46 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA “Toe Adeps beatified, sacing the One, ‘His eget Gre on the Light of xizeace Buchs who by Ligh: and Purity see, ‘Winresever be seth be fst eeeth God ‘Deeachment fom allt pure thought’ condition: Comet then God's confirming st lightning tases. ‘To whom God lies has been Teacker and Guide rom the inc of mere lic hae profited naught, How the wie in Philowophy stands et aloe Fornotking except ehe Contingent he 2s, conditional Being te’ fia prove from that Bar Neceasicy'santure perpleses hin ‘Ar one tne be ravele a circle of camer (Prom the hen othe egg and the tothe ben.) ‘Apsia t's involved ie chai without end, (a scrgs of casts fn endear resresin). Poor fool he gous secking the Sam in its ory yc lighe of amp ia the Hinihese sere" ‘Mabmid Shabistat loves co have alt at philoso phy of rather the type of philosophy represented by The Muslim schoolmen, but at the same time he pre~ Sents his replies in philosophical form and his cermi- ‘ology is ofven abstruse and dificule. This does not Tend itself to a very exalted form of verse but, in general, his style is easy and smooth, 2 HARIZ Kbwaje Shamsv'd-Din Hafiz (4. 1389 A. D.) spent most of his long life in Shiraz. His ancestors belonged fo Isfahin but his father, Babi'u'd-Din bed taken up “iy Taamsaced ty the Rev. JW. Seeeeman, Maabadi-Ner, soit Words in bracket are comment. ve ATER DEVELOPMENTS ” his abode in Shtri2 where he earned his living asa merchant of, a8 some say. a baker. Just before he died Baha'u'd-Din failed in bu: ines and ‘so his young son and his wife were lefeihpenixiy’” The boy managed to obtain some education and learned the Quran by hheart. It was for this achievement that he received the title of Hafiz. Later inhis life when Shamsu'd-Din_ ‘became a poet he adopted this title as his nom- de-plume “His collection of poems, the Disdn-iffafc, would ‘appear on the surface to be “strongly tinged with sensuality”. Something has been said with regard to this but it remains to say that there are many poems for which it is extremely difficult to find any mystic meaning. Shibli in his She'rwl'Ajam gives no place to mysticism at all in Hifig. He says that the poet exhibits the philosophy of Epicurus. One cannot be unaware of a current of hedonism throughout, but at the same time, to deny the mysticism of Hafiz would ‘be absurd. It is true that it is not the mysticism ‘of a school and, so far as we know, he never pledged himself toa pir, or recognised $Ufi teacher, though there is one tradition associating him with the Negsh- bandiyya. ‘His poetry is remarkable for its beauty and clarity. ‘There is a freshness and sweetness in. much of it which makes one regtet the wilder accents of his songs. And throughout there is sincerity. He ings true. Ie is remarkable to notice his detachment when the passion- ate clamour of strife and bloodshed must have been48. SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA ‘constantly in his ears. ‘The time might have made him a eynic but he never lost the sense of wonder. ‘The works of Hafiz are sometimes called Tarju- ‘manu'l-Asrir, the Interpreter of Mysteries, and Lisdna’l- Ghasb, The Tongue of the Invisible. The latter title is said to be due to an incident which happened imme- diately after his death. Some orthodox Muslims, on account of his antinomian habits, objected to the of- fering of a funeral prayer. Finally it was agreed to decide the question by taking an augury from his poems. ‘The verse they lighted on was, “Withdzaw net your footstep om the bier of Hai, For though immersed io sin, he will goto Parade." ‘Since that time Muslims have tought omens in just the ‘same way and various methods have been invented for this purpose, The one commonly practised is to open ‘the book at random and to find the answer from the frst line on the right hand page. Professor Browne in his famous Literary History of Persia gives a eransla- tion of a litele book called Lasifa-i-Ghaybiyya which ‘contains instances of auguries taken by famous people. ‘We conclude this brief sketch with a few transla tions of odes with @ mystical meaning. "0 heedlet one, sive thou to heed: ind tothe Pac, how canst chou lead? A Ste wouldst be? Seive thou © Yout® Before Loves Tutor in te School of Truc. Seif dross page ont, as nine of old, ‘And by Lore's Alcheay become fine gold Enting and weeping, el f Love berefe— ‘Spur sloth and feasting forthe Love you left. LATER DEVELOPMENTS 9 IL yow the heavenly Sun isnot so beight ‘Aahoar and soul iodwele by Hic Lovelight. ‘Lost Thou in God, suns Ie and limb, ‘Axe bead to foot ll Light of Him? 3. SAME ‘Mulla Noro'd-Din ‘Abdu'r-Rabman Jami was born at the town of Jim in Khurésin on November the seventh, 1414 A.D. He was a great poet, a great scholar and a great mystic. Jamt was a prolific writer. His poetical works consisted of three Divns of lyrical poetry and seven. romantic Matinavts. In prose he wrote on the exegesis of the Quran, the evidence of the prophethood of Muhammad and the lives of the saints. Besides these Ihe was an auehor of several treatises on mysticism, ‘theology, Arabic grammar, prosody, music and other matters. ‘The predominant passion of his life was mysticism ‘and, in the words of Professor Browne, “The mystical land pantheistic thought of Persia may be said to firid its most complete and vivid expression" in him. His ‘$ufi association was with the Neqshbandiyya. One Of the central snd fundamental conceptions in his rystical doctrine is chat of the Absolute as the Eternal Beauty, Starting from the famous tradition, “I was a hidden treasure and I desired to become known: there- fore I brought the creation into being in order that I TTandated by the Rev JW. Sweetman. Hal, Diva Raii-r¥a, ole No &” right be known,” his exposition was, that Godis | Eternal Beauty and that it lies in the nature of beauty to desire to manifest itself. Thus the purpose of crea | tion is to manifest che Beauty of God. The passion for beauty is a means co link the soul to God. This/ ‘hough is broughe out in his comment on that favousi ‘proverb of the $afis, “The Phenomenal is the bridge to the Real”, ina beautifal passage in Yasuf-o-Zulayhhd, from which we make the following txanslation : “Be prisoner of Love: fr oo yt thou be free Beac in thy beat ie rik s0 thou mayne blichesome be ‘Thousands of leaned men and wise have gone their Have posed from Ken, for strangers co Love were they. ‘Bat now no name of ace of ham the word tans: {he Band of Time nos tale not fame of them seman, low mung birds thete ar of exquisite hve and mould ‘Bur never a lip moves thei atory 2 wafld tint When che wit i heat love-tauthts eke up che ele “Hay tell the sary ofthe moth and nightie “Tete thou in ty ie hupdrod exes in vn: “Thos from thyself, by love alone cane freedom gin. ‘Scom not tht lower lve, the symbol ofthe Resl, ‘Since by its aid thon maya achiove the ideal ‘Till rom the Tablet, chow hace conned the Alphabet How canst thon from Quran, study che lesson a7 ‘A novice once belos his Soul's Director stood, ‘Who shewed to him the Path of Mystic Brotherhood. “if oats no oa thy footing in Love's way", sai he "Go! Bea lover! Then zeeurn show hee tome Yor shouldat thou still dadsin fo drink Form’s cup of Wine, “To dain the Ideal tothe dregs can nt be thine, LATER DVELOPMENTS 1 ut yt bee, beware! In orm mike no dy, meaner Bg be come hy lose nag’ end ty hare wut ne HUES ire nny wae chow sg = In the Lawl of Jamt we have a theosophicel treatise twtich we have an edition in English by Whinield ‘with translation and notes. There are English ‘transla- tions of the Baharistan, by Rehatsek, of Salaman-o- “Absal by Edward Fitzgerald and of Yuisuf-o-Zulaveha se Gnha. Most of Jamis works can be procured sf)” wee oviginal in Tada and there is an edition of his collected lyrics published in Lucknow. *? Eee ete ade aa aa rE Gh Yond oZalaptia (Newal Kishore) p. 59 This liton sn acconapenied by commentary, The above je the tranclation of Fev. J, W. Sweetman. (@) Newal Kishore Press, LocksowCHAPTER IL ‘The Séfi Gnostic System. 1. SUFI SPECULATIVE CONCERNING GOD. In Muslim thoughe those who have speculated concerning the Divine Being ae generally divided into thee schools, viz. the Hddiysa, which is definitely theistic and subscribes to the belief that God crested the world out of nothing and that His essence is distinct from His creation; the Shudadiyye, a moderate ‘pantheism, considers that the universe and all that it Zeontaine isso far teaisesnded by the majesty of God's reality that all else counts for nothing. This school conceives the universe as a mirror in which the Divine attributes are reflected. The tied school is the Wia- diyya, which is monistc. Te holds that there isonly one tesence and that is God's. Thus to this school every thing is God and of the Essence of God, and its creed. is Hama ost, “all is He”. ‘The Shwhiidispa and.the ‘Wuindiyya form the two great divisions of the Saft in respect to the doctrine of God, There are certain fundamentel conceptions which underlie all the Saft speculations with regard to the Godhead and we must five a brief outline of these for the better understand- ing ofthe syreem jt Ian tel {@) Tanazzuldt, The Descent of the Absolute. Tanazzul (pl tanazrulét) “the descent” is, in the language of the $tifs equivalent to “individualisation”, ‘THE SUFI GNOSTIC SYSTEM 53 ‘and indicates the process by which the Absolute, from the state of bare existence, gradually became "quali- fied". As Neo-Platonism started wich a Triad in its cemanational system consisting of the One, the Divine Mind and che All-Soul, #0 too we find a triad here whereby we trace from step to step the “descent” of the Absolute from what is in the initial stage almost purely negative ot supet-existentiel, through a stage where the divine consciousness moves to the realisa~ fion of Its Thought, to the third stage of Onenessin Multiplicity. In the frst and highest plane the Abso- uve Being (al-Wujads'l-Muplaa) is oBhcsived as simple Easence, (adk-dhit) devoid fal attributes and relations. This is defined by some SUfis on lines which may be faitly represented by the words of Jiltin his Insén-i- The Essence means Absolute being. dropping allies adjuncts, relations and aspects. Not that they fre extemal to the Absolute Being but that all these tnodes and what is ascribed to them aze cotally of fand in Absolute Being, not of chemselves not by ‘virtue of their own modes, but essentially one with the Absolute, And this Absolute Being is the Pure Essence in which chere is no manifestation, no name, no quality, no relation, no adjunct ot anything else. So when anything else is manifested in it that mani« festation is ascribed not to the Pure Essence but to that which is manifested. Then the Essence in the requirement of its own nature comprises Universals, Particulars, Relations and Adjuncts by the requirement + of their continuance. Nay, by the requirement of their age ap54 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA disappearance beneath the domination of the Oneness sus, “Since the Nature or Hypostasis of the One is the engenderer of the All, it can be none of the things in the All; that is, It is not a thing; It has neither quality nor quantity ..... tis essentially of a ‘unique form or rather nosform, since [t is prior to form as It is also prior to movement and rest: all these categories apply only to the realm of existence and constitute the multiplicity characteristic of that lower realm’ sot ‘The inward spect of this plane is called al~' Ama, “the dark mise,” and itis explained as a state of bare potentiality, The outward aspect is called Ahdiyyat, the abstract notion of Oneness, in which the Essence Inows itself as transcendent Units. ‘The $ufis quote two traditions in support of this view. One is the Hadithé-Qudst (a special type of tradition which is supposed to contain a Divine revelation to Muhammad) which rans as follows, Ge, Allah) was.a hidden treasure: I desired to become ‘known and I brought Creation into being that I might be known.” The other is as follows: “The Prophet ‘was asked by Abl Dara, ‘Where was God before Creation?” Muhammad replied, “He was in the state of alAma, a dark cloud or mist, above which there was no air, andbelow which there was no air.” GF Insaes-Ramil (Cairo printed) Vol 1.48, Trans by {@ Plotionc Ennead, Book V3.3. [F.W. Sweceman, (9 Co Nichelon. Shainin Islamic: Mystcion, pp. 94.95 and tenis Khan: Sade in Tesawowt, pt. ti Lge ‘THE SUFI GNOSTIC SYSTEM 5 ‘We'next cote to| another plane of this triad in the scheme of devolution, This is Wabdat and is also Known as Hagiqats'l-Muhammadiyya, ‘the Reality of Muhammad” The world is a manifestation of that Reality. It is said chat the realities or ideal prototypes of the souls and bodies of the world are details of the reality of Mubammad’s soul and body.” Here too we have an inward and outward aspect. ‘The inward is called Hautyyat, He-ness, and the out- ward Aniypat,I-ness, Huwiyyat represents the Thought cof the Divine Mind turned in to the One and Aniyyat the Thought going out, as it were, to the realisation cor expression of itself in manifestation, The relations ‘of these two terms to each other are to some extent shown by their derivation, Hawiyyat is the abstract noun formed from the third person singular pronoun “huawa", Te is the Wahid, (singular) gha'th, (hidden). Ie is that which is specified or contemplated. But this he-ness does not depend on a specifier outside the Divine Unity. ‘Thus the divine thought tumed inward in self-contemplation is the basis of the con- ception. Aniypatis from the first person singular. Here the Divine Unity points to Itself, as it were, is a vis the world, or rather universe, of individuation. Anipyat corresponds to the Ana’/-Flagq of Hallaj and is appro- priate tothe sphere of manifestation, while Hawiyyat corresponds mate to the Hu of the dhikr, where the aim is to put off the fetters of individuation and c. Thrshim Shuteari: Hageig Miwna. 7.201.56 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA tobe lost in the Hidden Oneness! But the ue of these two terms must not be taken as implying any duality. "Everyone, who does not harbour doubt is aware that there is only one single existence”. “But there is no duality for Creative Truth; In that there is no ‘T and 'We' and "Thouness’. ‘T’ and ‘We’, "Thou" and ‘He’ are all. one thing: For there is no distinction at all in Oneness’ ‘The third plane is called Wahidiyyat, Unity in Plurality, or Singleness. Iris in the use of this term that we see the intention to preserve the Unity when, the plane of multiplicity has been reached. This also is parallel with the Neo-Platonist system. “The All- Soul includes and is All-the-Souls."® Bue in ehischere is no sacrifice of the Unity. “All degrees and hier- archies are but details of the Unity,” says Jamt when treating of this subject in his Lawa'ih. By the use of this term then, the many are represented as identical in essence with the One. In the stage of Wahidyoat, when the Essence came ‘to possess the essential attributes, viz. Life, Know- edge, Power, Purpose, Hearing, Seeing and Speech, it wascalled Lahat, Divinisy: when it became qualified with active attributes such as, to create, co make alive, to kill, etc, ic was called Jabarit, Power. The A) An interesting pace co thie in the we of pon seammotical sede with reference to che Trinity by Tetllin. See ‘Ads. Praztan Chaps. 2 & x (@) Gulkan-‘-Raz, couplets 45 ft, (@) Mackenns: Plains Vo. 3p 229, ‘THE SUFI GNOSTIC SYSTEM 57 Jabardt attributes were named according to their different manifestations. When they were manifested, jin the world of spirit and angels, they were called “Alam--Malabut the angelic world, when they were ‘manifested in "similitudes” they were called ‘Alam-i ‘Mithil, the world of Similitudes, and when manifested in the material world, they were called "Alam-i-Nastt, the world of Humanity. eis thus thet "the Single Essence as to Its being absolutely void of individualisations and limitations is Creative Truth (Hagg) and in respect to multiplicity and plurality by which It displays Its veiling in indi- vvidualisations It is che created universe (khalg)! The ‘appearing of the Creator in the form of the creature hhas @ reference to the tradition recorded fom Mu'adh b, Jabal and in various forms from others chat Muham~ mad saw his Lord in a beautiful form, or as a band- some youth® The assertion that the creature isin the form of the Creator is the converse and is considered the complementary aspect of the former conception. ‘This is referred to that other tradition ultimately derived from the story of Creation inthe book of Genesis, "God created Adam in His own image.” @ The Hadigatu't-Muhammadiyya Reference has already been made to the Hagigatu'l- “Mubammadivya, butas it occupies an important place in the doctrine of the Sufis, we proceed to give an (Tams Lawalt (Newal Kishore Pres) p19 2. Mishhasd! Masa (Maid Pres, Cawnpus) p72 cf sho [ister ia Der Islay 1908p 25758 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA ‘outline of their teaching concerning it. Another name for it is Narwl-Muhammadiyna, the Light of Mubam- ‘mad. The growth of the doctrine has a long history. Tn Sins (b.980 A.D.) in Kitdbui-Ishavat identifies ‘the Aristotelian ‘Agl, Primal Reason, with the Light ‘of Allah referred to in mysterious terms in the Quran (Sura, 2435). Ieis not exclusively $iii conception.* The saying, quite evidently borrowed from St. John 14:19. is ascribed to Muhammad, “He that hath seen ‘me hach seen Allah.” Thus Muhammad is regarded ‘by che GUlis asthe final and complete revelation of God but not only so, he is believed to have existed ‘before the creation of the world. From chis it will be apparent that the plice of the Hagigatu'lMubam~ madiyya in the Gali cosmogony is the same as that of the Logos in Christianity. The pre-existence of ‘Muhammad is described in words which strongly remind us of the statements in the Gospel concerning the Logos, viz. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that has been made", (St. John 1:3). Tradition puts in the mouth ‘of Muhammad saying such as the following: “The first thing which God created was the Light of the Prophet.” “Iwasa prophet while Adam was bet- ‘ween waterand clay.” “Lam the Light of God and all things are from my Light.” Further, the verse of ‘the Quran which says, “Muhammad is not the father of any of you, but he isa messenger of God and "Foe Shs concapeon ws Hayat Qulib (Newal Kishore Pres) Vol 2p. 3 ett. ‘THE SUFI GNOSTIC SYSTEM 8 Seal of the Prophets”, is interpreted by Najmu'd-Din ‘Kubrf to mean that he was not of our world, ih (b, 1365 A. D.), the author of the famous creatise ‘on Stfism, Insén'-Kamil, describes the Hagiaat-u'l ‘Muhanmadisya in the following words: “One of bis names is Word of God CAmru'llah) and he is the ‘most sublime and exalted of all existences. In regard to dignity and rank he is supreme. There is no ‘angel greater than he. He is the chief of all che ‘archangels and is superior to angels in all devices. God made the millstone of all existences to turn on him and made him the axis of che revolving sphere of all ‘creation. He has special form with every creature ‘which is attached to it and which preserves it in the degree in which God created it. He has eight forms which support the Most High Throne. He formed the angels, all of them, the lofty and the elemental. ‘The gelation of angels to him is as the relation of drops of water to the sea."* il also describes how chis Light of Muhammad hhas appeared in various forms in different ages, He "He has different garbs and is manifested in ‘various habitations, Aname is given to him in respect 40 each...:.Hlis original name is Muhammad, bis patronymic is Abu'l-Qisim, his description is"Abdu'lah, ‘and his title Shamsu'd-Din. Then in respect to later forms he is given names and in every age has a name which is appropriate to the guise in which he appears “trsanl Kani, @E. ceed) Vol TE wt bfra. P. 9. Cap. St ‘Trane by Rev. JW. Swern6 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA. fn that age, T-vas associated with im (Muhammad) in the form of my Shaykh, Shaykh Sharfu'd-Din Ismf'l Jabartz, and T did not know that the Shaykh ‘was the Prophet but I knew that he was the Shavth (guide in the $08 path) and ehis is one of the visions Thad of him in Zabtd in the year 796 A. H. (1304 A. 1D.) and the secret of this matter is that it is possible for him to assume every form. When the one experi~ fenced in spiritual knowledge has seen him in the form ‘of Muhammad, the form which was upon the Haaigat- ul-Mubammadyya in his (Muhammad's) life-ime, ‘then he is called by his name Muhammad and when hie kins seen him in some other form and has known that he was Mubammad, he does not call him by any name except the name of that form. Then this name (Muhammad) will not be applied excepe to the Hax eigatu’:Muhommediyya. Saswest thou not that when the prophet was manifest in the form of Shibli, Shiblt said 10 his disciple “Testify that Iam the Apostle. of God” and the disciple had insight and recognised him ‘and said, "I testify that thou art the Apostle of Goa." The story of how the world was created by the Light of Muhammad is stil widely used for the pur- pose of devorional reading. It may be described in the ‘words of IH. God, created the forms of Muhammad from the light of His name al-Badi'w ‘-Qidir (i.e. the Almighty Maker) and contemplated them with His name al-Manninul-Qahir, (che Overwhelming “Tan: Kar (ei: ted) Vol Hp 8 Cop @. ‘THE SUFI GNOSTIC SYSTEM 61 Giver). ‘Then He shone upon them with His name ‘al-Lepifel-Ghfir (he Forgiving Indulgent One). On this, Because of ths irradiation it broke into two parts, 10 that it was divided into two halves. From that half ‘on His right God made paradise and established it fan abode of bliss and from that half on His left He rade the Fire, setting it up as e place of misery for the ae 2. THE LATA'F, THE ORGANS OF SPIRITUAL ‘APPREHENSION, ‘According to SUft teaching the entite creation belongs either to the “Alam-i-Amr, the World of Command, or to the "Alami-thalo, the World of Creation. By the former is meant that world of exis tence which has been brought into existence by God directly by His word of command "Bel", while the latter is for thet which is fashioned from something ‘already existing. The former is immaterial and cor- responds in some sort to the pleroma, but the liter is ‘material, Taken together these two worlds form the *Alami-Kabir, the Macrocosm. Man in contrast is called ‘Alam-i-Saghir the Microcosm and he possesses within himself five elements of “Alem-iAmr and five ‘elements of "Alam-i-Khalg. Those belonging co the former are: Qulb heart, Rab, spirit, Sirr the secret, haf, the hidden or mysterious, ARMf4, the deeply hhidden. Nicholson sometimes translates Sir by the word consciousness. One wonders whether the last three might not be represented by intuition, deep ap ct. Vol IL 9.2.@ SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA intuition and deepest intuition. However, they are not simple psychological terms but partly names in a ‘mostic mythology. The elements belonging to the ‘Alam-i-Khala ace: Nafs, ego or soul, and the four ele- ments carth, water, fire and air. In the language of the $Uis cach of these elements is called a Latifa (pl. Lata'f) which is a word difficult to translate: Tt right mean suble substance. Ie is not exactly faculty, for the same teason offered above with regard to Sirr, The lotif connected with ‘Alam-i-thalg constitutes the physical side of human life, and the other five ‘which are connected with the’ ‘Alam-i-Amr are the organs of spititual communication with God. These belong in theit true nature to the spiritual world, in which their relative position is described in the following way: The place of the Qalb is said to be on the Throne of God and above it in ascending order ‘are Rub, Sirr, Khaft and Abhfa. But somehow, they ‘are also connected with che innerlife of man and. as such, are located in his body. Their exact location, including Nafs, which of course belongs to the physi- cal side of man, is: the Nafs under the navel, Qalb fon the left side, Rah on the right side of the chest Sir exactly between Qalb and Rah. Khafi is said by. some tobe in the forehead and Abba in the brain, ‘while others locate Abhfa in the middle of the chest, Sier berween Qalb and Abbfa, and Kbaft between ef MR Shak Mabonnad Ghiwh. Amerv-Torias, Urdu Te. (Publ, Mansi Nagibbundiyya, Lahore) P. 16 ‘THE SUFI GNOSTIC SYSTEM 63 Icis further said that each latjfa in amysterious way, is related to a certain prophet. This relation, in the language of the $0fis, is expressed in the following ‘words: the degree of saintship attained through each lagifa is “under che foot of a prophet.” Qalb is undex the foot of Adam; Rak Sir Khaft are under the feet of Abraham, Moses Jesus and Muhammad respectively. The aim of every $0fl is to awaken these five Lata'if into active remembrance of God, and through them to receive Tajalt, the Divine Illumination. ‘These objects he seeks to accomplish by the constant practice of dhiby or remembrance. Normally the goal is attained gradually and, whichever of these lataif becomes active and divinely illuminated, the Saft concerned is said to have attained to the degree of the saintship of chat particular latifa and of the Prophet associaved with it. QALB, THE HEART. Jil says that the heart isthe eternal light and sublime mystery sent down into the essence of created beings s0 that God may look on man by it." Muhammad is said to have received the revelation “My earth and My heaven contain Me not, but the heart of My faithful servant containeth me.” Rit in the Math- ‘nautt'says, “The Prophet said that God said: Lam not ‘contained in High or Low, nor in Earth nor in Heaven, nor even in the Heaven of the Throne; know this for certain, Lam treasured in the believer's heart. How Tae64 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA ‘wonderfull If thou seekest for me, search in such hearts." and again he says, “That heart which is the rising place of moonbeams. (i ¢. pale reflections of the ‘reat Sun of Truth) isfor the mystic the opening of tthe gates (or chapters) of revelation."® Take also these words of Hafiz “Long years the heart was searching for Jam's cup, What it had itself it desired cof the stranger. The pearl which is not in the shell of ‘the phenomenal world, it sought from benighted people ‘on the sea-shore.” Here is a picture of mankind. lost ‘on the shore of the boundless sea of divine knowledge. ‘Unaware as he is of his ovn identity, how can he pos sibly apprehend transcendent reality? Even though he should spend long years, making diligent enquiry of the sages (here symbolised by the Jam-ilam, a fabulous goblet or mirror supposed to have the property of mirroring the whole world) he cannot achieve the Knowledge of God. Adam, says the Sufi, left Paradise to live in the world and it was as though he hhad left that boundless ocean to dwell on the barren shore. There he lost the knowledge of his real self which was bound up with his mystic apprehension of God. Nevertheless, in the heart of man, which is vehicle of the Supreme Glory and the place of the ‘manifestation of Divine Light, there lingers still some traces of the effulgence of divine knowledge and ‘therefrom some faint moon-beam gleams of mystic G) Jolalu'd-Din, Mecinani. Bk. [lines 2635-5, (@) Bid Bk. I ines 15. (3) Donen afi, Radi. dal, Ode 85. ‘THE SUFI GNOSTIC IN INDIA 6 apprehension of the Lord Most High. Hafiz says the heart longs to be comforted and blessed with the love of the Beloved but as it turns hither and thither with its questioning in the urgency of its longing, it vainly disquiets itself and us, forit has itself all the secret ‘which is left co us. The treasury of Reality and Mystic Apprehension is in the heart; we seek in vain from others, We may tum to them very wistfully buc “not by these, by these was healed my aching smart.” Why seek the precious pearl from those who are themselves lost? The rays of the eternal beauty are not without bbut within. Thus is the SUf’s thought about the hneart expressed. He sees in it the Throne of God and the centre of intuition of the Divine By the position of the Qalb between the “Alam-i-Aymr and the ‘Alam-i-Khalg, it isan ‘intermedium” (barzabh) between them, and a meeting place of physical ‘and spiritual forees. In the words of a Saft writer, “Tr is compounded of the subtle rah and the coarse ‘body; and as thus established conneétion between ‘the two. It receives impressions from the external ‘world through the five external senses (viz. Thought, Instinct, Memory, Reasoning and Faney).* “Thus it comes about that the heart isthe centre of a warfare. ‘Al-Ghazalt says, “There are two servants of the heart ‘which, when they serve it perfectly, are helpful, These are wrath and appetite or desire). Indeed the heart considers these two excellent companions for its journey to God. But sometimes these are disobedient *Rlowoja Khan, Sade is Taxon Tes6 SUEI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA to the heart and rebel against it so that it comes to this, that they enslave the heart and are the workers of its destruction and thus itis kept back from hat journey by which eternal bliss is obtained"* So through a mist of scholastic subtleties, the Sait ‘ropes his way to find that which will assuage the deep ‘hunger of his heart and so joins hands with his Chris~ tisn brother who says, “Iwas seeking Thee without and 1o, Thou wast within.” “Our whole work in this life is to heal the eye of the heart by which we see CHAPTER IV. ‘The Ps Inthe preceding chapter we have described the general principles which underlie $0fism,,and now turn toa consideration of the characteristic teachings at the back of Saf practices, and of those experiences ‘through which ffs passin their attempts to attain the foal of Union with God. “Sifiam speaks of advance- ment in the spiritual life as a "joumey,” and che seeker after God as a silt, or “travellee”. Its teaching is intended to guide the traveller to the attainment cof the perfect “knowledge” (ma'rifat) of God, the only Realty diffused through all things. Subsequently, the wandering soul is led onwards by slow ‘stages’ (magamde), and through the experience of certain ‘states’ (ahusdl), along a Path (at-Tartgat), t0 the desired goal of union with God, called fond f-pactat, absorption (lit. extinction’) in Reality’.” ‘The very great gulf that separates man from Goi commonly described by SUA writers in symbolical Tanguage. Such is the style of ehe following eradition | quoted by al-Ghazalt: “Allah hath seventy thousand ‘Veils of Light and Darkness: were He to withdraw ‘heir curtain, then would che splendours of His Aspect Gountenance) surely. consume eversone who ap- ‘Bevan Jones The Pople of the Mosqua . 157.68 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA prehended Him with bis sight." These veils are ‘thus explained: The inner half of these are said to be cof light, and the other half of darkness. The soul in its journey to union wich Deity, passes through seven stages and at every stage is stripped of ten thousand of these veils, che dark ones first and then the bright. At ‘the final stage the soul stripped of all sensual and material qualities stands face to face with the Absolute Being. THE STAGES OF THE PATH. ‘The “stages” of the journey or Path, have been variously described by the $Ufis. Such variation is ethaps to be explained by the fact that Sufis claim that there are a myriad ways leading to God. Indeed ‘one of them is said to have declared, “The ways to God are as many as the believers.” According to some authorities che Path consists of the following seven ‘stages’: (CQ). "Ubudisyat, the stage of “service’....in_ which, the aspirant endeavours to purify his soul, and prepares himself for the higher stages of the journey. At this stage the first thing required of him is repentance, ‘which is described as “the ewakening of the soul from ‘the slumber of indifference co awareness of his evil ‘ways, anda sense of contrition for past sins.” The aspirant is also exhorted to serve God and follow the ‘ordinances of the Law faithfully. SCE W. HT. Galndenes, Musdate'-Arnear, pp 88. THE PATH 0 in which the Divine ‘Aliwl-Hujorit says: "Man's love towards God isa quality which manifests itself in che heart of the pious believer, in the form of veneration and magnification, s0 that he secks to satisfy his Beloved and becomes jmpatient and restless in his desire for vision of Him, and cannot rest with anyone except Him, and grows familiar with the remembrance (dhilr) of Him, and abjures the remembrance of everything besides. Re- pose becomes unlawful to him and rest flees from him, He is cut off from all habits and associations, and re- rnounces sensual passion and curns towards the coure of love and submits to the law of love and knows God by His attributes of perfection.” ‘At this stage che aspirant, urged by his intense longing for God, is led to observe poverty. In his heart there is no room for any earthly desire but that of God. Thus, his poverty is not merely the lack of wealth, but also the absence of any desire for it. A. Sufi writes: “ehe poor are the richest of God's crea- tion,..w.they dispense with the gift for the sake of the Given!) @) Zuhd, “ renunciation under the influ- cence of the Divine Love all worldly desires are expelled from the heart. “The first stage of zuhd, to the (2) Kailf abtahyi, pm oor. () AbSocaj, Kitshol-Luma’ p. 48, quoted, Save Rab, p7470 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA ‘Sab, jatory and xepresents the Purgative Life, through which the novice must pass before setting foot on the mystic Way. But when the soul has been ‘purified from all sensual desires, and the mystic ° pure from self as flame from smoke’ sets forth upon his journey towards God, then he passes beyond this early degree of zuhd and aims at the last stage, renunciation cof all but God, attained only by the adept." (4) Ma'rifet, “ knowledge” or " gnosis which the aspirant contemplates the nature, attributes and work of God ‘Alfu'-Hujwirt says: "Gnosis of God is of two kinds: cognitional (lm) and emotional (alt). CCognitional gnosis is the foundation of all blessings in this world and in the next, for the most important thing for a man at all times and in all cixcumstances is mnowledge of God, as God hath said: ‘I only crested the genii and mankind that they might serve Me’ (Sura, 51: 56), 4.2, that they mighe know Me. But the greater part of men neglect this duty, except those whom ‘God hath chosen and whose hearts He hath vivified with Himself, Gnosis is the life of the heart through God, ‘and the turing away of one'sinmost thoughts from all that is not God."®? @) Waid, * ecstasy”... in which mental ‘excitement is produced through contemplation of the conly existing Reslity, God. At this stage the aspirant ‘spends his time in contemplation, and practices much dhibr as a means of inducing in him the state of (Margaret Smith, Baba, 76 @) Kashf-al-Mebinb, p28 ‘THE PATH n ecstasy. Professor Nicholson says: "The whole of ‘Sofism rests on the belief that when the individual self {s lost, the Universal Self is found, or, in religious language, that ecstasy affords the only means by which the soal can directly communicate and become united ‘with God." (©) Hacigat, “reality”.......the heart is now sllumined with the rue nature of God. The aspirant, as he learns the true nature of God, leams to exercise tawakiul, dependence upon God. According to Al- Ghazsli tavhid and tavakkul are inseparably related. To put one’s trust in secondary causes is to associate these with God as the object or devotion and this is shirk. He uses the Quran to establish this view and ‘quotes Sura 29: 65 to show that men call on God to itive them a safe passage when they take ship, but ‘when they arrive they attribute theic safe arrival 10 @ fair wind. True trust is rather in Him who rules the ‘winds. “When He saves them to the shore, behold, ‘hey associate others with Him," This is contrary to tawkid and therefore not true tawableu, Al-Ghazalt ‘says: "Know that tawabkul is a sort of faith Ciman) and faith is made up of knowledge Cilm), state (hat) and practice Camal); 30 too is tavabkul"® Thus to ALGhazdhi tavakhul is practically identical with the ‘$0f conception of tawbid. (7) Was), ““union”......in which the mystic, as it were, sees God face to face. This “stage” precedes ‘G) Nicholson, The Myutcs of Zolam, 9.53. ©) Thye'wt Uhon, Vol. IV. 9p. 21115, (Cato, e816 A.)72 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA. the Ginal experience of fand wa baad, ‘anniilation and subsistence’ che SU's ultima Thule, Weglis also the seage of satisfaction, which is defined a8 “the acquies- cence of the heart in God's decision and the agree- ment of the heart with what He wills and. chooses’ and again “satisfaction is the acceptance of God's decisions with joy."® Satisfaction has two sides, viz, hhuman satisfaction with God and Divine satisfaction with man, AbUSa'Id, a famous SUf writer, is reporced ‘to have sid: “That man is a SoA who is satisfied wih whatsoever God does or God will be satisGed with ‘whatsoever he does.” ® ‘THE STATES’ OF THE MYSTIC. The ‘stages’ just described must be distinguished eit Bae Cetin GAS et eae eeRCAeD ‘Salis call ‘states’. They define a ‘state's a condition of feeling or disposition, which comes upon the mystic without his intention or desire; such a8 sorrow, fear or joy. ‘Alfu-Hujwit makes clear che distinction between these as follows: " ‘Station’ (magim)‘"? de- notes anyone's ‘standing’ in the Way of God, and his fulfilment of the obligations appertaining to that ‘station’ and his keeping it until he comprehends its perfection so far as lies in a man’s power, Iris not @) Agus, Bask pH gel in Maine Rabia, p89. arr 1G) Mw ap 2c Mc Sao rn BY Ta pets bad yee te rem epee coe ease THE PATH B permissible that he should quit his ‘station’ without ful6lling the obligations thereof, Thus, the first ‘geation’ is repentance (taubat), then comes conversion Gndbat), then renunciation (sufd), then trust in God Gawablew), and so on: it is not permissible that any- cone should pretend to conversion without repentance, for to enunciation without conversion, or to trust in God without renunciation. “"'Seaee’ (hl), on the other hand, is something that descends from God into 2 man’s heart, without his being able to repel ie when it comes or to attract it ‘when it goes, by his own effort, Accordingly, while the term ‘station’ denotes the way of the seeker, and ‘his progress in the field of exertion, and his rank be- fore God in proportion to his merit, the term ‘state’ denotes the favour and grace which God bestows upon tthe heert of His servant, and which are not connected ‘with any mortification on the latter's part. ‘Station’ belongs to the category of acts, state’ to the category cof gifts. Hence the man that bas a ‘scation’ stands by his own self-mortification, whereas the man that has @ ‘state’ is dead to ‘self and stands by a state’ which God ‘creates in him! SIGNIFICANCE OF A SUFIS JOURNEY. Jn the previous chapter we have described how che ‘Absolute, in manifesting Itself, has passed through several stages of ‘devolution’. The progress of a Sift from the lowest to the highest stage of the Path ‘Kash al-Mabjoh 1874 SUFI SAINTS AND SHRINES IN INDIA consists in traversing the stages of this Divine ‘devolu- tion’ in obverse order. Professor Nicholson while ex- Pounding Jil’s idea of the Perfect Man, speaks of this ascent of the SUM as follows. “Man is the microcosm in which all arribates are united, and in him alone does the Absolute become conscious of ‘tee in allits diverse aspects, To put it in another way, the Absolute, having completely realised itself in human noture, returns into Itseli through the ‘medium of human nature; or, more intimately, God and man become one in the Perfect Man—the enraptur- ed prophet or saint—whose religious function as a ‘mediator between man and God corresponds with his ‘metaphysical function as the unifying principle by means of which the opposed terms of reality and appearance are harmonised, Hence the upward move- ment of the Absolute from the sphere of manifestation hack to the unmanifesced Essence takes place inand through the wnitive experience of the soul."® ‘Thus the soul's progress in the journey along the Path is really the upward movement of the Absolute ‘fom the sphere of manifestation back to the unmani- festated state ‘The downward path, consisting of the ‘stages’ of ‘devolution’ traversed by the Absolute, is designated by the Suits as safaru'-Hfaaq ‘the jourey of Reality’ andthe corresponding upward path followed by the mystics is designated as safarw'l-‘abd, ‘the journey of the exeatire "States nem Mion py, THE PATH 6 The gradual ascent of the soul is further described by Sifis to be related to four main states’, through ‘which the traveller must pass. 1L Nast, humanity, the natural state of every human being, in which the disciple must observe shartat, 2. Malakat, nature of angels, in which he takes the Path of spiritual journey, at-farigat.(!? 3, dabarat, possession of power, for which there is Ma'rifat. 4, Lahit, Diviniey, che state of absorption into the Deity, in which he actains Reality, Hagigae'® THE THREE GREAT JOURNEYS OF THE SUEIS. ‘There ure certain Sifis who speak of the Path as consisting of three journeys: @D. Sazr ila'tah, “Journey to God! the aspirant ‘travels from the World of Creation’ to the “World of Command’. In this he traverses the ‘stages’ of ‘Wabidioyat and Wahdat i, , the last two stages of the Divine ‘devolution’? This journey ends at Hagtgat- i-Muhammadt. @) Soyr flak, Journey in God’, in this the aspirant is absorbed into the Essence of God. Ieis the ‘stage’ of Abdivyat. It was at this ‘stage’ that Hallaj cried out, Ana’-Haag ‘Iam the Reality’, and said; @ Shak Mohamad Ghawth. AwanceTaneet, Ueda Te (GNagabbandigya Mansi, Lahore). pp. 27-28 @) Cr. pr 55.5