(The Mulla as unwitting teacher: self-witness without reputation)
As Rumi exclaims, “The lover visible, the Beloved invisible: whose crazy idea was this?”
No human being who has arrived here from the mysterious realms has ever come with a mandate or mission statement, yet some of us talk and argue as if we know why we are here, and others talk as if they don’t care.
The Mulla does not care what you think of him; he does not seek your approval. Without a reputation or image to uphold, he laughs at his foibles and invites you to join him. He has a rare readiness to admit his mistakes. Because he does not aspire to be a teacher, he is a true teacher.
An essential spiritual practice is to observe and witness oneself continuously and compassionately, acknowledging and laughing at foibles and weaknesses while working relentlessly to evolve into higher consciousness. The light of persistent awareness is bound, little by little, to dissolve our false self and bring us closer to our authentic self. We may not become perfect human beings, but that is not the goal. The goal is to become more aligned with our higher self and expand our worldview as we learn to see the Face of God in everyone we meet.
Our human understanding of divine verses, such as those in the Qur’an, can be less than divine. With grace and courage we must work to change or eliminate religious customs and scriptural interpretations that do not meet the test of divine compassion and generosity.
Besides Qur’anic verses and hadith, I have included brief utterances by the thirteenth-century sage Rumi. These are based on translations by Kabir and Camille Helminski and by Coleman Barks. The books I have used are listed below: Jewels of Remembrance: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance Containing 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi, by Camille and Kabir Helminski Rumi: Daylight—A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, by Camille and Kabir Helminski The Essential Rumi, by Coleman Barks
through the marketplace. Friends hail him and want to chat, but he replies, “Not now. Can’t
“That which we speak of can never be found by seeking, yet only seekers find.”
You are the traveler; you are the path; you are the destination. Be careful never to lose the way to yourself. (Yahya Suhrawardi)
Give up these ten days of famousness and revolve with me around the Sun that never sets. (Rumi)
It dawned on us that we the complainers were also the supporters and sustainers of these institutions.
(The golden pot, the Damascene sword, and the seven valleys)
Our God-given potential is like a golden pot worth hundreds of ordinary pots, he says, but we use it to boil ragged turnips. Or it is like a gem-studded Damascene sword, but we use it as a peg to hang a lowly gourd. Why not use the golden pot to boil the dross of our ego and wield the heavenly sword to cleave through the ego’s veils of arrogance and ignorance?
Hasan was enamored of Rabia’s beauty, so when it came time for prayers, Hasan unfurled his prayer rug and placed it on the water. Standing miraculously on the floating rug, Hasan casually invited Rabia to join him, hoping to impress her. Instead, Rabia spread out her prayer rug, perched on it, levitated above Hasan, and invited him to join her. She teased Hasan, “Isn’t this what you want, for the people in the bazaar to see us and be stunned by our magical feat?” Rabia continued, “Hasan, what you did, a fish can do. What I did, a moth can do. You forget that what we are called to do is more difficult and more important: the work of transforming our beings.”
The faithful are mirrors to each other, said the Prophet Muhammad: What we like or dislike in others is a reflection of what we appreciate and disapprove of in ourselves. Similarly, the eccentricities that amuse us in others often have their counterpart in our own behaviors.
But then the hoopoe tells them about the perils of the journey. The Path traverses seven hazardous valleys named Quest, Love, Understanding, Detachment, Unity, Bewilderment, and finally, Annihilation. In each valley a hundred difficulties will assail the seekers! In short, the path is long and the sea is deep. At every stage seekers must have the heart of a lion. One by one the birds, according to their circumstances and needs, begin to articulate their excuses.
Rumi says that if a drop of the wine of vision could rinse our eyes, everywhere we looked, we would weep with wonder. Sadly, many of us are stuck in the confines of our tribal culture and beliefs and are astonishingly unaware of the splendor that lies beyond what we know. We are like the well frog in a classic story about two frogs with vastly differing perspectives on the size of the ocean.
“Prove to me that you are a mystic or I’ll have you executed.” Immediately the Mulla rolled his eyes, stared widely into the skies, and declared, “I see in the mysterious galaxies a monstrously large, birdlike creature with wings so large they could span this entire town, guarding those realms.” Then, convulsing and rolling on the ground, he exclaimed, “I see, deep inside the earth, monsters and demons chasing one another.” Greatly impressed, the king exclaimed to the Mulla, “How are you able to peer into the unknown?” “Your majesty,” replied the Mulla, “fear is all you need!”
Reflections If Allah helps you, none can overcome you: If Allah forsakes you, who is there, after that, who can help you? (Qur’an 3:160) Those who believe, do deeds of righteousness, and establish regular prayers and regular charity will have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Qur’an 2:277) How did the rose ever open its heart and give to the world all its beauty? It felt the encouragement of light against its being. Otherwise we all remain too frightened. (Hafiz)
(Fear, deferred spiritual maintenance, and the practice of release)
The moment you realize that negative imaginary scenarios are swirling in your mind and triggering feelings of fear, immediately intervene and tell yourself: “Not real! Not real!” Remind yourself that you are more than your thoughts, more than your fears. Repeat a verse from the Qur’an, “To God we belong and to God we are returning,” and tell yourself to trust that all will be well.
(Hafiz) Practice On a piece of paper, make a list of individuals and authorities who have induced fear in you over your lifetime. Awareness is empowerment. In the next step, close your eyes and talk in the imaginal realm to the person or authority that generated the fear in you. With compassion for self and from a place of higher awareness, say whatever your heart desires. End your expression with an affirmation of letting go of your fear and release the person who induced it to the realm of Spirit. In the last step, burn the paper as an act of purification and release. Make a list of people in your life whom you consciously or unconsciously manipulate through use of fear. Reflect on ways you can minimize the fear tactic and replace it with something more life-affirming.
Deferred Spiritual Maintenance Just as human beings can go astray when they neglect their inner spiritual work, religious institutions have a tendency to become sterile, corrupt, and dysfunctional when they lapse into what Sufis call “deferred spiritual maintenance.” They become more interested in pomp and power and less invested in spirituality and service. They become overly attached to fund-raising and recruitment, and to guard their prerogatives they develop their own sectarian theology and claim exclusive ownership of divine truth.
Who wouldn’t want to attain Paradise without exertion, freedom without sacrifice, perfection without struggle, riches without work?!