Primordial Light
\nWednesday, September 26, 2018<\/p>\n
What is this precious love and laughter
\nBudding in our hearts?
\nIt is the glorious sound
\nOf a soul waking up!
\n\u2014Hafiz (c. 1320\u20131389) [1]<\/p>\n
Sufism is the mystical arm of Islam. Mainline Islam, like most organized religions, largely emphasizes practical expressions and behaviors, whereas Sufism developed and emphasized the interior life. [2] Poet Daniel Ladinsky (who has been inspired by Sufi poets like Rumi and Hafiz) writes that \u201ctheir \u2018way\u2019 has always existed, under many names, in many lands, associated with the mystical dimension of every spiritual system.\u201d The special emphasis of Sufism is \u201cintense, often ecstatic, one-pointed devotion to God.\u201d [3] If you have ever seen a Sufi Dervish twirl around one pivot, as I was privileged to witness in Turkey, all the message is contained therein.<\/p>\n
Avideh Shashaani, an Iranian-American poet and translator of Sufi mystic texts, reflects on how Sufism points to our True Self as the image of God:<\/p>\n
My understanding of Islam has come through Sufism\u2014the interior life of Islam. Islam, like any religion, may be viewed as a spectrum of light\u2014ranging from the fundamentalists to the mystics. Our place on this spectrum depends on our level of spiritual expansion and knowledge.<\/p>\n
In the Islamic tradition, we are considered to be an amazing weave of heaven and earth [spirit and matter]. Islam does not see us as sinful beings to be redeemed, but as neglectful and forgetful beings endowed with the primordial light.<\/p>\n
When we \u201cstep\u201d across the boundary of the divine realm into the world and become forgetful of our reality, we are in a state of transgression. Forgetfulness is what we must constantly struggle against.<\/p>\n
The message of Islam is meant to guide us to uncover our true identity deeply buried under the layers of our neglectful nature. The Qur\u2019an says \u201c[God] created man in the best of stature\u201d (95:4), and says that \u201c[God is] closer to him than his jugular vein\u201d (50:16). The duties prescribed for the Muslim are directed toward uncovering our primordial nature and remembering our covenant with God, \u201c\u2018Am I not your Lord?\u2019 They said: \u2018Yes, we bear witness\u2019\u201d (7:172). The memory of the covenant rests deep within our souls. This is why the remembrance of God is central in Islam. . . .<\/p>\n
In the Islamic mystical tradition, the reality of \u201cI\u201d is not separate from the Ultimate Reality. \u201cI\u201d is that divine inspiration that imbues life from the Beginning. . . . Sufis often refer to a hadith [a saying of the Prophet Muhammad], \u201cWhoever knows himself knows his Lord.\u201d Ibn al Arabi, the 12th century Islamic mystic from Andalusia, writes [with amazing similarity to the Christian mystic Meister Eckhart\u2019s \u201cThe eyes with which we look back at God are the same eyes with which God looks at us\u201d]:<\/p>\n
When my Beloved appears,
\nWith what eye do I see Him?
\nWith His eye, not with mine,
\nFor none sees Him except Himself. [4]<\/p>\n
. . . In the remembrance of God, the mirror of the heart is polished and is able to reflect the light of God, allowing \u201cI\u201d to shine.<\/p>\n
Hafiz gives us another beautiful expression of this \u201cI\u201d that is the \u201cdivine inspiration\u201d:<\/p>\n
I am
\na hole in a flute
\nthat the Christ\u2019s breath moves through\u2014
\nlisten to this
\nmusic. [5]<\/p>\n
COME TO ME AND LISTEN! Attune yourself to My voice, and receive My richest blessings. Marvel at the wonder of communing with the Creator of the universe while sitting in the comfort of your home. Kings who reign on earth tend to make themselves inaccessible; ordinary people almost never gain an audience with them. Even dignitaries must plow through red tape and protocol in order to speak with royalty.
\nThough I am King of the universe, I am totally accessible to you. I am with you wherever you are. Nothing can separate you from My Presence! When I cried out from the cross, \u201cIt is finished!\u201d the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This opened the way for you to meet Me face to Face, with no need of protocol or priests. I, the King of kings, am your constant Companion. <\/p>\n
ISAIAH 50: 4; <\/p>\n
ISAIAH 55: 2\u2013 3; <\/p>\n
JOHN 19: 30; <\/p>\n
MATTHEW 27: 50\u2013 51<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Primordial Light Wednesday, September 26, 2018 What is this precious love and laughter Budding in our hearts? It is the glorious sound Of a soul waking up! \u2014Hafiz (c. 1320\u20131389) [1] Sufism is the mystical arm of Islam. Mainline Islam, like most organized religions, largely emphasizes practical expressions and behaviors, whereas Sufism developed and emphasized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17289"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17290,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17289\/revisions\/17290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}