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Title: maturity of the soul Post by: guest88 on Mar 13, 2018 04:49 am just a bit taken from todays read. hazrat khan describes three ways an awakened soul reacts to a particular realization of life, while i can't say i am an awakened soul i think maybe there is yet other ways an awakened soul can react not readily listed in these teachings. i believe mr. khan was a fighter and an awakened soul that stayed among the people as a means of service after realization.
Quote Life on earth is just like Gulliver's travels, where all the people seem to belong to a different world, to be of a different size. Before the traveler there are numberless little children, and before him there appear many drunken people, drunken souls. There is a saying of the Prophet Muhammad that there will appear in the hereafter, on the Day of Judgment, a being in the form of a witch, and man will be frightened at the sight of this witch and will cry out, 'O Lord, what a horrible sight is this! Who is this?' And he will receive the answer from the angels, 'This is the same world, the world which attracted you throughout your life, which you have worshipped, adored, and esteemed as most valuable, and which was all you desired. This is the same world that is before you.' All people's desires, whether they concern wealth, rank, possession, position, honor, or pleasure, all these fade away with the maturity of the soul. All claims to love such as 'I am your brother, or your sister, or your son, or your daughter', mean very little to the mature soul. A mature soul does not need to wait for the day in the hereafter when he sees the world in the form of a witch; he sees it now. No sooner has the soul matured than he sees the unreality of the world which man has always considered real, and all such words that one uses in everyday language become meaningless. https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIIIa/VIIIa_4_12.htmAll distinctions and differences, such as sect and creed and community, mean little to the soul who has awakened. The experience of the mature soul is like the experience of the man who watched a play performed on the stage at night, and in the morning he saw the same stage in the sun and saw that all the palaces and gardens and the actors' costumes were unreal. When a soul has arrived at this stage, at this maturity, what happens? It is the same as when a person grows up: he takes either the right way or the wrong way. His reaction to this realization of life has three aspects. One reaction is that in answer to every claim of love and attention and respect, he says, 'O, no! I don't believe you, I have had enough. I understand what your claims are. I don't belong to you. I won't listen!' About that which attracts him he thinks, 'You are a temptation. Go away, leave me. I want to be alone. I know what you are.' And by this he becomes more and more indifferent to the world, and isolated in the crowd. He feels solitary; he goes to the cave in the mountain or into the forest; he retires from the world and lives the life of an ascetic, at war with the world although at peace with God. There is another aspect of this reaction, and it is that a man who understands the reality of all things becomes more sympathetic to his fellow men. It is this man who out of sympathy sacrifices his love for solitude, his love for being exclusive, and goes into the crowd among those who do not understand him, continually trying to understand them from morning till evening. And the more he advances on this path the more he develops love. He mourns over the unreality, over the falsehood of life, but at the same time he is there, he is in the midst of it. His work is to help those who may be disappointed at the results of all the little expectations they had of their love and devotion. For such people every disappointment, every heartbreak is a surprise, a shock, something that suddenly comes upon them, while for him it is normal, it is the nature of life. He stands beside the disappointed ones, he comforts them, he strengthens them. In the realm of religion for instance, if he happens to be among those who have a certain belief or dogma, he may be above it, but he will stand beside them in that particular belief or dogma; he does not consider that he is different or above them. If he happens to be in business, in some industry, in worldly affairs, although he does not aim at any profit he stands with the others in order to keep harmony. He will even sacrifice his life in this way, and he enjoys doing all things while caring nothing for them. This is the manner of an actor on the stage. If he is made a king he is not very proud of his kingship; if he is made a servant he is not impressed by that, for he knows and understands in his king's robe or servant's livery, that he is neither a king nor a servant; he is himself. In reality it is such souls who come to save the world. They are like the elder brothers of humanity who help the younger. To them there is no feeling of position, title, or spiritual grade. They are one with all and they take part in the pain and joy of all. But then there is a third reaction upon a soul, and that is the thought, 'If all that I touch, all that I see, and all that I perceive are unreal, I must find out as best I can what is the real.' Such a person is a warrior, for he has a battle before him to fight. And what is this battle? It is seeking after the truth. It is just like a person swimming, making his way: at every stroke he advances, at every effort he makes in going forward, the waves come to push him back; and in the same way life is a continual struggle for the seeker for truth. Even in things that might seem to be covering the truth the seeker may be deluded. For there is a very important thing that he has to consider. Christ has said, 'I am the way and the truth...' This shows that there are two things: there is the way and there is the truth. The way may lead a person to the goal, but the way may also become like a maze to him. It shows how careful one has to be, that even through the way that seems to lead to the truth one may become puzzled. For in reality life is a maze, a continual puzzle, and it is for love of the puzzle that man goes into it; even a seeker after truth does so, as it is his nature to go into the maze first. If a knower of truth were to call a seeker and tell him, 'Here is the truth', he would say, 'This is something unheard of! Truth at the first step! How is it possible? It should be many years before I can arrive at it. One life is not sufficient, I must live a thousand lives in order to realize the truth!' But verily, for the lover of the puzzle, even a thousand lives are not enough. Besides every man is not ready to accept the bare truth; he is not accustomed to it. On hearing the truth he says, 'It is too simple, I want something which I cannot understand.' Title: Re: maturity of the soul Post by: guest88 on Dec 21, 2019 07:30 pm i believe we experience all three stages of realization, that every day is a battle, that at times we push others away to try and preserve our spirituality. in other times we throw ourselves in these waves of change as means of fellowship that we might practice and live our beliefs- i find that this, the second stage, starts with good intentions and then an upset causes ones ego to lash out and wonder in darkness- forgetful of his intentions, until one finds himself ready to engage once more. all of this is the dance of life- an understanding of ourselves. unfolding, naturally, towards exaltation.
Title: Re: maturity of the soul Post by: guest587 on Mar 02, 2023 01:41 am In this pursuit of self realization I am learning to recognize God in all forms. I believe all paths lead to One. I see that every person has their unique ideas and attitudes towards life- indicating different stages in their evolution, I believe we are all graced by Gods fortune. We don't always recognize it as such, and we may look at another and condemn them. To me, the condemning is not necessary. It's only important to remember we are all at various levels, and some of us even prefer to sleep(rest). The ultimate relationship is between you and God. So if a soul has come here to rest or play, that potentiality is absolutely valid. For this reason, I don't feel it necessary to lecture others who think they have it figured out. And I recognize God, being Alive, works through us all... So even one who asked God for a lifetime of rest, has something to offer me- a seeker trying to better understand my intimate connection with Him. For me, the single most important and rewarding thing I can do is try to Love and be Kind. There will always be differences of opinion, and there will always be nobleman who are vilified or evil men who are glorified. I do not claim to know the contract between an individual outside myself and God, but I do believe that we are all His- belonging to One intelligent consciousness. I share this because we've had some tough differences to navigate through... Some people thought taking the experimental mrna injection was right, others thought it wrong. Some people are okay with eating meat, others are not. And yet, wherever one finds themselves along the path- God is not absent. God does not deny even the tiniest creature his Love. How could He? For we are all a part of Him. The God I am discovering is even aware of the lone ant that has crawled up on the computer monitor as I sit here in contemplation... Even using the ant to direct my thinking towards my relationship with the Present. |