man’s test. Every one is in some respect selfish. There is wise selfishness and foolish selfishness. The wisely selfish attempt to attain the satisfaction of their desires in an easy and quick manner. When they learn that this can best be accomplished by overcoming their own small weaknesses they follow this path.

The swing of the rhythm of breath is the very swing of life, and through that swing one creates one’s heaven or hell. What one creates or establishes in the mind-world is reflected outwardly in the daily life. The keynote of the day can be established through Fikr and thereby all success or harmony attained.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary                    Series II: Number 3

Purification of the Breath

GITHA: Purification is the innate tendency of every soul, but it purifies only that part of its being of which it is conscious.

TASAWWUF: To speak of the purification of the body to a child will be to become understood. He may rebel against bathing and washing but he will appreciate them. Yet to speak to him of the purification of the mind may mean nothing. And to speak to an intellectual of the purification of mind may have a meaning to him while mentioning the purification of heart may seem all words. Yet it is by purification that one rids oneself of all that is foreign.

GITHA: There is a Parsi saying, “Purity is the first piety.”

TASAWWUF: The religion of Zoroaster has been called that of purity and all through the scriptures left by this prophet and his followers there is this keynote of purity. It has had many ramifications and if the teachings had been followed through the ages there is some probability that there would have remained on earth more devotees of Parsiism. Purification of body, mind and heart were instilled upon the worshippers of this faith and accepted by the Sufis of a later time. The Sufi means the purified one.

GITHA: When striving to purify the body and mind, man often fails to find the real source of their purification. Really speaking, the breath is the source which keeps body and mind alive, and body and mind connected.

TASAWWUF: One can feel this a little through physical culture and athletics. Many of the Western peoples and especially in America have developed systems of getting-up exercises for the morning. These have been found beneficial primarily to the body and secondarily to the mind. The Sufi would say that what really happens then is a toning of the breath, and that if one exercised the breath alone there would be the same effect. The objection the Sufi would make to these systems is that while the body is being exercised or purified the mind is left to wander and that therefore the benefit is quite limited.

There is some benefit to the mind because these exercises require or enforce rhythm and incidentally draw more of the vital life-force of space into the lungs. This is beneficial to the blood and brain, so heart and mind benefit some. Besides, it is very hard to keep the mind on impure thoughts during such practices and many forms of athletic activity actually transmute the animal propensities in man.

GITHA: Impurity of breath turns body and mind impure, and purity of breath gives purity to both.

TASAWWUF: Even through Nayaz one brings power, health and efficiency to body and mind. One may repeat the sacred Healing phrase as Wazifa or Darood and this is beneficial to both vehicles of soul. It also produces a condition then that when the body is well it helps with thought and when the mind is well it promotes physical health. Any divine thought helps to purify the mind in some way and through the breath which also becomes refined thereby there is a beneficial reaction upon the body.

GITHA: The question how we should purify the breath may be answered thus, that breath is constituted of the five elements—of which both the body and the mind are composed—and it is the same elements which are used by the mystics to purify the breath.

TASAWWUF: There is a purification of earth, water, fire, air and ether, each of which works out some intended purpose. But all of the elements arise from and return to the etheric element. It is most difficult to obtain this element by ordinary means and if so, to benefit fully from its use. So while mysticism is in a sense a science by itself, if one loses sight of God during its practice there is only a limited knowledge or benefit, and without some superior thought or ideal it is most difficult to attain to the purification by ether.

The body of man is the special vehicle for the etheric element and although it manifests naturally at certain periods following what is called the revolution of the tattvas by the Hindus, it is most difficult to maintain it. Keeping the thought of God before one makes this possible for that God Who is beyond Name and form does not manifest as such through those elements which are bound with name and form.

GITHA: After a Sufi has made his breath rhythmic by the practice of Fikr, and has acquired strength in the breath, then he may purify his breath with the different elements.

TASAWWUF: The practice of Fikr is needed most before one can study Mysticism to benefit therefrom. And those talibs who do study Mysticism as a rule do not benefit much thereby; they may gain a little intellectual knowledge of it but it will not mean much to them, there is little realization.

Fikr, with its concentration upon the Divine Name and the most sacred phrases, purifies the breath with its constant rhythm so that there is an increase in life and acquisition of the most refined vibrations which one has capacity to assimilate. It is this which indicates the real spiritual progress. Then, after one can obtain the etheric breath with light, one will be able to control all the elements. Until then it is not possible.

Besides the ordinary man has not mastery over his thought, and lacking that, thoughts constantly intrude upon him whether needed or not. Each thought carries along with it some of the element in the breath which is in accord with its nature. For every thought is related to one or more of the elements but not to all; only the Divine Being is related to all simultaneously. So it is only after there is the purification of the mind from thought that one can get the full benefit of each element, draw the magnetism and power therefrom and attract to himself those qualities associated with the elements.

When man can do that he can harmonize himself with the world outside. He has a series of push buttons, so to speak, which he can use to set in motion different vibrations and thoughts and so find a harmonious pathway through life ultimately attaining to mastery.

GITHA: By breathing on earth, he will give all his impurities to earth, and will attract purity from earth.

TASAWWUF: Sometimes people who work close to the ground early in springtime feel an invigoration and do not understand it. They gain a magnetism, power, inspiration even by handling the soil. At such times planting and weeding are not always irksome because there is a personal benefit.

The fact is that pure earth is always a tonic, and if one places his hands or his body on the ground he will get something obtainable in no other ways. Some people try mud baths and they also receive a kind of magnetism and disease and weakness seems to leave them. That is because they are then rid of certain vibrations which have been harmful and there is some elimination of poison through the skin.

In his time Mohammed told his followers that when there was no water available they should use sand in their ablutions. This may not have given them the same cleansing but it did benefit them. Walking barefoot always offers some advantage. And while it may not always be comfortable or pleasant to lie nude flat on the ground, nevertheless relaxation upon the grass or earth has always been found to be pleasant. Those in Khilvat especially should try it.

GITHA: By breathing before water, he will purify his breath and will give out impurities to water.

TASAWWUF: That is one reason why some people benefit from an ocean voyage. Even the physician may advise it and he knows it does good without having any particular reason for it. The mystic would say that ocean, river and lake journeys, swimming, and even gazing upon the water may be a healing. When this is not possible because of illness one may breathe before a pan of water, which may or may not have been magnetized and gain thereby. Besides this, there is a whole series of benefits from the various uses of water according to the science of hydrotherapy.

GITHA: By breathing before fire, the Sufi purifies his breath by that element.

TASAWWUF: Many people also find delight in gazing upon a fire. They sit before the fireplace, even when it may be warm; they get a certain intoxication from it. And when there are fevers, one being in such a place or even breathing upon the flame of a small stove, can rid himself of the impurities of the fire element.

In India sometimes one sees holy men seated between many fires, and even on a hot day. This is for the sake of purification, not for warmth. There are internal changes and those men learn how to control their own fire breath.

GITHA: Therefore, incense is burnt in religious places, and the adepts in India keep fire before them when practicing meditation.

TASAWWUF: The use of incense has been widespread and with the introduction of the Sufi Message into the west it is also being used more, as in the sacred readings, Universal Worship, healing services and all gatherings. In the instructions about the healing service it is explained that the incense stands for the fire element and symbolically, at least, indicates purification through fire. Incense is also used in certain specific manners by Shifayat in the treatment of certain diseases.

GITHA: One must purify one’s breath by breathing in the open air, which is the air of purification.

TASAWWUF: Mureeds practice Nayaz in the morning which brings the purification of fire (through the rays of the sun), air (through the waves of the air) and ether (through the all-pervading power in space). Many feel better if they do this when the windows are open. Although people in the East and West both have been afraid of fresh air and especially among the European and Latin Americans, this is an unfortunate mistake, for it is very easy for impurities to gather in any room, especially in corners, and out of doors there is little likelihood for it.

The modern uses of curves in rooms makes it more difficult for poisons to gather and easier to run purifying convection currents through the house. Just as running water in streams is purer than stagnant water, so are movements of air more purifying than the stationary gas. But all benefit by being out of doors some time, and people who are compelled to work in stores, factories and shops need more fresh air in order to balance their lives.

GITHA: And life in the open space enables one to purify one’s breath by the ether, which pervades the whole space.

TASAWWUF: No doubt there is some purification by ether when one is out on the ocean or on the mountain top, but there is still more in the desert. Many people are learning to go out on the desert into the solitudes or even into the wide open spaces. They seem to lose their cares thereby. In ancient times the Christian devotees often did that, abandoning the worldly life and voluntarily accepting poverty because there are other advantages from it. It is very difficult to hold unwholesome thoughts in the midst of the desert or on the mountain heights.

GITHA: Purification of the breath not only gives sound health of mind and body, but gives perpetual youth and long life, until one has attained the life eternal.

TASAWWUF: There are thus two aspects of the purification of breath, one coming from the inner control of the breath through direct esoteric practices and the other coming from external activity as has been explained through breathing upon the various elements or in the arena of those elements. But it is also true that as one advances in mysticism he learns to control the elements of his own breath and to adopt any one at any time.

Fikr is a little different in this as it brings the light along with the refinement of the breath. This light makes it possible for the body to receive ever finer vibrations and as one advances along this line he actually accomplishes his spiritual progress. It is by this means that the life of the spheres unseen becomes his own. His breath may become slower, it will become more refined and this refined breath makes it possible to live longer in the body, to maintain health and vigor until one’s time for departure has come.

One can read in the lives of many of the great prophets and holy men when they went through the different purifications of the elements. Thus when the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt and also when Moses was working for his father-in-law, Jithro, there was the purification of earth. The purification of water came when they crossed the sea. The purification of ether came from the life in the desert. Moses received the purification of fire when God, so to speak, came to him through the burning bush. His purification of air came when he went upon Mount Sinai, the mount of the moon, indicating his mastery over the mind-world. His final initiation or parinirvana came when he went upon Mount Nebo (the mount of prophecy) when God took him.

One can also read about these purifications in the life of Jesus. Through John he had the purification of the water. John was known as the “baptizer” or lustrator who used the water. It was supposed that after him would come the one who would baptize with fire and the “Holy Spirit”—in other words with the etheric element through the breath. Then we read that the Holy Spirit descended as a dove, making the sound of the dove, so to speak, which is very much like the sacred, all-pervading “Hu.” And in the temptation of Jesus and other places in the Scripture one can read of these initiations. Mr. James Pryse has even gone to the extreme of reading into the scriptures the same principles in other places, and if people would realize their inner significance, they would have more respect for the sacred texts.

One can also read about Mohammed who went through the various stages of initiation beginning with that of the earth, when he was employed as shepherd. For the shepherd has to stay close to the ground and he gets the benefit of earth. From that point on he passed from grade to grade until the time of the Miraj when his consciousness penetrated through all planes.

In the lives of the holy men of India also one finds analogies and the ancient Mysteries were for the large part based upon these purifications. In Egypt they were turned into ceremonies and the neophyte had to crawl on the ground, walk through water, then through fire, and swing in the air before he passed his tests. But the initiation of ether was of a different nature for then one had to contact the gods or denizens of the worlds unseen, and the passing of this test constituted the true initiation.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary                        Series II: Number 4

The Attainment of External Objects by Fikr

GITHA: The breath is a current which can be attached to any thing or being, near or distant, if one only knew how to attach it; and those who are masters of the breath can attract all things in life.

TASAWWUF: The difference between egoism and altruism may be relative. The moral instruction for the initiate is of such a nature that he learns to look upon life in another manner, and there is the talk of self-surrender until some people are even afraid to go on the path. Yet it is specifically stated in the literature that there are no restrictions in Sufism.

One finds many people in the world who want to study metaphysics and to learn occult practices to attract wealth or for some other selfish purposes. At the other extreme are those people who will not even use prayer or meditation lest incidentally they are wielding a power which another one has not. Yet there is nothing wrong in it. When one has the wisdom and morality he would be very foolish if he permitted himself to live in pain and permitted others to suffer whom he could help.

If one wishes to attract anything or any one he may concentrate by facing in the direction of the object (although this is not always so important) and then sending out his breath until he feels his breath, so to speak, contact the object or person. In the healing line it is necessary to do this to give out, and also in the bestowal of Baraka (blessing). But while it is said, “Give all you have,” it is also said, “Take all that is given to you.” And while the scriptures say it is more blessed to give than to receive they do not say not to receive.

Besides there is a way by which one can learn to overcome his own small weaknesses by attracting some object or desire. In the effort to gain in life one begins to face his own weaknesses. The Sufi says it is better first to try to gain and then surrender the object afterwards. There is no virtue in that poverty which is one’s lot because of his inability to attract wealth, or in the discomforts of one who can not gain comfort.

GITHA: Mahadeva, the Lord of the Yogis, has said that there is nothing on the face of the earth that cannot be accomplished by the masters of the breath. But for him who does not know its mastery, even to live a healthy life is a difficult thing.

TASAWWUF: With the awakening in the West of interest in the breath there is also the supposition that it is a very complex science and that one has to learn many postures and open up certain “chakras” in the body. The simplicity of holy breathing is unattractive to these people who want something complex.

The principles of Fikr are quite simple, that one maintains an incessant rhythm, paying no particular attention to the gradual refinement of breath, or its increase of length and depth. One concentrates upon the sacred phrases and thereby obtains the holy purification which may even be equal to the baptism by the Holy Spirit of which the scripture speaks.

If one keeps the column of breath pure the health of the body will be sustained. For by it the blessings come through each of the elements and also from the worlds unseen. Thus ultimately the body does become the temple of the Holy Spirit. At the same time as one develops the capacity for the finer vibrations he overcomes time and space. Then though the object desired be afar, and though its attainment require time and patience, the pure breath will attract it. Through Fikr one can draw a line toward oneself through the mental-world, so to speak, and through an inner mastery demonstrate control over his own affairs.

GITHA: Fikr is the first lesson and the last lesson in the breath. It is the first because by learning this one learns right breathing, and it is the last because not only the world but even Heaven is attained by the help of Fikr.

TASAWWUF: That is to say, the purified column or channel of breath which is attained through the practice of Fikr draws to one whatever is in harmony with it, be it something worldly or something intellectual. Thus those who have difficulty in remembering will improve themselves through Fikr, also those who have trouble with concentration or with mental effort. There need be no loss of mental magnetism, there may even be incessant gain of mental magnetism through the practice of this form of esotericism.

And it is even more true that if one wishes to attract something, by concentrating upon it and keeping the breath in Fikr he is often successful whereas otherwise he may have failed. The Sufi Dervishes consider themselves kings of the world, claiming that by Fikr they may attract anything they desire or need. They only use it when there is some great need, but in the Western world not only wants but needs also are greater and success in life is often the result of divine attunement. This is attained through Fikr.

GITHA: It is Fikr which helps concentration, and at the same time it is concentration which helps the operation of Fikr. Without Fikr, no concentration or meditation or contemplation is possible.

TASAWWUF: The more one concentrates upon the holy phrases which are repeated mentally with each inhalation and exhalation of Fikr the more regular, purified and refined the breath movement will be. There are forms of Fikr in which various sacred phrases are used, and there are the higher forms in which the words of Kalama are adopted, this last being the true Fikr. The difference between Fikr and Darood is this, that in Fikr one either stays still or walks continually in a circle or straight line and must not be interrupted, while one may repeat Darood at any time, on any occasion, and it does not need a specific number of repetitions.

The concentration upon the words of Fikr also helps in meditation. Many find it most difficult to meditate because then, when one wants them least, his troop of thoughts enter his conscious mind and he has to battle continuously against them. The sacred phrases offer a safe means of holding the attention, like weapons or tools for defense or activity, and then, when no longer needed, may be laid aside—this indicating that when one gets into deep meditation there is no thought at all.

Any difficulty with concentration or any other mental effort can be overcome by constancy in applying Fikr. This practice may be called the vacuum cleaner of the mind. It tends to remove all thoughts, whatever be their nature. Then when one wishes to hold one thought or ideal by Fikr he keeps other thoughts away until he reaches a point when he does not have to use even Fikr.

Contemplation is achieved through Fikr when one feels the identity of himself and the sacred word.

GITHA: This truth can be seen by studying the life of the cobra, and especially the large cobras that live in the jungles, in mountains. On can learn from them, firstly, how reposefulness helps the breath to develop, for cobras lie in repose for weeks (and some for months) without the slightest movement.

TASAWWUF: Which is to say that continued Fikr produces repose and by it also the breath becomes longer, deeper, more refined. Those who have suspended their breath often do it through Fikr. The adept does not breathe so often as the ordinary man and this insures his longevity. Besides as the breath becomes longer and more refined it attracts all, willing or unwilling. For the divine will is not a force that overcomes any one through opposition, the divine will touches the heart of every man and makes people feel their unity even when they think in terms of duality and diversity.

Although people need not live as the cobras they can learn to relax the breath and especially when in seclusion. Then by Fikr one may rid himself of all thought, desirable or undesirable, and after that is accomplished, attract that which he wants or needs.

GITHA: The next thing to be learnt is that when the cobra is hungry, rabbits and fowls are drawn into its mouth.

TASAWWUF: For with the cobra there is a center of attraction drawn about itself which is magnetic, even hypnotic. While the cobra works through instinct, man, through his intelligence, may also build an attracting atmosphere of power around himself. This, however, is not done by ego-effort. It comes, on the contrary, when the sway of the ego is removed.

GITHA: Nobody but the mystic knows from where they happen to come and fall in its mouth; for its breath is so powerful, and its repose has given it such a power of concentration that it reaches whatever objects it concentrates itself upon ...

TASAWWUF: No doubt man has more power and intelligence than the cobra yet he is not so successful. Why is this? It is chiefly because man does not know how to relax. Therefore when he concentrates he uses up too much energy, and when he does that he weakens his atmosphere rather than strengthens it. In Sufic concentration one is taught to hold the thought by the feeling, and when one “feels” thought, so to speak, he begins to master thought.

If one concentrates upon some object of desire and keeps that object continually in the mind and repeats Fikr while concentrating he will feel the line of life and of breath running from himself to that object and from that object to himself and by a subtle gravitation will attract that. It is this training and application which makes the master-mind.

GITHA: ... and confuses that object so that it is blindly drawn to the mouth of the cobra.

TASAWWUF: In this form of concentration there is little external opposition. It all depends upon the power and control one has over oneself. The mystic practices indifference and it may be that while concentrating, as he supposes upon one object or personality, he may attract another object or personality, because of the condition of attunement. Besides through Fikr there is divine power and this is something the cobra does not have. Man can do much greater things than the cobra if only he knew it.

GITHA: The mystic learns this valuable secret from the cobra, and by the power of the breath and concentration of mind, he accomplishes all things in life.

TASAWWUF: Jesus Christ has said, “Be ye wise as the serpent,” and in India there have been cults which engaged in serpent-worship. Among the early Christians there was also a group known as Ophites or Naasenes who observed this teaching. And the first lesson to be learned is that of patience, poise, power and single-mindedness. All of this can be learned from the cobra. And along with this there is the need for study and application of the teachings.

Of course if one asks should one learn from the other animals, it may be answered that especially in the Sohrawardi school of the Sufis this has been done. Solomon said we should observe the ant; he learned much wisdom from the ant. Most prophets have dwelt among the sheep. Krishna learned the wisdom from the cows and even today in India the cow is a sacred animal.

Yet all the sacredness that is in the cow or snake or ant or all animals, all that and more is found in man. For man can develop beyond the instincts of these animals and when he does that he can make his way through life against any and all opposition and accomplish great things regardless of circumstances.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary                             Series II: Number 5

The Attainment of the Inner Being by Fikr

GITHA: Man’s inner being is his soul, and man’s outer being is his body. These two poles of his being are linked by the breath, and if there is any way of experiencing life distinctly through the physical body and experiencing life clearly through the existence of the soul, it is Fikr.

TASAWWUF: The nature of the soul is studied by Sufis in their metaphysics although more important than such study is the realization which comes through direct and indirect experience. The soul is the eternal part of man which is clothed by vehicles, these vehicles being made of materials borrowed from the various planes where the soul has manifested.

According to the Bible, when man is born the breath of life enters his nostrils and the body becomes, so to speak, a living entity. Nevertheless man does not “live” in all of his body. Many of the functions are instinctive and involuntary like in the animals. Processes go on day and night of which he is not aware. Thus one eats his food but after it gets into the stomach he is not especially aware of it and unless there is some pain or disturbance man knows little of what goes on in the digestive tract between eating and elimination. And perhaps it is well that he is not so sensitive to it.

The senses in different people are developed in different ways, and much of our knowledge depends upon what we pick up through the senses, especially through sight. And if one asks how can one develop the senses the mystic would say through breath. If one can really draw in the breath of life into this vehicle of flesh he becomes truly alive. And generally there is something wrong or undeveloped with the breath when there is any defect or deficiency in the sensations.

The same is true of the glandular structure. Some of the Yoga schools of India lay great stress upon man’s ability to send breath and vital energy to the glands. They say that in such development lies the key to all of man’s existence. But the Sufi would say that the key is in the breath itself and not in any special part or organ of the body.

While the breath is the life and also the link between soul and body, unless the body can get the feeling of divinity, the all-pervading power of space can not enter it. Nor does one readily recognize that this power drawn from the all-pervading space is the All-Power and once man has begun to assimilate it, he obtains universal power. This achievement is the result of progress in Fikr.

GITHA: By Fikr one becomes conscious of one’s mind.

TASAWWUF: It has been stated that man is not aware even of all of his body. How much less is he ordinarily aware of his mind. Many people use the word “mind” loosely not knowing what it is. While the Sufi explains the meaning of mind in his metaphysics, more important than that is the experience of mind that one has. Until the mind is set at rest and until one realizes life without mind one can not tell what it is, for neither can one say always what it is not. When the rest and motion of mind are known, and its limitations are perceived, one really begins to know something about mind.

GITHA: Sometimes one becomes so absorbed in the mental plane that, for the moment, the physical body does not exist for one.

TASAWWUF: This is a usual occurrence in the lives of artists, musicians, thinkers, inventors and all intellectual people. When they become absorbed in their work they do not notice what is going on around them. All their senses, all their mental magnetism is concentrated upon their effort. They do not hear loud noises nearby and they may not notice people coming and going from their room.

This is especially noticeable in meditation. So soon as one gets the body relaxed and rested then troops of thought flood the mind. The repose of the body stimulates the mind. The repose of the body is most necessary for meditation but the mind also must be soothed. For this Fikr is the best practice.

GITHA: When a person rises above this plane and wishes to be conscious of his soul, then Fikr helps him to attain this, for the breath is the only current which runs through all planes of man’s existence.

TASAWWUF: The mystery of breath is studied in detail by students of Sufism and is also the subject matter of many books, such as those of Yeats-Brown and Brunton. These books are having a profound effect upon the western mind. The people of the West are beginning to realize what they have been lacking in life and how they can satisfy their need. But the technique by which the breath can be properly developed and the way to satisfy life’s needs are not so well known.

Until the column of breath is thoroughly purified and refined one can not come to the depths of his personality. There may be no end to the process of refinement of the body, at least not until it becomes a vehicle of light. When the breath becomes very fine it reaches the innermost plane and draws therefrom the vital force upon which all life on the surface depends.

GITHA: The breath may be considered as a lift which can take you to any floor of the house you desire. The planes of man’s existence are like floors; through the power of the breath, one can reach any floor.

TASAWWUF: This subject is discussed at length in the Gathas on breath and also in some of the articles which appear in In an Eastern Rose Garden. There seem to be many extravagant statements about breath. All of these can be demonstrated and proved although time, patience and discipline are needed therefore. For just as one speaks about the all-pervading power of space in Nayaz, so normally the breath can bring to one any faculty, any capacity. If man needs it, it is there.

There is a Hebrew tradition about the manna, the bread that was received in the desert, that whatever taste one wished to experience through it, that taste was there. Although simple in appearance the manna has all potentialities. Such is really the nature of breath. God sends us His food through the breath and man takes in divine blessings with every inhalation although mostly he does not know it. If he has any need or desire, inner or outer, he can draw a line from himself to the object, whether it is in the worlds seen or unseen.

The experience of various planes depends largely upon the refinement of breath, and refinement of breath is accomplished through Fikr. Therefore Fikr is the best means of touching all aspects of life.

GITHA: One may ask what practical benefit it is to realize one’s soul. The answer is that the soul is man’s true being, and if man has not realized through life which his true being was and remained all through life in the illusion of considering the vehicles of his life as his being, he is greatly mistaken.

TASAWWUF: Too often by practical is meant that which will bring man money or material satisfaction. Yet the accumulation of goods and wealth does not always produce happiness. What man seeks ordinarily is not his true search for as soon as he finds or gets it he has another longing, he wants something else. This shows that the yearning of the soul has remained unsatisfied, that there is still a greater need or deeper longing which is wanted.

Now inner attainment and development do not in any way detract from the daily life. At least they need not. Sufism offers a process to all people to combine the spiritual and practical. Self-understanding does not detract from a man’s business or occupation. Self-understanding often helps a man to succeed in little tasks where otherwise he might have failed.

GITHA: Besides this, the reality of every plane of one’s being gives that much more power and inspiration ...

TASAWWUF: It has been stated that man is not usually aware even of much of his physical body. If he wishes to control the body, have a more complete mastery over it, Fikr is the best means. For by Fikr the breath can be sent to any and all parts of the body and this means that more life reaches those parts. It is the life that furnishes the body with health, strength and youth. Therefore through Fikr one perfects his body, making it a divine temple.

The same is true of mind. Many people do not know much about their limits. They have limited memories and a false sense of logic. They do not know how to develop and apply the intuitive faculty, that great gift which God has given to man and which everyone could use to the highest purpose if only he knew it. Fikr enables the breath to reach every portion of the mind and as the breath becomes more refined, the areas of the mind become enlarged.

And the same is also true of heart. For there is a stage of development when the breath is most fine and one feels it and is very sensitive about it, yet there may be hardly any movement of nostril and lungs. The very fine breath touches the deepest part of man’s being.

GITHA: ... and as much of his being he has realized, so great does man become in his power and inspiration.

TASAWWUF: When the ordinary man thinks of power he thinks of some force which he can develop within himself by his will. The Bible makes clear that it is not by such power or might that blessings come. On the contrary, the more refined the breath becomes the more power it has. It can become like a long stream or column of living light.

Fikr removes the thought of self from before the mind and this increases capacity for the inner light which then floods man’s being. Power and inspiration are the result of it although if one practices Fikr for their sake it is improbable that he will gain much. As man impresses upon his inner being that God alone exists, he can call upon God for all gifts of heaven and earth. When he removes the ego out of the way, he draws those things more easily, for there is then no resistance to their achievement, the only great obstacle being man’s thought of self.

Therefore if there is any practice which helps man to realize the Kingdom of God upon earth, it is Fikr.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary                                  Series II: Number 7

Development and Purification of the Breath

GITHA: Development of the breath means its development in two directions—in volume and in length—the symbol of which one may see in the Cross.

TASAWWUF: This development has impressed many persons who feel without knowing that there is mystery in breath, that there is a science of breath, that through right development of breath all the obstacles in one’s path may be removed. However, they do not know how this can be done and they often seek strange devices, postures, experiments and feel pleased when some one gives them some supposedly secret and sacred method of breathing. In that way many fall before the charlatans and even if there is a physical gain there is a moral loss.

This subject is discussed in the Gathas and in the commentaries thereon. In the Gathas one also learns that the vertical line stands for Jelal or strength, and the horizon line of the cross for Jemal, beauty or wisdom. But in the St. Andrews cross one sees a circle also, and among the Egyptians there was the crux ansata in which a circle or ellipse was surmounted over a T-cross. This circle stands for the volume, whether it pertains to breath or one’s wisdom, insight or range of consciousness. Thus it can be said that the person with a long breath develops strength—that is, he can hold the breath longer, retain it longer. While the wide or voluminous breath means that it penetrates deeper into the personality, reaching all parts of body, mind and soul.

GITHA: There are some people who have breadth of breath. Perhaps they have a loud voice, a strong, vigorous voice, but a short compass.

TASAWWUF: This reveals the usual Jelal person who is undeveloped. There is power in his voice, he can shout, but cannot hold his breath. And if he is an athlete he may be able to run fast or jump high or even throw heavy weights but is not likely to be a long distance runner. And among singers we find basses, perhaps, that can sing a few deep notes but that is all, otherwise they seem not to be musical.

GITHA: In India a singer is considered to be of great quality and gift who has, besides volume of voice, a large compass, who can touch the very high note and can produce the very deep note and at the same time every note may have clearness, strength and vigor.

TASAWWUF: This is one of the most important factors of the mystery of sound. Every sound we can utter, every note we can sing has the key to a portion of our inner consciousness. When we find a person who has a narrow range of voice we can generally notice that he has a narrow range of consciousness and thought, he may be narrow-minded even when well-intentioned. And when there is a wide range of voice without quality, such a one is likely to be sentimental, kindly, well-meaning but lacking a certain balance.

It is through the science of breath that one learns more about the control of the voice. Often one wants to change his breathing exercise because he thinks through some complex method he will grow and that if he is not given something complex he is kept from some secret. There are mureeds who do not apply themselves even to the exercises which have been assigned to them whose curiosity is so great that they want something, they suppose. If they only knew that the secret of life lay in the ability to take in breath and have it penetrate throughout their personality. And every thought they have, especially the thought of self, keeps the breath and the life from penetrating deeper and giving them that which they most desire.

GITHA: This gives the idea of the breath, that it is not necessary that the breath should have volume, for even the most material man may have volume of breath. No doubt he will have great magnetism and power over others, but that is not the only sign of spirituality.

TASAWWUF: The real volume of breath comes with its penetrability. The mere increase of the column of air does not bring the finer vibrations, does not even offer sufficient capacity for the finer elements. A larger physical volume of air enters the body and strengthens the body, but it may be of such a coarse nature that the mind does not gain from it. But as one develops along the line of life he will find he can take in a long, deep, very refined breath; he may not even seem to be breathing. Yet it is during and after such breaths that one’s faculties seem to be more alert.

The finer breathing brings in the finer magnetism. Besides that which touches and operates on the physical plane, there is that which operates on the mental and spiritual planes and there is moral magnetism. Each of these is of a different nature. For instance, mental magnetism is seen in man’s abilities and moral magnetism in his character, while the spiritual magnetism is such that it seems to transform a person into something greater than an ordinary human being; it fulfills and perfects his humanity.

GITHA: If the compass of the breath is lengthy, a man can be conscious of all planes of his existence; he can have clairvoyance, clairaudience, visions, experiences with unseen beings and unseen worlds.

TASAWWUF: There are two ways which this can come through Kasab and other practices of the breath. The one is through retention which can be gradually prolonged and should be, without any impairment of rhythm or strain upon the body. Right rhythm will always prevent strain. Besides, development and growth are gradual. And the other way comes through the refinement and this refinement is the natural result of many practices; prayer, meditation, zikr, Fikr and all forms of devotion help to refine the breath and carry man above the mind-mesh and domination of nufs.

Now as broad as is the column of the breath which man inhales and retains, so broad is the possible penetration he has into the spheres of the cosmos. There are some people who have a certain kind of clairvoyance and clairaudience and it is generally such that the breath brings them a kind of light and they can see in and through this light naturally and are regarded as “queer,” being unusual.

Besides with them the brain and mind are not so developed and if they lack will-power they become the prey of obsessing forces.

Many people who have some such psychic vision or clairaudience do not know that what they see is shadow and what they hear is echo. Before they can obtain direct vision and hearing they have to pass through a process of purification during which time they may cease to have visions or hearings.

They would prefer the phenomena to their development and often consider their faculties as “spiritual” because they are a little different from those of the average person. They delight in a sort of pride, even in their ignorance they delight.

Yet a continued process of refinement would bring back sight and hearing on a higher plane if they would only continue those practices which removed the phenomena before their eyes and ears temporarily. No faculty that man brings to earth or that man develops here need be useless. But there are wise and unwise, harmful and useful ways for all things. What is necessary in the spiritual life is to devote all faculties for a higher purpose that one be the master of phenomena, not its slave.

Although Sufis prefer to keep away from mediumship, psychic manifestations and ghosts, there is nothing in the metaphysics of Sufism which abhors occultism. In fact in some schools the talibs are offered every opportunity to develop occult faculties and powers. Only the God-ideal is placed first and foremost and nothing is learned or done which will impair the purpose of life.

Besides as the breath becomes still more refined, certain kinds of dreams and visions may become more natural although their occurrence may be rare. One may read about both the inner and outer lives of prophets in the Bible and other sacred literature. For the most part holy men have not sought wonders and those who seek the delights of heaven while dwelling upon earth may be led further astray than if they had sought nothing. It is as easy, even easier, to be turned from God by the delights of heaven than those of earth.

GITHA: But if he has a lengthy compass and no volume, then perhaps he has great experiences and no power.

TASAWWUF: One will find that among many mureeds, perhaps more with women than with men and more among the weaker than the stronger, that the veil between the seen and unseen is not very tightly drawn. On the one hand they may become the prey of obsessing forces and on the other hand they will have delightful and even blessed dreams and visions. The only trouble is that the latter do not mean so much to them or to others in their daily life. The very attenuation of the current of breath often produces a weakness in its channels.

Often mureeds are asked to repeat the three wazifas, “Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, Allaho Akbar.” The first of these is to direct life upward and away from self, the second produces balance, the third strength. A clairvoyant person who fails to take God into account becomes selfish and is thereby more liable to be turned into an instrument for undesirable forces. A medium who develops strength of character will ultimately become freed from all forces, beings, and powers below the rank of humanity. Strength, therefore, often works against receptivity, but if properly balanced by praise, adoration and the pursuit of the ideal, there will be no loss.

GITHA: It is just as an intelligent man with a thin, silky voice may be speaking of high ideas before an assembly, and a rough man with a loud strong voice may come and stop him from speaking, where the former has no power over the latter. So it is with half-developed breath.

TASAWWUF: This would be an example of a Jelal type dominating over a Jemal type. The Jemali might bring the message of love and wisdom but he could not convey it, he might be acting as if he did not have the strength of conviction. And this is true with regard to strength required from inner growth. If it dominates it may produce inharmony and if it is lacking it will produce no action. Then the psychic power will be lost, for to have the full benefit of it some action must result on the material plane.

By Kasab one develops both strength and penetration so that the inner growth is well rounded out. No one need fear of becoming so ethereal and unworldly that he will want to be anti-social. Nor need anyone fear, on the other hand, that he will gain in strength more rapidly than he himself provides the capacity for it. From the beginning the mureed is shown the foolishness of forcing the breath. Constancy in practice, especially constancy in rhythm, and the gradual increase in fullness and retention makes for the perfect breath, and from the perfection of breath the perfection of character and of all faculties ensues.

GITHA: Volume gives power, compass gives vision.

TASAWWUF: Thus, the more air that can be pulled into the lungs without any feeling of uneasiness, the more power is gained which can be used on all planes. Often people with will-power find less difficulty in this than others. But it is also true that there are people with weak wills and if they take long, deep, slow breaths they will gradually gain in power, and along with that gain they will be finding themselves overcoming various weaknesses.

But the fine breath is needed for perfection. If one can draw the finer breath into his body he can remove the defects in many of his faculties and characteristics. He can even correct his eyesight and senses generally. When they are weak or unhealthy, this is mostly due to some defect in breathing and the breath that touches the inner planes helps with both sensation and insight. Both of these faculties are drawn from the breath or depend upon breath.

GITHA: Both together make the development complete, and the balance of both is mastery.

TASAWWUF: That is why in Kasab one only gradually lengthens the breath taken into the lungs. There need be no change in count, only after a while one will notice the breath becoming longer and deeper. Neither need there be any change of count as to retention. But the more one can hold the breath without any feeling of difficulty, the deeper in time will that breath pervade the personality and then inner faculties, long dormant, may begin to express themselves. For all blessings may come to mankind through the breath.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary                             Series II: Number 8

Rhythm in Kasab

GITHA: Rhythm is most important in Kasab, for there ought to be a balance in the breath.

TASAWWUF: Rhythm is important in all times and in all ways in our lives, only there ought to be a time when one can give special attention to it, just as clock mechanics, besides repairing the defective parts of instruments, also observe them for a while and see that their rhythms are proper. Especially the timekeepers in observatories have to do that, for the slightest disturbance in rhythm may cause great commotions.

The same thing goes on within man although mostly he may pay no attention to it, either regarding the subject as unimportant or knowing nothing about it. In Sufism the importance of rhythm is stressed from the very beginning and it covers all aspects of the daily life, whether one is engaged in material or non-material pursuits.

GITHA: Inhaling and exhaling must be even in rhythm, but the holding of the breath should not necessarily be even with the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. For it makes three bars of an even rhythm, but three bars make a phrase or sentence of music odd in rhythm; to make it even, four bars are required. Therefore, the holding should balance evenly with inhaling and exhaling both, in order to make it four bars.

TASAWWUF: The principle of rhythm is always stressed, for if the inhalation is greater than the exhalation there is a tendency toward selfishness, self-will, obesity or general activity of nufs. And if the tendency toward exhalation is greater, while one may feel free there will be a tendency toward weakness. The balanced rhythm of breath makes it possible to digest food and eliminate poison, to remember what the mind should retain but not be overburdened with useless thought.

When the talib is instructed in Nayaz attention is given to retention, the first purpose of retention being to refine the body. This process of refinement makes it possible to assimilate finer and finer vibrations through the breath. When there is not enough retention the assimilation is only upon the outer planes. But there is to be balance between the inner and outer life; the period of eights, used in Kasab, covers the time when there is more breath activity on the inner plane while the counts four, for both inhalation and exhalation covers the time when the activity is within the body. Thus for the whole movement of breath there is balance between the inner and outer aspects of it.

GITHA: But it is difficult for everybody to hold the breath for that length of time.

TASAWWUF: The talib is first instructed to hold the breath in the practice of Nayaz. Then the count is given and it is always best to begin with a fairly lively count and gradually lessen it. In this way one comes to hold the breath without any strain. Then if this is kept up continually for a number of years, the breath can be retained for a long time with little effort. In meditation also one finds it becomes easier to hold the breath, and while long slow breathing helps in meditation, meditation also helps with long slow breathing.

Likewise in the beginning of Kasab while the count of eight is kept, one need not be too slow, certainly not so slow that he cannot retain breath and then not be able to maintain rhythm. Forcing does nothing. There should be a relaxed feeling.

GITHA: Also, if a person can hold the breath, he cannot retain it in the proper place where it ought to be. Therefore, when breath is held it may sometimes enter into any function of the body, which may perhaps cause injury and may result in danger.

TASAWWUF: There is a normal passageway for the breath through the body. It enters the nose, passes the region of the sinuses, goes down to the throat, enters the glottis or wind-pipe, reaches the bronchial junction and passes thence through the bronchial tubes to the left and right lungs. If there is any obstruction the breath does not all reach the lungs. It is in the lungs where it contacts the bloodstream and is dissolved in the blood.

As has been explained, there is a difference between aeration and oxidation. The breath held long produces oxidation on the physical plane which may mean the breaking down of tissues, although this helps remove waste. But any process, even one of cleansing, if continued too long becomes destructive. This destruction passes from the body to the mind. There is a natural retention of inhalation during certain processes of concentration, otherwise, if one wants to depend upon the breath, expecting some magical results, he will not benefit.

GITHA: Those who practice the breath by the help of books or by the advice of an inexperienced teacher call such breathing deep breathing, often not knowing how long the breath should be inhaled, how long it ought to be held, and how much longer it ought to take to exhale.

TASAWWUF: While in the instructions on Kasab there is a definite count given to inhalation, retention and exhalation, caution is requested for the body of every talib is in a certain way sensitive. When the body is strong enough to withstand the difficulties of worldly life, it does not thereby become able to receive attenuated vibrations. The longer the breath is held the more attenuated the vibrations which manifest in it. Wrongly used these are like the x-rays which have high penetrating power but which are destructive of most earthly matter, penetrating it with ease. But rightly used the breath becomes a channel for the light of the unseen which finds a home thereby in the body turning it into a temple of God.

It may even be that some books publish the same or similar esoteric practices that are given to the talib by the Sheikh. There are many books being written today on Yoga, some by devout scholars, some by interested dilettantes and some by casual observers who wish to exploit the public with their slight knowledge. Probably none of these groups, even of the best, have had those spiritual and cosmic results of the refinement of breath which would entitle them to the name of sage or adept. Nevertheless the growing curiosity and interest of the generality—born no doubt from some deep intuition—makes it possible for all these groups to flourish.

The real benefit from breathing comes through constant application and an understanding of what one is doing. Or, if there is lack of understanding, there should be a profound faith in the teacher that the teacher knows the laws of breath and is helping the disciple as he may toward his spiritual emancipation.

GITHA: The breath makes a difference in every direction in which it is sent, difference in mind and difference in the body; and when man thinks that simply deep breathing is beneficial, instead of doing good to himself he does a great deal of harm.

TASAWWUF: Perhaps very few practitioners know the significance of the earth, water, fire, air and ether elements, how they manifest, their degrees of refinement, the faculties which manifest through them, how they affect the physical body, and the mental body, what happens when they are encouraged and what occurs when they are blocked. Indeed without the mystical knowledge of some competent teacher, any exercise by a student can become harmful. And nowhere is this truer than when there is conscious effort to block one nostril or another or send the breath in a direction selected at will.

The average man knows nothing of the movement of breath in either nostril. And there are students who regard it a marvel when they can change the course of breath from one nostril to another. They do not know or see that this changes the faculties, stimulating or inhibiting them. Besides it is not always easy to do it and any use of force can produce a reaction. Therefore mureeds in Kasab are also given instruction in mysticism that they may know the significance of every movement of breath, and its effect upon their lives. This knowledge is hidden from the generality.

GITHA: Often, insanity and nervousness are the consequences of wrong breathing exercises.

TASAWWUF: It is very likely that all insanity is either accompanied by or preceded by wrong breathing. If the breath-energy reaches the brain, either through the inhalation which touches the sinuses, or through the bloodstream which washes the brain, there is little likelihood of insanity. Insanity is to be distinguished from obsession. Obsession occurs when one is negative and allows other forces, powers or entities to prey upon his mind and brain. Insanity means that there is some definite break between body and mind, impairing coordination and often accompanied or followed by deterioration of brain or spinal cord tissue. This deficiency can only with difficulty be repaired through the breath, and by other means perhaps not at all.

More often instead of there being actual deterioration or impairment of tissue there is a blockage in the movement of the nerve currents. This can and often does result in obsession. It also produces neurasthenia—which is the sign of weakness—and psychopathia which is the sign of absence of balance. And it is true that spiritual healers can help these people return to normalcy through their own knowledge of rhythm and mysticism.

GITHA: At the same time, if it is right, it can cure one of any disease and weakness, since on the rhythm of the pulse and beats of the heart and head man’s health depends. And doctors can sometimes realize by the change of rhythm the condition of a person’s health.

TASAWWUF: The average person may assume that there is rhythm when each breath in a series is like the previous one and when there is the same time occupied in inhalation and exhalation. Yes, this is true that these are necessary factors in rhythmical breathing and health. But there is another aspect to it also and that is that the whole of one movement, inhalation or exhalation is even. We are not usually conscious of such small periods of time as those occupied in indrawing or expelling breath. But if we could get a figure of the movement like we today have figures of heart beats, we should quickly learn whether the breath flows evenly in and out, whether it, so to speak, “dances.”

With most people there are jerks in the movement and these jerks indicate lack of rhythm. And along with that one can notice the ease with which breath is maintained in the body. Sometimes the length of time for inhalation and exhalation may be the same but the inhalation may be forceful and the exhalation weak or vice versa. Sometimes the strong inhalation or exhalation may move through the wrong nostril (whether right or left) and then the intended benefit is lost and there may be more destruction than benefit.

GITHA: The rhythm has a great influence upon the state of man’s mind and body, and the rhythm can be kept even by keeping the rhythm of the breath even.

TASAWWUF: One may wonder after the study of music and dancing on the one hand and of esotericism on the other, whether it is always necessary to regulate the movement of breath consciously. Yes there is much gained thereby, although if one has the trust in God any spiritual practice when the mind is not wandering and all energy is directed toward the ideal, will of itself produce the right result. Which is to say, when Darood is substituted for Fikr or Kasab, is there any likelihood of rhythm not being retained.

This is to overlook the nature of God. For any spiritual practice with the thought of God in the mind helps to produce some rhythm and the right usage of the ninety-nine sacred names of God always induces rhythm in breathing whether one is thoroughly aware of that or not. But there are many forms of music and dancing, which, depending upon some basic beat, also help a person to improve in his reactions to rhythm.

GITHA: For the breath is like the pendulum in the clock, on the movement and rhythm of which the regularity of the clock depends—so on the rhythm of the breath the order of the body and mind depends.

TASAWWUF: It is said that the universe itself is based upon the rhythmical breathing of God. And when an infant appears, if we watch it we can observe its rhythmical breathing. His sobs, cries, tears, howls and tantrums are all the result of some disturbance in rhythm. And one of the first lessons to be taught to little infants is this response to rhythm. It can even be shown them through rattles or other simple instruments.

People who delight in dancing do not always know the reason therefor. They do know that there is a change in feeling and there are several kinds of dancing which produce an ecstasy or joy and there is dancing which can free the mind from care. Whatever be the benefit from dancing or music if one seeks deeply he will find it comes in rhythm.

But the health of the body also depends upon the rhythm of the activity within, and when the organs are called upon to function very much on one day and little another time, the condition of the body will not be so good. And this subject of rhythm is in every aspect given considerable study by talibs.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary                                Series II: Number 9

The Sign of Having Benefited by Kasab

GITHA: When one feels, after practicing Kasab for a year at least, that the breath seems to have freedom in inhaling and exhaling, and one feels the breath light and pure, a feeling of happiness such as one feels when out in the country where the air is pure and bracing—that is the time when one may understand that Kasab has benefited him.

TASAWWUF: Kasab provides for all practical purposes the initiation by air. It has been explained how one may have the purification of earth by breathing over earth; the purification from water comes through breathing over water; for the purification of fire one may breathe over incense or a small flame or even use the fire therefor. But the air is all around us so we cannot select the air apart from itself.

Nevertheless in the body the air takes a certain course. While the earth, water and fire breaths enter and leave the body by the same nostril, the air breath does not necessarily do this. It may enter by one nostril and leave by another. The ordinary person does not know this and he cannot master the air element. Yet it is this element which produces joy in life and if there is any experience of ecstasy, whether from material or spiritual sources, it is the result of a purification of air.

One may by his knowledge of mysticism draw in that breath which is a combination of air and ether and receive any benefits that may be derived therefrom, or even cultivate joy so that he can extend happiness to another. But this may be a temporary state and if one does it often without any other practices and without the spirit of devotion, the joy that he has momentarily may become a drug upon him and he may seek that joy even more than he seeks God.

In Kasab there may not be any particular search. But it does happen that its practice provides the purification by the air element and one gets the same benefit as by a change of climate. Whereas the doctor may order his patient to go to the country or to the seashore or the mountains to obtain fresh air, without knowing exactly why, the mystic learns how to derive the same benefits from the atmosphere in the place where he stands. That is why for him Kasab is such an important practice.

GITHA: Also, the practice of Kasab develops the strength and energy which may be called the spirit of the breath or the real breath.

TASAWWUF: The Hebrew people have made a distinction between nephesh, the ordinary breath which comes into the body and which man shares with the animals, and ruach, the spirit. The Sufi may say, while it appears to be the same thing it is nephesh where there is no knowledge or control and it is ruach when there is knowledge or control or intelligence. And Kasab enables man to transmute nephesh into ruach, so to speak. For it becomes easy and simple for the devotee to draw strength and power—or any quality from the cosmos—calling upon the name of God, and practicing his breathing rightly. Then he draws into himself the real breath of life and becomes a living soul. Then he can better radiate life and blessings to all.

GITHA: That develops, and one feels that one’s breath has become wide in its volume and long in its reach, and yet not heavy and depressing, since all depression mostly comes from lack of development of the breath.

TASAWWUF: If one uses the methods employed by the generality it is true that after long practice there is a longer and heavier breath. The effect of this is just like stretching a rubber bag—after it is stretched it cannot so easily return to its former size. One draws more breath into the lungs but one does not therefore refine it, it only means drawing more coarse vibrations along with the deeper breath. In so far as these vibrations and the atoms of the breath itself can be utilized in the body there may not be much harm. Thus an athlete or a laborer might even benefit up to a certain extent therefrom. But a singer who is also compelled to do such breathing is drawn under the emotions which manifest through each element and suffers from temperament.

The mystical training is different, for the refinement of the breath accompanies the progress one makes with regard to length and volume and even precedes it. In that way one gains access to the etheric current and then one need not suffer any longer from emotional disturbances. And besides that, the breath becomes more and more refined and the vibrations penetrate into the deeper recesses of the personality so that nothing need be lost. Light also accompanies these finer vibrations and in the presence of this light there can be no lasting depression.

GITHA: One sleeps well, and one feels hungry and thirsty and cheerful.

TASAWWUF: Ability to sleep better comes with refinement by ether and fire or as the Christian scripture states “fire and the holy spirit.” Hunger comes when there has been refinement or purification of earth; thirst when there has been purification of water; cheerfulness when there has been purification by air. The scientists say that in the presence of ozone cheerfulness is natural; ozone shows the purification of air by itself, when the oxygen which is coarser turns into ozone, a finer form of itself.

Nevertheless all these desirable states come naturally with the use of Kasab and if not all at the beginning then in time are they achieved. Thus by the practice of esotericism even the worldly life becomes better worthwhile.

GITHA: Besides that, it gives a feeling of lightness to the body and an ethereal development.

TASAWWUF: There has always been much interest and speculation over the possibility of man inhabiting a body of light while on earth. Among the Buddhists there are many who say that Buddha used the Nirmanakaya body or “no-mind” transformation-body while on earth. This was supposed to have been made of finer vibrations and atoms and only took on the appearance of a body of flesh. Christ is also said to have appeared in some such body after his resurrection, but there were those in early times, called Docetists, who denied even the historicity of Jesus Christ claiming that he was a cosmic personality who came to deliver special teachings.

There is no doubt that as one continues on the spiritual path the body becomes able to assimilate very fine vibrations. The cells are less opaque to light so that it can even be true as Christ taught that our light can shine before men. One often sees such light during meditation or while performing his sacred practice alone. In Zikr also there is a great increase of light. Whatever be the method or the exercise it is the refinement of breath which makes it possible for this light to be assimilated. That is also one reason why the eating of meat is not always looked upon with favor as meat-eating tends toward denseness, sometimes making it harder to obtain this development.

Of course one does not take up the spiritual training for the sake of having a body while on earth which is full of light and capable of performing miracles. It often happens that people who stress vegetarianism are quite selfish and that they are thinking too much of themselves ever attain to some high goal. Yet it is also true that at times the assimilation of coarse foods becomes a burden upon the mystic.

GITHA: One feels that he is becoming finer in every respect.

TASAWWUF: There is not only a refinement of the body, that one may feel younger or freer from disease, one also finds an increase in the assimilation of mental magnetism. One’s intellectual development, one’s faculty of memory, wit, ability to converse and discuss freely and all such faculties are developed. And at the same time one becomes more sensitive and considerate of others because there is also a fineness of feeling. This refinement increases on all planes and in every aspect of life.

GITHA: Besides that, one begins to feel the atmosphere of others more, and one becomes sensitive to the pleasure and displeasure and the likes and dislikes of others.

TASAWWUF: For the more refinement there is the less one is confined to the area of his own thoughts. When the breath is coarse one cannot see far beyond his own thoughts and inclinations. This shows generally the ammara or lauwama stage of nufs. But there is beyond them the mutmaina stage and beyond that the salima stage of development. One purpose of Kasab is to enable the talib to rise to this salima stage. This brings heart-development and makes of him a sahib-i-dil, of her a memsahib-i-dil. Thus awakens and manifests the living heart.

Then one even finds a pleasure in trying to delight others and another pleasure in seeking to avoid hurting them. One may even find a subtle satisfaction in reading the mind of another, not so much for the sake of phenomena or miracle as for harmony. It is much easier to demonstrate harmony after this stage of growth has been accomplished.

GITHA: And if one is keen in his inner sight, he, by the help of Kasab, soon begins to see into the space.

TASAWWUF: This is a form of clairvoyance which can be overcome and generally should be overcome in its lower forms when one is not able to protect himself against intrusions. But after there is the capacity for the finer vibrations, one can see in and with the breath. The more refined the breath the further it extends outwardly, so to speak, the further away are vibrations drawn toward one and within all that area sight is possible. Then even a person dwelling upon another sphere may manifest to one.

This is perfect the safest and best way of occult development. Whatever one sees by help of one’s own breath, that one can control, can do no harm. Even the prophets speak of being drawn into the spirit. The ancient Hebrew prophets practiced Kasab and there are some references to it if one carefully reads the Scriptures. This is especially manifest in the Hebrew books of the prophets Ezekiel and Zechariah and also in the Book of Revelations of the Christian Scripture. Without Kasab such visions would not have been possible. The mystery of the chariot of Merkabah which is one of the foundation stones of Hebrew mysticism is also based upon this.

Yet it is not advisable to try to obtain this faculty. One should adhere to his exercise and accept all that is given to him from God as a secret and sacred trust. And if there is no apparent gain along the phenomenal line yet one may put his trust in God and be sure that he is under the protection of the divine wisdom.

GITHA: First colors and forms appear to him, then glimpses of what is called the aura. This appears at times and disappears at times, as the condition of the inner sense happens to be.

TASAWWUF: The colors and forms may appear to anyone and those who study mysticism are advised to watch out for them. Yet many cannot do it. Then they should be given a little help with Kasab and after they have practiced Kasab awhile they should be able to understand mysticism better from their own direct experience. For it is upon such experience that the greatest knowledge comes to man.

The observation of the aura is also most important to those who take up healing or psychological development. Then they can tell at once something of the type and temperament of every person and even know through direct sight the cause of his weaknesses and shortcomings. This makes for him diagnosis easy, and healing or correction of abuses also is facilitated.

Of course there have been a great many claims about the aura and a great mystery has been made about it. The fact is that all breath contains many energies although in Nayaz attention is paid to three: the waves of the air, the rays of the sun, the all-pervading power of space. Yet along with these and between these there are vibrations and potencies which penetrate the sphere and can also be drawn into the body. The aura is a field of action and interaction of the various rays and vibrations which are brought by the breath to the physical body and themselves form what has been called “the body of breath,” although it has various names among the followers of different schools of esotericism.

GITHA: It is of no use to a person who, seeing all this, cannot understand what is meant by it all.

TASAWWUF: That is why in Sufism a teacher is so necessary. Besides many have the visionary faculty without knowing anything about Kasab. It may have been natural or it may have been developed in one of a number of manners through one of a number of causes. It is not necessary to lay aside any faculty.

On the Sufi path all the faculties that one has brought to this world, or that come through the experience of life, or are given by grace of God, are developed. The waste places of the inner being are turned into gardens. Everything becomes useful and purposeful. So it is unwise to seek what does not belong to one and even more unwise to neglect what one has.

GITHA: Also, it is not necessary that one should indulge in the satisfaction of curiosity of phenomena. The whole journey on the spiritual path is full of phenomena, and every step increases this.

TASAWWUF: Among the uninitiated are many who identify miraculous experiences with spirituality and they even seek the spiritual life for the sake of those experiences. They are not entirely wrong, they are confused. With every step in the increase of breath capacity a way is opened so that the breath can penetrate more deeply into the subtle spheres. This penetration either perfects the faculties one has or gives rise to new faculties which may have been dormant or which are natural only to beings of higher evolution. These faculties and potentialities come without man’s seeking as if by Grace of God. And with the uncovering of the true self they cannot be avoided.

But when one’s mind is occupied with wonders, the heart is shut out from wonder itself. That is why so many go astray. They do not see the wonder of the whole of life and they do not know the wonder of the heart of man himself.

GITHA: Therefore, those who stop, interested in phenomena, at the first step may remain there, wondering about it; whereas those who see it on the way and yet are not attracted to it so that it may chain their feet, go along safely to the ideal destination of life.

TASAWWUF: There are many paths of development in Sufism. In the East this has led to the establishment of various schools so that persons of various temperaments could receive their best training by taking Bayat in that school whose system was most attuned to their needs. Yet this of itself did not exclude them from attending meetings or joining in the brotherhood of other Sufis. It was outwardly more than inwardly that they were separated.

Sufism has been brought to the West as one school, with all endowments, and mureeds may receive a general or specialized training. Generally speaking, those who stick to Sufism many years receive some specialized training which is in accordance to their purpose of life, and with regard to spiritual practices, from the very beginning each is helped most according to his needs. Besides, God reveals himself to humanity in many ways and the wise teacher is always guided by the inner experiences of the pupil. Those who have too many dreams or visions are given the strength to protect themselves against unwelcome intrusions and those who seem to lack vision are given another training, not so much for the sake of having dreams and visions but for the increase of capacity for light and life. Thus there are many ways toward the same goal, and in a brotherhood there are very various and diverse experiences among devotees who work together for a common ultimate purpose.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary                               Series II: Number 10

The Attainment of Inner Being by Kasab

GITHA: When we trace that the source that holds man’s life is nothing but light, then we realize that the nature of light is to extend its rays and spread them around it. So it is with the light of the soul. The soul spreads its light, which is breath, and extends it to the right and left.

TASAWWUF: In the Christian Scripture one reads about the Logos which is called the light that illuminates every man that comes into the world and the world does not know it. This Logos has been identified with the Holy Spirit but aside from calling Logos “the word” one does not ordinarily notice that word depends upon breath and spirit also means breath.

The early Christians have been depicted with haloes or circles of light around their heads. While this halo is in a certain position, the Buddhists have their aureole in a slightly different position, although if all the Buddhist and Christian paintings and figures were placed side by side one could readily see that behind them were the same inspirations and similar degrees of revelation. For it seems to have been known more universally at one time that around the personality was this field of light sometimes called the aura, only not only was it easier to produce when people lived simple existences, it was still easier to see, for the vision was not dulled by an unnatural life and artificial adaptations.

There are various practices in Sufism and in all schools of mysticism by which the disciple becomes aware of the light which is within and without his being. Ultimately there comes a time when he seems to inhale and exhale light and yet he also seems to dwell within the light. This light is the emanation of his very soul. It has been there all the time although as the scripture teaches, the darkness has comprehended it not.

From the very beginning the soul has sent out rays and these are nothing but rays of light as is explained in the metaphysics of Sufism and in the literature covering the subject of soul. These rays collect around themselves the properties of the different planes but always, basically, they are rays of light and they follow the same principles as the light-rays of the physical world which are studied by scientists although they possess properties which the materialistic scientists would hardly conceive.

GITHA: By that, all things external become lighted, that both eyes and mind may see.

TASAWWUF: The mystic says that the soul sees. Jesus Christ said, “The light of the body is the eye.” The ancient seers and the Hebrew Kabbalists after them all taught that the light was really in the eye. While we say that the light comes from the sun or from the lamp this is only partly true. There are cameras which are sensitive to ordinary light rays and there are cameras which take photographs by the aid of infra-red vibrations and others which depend upon ultra-violet rays. Then there are x-ray machines which have still different sensitivities and obtain still different responses.

One can refer to all the different vibrations as “light” but to one who does not so see them they may not be light. Likewise there are persons who see no colors; others who are sensitive to blue and yellow showing the development of the earth and air breaths; others who see also red and green showing that they also assimilate knowledge through the water and fire breaths. There are also people who are very sensitive to color being able to distinguish between fine grades. And this shows a high development. But this is all in the eye and the eye itself is a great mystery which cannot be understood without the aid of the intuition.

GITHA: But when this light, instead of extending, is concentrated, so to speak—instead of spreading is thrown inward—then it lights up the inner planes and all that is there becomes clear.

TASAWWUF: In its original state the soul was unextended and totally distributed, so that one could not say it had any “where” or “when.” It gathered some of its light together to form a lamp and this is the first stage in the manifestation of soul. This gathering of vibrations is called jami by Sufis from which comes the word Jamiat. It may be called “union” and it has some of the same meaning as the Sanskrit word “yoga.” It is this concentration of light which forms the nexus of the individual. Yet the soul itself is not that concentration of light, the soul being all light.

There was a separation of areas between this dense light and the less dense light and out of this separation came all forms, all meanings, all dualism. It followed that when man came to earth he was under the spell of dualism and when in addition to that he became intoxicated by the denseness of earth he could no longer see the finer vibrations, they were to him non-existent.

The spiritual practices have for their prime purpose the restoration to man of his true faculties and inner vision. As this inner vision grows he becomes more sensitive to the finer vibrations of light. Not only that, he can again gather them as into a lamp and he develops the power of the glance.

In the glance there is not so much the observation of outer phenomena as an increased sensitivity through which the intuition or kashf operates. This makes the glance penetrating without being hypnotic; when there is love in it there will be no cause for fear.

This inner glance may have an outer covering which operates as sight on the physical and mental planes. It does not preclude clairvoyance and does not interfere with it. It generally enhances the faculty one possesses. But it also develops a living sympathy, for thereby the heart seems to develop its own way of looking at things which is a penetration together with feeling and this feeling brings one all the knowledge one has to know. Besides, when the breath is filled with light, the past, present and future of oneself or another becomes quite clear.

GITHA: This is done by Kasab, for in Kasab one masters both the powers of light, in extending and throwing them inward ...

TASAWWUF: That is to say, the extension of the breath which is done through inhalation and exhalation is gained through Kasab and the throwing of the light inward comes when there is retention and this also is an important part of Kasab. The balancing of these two balances the life within and without so that there is less danger of abuse of spiritual and psychic faculties on the one hand and less chance of running away from the world and its problems on the other hand.

No doubt there are other ways by which one can retain the breath within. The adepts of India and Egypt have specialized in this and they can hold the breath a long time or keep it in such a refined stage for a long time that they do not suffer from hunger or cold and have no need of anything material. That is why some of them live in the caves of the Himalaya mountains. They need no protection for in their state no creature will harm them, if indeed these creatures approach.

For this line of development celibacy is required and generally asceticism also. But unless one is elected or selected by the hierarchy for some special duties, it is useless if not foolish to seek such development.

On the other hand without this retention of breath, all the power and ability and skill one would obtain through the breath would be utilized on the outer plane. Instead of being conserved for spiritual development it may become the force behind psychic power and then one could become so interested in and confused with phenomena that there would be little onward progress. This does not mean that therefore one should try holding in the breath, it only means that that prevents needless loss or needless application of higher powers (or siddhis).

When the force is thrown inwardly and collected, so to speak, one receives from God Baraka, the blessings of spiritual magnetism, and this can be used for one’s own benefit or bestowed upon the world in right blessing.

GITHA: ... and thereby in time develops the light within him which guides him on his path toward the journey within.

TASAWWUF: One has to be patient for sometimes this light is very slow in manifesting and especially as one thinks about it it is less likely to appear for the thought of self constantly throws a shadow across its path. Yet neither can one otherwise hold it back for it is there—the soul is where it is—and it has only been that shadow of self thrown upon it which has concealed it.

The purpose of having a spiritual teacher is to learn from him how to develop and increase that light. If we use his light and depend upon it, we may have more wonders to witness, but when we find that light within ourselves and use it we become the source of our own wonders and this is the greatest of wonders.

Githa Numbers 1–5 with Commentary

Ryazat: Esotericism

Series III

of

Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series III: Number 1

Shagal (1)

GITHA: The object that the Sufi has in life is not necessarily the attainment of power or the achievement of inspiration.

TASAWWUF: In theory at least power is the supreme goal of the expressive people who are called Jelalis and inspiration is the supreme goal of the responsive people who are called Jemalis. And from another point of view inspiration is a characteristic of the jinns, and is a component part of the jinn evolution, while Djabrut itself means the sphere of power, and those who develop in their evolution until they have some of the consciousness of Djabrut no doubt touch the realm of power.

This very fact may cause one to consider that the search for power and the expression of power are not the same, and the search for inspiration and the expression of inspiration are not the same. The infant repeats or reflects something of the angelic state but he does not show power and the child reveals something of the jinn state, and though there may be wisdom in what he says or does it is not inspiration because he is not awake to it.

Actually real power cannot be obtained without inspiration. The person who can develop physical might or mental prowess wears himself or others down. There is always a limit to his ability and he, not knowing how to draw the strength from this sphere either borrows it from his own reserve or forces it from others—the last method often ending consciously or unconsciously in black magic or diabolatry. The spiritual student, on the other hand, who has received the grace of God often finds himself powerful after inspiration. Pain brings inspiration and inspiration power.

Likewise receptivity or response alone do not bring inspiration. If that were so, weak and timid souls might be easily inspired. They follow anybody or everybody, they do not reach the source of inspiration. They can become inspired as they develop strength of will or character. For them love also is needed, or determination, else mere responsiveness will bring them nowhere.

GITHA: It is to touch the depth of life—that plane of existence whence springs every activity manifesting through different channels.

TASAWWUF: In other words, man’s goal on the spiritual path is to reach and touch the source of his being. When his life is self-determined it reaches nowhere; when it is God-determined it has no limitations. It is a great mistake on the part of any mureed, no matter how evident be his character and inclination, to declare of and by himself that he is on the path of the Jemali or Jelali, that his life-work is to become a saint, a master, a prophet, a teacher, a pir. No doubt he is correct in his thoughts and feelings but the prayer says: “Use me for the purpose that Thy wisdom chooseth.”

GITHA: The physician who gets to the heart of the patient can know more and better about the general condition of his health than he who looks for the pain in the affected part.

TASAWWUF: In other words the teacher is there as an interpreter of the spiritual practices of the talib. There have been many mistakes made about the attitude of the pupil toward the teacher. A real teacher is one who has gone on the path before the pupil and because of his inner revelations is able to explain certain things to the pupil, who, without this explanation, would be led into confusion. Man may say he will live with or without a teacher, but all his saying will in nowise affect his dreams, inspirations and inner experiences, which may come because of Divine Grace (Hariat).

GITHA: In the same way the Sufi by the practice of Shagal gets to the heart of things, where he can see the seedling of the successes and failures, where he can see the signs of forthcoming joy or pain.

TASAWWUF: Because Shagal is a practice which enables the talib to function as if without mind. To a certain extent, he reaches therein the angelic condition; but it might better be said that Shagal is a soul practice rather than a heart practice for it makes every form of dualism impossible. Then there is no self or other. Besides, the longer one can hold his breath, the finer the particles and vibrations which he can assimilate. This develops the faculty of insight. And a great mistake is made by pupils who, from lack of faith, do not trust the one who has the insight.

GITHA: The question why he must know it and what it is that tells him can be answered thus: that by Shagal the Sufi learns to see by his sight independently of the eyes, and he learns to hear by his hearing independently of the ears, and as soon as his senses get this independence from their limited instrument of experience, they begin to see and hear beyond the limitations of these physical instruments, and the area of vision becomes widened.

TASAWWUF: It is taught from the earliest stages and is emphasized in the Gathas and elsewhere that the soul really sees. The eye is formed in the body out of nerve terminals because already there is a faculty, and the study of biological evolution reveals that where there is a faculty there is a tendency toward specialization which has as object and motive the establishment of a certain organ wherein that faculty can operate. In the highest realms all faculties are more-or-less interlinked; it is only below what may be called the mind-mesh that they manifest as separate or separated faculties, and these faculties locate in specialized organs there to receive certain vibrations.

The material scientists admit that all rays of light are not received directly by the average eye. The eye in the Western countries, at least where they are instruments of precision, does not respond to all the different vibrations from the extreme infra-red rays to the extreme ultra-violet rays. Yet the body often responds and the skin may be sensitive thereto. Besides, some blind people and others also may develop a sense of sight or a sense of space through the fingertips. This is because the whole body is the temple of the divine spirit and the soul itself is without limitations. Psychic power can easily be accumulated around the fingers and from that and by it there may be a response to light and other vibrations.

But because the mind and body can not, or rather do not, respond to all grades of vibrations does not mean that man is thereby shut out from certain knowledge and experience. It is only while he is limited by his ego that this is so. So when one makes use of the breath which is the real light, one develops the faculty of sight, carrying it beyond ordinary sense or sensation. Thus Shagal permits experiences without any intervention of nufs.

GITHA: The sight which can only be seen by the limited instrument of the eyes up to a limited horizon, now sees independently of that much further than before.

TASAWWUF: Jesus Christ says of this experience, “Then thy whole body shall be full of light.” There are innumerable examples in the Kabbalah where this light manifested to the Hebrew sages and it is a great pity that so much difference has been made between traditional Hebrew mysticism and the life and experience as well as the teachings of Jesus Christ, because the inner cult of both was the same and the study of either throws much light upon the other.

By this light also Moses revealed the glory of God toward the Beni Israel, and Mohammed would appear in Medina in midday without any shadow because he physically was like a lamp. What he speaks of in the Sura called “Nur” he revealed in his own makeup. Call it Nirmanakaya body, Solar body, body of Resurrection, or regard it just as a transmuted physical body, there is a change when the spirit is absorbed more directly into matter through the breath.

With the coming of this light one can feel the light in others, and the faculty of insight develops more and more. Then no longer will one be understood by everybody, although he will increase greatly in his wisdom and foresight.

GITHA: So the hearing that could hear by the help of the ears so much and no more, now hears, after mastering Shagal, much more than ever before.

TASAWWUF: There are two aspects at least of this hearing. One is that of Saute Surmad, the divine, all-pervading sound, which might be called the Very Voice of God. This does not come in any particular mental or spiritual fashion so much as through the ten vehicles or sounds, which are described in The Mysticism of Sound, and to which there are references in some sacred and mystical books of the Hindus. These are the very sounds of nature and many mureeds hear them, although they are sometimes confused by both initiates and the generality with “ringing of the ears,” this ringing of itself not having much significance, if regarded as a mere wording. Each particular sound, however, has its own meaning.

Another result is that one hears in words what may be said to come from the Spirit of Guidance. The sounds take form within one’s own mind. The mind is responsive to the light of God and in the mind-world the light becomes sound and the sound becomes words and the words convey an intelligent meaning. So without seeming to contact anybody or anything one may receive the answers to his own problems or those of another, and also receive what are like prophetic utterances, although the responsiveness alone does not make of man a prophet.

There is another result also that hearing in general may become so refined that one develops a kind of clairaudience by which he can hear, so to speak, the voices or thoughts or feelings of beings of the unseen worlds. It is not that they speak to him so much as that he receives impressions from them in the form of sounds, with meanings.

GITHA: The seeing and hearing are on the abstract plane, and are called clairvoyance and clairaudience. It is this divine faculty which is often mentioned in the Qur’an as Sami-un-Basir.

TASAWWUF: Which is to say, “light and sound.” The Hebrew word Shem also applies to this universal energy and it is interesting to note that from this same root came the Hebrew word for hearing and the Arabic and Hebrew words for sun. We do not think much of hearing the sun or seeing sound, but there is a Buddhist saying that when man sees with his ears and hears with his eyes he is near unto salvation.

The abstract plane has been called Lahut and it penetrates the other planes. It has not “knowledge” in the ordinary sense; it gives man faculties, for all the faculties of God are lodged in that plane, and when man awakens to consciousness on that plane he becomes endowed with the divine faculties.

GITHA: But the opening of hearing and sight is not sufficient for the purpose, because it is simply an opening; illumination is something else.

TASAWWUF: Because, while man has the right to action, to God belong the fruits of action, and although on the lower planes man may seem to arrogate to himself the possession of things and faculties, when it comes to the highest spheres, this is not so. There all he can do is to be responsive to the divine light. Yet by that divine light he becomes illumined and blessed.

GITHA: With the development of those two faculties by Shagal the necessity for illumination remains nevertheless.

TASAWWUF: For so long as one is receptive and responsive it can not be said that his self and the Self of God are identical. When one receives the knowledge from God or is led by the Spirit of Guidance or has communication with spirits and beings, no matter on what plane or what the purpose of their messages and directions are, that shows that he is still an instrument, perhaps a very blessed instrument, but that he has not reached the goal.

Yet if he has not had or made this capacity for sound and light, if he has not prepared himself in some way, the blessed experience might end in intoxication or might throw him off balance. When we study the lives of all mystics in all parts of the world we find that many of them had great experiences which were useless, had many marvels and phenomena in their lives, yet it meant little to the people of their time. With all their visions and voices they could not always help other people and had few disciples or followers so that they were like great comets or blazing stars that shot across the sky to disappear in the darkness of the empyrean from whence they came, leaving few marks of their coming and going.

GITHA: You must know the language of the voice that speaks from within, and you must recognize the letters that you find written on the record within. The mystics heard it and read it and kept quiet.

TASAWWUF: This language and this record come in different ways. In the Bible one reads of the coming of the thunder and the wind to Elisha the prophet and then the still small voice, and that God was only in the still small voice. This means that while there are many aspects to the cosmic sound, it is only when all these sounds are blended and stilled that one may be sure it is the ultimate voice of God.

GITHA: The prophets on hearing and reading this gave it out but little; and this that was given is the only Scripture there is, call it Bible, Kabbalah, Vedanta or Qur’an.

TASAWWUF: No one can simulate a scripture; scripture is the formulation into words of that which comes out of the cosmos or Saute Surmad. There are times when the prophet receives it clearly, and times when it is not so clear. Isaiah refers to it as where the sun shines not by day nor the moon by night. Ezekiel speaks of being taken up into the spirit, and many other prophets mention the same. Other prophets do not tell of their experiences, but one may feel it in their utterances, in the magnetism and power and inspiration and wisdom of their words.

A study of the experience of Saute Surmad through the records of the Bible would be of itself a great undertaking. But it would be a great mistake to suppose that at a certain time God ceased to make His will known to humankind. In the Kabbalah, among much that is of little value, even detrimental to wisdom-religion, there are veritable pearls of great price. In the Vedanta in general we can find words that refer to Saute Surmad and records and discussions of it. In the Qur’an there is less because the people of the time were not ready for any such dissertations, but in the sacred names of God and in one or two references, as to the Night-Journey, the unrolling of the heavens, etc., one can through meditation and devotion, learn more about the mystical state of the prophet when he received such revelation, and find the key to that revelation in its own words.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series III: Number 2

Shagal (2)

GITHA: Shagal is a process that is contrary to the process that life has taken for its expression towards manifestation.

TASAWWUF: In all the movements toward manifestation and in manifestation there is an accumulation, whether this takes place in the form of words, knowledge, wealth, fame, power, there is a borrowing of something from the planes in which one dwells, and what is borrowed forms a cover over the personality. This cover has two aspects, one of which is connected with the purpose for which one has come to the world, and the other which is related to the ego which produces the delusion that it is the real self.

Shagal is at the very foundation of unlearning for it reveals that there can be light and breath without thought, feeling or motion. Although life may manifest in and through these processes, it itself is not identical with them nor can it be limited by them.

GITHA: There is no possibility of touching the inner world, of seeing or realizing the self within without the help of Shagal.

TASAWWUF: By this inner world we mean the unmanifest or Tanzih, which is not so much unmanifest as that there is no differentiation and all things are together. As a manifestation of God it is called Wahdaniat. Man cannot be conscious of such a plane while he thinks in terms of things or differences; actually while he thinks at all. When he immerses himself in the light of his soul he touches that inner world and Shagal is the practice which makes this possible.

GITHA: It is the tendency of the breath to proceed outward, which is the main source of all creation in thought, speech, word, and deed, and all experience of the external world that one perceives through the senses and by the mind. When the process is reversed, then the breath, instead of proceeding forward, withdraws backward.

TASAWWUF: This is done through the retention of breath. It is not only the result of inhalation but of inhalation and retention. Every inhalation carries life from the manifest to the unmanifest and every exhalation carries life from the unmanifest to the manifest. The easier man can retain the breath within his body, the easier also is it for him to retain the breath and life within his mind and within his heart.

The purification of the physical body is attained through Nimaz, Zikr and Nayaz. Therefore these practices are given to the mureed first. He does not hold his breath very long, for that is not necessary in the purification of the physical vehicle. Nevertheless as this practice is continued it becomes easier and easier for him to retain the breath and send the light and power of it to the mind.

The purification of the mind comes through Fikr and Kasab, and then one regulates the breath and also learns to hold it a much longer time. By that, although one has for his immediate purpose the purification of mind, he directs the energy further within and the light of the soul becomes more manifest. In Shagal the talib, who may then be called a Sufi, having reached that degree of initiation, consciously directs his breath inwardly and develops his capacity for inward function.

GITHA: The breath is likened to a snake that has two mouths. When it withdraws backward, its face is backward too.

TASAWWUF: One sometimes sees the symbol of a snake swallowing his tail, or of two or more snakes swallowing their tails, and while it has been explained as meaning “eternity” one may wonder just what meaning there is to that “eternity.” Gerald Massey offers the explanation that the root of “eternity” is an Egyptian word “ter” which is also the root or related to the roots of the words “Torah” and “Tarot.” It means like facing one way and then the other. The soul faces a certain direction, and that is called involution, and then it collects experiences—this depending upon exhalation. Then there is another period in which it draws the power within by inhalation and retention; this is called evolution. This has been illustrated in The Sufi Message of Spiritual Liberty.

GITHA: In other words, as the consciousness that, so to speak, rides upon the breath, which is its Burrak, its vehicle, experiences the external world, and the breath is the mystery of both. The breath may be called a bridge which connects the external world and the world within.

TASAWWUF: The subject of breath is given in study to mureeds even from their beginning of taking up the path and living the life on the path. Although many have some idea from traditions that have come to the west directly or indirectly from India—and mostly indirectly through the hands of the half-learned—that there is some great mystery and power in breath. Yes, there is this mystery and power but it is simple, the principles are quite simple and depend far more upon practice and application than upon metaphysics. One can learn all there is to be learned about breath without knowing much metaphysics. The metaphysics, if anything, is derived from the knowledge of breath, not the knowledge of breath from metaphysics.

So many things are said about the breath, that one’s life, health and knowledge depend upon it. That one receives all spiritual help therefrom. That one can know about his own past, present or future, or the past, present or future of another therefrom. Finally by the knowledge of breath one learns that the whole universe is really within oneself.

These teachings, which are often astounding to the mureed, are continued in the courses upon mysticism. But few get very far. The knowledge of mysticism does not depend upon any book or upon one’s attitude toward any personality. It depends almost entirely upon one’s own ability to learn from oneself and chiefly through one’s breath. This is the foundation stone of all mysticism, Sufic or non-Sufic. When the world learns that, especially when those initiated upon the path really learn that, it will make it much easier for the kingdom of God to manifest upon earth.

All dreams, visions and inner experiences, especially those touching the more subtle planes depend upon the breath. The study, purification, refinement and expansion of breath measure the spiritual evolution of every one.

GITHA: But as the general tendency is to walk forward, and as it seems strange to take steps backward, and as one fears that he might tumble down and fall on something, or something might fall on him, so one feels in the practice of Shagal.

TASAWWUF: One of the first teachings offered to talibs is that of unlearning. Yet unlearning is a most difficult process. The traditions of the world impress themselves upon every soul, and knowledge comes to mean getting information about everything that manifests in name and form. One feels or fears that unlearning includes the loss of such knowledge. Perhaps it does. But perhaps there is much in so-called knowledge that is of little use to anyone. When we want to remember what happened in our own lives years before and can think only of the color of the sign on the grocery store or of the number of the house where we reside, or the pain that someone caused us last week, we can see that certain aspects of this knowledge interfere with other aspects of it.

In Ziraat, the mystic masonry of Sufism, the idea is presented that all things must be taken up from the field, flowers and crops together with weeds, in order that it may be properly planted. It is a great mistake to assume or suppose that because the self-will is to be removed that one ceases to function. Of the physical things that are taken into the body, there is a limit and there are times, through compulsion, choice or wisdom, when one refrains from eating. Then the body can be purified.

The fasting or purification (Saum) of the mind one does not so readily accept. One does not always like to eliminate poisons from the mind. Yet one’s health depends upon this more than upon anything else. And when one can remove thoughts and ideas from the mind like one can eliminate digestive wastes, he attains to spiritual health.

That this does not mean the ending of thought can be seen through great mystical poetry. It is difficult, not to say impossible, to write such poetry as that of Rumi, Saadi and Jami without first cleansing the mind thoroughly, making it as an empty cup before God. Then the inspirations can come because there is no self-thought in the way.

GITHA: The consciousness, which has never taken a ride on a path which seems so strange to it, feels confused, and even the breath, the tendency of which is to go forward, feels it difficult to step backward.

TASAWWUF: That is why students, when first practicing Shagal, may have a tendency to fain, or suppose they will faint. Yet overdoing does not bring spiritual development. One has to remember that this body of flesh is itself the divine temple and must be treated as such, and that the kingdom of Heaven is not attained through any violence. It is of no avail to try to speak, act or think while inhaling, for what is gained through Shagal is a cosmic point of view, God’s view, and what is lost is a personal point of view, man’s view—if really it is lost.

GITHA: It is this mystery that is spoken in the story of Aladdin, who went to find the magic lantern. The magic lantern is the light within, and to get it there is only one process.

TASAWWUF: This magic lantern is also the pearl of great price spoken of by Jesus Christ. It is also the Holy Grail. The obtaining of the Holy Grail required great sacrifice. The knights of the Court of King Arthur (who represents the Pir-O-Murshid) were themselves initiated and they willingly passed through the processes of fana, self-sacrifice, in order to reach the supreme goal of their soul’s desire.

The same allegory is contained in the story The Thief of Bagdad and in the Persian mystical allegory, The Treasure Chest of Oromanes. They represent this supreme achievement and the initiation by which it is attained is sometimes called the initiation of the ether because then one rises beyond the point where the elements manifest, the breath becomes one single undifferentiated stream of light.

GITHA: And the confusion of Aladdin, after entering the cave where he found nothing but darkness, is the picture of the confusion of Shagal.

TASAWWUF: The Christian mystics have referred to this as the dark night of the soul. One has to go through the darkness to find the light. The same story is found in all these allegories. In the Bible it is symbolized as Jonah in the belly of the whale or leviathan, the great fish, which is really a covering over the body of light.

GITHA: But the prize of courage that Aladdin received is a prize that every courageous Shaghil gets, for he receives by Shagal the root of all power and inspiration.

TASAWWUF: Shaghil is the Arabic for the one who practices Shagal. This practice is to enable mankind to contact the abstract, and happily thereby finding in the abstract the key to power and inspiration. This is because this practice takes one beyond the realm of Nufsaniat with its limitations. It is not that from the beginning one becomes an adept, it is that one becomes conscious of a greater and apparently new life which is the very life of the universe and which is the seeking of every soul, although mostly man does not know it.

All the allegories such as those concerning the Holy Grail and the Court of King Arthur in general, of Jonah, and many in the Arabian nights and in the folk lore of all parts of the world refer to this supreme light. It is also the main subject matter of the texts of most scriptures.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series III: Number 3

Shagal (3)

GITHA: Man’s soul is always inclined to look outward for its experience, and therefore it remains unaware of the inner being; so to speak, it turns its back on the inner life, absorbed in the vision of the external through the five senses.

TASAWWUF: The soul, on its way toward manifestation, developed the habit of looking outward. Its search for the manifestation was an outer search. It looked upon the planes through which it journeyed and it borrowed materials from those planes. After a while, through continued effort, it began to identify itself with the vehicle it had wrapped around itself.

After the soul is born on earth and learns to speak it says “I,” and by “I” it usually means the thought it has of itself, or the body which is its mantle. It lives in the body and experiences life through the five senses. It forgets that there is another way to life so that the whole world is built upon an educational system which depends mostly upon sensation. And people do not even think that there is another way in which to learn or that it is possible to stop the body from being.

The immediate result of this is human suffering. Buddha traced the cause of human suffering to tanha or trishna, which means clinging to the accumulations one has received. While there is such clinging there is confusion and delusion and suffering, and when man can cast off all that is foreign to his true nature he discovers his own deliverance.

GITHA: In Shagal the Sufi closes the door through which the soul is accustomed to look out, and as it finds the doors of its experience closed, a time comes when it turns its back to the external world on finding the doors closed for its experience.

TASAWWUF: This change of state is not reached through blind obedience to any words. Not even surrender to the teacher suffices if the pupil does not make some effort of his own self. For while the development of Shagal is accumulative, which is to say, as one persists in it one becomes more and more aware of the light, it is not easy to adopt new habits. Besides, the everyday life tends to throw the consciousness outward again.

Because of this there have been ascetics and recluses who fled from the world, thinking that thereby they were endearing themselves to God and assuring themselves of spiritual deliverance. No doubt this does remove a certain incrustation of earth but it may bind man as close to heaven as he has been to earth, and thus be veiled from God by his thoughts and his ideals as much as he has been veiled by his desires and appetites. This path has therefore been frowned upon by the true esotericists.

The Inner Life teaches that the real spiritual life is a balanced one, and while it includes looking in a new and central direction, it does not exclude anything. There can be no gain in strength by fleeing the world in some outward manner. The real refuge from the world comes when one of his own will withdraws, and this is accomplished by the withdrawal or indrawing of the breath.

GITHA: It is just like changing place for the soul. It sees before it a different sphere altogether, a sphere that has been within it.

TASAWWUF: The soul may be regarded as a sort of disk which is like a mirror in some respect having one reflecting surface only. This reflecting surface may be turned toward the manifestation or away from it. If it is turned toward the manifestation the soul will want to identify itself with the manifestation, and if it is turned away from the manifestation the soul will perceive at once that that with which it had identified itself was only an illusion which had grown out of itself.

It will also learn that there is nothing separate from itself, and although one speaks of a world within and a world without, it may be learned that the external world is also “within” in a certain sense.

GITHA: This sphere is abstract; in this sphere the individual soul is raised to a cosmic spirit.

TASAWWUF: There has been much confusion about the meaning of “cosmic spirit” Some believe they will become conscious of a greater area of space and greater extension of time. No doubt they are right in that, but that alone does not characterize the cosmic spirit. The ego can extend its sway indefinitely and still not be cosmic. Man has a greater degree of consciousness and a greater capacity for time and space than has the ant. And no doubt there are supermen in the jinn-world who are far beyond man in many respects—some say that there are dwellers in other planets who are far beyond man. But this does not mean deliverance from nufs; giganticism or giantism is not spirituality.

In the cosmic state all is as within oneself. One does not become blind or deaf through cosmic experience, or lose his manhood. Mohammed always referred to himself as a plain man. The Bible says of Jacob, “He was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” No one is robbed of his humanity by his cosmic evolution. Only as in love, the veil between self and not-self is broken. One is raised above the distinctions and differences which divide.

GITHA: Here the soul has a wonderful and interesting vision, a vision both visible and audible, and the light and power of this vision lasts with the soul even after it has had this vision …

TASAWWUF: The Christian book of Revelations is largely based upon this experience. John, who was the great mystic of the original Christianity attained Risalat, or the cosmic experience, to which he refers in the tenth verse of the first chapter of the Apocalypse: “I was in the spirit in the day of the Lord, and I heard a voice behind me as loud as a trumpet.” Now this refers to his being taken up in Shagal and there he heard the Saute Surmad in one of its manifestations which is very much like the sound of a conch. The “day” refers to the light, and the light of the Lord is the same as that of Rassoul, so this experience may be called Risalat. The experience of John came in, found sound and vision, and it brought light and power.

He beheld the light as through seven stars and seven candlestands. He heard the sounds of the elders. Finally in the 21st chapter he says: “And I saw a new heaven and new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were gone, and the sea no longer exists.” For that sea refers to Samsara or Nufsaniat, which is below one in the cosmic state. This is symbolized in Hindu and Buddhist art with the deities and saints seated upon the lotus which is itself above the waves; and in the Hebrew Bible it is allegorized as Noah, who is the same as Vishnu, in the ark. But the fact that the sea of Samsara is not and the flood has disappeared does not mean the end of manifestation. Only as one reads in the third and fourth verses: “Behold, the tabernacle (Spirit of Guidance) is within men and will be stationed with them, and they shall be His people and God Himself will be with them, and will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no longer; neither mourning nor crying nor pain shall be any longer because the first things have passed away.”

GITHA: … and illuminates the mental and physical planes for the soul, to see and understand more keen and clear knowledge that the soul then perceives by the same things it had seen before.

TASAWWUF: That is what is referred to by the new heaven and the new earth. The new earth is the purified physical body and its experience, whether one has what may be called a Nirmanakaya body or not. The new heaven refers to the purified mental vehicle whether one has what is called a Sambhogakaya body or not. And the rest of the book of Apocalypse or Revelation refers to the experiences of John in the cosmic state of hal, which is a worthy study for all the mystics.

Mr. James Pryse has given an interpretation of it which is no doubt correct in principle but shows that his development, while above that of the generality, was not sufficient to convey a full meaning of the original experiences.

If one studies the Parinirvana Sutra and corresponding books of the Mahayana Sutras one will find like records by men who had, each in his own way, this experience. And to each it came in the way God had intended it, for the record of Fariduddin Attar, in the Mantik-ut-Tair is still different, and the Miraj of the Prophet is again different because there are many more ways of attaining the cosmic experience than the daily experience. The varieties are really infinite.

GITHA: It is like coming to the same room in the daytime which the soul had once visited in the darkness of night.

TASAWWUF: This was the teaching and experience of the Prophet. After he attained his illumination he did not stand before the world as a cosmic being. He preached more of the manhood of himself than of his prowess and capacity as a prophet. That he called himself prophet or “Rassoul” was inescapable because in the cosmic state and under inspiration one does not have full control of one’s words, one speaks the word that is put into one’s mouth, as the light fills the crescent moon. It was when not under inspiration that the Prophet emphasized his humanity.

But Jesus Christ also says, “He that believeth me, the things that I do shall ye do, and greater things shall He do.” The Christian religion has never fully understood these words or accepted them, seeing in Jesus Christ a special manifestation for the whole universe, to which there is not nor ever can be a parallel. The result is that though Christ himself taught different and spoke of himself as being within man and man being within himself, his words have not touched the hearts of the orthodox and still need much study and meditation.

Buddha also said that he saw all mankind had the seed of illumination but did not know it, that he would teach it to them. And in the Bhagavad Gita, we have the revelation of Krishna to Arjuna which is another form-expression of the experience of Revelations, for this experience may truly be called revelation, and gives meaning to the word revelation.

GITHA: Everything in life becomes clear to perception, to conception, and questions that once confused the soul are now solved by it without any difficulty.

TASAWWUF: For the light of all planes manifests then through the personality, and whether the consciousness is thrown outward through perception or inward through conception, whether there is question or no, the solution to all problems appears before the Sufi who has attained this degree of illumination.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series III: Number 4

The Mystery of the Phenomena in Shagal

GITHA: The Sufi by the practice of Shagal withdraws the breath from one direction and sends the breath to another direction, meaning instead of allowing the breath to work outwardly he directs the breath in Shagal so as to let the breath work inwardly.

TASAWWUF: As has been explained, all ordinary thought, speech and action depends upon the exhalation of the breath. It is only while the breath is being exhaled that activity can be carried on. Thus in some respect the ego depends upon the exhalation, and yet the inhalation of the average man is drawn around the ego which thus forms a shadow across the sky, so to speak, beclouding the consciousness. When the breath is held it becomes like a ray of light piercing the clouds.

To put it another way, the ego forms a line of clouds which has been called the mind-mesh. The inhaled breath which is held rises in accordance with the fineness of its vibrations and the length of time which it is held. If it is held longer, that means that the coarser vibrations are held, but the life current continues to rise until the moment of exhalation. When the exhalation begins, the life current is again drawn outward. The finer the vibrations the higher it rises, piercing the mind-mesh and drawing the consciousness toward an area of pure light.

GITHA: Breath is life and light and sound in itself, therefore in the Vedantas breath is called Suram or Suara, meaning sound.

TASAWWUF: The word Svara in Sanskrit is identical with the syllable Shem in Hebrew. This Shem is one of the most mystical words in the Hebraic language and is composed of three letters, Shin, Aleph, Mem. Shin represents Fire or upward movement, Aleph represents Air or cross or equilibrating movement, and Mem represents water or the downward movement. The mysticism of the Sepher Yetzirah is based upon the mystery of these letters, and this is the foundation of all Hebraic mysticism which has been transmitted to humankind since the time of Abraham.

In the Zohar, which is the main book of the Hebrew Kabbalah, the mystery of the Shema is discussed. This in Hebrew reads Shema Yisroel Yehuvah Elohenu Jehuvah Echod, which reads in English, “Hear, O Israel, the Eternal Our God, the Eternal is One.” The Jewish people in the synagogue read Adonai, Lord, instead of Jehuvah and this is transliterated as Jehovah, but the mystic knows that the Eternal Sound which is heard by the real Beni Israel (the children of eternal light, the initiates) is Hu, the all-sound, Ismi Azam.

The Vedantists and Kabbalists agree upon the teaching that Sound is God, and a great mistake has been made by some intellectual apologists for Islam in their attempted confutations of the supreme doctrines of these religions. Because the one who has the divine, inner experience recognizes the inner sound and understands its meaning.

GITHA: The breath, therefore, in the practice of Shagal produces its vibrations within, and the sense within, which may be called the root of all senses, which in reality is the spirit of all five senses, begins to hear; and as its hearing develops, so the breath becomes more audible.

TASAWWUF: As one hears the universal sound within, one also begins to hear the column of breath as it goes through the body and in and out of the nostrils. Then one is better able to perceive which elements are present in the breath, body and even through the space. By that means he becomes master of the breath.

In the pictures of the Tibetan mystic and master Milarepa, you will usually find him with his hand to the ear, listening for this sound. Many people do not understand why, but those who practice Shagal will recognize that after its practice one may continue to listen for the sound, and on hearing the sound, one recognizes and feels the Presence of God. And it is interesting to know that however else they differ, the Vedantists, Hebrews and followers of the mystic Mantra-Yoga school of Buddhists (known as Shingon in Japan) agree that everything came from the sound “Ah” which is contained in the letter A. They call that the first of sounds, of which Salat says: “I am Alpha and Omega, the First (Cause) and the Last (Effect).”

The development of this inner root-sense brings wisdom to all the senses of the body and thenceforth they do not act independently of the other, and if perchance one is hampered in its functions there will be a compensation through at least one of the other senses.

GITHA: Also the clashing of the vibrations of the breath produces the light which is seen by the innermost sense, and so the inner vision becomes clear to the inner sense, even clearer than things are to the perception of the outer senses.

TASAWWUF: One result of this is clearer dreams. One does not see visions in Shagal, and one may practice Shagal a long time and even have fewer dreams or visions than had been his experience before. Yet he is increasing the capacity for light and the power for light. So if the Grace of God bestows upon him clear vision (kashf) he can receive more easily than another person and will not be intoxicated or led astray by what he sees.

Besides that, the inner light conveys meaning. When we see things in this world the mere sight does not produce a meaning; if there is any meaning it comes through the impression we get in the mind after the sight or vision. But as the inner sense develops in Shagal, then the impression comes together with the sight. Abu Bakr said, “I see Allah and Shay together,” and on this point he was acclaimed as more advanced than the other Khalifs. Omar said he saw God first and then Shay, showing subjective perfection; Osman said he saw Shay first, then God, showing objective perfection; Ali said he only saw God, not Shay, showing that while he had advanced in Shagal he was too much in ecstasy to lead the people of the world, so Abu Bakr was chosen as first khalif to the Prophet.

GITHA: There is no scripture of the ancient Teachers that does not speak in some way or other of this mysterious vision of the mystic.

TASAWWUF: We find these visions in the Puranas and in the Bible. Many people have recognized the great mystical insight behind the vision of Jacob when he saw the angels descending and ascending upon the ladder. That ladder was the breath, his own breath, and his experience was made possible by Shagal. It was because of Shagal that he was called “Israel” which has been interpreted as “The man who sees God.” This sight became possible because of his mystical development, which is also a subject discussed at length in the Kabbalah.

The visions of Ezekiel, Zachariah and John are also based upon it, and the many dreams that are explained in the scripture were not ordinary dreams, but cosmic experiences made possible through Shagal. The Hindus speak of a very deep sleep or gate called Turiah, in which the soul is supposed to walk around; this does not mean it is actually so, only then the soul is as if freed from its connection with and dependence upon mind and body.

GITHA: There are many benefits that the Sufi derives from Shagal. Among them one, and the simplest, is that he gains control over all the senses, the senses that are slaves to every external call to them.

TASAWWUF: One aspect of that control is seen in the ability to use them or rest them at will. For instance, beginners in meditation are disturbed by the senses which do not keep quiet, especially the sense of sound. When one is conscious of the inner sound he can concentrate upon it and easily become freed from outer sensation. This also helps him in concentration and at other times. And it brings inspiration, for one has the feeling that God is near, and when there is that feeling, it is so.

Another result is that the senses themselves may become more refined. Such things as poor eyesight, hearing and sensation in general may be due to some defect in breathing. When the breath is able to reach the higher regions of purer light, it can convey health and strength to the senses. And still another benefit is that when man receives the Divine Light directly, all experience brings on meaning. Intelligence means light with meaning, with significance, and things then become revealing, everything becomes revealing, the veil is taken off manifestation.

GITHA: By constant practice of Shagal a Sufi is able to draw a blind over the senses which he may not wish to use for a certain time.

TASAWWUF: This not only makes meditation easier, it makes rest easier. The Sufi Emperor Akbar was able to dispense with much sleep because after indulging in Shagal he could enter into a state of meditation or contemplation and rest his lower vehicles. Even psychologists say that from two to four hours of restful sleep is all that is necessary, only the average man does not know how to rest or relax and so does not get real repose.

GITHA: By this control the senses become keen, more percipient, and every sense becomes a sight.

TASAWWUF: After one practices Shagal, or after one has withdrawn into Khilvat and hears the internal sound, he perceives outwardly in a different manner. He becomes more aware of shorter periods of time, which are too short to count in the space of seconds or part seconds. He feels the inner light in and through all things, so that even the mountains and trees and birds and animals speak to him. He finds it easier to focus his mind upon the animals because after the breath has pierced all three realms of manifestation the mind becomes like a blank mirror in which everything can be reflected. Thus one fulfills the Message, the symbol of which means: “The soul responsive to the light of God will be illuminated.”

Then, even if one does not see, if one hears or touches, the feeling of the heart manifests and brings with it intelligence. Then can be developed a spiritual psychometry, so to speak, and man gains that knowledge of natural science, the real science of nature which is the study of every mystic.

GITHA: By this the body becomes a fitting instrument for a fuller experience of life.

TASAWWUF: So long as the soul living in the body has such experience the flesh of the body becomes purified, so one may say: “Within thy flesh thou shalt see God.” For God is not apart from the flesh or from anything. And in the Oxyrhynchus papyri there was discovered a logian or saying of Jesus Christ: “Raise the stone and thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there am I.” Which is to say that the Divine Light is in all forms, and if one wishes to have the sight or expression of Rassoul he does not have to look far. After he has had the inner development all the elements and all forms become his servants, reflecting to him the divine wisdom and spiritual guidance.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Githa with Commentary           Series III: Number 5

The Nature of the Sound Audible in Shagal

GITHA: Man is constituted of three aspects of body. One is the finer aspect of body, which the senses and their organs represent.

TASAWWUF: To begin with, the body of man is made from certain fundamental layers, and as the body develops and organs are formed these are attuned to certain atoms and certain vibrations. But there are parts of the body which are especially tuned to vibrations and these become the avenues of the senses. In the case of the ear there is a specialized organ for hearing, but the eye is a modification of a nerve terminal. The tongue is regarded as the organ of taste although it is primarily an organ of touch, yet being made sensitive and being aided by juices from the glands of the mouth its taste is possible. The sense of smell comes from a delicacy of breathing and manifests in the nose. All these senses, whether regarded as five in the ancient sense or as several more in the modern sense, depend upon the select responsiveness to definite vibrations.

GITHA: There is a gross aspect of the body, which actions and their organs represent.

TASAWWUF: These organs come mostly from the outer germ layer and represent the gross atomic activity of the body. They are more closely associated with the earth element also and are perceived by the sense of touch easily. These actions cannot be distinguished from the actions of animal bodies.

GITHA: There is a gross aspect of the body, which actions and their organs represent; there is yet a third aspect, which is a causal body, or a controlling body, which directs activities, which stands as an impetus or an impulse behind every activity.

TASAWWUF: The theosophists speak of a causal body or higher mental body, which may be regarded as the mind freed from ego. But when we deal with activity on the earth plane, we may say that first there is the physical body or that portion with vibrational functions and responses, and that portion with atomic functions and responses. Besides there is a vital body, or body of breath, which surrounds and permeates the body and which also forms the aura, which may be seen under certain circumstances.

GITHA: The manifestations of the activity of this body are first reflected within and then they manifest without; and the one who has even the least little idea of this knowledge will never believe for one moment that there exists such a thing as chance.

TASAWWUF: For with the development of sensitivity and sensation one has the knowledge of the movement of breath, which is also light and sound, and the elements which spring forth from the breath. And with each activity of breath there is associated a certain color and certain movements and certain emotions and certain thoughts. And when the human will or activity is in harmony with the elements all goes well and when it is not in harmony then life does not go well. It is only “chance” to those who do not see, who must depend upon luck, being otherwise blind.

GITHA: There are suras of the Qur’an in support of this: “Everything is appointed upon a certain time.” “Not one single atom moves without the command of God.” “God has His dominion over all things.” And this part of his being is the divine part in man.

TASAWWUF: The Sufi is taught to keep attuned to the cosmos and in rhythm with the conditions. Shagal is a direct method of keeping in tune with the cosmos, although if the talib assiduously cultivates the science of breath and obtains the knowledge about the breath and then learns how to use the breath to receive more knowledge, this part of his life will be fulfilled.

It is also through the breath that one can sense the rhythm of the conditions because in these conditions there is always a dominating element. No doubt earth and water harmonize and fire and air harmonize so one does not always have to have his nostrils exactly in rhythm with the conditions so long as he is in harmony with them. And while we say that there is blindness in Nature, and God does not move like a super-chess player to interfere with every little thing, nevertheless the knowledge of God aids man to understand the movements and behaviours of all things. For when the heart is attuned to God and the light of God perceived everywhere, it brings one a feeling which cannot otherwise be very well described, so that he knows how to act rightly whenever he has that feeling.

GITHA: The effect of every activity that is started in this part of one’s being manifests in the form of light and sound which is audible within.

TASAWWUF: In the practice of Shagal one sees light and this light increases the longer one practices it, and after a while it takes on meaning, and the meaning of it is impressed upon the inner personality and gives rise to inspiration. One also hears sounds and when he hears the sounds in the world without he finds a correspondence between the sounds of the world without and the world within and this gives him the key to understand much of what he hears outwardly.

GITHA: The one who has trained his senses by Shagal is able to turn his senses, and the senses (which in the case of the average person see outward phenomena alone) in the case of the seer can see the external world as well as the inner world.

TASAWWUF: One aspect of this knowledge is the mysticism of sound. Then one may well repeat the words of the philosopher Emerson, for of all people it will sure be true: “What you are speaks louder than what you say.” The seer can tell the meaning of the speech of everybody from the sound and quality of the voice, so that if a person says one thing and means something else, the seer perceives it. He perceives sincerity and he perceives pretense. He can distinguish the intended meaning from the real meaning. And yet he can see behind that, for every word, directly or indirectly, is fashioned out of the Divine Ultimate Sound, and if one is desirous of listening to the Voice of God to ascertain the Divine Will, he can hear it in the speech of every man, in the call and cry of every creature, and nature becomes as an open book before him. At all times he will be practicing augury and yet he will not be dependent upon augury. And also from the sounds of words he can tell not only the meaning, but the result of the action connected with them; all that may be conveyed to the seer through his knowledge of breath and response to light.

GITHA: The inner world can be seen to a great depth, even deeper than this world.

TASAWWUF: The outer world may be seen to the depth of the outer senses and the inner world may be perceived to the depth of the inner senses. If we try to study the vibrations which are picked up by the outer senses, we shall find many spaces or loopholes in them. The senses of touch and sound, as ordinarily considered, do not respond to vibrations above 40,000 per second. The sense of taste has not been measured. When the sense of touch responds to vibrations as well as atoms we get the heat sensation, the vibrations of which are very much finer than those of sound. And light is composed of response to still finer vibrations, but there is not as yet an inexact science of sense response except to say that it is discontinuous, that many vibrations are not received or perceived, even those that exist in the material form.

Now the inner sense is not discontinuous, it is continuous and there are no loopholes in it as one develops. Besides all such things as form, sound, meaning and purpose, which appear as different to the outer aspect of life, are unified, made one and the same from the inner aspect of life. Besides that, the outer point of view is essentially personal, but the inner point of view is not necessarily so, and on the inner plane two or three or many people may function as one. Ultimately all humankind is united on the innermost plane, and when the light of Rassoul finds a response in one or a million people, it is the same light and it may bring the same response. So however else people may differ, ultimately they offer the same response to the divine light.

Through the inner senses one receives that knowledge which is for him to receive, which is the light of all wisdom and which may concern himself or another or the world in general, and which may throw light upon his own problems or upon the problems of others. But when one can stay in repose and response he receives that knowledge.

GITHA: This is only an intermediate step to the inner vision.

TASAWWUF: For the ultimate inner vision is not when one perceives anything as apart from himself, when he finds the whole universe as if it were within himself and the study of himself brings him all the knowledge there is to be had.

GITHA: One may say, “Where are the objects of perception for the inner vision?”

One may say, “Where are the objects of perception for the senses within?” The answer is, everything is within, if only one can see it. Light is there, form is there, fragrance is there, sweet, sour, and bitter is there, and the inner world is more interesting than the external. There is a joy of Heaven and the agony of Hell.

TASAWWUF: The inner world may be taken in two senses. First, that which is of thought which we generally associate with Malakut and which does contain a certain Heaven or Hell of which it has been said: “Heaven is the vision of fulfilled desire and Hell the shadow of a soul on fire.” Nevertheless there are experiences beyond such thoughts which are made possible when man rises above the sphere of mind through the development of the refined breath.

In one of the stories of Marie Corelli (A Romance of Two Worlds), the leading character is made to see life as if man himself were a creator. And perhaps man does reach a point where he can even create, alter and destroy whole worlds. For as man grows nearer to God he also functions more like a god. Some have said that the spiritual evolution does not stop with man, and in the Christian Bible there are references to ten grades above mankind, while in the Buddhist hierarchy several grades of loftier evolution are mentioned.

Nevertheless if one were to put all of this into words for human consumption it might lead mankind astray. Paul, in the Christian Scripture, tells of when he was elevated to the third heaven and heard words which he did not deem it was proper to utter. Today we are not readily elevated and the reason is that the breath is too dense and prevents the elevation. But it is possible through Shagal and the higher practices to develop a breath so keen and fine that one can become, so to speak, the very master of the universe.

Nevertheless one is then tried by God and if he wishes he may be withdrawn from the world; and if he wishes he may remain and function in a hierarchical post—those of saint, master and prophet being most pronounced. Sometimes also he may rise to the height of an adept and remain in the body a very long time—this being possible when the breath is very pure and fine and the atoms of the body have been properly purified and refined.

GITHA: But two senses are the principal ones—sight and hearing. Hearing is still higher, for it appeals to the first manifestation, that is the Word. First was the Word, then came Light, then all was created, as the Bible says.

TASAWWUF: The Christian Bible says that the Word existed at all times and gave rise to the creation, and the Hebrew Bible says that God spoke and that as He spoke the world became. So the Sufi Bible says:

“Let Thy thought become my word, Beloved, (etc.)

And Thy word become my deed.”

The word of God has been the very breath of God and it is said in the Hindu sacred traditions also that the universe has been created by the breath of Brahma and that when He draws in His breath again the world will be destroyed. Yet there is the sound to this breath which constitutes The Word in its ultimate sense.

This has led to the allegory of the Lost Word, that some people suppose that in ancient times the initiates had possession of some mysterious word and when they could repeat that word miracles happened. However it has not been any word that was lost other than that mankind has become blinded to the divine vision, and thus in the sense God has been lost.

The scientists of the day say that the whole world is made of light, that matter is made of light. Yet they refer all to gravitation also, and they cannot explain gravitation. They can only explain the known in terms of some ultimate unknown which they have to assume is known and yet they cannot say it is known. This should make them accept intuition, and by intuition man can perceive more deeply, and then he will know the relation between the sound and the light which has sprung from sound.

GITHA: Therefore everything that happens is first audible to the hearer and then visible to the seer who can see and hear within.

TASAWWUF: In the outer world we see before we hear, the lightning appears and then the thunder, the flash and then the sound. This is because in the manifest world the light travels much more quickly than the sound, but in the inner world it is not so, the intelligence is conveyed in sound first. The soul can not perceive the finest vibrations which are of itself, and it has to create or emanate or use a denser medium in order to see. But the whole universe itself is nothing but sound. Besides, from another view, we distinguish between light and darkness and yet what is dark to a man may not be dark to a cat, and all do not perceive the same light and the same darkness, showing that with respect to light there is a certain duality which is not present in sound. The perception of sound ultimately does not have to depend upon any differentiation as does the perception of light.

GITHA: There are ten sounds recognized by the mystics and vaguely described as the noise of humming bees, and the vina, and of bells ringing at a distance.

TASAWWUF: These sounds are listed in The Mysticism of Sound where they are described and their purport outlined. There are also records of them in Hindu literature dealing with music and mysticism. One may hear them separately or together during practices and afterwards, because once the hearing is attuned to them one can hear them in the world without, or in the universe within, and ultimately even without much tuning or focusing of ear.

GITHA: And every sound denotes to a mystic that the activity is in a certain direction of the body. For there are twenty tubes, ten belonging to each side of one’s body, through which these sounds manifest. On these tubes the Chinese instrument of ten reeds was made. When doubled they are twenty. Every direction of the activity of the breath suggests a certain cause and a certain effect to the hearer. From this he knows of failures and successes and of things hidden and unknown in their preparatory stage.

TASAWWUF: The Hebrew Sephiroth were also derived from this tenfold manifestation through which the Shema or Divine Sound manifests. These are the channels by which the etheric current operates, moving up and down and in and around the body which is thereupon transformed into a Divine Temple. It was this temple into which the ancient seers entered and wandered and heard the divine voice, thus giving rise to the Psalms of David and to many inspirations recorded in scriptures.

The Perfection of the Heart

An Original Sangatha

by

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis

(Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti)

This paper was classified as a Sangatha by Murshid SAM.

The papers on this level from Hazrat Inayat Khan were withheld

from him by the Sufi Movement et. al., so he wrote  his own.
“An Original Sangatha” has been added to the title—Ed.

Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls
Who Form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

Sangatha Series III

1.     Ishk is, and without Ishk nothing is. That is to say there is either Ishk or Chaos. But we call not Chaos existence because there is no permanence in Chaos, neither of light nor darkness, neither of forms nor of shapes. The only characteristics of Chaos would be noise, din and confusion, the nearest earthly resemblances of which are thunder and the rumbling heard during earthquakes. But Chaos being the opposite of existence, it is not, it never was, it never can be. It is only a conception of the absence of love.

2.     Pythagoreans teach all numbers arise from Unity. Sufis demonstrate this. There is no number in Chaos, for there is no order in it; where there is number there is order and where there is order there is number. As soon as there is order, then there is rhythm, there is unity of some sort. Although Allah spoke to create the world it was impossible to unite a single atom with another atom without some cohesive force. Ishk is the force that made this possible, although Ishk contains so much more than what is included in our conception of force. It would not be wrong to say that Ishk is God Himself, as Creator, as Actor, as Doer.

       Do not call God only Father or Mother; neither forbid others to call Him Father or Mother. Ishk is beyond forms and words. Ishk is the essence of our existence. Ishk is light and love and life and all qualities. Ishk is beyond conception and comprehension, without realization.

3.     How to understand Ishk. Every one belongs to Ishk; when one seeks to know Ishk, possesses Ishk, it is gone. Infants love, angels love. There are then no questions and answers. When man’s heart is open, he is one with Ishk. Ishk expresses itself through him, Ishk is his very being.

       Layla means night, also non-existence. Majnun is the soul which seeks Divine Reality and scorns nufs. Orpheus and Eurydice, Layla and Majnun, Beatrice and Dante, it is the same romance. Do not explain it, explanations belong to duality. When you are both Orpheus and Eurydice, Layla and Majnun, Beatrice and Dante, you have the knowledge.

4.     Ilm, Supreme Knowledge, is called Prajna in Sanskrit, and Ishk is sometimes known as Karuna in that language. Sufis recognize these as realities. Say: Heart is. The practice of the presence of God makes this possible. Heart-stream is a unit. A block in a tiny blood-vessel can cause death. Even so, the great heart which is sometimes called Mahatma is the realization of love-unity, in other words, of Ishk. The light of Ishk falling upon the heart produces Ilm.

5.     Sura 96, which is regarded as one of the very first which was revealed to our Prophet and Rassoul Mohammed begins: “Recite thou, in the name of our Lord Who created, created man from clots of blood.” This is a very beautiful and important esoteric passage which needs considerable examination. Sufis say this passage may be interpreted: “… created man through love.” The idea of the clots of blood means that it was through the hardening of the heart-substance of God, that is to say Allah created man from His own heart-essence. This is the same as Buddha-citta in Sanskrit, meaning essence of pure heart, and that may be interpreted as love and symbolized materially as a clot of blood.

6.     The Hebrew people have also felt that man came from blood, saying that the word Adam is derived from Dam, meaning blood. Now Dam means more than blood. It is the homogenous substance common to all people. In man, in the physical body it appears as blood; in the Universe it is a Cosmic Sympathetic Fluid, which connects all hearts. It is the great mysterious force or substance. It appears in mother-love, but in its purest state far transcends mother-love. It is that Divine Mother Who is found symbolized in so many religions. In this respect Eve is the same as Adam. Adam is the Universal Humanity, considered as life and form, while Eve is the love-stream of being which connects all people indiscriminately into one brotherhood.

7.     To create, Allah concentrated His Heart-Essence, the Buddha-citta, and so made the “clot of blood.” Why did He this? Allah is Love, the essence of Ishk, and also the activity of Ishk. Love is as it is, because of its very nature. This cannot be explained, and yet Love can explain anything. Why? Because heart is the source of mind, that is to say, of intelligence.

8.     Sura 96 teaches that Allah created man from clots of blood, and Qur’an teaches that Allah is most beneficent, and also it says that He taught man the use of pen, and also He taught man what man knew not. These are the blessings which come to the heart first, that is to say love and mercy; from love and mercy the mental sphere emanated. Love may be regarded as the masculine or positive aspect of heart and mercy as the feminine or negative aspect, but in reality both are the same. From them came mind which learns from the pen; that is to say, mind absorbs from within and learns from without. Qur’an says Allah taught man that which he knoweth not. What he learns from the pen is intellectual, what he learns from Allah comes as intuitive guidance.

9.     It is delusive to presume that in principle any religion has ever taught that which is contrary to the elements of another religion. This delusion can be avoided through the opening of heart. Knowledge of pen found its perfection in Qur’an, but that which Allah reveals in the heart of man, through the heart of man, is the knowledge of the sacred manuscript of Nature. This is the fountain-head of all scriptures and it enlightens the heart of all readers. With the true enlightenment there is joy and ecstasy, together with realization. This knowledge is part of life; one must live it. It appears in a loving mother, in a kind father, innocent child, helpful friend and inspiring teacher.

10.   In Sura 17 we read (verse 46): “And we have placed coverings on their hearts and a heaviness in their ears lest they understand it, and when you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’an they turn their backs in aversion.” Now the passage may be explained: There are two classes of people who may be known as Believers and Infidels. The true believers are those whose hearts are open, and what opens the heart? It may come from mentioning your Lord alone, by associating nothing with Him, by meditating on His Omnipresence. And what constitutes Qur’an? Qur’an is nothing but the unfoldment of heart’s record which comes from mentioning God, from repeating the names of God, from fixing the consciousness wholly on God. And this constitutes a great protection.

11.   It is impossible for unbelievers or sinners to draw upon the treasures of the heart for there is no capacity in them. They do not mention their Lord. Consequently they cannot receive inspiration, however zealous they be. Sooner or later their misuse of energy and of life will bring upon them a terrible retribution, the undoing of their own being.

       Often the wicked do not suffer much on earth, but when they are deprived of this physical body, the mind stands out in its true aspect, and they cannot conceal their dark natures. Being dark, they do not believe in the last day, that is to say, the Eternal Light; they are self-deprived of its blessing and cannot partake of celestial happiness without first having a complete purgation.

12.   Heart depends upon life. Increase of life increases heart, decrease of life burdens heart. The value of truth: when one speaks in harmony with Divine Will, one is in harmony with life. This gives strength to the heart and life to the body. Contrariwise, when one utters pernicious falsehoods, being out of harmony with Divine Will, strength is taken from his blood and the life-force ebbs in his body. A liar cannot remain long untouched by disease.

13.   Love and life are in essence synonymous although man may consider them as separate subjects-of-thought. Love between man and woman is necessary because they can produce offspring—that is to say, make further accommodation for life. Passion is not evil except insofar as it does not express as much life as love does. Into pure love the whole life enters, that is the sign of its purity. Rape cannot produce good children because there is not then the free expression of both parents given in love. Consequently even monstrosities may result from the impure and unfulfilled love.

14.   Celibacy of heart is more important than celibacy of body. To refrain from kissing women or embracing men is of little value; to perform Zikr and Fikr and to continue normal relations in the outer world, builds up capacity within and opportunity for divine expression without. Control of desire is control of life, suppression of desire is suppression of life. Beauty requires, even demands, expression.

15.   Celibacy of heart is needed only to produce marriage of heart. In other words, to bring union of the heart with God, terminating in mergence of the soul in God which Sufis term fana-i-baqa. This alone is the merit of heart celibacy. There is a love for God which stands on its own plane. Otherwise there is that love which resulted because Allah created male and female, each for the other. If love is to be expressed in terms of “self and other,” then it is best in the attraction of male and female. Sahib-i-dil knows neither self nor other.

16.   The life that touches one heart touches all hearts. The light that illumines one heart is the light of the Universe. Ponder well these words: “Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty, the only Being, United With All the Illuminated Souls, who form the Embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance.

17.   Heart in its true state is never wrong because the light of God is there. Heart in its true state is never right because it is not separated from anything, so cannot conceive right and wrong. That is not Divine Love which excludes a single being from its embrace.

18.   Love for humanity is expressed only in wise actions toward humanity. No wisdom, no love.

19.   In the Evangel we read of the baptism of John and the baptism of Jesus. John was the lustrator with water and Jesus came with fire and the holy spirit and blood. John held the key to the lesser mysteries; for them silence and the control of breath are necessary. Ceremonies do not form the lesser mysteries nor do ceremonies constitute the greater mysteries although it is often profitable to accompany these affairs by ceremonies, and picture them symbolically before a public which does not understand.

       Water is symbolic of spirit, and may refer to the breath in this sense. It is the Divine Breath which vivifies and revivifies the mind, awakens it to consciousness and impels it toward realization. The Sufi term for these events is fana, initiation and selflessness, which is the key to the lesser mysteries.

20.   The Greater Mysteries are those of the heart and in them the Spirit of Guidance becomes the real personality. Sufi expression is Baqa, which means subsistence, that is, the underlying existence. Wine is the symbol for the greater mysteries as water for the lesser. Wine was drunk at the wedding feast at Cana, in the story of Christ, which is to say that at the Divine Union the human personality is completely transcended. One reads: “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana.” This is the third degree symbolized by third day.

       From the ordinary condition, on the first day the body is cleansed, which is the outer purification. Then there is the inner initiation by water or spirit, called baptism, which symbolizes the coming into fana, selflessness, the spiritualizing of matter. After that comes the initiation in which one beholds the lamb of God. Then one is innocent and God lives in him. This is called baqa.

       Finally there is a state of complete emancipation when through love the heart and soul are immersed in Allah. This is the highest state, fana-i-baqa, which is the initiation of the soul. In the scripture, the third condition, or initiation of heart, is symbolized at the Divine Marriage at Cana; the final or fourth condition came with the crucifixion, symbolizing the mergence of the soul when the personality becomes the very God.

21.   Chapter 11, verse 10 of the Evangel of John reads: “And saith unto him, ‘Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now.’”

       This explains that God at the beginning has placed the Spirit of Guidance and Righteousness within every man. But instead of drinking the good wine of the intuition and love, man has been intrigued in the outer intoxication of the world, which is worse. Spiritual devotees are the exception, who keep the good wine, who preserve purity in the heart.

22.   Safa, or purification, is the main object of the journey. Once the heart is purified soul can live within heart indefinitely. No, not eternally in the usual sense of the term; but the whole heartlife can be called the day of Brahman, which is of tremendous length.

       When Jesus said (John 11,16): “Take these things hence, make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise,” he was addressing himself to the sellers of the doves. The meaning is clear; it refers to those who love the world and its affairs so much that they make a business even of love. They would buy and sell the pearl beyond price. Sooner or later they receive the chastisement of their iniquities which is symbolized in the Scripture by the scourge of small cords.

23.   The mysteries of Jesus Christ remain mysteries in spite of the most lucid explanations, because they are mysteries until realized. When the heart is open and purified, one does not have to ask about God’s Will or Christ’s Will. Then there is One Will, One Light, One Life. Therefore Sufis concentrate on Ishk and practice Zikr until the realization is their own.

The Mystery of Water and Wine

24.   The second chapter of the Evangel of John contains the most beautiful and interesting allegory of the turning of water into wine. What may be the inner significance? According to Sufism, spirit is often symbolized as water, while wine may stand for the heart or soul. In other words the change from water into wine is a change from the worldly life into the sacred and spiritual life. Nufs ammara is completely transformed into nufs salima. This is the resurrection from death to pure life.

25.   Baptism may be regarded as a ceremony symbolizing control of nufs: This suggests fana, or self-effacement, but effacement alone is negation. Wine is symbolical of the unrestricted life of soul, in other words, baqa. By safa the mind is cleared from imperfection and personal attachment. This is part of the mystical process. This prepares the cup, this is the cleansing of the cup preparatory to the pouring of the wine.

       Baqa, the eternal life is not separate from the limited, earthly, physical existence. It is indeed the life of that life. The drinking of sweetened water at Bayat is to impart to the new born mureed, so to speak, the first taste of that essence of spiritual fruit—the juice of the grape, in other words, wine, symbolical of the life of non-ego. Ego of grapes disappears in the production of wine.

26.   Breath in the ordinary man brings life to body and mind. If the ardor is great then we may live under the sway of nufs. If life is greater than ardor we may grow. Ardor comes from breathing with the thought of self. Sufis have spiritual practices to alter the breath and these transform ardor into inspiration. This is an alchemical process which is natural and in no sense miraculous. According to the teaching of Fabre d’Olivet and others, ardor results from the sway of nufs, or nachash, in Kabbalistic terms. True inspiration comes from nufs alima, when the soul itself touches the surface, but nufs alima is the mystery of mysteries.

The Perfection of the Heart

27.   Nufs alima can be explained as similar to Nirmanakaya. Nirmanakaya is the transformed physical body, which is at the same time physical and spiritual, and potentially luminescent. When nufs ammara is changed to nufs mutmaina the mental force is dominant. When it becomes nufs salima the spiritual force is dominant, and in nufs alima the divine stands out in fullness.

       To transform nufs salima. If on earth the physical body is alchemically purified, becoming more or less the Nirmanakaya. There is still nufs, otherwise alima would mean total dissolution, whereas the highest stage retains even name and form. No nufs, no body, but it is possible to retain body without limiting soul. Soul expressing through body shows nufs alima.

28.   When thought is dominated by love, when thought is the thought of inspiration, when thought no longer depends on ardor, when thought is no longer intoxicated by the life without or that of its own sphere, then water is turned into wine.

       This is done by Zikr and Fikr and completed by Shagal which permits the celestial light to flood the mind. Although one hears sounds in Shagal, it is the light which is of most importance. By closing the passages of breath, no vibrations of dense earth enter the mind, and by the strong control of breath through the right nostril, power and light are increased.

       Kasab is practiced before Shagal to clear the channels of breath. Kasab is akin to fana, Shagal to baqa.

29.   Sufis do not practice control of breath in left nostril, which is the passage for moon currents and water element. It is the fire in breath that may touch the blood, conveying the life-force to it. That is the supreme purpose of fire element.

30.   In ecstasy all elements combine and disappear in the ether which is their source and goal. This touches the heart. Etheric element always touches the heart, but does not penetrate unless heart is open. Therefore love is most essential on the path to God. And what is this path to God? It includes everything in every aspect of life.

31.   The light in Shagal universalizes mind. This produces “right use of mind” to use Buddha’s terminology. Actually this transforms mind to “buddhi” the illuminated condition. Nirvana signifies not deadness, but fullness of life; so the enlightened make use of mind.

32.   In the allegory of Jesus at Cana, his mother attends the wedding with him. This is the Divine Breath. The six-water-vessels are the six chakras; they are filled with water, that is to say, fed by the breath; the breath gives life to the centers of the body, which are fed by the blood. The seventh center is the heart which is not dependent upon breath even though fire-breath can help it. That is to say, at such a moment when the blood is enabled to rise to the brain. But blood is not dependent upon breath and there is blood in animals which do not have nostrils or lungs.

       In the story the vessels are filled with water, and the corresponding practice is Kasab which fills all parts of the body with prana. For then the channels of breath are deepened, lengthened and strengthened, and the breath touches every part of mind and body. Thus the water vessels are filled to the brim.

33.   Master of the feast as described in the story of the marriage at Cana is every soul; every soul partakes of the divine feast. And soul is master at the feast, because soul is the divine essence. When the inner light through Shagal falls upon the mind, water becomes wine. All old thoughts and impressions from nufsaniat are destroyed by this flooding of light, and are retained only in memory, not longer identified with self. The spiritual quickening destroys the old self, so to speak, without terminating personality, as there is continuation of identity. One becomes a vehicle for God. This is the divine marriage; this is the most important event in life.

34.   As soon as mind is illuminated, then all energy of breath is completely harmonized to Divine Breath (or Holy Spirit); one’s thoughts are as God’s thoughts, one’s words God’s words, one’s acts, divine acts. This is the transformation of water into wine.

35.   In the inner life many things that are sometimes called mysteries are explained. They are not really mysteries any more than the sun might be a mystery to the fog, or to the night. We in our ordinary conceit, which arises out of our customary manner of doing things, fail to see the great possibilities of life.

       When the heart is opened and filled with Divine Life, the whole situation appears changed. Really it is not so, it is we who have changed and it is our change or progressed evolution which is the most important thing in life.

36.   We can never pray too much; “Pour upon us Thy Love and Thy Light, Give sustenance to our bodies, hearts and souls.” Nevertheless there comes a stage when this prayer is no longer a petition, it becomes a reality, a realization. Love and light fill the heart and they are the essential sustenance of heart and soul.

       Do not look for miracles and do not worry, albeit you stand in awe of God. Then you are facing Reality.

37.   Many interesting and important passages are included in the Christian Apocalypse, sometimes called the Book of Revelation. In the 13th verse of Chapter VII it says: “And one of the elders answered saying unto me, ‘What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they?’”

       The white robe may be explained as symbolizing the spiritual body, also Nirmanakaya, which may be termed “spiritualized physical body.” This is man’s condition after he has received the life and light and love and the Grace of God pouring them upon him.

38.   Many are the traditions of a fountain of living waters within man. They are found in all religions and schools of mysticism. The traveler is to discover the fundamental truth underlying them. Many look to a fountain of youth. In the heart are the fountains of youth and of life. The Divine Breath purifies, revivifies and brightens the vehicle through which it operates. The Divine Breath transcends the breath of the ordinary man which does not reach the heart plane, for it is able to fill the heart with Ishk.

39.   The 14th verse of Chapter VII of Apocalypse reads: “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Now this Lamb is the symbol of purity, and it appears also in the Hebrew Passover Festival. The meaning intended is that through suffering comes the purification which weakens the spirit of agitation or nufs. Pleasure blocks while pain opens the way to higher inspiration. Besides that, there is another significance: that purification is a process of the heart and by the heart, for it is heart which heals all wounds and removes all imperfection and limitation.

40.   Apocalypse continues in verse 15: “Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple, and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.” This throne of God is called Arsh by the Sufis and it is located in the heart of every living man. It can be said that the innermost center of the heart is God. God is love and it is this love which connects all human hearts and all hearts. The Spirit of Guidance speaks to all through the heart. When the soul is liberated it perceives the Spirit of Guidance behind every name, form and creature.

41.   The 16th verse follows: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heart.” In this stage God gives sustenance to our bodies, hearts and souls, we no longer hunger. This affects the nervous system, feeding even the organs in the abdominal region. So sex hunger is appeased, and even food hunger sometimes.

42. What happens to sex-hunger is this: that the soul is no longer attracted to the surface because it finds expression in its own sphere. Consequently the life-force finds scope in the expanded heart. Ruh is the very light of heart, and it is then no longer restrained, limited or darkened. By that the life-force pervades the total personality.

43.   Some call this stage transmutation. What is true is that sex-force is the result of the waters of life being dammed above, and therefore they have to flow downward into the sphere of denser vibrations. They reach the surface on the earth-plane. There they can be properly utilized in pro-creation, or they may be dissipated in pleasure and lasciviousness, or they may be more or less transmuted and sublimated mentally, morally and spiritually. Spiritual fulfillment does not destroy the procreative faculty or its mental sublimation; however it does render unnecessary many of the common processes of mind and body to a certain extent.

44.   What happens to food hunger is this: After adulthood is reached, due to lack of right breathing, cells constantly die. When there is sex activity or intellectual occupancy, under the strains of the various emotions some parts of the body are deprived of blood-flow and become diseased or aged. When the blood is purified and revivified by the spiritual breath, there is a downpouring of spiritual magnetism from the subtle planes and all the cells of the body are benefited. Besides that, physical hunger is felt less and less, so that so far as habit is concerned, the stomach is not compelled to work. Yet even the stomach has its purpose and the free man need not mortify his body; he should make the stomach dependent upon will, and make will intelligent enough to have regard even for the stomach.

45.   When the Apocalypse says that the sun does not fall upon the righteous nor any heart, we may look at it in at least two ways. While the liberated souls dwell on the physical plane or in Malakut, it means that the Divine Light within is so great that the energy is created from within, health is revivified and vitality continued unabated. The sun is within. In Djabrut this condition becomes objectified, where there is no specific sun nor heart, because in pure love there are not those distinctive qualities cognized by mind.

46.   It is not only sacrilegious, it becomes almost impossible to speak of the glory of God. Man uses words to describe conditions around him, the things that the senses perceive and the mind understands. When one wants to describe Essences and use the language of ordinary speech, at best it can be only symbolically correct. Therefore any affirmation about the glory of God is at best only a half-truth, so to speak.

       The Sufi recognizes glory as a sign of the Presence of God. Therefore, he proclaims: “Subhan Allah.” At the same time he knows in his heart that the real glory of God is utterly incomprehensible to mind and just as utterly a reality which the heart will surely grasp when illuminated.

47.   Verse 17 of Chapter VII of Apocalypse reads: “For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” This is nufs alima, and is the Paschal Lamb of the Hebrews. When nufs >mutmaina is harnessed to work harmoniously with nufs alima, it may be said that the lion and the lamb lie down together. This transforms nufs mutmaina into nufs salima.

48.   The Lamb in the throne of God shows that heart is the true covering of nufs alima. This is called Neshamah by the Hebrews, center of spiritual life and reality. Tears are wiped from the eyes not only physically but this transformation brings an end to one’s sorrow. No finite attachment, no sorrow. This is described as the coming into the light of day in the Egyptian mysteries.

49.   The Hebrew Passover is a great mystical festival of the first fruits of the spirit. The idea of leaven is that leaven is the nufs of breath. When Christ said: “Blessed be the poor in spirit,” he meant that those devoid of nufs had spiritual potentiality. The leavened bread symbolizes pride, the unleavened bread, humility. The children of Israel had no time to leaven the bread because they were leaving all the things of this world for the things of the spirit.

50.   The 22nd Chapter of Apocalypse is also very symbolical and very important. It begins: “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the lamb.” This is the flow of Ishk, Divine Energy, which gives life and light. What Sufism endeavors to bring to every person is a realization of this, the true and higher personality. While this is nothing but God, it does reflect itself in human personality. Thus it is said that God created man in His Image, which is to say, that Adam, universal man, also true man, is a reflection of the Divine.

51.   In the 47th verse of Chapter XV of the first Epistle to the Corinthians ascribed to the Apostle Paul, it says: “The first man is of the earth, earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven.” If Christians would give this even a little reflection great would be their reward. This passage shows that while man appears as covered by the nufs ammara, that is to say, the body and its demands, he becomes at the final resurrection nufs alima. Then is his personality nothing but God, Who alone exists.

52.   We also read in Chapter XXII of Apocalypse, 5th verse, “And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.” If all people could be entrusted with Shagal, this would be a marvelous world. Revelation comes naturally when full accommodation is made for light; when the blood is sluggish because of nufs there is no opportunity for the light to shine.

53.   Practice of Zikr is marvelous, for it transmutes energy and makes the body sensitive to fine atoms and vibrations. Light of Zikr is not different from light of Shagal, but the former often comes in intoxication, the latter in sobriety.

54.   In Qur’an, Sura 22, 5, mention is made of Resurrection, which has the same meaning as section 51 above, which is derived from the Christian scriptures. Qur’an says: “O people! if you are in doubt about the raising, then surely We created you from dust, then from a small life germ, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh, complete in make and incomplete that We may make clear to you.”

       This shows that although man has nufs ammara, the purpose of life is to make all clear, that nufs be transmuted. This is the spiritual resurrection.

55.   Verse 7 of the same Sura reads: “And because the hour is coming, there is no doubt about it, and because Allah shall raise up those who are in the graves.” Who are in the graves? Every one subject to nufs ammara, man made of dust, of earth, blind with materialism and egoism. It is from this condition there must be death and resurrection, and of this the Prophet was continually preaching and teaching.

56.   The way to cultivate love in the heart is to love, and love, and love. And what is love? It is life and wisdom, and if there is no life and wisdom, there is not sufficient love. When one loves, every atom of the body will express it, for God has made man to rise from the clot of blood to the fullness of life.

57.   Qur’an says in Sura 26, passage 33: “And a sign to them is the dead earth. We give life to it and bring forth from it grain so they eat of it.” This is a most profound and important passage. For it is true physically and metaphysically that the earth is without form and void until the spirit of God gives it form. One may notice how rough is the shape of meteors, and perhaps certain comets, especially in contrast to the earth which, for its size, is much smoother than a billiard ball.

58.   Earth is dead but the sun pours forth the Divine Spirit and gives it life so that many beautiful things grow therefrom. This is the interaction of Prakriti and Purusha.

59.   Heart is dead, being but a clot of blood until the Divine Sun pours forth and gives it life so that many beautiful things grow therefrom. This is the union of Prakriti and Purusha, of Adam and Eve.

60.   The new heaven and the new earth are not to be considered as different from the old heaven and old earth. Once you have had the Guidance, enter a garden and touch the flowers. You will bring them life because you are radiating life, you are life. In your personality is the Zat of God which becomes or is called nufs alima. You can feed all things and all people. This is the resurrection, the re-surging of life which can come at any time.

       The Prophet does not associate immortality and resurrection to emphasize the former. Death and immortality are unimportant to the mystic, resurrection is all important.

61.   Qur’an continues, section 34: “And We make therein gardens of palms and grape-vines and We make springs to flow forth in it.” Greatest injustice has been done to the Prophet when it is claimed he revealed a materialistic heaven. This is unjust and untrue. He taught as all the Nabiim have taught that where there was justice and righteousness there would be prosperity. This is the exposition of moral law.

62.   From the spiritual point of view the gardens of palms and grape-vines signify the spiritual intoxication which comes to one beholding his Lord. This revelation or Kashf, results in the outpouring of life through one’s being. These are the springs and fountains which mean exactly the same in Qur’an as in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Yet it must never be forgotten that these two interpretations are really one and in the presence of saints miracles are wrought in bringing forth fruits from the earth. New heaven and new earth mean renewed heaven and renewed earth, resurrected heaven and resurrected earth.

63.   Qur’an continues in section 10, Sura 86: “On the day when hidden things shall be made manifest.” When is this day of Resurrection? O disciples, know that it may come any time, so be aware and ready for it. And how is one to be aware and ready for it? By practicing the presence of God at all times.

64.   Fearful contemplation (Mushahida) is the practice of concentration by the heart centered upon the Being of Allah. It is the final practice of the Sufis, the ocean, so to speak, into which all other practices flow.

65.   In Contemplation God is concentrating, so to speak, upon God. Zikr can become concentration by the Zakir losing himself therein. To do this one should concentrate upon the Zikr before chanting. This is somewhat different from Fikr for in Fikr there is an activity of will, as in individual will, relating each portion of the sacred phrase to the breath. But in the concentration of Zikr, will controls mind to affect the breath, while in Fikr will controls breath to purify mind.

66.   Contemplation upon God and concentration on the words of Zikr have a certain difference. In the contemplation on God, it becomes as if God Himself were performing the contemplation. There is no I-ness nor Thou-ness in it. But in the concentration on Zikr it does not matter so much whether one is in the perfected stage of lover, so long as the heart is filled with love. This brings the necessary Divine Energy to the surface.

67.   If selflessness prevents one from using every faculty and vehicle while selfhood enables one to perform God’s will, then this selfhood is better than a meaningless selflessness. While man must of himself discard the self, this does not mean that by his emancipation self is destroyed. Nufs alima is transmuted nufs which deprived one of no faculty, and perfects one with every faculty.

68.   Sura 76 is a book of great mysteries from its very beginning, which says: “There surely came over man a period of time when he was not a thing that could be spoken of.” Qur’an then explains the evolution of man through many stages, until the 20th verse which reads: “And when you see there, you shall see blessings and a great kingdom.” The meaning of this is that all power comes with love when the heart is fully awakened.

69.   All mysteries belong to heart yet heart knows no mysteries. The reason is because the heart is the seat of understanding. Mind of itself can reason but that does not bring it understanding. Despite the fact that many philosophies have lauded reason, this has not made humanity enlightened. When hearts are opened, humanity will not have to be enlightened, humanity will already be enlightened.

70.   Qur’an says in the 25th verse of Sura 76: “And glorify the name of your Lord morning and evening.” This practice is specifically repetition of “Subhan Allah.” This may become the Darood of the advanced ones. While under the domination of nufs which generally means nufs mutmaina, there are certain forms of Darood which bring success in attainment of desires—physical, mental or spiritual. But when desires are won, that is, controlled or attained, either in the daily life or in the spiritual unfoldment, the best practice is to praise God repeatedly.

71.   Qur’an continues: “And during part of the night adore Him, and give glory to Him (a) long (part of the) night.” This includes repetition of “Alhamdu Lillah.” Such practices need not only be repeated in the earthly night. This means also that during the time of spiritual ignorance, there are practices which bring the Divine Presence and man closer together. From an even deeper aspect, it means that whenever the heart is in danger of contraction one should ceaselessly praise God. This is the makam of the angels.

72.   Qur’an continues in the 30th verse of Sura 76: “And you do not please except that Allah please; surely Allah is Knowing, Wise.” The success of the devotee will be demonstrated in the outer life which sometimes perfectly reflects the inner condition. No one of pure heart can continue in failure and no one who really has made God’s Will his own can help attaining success. It will come to him naturally in due season.

73.   The opening of the breast which occurred in the life of the Prophet can happen to every man and woman. Zikr destroys the force which causes the fixation of nufs and reawakens the spiritual currents which tend to expand. Urouj is controlled but not destroyed. If one tried to escape inhaling breath, form would be destroyed, but if there is too much emphasis upon it nufs remains corrupted. Breath in the higher condition is a food for mind and body so mind and body can be vehicles of the Divine.

74.   When the Divine Love enters the heart it brings all joy, all happiness, yet no one seeks or finds the Love for the sake of joy or happiness. It is sought for its own sake and then it can bring nourishment and refreshment. There is a joy of spiritual thanksgiving which far transcends earthly joys. Keeping all consciousness in the heart and keeping the heart open, sooner or later one arrives at this state.

75.   Angel is a messenger of God which cannot be conveyed to mind without taking on name and form. There are three sorts of angels: (a) beings of Djabrut who belong to that plane; (b) celestial beings of Djabrut who serve God in special missions and are called Archangels although these are not strictly personalities so much as being emanations of God; (c) the Holy Ones Who form the Embodiment of the Master and who function on all planes.

76.   The beings of Djabrut who belong to Djabrut are of no special importance to us. But of the Angel Gabriel it must be said that this word Gabriel means “power of the Lord” and every angel in this sense which we call archangel is a personified attribute of God. So Gabriel is the Divine Power of God personified.

77.   It has been charged that the Prophet Mohammed confused the Angel Gabriel and the Holy Spirit. There was no confusion to him, he realized their identity. There is a divine voice calling in the heart and our responses to its call determine success spiritually, mentally and physically. It is only those who have not had the realization who remain in confusion.

78.   Sometimes the word of God is accompanied by a form. Moses saw it as a burning bush, Ezekiel as the Hayyoth or seraphic creatures, Isaiah as a marvelous light and Mohammed in many forms. All of them may be called Gabriel yet to Abraham Gabriel appeared as a man—this was really one of the Pirs who preceded Abraham and who appeared to him in his own human guise.

79.   It is unimportant what form the Spirit of Guidance takes; it is all important that we respond to the call. Gathekas teach: “It matters little to a prophet whether his ears hear or his heart hears, whether his eyes see or his heart sees. He knows that he hears and sees and that is sufficient evidence for him of a living God.”

80.   How to attain to the vision of Djabrut. Make a reality of every impression of the heart that comes as sound, sight or feeling; give life to the impressions and actualize them objectively. Then you bring heaven to earth, and djabr-ut, the sphere of Djabr-il (that is, Gabriel) is your possession.

81.   Mystery of Divine Love and Divine Wrath. These are one and the same. There is only Divine Love. Imagine a fine organ in a beautiful temple, it gives forth sweet music. But imagine the pipes become misshapen, some rusting and others breaking, the pedals sticking, the temple falling into ruin and the wind rushing through the place. What kind of music would you expect then? To the heart it is always Divine Love. To the head it is Divine Grace (Favor) or Divine Wrath, accordingly as we have or have not been attuned to God’s Will.

82    It is the evil condition of mind which causes wrath. Sun never causes bad weather; clouds, wind, change of pressure and shifting of earth’s axis; as well as the rotation of the earth; these cause bad weather; these turn away the daylight, but the sun is always there. So likewise is the turning of man’s mind away from principle and righteousness; his false interests and concentrations present the harsh side of his nature toward Ishk and transform it, so to speak, into Wrath, the action appearing almost as a debasement of the Divine Love.

83    Nufs ammara is not impervious to Ishk but lacks intelligence. It feels only its force or power, it comprehends not its light. This power is needed to energize the instincts, beginning with the attraction of the infant to its mother’s breast in search of food, magnetism and love. When man no longer depends upon instinct he is ready to pass to the next stage. If he does not advance he may experience the wrath which is the shadow of the force of love and the cause of hell.

84.   Sura 111 called The Flame or Al-Lahab begins: “1. Perdition overtake both hands of the father of the flame, and he will perish.” Historically interpreted this passage includes a prophesy against Abu Lahab, which was fulfilled shortly after the revelation; for this relative of the Prophet was his most bitter enemy. But to limit the text to its apparent significance is to limit the scope of the divine message.

       Nufs is the father of the flame and the hands of nufs are body and mind. Body and mind which are not kept pure disintegrate unless some means is found to renovate and resurrect them.

85.   The Sura continues: “His wealth and what he earns will not avail him. That is to say, neither physical material wealth nor intellectual knowledge help, nor do those deeds which are not unselfish, save a man, no matter how good his actions seem to be. Action which does not come from a sympathetic heart carries no merit. So God is called Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim.

86.   The third line reads: “He shall soon burn in fire that flames.” That is to say, by pain, suffering and torture is the nufs chastised which knows not Ishk, which is a stranger to love. And these harsh measures are necessary to waken it so it may realize its true purpose.

87.   The Sura ends: “And his wife, the bearer of slander, upon her neck a halter of strongly twisted rope.” This refers to the tongue, the physical organ which so often becomes attached to nufs. It may have to be silenced, even forcefully. This need is often so great that strong methods have to be adapted to bring about control. The wicked often recognize only the force of love, and as they respond to force and little else, so they receive that chastisement which in the end aids in their reformation.

88.   Sura 11, verse III reads: “And your Lord will most surely pay back all their deeds in full, sure He is aware of what they do.” Now God gives only Love and Life, for it is by them that He sustains the Universe. But man does not always understand the attribute of God and if a person regards cruelty as a virtue, he summons a God of cruelty; not that God is cruel, but to those who would be blinded by light, who would suffer in the light, His very Mercy requires His manifestation under the Guise of Wrath or severity.

89. Salat says: “Allow us to recognize Thee in all Thy Holy Names and Forms” that is to say, under all names and forms. While essence of names and forms is Light and Mercy, some require shadow, some only live in the shadow, some only recognize because of shadow. So God is to be seen in the shadow also. You cannot have a shadow unless there is light shining somewhere.

90.   Nirmanakaya means: no-mind-vehicle. That is to say, the vehicle which receives the Divine Light directly, without interposition of the individual mind activity. In other words, it signifies a vehicle directed by the Spirit of Guidance. Then the All-Pervading Light makes itself cognizable, but this light differs from physical light. In the first place it is a vehicle of thought and intelligence, carrying thought in much the same way as physical light carries electricity and magnetic energy. In the next place it also warms the heart in love, analogous to the physical light which warms the body with what is termed physical heat.

91.   Physically nufs alima is identical with Nirmanakaya. This exhibits the Buddhic conditions, which are always most desirable. The gift of prophecy is not something reserved for a special class of beings. It has never been intended that only certain favored ones are selected to present God’s decrees to the world. It is possible for all advanced souls to know the Divine Mysteries, only in most cases they must keep this a secret.

92.   The Angelic Body is composed of light, but this light is none other than Ishk. Heart loves because it loves, that is the nature of heart and no descriptions or explanations fit it.

93.   Nirtan proclaims heart: “The heart hath its head on its own palm.” That is to say, mind or head is an instrument of heart. Just as the hand of the body does its best work when directed with intelligence, so mind does its best work when attuned to heart. Sufis also refer to this as the mind directed by the will, a most desirable state.

94.   Nirtan says: “The face of the heart is veiled.” That is to say, body and mind do not comprehend heart, nor do they see heart. One reason they cannot see heart is because spiritual vibrations are of too fine a nature to be appreciated or sensed by either body or mind. Another reason is that the ways of love transcend all mental processes.

95.   Nirtan says: “The heart’s hands are bound with iron chains; the feet of the heart are nailed.” That is to say, that although the heart is imbued with tremendous energy it is limited by its vehicles. Mind hinders somewhat and body still more the freedom of heart. At the same time if all the energy of heart were to appear on the surface it would burn up the body, so great is its magnitude. The quality called fortitude is possible because heart is strong and it can strengthen mind and body.

96.   Nirtan says: “The eyes of the heart are never dry, the heart peaks only through tears.” As the flame of love would surely consume body, heart-fire is kept hidden, though ever burning. It melts nufs, and this brings the tears to the eye. Weak eye shows heart-power is hidden; strong eye shows heart alive and keen, yet each of these eyes may shed tears according to its particular nature.

97    Nirtan says: “The ears of the heart are so keen that the voice from a distance it hears.” This has several significances. For example, heart can hear the cry of the loved ones though they be thousands of miles away. When hearts are attuned space means nothing, even death’s veil means nothing.

98. Still more important is the response of the heart to the call of God. There is a real minaret and real mihrab within, and the keen ear, so to speak, of the devotee will always listen and hear. The Bible calls this word of God “the still small voice” but it is very real and it is ourselves and not the voice which must be stilled to hear the holy proclamations.

99.   Nirtan says: “The voice of the heart is silent.” All speech is an expression of mind. No matter how lucid an explanation it is still for mind. Yet heart speaks and one can perceive it in feeling, in fervor and in a thousand other ways.

100. Nirtan says: “Yet far reaching is heart’s cry.” When the man of God speaks it makes such an impression in the sphere itself that it travels round the world, and effects peoples of all climes and all times. That is why great religions have taken such a strong hold and traveled far and wide, persisting through the centuries. Far reaching has been the cry of the great soul who has delivered God’s message. And why was he great? Because of his love. It is the cry of love which is so far reaching.

101. Nirtan says: “The heart hath no question nor answer.” It is mind that says “Yea, Yea” or “Nay, Nay.” Heart either knows or knows not; it does not deliberate. Its knowledge is not separate from its love nor is its food separate from its love or its knowledge.

102. Nirtan says: “The heart is expressed in a sigh.” This is physically true. It is not always possible to interpret the sigh. Generally it is a sign of great physical or inner love which has found no satisfaction in the world of manifestation.

103. Nirtan says: “The ways of the heart are mysterious.” Mind pursues a logical course, while heart moves as foresight perceives. Heart understands the totality of things and its life is not conditioned by anything. Mind’s efforts are for the most part dependent upon experience, but heart depends upon wisdom rather than on more experience. So it does not always follow the canons of the past, it may blaze a new trail or walk on the beaten path according to the insight of the moment.

104. Nirtan says: “The heart hath a mind of a child.” That is to say, when heart is awake mind is open and trusting. It can grow and learn, it can learn and grow. It can find new experiences and discern new meanings in old experiences. It finds all of life to be a school and is not hindered by age of body or personal habits.

105. It is the soul that sees; heart does not see, mind does not see, eye does not see. Soul sees through heart, soul sees through mind, soul sees through eye.

106. The mystery of nufs. When the soul sees, it sees itself. With it seeing, sight and seen are three yet one. This is the mystery of mysteries and yet it is revealed in the Mantik-u-tair and elsewhere.

       Soul covers itself with a lamp-cover which is heart, yet this is also nufs for wherever there is separation, distinction, crystallization, atomic activity, there must be nufs. Nufs is individuation of whatever sort which distinguishes or differentiates a thing in essence from the Universe of God.

107. Heart experiences life, soul is life. Mind cannot experience nearly so much life as heart, and body is far more limited than mind. From the lower aspect we progress from the bodily life to the mental life to the spiritual life.

108. The inner life of mind is to be distinguished from the intellectual life. The person who spends life in thought, speculation or conception is not necessarily leading the inner life. He may be neglecting body and neglecting heart. This is a borrowing: it is a transference of life from the physical to the mental and from spiritual also to the mental.

       In an absolute sense there may be no loss because there happens to be a lack of balance. It is true that in a relative sense there may be a loss when there is no moral control, but there will be a gain if the otherwise purely intellectual progress is accompanied or sustained by a strong and virtuous moral outlook.

109. Morals arise from essence on mind; that is to say, from heart. Heart in its pure stage is associated with Divine Attribution and Divine Attribution is the source and cause of morality.

       Explaining it another way, soul and love and life are one. All morals spring from love, all attributes arise out of the One. The process of emanation is similar to the origin of heart. Morals bear a certain relation to heart on the spiritual plane which relation is partly comparable to that between Prakriti and Purusha on the physical plane. They compose the very substance of the plane, are the properties of the substance of the plane, which is love.

110. The outlook of heart on the mental and physical planes may be beyond comprehension. As morals arise in Djabrut and have a living quality there, so do principles as such have a life there. Heart by its very nature creates according to some principles. But it errs when it adheres to the principles, even when theoretically or actually they are spiritual. For they constitute the negative aspect of spirituality, analogous to Prakriti.

111. To rise above principle it is necessary to achieve spiritual realization, to lose the self in God. Yet it is often advisable to act according to principle in our affairs so long as we are not slaves to principles and so long as this does not interfere with the intuition.

112. Spiritual concentration differs from mental concentration as it requires the holding of thought by the feeling. Mental concentration may be as efficient in holding things grasped by the mind, in keeping thoughts in their place. But this alone does not always help one to understand relations, to produce harmonies, to synthesize thoughts. Often this is only possible through feeling and intuition.

       Besides this, feeling and intuition are maintained without loss of vital energy and so are not destructive or subject to time-processes as we understand them.

113. Brotherhood cannot be sustained on earth or in heaven without this feeling of integrated oneness. No matter how strong the appeal to mind and reason, there is also always a selfish appeal. It is possible to prove that when an appeal is made to the judgment of mind, it is often apt to take the selfish way rather than the unselfish. Why? Because mind is of necessity under the sway either of the heart (that is, the Will) or of nufs.

114. While Brotherhood is most desirable it is impossible so long as men and women think of themselves as separate units. It is a higher phase, no doubt, to regard everybody as being a spark of the divine or containing a spark of the divine. This often develops human consideration and yet it shows that there is still a separation from the flame. When one maintains that all is God, then heart approaches heart in love, harmony and beauty, and brotherhood becomes the natural consequence of the attitude.

115. Love and light are one when considered from any point of view. Even the physical study of light will benefit humanity. Persons who are always concentrating on this subject are under a great protection, for even with a little moral courage their lives become protected from the forces of evil and darkness.

116. Study of light and color will increase the beauty in the world and in the coming ages the most principles will be adopted in the technical field, in edifices and gardens, in interior decorations and furniture, as well as in clothing. This will provide many women with opportunities for almost unlimited self-expression without destroying the home or family or morality.

117. Cheerfulness in surroundings is always beneficial. The spiritual practices inculcate cheerfulness. As all persons are not traveling upon the path to God, it is often wise to encourage others through art, decoration, light, bright surroundings and harmony of tone and color. These always benefit both mind and body.

118. Heart can always know all things. That is to say, so long as there is thing-ness, objectively or subjectively in precept or concept or imagination or feeling, it is within the supreme capacity of heart to gain that knowledge. This is the Prajna-Paramita, the Perfection of Sapience or Highest Knowledge. This is called Marifat by the Sufis. When the knowledge is identified with God, it is called Ilm.

119. Thingness is associated with heart. The essence of suchness, the Tathata of the Buddhists, is the reality beyond thingness. Considered as knowledge, this is Ilm. It is Ilm-i-Marifat from the aspect of creation which includes all knowledge of all things. It is Ilm-i-tauhid, knowledge of the beauty of God which is the complete goal of understanding. Kabbalists call it Kether. This is the result of Divine Union, the end of all hals (ahwal).

120. Nufs salima brings all the harmony that is in the world, that is to say, harmony within variety. If one asks the difference between nufs salima and nufs alima, the latter may be regarded as the soul itself, the former as the heart, although it would not be wrong to say from the human point of view that this was a distinction without necessarily being a difference. While it seems strange to call something “nufs of heart,” without such a nufs there would be no heart for the nufs is the essence of anything. The existence of a thing is in a certain sense identical with its individuality, its being discriminated from something else.

121. The natural condition of the angels is that of harmony. They may be in harmony with God and with one another. When an angel ceases to be in harmony with God it becomes what is called an asura. Man is in the asuric state when his heart is alive to some extent, but the ideal of it is not spiritual. Such a one may be slave to passion.

122. There are two kinds of peace, active and passive, the practical and theoretical. Active peace which is practical belongs to the heart, is progressive and therefore subject to change. It is filled with compassion and harmony, it tends to bliss and belongs to the heart. Absolute peace is of the soul itself. Confusion arises because of the struggle between these two states.

123. Music and harmony belong to heart. When music is directed to the heart’s ideal it is full of life. This is the condition of Djabrut. All the beauty, strength and inspiration of the earth plane as well as of the world of the djinns (Malakut) is derived from this inner source.

124. If there is any advice to give to a Sufi, it is the pursuit of silence, especially when the Voice of God is not being heard in the heart. When one is intuitive and full of strength, no course need be prescribed. Then one is a seer and knows, one can become a master and have ability to do or not to do. When there is knowledge, action and non-action are both trivial for life brings success.

125. It is only the ignorant who talk of a path of knowledge and a path of love. Many paths may be distinguished leading to a common goal. When man in his ordinary state assumes and supposes a vast difference between these principles he betrays his ignorance.

       What is knowledge? It is knowledge of life. And what is life? Life is nothing but love, it is the Divine Love which gives rise to all variety of life and livingness.

126. Do not distinguish when the heart does not so indicate. If man has any principle in music it is melody and ordinarily one melody has to be considered separately from another melody. To harmonize melodies one has to alter their rhythms to bring about consonant beats, sometimes alter the scale or raga and sometimes change a note or two.

       This is the great work of the Sufi which is an aspect of mastery. It is an art and science and one of the greatest possible achievements.

127. If you want to commune with Jesus Christ it is not hard. Now the way to do this is forget oneself by becoming all absorbed in Jesus Christ in love. This is a mighty task and a noble one. The Spirit of Guidance or opener of the heart can prepare man for every possibility and raise him above limitation. And he who loves Jesus is not only wise and virtuous, he is even clever, for he unconsciously prepares himself for great things, things great in the sight of Allah.

128. Jesus Christ has been called “sun of my soul” by some Christians. This is better conceived as “sun of the heart.” Of course this application need not be reserved for this name alone. It is most certainly true that Krishna was the sun of the heart for many Hindus and is still so today. It is also true from the innermost standpoint that many souls known and unknown to the world have served as God’s Messengers in similar capacity to Christ and Krishna.

129. The Nuri Mohammed was the same divine light out of which the world was created, which is certainly not different from the alaya-vijnana of the Buddhists and the Neshamah of the Hebrews. We do not consider its nature although we may meditate upon it very often.

130. When meditation and cognition are one, that is the sign of arrival at the outer gate of the heart temple.

       When meditation, cognition, contemplation and action are one, one has reached the inner court.

       When nothing exists but God, man is master of the temple.

131. Death is a conception of the mind to excuse man’s ignorance. So much he knows exists but cannot see and this also he explains. But when his explanation satisfies his vanity he becomes meek; when it does not satisfy his vanity, he takes another course.

132. God looks through all men’s eyes. Fana-fi-Lillah sees through another’s mind as through his own. Consequently mental telepathy is his habit. But it becomes his habit only in so far as he is surrendered to God and is attuned to His will in all things.

133. The heart can often best appreciate the simple. Therefore Mohammed (peace be unto him) requested his disciples not to concentrate upon the forms of the living or dead, for God is formless. Yet the formless God is also the Living God Who includes all in His bosom.

134. It is possible for a heart concentration upon the cross to take one through every stage of spiritual development. Heart concentration differs from mental concentration in at least one respect, that the visual and retentive faculties are swallowed up in divine love. They still exist, but the reality of them seems so little in comparison with the divine love.

135. Sufis do not speak of heart-concentration much. There comes a time in the course of existence when heart thoroughly dominates body and mind. This is the stage of overcoming and victory.

136. Victory over the elements is possible when the heart vitality is so great that neither heat nor cold are disturbing. If the love for God be sufficient one who is in awe of Him need not stand in awe of His servants who work out a purpose in the world.

137. During an epidemic, speech is not always wise as one has to breathe the air laden with disastrous vibrations. So long as one does not express the common thoughts, however, one is not liable to the common ailments.

       Khilvat is good at that time and may be only partial to include:

       (a) No discussion of the subject except when necessary for purposes of healing.

       (b) Avoidance of reading ordinary literature such as newspapers which are filled with
     suggestions on the subject and printed by people thinking about it.

       (c) Meditation and Fikr as constant as possible.

138. There is one way to overcome enemies by expansion of the heart. This is because in a state of cosmic unity variety is swallowed up, and when there is no ego and no differences, peace is close to hand. As this is not always possible, it is not wrong to call upon God whether one is in difficulties or not. The wise man does not wait until he is disturbed before calling upon God; this he does at all times.

139. In the story of Abraham in the Bible, Abraham called Sarah his sister and at the same time she was his wife. And the explanation is that Abraham means master or father of heart qualities (raham) which include virtue and mercy and love and Sarah signifies wisdom which is the same as the Goddess Saraswati of the Hindus.

       Now the spiritual devotee is the lover of divine wisdom of which Sarah, Saraswati and Sophia are the symbols. At the same time that achievement belongs to one side or aspect of heart, that is to say, wisdom is one aspect of heart, and love and mercy are another aspect of heart. They come from the same source and therefore are as brother and sister. So it is not wrong to regard Abraham and Sarah, or Brahma and Saraswati, or even Osiris and Isis, and Zeus and Hera, as both husband and wife and yet brother and sister.

140. The union of love and wisdom brings bliss or happiness which are symbolized by Isaac in the Bible, who was the son of Abraham and Sarah. This state is possible only when the heart is fully developed. Thus Abraham is depicted as being 99 years of age when the coming of Isaac was foretold and 100 when his birth occurred. These numbers are to be taken symbolically as meaning that Abraham was nearing perfection and later that he had reached perfection when he experienced the divine bliss, for the womb of the heart is never closed.

141. Heart is the scene of unity. Heart does not think in terms of “my.” One who speaks of “my heart” is the follower of Lucifer or Iblis, even though he be ignorant of it. In that state is it that the self covers the will which is not free. How can it be free if it has the idea of my-ness and not my-ness.

142. Heart is locus of unity and also variety. What is this unity and what is this variety? In its impression all is unity for the heart is fed from one source, it lives upon one food, it contains one light and knows one “this.” Variety is the means of expression by which beauty manifests. Beauty is not real unless it includes many harmonies, for monotony does not belong to the realm of soul.

143. Music is the natural faculty of heart. How then can heart express in music? Take the syllable “La,” intone it and think of Divine Nothing-ness, concentrate upon the possibility of non-existence and watch the result. This is a powerful tonic for the heart as the ideas of thingness and somethingness are based around nufs and can cause all misery to the heart. This intonation releases heart from its burdens, brings a sense of freedom and much power.

144. Now intone the word Allah; which will have a different effect upon the heart. One does not chant Al by itself to advantage for it will be quickly modified to Allah, but intonation upon this name of God is profitable. What happens to heart? Nothing really happens to heart and yet everything happens to heart as mind and body seem to disappear while the Divine Light is manifest.

145. Next intone “Hu” holding it a long time even at the expense of all breath. First blow it strongly in front and then blow it upon the heart and repeat this operation alternately, first the one and then the other. This has motion something like that of “Allahu” in Zikr, only in this practice each breath and each intonation is separate. This is for nufs in order to transmute it to the highest condition one’s consciousness or state of evolution is able to bear. Blowing in front of one releases the mind of its disease and troubles. This is a purification which is done in a certain fashion in Nayar. Blowing on heart is a food of the divine spirit for heart and also a healing for it.

146. It is also possible to concentrate long upon the syllable “La” with the idea of No-thingness, trying at the same time to hear it as if it were a cosmic sound. This often gives one an inner peace. A similar concentration upon Allah sooner or later takes one up into the condition of Baqa, which is the fulfillment of the inner life and of all life.

147. Repeating a mantra has its favorable effect upon body, also more favorable effect upon mind. This is one of the chief purposes of spiritual training. Question as to benefit of heart is more complex for there must be deep feeling. It is possible for deep feeling to control all thought. The more this is made a practice the more one advances toward mastery.

148. What is the aim of all this inner development? It is that God Himself becomes my-self. That when I am seeing I know it is God Himself Who sees; when I hear I know it is God Who is hearing; when I taste, touch, smell, do anything, that all these are the activities of God. Then one approaches the first great goal of Initiation.

149. Discussion of Baqa will never explain Baqa. One who has not reached that condition does not understand, without surrender he will not understand. Illustrate by the example of surrender. This is a wise course.

150. When the heart is overflowing with love it will sing, dance, shout, recite and create poetry, paint beautiful pictures and do marvelous things even without seeming effort. Indeed one may say this is God’s effort which is no effort, and as God is so powerful and so wise, in baqa man increases in skillfulness and indefatigability.

151. When one has reached the heart stage the whole earth is as a unity and one senses the brotherhood linking all humanity. Sentiment of brotherhood has its value but realization of brotherhood is most marvelous.

152. Heart calls to heart and even the mind of another or of oneself is not so attractive. This is seen in the lives of infants who are attracted to each other even in the presence of many people. This is also true of angels, sages and all who live in heart’s sphere regardless of the body with which they are outwardly clothed.

153. To unify the world it is necessary to bring hearts together. Hearts are brought together by attunement or by union. No doubt these two terms are not entirely distinguishable for two hearts attuned to each other touch each other and perhaps overlap, while for union there must be
attunement.

154. In chemistry there is what is called suspension and what is called solution. In suspension there is a special overlapping without attunement, in solution there is attunement. So when two minds think on the same subject there may be overlapping, but only harmony can bring about attunement and only attunement can secure harmony. Therefore it is not on a material basis or on a mental basis that the world will be unified; this can only be accomplished spiritually.

155. How many hearts have to be attuned to save humanity? Two. If two hearts are attuned the whole world can be saved. For a single heart which has been bathed in the divine stream, having been baptized in the Holy Spirit, can purify the sins of the world and is stronger potentially than all minds. Such a one has gained the kingship (rather than the kingdom) of heaven and if he finds a single person attached to himself, the whole kingdom can be transmitted in unbroken succession. Therefore the guru-chela or murshid-mureed relation has been considered of highest importance.

156. The subject of the heart is too vast for the mind and yet is self-explanatory to itself as love is self-explanatory without being analyzable.

157. For the world to be saved it is necessary to obtain this heart-knowledge. If one person can succeed in this, it is possible that humanity may be saved; if two persons succeed and one becomes the disciple or friend of the other, humanity will be saved. Such a savior is called Qutub by the Sufis. The Grecian Atlas can be said to symbolize a Qutub for he held heaven and earth together.

158. All spheres interpenetrate. Reaching the higher is a process of attunement. Nufs comes from the derivative vibrations which are always coarser than the purer ones. On each plane nufs is made of these derivative vibrations except in Lahut where there is neither shadow nor substance as we conceive them, only soul.

159. Those who dispute over the nature of principles have not realized the principles for all principles are derived from unity while disputation and argumentation show division, difference and duality. The wise man through arguing with a fool becomes a fool. The nufs of the latter cast a shadow-net over him and seizes him. Silence is always a protection against any such eventuality.

160. Do not look for protection anywhere except in heart. Your own heart will not recognize perfection until it has attained it. Therefore purification and development of heart are always most important.

161. How to affect a union. All thought is to be voided and avoided. This can be accomplished by Fikr and love. No one can cause love, bring about love, except by loving; except by a very sincere willingness. One has to release heart from all bondage to intellect and from all attachment except to the Beloved. This is true in abstract concentration, spiritual marriage and Divine Union. It can also be applied to concrete and material concentrations in cases where the thought is entirely and absolutely controlled by feeling.

162. In marriage there should be whole-hearted feeling for the beloved, with all functions, physical and metaphysical that belong to marriage being dominated by this feeling. It is even more important to get into the state of selflessness than to see the divine reflected in the beloved. While the divine vision is higher and more wonderful, it is harder to attain and sustain and often causes thought or carries some thought with it which reproduces nufs. Selflessness or self-sacrifice is the most important thing in love.

163. Likewise in approaching the divine marriage bed, every vestige of self has to be released. The only condition of this is the flight of the alone to the alone, the union of unity with unity. In God love joins love and in love God unites with God.

164. In abstract concentration it is necessary to hold the mind in place. This is an activity of will. Hold the mind, keeping it in the direction of thought. This would be very difficult except that the practice of meditation and the performance of Fikr gradually lessen the hardships and remove the hazards. If the self is evident, that is, if one is still under the sway of nufs, it means that further practice of meditation and Fikr are advisable before advancing along this line of concentration.

165. It is not so hard to raise the consciousness to Malakut. Only while we are on earth our duty is to earth. The value in controlling the sphere of thought is to make life better for ourselves and others. If we are seeking aggrandizement or power, the evil that results will outweigh the good.

166. If one can feel every experience as coming from or belonging to the heart, it is a sign of great progress. It is so easy to identify the self with body and many are accustomed to be lost in the rays of thought. If feeling and love control every experience, that is a sign that one has arrived at the stage of Sufi.

167. Heart controls mind when given scope; by that control of mind it can control all minds. Why? Because heart influence is will and in reality there is no will except Divine Will and the vibrations and force that belong to it or arise from it are exceedingly powerful and penetrating. It is also true that one who is skilled in knowing all about his own mind can quickly acquire the power of telepathy.

168. The divine Will-Power of the universe is the sustaining power. This is called Vishnu in the Hindu religion. Will in the human form appears as love, although in the divine aspect it is also will. Krishna was the embodied personification of Love, Rama of Life, Buddha of Light. These were therefore known as avatars. It is not that Vishnu incarnated in them; in their incarnations they realized Vishnu.

169. Vishnu, the divine will, incarnates in a certain sense. Brahma the creative power, and Shiva the assimilating power, do not appear in avatars. No doubt the force of Brahma appears in the Pituitary Body which promotes growth and also focuses the creative energy, while the force of Shiva makes itself felt in the adrenals, or as the ancients called them, the reins. Vishnu is in the heart, and while the Upanishads teach that the all-pervading Brahman is in the heart, that is really the soul, of which Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are aspects.

170. There has been confusion as to the identity or non-identity of the human soul with God. There is no human soul, soul is divine, according to Sufi teachings. These teachings are based upon realization and not upon any speculations. There is human heart, human meaning heart-mind, or as some have said, using the Oriental terms, Buddhi-manas. This heart has a certain connection with the heart of God which the Sufis call Arsh. But the soul is God. There is none else.

171. Questions of philosophy are questions of doubt. Union of knower, knowing and knowledge takes place in the heart. It comes not by might or power, it comes with complete relaxation of personality.

172. Quantitative growth for heart is qualitative and qualitative growth for heart is quantitative. With the mind it may be different as intellectual growth is essentially quantitative and moral growth qualitative. The imagination has both a quantitative and qualitative evolution for as it grows in power, it can grow in depth. Growth in depth includes control over finer vibrations, which is possible in the imagination even when it does not touch the other aspects of mind.

173. Growth of aspect of heart involves growth of heart and growth of heart involves growth of all aspects. The heart may be likened to the earth with its surrounding sheaths. As one goes out from the center one comes into the areas of finer vibrations and rarefactions. Growth of heart is an expansion which is quantitative and an acquisition of finer vibrations which is qualitative, but the inclusion of finer vibrations does not exclude the course as they are derived from the finer vibrations.

174. Unbalanced spiritual condition cannot be maintained without injury to the connections with mind and body. Epilepsy is a disease due in part to the break-down in the connections between bodies; there need be no obsession. Mystics who have not had teachers often do not know how to maintain balance and with all their beauty and fineness they may experience many sufferings.

175. God includes the material world as well as all finer worlds. Therefore Sufis in developing heart do not neglect the physical. God is without and within. Baqa involves sustaining outer consciousness because God is there also.

176. Those who long for God and see Him only in the spirit may be angelic, but man was made to rise higher than the angels and only made a little lower than the Elohim, the Divine Attributes which constitute the Sifat of the Sufis.

177. Man includes a universe and his body has all the material vibrations without directly including all material atoms; his mental body has all mental vibrations without including all mental atoms; his spiritual body touches all the spiritual vibrations. If the last is extended to its highest degree, it can under certain conditions touch all spiritual atoms. This was the perfect state of the Buddha.

178. In consideration of spiritual development the stream of experience called “ego” may be laid aside as relatively unimportant. It is not a matter of time, of present, or of past. Spiritual growth makes the personality sensitive to finer and higher vibrations and that is all important.

179. The vibrations which compose the heart plane are very delicate. It is characteristic of finer vibrations that they have high penetrating power. Those of Djabrut penetrate Malakut and Nasut while they themselves are not affected very much by this process of theoretical interaction. For instance it is the faculty of the onion to give birth to other onions without losing much of its vitality. This is even truer of the very fine vibrations, that they are the source of innumerable coarser vibrations and if they are kept in the state of attunement with their Source this goes on and on indefinitely.

180. The will gains in power in accordance with the plane to which it is attuned and to the manner in which it is attuned. The finer the penetrability of the vibrations coming from will, the stronger the willpower and the surer the success.

181. Power is hidden in the spiritual world and is manifest in the material world. The physical plane is not the source of power, even of the power which seems to be entirely physical, yet in the world of manifestation we see the expression of power. The Siddhis are the manifested powers of the personality; when manifested the energy is consumed.

182. The lamb and the lion lie down together, that is to say, in the heart we find gentleness and majesty at one time and they may even be identical. The power which is veiled is greater for gentleness is the opposite of weakness. Gentleness is that power which is so strong that it can control even itself, it becomes very refined, so to speak.

183. Do not look for power without. All you will see is the consummation of power. Life contains all power and heart contains all life, that is to say, all that can be individualized.

184. The heart is that particular part of the body which is especially sensitive to be receptive to the spiritual vibrations which compose Djabrut. It is something like the electrical condenser in this respect for it gathers energy. It is the material vehicle, the accommodation of Prakriti for spirit. Iron and copper have already been found in the heart and gold and silver will be discovered there anon, as mankind advances.

185. When the heart is in health the spiritual vibrations reach every portion of the body with the circulating blood. Music is an efficient means of furthering this process as music is a willful method of controlling and directing vibrations. In this respect dancing may be regarded as a branch of music.

186. Bible teaches, as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. This does not mean that a man’s character is predetermined by thought. The heart feels, and the degree and kind of feeling are determined by the kind of attunement of the heart. According to this attunement of heart, character and evolution are affected, and the ability of the heart to attune itself in various manners is the basis of the freedom of will.