The Sufi's Teaching
It is said that in the pre-dawn hours, just before the first thread of light,
there is a gentle breeze that encircles the earth. Always traveling just ahead
of the light, it is the harbinger of dawn. This is the world that sufism opens
up. The world of things so 'latif', so subtle that one has to become very
still and quiet to catch them. Getting that still is the meaning of Surrender.
Getting that still is the meaning of Peace.
The Sufis teach the way to achieve inner peace, the basic principle of which
is the purification of the Self. Without the inner spiritual work, religious
laws become a haven for those who seek security in dogma and living life in
black and white. Sufism opens the world of depth and color and richness that
only our souls can experience. Islam, without the spiritual wisdom conveyed by
masters throughout the ages, is like a body without a soul.....an empty box.
Spirituality spills outside of the box. It gets into everything.. .all the
nooks and crannies of our lives, minds and souls. Sufism teaches you to see
the Divine in everything, everywhere, ...without ceasing. For the sufi, there's
no escaping God.
The practices of Islamic law, shariah, bring necessary order and discipline
to our physical existence. The spiritual practices of sufism, tassawwuf,
nurture our soul. Both are necessary for a balanced life. Sufism teaches the
importance of balance. The whirling dervishes manifest this most eloquently in
their dance.
This spiritual richness of sufism is the aspect that the fundamentalists and
extremists carefully and systematically extract from their teachings. When this
occurs, Islamic learning becomes dangerously unbalanced. Without the wisdom of
its saints and teachers, religion becomes a political hammer wielded by those
interested in worldly power. It then no longer resembles the Divine
inspiration it was once meant to represent.
Wa min Allah at tawfiq
salam, arief hamdani
www.rumisuficafe.blogspot.com
www.ariefdani.multiply.com
---------------------------------
Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
