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Ibadat (meditation), also known as Bandagi, is a serious and difficult aspect of
our religion. It is the means for spiritual elevation, the final stage of human
development. Like most things that are worthwhile, the results of meditation are
not arrived at except with labor and difficulty, and yet all the labor may be lost,
bearing no fruitful results, if meditation is not practiced rightly & regularly.
Hence a person who aspires for success in meditation should meet the following basic
requirements enumerated by Hazrat Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah (SWA) in His holy
firman:
1. Complete Iman (faith).
2. Fulfillment of all obligatory religious duties.
3. Purity of heart and thoughts.
4. Good Deeds.
The first effort in meditation is primarily concerned with the development of
concentration. This implies the ability to control our thoughts, and this is not easy.
The great difficulty that confronts us in meditation is that of controlling the multitude
of thoughts, which ceaselessly flock into our minds.
The most extraneous and
irrelevant thoughts persist in pressing upon us whenever we sit in meditation and
hence, the concentration of thoughts is like riding on an obstinate mule which
constantly takes a direction entirely its own.
The restlessness of the mind is the
general discovery of all who take up the practice of meditation and it is no wonder that
the mind is likened to a monkey gone mad and leaping aimlessly hither and thither.
One understands then that only a small fraction of one's thoughts is one's own,
the rest being but an undisciplined rebellious mob.
Control of the mind, of its thoughts is indeed a long and difficult process but with
patience and perseverance it can be achieved. When the mind strays away, as it
will do so many times at first, then we must forcibly bring it back to our bol (our 'mantra).
The moment we find that our attention has gone elsewhere, wandering
Away from the path we have set for it, we must make it return, It does not matter that
our thoughts have strayed away, because that is due to the inherent and natural
restlessness of the mind, but what matters is that we should recollect them as soon
as we discover the change, and again think of the bol.
While actual meditation may occupy an hour only, whatever we do and think during the
remaining period of the day has a direct bearing on that hour and hence, we should try to control our thinking to only those things which we want to think of. This means, we should avoid mechanical, associative thinking, daydreaming and uncontrolled imagination. We should always endeavor to think intentionally, deliberately and with
a purpose. We should avoid gossip and unnecessary talk.
In the practice of meditation we must try to withdraw the mind from its external surroundings by banishing the thoughts that remind us of the existence of the material
world. Thoughts, as we are aware, concern matters relating to events and persons, either real, or imaginary.
Amongst these some of the strongest are connected with the things, the properties and the persons that are of the greatest interest to us. Unless we can banish these thoughts and temporarily forget their existence, it is impossible for us to achieve the state of mental stillness that constitutes advanced meditation. We have to feel strongly that however dear our friends and relatives are, they are temporary, they have no real abiding power, it is only the soul that is eternal. If, however, we become obsessed with anything, it will not be possible for us to practice meditation successfully because the thoughts of our obsession will dominate our consciousness. So long as we have possession, whether it be material possession, or a mental possession, or an emotional possession and cannot let go sufficiently to forget it utterly and completely, then we cannot proceed with meditation. Yet we may have these possession and they may not dominate our consciousness. Our success will depend on our ability to remain inwardly free from the bondages of worldly ties and possessions. For this, it would do us well to remind ourselves that the goal, the destiny, the reward of treading the path of meditation is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer us.
Our early efforts in meditation do lead to some disheartenment and leave us with a sense of failure and fatigue, but if we were to accept the fact that the task
Undertaken is a serious and difficult one, yet still perfectly possible and worthwhile, and bravely attempt to carry on with the exercise without slackening, we will undoubtedly be rewarded.
Ultimately, the mind will get tired of its rebellion and will yield and stay just where we want it to be. With sufficient progress achieved in the ability to concentrate, we will
become conscious of our bol moving through the stillness into deep concentration.
This is a stage somewhere between being awake and asleep. The difference is that
normally when we are nearing sleep, we become less and less conscious, eventually
Losing consciousness; whereas in ibadat we approach the sleep condition but without
losing consciousness, the "I" consciousness. The goal of meditation may be said to be
to enter the deep sleep condition consciously. This needs greater explanation.
We may say that the most intimate habitat of the soul in the human.
Body is in the heart. When falling asleep, we go into a state (in the heart),
which has a vibrational range vastly beyond that of the ego, and as such state with our
consciousness (but without thought, since consciousness can exist without thought),
then we would come into contact with our soul. Furthermore, as every soul is connected with and is a part of Imam's Noor (the Universal Soul), by coming into
'contact','seeing' or 'realizing' our own soul, we would at the same time contact', 'see'
or 'realize' Imam's Noor.
It must be stressed that we have to be tenacious and have a desire to ever increase our
efforts. Complete success can only be achieved by those who are not prepared to
Accept defeat on any terms and want success at all costs.
Although the price is apparently high, the reward is immeasurably higher. Nothing of
true value can be attained easily or cheaply, and what could be
more valuable than the progress along the way to God Himself? It is not easy to find
happiness in us, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.
MAY ALLAH BLESS YOU WITH SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION TO ACHIEVE THE
FINAL-GOAL THAT ONE LONG FOR. AMEN.
