Trust

How do you know you can trust someone?

The question is more an oxymoron than most realize... Once you know, it isn't trust, it is knowledge.

Trust is a blessing, we trust others who are close to us, we trust others who are distant from us with regards to ideology, morality, status and location. However, the important thing is that we are able to trust others.

This concept of trust relates to another concept... altruism. The ability to help another, even if that action does not benefit one and may in fact cause harm. With very few exceptions in nature, human beings are amongst the only creatures that actually can act altruistically. This means that we can do something completely selfless, we can go so far as to sacrifice our own lives for a stranger if we choose to do so.

Why?

Because we love others? That no doubt plays a role, however I feel that trust is another key component. We can trust... we have been given this gift of being able to trust and to keep our trusts, to keep our promises and to act in a selfless manner to further these trusts.

How do you know you can trust me? You don't, you have to believe that you can... and that belief has another synonym... faith.

No one can prove that God exists, no one can disprove God's existence (or state of non-existence if you subscribe to the theory of double-negation). However, one can have faith, one can trust that no matter what happens, there will be someone or something out there to hold your hand.

In the Holy Qur'an it is written that those who believe should keep their trusts... I know that I have violated many trusts in my life, however I pray that I can keep praying, and that you can too.

Time

Time is such a strange thing.

It has been entirely created by human beings, yet all things are subject to it (well, unless if you really get into the whole relativity thing). We live by clocks and hours and days. We measure our lives out in small increments that for all intents and purposes, we have created ourselves... Why?

I believe that the reason why time is so important to us is that it is a measure of change. Without time, we wouldn't be able to measure the rate at which things change... in fact, without a discrete measurement of time we would never be able to gauge any change at all. I believe time is the primary indicator of change that we have as human beings.
The thing that strikes me as odd is this - if we did not "invent" time as human beings, would the concept exist? That may not make sense at first, but this is what I mean.

Although things would still move and have velocity (therefore time would exist), without humanity, there would be no one to measure the velocity, as such the velocity would have no relevance. So, wouldn't time be a subjective construct? Without someone watching a clock, time wouldn't really exist - at least not in a practical sense... time would still pass, but it wouldn't hold any relevance or importance.

So, does this not mean that time depends on us for it's very survival? When looked at in this light, perhaps we are not as defenseless against the ravages of time as we may believe, perhaps the human intellect, the human thought, the idea is something that is even more powerful than time.

Another aspect of time that strikes me as unusual lies in the relationship that time has with God. Time being a human concept lies purely within our domain of existence... however, God would (possibly) be exempt from any effects of time... logically speaking this means that God does not care about time, and why would He? God lies above and far beyond the notion of time... so, how would this affect our prayers? If I ask for something next year that I want today, do my prayers "still count" towards my goal? It is a facetious question of course, but an interesting thought experiment nonetheless. Our primary interaction for many of us lies in prayers. Whenever we ask for something in our prayers, it can often be limited in time (eg, "please help me with my exams," "help so-and-so person get better," etc...). This means that when I ask for things, oftentimes I want those things to occur shortly after I ask for them... but if God is not limited in time, if God is omniscient and omnipotent, and if God is not bound by the constraints of time, then what does it matter when I ask? If I was to pray for something today that I wanted a year ago, will these prayers be heard?

I don't know the true limits and boundaries of time, I don't know the effects of these limits and boundaries, however the one thing I do know is that, although we define time, it governs us. So enjoy every moment, and live every day.

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?

On Perfection

Aristotle proposed that everything has a perfect version... a perfect form. What we see, everything that exists, is simply a ... shadow of a perfect form. He made very interesting arguments for this paradigm, and as with the concept of God, it isn't possible to prove or to disprove Aristotle effectively, because we simply don't know if this concept is plausible.

It makes me wonder on what it means to be perfect though.

Specifically, is perfection static or dynamic?

When I think of the concept of perfect, I think of something that is still, unchanging and remains static, because if it is perfect, why does it need to change?

I think that may be a fallacy however. How can something remain perfect if it is limited to never change? Or is it possible that if something is perfect, it is unlimited in potential but limited in form?

The reason I ask is because of the simple fact that I believe firmly that the faith of Islam, when interpreted correctly is perfect. However, does this mean that the way that Islam was interpreted a thousand years ago, is the same way in which it should be interpreted today? I would vehemently argue that this is not true, that the faith requires a new lens, it changes in it's practice, in it's interpretation over the years... but the essence... does that change? Can it change? Or is the question, must it change for it to be perfect?

Thinking carefully on it, I would say that the practice of the faith can and must change, however the ethical foundations underlying it cannot change, because they are perfect... so is the practice imperfect or are the practitioners?

Let's not forget God.

God is eternal, God is good, mercy, compassion, love - all spring from God. All of these characteristics change based on the situation... compassion is not a static concept, neither is love. However, God is perfect... so, is God static, is God fixed or is God a cosmic power that is always dynamic?

I know this last is a futile question because I think I suspect the answer. God is both and neither. Static and dynamic... for these terms are very physical expressions. God is beyond both. He does not need to express Himself as a static or as a dynamic.

That still doesn't solve the problem at the base of it all. In our human conception of the matter can something that is static meet the standards of perfection? Can something that is dynamic be perfect? Or is perfection beyond both, in which case - how can a religion that a billion people practice be perfect?

On Meditation

Meditation or "Bandagi" as it is known in my faith tradition is an essential spiritual exercise.

It helps one to grow, to bond with and interact with a greater power, it is also very difficult. I have attempted to meditate many times throughout my life with differing levels of success, so I thought that for this one post, I would discuss things that have seemed to work for me. It must be noted however, that some of these things worked for me, they may not work for anyone else because meditation is such a private thing. So, in a way, this post is for me to look back on years from now if needed... and hopefully it inspires someone to try something different that may work.

One of the interesting things I have learnt about meditating is that anything goes. When I was young, I used to be very confused about the concept of meditation. What exactly was it? What was I supposed to do? I knew that I was supposed to close my eyes - any doubts regarding that were assuaged when my parents saw me with my eyes open and pointedly told me to shut them, or else... So, my eyes were to be shut, but what then? Was I meant to pray? To ask for things that I wanted? Was I meant to not think? Was I supposed to think about problems afflicting the world and my family? It was all very confusing - eventually I settled on prayer. I would close my eyes and I would simply say a few rote prayers again and again.

I began experimenting with various prayers, and I found that saying certain ones leads me to feel... happier after meditation. Over the years I have come to define success and power in meditative experiences based on how in touch with my own self they make me. How happy I become after my personal prayers and search have ended. So, one way to improve the search was to try different prayers and remember the ones that seemed to give results that I was pleased with. It must be noted though that there is no true success in meditation or bandagi. Success is not within one's abilities to gain, as even the true definition of success in personal search lies beyond our respective imaginations. When I speak of success throughout this entry, I refer to that physical happiness that follows meditation.

Recently, I have discovered the power of the senses in meditation. I remember a few years ago, I had a powerful meditative experience when I simply began to imagine a room full of thousands of people praying with me, saying the same prayers as I was saying. The chorus of voices, although slightly out of sync with each other built upon my prayers and I felt as though everything I was saying was being magnified. The experience was quite eye opening as I hadn't even thought of using my senses before.

Over the past few weeks I have also incorporated "visual aids." My eyes remain closed during meditation, however in my mind's eye I still visualize what I perceive as my internal self. When I close my eyes and view what I believe lies within myself - I see a particular vine that snakes it's way within. When I try to follow this vine to it's source I am transported to a garden. I know it is a garden, but it does not appear to be one - it appears wild and untamed. Weeds are growing everywhere and in every free patch of soil lies a different shade of verdant green. When I look at this garden within I see beauty, but I also see a great deal of ugliness. These weeds are not beautiful. The green shade is lovely, but what about the other colours? What about the flowers that one expects to be within the garden? What about this large tree off to the side of the garden?

Then, as I was within this garden I began to think about the lack of beauty in the garden... how could I change this? There were 2 solutions that I could find. I could begin to plow the garden, to remove the weeds and plant flowers. To clear the land away and organize the vegetation in a manner that was pleasing to me, or... I could change what I saw as beauty.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could not change the garden. This garden within me was not mine to change. This garden was not simply a construct of my physical mind, it was a part of a spiritual manifestation. The only feasible way to alter the beauty of the garden, would be to change what I saw as beautiful.

If the weeds had to remain, let them stay. If the garden needed to be disorderly, so be it. If the colour green was to be the only colour found within my garden - I would have to learn to love that colour. My perceptions, my own mind and the limitations that it placed upon me, were the only things that I could alter, which would let me truly see the beauty of this garden...

Then the trance ended... and the garden was gone... maybe to never return... maybe the next time I visit my inner self I will see a desert. Maybe it will be a forest or a jungle or a city. Whatever the result, I hope that I can change my perceptions of my inner self, so that instead of looking at the thorns on the weeds, I look at the flowers.

I Promise...

A promise...

an interesting word, with multiple meanings. An individual can show promise, a person can promise something to another, another can promise to never do something again...

whatever the context, the underlying principle behind a promise is that of hope.

Perhaps that is why a promise is considered sacred? For, promises, words given to another with faith and hope behind them carry a great deal of weight. In my interpretation of Islam, a promise is an important thing. When you promise someone something you should do your very best to fulfill that. Because your promise is the hope that you give to that other person... regardless of whether they need that hope or not, by promising another, you become a conduit for hope.

But, where does it end? When I was far younger, I learnt that a close friend had been sexually abused by a family friend. I was devastated and I solemnly looked at the sky and promised God that if that individual who abused my friend got into heaven, then heaven was not a place where I wanted to be. The crazy words of a crazy child. Over the years my conception of heaven has changed as has my belief that looking skywards signifies a place where God is. However, if that promise had been about something else, should it "count"? Is it valid and legitimate?

At the time I made my vow, I meant it with every fibre of my being, It was so important to me that years later, I still remember where I was when I made the promise. Does meaning something at a certain point in time mean that you are bound by it? We all age, we all mature, we all grow older, and wiser with time. With these gifts given by aging, we also gain a disproportionate amount of hindsight. Being able to see where we went wrong, and things that we said at a certain point in time that may not hold as much weight as they do today, or they may hold even more weight.

A promise holds a great deal of weight and importance, but it does not encapsulate the most basic of human traits... dynamism. We do not stay the same, not for an hour, a minute or even a second. We are always changing, which means that a static promise cannot hold sway over our actions for an indefinite period of time.

Which leads to those promises that have to (ideally) hold for the rest of our lives, such as marriage and deep friendship. These relationships need to last, by their nature they negate the earlier statement regarding the importance of dynamism to human nature.

That is the most beautiful thing about human nature, it's contradictory manner.

Certain promises need to exceed a human being's ability to stay the same, because these promises, these relationships are bonds that exceed humanity.

I believe that bonds such as familial bonds, deep friendship and true love are bonds that are not created by us. They are bonds created by God. They are formed to last.

In the context of these bonds, a promise gains even more meaning. In this context a promise becomes something that can last "forever."

So, how do you know whether a promise you make today is one that is going to last or one that cannot last? Treat every promise as though it will last forever, and pray that it does. This, I can promise... is true.

Perfect Faith

Religion is an interesting phenomenon. I am an Isma'ili Muslim, a small community of interpretation in a wider Muslim Ummah, which in turn makes up the wider human race with a myriad of religions, faiths, belief systems and even the lack of any belief at all.

However, one aspect of religion, specifically Islam in general has always made me think about the purpose of religious belief... In Islam we believe that God has revealed His message to Mankind over several millenia, with each message successively bringing Mankind closer to the truth until finally Islam was revealed - the religion of submission, of peace, of tolerance. This is Islam... and when God revealed this faith to Mankind, He completed His favours upon Mankind as religion had finally been perfected in the form of Islam.

... Why perfect it?

That's the question that has stuck with me. Why make it perfect?

Mankind isn't perfect, we make mistakes all the time, we err, we correct some errors, we don't correct others. If it was so important to perfect faith, why is it so fragmented in the first place? Why do we have so many splits and divides in the interpretations of Islam if it was supposed to be perfect? Why are there so many religions in the world today if one is enough?

Many have argued that each interpretation of Islam is relevant and is correct, which is admirable. If this is the case however, why even create Islam in the first place? Why not stick to what was correct about the other faiths that were already extant at the time?

Faith and religion to me represent a pathway to moral behaviour for society and people... however if this was the only purpose for them there would be no reason to lay down hundreds of pathways. Most faiths have similar tenets and encourage people to be good, and often-times the definition of what is "good" is similar if not the same.

To me, this seems to imply that faith and religion occupy a position within the human psyche that extends beyond simple morality. They must have a role that extends beyond something as common as morality, to simply account for the differences in each faith. The more I think about it, the more I believe that religion is needed for people to experience God while alive.

What is the significance behind this? If God cannot be seen, only experienced, there must be different ways in which an individual can experience God. God is infinite and beyond infinite. This means that the number of pathways to reach God must likewise be infinite and beyond infinite. The experience of God is only limited by the experiencer's limitations.

Every faith in the world can lead one to God in some way, and this is the reason for perfection in faith.

Islam as it is practiced today in the world may not be perfect, but the underlying message is. The underlying message of deep submission, of peace, of giving up the very self... Because the self is the key that must be given up to open the door that is God. That's the perfection that needs to be shown to the world. That by it's very name, Islam gives one the answer to what to do to "find" God.