Why are instructions important?
Murshid is a God Realised Saint. The Murshid reflects the Divine Light of God just as the moon reflects the light of the Sun. The closest a disciple can get to God before Marifat is the feet of the Murshid. Those who follow the instructions of the Murshid surely attain Wehdat. (Final merger with the Divine beloved).
Baiyyat from the Murshid may be verbal or for spiritually advanced disciples the medium of thought projection is used. In verbal Baiyyat, the murid (disciple follows Eeman (faith) in the All Pervading Divine and in the Murshid who have attained the consciousness of the All Pervading Divine. Toba (repentance) and Zuhud (austerity) enable the murid to purify the consciousness from the dross of the physical body pleasures. Austerity is practised and is also the effect of Zikr (remembrance of the Divine). Tawakal (reunciation of physical wants and needs) enable the disciple to wean away the consciousness from the senses forever enticing the consciousness for seeking gratification. Thereby creating in us the urge to compete rather than seek perfection in our own efforts. Qannat (surrendering ones will to the will of the All Pervading Divine).
When by contemplation on the Divine and by supplication we surrender our will to the will of God (we breathe God, We live in God and we yearn for the All Pervading). Izlat (to cultivate aloofness from the people entangled in wordly desires) is undertaken so that a disciple does not become a victim of the demonstration effect and that the disciple is able to set the goal of conscious exit from the physical body at the time of death rather than the unconscious exit as billions of us usally do.
Tawaffah is undertaken to understand the power of Zikr (remembrance of the Divine). Sabr (to cultivate unruffled patience) is a result of perfect contemplation on the Divine through perfect remembrance of the Divine with observation of the instructions of the Murshid. Sabr is developed through relentless practice. Rare are few who have unruffled patience in the practice Ashgal, for these disciples are sure to attain Marifat (para-normal union with the Divine).
The key to perfection for the sake of freedom and surrender of ones will to the will of the All Pervading requires practice coupled with reuniciation of the mundane physical body pleasures for the attainment of the spiritual ecstacy of the para-normal bliss also referred to as the mystic’s wine. Raza (acceptance of the will of God) helps the disciple to regulate the peer pressure and the greed for self enhancement at the cost of others. For no matter what ever you may do you are still sure to perish in 125 years so why not wake up from the delusion of this misery of unconscious exit from the physical body at the time of death which we condemn ourselves to.
Tasleem (self surrender to the will of God) and qannat are to be understood together for it is not possible to attempt one without attempting the other. The process of surrendering and to surrender compliment one another. When the Murshid initiates a disciple into the order the Murshid hums:
God, All glory and praise belong to thee. Guide and escort us on the right path and let our hearts may never be away from thy love. A seeker of Truth has approached thy servant for guidance. Grant thy servant the grace to lead thy child from the valley of death to the sunshine of Immortality of Wehdat.
During the initiation ceremony the disciple sits on the right hand side of the Murshid and repeats the following pledge:
In the name of God, the beneficient and merciful and all God’s messengers who have come to this world, I pledge my life, my love and devotion in the pursuit of the beloved God. Placing my trust in my beloved Murshid, I shall hold fast his hand in all thy causes. I leave for all times to come the 10 negative traits of greed, lust, anger, untruth,envy,hate arrogance, revenge, miserliness,cunningness. In its place I will espouse forbearence, generosity, contentment,abstinence,toleration and love of humanity.I shall hold fast to my Murshid and shall love him with my life’s breath.
The disciple now sits in Dozano (facing the Murshid). As directed by the Murshid, the disciple will now with closed eyes contemplate on the face of the Murshid. During this period the disciple now places both his palms upside down on the palms of the Murshid. The Murshid then recites the Fatiah: My God, praise be to you, the lord of the world, the beneficient, the merciful, the master of the day of requital. Thee do we serve and thee do we beseech for help. Guide us on the right path, the path of those upon whom thou hast bestowed favours, Ameen. The Murshid blows his breath on the water placed in the tumbler, which the disciple drinks. While the disciple is drinking the water, the Murshid says:
In the name of God, the beneficient, the merciful, I do accept you as my Murid (disciple) and permit you to join the brotherhood. I do hereby purify you with this cup of water. I pray to God to santify your body, consciousness and soul and enlighten you with Tajalli (Divine illumination,Ameen).
Lastly the Murshid requests the disciple to close his eyes and places his right hand upon the chest of the disciple and recites the following mantra 3 times:
O God, let this heart be blessed by thine light.
Now the Murshid blows his breath towards the disciples heart. The Murshid now requests the disciple to clasp Murshid’s right hand with his hand, the two thumbs facing each other. Then the disciple kisses the hand of the Murshid and raises it to his eyes. The murid (disciple) can now sit on the left side of the Murshid. The genuine alliance (Nisbat) between the disciple and the spiritual mentor is now forged.
Once the genuine alliance has been forged, the disciple is devoted to the Murshid.So great is the extent of the trust of the disciple that nothing comes in between their trust in each other.Hazrat Usman Harun had many disciples. One day he said unto them that “I must go and break the traditional law of religion”. His disciples left him, all except one. Hazrat Harun asked his disciple that when all had forsaken him why did the disciple still follow him. The disciple replied that the first principle of faith says “None exists save God The rest is illusion” This disciple was none other than the Hazrat Muienuddin Chisti known as Hazrat Garib Nawaz of Ajmer, whose shrine to this day is thronged by millions of seekers.
Khwaja said that: “They who know God Know God None else knows”. The reunciation of lesser pleasures of the body for the greater pleasures of the spiritual ecstasy of the consciousness reveal the truth behind the savings of All the God Realised Saints. When this physical universe dissolves in front of our own very eyes during suspended animation, they the glory of the Divine Light of God is revealed to us which permeates the entire creation encompassing trillions of solar systems. Khwaja says that we are as much in the presence of God today that we would ever be, the difference being that today we have not attained spiritual puberty but with the grace of the Murshid when tomorrow dawns, we would have developed the required urge within us to search for the Reality beyond the obvious limitations of the parameters of the physical body.
Khwaja further says that it is easier to laugh at the sayings of the Prophet when one has attained the physical puberty for a child’s consciousness is not able to atune to the wavelength of the Murshid. Use of objects to assist in Fikr is acceptable provided the disciple does not lose the focus on the All Pervading aspect of the Divine.
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