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Khwaja says that
the fastest way a murid can develop yearning for the
Divine is by (remembrance of the Divine) Zikr. An aspirant
must always extoll God through Zikr of the Divine names
such as Rauf, Rahim and Aziz among others. In Zikr the
act of contemplation and meditation assisted by invocation
of the Divine results in spiritual puberty. The aspirant
here recites and repeats :
La illa
ha illal lah
Ya Allah
Ya Hoo
Ya Haq
Ya Hayyi
Ya Qayyom
No God but
God O God
O He
O Just One
O Living One O Existing One
La illa ha illal
lah (There is no God but God), this affirmation is the
beginning of Shariat and the conclusion of Tariqat.
In Zikr there is affirmation of the existence of God
and negation of all else. Zikr means to absorb one's
consciousness in the remembrance of God. you can remember
God in any language. He understands all languages but
likes most, the language of love.
To reach the
level of perfect Zikr requires perfection in the practice
of Habs I Dham (breath regulation techniques) and withdrawal
of senses is attempted in Khilvat with Fikr (concentration
on the Divine) Zikr generates energy and if renunciation
of desires is not undertaken then it is possible that
the urge to gratify lust will predominate. The aspirant
here has to be careful for unless the energy generated
is not harnessed, the consciousness will remain fluctuating.
Therefore it is very important that the Murid (Aspirant)
is guided by the Murshid (Spiritual mentor) who while
observing purity of the physical body aspires for purification
of the Consciousness. This purification of the consciousness
is attained by following moral injunctions and fixed
observances with perfection in Muraqaba attained through
perfection in Fikr (concentration on the Divine) with
Zikr (remembrance on the Divine). Each of these in itself
may have to be mastered in isolation before the aspirant
is allowed to try permutations and combinations of the
esoteric science. Khwaja says that Zikr Allah is a very
powerful mantra for Marifat (communion with the Divine). Initially
Zikr Nasooti is prescribed
by the Murshid. Through perfection in Habs i Dham
(breath regulation techniques) Zikr Nasooti is practised
by the murid (disciple) till the disciple has thorough
concentration on the vibrations of the Zikr and is able
to undertake Zikr Malkooti
(in thought). Evolution from Zikr Nasooti to Zikr Malkooti
is a very refined process and is only possible through
perfection in Fikr (concentration on the divine). In
Zikr Malkooti the aspirant has achieved considerable
success in Muraqaba and therefore effortlessly is able
to undertake Zikr (remembrance of the Divine).
The Tranquillity
in the consciousness is attained at Zikr
Jabrooti . Here the consciousness is conditioned
to be in zikr. This is a very advanced level of Zikr
not attainable by millions of the aspirants as to maintain
tranquillity in the self requires great mastery in the
withdrawal of senses possible only through the grace
of the Murshid (spiritual mentor) aided by the tools
of Zikr, Fikr and Muraqaba. It is at this level of zikr
Jabrooti that the aspirant is aware of the subtle differences
between the mind, ego and the intelligence. For only
when the aspirant has experienced the effect of each
of these singularly as well as in combination that the
consciousness of the disciple is flooded with ecstasy
of pure joy as experienced during the climax of sensury
pleasures but now this ecstasy is experienced for a
couple of minutes at a stretch rather than the few seconds
of the sensual gratification of the biological needs.
In Zikr Lahooti the aspirant has reached the spiritual
puberty level of Marifat (union with the Divine) and
from this platform projects Muhabbat for the All Pervading
Divine. The aspirant has now experienced the ecstasy
of the spiritual climax and is not moved by impulses
governing the fluctuations in the ordinary human beings.
The disciple has already activated the Khafi (Ajna Chakra)
and these disciples have stilled the consciousness which
has been gradually weaned away from the gratification
of desires through the senses of perception and organs
of action are fully under the control of these aspirants.
These aspirants have heightened perception of the para-normal
field and these disciples of God maintain equipose in
both pain and pleasure.
In Zikr
i pas o Anfas, the disciple has reached
the advanced level of Habs I Dham (breath regulation
techniques), with every inhalation of the breath the
disciple remembers Allah and Hu is repeated with every
exhalation. The Murshid (spiritual mentor) may prescribe
the practice of this technique 101 times at each sitting.
This repetition is known as Jaroob i Qaib.
For spiritual conditioning this process of remembrance
is very effective for the disciple over the years develops
the required intensity to worship the Divine and as
the disciple progresses spiritually, they are able to
regulate the gratification desires of the physical bcdy
about which Khwaja said :
"Ever
fed ever hungry, Never fed never hungry"
This process
enables the disciple to isolate the urge from the more
mundane thoughts occupying our mind and therefore is
able to regulate stress and mental fatigue to a great
extent. This process of repetition assisted by contemplation
on the Divine is able to create the required environment
for the disciple to undertake advanced practices. When
God is remembered with every breath, the mundane thoughts
of physical desires take a back seat and therefore the
disciple is able to focus on the foundation building
by indulging in moral injunctions and the disciple now
appreciates the purpose of fixed observances. For when
the disciple's actions compliment their thoughts, we
can say that a step in the right direction has been
taken by the aspirant who now becomes more careful of
the pitfalls which will retard the process of the consciousness
exit from the physical body.
Most of the people
in our society find comfort in the trend set by the
masses whose physical body perishes like any other creature
on this planet without knowing the truth behind the
amalgamation of chemicals (the physical body). Fear
is a great manipulator, when we are seriously scared
to die like other animals the urge to commune with the
conscious entity is aroused and this urge has to be
fed by the fuel of meditation to finally attain Marifat,
which will for ever remove the delusion of death. Murshid
sometimes recommends Allah and Ho to be substituted
by the following words which develop the contemplation
powers on the Divine :
"
La illala, illalahu, Ya Hu, Ya hai Qayyum, Ya Haqq"
This is a more
advanced form to attain mastery over the practice of
Fikr (concentration on the Divine). With this required
concentration it is possible to undertake thought projection
during the Ashgal practices. Spiritual conditioning
of this type is recommended by the Murshid depending
on the spiritual evolution of the disciple depending
whether the aspirant has been able to wean away effectively
from the urge of greed been the motivating force in
their life. For the consideration of material comfort
makes a human being perform atrocities on society without
for once realising that tomorrow at the time of exit
of the soul from the physical body, these very disciples
future trajectory would depend on their actions of this
life time.
First,
lose yourself :
one
who annihilates oneself will attain Him; Turn your face
within,He is in you.
In Zikr
i Isma i Rabbani the remembrance of God
is practised from 101 to 1,24,000 times. This increase
in repetition enables the disciple to flood their consciousness
with pure ecstasy of intoxication without using the
substitutes such as alcohol to achieve pleasure in the
consciousness. When Zikr is undertaken for a hundred
thousand repetitions a day, this aspirant who practices
Zikr for this many times as a prescribed dose is only
able to keep up their efforts of remembrance of the
Divine because of this dominant urge for the Divine
which surpasses all other duties and responsibilities
of sense gratification. The perfect combination of Zikr
and Fikr and Muraqaba and Habs I Dham and Khilvat depends
on the spiritual evolution of the aspirant. Zikr of
this type releases energy which if not channelled would
result in gratification of the sensual desires, that
is why with the practice of Ashgal surrender
of one's will to the will of Murshid (spiritual mentor)
is a must.
Relentless practice
and renunciation of desires is the key to Marifat (para-normal union with the Divine).
The difference between renunciation and suppression
must be understood by the disciple for when suppression
is misunderstood as regulation of the desires leading
to renunciation then we find that the aspirant suffers
from increased urges for gratification of the sensual
desires. The key to success is to seek the grace of
the Murshid (spiritual mentor). When the aspirant needs
freedom from the fear of death of the physical body
that the urge for the Divine can be cultivated. God
can be remembered by any of the following names:
Allah
Rahman Rahim Malik Quddus Salaam Mumin Muhaimin Azim
Jabbar Muktabbir Khaliq Bari Musawwir Ghaffar Qahhar
Wahhab Razzaq Fattah Alim Sari
Basit Khafiz Rafi Muhizz Muzill Sami
Basir Hakim Mutlaq Wadul Majid
Shadeed Shahid Haqq Wakil Quawily Matin
Wali Hamid Badi Muhit Haiy Muhyi Mumit
Qaiyum Yuid Wahid Samad Qadir Muqit Qarib
Muakhkhar Awwal Akhir Zahir Batin
Wali Mutaal Tauwab Ghafur Affuw Rauf Malikulmulk
Zuljalal walkram Ghalib Ghaniy Mughniy
Maula Nuafi Nasir Nur Hadi Raziq Azaliy Rashid
Malik Ghfoor Dhil Fadli Rabbul Alamin.
Rosary is also
used in Zikr as is the case of remembrance of God in
many a other religions. The question here that plagues
the mind of the aspirant is how many times is sufficient
remembrance of God. This actually depends upon the intensity
of the urge. When a certain number is quoted, the purpose
also signifies the duration it would take a disciple
to repeat x number of times of repetition of the name
of God would enable the aspirant understand that perfect
Zikr (remembrance of the Divine) with perfect Fikr (concentration
on the Divine) would take very great effort on the part
of the aspirant for it is not easy to achieve perfect
Fikr without cessation of the thoughts in the form of
worries and stress forever tormenting the human. mind
seeking protection against the risk of being bankrupt
or without any social affiliation in terms of being
desired by a spouse or a group of friends.
Hazrat Imam Ali
remembered God as "Ya Hayyo o Ya Qayyoom".Hazrat
Abu Bakr remembered God as as "Ya Rehman
o Ya Rahim". Murshid Abubabaji mentioned
that the greatest Zikr is through sincere devotion to
the All Pervading Divine by following the moral injunctions
and fixed observances with withdrawal of senses achieved
in Khilvat with perfection in Muraqaba and Fikr. It
is only when the aspirant becomes a receptor by attaining
the spiritual puberty that the aspirant is able to receive
esoteric knowledge which has been passed of by society
as mere philosophy.
In
Zikr i Zarbi, the aspirant has already
conditioned the consciousness by becoming a receptor
to the subtle thought projections of the God Realised
Saints. Therefore we find that the disciple's consciousness
is for ever in Zikr. The aspirant here is able to undertake
perfect Fikr on the Qalbi (Anhata Chakra) with the right
combination of Muraqaba and Habs i Dham . With the tools
of Baiyyat and relentless practice of the Ashgal techniques
under the guidance of the Murshid (spiritual mentor)
resulting is harnessing of the energy through effective
inner renunciation of urges, by effective channelisation
of the urge for gratification of lust to the urge of
Muhahbat for the All Pervading Divine.
In
Zikr i Ara the focus is on achieving perfect
withdrawl of senses practiced through three dimensional
Zikr of the renounciation of desires practiced under
the guidance of the Murshid during Khilvat. During the
practise of Ashgal it is very important that Zikr
I Ara has been perfected. Again we must remember
that Zikr I Ara is just a tool to aid in the
process of remembrance of the Divine to unlock the para-normal
corridor of the esoteric universe.
Khwaja says that
by perfect concentration on the Divine (Fikr) and perfect
contemplation on the Divine (Muraqaba) and Marifat (para-normal
union with the Divine) at the Khafi (Ajna chakra) the
Murshid is able to know the cousre of destiny and has
visions of the God Realised Saints.
By perfect concentration
on the Divine(Fikr) and perfect contemplation on the
Divine (Muraqaba) and para-normal union with the Divine
(Marifat) on the Sirr (Vissudhi chakra), the Murhid
overcomes hunger and thirst.
By perfect concentration
on the Divine (Fikr) and perfect contemplation on the
Divine (Muraqaba) with Marifat (Paranormal union on
the Divine) at Qalbi (Anhata chakra), the Murshid achieves
the secrets of Tasawwuf.
By perfect concentration
on the Divine (Fikr) and perfect contemplation on the
Divine (Muraqaba) with Marifat (Paranormal union with
the Divine) on Rohi (Manipura chakra) the Murshid acquires
knowledge of the physiological body.
In
Zikr I Sultan ul Ajkar, the use of perfume
and incense sticks at the time of Zikr is to enhance
concentration on the Divine (Fikr). Hazrat Pir Dastigir
said that it is essential for the Murid to keep their
speech clean by refraining from slander, purify the
consciousness by keeping it clean by Zikr, to keep hands
and feet clean by allowing them to rise in supplication
and walk the path of Truth of God Realisation.
I
underwent millions of hardships to see the Beloved outside;
But
it was by looking into myself that I found Him :
my
Friend is within me.
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