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In solitude, I was lost in the thoughts of my
existence, and I asked myself. "What am l? Where have I come from? Where
is the unseen world into which I disappear every day'? What does it mean to
become ghaib (unseen)? How docs ghaib become zahir (seen)
and zahir return to ghaib? What is the mechanism behind this
process?"
It is 'His Highness' who is aware of the secret
of creation; I am not.
"Where was I before my birth, and bow was
I manifested here into this
world?" When I arrived into this world, the
body which is destined to
appear from the unseen and disappear into it,
began to grow. The growth
was such that, when the first day of an infant
disappeared, it brought forth the second day. When the second day advanced towards
its origin, the third day displayed itself. The infant, climbing on to the
stairs of the seen and unseen, arrives back at the junction from where its
journey began, and finally vanishes into the unseen world again, That is, the child
existed in the unseen world before its arrival into this world, and after
manifestation, it disappears once more into the unseen world. The child has no
knowledge of when this entire process begins, nor does it know when it will
end.
All of sudden, a wave of energy lifted the
veils over my mind, and an image displayed before me. The moment I saw it, I
realised that it was not a lone image. There were hordes of images placed one
after the other. Eventually, all those images fell apart Some of them slept in
their graves, and others settled upon thrones in grand palaces.
"And We reveal the book unto thee as an
exposition of all things. and a guidance and a mercy and good tidings for those
who have surrendered." (Quran. 16:89)
A Spiritual Order is an institute that imparts
the knowledge of ghaib-o-shaood (The unseen and the seen) and introduces
one to happiness. When one enrolls, at first, they are overwhelmed by doubt and
hopelessness. This is because Satan's mission is to make people unhappy. He exploits
their ego in order to achieve his goal Consequently, people shrink into the
shell of their ego and begin to think of themselves as different to who they
truly are. They assume that the little effort they make in the way of God is a
huge feat. This weakness drives them into thinking that they deserve so much
more and in doing so, they disregard innumerable blessings that God has
bestowed upon them.
Once, a wealthy man complained that his friend
who had prayed for his father's longevity, had turned away from God because his
prayers were not accepted. His friend had spent a huge sum of money to treat
his father's ailments, but nothing that he did could save his father's life.
I told him tha1 before anything, his friend's prayer
was impractical. "Death and birth are absolute and they are bound to
happen. One is rendered helpless before them. How much has your friend paid God
for the land he has built his house upon? What would he have done were be born
poor or paralysed?"
Dear readers, women and men! Your soul is
beautiful, and your mind is brilliant. This brilliance and beauty is not our
own accomplishment, rather they are gifts from God, who is the best of all
creators.
Hopelessness and upsetting thoughts are part
and parcel of this path. During the journey, a wayfarer faces storms, dust and
exhaustion. However, a sincere traveler keeps walking on the path even when the
destination is beyond their sight. Their sole objective is to reach the
destination and hence they remain steadfast in their pursuit of it. As it is a
given that all wayfarers face regressive thoughts on the path of spirituality, 1
have the utmost faith that you will get through it successfully.
You have accepted me as your teacher and I have
made you the light of my eyes. It is my responsibility to continually tell you
of the labyrinths on this path and it is obligatory upon you to not accept
anything transitory, be it big or small, other than the destination on this
path. When one arrives at the destination, everything bows before them.
The friends of God are those who are happy.
This is why, when your happy face appears sad in my vision, it makes me
restless. Do you understand this point?
You and I both have nobody in this world.
Someone will leave us, as we will leave many people behind. Our last asset will
simply be a two yard grave, and even tha1 is subjective to availability. In the
grave, our body becomes the source of food for insects; our ego transmutes into
clay particles. and those particles are then trampled upon by men, cats, dogs,
donkeys, buffaloes and other creatures. The crowns and heads of the great kings
and the likes of Nimrod, Pharoah, Shaddad, and Korah, have been swallowed by
the earth. All of them have transformed into clay particles. Today, we all walk
upon them.
The trustee of the knowledge of the unseen world.
Huzoor Qalandar Baba Auliya (RA) states,
"Man takes a step on the path of God and
God forbid; they assume that they have done God a great favour. Why do they nor
think on how God not only provided them with nourishment in the womb of their
mothers, but also arranged food for them during the first 2.15 years of
childhood, without making them undergo any form of hardship. God did not charge
His creatures a single penny for the oxygen, water and other resources He has provided.
He blessed them with the love of a mother and compassion of a father. He
bestowed them with kin, honour and health. He also gave them wisdom in order to
spend their lives. On average, a person enjoys a life span of about 70 to 80
years. However, despite this short-lived life, they boastfully roam upon the
earth created by God. They rebel and assign values to the resources He has
given them. Despite all of this, God remembers them at every step of their life."
I am narrating this account from a time where I
was undergoing spiritual training. Back then, my life was a haven for doubt and
apprehensions. When I stepped on to the path of belief, I was attacked right,
left and center by doubts and disbelief. I would often wonder why my prayers to
God had been left unanswered over the years. Why was my inner vision not activated
despite all the night vigils l performed? I thought I had rights over my
spiritual teacher as I had spent days and nights in his service. I wondered why
I was kept deprived while others were blessed. When things went beyond control and
Satan made me his weapon, I lost all hope.
One day, my kind spiritual teacher addressed me,
"Khwaja Sahib, sit down."
As I sat down, be asked, "How am I related
to you?"
I answered, "I am your servant."
He said, "Alright, but who am l to
you?"
I hesitantly said, "Sir, you are my
beloved,"
He smiled and said, "The matter is solved in
this case. Now tell me, when one sits next to their beloved, does any other thought
strike them? If it does, it is an act of disrespect to the beloved. If you are with
your loved one, and in the midst of it some other thought surfaces in your
mind, it means that the thought which comes to your mind is actually your beloved.
How am I your beloved then, if what you really want is to see paradise and fly
into the heavens? In this case, paradise, and your desire to fly and wonderwork
are your beloved."
What I heard shook me. My eyes welled up, and
my heart was burdened with remorse, I stood up, and with heavy steps walked
towards my master; I kept my head upon his feet. He took a deep sigh, and held
me in an embrace.
The pleasure of the union with my beloved is
still fresh in my memory, and keeps me restless through night and day. Where
have I not travelled to seek that pleasure? I visited every nook and comer of
paradise, witnessed the beauty in the wings of the angels, in the heights of
the heavens, and in the reflection of light in the heavenly bodies of archangels.
I roamed around in the strata of hell, and also struggled with death. I saw
things that cannot be explained in words, but the pleasure that T found in the
union with my dear spiritual master, was not in those sights.
After dying in each moment, I live with the
hope that I will seek his nearness. After living every moment, 1 die in
anticipation for the union with my master. When I look within, I see him, and
when 1 look without, I see his reflection,
Ah! Even after so many years, the pleasure that
was in that union, has left my soul yearning. There is restlessness. There is
anticipation. I live with this belief, die with this faith and will rise again
with this conviction that my dear spiritual master will embrace me again in
such a way that I will annihilate within him. Nobody will recognise that the
master and disciple are two different layers.
May God protect you.
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DIN AZEEMI
Articles of 'MESSAGE OF THE DAY' from Qalandar Shaoor Monthly
