posted May 12, 2005 11:51 PM         

Welcome to La La Linda Land

I am fascinated by your insight.

BTW, last week, I was watching a turkish movie with english subtitles, on television. It was starring Omar shareif. I got a glimsoe of sufism thru that movie. So many words of wisdom in that movie. I also got a glimpse of the sufi dance. They were dancing or rather spinning oblivious of their surrounding. Were they creating a mini vortex

To me it appears that sufism is about living our life by a book, containing words of wisdom that God reveals to you, when the time comes. What do you think?

Its amazing to see how different people in different cultures experiences truth in their own ways.

posted May 13, 2005 12:37 AM         

I don't recognize the movie you mention but, yes, with the dancing it is a type of "vortex". Like the Molavi order the Qadiri use music and dance as well. It is called "sama". Like the dance, music focuses the energy. Your summary of sufism is more or less accurate, but it is hard to generalize given the number of orders now.

Oh yes, and the insight is all Rumi's. After many years I return to his work over and over for insights for myself.

It is interesting how cultures experience truth. Reminds me of another story I read from Rumi. Details escape me but it tells of a thirsty man who is sitting next to a tall wall listening to the delicious sound of running water on the other side. He sees a loose stone in the wall and takes it out and tosses it over the tall wall where it splashes in the running water. This increases his thirst but he also enjoys the louder sound of the water splash so he prys loose another stone and throws it over. And this continues until a large section of the wall falls down. Although there was no "plan", now the man could quench his thirst and not just enjoy the sound of the water.

posted May 14, 2005 01:19 PM         

I enjoyed your story. And I was reminded of something I read. I think (in Mark toward the end of chapter 9?) Jesus says something like, whoever is not against us is for us.

posted May 14, 2005 02:40 PM         

Jesus said, "let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the all."
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest."
From "The Gospel of Thomas"

posted May 15, 2005 10:11 AM         

I Am That, been a long time & good to see you!

Blessings,

posted May 15, 2005 03:24 PM         

Excuse this long post but I thought you might enjoy a story that addresses this in more detail and my comments after the story with regard to the sufi perspective.
_________________________

Mo'avia and Iblis (slightly changed/edited, from Whinfield’s translation)

Mo'avia, the first of the Ommayid Khalifas, was one day lying asleep in his palace, when he was awakened by a cat.

Seeing that the hour for prayer time was shortly approaching, Mo’avia jumped up and ran out to make it in time for morning prayers.

Returning from prayers, the cat was still there. Immediately Mo’avia recognized that the cat was not really a cat but some type of spirit disguised as the cat.

Mo'avia asked him who he was, and he replied that he was Iblis (satan). Mo'avia then asked him why he had awakened him, and Iblis replied that the hour of prayer was come, and he feared Mo'avia would be late. Mo'avia answered, "Nay! it could never have been your intention to direct me in the right way. How can I trust a thief like you to guard my interests?"

Iblis answered, "Remember that I was bred up as an angel of light, and that I cannot quite abandon my original occupation. You may travel to Rome or Cathay, but still you retain the love of your fatherland. I still retain my love of God, who fed me when I was young. Nay, even though I revolted from Him, that was only from jealousy (of Adam) and jealousy proceeds from love, not from denial of God. I played a game of chess with God at His own desire, and though I was utterly checkmated and ruined, in my ruin I still experience God's blessings."

Mo'avia answered, "What you say is not credible. Your words are like the decoy calls of a fowler, which resemble the voices of the birds, and so lure them to destruction. You have caused the destruction of hundreds of mortals, such as the people of Noah, the tribe of 'Ad, the family of Lot, Nimrod, Pharaoh, Abu Jahl, and so on."

Iblis retorted, "You are mistaken if you suppose me to be the cause of all the evil you mention. I am not God, that I should be able to make good evil, or fair foul. Mercy and vengeance are twin divine attributes, and they generate the good and evil seen in all earthly things. I am, therefore, not to blame for the existence of evil, as I am only a mirror, which reflects the good and evil existing in the objects presented to it."

Mo'avia then prayed to God to guard him against the sophistries [misleading, fallatious arguments] of Iblis, and again adjured Iblis to cease his arguments and tell plainly the reason why he had awakened him.

Iblis, instead of answering, continued to justify himself, saying how hard it was that men and women should blame him when they did anything wrong instead of blaming their own evil lusts.

Mo'avia, in reply, reproached him with concealing the truth and ultimately brought him to confess that the true reason why he had awakened him was this...

That if he (Mo'avia) had overslept himself and so missed the hour of prayer, he (Mo'avia) would have felt deep sorrow and have heaved many sighs, and each of these sighs would, in the sight of God, have counted for as many as two hundred ordinary prayers.

_________

The value of sighs

A certain man was going into the mosque, just as another was coming out. He inquired of him what had occurred to the meeting, that the people were coming out of the mosque so soon. The other told him that the Prophet had concluded the public prayers and mysteries. "Whither go you," said he, "O foolish one, seeing the Prophet has already given the blessing?"

The first heaved a sigh, and its smoke ascended. That sigh yielded a perfume of his heart's blood.

The other, who came from the mosque, said to him, "Give me that sigh and take my prayers instead."

The first said, "I give it and take your prayers."

The other took that sigh with a hundred thanks. He went his way with deep humility and contrition, as a hawk who had ascended in the track of the falcon.

That night, as he lay asleep, he heard a voice from heaven, "Thou hast bought the water of life and healing. The worth of what thou hast chosen and possessed (I.e. the sigh of the other man) equals that of all the people's accepted prayers.”

__________________________

From these stories you can see that, indeed Fayte.m was generally in agreement with Rumi in terms of the “trickery”. However, the sufi tradition also teaches that neither iblis nor the jinn can imitate or assume the form of the prophets, messengers and/or saints of God. As the first story demonstrates, they (iblis and such) mainly deal in sophisticated trickery. So, in the tradition of sufic thought, your experience is also in agreement.

God Bless
Michael Reza

posted May 15, 2005 11:52 PM         

MichaelReza, thank you for sharing the stories! When observed with an open Heart and mind, the threads of experience lead to the Truth.

Blessings,

posted May 16, 2005 05:52 PM         

I think we all were fine as long as the emotions were out. Doesn't happen much when the adults play. Do they? Compared to when childrens play the same game

posted May 17, 2005 11:48 AM         

Well I went to the first session. The instructor was absent. It didn't go well. I am wondering if I am made for Meditation.
I have patience in that i can read a book for hours or sit in a plane for 8 hours without complaining. But whenever I concentrate on the chakras, I really laugh inside and could never meditate. I make fun of the chakras when they tell us to concentrate on body parts

posted May 08, 2008 11:08 AM         

Defination of Allah(God).

From Holy Quran, Chapter Akhlas,

1. Say: He is Allah, the One and Only.

2. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.

3. He begetteth not, nor is He begotten.

4. And there is none like unto Him.

posted May 13, 2008 07:55 PM         

Tashbih - the manifested, imminate, personal God/Being

juni

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~