Topics
Life as we know it, is comprised
of the soul and the body, and their awareness steers one to enlightenment. The
body can be compared to an archetype of a building that contains many residential
units within it. Each unit is inhabited by a different occupant, and hence though
they Live separately, they are still in unison overall. With a body, you will
not find eyes where a nose should be, or similarly a brain where the heart
should be. If one's hands and legs were to switch their positions, the anatomy of
the body would change. Thus, everything in this 'house' is distinctly built.
Abdal-e-Haq Huzoor Qalandar Baba
Auliya (RA) says:
"Graph paper is used to
teach students how to draw in schools. The paper consists of small squares that
serve as a base for a picture. The teacher guides the students on how coordinating
a particular number of blocks will draw the shape of a head, nose or mouth of a
man. The number of squares assist in determining the proportions of the object,
making illustration relatively easy. Hence, the graph is the basis of the drawing.
In other words, arranging the order of the graph results in the formation of
images. ln the same vein, the currents of Nasma work as the base of all anatomies.
The addition and subtraction of these lines (currents of Nasma) form mavaleed-e-salasa.*
"
Going back to the example of a
building, construction takes place according to a plan. The walls and roof are a
veil for a room, and the building structure covers and sustains the many lives that
live within it, much like the skin of a physical body. The purpose of this 'skin'
is to keep the building intact, and the movement of its shell unified. This
unison refers to the centralisation of actions. Each organ is an entity or unit
of a building and functions as clothing for the mechanism operating within. This
integration of organs and body parts is deemed as the self. However, when this
unity is suspended, the body will disintegrate.
Example: The circulation of
blood is impeded through malfunctions of the heart. This impediment is for the heart,
but the energy or operating mechanism that feeds the heart and its circulation,
continues to exist. The heart disintegrates into dust but the movement remains.
Similarly, if there is an obstruction in the system, such as the malfunctioning
of a liver, it can lead to death. The liver, heart, and brain are all parts of
clothing we call the body. Therefore, death is not the end of life, but the
decomposition of the body or clothing. When the body is simply a combination of
various organs, then what exactly is the body itself?
A teacher once asked a new
student what his name was.
He replied, "My parents call
me Sufi, and others call me Zaid, but there is no difference between them."
The teacher asked, "If Zaid is not a different being, then who is it that
acquires piety and attains cognition? Who is it that leads to destruction? What
is the reality of rightful and wrongful doing, and of retribution and
reward?" The teacher then named different parts of the body and asked, "Can
any of these parts be referred to as 'Zaid'?"
The student said, "No sir...
none of them are Zaid, They all combine together to form Zaid."
The teacher said, "Then T should
think that Zaid doesn't exist at all. lt is merely a word with no meaning.
Nothing but a deception and an illusion."
The student did not understand so
the teacher continued, "How did you get here from your city?" The
student replied, "In a vehicle." The teacher asked, "Can we call
wheels, a 'vehicle'? Can an engine, seat, steering wheel or car roof on their own
qualify to be called a car?" The student replied, ''No."
"If all of these things are
not a part of the overall car, then can it be deemed a vehicle?" The
student responded in negative.
The teacher then questioned, "If
those parts are then excluded from the mind, is there anything left that can be
described as a vehicle?" The student replied, "I have travelled via a
car - its roof, wheels and engine all combine to form it."
The master replied, "This is
exactly the case with man. The senses and body parts join together to make a
body, and this is why people call you Zaid. But if we had to answer the question
as to who 'Zaid' really is, we would have no idea!"
Generally, objects are identified
by their apparent features. However, features are only an outer layer or shell.
We only consider the shell of man - the clay from which his body is formed - and
do not see beyond it. Our attention is fixed on the taste and appearance of a
fruit, but not on the seed that is its base. Although all things are created from
water, this concept docs not strike our imagination. The apparent lustre of a
diamond does not insinuate the presence of carbon within it. This is because physical
senses discern things in segments. Thus, the limited, initial view is regarded as
the full picture.
Every part of a body has a
distinct duty. The eye works as a camera does. In a camera, a film or sensor chip
is used to record an image; in an eye, images are contained on the retina. The
iris in eyes, and the aperture in cameras control the amount of light exposed on
an image. A camera lens zooms in and out depending on the distance from an
object of focus. Likewise, the cornea in an eye adjusts its focal length to
view objects. One must note that an image is not formed unless light enters an
eye or camera - so then what is light?
Researchers say that the body is
controlled by a central nervous system with the brain and spinal cord as its
two integral units. The spinal cord is a tail like entity, close to the neck and
linked to the brain. The brain's nerves control the workings of the head, face,
ears and neck, while the rest of the body is controlled by the nerves of the
spinal cord. Nerves are part of an electrical wiring system that accepts and
disseminates messages through impulse. An organ will shrivel if the nerves concerned
are disconnected from it, regardless of whether the organ still receives a
supply of blood and other necessities for it to function. This determines that
the mind does not work unless it receives electrical impulses - so then what is
an electrical impulse?
The heart is like a pump that expands
and contracts until death. Expansion and contraction are phases of life. Blood passes
to the heart through veins containing large amounts of carbon dioxide and waste
matter. It carries fresh oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, and takes the
body waste and carbon dioxide away. After the blood is purified, it travels back
to the heart and distributes the oxygenated blood to the rest of the body through
the arteries. The body's system is dependent on a functioning heart, and that heart
is controlled by the circulation of blood. So then once again, a question arises
- what is this circulation of blood?
A study indicates that the
human body contains approximately 37 trillion cells, out of which five and two billion
are reserved for the heart and brain respectively. ff the cells scatter, one cannot
differentiate between the cells of the brain or the heart.
An adult heart weighs about 300
grams, a brain 1400 grams, and an eye is estimated to weigh around 7.5 grams. The
mass of matter vanishes when an object decomposes. What is 'mass' and where does
it disappear to? Sperm holds the record of an individual; a granule containing
the record of' 37 trillion cells. Nothing remains after the dispersion of
cells, so then where docs the individual disappear to?
A granule is a unit of clothing
and the change in its proportions affects its anatomy. A disease does not differentiate;
it afflicts a king and a commoner alike. Both will writhe in pain and
experience other emotions in a similar way. None are exempt from death. Though their
anatomy is similar, one is a king and the other is his subject.
Law: When a shell diffuses, it embraces infinity,
where no division lies.
A master asked a student to
bring an apple to him and cut it open. The student complied.
He then asked his student, "What
do you see in it?"
The student humbly said, "There
are some tiny seeds inside."
The teacher directed him to cut
the seeds apart. When the student did so, the teacher told him to further divide
them into even smaller bits. Once the student had completed the task, the
master asked him, "What do you see now?"
The student replied, "Nothing
at all."
The master said, "Son, you
have defied the existence of the seed so casually. This very 'Nothingness' you speak
of, unfolds everything within the universe. This 'Nothingness', is in fact the
true universe."
Light, electrical impulse, and the circulation of blood are motions subservient to Noor (a stage of divine Light). So then what is Noor?
God, the Almighty says,
"God is the light of the
heavens and earth. The example of His light is that of niche, in which there is
a lamp; the lamp is in a glass - the glass looks like a brilliant star - it is lit
by (the oil of) a blessed tree, the olive, which is neither eastern nor
western. Its oil is about to emit light even though the fire has not touched it
- Light upon light. God guides to His light whomsoever He wills; God describes examples
for the people and God knows everything well." (Quran, 24:35)
The batin (hidden facet)
or the earth and the sky rests on Noor and it is dimensionless. Self-insight is
vital for the cognition of Noor and other creations. You cannot call it awareness
if you can only describe apparent features such as, "that is a
pigeon" or, "this is a man." True awareness is to know what lies
beneath the shell. The Creator of the universe says, "God is the light of
the heavens and earth." Spirituality or Tasawwuf can be summarised with
the following: God is the Creator; and the Zahir (Apparent or Unhidden), Batin
(Hidden), Awwal (the First) and Aakhir (the Last) are His
attributes.
The beloved of God, Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) says, "The one who knows himself, knows the Lord."
May God Protect you.
JAN 2020-QSM
* The three kingdoms: Zoological,
Botanical, Geological
