Posts

Showing posts from April, 2020

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

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