BY SHABEER AHMED LONE
Perhaps creating something is nothing but an act of profound remembrance.
(R.M.Rilke)
The modern predicament is in difficulty of finding a harmonious balance or meditative blissful internal alchemy among all the vast and various consequence of science, technology, social sciences, democracy, mass literacy, various decisive eras in literature and movements, etc.
Modernism on one side an ensemble of changes in intellectual, political, economic, social, cultural, technological, aesthetic and other forms of modern progress but on the other side for many people it also has costs: isolation, loneliness, psychological depression, purposlessness, powerlessness, hyperstimulation, amorality, meaninglessness, absurdism etc.
The world is seeing an unremitting increase in global communication among political and economic philosophies, physical sciences, social sciences and inevitably among religious and mystical philosophies.
This has also therefore forced the different world religions to come together, which has lead to a rise in the overwhelming sentiment that favours increased comprehension and understanding, if not unity, of the religions which serves as a ray of hope.
The inner dimension of the religion constitutes mysticism or sufism-the central of which is love, light, wisdom and peace which illumine us towards the meaning and purpose of life to a far greater extent by gain of ontological, social and psychological embeddness.
The Sufi way is not a path of retreat from the world but a way of seeking the Divine wisdom and love while still actively engaged in the world. Engagement in the world provides opportunities for spiritual growth, opportunities to practice love, awareness, generosity, and non-attachment.
The sufi approach is summarized by Sheikh Muzzaffer, a modern Sufi teacher: “Keep your hands busy with your duties in this world, and your heart busy with God. “The Sufi is he whose thought keeps pace with his foot” – Hujwiri.
Just as Ibni Arabi, Rainer Maria Rilke, Adrienne Rich, Suzuki, Meister Eckhart tell us, diving deep and also surfacing. Moving inward and outward, but always deeply. Deep where the joy resides; where the darkness, pain, and grief cry to us; where creativity is unearthed; where the passion for justice and compassion return-the absolutely rich constantly renewed.
Sufism develops a spirit of comprehension which will breakdown prejudice and misunderstanding and bind us together as a varied expression of a single truth. It is feeling the limitless horizons opening up to the vision, the feeling of being simultaneously powerful ever before, the feeling of ecstasy and wonder and awe, the loss of placement in space and time and finally the conviction that the extremely feel important and value had happened, so that the subject was to some extent transformed and strengthened even in his daily life by such experience towards which sufi classics come to rejuvenate us in many ways.
Sufism has a distinctive advantage today because it is an expression of the universal wisdom tradition while still offering a living tradition that is grounded in centuries of practice a sophisticated methodology, a vast literature and culture, and a coherent metaphysics of divine origin. Sufism is capable of integrating the postmodern appreciation for the uniqueness and freedom of the individual with the spiritual demands of traditional wisdom.
Today I am exploring the great and popular sufi classic, “Hadiqat-ul-Haqiqat (The Walled Garden of Truth) and its author Hakim Sanai, by revealing the insightful illumination with universal divine love and wisdom from his classic text and his journey of arrival at it.
Sanai wrote an enormous quantity of mystical verse, of which, The Walled Garden of Truth or The Hadiqat al Haqiqa is his master work, and the first Persian mystical epic of Sufism. Dedicated to Bahram Shah, the work expresses the poet’s ideas on God, love, philosophy and reason. For close to 900 years, The Walled Garden of Truth has been consistently read as a classic and employed as a Sufi textbook.
Author, Abdul Majd Majdud b Adam Sanai 1080-1131AD, is one of the most popular and the great Persian sufi mystical love poet who influenced Rumi, Hafiz and virtually all successive Persian sufi poets, great poets such as Khaqani in composing Tuhfat al-Iraqayn and Nizami Ganjavi in composing Makhzan al-Asrar were under the direct influence of Hadiqat al Haqiqa, but often less quoted compared to Rumi.This may be due to the ambiguous beauty or obscure nature of his works.
Sanai’s poetry had a tremendous influence upon Persian literature. He is considered the first poet to use the qasida (ode), ghazal (lyric) and the masnavi (rhymed couplet) to express the philosophical, mystical and ethical ideas of sufism.
Sanai taught that lust, greed and emotional excitement stood between humankind and divine knowledge, which was the only true reality. Love (Ishq) and social conscience are for him the foundation of religion; mankind is asleep, living in a desolate world.
The Sufis book is not composed of ink and letters;
It is nought but a heart as white as snow.
The scholar’s provision is pen-marks(written letters and words):
What is the Sufi’s provision?
Footmarks.
(Rumi, Mathnavi,vol IV, p366)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.