heavenly. As his earthly frame is liable to ailments, so is the
heavenly; and there are doctors for the treatment and cure of both.
The doctors of the bodily ailments are the physicians, and those of
the moral ailments are the Prophets and [later on] the Saints who are
their successors. As a sick man would certainly die if not treated by
a skilled physician, so a soul suffering from the moral diseases would
certainly die, if not helped by a Prophet or a perfect Saint. As a
physician examines the pulse to ascertain the disease of a patient, and
recommends him to resort to one thing and abstain from another, with a
view to restore physical equilibrium and health,--so also the Divine
Messenger ascertains the moral ailments of the disciple, and prescribes
different duties based on the Law according to his receptivity and
capacity, recommending this, disallowing that, so as to reduce his
inner perplexities and desires to a state of harmony required by the
Law, and bring about moral health in the shortest possible time. As a
sick man going against the instructions of his physician gets worse and
worse and has to die, so a moral patient disobeying the Law gets more
and more perverse and has to perish through ignorance.--_Letter 19._
THE ORIGIN OF THEOSOPHY
The institution of Theosophy (=Tasavvuf=) is ancient. It has been
practised by the Prophets and the Saints. As evil impulses predominate
in the world, the Theosophist (=Sûfî=) is looked down upon by men.
The Theosophist is one who has lost the self, exists in the True One,
is beyond the reach of the lower nature, and is at one with Truth.
A Theosophical student (=mutasavvif=) is he who seeks to become a
Theosophist through asceticism and purification, and disciplines
himself in the ways of the Theosophist....
The Prophet had a place in his mosque set apart to discourse privately
with his elect companions, who trod the Path. There were senior
disciples such as =Abû Bakar=, =Omar=, =Osman=, =Alî= and =Salmân=;
and mediocre ones, such as =Belal= and others. The Arab chiefs and his
ordinary companions were not admitted there. The elect companions were
about 70 in number. When the Prophet wished to shew his special regard
to a particular companion (=Sûfî=), he favoured him with a piece of
his garment (N. B. The word =Sûfî= may be derived either from =Safâ=,
purity, or from =Sûf=, dress.--_Trs._)
The first Theosophist was Adam, and the last Mohammad; and Theosophy
has continued amongst the followers of Mohammad.--_Letter 22._
SEEKING THE PATH.
The aspiration of the Seeker should be such that, if offered this world
with its pleasures, the next with its heaven, and the Universe with
its sufferings, he should leave the world and its pleasures for the
profane, the next world and its heaven for the faithful, and choose
the sufferings for himself. He turns from the lawful in order to avoid
heaven, in the same way that common people turn from the unlawful to
avoid hell. He seeks the Master and His Vision in the same way that
worldly men seek ease and wealth. The latter seek increase in all their
works; he seeks the ONE alone in all. If given anything, he gives it
away; if not given, he is content.
The marks of the Seeker are as follows. He is happy if he does not
get the desired object, so that he may be liberated from all bonds;
he opposes the desire-nature so much, that he would not gratify
its craving, even if it cried therefor for seventy years; he is so
harmonised with God that ease and uneasiness, a boon and a curse,
admission and rejection are the same to him; he is too resigned to beg
for anything either from God or from the world; his asceticism keeps
him as fully satisfied with his little all--a garment or a blanket--as
others might be with the whole world.... He vigilantly melts his
desire-nature in the furnace of asceticism and does not think of
anything save the True One. He sees Him on the right and on the left,
sitting and standing. Such a Seeker is called the Divine Seer. He
attaches no importance to the sovereignty of earth or of heaven. His
body becomes emaciated by devotional aspirations, while his heart is
cheered with Divine Blessedness. Thoughts of wife and children, of this
world and the next, do not occupy his heart. Though his body be on
earth, his soul is with God. Though here, he has already been there,
reached the Goal, and seen the Beloved with his inner eye.
This stage can be reached only under the protection of a Perfect
Teacher, the Path safely trodden under His supervision only.... It is
indispensable for a Disciple to put off his desires and protests, and
place himself before the Teacher as a dead body before the washer of
the dead, so that He may deal with him as He likes.
Virtue and vice have their uses and evils. Often a virtue throws one
the farther from God, and a vice leads one the nearer to Him.... The
virtue that begins in peace and ends in pride throws one the farther
from God; the vice that begins in fear and ends in repentance leads one
the nearer to Him.--_Letter 23._
THE PILLARS OF THE PATH.
Their words enliven the heart; their deeds liberate men; their
compassion is universal; they do not care for feeding and clothing
themselves, but feed and clothe all; they do not look to the evil of
others, but stand as their saviours, return good for evil, and bless
them that curse. Why?--For they are protected: no gale save the zephyr
of Love can blow over the world from the horizon of their heart. Their
compassion shines as the sun over friend and foe alike. They are humble
as the earth, trodden by the feet of all. They are not hostile to any
man, nor do they grasp at anything of the world. All creatures are
their children, they are not the children of any. They are absolute
Compassion for the whole universe, for east and west,--for they are
liberated and see all from the One Root.... One void of these qualities
cannot tread the Path.
In the case of a Theosophist, the heart goes first, then comes the
tongue. In the case of a worldly-wise man, the tongue goes first, and
then the heart.--_Letter 24._
RELIGION, THE PATH AND TRUTH.
Religion (=Sharîat=), the Path (=Tarîqat=), and Truth (=Haqîqat=).
_Religion_ is a way laid down by a Prophet for his followers, with
the help of God. All Prophets equally call the attention of men to
Monotheism and service. So there is but _one_ Religion, _one_ appeal,
and _one_ God. Their teachings cannot be contradictory, as they are
based on Divine inspiration. The difference is merely verbal and
formal, but there is no difference in the essentials. They are the
[spiritual] physicians of humanity, and have prescribed religions for
their respective followers according to their needs. Religion consists
of a series of injunctions and prohibitions, and deals with monotheism,
bodily purification, prayers, fasts, pilgrimages, the holy war,
charity, and so on.
The _Path_ is based on religion, and consists in seeking the essence of
the forms [dealt with by religion], investigating them, purifying the
heart, and cleansing the moral nature of impurities such as hypocrisy,
avarice, polytheism, and so on. Religion deals with external conduct
and bodily purification; the Path deals with the inner purification.
Religion is the soundness of external purification. _Truth_ is the
soundness of the inner condition. The one is liable to alterations, is
the work of man and can be acquired; the other is immutable, the same
from the time of Adam to the end of the world, and is the Divine Grace.
The one is like matter, or the body. The other is like spirit, or the
soul.--_Letters 25 and 26._
[A higher stage is simply mentioned, in _Fawâed-i-Ruknî_, as =Mârfat=
(the Divine Knowledge), without any detailed explanation. Thus,
=Sharîat= corresponds to the exoteric religion of any given nation;
=Tarîqat= to the Lesser Mysteries of the ancient Western mystic, or
the Probationary Path of the Eastern mystic; =Haqîqat= to the Greater
Mysteries of the ancient Western mystic, or the Path Proper of the
Eastern mystic; =Mârfat= to the stage of the Perfect Man, or the
Master.--_Trs._]
ACCESSORY TO PRAYERS.
After the morning prayer, the twilight should be spent in muttering
the Divine Names, sacred recitations, repentance and apology. One
should not speak at this time, except to obey an express injunction or
prohibition of the Scriptures, to bless or benefit the faithful, and
to instruct a student in need of knowledge. The company of a Saint, a
knower of God, or one's own Teacher, if available, is preferable to
mutterings and recitations.
Before the sunset prayer, some time should be spent in attentively
examining the desire-nature _i. e._, reviewing the gains made and the
losses incurred during the day.
One should go to sleep pure, and with holy recitations, and should
not sleep unless overpowered. One should get up in the latter part
of the night before twilight, and immediately take to the sacred
duties.--_Letter 28._
PURIFICATION.
It is purity which makes man respectable. It is the storehouse of all
boons and virtues.... =Islâm= is based on purity, and cannot tolerate
the slightest stain. She does not show her face to the impure.
_First_:--the purity of the body, the garment, and food.
_Second_:--the purity of the senses, _i. e._, abstinence from sins
and transgressions.
_Third_:--the purity of the heart, _i. e._, renunciation of all
evil qualities, such as uncharitableness, envy and malice.
With the first purity, the disciple takes the first step on the Path;
with the second, he takes the second step; with the third, the third.
This is the essence of =Taubâh=--turning from impurity to purity. At
first he was a temple of idols; now he becomes a mosque. At first he
was a demon; now he becomes a man. At first he was dark as the night;
now he becomes bright as day. It is now that the sun of =Îmân= (peace
or faith) shines in his heart, and =Islâm= shows her face and leads
him to the Divine Knowledge. Any work whatsoever, without this purity,
is but a ceremony or tradition on the lines of the forefathers, but is
_not_ =Islâm=.
* * * * *
Know God as your constant guardian. Living under His ever-watchful Eye,
one ought to be modest and feel ashamed to bring one's transgressions
to His notice.
* * * * *
As prayers cannot be duly performed without the outer purity, so the
Divine Knowledge is impossible without the inner purity. As fresh
water--not water already used--is necessary for the one, so pure
Monotheism--not mixed--is necessary for the other.[7]
[7] See "Monotheism"--_Trs._
* * * * *
The inner purification is hinted at in the Prophet's prayer: "O God,
purge out hypocrisy from my heart."--_Letters 29 & 30._
THE MOTIVE.
The value of a disciple's act lies in his motive. The motive is to the
act as life is to the body and light to the eye. As the body without
life or the eye without light is useless, so the acts of a disciple
without a pure motive are mere forms. With the Seers, forms are denial
and destruction, not faith and salvation. A valid motive arises from
purity, as rays from the sun and sparks from the flame. When the motive
is not biassed by worldly attractions, it is called _ascetic_ purity by
the Sûfîs. When the motive is not biassed by heavenly attractions, it
is called _spiritual_ purity. It is said that the motive of a man is
according to his knowledge and wisdom. If desire and love of the world
predominate in the heart of a man, all his acts will be worldly--even
his prayers and fasts. If desire and love of heaven predominate in his
heart, all his acts will be heavenly--even his eating and sleeping.
Again there are others, of loftier aspiration, caring neither for earth
nor for heaven, but for God only. All acts done by such men will be
purely divine....
A disciple should always be careful to purify his motive and to
get out of mere forms. For this, he should obey the instructions
of a Teacher, his motive, though in the beginning mixed with
hypocrisy and insincerity, will ultimately be purified by obeying His
instructions.... The disciple should act as the earth, so that the
Teacher may act as the sky--wet him with His rains, warm him with His
sun, shade him under His clouds, perfume him with the fragrant breeze
of His compassion--and thus help his growth.--_Letter 31._
PRAYER.
The daily routine of a disciple, in the absence of his Teacher, should
be such as to secure purity of heart, whether by prayer, sacred study,
mutterings, or meditation.
The secret of prayer is inexpressible. When the disciple, renouncing
separateness, stands for prayer in a mood of self-surrender, his body
ranks with =Kâbâ's= shrine, his heart with =Arsh= (the Divine Throne);
and his spirit sees the Vision Divine....
The devotee mostly prays with the fire of Love without observing
external forms (_e. g._ kneeling and prostration), takes all devotees
as one, and does not stigmatise any man with the brand of infidelity
and damnation.
In the state of prayer, one merged in the Divine cannot be conscious of
anything else; as Alî, while praying, was operated upon, and an arrow
drawn out of his thigh, but he did not feel it.--_Letter 32._
INVOKING THE DIVINE HELP.
Opinions vary as to which is the better course, invocation of the
Divine Help, or self-surrender to the Divine Will. In some cases the
one is preferable, in others the other, according to the tendency and
condition of each individual. If invocation induces _unfolding_, it is
good. If it induces _infolding_,[8] it should be stopped. If it induces
neither the one nor the other, its performance and omission are of
equal value. If _knowledge_ preponderates at the time of invocation, it
is to be continued, for such an invocation is a worship in itself. If
_Divine Wisdom_ preponderates at the time, silence is preferable....
[8] See p. 30.
What is the use of invoking the Divine Help, if the Divine Will
is irrevocable?--Answer: The revocation by invocation is also in
accordance with the Divine Will, the invocation being simply an
ordained means, as a shield is a means to repel an arrow, and watering
is a means to grow seeds.
If one resorts to an invocation, it is to be repeated three, five or
seven times.--_Letter 36._
THE DIVINE ALLEGIANCE.
The Divine Allegiance gives freedom and the sovereignty of the whole
world....
God never made anything so precious as the heart of His Servant,
because it is there that He treasured up the wealth of His Wisdom: "I
cannot be contained in heaven or earth, but I am contained in the heart
of My faithful Servant."
What is Service?--To be resigned to the Divine Will without a murmur. A
Servant is he who does not think of wages, and has been liberated from
the bonds of desire. He who serves God for wages is the servant of the
wages, not of God.
=Khwâjâ Hasân Basri= says: "Seek the Knowledge that is revealed by
Service, and seek the Service that is revealed by Knowledge." Knowledge
and Service are equally necessary, but Knowledge is superior, being the
root and guide. Hence it is that the Prophet says: "Knowledge rules
conduct, and conduct follows it." Again, He says that the sleep of the
wise is better than the prayers of the ignorant, and that the ignorant
do more evil than good by their acts.--_Letters 37-39._
THE SACRED FORMULA.
The disciple should ever practise the formula: "There is no God except
=Allâh="--vocally or inaudibly, whether he be alone or in company.
Let him not for a moment step out of this fort. The fort is made of
the negative "no God" and the affirmative "except =Allâh=" phrases;
and it protects the pilgrim entering therein against the two highway
robbers: the desire-nature and Satan. When the disciple unfolds the
inner eye in the plane of Unity, he transcends affirmation and denial,
as they are inconsistent with Unity. Affirmation and denial inhere in
the nature of man, and a disciple does not attain to Unity unless he
goes beyond human nature. Affirmation and denial are in themselves a
form of polytheism, since a valid affirmation and a valid denial each
need three elements--the affirmer, the affirmation and the affirmed;
the denier, the denial and the denied. When a believer in _two_ is
a polytheist, how can a believer in _six_ be a monotheist? When the
non-God has no existence, what is to be denied? When thou thyself art
not, how canst thou affirm?... This is the zenith of Unity, and the
stage of the Perfect Ones.... He who sees with the eye of Unity finds
the non-God non-existent....
Whenever Mohammad, transcending the realm of His mission, looked with
the inner eye into the realm of Unity, He eagerly and yearningly wished
His personality blotted out, the dividing line erased, and the human
limitation cast away. But the Compassion of the Beloved would ever
intervene, and bring Him back to the realm of His mission for the
delivery of the message.--_Letter 40._
THE NAKED FAITH.
Intellect is a bondage; Faith, the liberator. The disciple should
be stripped naked of everything in the Universe in order to gaze at
the beauty of Faith. But thou lovest thy personality, and canst not
afford to put off the hat of self-esteem and exchange reputation for
disgrace....
All attachments have dropped from the Masters. Their garment is pure of
all material stain. Their hands are too short to seize anything tainted
with impermanence. Light has shone in Their hearts enabling Them to see
God. Absorbed in His Vision are They, so that They look not to Their
individualities, exist not for Their individualities, have forgotten
Their individualities in the ecstasy of His Existence, and have become
completely His. They speak, yet do not speak; hear, yet do not hear;
move, yet do not move; sit, yet do not sit. There is no [individual]
being in Their being, no speech in Their speech, no hearing in Their
hearing. Speakers, They are dumb; hearers, They are deaf. They care
little for material conditions, and think of the True One [alone].
Worldly men are not aware of Their whereabouts. Physically with men,
They are internally with God. They are a boon to the Universe--not to
themselves, for They _are not_ themselves....
The knowledge that accentuates personality is verily a hindrance.
The knowledge that leads to God is alone true Knowledge. The
learned are confined in the prison of the senses, since they but
gather their knowledge through sensuous objects. He that is bound
by sense-limitations is barred from supersensuous Knowledge. Real
Knowledge wells up from the Fountain of Life, and the student thereof
need not resort to senses and gropings. The iron of human nature must
be put into the melting-pot of discipline, hammered on the anvil of
asceticism, and then handed over to the polishing agency of the Divine
Love, so that the latter may cleanse it of all material impurities.
It then becomes a mirror capable of reflecting the spiritual world,
and may fitly be used by the KING for the beholding of His own
Image.--_Letter 41._
THE INNER POLYTHEISM.
The Prophet says, "Polytheism in my followers is more imperceptible
than the motion of an ant on a black stone on a dark night." Such
a polytheism, though not affecting the [exoteric] faith, injures
the essence and fruit of Faith. Pure gold and an alloy of gold are
both gold, but the latter cannot be as precious as the former. True
Faith consists in Monotheism, which is the antithesis of polytheism.
Real Monotheism appears only when the root of polytheism[9] has been
destroyed. In order to secure true Faith or Monotheism, every impurity
that stains it should be cast away. Such impurities constitute the
inner polytheism. Looking to any save God for help or hindrance;
hoping or fearing from any save Him; hypocrisy, anger and pride, even
in their most subtile forms; pleasure and pain at being praised and
blamed by others; regarding virtue and vice as means of union with and
separation from God--all these come under the _inner_ polytheism. In
short, no one can be established in Faith unless his character comes up
to the standard: "He is wholly from God, by God, and for God."
[9] Separateness.
Again the Prophet says: "There is no peace for the faithful except in
the presence of God, and death is anything save His Presence."--_Letter
44._
THE DIVINE KNOWLEDGE.
Divine Knowledge is the essence of the faithful soul. One destitute of
it does not really exist. The Knowledge of the Creator follows from the
knowledge of created objects, and leads to the safety and permanence of
the knower.
One way to the Divine Knowledge is to see the whole universe as subject
to the Divine Will, to sever connection from all, and to realize the
Unity of God and the Eternity of His Nature and Attributes.
Another is through one's own nature. "He that knows his own nature,
verily knows his God." God first shewed His Powers in the universe to
enable monotheists to gain Knowledge of Him by observing it. This way
being too long for the Sages, He placed in Man the essences of the
entire creation, thus making Human Nature the facsimile of the whole
universe and the ladder to His Knowledge. Pilgrims tread the Path of
Divine Knowledge _in_ themselves, look for the pure and the foul _in_
themselves, and find the indication and proof of that Knowledge _in_
themselves.
God engages some men in observation, and they know Him by pondering
over His creation. He leads others to His knowledge through asceticism.
There is another class of men whose hearts He illumines at once. Again,
some are debarred from the _essence_ of the Divine Knowledge, others
from the Path itself. "The Divine Beauty has thousands of aspects, each
atom presenting some peculiar one."
=Noori= was asked: "What is the proof of God?" He replied: "The proof
of God is God Himself." They asked him again: "Then what is the use
of intellect?" He said: "Intellect is a failure, it cannot lead save
to what is a failure like itself." Intellect can only look upon an
entity either as _body_, _essence_ or _accident_; or in Space and
Time. It cannot go beyond those limitations. If it fixes any of
those limitations on God, it sinks to infidelity. If, bewildered, it
exclaims: "I do not find any existence save with these properties. So,
God being without any of these properties, is perhaps naught,"--it
is still dragged down to infidelity.... In short, Divine Knowledge
depends upon Divine illumination alone.
Divine Knowledge is the knowledge of God as He is in His Essence,
Attributes, and Works. The Sage should know God in the same way as
God knows Himself, and as He has described Himself in the =Qurân=.
There are two theories as to the _perfection_ of this Knowledge. Some
Intellectualists hold that the Sage knows God in the same way as God
knows Himself. If he does not know Him perfectly, he knows a part of
Him. But God is partless. So Sages are equal in Divine Knowledge.
Intellectualists hold to the possibility of perfect Divine Knowledge.
The other theory is held by the Sûfîs and a few intellectualists as
well, _viz._, that no one knows God perfectly. They know Him to exist,
and know it to the extent necessary for their salvation. They do not
hold to the possibility of perfect Divine Knowledge.
With the Masters of the Path, Divine Knowledge is the actual and
direct perception of God: with the Intellectualists, it is the sound
intellectual knowledge of God.
It is incumbent on a pilgrim not to be satisfied and stand still until
he reaches the Goal. The more he knows, the more he should seek.... The
whole world is satisfied with a smell or a word (_i. e._ very little),
and no one has received even a drop from the holy cup. "I asked Him,
'Whose art Thou with all this Beauty?' He said, 'I am My own, for I am
verily ONE. I am the Lover, the Beloved, and Love; I am the mirror, the
image and the beholder'."--_Letter 45._
LOVE AND DEVOTION.
This world and the next are intended to be used in seeking God. An
objection raised against such a use of the next world is untenable:
for prayer and fast, pilgrimage and the holy war, and all the exoteric
obligations cease _as such_ in the next world; but devotion--seeking
after God--ever endures. If you go to heaven, each day of the heavenly
life will open up new vistas of Divine Knowledge. An endless work is
this, may it never end!
When God loves a man, He inflicts troubles on him and takes away his
wealth, wife and children, so that he may be bound to naught, and
estranged from all save Him. If he suffers patiently, he receives boons
without toil. If he endures cheerfully, he is purified of all evils.
Again, God's love for a man makes him aware of the defects of his
desire-nature, so that he becomes its instructor and censor.
The following are the signs of a man's love for God:--
1. Being given to prayer and seclusion.
2. According to others, preferring the Divine Word to human words, the
Divine Presence to the sight of man, the Service of God to the service
of the world; and not grieving for any loss save separation from Him.
3. According to =Junnaid=: Not being tired in His Service.
4. According to a certain Sage: Avoiding sins.
* * * * *
It is dangerous to assert one's love for God.