Rifts in Javad Nurbakhsh's Nimatullahi Order?
HU
I do not like bringing up political controversies inside Suf Orders,
but unfortunately there is a lot of that happening these days, so one
should face realities. I have been hearing from multiple sources now
that a huge split has recently occured in Javad Nurbakhsh's UK based
Nimatullahi Order as a result of his having formally renounced Islam
in all its forms about a year or so ago. Apparently a huge number of
mainly Iranian dervishes formally affiliated with him have now left
the order as a result of this action by Dr Nurbakhsh and gone their
own way. Is this information correct? Can some confirm, deny or shed
some light on what exactly is going on? And why exactly in his
capacity as the head of an Iranian Sufi lineage would he do something
like this, if true? Thank you.
HU
obov...@aol.com
And why exactly in his
> capacity as the head of an Iranian Sufi lineage would he do something
> like this, if true? Thank you.
>
> HU
One possibility is that he found it useful for the continuation of the
pursuit of Truth.
Difficult times are happening to everyone these days
(said the wheat to the chaff)
Thanks for the info,
obo
HU
> One possibility is that he found it useful for the continuation of the
> pursuit of Truth.
That is a good way to put it and an interesting perspective, but not a
valid raison d'etre for such an action - which several sources have
now confirmed. And we have heard these sorts things happening before
from names like Osho, Sai Baba, Maharishi and an endless array of
wealthy corrupt Gurus in the West who suddenly have thrown all sanity/
etiquette to the winds in the name of the pursuit of a Truth and by
the route (or excuse, rather) of a crazy-wisdom they had formerly
claimed to have already attained. I think other things are going on,
however, and this has more to do with other less lofty factors, not
truth seeking (haqaqit ju'i). Note this was all seen coming 10-50
years ago!
That stated, Javad Nurbakhsh bears a responsibility to a lineage,
note, he claims to carry as its sitting head that goes back to the
Prophet of Islam (pbuh). This is not about Nurbakhsh's personal whim
or fancy in a given state/hal. It is primarily about a responsibility
which ostensibly the former Pir of that Order, namely Munis Ali Shah
Zu'l-Riyasatayn Kirmanshahi, apparently had determined for his
successor, and a responsibility that then this Pir is supposed to bear
on behalf of the Order on behalf of all murids for the present and
subsequent generations, as all the true Masters before him had done.
It is a responsibility he owes his murids to the end and one that he
cannot selfishly relinquish on a personal whim. Now since the 1950s it
has been a well known fact that Javad Nurbakhsh was NOT the duly
appointed legitimate successor of Munis 'Ali Shah. In fact his
appointment - and as attested by several published sources in Iran
meticulously documenting everything - was all orchestrated by SAVAK
(the Shah's secret police) in the mid 1950s upon the passing of Munis
'Ali Shah. Munis 'Ali Shah had in fact appointed in writing another
individual to succeed him. But because Javad Nurbakhsh was close to
the royal court and was thus more easily controllable by the politics
of the day, politics outweighed truth, and a 26 year old with
virtually no experience, let alone Nur, suddenly found himself the
Master of one of the largest Sufi Orders in Iran while the true
successor was shunted aside and silenced in the service of court
politics.
Fast forwarding to the present. Iran is presently under a theocratic
police-state and brutal religious fundamentalist/fascist dictatorship
which in the past has had no qualms in harrassing dervishes and Sufis
of all orders, but especially Nurbakhsh's dervishes. They have used
(or otherwise manufactured) scandals such as this as an excuse to
bludgeon and maliciously persecute poor, innocent and sincere mom-and-
pop hardworking dervishes who are tied to this Order or another. Given
this, it is the height of selfishness and utter, mind-boggling
hypocrisy for Javad Nurbakhsh to suddenly decide upon a whim (or maybe
he is just going senile, the poor man) to publicly relinquish what he
is duty-bound to uphold with the shallow excuse of Truth seeking! This
Truth he should've found 50 years ago, if he is the true Master of
that Order!! It is one thing to hold that Sufism has pre-Islamic
Iranian origins, that the Reality of Gnosis predates historical Islam
and transcends the parametres of Islam. It is quite another to be the
recognized (even if in reality the bogus) Qutb/Pir of a well-
established Shi'i Muslim Sufi order such as the Nimatullahi and
suddenly decide one day you don't want to be a Muslim anymore. This
action reeks of pure Nafs/ego! And it also exposes Javad Nurbakhsh to
precisely what my own late teacher (ra) revealed him to me privately
as being - a rank fraud! If Javad Nurbakhsh had even a shred of
integrity, he could've shown it by simply stepping down and abdicating
the qutb-ship of the Nimatullahi order and handing it over to someone
else who could carry the responsibility with the requisite integrity
necessary to carry it forward (and this someone else who is not
specifically named Ali-Reza Nurbakhsh either). Javad's tariqa name he
claims Munis Ali Shah gave him is Nur Ali Shah. The true Light of the
Sovereignty of Ali/the All-High does not fall into darkness/zolma.
Only a false light does.
> Difficult times are happening to everyone these days
> (said the wheat to the chaff)
Indeed. It is in these difficult times that the real Men (rijal) are
shown from the boys playing at being Sufi Poles, even if they be in
their '80s.
> Thanks for the info,
> obo
Welcome! Ya 'Ali!!
Vahdat 'Ali Shah
EricT
news:1185793576....@i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
I have no idea about the details, so there's little point in swapping
opinions. However I can imagine how many of his religious-minded followers
would be outraged by his renouncing Islam. And yet religions are simply
vehicles; indeed religion itself is one of many potentially useful vehicles
for Truth. From one perspective, he's done nothing more than transfer his
software from one patented operating system to another ... for his own
reasons which may be flawed or may be sufficient and good.
With good wishes,
eric.
HU
> I have no idea about the details, so there's little point in swapping
> opinions. However I can imagine how many of his religious-minded followers
> would be outraged by his renouncing Islam.
Those who enter the Path of Sufism by definition are not "religious-
minded followers," namely exotericists. This is a subtle yet crucial
concept, but one that makes a world of difference when grasped in all
its various facets and dimensions.
>And yet religions are simply
> vehicles; indeed religion itself is one of many potentially useful vehicles
> for Truth.
All religions or Traditions, more correctly, by definition have two
dimensions of trajectoral unfoldment which inform and flow through
each other simultnaeously: there is the outward, the exoteric, and
then there is the inward, the esoteric. As much as the New Age and
other assorted forms of contemporary counter-initiation like to
insist, neither can exist without the other. Authentic Sufism (as
opposed to the countless counterfeits operative out there bearing the
name) issues and is thoroughly rooted within the Celestial Tree which
is the life and ministry of the Prophet of Islam (pbuh), the Qur'an
and the life, ministries and esoteric teachings of the People of the
House (pbuh), viz. the Shi'a Imams. And Idries Shah and his followers
(and similar) are, frankly, out to lunch on this because,
authentically speaking, it is as simple and cut-and-dry as that -
historically and phenomenologically. You can have New Ageisms that
borrow concepts and ideas from Sufism, but it is not authentic Sufism,
just like putting a Porsche label on a Cadillac does not make your
Cadillac a Porsche.
> From one perspective, he's done nothing more than transfer his
> software from one patented operating system to another ... for his own
> reasons which may be flawed or may be sufficient and good.
His reasons have more to do with cowardice and present hype than
Truth. I know this for a certainty, not to mention that Nurbakhsh's
Nimatullahi order has been on a fast track tumbling down into bona
fide cult-dom of the Osho and the Sai Baba type going on 20 years and
more now (see below). As I mentioned in the previous post, Nurbakhsh
was selected to his post (and the true successor of that lineage
shunted and cast aside) due to the dirty court politics of the Pahlavi
era immediately after the CIA-funded coup d'etat (which toppled
Premier Mohammad Mossadeq) and via specifically the facilitation of
the Shah's secret police (SAVAK). During these times we live in, there
is deliberate hype being generated of indiscriminate anti-Islamic
propaganda (painting everyone with the same brush), foisted by elites
and media establishments in North America and Western Europe
specifically that has everything to do with neo-colonialism and
economic exploitation than any fictitious "wars on terror" such
estates deceptively claim to be pursuing. The Nimatullahi order is a
traditional Iranian Sufi Shi'a Islamic order. Sufis and
fundamentalists are birds of a completely different feather, and in
fact despise each other, seeing the world (let alone scripture) from
fundamentally polar perspectives. That said, Javad Nurbakhsh proved
himself back in the mid 1950s amenable to the manipulation and games
of political and economic elites - back then with the Shah. What is
going on today with that group in London is no different than what
happened with his installment by SAVAK in the 1950s.
Regarding my assertion that Nurbakhsh is a fraud, here's what one of
the non-Persian former dervishes of his order wrote to me saying
today:
"Basically Dr Nurbakhsh is being accussed of having his upper echelon
get women for him. Because the master is so lonely.There was a huge
scandal in Iran, all kinds of women testified against him. There is
talk of it having gone on up in San Francisco. The gossip is so wide
spread , and even Americans ( who really have no reason to be pissed,
as in they are not pro-revolution hezbollah from Iran or anything) are
saying he tried things, like one told me of him sending people to her
home trying to get her sister , who wasn't in the order, but he had
met her, to go on a trip with him. The people were insisting and the
women left the order over it. I was never in the order so I never saw
anything my self, but I did go visit it one time close to here, and I
did notice that the men who kind of ran it kept putting their arms
around women and wisking them out of the room. It was wierd enough for
me to not go back. I don't speak Farsi, but I do know what is normal
Iranian behavior, and it was obvious to me it wasn't normal, whatever
was going on there was not in the cultural norms of acceptable Persian
behavior. The sitting in dhikr was OK, but not the wisking women out
of the room like that.
Are the stories true? I would have said I had no idea if it was
just the Iranian scandal in Iran, but I have heard enough to believe
the sex stuff is absolutely true. I certainly got that vibe when I
visited the order and that was before I found out about the scandals.
Americans don't have any reason to lie about it."
I doubt you can call this sort of behavior by a self-professed master
anything but shameful, and it is certainly not about his "transfer
[of] software from one patented operating system to another ... for
his own reasons which may be flawed or may be sufficient and good!"
This is pure cult-dom of the corrupt and abusive sort. Simple as that.
Vahdat 'Ali Shah
Martin Edwards
fact it derives from Upanishadic Hinduism.
--
Corporate society looks after everything. All it asks of anyone, all it
has ever asked of anyone, is that they do not interfere with management
decisions. -From “Rollerball”
dan
off script.
I have been told that when one begins his walk with God, there is still
significant learning to be done. This learning continues until death.
God is one's constant companion, and directs one's actions.
I know that Osho ans Sai Baba know more than I do. I can't explain the
cults.
I have heard that The Shah asked the Mulla Nasreddin to search and find
the truth about religion. He departed with a caravan of 40 men and two
trunks of gold. After a year, an emissary returned to the Shah from the
Mulla with this message: Send more men and more money. The Shah, eager
for the correct understanding of Allah and Religion, sent 20 more men
and two more chests of gold.
After a year, an emissary returned to the Shah from the Mulla with this
message: Send more men and more money. This time the shah told the
emissary that it was time for Nasreddin to return with an interim report.
The Mulla arrived at 3 AM about 2 weeks later. The palace was lit and
the Mulla was ushered into the presence of the Shah. The Shah said,
"Mulla, I am anxious to hear your report." Mulla replied "Turnips"
The Shah said, "I need more detail than that. Explain."
Nasreddin replied, "Like turnips, the Divine Presence is everywhere."
"Go on"
"And like turnips, if you want to find anything golden, you have to do
some digging."
"Go on"
"And like turnips, wherever they are found, there are a lot of jackasses."
Dan
HU wrote:
>
> His reasons have more to do with cowardice and present hype than
> Truth. I know this for a certainty, not to mention that Nurbakhsh's
> Nimatullahi order has been on a fast track tumbling down into bona
> fide cult-dom of the Osho and the Sai Baba type going on 20 years and
> more now (see below). <snip>
The Nimatullahi order is a
> traditional Iranian Sufi Shi'a Islamic order. <snip>
Jeffrey P. George
anything I say is tentative as best.
With that in mind, it seems to me from what I've read here, and what I
understand about the nature of such orders, if in fact Dr. Nurbakhsh has
formally denounced the path of Islam he may have also automatically
renounced his position as the Qutb/Pir of the Nimatullahi Order.
At first glance, this would seem to be less a question of Truth than one of
institutional protocol, so the questions I would ask here are:
1) Who currently has the authority to appoint the Qutub/Pir of the
Nimatullahi?
2) What authority does the Pir have over the charter and course of the
order?
3) Who (if anyone other than the Pir) has the authority to adjudicate this?
If these responsibilities are not those of Dr. Nurbakhsh (along with anyone
else who may've made the decision), then his denunciation of Islam
effectively splits him from the Nimatullahi, and creates a new order
(whatever its merits) with him as its head.
If this is the case, he and his followers need to understand and address
this, and the Nimatullahi Order needs to set about finding a new Qutub/Pir.
There is, however, an additional complexity that also needs to be addressed.
Specifically, what was the nature of his denunciation of Islam? Was he just
rejecting a specific power structure, certain traditions and doctrines, or
did he reject the path of Islam as a whole (by rejecting the Shahada)?
If it is a matter of specifics within the context of Islam (which in this
life are always subject to both formal jurisprudence and individual human
judgment), than Dr. Nurbakhsh is engaged in a legitimate struggle in his
role as Pir.
In any case, further clarification should probably be sought by all parties
legitimately engaged in the matter. Any additional questions about his
conduct too need to be addressed in the full and proper context.
-Jeff
Note: For the last couple of days my ISP hasn't been updating messages, so
I'm just now seeing recent posts.
EricT
news:13b4dgt...@corp.supernews.com...
Hi Jeff and friends,
It would be useful to hear from the horse's mouth (ie from Javad Nurbakhsh)
the whys and wherefors.
With good wishes,
eric.
HU
> In one way that is true: Sufism is a model under the Islamic brand. In
> fact it derives from Upanishadic Hinduism.
The Upanishadic origins of Sufism has been a theory long ago
discredited - in fact in the late 19th century. It would've worked had
their not been the little issue that much of what later becomes
institutionalized as Sufi doctrine within the Orders was already
teachings being transmitted by the Prophet and His successors of the
Ahl al-Bayt in the very first and third centuries of the hegira.
Vahdat 'Ali Shah
HU
> Sounds to me like you're really upset that someone in authority acted
> off script.
Let me ask you this, if you were to entrust your wife, girlfriend,
lover or child in good faith to someone you considered a friend or
acquiantance only to come back and find your friend/acquiantance has
suddenly shown his/her true colors and abused and used your beloved in
the most callous of ways, what would you feel and think? Don't give a
stupid Idries Shah "crazy-wisdom" sort of answer, but a real human
response. Those in authority - especially where people's spirituality
is concerned - have a responsibility first and foremost to "integrity"
- that integerity beginning primarily with themselves and with the
commandment "thou shalt not abuse." That certain highway robbers -
whether in the horizontal world of materiality or in the vertical
world of spirit - have either been entrusted or taken authority in
their own name, does not make such authority legitimate.
> I have been told that when one begins his walk with God, there is still
> significant learning to be done.
A piece of solid advice, in matters of the spirit, never rely on what
you have been told, but rely what you have seen and experienced for
yourself.
> I know that Osho ans Sai Baba know more than I do.
Here is where you need to discard such notions that presently veil you
from the Truth of Yourself. When you assume that Osho and Sai Baba
know more than you, by default you have already sabotaged yourself
upon the Path. Only the One and Only knows more. Full stop! So if you
see Osho and Sai Baba on the side of the road, kill them!
Vahdat 'Ali Shah
EricT
> Let me ask you this, if you were to entrust your wife, girlfriend,
> lover or child in good faith to someone you considered a friend or
> acquiantance only to come back and find your friend/acquiantance
> has suddenly shown his/her true colors and abused and used your
> beloved in the most callous of ways, what would you feel and think?
> ... ... ....
> A piece of solid advice, in matters of the spirit, never rely on what
> you have been told, but rely what you have seen and experienced
> for yourself.
Over at the yahoo! group caravansarai, a friend brought up the subject of
the three levels of certainty:
-- 'ilm yaqin - inferred certainty - you hear about a fire - belief, hearsay
-- 'ein yaqin - seeing certainty - you see a fire - faith
-- haqq yaqin - experiencing certainty - you are burned by the fire - real
knowledge
So why kick up such a stink about alleged and as yet unproven abuse from a
position of inferred certainty? Or have you or your colleagues actually seen
or personally experienced this abuse?
With good wishes,
eric.
Martin Edwards
the ideas behind them are even older.
obov...@aol.com
>
> Those who enter the Path of Sufism by definition are not "religious-
> minded followers," namely exotericists. This is a subtle yet crucial
> concept, but one that makes a world of difference when grasped in all
> its various facets and dimensions.
> just like putting a Porsche label on a Cadillac does not make your
> Cadillac a Porsche.
The essential spark of Sufism must be a living thing (like yeast
brought to flour, water, and salt, yeilds bread when baked)
a current of energy animating matter (us) in a particular manner. It
can be thought of as a vehicle used to get us from A to Z.
Depending on where one finds oneself, that vehicle might be a donkey
cart or a motor car (much more varried than Porsche/Cadilac)
I would imagine any Sufi Master worth his/her salt has already left
behind the internal combustion engine, and is making hydrogen fuel
cell technology available for vehicles being built for 21st century
life on planet Earth.
Everyone knows there was Sufism before Muhammed practiced it. The
religion and those past Islamic cultures were fortutious enviorments
for the Sufi spark to continue it's glow. There will be Sufism long
after the religion of Islam has been put on the museum shelf with
other belief systems of past peoples and civilizations (along side
Christianity and Judism).
Take Care,
obo
obov...@aol.com
>
> Those who enter the Path of Sufism by definition are not "religious-
> minded followers," namely exotericists. This is a subtle yet crucial
> concept, but one that makes a world of difference when grasped in all
> its various facets and dimensions.
> just like putting a Porsche label on a Cadillac does not make your
> Cadillac a Porsche.
The essential spark of Sufism must be a living thing (like yeast
HU
> So why kick up such a stink about alleged and as yet unproven abuse from a
> position of inferred certainty? Or have you or your colleagues actually seen
> or personally experienced this abuse?
Yes. They have seen and experienced the abuse.
Vahdat 'Ali Shah
HU
> Everyone knows there was Sufism before Muhammed practiced it. The
> religion and those past Islamic cultures were fortutious enviorments
> for the Sufi spark to continue it's glow. There will be Sufism long
> after the religion of Islam has been put on the museum shelf with
> other belief systems of past peoples and civilizations (along side
> Christianity and Judism).
This is unnuanced ahistorical nonsense argued in the works of Idries
Shah, which itself has long been shelved and discredited. There has
been gnosis and esotericism long before the advent of historical
Islam, yes. But Sufism as Sufism is a *specific* hue of that gnosis
and esotericism spawning within the Islamic world with the advent of
historical Islam. This is a crucial difference.
Vahdat 'Ali Shah
Jeffrey P George
> There has
> been gnosis and esotericism long before the advent of historical
> Islam, yes. But Sufism as Sufism is a *specific* hue of that gnosis
> and esotericism spawning within the Islamic world with the advent of
> historical Islam. This is a crucial difference.
Well said, and I think it's important to note again that this isn't
necessarily an indictment of non-Islamic practices. It's also seems
almost silly to point out, but Idries Shah himself also came from an
Islamic background.
EricT
http://www.hermes-press.com/Perennial_Tradition/index.htm
With good wishes,
eric.
Ombre d'Or
discredited without discrediting the long standing authorities of Sufism
since Shah was really just an anthologist who chose to publish what he
knew was needed by and acceptable to a western audience.
For instance, the following dialog was not invented by Shah. Who was
Anis? Did he really say the following?
The High Knowledge
"Anis was asked: 'What is Sufism?'
He said: 'Sufism is that which succeeds in bringing to man the High
Knowledge.'
'But if I apply the traditional methods handed down by the Masters, is
that not Sufism?'
'It is not Sufism if it does not perform its function for you. A cloak
is no longer a cloak if it does not keep a man warm.'
'So Sufism does change?'
'People change and needs change. So what was Sufism once is Sufism no
more. 'Sufism,' continued Anis, 'is the external face of internal
knowledge, known as High Knowledge. The inner factor does not change.
The whole work, therefore, is the High Knowledge, plus capacity, which
produces method. What you are pleased to call Sufism is merely the
record of past method.'"
from "Thinkers of the East" by Idries Shah
obov...@aol.com
>What you are pleased to call Sufism is merely the
> record of past method.'"
Amen.
And why the posture of freeing Sufism from it's Islamic shell (of the
past) is such an important undertaking for contempory times.
AMB,
obo
Jeffrey P George
Nuts!
...as in it depends on what part of the process of nuts your talking
about.
If you just want to talk about eating, you can discard the shell as
you choose.
If you want to talk about growing nuts, then the shell is integral
part of the whole.
Nuts can be packaged and sold shelled for the sake of convenience, but
when the bag runs out, you'll need a vendor for more. If you become a
vendor and do the shelling and bagging yourself, you still need the
knowledge of the farmer to maintain your supply. Again, it all just
depends on where in the process you come in.
HU
It depends what you mean by "Islamic" and what your understanding of
Islam is. If by Islam you understand the militant Islamism of the
fundamentalists, or the skewed misrepresentations of the Western media
that seem to insist on making Islam a monolithic leviathan, then the
whole mileu of Sufism divorced itself from that path long, long ago.
In fact Sufism never had anything to do with it at all in illo
tempore.
Like I said before, the attempt to divorce Sufism as Sufism from its
specific Islamic cultural roots is an attempt fraught with problems,
not to mention what is called "counter-initiation." Making the
distinction between Primordial Tradition, gnosis and esotericism, is
one thing - and a valid distinction to make which must be made. But to
say that Sufism has nothing to do with Islam and somehow the "posture
of freeing Sufism from it's Islamic shell" is somehow a good thing, is
putting carts before horses and to discard the horse all together as
well, not to mention blatantly ignoring actual history. And btw who
said that the realm of Spirit and its transmissions are supposed to be
about the palatabilities of contemporary tastes and consensus -
especially that of the modern West? This approach is one distinctly
New Age in orientation and it is the same one that has continually
misrepresented every Tradition it has encountered and thereby reduced
it to its own shallowness and innanities. The practical result is the
commercialization of spirituality on every level, its sanitization and
whitewashing, opening the door wide open for all kinds of addendum
malefically initiated abuses and charlatanry that is daily becoming
synonymous with the whole business of the New Age mileu in its various
facets.
For those of you who are enamoured by Idries Shah, allow me to offer
you a challenge to a change in perspective. Go read Rene Guenon, even
if you don't agree with him, and especially his two books THE REIGN OF
QUANTITY AND THE SIGN OF THE TIMES and CRISIS OF THE MODERN WORLD and
then let's talk. Also consider what the late Annemarie Schimmel said
about Idries Shah in her MYSTICAL DIMENSIONS OF ISLAM. Kudos also to
what Brother Jefrrey pointed out!
Vahdat 'Ali Shah
Ombre d'Or
Sorry, Obo, but if the essence of Sufism is the perennial
tradition which existed even before Mohammed's time and it
was grafted onto Islam, thereby becoming Sufism, well, then
if you don't like the Islamic trappings just go find the
essence wrapped in a cloak you do find palatable.
If you don't like religion in general go talk to Robert Ornstein.
He's wrapping the Work all up in western psychology.
I'm sure there are some who put it in the context of art, or music.
blts...@gmail.com
questioning the founding myth or the authority of the "leader"...in
the case of
a Sufi order - one could easily see what kind of reception one would
get by questioning whether the Pir had an authentic mandate to lead/
teach - given
that traditional adab would practically rule that out that such a
question could be openly discussed publicly or even privately
(submission, not questioning
the Pir, is what's subtly and not-so-subtly conveyed- in my
experience).
Ombre d'Or
I'm assuming he just clicked on the wrong button and meant for it to
come here.
So, here it is:
> You people are real smart. Fine modern intellectuals.
> But you don't see the truth right before your eyes
>
> This is a mess we are in
>
> None of you don't know anything about Nurbaksh, or Idries Shah, two
> men I know well.
>
> You have a right to say what you desire, but just be reminded you
> don't know ANYTHING!
>
> Ma Salam
blts...@gmail.com
which must not be forgotten is that the relationship
between the "master" and the "disciples" is very much based on a
feudal model- it is by no means "egalitarian" or
buddy-buddy. Another facet which may trouble the modern-minded is
that the social dynamics are anything but transparent.
Aside from the polite demeanour of the participants- information is
not shared on a communal basis or discussed openly.
This helps create a vacuum which fosters pretty venomous gossip,
conspiracy theories, and wild speculation of all sorts, verging
on paranoia. Add to this mix Iranians' hyperbolic modus operandi,
mercurial character and quick-thinking- and what do you get?
A highly unstable mix where very little is known for certain. As to
whether any particular individual was/is or could be a "trustworthy
master"- just think of the number of social interactions one goes
through a daily basis. Can anybody truly say they show the same face
to
everybody? One could easily think of a situation where a person could
be a spiritual guide to some - and at the same time- a
spiritual hindrance to others. That is why I think that the question
should perhaps be "are there any true (hungry) disciples?".
Nick Ponder
mistakes, while people without wisdom find it necessary to point out
the mistakes of others. People with strong faith know that it is
important to clear their own hearts, while those with unsteady faith
seek to find fault in the hearts and prayers of others. This becomes a
habit in their lives. But those who pray to God with faith,
determination, and certitude know that the most important thing in
life is to surrender their hearts to God.
--Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
Martin Edwards
There is no God. The heart is a muscle which pumps blood.
Peter
connected to the brain.
"There is substantial evidence that the heart plays a unique role in
synchronizing the activity in multiple systems of the body and across
different levels of organization, and thus in orchestrating the flow of
information throughout the psychophysiological network. As the most powerful
and consistent generator of rhythmic information patterns in the body, and
possessing a far more extensive communication system with the brain than
other organs, the heart is in continuous connection with the brain and other
bodily organs and systems through multiple pathways: neurologically (through
the transmission of neural impulses), biochemically (through hormones and
neurotransmitters), biophysically (through pressure and sound waves), and
energetically (through electromagnetic field interactions).
..., it will become clear that the heart is a central node in the
psychophysiological network that influences multiple systems, and is thus
uniquely positioned to integrate and communicate information both across
systems and throughout the whole organism. Because of the extensiveness of
the heart’s influence on the physiological, cognitive, and emotional
systems, the heart provides a point of access from which the dynamics of
bodily processes can be quickly and profoundly affected. "(Quoted from a
book of http://www.heartmath.com/)
Regards,
Peter
Martin Edwards
heart, I have long thought that the multiple flows of information
through nerves, hormones, etc often control us beyond our powers to
control them purely by thought processes, hence the rituals of
berserkers, ghazis et al specifically to lose control. I often feel
both homicidal and suicidal first thing in the morning, but in my case
it usually goes away with a good breakfast, a dump and, as I am not
presently working, something interesting on tv. Perhaps the people we
think of as criminals and murderers are in these over-toxic states all
the time.
Allah korusun
Mart