Posts

Interconnectedness!

Rule 26: The universe is one being. Everything and everyone is interconnected through an invisible web of stories. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all in a silent conversation. Do no harm. Practice compassion. And do not gossip behind anyone’s back – not even a seemingly innocent remark! The words that come out of our mouths do not vanish but are perpetually stored in infinite space and they will come back to us in due time. One man’s pain will hurt us all. One man’s joy will make everyone smile. Hindus have a fortnight dedicated to fulfilling the desires of their ancestors. It is called ‘Pitru Paksh’ (Fortnight of Ancestors). It is believed that whatever is donated in this fortnight straight away fulfils the unsatisfied desires of their ancestors. It has always been a confusing thing for me because we are always told about the life and death cycle of the soul; we are also told about the ‘moksha’ (Nirvana). So, why do we have this fortnight to fulfil the desire of the dead pe
Post a Comment
Read more

Love changes everything!

Rule 24: Hell is in the here and now. So is heaven. Quit worrying about hell or dreaming about heaven, as they are both present inside this very moment. Every time we fall in love, we ascend to heaven. Every time we hate, envy or fight someone we tumble straight into the fires of hell Love, love changes everything  Hands and faces,  earth and sky, Love, love changes everything,  How you live and how you die    Michael Ball’s song ‘Love changes everything’ ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnLE0N87T6k ) seems to sum up what Shamz wants to say. Love changes everything around us and nothing seems to be same. We all know how it feels when one falls in love. All our senses are heightened. Days look fresh, our faces look brighter, and the whole world seems full of wonderful people and things. Heaven actually seems like a place on earth. However, is it the same when it comes to loving your neighbour, colleague or the person sitting next to you in some public place. I don’t know whether loving
Post a Comment
Read more

Are we behaving as God's delegates?

Rule 23: The human being has a unique place among God’s creation. “I breathed My Spirit into him,” God says. Each and every one of us without exception is designed to be God’s delegate on earth. Ask yourself, just how often do you behave like a delegate, if you ever do so? Remember, it falls upon each of us to discover the divine spirit inside and live by it. What we are witnessing right now in India is not only unprecedented but also fury of ‘God’. Everyone has a tragedy to share, everyone is hurting because they have lost their loved ones to Corona-19. More than that they have a horror story to share about how Corona hits, about the mismanagement at every place; be it ambulance service, hospitals or cremation grounds. People are seeing the lowest and most dreadful face of humanity.  At the same time, we are hearing the positive stories coming from all corners about how people are coming together and helping others. The real-life heroes who are acting selflessly and more importantly s
1 comment
Read more

The Universe Within You

  Rule 17 : “The whole universe is contained within a single human being: you. Everything that you see around you, including the things you might not be fond of and even the people you despise or abhor, is present within you in varying degrees. Therefore, do not look for Sheitan outside yourself either. The devil is not an extraordinary force that attacks from without. It is an ordinary voice within. If you get to know yourself fully, facing with honesty and hardness both your dark and bright sides, you will arrive at a supreme form of consciousness. When a person knows himself or herself, he or she knows God.” I have been avoiding to write an explanation about this rule for a long time. Although it seems simple enough, I did not know how to approach this subject. Is it about how every relationship is a mirror of our own personality? Or, does it have a spiritual tangent and shows it a perspective of quantum physics which explains how microcosm is macrocosm? Every time when I start expl
Post a Comment
Read more

Change and Constant

Rule 39: While the parts change, the whole always remains the same. For every thief who departs this world, a new one is born. And every descent person who passes away is replaced by a new one. In this way not only does nothing remains the same but also nothing ever really changes. For every Sufi who dies, another is born somewhere. Having lived with people from diverse cultures, I have realised that people and their emotions are essentially the same. Only the forms to express them change as indeed the cultures are diverse. This has always given me a base to interact with people without any inhibitions and prejudices. I feel that if I tap into the basic human emotions, I would find same kind of fountain of feelings everywhere, be it Iceland or Timbuktu. People have same needs, desires, fears, hopes and they act similarly to fulfil their desires.  So, when Shamz writes about the whole remaining the same while parts change, I think of it not only in spiritual terms but also in term
Post a Comment
Read more

Rule 1: Mirror of Compassion

Rule 1: How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we. As I am growing older, I realise the true meaning of this kind of mirror aspect of Shamz. I am not sure if I saw God as the source of fear and blame but I definitely saw the world as something to fear and blame. I always had this sense of injustice. I felt that the world is not fair to me, that I am being short-changed despite my best efforts. I thought that I was not being treated fairly despite me being honest and fair and despite my hard work. This sense of injustice gave rise to fear and insecurity and the more I felt that way, the more I felt that the whole world is my enemy. At some point, things started transforming within me and the inherent compassion (which I have inherited from my father) started showing me another picture of the world. A w
2 comments
Read more

Work in Progress

Rule 14: God is busy with the completion of your work, both outwardly and inwardly. He is fully occupied with you. Every human being is a work in progress that is slowly but inexorably moving toward perfection. We are each an unfinished work of art both waiting and striving to be completed. God deals with each of us separately because humanity is fine art of skilled penmanship where every single dot is equally important for the entire picture. Why does Shamz say that we are ‘work in progress’ and what is the ultimate completion? In spirituality, it is said that souls come to earth to learn and slowly strive towards becoming ‘pure love’ or ‘infinite’ or ‘to be in a state of eternal bliss’ or maybe ultimately attain Nirvana. This process may take many phases, and many lives. It also can be hindered and accelerated by understanding that we are indeed the ‘work of art’ and that we have a purpose in this life.  Even if we leave aside the spiritual part of being a ‘work in progress’, m
8 comments
Read more