Excerpts from Faizi's Shariq-al-Marifa (translated from Persian)
The reason behind the
composition of this treatise:
This seeker is inspired by an
aspiration emanating from the depths of his consciousness to comprehend the
Divine Principle. He is inspired by the cherished fate of holy people from
every religion who have realized the truth by following the path of universal
peace (sulh-i-kul). He is inspired by such holy men who have understood
the mystery of the universe and have become occupied with the universal. The
seeker is inspired by the search for that divine wisdom which is congenial to
the reception of peace- a wisdom that is based on the eternal truth and true
perception of reality; a wisdom that unveils a secret without peers and induces
complete unity…
In the praise of Swami Vyasa
Belonging to the ranks of those
who are intimate with the secrets of the universe, the elite of the elite Swami
Vyasa, who is beyond anything that may be said in his praise – just like the
first sage, Plato, who attained fame throughout the realms and was renowned
among the philosophers of the Arabs and non-Arabs. Though a font of wisdom
himself, he was in the service of discipleship to an Indian sage Tumtum, who
was a sage of great stature…
Through this treatise, the author
(i.e., Faizi) has tried to bring to light Swami Vyasa’s wisdom expressed in
holy books like the Gita, Yoga Vashishta, and the Bhagavata, as per his own
understanding.
An untamed mind cultivates
injustice and becomes incapable of right comprehension and insight. But when
the luminous black point of the heart meets a true exposition and illumination
(of the sort that follows), it becomes clear to it that the unveiling of the
secret is not beyond its reach. Divinity speaks to such seekers alone whose
minds are attuned to true action.
Since Almighty most high is a
world-illuminating sun that bestows light on the macrocosm, through the same
principle of twelve ‘flashes’, this epistle has been composed in twelve
flashes-
First Flash:
On the greatness of Krishna;
the performance and practice of yoga; and the fact that ‘Krishna the Divine’
was the essence of God.
His definition is impossible. His
grace and generosity are beyond words. His wrath and anger render lofty degrees
into lowly states. Such was the case with Sisupala, the king of Chanderi, who
was a master of might, power, majesty, and pomp, and whom most of the kings on
the earth obeyed. Possessed of extreme stupidity and ignorance, he failed to
recognize the unsurpassable power and majesty of the unique One of the age. He
was continually insulting Krishna the divine, and he was casting the latter’s
goodness into evil. That day, when an assembly of all the kingdoms on earth was
held, and Krishna the divine was honoured there, in the presence of all of
them, Shishupala made himself a transgressor through his lowly insults. Because
Krishna is (here we read a hadith) anointed with the qualities of God Most High.
He is most generous of the generous” (takhallaqu bi-akhlaq allah akram
al-mukarrimin).
This is why he is called “the
most merciful of the merciful” (akram al-mukarrimin);
and in the people’s dialects, he
is named patit-pavan adham-dharan;
“the forgiver of the sins of the
greatest sinners” (bakhshanda-i gunahi gunah-karan-i a`zam)
“to such a degree that He knows
that all of creation (khalq) is from Him, and He knows that no one is
separate from Him since no one is apart from Him and all are attached to His
reality.”
Having torn the veil of duality
and non-recognition in Shishupal’s mind, he (Krishna) brought him into the
recognition of unity. When the drop fell into the ocean, duality departed, and
unity took its place.
Krishna Dev, whom they call in
the Indian language “abounding in compassion” (karunamay), His
benevolence is a cure for all the pain we suffer in this world. He bestows
peace on the suffering.
Krishna Dev’s wisdom
Having praised His qualities and
recited His signs (ayat), now we proceed to an exposition of that
timeless wisdom that Krishna Dev taught, and Swami Vyas brought to us. A
translation of it was made into pure Persian since not everyone has command
over the Sanskrit language. For once, those who speak Persian, will not be
excluded from receiving a share of its everlasting grace.
In arranging to lose heart and
soul in the essence of God (dhat-i-haqq), the beloved of God (janan)
and spiritual wayfarer (salik) must realize that sight has been provided
for the eye, smell for the nose, hearing for the ear, speech for the tongue,
and the perception of hot, cold, soft, and hard for the enjoyment of physical
pleasures. By the exercise of holding the breath, which in the Indian language
is called pranayama; and having brought together all of one’s perception
and comprehension one meditates on oneself; on the timeless essence within.
That is, one engages in conscious recognition of one’s breathing, which is
known as atha pran and apan. Focusing attention on apan
and pran, he becomes aware of where it comes from and when it descends.
When he is able to grasp the place of their entry and exit, he becomes witness
to the flash of the divine light, which is known as comprehension and pure
knowledge.
Part knowledge is an expression
of fancy (waham). For as long as a person does not practice holding the
breath and reciting the name of the divine essence (dhikr-i-ism-idhat),
which in the Indian languages is known as ‘ajap’, and does not correct
the lotus (nilufar) of his heart, which is of an open quality, the
essence of Divinity will remain beyond the reach of his intellect, and he will
live in a fanciful world of twisted understanding.
On the contrary, if he purifies
himself through the aforementioned practice, he attains the universal intellect
(aql-il-kul), which is akin to the comprehension of God, the mighty and
powerful (haqq azza wa jalla). All fanciful knowledge is effaced
by its light. Afterwards, while he meditates on the universal knowledge within
himself, and since this knowledge is a flash of the generous pure light, he
realizes that what comprehends all (muhit) is the heart, and the
manifestation (zuhur) of this knowledge comes from the heart. Knowledge
is nothing but the clarity of the Divine light emanating from the heart.
He beholds and comes face to face
with this knowledge, and by the light of the heart, through meditation in the
heart, with complete unswerving forthrightness (istiqamat-i-aram) and
ineffable control (istihkam-i-la-kalam) he practices the
pranayama of concentration (samadhi), i.e. peace (aram).
When he has spent some time in
this state, without ever becoming restless, he attains perfect peace and
beholds in his heart the pure light of the soul, which is without a parallel,
resemblance or comparison. He gets absorbed in it to the extent that the heart
is completely lost in it.
When the heart is effaced, he
becomes one with the Divine, and he attains a state which is the special
attribute of the holiest essence (sifat-i-khass-i-dhat-i-aqdas). It is
the holiest and most subtle, for it becames that through the unity of all
lights, and by encompassing all existing things.
All beings are aspects and
attributes of that essence; for they come into existence from it and they are
annihilated in it; that everlasting essence (dhat-i-baqi-i-la-yuzal) is an absolute
unity. It has no limits, beginning, or end. It
is without peers and comparison. The world fits into the attribute of the
essence of God, which Indian languages call the Paramatma.
Therefore, if a person effaces
himself through the practice of asceticism, in the transcendent essence of God,
who is ever eternal, he will hasten from annihilation to eternity, passing
beyond humanity, and will be honored with divinity, by His generosity and
grace.
Excerpts taken from:
Refraction of Islam in
India: Situating Sufism and Yoga, Carl W Ernst, Sage, New Delhi, 2016
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