RIYAZAT ESOTERICISM

Esotericism is the ideal and the most essential subject among all other subjects connected with the mystery of life, for this is the process which leads to self-realization, which is the only aim of the Sufi. It is self-realization which is the ideal, not the process. Through whatever process one may arrive at self-realization, to the Sufi it matters little, as long as one can attain to this ideal. The first step generally taken on this path is Namaz, the esoteric prayer, which consists of three objects:

The building up in one's mind of the God-Ideal by thought, that the love from the heart may gush forth, making it alive, which ordinarily is as dead. The prayer may be offered by the praise of God's grace and power. The contemplation of Divine Grace widens the outlook of the devotee and enables him to view in life the mercy of God in all aspects; and this produces in him a thankful, contented, resigned, and peaceful nature, which is most essential on this path. The contemplation of Divine Power discloses before his view the mighty Hand of God working through all things and beings. His justice and rule appear clearly before his eyes, keeping him right and orderly in life.

Prayer in thought only is seldom complete, for a thought in absence of action is considered as no more than an imagination. A thought and action, without speech, are dumb. Therefore, in Namaz, while the mind is in contemplation on the thought, the tongue and each organ of the body is busy in prayer at the same time, bowing and prostrating itself before the grace and power of the Creator. All this, done at one and the same time, keeps man, in all planes of existence, engaged in prayer, that if one plane has escaped from it, the other planes may drag it back.

This makes God see, through the soul of the devotee, the devotion of his heart, and the heart reads the thought of the mind and is moved by it; and the mind listens to the repetitions chanted by the tongue of the devotee; and every atom of the body, conscious of the prayer going through the whole being, realizes itself also harmoniously joined with the other parts of one's being. The effect is that the whole being of the person becomes exalted by witnessing his absolute being in prayer.

Man exists in two aspects, one real and the other false. The real is the soul, which is the Being of God the Eternal. The other consists of the mind and body, which are composed of borrowed properties from two planes, the mental and physical, which are bound to be withdrawn in time by the elements to which they belong. And the soul, forgetting this, blinds itself in the false aspect of our being, and loses from sight the thought of the real and everlasting aspect. Therefore, Namaz, as the first lesson, lays the false aspect of one's being helpless as it is and surrendered before that aspect of the Self which is All in All, gracious and most powerful. Therefore, Namaz, to the devotee, is a moral culture, to the philosopher it is a spiritual progress, but to the mystic it is the first and most essential process to attain to self-realization.

Namaz -- prayer -- is an inherent attribute in every human soul. Whatever and whoever appears to man beautiful, superior, precious, wins him -- and he surrenders himself, conscious of his imperfection and dependence upon the object or being that has conquered him. It is, therefore, for this reason that there have been so many objects, such as the sun, the moon, planets, animals, birds, spirits, and men, that different individuals have worshipped, adoring whichever appealed to them according to their evolution. But the inspired souls have, from the first day of creation, realized that all the objects and beings which bent the head of the admirer are in appearance many, but in existence, one.

Therefore, that One is idealized as the Supreme Being, as the Sovereign of both worlds, as God. When all worshipped many, they worshipped the One, and have taught, under whatever religion it may have been, the same Truth, bowing to that One, Who alone deserves all kinds of bows. As there have been so many kinds of people in the world, so many customs and manners, one bowed differently from the other. In one country, people bent down, in the other country they folded the hands, in one country people knelt down, in the other they prostrated themselves. The Namaz, therefore, was a form adopted to reconcile all and combine all customs in one form of worship, that they may not fight over the forms of worship when they all worship the One and Same God.

For the rise of every object or affair, its highest point should touch the utmost depth. The soul, which has descended on earth from its existence in the heavens and which has presumed for the time that it is this material body, rises again to its pristine glory on laying the highest part of the presumed self upon the ground. The mechanism of the body is kept in order by the regular action of the breath through every part of the body and by the regular circulation of the blood in all parts of the body, which can be properly done by the highest part of the body, the head, being placed on the ground.

The world is constituted, in its living beings, of egos -- one ego assuming several forms and becoming several egos. Among this variety of egos, every one claims perfection, for it is the nature of the real ego within. Upon examination, this ego proves to be imperfect, for it is the imperfect division of the perfect ego. It is not perfect, yet it claims perfection in its ignorance, and longs for perfection when wise.

This perfection the imperfect ego can only attain by practicing, in the way of worship and of life in the world, in which he may show such humility, meekness and gentleness that this false presumption which has formed the imperfect ego may be crushed; and then what remains will be the perfect ego. Namaz is the first lesson for this attainment.

Wazifa means the repetition of a word, and this has been the secret of the Oriental mystics, practiced by them for thousands of years. In Wazifa such words are used which have a a certain meaning for a physical, mental, moral, or spiritual purpose. In the Vedanta it is called Mantra Yoga, and the importance of this Yoga is great, for its effect is quick. There are words used in a Wazifa, the effect of which is in their numerical value; there are words also which either have been practiced or have been spoken by great inspired souls, which have their value.

Sometimes Wazifa is practiced for the accomplishment of a certain definite aim. In such cases it should be understood as good and pure, otherwise perhaps the aim will be accomplished, but the result will be bad. Among the different purposes for which Wazifa us used are such as: increase of means, success in a certain affair, clearing the path of a certain difficulty, increasing charm in personality, appearance and atmosphere, developing power, such as psychic, occult, healing and magnetic power.

The Wazifa is also practiced for turning an enemy into a friend, attracting a friend from a distance, helping another in his prosperity and success, bringing victory during war, releasing sufferers from pain. Besides the above-mentioned purposes, there may be many other aims and objects for which Wazifa is practiced. In these cases, the Wazifa is called `Amal (singular) and `Amaliyyat (plural). When Wazifa is practiced for unkind and selfish purposes, especially such selfish ends in which harm and injury are done to another, it comes under the heading of black magic, which ruins the life of the one who practices it and of the one on whom it is practiced.

The proper use of Wazifa is to practice it for the release of oneself or another from trouble, or for an inspiration to oneself or to another, or for the development of devotion or spirituality. For such purposes, repetition of the Sacred Names of God and His attributes is advisable. On the contrary, to accomplish harmful and selfish purposes, the wicked names of the evil spirits are repeated by those who work black magic.

Every spoken word is a re-echo of thought, and every thought is the re-echo of an emotion. And, as the activity from within manifests on the surface, so the word spoken takes its reverse process: it is reproduced on the mind, and from the mind it is reproduced on the heart, the factor of feeling. That which comes from within comes involuntarily, and what enters within from without enters voluntarily. Therefore, Wazifa is taught by Sufis as a voluntary production of a certain thing on the mind and in the heart, mind being powerful to produce that which is impressed upon it from within and without, and the heart being a still more powerful factor to produce that with which it is impressed from within and without.

As many times as a word is repeated, even in a whisper, so many records it has produced in one's mind and in the heart. But the number of repetitions is a question of consideration, that it must be in accordance with the law of numbers. The repetition of the same number every day, or a regular increase or decrease in number, set in time, shows rhythm, and in rhythm there is balance. But when there is no consideration of numbers, the rhythm is lost, and so the balance is lost also.

The day and hour of commencement of Wazifa also has its influence upon its effect. A Wazifa commenced during the rise of the moon has a progressive trend, because it is in harmony with nature's tide. But if it is commenced during the wane of the moon, there is always an upset or confusion, as confusion is natural during the darkness of night. Sitting in the same place every day when repeating the Wazifa helps it, because it creates a growing atmosphere every day. Repeating Wazifa at the same time every day is also desirable, because the invisible forces get accustomed to meet and help at the same time. Without a set time, it becomes difficult to gather them.

Cleanliness of body, and purity of mind, and fragrance around, and beautiful thoughts in the mind are the things which give a quicker result. Flesh food is sometimes undesirable for Wazifa, and disturbances of mind make it fruitless. Weakness of character and an impious life, instead of bringing a good result, ruins the life of the one who repeats Wazifa.

The pride of repeating Wazifa should be avoided. It should be secret, and its effect should be kept secret also. Wazifa should be taught by some blessed soul, or a permission should be taken from a holy person before repeating Wazifa. By doing so, a Wazifa produces a thousandfold effect, because there is some powerful thought working with you at the time, which undoubtedly speeds the success.

Zikr is the process of repeating the sacred word with concentration, that it may impress on the entire self of the one who repeats it the meaning of the word. The Vedantists have called this process Mantra Yoga or Japa. The Sufis have in all times given great importance to this, for it is not only the mind, but the word with a motion in every part of the body which makes a perfect concentration. For a sincere worker, it does not take more than six weeks to see its effect upon oneself. It is wonderful in giving power and realization.

There are hints in many places in the Qur'an. "Repeat the Name of thy Lord" or "Cry in the Name of thy Lord," and "There are our worshippers, who move like the branches of the tree in the air, when they repeat Our Name." Shamsi Tabriz says in this respect, "Allah, Allah, say, and Allah thou wilt become; again I assure thee, that surely Allah thou wilt become." The most wonderful people in the spiritual cult that are known to the world have always given this the greatest importance, for Zikr is a sure method of spiritual progress.

The value of repetition has been known and realized by the ancient mystics of various cults in the East. Therefore, today, the Brahmins repeat their mantra, which they call Japa; the Parsis their Gathas; Jews repeat the names and verses from the Kabala. Sufis have always understood the importance of repetition of the sacred words (kalma, kalam), which they have named Zikr.

Many consider it very monotonous to see the same thing, to repeat the same word, to think the same thought, but they are utterly unaware of its benefit. Every time that a kalma is repeated, it has added power or illumination for whatever it may have been meant. The importance of repetition may be seen in the success of a singer and in the skill of an artist. As many times the former sings, so much the song is mastered; and as much time the artist gives to his work, so much better result he produces in this art.

There are people who have repeated kalmas for forty or fifty years in their life, and every year the word has brought a new power, a new realization, and every year it has increased. First, progress is realized year by year, and if it is continued patiently, the progress is realized month by month; and the continuance of the same shows the earnest zakir a progress day by day and hour by hour. There are souls who have realized the progress through Zikr every moment of their life. It is like the nature of capital and commerce; when there is less capital, it takes a long time for the commerce to flourish; as the capital increases, the commerce develops, and in the end, every moment brings enormous interest and benefit, when the capital is sufficient.

Zikr has one great advantage over all other practices. That is, in the body and mind both, the re-echo of Zikr is produced, and both planes of the zakir's being are set to rhythm. Music constitutes rhythm and tone; and if they are both produced by the means of Zikr in one's body and mind, the very being of the zakir becomes musical. It is therefore that the music makes a great effect on the zakir in the assembly of Sama (the musical assembly of the Sufis.) It is therefore that the music of Sufis is fitted in emphasized rhythm and composed in ragas (modes) that produce the desired effect on the physical and mental being of the zakir.

The Sufi is not only responsive to music but to all nature's music -- in other words, all that is beautiful -- for he is living. He who is not responsive to love and admires all the beauty that is around one is as dead. And the reason why he is not, is that he is unmusical; not in the sense of music that is played by musicians, but in the sense of the sublimity of nature, which is itself music. The Sufi, therefore, names music Ghiz -i-Ruh, meaning "the Food of the Soul."

The simile of the zakir, the living man, in comparison with the unmusical, the dead man, is as a rock and a tree. The rock is stiff and steady and without progress, while the tree is bending, moving, and delightful to look at. It is said in the Qur'an, "When Our true worshippers repeat Our Name, they move just like the branches of the tree." For in motion is life; the motionless is lifeless.

By Zikr, the expression of the countenance becomes harmonious, the voice becomes melodious, the presence becomes healing, and man spreads his magnetism in the atmosphere. There is nothing that by Zikr cannot be accomplished, either an earthly or a heavenly thing. Some by Zikr have liberated their souls from all bondages and attained ideal perfection, which Sufis call Najt.

The physical mechanism of the body is so arranged that its health depends upon the regularity of its work, and regularity depends upon the soul, which possesses the body as its vehicle. The clock is so arranged that it goes on for the time it is meant to, but then it requires someone to wind it; if it is not wound, it goes our of order. The mechanism of the body requires winding, too. Generally, irregularity of sleep, or food, or activity or repose sets the whole mechanism of the body in disorder. All illnesses come owing to lack of rhythm. Zikr is a rhythmic suggestion to the heart, which at once sets it to rhythm when the zakir is repeating Zikr, and the circulation of the blood that runs throughout the body from this center runs in rhythm, the pulsation becomes rhythmic, and the development of every muscle becomes rhythmic. In other words, the physical body becomes rhythmic in every way, which is the first necessary step towards spirituality.

The mystics of the East have experienced and realized for thousands of years the importance of the power of sound and the mystery of repetition. When Murshid gives to his mureed a word to repeat so many hundred times or so many thousand times, the mureed does it, without thinking that once repeated and understood was enough. There are adepts who repeat one single sound or a sacred word for years, and sometimes for all their life, without being tired of doing the same thing again and again. The result proves to them its value; every month and every year, by repeating the same word, the power becomes increased.

Zikr has two aspects of its being, one its spirit and the other its body. The spirit is the breath, which is naturally prolonged through every repetition of Zikr. The body of Zikr is its words. The word produces the fire element, and the breath is life. When fire is produced, the heart naturally becomes warmer, and coldness, which is the common disease of every heart, begins to vanish.