Catalysis
Catalysis is a process affecting the speed at which a chemical
reaction takes place. This is accomplished by introducing an
agent into a reaction system that is capable of either
speeding up, or retarding, the rate at which such a reaction
proceeds.
In those circumstances when a catalytic agent speeds up the
reaction process, the agent is known as a positive catalyst.
Agents which impede the reaction rate of a given system are
referred to as negative catalysts.
In some instances, a reaction will proceed in the absence of
the right kind of catalyst. However, the reaction will do so
only very, very slowly. In other cases, a reaction will not
proceed at all in the absence of appropriate kinds of catalyst.
Not all catalytic agents perform their function in the same
way. Some agents have the ability to bring various
components of a reaction into closer proximity than would be
possible in the absence of that agent, thus speeding up the
rate of reaction of those components.
Other catalytic agents have the means of increasing the
surface area necessary for certain reactions to take place.
With more surface area available for interaction, the
reaction proceeds more quickly than would be the case under
non-catalytic circumstances.
Still other kinds of catalyst speed up or slow down reactions
by changing the conformational and/or ionic character of the
components of a reaction. This is especially true in the
biochemical reactions of living systems.
Some catalytic agents have the capacity to lower or raise the
level of energy necessary for a given kind of reaction to
occur. Thus, for example, when the energy of activation for a
reaction is lowered by introducing the appropriate kind of
catalyst, the reaction can proceed much more quickly with
the same amount of energy in the system than would be the
case 'normally'.
Some catalytic agents retard the rate of reaction by
becoming competitors with one or more of the components
involved in a reaction. When such catalysts occupy surface
areas or membrane sites and, thereby, make them
unavailable for components necessary for a given reaction,
this competitive inhibition, as it is known, slows down the
rate at which the reaction proceeds.
There are many other modalities of catalysis. However, the
few which have been mentioned are enough for present
purposes.
According to the masters of the Sufi path, spiritual
development or progress, especially in the mystical sense,
either will not take place without catalytic assistance, or, it
will do so only at an exceedingly slow rate. In fact, to the
extent spiritual progress does occur at all in the absence of
the appropriate catalytic agents, it, nonetheless, will be
incapable of permitting the individual to make much headway
toward the ultimate purpose of spiritual growth which is the
realization of the true self.
Mysticism is not an endeavor in which an individual working
entirely independently can succeed. The mystical heights
cannot be scaled through sheer brilliance, talent or
determination.
There are no solitary ascents on the mystical path. Support
and assistance and catalytic additives are all necessary for
anyone who seeks to reach the top.
Sufi masters do admit that not all people have the same
spiritual capacity. Like gifts of intelligence, artistic talent,
beauty, athletic ability and so on, spiritual potential is not
distributed equally.
These differences in spiritual potential may affect the speed
with which spiritual development proceeds. On the other
hand, spiritual capacity is not the only factor affecting the
rate of progress.
In fact, someone who has less spiritual potential than another
individual might not only develop more quickly than the
gifted person but actually travel farther on the path than her
or his more gifted companion. Qualities of sincerity,
perseverance, desire and effort also affect whether, and at
what rate, spiritual growth takes place.
The sine qua non of catalytic reagents is God's grace.
Absolutely nothing takes place without the presence of this
support and assistance.
One could say every modality of help, support, assistance,
protection, and catalysis (both positive as well as negative)
one encounters on the Sufi path is an expression of God's
grace. Differences in the form or character of the locus
through which the grace comes, does not alter the underlying
reality of grace standing behind such variable manifestations.
Notwithstanding the foregoing comments, spiritual catalytic
agents come in different varieties. Prayer, fasting, chanting,
charitable acts, spiritual etiquette, night vigils,
contemplation, meditation, and reading sacred texts, all, each
in its own way: both, give expression to God's grace, as well
as, serve as a means to open one up to more grace.
Each of the above mentioned practices or observances has
unique spiritual benefits and effects. The Sufi master is one
who, by the grace of God, knows what the aspirant requires,
at any given time, in the way of practices. Since we are all
different spiritual capacities and potentials, some spiritual
catalytic agents may be more effective forms of assistance to
some of us, than others, among us.
Furthermore, the package of practices may change in
character during the course of the spiritual journey as our
catalytic needs change during the journey. For example, at
certain stages of the path, the teacher may indicate to the
student that invoking a certain Name or Attribute of God
may be especially beneficial for the individual. At another
stage, another Name or Attribute of God may be given for
invocation.
At one stage, the spiritual guide may recommend the
individual become busy with charitable works. At another
stage, more emphasis may be given by the teacher to
concentrating on the inculcation of spiritual etiquette in the
aspirant.
The general package of practices and observances stays
roughly the same. However, the combinations and focal
concerns involving this general package may shift during the
journey: from stage to stage for a given person, as well as
from individual to individual.
In all of this, the Sufi master is somewhat like a spiritual
chemist who has expertise in, among other things, the use
and effects of different spiritual catalytic agents. Using one of
these catalytic agents may help alter the spiritual orientation
of the individual's heart in a certain way. Use of another
catalyst may help retard the rational mind's interference in
spiritual matters.
Use of another agent may have a catalytic property of
opening the individual up to various spiritual experiences.
This may have the effect of increasing the spiritual "surface
area" available for certain kinds of reactions to proceed.
Still other catalysts, in the form of specific spiritual practices,
may have an effect comparable to a lowering of the energy of
activation necessary for a particular spiritual process to
proceed. Alternatively, use of a given catalytic medium may
provide the individual with the enabling power needed to
overcome normal obstacles standing in the way of making
spiritual progress on some aspect of the path.
Some spiritual catalysts may help change the shape and
character of one's understanding. Other spiritual catalytic
agents may give expression to a form of competitive
inhibition by preoccupying the individual with, say the
remembrance of God, and, as a result, helping to prevent the
world or the ego from gaining access to sites of attachment
within consciousness or one's heart.
The primary form of catalytic agent is the spiritual guide or
master. Practices, of one sort or another, all have their value
and their special catalytic properties. However, one could be
engaged in such practices from now until the end of time
without any significant essential spiritual benefit manifesting
itself as long as one did so in isolation from a spiritual
teacher. All of the Sufi masters are in agreement on this point.
The teacher is, in a sense, the straw that stirs the drink. Or,
perhaps, more appropriately, the teacher is the one who has
responsibility for ensuring that all the right catalytic
ingredients and reactants get into the drink in the right
proportions and in the correct sequence and at the most
efficacious time.
God, of course, provides the drink, the straw, the tavern, the
drinkers, the entertainment, the trained staff and everything
else which is necessary for the reactants to be able to come
together to have the desired spiritual results. The teacher is
the one who is looking after things on behalf of the tavern's
proprietor. The teacher is the one who, by God's grace,
becomes the locus of catalytic manifestation through which
things are brought together in the Sufi tavern in an organized
and effective manner.
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