Capacity
From the perspective of the Sufi path, every human being has
a unique spiritual capacity. However, not every capacity
necessarily will be realized to its full extent, or even in part.
Life is the opportunity provided by God to become busy with
doing the things required for bringing one' s essential
capacity on line. Whether or not we take advantage of the
chance extended to us, is a matter of choice and an exercise
in free will.
Spirituality is only one of the potentials we have been given.
We each have been outfitted, so to speak, with other
non-spiritual capacities. For example, the capacity for life
itself is expressed through our biological nature. Our bodies,
including the brain, have been equipped with sensory and
locomotor modalities. In addition, we have, in varying
degrees: intellectual abilities; creative capacities; a spectrum
of emotional possibilities; talents of one sort or another, and
a capacity for language.
The Sufi masters also sometimes talk of a wide variety of
other powers and capabilities which are, under the right
circumstances, available to human beings. These capacities
range from: the ability to dream, to various kinds of so-called
psychic and occult powers.
Many of these latter kinds of capacity are so infrequently
accessed or encountered in any direct way, they are
considered to be fictional in nature by most of us.
Nonetheless, although such abilities are not really part of,
nor pertinent to, the Sufi path, the masters of the way do
confirm their existence.
Our numerous capacities generate a multiplicity of
experiential possibilities, each of which is conducive to
extended exploration. In fact, as human beings, we have such
a diverse set of capabilities, potentials, capacities, and
powers available to us, we easily become confused about, or
distracted from, the purpose of life.
According to the Sufi masters, even if we succeed in
developing a whole slew of our many abilities, yet, ignore our
spiritual possibilities, we will have failed in life' s primary
mission. On the other hand, if we sincerely attempt to realize
our spiritual capacity, but fail in relation to some of the other
capacities, we, nevertheless, will have chosen the right
priorities in life as far as the Sufi path is concerned.
To be sure, there are individuals who, by the grace of God,
realize their spiritual capacity and, as well, realize one or
more other capabilities. These people may be great
musicians or artists or poets or leaders and, yet, not have
neglected their spiritual dimension.
The foregoing sort of people tend to be relatively rare. They
certainly are individuals of immense ability and good fortune.
They are not necessarily the standard by which most of the
rest of us ought to gauge our lives. We can appreciate such
lives without either feeling compelled to emulate them or
feeling one' s life is somehow impoverished for not having
been as accomplished as them in various ways.
The primary focus should be on realizing our essential,
spiritual capacity. Indeed, according to the Sufi masters, if
one goes about the task and challenge of spiritual realization
properly, one, generally, will have little interest in, or
inclination toward, doing anything else - except in some
minimally necessary manner that still will permit justice to be
done to other facets of one' s life.
When one becomes absorbed in God, everything else
becomes arranged and organized as a function of that
absorption. Priorities are set, and attention is given, in
relation to how possibilities and activities can be
accommodated to, or become expressions of, one' s spiritual
orientation.
God may inspire us to do great things. Nevertheless, this is
God' s will acting on us for Divine purposes. For us, on our
own, to seek to do great things above and beyond the
business of realizing one' s spiritual capacity is a sign of the
presence of ego. Many of us sometimes mistake the call of
the ego for the call of God.
God has a part waiting for us in the Divine passion play.
Whether we opt for the role of the fool who squanders his or
her spiritual potential, or we strive for the part of the servant
of God who struggles to realize her or his essential spiritual
capacity, will make no difference to the beauty and majesty
of the play.
In either case, we will bring our own, inimitable style to the
existential stage. In success or failure, our contribution will
be unique.
Either kind of uniqueness will fit equally well into the
unfolding of the play. Our choices will neither improve nor
diminish the quality of the production or staging process.
There is room for heroines and heroes. However, villains and
villainesses are welcome as well. If anything, the presence of
antagonistic forces merely heightens the dramatic tension of
the whole affair.
In one sense, the choice of roles is entirely up to us. On the
other hand, there are a variety of twists, turns and mysteries
involved in the plot line.
Sometimes we can have our heart set on playing the bad guy
and, suddenly, our world is turned upside down and we start
acting, much to our disgust, the part of the hero or heroine.
At other times we may be quite prepossessed with being on
the side of right and good only to find ourselves falling head
first into the underside of life.
Some of these role reversals are temporary. Some of them
are permanent. In all cases, they are reflections of capacities
within us, and we all wonder where we will end up when the
music stops and the house lights are turned on.
We have a unique potential to know God and to experience
Divinity. We each have a unique capacity to give expression
to the Names and Attributes of God.
Sufi masters maintain that human beings, alone in all of
creation, have the capacity to reflect all the Names and
Attributes of God. Other aspects of creation do reflect
various dimensions of the Names and Attributes of God
according to their capacity, but none of the rest of creation
has the potential given to human beings.
As indicated previously, there are differences in spiritual
capacity among human beings. However, each of these
capacities, if realized, can reflect the full, infinite spectrum of
Divine Names and Attributes. Each has the potential to do so
in a unique fashion.
Because spiritual capacities are unique, there really is no
basis for comparison. All jewels have their own beauty and
appeal. Each jewel brings something that cannot be offered
by any other jewel.
The only ground for comparison lies within the individual.
The sole criterion for such comparison is what a person has
been able to actualize in the way of spiritual realization, as
measured against that individual' s essential spiritual
capacity. The degree of success or failure in life is a function
of the status of the ratio of these two factors.
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