Home | Faith
QUESTION: Could Bawa please speak about faith? BAWA MUHAIYADDEEN: Faith is like the taproot which gives strength to a tree. If the taproot hasn't grown downward properly, the tree will not have its support, and then, when a gale strikes, the tree will fall over. To keep it strong enough to withstand winds and gales, the tree has four deep roots, the taproot in the middle and three others near the surface. These four roots keep the tree standing until the time comes for it to die. If not for them, any small gust of wind could topple the tree. In the same way, a man's life should have a point. That point is faith in God. Faith in God should be man's taproot. That faith must search for the wisdom that can understand God, this body, ourselves, those who are with us, this world, and our responsibility here. We need faith in order to know and understand our identity and our history. We need faith in order to know, "How should I conduct my life, and how should I proceed and progress on this path?" We need certitude, determination, and effort—the certitude, determination and effort that never gives up, and the faith in God that never wavers, no matter what may come. These are the four roots we need to plant in our lives. If they are planted firmly, the mind will not waver as much. Then we can hold on to that one point. Do not follow the ways of the mind, for just as the moon moves through the clouds in the sky, this mind drifts through the clouds of illusion, or maya. The mind is floating on an ocean of maya, continuously traveling through waves and whirlpools and vapors, through colors and hues and darknesses. Such is the movement of the mind. Like the moon, it travels through these clouds of illusion and darknesses, encountering many accidents in the ethers. Mind and desire, which operate in this world made of earth, fire, water, air, ether, and illusion, have no point of rest. The mind is uncontrollable. It is in a state of chaos as it rocks on the waves of the ocean of maya and is pushed by gusts of wind. It has no control. To halt these uncontrollable movements of the mind that mimic those of the moon, you need wisdom. Wisdom can absorb and control all these wave's energies (sakthis). The moon's energy is visible only in proportion to the darkness—the darker the sky, the brighter the moon and the lighter the sky, the dimmer the moon. This is because it gains energy in darkness and loses that energy in the light. In a similar way, the mind operates directly in proportion to how dark the illusion is in which it dwells. Its state, its energies, its attachments, its jealousy, its revenge, its differences of race and religion, and other such thoughts all gain or lose energy based on this. As illusion grows darker and darker, the mind shows its energy more and more, just as the moon displays its full energy and light in total darkness. Within the darknessess of desire and the many thoughts operating within the qualities of earth, fire, water, and air, and the arrogance of 'I' and 'mine', the mind displays itself and its illusions most vigorously. It touts itself as the greatest, saying, "Look at me, nothing is greater than I am! See how cooling I am." That is the mind. It is also very cooling, yet, like the moon, within it there is darkness. Even though you see the moon as a circle of perfectly even light, you can also see colors and crevices. Similarly, in the mind you can see the crack called the monkey mind. However much light the mind may appear to have, however beautiful it may look, and however much it declares, "See how cooling I am," there is a crack that displays the monkey mind as clearly as the crevices on the bright surface of the moon. This monkey roams everywhere, jumps up and down, and imitates whatever it sees. It is the nature of man's mind and his life to be like that. So they have to be controlled. But how can that be done? With wisdom, the wisdom of truth. What should that wisdom be like? Like the sun. We need faith in God. Using that faith, we must imbibe the qualities of God, and with those qualities we must bring His actions into our actions, His conduct into our conduct, and His duty into our duty. We must make His actions and His duties our own. Therefore, we must have patience, inner patience (sabur), and contentment (shakur). We must give all praise to God (al-hamdu lillah), hand over all responsibility to Him (tawakkul- Allah). In this state, we surrender all responsibility to God. For what is going to happen in the next moment, we must have tawakkul, saying, "It is Your duty; O God. Whatever You do is right." For what is happening at this moment, we must say, "Al-hamdu lillah. All praise is to You, O God! What You have done is correct. What I have done is incorrect. All that You do is perfect, and all that I do is imperfect. All praise is to You, O God! You act knowing the situation, but I act without knowing. You are aware, You have scrutinized everything before You act. I act in ignorance, without understanding, without knowing. Only what You do is right. Al-hamdu lillah." This is the state we need to attain. Once this state develops within someone, he becomes the child of God. He is the son of God. He will not longer be the moon. He will be the sun as well as being the son. When you become the sun, wisdom will resplend as light within you, and when that resplendence comes into you, the moon within you will lose its energy and beauty. Its colors will fade, the clouds covering it will disappear, and the monkey will go. At that point, only the effulgence of the sun will resplend. The moon (the mind) will still be there, but it will have lost its energy. Just as the moon loses its energy as soon as the sun comes, the mind loses its energies as soon as wisdom resplends. All the energies stop—the energies of the waves, of the glitters, and of all movement. They remain where they were but lose their strength, their force, their color, and their hues. Only their outline or outer form is left. Those mind energies can only function in darkness. A person who becomes a true human being becomes the sun. To become the sun, you must obtain the wisdom of God's qualities, and when they resplend within you, all the energies disappear and the darkness goes. For this to happen you need to have faith and give all responsibility to God for whatever may follow. You also need wisdom. So if you can search for 'ilm, the wisdom of divine knowledge, and make it resplend within you, the darkness of the mind will be dispelled. As soon as that darkness goes, all the intentions and thoughts of the mind will lose their energy. Once their energy is gone, you will be able to discriminate between right and wrong, truth and falsehood. And when you come to understand the truth, you will understand yourself. If you understand yourself and know who you are, at that point you will know God. You need to search for this state. If you can establish the taproot of faith correctly and search for the wisdom of truth the benefit of that will be apparent in your life. Then your life will be a true life. When you go on a journey, do not hold on to a dog. A dog will drag you everywhere. It does not appreciate good things. It likes feces, bones, and decayed, smelly, dead things, and it will drag you toward such things. It will drag you all over, and this will be troublesome for you. You will grow tired, but the dog is strong and will never tire. Therefore, don't take the dog of desire along with you when you go on a journey. The one to tire will not be the dog, it will be you. So if you take a walk for relaxation, don't exercise the dog at the same time. If you really want to relax, tie the dog up somewhere and just walk by yourself. That will be better. Similarly, do not hold on to the tail of a water buffalo in order to cross a lake, for the buffalo will lie down in the mud when it reaches the middle of the lake, and you will drown. And do not hold on to the tail of a tiger in order to cross a jungle, for when it gets hungry, it will eat you up. Do not pack up the world and take it with you in order to go on a search for God. Don't take even a package of rice or a mat with you, because they will grow heavy. Even a handful of rice will weight you down. As you go further along the path, these things will grow heavier and heavier. So, when you go searching for truth or intending God, cast off all these burdens and say, "Al-hamdu lillah!" All praise is to God!" Just as you made your trip from France to here, make your trip to God saying, "Tawakkul-'allah. I give all responsibility to You, O God." For that you need wisdom and faith. Wisdom is the light for your life, faith is the path, God is the truth, and understanding this is peace. If you realize this and surrender yourself, you will become the effulgence. Then there will be no future birth. Understand this and conduct yourself accordingly. “M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen- a Sufi mystic, can best be remembered for his efforts to bring unity through understanding to the faithful of all religions.” Copyright: Questions of Life, Answers of Wisdom, Volume 2, Session 19 Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Family Newsletter August 2006
Article Source: http://www.godarticles.com
www.wisdomarticles.com
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
