The Secret of Spiritual Heart | Fauozi Skali

My Lord,
Let my breast have a heart that is aware;

I am but dust, set me afire with the light of David's song;
Give, to every particle of my being, wings of sparks.

- Iqbal, from his work, Kulliyat-i-Iqbal

Following text is The Four "(Spiritual, Inner) Hearts" of The Human Heart / taken from Chapter VII of Faouzi Skali's (French) LA VOIE SOUFIE (The Sufy Way). English translation: Khalil ibn Walad.

A. On The Breast : As-Sadr

The "Sadr" (breast - chest) represents an image of the most exterior part of the being. In Qur'anic language, a distinction is made between the breast and the depth of the breasts (Dhat Asoudur), and this latter represents, in a certain manner, the antechamber - one in which thoughts remain hidden. "Does not God know what they hide? He knows the contents of the depths of their hearts." (Qur'an , XI , 5).

It is into the breast that flow-florth (Yasduru) thoughts into immediate consciousness and this occurs at a level where these thoughts present themselves in their most exterior form, for, in reality, they take birth at much deeper levels.

Without following a spiritual way, the Sadr remains the seat of the despotic soul (An Nafs Al Ammarah); one of whose characteristics, as we have seen (Chapter III), is pride: "They have only pride in their breasts", says the Qur'an (XL , 56), and, elsewhere, describing the despotic soul, says: "the soul is an instigator of evil, unless My Lord has shown mercy" (Qur'an , XII , 53).

In its origin, the Sadr is the "place" of Islam, meaning, submission to God. "God opens to submission (Islam) the breast of the one He wishes to direct." (Qur'an, VI, 125) And, then, begins the whole process of purification, "so that God tests what is found in your breasts and that He purifies the contents." (Qur'an, III, 154)

This process is, at the same time, a divine therapy: "We have uprooted from their breasts the hatred which still remained." (Qur'an, VII , 43)

B. On The Heart : Al-Qalb

If, as we have seen, the Sadr in its positive aspect is the place of Islam ... the heart is the place of Iman (faith). The terms Islam and Iman should be understood here in the sense they are employed in the Hadith of Jibril (Gabriel) which established the following progression: Islam-Iman-Ihsan. "God has inscribed faith in their hearts," (Qur'an , LVIII , 22). "But God has made you love faith, He has made it beautiful to your hearts." (Qur'an , XLIX , 7)

The heart, a Sufy technical term, represents the subtle center of being, the awakening of which being the goal of spiritual experience. In general acceptance, it is the place of intuition, vision and spiritual states. Before coming to signify "jurisprudence", the word Fiqh was first used in the Qur'an to connote an "intellectual-quality", an intelligence of the heart. Which is what "a contrario" the following verset illustrates: "They have hearts with the which they understand nothing." (Qur'an VII , 179)

Or yet, concerning the vision of the heart, the following verset: "It is not their eyes which are blind, but it is the hearts in their breasts which are blind." (Qur'an , XXII , 46)

However, we shall later see that vision is more specifically attached to the Fu'ad (the depths of the heart).

The Qur'an also mentions the spiritual states of the heart which the Sufy experience brings to life and allows one to "taste" to their fullness : peace (Sakinah), piety (Al-Tuqwah), reverential fear (of God) (Wajal), humbleness (Al-Khushu), tenderness (Laiin), relief-pacification (Tama'ninah), purification (At-Tamhîs) and purity (At-Taharat).

If the Sadr is the place where thoughts take form and influence actions, the heart is the seat of intention (Niyyah) ... sub-jacent to these thoughts and actions.

The decisive role intention plays is well-known in Islam. Only this counts. An action unaccompanied by correct intention (Niyyah) has, from the Islamic point-of-view, no value ... whatever the results. A Hadith states that God does not look at the actions of men, nor their exterior forms (Suwar), but watches their hearts.

Another Hadith declares: "May God forgive my Umma (community) that which is suggested (to its members) by their souls."

In general, the Sufy derives another consequence from the etymological sense of the verb Qalaba - which means "to return."

"The hearts," says another Hadith, "are between two fingers of the All-Compassionate (Ar-Rahman); He turns them about as He will." In this sense the heart becomes the place of the inspired soul: "By a soul ! ... How well He has modeled it and inspired it to know its freedoms and duties." (Qur'an , XCI , 7)

And once the individual is guided in the Way of God, the science which the heart receives is no longer that of ordinary exterior science as in the case of As-Sadr. It originates from divine inspiration (Ilham). It is from just such a heart that the real beginning on the initiatic way of the Sufy begins. The spiritual station is that indicated in Jibril's Hadith (mentioned above) as that of Iman.


C. On The Depths Of The Heart : Al-Fu'ad

The Fu'ad is a correlative of vision : "The heart (Fu'ad) has not denied what it has seen." (Qur'an, LIII , 11)

As the eye of the heart, an organ of vision, the spiritual station of Fu'ad is above all that of excellence (Ihsan). This station is described in the Hadith of Jibril as follows : "Ihsan, is to adore God as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you."

In addition, the place of Fu'ad is that of the pacified soul. The term Itmi'nan, which we translate as pacification, indicates for example the relief one finds when at last one is re-assured of the condition of a person who is very dear to us. This sentiment is brought to its maximum when one sees for oneself directly the condition of the person in question. In a general manner then, it consists thus of the pacification of the heart after a period of troubles and agitations.

It is this meaning we find, for example, in the following verses concerning Abraham : "Abraham says, "My Lord! Show me how you bring life to the dead." God says: "Do you not believe?" He answered, "Yes, I do believe ... but it's in order that my heart be appeased." (Qur'an , II , 260)

Pacification is thus a correlative of direct vision, but at this stage where the individual has not yet arrived at the supreme quintessence -- to the Lubb -- he still has his eyes fixed on the ultimate obstacles which beset him. There remains in him, says Al Sahili (d. 1353), something like a scar, the ultimate vestige of his individuality. From which comes the possible denomination of a soul having its place in the Fu'ad as, in this case, the Nafs Al Luwwamah ... the admonishing (accusing) soul which is mentioned, as follows, in the Qur'an: "No! ... I swear by the soul which admonishes." (Qur'an , LXXV , 2)

The heart "understands" and is thus the link to the science named 'Ilm Al Yaqin (the science of certitude). The Fu'ad "sees" and thus becomes the place of the science named 'Ayn Al Yakin (the eye of certitude). These two Sufy technical terms, 'Ilm and 'Ayn Al Yaqin, are of Qur'anic origin: "No! If only you knew it with the science of certitude! ('Ilm Al Yakin) you would surely see the Hell-Fire; you will see it with the eye of certitude ('Ayn Al-Yakin)". (Qur'an , CII , 5-6-7)

D. On The Quintessence : Al-Lubb

This stage is that designated by the Sufys as being that of Haqq Al Yakin : The truth of certitude. It is also that of Ihsan (excellence), in a higher sense than that concerning Al-Fu'ad.

It is also designated as the "Sirr", the inexpressible secret. "He (God) gives wisdom to whom He wills. He to whom this wisdom has been given benefits from a great goodness. Those who are gifted with intelligence (literally: Those who possess the Lubb) are the only ones to remember this." (Qur'an , II , 269)

As the "summum" of knowledge the Lubb is the place of the pacified soul (Mutma'inah), as well as the satisfied-pleased (Radiyyah) and satisfying (Murdiyyah) souls. All of these terms come from the following Qur'anic verset: "O you! ... pacified soul! ... return towards your Lord, satisfied and satisfying." (Qur'an , LXXXIX , 27-28)

The Lubb is quite often cited in the Qur'an. It always represents an absolute and positive quality. We mean to say that it is never subject to certains failings which can, on occasion, affect the other levels.

Amongst the literary interpreters or the philosophers the term is invariably associated with the intellect: Al 'Aql. But, even if this were the case, this word must be taken in the sense of a transcendent intellect: The "great intelligence" (Chapter III) and is not to be taken as assimilable to reason.

The relation between reason, the little intelligence and the great intelligence is illustrated for us, according to certain Sufys, through the following metaphor:

-- The man gifted with reason resembles someone walking in the night with only the star-light as illumination.

We can here, incidentally, remark that the feeble luminosity of the stars as well as their multiplicity illustrates well the characteristics of reason as applying essentially to the world of multiplicity; its modalities of knowledge are themselves founded upon distinctiveness.

-- The man gifted with the little intelligence resembles someone walking in the night illuminated by the full moon. At this stage there is already a unification but this process does not operate directly but by reflection; in the same manner in which the moon only reflects the solar luminosity.

-- The man gifted with the great intelligence, which we can here assimilate with the Lubb, resembles the one who is illuminated by the sun.

All things appear to him with their true face, by direct vision, without having any need for imagination or any hypotheses at all.

If we compare the classifications of the soul established in this present chapter, which are those adopted by Hakim Tirmidhi, with those given by Mulay 'Abd Al-Qadir Jilani ... we constate that they are not identical. Actually, in the hierarchical classifications, two terms are inversed; that of the Nafs Al-Mulhamah (the inspired soul) which , in the order given by Mulay 'Abd Al-Qadir, finds itself at a higher level than that of the Nafs Al-Luwwamah (admonishing-accusing soul).

That being, the ontological levels to which the two Sheikh(s) allude to are rigorously the same. The commentaries which they have added witness to this.

They are, never-the-less, "tasted" (Dhawq, an important notion for the Sufy about which we will return) in different manners through differing experiences; in these cases certain divergences of exterior expressions utilising divergent terminologies will occur.

(end - chapter VII : La Voie Soufie par Fauozi Skali - Albin Michel , ed. 1993)

English trans-version from French by Questor Johnny, Khalil ibn Walad. via the Sufi Notes Yahoo group.

# Related:
+ Opening of the Heart, Lataif and More
+ Devotee's Heart Chakra
+ Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart - an excellent book by Hamza Yusuf
+ Lataif e Sitta Pin It Now!

Samadhi and Fana | Ramakrishna's experience with Islamic Sadhana

I am not asking you to give up all of the I. You should give up only the "unripe I." the "unripe I" makes one feel: "I am the doer, these are my wife and children. I am a teacher."

Renounce this "unripe I" and keep the "ripe I" which will make you feel that you are God's servant, His devotee, and that God is the doer and you are His instrument.

- Sri Ramakrishna, may God be pleased with him

"I received initiation and instruction from the Sufi Master Govinda Rai. He transmitted to my heart the beautiful Divine Name Allah, which I then repeated with every breath. I visited the small mosque behind the Temple Garden, learnign to make the Call to Prayer and to perform namaz, the graceful cycle of prostration and praise offered by devout Muslims five times every day.

My practice of Islam was crowned by a vision of the noble Prophet Muhammad - a robed, dignified, bearded figure of supreme sanctity - who merged intimately with my being, pervading my body with rose fragrance and lifting my awareness into union with him and then into mystic union with Allah Most High. It was precisely the same profound samadhi attained along the paths of Veda and Tantra. Muslims call it fana.

During this brief but intense period of Islamic sadhana, I enjoyed Muslim dishes and wore Muslim clothes. I removed the pictures of Hindu deities from my room and constantly chanted verses in Arabic from the Holy Quran.

One afternoon, while returning from a visit to Mother Kali at Kalighat, the carriage was moving slowly through the crowd before the Grand Mosque at Geratala. Through the open courtyard I glimpsed a Muslim sage crying out with palms up raised: "O Allah, O Supreme Beloved, please come! please come!"

I leaped from the moving vehicle, raced madly into the mosque, and tearfully greeted this noble Sufi. We held each other in a long embrace.

The Sufis follow the way of prema, a love so intense that it melts and dissolves the entire being.

Face shining with Divine Light,
chant the beautiful Names of God
until your secret heart overflows
with the nectar of prema.
Drink this elixir ceaselessly
and offer it to all humanity."

- Experience from Sri Ramakrishna,
from the Book Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna

Great Swan is a dramatic retelling, for contemporary Westerners, of a series of encounters with the great Bengali sage Ramakrishna (1836-1886), who proclaimed the oneness of all religions and the worship of the blissful Divine Mother. Lex Hixon, who held joint scholarship in several sacred worlds - Advaita Vedanta, Islamic Sufism, Vajrayana Buddhism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Soto Zen - did a wonderful job in this book bringing the beautiful life and spiritual experiences of one of the greatest mystic. Above is an excerpt from the Book where Ramakrishna shares his experience of Islam.

. Related
+ What is Fana, What is Baqa?
+ Fana and Baqa
+ Phantom i and Real I
+ Ramakrishna Paramahansa, the Sufi and Islamic Mysticism
+ Thakur Pin It Now!

All things are originally from His Hand

I spoke once with Rumi who was feasting with friends in the shade of a rose bower. I was permitted to approach him and for a moment allowed to speak.

I said, "I am a mimic of you. I am a pale copy and counterfeit, though I never intended to steal stories from your mouth."

Rumi laughed and was in good spirits. He said, "Those stories are no more my property than the clothes of my youth or the tables at which I ate. We kept company together awhile. When I died, God scattered those words like diamonds over the earth.

Pick them up and set them in brilliant settings and you will have eulogize me and my teachers and will have given three fine gifts to the Lord of Glory, though no gift can ever befit Him."

He said, "Remember the words I borrowed from my friend Attar; and those words he and I both borrowed from Sanai. Those stories that belonged to us we also borrowed. All things are originally from His Hand.

If you give more than you have taken, God will forgive you."

- The End of Reason, Da'ud al-Shawni
via Omphaloskepsis Collections

+ about persian mystic and poets Attar and Sanai.

.: image credit: Portrait of Rumi, Zed

Pin It Now!

Soul-fish swimming in God-Ocean

this soul-fish swims
in the God-Ocean
and keeps wondering:
'where is this
ancient, nostalgic
thirst of water
coming from?!'

the lover dogs of God
are howling all along
from the time of separation.

remain unseen
the ancient lovers'
ever flowing tears,
because
since aeon
they're crying
inside this
vast God-Ocean.


(c) MysticSaint
August 24, 2008 | Boulder, Colorado

"What soap does to the body, tears does to the soul."
- a Jewish saying

"The Divine is the sea. All religions are rivers leading to the sea. Some rivers wind a great deal. Why not go to the sea directly?"
- Mother Meera

#Related
. The Primordal Calling | the longing of the heart
. Will ye laugh and not weep?
. Laughing Buddha, Weeping Sufi
. Love Dogs by Rumi

Pin It Now!

Fast of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary

1.
"My seasoning is hunger ..."
- Jesus, son of Mary

2.
"If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the (eternal) Kingdom. If you do not observe the sabbath as a sabbath you will not see the Father."
- Saying of Christ, The Gospel of Thomas, from The Nag Hammadi Library, Translated by Stephen Patterson and Marvin Meyer

3.
While pregnant with Jesus, Mary was inspired by God to take vows of silence, as an act of fasting from speaking.

"The Voice said: So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent Lord, and may not speak this day to any mortal."
- The Quran 19:26

4.
The Gospel of Matthew records that Jesus "fasted forty days and forty nights" (Matthew 4:21). The Gospel of Luke adds the detail that "in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered" (Luke 4:2).

The disciples were unable to drive out a negative energy from a boy, but Jesus drove it out. When the disciples asked how he did it, he said that this kind can be driven out only "by prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29).

The early followers of Christ practiced fasting sincerely: "they had fasted and prayed" (Acts 13:3), and again they had "prayed with fasting" (Acts 14:23). The Bible mentions fasting as one of the observances of a minister of God (2 Corinthians 6:5), and "fasting often" as a proof of the worth of a disciples of Christ.

5.
During the time of Christ, the religious hypocrites made the practice of fasting so superficial and and full of showiness that the spiritual value of fasting was lost for common people. Thus, although Christ himself fasted, he didn't encourage his companions to do so. When asked about he replied in parable saying:

"Can you make the guest of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they shall fast." - Luke 5.34-35

6.
If you desire the fast of the son of the virgin maid, meaning Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon them both, then he used to fast all the time and eat barley bread and wear coarse woolen dress; and wherever the night overtook him he used to arrange his feet in prayer until he saw that the sign of the dawn had arisen; and he never stayed anywhere without praying two rek'as (cycle of prayer) in it.

And if you desire the fast of his mother, then she used to fast for two days and break her fast for two days.



7.
The companions of Jesus said, "O Spirit of God, we pray as you pray, and we fast as you fast, and we glorify God, Exalted is He! as you have ordered us, yet we are unable to walk on the water as you do."

Then he said, "Tell me how your love of the world is." They replied, "Verily we love it." So he said, "Verily the love and attachment to it spoils faith, but in my opinion it is merely like stone and mud." And in another story [it is said] that he lifted up a stone and asked, "Which of the two is dearer to you, this or a dînâr and a dirhem (pieces of money)?" They replied, "A dînâr."

He said, "They are both alike to me."

- credit: Ascetic sayings of Jesus


# Related:
* Preparation for Ramadan | the quintessential month of fasting
* A Sufi Masters Advice on Fasting

Pin It Now!

Preparation for Ramadan | the quintessential month of fasting

Ramadan (also pronounced as Ramzan) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the blessed month in which the Quranic revelation started. This month is the hallmark of special blessing and a quintessential month of fasting (sawm). The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. This year 2008 the start of Ramadan is expected to begin on 1st of September.

During this month it's recommended in Quranic principle to fast from all food and drink from sunrise till sunset for the whole lunar month uninterrupted. It is not just an Islamic practice but a universal spiritual practice that was recommended to all other communities in the past including the earlier Prophets and Apostles. The Final Testament testifies: "O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint."
- The Quran 2:183

Fasting is very much a spiritual reality in the Judeo-Christian tradition such as fasting of Yom Kippur and Lent. So is it present in Eastern tradition including Hinduism and other traditions. Gautama Buddha went through deep ascetic fasting before his enlightenment.

Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights while he was on the mountain with Divine Presence (Exodus 34:28). We read in the New Testament in the life of Jesus Christ how fasting was part of his inner practice as well: 'Jesus went into deep retreat and seclusion in the wilderness where he fasted for forty days and forty nights. And the tempter came and whispered to him: 'if you are elect one of God, command these stones to become bread.' But Jesus answered: 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone...' (Matthew, Luke 4:1-4)

WITHIN THIS BODY

Within this body
Are enchanted landscape and woods,
The seven seas and the innumerable stars.

Within this body
The Eternal keeps singing
And its spring goes on and on flowing.

- Kabir

The yogis, the wise ones who aspire union with Divine, in their timeless wisdom knew that hidden behind the veil of this body's mystery reside greater mystery. In Bhagavad Gita, Lord declares through the voice of Krisha: 'I Am you, more than you yourself are.' In Quran the same esoteric mystery is echoed when God says: 'The Divine is closer to you than your own life blood carrying jugular vein.'

The sufis says, the apparent (zahir) is the bridge to the real (haqq). Likewise this body of flesh and blood is the container of the spirit and soul. Just as abode needs cleaning for its residence, so is requirement for this body and its inhabitant soul. Fasting is spiritual practice that starts from the body but has deeper implication beyond the coarseness of this physical body alone.

In Quranic metaphor we find when God created Adam, He breathed His Divine breath into his body. Probably inspired from this, Rumi compares the human body with the reed flute which has nine holes skillfully arranged and are played by the mysterious flute player. We need to become hollow so that the divine breath can flow through us and make sweet music. Purification of the body through fasting is a step where our body become less dense but more receptive.

In Hindu tradition there is also a beautiful metaphor where this body is seen as the flute of Lord Krishna. Its said, if you can destroy your egoism and make total self-surrender, unreserved Atma-Nivedan to the Lord, He will play on this body-flute nicely and bring out melodious tunes. Your will become merged in His Will. He will work unhampered through your instruments, body, mind and Indriyas (faculties). (credit)

In Rumi's language again: "There is an unseen sweetness in the stomach's emptiness. We are flutes. When the soundbox is filled, no music can come forth. When the brain and the belly burn from fasting, every moment a new song rises out of the fire. The mists clear, and a new vitality makes you spring up the steps before you.

Be empty and cry as a reed instrument. Be empty and write secrets with a reed pen. When satiated by food and drink, an unsightly metal statue is seated where your spirit should be. When fasting, good habits gather like helpful friends. Fasting is Solomon's ring. But even when will and control have been lost, they will return when you fast, like soldiers appearing out of the ground, or pennants flying in the breeze."

THE INNER HEART BLOSSOMS

The spiritual wisdom of fasting is not limited to experiencing thirst and hunger, although experiencing thirst and hunger for God's sake alone is a worthy blessing and source of grace. Jesus Christ says in Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." - Matthew 5:6.

In the Prophetic tradition we find, God says, 'All the deeds of Adam's children are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.'

In the Islamic wisdom tradition, though fasting's exterior is abstinence from food, drink, sex for a prescribed time, but its interior is fasting from everything that is a hindrance to be mindful of God and that is against the natural disposition of human ideal, virtue (fitrah). There is fasting of the tongue not to speak abusive language, unnecessary speech and similar for ears and all part of the body. These inner component of fasting is as important as the fasting from food and drink.

We find in the hadith: The Prophet said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and negative actions, God is not in need of his leaving his food and drink" - Bukhari

"A keeper of fasts, who does not abandon lying and slandering, God cares not about his leaving off eating and drinking."

Sufi Master M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen said, "The real fast is the blossoming of the inner heart. Fragrance must emanate. The qualities, conduct, behavior, and disposition that accompany this blossoming make no sound. Light and fragrance must dawn in the inner heart. The one point which is God must resplend.

Do fast, but make sure the heart blossoms; make it fragrant. The flowering scent must emanate, and when that space is perceived, the One who inhales that perfume will come. The One who perceives that fragrance will come. He is the Lord." (credit)

FROM BODILY HUNGER, STEP UP IS SPIRITUAL HUNGER

This body is the mysterious vessel, a holy grail if you like for our spirit and soul, this body is the only place where the precious soul finds its abode in this very plane of existence. The hunger felt by the body in the practice of fasting is a stepping stone to the next goal, which is the spiritual hunger, the burning desire and longing for God Ideal.

Sufi Master Abu Said ibn Abil Khayr said, "Spiritual hunger is a living, radiant fire put by God into the hearts of His servants so that their ego can be burned; when it has been burned, this fire then becomes the fire of longing, which never dies, either in this world or the next.

There is no quick way to God than spiritual hunger; if it travels through solid rock, water gushes forth. Spiritual hunger is essential for the seekers of truth; it is the showering of God's mercy on them."

Muslims who understand the true meaning of fasting, strive to reach through the bodily hunger and thirst to another kind of hunger, another reality of thirst, about which Rumi said:
Jars of springwater are not enough
anymore. Take us down to the river!

May our entering into the holy month help us reach to the 'thirst' and 'hunger' that is an worthy invitation for the illumination to arrive. May our preparation for Ramadan be with the best of intention. May God grant us blessings of this month and accept our fasts. Amen.

[>] Darvish blog has posted a beautiful compilation of 30 daily Prayers for Ramadan. Also read Prophet's Ramadan Sermon that contains timeless spiritual wisdom and guidance.

# Further Resources and Related Posts:
. Meaning of Fast
. Ramadan Hadith
. Rumi on Fasting and Jesus on Spiritual Nourishment
. Science of Fasting - Medical benefits of fasting and beyond
. Essence and Symbology of Fasting and Sacrifice
. Jesus Christ bless those who fast
. Fasting as self discipline
. Spiritual Wisdom of Fasting
. Prayer for Ramadan
. Ramadan Prayer
. Wisdom of Confucius: Fasting of the Heart
. Come! let us fast today
. Symbolic Meaning of Sighting New Moon and Breaking Fast
. How to Prepare for Ramadan: Sr. Maryam

In this series of post next i would like to publish few reading recommendations / Books for Ramadan. Pin It Now!

Everyday Divinity | Stewart Bitkoff on Sedona Talk Radio

1.
Sedona Talk Radio, one of the top spiritual and personal growth internet radio station will be hosting Dr. Stewart Bitkoff on the topic: 'Got Traffic? The Divinity of the Daily Commute'.

The show debuts on Tuesday Night, 8/26/08 and will be available online for listening later. As I am listening to it now, I find it really insightful and recommend you to listen when you get the time.

Show: Everyday Divinity
Host: Idara E. Bassey
To Listen visit the Internet Station: Sedona Talk Radio

Among different topics Dr. Bitkoff will be discussing: every day spirituality, commuting, his book: 'A Commuter's Guide to Enlightenment,' and experiences along the Sufi Path. Past shows are also available for listening at the archive.

Dr. Bitkoff holds a doctorate degree in education and is an expert in therapeutic recreation, psychiatric rehabilitation and treatment. He is author of A Commuter’s Guide to Enlightenment (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2008) which chronicled his musings and spiritual insights received during a near daily commute from his home in Pennsylvania to New York City during his thirty-year career. His experiences during his career ranged from training at the Society for Sufi Studies in Los Altos, CA, assisting the mentally ill in integrating their altered state of consciousness into the physical world and working with children and their families as a behavioral consultant. For more information visit www.thedeeganproject.com.

[>] Read a review of the book, A Commuter's Guide to Enlightenment.

2.
Many Selves | selection from the Book

'You yourself are under your own veil.'
- Hafiz

Robert Ornstein, PhD, suggests that human personality is made up of many parts and smaller selves. We are a composite of parts, some of which are inborn and some of which are developed by situations and potentials.

From my point of view, the task of the spiritual travelers is to get to know these many selves. Identify them and be aware of their operation, so that over a period of training you can learn to still them. Once stilled, we can begin to listen to other parts of self that only operate under this condition.

Stilling something is much different than obliterating it, the premise being that the higher consciousness can work within the normal personality. We don't have to change all of our smaller selves - only modify some of them. Then the lasting self will come forward.

Pin It Now!

You have the same Seed | Osho

What happens when a seed
becomes a tree?

The seed has to die,
only then does it
become a tree.

... Don't cling to the seed,
because the seed is a bridge.

Help it to die, dissolve,
so that the inner life
and the seed becomes a great tree.

I don't want you
to become Christians
- that is useless,
that's a lie.

I would like you
to become Christs.

And you can become,
because you have the same seed.

- Osho, The Mustard Seed

The disciples said to Jesus:
Tell us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.

He said to them: It is like a mustard seed -
smaller than all seeds,
but when it falls on the tilled earth
it produces a large tree
and becomes a shelter for all the birds of heaven.

- Gospel of Apostle Thomas

. 2 Christian Zen Kong-Ans
. the Threshold

Pin It Now!

'women are not worthy of life' - Simon Peter

Simon Peter said to them:
'Let Mary go out from among us,
because women are not worthy of life.'

Jesus said:
'See, I shall lead her
so that I will make her male,
that she too may become a living spirit
resembling your males.
For every woman who makes herself male
will enter the Kingdom.'

- Gospel of Apostle Thomas

1.

The statement of Peter is exactly what the christian church has embodied for the last two millennium. The church has remained anti-women - because through unnatural view point, woman is painted to be the root cause of evil starting from the distorted interpretation of the genesis. The narrow mindedness is portrayed here when Peter says, 'women are not worthy of life'. It should not surprise one who knows the cultural and social context of the time of Christ but it definitely quite mind-boggline to think how the same sentiment still exist in our time in the attitude of church.

Peter is the founder of Christian Church from whom the tradition of Pope is inspired. Ironic is that it was Peter who denied Jesus in his own life time. Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times before the cock crows at dawn and he did.

Osho writes in his commentaries: 'This is Simon Peter's mind, not Jesus'. And it is bound to be so: a disciple's mind, he is not yet enlightened, he can not see the indivisible, he can only see according to his mind. When Jesus is gone, Simon Peter will become more important than Jesus, because Simon Peter will be more understandable to people - he belongs to the same world.

Peter created the church, he became the rock (the word Peter means rock). And the whole church stands - he really proved to be a very strong rock! Nobody has proved to be such a strong rock, neither a disciple of Buddha nor a disciple of Mahavira has proved to be like Peter, because the Catholic Church is the strongest church that has ever existed on earth. But that's why it is more dangerous also; strength in wrong hand. And when a master is no more, disciples become the masters, they start deciding things.'

2.
From the very time of Christ, there started a tension and confrontation between Peter and Mary Magdalene, the later whom Christ loved most among his disciples because of her sophianic qualities (her divine feminine qualities and ability to understand the depth mystic teachings of Christ). While other ordinary disciples were perplexed with the esoteric nature of Christ's discourses, parables - it was Mary Magdalene who mostly understood them by heart, as more apparent in a number of suriviving gospels understandably left out by the church from the canonical gospels.

The confrontation of Mary with Peter, a scenario found in The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Pistis Sophia, and The Gospel of the Egyptians, reflects some of the tensions in second-century Christianity. Peter and Andrew represent orthodox positions that deny the validity of esoteric revelation and reject the authority of women to teach. The Gospel of Mary attacks both of these positions head-on through its portrayal of Mary Magdalene. She is the Savior's beloved, possessed of knowledge and teaching superior to that of the public apostolic tradition. Her superiority is based on vision and private revelation and is demonstrated in her capacity to strengthen the wavering disciples and turn them toward the One.

Figure: (portion of) The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci. Sitting next to Mary is Peter. He seems consumed with jealousy and his hand crosses Mary's neck as if he would slice her throat, as if his finger were a dagger.

3.

... But Jesus considers Mary worthy of transformation; He himself will "make a man of her," give her a special teaching.

And so two questions arise. If a female needs to be transformed into a male (that is, activate and integrate the masculine within herself) before she can enter the kingdom, why does Jesus Christ, an enlightened being, choose to favor Mary, to appear to her after his crucifixion to give her a special teaching? And why does Mary, a brave, strong, independent woman seem to accept without question the idea that she must become male?

Many have assumed that this conversation reflects an historical situation and have tried to explain the passage in terms of the radical nature of Jesus' acceptance of women and Mary's position as leader.

The point is to recognize the importance of Mary of Magdala whom Jesus will make male because she is to become part of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is to be noted that the conflict with Peter is overt and at the center of the action. It probably reflects something of the situation of the churches at the time of the writing of the gospel. Peter was a leader in competition with Mary of Magdala or followers of Peter were in competition with followers of Mary. The redactor of the "Gospel of Peter" clearly places Mary in a position higher than that of Peter.

Looked at from a purely historical context, it may be true that in the culture of the place and time only a male could be taken seriously: Only as a man could he [Jesus] have subverted the accepted definition of masculinity, validated the so-called feminine virtue despised by men but dear to God, redefined the relationship between women and men as one of equality and mutuality, and destroyed patriarchy's claim to divine sanction. (credit)

4.

Mary Magdalene was chosen by our Lord as a type of the Church and would be one of the first fruits taken to be with her Lord. She was the constant companion of Jesus' Ministry, to him she ministered of her substance, she anointed him for his Ministry, and for his Burial, She was the last at the Cross, and the first at the Tomb, and to her alone He gave the commission, "Go tell Peter," and wheresoever the Gospel was to be preached, her love and devotion to her Master were to be declared.
- Gospel of the Holy Twelve

Note: The Gospel of the Nazarenes, also known as the Gospel of the Holy Twelve, is the very Gospel that was repeatedly mentioned and described by many commentators of the early Church as the original teachings of the Nazarene called Christ.

5.
Man and Woman principles symbolize two opposite natures. For attraction to be born, for attraction to be created, there needs to be opposites. For a man, a woman is an endless mystery; so is a man for woman. In far eastern terms, Man and Woman are like primordial opposite Yang and Yin which together keeps the cosmos in harmony and balance. In ancient India woman is called Prakriti, the primary matter, the nature, earth, the receptive. Man is called Purusha, consciousness, self, cosmic man.

For something to become whole, two opposites must come and manifest together. Wholeness is what makes Holiness. To become whole is to become holy. From Alchemical point of view one opposite must transmute into the other opposite so that the beauty of wholeness can manifest.

The above mystical statement of Christ when he says, "I shall lead her so that I will make her male" - here the term male is not sexual but symbolizes the embodiment of the other principle.

To become a complete human being, both the masculine and feminine inner principles must manifest. That is what Christ was speaking about when he said, 'for every woman who makes herself male will enter the Kingdom'. Christ himself embodied the sweet, receptive, loving, surrendered feminine principle in his whole being which flowered in both his inner and outer.

6.

In the book, 'The Mustard Seed' which is a commentaries on the fifth Gospel of Saint Thomas, Osho takes the sayings of Jesus out of their narrower Christian context, and blends their wisdom with rich threads of Easter traditions of mysticism, thereby showing the truly universal nature of Jesus' original teachings.

Osho says: 'To make a woman male means to make her unconscious conscious; to bring her inner darkness into the conscious mind, so the unconscious disappears and it becomes a conscious whole; to make her mysteriousness not a stumbling-block, but a stepping-stone.

For a man like Jesus it is not a question of male or female, it is a question to becoming whole. One has to leave his part and reach the whole.

... that phenomenon is an indivisible person, a one, a unity, an inner cosmos; a symphony where all the notes have become helpers to each other, not just a noise, but they give rhythm, color to the whole. They make the whole, they create the whole, they are not against the whole, they are not fragments anymore, they have fallen into a unity. This is what Gurdjieff calls, 'inner crystallization', or what Hindus have called 'attaining to self', and what Jesus calls 'entering into the Kingdom of God'.

7.
And my soul was afflicted for the sons of men,
because they are blind in their heart
and they do not see that empty
they have come into the world,
and empty they seek
to go out of the world again.

Jesus said:
If the flesh has come into existence
because of the spirit, it is a marvel;
but if the spirit has come into existence
because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels.
But I marvel at how this great wealth
has made its home in this poverty.

- Gospel of Thomas

# Further Reads:
. Women in early church
. Who was Mary Magdalene, and Does it Matter?
. Perceptions of Mary Magdalene
. Ordain a Woman, Go Straight to Hell

# Related Post:
. Sacred Marriage of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene
. Mystery of Woman
. Secret of Female Soul
. Secret of Male and Female, your thoughts
. Each give birth to each other

Pin It Now!

Sacred (and Secret) Marriage of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene

1.
Cana, Galilee, 23 A. D.

'They have no wine', said Mary to Jesus.

And on the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus and his disciples were called to the marriage.

And when they wanted wine, Mary, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'

Mary immediately ordered the servants to do whatever Jesus instructed. And Jesus told them to fill the pots with water up to the brim. He then asked them to draw wine from them and to serve the governor of the feast.

The servants served the wine. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water that had been made into wine, the governor called the bridegroom and said to him that most people serve the good wine first the lower grade wine later. The bridegroom, on the other hand, had done the reverse.

His mother, Mary, had clearly been in charge. She was the hostess without doubt.

And the bridegroom had been Jesus.

- The Christ Conspiracy: The Marriage of Jesus by Rhawn Joseph.

2.

Mary anointed Jesus twice with Nard. She once anointed his head. Another time she anointed his feet, later wiping them with her long hair. Nard was a fragrant ointment more commonly called Spikernard and was part of a sacred marriage ritual practiced by Hebrew, Sumerian and Egyptian priestesses. In the Old Testament's Song of Solomon, this act of anointing was carried out as an element of the marriage ceremony.

Lynn Picknett, a researcher of religious mysteries, would later write: 'In their time was a sublimely pagan rite that involved a woman anointing a chosen man both on head and feet - and also on the genitals - for a very special destiny. This was the anointing of the sacred king, in which the priestess singled out the chosen man and anointed him, before bestowing his destiny upon him in a sexual rite known as the Hieros Gamos.'

3.
Bethany, Judea, 27 A.D.

She was making Jesus go through an ancient fertility ritual called Hiero Gamos, or 'the Sacred Marriage'.

In 1993, a book entitled 'The Woman with With the Albastar Jar' by Margaret Starbird reveals: 'Jesus had a secret dynastic marriage with Mary of Bethany. She was a daughter of the tribe of Benjamin, whose ancestral heritage was the land surrounding the Holy City of David, the city of Jerusalem. A dynastic marriage between Jesus and a royal daughter of the Benjamites would have been perceived as a source of healing for the people of Israel.

Perhaps the earliest verbal references attaching the epithet Magdala to Mary of Bethany's name had nothing to do with an obscure town in Galilee in Hebrew. The epithet Magdala literally means tower or elevated, great, magnificent ... This meaning had particular relevance if the Mary so named was in fact the wife of the Messiah. It would have been the Hebrew equivalent of calling her Mary the Great (or, Mary the Magnificent).

In older sacred marriage rituals, a woman who represented the goddess and the land was wedded to the king. Their union symbolized many things, depending on the time and place such a ritual was practiced ...'

.: Credit: via The Rozabal Line by Shawn Haigins

4.

Then Mary stood up and greeted all of them and said to her brethren, "Do not mourn or grieve or be irresolute, for his grace will be with you all and will defend you. Let us rather praise his greatness, for he prepared us and made us into men (perfected beings)." When Mary said this, their hearts changed for the better, and they began to discuss the words of the [Savior].

Peter said to Mary, "Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than other women [John 11:5, Luke 10:38-42]. Tell us the words of the Savior which you have in mind since you know them; and we do not, nor have we heard of them."

Mary answered and said, "What is hidden from you I will impart to you." And she began to say the following words to them. "I," she said, "I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, 'Lord, I saw you today in a vision.' He answered and said to me, 'Blessed are you, since you did not waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is your countenance'

... Levi answered and said to Peter, "Peter, you are always irate. Now I see that you are contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knew her very well [Luke 10:38- 42]. For this reason he loved her more than us [John 11:5].

- Gospel of Mary Magdalene

5.

Mary's presence at the Crucifixion and Jesus' tomb is consonant with a role as grieving wife and widow. After the Crucifixion she watched by his tomb, and was the first to whom he appeared after the resurrection; her unfaltering faith, mingled as it was with the intensest grief and love, obtained for her this peculiar mark of favour. It is assumed by several commentators that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, because she, of all those whom he had left on earth, was his beloved and in most need of consolation: 'The disciples went away unto their own; but Mary stayed without the sepulcher and wept.'

6.
Mary Magdalene was chosen by our Lord as a type of the Church and would be one of the first fruits taken to be with her Lord. She was the constant companion of Jesus' Ministry, to him she ministered of her substance, she anointed him for his Ministry, and for his Burial, She was the last at the Cross, and the first at the Tomb, and to her alone He gave the commission*, "Go tell Peter," and wheresoever the Gospel was to be preached, her love and devotion to her Master were to be declared. - Gospel of the Holy Twelve

# Further Reads
. Who was Mary Magdalene?
. Mary Magdalene via Wikipedia
. Gospel according to Mary Magdalene
. The Life of Mary Magdalene
. Magdalene.org
. Jesus and Mary Magdalene: The Sacred Marriage in Gnosticism
. Early Christian Writings
. Women are not worthy of Life - Simon Peter
. Archetype of a Feminine Seeker

Pin It Now!

Mystery of Sexual Ecstasy and Union

1.
if anyone asks you,
'how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting will look?'
lift your face and say,
like this!

if anyone wonders,
'how Jesus raised the dead!'
don't try to explain the miracle.
kiss me on the lips,
like this!

when some one asks,
'what it means to die for love?'
point here!

when lovers moan,
they are telling our story.
like this!

- Embracing the Mystery - Rumi, version by Coleman Barks

2.

And the companion of [the saviour was] Mary Magdalene. [Christ loved] her more than [all] the disciples, [and used to] kiss her [often]. - Gospel of Philip

The Nag Hammadi texts also spoke of the intimate relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, even referring to her as his "beloved."

3.
The Baal Shem Tov asked why people love children so much. His answer was that a child is a human being who is still very close to his or her conception, and since there was so much ecstasy in the conception, it still shows in the child. As the child grows older, the ecstasy slowly evaporates. But it is a state that the child loves in herself or himself, while it lasts.

Ecstasy facilitates incarnation, in the sense that it is ecstasy that teases a soul into coming to this plane of existence. The teasing is necessary because no soul wants to come down here. But it is part of the human process that men and women meet in this lower world; love one another; pass into joy, ecstasy, oneness with one another; and thus cause sparks to emerge. And those sparks attracts souls from the higher worlds, which allow themselves to be teased into this world again. - Rabbi Zalman Scachter-Shalomi in First Steps to a New Jewish Spirit

4.
Men are deeply attracted to women ... the worldly pleasures of wanting and having. God's grace brings in through them another beauty. The lesson is that we should look to the outcome and not be so occupied with the attraction. You have noticed how a beautiful child can sometimes derived from a diseased, repulsive woman? Lust alone did not create the child's handsomeness. God comes in through our pleasures and through our suffering.

Without the divine enhancement that arrives in the urgency of human desiring, people might look like mud-colored camels lying on bare ground. Basically people are donkeys concerned only with the straw and barley they're eating, until the presence of grace makes them otherwise. - Bahauddin, Father of Rumi

5.
The relationship of Radha and Krishna is the embodiment of love, passion and devotion. Radha's passion for Krishna symbolizes the soul's intense longing and willingness for the ultimate unification with God. Shri Krishna is the soul of Radha and Radha is definitely the soul of Shri Krishna. She is the undivided form of Shri Krishna. She will remain a mystery unless one can know her inexpressible divine elements.

Shri Krishna is not only the ultimate object of all love, but also is the topmost enjoyer of all loving relationships. Therefore, in the dynamic and expanding form of Krishna, He has unlimited desires to enjoy spiritual loving relationships known as leela. To do this, He expands Himself into the dual form of Krishna and Radha, His eternal consort and topmost devotee. In other words, Radha is the feminine aspect of Lord Krishna and is non-different from Krishna, but together (both the masculine and feminine aspects). They fulfill the purpose of engaging in sublime loving leela to exhibit supremely transcendental loving exchanges.

Radha Krishna is the original principle of loving relationships (conjugal Love). The sex principle exists in the Absolute in its pure form without any inebriety or impurity, because Krishna is in fact Radha. In other words, the Lord is one, but for His pleasure and enjoyment, He expands himself to enjoy loving relationships. The original expansion is Radha. Together, Radha and Krishna enjoy eternal pastimes of transcendental love.

6.
Sex is a fire kindling at two points: in the tree-green sap-wet semen of a man and in the smoldering womb of a woman. If love for the man is not deep inside her there, no lovemaking flame will rise.
- Bahauddin Valad in The Drowned Book by Coleman Barks and John Moyne

7.
And among God's signs is this, that God has created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity with them; and God has put love and mercy between you. Verily in that are signs for those who reflect. - The Quran 30:21


# Related Post:
. Mystery of Woman | the Feminine Soul
. Who do you really love? | Dara Shayda
. Secret of male and female
. Spiritual Marriage

Pin It Now!

Aphorisms of Rabbi Baal Shem Tov

Your fellow is your mirror. If your own face is clean, so will be the image you perceive. But should you look upon your fellow and see a blemish, it is your own imperfection that you are encountering - you are being shown what it is that you must correct within yourself.

"G-d is your shadow" (Psalms 121:5) - Just as a person's shadow entirely mimics his actions, so does G-d, as it were, entirely reciprocate our deeds.

"Love your fellow as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18) is an interpretation of and commentary on "Love the L-rd, your G-d" (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Everything is by Divine Providence. If a leaf is turned over by a breeze, it is only because this has been specifically ordained by G-d to serve a particular function within the purpose of creation.

Every single thing that a person sees or hears, is an instruction to him in his conduct in the service of G-d.

Cleaving to G-d is the master-key that opens all locks.

The Baal Shem Tov was very fond of light, and said, "Or (light) is the numerical equivalent of raz ('secret'). Whoever knows the 'secret' in every thing can bring illumination."

"Your beginning shall be small, and your end shall flourish exceedingly" (Job 8:7) - Small and inauspicious beginnings are often crucial for the person to flourish exceedingly in the end.

- Text Credit: Thirty Six Aphorisms of the Baal Shem Tov, may G-d's peace be with him.

. picture above: tomb of Rabbi Isreal ben Elizer Baal Shem Tov in the Medzhybizh old Jewish cemetery, Ukraine. credit via flickr. Pin It Now!

Why Religious Renewal is Necessary? | Reb Zalman Scachter-Shalomi

Father of the Neo-Hasidic Jewish Renewal movement, Reb Zalman Scachter-Shalomi is widely considered one of the world's foremost authorities on Hasidism and Jewish mysticism, a leading spiritual elder of our time and recognized as a pioneer in ecumenical dialogue. This interview with Reb Zalman was conducted in early August 2008.

[>] Read the first part of this interview if you haven't

1.
As part of the Interview I asked Reb Zalman to illuminate the question, Why Religious Renewal is Necessary?

Following is what came through Reb Zalman, may G-d always bless him:

'There is a teaching of a religion, the teaching of a tradition, of a silsila, there always is the core of the teaching, which has to do with the relationship of the divine and the human. In order to bring the teaching down, our sages have said, "Dibrah Torah d'sham b'nei Adam", "The Torah speaks in the language of human being".

So if the language of human being was early and primitive, and engraved on stone, then its simple. The Ten commandments are very short: don't do this, don't do that. And its not done very much for contemplative, its short, laconic. Then people get to write on parchment and so and so forth.

Today when knowledge is instantaneous and so and so forth, the matrix in which the divine speaks is so much wider and bigger, because the Divine is Infinite. So the more vehicle you have for the Divine to express ITself the wider is the expression.

So now what happens is that the people who are in charge of religion want to make sure that you will not change it. Because in the writing of Moses: 'You will do not go to the right, do not go to the left, as I tell you so will you do it'.

And thats understandable, because if it was not for that, it wouldn't have lasted for so long. It wouldn't have the transmission. But on the other hand, there are paradigms. And the paradigm in which much of the spiritual materials that have come to us, that was written was during Ptolemy, the Ptolemian world.

The earth is at the center and the sun goes around, and later on the sun will rise in the west. You have all these things but they still don't talk about the solar system, that the earth goes around the sun. This mean that the reality map is an outmoded reality map, an obsolete reality map. In order to be able to keep the religion, the religion and the reality map is so stuck to one another, when I thrown away the reality map, I thrown away the religion.

That happened to many people who become secular, because they didn't separate the teachings of the religion from the reality map. Ijtihad was trying to do that, but there were some people who are saying, no no that is going to be bidat. Don't trust ijtihad.

Why don't they trust them? Because of the mistaken understanding of the khatam of the prophet. But if you allow to say that God still reveals, that it's still happening. The people of ijtihad don't do it because they wanna make it easy for them, but because they want more of God coming into the world. The renewalists are always asking for that, and the traditionalists are always against it.

I don't think any religion will survive without renewal, which means they have to take into consideration what comes from the earth, and what comes from above and what comes from women, and what comes from nature.

One of my teacher wrote beautifully, he says, 'When the Torah was given and each year it was given at the same time, it is not only given to Jews but it is given to all human beings and not only to human beings but also to animals and the plants and the minerals'. So the saying is really saying, God energizes the nature every moment, and this energizing of nature is also the revelation. The People of the past in the medieval period would say nature and revelation are two separate things. If you want go with nature you are going to be kafir (apostate).

The revelation was hooked to a reality map that doesn't fit anymore. So everybody needs to have a depth understanding, thats one element.

The second element is: In the past each religion would say, I am the only Truth, Way and the Path; and nobody come to Father except through me and so on and so forth.

Now the model is not a machine model any more, like Descartes, but the model is a model of organism. It would be stupid to say that the human being should be all liver. We need to to have bone, we need to have heart, we need have kidney, we need to have brain and so on and so forth. All religions, each one of them is like a vital organ of the planet.

If Muslims will be health Muslim, Jews will be healthy Jews, together we will be make each other healthy that way. So the liver will be healthier, the kidney will be healthier.'

2.
Reb Zalman Scachter-Shalomi and Jewish Renewal Movement

The term Jewish Renewal describes "a set of practices within Judaism that attempt to reinvigorate what it views as a moribund and uninspiring Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices drawn from a variety of traditional and untraditional, Jewish and other, sources. It also refers to an emerging Jewish movement, the Jewish Renewal movement, which describes itself as "a worldwide, transdenominational movement grounded in Judaism’s prophetic and mystical traditions." The Jewish Renewal movement incorporates social views such as feminism, environmentalism and pacifism.

The movement's most prominent leader is Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Rabbi Zalman, a Hasidic-trained rabbi ordained in the Lubavitch movement, broke with Orthodox Judaism beginning in the 1960s, and founded his own organization, The B'nai Or Religious Fellowship, which he described in an article entitled "Toward an Order of B'nai Or." The name "B'nai Or" means "sons" or "children" of light, and was taken from the Dead Sea Scrolls material, where the "sons of light" battle the "sons of darkness." B'nai Or produced a number of important leaders in the Renewal movement.

3.
The deep wisdom and experience of Reb Zalman around Jewish renewal movement is a wonderful resource for not only Judaism but can be applied to other religions as well. As he talks in this interview and other places so eloquently about how over the years the reality map has become outdated and has little to do with the core teachings of the religious traditions originally. So in order for the spiritual tradition and essence of such valuable wisdom of humanity to be alive, renewal has to come in all religious tradition of the world. In that regard the contribution that comes through rice experience and wisdom from Reb Zalman is invaluable to all of humanity of today and tomorrow.

Further Resources:
. an Youtube video of Reb Zalman talking about Jewish Renewal
. Vision of Jewish Renewal 75 years from now, youtube
. Jewish Renewal via Wiki
. Vid: Reb Zalman on Authentic Judaism & Renewal Pin It Now!

darshan

it's midnight here,
and your forehead shines
with a new dawn's mystery.

in your intimate garden as you take delight
looking at beauty stamped upon the flowers,
each flower sighs with strange longing
while upon your face
they're gazing.

the Presence that's both inside and outside of us
reward the ones who long for it.

darshan!
the garden bee shouts in ecstasy.

every moment your generosity
gives birth to a new kind of beauty.

call it nazar, darshan or the blessed glance -
the flowers, the garden bee
and this insignificant me,
now we all share
a common mystery.

- Sadiq,
Boulder, CO

on dear heart friend Carolyn's Birthday.
Happy Birthday Carolyn!
Blessings upon Blessings.

Pin It Now!

Interview with Reb Zalman | on Mystic Experience and Mysticism for a New Humanity

Father of the Neo-Hasidic Jewish Renewal movement, Reb Zalman Scachter-Shalomi is widely considered one of the world's foremost authorities on Hasidism and Jewish mysticism, a leading spiritual elder of our time and recognized as a pioneer in ecumenical dialogue. This interview with Reb Zalman was conducted early August 2008.

I opened up the interview by sharing how all the major enlightened beings, for example Moses, Buddha, Jesus or Muhammad, peace be upon them all, each has gone through initial mystical experiences at their time of enlightenment breakthrough. Sometime such experiences are perceived as outside experience (Burning Bush for Moses, mystical encounter with Archangel Garbriel for Prophet Muhammad) and sometime as inner experience (such as Buddha's awakening or receiving Quranic revelation in a lucid state for Muhammad). So we find mystical experiences very much at the heart of all tradition and thats where they started from.

Now after encountering these inner experiences, all these enlightened beings came out to the market place (from personal inner practice to the society, world) and mostly interfaced with the general people at an outer level and gave practices, commandments, teachings which necessarily helped them to journey from an outer place (through rituals, prayer) to the same inner space which was the beginning point for them personally.

Secondly there has been an interesting shift in human consciousness where it seems humanity is getting ready to receive the inner teachings more directly. More and more people are learning about all faith tradition in a more universal way. Spiritual wisdom are becoming more accessible to all. There is also an unprecedented trend in a way that very recently we have discovered and translated ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, Hidden Gnostic Gospels, similarly mystical teachings of Kabbalah are getting accessible to general people which at one time not even Jews could access them. All the mystical schools and their teachings are now getting more and more light and attention. As if we are shifting towards the original mystical teachings.

Given this as a backdrop, I asked Reb Zalman, how he envisions mysticism for a new humanity, for coming generations.

Reb Zalman began by saying, what I described (as above) is called Hagdamah in Jewish wisdom tradition, which means 'preparation for an opening'. Following is selection from his talk:

There was a brain scientist, Julian Jaynes and he wrote about two hemisphere, the right and left. He described that the people earlier were getting their spirituality as if a voice was speaking to them and this was right hemisphere experience. And I believe many of the people who spoke, and the voice of God came unto them and so on so forth, they saw it more as if were come from the outside because that's the way our nervous system works. And when you understand things about chakra, things about vibratory level - then there is a lot of history building up now.

There was a time, an amazing time that was called 'the axial age' - that was the time when there were Socrates, Aristatole, Plato, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isiaha, Zarathustra, Mahavira, The Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Confucius. So the question is, close to this same time what did they get, what was happening? The answer is that all of them practiced some kind of inner practices work. And so like a photographic plate they were able to receive the revelation that was coming down at that time.

There is revelation that coming down and there is revelation that rising up. Right now what so amazing is that while in the past people didn't pay much attention to revelation rising up, infact they considered it to be as if it came from djinn, from demons and they didn't honor it enough because what is coming up is the consciousness of our Mother, the Earth. What coming down is very much Father God. Some systems like Native America they speak about Father Sky and Mother Earth, that way.

In Kabbalah they talk about Shekinah, the Divine Presence. So there is the Feminine, the Divine Presence is manifesting a lot more now than it did before. Before we were closing it off saying it is evil, it is wrong. Its like the way in which people look at sexuality and so on. Now what's happening is that these two revelations are beginning to meet. Whereas before people would practice all kind of austerity and they didn't want to have the body involved. Today with marshal art, tai-chi and with all these things we are beginning to honor the wisdom of the body and we are beginning to pay attention to feminine because its absolutely necessary for the survival of human being that we should find a way to heal our planet.

There is a mysticism that comes from being in touch of the need of the planet. we have to do the redemptive work to pay attention to the planet. now when you look at the four yogas and you look at sharia, tariqat, marifat, haqiqat and you look in kabbalah the four letter of Divine name and you look at the word 'Allah' which has four levels too. And Alam al Malaqut, Jabarut and so and so forth - you realize these four keeps coming up. Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Sensation, feeling, reason and intuition - all of these keep coming up.

Part of it because God created us in such a way that we are hardwired, that is to say our brain operate that way. Then we have reptilian brain that is always making sure for our safety. Then we have an instinct of herd that comes from limbic brain. Then we have cortex which is the reasoning brain. Then we have so much brain which we don't even understand yet which is where intuition comes from. So when you think about Sirr, Batin all these words that we are using, what is zahir, at one point what was outside was not seen as conducive to spirituality, but now we beginning to honor the nature more that even a sunrise and sunset and all these things and even the nature that is in human being that is seen differently.

So when you look at the word Quddush that has something to do even how the body, how a male and female relate to each other in a holy bond, in hebrew its called Qiddushin because it has something to do with the sense of holiness. So the mysticism that is coming now is not so much one of austerity as before; then you have, even the Buddha himself when he was going with the Shramanas that didn't lead him to enlightenment. But it was a prelude to enlightenment. If he hadn't done with the shramana, come directly out of the palace and sat under the tree, nothing would have happened. So you have to understand the organic connection, the discipline that led him to sit under the bodhi tree and get enlightenment. For Moses, for Musa Sallalahu alihi wasaalam, there he was a shepherd. If you sit in the desert, a lot of time you have to think about how things are going on and so on and so forth. Even then you have a sense that God used a way to fascinate him with the burning bush. And the sense of Miraaj is coming up for Islam.

There is Alam-al-Mithaal. Most people think Alam-al-Mithaal as being some kind of hallucination. But Alam al-Mithal is a reality. Its translated as Mundus Imaginalis, the Imaginal World. You tell a story and the story is Mithal. For example when one say, as water runs down, so the divine grace runs down; so I use water as Mithal. Alam-al-Mithaal - you have realities that are emotional realities, they are realities of rooh (soul), not so much of nafs (psyche).

Now the point is that we don't really have yet an integrated, an integral understanding how all these forces work together. This is where Vedanta was doing it in Hinduism, Kabbalah was doing it for Jews, and Sufism and Daoism - they were all giving some kind of a way. But upto now there hasn't been a way to integrate them all into say, what is found in the seven chakras, you can find the same in ten sefirot if you understand how sefirots work. All is describing the same spiritual reality.

So the mysticism that people would not want to have anything to do because they thought it was all fancy hallucination and nothing real there. Now we are beginning to understand quantum realities, ancient medicine and all kind of other things. So whether we like it or not, mysticism comes in.

(End of First Part) >> (Next part on Reb Zalman's walking in the Sufi Path, and also his thoughts on Why Religious Reform is Necessary)

+ Names, Terms and Ideas discussed in the Interview:
. Julian Jaynes Society
. Axial Age
. Kabbalah
. Shekinah
. Mysticism
. Shramana
. Chakra
. Sefirot Pin It Now!

Genesis of Man | Meditative Quranic Verses

Falyanthuri al-insanu mimma khuliqa!

Now let man meditate upon what he is created from!
- The Quran, chapter 86, verse 5 -

Awa lam yara al-insanu anna khalaqnahu min nutfatin - fa-itha huwa khaseemun mubeenun!

Does not human being see that We created him from a drop of seed - yet lo! he is an open disputant!
- The Quran, chapter 36, verse 77 -


AAala an nubaddila amthalakum wanunshi-akum fee ma la taAAlamoona.
Walaqad AAalimtumu alnnash-ata al-oola, falawla tazakkaroona?

We shall transfigure you and make you grow again in a mysterious way you cannot know.
Certainly you have known the first genesis, then why do you not reflect?
- The Quran, chapter 56, verse 61,62 -

. Related post: Reminder from the Final Testament

Pin It Now!