To our dear Brothers and Sisters
in USA, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil
Mühledorf, November 19,
2003
Theme work:
The third theme about the Nafs is a look at Nafs-e molhama or the
“Enlightened Soul”
My dear friends,
First I welcome Lucia, Rafael
and Marco-Habib, a small new group of lovers of Hz. Mevlana in
Brazil. May the spiritual power that had been accumulated by the
efforts of the Derwishes during the last centuries be beneficial to
you, and may we all be allowed to also profit from your efforts. I
thank you for the offer to be united with you!
Soon the holy month of Ramadan is over. In two days is the
Night of Power (Laylat al Qadr). This theme matches very well with
the present time of the Islamic year.
We had started to work with the Nafs-e ammâre, the “Commanding
Soul”, which is the raw part of the soul that helps us to survive
in this world, but that needs to be constantly controlled. Then we
worked with the Nafs-e lawwâme, the “Lamenting Soul”, which is
that part of our soul that distinguishes us from animals and that
acts as interim level between the raw and the subtle parts of our
soul. We start now to work with the “higher” or subtler parts of
the soul. These subtle qualities can lead us as much astray as the
lower parts!
The faculties of Nafs-e molhama allow us to have access to the
higher cosmic order, or – in other words – to the higher
consciousness. This Nafs is our subtle eye that looks into the other
world. And whatever this eye sees is felt as an inspiration,
enlightenment or illumination. What we see with this eye we tend to
accept as true and God-given. This is why the Nafs-e molhama often
is called “the faculty to discern between the right and wrong path”.
“… it is this inherent polarity of tendencies which gives to
every “right” choice a value and, this, endows man with moral
free will” (comment of Muhammad Asad to the quranic verse 91:8).
The Nafs-e molhama or its quality is mentioned in the holy
Quran:
Consider the Nafs, and how it is
formed in accordance with what it is meant to be, and how it is
imbued with moral feelings as well as with consciousness of God! To
a happy state shall indeed attain he who causes this (self) to grow
in purity, and truly lost is he who buries it (in darkness).
(91:7-9)
… and among them are some who
sin against themselves; and some who keep half-way (between right
and wrong); and some who, by God’s leave, are foremost in deeds of
goodness: (and) this indeed, is a merit most high! (35:32)
There are ten attributes that are often mentioned when
characterizing the Nafs-e molhama. These are
·
Reason
·
Wisdom
·
Knowledge
·
Revelation
·
Inspiration
·
Awareness
·
Completeness
·
Kindness
·
Grace
·
Generosity
Because they represent beautiful and subtle qualities, the
dangers of these qualities are not so obvious. As a consequence the
damage caused by these “higher” parts of the soul is often even
larger than the damage caused by the “lower” parts. Satan loves
to seduce us with the qualities of the “higher” parts of our
soul, and he is most successful with people who believe to be
intelligent and sensitive.
If we have attained a certain spiritual ability and the
necessary sensitivity, we are able to be open for the other world.
The sensation connected to it is either a feeling to see and to
know, or we have the feeling of being inspired. In both cases we
feel privileged, and normally we feel thankful for what was granted
to us. And this is the best moment for Satan: he makes us believe
that we possess something special, and this again leads us either to
arrogance, or it makes us think that we have something to give to
the less fortunate people. And how does Satan create this? He simply
makes us forget that all knowledge and inspiration has to stand
comparison with the values transmitted to us by the Prophets and
with the ethical rules derived from the prophetical messages. The
other world is not better than this world, and therefore knowledge
and inspiration is not good per se!
To be inspired and knowledgeable is not enough. The quality
and usefulness – or simply the goodness of the inspiration and
knowledge we receive depends entirely of our personal preparation
and condition, i.e. of our purity, emptiness, modesty, humbleness
and sincerity. Any ambition connected to inspiration and knowledge
leads us astray. In many cases the feeling to have something special
to give is linked to a subtle urge for power, and Satan tries to
seduce Shaykhs and teachers with the sweet taste of power. The
freedom of expression in our modern world has given space to many
beautiful new possibilities of spiritual work, but at the same time
it has also given room for all sorts of self appointed teachers who
try to create a space where they can satisfy their urge to teach
others or – in other words – to execute power over others.
The right to teach others requires not only some spiritual
qualities, but it requires first of all a “legal” frame, und
such a frame has to be initiated and made available by other people
– either within a traditional context, or privately from a person
who asks to be taught. If we have the feeling to possess something
valuable that is to be shared with an other person, we should always
ask first: “Do I have the right to talk about this without being
asked for? And is this a real service for the other person, or do I
satisfy an urge in me?”
From this we may understand what the veils connected to Nafs-e
molhama are: the veils are people, the other human beings. It needs
other people to make us feel special or superior, and it needs other
people to give us the possibility to express what we believe to
know. And also it needs other people to expect and receive
acknowledgement for our seeming greatness, and it needs other people
to execute power.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, you had asked me to send you such
themes to work on. I hope that I could show you how subtle Satan
works and how easy it is to fall into his traps. And I hope to have
made visible how dangerous knowledge and inspiration can be if we
are not protected by faith within a traditional frame. And yet there
is no guarantee against the pitfalls of Satan. Even the most
advanced teacher has to pray the Fatiha again and again.
Please receive my best wishes
for the Night of Power and the ending of Ramadan.
Yours, Peter