A friend of mine asked me, what does Hinduism mean to you, do you believe God is one, do Hindus have different versions of God? I gave her an answer, but this 'war' of spiritual vs religious was actually playing out in my head. Any lay person can be religious. It's easy. TOO easy. It's a herd mentality. It's repetitive. It's outdated. It's non-relevant. It's become tiresome. It's become the act of doing without knowing.
Being spiritual, on the other hand, is TOTALLY undefined. It's personal. It's special. It's the road less travelled, because you're the only one really on it.
For some reason, I decided to find out about the most questioned religion at this point, to find out whether it is TRULY God who has directed all the evil that has happened, or whether Man has taken what he wanted from the scriptures, written by a messenger from God(Human) and caused all this mayhem because he ego deemed it right. According to "GOD" of course.....
Then I remembered something.... in the midst of all the furor of Islam and the questionable practices by the crazy fundamentalists within their people, there had to be a shining light..... the mystical Sufism....
Sufism – What is it?
Sufism (Sufism) may be best described as a mystical practice that emphasizes certain unique rituals for guiding spiritual seekers into a direct encounter with God. Muhammad is considered their chief prophet and many consider Sufism to be a mystical brand of Islam.
Sufism is a difficult term to actually define because its meaning is supposed to have derived from various words, with differing connotations:
- Bishr ibn al–Harith has said that, “the sufi is he whose heart is sincere towards God.” Thus, one of the words from which Sufism is supposed to have derived is safa meaning pure -- this due to the purity of the sufis’ heart.
- Others have derived sufi from the word saff; this refers to the sufis’ “first rank” before God. Sufis believe that they are in a prominent position in relation to God. The term suffab -- meaning, “People of the Bench” -- and the word suf which refers to the Sufis habit of wearing wool are two more popular supposed derivations of the word sufi.
Sufis teach that Sufism may be practiced with any religion -- it is the “heart” of religion. No one faith or belief is questioned; each can follow his own church, religion, or creed.
Sufism – What do Sufis believe about God?
Sufism holds a doctrine of God which is extremely lofty. Here is an excerpt taken from one of their descriptions of God:
- “. . . ‘before’ does not outstrip him; ‘of’ does not vie with him for precedence; ‘from’ does not accord with him; ‘to’ does not join with him. . .”
Sufis believe that God is responsible for everything they do, every act that they, as his servants perform. If not, then they would be equal to God, doing whatever they wanted. Thus God is responsible for every thought and deed. God can do with his servants whatever he wills, whether it is to the servant’s advantage or not.
One of the important rituals in Sufism is the zikr. During a zikr, one remembers God through meditation, chant, and movement -- certain attributes of God are repeated until the seekers become “saturated” with God. This ritual supposedly, shatters and transforms them. As they spin and whirl around for hours, they reach a state of ecstasy and purity where the heart is only conscious of God. The seeker surrenders his or herself to total abandonment -- a total emptying of self.
More to come.....
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