How Do We Know?
I would like to pose a question. The question is not meant as an exercise in sophistry, nor is it intended to be offensive. Nonetheless, I believe the question is an important one which is not directed at anyone in particular, but, rather, to everyone in general, including myself.
How does one know that someone who claims to be a shaykh or spiritual guide is what he or she claims to be? The question seems simple enough, but, in fact, it possesses a degree of difficulty and subtlety which runs with a variety of phenomenological currents of considerable complexity.
What are some of the factors which influence how one tries to answer this question? Of course, with each individual, the manner in which this problem is engaged may vary in different ways, but there also are likely to be some commonalities as well.
Let’s consider a few possibilities. For example, we might read a book on spirituality or mysticism by someone, and we may be very much impressed with the book and what it has to say -- we may even be deeply moved by the book. On the dust jacket of that work, one may read that the person who wrote the book has been a spiritual guide for x-number of years.
Neither the appealing nature of the book nor the blurb about the writer on the dust jacket proves anything. There are lots of people who are good writers, diligent researchers, as well as persuasive, entertaining, informative communicators, but none of this, in and of itself, makes them a spiritual guide.
The blurb on the cover of the book, or, perhaps, the book’s preface may indicate that the author has studied for so many years with such-and-such a teacher, or was the daughter or son or relative of a well-known figure of spiritual literature, or has traveled widely and met with many teachers of a spiritual path, or has been on a rigorous journey of self-discovery over the last several decades. Again, none of this necessarily means anything as far as the issue of the authenticity of spiritual guidance is concerned.
Someone who taught Persian to my first shaykh, once said: “There are so many Rumis who have never uttered a word.” The inverse of this might be: ‘there are so many people who have uttered words who have not attained, even remotely, the spiritual station of a Rumi.’
And, speaking of Rumi, there is a whole industry of book publishing revolving about his Mathnawi, Divan, and Discourses which is producing material that is purporting to translate different facets of the great saint’s works. Few people seem to be wondering whether any of these translations actually preserve the meaning of the original, or to what extent the spiritual understanding, or lack thereof, of the translator may be altering -- in important ways –– the teachings which are contained in those works.
Many people –– whether translators or readers –– don’t seem to understand that what was written from a state of spiritual ecstasy or from a particular spiritual station can only be properly understood by someone who is rooted in that same state or station. This doesn’t mean that someone who is not situated in an appropriate spiritual condition cannot enjoy or derive benefit from such writings, but, rather, it is intended as a reminder that in any hermeneutical process –– that is, any process of interpretation –– an accurate understanding can never be achieved except through the merging of horizons of the writer and the reader, and since the written word is only the entry point through which to begin the process of interpretive understanding, there are many factors which can affect the extent to which horizons merge in such situations.
Like the Qur’an, the physical words of someone such as Rumi, Ibn al-‘Arabi, and so on, merely serve as the means through which one begins to catch sight of the Ocean which lies beyond those words. Ibn al-‘Arabi once indicated in relation to his Meccan Openings that the thousands of pages to which the Openings gave expression were just a small part of what could have been said, and that what was said and could have been said were but a small part of what he knew, and that what he knew was but a small sub-set of what could be known. One might add that most of what is known by these great saints cannot be said ... only alluded to, and that even the very best examples of spiritual, mystical literature are little more than signposts which point in the direction of the possibility of a kind of knowledge and understanding which cannot be given conceptual expression ... for concepts and words are forms or structures with which the mind operates, but the mystical knowledge being alluded to is non-conceptual in nature ... which is why it remains a mystery to everyone except those who have had the requisite experiences through which insight and unveiling occur by means of non-conceptual faculties such as the heart, sirr, spirit, kafi, and aqfah.
So, let’s re-phrase the earlier question. If the various internal spiritual faculties of an individual have not been purified, calibrated and activated through the appropriate kinds of experiences and processes, then, how does one know that so-and-so is an authentic spiritual guide. The fact of the matter is that most of us don’t KNOW –– rather, we have beliefs, opinions, judgments, conclusions, understandings, perspectives, and feelings. If we truly KNEW, then, our spiritual condition would be such that we would not need a spiritual guide because we already would have arrived in a spiritual sense and, as a result, would have direct insight into such matters ... but, when we go in search of a spiritual guide, it is because we have admitted to ourselves that we don’t KNOW such things, but we aspire to, among other things, such knowledge and understanding.
Some of us may have certain kinds of dreams and/or experiences which we have interpreted to mean that we are on the right track in relation to having found an authentic teacher. However, one should exercise a certain amount of caution when it comes to such dreams and experiences, because there are a multiplicity of possible meanings in relation to these sort of experiences.
One spiritual guide used the symbol of fire as a way of illustrating the problems inherent in this issue. This teacher indicated that the symbol of fire can be encountered at a number of spiritual stations and that the meaning of the symbol can vary at each station.
For example, sometimes fire symbolizes anger, and at other times it may symbolize the ardor of the spiritual quest, and at still other times it may give expression to the quality of devilry. In some instances fire may symbolize the light of zikr, appearing in igneous form. On other occasions, fire may symbolize the fire of wrath, or, as in the case of Moses (peace be upon him) it may symbolize guidance such as the one he saw on the side of a mountain and went to investigate. Sometimes fire symbolizes gnosis, and sometimes it symbolizes that which burns away all other than the vision of Divinity. Sometimes fire symbolizes the station of sainthood or spiritual longing or mystical witnessing.
The spiritual guide who wrote the foregoing, then, went on to indicate that fire could symbolize many other possibilities as well and that only an experienced shaykh would know the meanings of this symbol under alternative circumstances. And, fire is but one of thousands of symbols which may be disclosed to an individual through dreams and/or waking, anomalous experiences.
Everything means something. However, finding out precisely what is meant on any given occasion is the trick.
Anyone can offer an opinion about the meaning of the events of life –– and such events are -- like a dream -- but a complex symbol in need of decoding. Some of these interpretations may even sound convincing, interesting, intriguing, or resonate with power, harmony, and truth –– but none of this makes such interpretations either correct or the pronouncements of an authentic shaykh.
Liking someone, or loving someone, or feeling peaceful in someone’s presence, or being inspired by a person, or finding meaning in associating with an individual, or feeling convinced that someone is legitimate –– again, none of this, in and of itself constitutes proof that this person, individual or someone is a shaykh. There are many forces operating within us which are seeking to influence our thinking, understanding, feelings, decisions, actions, and commitments.
Even if one wishes to remain on the purely mundane level, social psychology and general psychology have both brought forth evidence indicating that what we think, feel and do are substantially affected by forces of suggestibility, compliance, obedience, conformity, social influence, cognitive dissonance, alienation, and dissociation which are operating on, and through us, much of the time. We are constantly using feed-back from other people, together with our status vis-a-vis other people, to shape our ideas of reality, truth, validity, self-image, and possibility through the process of consensual validation in relation to our world-views.
There is a hermeneutical dynamic going on within us which is a mixture of the social construction of reality, individual construction of reality, and the raw data of experience. The numerous problems which arise as we try to sift through this mixture and separate the wheat from the chaff, is why different methodologies of philosophy, science, mathematics, logic, mythology, religion, mysticism, and literature have arisen.
Does the foregoing mean there is no such thing as truth. No, it doesn’t. What it means is that the problem of determining the nature of truth is a lot more complicated and subtle than many people suppose –– and, this includes the problem of identifying who is and who is not an authentic shaykh or spiritual guide.
I have seen people rolling around on the floor in an altered state of consciousness. Does the existence of such an altered state in these people mean that those people were undergoing a valid mystical experience? Not necessarily, but if someone –– for example, someone who claims to be a spiritual guide –– in the room ‘frames’ the experience as a mystical one then, many people accept this framing of the phenomenon at face value and never question whether such a way of framing things is appropriate or an accurate reflection of what is going on.
Once someone begins to perceive another individual as special or authoritative or a person of spiritual knowledge, and, therefore, begins to invest trust in that individual, then, the latter person can say and do almost anything and re-frame what is said and done in such a way as to appear to be perfectly reasonable and reconcilable with spiritual principles –– even when this may not be the case. When we place trust in another individual, part of this investiture is the granting of a large number of degrees of freedom through which such a person may explain -- perhaps legitimately and perhaps not -- seemingly anomalous and inconsistent sayings and actions.
These degrees of freedom are the room which charlatans use to misdirect attention away from the reality of what is transpiring. Spiritual charlatans use the technique of misdirection in exactly the same way that stage magicians use the art of misdirection –– which is at the heart of almost all stage magic –– that is, in order to distract attention away from something else which is being done ... all it takes is practice and nerve to pull it off in a seamless fashion.
Most people who associate with an alleged spiritual guide –– especially if the individual in question is well-known –– get to spend very little time in the presence of that person. We come away from such encounters with impressions, feelings, ideas, and so on, but none of these inner readings have been tested in a rigorous fashion, and very few people will have sufficient long-term exposure in relation to such an individual to be able to observe the alleged teacher under a variety of circumstances, stresses, problems, and so on, to know whether what is going on is truly legitimate or an expression of something which is quite other than what it is purported to be. And, even if we did have such an opportunity for extended observation, there are still a lot of forces (psychological, social, conceptual, emotional, satanic, etc.) acting upon us which can muddy the interpretive waters with respect to gaining a clear understanding of what may, or may not, be going on.
We can believe such things as: when a person is ready, then, a teacher will appear. But, there are others who have been there and done that and are saying: when a person is ready, a teacher will disappear. Everyone has something to teach us but that does not make everyone our shaykh.
We can say that we will trust in God, but, if you haven’t noticed, God can play rough in the Divine games of love –– just ask Job (peace be upon him), or Jesus (peace be upon him), or Muhammad (peace be upon him), or any of the other 124,000 prophets who have walked the earth and who have tasted much hardship both before and after they tasted the sweetness of Divine favor. The spiritual stations of: repentance, longing, sincerity, patience, dependence, gratitude, love, and so are not trifles which are traversed in a blinking of an eye. They each can last for years and entail numerous trials, tribulations, difficulties, and challenges.
If one wants to trust God, then, one had better be prepared to struggle mightily -- this is what the history of mysticism has shown to be the case time and time again. Talk is cheap, and the path to Self-realization is very arduous and dangerous, and a false teacher can never assist one to complete that journey ... only to complicate, obfuscate, undermine, and corrupt the process.
False teachers, as well as true teachers are both made possible by One Divinity. We get to choose where we believe the truth lies –– behind Door #1 or Door #2, or Door #n, or Door #n+1, and we are responsible for the choices we make, and we are responsible for the interpretations we place on the events which Divinity brings into our lives. God does help those who help themselves, but only if they help themselves in the right way ... and what that right way is, is a matter of some dispute.
If a person is truly sincere, then, encountering and being harmed by a false teacher may be merely something which Divinity wishes one to experience as one acquires the art of dhawk or tasting and understanding the meaning of such experiential tastes. But, coming to realize that one has been spending time with a false teacher may be a wake-up call that one is moving in the wrong direction, or that one has not given proper attention to the process of choosing a shaykh. Or, perhaps, meeting and being harmed by a counterfeit spiritual guide is Divinity’s means of imposing a hardship on someone which serves as a Divine excuse to confer blessings on such an individual, just as Divinity often uses sickness as an occasion to visit blessings on a person.
But, if a person is not sincere, then, meeting up with a false teacher can have other possible meanings. And, the problem is to try to figure out the significance of such an encounter from a Divine perspective –– which is never an easy thing to do ... not only because there are lots of ways to interpret or frame such events, but because when one finally awakes to the betrayal, lying, manipulation, deceit, and exploitation to which one has been exposed, one often finds oneself in a dazed emotional state, and, as a result, not in any condition to be able to make sense of extremely important issues or how to resolve problems revolving about trust, commitment, meaning, love, identity, community, purpose and friendship. In addition, one often is battling anxiety, fear, depression, anger, frustration, disappointment, and a pervasive sense of having been betrayed, with no readily identifiable escape route from the deep sense of dissociation, depersonalization, de-realization, and anomie which often accompanies such a dazed emotional state.
People often look at those who have been spiritually abused, and either privately or publicly wonder how such a state of affairs could have taken place. How could someone have allowed themselves to be seduced, or conned, or tricked, or induced, or talked into, or persuaded to become involved in such a set of circumstances?
People who ask these sorts of questions within themselves or of other people are often people who really have never stopped to consider whether the teacher with whom they are currently associating and with whom they are enamored is, in fact, legitimate or not. They may never have seriously asked themselves whether there is any way to verify the authenticity of such a teacher independently of the supposed guide or those who are influenced by such an individual. The people who raise such questions may never have put their beliefs, opinions, judgments, or feelings to any sort of rigorous test or had them put to any such test. Such people may not even realize they are at spiritual risk because, on the surface, at least, everything seems to be fine, and, they may remain unaware that what they believe they are involved in is not what they think, and that what they think they know, in fact, they do not –– but, instead, they, have confused and conflated unqualified conviction with actual spiritual knowledge and understanding ... and the latter is not all that easy to come by.
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