Bayazidian Sufism: Annihilation Without Ritual (3) by Dr. Alireza Nurbakhsh

September 12, 2011
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The second major way to overcome the ego for Bayazid is to attract other people’s blame and to disgrace oneself in the eyes of society. This may sound pretty silly to us now. Why would anyone want to disgrace himself? In our contemporary western culture, the emphasis is on the promotion and glorification of the ego, not its demise. But first, let’s examine an example of what Bayazid means by attracting the blame of others:

In the city of Bastam where Bayazid made his home, there lived a very respected and venerable ascetic. He enjoyed Bayazid’s circle, though he never became one of his disciples. One day he said to Bayazid, “0 master! For the last thirty years I have been fasting from the world and keeping vigils at night, but I have to be honest with you: I do not find in myself that knowledge you have been talking about, though I acknowledge your wisdom and I would like to understand it.” Bayazid replied, “O Sheikh, even if you continue your ritual prayer and fasting for the next three hundred years, you would still not be able to understand the smallest portion of this wisdom.” “Why?” asked the ascetic. “Because you are a prisoner of your own ego,” responded Bayazid. “Is there any remedy for my condition?” asked the ascetic. “There is, but you won’t be able to do it,” replied Bayazid. “I promise I will accept whatever you suggest, for I have been seeking this knowledge for years,” insisted the ascetic. “Then,” continued Bayazid, “You must first take off your ascetic clothes and wear rags instead; let down your hair and go sit with a bag full of walnuts in a neighborhood where people know you best. Then call all the children around you and tell them, I will give a walnut to whoever smacks me on the face, two walnuts for two smacks and so on’. After you finish with that neighborhood, go to other neighborhoods until you have covered the whole town. This is your remedy.” Completely bewildered and shocked the ascetic cried, “Glory be to God! There is no god but God,” which was a way of expressing amazement in those days. “If an unbeliever had uttered these words,” Bayazid declared, “he would have become a Moslem, but by uttering such words you have become an unbeliever!” “But why?” asked the ascetic. “Because in saying those words, you worship yourself not God,” replied Bayazid. “Please give me some other counsel, Bayazid,” pleaded the ascetic. “This is your only remedy, and as I said, you would not be able to do it,” responded Bayazid.

Adapted from ‘Attar 1976, pp. 112-113

In Bayazidian Sufism, one has to get rid of the pseudo-personality that one has created for oneself. We all want to be accepted and respected by others. Most of the time we are led by society and our own cultural norms to create a false sense of ourselves. In our modern culture, not many people care to create a superior moral personality for themselves on the basis of religion. But in Bayazid’s time the acceptable personality that everyone aspired to was a religious one. Our own culture, however, does not promote religion or being pious. Success is defined and measured differently now — in terms of wealth, fame and position in society. To follow Bayazid in his search for the Truth, we have to demolish this pseudo-personality, and his way of demolishing it is by means of public disgrace. Everyone should judge you a madman, phony, or hypocrite. This is the price one has to pay for the Bayazidian Truth.

Bayazid is not saying that a person should drop out of society — for him that is the easy way out. On the contrary, he is asking people to continue doing whatever they are doing and do it to the best of their ability. ‘Seeing the world’ is nothing other than enjoying the world, appreciating the beauty of the world. God doesn’t want Bayazid to be an ascetic. “See the whole world, but don’t see yourself,” was what God told Bayazid. And here we see a profound ethical principle: Do what you may, but do it selflessly.

Another example of Bayazid’s shattering of the acceptable image created for him by his society is provided in the following story:

Upon hearing that Bayazid was returning from his pilgrimage to Mecca, the people of Bastam went to the city’s gate to welcome him with honors and reverence. For a little while, Bayazid went along with what the crowd expected of him, but he soon realized he had to put a stop to it. It was the month of Ramadan and everyone was fasting, so of course, they expected Bayazid to be fasting as well. Instead, he took a piece of bread from his bag and began eating it. No sooner did he do this than all the people around him left in disgust.

Adapted from Hujwiri 1976

Bayazid is warning us here about the dangers of identifying with what we do or what we project about ourselves. The only way we can make sure we are not attached to the sense of self that we have created for ourselves is to attract other people’s blame, to make ourselves disgraceful. According to Bayazid, if it is the Truth we are after, then we should let others shatter this false image we have created for ourselves.

I have been talking so far as if it is up to the individual to act disgracefully. Yet there is another crucial factor in this process of ego-annihilation in what I have coined ‘Bayazidian Sufism’, and that is the role of a master or guide. The manner in which an individual is blamed or disgraced in a given society cannot be chosen by the individual himself because when it comes to dislodging our own ego’s hold, we have no idea what the best way is to accomplish this. We may be tricked by the ego itself into choosing an easy way out, or the disgrace may turn out to be so harsh that we can no longer function as a productive member of the community. It is the master, and the master alone, who has the wisdom and foresight to prescribe the right dose of blame for us, just as Bayazid did for the ascetic.

This also holds true of Bayazidian selfless service. Without the love of another, in this case one’s master, it is impossible to embark on the path of selfless service. It is no accident that in great love stories, the lover always engages in a number of selfless acts solely for the sake of the beloved, sometimes risking his or her own life without any hesitation or fear. Our love for another person makes us blind to our own selfish desires and egotistical tendencies. The spiritual path is no different. It is the love of our master or guide that allows us to embark on the path of selfless service. If this love is taken away, we will be faced with our own ego’s false piety and pride in the service we may do for others, the way Bayazid was when he put the water in front of the dog.

The importance of having a master in Bayazidian Sufism is emphasized in the following story with which I would like to end this article:

Rumi has said that the true disciple always puts the master above everyone else. Someone once asked one of Bayazid’s disciples: “Who is greater, your master or Abu Hanifa?” “My master,” replied the disciple. “Who is greater, Abu Bakr or your master?” “My master,” again replied the disciple. “Who is greater, the other companions of the prophet, or your master?” “My master,” replied the disciple once more. “Who is greater, the prophet Muhammad or your master?” “My master,” replied the disciple yet again. “Well then, who is greater, God or your master?” “I have seen God in my master and know of nothing other than my master,” replied the disciple for the last time.

Aflaki 1983, vol. I, p. 297

References

Hujwiri, ‘Ali b. ‘Uthman al-Jullabi. 1976. The Kashf al-mahjub: The Oldest Persian Treatise on Suflsm. Edited by R. A. Nicholson. London: Luzac and Company Ltd.

‘Attar, Farid al-Din. 1976. Muslim Saints and Mystics. Translated by A. J. Arberry. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Aflaki, Shams al-Din Ahmad. 1983. Manaqibal-’arifin. Two volumes. Edited by Tahsin Yaziji. Tehran: Donyay-c Ketab.

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Article taken from Sufi Journal, Issue 46

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