Thursday, 7 July 2011

Embodiment of sacrifice & enterprise

Embodiment of sacrifice & enterprise


NEW DELHI: "In a country full of beggars, you would never see a Sikh begging," says Khushwant Singh with more than a trace of pride in his voice. A statement that says it all about the enterprising, hard-working nature of the community.
"That's the reason it is said that potatoes and Sikhs are the two entities found all over the world! Today, the Sikhs are everywhere — from guarding our borders to the PM himself and even Mandira Bedi," says Harpreet Kaur, an MNC executive.
The younger generation may be moving away from the badges of faith with many of them not adopting the five Ks, but community members feel that the "adjusting" nature of the religion will see it through. "Modernisation has had its effect on our community too, but despite that, my two sons tell me that they will come home late because they will be doing sewa at the langar. So both kinds of people exist," says Delhi education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.
"There is no fanaticism in the religion. When the practice of the five Ks was introduced, it was to ensure that the Sikhs got a distinct identity in their battle against the Mughals. The practice was relevant then. Today, most of us may not keep kirpans with us, but in our heart and soul, we are proud Sikhs," says Dr Mahipal Sachdeva, an eye specialist.
And there is a lot that non-Sikhs can pick up from it. "The sacrifice of the community for the cause of the country has been phenomenal," says Indian Olympic Association secretary general Raja Randhir Singh. "Respecting women is important in our religion. Our Gurbani questions why she who gives birth to kings and saints is ill-treated. Also, the way Guru Gobind Singh's sons opted for shahadat (martyrdom) instead of the prosperity that the Mughals had promised them, are the kind of role models that the community offers," says Paramjeet Singh Sarna, president of the Delhi Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee.
For Dr Sachdeva, the Das-wanth or the practice of giving out one-tenth of what you earn to the underprivileged, is what is most important. "The idea is to do better and at the same time, help out the poor," he says.

Expanding Circles Of Identity

Expanding Circles Of Identity
Religion seeks to give a sense of meaning and direction to human existence, providing us with understanding of who and what we are. Accordingly, it is inextricably bound up with the different components of our human identity - as individuals, spouses, members of families, communities and nations.
These are the expanding circles of our human identity, each of which has its place and value. We ignore these different elements of our make-up at our peril. Indeed, sociological analysis indicates that much of the problems of alienation and disorientation within modern society are the result of a loss of traditional components of human identity.
These circles of human identity should spiral outwards from the smaller spheres such as family, through the larger, such as community and nation; to ultimately embrace the widest circles uniting all people in universal human solidarity. However, when these smaller spheres perceive themselves as threatened, physically or psychologically, the opposite happens. They do not open out towards wider circles of human identity, but close themselves off from others, isolating themselves in order to protect the component of identity that is perceived as threatened. Under such circumstances, religion all too often becomes part and parcel of that insularity, even nurturing and exacerbating it.

In order to free communities from fears and suspicions that isolate them from others, we have not only to address their physical security, but also to counteract misrepresentations, bigotry and stereotypes that make up barriers of suspicion and hostility that alienate one community from another. Because religion is so profoundly bound up with all aspects of human identity, inter-religious understanding is crucial to the process of breaking down prejudicial barriers and for generating mutual respect and trust.
As we become more and more interdependent upon one another to ensure a sustainable ecosystem for our common future, the need to comprehend and respect one another becomes all the more acute. Religion is central to our communities' identities and ethos; therefore East-West inter-religious understanding is central to this imperative.

Monday, 4 July 2011

Knowledge of the Sufi Path


Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:18 AM PDT
Beloved, in the Name of God, look with the Eye of the heart and don't look back. Understand with the Eye of the Hearing of God. Listen with God, that your hearing may be merged with the Hearing of God. See with God and His Name will come to you. Then you will hear with the Ear of God and see with the Eye of God.

Don't come to Him without washing clean. By clean I mean empty of all but Him because He wants you to be around His Holy Table and you want to be sitting at this Table. Then you must know that you are in the valley of Holiness and He is the Eye (the source or spring) of the valley. You are in the valley and the valley is Him. And this is the same valley where Moses, peace and blessings be upon him, speaks with his God, and we say that you must take off your shoes as Moses does when he speaks with his Master. By shoes I mean first the world (dunya), then the earth (ard), then the ego (nafs), then the devil (shaytan), and then to come, after that, empty of everything but Him. Then you will see Him and He will see you. You will be facing Him as He is facing you, because first God loves you and then you love Him. If He had not helped you, your life would be in darkness, and you would be drinking the dirty water of this dark world like the animals and the fish in the sea, the big eating the small. If you want to finish with this, you must travel to Him with all your things and follow His way, this way. To behave with His manners and not to follow the manners of anyone but Him, you must go to the source of courtesy.

You cannot reach these things from the tongue or papers or just to open a book and read; but it is necessary to follow the family of God, who know how to ride in the saddle of the horse and who know how to sail in the ship which crosses all the rivers. This ship, the ship of the family of God, looks exactly like the ship of Noah. It is sea-worthy in the ocean of the truths of God, and this sea is so deep. It is not any traveler who can guide this ship, the ship of God. He must know all the secrets. So if you can reach this sea with your ship and you are one who rides in it and are saved from drowning, then know that you will reach Him and He will give you to drink from His spring. Then drink with the Order, from the Cup of Love, which you have been so patiently searching about, which is made for you and you for her. You are one of her children, and your example is exactly like one who is lost in a desert, dying of thirst, who reaches, after believing that you will die, the savior and the Water of Life. Then drink like the camels who are so thirsty, having passed so many days without water, who come at last to the spring and drink and drink and drink until you are quenched. That is the Order.

If you want to ask, what is the meaning of that spring, it is the source of love which all the lovers are searching about. You want to know the way to reach that spring? This is not for you unless you are the talker of your time, the Abraham or Moses of your time. Only in that time, in that season, not before and not after, your picture will change, from the picture of the personality to the image of the truth. And your straight way is the way of the prophets, of the family of God, of the lovers of Allah who have gone before you, the way of the stations that they have passed through; those who have reached the end of the way. For that, you must clean your clothes and leave your mistakes. Do not say, "I give, I give, and it's a lot." You must be strong in everything that you do. He will question you about all that you do. He is the Judge. He will ask you why you are in this created world. He will ask you what you are doing for the sick, the poor, and the hungry beings. Did you bring them mercy? Have you been as a dove of peace between them? Have you been as water to extinguish the fire? Have you been the peace to destroy all the wars between them? These are some of your messages. If you are like this, complete it. Don't hesitate or go so slowly. If you do not do it, you will be of those who suffer. If you want to go beyond all that you have been, then I am your brother to take your hand, and guide you from the darkness to the light, to the garden of truth.

All this comes from the knowledge of the first world (pre-eternity), of the way which was taken by the prophets, and the messengers and all the family of God. And this knowledge is the father of all the sciences, and the dearest, the greatest of them is the knowledge of Tasawwuf, the sufi path, which is to clean your heart so that it may become the house of your Lord. As He says, "Neither My heavens nor My earth contain Me, but the heart of My faithful believer contains Me." The one who knows this heart, who is this heart, prostrates before Him from the beginning which has no beginning, until the end which has no end; still always prostrating. The one who remembers always the truth of prayer, like the lovers who can't live without it; they are from Him to Him forever. Who wants to do this work as God Wills? I am not writing to one group of people, but to all the people, wherever they are, who want to know the truth. They are all my lovers, and I wish them goodness, wherever they may be. What do you want to write about God? If all the trees were pens, and all the seas were ink, all that would be just a start. This looks like a little bird who takes a drop of water from the ocean. All the pens will be finished, but the knowledge of God will never be finished. Know that all I have in my heart is what He put in, and still it is nothing. After all these things, in my heart is a great thing... Allah. I can't explain anymore.

- from the blessed teachings of Sidi Muhammad Sa'id al Jamal ash-Shadhili, guide of the Shadhili Sufi path, may Allah sanctify his Sirr. Material shared from Sufi Master website.

The Shaykh is a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, through his ancestor, Shaykh Ahmad ar-Rifa‘i. He was born in Tulkum in the Holy Land in 1935. He is the spiritual inheritor through the Shadhili line from his Guide and Master, Shaykh ‘Abdu-r-Rahman Abu-r-Risah of Halab in the land of Syria, and is one who has kept Sufism alive and at work as an institution and a school of thought and spiritual knowledge. In 1997 he restored the 1000 year old Sufi Council that served in the Holy Land. He is the Head of this Council in Jerusalem and the Holy Land and has been a teacher and central figure at the Masjid al-Aqsa or the Dome of the Rock for many years.

The Shaykh has been living on the Mount of Olives in the Holy City of Jerusalem since the year 1959. For many years the Shaykh has been a teacher at the sacred sanctuary of al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. He is well known to many people both in Palestine and in other countries in the world. Not only is he a teacher and counselor for all those who come to be at al-Aqsa, but he is also its custodian. The Shaykh has students and followers in the Holy Land as well as in America and Europe, but it has only been since 1993 that the order came to his heart to travel to visit other countries. At the same time the order came from Allah for him to give teachings to all those in every part of the world who are sincerely seeking for the truth of their existence, the meaning of their life, and to heal their wounds. Up until then, the teaching had been reserved only for study in his Zawiyah in Jerusalem. (learn more)

Sidi Muhammad is expected to visit USA this year once again, Inshallah and his visit information, opportunity for initiation and to take hand with him (bayah) - all these information are to be posted on Sufi Center websiteClick here to check back.

PS: visit directly to http://www.mysticsaint.info for multimedia experience. Blessings, Sadiq
  

Sunday, 3 July 2011

My dream country Maleshya


Malaysian Centers and Contact Information
City/Area
Contact Person
Contact No.
 
Selangor/Klang Valley
Petaling Jaya & Kuala LumpurMr. Richard Ng
016 3313978
Ampang/SetapakMrs. Jasotha
017 8784055
CherasMr. Sathish
017 8822767
KajangMs. Leela
012 2645043
Gasing Indah Ms. Geja
012 2193356
KlangMr. Alson Wong
012 2887838
PuchongMr. Stephen Pang
019 3389617
 Mr. Adrian Lee
019 3544085
Subang JayaMs. Ching Hooi
012 2100481
 Ms. Maheshwari
016 3249214
Brickfields Ms. Nirmalar
012 2196726
Sungai BulohMr. Vijay
017 3571212
  
Penang/North
PenangMrs. Kali
016 4600374
 Mr. Vella
012 4073531
 Mr. Robert
012 3662678
 Mr. Balan
012 4747054
Seberang PeraiMr. Barathi
019 6626579
 Mrs. Kamales
012 4941657
 Mr. Balan
012 4747054
Simpang AmpatMr. Barathi
019 6626579
 Mrs. Kamales
012 4941657
Kulim/ Padang SeraiMr. Tamilselvan
012 5699844
Sg. PetaniMr. Balachanter
013 4808837
 Mr. Balan
012 4747054
LangkawiMrs. Uma
012 4627407
Mandarin ClassesMr. See
016 2850578
  
Perak
IpohMr. Lau
05 2540071
Teluk Intan/Sitiawan/K.Kangsar/TaipingMr. Ng Say Beo
05 3222539
 Mr. Ramadas
016 5945472
  
Negeri Sembilan
SerembanMrs. Kanatha
012 6087350
RantauMrs. Vasantha
016 3071888
Port DicksonMr. Ganesan
012 6601538
  
Melaka
MalaccaMr. Tong
012 6821492
 Ms. Ping
012 6115240
  
Johor
MuarMs. Anna Heng
012 6823780
Johor BahruMs. Ting Ting
016 7221209
Pasir GudangMs. Dolly Tan
012 7273246

Friday, 1 July 2011

Praise to the Allaha




wazifa_1
A'UDhU BI-LLAHI MINA-Sh-SHAYTAN-R-RAJIM
I take refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan
wazifa_02
BISMI-LLAHI-R-RAHMANI-R-RAHÍM
In the Name of Allah, The Universally Merciful, The Singularly Compassionate
wazifa_03
ALLAHUMMA SALLI WA SALLIM BI'JAMI I-SH-SHU UNI FI-DH-DHUHURI WA-L-BUTON
O Allah, send blessings and peace in all the affairs of the revealed and the hidden.
wazifa_04
ALA MAN MINHU-N-ShAQQATI-L ASRARU-L-KAMINAH FI DhATIHI-I ALIYATIDhUHURA
upon the one from whom the secrets, which are hidden in his lofty essence, were cleft apart,
wazifa_05
WA-N-FALAQATI-L- ANWARU-L- MUNTAWIYATUR FI SAMA I SIFATIHI-S-SANIYATI BUDURA
and the lights, which are hidden in the sky of his lofty qualities, dispel the shadows of night as full moons,
wazifa_06
WA FIHI-R-TAQATI-L-HAQA IQU MINHU ILAYH
and in him ascended the truths, from him to Him;
wazifa_08
WA TANAZZALAT ULUMU ADAM BIHI FIHI ALAYH
and the sciences of Adam descended through him and upon him,
wazifa_08
FA A JAZA KULLAM MIN-L-KhAKA IQI FAHMU MA UDI AMIN-S-SIRRI FIH
rendering the entire creation unable to comprehend that which was entrusted to him of the secret,

Haqiqat e Muhammad: Reality of Muhammad


Haqiqat e Muhammad: Reality of Muhammad


Reality of the one who stands at the station of praise 
and for whom the banner of praise is raised 
from pre-eternity to post-eternity 


O Allah, send blessings and peace in all the affairs of the revealed and the hidden
upon the one from whom the secrets, which are hidden in his lofty essence, were cleft apart,
and the lights, which are hidden in the sky of his lofty qualities, dispel the shadows of night as full moons,
and in him ascended the truths, from him to Him;

and the sciences of Adam descended through him and upon him, rendering the entire creation unable to comprehend that which was entrusted to him of the secret,
and before him understanding is diminished; yet each one's inability to understand suffices him.

This is the preserved secret that has not been grasped by any one of us in its existence. And none who comes after him will reach his pre-existent witnessing.

Magnified is the Prophet whose glowing beauty blossoms the gardens of the dominion
and the world of the kingdom. And the reservoirs of the world of al-jabarut pour forth
in profusion the lights of his dazzling secret.

Bless him, a blessing worthy of You, from You to him,
and grant him peace in accordance with this blessing, as him being worthy of its abundance and favor.
and on his family, who are the suns of the heavens most high.
and on his companions and followers and those who came after.

O Allah! Surely he is Your secret which unites all secrets.,
and Your light encompassing all lights,
and Your guide who leads through You to You ,
and the leader who rides Your worlds to You,
and Your great veil that stands before You,
so that no one reaches except through his noble presence,
and no straying person can be guided except by his shining lights.

O Allah! Join me to his spiritual line,
and make his praised noble descent true through me.

Let me know him with a knowledge with which I can see his face,
and through which I can become his manifestation,
in the way that he loves, and in the way that satisfies him,
And through which I am freed from every source of ignorance,
through his deep knowledge.

WAJ ALI-LLAHUMMA RUHAHU SIRRA HAQIQATI DHAWQAWWA HALA

And O Allah! make his spirit the Secret of my Reality through tasing and through state.

WA HAQIQATAHU JAMIA AWALIMI FI MAJAMI'I MAALIMI HALAWWA MAALA.

And may his Reality unify all my worlds in the places of knowledge, both now and forever.

~ From al-Wazifa Al-Wazifa al-Mashishiyyah: Blessed litany of the Shadhili Sufi Path ~


Among various themes, the knowledge and tasting of which the Sufi mystic and God intoxicated ones strive to attain to, Haqiqat e Muhammad or Reality of Muhammad is one of such profound subject matter. It is illuminating knowledge of the elite friends of God. It is one of those subject matters the beginning of which is bewilderment and the end of which is effacement in fana fi Rasul, annihilating into the reality of the Messenger, upon him be abundant peace and blessings of Allah.

Shaykh A. Nooruddeen Durkee, Khalifah of Shadhuli School in North America back in 1994 gave a very illuminating talk on this deep subject. Below is a partial recording of this very valuable discourse via Youtube. The talk is deeply mystical and carries gnostic quality. 

The talk was delivered at International Mawlid-un-Nabi Conference, sponsored by Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education. Click play on each video to watch and listen. May we all be granted benefit and baraka from what is transmitted here in.

Source-

An important letter in my life.


Dear mahanand,
Are you a percussionist? Or do you know a percussionist?
We would love you to join the World Percussion Group 
Performing live Saturday night at the
FESTIVAL CULTURA DELLO SPIRITO
Albera Ligure 30 July 2011
We are calling drummers and percussionists from all over the world to play to the heartbeat of Mother Earth. We hope the vibrations from the sound of the rhythm from the vibrated earth of Albera will send ripples of our Mother's mighty love out to the whole world!
If you want to take part please contact monjy@bluebottle.com




Dear mahanand,
Painters, sculptors, woodworkers, artistic craftsmen and craftswomen from all over the sahaj world! Their work has inspired us. So we would like to offer them a space for their art on the occasion of the
CULTURE OF THE SPIRIT FESTIVAL 2011
an annual cultural event in Cabella that aims to bring Sahaja Yoga to people by its fruits rather than its roots.
Our Mother has always had a special regard for art and artists, and we feel it is a great opportunity to be united and let the light of the spirit shine. The space where artwork can be displayed will be an informal place where people can sit and talk, just enjoying themselves and living art and its energy. The space will also be decorated with fabric and natural objects, displayed in a theatrical and lovable way.
The event will take place in Cabella on the 30-31 of July.
If you are an artist yourself, or know someone who is, please get it touch with Purna on +3905231998541 or write to monjy@bluebottle.comso that we can organise something together.
Please forward this message to any artist you know who may be interested.
Thank you and Jai Shri Mataji
Culture of the Spirit Festival