LETTER 51: THE WAY TO GOD

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Brother Shamsuddin, may God disclose His way to you! Khwaja Bayazid was once asked: What is the way by which one can reach God Realize from this that just as one who sees the Way does not see the Truth, how can one who sees himself become one who sees God? Your preoccupation and mine is with our beards and hair, for we see nothing except ourselves. Inevitably we worship nothing except ourselves! If your glance and mine were to fall upon the desert of ignorance and to see the grip that our own lower soul has upon us, we would certainly not claim to be Muslims. You would be able to see that when a drop from the goblet of the Law falls into your fortunate mouth and the eyes of your heart are opened, this couplet becomes applicable:

From all that I knew I turned away: How could I take another name when I call upon Yours

It is said that when the self-sufficient sun shines upon the seas of knowledge of the learned, not a drop of moisture will be left in all these seas Someone has also asked: O lords whose keys open all knots, why has your door been closed? Do you know what has happened? The firmament and the stars have a claim to existence and activity only until such time as the royal sun rises. When it does, no other can make any claim to existence, speaking, hearing, or any other activity. In what way can mere particles of existence contest with the lightning of divine Unity? When the sun warms the knowledge of a scholar, verily it all turns to ignorance. When longing for Him warms someone's heart, all other desires take to flight. When His power is experienced, all other powers become helpless. When His glory and honor are revealed, all other manifestations of glory and honor slide down into the dust. When the majestic curtain is lifted from the beauty of His Unity, all creatures are plunged into the wilderness of absolute nothingness.

As far as you can, claim no rights! Your inventory will not be required, nor is there any altercation with you over your capital. Rather, you should forget yourself. Do not insert your own name in the Friday congregational prayer! Do not say I am like this! or I am like that! If you make any claim you will be doing the sort of thing Pharaoh did, for he said: I am your Lord, the Almighty (Q79:24) Your lower soul, covered with robe and turban, will say: I am your lesser provider! Thus your lower soul begins to act as Pharaoh's did, but Pharaoh's soul displayed itself as it was, whereas your lower soul tries to sell itself to you in the garb of a Muslim, and you drink the sherbet of its pride!

The same claim is made for it as was made for the Pharaoh's soul. Still, it fears for its life. If it shows itself in the desert, then the sword of the Law will lop off its head. Do not try to be an overlord! Be a servant! In this way, the sword will be diverted from you. Everyone who puts himself forward has his head cut off, just as happened to Satan. A slave has no rights, nor can he arrogate a kingdom to himself. Whatever he does has to be according to the orders of his lord, not in accordance with his own desire or authority. The Quran says: God gave the example of a slave who was the property of another and had no power over anything! (Q16:75). For him, both ordinary and mystical knowledge are necessary, and also the shade of the wealth of a guide, because a novice cannot reach this stage unless he finds it in the monastery of some experienced guides who have been thoroughly prepared for this task by the vicissitudes of the Way. He who has no guide along the Way is led by Satan.

Religious scholars have spoken in this fashion: Knowledge is obtained from the conversation of people. Anyone who carries on his affairs according to his own desire and inclination would be like someone who acquires his knowledge from a book. Of him it would be said: Though he is a learned man, yet because he had no master, he will not be correct! Know that when you change, so too does your food and also your work, but if you change only your clothes and

food, even though you change them a thousand times, make arrangements for yourself among this people, still, until you yourself are changed, all this is worthless!

Hence it is that among this group genuine conversion is considered very important. In the forty-day retreat, in austerities and in solitude, the whole purpose of the exercise is conversion, for without it no one acquires the correct way of behaving. Realize that everyone you see who has remained, as it were, outside himself, and is caught up with his turban, clothes, shoes, how long or how short his robe should be, how white or blue it ought to be, and so on, is still enslaved to himself. He is really worshiping himself. You can be a slave either to yourself or to religion. Contraries cannot be reconciled to one another. As long as you see that you seek in yourself even a particle of the acceptance of people, or the desire for a place in society, you are still caught! And if anyone makes you suffer an indignity, and you ascribe your disgrace to him and get angry with him, then know that you simply belong to the category of learned men, but your religion has not been accepted by the Esteemed Lord. You will have to return to yourself. You are simply changing your clothes! What profit is there in that? If you are so strong that you can pass a thousand years in one patched garment and spend your whole life eating a little grass, and you kill yourself with austerities in some hermitage where no one will see you, and if birds provide you with shade during the summer months, then be on the alert lest you be deceived, for all of this is the trickery, guile, and deception of your ego! For as long as every hair on your body bears witness to your infidelity and proclaims you to be an idol, the door of wealth will not be opened to you, nor will the King of Religion take you under His patronage! To sum up, everyone who stands by virtue of his own strength will, of himself, tumble down headlong!

The real power and dignity of spiritual guides can be gleaned from what has just been said. It is observable that snakes and scorpions remain quiet during wintertime. This is not the result of their prudence, strength, or self-control. It simply means that the season does not give them an opportunity to act. When the weather warms up and hot winds begin to blow, the environment becomes favorable to them. That is when you can enjoy the fun, for then they will bite and sting! Man's ego is like snakes and scorpions. The venomous sting of a man is his tongue. Sometime or other, when he is sitting at home and displaying his real disposition, you will understand what he is.

Some work may not have gone according to his fancy, or something may happen to mar his exercise of authority and he wishes that the defect that arose in his authority might be hidden by this concealment. Many people are seen engaged in occupations and work who, when they are removed from office and no longer enjoy power and authority, sit down upon a prayer carpet, place a Quran stand in front of them, and take to reading the Quran. They also take upon themselves extra fasts and extra prayers and are forever reciting short, ejaculatory prayers. To everyone who comes to visit them they say: This is the real work! All that other activity is nothing! The Lord has granted me a blessing! This saying is perfectly true when correctly applied to one's soul, but such men as these are not speaking from their hearts. Do you not see that if their position were once again given to them and they were to be restored to the same rank as before, their joy would know no bounds Such men make impositions on the souls of guides and elders, In the same say also a man can be sitting at home for some time. He adorns his tongue, whetting this sword of his with poison with which to strike at people. Out of ignorance, he gives the name of mystery of religion to what is really poison for a soul. In addition, out of foolishness and ignorance, he claims as an example of the strictness of the Law what is really his own pride of soul. Be watchful that you do not make the mistake of accepting the latter for the former! This would be a fault on your part.

Hence it has been known that none should attempt to traverse this Way without a guide, as the wise have said: A soul, when totally absorbed, remains confined to the world. It is like a bird that has fallen into a snare. No matter how much it flutters about with its wings and legs, it succeeds only in making itself more firmly entangled. It needs someone who will release it from its bondage. That would be a guide sent by the Prophet. There is another secret, namely that in the beginning the novice is not capable of the state in which he could bear divine illumination because he is like a bat whose eyes do not have enough strength to bear the light of the sun. Nevertheless, proceeding in complete darkness would be dangerous, even destructive. Some light is necessary for the Way, but it should be less than that of the sun. That light comes from the hearts of guides who, like the celestial body, the moon, have become capable of receiving hidden light. From his inner vision he will then provide other disciples with a remedy for the pain that arises when they begin to seek God. He then looks for something to assuage that pain. The disciple, however, has no idea as to what should be done but, through the divine mercy, he is led to the guide who will help him. The sweet odor of the Real One reaches his sense of smell through the heart of the guide. He submits himself to him and finds peace. This is discipleship.

O brother, mysterious indeed are His dealings with men of clay, and yet how bountiful! It is related that when Azrael, the angel of death, makes a sortie upon the life of someone, he is instructed by God in this fashion: First convey My greetings and compliments to him Only then may you stretch out your hand to take his life! In the Quran one reads that tomorrow, on the Day of Resurrection, God will greet the faithful without any intermediary and say: Peace! A word from a merciful Lord (Q36:58). If it had not been His intention from of old to be gracious with this handful of dust, He would not have greeted man in the very beginning! One beloved of God has given us a hint about all this

He who is greeted by the Beloved, And receives news from His presence, Shines like the sun in the circle of His servants What can I relate? It is but a tale of slavery!

On the night of nearness and bounty, God Almighty said to the Prophet: O Prophet, peace be upon you! One beloved of God says about this: When two friends, after a long separation, come together again, the one whose eagerness is greater will be the first to greet the other I long greatly for him! is the secret meaning of this. It also explains traditions concerning the Prophet: he was always the first to greet anyone. Your behavior should be in accordance with his!

Peace!

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Brother Shamsuddin, may God disclose His way to you! Khwaja Bayazid was once asked: What is the way by which one can reach God Realize from this that just as one who sees the Way does not see the Truth, how can one who sees himself become one who sees God? Your preoccupation and mine is with our beards and hair, for we see nothing except ourselves. Inevitably we worship nothing except ourselves! If your glance and mine were to fall upon the desert of ignorance and to see the grip that our own lower soul has upon us, we would certainly not claim to be Muslims. You would be able to see that when a drop from the goblet of the Law falls into your fortunate mouth and the eyes of your heart are opened, this couplet becomes applicable:

From all that I knew I turned away: How could I take another name when I call upon Yours

It is said that when the self-sufficient sun shines upon the seas of knowledge of the learned, not a drop of moisture will be left in all these seas Someone has also asked: O lords whose keys open all knots, why has your door been closed? Do you know what has happened? The firmament and the stars have a claim to existence and activity only until such time as the royal sun rises. When it does, no other can make any claim to existence, speaking, hearing, or any other activity. In what way can mere particles of existence contest with the lightning of divine Unity? When the sun warms the knowledge of a scholar, verily it all turns to ignorance. When longing for Him warms someone's heart, all other desires take to flight. When His power is experienced, all other powers become helpless. When His glory and honor are revealed, all other manifestations of glory and honor slide down into the dust. When the majestic curtain is lifted from the beauty of His Unity, all creatures are plunged into the wilderness of absolute nothingness.

As far as you can, claim no rights! Your inventory will not be required, nor is there any altercation with you over your capital. Rather, you should forget yourself. Do not insert your own name in the Friday congregational prayer! Do not say I am like this! or I am like that! If you make any claim you will be doing the sort of thing Pharaoh did, for he said: I am your Lord, the Almighty (Q79:24) Your lower soul, covered with robe and turban, will say: I am your lesser provider! Thus your lower soul begins to act as Pharaoh's did, but Pharaoh's soul displayed itself as it was, whereas your lower soul tries to sell itself to you in the garb of a Muslim, and you drink the sherbet of its pride!

The same claim is made for it as was made for the Pharaoh's soul. Still, it fears for its life. If it shows itself in the desert, then the sword of the Law will lop off its head. Do not try to be an overlord! Be a servant! In this way, the sword will be diverted from you. Everyone who puts himself forward has his head cut off, just as happened to Satan. A slave has no rights, nor can he arrogate a kingdom to himself. Whatever he does has to be according to the orders of his lord, not in accordance with his own desire or authority. The Quran says: God gave the example of a slave who was the property of another and had no power over anything! (Q16:75). For him, both ordinary and mystical knowledge are necessary, and also the shade of the wealth of a guide, because a novice cannot reach this stage unless he finds it in the monastery of some experienced guides who have been thoroughly prepared for this task by the vicissitudes of the Way. He who has no guide along the Way is led by Satan.

Religious scholars have spoken in this fashion: Knowledge is obtained from the conversation of people. Anyone who carries on his affairs according to his own desire and inclination would be like someone who acquires his knowledge from a book. Of him it would be said: Though he is a learned man, yet because he had no master, he will not be correct! Know that when you change, so too does your food and also your work, but if you change only your clothes and

food, even though you change them a thousand times, make arrangements for yourself among this people, still, until you yourself are changed, all this is worthless!

Hence it is that among this group genuine conversion is considered very important. In the forty-day retreat, in austerities and in solitude, the whole purpose of the exercise is conversion, for without it no one acquires the correct way of behaving. Realize that everyone you see who has remained, as it were, outside himself, and is caught up with his turban, clothes, shoes, how long or how short his robe should be, how white or blue it ought to be, and so on, is still enslaved to himself. He is really worshiping himself. You can be a slave either to yourself or to religion. Contraries cannot be reconciled to one another. As long as you see that you seek in yourself even a particle of the acceptance of people, or the desire for a place in society, you are still caught! And if anyone makes you suffer an indignity, and you ascribe your disgrace to him and get angry with him, then know that you simply belong to the category of learned men, but your religion has not been accepted by the Esteemed Lord. You will have to return to yourself. You are simply changing your clothes! What profit is there in that? If you are so strong that you can pass a thousand years in one patched garment and spend your whole life eating a little grass, and you kill yourself with austerities in some hermitage where no one will see you, and if birds provide you with shade during the summer months, then be on the alert lest you be deceived, for all of this is the trickery, guile, and deception of your ego! For as long as every hair on your body bears witness to your infidelity and proclaims you to be an idol, the door of wealth will not be opened to you, nor will the King of Religion take you under His patronage! To sum up, everyone who stands by virtue of his own strength will, of himself, tumble down headlong!

The real power and dignity of spiritual guides can be gleaned from what has just been said. It is observable that snakes and scorpions remain quiet during wintertime. This is not the result of their prudence, strength, or self-control. It simply means that the season does not give them an opportunity to act. When the weather warms up and hot winds begin to blow, the environment becomes favorable to them. That is when you can enjoy the fun, for then they will bite and sting! Man's ego is like snakes and scorpions. The venomous sting of a man is his tongue. Sometime or other, when he is sitting at home and displaying his real disposition, you will understand what he is.

Some work may not have gone according to his fancy, or something may happen to mar his exercise of authority and he wishes that the defect that arose in his authority might be hidden by this concealment. Many people are seen engaged in occupations and work who, when they are removed from office and no longer enjoy power and authority, sit down upon a prayer carpet, place a Quran stand in front of them, and take to reading the Quran. They also take upon themselves extra fasts and extra prayers and are forever reciting short, ejaculatory prayers. To everyone who comes to visit them they say: This is the real work! All that other activity is nothing! The Lord has granted me a blessing! This saying is perfectly true when correctly applied to one's soul, but such men as these are not speaking from their hearts. Do you not see that if their position were once again given to them and they were to be restored to the same rank as before, their joy would know no bounds Such men make impositions on the souls of guides and elders, In the same say also a man can be sitting at home for some time. He adorns his tongue, whetting this sword of his with poison with which to strike at people. Out of ignorance, he gives the name of mystery of religion to what is really poison for a soul. In addition, out of foolishness and ignorance, he claims as an example of the strictness of the Law what is really his own pride of soul. Be watchful that you do not make the mistake of accepting the latter for the former! This would be a fault on your part.

Hence it has been known that none should attempt to traverse this Way without a guide, as the wise have said: A soul, when totally absorbed, remains confined to the world. It is like a bird that has fallen into a snare. No matter how much it flutters about with its wings and legs, it succeeds only in making itself more firmly entangled. It needs someone who will release it from its bondage. That would be a guide sent by the Prophet. There is another secret, namely that in the beginning the novice is not capable of the state in which he could bear divine illumination because he is like a bat whose eyes do not have enough strength to bear the light of the sun. Nevertheless, proceeding in complete darkness would be dangerous, even destructive. Some light is necessary for the Way, but it should be less than that of the sun. That light comes from the hearts of guides who, like the celestial body, the moon, have become capable of receiving hidden light. From his inner vision he will then provide other disciples with a remedy for the pain that arises when they begin to seek God. He then looks for something to assuage that pain. The disciple, however, has no idea as to what should be done but, through the divine mercy, he is led to the guide who will help him. The sweet odor of the Real One reaches his sense of smell through the heart of the guide. He submits himself to him and finds peace. This is discipleship.

O brother, mysterious indeed are His dealings with men of clay, and yet how bountiful! It is related that when Azrael, the angel of death, makes a sortie upon the life of someone, he is instructed by God in this fashion: First convey My greetings and compliments to him Only then may you stretch out your hand to take his life! In the Quran one reads that tomorrow, on the Day of Resurrection, God will greet the faithful without any intermediary and say: Peace! A word from a merciful Lord (Q36:58). If it had not been His intention from of old to be gracious with this handful of dust, He would not have greeted man in the very beginning! One beloved of God has given us a hint about all this

He who is greeted by the Beloved, And receives news from His presence, Shines like the sun in the circle of His servants What can I relate? It is but a tale of slavery!

On the night of nearness and bounty, God Almighty said to the Prophet: O Prophet, peace be upon you! One beloved of God says about this: When two friends, after a long separation, come together again, the one whose eagerness is greater will be the first to greet the other I long greatly for him! is the secret meaning of this. It also explains traditions concerning the Prophet: he was always the first to greet anyone. Your behavior should be in accordance with his!

Peace!