I took my place in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh. I found all of them intoxicated; I found none of them thirsty. And my soul became afflicted for the son of men, because they are blind in their hearts and do not have sight; for empty they came into the world, and empty too they seek to leave the world.
Whoever has come to understand the world has found only a corpse,
and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world.
Whoever finds the world and becomes rich, let him renounce the world.
Become passers-by.
- Jesus Christ, blessed be his soul
From the book, 'Jesus: The unauthorised version'. The quotes are mostly from The Gospel of Thomas.
If you study very carefully the bohemian, easy going, unconventional nature of Jesus Christ and at the same time if you study the Secret Gospels as well as many sayings from New Testament, you can easily recognize Jesus as a Sufi (Mystic) Master.
No doubt if you can see, you will realize that Jesus was one of the most beautiful mystic who ever walked on this earth. May God bless us to receive the light, the knowledge of spiritual truth (gnosis) that his soul and heart brought to this world.
Prophet Muhammad said, as recorded both in Sunan Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad : "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The Prophets are brothers of the same father with different mothers, and their religion is one. I am the closest in relationship to Jesus, the son of Mary, because there was no prophet between him and me.
Jesus will descend. If you see him, then know him. He is a man of a moderately ruddy complexion. He will be wearing two faintly yellow garments. His hair will seem to have drops of water upon it, even though it will not be wet.
Jesus will live for forty years, and then he shall die."
No doubt if you can see, you will realize that Jesus was one of the most beautiful mystic who ever walked on this earth. May God bless us to receive the light, the knowledge of spiritual truth (gnosis) that his soul and heart brought to this world.
Prophet Muhammad said, as recorded both in Sunan Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad : "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The Prophets are brothers of the same father with different mothers, and their religion is one. I am the closest in relationship to Jesus, the son of Mary, because there was no prophet between him and me.
Jesus will descend. If you see him, then know him. He is a man of a moderately ruddy complexion. He will be wearing two faintly yellow garments. His hair will seem to have drops of water upon it, even though it will not be wet.
Jesus will live for forty years, and then he shall die."
20 comments:
Amen, I agree. Jesus was a beautiful mystic. I spent years in "the church" trying to understand him. I reached for his spirit and was fed by his words. Not the words that man made around this religion. They are again just law. But his words alone are raw, bold and enough to meditate on for a life time. Just the scraps that are left in the bible were enough for a mystic to recognize the Other with abounding joy. Blessings to you.
a useful book:
Jesus in the Eyes of the Sufis
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0933546211/104-2927909-8605529?v=glance&n=283155
Jesus In the Eyes of the Sufis.
Dr. Nurbakhsh has compiled in this work numerous passages from the writings of the Sufi masters that express their understanding and profound feeling for Jesus, representing an attitude that has existed amongst the Sufi for centuries.
The Sufis expressed profound reverence for Jesus, regarding him as a perfect master. Despite the hostility which developed between Christian and later Muslim societies, Mohammad regarded Jesus as a brother, and the Koran refers to Jesus with the highest of praise.
This book presents a wealth of stories and poetry about Jesus, many of which are new to Christian readers. The inner meanings of Christian symbols are revealed here as they appear in Sufi mystical writings. This book will be stimulating to Christians and Muslims alike.
"....Become passers-by."
Thanks you Sadiq for this post as well as the words of Amy & Ismail.
There is so much more Jesus is than we have been led to believe. I say, "is" because I believe as Paramhansa Yogananda and many others have taught...Jesus comes to those who know him, and never leaves those who recognize him.
Thanks Sadiq for this great post!
The beauty of Jesus is that if you actually read what he said (in more than just the Orthdox canon) you find that he really spoke in a way that was accessible to many religions. A lot of the parables and sayings in the gospels are echoed in Buddhist and Confucian scriptures. As you said, Jesus says many things that appear to have Sufi leanings. The beauty of Jesus' teaching is that they cover such a span that almost anyone can learn, regardless of his or her religious beliefs
Jesus Christ(peace be upon him), the perfect mystic is blessed with the true wisdom of God. No wonder, he touches anyone (irrespective of religion) who understands his teachings so deeply and the impact lasts forever.
great post br. Sadiq and excellent comments all.
peace and blessings
sf
thanks a lot for ur beautiful comments.
thanks ismail for the lovely book's info.
isaiah, offcourse the pure spirits are always 'is'. they never cease to exist. they inspire us constantly, they live with us. in Quran about these soul's its told, "don't say they are dead"
zach young, u spoke what my soul speaks. truth can not be divided. there is no greater religion than truth.
sf, yes he touches anyone who can realize his teaching.
in addition, i would to like to add my own feelings. I really loved the picture of Jesus Christ in the post that i used. I found it very inspiring to medidate. i was coming back to my own blog just to stare at the glorious face of Jesus.
even though historically all the paintings of Jesus's is not authentic. yet i get a feeling that this painting potrays the real face of Jesus very closely. But God knows the best. I just couldn't take off my eyes from the face.
Can u help me one thing? can u stare at the face and notice if Jesus is smiling back or not? perhaps i was imagining, but i felt it.
Great post. Jesus's words have always resonated with me. I'm glad you brought up the Sufi aspects of him. I've really enjoyed your Jesus posts...
hey br. Sadiq,
when i read this post for the first time, i did the same..... stared at the picture for a long time ......the look in his eyes is captivating beyond expression and once i felt the connection, it seemed that Jesus (peace be upon him) has this faint smile as if he knows me personally........
it is truly his best picture i ever seen.....
thanks, brother
sf
A beautiful post, dear brother :)
Indeed, Jesus's message of love is timeless, and echoed in the heart of all religions. My Master has often said that Sufism pre-dates Islam, in that mystics were travelers on the path to God since humans first evolved, looked up and wondered.
May Allahj bless you and forgive me.
I never get tired of reading the words of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) in the Sermon on the Mount. It is my favorite part of the Bible.
Peace and blessings
Very nice words. Thanks. I agree that Jesus was a Master and his message was the same of many of the great Eastern teachers.
Hi Sadiq
great post. The 'become passers by" quote is beautiful and says it all really.
Have you read Khalidi's "The Muslim Jesus"? There are many great sayings in there, it is a collection of Jesus' teachings from the hadith and some are not found anywhere else. most likely they are derived from a now lost Christian text as they are probably authentic.
One of my favourites is: "The world is a bridge, cross it but do not build on it...."
Keep up the good work!
Salaams,
Jesus (as) was totally a Jewish Sufi. That's actually a big part of how I understand him. And just like orthodox Muslim Sufis follow the Shariah, but in addition follow a certain spiritual practice, Jesus and his disciples continued to follow the basic elements of the Torah. But later Christians try to have the soup without the bowl. Following the mystical parts without the context.
Jesus obviously has value and benefit for people outside of that context, but something is lost.
Hello to all.
Thanks for all the beautiful thoughts and comments.
Hello. This is Char from the fathers_table site (now OPERATION: JESUS PICTURES) and I just wanted to say hello and that many people have also experienced Jesus smiling at them from this anointed picture, and others have heard Jesus talking to them, as I myself have experienced. This is the wonderful thing about Jesus: if you talk to Him, He will talk to you. Try it! Just look at Him and talk to Him, until you can hear Him whether you look at Him or not. God bless you. Great post and readers comments.
Thanks brother for the comment. true indeed.
may the peace that Jesus brought from the Kingdom of God abive with us all.
That's a great picture of Jesus indeed
God, may He be praised always, granted me the opportunity to see Jesus, both in dream and in the awake..He is a person with whom I had deep association ever since my heart opened to God..
From what I recall, Jesus's face looked somewhere between this image posted on this page and that of cat stevens when he was young, he looked so close to him in this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlGLuRlhW3c
He shined like a lamp with cheerfulness, and seriousness combined..
For us orthodox sunni sufis Jesus holds a very special place..For us he was the 'Prophet of heart' and there are many amongst us who follow his footsteps, teaching and instruction in reaching God from the spiritual plain..One of our masters said in this regards that sufficient is for us is to have inherited the two , the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, and the Hashimi Muhammad God's final prophet, may God's peace and blessings be upon them both, in fact we hold Jesus to be behind the dark blue latifah of the spirit.
Dear Sadiq,
As I revisit your past posts on Christ this Christmas day, I must say, again, thank you. Thank you for your presence on this planet. Thank you for opening a gate through which pours so much Grace.
All good wishes,
mo'in
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