Keys
There is not one right way to seek God, but every way one
tries must be right. Every right way is a key which unlocks
one, or another, spiritual door. Every incorrect way places
further locks and doors between the individual and successful
completion of the spiritual quest.
Sometimes, when people begin to reflect on the potential
length and difficulty of the mystical path, there is a tendency
for the individual to become overwhelmed. One tries to
comprehend all the struggle and sacrifice that will be
necessary, and one starts to feel fainthearted and queasy.
The idea of spiritual realization seems so close and palpable,
but the ontological or experiential realization of this idea
feels so far away. One goes through cycles of excitement and
being deeply discouraged.
An important key to maintaining perspective through these
early ups and downs is to understand that mysticism is a
journey which goes at its own unique speed for each
individual. However, irrespective of its speed, in one form or
another, it will last a lifetime.
Like biological, emotional and intellectual maturation,
mystical development takes time. Although various spiritual
transformations may take place very rapidly when they do
occur, these transformations must be preceded by certain
stages and processes which prepare the individual for those
changes.
Spiritual transformations, taken in and of themselves, can
take place very rapidly. Sustainable spiritual transformations
are another matter.
Due to our impatience to reach the destination, we want to
hook ourselves up to a powerful spiritual booster and blast
off. We tend to forget even astronauts go through an
extensive training process in order to minimize the risks
associated with their journey and in order to prepare
themselves for the tasks which must be performed once in
orbit.
Consonant with, and complementary to, the foregoing is the
importance of pacing oneself on the spiritual path. This is
another key to having proper perspective concerning the
mystical journey.
Ironically, sometimes both the false self and satanic forces
will urge one to jump into mystical practice in a big,
enthusiastic way. There is a method to this apparent madness.
When these 'heroic' efforts don't produce the desired results,
as they cannot since the underlying intention is incorrect,
people become disillusioned, disappointed and frustrated.
They become mystical burnouts.
The key to pacing is balance. One, simultaneously, must
engage in some level of constant spiritual activity in order not
to stagnate on the path, yet, the degree of this activity must
not be so intense it cannot be sustained over time and,
thereby, lead to a waning of interest or disengagement from
the Sufi path.
Whenever the individual raises the level of intensity of her or
his spiritual efforts, Sufi masters often suggest these efforts
be coordinated within a context of less intense, but steady
spiritual activity. Moreover, both the more intense, as well as
the less intense, forms of spiritual activity need to be
interspersed with brief periods of relaxation to keep one, in a
sense, loose and fresh for the spiritual tasks at hand.
Every stage of the mystical journey provides keys for
subsequent stages of that journey. These keys come in the
form of the myriad learning experiences which take place in
our day-to-day lives.
Sufi masters point out that our whole life is made up of a
chain of experiential events. Those events are not chance,
arbitrary happenings.
Each and every link of the chain is fully intended by God.
Each and every event has something to teach us about our
relationship with God.
Every experiential lesson is a key, or forms part of a more
complex key, which can help unlock the meaning of our lives.
The spiritual lessons we learn today may help, God willing,
open doors along the mystical path tomorrow.
Conversely, every inattention concerning these lessons has
the potential to create spiritual difficulties later on in our
journey. Indeed, one of the reasons why we sometimes tend
to run into the same sort of problems in our lives is because
we didn't take advantage of all the previous opportunities
God had given us to learn the spiritual lessons of life.
Everyday, God introduces events into our lives which require
patience, forbearance, forgiveness, courage, sincerity,
charitableness, honesty, perseverance, trust, generosity,
compassion, kindness, sensitivity, and humility. Each time we
are, for example, patient we help fashion, by the grace of
God, a key of patience. Each time we have forbearance,
then, by the grace of God, we help fashion a key of
forbearance, and so on.
The events of our day-to-day lives provide opportunities for
the fashioning of temporary spiritual keys which help resolve,
God willing, the immediate problems of our lives. Over time
and with God's help, what is temporary becomes permanent.
We become patience. We become forbearance. We become
forgiveness. Such qualities are very important keys to
unlocking, as well as giving expression to, our spiritual
potential.
Sufi masters encourage practitioners of the path to seek to
work toward fashioning as many of these permanent keys as
we can. All of these qualities are correct ways of seeking
God because they all reflect Divinity and are not possible to
acquire except through God's blessings.
God wishes our spiritual success. The fact there are so many
opportunities in our lives for fashioning the spiritual keys
which, God willing, unlock the treasure house of Divine favor
is a clear sign of God's good wishes for our spiritual
well-being.
Sufi masters are constantly encouraging initiates to try to
find as many ways as possible for seeking, and working
toward acquiring, spiritual keys of one kind or another. One
simply doesn't know which key, or combination of keys, may
be most pleasing to God.
Bearing witness to the Oneness of God is a key to spiritual
success. Prayer is such a key. Fasting is this kind of key.
Charitableness is a key. Remembrance of God is a key.
Repentance is a key. Contemplation of God's signs, within us
and without us, is a key. Good works are a key. Meditation
is a key. Gratitude is a key. Dependence on God is a key.
Love is a key.
No matter how many times one may fail in the pursuit of such
spiritual keys, the Sufi masters urge initiates to try again and
again and again. Persistence and perseverance are keys as
well.
On the Sufi path, the master key is the shaykh. This is so
because the spiritual guide is the means through whom one
learns how to unlock the secrets of all the other spiritual
keys.
The shaykh does not replace prayers or fasting or
charitableness, and so on. Nonetheless, everything of value
one learns about the meaning, significance, and reality of
these spiritual activities comes through one's spiritual
association with the shaykh.
Through the example and presence of the spiritual guide, one
learns, God willing, about tolerance, love, kindness,
mildness, justice, integrity, commitment, and piety. Through
the support, protection, encouragement, and wisdom which
God extends to the individual through the shaykh, one is
enabled, if God wishes, to carry on amidst the difficulties,
tests, trials and challenges of the mystical path.
The shaykh is the one who, by the grace of God, not only
helps the individual to bring passions and anger into balance
but, God willing, oversees the transformation of these
protagonists into spiritual allies. Furthermore, the shaykh is
the one who, with the support of God, helps the individual to:
cleanse the heart, and empty the sirr of the world, and
perfect the spirit.
The cleansing of the heart is a key to unlocking one's
potential for gnosis of God. The emptying of the sirr (an
internal, spiritual faculty) is a key to unlocking one's
potential for witnessing the disclosures of God's
manifestations. The perfection of the spirit is the key to
unlocking one's potential for love of God.
For all of the foregoing reasons, as well as many others, the
shaykh is the master key through which, by the grace of God,
the doors to spiritual identity and essential capacity become
unlocked. The shaykh is a master key because Divinity has
fashioned her or him to have such a spiritual function.
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