Fw: Stunning Article by Sultan Mohamed Shah on Meditation

[Shanif Jivraj]

> This is a stunning article written on meditation by
> Mawlana Sultan Mohammed
> > Shah. Please pass it on to all your friends and family
> who might benefit
> > from
> > such inspiring and timeless words.
> >
> > Meditation means different things to different people.
> In its basic form,
> > meditation means sitting quietly, doing nothing, and
> being empty of all
> > thought. It is a practice that relaxes and stills the
> mind of the endless
> > chatter and clutter of our multitudinous thoughts.
> Meditation is a vehicle
> > that allows us to contact our deepest spiritual core
> or center, which is the
> > essence of our being. There are different variations
> of how meditation is
> > done, but the essence is the same. Traditional methods
> of meditation have
> > rules and methods. Whereas the modern schools promote
> an open-ended style of
> > meditation. The form may vary, but the ultimate goal
> remains the same.
> >
> > The objective is to attempt to tap into the Divine
> Reality and draw strength
> > from it. Yoga, transcendental meditation, Hindu jaap,
> Buddhist mantra or the
> > Sufi word are some of the different schools of
> meditation. The key to inner
> > peace and happiness lies within us. Meditation takes
> us on a journey inside
> > ourselves to seek a connection with the Divine
> essence. This practice, if
> > sufficiently strong and dedicated, has the potential
> to bring about
> > spiritual enlightenment, which arises when we
> understand the deeper mystery
> > and meaning of life.
> >
> > The road to enlightenment has many levels and stages,
> and involves stripping
> > away layers of illusion and delusion to get to the
> underlying spiritual
> > truth-the heart of Divine realization. The key to
> happiness and inner peace
> > is inside us and not outside. Meditation helps us find
> that key. Nasruddin,
> > a mystic, spoke of a man
> > who had lost his keys and was looking for them in the
> street. A friend
> > joined him in looking for the keys, but they were
> unsuccessful. The friend
> > then asked the man exactly where he had lost his keys,
> to which the man
> > replied hat he had lost them at home. When asked why
> he was looking for the
> > keys out in the street, his simple reply was that
> there was more light in
> > the street. The symbolic meaning here is that we are
> looking for the key to
> > the spirit in bright places, but not the right
> > place, which is within us.
> >
> > Meditation connects us to this place of illumination
> inside ourselves, even
> > if it means going into some dark places along the way.
> When we meditate in
> > absolute humility, we progress on the spiritual
> journey. When a saint,
> > through her devout meditation, reached the highest
> state of enlightenment, a
> > voice asked, 'Who are you'? The Saint replied,
> 'It is me'. The voice
> > responded, 'Out you go'. The Saint continued
> her meditation and again came
> > very close to the Reality. Again the voice said,
> 'Who are you?' This time
> > she replied, It is your servant'. The voice again
> said, 'Out you go'. Once
> > more the Saint continued with her meditation until she
> attained the highest
> > state of consciousness. The voice once more said.
> 'Who are you?' Now she
> > replied, 'It is you,' and was finally let in
> to experience the Reality. The
> > moral of this Sufi story is that we become something
> when we become nothing.
> > When we eliminate our ego, we experience
> enlightenment. You and I become
> > one. I and you become one.
> >
> > Just think at this place there is present such an oil,
> which produces the
> > light of great intensity. For instance, the electric
> bulb here, which
> > illuminates before you, that you can see. But that
> light is of the world.
> > In the lamp of your soul (ruh), there is an abundant
> amount of oil, but if
> > you do not enlighten it with a matchstick, how can
> there be an illumination?
> > For how long will you keep wasting in vain and in
> ignorance the remaining
> > life of yours?
> >
> > Acquaint yourselves with esoteric knowledge (BATUNI
> ILM). You are not
> > practicing ibadat. This Ismaili faith (deen) is a
> faith par excellence, but
> > you do not under-stand it, and hence you get guided on
> to the faiths of
> > others. Get informed of your faith. You are being
> deceived by Satan. You
> > just realize that you have gems in your hands. You are
> going in other's
> > faiths, but they are exoteric faiths (ZAHERI DEEN). In
> all those faiths, one
> > performs exoteric ibadat, that which is done by the
> body, by the flesh.
> > Ibadat by the tongue can be performed even by the
> animals. What is the use
> > of that? Cows, bullocks etc. all have ears, tongue and
> body; so what is the
> > difference between you and the bullocks? Like human
> beings, dogs and other
> > animals too possess a body. They also eat, go to
> jungle, move, walk and run,
> > and go where there is meat or other food and keep
> running for females. So,
> > what difference is there between you and the animals
> like dogs etc..?
> >
> > Your nobleness and your whole life are for you to
> recognize the soul. The
> > lamp of Allah's Noor is in you. It is in your
> hands. That lamp is in all
> > of you. You should look towards it. Enquire of it. If
> you do not enquire
> > of it, how would you know? God has allotted time for
> carrying out business
> > activity. The day is for man to work and earn. Why has
> God created the
> > night? The night is not totally for sleeping, but is
> for ibadat also, and in
> > ibadat is contained the happiness.
> >
> > Aga Khan III