Hello Everyone,
After putting down my thoughts in the previous post, a lot of stuff came to mind. Many times in The Drowned Book, one could see how Rumi’sfather Bahauddin felt the presence of the friend in his grief, in his earthly passions, and experiences that go beyond the power of words. To me that was a sign of Living in the present.
We have all heard the saying and if you havent check out the movie kung fu panda: “Yesterday is a history, The Tomorrow is a mystery, but Today is a gift, thats why its called the present.”
What really makes living in the presents in now so important to me is the fact that every second God is manifesting through all and every aspect. To truly live in the present is to be at the source of the unfolding world. It is to be at the point of oneness.
“Oneness is not a miracle, it is the diversity of the oneness that is the miracle. What a wonder is it to know that God never manifests himself the same way twice, so each moment is an act of total creation.”
From a combination of my own studies and experiences I feel that the zikr (dhikr) is athe bridge from where ever we find ourselves to the present. What isthe Zikr? It is a spiritual exercise. The most generic definition I can give [ bear ith me I just had dinner] is a word or words and said with every inhation and exhalation. The words or words are names of God or attributes of him.
I will make give you two quotes which do a much better job than I can do in explanation. They are attributed to Bawa Muhaiyaddeen seen in the book The Illuminated Prayer by Coleman barks and Michael Greene.
In breath the visible and invisible worlds meet……this Zikr, this remembrance of God is somehting we discover not create. it issomething that is flowing and out with breath like a secret tide. We discover that with every outer breathe an inner breathe is engaged in an ongoing gnostic process alternating between a self surrendering exhale and a God embracing inhale.
To live in the present to me is a chance to seeing the true source of all things in everything. This has nothing to do with any religion. Rather I see it as the heirloom of every sentient being to live in the present whether expanding infinitely through creation as it is constantly being created or taking refuge in the unmoved, unprojected source of creation. What is amazing is that as Neitzsche said, that I quoted in my post yesterday what isbeautiful in man is that he is a bridge not a goal. To me that means that every act, whether intense suffering or passion and everything in between is a conduit, to the continuously manifesting present. Here are the words of Bahauddin, Rumi’s father . Enjoy, his words are throught provoking and, luscious as a friend of mine would say
THE YOUNG WOMAN ON THE STEPS
I was trying to invent a new parable about a person in difficult job that has only material results, some work with no soul growth involved. I thought, and ironworker; a blacksmith pounding a forge surely has no spiritual purpose. Then I wondered what value to the soul this business is that I do. None I know of.
Someone said one that one who takes no pleasure in desire or in having secular power doesn’t really appreciate the gift of this world, where lust and dominion are staples.
Yes, I replied, but there is an infinite variety of pleasures that you are forgetting. When God closes one door, many others open. Angel take delight in ways we can’t know. Demons do what pleases them. Each animal has its own strange dance.
One day feeling lethargic and half alive, I come upon this scene: A young woman sitting outside on the steps of a building. She is surrounded by young men and totally in command of the moment, teasing each in turn in a way that piques his peculiar personality. Their mouths hang pen at the spectacle of her attraction, and her vitality visibly brightens with their attention.
It occurs to me then that the secret to feeling vibrant may lie in having an audience around you that you can tease and flirt with and lead along the way of slowly falling in love with you.
So I prayed, Dear God, you created me. Some of your essence lives inside me. Show yourself as a group of admirers. I will tease you; you will accept my advances. I will pause. You will eagerly wait what come next. I will invent new stories, and you will listen, rapt with my charisma.
