Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness
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Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness Compiled by S. L. Peeran AUTHORSPRESS Worldwide Circulation through Authorspress Global Network First Published in 2016 by Authorspress Q-2A Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi-110 016 (India) Phone : (0) 9818049852 e-mails: [email protected]; [email protected] Website: www.authorspressbooks.com Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness ISBN 978-93-5207-257-6 Copyright © 2016 S. L. Peeran Disclaimer All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of S. L. Peeran, the author. Printed in India at Krishna Offset, Shahdara Preface Sufi sm is mystical and spiritual side of Islam. It focuses on the twin and mutually complimentary themes of love and luminosity- the core of Islamic mysticism. Naturally, notes of tolerance and ‘Suleh-e-kul’ (equal respect and peace for all creeds predominate.) Islam means peace and total surrender to the all enveloping Eternal Being Allah. The belief is that Adam is created by Allah with four elements and Eve from his rib. Due to their disobedience of Allah’s command they were thrown to earth. They were to dwell for a time on earth and their soul would return to Allah purifi ed and enlightened by a process of self purifi cation. Their progeny has been in search for their own self and for peace. Great Prophets have come with their teachings. After a period of time, after Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), emerged the subject ‘Irfan’or ‘Taswwuf ’ popularized by western scholars as ‘Sufi sm’. The Saints and eminent Sufi s wrote treatises, books and their lectures were recorded. So also their lengthy letters preserved. This book ‘Sufi Wisdom and Spiritual Consciousness’is an attempt to present to lay readers in a nut shell a few chapters of Holy Quran; briefl y state the teachings of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him; present a few recorded lectures of Saint of Baghdad Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (d1166), present excerpts 6 Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness from the books of Sheikh Ali Hujwiri alias Data Ganj Bakhsh of Lahore (book written in 1060), Sheikh Farid al-Din Attar (d1220), Al Ghazali (d1111), Moulana Jalauddin Rumi (d1273), Shaikh Sadi (d1292), Hazreth Nizamuddin Awliya of Delhi(d1325) and Sheikh Sharafuddin b. Yahya Maneri (1381). It is hoped that the readers will develop interest to read the original classical works on ‘Irfan’/ ‘Tassawuff ’ or popularly known as Sufi sm. All the excerpts of the books are ancient and within the domain of public and freely available on www.freebooks.com and on internet. I am thankful to Sri Sudharshan Kcherry of authors books group New Delhi for readily agreeing to publish this compilation. Bangalore 17-10-2015 Syed Liaqath Peeran Contents Preface 5 1. Sufi sm and its Teachings 9 2. Excerpts from Holy Quran 49 3. Sayings of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) 74 4. Prophet Muhammed’s (PBUH) Last sermon 127 5. Excerpts from The Kashf Al Mahjub 130 6. Excerpts from Taskirat Al Auliya 154 7. A life sketch of Ghauth al Azam And futhu Al Ghaib 212 Discourses – 1 to 11, 75,76,77 213 8. Excerpts from the Secrets of Secrets 239 9. Excerpts from The Purifi cation of the Soul 290 10. Hazrath Imam Ghazali (RAA) 312 11. Excerpts from “Fawaid ul Fuwad” 321 8 Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness 12. Excerpts from “The Hundred Letters” 343 13. Excerpts from The Bustan 373 14. Maulana Rumi (RAA) And Masnawi Rumi 420 15. Poems from Divani Shams Tabriz 450 16. Golden Saying – Pearls of Wisdom 461 17. Poems of S.L.Peeran 466 1 Sufi s and their Teachings Man is a social animal prone to thinking, innovation, creativity, inquisitiveness and intrinsically constructive in nature. Man has been in existing on the planet earth from millions of years either have evolved from apes or having been believed to have been created by God, the Supreme Creator of the universe in his own image. The belief of man which dawned on him from antiquity is that God when after creating beauty and love desired to place it in man, so that this creature can marvel on his creation and man be a vicegrent on the earth. The further belief is that all that God has created has been made subservient to man. So that man can achieve perfection in his living and manners with sound thinking and right actions, right intentions so that he can live in peace with all the creations and achieve heaven on earth itself, without destruction, evil dominating and demon having control on men and matters. It is man’s further belief that divinity dwells in him which nurtures compassion, humility, sincerity, sublimity, graciousness, dignity and all fi ner elements of man. Man has also realized that there is enormous infl uence on him of negativity which is destructive in nature robbing peace, solace and tranquility in him. He has also found his innate nature of goodness and evil both trying to claim ascendancy with each other. It is to the good fortune of man that many charismatic, magnetic personalities 10 Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness arose time and again in mankind, who have elevated his status and helped him to overcome his weakness and capture and captivate the evil whenever it stole the thunder and achieved supremacy. These enlightened personalities have always left their foot print and mark on the march of time for humanity to follow their footsteps to achieve eternal peace (as-sakina), happiness, joy, ecstasy and tranquility. The pursuit of higher learning and to maintain composure, equilibrium has been the endeavor of man. He cultivates it and nurtures it in his progeny and creates groups, societies to retain the higher ideals and practice it to attain peace in life. The eternal desire of man to reach higher consciousness and to feel the Divine and get absorbed in His light has ever been from his creation and more so as is believed from the time he lost the paradise. The Divine has guided man and from the guidance sprung in his heart love, beauty graciousness, compassion, mercy and many more such qualities which are divine in nature. Those among the mankind who perfected their inner self, polished their mirror of their heart from all the impurities came to be specifi cally referred as divine persons and they achieved a niche in the mankind. They were the Prophets, Seers, Saints, Sufi s, Mystics, Yogis and men of perfection. Their lives were glorious and glowing example for humanity to follow. Their teachings were an eternal guide and lamp to enlighten the dark path ways of life. They gave moral codes, instructions, left behind their living examples and taught ways and means to enlighten man to achieve peace, tranquility, graciousness, spirituality and divinity. From among their basic teachings were the recognition of all embracing, Omniscient, Omnipotent Being referred in various tongues as God, Eshwara and Allah. The fundamental teaching is God, Eshwara or Allah is all Merciful, Benefi cent, full of Love, Graciousness, Kindness and ever Forgiving. At the same Sufi s and their Teachings 11 time besides guiding man, would take account of man’s deeds; awarding or punishing or forgiving and granting clemency. The further teaching is that man should fully surrender to that Great being and subject himself to his laws, moral code, be ever prayful, charitable, thankful, fully relying on Him. Be patient during adversory and despondency and never give up hope and always fear Him and of the consequences of evil actions and deeds. After the advent of Islam, the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh) and the commands of the Holy Quran were interpreted in various ways thus bringing divisions and sectarian confl icts in the religion. Those followers who stayed away from the hum drum of life, from the strife and wars and political developments and devoted their whole life in perfecting and polishing their being, lived in pursuit of knowledge and for seeking the Grace of the Divine Being came to be known, as time passed, as Sufi s, those who wore wool and lived an ascetic life and lived in search of truth. They humbled themselves before the Great Being by total surrender, seeking knowledge and wisdom and passing it on to their followers and disciples. They lived in monasteries, away from the hub and rub of the societies. They, with their refi ned living, graciousness, simplicity and humility achieved saint- hood. Their prayers for the needy and those who sought help were answered. They started their own schools of thought to pass on their teachings in the light of ‘Sunna’ i, e the canonical and religious law as laid down by Holy Quran and sayings of holy Prophet (Pbuh). They wrote extensively and their prose and poetry caught the imagination of the learned and common man. Their foremost teaching was humanism and love. To unite man kind in a bondage so that society can be stable and mankind can achieve peace and happiness. Some Sufi masters were far ahead of their times. The religious teachers commonly called as 12 Sufi Wisdom & Spiritual Consciousness ‘Mullah’s’ would fi nd fault with their teaching and unconventional living. They would instigate the rulers and masses against them and that would lead to their persecution. They would be called as heretics and being outside the pale of the canonical law(Shariat laws). While religious scholars would be strict in legalities and legal conventions, the Sufi s besides observing the legal sanctions would be more conscious of perfecting their inner self and polishing their heart to prepare themselves for merger in the Divine and to achieve divinity and to enlighten themselves with higher knowledge.