Volume II
To preserve the Unity of Allah, Islam lays great emphasis on total submission or surrender of one's will to Allah. In fact, Islam is all about 'Total Surrender of the Mind to God'. A true Muslim is a person who has surrendered his/her mind completely to Allah.
The reason for this is very evident. The Unity of Divinity is attained only when the mind is surrendered. The mind is at the very root of the our illusionary impression that we are seperate from the Oneness of Allah. It is the mind that makes one think that he/she is different from their brothers and sisters, diverse from creation and in fact, singular from Allah Himself. Once you think you are different from Allah, you make yourself another god! And so, there is multiplicity of gods and you begin to "join gods with Allah" as Qu'ran warns us against. It is the mind that creates this false impression of 'others' where indeed there are no others.
It is the mind that sees many where there is only One and creates this grand illusion of many gods! It separates that which, in essence, is inseparable and joins that which, in Truth, is not composite. Just read the story below and it will become clearer.
The total annihilation of the mind - to bring the mind to complete submission to Allah, the Supreme Self, is the Holy War, the Jihad that the Prophet tirelessly propagated.
If we realize this important truth:
Then we cannot but accept:
'Islam' is the state of total submission of the will to Allah. But what is this will that must be brought under complete surrender? What is it that wills? It is the 'I' – the individuated consciousness. This 'I' or 'ego' is also at the root of the mind. Without the 'I' there is no willing and without the act of willing, there are no thoughts. Without thoughts, there is no mind. And without the mind, there are no images. Without images, the illusion of separation disappears and what remains is Allah who has no second. The Way of Islam is the process of submitting the will to Allah. Willing occurs when the 'I' moves out of Itself as 'I am this' or 'I am that'; 'I want this' or 'I want that'. When the will is submitted to Allah, there is no willing and there is no wanting. In this state of stillness, the individuated "I – Consciousness" dissolves in the Universal undifferentiated Existence. The small "I" that separates disappears and what remains is the Universal "I AM". This Universal "I AM" is Allah. "Allah is That which IS". Allah is pure Existence. Everything that is, is Allah. There is nothing apart from Allah. Once we destroy the root cause of our separation with Allah, which is the ego, we reach that highest state of awareness where we realize that there is none apart from Allah and that we are not and cannot, and have never been separated from Him. We are One with God.
The fundamental sin in Islam is to join "gods unto God" which amounts to the disunity of Allah's Oneness. This sin is called fundamental because it is the root of all other sins. This is also the "original sin" in Christianity, namely, Adam's ancient forgetfulness of his Oneness with Yahweh. When one thinks that there is more than One, then one tries to join or separate that which is inseparable. It is the mind that separates. It is also the same mind that tries to join that which it has separated. Once we succeed in surrendering this mind to God, we not only uproot the very root of all sins but we also attain the goal of Islam: namely the Unity of Divinity.The primary duty of a Muslim is to attain Islam which entails the total annihilation of the mind. This is referred in Islam as " Fana".
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| Our beloved Baba has in many of His Divine Discourses compared the mind with the handkerchief. The mind is like a veil that covers the Oneness of Allah. Because it covers, the mind also separates.
But we must first find out the basis or root of the mind. Once we are able to get to the root of the mind, then it is very easy to uproot the mind permanently from its very source. But since the mind is like the handkerchief, let us first find out the basis for the handkerchief? The handkerchief has been woven from intricate webs and interlocks of single threads. But where have the threads come from? The threads are made from the cotton. Hence, the handkerchief cannot be made without the cotton. The cotton is the fundamental object that forms the basis for the thread and the handkerchief. But where has the cotton come from? It has come from the cotton tree. Without the cotton tree, there would be no cotton and without the cotton there would be no threads and handkerchief. When we inquire further, we discover that even the cotton tree has grown from the cotton seed. The point is that even when all the handkerchiefs in the world are burnt, and all the cotton trees cut down, new handkerchiefs could always be produced once we have the cotton seed. The cotton seed is the root and once we succeed in destroying the seed, we would be able to destroy permanently the veil of the handkerchief! Hence, without destroying the basis of the veil, all other efforts will yield only a temporary result. The mind is like the handkerchief. The threads are the thoughts. When the single threads of thought are woven together, they form an intricate web of strong desires which are binding and blinding. Where has the thoughts originated? They have arisen from the root "I" thought. Without the root "I" thought, no other thought is possible. The root "I" thought may be regarded as the cotton which forms the threads of thought. Beyond the root "I" thought, there is a feeling of "I" ness which is not a thought. It is a feeling or awareness of being which has its source in the Heart. This "I" ness is the tree of life. It is the tree which produces the cotton of the "I" thought which in turn form the threads from which the veil of the mind is woven.
Now we notice that in the deep sleep state, there is no feeling of "I" ness! There is total ignorance or darkness. The tree seems to be dead but alas the seed is still alive! And immediately we wake up from deep sleep, the seed sprouts up again into a tree and within seconds one is cut up in a web of desires. This is also what happens in deep meditation when one reaches the state of thoughtlessness. But because the seed has not been destroyed immediately, one wakes up from deep sleep or from deep meditation, and one is caught up again in a web of thoughts and desires. What is this seed of desire? It is the "I" impulse or the primal urge to create. Until this seed is roasted or destroyed, it is impossible to get rid of the mind. How does Islam annihilate this seed - the "I" impulse? The first and foremost tool is Salah - the second pillar of Islam. But before we get into this, let us have a short break and recreate our souls with a few heavenly stories narrated by Ms. Nooshin Mehrabani on the Power of Prayer. Nooshin is a Muslim. She was born in the capital city of Iran and worked in the United States as a journalist and reporter for Iranian TV in Los Angeles, California. In her book "Love and Suffering: My Road to Liberation", she tells us how Divinity came into her life at a time when her only need was God and how this encounter transformed her especially through the Power of Prayer.
Author: Father Charles Ogada, a Catholic Priest of the Order of the Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers and an ardent devotee of Sai. |
Part 2: Dikhr, the Essence of Salah Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) said:
"Everything has its polish and the polish of hearts is the Remembrance of Allah."
"For those who believe, and whose hearts find Rest in the remembrance of Allah, for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find Rest." - The Holy Qur'an, 13:27-28 |
The Obligation of Five Prayers
In the sacred Hadith (words and deeds of the Prophet), it is narrated by Ana bin Malik how the angel Gabriel took the Prophet through the seven gates of Heaven (which are the seven chakras of the Hindu religion and the Seven churches of the book of Revelation in the Christian Bible) until he reached the Lote Tree beyond which none may pass. Then Allah approached and came closer to the Prophet. Among the things which God revealed to him was "Fifty prayers were enjoined on his followers in a day and a night." |
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 | A page from a Koran from the 18th century | | | A manuscript from a commentary on the Hadith | |
But as the Prophet was descending he met Moses at the entrance of one of the gates of Heaven. (The sixth gate) Moses stopped the Prophet and told him to ascend back to Allah. Moses knew that the followers of Mohammed cannot keep this command of fifty prayers in a day and a night. The Prophet went back and prayed to Allah, and Allah deducted for him ten prayers. Each time the Prophet returned, Moses sent him back to Allah to request Him to reduce the prayer. After the fifth ascent Allah had reduced the enjoined prayer to five times. Again Moses sent the Prophet back to Allah to reduce the prayer one last time. (Moses knew from his own experience how hard it was for his people to keep the ten commandments of Yahweh). But when Mohammed ascended this time, Allah did not withdraw His Word but gave the Prophet a promise: "Every good deed will be rewarded as ten times, so it is fifty when you perform five prayers." - Hadith, Book 001, Number 0314 |
The inner meaning of this story is that one should begin with the requirement to pray five times a day at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night fall until the whole of one's life becomes an uninterrupted awareness of Allah's Presence.
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| Surrender and Prayer - The Soul of Islam | |
One should, in the beginning at least, remember Allah five times a day until one's consciousness is totally unified with the Name of Allah in the three levels of awareness. For, Allah says to His Prophet (Peace be upon Him) in the Glorious Qur'an, Surah An-Nisa, chapter 4:v103:
"Then when you have finished the prayer, remember Allah while standing and sitting and lying down"
In other words, the very goal of Salah is to remember Allah at all times of the day and night, and in the three states of consciousness – while waking (that is standing), while dreaming (that is sitting) and while sleeping (that is lying down).
All prayers and worship, all rituals and spiritual disciplines have this final goal: Dhikr - the Remembrance of Allah. Dhikr is the Soul of Islam. Without remembering Allah, according to the Prophet (peace be upon him) the whole of man's actions and indeed the whole of his life is a mere waste. In the Hadith, Bukhari, Abu Musa al-Ashcari related that the Prophet said:
"The difference between the one who makes dhikr and the one who doesn't make dhikr is like the difference between the living and the dead." - Hadith, Book 004, Number 170 |
Muadh ibn Jabul also said that the Prophet stated:
"The people of Paradise will not regret except one thing alone: the hour that passed them by and in which they made no remembrance of God." |
The Prophet, peace be upon him, would often tell his Companions:
"Shall I tell you about the best of deeds, the most pure in the sight of your Lord, about the one that is of the highest order and is far better for you than spending gold and silver,… The Companions replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Remembrance of Allah." - Hadith, Narrated by Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Hakim |
Why is Remembrance of Allah so important? The mind can only surrender at the feet of a Superior Authority. This Authority which has the power to subdue the mind is the Name of God.
The nature of the mind is sound. The vibrations of thought waves in the mind produce very subtle sound which cannot be heard by the physical ear. Nevertheless, the inner ear can hear these sounds. In fact, the physical sound is only a resound of the sound of thought. The interval between two consecutive thought waves is the gate to Silence. The Name of God is the key to this gate. The Name of Allah is the key to the Infinite. To enter this gate is to enter the Heart of Islam. For, Allah says to His Prophet (Peace be upon Him) in the Glorious Qur'an: Al-Anaam, chapter 6.v125, "Of whosoever it is Allah's Will to guide, he expands his Heart into Islam". The 'Heart' here means Absolute Silence. When the mind is unified with the Name of God, it dissolves into Silence. This is because the Name of God is the Primordial Sound of Silence.
"Chanting of God's Name (Namasmarana) is the easiest path to liberation." - Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 35 p.87 |
Allah, the Primordial Sound of Silence
God is Silence. Silence cannot be described. The moment you describe it, it ceases to be Silence! It is neither being nor non-being. It is not emptiness and it cannot be described as something. It is That which is beyond attributes.
"Remember Me and I will remember you." - The Holy Qur'an, 2:152 |
Every sound is born from the womb of Silence. Every sound dies too in the tomb of Silence. The whole of creation as sound has emerged from the womb of Silence and will finally dissolve in the tomb of Silence. The first Sound that arose from the womb of Silence is the Name of God. And from this Primal Sound, the whole of Creation came forth. It is also through this Primal Sound that the whole of Creation will return into Silence.
The Name of God is the Primal Sound which leads one back into the Soundless.
Different religions refer to this Primal Sound of Silence by different Names: Allah, Aum, Jesus, Rama, Krishna, etc.
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| AUM - the Primordial sound | |
In the Mandukya Upanishad (chapter1:v1) of the Sanathana Dharma (ancient Indian religion), it is said:
AUM, the Word is all this, the whole Universe
All that is past, present and future is indeed AUM
And whatever else there is, beyond the threefold division of Time
That too is AUM
Again in the Gospel of St. John (Chapter 1:v1) of the Christian Bible, it is said:
In the Beginning was the Word
And the Word was with God
And the Word was God…
All things were made and came into existence through It
And without It was not one thing made
That has come into being.
The Name of God therefore is both the efficient and material cause of the Universe. Everything in the Universe is a vibration of God's Name. Every atom in the Cosmos is a resound of the Primal Sound. The Heart of Creation beats with the Name of Allah. When the mind is unified with God's Name, it becomes one with the whole of creation; one with the music of being and becoming; one with the all-pervading Sound Stream which has no direction because you cannot point where it is coming from. When the mind is unified with God's Name, like the Prophet (Peace be upon him), one will begin to hear the echo of the Divine Word in everything; as if the Sky, the Earth, the Moon and the Universe, all said the same Name that he was repeating.
"The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymneth his praise; but ye understand not their praise. Lo! He is ever Clement, Most Forgiving". - The Holy Qur'an, 17:44 |
In this state of Oneness, one's heart expands into Islam.
How does Dikhr Annihilate the Seed 'I' Impulse?
The Prophet said, Allah says:
"I am just as My Devotee thinks I am. I am with him if he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself, and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I mention him in a better group in My presence. If he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.' " - As narrated by Abu Huraira in the Hadith, Volume 9, book 93, number 502 |
Our Beloved Sathya Sai Baba reiterates this same Truth:
"Remember that with every step, you are nearing God; and God too, takes ten steps towards you when you take one step towards Him. There is no stopping place in this pilgrimage; it is one continuous journey, through day and night; through valley and desert; through tears and smiles; through death and birth, through tomb and womb. When the road ends, and the Goal is gained, the pilgrim finds that he has traveled only from himself to himself." – Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 8 |
How does one unify the mind with the Name of God? This is the most practical question for which Prophet Mohammad's paradigm is the best solution.
WIFE = Worries Invited For Ever = Thoughts Like the deer yearning for running streams my heart longed to behold the Physical Divine Presence of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I was by then an associate priest in a parish in the archdiocese of Lagos, Nigeria. This dream came true in September, 2001. Just to set my eyes on Him who has stolen my heart was all I desired. On the second day of my visit, I was sitting among other devotees in the second row waiting for His Darshan. Then, He came and stopped in front of me. He was looking at me with an everlasting Love. When He broke His Silence, the following conversation took place: Swami: "Where do you come from?" Me: 'Swami, from Nigeria". (Truly we came from God) Swami: "How many are you?" Me: "One, Swami". (Yes, there is only One; Allah) Swami: "Go!" (Go means to let go of everything that separates you from the One) After His Darshan, Swami came and ushered all those He had called into the interview room. I was sitting at a far end of the room. Truly, I was totally lost in the beauty and bliss of His Form. Swami was busy talking to other devotees and materialising different objects for them. Then, like a thunder from the blues, He turned to me and asked: "How are your wives?" This question woke me up from my sleep of bliss. One could imagine the confusion that the Lord threw me into. Here I was, a catholic priest, without even one wife. On the other hand, I knew without a doubt that He knew me inside and outside, and that there was nothing I could hide from Him. I also knew that the Lord does not waste words and that every Divine utterance is replete not only with inner meaning and also with the power to actualise this meaning in one's life. I opened my mouth several times and simply closed it without saying a word. The rest of the devotees in the interview room were wondering why this African was not answering Swami's question. Then the Lord ignored me in my ignorance. I was glad that the rest did not know that I was a Catholic priest and was not supposed to have even a wife and not to talk about wives! WIFE = Wisdom Invited For Ever = Allah
On another occasion, Swami had called a number of Muslim devotees for an interview. During this interview, one lady threw a question to Swami: "Swami, why is it that Mohammed married eleven wives?" Swami looked up with surprise in His face and said: "Mohammed…?" "Eleven wives!..." No, No. Mohammed had only one wife!...Allah." When I heard this story, I understood in an instant what Swami meant by asking me, "How are your wives?" True marriage is that state of Divine union where one's mind has been totally unified with God. Until this state is realized, no one can say he has no wife. Since your wife is what you think. Although the Prophet had many wives, truly he had none because his one thought was Allah. Whereas the priest was unmarried but he had many wives since many thoughts occupied his mind. When the mind is filled with thoughts, the mind is full of worries. When the mind is filled with God, it is turned into a house of Wisdom. |
"O ye who believe let not your riches or your children divert you from the Remembrance of Allah. If any act thus, the loss is their own." - The Holy Qur'an, 63:9 |
"Listen Oh Israel, the Lord thy God is One. And thou shall love the Lord thy God with thy entire Mind and with thy entire Heart and with thy entire Strength" - Deuteronomy, Chapter 6:4 |
To love God with the entire mind happens when one has unified the 'I' Consciousness with the Name of Allah. This requires integrating the three levels of consciousness with God's Name. The 'I' consciousness is operative in the waking and dreaming states and remains as a latent seed impulse in the deep sleep state. When the 'I' consciousness is operative, one is mindful of the 'I' as the 'doer' and 'experiencer'. From dawn to dusk and vice versa the 'I' parades itself as: 'I am a doctor' and 'I am a Professor', 'I am a husband', 'I am a devotee', 'my property', etc. But once the 'I' has been unified with the Name of God, one is only conscious of God.
"I forgot myself so that I may remember You."
When this unification is attained, the three levels of consciousness become automatically integrated with the primal Sound of Silence. Then, the little individuated "I" is replaced with the Name of God. The cry of "I", "I", "I" turns into a Divine call: "Allah", "Allah", "Allah". The self pride of "I am this" and "I am that" turns into a Divine glorification: "Allah is this" and "Allah is that". The greed of "This is Mine" and "That is yours" is converted into La ilaha illa allah: there is none but Allah.
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| "Allah" - The mightiest and the mysterious | | | [above] bismillahi ir rahman ir rahim [below] la illaha illah llah | |
Islam is attained when the "I" forgets itself in the remembrance of Allah. St. Paul attained this essence when he said: "It is no longer "I" who lives, but God living in me". (Galatians 2:20)
"Do not say, 'I am nothing'; neither say, 'I am something.' Do not say: 'I need such and such a thing'; nor yet: 'I need nothing.' But say: ' Allah,' and you will see marvels." - Mulay al- cArabi ad-Darqawi in, Letters of a Sufi Master |
Author: Father Charles Ogada, a Catholic Priest of the Order of the Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers and an ardent devotee of Sai.
End of Part 2
After all is said, the practical question which many sincere seekers would ask is how one can remember God while standing, which refers to the waking consciousness where both the body and the mind are standing (that is active); while sitting, which alludes to the dreaming consciousness where only the mind is active and while lying down, which is the state of deep sleep consciousness where both the body and the mind are inactive.
How do we fill the whole day with the remembrance of God? There is a very practical and easy way of unifying the 'I' consciousness with the Name of God during the waking state when the body and the mind are both active. In order to integrate the whole of the waking consciousness with the Name of God, there are a number of steps which we must follow systematically.
In the earlier parts of this cover story, we have elaborated on how everything in this entire Universe is a vibration of the Primal Sound of Silence, which we call 'The Name of God'.
Again, the sounds which all the objects in the cosmos (animate and inanimate) produce are only a variation or modification of the Primal sound of God. Our body-mind complex is made up of sound, and they produce sound continuously – the sound of the heart beat, the breath of life, the noise produced while eating, bathing, walking, brushing the teeth, or for that matter while sweeping the house or doing other house chores like washing clothes, cutting vegetables, cooking, gardening, and so on; the list is endless. We must discover and realise that all these sounds are but modifications of the primordial Sound of God; they are actually a resound of the Name of God. In fact, every sound which our body produces and receives is a call to prayer: a call to remember Allah. But Alas! Do we listen? Do we pay heed?
The second step is when we harmonise and integrate the Name of God with every sound which our body-mind complex produces during the waking state. First, we must form the habit of waking up with the Name of Allah. The first thought of the day must be "Allah" or any Name which one chooses to call the Primal Sound of Silence.
It should be any Name which evokes a strong feeling of Love and emotion in our heart; When we call It, our heart should melt in tears. Our passion for this Name should be irresistible. This is our direct line to Divinity. For, Allah says to His Prophet, (Peace be upon him); "I am just as my devotee thinks I am". The Name is the line, the Love is the connection. The call is the switch. When we go to bed with this Name and we will always wake up with the Name of God in our heart and on our lips.
Once we wake up, an action which almost everyone must perform every morning is brushing of the teeth. What do we normally think when we are brushing our teeth in the morning? Are we present to the simple action of cleaning our mouth? Most of us are not 'present' because our minds are far away engaged in other affairs. And we are unconscious to the call of God in the sound of the brush. Man is never at home even when he is at home because his mind is always at some other place. The mind is rarely in the body which is his true home. Man can only experience the Power of the Present when his mind and his body are in the same place at the same time. And the best and most practical way to achieve this is to attune to the sound produced by every action, and harmonise this sound with the Name of God.
Then, we come to the action which no human being can ever miss and remain alive – eating. This is the most sacred of all human acts. In the Hindu religion, food is regarded as God - " Annam Brahma" In the Christian tradition, when Jesus was eating with his disciples during the Last Supper, He took bread and after giving thanks, He gave the bread to His disciples saying: "Take and eat. This is My body". He then commanded His disciples to always do this in Remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). In this way, Jesus was teaching that the food we eat is His body, and that whenever we eat, we should remember God. Every meal is a Holy Communion in the body of Christ.
We must therefore harmonise and integrate the Name of God with the sounds which are produced while engaged in this most sacred obligation. And what are these sounds? They are the clashing and grindings of the molars and premolars, and the tearing and biting of the canines and incisors. Let us listen to the crunches and the chomps, the mastication and the swallowing, and merge the Sound with the Sound of God's Name. This means that we have to endeavor to eat our food in Silence. After saying the blessings, the actual eating of the food must be an act in remembrance of the Name of God. And every bite will take us beyond the beat of the sound to the One Who digests the food within us in the form of fire.
Could you imagine what will happen when the entire sound-producing activities of the body-mind complex during the waking consciousness are harmonised and integrated with the Name of God! The bath will cease to be an ordinary bath but a shower of Divine drizzles of the Primordial Sound! The walk will no longer be a mere exercise in transporting the body from one place to another, but a rhythm in the dance of Allah's Name. The very act of breathing is attuned to the Primal Sound of God's Name and one's daily duty is converted into a japa (rosary) of God's Name. It will be ecstasy when every association is spent in the remembrance of Allah and every action is sweetened by the immortal honey of God's Name.
When we enter the bathroom, we will automatically remember God. Our Bedroom will become a Mosque of prayer and our dinning room a table of Divine communion. A Living Presence of God's Holy Name will surround us like a heavenly fragrance welling up from the depth of nothingness. An unseen Power will anchor our soul making us feel as if we can fly with the wings of an eagle. Our Heart will be filled with a Divine music which is hidden to the ears of mortal man. In short, our soul will get so suffused with the ethereal Sound of Silence that people will think we have gone out of our minds! And this is true because at this point, the mind is about to drop.
The third stage is reached when the devotee has awakened the resonance of God's Name in his heart. At the beginning, the remembrance of God's name will have to be mechanical. In other words, one has to make constant and consistent effort to harmonise and integrate the Name of God in all the actions he or she performs during the day. But a time will come, depending on the intensity of one's constancy, when the Name of God will begin to repeat Itself within the heart of the Devotee. This is called the Power of Soul Resonance. The heart will literally reverberate with the Sound of God's Name. One hears in his inner self the echo of the Divine Name arising from the core of Silence. It is like a song which you like so much. You sing this song often and then after a time, without any conscious effort, you 'hear' the song singing itself within you. This is the Power of Soul Resonance. This is the Power of Lord Hanuman who has so much unified His Consciousness with the Name of Rama that every hair in His body vibrated with the Sound of "Ram".
When the Heart is awakened to the Sound of Silence, just like the physical heart would pump blood to every cell and organ in the physical body, the waves of the Divine Name from the Spiritual Heart will invigorate the vital life force of the devotee. And every cell will tingle with the sound of the Name of Allah; every hair will stand like violin strings tuned to the frequency of God's Name. At this stage, the Heart of the devotee will connect to the Heart of God and to the soul of the soil. Everything will speak to him. The trees, the mountains, the ocean and the sky will converse with him. Beast and birds, fish and reptiles and all the creeping and crawling creatures will talk to him, and he will understand their language. It is the language of the Heart. And every sound will draw him nearer and nearer into the womb of Silence. | |
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This is the stage where the devotee has to develop and deepen the art of inner listening. To listen is to be silent. To be silent is to be aware. This Awareness is the "Living Presence of Allah".
And how do we remember Allah while sitting - that is, when the body is at rest and the mind is awake in the world of dreams? Before we get into this, let's first wet our spiritual appetite a bit. Let's stop for a moment and have a little glimpse, nay, a peep into eternity, of someone whose heart has been awakened by the call of Silence, someone whose ego has been burnt by the flames of Love, and someone who embodies in His Soul, the Essence of Islam. How can one gauge the depth of the Heart of he whom Allah has expanded his heart into Islam? Or how can one understand that which has no stand, or fathom that which has no top or bottom! Who can measure the Heart of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi? He was the perfect Muslim. His life was so completely transformed into prayer, that everyone who saw him wanted a prayer from him. One night, he spent the whole dark hours in prayer in the mosque. It was the dead of winter, and in the course of praying, he wept so profusely that his beard, wet by his tears, froze and clung to the ground. His disciples had to rescue him in the morning.
And how did Rumi's awakening happen?
This seer was the great Shams-i Trabriz. And the first lesson he gave to Rumi was: unlearn all that you have learnt. Rumi realised that it is not learning, but living the knowledge that counts. For, he had read much and had thought much, but he suddenly saw that what was important was not saying, but being. Rumi had to give up his position as professor at the University of Konya, Turkey, and wandered from place to place with Shams-i Tabriz. After he had followed Shams-i Tabriz for several months with everyone blaming him for this action, one day the Master disappeared. This left Rumi in very great sorrow. On the one hand, he had given up his position and work, and on the other hand, the teacher whom he followed had left him. However, this was his initiation. For Rumi, this was the birth of the soul.
From that moment on, Rumi was set ablaze with the Flames of Divine Love and his soul poured forth this Love in streams of poetry (Contained in his massive spiritual epic called the Masnavi). His poems are so deep, perfect and touching that when one man repeats them, hundreds and thousands of people are moved to tears. They cannot help penetrating the heart. This shows how much Rumi himself was moved to have been able to pour out such living words.
When Rumi passed away in 1273 in the full radiance of enlightenment, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Arabs, Persians, Turks and Romans honored him at his funeral, and men of five faiths followed his bier. That night was named Sheb-ul Arus (The Night of Union with the Divine). Ever since, the Mevlevi dervishes have kept that date as a festival.
One would wonder how on earth one could remember God while dreaming. But this aspect of our life is so important and so vast that when utilised properly, the amount of progress one makes on the spiritual path is like making a two hundred years' journey just in two days.
The reason is evident. The world which we experience in the dreaming consciousness is the storage house of our subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind is the record of all our past deeds, thoughts, words and emotions. It holds the imprint of all our impulses and tendencies, our past desires and future determinations. It is the seed of Adam's regeneration and preservation and the driving urge of Eve's passive and active tastes. When we gain access into the subconscious mind, a lot of things happen very fast. This is because the world of the dreaming state has an entirely different time scale. Just two minutes spent in the dream world may be equivalent to forty years on the ordinary waking consciousness. One may fall asleep and start dreaming. Within what looks like two minutes he goes to America, settles down there, marries a wife, builds a house and bears three children. Then, he experiences a bomb blast and wakes up sweating. Hence, the dreaming state is characterized by the absence of time. What happens when our dreams are divinised? A whole vast of the subconscious mind is erased with God's Name! It is like we have a cassette with junk music which we want to replace with spiritual music. What do we do? We simply tape over the spiritual song on it. Then, the old song is not only wiped out but it becomes irretraceable. This is what happens when we divinise our dreams. A large chunk of the storage of our past tendencies, etc, just get wiped out! And one may not achieve this feat in many life times of ordinary waking consciousness. Hence, we must sleep with the Name of God by injecting the Primal Sound of Silence into our subconscious mind. This is very simple to do. There is a little gap which separates the waking and the sleeping consciousness. This interval is called the door to the subconscious mind. This is that moment when we are neither awake nor asleep. If we auto suggest the Name of God into this opening, then this Sound of Silence will weave its miracle even when we slumber. The Name will clean and purify. It will scrub and wash. It will churn and remove all the dirt from the inner recesses of our subconscious mind.
How do we auto suggest the Name of God into the door of our subconscious mind? First, we must not fall asleep any how. We must practice the art of falling asleep with the Name of God. After night prayers, there are a number of methods one could employ. For those who fall asleep facing up, harmonising and integrating the Name of God with the breath of life until one falls asleep would be the best. And this does not require any effort. It means that one should relax thoroughly and simply watch the breath as it repeats the Primal Sound of Silence. In a short time, one is carried away in the bosom of sleep. But as he sleeps, the Lord will be working for him even as the mother would clean and feed the baby while the baby sleeps. Another method which will be appropriate for those who sleep lying by the sides would be to hug the Name of Allah in the cavity of the heart. This is like the hug of Silence. It is a living closeness which one feels with the Reality of one's chosen Name. "I am as My devotee thinks I am. If he remembers Me in himself, I will remember him in Myself".
Instead of hugging the teddy bear, we can hug the Name of Allah and sleep in the bosom of His Heart. Even though we cannot see or touch Him, we can feel His Presence, and embrace this Presence in our sleep.
With practice, this Presence will grow and become more concrete than the mattress on which our body rests. It is better to hug Allah without images, so that, we experience God from the Heart and not with the head. The Heart is Silence. The head is only a reflection, an image of what is in the Heart. No matter how much we play with a toy elephant, we can never experience the live elephant. This is the difference between the head and the Heart. A third method would be general. Just as the mother would sing a lovely lullaby to lull the baby to sleep, sleep with a soft and cool background music replaying the holy Names of God. Let this music be a repetition of our chosen and adored Name. We will have to empty our head of all thoughts and connect our heart with the Sound of Silence in the music until we fall asleep. Once we have been careful to choose an appropriate music, we should not change it when the mind tells us: 'I am getting bored with the same music all the time'. The mind gets bored, so it wants change. But, the Heart is Eternal; it is changeless. It is full of fun. We have to maintain consistency and constancy with our chosen Name until our mind seeks into our Heart. Then, we will know what it means to laugh without a reason.
How do we remember Allah why lying down, that is in the deep sleep state? In deep sleep (that is dreamless sleep) there is no feeling of "I" ness. There is total ignorance or complete darkness. In deep sleep, the self is unaware of itself. We come to know that we enjoyed a deep sleep only when we wake up from it. And after a deep sleep we feel a profound sense of refreshment and peace because during this state the Self remained in itself as itself. This is true Rest. We can attain the rest of the soul only when the body and the mind are totally withdrawn from activity. This happens to us unconsciously when we fall into deep sleep. In other words, in deep sleep we contact Silence in ignorance. But this experience is not lasting because, first, it is experienced in ignorance. And secondly, even though there is no feeling of "I" ness, the "I" still remains alive as a seed impulse waiting to germinate immediately we wake up. But to contact Silence in full awareness is the goal of Islam. To consciously enter into deep sleep is the very essence of spirituality. This means to consciously bring the body-mind activity to a complete stop. In this state one is awake while asleep.
In meditation, we consciously enter into deep sleep. When this state is sustained, the seed "I" impulse is annihilated. Just like any seed subjected to a certain temperature would cease to germinate when it is planted, the seed "I" impulse when subjected to the heat of Silence for an uninterrupted period of time becomes dead. And those whose seed "I" impulse is dead are perpetually asleep. That is, they are perpetually in the state of rest. But because they entered into this state of rest consciously, they are awake in their rest. We can say they are asleep because for them, they do not see the world; but they are awake because there is no other but Allah. They see nothing but Allah; hear nothing but Allah; do nothing but Allah. In this state, " La ilaha illa allah" becomes a living realisation.
For those who have attained Islam, (total surrender) the "I" seed impulse is dead, that is, annihilated. So that the three levels of consciousness: waking, dreaming and sleeping are unified into one. These are the Holy Ones who have attained the Unity of Allah.
They are eternally at rest because the seed "I" impulse, which is the very cause of man's unrest is gone. They do not experience suffering or sorrow because it is the "I" that suffers and it is the "I" that gets hurt. They do not experience birth and death, because it is the "I" that is born and it is the "I' that comes again. To them there is no up or down, no inside or outside, no male or female, no young or old, because the "I" that divides and joins is deceased.
This is the symbol of Christianity and its essence. When the "I" is cut across, one cannot suffer or die. Jesus never suffered; He never died; because Jesus had no "I". Jesus went through the way of the cross to teach humanity how not to suffer in suffering, and how not to die in death, by simply destroying the root of suffering and death – which is the ego. We do not experience pain or suffering in deep sleep because in deep sleep there is no "I' feeling. We might go to bed with a severe tooth ache. But this pain disappears immediately we enter into deep sleep. Why is the pain not experienced? This is because the "I" is temporally withdrawn. But the moment the "I" wakes up again, the pain returns in full force. But when the "I" is permanently and consciously dissolved in Silence, there can be no experience of pain although one is fully conscious of the pain. They know the pain because they are conscious, but they do not suffer the pain because there is no "I" feeling. As long as this "I" dominates in one's life, one will continue to experience the dualities of suffering and release, pain and pleasure, depression and elation, good and bad, birth and death. In fact, one's happiness is indirectly proportional to the predominance of this "I" in one's life. When the "I" is replaced by "Allah", one begins a return journey into Paradise. Author: Father Charles Ogada, a Catholic Priest of the Order of the Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers and an ardent devotee of Sai. |
Part 4: The Power of God's Name "The divine Name is highly potent. Each one of the several names of God has one type of power specific to it. If you wish to make good use of this power and derive lasting benefit out of it, you have to participate in Akhanda bhajan (unbroken chanting of God's Name)". - Sathya Sai Baba |
The goal of Islam, and indeed of every religion, is to lead man into the Eternal Presence of Allah which is beyond the three states of consciousness. We attain this Holy Presence when the seed "I" impulse which is the cause of the three states is annihilated.
The final annihilation of the seed "I" impulse happens in meditation. When the mind has been totally unified with the name of God during the waking and dreaming states, through the harmonization and integration of the Primal Sound into every action and through the power of auto suggestion, during meditation, it becomes very easy for the mind sink into Silence.
The constant and unbroken remembrance of Allah's Name during the waking state and the habit of falling asleep with the Name of Allah endows the mind with the all important quality of one pointed focus.
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| 'Enter into the space-less-ness of Silence.' | | | The dome of the Great mosque, in Paris | |
God's Name is the arrow – this one pointed focus - that helps us escape, with one leap, the gravitational pull of the mind and enter into the space-less-ness of Silence.
The Science of matter tells us that the physical universe is governed by the laws of gravity. But we must realize that the gravitation of the mind is infinitely more powerful that the physical gravity. In fact, the only gravity is the mental gravity because it is the mind that bears the weight of the body. When there is no mind the body becomes weightless. The body levitates! It is the Name of Allah that helps us escape the gravity of the mind. When we sit in meditation with the single Name of God, we are able to cross the world of thought, and enter the paradise of Allah's Presence.
The Power of Lord HanumanThe power of Lord Hanuman lies in chanting of the Name of Rama. His whole consciousness was completely unified with the Name of Rama that it could be said that Hanuman was Rama and Rama was Hanuman. This is the Power of God's Name! This is the Power of Hanuman! With the Name of Ram, Hanuman lifted the mountain harboring the Sanjivini herb – the elixir of life – and brought it to Rama to save the life of Lakshmana.
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| With the sheer power of Lord Name...' | | | A permanent place at His Lotus feet | |
With the Name of Ram Hanuman set ablaze the entire city of Lanka with the fire of right conduct. With the Name of Ram the monkey mind of Hanuman was transformed into an illumination of Divine Love! With the name of Ram every hair, every cell, every atom in the body of Hanuman resounded with the echo of the Divine name Ram, Ram, Ram. With the Name Ram Lord Hanuman was able to cross the ocean of Lanka with just one leap. This means that when our minds are unified with the Name of God, we are able to cross the ocean of birth and death with just one leap. Such is the power of the Divine Name!
Our Beloved Swami told the dazzling story, when Hanuman demonstrated beyond any doubt, the power of the Divine name.
More Precious than Silver, More Costly than Gold, More Beautiful than Diamonds
"Vibhishana came forward with a dazzling necklace of gems, which the Lord of the Sea had offered to Ravana. Sita accepted it. Its brilliance shone all over the vast Hall and struck everyone as a unique string of gems. But with the necklace in her hand, she cast a questioning glance at the face of Rama. Rama knew what was passing in her mind. He said, 'Sita! You can grant it as a gift to anyone among those here who deserves your grace.' Sita thought just for a second and looked at Hanuman. Becoming aware of the compassion in her look, Hanuman approached her in great humility and stood before Sita with bowed head. The necklace was given by Sita to Hanuman.
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| Sai creates the pearl garland gifted by Mother Sita to Hanuman | | | Attaning the Lord through the power of His Name | |
"Hanuman turned it around many times in his hand, its dazzle enrapturing everyone in that vast assembly. He was struggling to discover its special quality, with unslaked curiosity. He plucked every gem, put it between his teeth, and placed it adjacent to his ear, and with a face indicating disappointment, he threw the gem away in disgust! All eyes were watching this peculiar behaviour with increasing amazement. They were stunned into silence and inactivity. Until he treated the last gem in the same cavalier manner, no one dared interrupt or condemn.
They could only protest in whispers among themselves! 'Who is this monkey that treats the diamond necklace so lovingly and so compassionately presented to him by Sita?' was the question on most lips.
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| 'Of what good is anything wich has not in it the Name of Rama?' | |
Even Vibhishana was sad that Hanuman had so brazenly insulted the priceless jewel that he had brought. 'He has pulled it to pieces and cast the gems aside,' he told himself. Everyone in the Hall surmised the reason for this strange behaviour in his own way. At last, one vassal Ruler could not restrain himself. He rose and gave vent to his resentment: 'Peerless Hero! Why did you break that necklace of gems into so many bits? Was it right to do so? Tell us the reason why? Give us some explanation and remove our doubts.'
Nothing I Desire Compares with You!
Hanuman listened to him patiently and replied. 'Oh King! I examined each gem in order to discover whether each had in it the sacred Name of Rama. I could not find it in any gem. Without that Name of Rama, they are but stones and pebbles.
'So, I cast them on the ground.' The ruler was not silenced by this. He asked, 'Hanuman! If it is your desire that in every article and particle there should be the Name of Rama, are you not asking for something impossible?'
Hanuman replied. 'Of what good, of what profit, is anything which has not in it the Name of Rama? I have no need of such.' The valiant hero, Hanuman, dismissed the argument of the ruler thus. The ruler, however continued his objections. He said, 'You would not wear anything that has not got in it the Name of Rama. Well, you are wearing your body. You are carrying it about with you. Prove to us that you have the Name in it.'
When God gives Himself…
Hanuman laughed aloud. He said, 'I shall prove, see!' He pulled a single hair from off his forearm and held it very near the ear of the Ruler. He could hear the Name, Rama, Rama, Rama uttered by the single hair! At this, he was overcome with a sense of wonder. He fell at the feet of Hanuman and prayed for pardon.
Rama called Hanuman near himself and warmly embraced him. He asked him, 'Hanuman! What can I offer you on this occasion? I have no gift worthy to be given to you. I am giving you myself as my gift to you.' Then, he offered his body to be clasped by Hanuman's hands. The assembly was moved into shouts of 'Jai' at this unique act of Grace. They praised Hanuman and declared that there was no one to equal him in all the worlds. They praised the devotion and dedication of Hanuman."
I died as a mineral, and rose a plant, - Rumi |
The Name of God Gives a Quantum Leap in Consciousness
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The magic of God's Name cannot be described. Its wonder cannot be explained. It is the one thing which, when you have it you have everything - and without it everything you have is worthless. It is the secret of creation's evolution.
In a recent discourse on November 13, 2007, our Beloved Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has revealed through a very interesting story, the power of God's Name and its ability to give a quantum leap in consciousness when it is chanted only once.
Chanting the Name of God only once means that the whole mind has been unified with God's Name so that the only thought in the mind is the uninterrupted Sound of Allah…. Or one's chosen Name.
When this Primal Sound is sustained, without the wavering of the mind and without any interruption, Sai Baba says that there is a transmutation in consciousness; a leap from the animal consciousness to the human and from the human to the Divine.
The Power of Rama's Name
Once, sage Narada approached Lord Vishnu and prayed, "Oh Lord! People speak very highly about the efficacy of Rama's Name. Will you kindly explain?" Lord Vishnu wished to demonstrate the power of the Name of Rama by an illustration. He therefore advised Narada, "Oh Narada, go to a crow and utter the word 'Rama'. Let the crow repeat the name." Narada went to a crow and said, "Oh crow, your entire body is black, without a trace of whiteness. Hence, chant the Name of Rama just once." The crow uttered "Rama", and immediately it fell down dead. Narada was sad that the crow died just by chanting Rama's Name once.
He went to Lord Vishnu and informed Him of the crow's death. Lord Vishnu told him, "Don't worry. This time, go to the beautiful peacock that was just born and ask it to chant the Name of Rama once." As per the instructions of Lord Vishnu, Narada went to the newly born peacock and said, "Oh peacock, your beauty and grace are enchanting to the entire world. You are very lovable and attractive. Please utter the word 'Rama' just once." The moment the peacock uttered "Rama", it also collapsed immediately. Narada again went to Lord Vishnu and reported the death of the peacock after chanting the Name of Rama just one time. Lord Vishnu again advised Narada, "Narada, a cow in the shed nearby just gave birth to a calf. Please go to that new-born calf and ask her to chant Rama's Name once."
Narada did accordingly. As soon as the new-born calf heard the word "Rama", it also dropped down dead. When Narada informed Lord Vishnu, Lord Vishnu again instructed him, "Narada, this time, go to the King's palace, where a baby boy was just born. Ask him to chant Rama's Name once." Narada was very much afraid to approach the newly born prince, since the crow, peacock, and calf had died just by listening to the word "Rama" once. He pleaded with Lord Vishnu to spare his life, since the King would put him to death if something happened to the new-born baby by chanting the Name of Rama. But Lord Vishnu insisted that Narada obey His command. Narada went to the palace and asked the newly born prince to chant the Name of Rama once. The prince saluted sage Narada and informed him that by the mere chanting of Rama's Name just once, he was transformed from a crow to peacock, from a peacock to a calf, and from a calf to a human being as a Prince.
He expressed his gratitude to sage Narada for initiating him in the Name of Rama. It is only the Divine Name that confers human birth on a being. It is evident from the illustration narrated above that the birds and animals were able to get a human birth by listening to the holy name just once. Thus, the Name of God confers a human birth, which is considered to be a rare gift. Unfortunately, no transformation is taking place in humans, in spite of repeating the divine name several times. You should chant the divine name wholeheartedly, with full faith. No doubt, people today are repeating the holy name, but not with love and steady faith. They are chanting the Name of God with a wavering mind. There can be no transformation by such fickle-minded repetition of God's Name, in spite of doing it for hours together. The chanting of God's Name has to be done with absolute concentration and steady faith like a yogi. One can achieve great transformation if the mind is steadily fixed on the Divine Name. |
May Allah bring Rest to our Hearts through Remembrance of Him!
Author: Father Charles Ogada, a Catholic Priest of the Order of the Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers and an ardent devotee of Sai.
End of Part 4
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