LECTURE – 17 : FATE AND DESTINY

A special bond or an affinity exists between man and God. God created this universe so that He could be cognized. Creator created the creatures with love and provided the universe with resources to be alive and kinetic because of this love. This chain of providing resources is established in such a continuous and incessant manner, which cannot be disrupted or suspended. In order to make understanding of this magnificent system available God sent those people to whom God had given this knowledge and they were also given the powers of His vicegerency.

The system dealing with maintenance of activities of life, generation, distribution and providing of resources and sustenance in spiritualism is called Administration (takween). For having proper understanding of the creative process and that what properties and the attributes of God are partaking in the creation of the universe, one has to enter into the administrative set up, and for that the knowledge of the administrative functioning is necessary. According to the holy Quran, God taught the knowledge of administrative matters only to Adam who was selected from amongst the whole of the universe to deputize God and be His vicegerent.

God created the universe so that He is cognized. It was necessary for the cognition that there must be someone having the knowledge of the creative factors of all the species and their individuals. This responsibility was given to Adam. Since this knowledge deals with the creative formulae known to God only therefore the man versed with this knowledge enjoys the status of His vicegerent. With the appointment of man as the vicegerent this also became certain that he has the right to exercise his powers in any department of the cosmic administration set up. To wit, God gave man the authority to organize and operate the cosmic set up using the lights of the Elohistic Appellations. This very authority has been termed as the trust reposed in man. When we talk about the vicegerency of God, it becomes mandatory that the basis of the universe must be understood clearly. Takween; Divine Administration, is the name of that collective program which includes all those principles, formulae and laws that govern the creation and all the rules, doctrines and quantities that are involved in the smooth functioning of the universe.

Just as the functioning of various departments of country comes under the ambit of Administration similarly, running of the cosmic program is known as takween. When the very reason of the Administration is taken into consideration, first of all, we have to resolve that how did this universe come into being.

According to the Spiritual Masters, creation and formation of the universe comprises of four sections. The first phase of the universe is its existence without involving any means and resources; this section is called Abdaa (Innovation). This is the first section of the Divine Administration as well as the beginning of the universe, that is, the universe started to exist without involving any means or resources for its creation. God said, “kun” and the universe came into being. No resources for the creation of the universe were available but it started to exist all the same.

When the phases of life started taking place and the forms and features and movements were produced in the existents the second section of Divine Administration, which is known as ‘Formation’ (khalq), was made out. The third section of the Divine Administration is the Policy (tadbeer), which comprises of all the affairs and activities of the existents’ life in their sequential order. Fourth section is that of taddalla (Inclination), where the regulatory decisions about the fates and predestinations are compiled and finalized.

The first section of Divine Administration is that the whole universe came into being simultaneously without any means and resources. Whereas, it is our common observation that nothing can come into being if the means and resources for its existence are not there. Not even a single instance can be found where the resources have not been used, but it is the quality of the Creator that He is not indigent of means and resources. His Intention and Will causes the means to become automatically available, which transform into manifestation after embracing the cosmic features.

The second section is that whence the individuals of the universe had the realization of having formats of motion and rest and that they have to have their individual forms and features. The movement of the universe started from this section. When the universe was brought into being without any means and resources, it was devoid of any movement nor were the existents aware of their forms and shapes. They all were in a state of bewilderment and that’s all.

When the movement started in the second section, the life of the existents was put to order and they came to know that each one of them has its own individual place in the universe. And, when they had this knowledge that they have their own individual identity and norms of motion and rest, they also realized that their life is confined in such a sphere where it is bound to obey the predestined decisions.

The four sections of the Divine Administration:-

1. Creation, without any means or resources

2. Commencement of the movement

3. Self-realization and order

4. Creatures are bound to predestined decisions.

 

Cosmic System

 

Knowledge of the four sections of the Divine Administration was given to Adam so that he could fulfill his duties of looking after the cosmic affairs as the vicegerent of God. The main difference between the working of God and man is that when he as the vicegerent of God runs the system, he is indigent of means and resources whereas, when God Wills, the creations come into being and the fates are compiled. Man is the only privileged creature of the entire cosmic family who has been raised to the exalted position of the vicegerent of God and is given the authority to carry on the administrative works of the Divine Administration in the Cosmos. Or, to say, God has given him the powers to rule over the entire universe. In actual effect vicegerency is the authority to rule and there are many people who head their respective departments and sections of the Divine Administration just as we see in the worldly administrative set ups.

I had the honor of asking this question from His Divine Grace Qalander Baba Auliya that after having been appointed the vicegerent of God, how does man exercise his powers over the universe that God has created and when the universe has already come into being, and the decisions concerning the fates has also been taken and the individuals have been programmed for their motions and rests then what is that job which a man has to complete in his capacity of the vicegerent of God?

In reply to my inquiry Qalander Baba Auliya said, “Creation of the universe is ever continuing. New stars and planets are being created every moment and the old one are disintegrating. Those whom God have selected and appointed as His vicegerents look after all such affairs. When God wants to make an addition in the Cosmic Creation He assigns this task to His vicegerents. It is their duty to prepare a detailed account of the form, shapes and resources required for the lives of the existents along with settings of their motion and rest and to present it to God for approval. This might be easy to understand in this way that God issues certain directive, His vicegerents makes a policy in the light of His Directive and if that policy is approved by Him the other countless individuals associated with His Divine System of Administration set to work to get that policy implemented. The angels duly assist the vicegerents but they have no personal authority as how these policies are to be implemented or carried out.

Adam in his capacity of the vicegerent of God is the ruler of the universe and exercises the given authority in maintaining the quantities and the sequence of the motions and rest. God taught all the mysteries of the life and the secrets of motion and rest of the universe so that he could fulfill his duties as His vicegerent.

In the course of our discussion about the structural formation of the universe it was elaborated that the place from where man’s rule over the universe begins is the inner of man and where that rule is demonstrated is the manifested realm. The descending orders of the vicegerent of God after adopting forms and features and this descending state is the time and space.

The countless sections of movements are related to with the soul and the soul is associated with the Beatific Vision, which has two sections of akhfa and khafi. The combination of akhfa and khafi is the Great Soul and the Beatific Vision descends or where the form and features are produced and movement is initiated in the Beatific Vision, is the Arcanum Subtlety or latifa-e-sirri. The formation and the functionality keeps on increasing with every descent. There are six sections of the soul. Two of them are the inner sections and the other four are outwardly manifested sections. Inner sections purport to the Absolute Beatific Vision and the manifested sections are related to with the form, shapes, features and the movements of the creatures.

The very first current of the Beatific Vision is called the channel of Black Draught (Neher-e-tasweed), the first descent of the Beatific Vision is known as Channel of Abstraction (Neher-e-tajreed), which in its next descent becomes the Channel of Evidence (Neher-e-tash’heed) and in the final stage of its descent it becomes the Channel of Manifestation (Nehere-e-tazheer). Evil thoughts find their way in whence the features start taking shape in the Beatific Vision after it starts descending. The formation of features is an indication of getting away from the Beatific Vision, which results in our falling prey to the evil thoughts.

Arcanum Subtlety (latifa-e-sirri) is the first section of the Human Soul and the place from where the whimsical thoughts find their way and man, after falling prey to such whimsical ideas, try to be oblivious of the God’s Attributes of Lordship and His Absoluteness, id est., man tries to get away from his root-cause and this aversion, in fact, is one’s getting away from the Absolute Beatific Vision of God. It is therefore necessary to know the Knowledge of the Elohistic Appellations, which can enable a person to be acquainted with the Beatific Vision, so that he could remain safe from the evil thoughts and whims.