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Members of the religious establishment
often declare Muraqaba (meditation) to be something outside of religion. They
also claim that it could not be found in Scriptures. This whole argument may
impress some one with marginal a mind but when we look at this matter with
wisdom and depth, the earlier notion simply melts away. When we look into the
teachings of Scriptures including the Qur'an
(Koran), we find that their main message is for us to contemplate.
Contemplation
means to explore with all the mental capabilities the numerous signs scattered
all over the Universe. The second main institution of religion is prayer
(salat). Salat is a very broad term which literally means to form a
connection. Here it means that through contemplation a person is able to
form a connection with the Divine. Contemplation is Muraqaba.
Muraqaba
could not be limited to a specific pose because Muraqaba in essence is a mental
activity or state. The system of rules and regulation put forth by religion
has room for both outward and inward inspirations. Every pillar and activity
has its outward (zahir) form as well as an inward (batin) or meaningful state.
Both sides are equally important.
Through
obligatory religious acts the most desired inward state is the station
of ihsaan (higher awareness). The prophet Muhammad has defined ihsaan in these
words:
"When you perform salat, do it in
such a way as if you were beholding God or that lie
were watching you."
Through
the inward state (contemplation) of religion when someone achieves that
higher level of God-awareness (ihsaan), he or she is then able to gain gnosis
of God.
During the time of the prophet Muhammad,
the faithful had his glorious company. The spirits of his companions were
enlightened with his love. Most of their time was spent in the contemplation on
his personality and essence. They were always busy finding the wisdom through
his W1,rtls and actions. Because of this
focused life, they were able to gain the '.Piritual awareness. Moreover because
of his company they had involunt;trily gained the cognitive and intuitive
angle of perception without much effort.
After his physical demise, the source of
guidance was removed from thy outward sight. Gradually the inward (batin) side
of religion lost the (prominence it had once enjoyed. Islam then turned into a
collection of outward rituals and traditions. Ahlul Bayt and later Sufi saints
then tried to popularize the inner mode of religion and created a system
(silila; Sufi orders) through which gaining that awareness was made possible.
Its purpose was to combine dhikr (remembrance) with fikr ((ontemplation). The
practical form of fikr was then labeled as Muraqaba, which means to think or to
focus on a given object.
Contemplation:
Generally
in all religious scriptures and especially in the Qur'an (Koran), noesis or
contemplation is greatly emphasized. In various vers(es cognition is even
ordered, for examples there are verses that dictate to contemplate on skies, on
the land, or on rain and the growth of plants, and in some on the birth of
animals as well as humans is stressed. Through various styles of suggestions,
it is stressed to make deep thinking part of regular life. According to the
Qur'an (Koran), those who possess knowledge and those who are nearer to God
are immersed in deep thinking.
God
has stated in the Qur'an (Koran):
"In
the creation of earth and skies and in the daily routine of day and night,
there are signs for those wise people who remember God, standing, sitting and
resting and those who contemplate on the creation of skies and earth and as a
result come to conclusion that ‘O’ Our Lord, Thou has not created these with no
purpose." [aal-irnran}
Besides the universe, the Qur'an (Koran)
has also disclosed the Divine Essence and Attributes, as in these verses:
"Wherever you turn, you see the
Face of God." "Be aware; be certain that God is seeing you."
"God engulfs everything."
It is slated in the Quran (Koran):
"Did
you not see that person (Ezra) who was walking by a city (Jerusalem) the roofs
of which had collapsed? Said he, How would God revive that city after it has
been completely destroyed? So God kept him dead for a hundred years and then
gave him back life. God said, since how long have you stayed here. He replied,
maybe a day or two. God said nay. You were dead for a hundred years. Look at
your food and drink, has it not been decayed? Look at your mule. We did that to
show you Our sign for the people. And watch these bones how We are going to
connect them. Then We will dress them with flesh. Then when the Reality was
revealed to him he said, now I know that God is omnipotent."
[al-Baqara]
In Sura aal-Imran it stated:
"And no man is entitled to converse
with Him unless through vahii or behind a Veil or through a messenger, who
communicates with whatever He wishes. Verily, He is all-glory and all-Wise. And
in the same way We sent you Our Word through vahii. You were not aware of what
Book is and what faith is. But We made that Book a light (nur), and We guide
whomever We wish."
It is
stated in Sura Mulk:
"He, who created seven skies on top
of each other, you would not be able to find any error in the creative work of
the Merciful. See it again. Have you found an fault? Look at it again and
again, your sight would return back to you after having failed, it would be
tired as well."
"In
fact these are the bright verses(ayaat) which are saved in their bosoms, those
have been given the knowledge. And no one could deny Our verses except the
unjust." [Sura Ankaboot]
"We attest on the places where
stars fall. If could perceive, it is a great consecration. No doubt, this Qru an (Koran) is glorious, saved in a
book which is protected. No one can touch it, except those who are pure. It is
revealed from the Lord of the Worlds."
In Sun: Rahman (Merciful) there is an
invitation to think:
"O' throng of humans and jinns! If you have the power to
cross the boundaries of the Universe, then do so. You could not except through
Sultan (spiritual ability)."
In Sura Baqarah, it is stated,
"Let it be followers of Islam, Jews
or Christians or Sabi, whoever has faith in God and on the Day of Judgement and
do good deeds, their reward is saved with their Lord. They have no fear nor do
them grief."
In
all of the above verses wherever a hidden realm is mentioned, the purpose is to
implant these facts in the person's consciousness, so that not even a trace of
doubt stays thereafter. Thereby that person reaches the level of faith (iman).
This faith takes the person to the level of observation. According to Sufi
Saints, this level is the attestation of the heart that comes after the verbal
affirmation of faith. The idea is to make them aware of the vision of their
heart through which they will be able to witness matters that are the
foundation of the faith (iman).
In order to achieve this level of faith
and to make it part of the consciousness, Sufi Saints have always recommended
Muraqaba to their students. Through Muraqaba, reality is imposed on the heart
in a way that the vision of the soul is activated and the person witnesses the
reality in its form before them.
By
analyzing cognition, we come to a realization that cognition is a mental
process in which a person is able to concentrate deeply on any given idea,
point or observation after surrendering all other unrelated thoughts and whims.
When the Sufis and other Masters of Spirituality gave this contemplation a form
of exercise and made rules and regulations then it was termed as Muraqaba,
Meditation or Gagan (as in Buddhist or Hindu mysticism).
In
human cognition there exists a light that can observe the inner dimension (batin) of any
outward object (zahir) or the hidden state (glrayb) of a being. The observation
of the hidden realm (ghayb) could declassify any being of the outward (zahir).
In other words when we witness the hidden reality of any being then its
outward form could no longer be hidden from us. Through this process the limits
of the outward is revealed to the human consciousness and it becomes
increasingly possible to learn where the outward had originated.
This is the way of the prophets of God
that they locate the outward Ilirough the inner. By contemplating into the
inner, the mind eventually can be lit by that
light which reveals the hidden realities into observation. Prophet Muhammad
has called this light the Light of Insight (nurfirasat).
There
is a saying (hadith) of the Prophet:
"Fear the insight of the faithful
(mo'min) for he sees through the Light of God."
The
concentration of thought is imperative in both the outward (academic) and
esoteric studies. Until the desire, enthusiasm, curiosity and depth are
created, we are unable to learn an' branch of knowledge. In the same way in
order to learn the spiritual science it is necessary that a person be able to
focus all of his or her mental abilities on one point. When a person contemplates
with the help of strong will and purity of actions then the Point of Cognition
(nuqta-e-fikr) is activated and its meaning and its inner dimensions manifest
themselves.
On numerous occasions in the Quran
(Koran), God has shown His signs and has directed to contemplate on those
signs. A sign is in fact a name of outward motions or manifestations and the
the focus on contemplations shows that there are those hidden factors whose
complete understanding would lead humans towards the Truth. Actually, all physical
sciences and beings are based on Spiritual Laws. Through contemplation and
concentration, the knowledge of those laws can be accessed.
The Prophet Muhammad has said:
"The one who gains awareness of
himself gains awareness of God."
Human Soul, Ego or Spirit is a
collection of such attributes that represents the entire cosmos. That is why
man is also known as microcosm (a'lam asghar). When someone tries to gain
awareness of the Self and the attributes of his soul then the Laws of
Creativity are revealed to him. Self-awareness eventually creates such energy
in the mind that it becomes a basis of the awareness of the Creator.
God
says in the Quran (Koran):
"We
are closer to you than your cardinal vein." "He is inside your soul.
Why don't you see?" "We will soon reveal to them Our signs in the
cosmos and in the souls."
The right way towards self-awareness has
been transferred from the I'ruphets and Apostles to the Mankind. Among the
different methods applied by those who were blessed with prophethood (nur-e-nabbuat),
Nuragaba is the most prominent.
Muraqaba
is an act of the Heart. The word itself came from the Arabic word rageeb.
Raqeeb is one of the Divine Names listed in the Qur'an (Koran) and its literal
meaning is protector or caretaker. This indicates protecting the mind from the
negative and worrying thoughts and focusing on God or His attributes or signs.
In Sufi terminology, Muraqaba means to
contemplate or to imagine. The eighteenth century Indian Sufi Syed Shah
Waliullah Muhadith Dehlevi (1702-1762) wrote:
"The truth about Muraqaba is to let
the force of perception
concentrate on an object or idea, whether it is Divine Attributes or on the
separation of
body and soul or anyother topic. This attention should be such that all
the intelligence, whims, thoughts and all the senses become dormant to this
focus. And the thing that does not feel becomes known without ever being
felt."
It means that in the human senses, the
knowledge that is beyond the scope of intelligence and consciousness and is
part of the soul, after having crossed the boundaries of senses and perception
enters the field of observation and inspection through Muraqaba.
Another
Indian Sufi, Syed Ghauth Ali Shah (1804-1880) wrote in his hook Taleem
Ghauthia, "One of the conditions of Muraqaba is that the person's
attention always remains at his heart. He is always immersed in the state of
his heart. The second condition is to keep his focus on the one of the Divine
Names or any verse of the Quran (Koran). The focus should be increased to a
point where the person himself becomes the meaning and becomes unaware of self.
Keep in mind that Muraqaba is based on the state of the heart. When the heart
is attentive to God or anything other than God then all internal organs follow
its command, because they are all obedient to the heart. The final stage of the
Muraqaba is when the person is so immersed in imagining the Beloved that he
becomes totally unaware of all else."
Another Sufi Ibn Mubarak once said to
someone, "Raqib Al-Lah. When that person asked him what it meant, he
replied," Always live as if you are seeing God."
The prophet Muhammad once said,
"Pray to God as though you are watching Him. And if you could not do that,
imagine that He is watching you." In this saying of the Prophet (hadith)
the first station is observation while the second is Muraqaba.
Imam Ghazali (ad.1150) in his book chemiya e saadat wrote:
"O'friend,
do not think that the door of the heart toward spiritual realm does not open
before death. This idea is wrong. When a person during his wakefulness, prays
and abstains from immoral behavior, seeks solitude, closes his eyes and after
suspending the outward senses turns his heart towards Gnosis. And then instead
of using the tongue, invocate (dhikr) the Divine Name of Al-Lah, with his heart
and then loses himself and surrenders from all the physical things of this
world. Then after reaching this station, the door of his heart opens even during
wakefulness. Moreover, what other people see in their dreams he sees with his
open eyes. He sees angels, he meets Prophets of God and receives their blessing
(faidh)."
In order to observe the hidden realm,
all the saints, prophets and apostles have applied cognition and spent months
or years with their abilities practicing Muraqaba. It should not be assumed
that prophet-hood can be achieved merely by trying. This is a special privilege
that God bestows on a chosen few. The system of prophethood and apostle-hood
has ended, however revelation (il'haam) and awakening of consciousness (roshan
zarneeri) continues.
Abraham
When the prophet Abraham was growing up
there came a moment during the search for the truth when he became deeply
contemplative. During this gnostic phase of the search for the Beloved, his
mind at first turned to the outward objects and toward the very thought of who
his Creator was and where He was. That became a focal point of his quest. The
depth of the awareness finally created a way towards gnosis and he directly
received the Divine Guidance (hidaya). In the Quran(Koran), the quest of
Abraham is related as follows:
"And
We let Abraham observed the creatures of the skies and earth so that he could
become the man of absolute faith. And when the darkness of the night prevailed,
he saw a star. Said he, this is my Lord. So when it fell said he, I do not love
those who go down.
"Then when he saw the moon, the
bright, and glowing, said he, this is my Creator. When that fell too Abraham
said, if my God would not guide me then I would be among those who have gone
astray. Then when saw the sun, he said, this is my God. This is the biggest
one. So when that went down, he said, O' my people, no doubt I am disgusted
with your infidelity. I turn my way towards the One who created this earth and
the skies and I am not among those who worship idols."
[Sura
Inaam]
Moses
After
freeing the Israelites from the slavery of Pharaoh, Moses on his was' towards
the Promised Land spent some time in the Sinai Desert. There he left his
brother Aaron in charge of the community and went towards what is known today
as Mount of Moses (jabal al musa, koh-e-toor) on God's Will. There, he spent
forty days and forty nights and received the Torah.
This
event is mentioned in the Qur'an (Koran) in these words:
"And We promised Moses thirty
nights and added ten more nights, then the period of your Lord was completed
with forty nights."
Moses
spent the entire forty days and nights there but what is interesting is that
God only used the term 'night' but the day was not even mentioned. According to
Sufism, 'night' is the name of those senses (nocturnal senses) that are
responsible for the hidden revelations. During Muraqaba, the human senses are
influenced by the nocturnal senses and the person is then able to observe the
world after freeing himself from the clutches of Time and Space. During those
forty days and nights, Moses was dominated by the nocturnal senses and
therefore his mind was able to witness the hidden Reality and Divine Messages.
Mary
(The Mother of Jesus)
'I'he
Mother of Mary had prayed to God that if she had a child, she would dedicate
him to the Solomon's Temple of Jerusalem. She was expecting that she would bear
a boy; instead, she gave birth to a daughter (Mary). Acting on her promise to
God that she would devote Mary to the Temple, she sent Mary to live in the
Temple and her Uncle Prophet Zachariah (father of John the Baptist) became her
custodian. Her reclusive life (khilwat) was for achieving mental concentration
(Muraqaba). During her stay she involuntarily began performing miracles and other
supernatural acts. In the Qur'an (Koran), it is mentioned that whenever her
Uncle Prophet Zachariah would go to see her in the Temple, he would be
surprised to see fruits of other seasons. Upon inquiring, she would say that
that was the gift from the Lord.
Jesus
Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness
praying. During his stay, He was tempted by Satan, who used greed and other
tactics to lead him astray. However, Jesus paid no attention to his follies.
Eventually Jesus was able to receive the
divine favors.
In the Gospels (inice!) of Mark, it is stated:
"And it came to pass in those days
that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John in Jordan.
And straightway coming up out of the water, saw the heavens opened, and the
Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And immediately the Spirit driveth him
into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted
of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto
him." [1:9-13]
Whether it is a spiritual confinement of
Mary or retreat of Moses or Jesus, the main thing is that these noble
personalities did spend apart of their life isolated from civilization and
worldly affairs and were drawn to the unseen world with their full
concentration.
Now we are going to shed some lights on
how Muraqaba is related in Islam and its place in the life of the prophet
Muhammad.
Cave
of Hira
A
major turn in the life of prophet Muhammad came when he started to retreat
monthly for few days at a cave around three miles away from the city of Mecca.
After spending a few days there on his own he would return to his home and
family in Mecca. He would take with him food and water as well. Food consisted
of dates and crushed beans.
Evidently,
he was going there to achieve mental concentration, as this happened before the
declaration of prophethood and at that time there existed no system of prayer
among the small number of monotheist Arabs for praying to the True God.
According to the Sufi point of view, he was using the retreat to practice
Muraqaba. During his stay his mind would contemplate the mysteries of the
Universe and the Divine Essence. When that concentration reached its zenith, he
started witnessing the unseen. First, he saw a group of angels and then he saw
Archangel Gabriel. Through Gabriel, his Prophetic training started which
culminated in a stage in which he started receiving the command directly from
the Divine. This was related in the story of : in the Qur'an (Koran):
"Pure
is the Essence which took His servant at night from the Mosque of Mecca (Masjid-al-haram) to the Mosque of .Jerusalem (Dome of the Rock), so that he could witness the signs of Our
might."
[Sura
Bani Israel]
"He teaches, He is all-powerful.
Appeared in the true face, when at the supreme height. Came closer and further
closer. Descended, until the remaining distance was less than two aeches, even
less. What the heart saw was not illusion." [Sura Najam]
Attention
to God
On one occasion when Prophet Muhammad
finished his Muraqaba at the cave of Hira, he was given a commandment:
"O' who covers with clothes! Spend
thy night in vigil but a small portion, meaning the half night or even smaller
portion. Or increased slightly from half and recite the Qur'an (Koran) very
clearly. We are going to descend a heavy order on thee."
[Sura
Muzammil]
During the hours of night when the
outward senses get groggy and the inner senses are activated, Prophet Muhammad
used to keep night vigil. Because of long hours of standing, his feet would get
swollen.
With increased mental concentration and
physical awakening, this vigil made the strong link even greater, which he had
with the unseen world and God. The higher his concentration went, the more he
received the observation of the unseen realm and his spiritual growth.
He received another commandment:
"Sever from the rest and focus on
Ilim, the Lord of the East and of the West."
In Sufism, this attempt in which all
mental aptitudes are turned toward God is known as Muraqaba of the Divine
Essence (a!-dhat). In the Qur'an (Koran) it is stated on several occasions that
to create a connection with the Divine, is the sole objective behind all the
prayers and exercises, whether it is salat, fasting, zakat (charity) or hajj
(pilgrimage),
dhikr (remembrance of God) or any other form of prayer.
Imam Ali
ibn abi Talib has
said:
"The foremost in religion is the
Gnosis (nta arifa) of 11inl,
the perfection of Gnosis is to testify (shahad(z) of Him, the
perfection of testifying of Him is to believe in His Unity (tawheed), the
perfection of believing in His Unity is to regard Him pure. He is a Being but
not through the phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from
non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is away
from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without
connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be
looked at from among His creation. He is Single, such that there is none with
whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in their absence."
[Nahjul
Balagha: Sermon i]
"These are the people whom the
trade and business of worldly life could not distract them in their remembrance
(dhikr)
of God."
[Sura Nur]
Religion
has established the structure of prayers by keeping in mind the physical and
spiritual needs of humans. Connection with the Divine, dhikr, imagining
His omnipresence, establishing salat, imagining God as the sole existence through
self-negation, fasting, detachment (istaghna),
these are all the media through which
the mental focus is established on one point and that point is the
Essence(dhat) of God, who is the Ultimate Reality (haqiqat kubra) of
this Universe.
In
order to have this focus on God and to purify the heart, religion has
established the obligatory system of prayers. In addition to that it person may
acid more non-obligatory (naw) prayers depending on conditions and ability. The
night vigils, dhikr, recitation of the Qur'an
(Koran),
non-obligatory fastings are used for this purpose. The cognition (fikr) is evident
in all the prayers and activities. When attempts to achieve cognition are
activated, and strengthened then the evil thoughts weaken, and the focus
on God deepens. When someone achieves this ecstasy during prayers, the real
benefits of prayers are gained.
Prayer
and Muraqaba
Just like all other Prophets before
hint, the prophet Muhammad also devised a system of prayers based on Divine
Commandments. This system was devised so that people of all levels of society
and ability could perform it and because of
that could establish a connection with God. After Unity (tow/wed), prayer (salat) is the
most important pillar of Islam. Salat reinforces the idea of God's omnipresence and by
simply repeating it creates God-awareness. In the salat all the
movements of daily life are assembled so that a person, no matter what he is
doing, remains at the higher level of God's awareness.
Regarding prayer the prophet Muhammad
has said,
"While performing the prayer, feel
as if you are witnessing God or that He is watching you."
This
above statement shows that the purpose of the prayer is to have full mental
focus on God. Hence the prayer (salat) is not just the physical activity and the uttering
of certain words. In the prayer, qayam (standing), ruku and sajada (prostration) and recitation are physical aspects
while attention directed toward God is the spiritual one. In its essence salat (prayer)
is a combination of both the physical and spiritual activity. Just as physical
activity is essential, mental focus is necessary as well. Performing prayer by
combining these two factors with full concentration is what establishing
prayers (Qayam us salat) means.
Based on the definition of Muraqaba already given in earlier chapters, we can
say that the salat (prayer) is that kind of Muraqaba in which along with the physical
activity, awareness of God is envisaged. When a person always performs prayer
with the above mentioned protocol then the Divine Lights (anwaar e'lahii) starts
to store in his inner being and this storage of the Lights enables him for his
spiritual flight.
Dhikr and Contemplation
According
to the teachings of the Qur'an (Koran), dhikr (remembrance) of God is highly regarded. In the Qur'an (Koran) as
well as in hadith, dhikr is recommended on several occasions. Salat is also
referred as dhikr and its stated purpose is to establish the dhikr
of God.
The
literal meaning of dhikr is the act of remembering. It could also mean
mentioning because to mention someone is to remember him. When you mention
someone and his or her attributes, that act connects you mentally with the
person you are mentioning. To remember someone or mention someone verbally are
interrelated. In daily life there are several examples, for instance, when
someone is in love with the other person then that love is manifested in way
that not only they mention their lover's name but in their heart the thoughts
of the beloved prevail as well.
The center of religious teaching is the
Essence of God and its purpose is to establish a link between the created and
the Creator. In addition, it is to strengthen that relationship to a point
where the heart can witness the Divine Light (tadjalli). Therefore, all
functions, whether they are physical or rational are connected with the Divine
so that consciously and subconsciously the thought of God encircles the mind.
The first stage of dhikr is to repeat continuously (as in mantra) an%
Divine Name (ism e'lahi) or attributes with the tongue. When someone is
engaged in this activity, then his or her mind also remains focused on that
thought. Even when temporarily the mind disengages in dhikr occasionally the
mechanical motion never let the will move away from the dhikr. This stage in
Sufism is referred as dhikr lisani (verbal), which means to repeat any Divine Name verbally while maintaining the focus on
dhikr.
When you say the same name repeatedly
then that single thought registers in the mind. Concentration is enhanced and
the mind is able to maintain a focus on a single thought. When this occurs then
the person feels a burden in repeating the Name with the tongue. He feels
pleasure in repeating the Name in the realm of thought (alam khiyal). Therefore
he switches from dhikr lisani to dhikr khafi (hidden). This stage in Sufism is
known as dhikr galbi (by heart).
Then comes a moment when the person even
feels a burden with the dhikr by heart as well. At that point the thought of
that Name encircles him and he becomes totally immersed in the archetypal world
of imagination (alam al-mithal). This state is called dhikr roohi (spiritual);
its other name is Muraqaba. Muraqaba in this case is defined as a thought of God established in such a way that focuses on,
and never deviates from Him.
We will explain this entire concept in
an analogy. When someone does a dhikr of the Divine Name of al-Qadeer; at first
he would do the dhikr by tongue, at the next level he would do the dhikr
silently by heart, not by his tongue (hence no sound is generated). At the
third level he does not have to repeat it by heart, instead the Divine Name
al-Qadeer, in the form of thought and imagination encircles his mind. This
level or style of dhikr where a person maintains the imagination of the meaning
of the Name is known as Muraqaba. The purpose of all the different styles of
dhikr is to create a capability in that person so that his entire focus is
fully immersed in any one of the Divine Names.
In the beginning the person maintains
the thought during the Muraqaba but with continued focus this thought dominates
his consciousness along with the entire mental and physical functions. He is
able to form a continued relationship with God, and no time is passed where he
is not in that state of Muraqaba. When this state of Muraqaba becomes part of the consciousness then his soul
ascends towards alam (I1 ,,,ulakut (world of Platonic intelligence) and he is
rewarded with Au.shci/ (vision) and
ilhaam (revelation).
World
Religions
'There are five major religions in the
world today, Hinduism, Ttuddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the
teaching of all of these religions or in the life of their founders, Muraqaba
plays a major Irirt. In the case of Christianity we have already discussed the
Muraqaba oh .h sus. Jesus has also said, "Kingdom of God lies inside thee,
find it within thyself."
Moses spent forty nights doing Muraqaba
at the Mount of Moses (jobal al-musa) in Si'nai. In Islam and in the life of
the prophet Muhammad we have already mentioned the Muraqaba at the cave of
Ilira. Bhayavad Gita is the holy book of Hinduism. In it a dialogue between
Krishna and Arjuna is recorded, which they had before the Battle of
Mahabharata.
Arjuna asked Krishna,
"You have talked about having
control over one's mind (Muraqaba), you have also talked about
self-realization, but I have found my mind to be utterly confused."
Sri Krishna replied,
"What
you are saying is correct. But by using the right resources, and through
detachment, and with continued gayan (Muraqaba), a confused mind can be
focused."
Yoga
is derived from Hinduism. Some 2,300 years ago in his book yoga savitra,
Patanjali Maharishi presented the philosophy of Yoga. In Yoga, various
exercises for improving human health and the details about Muraqaba to activate
spiritual abilities are collected. Yoga is a word from Sanskrit and its literal
meaning is to meet or meeting, whereas asana means to sit. Yoga Savitra means
exercise. There are a total 84 different asana of Yoga. Many of these asana
were created after observing the postures of different animals. Yoga exercises
help improve immunity in the body against diseases and they are a source for
purifying the soul.
Muraqaba
also played a major part in the life of Siddhartha (.Guatama Buddha. When
Buddha left his kingdom in search of Reality he spent six years in tough
training and eventually did Muraqaba under a tree near Gaya, India. He spent
forty days continuously in Muraqaba in search of the Truth. Finally, on the
thirty-ninth night he received Enlightenment. There are eight basic points in
the teaching of Buddha; the eighth one is the purification of thought and
Muraqaba.
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DEEN AZEEMI
In the current information age, the very question of what Man
is, and to what extent his abilities
go, has gained prominence. Metaphysical knowledge tells us
that Man is not just a mass of muscles and bones but in fact is a living
universe or microcosm (a'lam asghar) itself. His life is primarily relying on
information. As a matter of fact his life is nothing but a collection of
thoughts and imagination. His every movement is influenced by information and
thoughts. Every human achievement is circled around the unseen world of
cognition, imagination and creative thoughts. By giving new meaning to this
idea, Man creates and invents new things out of nothing.