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One who is
absorbed in the Beloved and has renounced all else is a Sufi.
– Najm ad-Din
Kubra
The Islamic
Tradition
Islam (“submission”) is a religious practice that espouses submission
of the individual will to the will of the Creator. Most Muslims –
practitioners of the Islamic religion – live in an area that
encompasses a wide swath
over half of the Earth, from Africa to the Mideast, and continuing to
Asia
and the southern Pacific. Two main groups comprise this tradition, the
Sunni
and the Shiite.
The largest group of Muslims (85 percent as of the year 2000) is the
Sunni, most of whom live in West Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey,
Syria, Saudi
Arabia, and Afghanistan. A subgroup is the Wahabi, who mostly live in
Saudi
Arabia. The Sunni consider their following to stem from Fatima, the
daughter
of Mohammed and his only immediate descendant. The minority group is
the
Shi’ah, with most of its followers in Iran and the remaining in Iraq,
Lebanon,
and Bahrain. The Shi’ah consider their following to stem from Ali, who
was
Mohammed’s son-in-law.
In the 1st century following the Hegira, or flight of Mohammed from
Mecca to Medina (622 C.E.) a small group arose, the Sufi’s. The name is
derived from the Arabic suf (“wool”) because of the white woolen
robes worn by their members. The movement came into being as a reaction
against the
warrior cult of the Umayyads. Its members chose a mystical path, and
moved
toward an esoteric interpretation of Islam.
Over time, Sufism acquired a meaning that departs from religious
connotations. Rather, it indicates a mystical or occult approach to
spiritual experience. In most Islamic countries, a mystical seeker is
now regarded as a Sufi no matter what the country of origin or
religious persuasion. It has come to denote a state of being that
emphasizes a unity the practitioner feels with others and with God.
The Five Pillars
In Islam, divine law is presented in the Qu’ran (“the reading”). This
holy book was given to the prophet Mohammed by the archangel Gabriel,
following an extended period of meditation and asceticism in a cave
outside of Mecca. In it, Suras (“chapters”) present mystical concepts
and a historical record of the human race. However, in essence the
Qu’ran is a guide to living in oneness with God and with others in
compassion and forgiveness. Observances are presented for this, and
they comprise the Five Pillars or fundamental precepts:
• Shahadah (“the
affirmation of faith”): the essential belief of Islam that there is no
god but God and Mohammed is his prophet.
• Salat (“the five
prayers”): given throughout the day at dawn, midday, mid-afternoon,
sunset, and at
night by all adult male and female Muslims.
These are said following ritual ablutions, and always on
Friday, the Lord’s Day.
• Sawam (“observance
of Ramadan”): from the time of puberty, all Muslims fast during the
ninth
holy lunar month of Ramadan.
The abstentions include food, drink, sex, and tobacco from
dawn until sunset.
• Zakat (“offering of
alms”): sharing wealth through assisting the poor and orphans. This
purifies the donor from greed and stinginess.
• Hajj
(“pilgrimage”): a journey to Mecca, the holy seat of Islam, is made at
least once in the lifetime
of the practitioner.
There is no priesthood in Islam, and the artistic representation of
animated beings is prohibited in art. However, this has not prevented a
rich reservoir of literature, architecture, and science from
accumulating over time.
Islamic Mystical Literature
Islamic culture is infused with the oral tradition of poetry and
storytelling. Through these arts, a combination of history, morality,
and spirituality
are woven into fantastic stories that have caught the imagination of
many
throughout the ages.
An example of this great tradition is The Thousand and One Nights,
a collection of stories first presented to Western readers by the
French
scholar Galland, who discovered the Arabic original and translated it
in
the 18th century. As the stories subsequently captivated readers,
poets,
and historians, the mystical character of Persian and Arabian culture
unfolded.
For though the Nights is highly entertaining, many believe it
to be
a book of initiation. Even in the title, the “thousand nights” alludes
to
the crown chakra, the thousand-petaled lotus of the Yogic and Buddhist
traditions.
Within the book, the stories can be seen as an account of spiritual
progress
by the soul as it masters the powers of the mind and the world. For
example, certain djinns (spirits living in caves and lamps) are
metaphors for mental and emotional qualities that the hero must tame or
free from their confining lairs. At the same time, each has a “gift” or
lesson to impart.
Meditative wisdom is also reflected in the tales. The Nights
has at its center the heroine Scheherazade, who courageously marries a
powerful sultan despite his plan to end her life after the wedding.
Instead, she
recites wondrous stories night after night in order to delay the deed,
thus
preserving her life in the end. As she recounts the trials and
adventures
of her protagonists, she also instructs the sultan in life’s
difficulties:
“Tell him who is oppressed with anxiety that his anxiety shall not last:
As happiness passes away, so shall anxiety pass away.”
One of the devices that Scheherazade uses is the same approach we must
use in meditation. The practice is never completed, the story is never
fully
told. As there were the thousand nights in the story, there are the
thousand
petals in the lotus. There is always the promise of a new experience,
and
another relevation that lies ahead.
Islamic mystical literature is really no different from Native American
warrior tales, the mythological chronicles of Africa, or the great
sagas of
ancient Greece. While they do preserve the cultural values of nations,
they
also reveal the aims of their spiritual traditions. That is why such
reading
becomes a stimulus for meditative experience. Here is how you can
derive
value from such reading:
• Choose a book of stories or collection of tales from a culture that
you admire.
• Keep this book at your meditation oasis as a reminder of what you
wish to explore.
• Before starting a meditation session, read from your book. It does
not have to be a full chapter or story.
Remember: at the next session there will be more to read
and more to reflect upon. It is never really finished.
Union with the Beloved
Omar Khayyam was a Persian astronomer, born in the second half of the
11th century. He was known in his day as a proficient scientist, always
seeking knowledge to improve his status with the sultan Malik Shah. But
he is most known in our day for his ecstatic, sensuous poetry, which
reflects a desire of wine, beauty, and joy. His words also discount the
rewards of the hereafter. Instead, the present moment of pleasure is
elevated. Historians have suggested that Khayyam wrote on these themes
to balance out the pedantic hours spent with his scientific instruments
and charts. It is more probable that he
was a member or at least an admirer of one of the Sufi brotherhoods in
the
region.
Omar Khayyam’s best known work is the Rubaiyat, a set of
quatrains that speak of visions, thoughts, and impressions on the
mysteries of life. They are excellent to employ as seed meditations, as
his approach is to
soothe the soul through sense experience. We can all relate to that, as
there are often moments in eating, drinking, lovemaking, and walking in
a garden where all thought is suspended and the mind is awakened to new
dimensions.
Like other Arabic poetic literature that followed, Khayyam’s is
permeated with the metaphor of divine love. This can be taken several
ways:
• Love of
another brings
us to realizing the divine nature.
• Experiencing the
divine presence is truly knowing love.
• The divine
presence is love, all else is not love.
In one of his most
well-known verses, he expresses just these insights:
A book of verses
underneath the bough,
A jug of wine, a
loaf of bread – and Thou,
Beside me singing
in the Wilderness –
Oh wilderness were
Paradise enow! (Stanza XII)
And on the quandary
of pursuing religion to attain immortality:
Of threats of Hell
and hopes of Paradise!
One thing at least
is certain – this life flies;
One thing is
certain and the rest is lies,
The flower that
once has blown forever dies. (Stanza LXIII) |
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Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes
Many paths lead
to God,
I have chosen that
of dance and music.
In musical rhythms
a secret is hidden,
If I revealed it,
the world would be overturned.
–
Djalal ad-Din Rumi
The 13th century in the Islamic world brought a great proliferation of
literature with mystical religious expression. At the time, a son was
born
to the Muslim theologian Baha ad-Din Walad in what is now Afghanistan.
He
was a member of a Tariqa (“pathway”), a mystical Islamic
brotherhood.
After moving his family to Turkey to spread this tradition, Walad died
prematurely.
But his son, Djalal ad-Din Rumi, succeeded him and subsequently went on
a
quest to acquire “a union with God.” In the process, he began a great
literary
work, the Masnavi, a book that took 43 years to complete. And along the
way,
he founded the order of Mawlawi Tariqa, a brotherhood of mystics known
to
the world as the “dancing dervishes.”
The Sama (“turning”) is the sacred dance of the Sufi. It is
believed to emulate the turning of the planets around the Sun. It is
also a metaphor of the soul’s turning toward and away from the spirit
throughout one’s life. And it is an expression of divine love, which is
also love of other human beings, a “oneness.” But just as the Zen
meditator attains Satori, the Sufi eventually moves into Fana
(“extinction”). Here, all barriers are
removed to experience the oneness with the creative spirit.
The minute I
heard my first love story
I started looking
for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t
finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each
other all along.
The poetic works of Rumi are
another source of mystical seed meditations. As with Khayyam, “the
other” is always present, the beloved. It is the student calling for
the teacher, the soul is crying out for its source.
In the early
morning hour,
just before dawn,
lover and beloved wake
and take a drink of
water.
She asks, “Do you
love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the
absolute truth.”
He says, “There’s
nothing left of me.
I’m like a ruby
held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a
stone, or a world made of redness?
It has no
resistance to sunlight.”
The Brotherhoods
The Tariqa (“pathway”) is a mystical expression of Islam. In the time
of their greatest influence, from the 12th century onward, most were
associated with the ascetical life of monastic communities. Others were
groups of wandering mendicants who usually gathered around a sheikh
(“master”). Besides studying the Qu’ran, part of the practice included
chanting, song, music, and sacred dance.
The aim of membership in the tariqa is enlightenment. Through study and
effort, the student moves from the literal practice of Shari’a
(“Islamic law”) to Haqiqa (“divine reality”). This is done
through ascetic practices in diet and dress, and the exercise of moral
behavior – humility, charity, and sincerity. Most importantly, the
recitation of Dhikr (“divine
names”) is performed, in order to enter the state of meditation.
Few of the brotherhoods survived the Middle Ages, but those that did
continued to spread Sufism in the West.
Ibn’ Arabi and the Tariqas
Ibin Arabi was born in Spain in 1165, and at an early age he entered on
the mystical path of Islam. This took him on journeys to Cairo,
Jerusalem, and Mecca, where he began his spiritual poetry, The
Interpreter of Longings. At the same time, he fell in love with the
relative of an eminent shiekh, and this became the inspiration for both
his writing and his search for
divine love. His work in these realms was prolific and explored all
areas
of spirituality besides Islam. As a result, it was rejected by the
mainstream
religious body but adopted by several Tariqas.
The central theme of Ibn’ Arabi’s many works is the “unity of
existence.”
In it, he sees that the visible world is the very existence of God, and
that there is no separation of creator and created. That being reality,
human
beings possess divinity, and it is possible to discover and develop. As
fundamental as this thinking appears, Arabi presents his ideas in
Zen-like, paradoxical terms. This is itself a contemplative exercise,
as when he says “The universe is God’s own shadow.”
The Sufi Experience
Though it may appear at first glance that the Sufi pathway is more
spontaneous than prescribed, there is a science of achieving the unity
with God that
is the central aim of the practice. It is outlined in three stages:
1. Sair ita
Allah: progress toward God. This leads to Fana.
2. Sair fi Allah:
progress within God. The experience of divine unity, and acquiring
divine attributes in the process. This is Baqa.
3. Sair ‘ani Allah:
progress beyond God. Attainment of non-existence, the permanent state
of Fana.
The third stage can not be
approached through study or receiving teachings, only direct
experience. And experience has four components:
1. Dhikr:
chanting the name of God;
2. Riyadat:
ascetic practices such as fasting;
3. Inkisar:
detachment from worldly things and conditions;
4. Subha:
surrendering the ego to the absolute reality.
Rumi advocated the calling
of the divine name as the supreme approach to awakening the divine
presence
within. In the Sufi tradition, this is performed in conjunction with
rhythmic
breathing.
Five Purification Breaths
The exercise that prepares the practitioner for rhythmic breathing is
the five purifications of the soul. The universal elements are the
focal points, being Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.
1. Begin at sunrise if possible, when the elements are at their peak.
Posture should be standing upright.
2. Breath slowly and deeply, keeping in mind the energy of the Earth.
Visualize it as the color Yellow, entering your body as you inhale
through the nose. It travels upward from the ground through your spine
to your crown. As it does so, the Earth element filters out all
impurities. It returns to the
ground when you exhale through the nose. Repeat four times (a total of
five).
3. Breath slowly and deeply, keeping in mind the energy of Water.
Visualize it as the color Green, entering your nose as you inhale. The
Water element moves upward from the stomach, through your spine to your
crown. As it does so, the liquid washes away all impurities. It exits
from your stomach when you exhale through the mouth. Repeat four times
(a total of five).
4. Breath slowly and deeply, keeping in mind the energy of Fire.
Visualize it as the color Red, entering your body through your heart as
you inhale. The Fire element moves upward to your crown. As it does so,
the fire burns away all impurities. It exits from your heart when you
exhale through the nose. Repeat four times (a total of five).
5. Breath slowly and deeply, keeping in mind the energy of Air.
Visualize it as the color Blue, entering your body through all of your
pores as you inhale. The Air element moves through all the organs and
tissues, blowing away all the impurities. It exits through the pores
when you exhale through your mouth. Repeat four times (a total of five).
The Divine Name
Following the breathing purifications, recitation of the divine name
may proceed. In Islam, the names of God are manifold, but there is only
one
God. This dictate is cited in the Qu’ran and becomes the Sufi mantra
for
awakening the divine presence within:
La ilaha illa-llah: Mohammedan rasul Allah.
There is no God but God: and Mohammed is his prophet.
Direct Experience
Sufism is an expression of Bhakti Yoga, the experience of seeing the
divine presence in everything and honoring that divinity. There is a
simplicity
in this approach, along with a rich and resonant love that transcends
(but
also includes) the personal realm. However, the Sufis depart from the
Bhakti
Yoga tradition in that they do not revere gurus or teachers. Rather,
they
seek truth within themselves, and follow no living teacher. They can
only
be guided by angels.
Where Buddhist philosophy may emphasize the attainment of emptiness,
Sufism moves toward the opposite state, fullness. The full perception
of divine
love and unity is sought. And all worlds – human, divine, and nature –
fuse
in the Sufi meditation on oneness.
In the West, Sufi dancing has attained considerable interest. It has
presented some hesitation on the part of women’s participation,
however. This is due to the traditionally segregated nature of Islam.
Even though women played a significant role in the life of Mohammed,
customs have prevailed in keeping much of the practice separated for
men and women.
The Language of Sufism
• Hadith: the narrative record of the Qu’ran that explains its precepts
and provides commentary.
• Taqwa: God consciousness, which is endowed to every human being.
• Tasawwuf: the true name of the mystical path known as Sufism.
The Sikhs
In the 15th century, a religious teacher in what is now Pakistan
attempted to remedy the segregation of the sexes and classes in
religious practice. In addition, he also sought to reconcile the
prevailing religious of his
day – Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Guru Nanak founded the Sikh
(“disciple”) movement, a mystical sect that practiced trance meditation
and believed
in one God and harmonious living.
Nanan wrote the Jap-ji, a collection of poems that are now the
Sikh guiding principles. In them, he spoke of union with the divine
presence
and methods by which it could be realized. His spiritual approach was a
fusion of Bhakti and Tantra Yoga with Sufism. One of the mantras of the
practice expresses this cohesion:
Eck Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wha Guru.
“The Supreme is One, His names are many.”
There is also a similar recognition of the elemental forces that Sufism
presents, though they are associated with qualities of mind:
Earth teaches us
patience and love;
Air teaches us
mobility and liberty;
Fire teaches us
warmth and courage;
Sky teaches us
equality and broadmindness;
Water teaches us
purity and cleanliness.
We will imbibe
these qualities in Nature
For our
personalities to be fuller, happier, and nobler.
Sikhs are now engaged in a
war of autonomy with the Hindus. They are distinguished by their uncut
beards and hair, which they wear in elaborate turbans. They have a
strict practice of cleanliness and courtesy, being tolerant of all
classes and religions. All men carry the surname of Singh
(“lion”) and the women are Kaur
(“princess”).
Ecstatic Dance
Unless you are a member of a Sufi tariqa, the modern experience of
Sufism is limited to viewing dervish performances in theaters and
events in some Muslim countries. Participation by outsiders is limited,
though a welcoming attitude is always shown to the spiritual pilgrim.
In the West, a movement called Dances of Universal Peace was
established in the 1960’s to explore Sufi dancing as a meditative art
form. Its founder, Samuel L. Lewis, was
influenced by American dance artist Ruth St. Denis and the Sufi master
Hazrat
Inayat Khan.
The program of Dances of Universal Peace seeks to unite participants of
all religious persuasions in the experience of sacred dance. A typical
gathering will begin with a rhythmic walking meditation in a circle, to
unify the
participants in mind. Then, music will accompany simple dances around
the
circle. There is an emphasis on meeting with each person in the circle
through
turning and greeting. This is an important aspect of acknowledging the
oneness
of all present.
Mantras or phrases of sacred names are also incorporated in the modern
Sufi dances. There are recitations of the many words for God, “Allah,”
“Yeshua”
(Jesus), “Buddha,” and “Rama” (among many others). These are delivered
in chant-like song to the rhythm of the music.
Many nondenominational groups around the world now sponsor Dances of
Universal Peace on a regular or periodic basis. There are local
chapters in some major cities in the U.S., and events can be found at
Unitarian churches and on
university campuses.
Sacred dance is not a new idea, and many indigenous cultures use dance
as a major component in their mystical practices. As in Tantra, the
fusion
of the senses with mind can allow the meditator to depart from ordinary
consciousness and enter exalted states of mind and feeling.
The Metaphysical Tradition
One of the modern exponents of esoteric Islam was the French scholar
and mystic René Guénon. Born in 1886, he became
interested in
religion and occultism at an early age. He began a career of
writing
for scholarly journals on diverse subjects like Hindu doctrine and the
Christian
mysteries. But in the process, he also initiated a journey of
discovering
the metaphysical basis of all traditions.
Guénon was a modern day gnostic (“seeker of revelation”).
Beneath the tangle of the world religions and mythologies he sought the
underlying threads that are found in all. His writing reflects those
discoveries,
and the meanings that those threads can convey to thoughtful seekers. A
collection of those insights is found in Fundamental Symbols: The
Universal
Language of Sacred Science. In it, he discusses “eternal ideas,” or
universal themes that are found in all spiritual traditions. They
include
the well-recognized icons of the cross, wheel, the Sun, and the four
compass
points. His insights are valuable for those who wish to use the
approach
of Jnana Yoga (“the intellectual path”).
The problems of Western civilization were also of great concern to
Guénon. He believed that tradition had been abandoned, and
materialism was creating a society of “man machines.” In keeping with
the path of the contemplative scholar, he moved to Egypt and took
another name, Abed el Wahed Yahia, where he lived until passing away in
1951. |
