Nafs Kushi

[guest88]

Also referred to as Hatha yoga...

~The way to gain self-control is first of all to do the reverse of what your inclination would lead you to do. If you feel inclined to eat, sometimes do not eat, control the hunger. If you feel inclined to drink, do not drink, control the thirst. If you are inclined to sleep, do not sleep; at another time when you are not inclined to sleep, sleep. There are a thousand inclinations; each sense has its inclinations. Do not give way to these inclinations, rule them, that they may not govern you. This is called by the Yogis hatha yoga, and the Sufis call it nafs kushi.~
Hazrat Inayat Khan
http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIII/VIII_1_14.htm

[guest88]

One must develop concentration in order to meditate successfully... It must practiced regularly or like an unattended garden becomes unruly and we may find ourselves riding yet another wave of ignorance.

"
The spiritual student learns self control in three ways: by postures, by tasawwur – visualization – which is concentration, and by amal, which is the highest practice. After this there is samadhi, which is meditation and which is called by the dervishes masti; it means illumination, to halt in illumination. The difference between meditation and concentration is that concentration is done on a form, on an object, and meditation without form or object."

link provided in first post

[guest88]

"Oriental philosophy, in discussing the ego, distinguishes between the Nafs-i Ammara and the Nafs-i Lawwama. The former is the individual whose whole existence is on the surface, engaged in the satisfaction of his senses in eating, drinking, in amusements, and in sexual indulgence and the Nafs-i Lawwama is the individual whose physical greed is controlled by intelligence, to the extent of making him discriminate between his pleasures.

The Nafs-i Mutmainna represents a third and higher stage of development, in which the senses are under the control of the mind. In this stage of evolution a man is absorbed in some ideal, or devoted to the achievement of some object in life, outside the self – art, invention, trade and so on – and directs his energies into one channel.

The furthest stage in development is the Nafs-i Salima, in which man's consciousness is removed to an abstract plane. In the heart of a man, at this point of evolution, love is raised from admiration to worship. His love is part of his being, and his passion, which is never expressed except in the intensity of love, may be compared to the alighting of a bird on earth to pick up a grain of corn. This man lives on a higher plane of life, judging by different standards, though his inspiration springs from the common life of existence.
"
https://wahiduddin.net/php/highlight_w.php?page=wahiduddin.net/mv2/III/III_II_14.htm&call=/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/search_rjs/context.html&query=nafs&pr=full_site&prox=page&rorder=700&rprox=1000&rdfreq=100&rwfreq=200&rlead=0&rdepth=0&sufs=2&order=r&cq=&cmd=context&id=5c1e51af71f

[guest88]

The story of Princess Mira Bai is the story of a Nafs-i Salima united to a Nafs-i Ammara. Mira Bai was married to the Rana of Udaipur, but soon her tastes in life developed very differently from his. He, always given up to the pleasures of hunting and shooting, to giving of great entertainments, to shows of dancing an acting, began shortly after his marriage to be irritated and vexed by the attitude of Mira Bai towards his amusements. For she was not really interested in any of these things and gradually ceased to show any delight in them. And her mind began to be attracted to quite other aspects of life, to considering the lot of her servants and of the poor in the kingdom, and to philosophy and poetry.

At last the Rana, in unreasonable anger at her growing absorption in thoughts and questions that were foreign to his nature, refused to see her or to treat her with the dignity due to her in his court. Mira Bai took these insults calmly and patiently, with her accustomed sweetness and gentleness, and withdrew to a temple where she began to devote herself entirely to the study of philosophy and religion, and to the care of the poor and unfortunate.

The beauty of her hymns of praise, the music of the poetry that she composed and sang in her worship of the Divine became gradually famed throughout the kingdom of Udaipur. And on account of her great piety and learning many were drawn to the temple where she dwelt. At length her fame reached the court of the Emperor Akbar. And he, entirely won by the thoughts and the sweet verses of her songs that were repeated to him, decided that he himself would make a pilgrimage to see her. And so, in the guise of beggars, he set out with Tansen, the divinely inspired musician, learned in the mystery of sound, as was Orpheus among the Greeks.

After they had entered the temple unknown to anyone and had heard Mira Bai, so moved were they by her music and poetry that Akbar with gratitude and veneration presented to her a most precious necklace; and this necklace Mira Bai took and hung around the neck of the idol of Krishna in the temple, regarded by her as the symbol of the Most Divine.

After that the precious necklace was seen by everyone in the temple. And gradually it became clear that it was Akbar himself who had given it. When the Rana of Udaipur heard of this visit and this gift he felt deeply insulted, and in great anger ordered Mira Bai to leave his kingdom. So she left the temple and his kingdom and went to Dwarka, where she spent the remainder of her life in seclusion. And from there her fame spread to the boundaries of the empire, and her hymns became loved and were sung not only by her own people but also by all the peoples of India.

It is difficult to translate the lyric sweetness of her verse. And the following version of one of her songs does not attempt to do more than give its substance:

My Beloved is One alone;
Everywhere my eyes see Him only.

In search of love, I came to this world,
But after seeing the world I wept,
For I felt coldness on all sides,
And I cried out in despair, 'Must I too
Become cold?

And with tears, tears, tears,
I nurtured that plant of tenderness
Which I had almost lost within my heart.
Putting reason in the churn of love,
I churned and churned.
Then I took the butter for myself;
Now, let him who likes take that milk.
For I have attained what I so desired,
I have found my hope.

No longer do I need your philosophies and faiths;
Nothing to me your theories and creeds;
For I have my Beloved.
He, upon whose head the crown of the universe is set,
Is my Beloved.

Krishna is my Lord;
To him I am faithful,
Let happen what happens!

My Beloved is One alone;
Save Him I know none.

 

[guest88]

There is a light within every soul; it only needs the clouds that overshadow it to be broken for it to beam forth.

     Bowl of Saki, July 18, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Every being has an individual ego produced from his own illusion. This limits his view which is led in the direction of his own interest, and he judges of good and bad, high or low, right or wrong in relation to himself and others, through his limited view, which is generally partial and imaginary rather than true. This darkness is caused by the overshadowing of the soul by the external self. Thus a person becomes blind to his own infirmities as well as to the merits of another, and the right action of another becomes wrong in his eyes and the fault of the self seems right. This is the case with mankind in general, until the veil of darkness is lifted from his eyes.

   from  https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/II/II_3.htm