Ya Ali Madad
Salam brothers and sisters, I have encountered a question that i wish to ask, in hopes of finding solace in its answer.
There is a famous Hadith Qudsiya that is uttered ever so often by the esotericists (Sufi/Ismaili) as a elucidation to the question of purpose of creation, ' I was a Hidden Treasure and I wanted to be known, so I created man'
Now the question I wish to ask is; why does God want to be known? Is He not free from wants, because want implies limitation, and if He wants to be known, then that inevitably means He does not want not to be known. All this is of course impossible and we seek refuge in God from such assertions. Peace and blessings.
Ya Ali Madad.
Self manifestation.
Ya Ali Madad,
I do not think we should consider such a statement literally or at its face value. It is really allegorical and points to a very special role of man in creation - that he is only capable of knowing God and totality of creation in its majesty and glory (the hidden treasure).
I do not think that one can be satisfied with a rational explanation of creation. That will always remain a mystery which can only be resolved through spiritual elevation and gnosis.
Through inner purification one can experience the universe in its spendour. This alluded to by Rumi in the following verse in his Mathnavi.
A man was breaking up the soil, when another man came by, "Why are you ruining this land?"
"Don't be a fool! Nothing can grow
until the ground is turned over and crumbled.
There can be no roses and no orchard without first this that looks devastating.
You must lance an ulcer to heal it. You must tear down parts of an old building to restore it, and so it is with a sensual life that has no spirit in it.
To change,
a person must face the dragon of his appetites with another dragon, the life-energy of the soul."
When that's not strong, the world seems to be full of people who have your own fears and wantings.
As one thinks the room is spinning when he's whirling around.
When your love contracts in anger, the atmosphere itself feels threatening.
But when you're expansive, no matter what the weather, you're in an open, windy field with friends.
Many people travel to Syria and Iraq and meet only hypocrites.
Others go all the way to India
and see just merchants buying and selling.
Others go to Turkestan and China and find those countries filled with sneak-thieves and cheats.
We always see the qualities that are living in us.
A cow may walk from one side of the amazing city of Baghdad to the other and notice only a watermelon rind and a tuft of hay that fell off a wagon.
Don't keep repeatedly doing what your animal-soul wants to do.
That's like deciding to be a strip of meat nailed and drying on a board in the sun.
Your spirit needs to follow the changes happening in the spacious place it knows about.
There, the scene is always new, a clairvoyant river of picturing, more beautiful than any on earth.
This is where the sufis wash.
Purify your eyes, and see the pure world.
Your life will fill with radiant forms.
It's a question of cleaning
and then developing the spiritual senses.
Say you were blindfolded, and a lovely woman came by.
You could know her beauty somewhat by hearing her speak, but what if she didn't say anything!
Muinuddin, there are marvels
you're not aware of. Don't judge with^owr eyes.
Look at me through my eyes.
See beyond phenomena,
and these difficult questions will dissolve
into love within love.
Peace be with you, sir,
in your position of leadership.
I do not think we should consider such a statement literally or at its face value. It is really allegorical and points to a very special role of man in creation - that he is only capable of knowing God and totality of creation in its majesty and glory (the hidden treasure).
I do not think that one can be satisfied with a rational explanation of creation. That will always remain a mystery which can only be resolved through spiritual elevation and gnosis.
Through inner purification one can experience the universe in its spendour. This alluded to by Rumi in the following verse in his Mathnavi.
A man was breaking up the soil, when another man came by, "Why are you ruining this land?"
"Don't be a fool! Nothing can grow
until the ground is turned over and crumbled.
There can be no roses and no orchard without first this that looks devastating.
You must lance an ulcer to heal it. You must tear down parts of an old building to restore it, and so it is with a sensual life that has no spirit in it.
To change,
a person must face the dragon of his appetites with another dragon, the life-energy of the soul."
When that's not strong, the world seems to be full of people who have your own fears and wantings.
As one thinks the room is spinning when he's whirling around.
When your love contracts in anger, the atmosphere itself feels threatening.
But when you're expansive, no matter what the weather, you're in an open, windy field with friends.
Many people travel to Syria and Iraq and meet only hypocrites.
Others go all the way to India
and see just merchants buying and selling.
Others go to Turkestan and China and find those countries filled with sneak-thieves and cheats.
We always see the qualities that are living in us.
A cow may walk from one side of the amazing city of Baghdad to the other and notice only a watermelon rind and a tuft of hay that fell off a wagon.
Don't keep repeatedly doing what your animal-soul wants to do.
That's like deciding to be a strip of meat nailed and drying on a board in the sun.
Your spirit needs to follow the changes happening in the spacious place it knows about.
There, the scene is always new, a clairvoyant river of picturing, more beautiful than any on earth.
This is where the sufis wash.
Purify your eyes, and see the pure world.
Your life will fill with radiant forms.
It's a question of cleaning
and then developing the spiritual senses.
Say you were blindfolded, and a lovely woman came by.
You could know her beauty somewhat by hearing her speak, but what if she didn't say anything!
Muinuddin, there are marvels
you're not aware of. Don't judge with^owr eyes.
Look at me through my eyes.
See beyond phenomena,
and these difficult questions will dissolve
into love within love.
Peace be with you, sir,
in your position of leadership.
-
davlat_dida
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:13 pm