Saturday, May 18, 2019

SPIRITUALITY


When Alexander was leaving for his world conquest, he went to see Diogenes, a great sage, who was lying on a sandy bank of the river and enjoying the morning sunshine.

He asked Alexander : Where are you going and for what ?
Alexander : I am going on a world conquest, I will conquer Asia Minor first.
Diogenes : And what will you do after conquering Asia Minor ?
Alexander : I will then go to conquer India 
Diogenes : And what then ? 
Alexander: I will have to conquer the whole world.
Diogenes : And what then ?
Alexander: Then I will rest and relax.

Hearing this Diogenes laughs out loudly, and addressing his dog who is sitting neare by says: "Listen to what this mad king is saying. The man says that he will rest after he conquers the world. Here we are resting right now, without conquering a single place. Alexander dear, if rest is your ultimate objective, why not join me and my dog right now on this beautiful river bank ? There is enough space here for all of us. I am already resting.Why are you bent on creating so much mayhem and blood shed around the world, just to rest at the end of it all ? You can rest right here and now"

Dear friends does it ring a bell. Who are we fooling but our own self. Just reflect on what you want to achieve in life. Reflect on the all pervading Spirit, which sleeps in the stone, dreams in the animal and wakes up finally in Man. Try to understand it, reflect upon and sure enough you will find joy, sustenance and ever lasting peace.

While on the subject of Spirituality, let me recall the childhood game of spoon and lime race, very popular in school Sports Meet. The one who touched the tape first with lime firmly placed in the spoon won. In real life though we find that people are running blindly at times, focused on reaching first with the spoon firmly in their mouth,( all worldly materialistic possessions ) but when they touch the tape, they find that in their blind dash, some where down the road, they have dropped the lime. 

Friends those who touch the tape, even if they come second or third or tenth for that matter, but with their lime firmly in their spoon, are the winners of this life's race. 

On the Day of Judgement everyone will be gathered together in HIS RADIANT PRESENCE, the rankings will melt, those with lime in their spoon will be considered, and those who ran blindly only with spoon firmly in their mouth and without the lime will for ever regret. 

The lime constitutes VALAYAT of AQA MOULA (TUS) it comprises of all noble deeds as enshrined in our Deen. Reaching out to your relatives and community members in need. I need not elaborate. 

In your mad rush to touch the finishing line of life, and to come out winner, please be focused on 'the lime' that may have fallen down. Reflect inward this Sehrullah, prioratize, and pick up the lime if need be,  and journey to the tape. You will be the ultimate winner.


When one surrenders on its own to the Supreme Power -to the Will of Allah in the larger context, to our Moula (TUS)in the micro context, his Spirituality, will achieve the ultimate flowering, because in this willing surrender is the ultimate salvation. 

If someone forcibly turns you into a means and uses you, you are bound to loose your soul. However, your soul will be fulfilled, if you surrender on your own, and become an instrument in the hands of existence.

The Greek sage Diognes, was once captured by a group of petty traders to enslave him. The traders are baffled when Diognes himself voluteers to be handcuffed. As they take him to the slave market to be sold, he proudly walks ahead of all of them. There is not a trace of fear on his face, while his captors look like captives.

Diogenes mounts on the platform and proclaims : ' What are you looking for ? They are all my slaves, and although they are not in chains yet, they cannot run away from me. HERE IS A MASTER FOR SALE - whosoever can afford a master should bid for him'

There are many savants who on account of their wisdom and spirituality have lived a fearless life, because they have willingly surrendered themsleves to the Will of Allah. Our Fatemi history is enriched with many such incidents of true heroism, the one that readily comes to mind as I write is that of Syedna Kutbuddin Saheed (AQ)


He was chained and bound in the durbar of Auranzeb, but by his fearless utterance of Truth, he made all of them look like minions

' Shere Khuda na sher woh garraya aa kadr..... ' Nashihat of Syedi Sadik Ali Saheb

It was the radiant Spirituality and surrender to the Will of Allah that enslaved Auranzeb, sitting on the throne, and although tied and bowed down in chains, Moulana Kutbuddin Saheed (RA) towered over every one. This is the power of Spirituality and Wisdom

The sheer joy when individual consciousness merges with the Divine Consciousness, it is difficult to say wether the drop merged into the ocean or the ocean merged into the drop.

Friends try to inculcate Spirituality in your daily lives, and feel true ecstacy and joy, that the material world will never be able to offer. Reaching out to the needy fellow mumineen, in what ever way possible etc: there are numerous ways and means of enriching yourself by enriching the lives of others less fortunate than you. 

Become Spiritual to become Free



Friday, May 10, 2019

REPENTANCE - ISTIGFAR

Repentance -Istigfar requires five elements
01. The first and foremost is recognition of one’s sin as sin, which largely depends upon one’s intelligence and moral consciousness. Moral consciousness is formed by adhering to the tenets of deen, imbibing values cherished by our beloved Aqa Moula (TUS)etc: For an intelligent and devout mumineen, a small transgression is a sin, to those who are seeped in materialism, a sinful act in fact, may not be viewed as such. This is a subject, which requires in-depth analysis. In short, recognition of sin as sin- is the first step.
02. Remorse – it is feeling that one should have if he wants to repent. A feeling of regret, despair and anguish, for having failed to maintain one’s moral standard. An intense feeling of being alienated from Allah and His Wali and one’s own spiritual roots, a feeling of having cheated his own self.
03. Desisting from sin – now this is neither a moral or intellectual analysis nor feeling, it is ACTION (‘Just Do it’ is not the only prerogative of NIKE – it should also be a resolve of every mumineen ) How one has to achieve – by changing of the course, by desisting from the pattern of sinful action, to which one has become addicted, a concerted effort has to be made, by consciously suppressing the thoughts and fantasies about the sinful activity. Once that is achieved, to make a firm commitment never to commit the sinful act.
04. Restitution – which means making good or giving compensation from an injury or hurt inflicted by word or action. It is act of making good, as best as one can, for the damage done. If one has stolen, one must return the object or pay compensation. If one has damaged one’s reputation, one must attempt to correct the injury inflicted.
05. Confession requires uttering of specific wrong done personally to the wronged person. In other cases pleading to Allah with true fervor to forgive for the sins committed.
Sinfulness is a very deep rooted malady of human existence, and dealing with it calls upon all our spiritual, intellectual, and moral resources – desisting from sin, is the bedrock of true repentance.
Ref: Article – Repentance and Forgiveness – David R. Bumental