“baqa billah” or “eternal life in union with God”

Muhammad al-Baqi Billah
May Allah Sanctify His Soul

"O Sayyid! Agnostic of high degree used to say,
'Being a dervish is to correct the imagination.'
In other words, nothing other than the Real
should remain in the heart. In truth, he spoke well.
O Sayyid! Since the veil is nothing but imagination,
the veil must be lifted through imagination.
Night and day you must dwell in imagining Oneness."

Shaykh Baqi's son, Khwaja Khurd.

 

He was the Knower, Annihilated in God (fana billah) and Existing in His Existence (baqa billah), who was lifted to the highest station of Vision. He was a Secret of Allah's Secrets and a Miracle of Allah's Miracles. He combined in his person the two types of knowledge: the Outer Knowledge and the Heavenly Knowledge. God gave him from the two Oceans, and conferred on him Authority in the two worlds of men and Jinn.

Imam Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi (q) said, "Muhammad al-Baqi was the One Sitting on the Throne of all Shaikhs, and he was the Deputy of all Masters of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain, who reached the end of the Infinite, who achieved the highest states of wilayat (Friendship of God). He was the qutb(Spiritual Pole) who supported every creature on this earth. He unveiled the secrets of Reality. He was the Verifier of the Station of the Reality of Muhammad . He was the Pillar of the People of Guidance. He was the Essence of the Knowers and the Guide of the Verifiers (muhaqqiqin)."

He was born in 972 H. in the city of Kabul in the land of `Ajam which was a colony of the Sultanate of India. His father was the judge Abdu-s-Salam. He went to India in the first instance on personal business. There he was attracted to an attraction from God's attraction. He left this worldly life behind and sought spiritual knowledge from the Master of the century. He kept company with masters and saints, until he himself became an ocean of intellect and a saint of spirituality. He traveled continuously until he reached the city of Samarqand. There he connected himself to the Master of his time,Muhammad Khwaja al-Amkanaki (q). He received from him the Way of the Naqshbandi Order. In a very short time he received what most seekers require a lifetime to receive. He was elevated also through the spiritual care of Ubaidullah al-Ahrar (q). His honor became known everywhere. His shaikh, Muhammad Khwaja al-Amkanaki, authorized him to take followers and to train them in the conduct of the Order. He ordered him to go back to India. He predicted, "You are going to have a follower who will be like the sun." This would be Imam Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi (q).

He moved back to India and stayed in the city of Delhi-Jahanabad, which he filled with faith and knowledge and secrets and lights. Through him the Naqshbandi Order was spread with great swiftness throughout the Indian Subcontinent and millions of people were connected to him through his deputies. All nations in the Subcontinent were attracted to his knowledge and his Heavenly Power and to the Prophetic Characteristics dressing him. It became known throughout the Indian Subcontinent that anyone coming to him and looking in his eyes, or sitting in his association doing dhikr, would enter a state of Self-Effacement, through which he could reach a state of Annihilation, in a single meeting. By this miraculous power he attracted millions of people, until this Naqshbandi Order was on the tongue of every person in his time.

He died on Wednesday, the 14th of Jumada al-Akhira, 1014 H., in the city of Delhi at the age of 40 years and four months. His grave is on the West side of the city of Delhi.

He passed the Secret to his successor, the Shaykh of this Chain, the Reviver of the Second Millennium, al-Imam ar-Rabbani Mujaddid alf-ath-Thani, Shaykh Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (q).

“Real fana is to forget the “not Divine”, to free oneself from the love of this world, and to purify the core from all desires and wishes as it is required of a servant. And real “baqa” is to fulfil the commands of the Lord, to make his Will one’s own, without losing one’s self identity”. concepts of “fana” and “baqa”.

“Fana “and baqa are both steps in the mystical occurence. “fana billah” is understood as merging with the Divine Essence or unification with God.or the “existence of the self in God”.

This is the first stage in the mystical experience and only a stepping stone toward the final goal of attaining “baqa billah” or “eternal life in union with God” . 

When fana is experienced by the mystic, he forgets his self but when he reaches the phase of experiencing “baqa” he recovers some of his individuality and therefore, the distinction between him and the Divine again becomes obvious to him.

“Fana” is the first stage in the mystical journey and also the entities experience in the quest for union with the Divine. Some mystics remain trapped in the first unitise stage. for those who cannot proceed to the next stage are prevented from Accepting separation from the Divine.

Nevertheless the second stage is also dangerous at times and the most painful experience. Yet there is much joy in the experience, pain is a part of the joy here. The pain on the universe is worth such a experience. One has to be blessed to be chosen for such a journey as life here is short and the life beyond the universe is much beautiful. For such a occurence one can sacrifice oneself and die a billion death. 

However Perfect Master is at Baqa-Billah or the highest point of Divine realization, and is one with God. He is on all levels of consciousness in unison. He transcends the Cycle of repeated lives. After losing His individuality and merging with the Oneness of the Infinite Divinity, He again attains duality consciousness, and works for the evolution of humanity and for those who surrender to Him. 

The spiritual journey is divided into seven stages of inner evolution also called the planes of consciousness. The lower planes are full of miracles while the seventh or the Highest plane is of God Realization, where one becomes one with God. Such realized Souls are of immense spiritual benefit. From among the God-realized, some souls become Perfect Masters and return to help other souls reach God realization.

However, to reach the highest seat of consciousness the mystic encounter's annihilation at every stage. One perishes in a million ruins in the journey. It's comfortable for another to pinpoint fingers and denounce the journey of another.. the pain of such mystics can never be understood by any unrefined. To reach the highest stage one dies and passes away over there is no more existence on the sphere. It's heartbreak and pain. Death and vacant ness, void to fullness, again full of empty, and it elapses. This is the true life of a Sufi mystic. 

My Conclusion:

WHAT Purpose IS THE Existence ON EARTH, WHICH Esteems NONE. WHAT LOVE DEMANDS HERE is CONDITION AND WHAT LOVE Exists THAT What JUDGES YOU AS Second. Wherefore Perish FOR THE Compassion OF Almighty, WHO Embraces YOU Amid ALL YOUR FLAWS 

- Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty

Posted via email from Gulsha Fawzia Begum

We Want Peace

We want to make the world a better place.

We care.

We want to confess or share our faults/mistakes.

We care about others and our well being.

We want to make a difference.

We want to be healthy.

We want to be green.

We are not perfect.

We want to be kind.

We want Peace.

We are human.

We care about the future.

We want to help others.

There is a lot we can do to make 

the world a better place and it begins

with ourselves.

Posted via email from Gulsha Fawzia Begum

What is irrational jealousy

WHAT IS IRRATIONAL JEALOUSY?

 how do we handle irrational jealous feelings. Usually, the individual recognizes that his feelings are unreasonable with no valid evidence but feels incapable of controlling the jealousy. In addition, the person usually recognizes the destructive nature of indulging in the feelings and the resulting behavior. Such behavior typically involves excessive questioning of his spouse, suspiciousness, and accusations. Many spouses become extremely frustrated with this behavior because they have no way of proving their faithfulness. This leads to an escalating cycle of anger which is used as further evidence by the jealous spouse that his suspicions are correct.

The jealous spouse often desperately wants to stop the behavior but finds that he can't control the thoughts which makes him feel miserable. He believes that if he can just prove his suspicions one way or another, he will feel better. The unfortunate fallacy in this thinking, is that trust can never be proven; it can only be disproved. The definition of trust is the belief that something is true. Therefore, without evidence to the contrary, if we want a satisfying relationship, we have to choose to trust the person we love. 

One of the most difficult things for human beings, in general, is not knowing something with 100% certainty. We are often afraid to trust because we are fearful of disappointment and hurt. Therefore, we go through extreme contortions to try to protect ourselves from the possibility of loss and pain. Yet, these attempts to protect ourselves may actually be the means with which we destroy that which we are trying to preserve. In other words, a woman may eventually destroy her marriage because she is too fearful to take the chance of trusting that her husband is faithful. As a result, she causes the loss and pain that she was trying to prevent. 

WHAT CAUSES IRRATIONAL JEALOUSY?

For a person to learn to control jealousy, it is first important to understand what underlies the irrational thinking. Frequently, an individual who is prone to irrational jealousy may have problems with low self-esteem, feelings of insecurity, fear of vulnerability, or fear of abandonment. In some cases the spouse deliberately creates such suspicions in the mind of his partner by his action of being secretive of all that he does at work, phone on silent, avoiding his spouse at certain occasions, keeping her out of all his financial matters or his family matters. Making the other feel jealous and unwanted. These are habits which destroys the peace and sanity of ones life. Thus creating the negative emotion in the mind of his spouse.

Another instance can be when a person with low self-esteem may feel so undeserving of being loved, that he can't believe that his spouse could possibly remain faithful to him. Perhaps these feelings stem from some abusive past relationship in which he was unloved and made to believe that he was at fault. For instance, if a teenager is told, "If only you were more like your brother, then maybe you could get a girlfriend" he comes to believe that there is something wrong with him. Many times we are given messages, some subtle and some not-so-subtle, as we are growing up that shape our beliefs about ourselves.

Feelings of insecurity may stem from the low self-esteem or may be related to instances in which we have previously been hurt. The same is true with fear of abandonment. When we have experienced profound loss from which we haven't had an opportunity to recover, we may develop an extreme fear and avoidance reaction to similar circumstances. However, as indicated earlier, this avoidance may bring about the abandonment that we fear.

A fear of vulnerability is the inability to let our guard down, to let another person know us completely. This fear usually derives from a fear of rejection due to the belief that if we let someone else truly know us, we will ultimately be rejected. Again, the fallacy in this belief, is that if we don't allow our spouse to know us, if we don't allow ourselves to be vulnerable, we are preventing the development of emotional intimacy which is essential to any relationship.

Emotional intimacy is the most important type of intimacy in a relationship. It is required for the relationship to fully mature. Without it, all we have is the initial surface attraction to the other person which cannot be maintained indefinitely. However, when we find emotional intimacy with another person, we discover the most intensely fulfilling experience that exists. And that is, the full acceptance of our self by another person. I know some people may argue with me and say that "the most intensely fulfilling experience that exists" is our relationship with God. The reason I say that it is the development of emotional intimacy with another person, is because acceptance from God is a given and doesn't require as much of a risk. 

Finally, the individual needs to determine if there are certain behaviors from herself or from her spouse that may contribute to the development of these fears and beliefs. For instance, perhaps a spouse is reluctant to share personal information because he will then be subject to questioning and accusations. As a result, emotional intimacy in the relationship declines. The person who is jealous will often take this as further evidence of cheating in the relationship, when, in fact, it is a result of the questioning and accusations. Or, for example, a jealous person has repeatedly harmed relationships through his accusations which he takes as evidence that women can never be trusted. 

The more you are aware of your behaviors and other's behavior that may maintain the beliefs, then you will be able to make better choices that can allow you to control the jealousy. In fact, the development of awareness can't be emphasized enough. You may need to spend some time at this point to assess your jealousy, the behaviors, and the outcomes based on the behaviors.

HOW DO YOU STOP IRRATIONAL JEALOUSY?

Once you have determined the behavior, then you can make choices to change the behavior. Even though these feelings seem uncontrollable, that doesn't mean they are uncontrollable. However, you may need to make a commitment to the hard work involved in making changes.

The following steps can help you with these changes:

1) Make an effort to no longer engage in the self-defeating behavior. If you are questioning or making accusations, stop the behavior immediately. Whether you need to literally bite your tongue, go to another room, or talk to a friend, don't allow yourself to continue with this destructive behavior. Usually people engage in this behavior because initially it is reassuring to them and makes them feel better. But remind yourself that feeling better is just temporary and that it is a destructive behavior that must stop.

2) Challenge the irrational thinking styles frequently. Identify how your thinking is irrational and remind yourself of why it is whenever you have the jealous thoughts. If is often beneficial to write this down. Some things that you may identify include the idea that there is no evidence, that the probability is remote, and that there is evidence to the contrary such as the loving things your spouse does for you.

3) Refuse to engage in the jealous self-talk. Whenever you engage in the jealous self-talk, internally tell yourself to "shut up." You may need to do this repeatedly, but you want to do whatever is necessary to not listen to yourself on this topic. Some people use the rubber band method which involves the aversive stimulus of snapping a rubber band on your wrist whenever you have the jealous self-talk.

4) Work on improving your self-esteem. Remember that irrational jealousy is not about your spouse but is about yourself. Use the presence of jealous feelings to remind yourself that you need to focus on improving your self-esteem. Although improving self-esteem is another entire topic to itself, generally, you need to give yourself positive self-statements and engage in behaviors that make you feel good about yourself.

5) Learn to be vulnerable and to develop emotional intimacy. For any relationship to be successful, you must be able to take risks. There are many ways to do this and you need to determine by assessing yourself what are the best ways for you to take risks. For instance, if you feel insecure, you might share these feelings with your spouse and talk about ways your spouse can help you feel more secure. Or if you are afraid of being vulnerable, you might decide to take small risks of sharing yourself, your feelings, and your fears with your spouse.

Sometimes the process of developing awareness and challenging irrational beliefs may be too difficult to accomplish alone and a person may need assistance from a therapist. However, typically a good cognitive-behavioral therapist can point you in the right direction within a few sessions and then most of the work is up to you.

Posted via email from Gulsha Fawzia Begum

What Happens After Awakening

   

Awakening is just the beginning. It is the most important turning point in our evolution because it marks the potential to live more purely as Essence in the world and less as ego. However, for most people the ego isn’t gone after awakening and can resurrect at times or operate surreptitiously. Ego-identification still occurs after awakening, but when it is happening it is usually recognized quickly, and so it doesn’t last long or have the power to cause suffering that it did before awakening. Most people’s egos are intact after awakening, but because there is a realization of who you really are, the ego is seen for what it is and recognized to be not who you are. When ego-identification happens, it’s more like you are watching yourself be identified, while you continue to be aware of yourself as Essence. There is a much greater capacity after awakening to not identify with the ego and to remain as Essence, which is an easeful experience of being in the flow that includes love easily flowing from you toward everyone and everything. 

There are certain common experiences that occur after awakening, although everyone’s experience is individual. Nevertheless, nearly always the first stage after awakening is an experience of elation and spiritual inflation to some degree. The ego re-forms around “I am awake” and takes some pride and sense of superiority in that. This is a phase that nearly everyone passes through, and it is pretty apparent, if not to the newly awakened person, to those around him or her. There is often a tendency to talk about the awakening, to wonder who else is and is not awake, and to identify oneself as “awake” to others. An identity forms around being awake. This can be rather harmless, but if the person doesn’t realize the ego has taken on spiritual garb, then this phase can last for some time. Knowing that this is a normal stage can help you get through this phase more gracefully.

Another common experience is feeling lost, empty, directionless, and without motivation. This is actually the remaining ego’s experience of awakeness. The ego felt the same way when it touched into Essence before awakening, which is why it ran from it then. But now it can’t escape the reality: It is no longer in charge. Its goals are no longer primary; they no longer are the driving or shaping force in life. Something else is shaping life. Something else has taken the helm, and it doesn’t operate through the mind as the ego did. The awakened person has to learn to allow Essence to move him or her naturally and spontaneously (through the intuition and urges to act and speak), and the ego, just as before awakening, isn’t comfortable with that. A new way of being in the world has to be learned, as the egoic mind is no longer the guiding force. 

It can take a while before this new way of being feels comfortable and is trusted, but going back to the egoic mind is generally not felt to be an option, although that does happen. Plenty of people awaken and then allow the egoic mind to continue to run the show, as if they had never awakened. In these cases, the person doesn’t feel much different after awakening as before, and this is very confusing. Depending on the amount of conditioning and woundedness that remain within the personal self, the ego can still be fairly compelling, especially in those aspects of life that need healing. 

Whatever conditioning remains to be healed will come up after awakening because it’s time for all conditioning to be seen and released. This is rather disconcerting to those who assume that awakening means the end of conditioning and ego-identification. Awakening just makes it easier to see and heal the conditioning and not continue to identify with it, which only strengthens it. The potential for conditioning (and the egoic mind) to weaken and drop away increases tremendously after awakening because alignment with Essence allows the conditioning to be seen, accepted, understood, and healed rather than identified with. From Essence, it is possible to discover the mistaken beliefs that fuel conditioned behavior and negative feelings, and in this discovery, the conditioning is healed. As a result, evolution can progress very rapidly after awakening. So, if this is your experience, please understand that it is the right experience and what needs to be cleared away is being cleared away so that you can live more truly as Essence.

It often takes at least a couple of years, and often much more, to become more stabilized after an awakening. During that time, there is usually an unraveling of conditioning, as just mentioned. For many, it may also be a time of modifying the structures in their lives to fit Essence rather than the ego. Anything that is no longer aligned with Essence’s intentions for this life is likely to feel unpleasant and uncomfortable, and you are likely to be moved to change it. Many make enormous changes after awakening and others make none; it depends on how aligned with Essence your life before awakening was. If it was structured around your conditioning and the ego’s values, then it will have to change. This is one reason why some go back to the egoic mind even after awakening—it is an attempt to maintain the structures that no longer work. The person will probably only be able to do this for so long. It is difficult to have seen the truth and then walk away from where it’s calling you.

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Kundalini Awakening called the "Seat of the Soul"

The pineal gland has been the center for research and studies throughout history. Mystery and myths have surrounded the 'third eye' and there are many references to the pineal gland throughout history. Ancient Greeks  believed that the pineal gland in our heads was used as a connection to the "Realms of Thought". Descartes, who was a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer, called it the "Seat of the Soul".

What is the Pineal Gland?

The pineal gland is shaped like a pine cone and is about the size of a pea. It is located in the geometric center of the brain between both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. It is tucked in a small "cave" where both thalamic bodies join and is attached behind the eyes to the third ventricle. It is not isolated from the body from the blood-brain barrier systems.

The pineal gland can be seen in some skull x-rays due to calcification. This is typically due to intake of fluoride. Fluoride is found in water and toothpaste. When calcium builds up in soft tissue, it causes it to harden. Studies have shown that calcium affects the pineal gland more than it affects teeth or bone. Phosphorus and calcium in the pineal gland are linked to aging.

The pineal gland is part of the endocrine system in the body, making it an endocrine gland. It releases extracellular signaling molecules. These are known as hormones. The pineal gland releases melatonin, a hormone that affects various parts of the body, regulating sleep and wake patterns, mood, growth, development, puberty, and tissue function.

The pineal gland controls various biological rhythms of the body. It works in harmony with the gland which directs the body's thirst, hunger, sexual desire, and like I mentioned above, the aging process.

There is a connection between the retinas to the hypothalamus. This is called the retinohypothalamic tract. This brings about information about the light and dark cycles to the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN.

Light & Peace,

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty
http://www.gulsha.giving.officelive.com

Posted via email from Gulsha Fawzia Begum

Domestic Violence Act In India

Domestic Violence Act for Women’s empowerment in India

Domestic Violence Act 2005 is the first significant attempt in India to recognise domestic abuse as a punishable offence, to extend its provisions to those in live-in relationships, and to provide for emergency relief for the victims, in addition to legal recourse.

Why a legislation for domestic violence?

Domestic violence is among the most prevalent and among the least reported forms of cruel behaviour.

Till the year 2005, remedies available to a victim of domestic violence in the civil courts (divorce) and criminal courts (vide Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code) were limited. There was no emergency relief available to the victim; the remedies that were available were linked to matrimonial proceedings; and the court proceedings were always protracted, during which period the victim was invariably at the mercy of the abuser.

Also the relationships outside marriage were not recognised. This set of circumstances ensured that a majority of women preferred to suffer in silence. It is essentially to address these anomalies that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was passed.

Who are the primary beneficiaries of this Act?

Women and children. Section 2(a) of the Act will help any woman who is or has been in a domestic relationship with the ‘respondent’ in the case.It empowers women to file a case against a person with whom she is having a ‘domestic relationship’ in a ’shared household’, and who has subjected her to ‘domestic violence’.

Children are also covered by the Act; they too can file a case against a parent or parents who are tormenting or torturing them, physically, mentally, or economically. Any person can file a complaint on behalf of a child.

Who is defined as ‘respondent’ by this law?

Section 2 (q) states that any adult male member who has been in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person is the ‘respondent’. The respondent can also be a relative of the husband or male partner .Thus, a father-in-law, mother-in-law, or even siblings of the husband and other relatives can be proceeded against.

How does the new law define domestic abuse?

Section 3 of the law says any act/conduct/omission/commission that harms or injures or has the potential to harm or injure will be considered ‘domestic violence’.

Under this, the law considers physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, psychological, and economic abuse or threats of the same.

Even a single act of commission or omission may constitute domestic violence — in other words, women do not have to suffer a prolonged period of abuse before taking recourse to the law.

How does the law ensure that a wife who takes legal recourse in the event is not intimidated or harassed?

An important aspect of this law is that it aims to ensure that an aggrieved wife, who takes recourse to the law, cannot be harassed for doing so. Thus, if a husband is accused of any of the above forms of violence, he cannot during the pending disposal of the case prohibit/restrict the wife’s continued access to resources/ facilities to which she is entitled by virtue of the domestic relationship, including access to the shared household. In short, a husband cannot take away her jewellery or money, or throw her out of the house while they are having a dispute.

What are the main rights of a woman as recognised by this law?

The law is so liberal and forward-looking that it recognises a woman’s right to reside in the shared household with her husband or a partner even when a dispute is on .Thus, it legislates against husbands who throw their wives out of the house when there is a dispute. Such an action by a husband will now be deemed illegal, not merely unethical.

Even if she is a victim of domestic violence, she retains right to live in ’shared homes’  that is, a home she shares with the abusive partner. Section 17 of the law, which gives all married women or female partners in a domestic relationship the right to reside in a home that is known in legal terms as the shared household, applies whether or not she has any right, title or beneficial interest in the same.

The law provides that if an abused woman requires, she has to be provided alternate accommodation and in such situations, the accommodation and her maintenance has to be paid for by her husband or partner.

The law, significantly, recognises the need of the abused woman for emergency relief, which will have to be provided by the husband. A woman cannot be stopped from making a complaint/application alleging domestic violence. She has the right to the services and assistance of the Protection Officer and Service Providers, stipulated under the provisions of the law.

A woman who is the victim of domestic violence will have the right to the services of the police, shelter homes and medical establishments. She also has the right to simultaneously file her own complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.

Sections 18-23 provide a large number of options for legal redressal. She can claim through the courts Protection Orders, Residence Orders, Monetary Relief, Custody Order for her children, Compensation Order and Interim/ Ex parte Orders.

If a husband violates any of the above rights of the aggrieved woman, it will be deemed a punishable offence. Charges under Section 498A can be framed by the magistrate, in addition to the charges under this Act. Further, the offences are cognisable and non-bailable. Punishment for violation of the rights enumerated above could extend to one year’s imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of Rs 20,000.

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Clarification of a Misinterpretation - By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

There are certain verses in the Quran, which convey injunctions similar to the following: ‘Kill them wherever you find them.’ (2:191)

Referring to such verses, there are some who attempt to give the impression that Islam is a religion of war and violence. This is totally untrue. Such verses relate in a restricted sense, to those who have unilaterally attacked the Muslims. The above verse does not convey the general command of Islam.

The truth of the matter is that the Quran was not revealed in the complete form in which it exists today. It was revealed from time to time, according to the circumstances, over a time span of 23 years. If this is divided into years of war and peace, the period of peace amounts to 20 years, while that of war amounts only to 3 years. The revelations during these 20 peaceful years were the peaceful teachings of Islam as are conveyed in the verses regarding the realization of God, worship, morality, justice, etc.

This division of commands into different categories is a natural one and is found in all religious books. For instance, the Gita, the holy book of the Hindus, pertains to wisdom and moral values. Yet along with this is the exhortation of Krishna to Arjun, encouraging him to fight. (3:30) This does not mean that believers in the Gita should wage wars all the time. Gandhiji, after all, derived his philosophy of non-violence from the same Gita. The exhortation to wage war in the Gita applies only to exceptional cases where circumstances leave no choice. But for general day-to-day existence it gives the same peaceful commands as derived from it by Mahatma Gandhi.

Similarly, Jesus Christ said: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew, Chapter 10)

It would not be right to conclude that the religion preached by Christ was one of war and violence, for such utterances relate purely to particular occasions. So far as general life is concerned, Christ taught peaceful values, such as the building up of a good character, loving each other, helping the poor and needy, etc.

The same is true of the Quran. When the Prophet of Islam emigrated from Mecca to Medina, the idolatrous tribes were aggressive towards him. But the Prophet always averted their attacks by the exercise of patience and the strategy of avoidance. However on certain occasions no other options existed, save that of retaliation. Therefore, he had do battle on certain occasions. It was these circumstances, which occasioned those revelations relating to war. These commands, being specific to certain circumstances, had no general application. They were not meant to be valid for all time to come. That is why; the permanent status of the Prophet has been termed a ‘mercy for all mankind.’ (21:107)

Islam is a religion of peace in the fullest sense of the word. The Qur’an calls its way ‘the paths of peace’ (5:16). It describes reconciliation as the best policy (4:128), and states that God abhors any disturbance of the peace (2:205). We can say that:

“It is no exaggeration to say that Islam and violence are contradictory to each other. The concept of Islamic violence is so obviously unfounded that prima facie it stands rejected. The fact that violence is not sustainable in the present world is sufficient indication that violence as a principle is quite alien to the scheme of things in Islam. Islam claims to be an eternal religion and, as such, could never afford to uphold any principle, which could not stand up to the test of time. Any attempt to bracket violence with Islam amounts, therefore, to casting doubt upon the very eternity of the Islamic religion. Islamic terrorism is a contradiction in terms, much like ‘pacifist’ terrorism. And the truth of the matter is that, all the teachings of Islam are based directly or indirectly on the principle of peace.”

Have a Blessed Week,

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty
http://www.gulsha.giving.officelive.com

http://www.sufi.community.officelive.com

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Turkish Translation

Orada Kuran, hangi emir aşağıdakine benzer ifade bazı ayet vardır: 'her yerde onları bulmak onları. "(2:191)

Gibi ayet istinaden bazı kim izlenimini İslam savaş ve şiddet dinidir vermek için girişimde bulunmaktadır. Bu tamamen doğru değildir. Gibi ayet kısıtlı bir anlamda, o kim tek taraflı olarak Müslümanlara saldırdılar ilgilidir. Yukarıdaki ayette İslam'ın genel komut ifade etmez.

Maddenin Gerçek şu ki Kuran içinde bugün var tamamlamak şeklinde ortaya olmadığıdır. O zaman zaman, koşullara göre, 23 yıllık bir zaman aralığı içinde ortaya çıktı. Eğer bu savaş ve barış yıl içinde 20 yıl, barış döneminde miktarda bölünmüş olduğunu savaş sırasında miktarda 3 yıl sadece. Bu 20 yıl içinde barışçıl âyetlerini İslam'ın barışçıl öğretisi olarak Tanrı, ibadet, ahlak, adalet, vb gerçekleştirilmesi ile ilgili ayette aktarılır edildi

Farklı kategorilerde komutları Bu bölünme doğal bir ve bütün din kitapları bulunur. Örneğin, Gita, Hinduların kutsal kitap, bilgelik ve ahlaki değerleri ile ilgilidir. Ancak birlikte bu Arjun için Krishna'nın tembih, onu savaşmaya teşvik ediyor. (3:30) Bu demek değildir ki Gita de müminler gereken ücret savaşları her zaman. Gandhiji, tüm sonra, aynı Gita dan olmayan felsefesini şiddet türetilmiş. Gita ücret savaşa teşvik istisnai durumlarda sadece burada koşullar başka seçenekleri terk geçerlidir. Fakat genel gün için aynı barışçıl komutları verir-to-day varlığı ondan Mahatma Gandi hesaplanır.

Benzer şekilde, İsa Mesih şöyle dedi: "Bu Dünyada barış getirmek için geldi düşünmeyin. Ben barış getirmek için, ama bir kılıç gelmedi. "(Matta, Bölüm 10)

Bu din Mesih tarafından vaaz bir savaş ve şiddet, bu sözler için olduğu sonucuna doğru olmaz sadece belirli durumlar ile ilgilidir. Birbirleriyle, sevgi dolu fakir ve muhtaç, vb yardımcı Şimdiye kadar genel hayatı söz konusu olduğunda, Mesih bina kadar iyi bir karakter gibi barışçı değerleri öğretti

Aynı Kuran doğrudur. Zaman Peygamber Mekke Medine için, putperest kabileleri ona karşı saldırgan edildi göç. Ama Peygamber daima sabır egzersiz ve kaçınma stratejisi kendi saldırıları kaçırdı. Ancak başka seçenekler var, belirli durumlarda, tasarruf bu misilleme. Bu nedenle, o vardı bazı durumlarda savaş yok. Hangi âyetlerini bu savaşa ilişkin occasioned Bu koşullar oldu. Bu komutları, bazı durumlarda, özel olarak genel bir uygulama vardı. Onlar gelecek tüm zamanlar için geçerli olması amacıyla değildi. Bu yüzden Peygamber kalıcı durum tüm insanlık için bir 'rahmet olarak adlandırdığı olmasıdır.' (21:107)

İslam kelimenin en geniş anlamda barış dinidir. Kur'an barış yolunda 'yollar' (5:16) çağırır. Onu en iyi siyaset (4:128) olarak, uzlaşma açıklanır ve devletler Tanrı'nın barış (2:205) herhangi bir rahatsızlık abhors. Diyebiliriz ki:

"Bu, İslam ve şiddet birbirleriyle çelişkili söylüyorlar hiçbir abartı olduğunu. İslami şiddet kavramı çok açıkça bunu reddetti duran bu ilk izlenime göre asılsız olduğunu. Aslında şiddet günümüz dünya sürdürülebilir değildir yeterli göstergesi şiddet bir prensip oldukça İslam'da şeylerin düzeni yabancı olmasıdır. Islam sonsuz bir din olduğunu iddia ve, gibi, hangi zaman testi kadar dayanamayıp herhangi bir ilke, desteklenmesi göze asla. İslam dininin çok sonsuzluğu üzerine şüphe döküm için İslam miktarları, bu nedenle aile için braket şiddet her girişim,. İslami terörizm 'gibi çok açıdan bir çelişki, pasifist' terörizmdir. Ve maddenin gerçek şu ki, İslam'ın bütün öğretilerinin doğrudan veya dolaylı olarak barış ilkesine dayalı olmasıdır. "

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Arabic Translation

هناك بعض الآيات في القرآن الكريم ، والتي تنقل الأوامر مشابهة لما يلي : 'اقتلوهم حيث ثقفتموهم.' (2:191)

في اشارة الى مثل هذه الآيات ، وهناك بعض الذين يحاولون إعطاء الانطباع بأن الإسلام هو دين الحرب والعنف. هذا غير صحيح بالمرة. وتتصل هذه الآيات بمعنى مقيدة ، لأولئك الذين هاجموا المسلمين من جانب واحد. الآية المذكورة أعلاه لا ينقل القيادة العامة للإسلام.

حقيقة الأمر هي أن القرآن لم ينزل في شكل كامل والذي كان موجودا اليوم. انها كشفت من وقت لآخر ، حسب الظروف ، على مدى فترة 23 عاما. إذا كانت هذه هي مقسمة الى سنوات من الحرب والسلام ، في الفترة من السلام المبالغ إلى 20 سنة ، في حين أن الحرب المبالغ فقط لمدة 3 سنوات. ما تم الكشف عنه خلال هذه السنوات ال 20 كانت سلمية سلمية تعاليم الاسلام كما هي وردت في الآيات المتعلقة بإعمال الله ، والعبادة والأخلاق والعدالة ، الخ.

هذا التقسيم للأوامر إلى فئات مختلفة أمر طبيعي وموجود في جميع الكتب الدينية. على سبيل المثال ، غيتا ، وهو الكتاب المقدس للهندوس ، ويتعلق الحكمة والقيم الأخلاقية. حتى الآن جنبا إلى جنب مع هذه هي نصيحة من كريشنا لأرجون ، وشجعه على القتال. (3:30) وهذا لا يعني أن المؤمنين في غيتا ينبغي شن الحروب في كل وقت. غاندى ، بعد كل شيء ، والمستمدة فلسفته في اللاعنف من غيتا نفسه. والحض على شن الحرب في غيتا لا ينطبق إلا على حالات استثنائية يكون فيها الظروف لا تترك خيارا. لكن بالنسبة لعامة يوم إلى يوم وجود أنها تعطي نفس الأوامر السلمية على النحو المستمد من ذلك من قبل المهاتما غاندي.

وبالمثل ، قال السيد المسيح : "لا تظنوا اني جئت لإحلال السلام على الأرض. أنا لم آت لجلب السلام ، ولكن بحد السيف. "(متى ، الفصل 10)

فإنه لن يكون من الصواب أن نستنتج أن الدين الذي بشر به المسيح كان واحدا من الحرب والعنف ، لمثل هذه التصريحات تتصل بشكل بحت لمناسبات خاصة. حتى الآن كما في الحياة العامة هي المعنية ، والمسيح تدريس القيم السلمية ، مثل بناء من حسن الخلق ومحبة بعضهم البعض ، ومساعدة الفقراء والمحتاجين ، وما إلى ذلك.

وينطبق الشيء نفسه على القرآن. عندما نبي الإسلام هاجر من مكة إلى المدينة ، وكانت القبائل الوثنية عدائيا تجاهه. ولكن النبي دائما تجنب هجماتهم على ممارسة الصبر واستراتيجية لتفادي الاصطدام. ولكن في مناسبات معينة ليس هناك خيارات أخرى ، إلا أن من الانتقام. لذا ، كان لا معركة في مناسبات معينة. كانت هذه الظروف ، والتي سببها الكشف عن تلك المتعلقة بالحرب. هذه الأوامر ، ويجري محددة لظروف معينة ، قد لا ينطبق بصورة عامة. انهم ليسوا من المفترض أن تكون صالحة لجميع الوقت في المستقبل. وهذا هو السبب ، والوضع الدائم للنبي تم تسميته ب 'رحمة للبشرية جمعاء.' (21:107)

الاسلام هو دين السلام بالمعنى الكامل للكلمة. القرآن يدعو طريقها 'مسارات السلام' (5:16). فهو يصف عملية المصالحة وأفضل سياسة (4:128) ، وتنص على أن الله يمقت أي إخلال بأمن (2:205). يمكننا القول بأن :

"وليس من قبيل المبالغة القول بأن الإسلام والعنف تتناقض مع بعضها البعض. مفهوم العنف الإسلامي هو ذلك من الواضح أن لا أساس لها لأول وهلة أنها تقف رفضت. والواقع أن العنف ليس المستدامة في العالم يقدم أدلة كافية على أن العنف كمبدأ هو غريب تماما لهذا المخطط من الامور في الإسلام. يدعي الإسلام أن يكون الدين الأبدية ، وعلى هذا النحو ، لا يمكن أبدا أن تحمل لدعم أي مبدأ ، والتي لا يمكن أن يصمد أمام اختبار الزمن. أي محاولة لشريحة العنف المبالغ مع الإسلام ، بالتالي ، أن يلقي بظلال من الشك على الخلود للغاية للدين الإسلامي. الإرهاب الإسلامي هو وجود تناقض في المصطلحات ، مثل الكثير من 'سلمي' الإرهاب. وحقيقة الأمر هي أن جميع تعاليم الإسلام تستند مباشرة أو غير مباشرة على مبدأ السلام ".
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French translation

Il ya certains versets dans le Coran, qui véhiculent des injonctions similaires à ce qui suit: «Tuez-les partout où vous les trouverez. (2:191)

Se référant à de tels vers, il y en a qui tentent de donner l'impression que l'islam est une religion de guerre et de violence. Ceci est totalement faux. Ces versets portent dans un sens restreint, à ceux qui ont unilatéralement attaqué les musulmans. Le verset ci-dessus ne rend pas le commandement général de l'Islam.

La vérité de la matière est que le Coran n'a pas été révélée sous sa forme complète dans laquelle elle existe aujourd'hui. Il a été révélé, de temps en temps, selon les circonstances, sur une période de 23 ans. Si cela est divisé en années de guerre et la paix, la période de paix s'élève à 20 ans, tandis que celui de la guerre ne s'élève qu'à 3 ans. Les révélations au cours de ces 20 années de paix étaient les enseignements pacifiques de l'islam qui sont véhiculées dans les versets concernant la réalisation de Dieu, le culte, la morale, la justice, etc

Cette répartition des commandes dans les différentes catégories est naturelle et se retrouve dans tous les livres religieux. Par exemple, la Gita, le livre sacré des Hindous, se rapporte à la sagesse et de valeurs morales. Pourtant, de même que ceci est l'exhortation de Krishna à Arjuna, l'encourageant à se battre. (3:30) Cela ne signifie pas que les croyants dans la Gita devrait mener des guerres tout le temps. Gandhi, après tout, tire sa philosophie de la non-violence, depuis la Bhagavad-même. L'exhortation à la guerre dans la Gita ne s'applique qu'aux cas exceptionnels où les circonstances ne laissent aucun choix. Mais pour le jour du général au existence quotidienne il donne les mêmes commandes paisible que déduites par le Mahatma Gandhi.

De même, Jésus-Christ a dit: «Ne croyez pas que je suis venu apporter la paix sur Terre. Je ne suis pas venu apporter la paix mais l'épée. "(Matthieu, chapitre 10)

Il ne serait pas juste de conclure que la religion prêchée par le Christ fut l'un de la guerre et la violence, par de tels énoncés se rapportent uniquement à des occasions particulières. En ce qui concerne la vie en général, le Christ a enseigné des valeurs pacifiques, tels que la construction d'un bon caractère, s'aimer, aider les pauvres et les nécessiteux, etc

Le même est vrai du Coran. Quand le Prophète de l'Islam ont émigré de la Mecque à Médine, les tribus idolâtres ont été agressif envers lui. Mais le Prophète toujours permis d'éviter leurs attaques par l'exercice de la patience et la stratégie d'évitement. Toutefois, à certaines occasions pas d'autres options existent, sauf celle de représailles. Par conséquent, il a se battre sur certaines occasions. Ce sont ces circonstances qui ont occasionné ces révélations relatives à la guerre. Ces commandes, étant spécifiques à certaines circonstances, n'avait pas d'application générale. Ils n'étaient pas censés être valables pour tous les temps à venir. C'est pourquoi, le statut permanent du Prophète a été qualifiée de «miséricorde pour l'humanité tout entière." (21:107)

L'islam est une religion de paix au sens plein du mot. Le Coran appelle sa manière »les chemins de la paix" (5:16). Il décrit la réconciliation, la meilleure politique (4:128), et indique que Dieu a horreur toute perturbation de la paix (2:205). Nous pouvons dire que:

"Il n'est pas exagéré de dire que l'islam et la violence sont contradictoires les uns aux autres. Le concept de la violence islamique est si manifestement infondées, prima facie, est rejetée. Le fait que la violence n'est pas durable dans le monde actuel est une indication suffisante que la violence en tant que principe est tout à fait étrangère à l'ordre des choses dans l'Islam. L'Islam prétend être une religion éternelle et, en tant que telle, ne pourrait jamais se permettre de défendre un principe, qui ne pouvaient pas résister à l'épreuve du temps. Toute tentative de violence tranche avec des montants islam, par conséquent, de mettre en doute l'éternité même de la religion islamique. Le terrorisme islamique est une contradiction dans les termes, un peu comme le «terrorisme pacifiste». Et la vérité est que, tous les enseignements de l'Islam sont basés directement ou indirectement sur le principe de la paix. "

Posted via email from Gulsha Fawzia Begum

Meaningful Quote

The Mysterious is invariably the inquisitiveness. The Knowledge obtained at the facade is intended to attain. The 

Veracity of such an attainment is not studied. Thus we sprint close to the impossible without recognizing the 

truthfulness of such virtues. When we begin to walk, we perceive  more than the truth self-confessed to us. Every 

accomplishment is completed with a lot of aches and the drift of rue to perfect the procedure.

Posted via email from Gulsha Fawzia Begum

Mystic & Love

What is loving? Will I ever find love in my life-span? These simple questions keep approaching our mind every day. Since we feel that love is essential to our life. It seems to be just as necessary for our health as nutrition, a good dwelling and warm garb. For love is one of the basic needs of our life. However, still it's a great problem for us. Because most of the time we search for love in the inappropriate direction.

Most of the time we look for love outside ourselves. We are looking for a partner in our lives, who will offer it. We desire children, to be perpetually loved until death, because children will never leave us and will love us until we are old and worn out, so we conceive. We feel a longing and a great want for the affection of another human being. The logic behind all this is the fact that we are missing something inside of ourselves. Something is missing and it has to be procured from the outside. If it is not being procured, we become angry and annoyed: 'why am I not loved? I have every right to be loved! If they are not loving me, they are so incorrect.

When you care for love to be coming from the outside get ready yourself for several great disenchantments in your life. People will leave you. People will feel the essence being immersed out of them. They will feel shackled and entrapped in the chains of all your love claims. They will wish to come out of it and be released. They will even define love as to be liberated from you! Because you love is truly no love at all. It's nothingness further than self interest. Some bargain you want to make with benefits for your sake. This kind of love has great claims and hopes. This love is not trustful but demands to swear and agreements written down. This love is a love stemming from fear, which drives individuals to the city hall to take their pledges in front of a civil official, as if their love will not endure if they haven't sworn in public.

This is the love of panic, the love of isolation, the love of long night falls waiting beside the phone, the love of anger. It is really no love at all. It's the misery and unhappiness of the heart, which needs to be confounded from its misery. It's a lack of self confidence, which wants another human being to say that we are good and worthwhile humans. Love in this situation is nothing more than an effort to enhance up the ego.

When we start loving out of fear and loneliness, out of a need for aid, out of an emotion of being incomplete, then our love will always be adulterated. We can only love one another if we have arrived at a certain amount of completeness in ourselves. First we have to love ourselves, because we cannot love if there is no love in us. We first have to find the well of love. However, this 'loving ourselves' is most of the time misunderstood by most people. They think that they have to love their ego first before they can love different. They think that they first have to intensify up a strong ego. They think that they first must get a clear drawing of all their needs and claims, before entering a love affair. They first want to be powerful in 'having their say'.

This is a wrong perspective towards love. Love means surrender. It means giving yourself over. It's not about building up the ego, but on the adverse, it's about losing it. Pure love doesn't ask 'what am I to profit?' but will only search for what's good for the other. Pure love is always objective and looks at the other in complete detachment. There is no ego involved, but on the contrary, it tries to dissolve its ego into the other person. That's why we are always thinking about our loved one when we are inlove. This is avery beautiful and avery mystic tendency of nature, that we are every moment of the day preoccupied with our beloved when we are inlove. It's as if nature says: 'Be your loved one if you want to be happy! Forget your old ego, it was nothing but a sorry business full of desires, greed, anger and all sorts of disillusions. Step out of yourself. Melt your soul with the soul of yourbeloved, because in melting you will feel yourself becoming part of the spirit of all persons. You will feel divinity and ecstasy, if you let yourself be taken over by yourbeloved. Get rid of yourself, as soon as possible!'

This is the great sagacity of Sufism, the mystical knowledge that teaches us in what manner to fuse two opposites into one, after what precedent to surpass the obvious dichotomy of the sensual world that is only illusive. For the opposites male and female are nothing but a mirage, a wrong recognition with a limiting attachment. In the very profoundness of our soul, there is only God, only the Almighty creator. When we reach the core of our being, then the male and the female melt into one. There we have become inseparable again, like we were at our conception when the male and the female became one. Rea llove is about this mystic vision. Real love is about becoming one again.

So let me draw a picture of a mystic kind of love, starting with the love between man and woman because this kind of love is the deepest and the most serious. For nature is very serious about extension and has possessed it by creating a very profound bond of infirmity between the two love partners. For only inlove has propagation the finest chance to get on. The personification is this: imagine yourself a lady, who is to the very depth of her heart inlove with a man. She imagines about him daytime and night-time. He never leaves her heart. Her only purpose in life is to make him happy, to make him feel comfortable and secure. Because she wants him to be the father of her children. She wants to be with him day and night. If he wants to be alone she will respect him in his solitude, for she never doubts her love. She knows that her lover will always come back to her. Since she knows her love, this love, such a deep and immaterial love, to be unavoidable for any human being.

In this deep and overwhelming love, the woman is possessed by her lover. She is taken over. There are no more thoughts about herself. She has become the man, she is in love with. She has grown fond of the communications he uses. She dotes on the way he dialogues and the way he moves. It has started to show. Her words have changed. Her activities have changed. She is a different person anymore. Something very mysterious has happened to her. She has found her love.

The same with the man who is in love. He is different man as he was before. His thoughts have changed. He has become more gentle, more loving, less egoistic. He feels himself to be more responsible for his fellow men, more caring. He has lost his harsh traits. Because he is always filled with love. Every moment of the day he feels her caring and selfless love protecting and strengthening him. He is so grateful in his love ('who am I to deserve this?') that he wants to do everything in his power to make her feel happy.

Imagine these two people making love to each other. Wouldn't their mutual love make them a spiritual unity? Will this not be sheer ecstasy, their souls having mingled into a mystic union? With this kind of love their sexuality has become a religion. Because their love is the love of God.

One may object that this is a very hypothetical and idealistic kind of love I am picturing here. In regular life love invariably has some egotistical traits. We never want to surrender ourselves completely. And best we don't, we say to ourselves, because love is only a brief emotion. It's good to be always on guard and not to lose oneself in it. Lest we may end up frustrated, cheated and misused. 'Don't let yourself ever be possessed by anyone. You will be dominated and you'll lose all your dignity.'

This is the kind of philosophy that stops us from having mystic love. It's fear that prevents us from completely giving ourselves to our loved one. In the past, we've had some traumatic experiences in our former love relationships. We have formed ourselves some theories based on these presumptions. So now we think it is better not to give ourselves completely. We've become hardened by our past. We do not want to make the same mistake. However, by doing, so we are missing the joy and the ecstasy of love.

We must open up our hearts. We must live in the here and now. We must enjoy life by not letting our past or our future interferes with our happiness of the moment. Who is to say that this love will be like our former loves? One must have certainty that love is meant to be. If one doesn't have the trust love will never happen. Real love starts with two individuals knowing the importance of self surrender in their relationship. This self surrender will give nourishment to their love. It will diminish their fear and by doing so it will increase their ability to surrender themselves. Even so, first the insight must dawn on them that love is nothing more than self surrender, then letting the ego go.

Nevertheless, it must always be remembered that love between man and woman (or any love between human beings) is nothing but a deduction from a higher type of love. This is the love spelt with a capital. It's according to the highest Idea in the universe. It's the form at which all the objects in the world, be they material or immaterial, partake. It's the basic energy from which the world originates. It's God dwelling in the depth of things. For Love is God (rather than vice versa). So in order to know sexual love, one first has to experience spiritual Love. One first has to enhance the roots of the sapling in order to have beautiful branches and rewards.

Informal question every individual heading towards seeking love (and aren't we all?) must first, before he comes in a love relationship, study the root Concept from which all love stems. In this case, a mere object preparation won't do, because love is something experiential. Love is a matter of life and death. It's the affair that will decide if one's proceeding to be happy in his life or not. One now has to research love subjectively. A mere book won't do. Since a mere intellectual knowing of love is not enough. In order to have love in his life one has to be love. One has to fuse his whole being with the divine Love first. His subject must become one with the object. Onlythen will one radiate pure love. Only then will his love be selfless.

The question in the start of this composition can now be answered: 'how can one love?' One can only love, if love has become a basic trait of one's character. This is not very hard to accomplish, but at the same time it is perhaps the most difficult thing to do. It's not very hard because love is the original state of your character. So the only thing you have to do is be yourself. You don't have to work hard to become someone. Just be what you have been all along. If you could have a brief look at your character in its purest, most normal form, you would see that your character is love. Just be it.

However, what makes it so difficult to accomplish? All sorts of veils are covering up your true state. There is the veil of your upbringing, there is the veil of your culture, of your desires, of your fears, of your opinions and prejudices, in short of all the conditioning that has taken the position in your lifetime. You have never heard to your true self. You have always 'worked on yourself'. You have never let go. You've never floated along with the Great River. That's why you haven't found love yet. Once you'll encounter your true inner state, love will come your path.

Mysticism & Yoga

Mysticism is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of its practitioners to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality in which they live. Through Tantric practice, an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves liberation from it. This particular path to salvation among the several offered practices of Indian religions, such as yoga, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal from social relationships and modes.

During mystic practices and studies, it is instructed further in meditation technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison with the way this kind of meditation is known and used elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Yoga for the purpose of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the "heart", for meditation and worship.

Yoga is a healing system of theory and practice. It is a combination of breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation that has been practiced for more than 5,000 years.

Yoga is believed to calm the nervous system and balance the body, mind, and spirit. While yoga evolved as a spiritual practice in India.


According to one tradition Kundalini yoga is a pure spiritual science which relies upon a technique called shaktipat that leads to enlightenment under the guidance of a spiritual master.

The awakening of kundalini means awakening of inner knowledge, awareness and evolved consciousness. Kundalini Yoga has been documented as a system of exercises and meditations and claims to provide extensive benefits for personal growth, health and improving mental and physical well-being.

Kundalini is a concentrated form of prana or life force, lying dormant in chakras in the body. It is conceptualized as a coiled up serpent (literally, 'kundalini' in Sanskrit is 'That which is coiled.' Sanskrit kund, "to burn"; kunda, "to coil or to spiral"). The serpent is considered to be female, coiled up three and a half times, with its mouth engulfing the base of the Sushumna nadi.

In the classical literature of Kashmir Shaivism kundalini is described in three different manifestations. The first of these is as the universal energy or para-kundalini. The second of these is as the energizing function of the body-mind complex or prana-kundalini. The third of these is as consciousness or shakti-kundalini which simultaneously subsumes and intermediates between these two. Ultimately these three forms are the same but understanding these three different forms will help to understand the different manifestations of kundalini .

The path of Kundalini is said to proceed from the Muladhara Chakra at the lower end of the spinal column up to the Sahasara Chakra at the top of the head. But its awakening is not thought to be a physical occurrence; it consists exclusively of a development in consciousness. According to some sources, awakening of kundalini brings with it pure joy, pure knowledge and pure love.

According to one source, the word kundalini literally means "the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.". It is a metaphor, a poetic way of describing the flow of energy and consciousness which already is said to exist within each person. The practices are said to enable the person to merge with or "yoke" the universal self. This merging of individual consciousness with the universal consciousness is said to create a "divine union" called "yoga"

According to some traditions Kundalini techniques are only communicated from master to disciple once the disciple is deemed ready. In these cases, yogic masters believe that in ascetic settings ignorance or refusal to follow instructions of a master can lead to harmful effects.

This psycho-spiritual and transformative process may, according to different sources, occur in connection with a near-death experience, or with prolonged and intensive spiritual/contemplative practice, as practiced within a few sub-disciplines of meditation or yoga.
Other factors that may trigger in intense personal crises or experiences.

Awakening of kundalini shows itself as "awakening of inner knowledge" : "Kundalini is the divine mother. A true mother never causes harm or does anything bad to her children.". According to this view true kundalini awakening has pure joy, pure knowledge and pure love.
Like every form of energy one must also learn to understand spiritual energy -- the implication being that spiritual practices, such as traditional yoga are designed to open or increase this innate energy, while the philosophy behind these energies can be developed and focused. In order to be able to integrate this spiritual energy, careful purification and strengthening of the body and nervous system are recommended beforehand.

Consultation with a meditation teacher who is not trained in Kundalini techniques, or with a psychiatrist, medical doctor or therapist who is not knowledgeable about this process, often leads to confusion and misunderstanding.

Prayer

Thank you Almighty God for wanting to instruct and inspire us.
Forgive me when I think that I can manage well enough without joining
with others around Your Word, to strengthen my faith and fellowship.
May I take fresh delight in regularly meeting with the community, and
may I always remember that the universe is for Your glory and not my
convenience. Help me to find a special identity at work with others
who love oneness, making time to understand and to pray. Please help
me to value fellowship wherever I can find it, especially if my work
involves travelling. Please help me to choose to build this into my
identity as a Believer in the Almighty Creator.

Have a Blessed Week,

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty
http://www.gulsha.giving.officelive.com

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The Instinctive Mystic - ( Part 2)

A true Sufi is universally the one who has seasoned the passage which has led him close to the path can illustrate the journey. The majority who claims sufi"s are the ones who are followers. A true Sufi with a Lineage and an occurrence with the Divine can unfold it best than in the least. These are rare to encounter .. and when you sense that over there is one, it's tough to judge as critics advance in the way of manifestation of truth.

The true knowledgeable Sufi  is most time void of the transmutation that is taking place within the internal entity. The ones bestowed with the powers can be perhaps an individual who may not possess eternally desired to walk the path. It is a traumatic path for the nearly all who have walked ahead. These attributes are not given on a serving dish. They go through a painful journey as the prime half of their life. The journey commences very before time for some. The life occurrence is further of a teaching. The direction in all characteristics of pain one can contemplate. It continues until the innermost self is vacuumed Along with the pain inflicted is in all areas one can imagine. However, there also is a synchronic path which is of testing too. To arrive at the end of the prime journey one has to give the infinite test in addition to the life occurrences. Many fail as the war within yourself, the disagreement with the community, the row with the whole world and the mysterious is severe. Nevertheless, winning against the temptation of the satan is not an easy task to achieve. The scores are given by the supreme. Therefore, the examination is written from the heart. This is again why it formulates into the religion of the heart as during the early stages a Sufi mystic is an instinctive  and makes all the life decision based on the message of the heart rather than scriptures.

***to be contd*****

May the blessings of the God Almighty be alive your guidance,

love, serenity & harmony

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty

http://www.gulsha.giving.officelive.com 

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A Sufi Dervish - The Great Sufi"s From the Land of Afghanistan ( Part 1)

Understanding the basics of Sufism in Islam.

Sufism or taṣawwuf (Arabic: تصوّف‎), also spelled tasavvuf according to the Persian pronunciation, is generally understood to not be a distinct sect of Islam, but the inner, mystical dimension of Islam.

 A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ṣūfī (صُوفِيّ), though some adherents of the tradition reserve this term only for those practitioners who have attained the goals of the Sufi tradition. Another name used for the Sufi seeker is Dervish. 

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God."Alternatively, in the words of the renowned Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits."

During the primary stages of Sufism, Sufis were characterised by their particular attachment to dhikr "remembrance [of God]" and asceticism. Sufism arose among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE). 

The Sufi movement has spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, at first expressed through Arabic, then through Persian, Turkish and a dozen other languages. ṭuruq "Orders", which are either Sunnī or Shī‘ī in doctrine, mostly trace their origins from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad through his cousin ‘Alī, with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi who trace their origins through the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.

According to Idries Shah, the Sufi philosophy is universal in nature, its roots predating the arising of Islam and the other modern-day religions; likewise, some Muslims consider Sufism outside the sphere of Islam, although generally scholars of Islam contend that it is simply the name for the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam.

May the blessings of the God Almighty be alive your guidance,

love, serenity & harmony

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty

http://www.gulsha.giving.officelive.com 

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Rabia Basri – Islamic Sufi Mystic ( Cited at mommymystic)

Rabia Basri is one of the most well-known female Islamic saints, and had a profound impact on Sufism, a mystic branch of Islam. She was born in seventh-century Iraq, and there is little direct knowledge of her life beyond that. However, according to legends recorded by a later Sufi saint, she was born the fourth daughter to a poor family. Soon after her birth her father had a dream in which he was told that his new daughter was a favorite of Allah’s, and he was given instructions for making the money he needed to support his family.

While this worked for awhile, after her father’s death several years later, Rabia and her remaining family were assaulted by robbers, with Rabia captured and sold into slavery. Her spiritual longing had already awoken, and she made the best of her situation by praying and meditating most of the night, after her duties were done. Legend has it that one night her master came upon her praying fervently, and was awestruck by the light she emanated. Horrified that he had enslaved such a spiritual being, he released her.

She went into the desert and became an ascetic, studying with the Islamic spiritual master Hazrat Hassan Basri. She prayed and meditated ceaselessly, and denied herself any pleasure not directly related to her worship. She never married, which is highly unusual within all sects of Islam, particularly for women. She insisted that she only had love for Allah, and wished to devote all her attentions to worship.

Legend has it that Hassan Basri, who was one of the premier Islamic spiritual masters of the period, thought so highly of her that he would often refuse to teach when she was not present. Word of her devotion and spiritual power began to spread, and she became a teacher in her own right, with people travelling for miles to study with her. To her dying day she lived the same austere desert life, never seeking fame, but achieving great reknown through the grace she transmitted.

She was one of the first Sufis to introduce the idea of Divine Love, which later became a major Sufi precept. Many famous quotes are attributed to her, including her answer to the question “do you hate Satan”, to which she responded, “My love of Allah has so possessed me that no place remains for loving or hating any save Him.” Many devotional poems are attributed to her, praising the love of Allah, and the experience of love as the true path to Allah’s grace. These poems are the precursor to the later more famous Sufi devotional poems, by Rumi and others of his period.

May the blessings of the God Almighty be alive your guidance,

love, tranquility & harmony

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty

http://www.gulsha.giving.officelive.com 

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The Spiritual Guidance

It is a well known historical fact that in spreading the ethical and spiritual values of Islam, major and effective contributions have been Made by the Walis of ALLAH (saints). It was their humanistic position, and piety which won over the hearts of lacs of people. They made a direct contact with the masses served and loved them, lived with them in the realization of Eternal Truth. The proof of this is more than evident from the history of growth of Islam in India. Although Islam had penetrated in this subcontinent in the first century of Hijra, but the noble task of inspiring the people to its tenets and values in India was accomplished by Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.) popularly known as Khwaja Saheb and Khwaja Gharib Nawaz.

The Sufi Teacher

It is a well known historical fact that in spreading the ethical and spiritual values of Islam, major and effective contributions have been Made by the Walis of ALLAH (saints). It was their humanistic position, and piety which won over the hearts of lacs of people. They made a direct contact with the masses served and loved them, lived with them in the realization of Eternal Truth.

The proof of this is more than evident from the history of growth of Islam in India. Although Islam had penetrated in this subcontinent in the first century of Hijra, but the noble task of inspiring the people to its tenets and values in India was accomplished by Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A.) popularly known as Kwaja Saheb and Khwaja Gharib Nawaz.

The word Sufi is derived from the Arabic word 'suf' which means ' wool ' and which refers to the coarse woolen robes that were worn by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and by his close companions. The goal of a Sufi is none other than God Himself. There are signs of God everywhere in the universe and in man himself.

The Sufis have pointed out useful things about Iblis. Let's continue with some of their teachings. Let us quote shaykh Fariduddin 'Attar who has written these lines in his "Mosibat Nama"(Book of Adversity), p. 63, for people looking for a Sufi teacher:

Gar to gu'i nist piri aashkaarTo talab kon dar hazaar andar hazaarZe aanke gar piri namaand dar jahaanNa zamin bar jaai maand na zamaanPir ham hast in zamaan penhaan shodaTang-e khalqaan dida dar kholqaan shoda

If you say: There is no pir openly to be seen,Then you should seek another thousand times.For if no pir would remain in the world,Then neither the earth nor time would remain in place.The pir exists even now, but he is hidden.Having seen the narrow-mindedness of the people,He is wearing worn-out clothes.

Shaykh 'Azizuddin Nasafi speaks about the role of Iblis in this respect: "O, dervish! You will not find this wise man or this verifier of thetruth in mosques, preaching from the pulpit or reciting dhikr. You will not find him in the religious schools giving lessons, and you will not find him among the people of high office among the bookish people or among the idol worshippers. You will not find him in the Sufi centre prostrating himself with the people of fantasy and self-worshippers.

Out of these three places for worshipping God, there may be one person out of a thousand working for the sake of God". " O dervish! The wise man and the verifier of the truth, and the men of God are hidden and this hiddenness is their guardian, their club, their fortress, and their weapon. This is the reason why they are clean and pure. He that is not hidden is a plot and a trick of Satan". O, dervish! Their exterior is like the exterior of the common people and their interior is like the interior of the elite. They don't give access to any leader or chief and they have no claim to be a leader…They spend most of their time in retreat and seclusion, and they don't enjoy interaction with this world. They are opposed to company with those of high position. If it is useful, they spend their time in association with the dear ones and the dervishes".

( to be contd)

May the blessings of the God Almighty be alive your guidance,

love, tranquility & harmony

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty

http://www.gulsha.giving.officelive.com 

Posted via email from Gulsha Fawzia Begum

My First Blog Post

Three passions have governed my life: 
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness. 
In the union of love I have seen 
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision 
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge. 
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people]. 
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens, 
But always pity brought me back to earth; 
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart 
Of children in famine, of victims tortured 
And of old people left helpless. 
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, 
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.

---

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The Sufi Message

The Sufi Message is the message of the day. It does not convey presumptions or teachings to add to those already existing, which puzzle the human mind. What the world needs today is the message of love, harmony, and beauty, the absence of which is the only tragedy of life. The Sufi Message does not give a new law. It wakens in humanity the spirit of brotherhood, with tolerance on the part of each for the religion of the other, and with forgiveness from each for the fault of the other. It teaches thoughtfulness and consideration, to create and maintain harmony in life; it teaches service and usefulness, which alone can make life in the world fruitful and in which lies the satisfaction of every soul. - ( Hazrath Inayat Khan)

Have a Blessed Week,

Warm Regards

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty

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Todays Quote

If one is misjudged, there is no disputing that can formulate the consciousness to the distinct. The time is not in your favour. After a gist just steps into quietness. Your esteem and Intergrity are  your true garments. What you subsist in one need not shield to any as  your soul identifies the actuality, your belief stands by you, and if you 

misfire it means your belief is unhealthy in the base.  The labor to justify any of our behaviour is pointless. If one is peeled of every inch of the attire, then the path needs to be altered. Direction is to be set up. -    Gulsha Fawzia 

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The Occurrence. The Comic

My occurrence the slating concluding hebdomad altered me a lot. It's not that it's  by no mode occurrences ensued 

earlier but every time when such incidents happen, I despise myself for letting persons use me. 

Closing week I got a call from a dignitary who needed help. As I was to trip to another station, I was not sure of this one,

yet something made me go close to the bearing where help was needed.

 A  calling and I was clear to go out of my way and for the 

first time disembarked at this area as most times I never visit anyone. I asked my mum to come alongside with me, 

and therefore, at this gentlemen area, withering my entire day, 4 hours of tiresome energy wasted for no fee, but the 

procedure was to be completed by him the next day which consisted of charity ( feed the poor). 

In spite of me trusting the individual here and giving all details out.. anticipated him to follow my criterions.

 However, again man is 

egocentric and self entered. 

The next daylight, there is a disorder and speculate ..what ?? I am impractical, I need a 

specialist.

 Eventually, I field at a consultant and my record is all normal. Gratitude to the intelligibility adviser but 

what about the unappreciative gentleman who was in distress for years and in 4 hours was rightly.

 In return, he 

bestowed me a prize of dishonesty and cheating.. with many reasons explaining why he could not continue. His 

father asked him Split  it.

 My question here is " where was the father the previous day when the son was 

being healed ? Alternatively, is it the food that was to be given to the poor that made the father intervene ? 

Was it because you got someone's 4 hours wasted for free of charge ?.....

 I am ashamed to say there still 

dwells on such people who claim to be well cultured but sad yet to know the basics of honesty. 

As I always say it's easy to preach but hard to practice. 

This incident has shaken me, and I have learnt that anything has given free of cost is 

never appreciated. I think the gentleman , the so called cultured man for sure needs to settle his dues with me. Think 

back if one can be unrestrained you of something than can give it back excessively, and for sure repayment it all 

with profit.

 As I detest individuals who are a bunch of lies and profess to be holy and veracious. The most shameful 

part is before letting me down he has omitted that he OWES me and his Dues are not remitted in cash or by integrity. 

This is indeed a learning lesson " On no account do anything for free as its never appreciated "..

Have a Blessed Week,

Warm Regards

Gulsha Fawzia Salman Chishty

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