Every day is the same day. A divine stage play of Yin and Yang.
The Master He who has no master, the devil is his master—Sufi proverb
(The master as alchemist who transmutes the seeker)
When the spiritual flame inside the seeker creates a blaze inside the heart, the smoke from the blaze sets off a spiritual “smoke detector” in the heavens that is seen by the masters in that area. Then a pre-ordained chain of events takes place and the seeker is given the chance to come in contact with his/her master teacher.
The master will fan the flame until it becomes a blazing fire that will consume the seeker, leaving only a master. A true master has true alchemy. Alchemy is the ability/science that turns base metals (the lower self) into gold (the higher self).
Sufism is war against the lower self. The first principle in any war is to study and know your enemy. Our master, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, clearly explains the four enemies of the self to us: Nafs (lower self) howa (passion/desires), dunya (materialism), and shaytan (the devil).
My master has said that eating too much food makes the heart hard and heavy. A full bird cannot fly. Eating less weakens the animal self (nafs).
True Sufism is death before death. The death of the lower self must take place in order for the flower of the higher self to bloom and blossom.
(The community, environment, and fragrance of the path)
The sufis say, “if you doubt, you are out.”
“Nur ala Nur”, light upon light.
the great sufi master from Sri Lanka, said that there are very few human beings on the planet. He teaches that a true human being has God qualities.
“idle time is the devils workshop.” In the Buddhist tradition, a disciple takes refuge in the 3 jewels: the Buddha, his teachings, and his community.
“If you stay around a rose garden, one day you will start to smell like a rose.” Sufism has a fragrance that is sure death to ones passions and desires.
(Spiritual poverty: emptying oneself to receive the divine)
A sufi is a true Fakir (poor person). He has traded this world for the next. He has become empty of all other than Allah. Spiritual poverty is a state of only wanting and loving Allah.
In giving up all, he obtains all.
We must become empty of all forms of dunya to receive the Wilayat (Divine Light) that comes from Allah.
The spiritual retreat (Kalwa) should only be done under the guidance of a true cheikh.
Our master Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba was in Kalwal (retreat) for 5 years in a small room in Touba. I was blessed to visit his place of retreat. You can still feel the presence of the master in the room. The great sufi master Ibn Arabi has a look titled JOURNEY TO THE LORD OF POWER.
(Shaytan: the nature and history of the adversary)
He is not a fallen angel. A jinn is a being made from smoked fire. Shaytan is thousands of years older than man.
Shaytan had so much knowledge that he was teaching angels in heaven.
(The stations of the soul and the guide’s role)
At this level of the soul, the voice of conscious awakens, and the person starts to question his evil actions and qualities.
There is an immense difference between the pull of the soul and the pull from Allah that cannot be explained in words. It must be experienced. At this station of the soul, extra acts of worship; fasting, zikr, and spiritual retreat become the love of the seeker. At this point the seeker must have a spiritual guide who has completed the path and can safely guide the soul through the last 3 stations.
Zikr is used to clean the heart of all false idols and images other than Allah.
(Mystical verse: the veils, the breath, and the ascending shakti)
Time never was when man was not. Seek to unlock, the three locks, traveling at the speed of light while in a state of prostration. The 5 elements disappeared into nothingness, upon reaching the station of the witness, inscribed in allegory so only the purified get this.
Swallowing the silent sound of the nameless name. Eternal heart flame burned the second veil. Traveled through hell and back. From the base of the spine serpent shakti intertwines and unwinds like a sip of rose wine that loosens the spine.
Stopping the breathe existing in the space between the inhale and the exhale. Brain cells swell releasing the third veil. Perfumes from the heavens, touched by more than an angel.
Thus, the entire Holy Qur’an is found in the BASMALA. The entire BASMALA is found in the dot under the BA.
(Tauba, zikr, and the Tahlil as negation and affirmation)
Tauba implies watching/observing our thoughts, words, and actions. Self observation leads to a state of awareness of Allah, when we have a negative thought, word, or action we ask Allah for forgiveness.
The sufi’s definition of sin is anything that diverts the mind and heart from Allah.
The esoteric meaning is Allah is the only reality. The TAHLIL contains a negation and an affirmation. A yin and yang. The yin/negation is found in LA-EE-LA-HA (There is nothing); all is an illusion. The yang/affirmation is found in ILL-ALLAH (only Allah); only Allah is real, has being. The name Allah in Arabic is composed of 3 Arabic letters: ALIF, LAM and HA.
(The dissolution of the self into the one divine reality)
My existence is a mere figment of my imagination. Only You have true Being. Only You have true Existence. All others exist as mere shadow thought forms on the screen of finite existence and You are the All Glorious Infinite ONE.
You are the Eternal ONE ONE ONE. There is no other being that exist with You. Beyond the comprehension of this finite mind. Only Love can touch the fringes of Your Bing. Only Love can smell the essence of your fragrance. Only love can pass beyond this illusion of separation. Only Love can sever the connection to the 5 elements, Only Love can burn the false since of I.
129. And satisfy yourself by just taking an amount of food that makes it possible to have [enough] on your stomach, so that you can worship (love) the LORD (AR-RABB)