The pursuit of happiness

I read a spiritual story with it's roots in the sufi tradition recently. It really made me think.

In this story a man finds a garden with Hazrat Khidr, a mystical figure in the Qu'ran. Hazrat Khidr shows him two groups of people, one that's unhappy, the other is happy. The unhappy group say the typical thing - we followed falsehoods in our lives and that's why we are unhappy... but the eye-opening part was what the happy people said.

The happy group in this story said that they were happy because they pursued happiness in their lives, and that's what they received... They were good to others because it made them happy, they were kind because it made them happy, they didn't cheat, didn't deceive... and so they were happy... however...

They said that they didn't have "the truth"... they had happiness, but that was all. If one pursues happiness, that is what one finds, but it is ALL that one finds. Rather, one who searches for the truth can be anything they want to be.

In this way, happiness is also a part of the illusion, just as sadness, anger, pain are all a part of the illusion of this world.

The story is accurate in a lot of ways, and I never really thought about the trap that happiness can be. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience... that's what I believe life is, the physical experience of a spiritual entity. Over the course of this physical experience we change, we experience emotions, feelings, thoughts, interactions and other phenomena, of which happiness is just one.

Many of us make happiness our goal in life, and there is nothing wrong with that... but it does limit your potential. Rather if we make acquisition of the truth of the universe, of the self, of God our true goal in life, our potential becomes limitless. Emotions will mean nothing as we will be happy and sad at the same time, and not at all.

The main character in the above story, upon hearing of the plight of the happy and unhappy groups, decided that he wanted to seek out the truth... and when Hazrat Khidr heard this he left the protagonist, because he had found the truth... or at least had begun the journey.

I pray that someday I will be able to look past the veils of illusion that hide the truth. Happiness, sadness, despair, peace. All of these are important to human life, but hide the truth.

The one question I would have would be this. Is the best path to the truth to travel through the emotional montage that hides it, or is the best way to skirt around?
Is it best to insulate oneself from all emotions and live life seeking, or is it best to experience love, happiness, sadness, despair to the fullest that they can be experienced, and through this experience find the truth within?

Both will work, but which one is the best?

Where is the love?

If you look at many legends and myths that speak of the End of Mankind - many of them state that near the end we lose many things that are what make us human.

It is a bit scary when you contrast these things to our world today...

What are things that make us human? These 'things' are traits, values, actions and characteristics which require a sense of "humanity" to exist. Love, generosity, forgiveness, mercy, faith, charity, justice, patience, honour, etc... These are amongst the things that we need to be human, as they are what give us our humanity.

It saddens me when I look at the world (and to be honest at myself and those around me) where I see these traits losing their relevance. There was a time not too long ago when honour and modesty were amongst the most important traits one could exhibit. They were coveted and given a place of importance in society as those who were seen as being honourable were also those who were the wise, venerable members of society. Nowadays, the wise, venerable members of society are oftentimes relegated to nursing homes or long-term care facilities even when they really don't need to be.

Love is another interesting feature of humanity. When I think of love, I think of the love that existed hundreds if not thousands of years ago. I think of Romeo and Juliet, of Laila and Majnun, of Heer and Ranjha, of Radha and Krishna. I sadly don't see a similar comparison today. It feels as though the more technologically capable we become as a society, the less important emotions such as love become. I worry that the reason why I don't see the classic love story in today's society is not because these stories were fictitious to begin with, but because that calibre of love is simply not possible today... that is a scary and sad thought. If the greatest emotion we can exhibit is love (and I truly believe that statement to be correct), and gradually the love we have for each other is changing into a less cohesive emotion, then the logic indicates that human emotions in general are likely being sublimated by the human intellect. I see a society with more gadgets but less happiness. I see a civilization that has infinite potential and vast amounts of information but less knowledge and wisdom. I see a world filled with lust and greed but losing it's love... or maybe substituting that love for something that is more... convenient.

But, even after looking at the importance of love, the one characteristic that I feel we cannot lose at any cost is patience.

Surprising isn't it? I would have expected myself to say faith, especially considering how essential faith is to my life. The relevance of patience is seen in the story of Pandora's box - an ancient Greek myth where a "perfect woman" is created and given a final gift - a box - she is told to never open it, but her curiosity overcomes her and she opens the box only to let out all the ills that inflict mankind - disease, famine, greed, etc... However Pandora manages to shut the box before the final demon can escape - the demon of despondency, of hopelessness.

Patience is essential to our humanity, for patience is hope. When we are patient, we live expecting better things in the future. We are able to overcome the trials and tribulations of today believing in tomorrow bringing us something better. Now, I am not saying that all of our troubles will be solved by simply being patient, but I do believe that patience plays a key role in our ability to hope - and this hope leads us onwards. There are so many difficulties that face us in our lives, death, heartbreak, disability, pain, etc... yet all of these things can be remedied by one thing alone - time. How to get this time? ... By being patient, by having hope.

I want to hope, I want to believe in our humanity. I want mankind to overcome the trials and tribulations facing us as a species and as individuals. I pray that this hope, magnified many times over by all of you will help us find our tomorrow.

Why Tradition?

What place do Traditions have in our world, and why do we cling to these remnants of the past? Traditions serve as a link to our past, and this does go a long way towards explaining our attachment to them. A typical human being easily gets attached to almost anything - be it a blanket, a toy, a gadget, an individual, or even a ritual. We tend to hold on tightly to things we care for and mourn their departure. This is one of the biggest reasons why many people lament when a species goes extinct. Millions of species have died out forever over the course of the existence of life on Earth, however if we see a species die out that we have become familiar with, we really feel that loss on a personal level. This same principle can apply to death. In some way, when someone we know and love dies, we mourn for ourselves, for what we have lost, for the irrevocable change in our state that results.

Traditions are rituals, actions, beliefs that have persisted, and the slow loss of these from our world is something that should be mourned. However, many times, we do not perceive that these pieces of our past are in danger of being lost...

Why should we care? Traditions give us a sense of identity... yes, but so do many other things. I can identify myself as a user of an iPhone or an Android for example... but these "identifiers" serve only to further materialistic purposes. Oftentimes in our world today identity is tied to the material, to the possessions we have (or can potentially have). I dislike this greatly. For me identity is integrally tied to Tradition. Our Traditions give spiritual insight into ourselves. They provide an esoteric window through which we can view our present world. This is the true beauty of Tradition - not the preservation of the past (although this is a great role of Tradition), I would venture that the greatest relevance of Tradition in any time or place is the balance Tradition provides between the worldly and the spiritual.

The voice of Tradition is the past in the present, guiding the future.

Spiritual Meritocracy

Religion has played an important role in the human experience, arguably since humans have had experiences. This is interesting, because religion ties into the human experience... With the key word being experience.

Human beings can and according to many interpretations of differing faiths, do seek out religious knowledge, but this is very distinct from religious experience. Religious experience is an interesting term, I would argue that this term encompasses the true beauty of religion. Religious knowledge is something that can be learnt, that can be passed on to others, and it is an important part of faith for many. However, it only makes up a small piece of a true religious experience. Religious experience cannot be transmitted to others, it cannot be taught, or learnt, it does not depend on the amount of training that a person has, or the environment in which one lives. So since, it can be argued that religious experience is the primary goal of religion, and that every person has their own religious experience, it leads us to another interesting point. If the earlier presumptions are correct, it means that religion and religious practices at their ultimate base form a meritocracy.

Now meritocracy may be a misnomer of sorts, as the "cracy" in it implies a system of government, but the key point remains the same. A meritocracy is a society wherein an individual who is meritorious, or worthy, is the one who benefits - that is those who deserve accolades are the same people who receive the accolades. The principle is the same in religious matters. A religious experience does not depend on how much money a person has, how much education they have, how powerful their families are, or even how much religious information a person knows. A poor individual has the same likelihood of having a positive religious experience as a rich one. The most learned individual may never have this experience, while one who is ignorant may surpass the learned.

Now, I do not know what creates a positive religious experience, I only know that it is subjective. One person may have an enlightened moment while engaging in formal religious practice, another may find these experiences while informally meditating, and yet another may encounter this during a busy working day. This subjectiveness is necessary for this, as there is no way to measure a religious experience externally. We create our own positive religious experiences... they exist within us and because of us. Whether we create them through prayer, meditation, sheer belief, incisive questioning, generosity, or a host of actions, the key point is that we create these experiences for ourselves.

So, what is the reason for all of this? ... I believe the proper answer to this question is "Why." Our search for a "why" is the reason behind the importance of the religious experience. Why are we here? To have an experience that surpasses the capabilities of the human intellect, to grow beyond ourselves. The path to this experience differs from person to person, the road differs, but something deep inside tells me that the destination may be more similar than any of us would believe.

Love

Love - it's one of the most abused words in the English language, but maybe not in the same way you'd think... I often hear people saying that the word love is tossed around today and that people often say it when they don't really mean it. Okay, maybe that is true, maybe many times when I hear someone say "I love you" to someone else, it doesn't hold the same weight that it may have meant in another time or another era, but think of it this way... what if we're not saying it enough?

To love is to be human, it's a pure emotion, but what truly is it? You can love people in different ways, depending on who it is and what they have done for you. :) However, where does love come from, and is there an underlying similarity between differing expressions of love? I would argue that there is, and if I may indulge in a moment of condensed storytelling...

The poet Hafiz was an ordinary young man once, who worked in a bakery. One day he was delivering bread to the wealthy district and saw the woman whom he would love for the rest of his life. Hafiz was unable to get her out of his head, and thought of her constantly and even tried composing poetry in her name, although her station in life was far above his, and she was slated to marry a prince. Hafiz heard a legend that a wise master had once decreed that whoever stayed awake near his graveside for 40 nights would be granted 3 gifts, immortality, poetry and his heart's desire. Hafiz chose to attempt this feat. Somehow, he was able to complete it, and on the 39th night near dawn, Hafiz was approached by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel gave Hafiz a cup to drink from, and declared that Hafiz had now been granted immortality and the gift of poetry. Hafiz was then asked what his heart's desire was. Upon seeing the face of Gabriel, all thoughts of Hafiz's beloved were gone, Hafiz realized that everything he loved in the world, was but a reflection of God's beauty. So what did Hafiz say???

He told the Angel Gabriel, "I want God."

I feel this is how we are. Every one of us, loves everyone else... because in each of us we see a minor "reflection" if you will, of God. So, why is it wrong to tell everyone that you love them? I feel that this is a way to increase enlightenment. Loving another is the greatest of acts, for in loving we are recognizing God. We remember God. We love God. By loving others; truly loving them - and ourselves - we bring ourselves up to a higher spiritual level.

So, I say to you,

I love you

The Gift to Choose

Choice is a gift...

The human mind is a powerful tool that has been granted to us, that lets us make choices. In our everyday lives we can make good and bad choices, and we can assign a value of good or bad to each of our choices as these qualifiers are very subjective. However, at the end, it's all our choice. Other created beings such as animals and plants don't have the same degree of choice that we do - now it may be argued that some animals can definitely distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong, I would agree to an extent, but I do not believe that animals can make a choice between following a path in life to the same extent you or I can. This means that we can choose to do good, and this choice is what places us at a higher spiritual level than other entities.

Choice is important indeed, however the holiest of people, throughout history have invariably chosen "good" over "evil". So, to be a holy or spiritually high human being, do you really have a choice? If you want to be good, then you do not really have a choice in whether you do good things or bad things. So doesn't this lack of choice reduce your spiritual status?

There are many possible answers, I would propose that the truly spiritually high and uplifted individuals of our world still do have a choice. They choose to give up their right to choose. They choose to leave their decisions in the hands of the higher power that they serve. They choose to serve. They choose to overlook temptation and always do what is "good".

As a human being, whenever I do anything that benefits another, whenever I perform a "good" deed I almost invariably feel a small rush of pleasure and happiness that I have done the right thing. This happiness acts as a small reward for doing what is right, and it also acts as incentive to continually do what is right. If attaining spiritual heights is the goal, I believe it will be essential to do good, not because it has any personal benefit at all... but simply because doing good things, is the only way that you can possibly conceive of doing anything. Sublimation of one's own sense of self is one way that I feel we can eventually become closer to God. Not an easy thing... and not one that many people will agree with - but that's the purpose of faith and belief in an intellectual tradition like Islam. To argue and disagree until a workable answer has been reached.

What do you think?

-Rahim