Within YOU is enfolded the entire Universe — Imam Ali (عليه السلام)

[313_Waiter]

Quote

“Your sickness is from you, but you do not perceive it, and your remedy is within you, but you do not sense it. You presume you are a small entity, but within you is enfolded the entire Universe. You are indeed the evident book, by whose alphabet the hidden becomes manifest. Therefore you have no need to look beyond yourself. What you seek is within you, if only you reflect.”

- Quote attributed to Imam Ali (عليه السلام) 

دوَاؤُکَ فِیکَ وَ مَا تَشْعُرُ
وَ دَاؤُکَ مِنْکَ وَ مَا تَنْظُرُ
وَ تَحْسَبُ [تزعم] أَنَّکَ‏ جِرْمٌ‏ صَغِیرٌ
وَ فِیکَ انْطَوَى الْعَالَمُ الْأَکْبَرُ
وَ أَنْتَ الْکِتَابُ الْمُبِینُ الَّذِی
بِأَحْرُفِهِ یَظْهَرُ الْمُضْمَر

Meibudi, Hussein bin Mu'ein al-Deen, Diwan Amir al-Mumeneen ((عليه السلام)), researched and edited by Zamani, Mustafa, p. 175, Qom, Dar Nida al-Islam for Publication, first edition, 1411 A.H.

http://www.islamquest.net/en/archive/question/en22122#

[Zainuu]

Jazakallah Khayr!!!

[Eddie Mecca]

Beautiful brother! Jazak-Allah Khayr

[Shahrukh K]

Within YOU is enfolded the entire Universe — Imam Ali (عليه السلام)

True,

within me is enfolded the entire universe.

Who am I ?

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by Shahrukh K

[313_Waiter]

2 minutes ago, Shahrukh K said:

Within YOU is enfolded the entire Universe — Imam Ali (عليه السلام)

True,

within me is enfolded the entire universe.

Who am I ?

You tell me.

[hasanhh]

35 minutes ago, 313_Waiter said:

You tell me.

Easy. As revealed:

The God of Noah, Allah -(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). is closer to us than our jugular vein. Ayat 50:16; and He -(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). created all things, Ayat 6:101-102.

Ergo, He-(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). who is within us created also permeates all things in the Universe.

[313_Waiter]

12 minutes ago, hasanhh said:

who is within us

What do you mean He (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is inside you

Edited December 31, 2020 by 313_Waiter

[hasanhh]

2 minutes ago, 313_Waiter said:

What do you mean He (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is inside you

lf Allah -(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). is closer to us than our jugular then He -(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). is in an al-Haqq (Real) sense under our skin (both figuratively and in actuality).

[313_Waiter]

2 minutes ago, hasanhh said:

lf Allah -(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). is closer to us than our jugular then He -(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى). is in an al-Haqq (Real) sense under our skin (both figuratively and in actuality).

So you agree with Wahdat al Wujood? 
He (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is not actually/physically close to us:

Quote

He is a Being, but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation. He is only One, such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence.

كائِنٌ لاَ عَنْ حَدَث، مَوْجُودٌ لاَ عَنْ عَدَم، مَعَ كُلِّ شَيْء لاَ بِمُقَارَنَة، وَغَيْرُ كُلِّ شيء لا بِمُزَايَلَة، فَاعِلٌ لا بِمَعْنَى الْحَرَكَاتِ وَالاْلةِ، بَصِيرٌ إذْ لاَ مَنْظُورَ إلَيْهِ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ، مُتَوَحِّدٌ إذْ لاَ سَكَنَ يَسْتَأْنِسُ بهِ وَلاَ يَسْتوْحِشُ لِفَقْدِهِ

Sermon 1 Nahjul Balagha

Quote

Praise be to Allah Who lies inside all hidden things, and towards Whom all open things guide. He cannot be seen by the eye of an onlooker, but the eye which does not see Him cannot deny Him while the mind that proves His existence cannot perceive Him. He is so high in sublimity that nothing can be more sublime than He, while in nearness, He is so near that no one can be nearer than He. 

But his sublimity does not put Him at a distance from anything of His creation, nor does His nearness bring them on equal level to Him. He has not informed (human) wit about the limits of His qualities. 

Nevertheless, He has not prevented it from securing essential knowledge of Him. So he is such that all signs of existence stand witness for Him till the denying mind also believes in Him. Allah is sublime beyond what is described by those who liken Him to things or those who deny Him.

الْحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذِي بَطَنَ خَفِيَّاتِ الاْمُورِ، وَدَلَّتْ عَلَيْهِ أَعْلاَمُ الظُّهُورِ، وَامْتَنَعَ عَلَى عَيْنِ الْبَصِيرِ; فَلاَ عَيْنُ مَنْ لَمْ يَرَهُ تُنْكِرُهُ، وَلاَ قَلْبُ مَنْ أَثْبَتَهُ يُبْصِرُهُ، سَبَقَ فِي الْعُلُوِّ فَلاَ شَيءَ أَعْلَى مِنْهُ، وَقَرُبَ فِي الدُّنُوِّ فَلاَ شَيْءَ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُ، فَلاَ اسْتِعْلاَؤُهُ بِاعَدَهُ عَنْ شَيْء مِنْ خَلْقِهِ، وَلاَ قُرْبُهُ سَاوَاهُمْ في المَكَانِ بِهِ، لَمْ يُطْلِعِ الْعُقُولَ عَلَى تَحْدِيدِ صِفَتِهِ، ولَمْ يَحْجُبْهَا عَنْ وَاجِبِ مَعْرِفِتِهِ، فَهُوَ الَّذِي تَشْهَدُ لَهُ أَعْلاَمُ الْوُجُودِ، عَلَى إِقْرَارِ قَلْبِ ذِي الْجُحُودِ، تَعَالَى اللهُ عَمَّا يَقولُ الْمُشَبِّهُونَ بِهِ وَالْجَاحِدُونَ لَهُ عُلوّاً كَبِيراً!

Alternative Sources for Sermon 49 (Nahjul Balagha)

(1) Al-Wasiti, ‘Uyun, see al-Majlisi, Bihar, vol.67, 304.

 

[313_Waiter]

Some of my notes on Gnosis of God and The Soul by Dr Farrokh Sekaleshfar

https://sekaleshfar.com/lecture-series/gnosis-of-the-soul/page/2/

Lesson 1: Deity means pure existence 

“That which is perceived is existence. We exist and other than us whatever is exists. We are nothing but existence. Have nothing but existence. Perceive nothing but existence. And see nothing but existence. The opposite of existence is non-existence which is nothingness. Does not exist. It is not any thing and so cannot be perceived in the first place in the external realm of reality. Even discussing or conceiving it, i.e. mentally, can only be done under the umbrella of existence. Existence is the source of and the origin to infinite vast array of emanations, actualizations and manifestations. Whatever emanates, actualizes, or manifests in reality must have done so through existence, not non-existence. This principal is the most self-evident of principals. In short, other than existence, there is nothing. All is and all manifestations arise through existence. Existence runs the order of the universe. It is rather the universe per se.”

Ayatullah Hasanzadeh, in his book Marefate Nafs Lesson 1

 

Lesson 2 - The search for pure existence

 

There is an inner pull towards perfection. I socialise, eat, drink, work, earn, all in search of perfection. A while later, I might want better food, better friends, better work, a better car, a bigger house after all I am after perfection. Some people may stop with a good car, good friends, etc. 

 

Lesson 3 - Pure existence is Absolute Perfection

Eventually one reaches  that which is perfect in all dimensions and limitation free — Pure Existence. No-thing is existence free, all depends on Pure existence.

Pure existence

limitless on all counts

 

Existents bare varying degrees of perfection. All existents depend on Pure Existence. A fortiori, pure existence must bear all those perfections. 

 

Lesson 4 - WHAT IS IT THAT ASSIGNS SUPERIORITY IN EXISTENCE?

 

If a given creature is superior to another what is the reason?

 

Any given existing thing is a manifestation of Pure existence, and so bares a certain degree of perfection. That which manifests the attributes Pure existence more, has more superiority.

 

Knowledge is manifested in existent things to a certain degree. Since these things all emanate from, and depend on Pure existence, Pure existence then needs to contain all perfection and degrees of the attribute knowledge. Pure existence is absolute knowledge. This can be applied to all different attributes.

 

A stone manifests pure existence to a degree. Unlike a stone, a plant has nutrition, growth, metabolism, digestion, excretion, reproduction. So a plant is manifesting more of pure existence. An animal has more things, it has voluntary movement, a degree of free will, sense perception. So an animal is manifesting more of pure existence. A human has higher order rationality, more knowledge (including metaphysical knowledge) than an animal. It manifests more of pure existence than an animal. Now, I give a human with knowledge more importance than a human without knowledge. The more knowledge you have, the more you manifest Absolute a Perfection. 

 

Interestingly enough, since a stone emanates from Pure existence and is in synchronicity with Pure existence, it has the potential to speak. We see this in some religious texts. A stone has all the attributes of Pure existence, though it manifests these attributes to a limited degree.

 

Lesson 5 - Who / what am I?

 

I eat. I drink. I sleep.

 

Is this “I” outside or inside me?

 

It’s not outside because I’m attributing it to myself.

If it’s inside which part of the body is it in? Is it in my kidney? If you transplant a kidney you are still you. 

 

What if someone’s brain is transmitted in you? When Bob’s brain is transmitted to John, John will call himself Bob. But John is still John, he’s just been given new data. One rejects organs transplanted into the body. This shows the “I” is the same “I”.

 

So it is neither outside nor inside the body.

 

Is the body a dimension of the “I”

 

 

Lesson 6 WHO/WHAT AM ‘I’ : PART 2

 

 

We attribute many things to the I. “I” dream, “I” have a hand.

 

This “I” must have a material and an immaterial dimension, because we attribute both material and immaterial things to it.

 

Was the “I” always there? It seems not. Is there an “I” in the zygote. Is it material (dependent on matter) or immaterial (independent of matter)? The soul would not cease to exist if it was immaterial. 

 

Scientists have taken the 4 cell embryo, and segregated the 4 cells, placing each cell in a womb, each cell of which developed into an offspring. Immateriality is indivisible. So there is no “I” with the zygote in the beginning. As the embryo evolves more and more things develop. Rational processes of thought arise. The embryo reaches a stage where it seems to be moving voluntarily. It escapes threats. So there seems to be an “I” setting in through the evolution of the material foetus. Once that immaterial reality sets in, it becomes an eternal being (in an immaterial realm after death of the physical body). The “I” is always in motion.

 

Lesson 7 -  EVERY ‘THING’ IS IN MOTION, TOWARDS A DESTINATION

 

 

“I” am always in motion, even when dreaming. Everything around me is also in motion: the plants, the atoms, the stones. 

 

Everything is always converting from potentiality to actuality, which we define as motion. The zygote evolves into a fetus. We’re evolving right now. 

 

Within this movement is a destination. An apple seed always becomes an apple tree. It sticks to its course. It’s as if the destination is pre-programmed. The apple seed is pre-determined to be an apple tree. Does this arise from within the apple seed or outside the apple seed. If it’s outside why don’t we see it, so it seems to be within (there has to be water, the sun etc. but nonetheless it is something within that is moving it to actuality).

 

Lesson 8- All ‘things’ are Striving Pre-programmedly Towards its Perfection

 

 

All things seem to have a designated movement towards a destination. It doesn’t err or deviate from that course. An apple tree always becomes an apple tree. Once it becomes an apple tree, it decays. 

 

Potentiality => Actuality

deficiency entails this movement

 

What are humans travelling towards?

 

We are moving towards perfection!

 

We may be wrong in thinking what is absolute perfection, we may think ferrari is absolute perfection someone else in God. Similarly an apple may become a rotten apple or a juicy apple. However, innate in every human is to move towards perfection, where we find that perfection differs. It may be perfection in vice or perfection in virtue.

 

 

 

Lesson 9 – All ‘things’ are Inter-connected and Dependent upon one Another

Nothingness is not possible

Nothing is more perfect than pure existence

All things are moving towards a designated destination

The entity is deficient and so this movement happens

 

 

Are all the moving things interdependent on one another

The sun, waves, planets, ecology chains...

Some things are definitely interconnected, other links are difficult to ascertain

the future depends on the past actions

Businessmen, garbage men, doctors, lawyers are all interconnected

From pre-eternity to post-eternity every action is connected to something else. 

When two people meet in the mall, they’re surprised to see one another, they think it is an accident due to their ignorance. There are no accidents, if all of the causes that lead to that moment were analyses, there would be no surprise.

Everything is linked

 

 

Lesson 10 - It’s all good.

 

Even if an apple becomes a rotten apple and dies, that was its perfection. It grew in a pre programmed manner and reached its destination. A higher entity or apple wanted to grow, and in its growth it lead to the suffering of the apple seed. Recall everything is connected.

 

So there is one single governing set of laws, emanating from one source.

 

Badness only appears when you compare. Everything in and of itself is good. It’s all cause and effect. Everything emanates from pure existence so everything is good, everything is manifesting pure existence. Don’t compare a bad apple to a good apple. I’m going to reach my destination.

 

Legislatively, yes, how much perfection did you reach? Ethically, yes.

 

Providentially, and in the realm of nature, all is good. All was meant to be, all moved towards perfection. Perfection may even be reached in stealing or in vice.

 

Lesson 10 - Summary

 

All is existence. Nothingness is impossible. All stems from and is existence.

 

Everyone is pre programmed in search of perfection.

 

There is nothing more perfect than pure existence. Limitless on all counts.

 

Comparison of existents lead to the conclusion that knowledge was the most precious of existent’s, due to the capability to manifest more pure existence. 

 

All things are in motion towards a destination. Towards its potential. Even a stone. This is designated and not accidental. Every design has a designer. This movement happens due to deficiency. That movement is definitive and based on cause and effect. This movement was pre destined. 

 

Perfection may be in vice, virtue, ... human being is pre destined to choose.

 

 

All things are interconnected.

 

There is always creation manifesting pure existence.

 

It’s all good in and of itself, cosmically. It’s all pure existence. 

 Comparing leads to good bad

 

The bee that stung you it was good in and of itself. Because it stung you, adding an element of comparison, and from egotistical perspective it is bad. If only you’re interests matter then it is bad. Cosmically, where everything is interconnected, it is good, nothing is bad cosmically.

 

In the realm of jurisprudence and ethics, we want “true absolute perfection”.  If one’s intellect is hindered, one may see absolute perfection in a car. If one wants to begin unity with that pure existence, anything that harms you from reaching this goal is bad in the realm of law, ethics. We mentally construct bad and good to help us reach a goal. Whatever happens in the physical realm is based on cause and effect, since pre-eternity, and so in and of itself it is all good, it is all Pure Existence.

 

Pure existence is only one— we want knowledge from it.

 

Lesson 12 – How do ‘I’ Move Existentially? Who is Granting ‘me’ Knowledge 

What is your religion? 

Our religion is movement towards absolute perfection.

 

Does your religion have a deity or God?

This “deity” is Pure Existence.

 

Does your religion have resurrection?

Yes. We need to understand what is meant by resurrection, however.

 

As discussed previously, knowledge is what gives me superiority over plants and animals. How would we define knowledge?

 

When I am becoming more and more perfect through knowledge, what is really happening?

“I” go to school, “I” read books, etc. 

 

Why are you doing all this?

I am doing it so that I can learn something. 

 

Why? 

I want to know to earn and be rich, play sports, study, to know where I’ve come from, where I’m going. It’s all about knowing.

 

Don’t you already know?

Why would I have strived for it if I already knew. After all, I am deficient and I am moving towards perfection.

 

Who grants you this knowledge?

A teacher.

 

Does the teacher know?

Well, of course.

 

How are you existentially growing through this knowledge?

The teacher talks and I grow, I learn.

 

Do the sound waves of the teacher help grant you knowledge?

Apparently yes. 

 

However, when I am solving a puzzle, I don’t hear any words. So what is it that grants me knowledge then? There were no sound waves. So perhaps it was myself. But if it was myself, I wouldn’t have gone towards that, I wouldn’t have striven for that. So what is it that made that transition from potentiality to actuality? How have I become more knowledgeable? After thinking, “I” have exited the realms of ignorance, “I” became knowledgeable.

 

 

Lesson 13 - Dissecting the “I”

 

What is this “I”?

 

The clothes and shoes? No! If you take off your clothes the “I” stays.

Facial hair? No! I trim my hair and yet I persist to be. 

Are you the colour of your skin? No! “I” can get a tan, plastic surgery etc.

Are you your hands? No! I can have an accident and lose my hands.

 

Is the “I” the kidney, the liver, the heart? No, after a transplant, the “I” remains, my identity and essence remains.

Is it the brain? Although a set of data and memories will be transferred, the essence of the person remains the same.

 

See floating man thought experiment.

 

In comas and near death experiences, there is no / minimal brain function but you are still conscious of the “I”.

 

“I” exist, but the “I” is other than the physical body. This “I” is that which grows with knowledge. Although the “I” is different from the body, it is not mutually exclusive from it. It is not outside or inside the physical body, but it may be in unity with the physical body. It may be in unity with the physical body.

 

END OF LESSON

About the Pure Existence/ Necessary Being:

“The reason why the Necessary Being is unlimited is because it is indistinguishable.   A distinguishing quality is what limits a thing.  To have no distinguishing quality is therefore to be unlimited.  

A conception (a concept) of something is a thing's limit.  The Necessary Being itself is free of this or that concept.  It cannot be conceptualised. Take a possible being, for example.  Like my watch, or aliens in another plants.  These are all "conceivable", whether or not they exist is besides the point.  The point is that possible beings are possible inasmuch as they are conceivable. “  - Source: @eThErEaL

[Shahrukh K]

Thank you @313_Waiter

@eThErEaL

[hasanhh]

44 minutes ago, 313_Waiter said:

So you agree with Wahdat al Wujood? 

Of course not.

Mysticism is not only a conduit to evil, but is evil in itself.

l had to look that up. lt's Sufi.

[theEndIsNear]

7 minutes ago, hasanhh said:

Of course not.

Mysticism is not only a conduit to evil, but is evil in itself.

l had to look that up. lt's Sufi.

Mysticism is not evil don’t go to extremes

[313_Waiter]

1 hour ago, hasanhh said:

l had to look that up. lt's Sufi.

Which part do you disagree with my original post? Do you disagree with the Quote attributed to Hazrat Ali ((عليه السلام))? I did not mention wahdatul wujood in my original post.

Edited December 31, 2020 by 313_Waiter

[313_Waiter]

What does fana mean in Irfan?
http://www.islamquest.net/en/archive/fa1775

What is meant by this saying of Imam Ali, "Do you suppose that you are only a small body, while the macrocosm is placed within you?" 
http://www.islamquest.net/en/archive/en22122
 

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by 313_Waiter

[313_Waiter]

• Sacred Geometry, Ancient Knowledge:

@heliwave you may be interested in some of the recurring numbers pointed out in this video^^. 1080, 2160, 432000, 864000, 1440, 7920 (the number of zeros vary for each number)...

• What is meant by line, dot etc. in mysticism and what does the narration “I am the dot under the “ba” signify”? 

Quote

In mysticism, numbers, letters, shapes etc. are language codes signifying certain occult realities of the world. The ”dot” signifies the real unity of God whose image is placed in man”s heart (mind) and it is for the same reason that the ”perfect man” (insan kamil) has been introduced as the center of the world because he is the vicegerent of God. This saying of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (عليه السلام), ”I am the dot under the ”ba”” signifies the same point.

http://www.islamquest.net/en/archive/fa8368

 

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by 313_Waiter

[313_Waiter]

1 hour ago, Shahrukh K said:

Thank you @313_Waiter

@eThErEaL

No worries brother, hope you benefit .
 

Just to clarify here for everyone, I am not saying that this quote was necessarily said by Hazrat Ali (عليه السلام). Also, I am not claiming to have the correct interpretation of such a profound and beautiful quote. I am just hypothesising possible interpretations of what the blessed Imam (عليه السلام) could have meant, if he did indeed say the quote.

Wsalam

[Shahrukh K]

3 hours ago, Shahrukh K said:

Who am I ?

 

3 hours ago, 313_Waiter said:

You tell me.

Very difficult to answer this question.
We can only experience the answer
if we read the Qur'an the way it should be read. 
In the Qur'an, it is clearly written that you can only know who you are when you are very sure what you're not.

[313_Waiter]

7 minutes ago, Shahrukh K said:

In the Qur'an, it is clearly written that you can only know who you are when you are very sure what you're not.

Please provide verse brother. We need to be careful to do this inshaAllah.

[hasanhh]

4 hours ago, 313_Waiter said:

Do you disagree with the Quote attributed to Hazrat Ali ((عليه السلام))?

No.

4 hours ago, 313_Waiter said:

I did not mention wahdatul wujood in my original post.

But you did subsequently.

3 hours ago, 313_Waiter said:

...could have meant...

 

lsn't such "hypothesizing" bidah when inaccurately/falsely attributing hadith ?

Edited December 31, 2020 by hasanhh

[313_Waiter]

5 hours ago, hasanhh said:

But you did subsequently.

So you could forecast that I will be mentioning it and so disagreed?

5 hours ago, hasanhh said:

lsn't such "hypothesizing" bidah when inaccurately/falsely attributing hadith ?

No. Only if you falsely attribute instead of hypothesize.

Also on my other post on “How to know you are atheist” you disagreed with me on my disagreement with wahdat al wujood and now on this post you are disagreeing with wahdat al wujood so which one is it?

Edited January 1, 2021 by 313_Waiter

[313_Waiter]

Sacred Geometry and relation with the Hadith al Kisa and the Creation of the Whole World (see minute 31:27):

The claim being made that the Metatron's Cube (which is made up of the platonic solids- the basic elements that make up the world) is representative of the infallibles as well as Angel Gabriel. The 5 platonic solids that make up the Metatron's Cube include  The cube, The tetrahedron, The octahedron, The dodecahedron, and The icosahedron, which are said to represent earth, fire, air, ether and water respectively.

The connection of all of this with the Ka'ba is also made, which is said to represent the Cube (one of the platonic solids) in the Metatron Cube:

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by 313_Waiter

[theEndIsNear]

14 hours ago, 313_Waiter said:

Sacred Geometry and relation with the Hadith al Kisa and the Creation of the Whole World (see minute 31:27):

The claim being made that the Metatron's Cube (which is made up of the platonic solids- the basic elements that make up the world) is representative of the infallibles as well as Angel Gabriel. The 5 platonic solids that make up the Metatron's Cube include  The cube, The tetrahedron, The octahedron, The dodecahedron, and The icosahedron, which are said to represent earth, fire, air, ether and water respectively.

The connection of all of this with the Ka'ba is also made, which is said to represent the Cube (one of the platonic solids) in the Metatron Cube:

 

This is conjecture this isn’t mysticism, what I consider mysticism is irfan marifatullah marifatunafs , not these useless Jewish Kabbalah nonsense 

[313_Waiter]

According to William C. Chittick in The Study Qur'an:

Quote

 

Meditating on God’s Quranic Names leads to the understanding that everything in the universe comes from God, returns to God, and is sustained and supported by God at every moment. The universe is in reality a vast panorama of God’s “signs” (āyāt), a word that the Quran uses to designate the phenomena of the natural realm, the perception and awareness of the soul, the activities and miracles of the prophets, and its own verses. It calls upon people to reflect and meditate on the signs, each of which displays marks and traces of God’s Most Beautiful Names. The broad manner in which the Quran speaks of signs/verses leads to a discussion of three books—the cosmos, the human soul, and the Quran itself, the last of which is the key to the interpretation of the first two. As Ibn ʿArabī tells us, all of the cosmos is “letters, words, sūrahs, and signs/verses, so it is the Great Quran.” His student Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274) often elaborates on this imagery. In one passage he explains why the human soul, taught all the names by God, is God’s revealed book:

Have you not heard the Words of God? Read your Book! On this Day, your own soul suffices as a reckoner against you [17:14]. Whosoever reads this Book has come to know what has been, what is, and what will be. If you cannot read all of your Book, then read of it what you can. Have you not seen how He says, And within your souls. Do you not then behold? [51:21] And have you not seen how He says, We shall show them Our signs upon the horizons and within themselves till it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. Does it not suffice that thy Lord is Witness over all things? [41:53]…. So this, my son, is the Book and the knowledge of the Book. And you are the Book, as we said. Your knowledge of your own soul is your knowledge of the Book. And there is not anything moist, which is the visible world, or dry, which is the spiritual world and everything beyond, but that it is inscribed in a clear Book [6:59], and that is you.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by 313_Waiter

[313_Waiter]

Shiite (12er) Philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his book The Essential Seyyed Hossein Nasr, has a chapter called The Cosmos as Theophany. The full chapter can be found here.

Whilst also discussing Sufism and Irfan, he also discusses the relevance of sacred geometry within that chapter:

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Likewise, these traditional cosmologies as perceived within the sapiential perspective have been concerned with providing a map of the cosmos as well as depicting it as an icon to be contemplated and as symbol of metaphysical truth. The cosmos is not only the theater wherein are reflected the Divine Names and Qualities. It is also a crypt through which man must journey to reach the Reality beyond cosmic manifestation. In fact man cannot contemplate the cosmos as theophany until he has journeyed through and beyond it. That is why the traditional cosmologies are also concerned with providing man with a map which would orient him within the cosmos and finally enable him to escape beyond the cosmos through that mirac ulous act of deliverance with which so many myths have been con cerned. From this point of view the cosmos appears as a labyrinth through which man must journey in a perilous adventure where literally all that he is and all that he has is at stake, a journey for which all traditions require both the map of traditional knowledge and the spiritual guide who has himself journeyed before through this laby rinth. It is only by actually experiencing the perilous journey through the cosmic labyrinth that man is able to gain a vision of that cathedral of celestial beauty which is the Divine Presence in its metacosmic splendor. Having journeyed through and beyond the cosmos, man, who is then “twice born” and a “dead man walking” in the sense of being spiritually resurrected here and now, is able finally to contemplate the cosmos and its forms as theophany. He is able to see the forms of nature in divinis and to experience the Ultimate Reality not as transcendent and beyond but as here and now. It is here that the cosmos unveils its inner beauty ceasing to be only externalized fact or phenomenon but becoming immediate symbol, the reflection of the noumenon, the reflection which is not separated but essentially none other than the reality reflected. The cosmos becomes, to use the language of Sufism, so many mirrors in which the various aspects of the Divine Names and Qualities and ultimately the One are reflected. The Arabic word tajallħ means nothing but this reflection of the Divine in the mirror of the cosmos which, metaphysically speaking, is the mirror of nothingness. Objects appear not only as abstract symbols but as concrete presence. For the sage a particular tree is not only a symbol of the grade of being that he has come to know through his intelligence and the science of symbolism, which his intelligence has enabled him to grasp, it is also a tree of paradise conveying a presence and grace of a paradisal nature. This immediate experience, however, is not only not separate from the science of symbols, sacred geometry, and the significance of certain sacred forms, but it also provides that immediate intuition which only increases the grasp of such sciences and makes possible their application to concrete situations. Zen gardens are based on the science of sacred geometry and the metaphysical significance of cer tain forms, but they cannot be created by just anyone who might have a manual on the symbolism of space or rock formations. The great gardens are expressions of realized knowledge leading to the aware ness of natural forms as “presence of the Void,” which in turn has made possible the application of this knowledge to specific situations resulting in some of the greatest creations of sacred art. The same rapport can be found mutatis mutandis elsewhere in traditions which do not emphasize as much as Zen knowledge of natural forms as immediate experience but where complete teachings in the cosmolog ical sciences are available. Everywhere the knowledge of cosmic sym bols goes hand in hand with that direct experience of a spiritual presence which results from spiritual realization, although there are always individual cases where a person may be given the gift of experiencing some aspect of the cosmos or a particular natural form as theophany without a knowledge of the science of symbolism; or, as is more common in the modern world, a person may have the apti tude to understand the meaning of symbols, which is itself a precious gift from Heaven, but lack spiritual realization and therefore lack the possibility of ever experiencing the cosmos as theophany. In the sapiential perspective, in any case, the two types of appreciation of cosmic realities usually go hand in hand, and certainly, in the case of the masters of gnosis, complement each other. Of special significance among cosmological symbols which are related to the contemplation of the cosmos as theophany and the experience of the presence of the sacred in the natural order are those connected with space. Space and time along with form, matter or substance, and number determine the condition of human existence and in fact of all existence in this world. Tradition therefore deals with all of them and transforms all of them in order to create that sacred world in which traditional man breathes. The symbolism of number is revealed through its qualitative aspect as viewed in the Pythagorean tradition, and certain theosophers in the West have even spoken of an “arithmosophy” to be contrasted with arithmetic. Form and matter are sacralized through their symbolic rapport and their relation to the archetypal realities reflected by forms on the one hand and the descent or congelation of existence, which on the physical plane appears as matter or substance, on the other.2 The nature of time is understood in its relation to eternity and the rhythms and cycles which reflect higher orders of reality. Finally space, which is central as the “container” of all that comprises terrestrial existence, is viewed not as the abstract, purely quantitative extension of classical physics but as a qualitative reality which is studied through sacred geometry. Qualitative space is modified by the presence of the sacred itself. Its directions are not the same; its properties are not uniform. While in its empty vastness it symbolizes the Divine All-Possibility and also the Divine Immutability, it is the progenitor of all the geometric forms which are so many projections of the geometric point and so many reflections of the One, each regular geometric form symbolizing a Divine Quality. If Plato specified that only geometers could enter into the temple of Divine Knowledge it was because, as Proclus was to assert in his commentary upon the Elements of Euclid, geometry is an ancillary to metaphysics.

2 We are not using matter here in its Aristotelian but in its everyday sense as the “stuff” or “substance” of which things are made.

 

The orientation of cultic acts, the con struction of traditional architecture, and many of the traditional sciences cannot be understood without grasping the significance of the traditional conception of qualified space. What is the experience of space for the Muslim who turns to a particular point on earth, wherever he might be, and then is blessed one day to enter into the KaŹbah itself beyond the polarization created upon the whole earth by this primordial temple built to celebrate the presence of the One? Why are the remarkable Neolithic structures of Great Britain round and why do the Indians believe that the circle brings strength? Most remarkable of all is the immediate experience of a wholly other kind of space within a sacred precinct. How did the architects of the medieval cathedrals create a sacred space which is the source of profound experience even for those Christians who no longer follow their religion fully? In all these and numerous other instances what is involved is the application of a traditional science of space which makes possible the actualization of a sacred presence and also the contemplation of an element of the cosmic reality as theophany. It is through this science of qualified space that traditional science and art meet and that cosmological science and experience of the sacred become wed in those places of worship, rites, sites of pilgrimage, and many other elements which are related to the very heart of tradition. This science is closely associated with what has been called “sacred geography” or even “geosophy,” that symbolic science of location and space concerned with the qualitative aspects of points on earth and the association of different terrestrial sites with traditional func tions, ranging from the location of sanctuaries, burial sites, and places of worship to places for the erection of gardens, planting of trees, and the like in that special form of sacred art associated with the Japanese garden and the traditional art of the Persian garden with all its variations, ranging from Spanish gardens to the Mogul ones of India. The science of sacred geography ranges from, on the one hand, popu lar and often folkloric practices of geomancy in China to the most profound sensitivity to the grace of the Divine Presence which mani fests itself in certain natural forms and locations on the other. This science is thus closely allied to that particular kind of sapience which is wed to the metaphysics of nature and that spiritual type among human beings who is sensitive to the barakah or grace that flows in the arteries of the universe. Such a person is drawn by this barakah into the empyrean of spiritual ecstasy like an eagle that flies without moving its wings upon an air current which carries it upward toward the illimitable expanses of the heavenly vault. For such a person nature is the supreme work of sacred art; in traditions based upon such a perspective, like Islam or the American Indian tradition, virgin nature as created by God is the sanctuary par excellence. The mosque of the Muslim is the earth itself as long as it has not been defiled by man, and the building called the mosque only extends the ambience of this primordial mosque which is virgin nature into the artificial urban environment created by man. Likewise, for the American Indian, that wilderness of enchanting beauty which was the American continent before the advent of the white man was the cathedral in which he worshiped and wherein he observed the great est works of art of the Supreme Artisan, of Wakan-Tanka. This perspective, moreover, is not limited to only certain traditions but is to be found in one way or another within all integral traditions. This sensitivity to the barakah of nature and the contemplation of the cosmos as theophany cannot but be present wherever pontifical man lives and breathes, for nature is a reflection of that paradisal state that man still carries within the depth of his own being. Such a vision has, needless to say, become blurred and is denied in the world of Promethean man whose eminently successful science of nature has blinded human beings to possibilities of other sciences and other means of beholding and understanding nature. Moreover, this negation and denial has occurred despite the fact that the cosmos has not completely followed man in his rapid fall. It might be said that, although both nature and man have fallen from that state of perfec tion characterized as the paradisal state, what still remains of virgin nature is closer to that prototype than the type of Promethean man who increases his domination upon the earth every day. That is why what does remain of virgin nature is so precious not only ecologically but also spiritually. It is the only reminder left on earth of the normal condition of existence and a permanent testament to the absurdity of all those modern pretensions which reveal their true nature only when seen in the light of the truth. Excluding revealed truth, nothing in the orbit of human experience unveils the real nature of the modern world and the premises upon which it is based more than the cosmos, ranging from the starry heavens to the plants at the bottom of the seas. That is why Promethean man has such an aggressive hatred for virgin nature; why also the love of nature is the first sign among many contemporaries of their loss of infatuation with that model of man who began his plunder of the earth some five centuries ago

 

 

 

On 1/2/2021 at 5:52 AM, theEndIsNear said:

what I consider mysticism is irfan marifatullah marifatunafs , not these useless Jewish Kabbalah nonsense 

 

[313_Waiter]

Study Maps The Odd Structural Similarities Between The Human Brain And The Universe

https://www.sciencealert.com/wildly-fun-new-paper-compares-the-human-brain-to-the-structure-of-the-universe

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by 313_Waiter

[layman]

“Your sickness is from you, but you do not perceive it, and your remedy is within you, but you do not sense it. You presume you are a small entity, but within you is enfolded the entire Universe. You are indeed the evident book, by whose alphabet the hidden becomes manifest. Therefore you have no need to look beyond yourself. What you seek is within you, if only you reflect.”

- Quote attributed to Imam Ali (عليه السلام) 

 

My understanding is through ownself, we can have access to everything if we know how to unlock it.

[Guest Guest111]

Some thoughts that were forwarded to me about the poem mentioned above:

Your sickness is from you but you do not perceive it: A sickness is anything that takes you away from the state that is truly natural to you, the fitra in which Allah(سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) has created us. The Creator therefore will never change His creation as it is already perfect, so all or any sickness is and always will be from what we have bought forth.

 

And your remedy is within you but you do not sense it: The lack of sensing the remedy must be due to the veils we have created within, the darkness. The further away from our true nature the less we will sense it heading into the abyss, if only we come to our senses and change direction, we can start to sense our reality and endeavour towards continuous striving and purification.

 

You presume you are a small entity but within you is enfolded the entire universe: within each human being is a complex universe the likes of which is not found outside the human being. The trillions of cells, nerves, veins, blood and more, and the way that each aspect communicates with others within us, all serving as a vehicle that is complete enough to connect to and house the human soul.

 

You are indeed the evident book by whose alphabet the hidden becomes manifest: We have been given the title of vicegerent, we are a complete book but we cannot write the whole story immediately, the story must manifest gradually through virtuous deeds, some pages we will throw away through repentance and others we will keep, eager to have as chapters by doing what is pleasing to the Lord.

 

Therefore, you have no need to look beyond yourself, what you seek is within you if only you reflect: An entire universe is within, already in perfect working order, therefore if we look within, we will always find an answer. The creation is but a mere outer stimulus which necessitates thought, the thought should turn deep and the depth should bring to surface the pearls of wisdom that are already within the vast sea of our soul.

[layman]

The interesting issue is how to unlock the knowledge and solutions that are within the self?

We know for the facts that some portions of knowledge (e.g. scientific knowledge), we can unlocked through scientific studies, experiments and observations and not through the self directly.

That was a reason we are asked to seek knowledge from the moment we are born until the moment we die.  We also can seek knowledge even to China.

All muslims know that Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is the the City of knowledge. Not all acknowledged that Ali (as,) is the gate.

Somehow, we have the knowledge within ourselves.  How to unlock the knowledge lies with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), and the gate (Ali).

I believe that Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and Imam Ali (عليه السلام) can assist or show us on how to unlock and access to the knowledge within ourselves.  Hold no to Qur'an and Ahlulbayt.

Otherwise we have to go through normal channel...scientific studies (experience, trial and errors).  And the process will take times.

 

[313_Waiter]

Salaam @MexicanVato

You might enjoy this topic brother.

[Abu Nur]

How can people still remain atheist? Sickness on the heart.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Abu Nur

[313_Waiter]

47 minutes ago, Abu Nur said:

How can people still remain atheist? Sickness on the heart.

I’ve talked to four different atheists (I don’t know, I just like having interfaith dialogue and I am not old at all) and these were their reasons from what I noticed:
- First one: follows Sam Harris and other such figures, basically socialised into thinking religion is medieval, outdated and barbaric, especially Islam. Unfortunately his parents are of Iranian background and believe in God (not religious) but he himself  grew up in the west and thus was influenced by western ideals. This is the typical socialised atheist that we find on the internet.

- Second one: contemplating on the essence of God made him an atheist. Just couldn’t fathom an all knowing all hearing entity that is listening to him or watching over him. If I remember correctly we have a hadith that says contemplating on essence of God is not recommended because He is beyond our imagination.

- Third one: this was my ex-muslim Iranian professors of physics, I made a whole topic on the purpose of creation when I first came to shiachat because I had a discussion with him. His parents forced him to pray when he was a child. He told me he could not fathom why a Perfect entity would want to create. I told Him because God is The Compassionate he wants to manifest that compassion onto creation through creation. He said you are superimposing your ideals that may not be true. I think another explanation may be that of Sufism, where creation is the self-disclosure of God, and for God to be truly perfect and infinite (containing all possibilities) He needs to know Himself through creation (Hadith qudsi “I was a treasure, I wanted to be known, so I created”). As an aside,  my professor was actually very smart and friendly so not all atheists are edgy or rude as we often see on the internet.

- Fourth one: this is a smart physics student. Basically he was raised an atheist. He is a hardcore naturalist and someone who accepts darwinian evolution. I showed him Nahjul Balagha and he said something along the lines of “if God existed, He would probably be similar to what is described here”.  His mother turned atheist because of a pastor who committed rape on her family or something along those lines. So I think her issue was the “problem” of evil. 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by 313_Waiter

[Abu Nur]

I really stand firmly to what I say. People have problems but at least become agnostic and honest. Atheism is nothing but hate and negative of God.

[Abu Nur]

Atheism will lead to this arrogance:

And they rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof, out of injustice and haughtiness. So see how was the end of the corrupters. 27:14

 

[313_Waiter]

On 4/11/2021 at 6:00 AM, Abu Nur said:

People have problems but at least become agnostic and honest

I think people do become atheist, but  what they’re denying is not God aka Existence / Pure Being. They are denying either their conception of a faith, or a conception of a God.

Allahu A’lam