Spiritual Chat 29 - Expanded Version About Spiritual Chat 29 Title: What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"?, and, What Happened To The Original Qur'an of Muhammad (Sal.), of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.), and of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen? and, Who Are Our Brothers And Sisters? Date: October 8, 2002, Chat Between: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) and Rumi Smith Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Chat 28 Chat 29: Outline & Summary Page 1 of 3 Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Chat 29 Go To Related Material Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon all of us. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest brothers and sisters, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Chat: - go to Question 1 1. The Introduction - to Spiritual Chat 29 2. Quote From An Unpublished Book: "The 10 Mystical Experiences" 3. Question 1: What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"? 4. Question 2-a: What Happened To The Original Qur'an of Muhammad (Sal.) 5. Question 2-b: What Happened To The Original Qur'an of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) 6. Question 2-c: What Will Happen To The Original Quran of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen? 7. Question 3: Who Are Our Brothers And Sisters? Outline of Quote: 2. Quote From An Unpublished Book - "The 10 Mystical Experiences" "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge from within man, then They, as the Nur Muhammad, as Iman, as the "Seed of True Man" joined as One with man, will tell man's story within man, the story of True Man within the Creation of God within man". Outline of Question 1: 3. Question 1 - What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"? To know ourselves we must first come to an understanding of "who in truth we aren' t", who in our ignorance, we have some how mistakenly come to understand as "who we are. But to know "who we aren't" we must first come to an understanding of "who in truth we are", and to do this, we must first come to understand of our true history, our true story, the story of True Man within the Creation of God, and within this, the story of God within the Creation of True Man. Such is our dilemma, in coming to know ourselves. Text of Spiritual Chat 1. The Introduction - to Spiritual Chat 29 MuhaiyaddeenLB: Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum, my dearest loving sister Rumi. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Do you have time to wisdom chat? Rumismith: Wa alaikum as-salamu, dear Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen. Good to hear from you. Yes we would like some wisdom chatting. Rumismith: We have been trying to get in touch with you on the IM (AIM Instant Messenger service, www.aim.com)and on the phone without avail. How are you doing? Rumismith: Last night was the last night of Emperor Wang Guhn. What an ending. By God's grace we have been able to watch the last few episodes. [Note: the epic saga of Emperor Wang Guhn, is a set of 200 one hour television programs, that Rumi and Louie have been watching on the Philadelphia public television channel WYBE for the last year. It is a wonderful series about God and the Children of God, set in the backdrop of the Last Emperor to unify the 3 parts of Korea, which Emperor Wang Guhn did in 996 AD, a kingdom that lasted for 500 years. The program has started up again, and I think you can watch it every weekday at 11 A.M. If not, check their program guide or ask Rumi Smith, she is watching it] MuhaiyaddeenLB: Great. We are still writing Spiritual Letter 33, "To Truly See All People As Our Brothers Is Islam", which is the Spiritual Letter that we sent to you (an early version of it) the last time we chatted, but now it is being written to all of the brother and sisters of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, and is much more expanded than what we sent to you. It is really a wonderful letter, to all of us. from the heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) within each of us, and from God within Him. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. It is truly a blessing (especially for the month of Ramadan). Rumismith: Yes, Al hamdu lillah. We had the feeling that is what you are working on. MuhaiyaddeenLB: Yes, that was a wonderful ending to the "Emperor Wang Guhn" story, which was all about "Unity", all about the "unification of the 3 kingdoms in Korea, without any help from outside sources". And at the same time, pointing to the beginning of our story, which is also all about "Unity", all about the unification of the three kingdoms within us, the kingdoms of awwal, dunya, and akhirah within us, all about the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, without any help from "outside" sources, without any help from anything but God within us or "outside" of us, without any help from anything that we currently see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, in this way, pointing to a beautiful beginning of our story, which is the story of True Man within the Creation of God within us, and the story of God within the Creation of True Man within us. For in truth all stories are always about the One Story within all of us, the story of True Man being revealed by God within the Creation of God within us, so True Man can reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us, revealing in this way, the "Oneness of God and True Man" hidden within each of us. Hidden within each of us as the "Seed of God and True Man" within us, just waiting to be revealed within us, when we realize, understand, accept, and join with the truth of our life, the truth that emerges from within us, which for this age is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), as an apple fruit reveals the apple tree hidden within it, so the apple tree can then reveal the apple fruit hidden within the apple tree, revealing in this way, the "Oneness of the apple and the apple tree" hidden within the apple seed. Do you have anything you would like to share or that you need, or would you like to hear more about the new Spiritual Letter that we are writing, Spiritual Letter 33? [Note: Finally, concerning the organization of the expanded version of this Spiritual Chat, we have divided each numbered topic in the chat (e.g., 2. Quote From "10 Mystical Experiences") into two parts, first an "Overview of Topic", which provides a summary of the main wisdom points within each topic, and second, "Text of Topic", which provides the actual text of the chat. This organization allows us to continuously work on the chat trying to include in the chat a summary of as many wisdom points as possible, and as much clarity about each wisdom point as is available to this child. Also, to help separate the two parts, the color of the text in the "Overview of Topic" is red and in the "Text of Topic" the color of the text is black] 2. Quote From The Unpublished Book, "The 10 Mystical Experiences" - "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge (from within man), and when these two (later) merge in the eternal Allah, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah (within man)." Overview of Quote: For man to know himself he must come to know his history, his story, which includes, where he was, where he is, and where he will go next in his story, as part of his history, he must know what is his beginning and the goal or final destination in his story or history, and he must know where he currently is in the telling of his story, where he is in his history. This is why Bawa tells us, "That the most important thing for a disciple to know is his current station." This is most important because it determines the effect of our effort, of us trying to move our story forward, of us trying to come to maturity in our life time before our death. For example, if a man thinks he is an apple tree ready to bear fruit, but in truth he is an apple seed that has not yet germinated, then nothing that he does, thinking he is an apple tree, will have any value in moving his life forward. Instead, he should be doing the kinds of things that will cause him, as an apple seed, to germinate, like letting his life in the earth, "separate from" the earth come to an end, or die, and instead, of joining with the earth, of becoming "One with" the earth, to tell the story of the apple tree hidden within the apple seed. Also, he must come to know what will help him move forward in his story, in the telling of his story or history, and what will prevent him from moving forward, what will block his progress, especially as it relates to his current station. For example, using the analogy started earlier, if a person's current station is like an apple seed buried in the earth, an apple seed that has not yet germinate, an apple seed that has not yet joined with the earth, has not yet joined as One with what it is buried within, to tell the story of the apple tree hidden within it, and if in truth his current station is not like an apple tree ready to bear fruit, then nothing done by him in that direction, of trying to bear fruit, will be of any value to him, will be of any value in moving his life forward, in revealing his history correctly. In this case, rather than trying to bear fruit, which is clearly outside the bounds of his current station, his efforts should be directed toward him germinating, toward him becoming One with the earth that he is buried within, and in this way, moving forward from his current station, his current station which is more like an apple seed buried within the earth that has not yet germinated, rather than an apple tree ready to bear fruit, more like an apple seed that is currently living within the earth as if it were "separate from" the earth, rather than "One with" the earth, a precondition for any apple seed to germinate. Therefore, in this situation, for his effort to truly move his life forward, he must clearly understand the answer to the following question, "Why does an apple seed germinates?" And he really does not need to know at this time in his life, at this stage in his spritual life, the answer to the next question he must answer, "How does an apple tree bear fruit? Text of Chat: Rumismith: We are still looking at Bawa's words in the unpublished book, "The 10 Mystical Experiences": "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge (from within him), and when these two (later) merge in the eternal Allah, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah." [Note: while writing this letter, during the month of Ramadan 2002, we repeatedly kept handing the above quote to Bawa within this child, and to God within Him, to our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and to the Primal One within Him, and gradually it came back, at the end of Ramadan, as the following expanded quote from the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), from the living Qur'an, the Umm al-Qur'an, the "Pearl of Wisdom" within us all, that is growing and coming to maturity as the "Harvest of God's grace" for this age, within the hearts of all of His Children for this age, as the Children of God for this age, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God and of the Creation of True Man in all three worlds within us, in awwal, the dunya, and akhirah within us, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge from within man, then They, as the Nur Muhammad, as Iman, as the "Seed of True Man" within man, joined as One with man, will tell man's story within man, the story of True Man within the Creation of God within man". "And when these two, the Qutb and the Nur of Allah, as the Nur Muhammad, comes to maturity within man and merge in the eternal Allah within man, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah within man, then man, as True Man joined as One with God within man, as Allah Muhammad, as Iman-Islam, as the "Seed of God" within man, will tell God's story within man, the story of God within the Creation of True Man within man."] Rumismith: We are still looking at ..."when man comes to know himself".... what does that mean? MuhaiyaddeenLB: That is a very good question. Crisi just came home, so we have to go for now, and do some house work, but we will return in about a half hour. Check back then, and we will join with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, to try and add some light to your question. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Rumismith: I am at the Markar's house and we are not sure if the computer is available in half an hour, because Sayiid and Sabi need the computer for homework sometime. If it is available we sure would like to continue, if not maybe tomorrow, God willing. Anbu Rumi MuhaiyaddeenLB: Ok. Rumismith: Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. As-salamu alaikum, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen. We are back. MuhaiyaddeenLB: Wonderful. We have been working with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, on an answer to our question. 3. Question 1: What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"? Overview of Question: To know ourselves we must first come to an understanding of who in truth we aren' t, but who in our ignorance, we have some how mistakenly come to understand as "who we are". But to know "who we aren't" we must first come to an understanding of "who in truth we are". He in lies the problem, like a man trying to pull himself up by his bootstraps, while he is still standing in his boots. While in his boots, he clearly needs someone outside of himself to pull him up. In this way, to understand both "who we aren't" and "who we truly are" we need someone outside of us, outside of our current understanding of "who we are" to pull us up, to pull us out of "who we aren't" and ever so gradually let us enter "who we truly are". This is the work of our wisdom, and of the truth of God within our wisdom, the work of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him. They are both "inside" of us and are not currently involved in our current definition of "who we are", which in truth is "who we aren't", all of which centers around what we currently see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, so They can do this work of pulling us up, of pulling us out of our "outside" of us, as "who we aren't", and ever so gradually letting us enter the "inside" of us, as "who we truly are". They can do this work for us, if we will but let Them, if we will but join as One with Them within us, to do this work within us, to make "our" work within us, and Their work within us, One within us. In this way, to know ourselves we must "Forget Who You Aren't", within the context of the current "outside" of us, which is our life of "separation and differences" that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, and "Remember Who We Already Are", within the context of the true "inside" of us, which is our wisdom and the truth of God within us, the life of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him, and of "us" as One with Them within us, and as One with what They have started and are would like to finish within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, and to reveal God within the Creation f True Man within us, and in this way, revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. In this way, to know ourselves is to trust in God within us, and in the things of God within us, which include the 124,000 prophets of God within us, and the life and teaching of God within us, which for this age, is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him). Text of Chat: MuhaiyaddeenLB: So far this is what we have come up with, sitting at the feet of our Shaikh, of our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and with God within Him. Let's start by taking a look again at the beautiful quote you sent this child. "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge (from within man), and when these two (later) merge in the eternal Allah, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah (within man)." First, lets try to use the quote itself to answer our question, and see what this can add to our understanding of this quote and our first question about it. Then we will look at two definition techniques that this child learned working as a computer specialist for 18 years at the Unisys Corporation, which are very powerful for "thinking out of the box", when analyzing a business system, and see how they can help us in analyzing "who we are". The two techniques are called, Definition by Negation, and Definition by Addition. But first, lets try to use the quote itself to answer our question, Question 1: What does it mean, "Man comes to know himself"? For example, "When man comes to know himself", is certainly related to what follows in the quote. Using this approach, to know yourselves is to become one who has "forgotten the earth and completely eradicated his ego". Building on this a little, to know ourselves we must first forget ourselves, we must first forget ourselves as the earth, and as the ego. In this way, "who we are" is not about anything that has grown out of the earth within us, is not about our body, for this is only a false self, this is but a reflection of the nature of the earth hidden within us, the nature of the 5 elements that God used to make the body of Adam (peace be upon Him), to complete His intention for the soul. Since in the original body, as Adam (peace be upon Him) before the fall of Adam (peace be upon Him) and in the redeemed body, as Adam (peace be upon Him) having recovered from the fall of Adam (peace be upon Him), the earth or the body is a vessel, not what God has placed within the vessel, it is the "Palace of the Soul", the House of Wisdom, not the soul, the purity of God, and not the wisdom, the consciousness and clarity of the soul. And in a similar manner, "who we are" is not about anything related to our ego, which can be translated into anything about us that is personal or related just to me or you, as "separate from" other people, or related to "you" and "I" as separate individuals, which seems to be the major focus in all of our relationships in the world, like the personal relationships of a child with his mother and father, or of a mother or father to their child, or like the personal relationship between a husband and a wife, or between members of a family, or co-workers, or between members of a special group of people, like a religion, or a company, or sports team, or a town, or country, or a race of people. In this way, "Man comes to know himself", when he discards these things as defining "who he is", when he discards his body, and everything related to his body, like the nine openings of his body, and when he discards his personal relationships in the world, and everything related to these relationships in the world, like his attachments to these relationship, as defining in any way, "who he is". 3-a. Definition By Negation - by man defining "who he isn't", by his rejecting as unproven any current definition of "who he is", as no longer valid unless proven to be valid, especially all of his current definitions of himself that have been literally handed to him, and accepted by him as he grew up, without any real thought on his part, most provided or aided by his "significant others", such as his mother or father, his family, his husband or wife, his children, his grandchildren, his school, his teachers, his clergy, his race or religion, his business associates, and especially by his friends and his enemies, who in truth are always telling us the same thing about "who we are", just from a different perspective, either liking or disliking something about us, about the same thing about him Also, we can investigate the meaning of, "Man comes to know himself" in two other ways, by using two techniques of investigation that this child was formally trained to use as a Computer Systems Analyst for a large computer company. The first technique is called "Definition By Negation", where you gradually remove everything that currently defines something, unless its value in defining an item can be proven, which when applied to man's journey to better understand "who he is", can be seen as a process of defining man by negation, by investigating "what he isn't", by challenging all of the things that currently do define him, as no longer valid, making each of them come forward and prove themselves as valid, and if they don't or won't, then rejecting them as no longer valid, as no longer defining him in any way. And the other technique is cailed "Definition By Addition", where you gradually add new things to what currently defines something, things that were previously not used as part of the current definition, unless its value in not defining an item can be proven, which when applied to man's journey to better understand "who he is", can be seen as a process of defining man by addition, by investigating "what he is", by challenging all of the things that currently don't define him, as no longer invalid, making each of them also come forward, and prove themselves as invalid, and if they don't and won't, then accepting them as valid, as now defining him is some way. For example, using the first way, a process of definition by negation, he no longer accepts anything as defining him simply because he has been told by others that they define him, especially by the significant others in his life, like his parents, his family, his wife or husband, his children, his religious leaders, his teaches, his friends, his government, his business, or his country. In this way, no longer including in his definition of "who he is", anything that now defines him. For example, like anything related to his body, like his name, his sex (male or female), his age, his appearance, what he eats, how he feels, what he sees, hears, smells, tastes, and touches, and like anything related to his relationships, like his attachments, either positive or negative, to his parents, his children, his grandchildren, his friends and family, his play mates, his work mates, and his pray mates. And in this way, starting to keep himself open to reject anything that in the past has been seen or used as defining him, especially as defining him as "separate from" something or someone else, like sex, race, religion, age, color, education, place of residence, wealth or lack of, and physical, emotional, and mental endowments. 3-b. Definition by Addition - by man defining "who he is", this time by rejecting as unproven any current definition of "who he isn't", as no longer valid unless proven to be valid, especially all of his current definitions of "who he isn't" that have been provided or aided by his "significant others", such as his mother or father, his family, his husband or wife, his children, his grandchildren, his school, his teachers, his clergy, his race or religion, his business associates, and again, especially by his friends and his enemies. For example, on a very exalted level, that he is not God, his Shaikh, his soul, the truth of God, the 124,000 prophets of God, especially, the 8 main prophets of God, which are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), and on a more down to earth level, that he is not his mother or father, or his children, or his husband or wife, or his friends, his family, his school mates, his clergy, or other members of his race or religion, or other members of his business associates, and especially he is not his friends or his enemies MuhaiyaddeenLB: Using this second approach, of definition by addition, and starting at the very top or most exalted level, lets challenge the belief that "who we are" is not God, our Shaikh, our soul, the truth of God, the 124,000 prophets of God, the Qutb of God, the Nur Muhammad, Allah Muhammad, and the Holy Qur'an. Let us challenge the validity of all of these, saying that "who we are" does not exclude any of these, in any way. For this child, this is the glorious path of life and wisdom and truth, the expansion of our consciousness to include everything as "who we are", and to include what transcends everything also as "who we are", and finally to include the cause of moving from being "everything" to being "what transcends everything", also as "who we are". This is the glorious path of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), the gift of God for this age, that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us in this age, even before we came to this earth world or dunya, if we but want it, the path that leads directly to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, the Straight Path, the Suratal Mustaqueem, the true path of Iman and of the Kalimah, of the unshakable, absolute faith, certitude, and determination that "God alone exists", and the affirmation of this iman and truth, that, "La illaha ill Allahu, Muhammadar Rasulullah". The path that, "There is nothing other than God, You are Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." In this way, to know yourself is to know God and True Man within you, to know yourself is to have become "One with" God and True Man within you. To know yourself is to have discarded everything that "separate you" from God and True Man within you. In this way, who we truly are is everything, and the One who transcends everything, as well as, what Causes the One within everything to reveal the One who transcends everything, for the benefit of everything. And as "everything" we are the Creation of God, we are the world, the body, the self, and the I, we are the 6,666 verses of the Holy Qur'an, which is the Qur'an after it has come into the world, after it has moved from the state it was in when it originally came from Allah, to the state that we are all currently sharing with our brothers and sisters in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us. To the state we all now share in our life of "separation and differences", with our brothers and sisters, in the world that we collectively see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, the state of "separation from" God, of "separation from" each other, and of "separation from" the Creation of God within us, to the state of living in the dream of "self existence" as if we had "separate lives", which is the dream of the dunya within us, that we see as existing "outside" of , the dream of the 1 face, with the 1 face of "I" exist "separate from" you, and you exist "separate from" me, facing the dream world and relationships on the "outside" of us, and the 6 faces of evil, of lust, hatred, miserliness, delusion, bigotry, and envy facing and doing battle within the dunya within us, within the 18,000 universes on the "inside" of us, within the six corners of our heart, until we die. End of Page 1 of 3 of Spiritual Chat 29 - expanded version - .............................. This completes Page 1 of 3 of Spiritual Chat 29. Click HERE or above to go to Page 2 of 3 of Spiritual Chat 29. Thank you. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon all of us. May God help us all. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) or Go To Spiritual Chat 29: Table of Contents Outline & Summary Version Related Material or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
Spiritual Chat 29 - Expanded Version About Spiritual Chat 29 Title: What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"?, and, What Happened To The Original Qur'an of Muhammad (Sal.), of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.), and of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen? and, Who Are Our Brothers And Sisters? Date: October 8, 2002, Chat Between: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) and Rumi Smith Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Chat 28 Chat 29: Outline & Summary Page 1 of 3 Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Chat 29 Go To Related Material Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon all of us. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest brothers and sisters, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Chat: - go to Question 1 1. The Introduction - to Spiritual Chat 29 2. Quote From An Unpublished Book: "The 10 Mystical Experiences" 3. Question 1: What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"? 4. Question 2-a: What Happened To The Original Qur'an of Muhammad (Sal.) 5. Question 2-b: What Happened To The Original Qur'an of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) 6. Question 2-c: What Will Happen To The Original Quran of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen? 7. Question 3: Who Are Our Brothers And Sisters? Outline of Quote: 2. Quote From An Unpublished Book - "The 10 Mystical Experiences" "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge from within man, then They, as the Nur Muhammad, as Iman, as the "Seed of True Man" joined as One with man, will tell man's story within man, the story of True Man within the Creation of God within man". Outline of Question 1: 3. Question 1 - What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"? To know ourselves we must first come to an understanding of "who in truth we aren' t", who in our ignorance, we have some how mistakenly come to understand as "who we are. But to know "who we aren't" we must first come to an understanding of "who in truth we are", and to do this, we must first come to understand of our true history, our true story, the story of True Man within the Creation of God, and within this, the story of God within the Creation of True Man. Such is our dilemma, in coming to know ourselves. Text of Spiritual Chat 1. The Introduction - to Spiritual Chat 29 MuhaiyaddeenLB: Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum, my dearest loving sister Rumi. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Do you have time to wisdom chat? Rumismith: Wa alaikum as-salamu, dear Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen. Good to hear from you. Yes we would like some wisdom chatting. Rumismith: We have been trying to get in touch with you on the IM (AIM Instant Messenger service, www.aim.com)and on the phone without avail. How are you doing? Rumismith: Last night was the last night of Emperor Wang Guhn. What an ending. By God's grace we have been able to watch the last few episodes. [Note: the epic saga of Emperor Wang Guhn, is a set of 200 one hour television programs, that Rumi and Louie have been watching on the Philadelphia public television channel WYBE for the last year. It is a wonderful series about God and the Children of God, set in the backdrop of the Last Emperor to unify the 3 parts of Korea, which Emperor Wang Guhn did in 996 AD, a kingdom that lasted for 500 years. The program has started up again, and I think you can watch it every weekday at 11 A.M. If not, check their program guide or ask Rumi Smith, she is watching it] MuhaiyaddeenLB: Great. We are still writing Spiritual Letter 33, "To Truly See All People As Our Brothers Is Islam", which is the Spiritual Letter that we sent to you (an early version of it) the last time we chatted, but now it is being written to all of the brother and sisters of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, and is much more expanded than what we sent to you. It is really a wonderful letter, to all of us. from the heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) within each of us, and from God within Him. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. It is truly a blessing (especially for the month of Ramadan). Rumismith: Yes, Al hamdu lillah. We had the feeling that is what you are working on. MuhaiyaddeenLB: Yes, that was a wonderful ending to the "Emperor Wang Guhn" story, which was all about "Unity", all about the "unification of the 3 kingdoms in Korea, without any help from outside sources". And at the same time, pointing to the beginning of our story, which is also all about "Unity", all about the unification of the three kingdoms within us, the kingdoms of awwal, dunya, and akhirah within us, all about the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, without any help from "outside" sources, without any help from anything but God within us or "outside" of us, without any help from anything that we currently see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, in this way, pointing to a beautiful beginning of our story, which is the story of True Man within the Creation of God within us, and the story of God within the Creation of True Man within us. For in truth all stories are always about the One Story within all of us, the story of True Man being revealed by God within the Creation of God within us, so True Man can reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us, revealing in this way, the "Oneness of God and True Man" hidden within each of us. Hidden within each of us as the "Seed of God and True Man" within us, just waiting to be revealed within us, when we realize, understand, accept, and join with the truth of our life, the truth that emerges from within us, which for this age is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), as an apple fruit reveals the apple tree hidden within it, so the apple tree can then reveal the apple fruit hidden within the apple tree, revealing in this way, the "Oneness of the apple and the apple tree" hidden within the apple seed. Do you have anything you would like to share or that you need, or would you like to hear more about the new Spiritual Letter that we are writing, Spiritual Letter 33? [Note: Finally, concerning the organization of the expanded version of this Spiritual Chat, we have divided each numbered topic in the chat (e.g., 2. Quote From "10 Mystical Experiences") into two parts, first an "Overview of Topic", which provides a summary of the main wisdom points within each topic, and second, "Text of Topic", which provides the actual text of the chat. This organization allows us to continuously work on the chat trying to include in the chat a summary of as many wisdom points as possible, and as much clarity about each wisdom point as is available to this child. Also, to help separate the two parts, the color of the text in the "Overview of Topic" is red and in the "Text of Topic" the color of the text is black] 2. Quote From The Unpublished Book, "The 10 Mystical Experiences" - "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge (from within man), and when these two (later) merge in the eternal Allah, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah (within man)." Overview of Quote: For man to know himself he must come to know his history, his story, which includes, where he was, where he is, and where he will go next in his story, as part of his history, he must know what is his beginning and the goal or final destination in his story or history, and he must know where he currently is in the telling of his story, where he is in his history. This is why Bawa tells us, "That the most important thing for a disciple to know is his current station." This is most important because it determines the effect of our effort, of us trying to move our story forward, of us trying to come to maturity in our life time before our death. For example, if a man thinks he is an apple tree ready to bear fruit, but in truth he is an apple seed that has not yet germinated, then nothing that he does, thinking he is an apple tree, will have any value in moving his life forward. Instead, he should be doing the kinds of things that will cause him, as an apple seed, to germinate, like letting his life in the earth, "separate from" the earth come to an end, or die, and instead, of joining with the earth, of becoming "One with" the earth, to tell the story of the apple tree hidden within the apple seed. Also, he must come to know what will help him move forward in his story, in the telling of his story or history, and what will prevent him from moving forward, what will block his progress, especially as it relates to his current station. For example, using the analogy started earlier, if a person's current station is like an apple seed buried in the earth, an apple seed that has not yet germinate, an apple seed that has not yet joined with the earth, has not yet joined as One with what it is buried within, to tell the story of the apple tree hidden within it, and if in truth his current station is not like an apple tree ready to bear fruit, then nothing done by him in that direction, of trying to bear fruit, will be of any value to him, will be of any value in moving his life forward, in revealing his history correctly. In this case, rather than trying to bear fruit, which is clearly outside the bounds of his current station, his efforts should be directed toward him germinating, toward him becoming One with the earth that he is buried within, and in this way, moving forward from his current station, his current station which is more like an apple seed buried within the earth that has not yet germinated, rather than an apple tree ready to bear fruit, more like an apple seed that is currently living within the earth as if it were "separate from" the earth, rather than "One with" the earth, a precondition for any apple seed to germinate. Therefore, in this situation, for his effort to truly move his life forward, he must clearly understand the answer to the following question, "Why does an apple seed germinates?" And he really does not need to know at this time in his life, at this stage in his spritual life, the answer to the next question he must answer, "How does an apple tree bear fruit? Text of Chat: Rumismith: We are still looking at Bawa's words in the unpublished book, "The 10 Mystical Experiences": "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge (from within him), and when these two (later) merge in the eternal Allah, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah." [Note: while writing this letter, during the month of Ramadan 2002, we repeatedly kept handing the above quote to Bawa within this child, and to God within Him, to our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and to the Primal One within Him, and gradually it came back, at the end of Ramadan, as the following expanded quote from the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), from the living Qur'an, the Umm al-Qur'an, the "Pearl of Wisdom" within us all, that is growing and coming to maturity as the "Harvest of God's grace" for this age, within the hearts of all of His Children for this age, as the Children of God for this age, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God and of the Creation of True Man in all three worlds within us, in awwal, the dunya, and akhirah within us, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge from within man, then They, as the Nur Muhammad, as Iman, as the "Seed of True Man" within man, joined as One with man, will tell man's story within man, the story of True Man within the Creation of God within man". "And when these two, the Qutb and the Nur of Allah, as the Nur Muhammad, comes to maturity within man and merge in the eternal Allah within man, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah within man, then man, as True Man joined as One with God within man, as Allah Muhammad, as Iman-Islam, as the "Seed of God" within man, will tell God's story within man, the story of God within the Creation of True Man within man."] Rumismith: We are still looking at ..."when man comes to know himself".... what does that mean? MuhaiyaddeenLB: That is a very good question. Crisi just came home, so we have to go for now, and do some house work, but we will return in about a half hour. Check back then, and we will join with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, to try and add some light to your question. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Rumismith: I am at the Markar's house and we are not sure if the computer is available in half an hour, because Sayiid and Sabi need the computer for homework sometime. If it is available we sure would like to continue, if not maybe tomorrow, God willing. Anbu Rumi MuhaiyaddeenLB: Ok. Rumismith: Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. As-salamu alaikum, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen. We are back. MuhaiyaddeenLB: Wonderful. We have been working with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, on an answer to our question. 3. Question 1: What Does It Mean, "Man Comes To Know Himself"? Overview of Question: To know ourselves we must first come to an understanding of who in truth we aren' t, but who in our ignorance, we have some how mistakenly come to understand as "who we are". But to know "who we aren't" we must first come to an understanding of "who in truth we are". He in lies the problem, like a man trying to pull himself up by his bootstraps, while he is still standing in his boots. While in his boots, he clearly needs someone outside of himself to pull him up. In this way, to understand both "who we aren't" and "who we truly are" we need someone outside of us, outside of our current understanding of "who we are" to pull us up, to pull us out of "who we aren't" and ever so gradually let us enter "who we truly are". This is the work of our wisdom, and of the truth of God within our wisdom, the work of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him. They are both "inside" of us and are not currently involved in our current definition of "who we are", which in truth is "who we aren't", all of which centers around what we currently see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, so They can do this work of pulling us up, of pulling us out of our "outside" of us, as "who we aren't", and ever so gradually letting us enter the "inside" of us, as "who we truly are". They can do this work for us, if we will but let Them, if we will but join as One with Them within us, to do this work within us, to make "our" work within us, and Their work within us, One within us. In this way, to know ourselves we must "Forget Who You Aren't", within the context of the current "outside" of us, which is our life of "separation and differences" that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, and "Remember Who We Already Are", within the context of the true "inside" of us, which is our wisdom and the truth of God within us, the life of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him, and of "us" as One with Them within us, and as One with what They have started and are would like to finish within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, and to reveal God within the Creation f True Man within us, and in this way, revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. In this way, to know ourselves is to trust in God within us, and in the things of God within us, which include the 124,000 prophets of God within us, and the life and teaching of God within us, which for this age, is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him). Text of Chat: MuhaiyaddeenLB: So far this is what we have come up with, sitting at the feet of our Shaikh, of our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and with God within Him. Let's start by taking a look again at the beautiful quote you sent this child. "When man comes to know himself, forgets the earth, and completely eradicates his ego, the Qutb and then the Nur will emerge (from within man), and when these two (later) merge in the eternal Allah, that is Alif, the Effulgence of Allah (within man)." First, lets try to use the quote itself to answer our question, and see what this can add to our understanding of this quote and our first question about it. Then we will look at two definition techniques that this child learned working as a computer specialist for 18 years at the Unisys Corporation, which are very powerful for "thinking out of the box", when analyzing a business system, and see how they can help us in analyzing "who we are". The two techniques are called, Definition by Negation, and Definition by Addition. But first, lets try to use the quote itself to answer our question, Question 1: What does it mean, "Man comes to know himself"? For example, "When man comes to know himself", is certainly related to what follows in the quote. Using this approach, to know yourselves is to become one who has "forgotten the earth and completely eradicated his ego". Building on this a little, to know ourselves we must first forget ourselves, we must first forget ourselves as the earth, and as the ego. In this way, "who we are" is not about anything that has grown out of the earth within us, is not about our body, for this is only a false self, this is but a reflection of the nature of the earth hidden within us, the nature of the 5 elements that God used to make the body of Adam (peace be upon Him), to complete His intention for the soul. Since in the original body, as Adam (peace be upon Him) before the fall of Adam (peace be upon Him) and in the redeemed body, as Adam (peace be upon Him) having recovered from the fall of Adam (peace be upon Him), the earth or the body is a vessel, not what God has placed within the vessel, it is the "Palace of the Soul", the House of Wisdom, not the soul, the purity of God, and not the wisdom, the consciousness and clarity of the soul. And in a similar manner, "who we are" is not about anything related to our ego, which can be translated into anything about us that is personal or related just to me or you, as "separate from" other people, or related to "you" and "I" as separate individuals, which seems to be the major focus in all of our relationships in the world, like the personal relationships of a child with his mother and father, or of a mother or father to their child, or like the personal relationship between a husband and a wife, or between members of a family, or co-workers, or between members of a special group of people, like a religion, or a company, or sports team, or a town, or country, or a race of people. In this way, "Man comes to know himself", when he discards these things as defining "who he is", when he discards his body, and everything related to his body, like the nine openings of his body, and when he discards his personal relationships in the world, and everything related to these relationships in the world, like his attachments to these relationship, as defining in any way, "who he is". 3-a. Definition By Negation - by man defining "who he isn't", by his rejecting as unproven any current definition of "who he is", as no longer valid unless proven to be valid, especially all of his current definitions of himself that have been literally handed to him, and accepted by him as he grew up, without any real thought on his part, most provided or aided by his "significant others", such as his mother or father, his family, his husband or wife, his children, his grandchildren, his school, his teachers, his clergy, his race or religion, his business associates, and especially by his friends and his enemies, who in truth are always telling us the same thing about "who we are", just from a different perspective, either liking or disliking something about us, about the same thing about him Also, we can investigate the meaning of, "Man comes to know himself" in two other ways, by using two techniques of investigation that this child was formally trained to use as a Computer Systems Analyst for a large computer company. The first technique is called "Definition By Negation", where you gradually remove everything that currently defines something, unless its value in defining an item can be proven, which when applied to man's journey to better understand "who he is", can be seen as a process of defining man by negation, by investigating "what he isn't", by challenging all of the things that currently do define him, as no longer valid, making each of them come forward and prove themselves as valid, and if they don't or won't, then rejecting them as no longer valid, as no longer defining him in any way. And the other technique is cailed "Definition By Addition", where you gradually add new things to what currently defines something, things that were previously not used as part of the current definition, unless its value in not defining an item can be proven, which when applied to man's journey to better understand "who he is", can be seen as a process of defining man by addition, by investigating "what he is", by challenging all of the things that currently don't define him, as no longer invalid, making each of them also come forward, and prove themselves as invalid, and if they don't and won't, then accepting them as valid, as now defining him is some way. For example, using the first way, a process of definition by negation, he no longer accepts anything as defining him simply because he has been told by others that they define him, especially by the significant others in his life, like his parents, his family, his wife or husband, his children, his religious leaders, his teaches, his friends, his government, his business, or his country. In this way, no longer including in his definition of "who he is", anything that now defines him. For example, like anything related to his body, like his name, his sex (male or female), his age, his appearance, what he eats, how he feels, what he sees, hears, smells, tastes, and touches, and like anything related to his relationships, like his attachments, either positive or negative, to his parents, his children, his grandchildren, his friends and family, his play mates, his work mates, and his pray mates. And in this way, starting to keep himself open to reject anything that in the past has been seen or used as defining him, especially as defining him as "separate from" something or someone else, like sex, race, religion, age, color, education, place of residence, wealth or lack of, and physical, emotional, and mental endowments. 3-b. Definition by Addition - by man defining "who he is", this time by rejecting as unproven any current definition of "who he isn't", as no longer valid unless proven to be valid, especially all of his current definitions of "who he isn't" that have been provided or aided by his "significant others", such as his mother or father, his family, his husband or wife, his children, his grandchildren, his school, his teachers, his clergy, his race or religion, his business associates, and again, especially by his friends and his enemies. For example, on a very exalted level, that he is not God, his Shaikh, his soul, the truth of God, the 124,000 prophets of God, especially, the 8 main prophets of God, which are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), and on a more down to earth level, that he is not his mother or father, or his children, or his husband or wife, or his friends, his family, his school mates, his clergy, or other members of his race or religion, or other members of his business associates, and especially he is not his friends or his enemies MuhaiyaddeenLB: Using this second approach, of definition by addition, and starting at the very top or most exalted level, lets challenge the belief that "who we are" is not God, our Shaikh, our soul, the truth of God, the 124,000 prophets of God, the Qutb of God, the Nur Muhammad, Allah Muhammad, and the Holy Qur'an. Let us challenge the validity of all of these, saying that "who we are" does not exclude any of these, in any way. For this child, this is the glorious path of life and wisdom and truth, the expansion of our consciousness to include everything as "who we are", and to include what transcends everything also as "who we are", and finally to include the cause of moving from being "everything" to being "what transcends everything", also as "who we are". This is the glorious path of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), the gift of God for this age, that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us in this age, even before we came to this earth world or dunya, if we but want it, the path that leads directly to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, the Straight Path, the Suratal Mustaqueem, the true path of Iman and of the Kalimah, of the unshakable, absolute faith, certitude, and determination that "God alone exists", and the affirmation of this iman and truth, that, "La illaha ill Allahu, Muhammadar Rasulullah". The path that, "There is nothing other than God, You are Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." In this way, to know yourself is to know God and True Man within you, to know yourself is to have become "One with" God and True Man within you. To know yourself is to have discarded everything that "separate you" from God and True Man within you. In this way, who we truly are is everything, and the One who transcends everything, as well as, what Causes the One within everything to reveal the One who transcends everything, for the benefit of everything. And as "everything" we are the Creation of God, we are the world, the body, the self, and the I, we are the 6,666 verses of the Holy Qur'an, which is the Qur'an after it has come into the world, after it has moved from the state it was in when it originally came from Allah, to the state that we are all currently sharing with our brothers and sisters in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us. To the state we all now share in our life of "separation and differences", with our brothers and sisters, in the world that we collectively see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, the state of "separation from" God, of "separation from" each other, and of "separation from" the Creation of God within us, to the state of living in the dream of "self existence" as if we had "separate lives", which is the dream of the dunya within us, that we see as existing "outside" of , the dream of the 1 face, with the 1 face of "I" exist "separate from" you, and you exist "separate from" me, facing the dream world and relationships on the "outside" of us, and the 6 faces of evil, of lust, hatred, miserliness, delusion, bigotry, and envy facing and doing battle within the dunya within us, within the 18,000 universes on the "inside" of us, within the six corners of our heart, until we die. End of Page 1 of 3 of Spiritual Chat 29 - expanded version - .............................. This completes Page 1 of 3 of Spiritual Chat 29. Click HERE or above to go to Page 2 of 3 of Spiritual Chat 29. Thank you. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon all of us. May God help us all. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) or Go To Spiritual Chat 29: Table of Contents Outline & Summary Version Related Material or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
This page was last updated on: December 10, 2002
