Sufism and Knowledge 0910735948, 9780910735940

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Molana Salaheddin Ali Nader Shah Angha "Pir Oveyssi"

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Other books in the Sufism Lecture

Sufism Sufism and Wisdom Sufism and Islam Sufism and Peace

Series:

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In the 'Xante of God "Most Gracious, "Most WCercifuf

God Most Gracious! It is

He Who

He He The sun and

has taught the Qur'an.

has created man:

has taught him speech.

the

And

moon follow

the herbs

and

courses computed; the trees

Both bow in adoration.

And

the

He

has set up the Balance,

may

not transgress balance.

Raised high, and In order that ye

Firmament has He

So establish weight with justice

And fall

not short in the balance.

(Holy Qur'an, 55:1-9)

[praise

is

JL bestowed

for

God, the All-Knowing, the

the cloak of

He

its

perfection

upon

and set in motion the earth and heavens with His

exalted grace

cognition

who

knowledge upon His chosen, and

conferred the robe of glory and balance in all creation;

All- Wise,

and

and wisdom so affection;

that they

and within the

may be

the

abode of

infinite core of

man,

placed the measure of balance, justice and love to be the

guiding light for the elevation of man's being toward the

Supreme Essence

of Existence.

Thank you sity is

— the

city of

for inviting

me

to

knowledge and the

speak

at

your univer-

city of creation,

which

the foundation of the universe.

When we observe it is,

how

tranquil

it is.

the universe,

The reason

u

is

we see how

peaceful

knowledge, the reason

is stability.

have

The universe

stability

and

is all

knowledge.

If it is

possible to

tranquility in the vast universe

expands from nowhere

to

nowhere, with no beginning and

no end, then we should see the same ty in the smaller units

which

tranquility

and

— from the atom to human

stabili-

societies

— since they are part of the universe. Can we exist,

agree that where knowledge and

ignorance, abuse and hatred cannot exist?

context that

I

would

Sufism

is

like to

wisdom

It is

in this

speak about Sufism.

the reality of religion. In essence,

it is

method, a way, a discipline that teaches each person the

a

sci-

ence of exploring his or her being, unearthing his or her hid-

den

talents

and

potentials,

or her being in this

unbounded and

existence. This process

the mental faculties, It

is

the

and discovering the

infinite tapestry called

not the result of the functioning of

is

i.e.,

reality of his

induction, deduction, analysis,

method and way through which

etc.

the Prophets

attained the state of absolute cognition. In the teachings of Sufism, the

human

sidered as the perfect image of the universe

cosm and

the microcosm

being

is

— the macro-

— from the physical, magnetic, and

metaphysical, to the very depths of the black hole, that

we can

is, if

use this image of existence.

Whatever

human

con-

being.

exists in this universe also exists in the

Amir al-Mo'menin

said over 1,400 years ago:

u

Ali (peace be

upon him)

Do you ponder

that

you

are a

microcosm?

Contained within you

is

And you

Book whose words

are the Clear

the macrocosm,

manifest the inner.

we

If

being,

human

look objectively and closely at the

we cannot but be amazed and

in

awe

of this exquisite

and unique masterpiece

of creation, operated

knowledge whose

hand has unwrapped

silent

by the

will of

the potential

of beings into manifestations, so that the pages of existence

may be adorned

with the beauty of

its

wisdom.

The physiological or mechanical dimension

human

being not only undergoes the

process during

form of

its

the animal

its life

cycle as a fetus

elements, to

its

evolutionary

— from the mineral

blossoming growth,

form of recapitulated development,

human form

— but also contains

the realm of nature. This interacts

plant-like

total

with nature,

is

is

all

of the

to

to

its final

the elements present in

the level of the

human being that

nurtured by nature, and ultimately

returns to nature. If it is

we look at the various medical and scientific fields,

easy to see

how complex the human being is. How many

branches of science exist because they want to understand

how

the

human system

exist that

How many

disciplines

examine and study the mental and emotional

aspects of the " sects''

functions?

claim to

human

being?

know how

to

How many

"religions" or

redeem the human soul? Have

13

any of these result or

disciplines

come

to a conclusive

understanding of the

Most,

if

not

cause they want to

all

and

human being?

of the scientific disciplines exist be-

make

the "natural"

of people

life

comfortable, less painful, and ultimately longer.

advances in the

satisfying

more

Have

scientific fields, or psycho-social disciplines

resulted in creating peaceful individuals, societies

nations?

Have any

managed

to

and

of the religious, political, or social leaders

do so?

The evolutionary stages capacity of

the

life

of

on

life

earth,

forms to adapt in order to survive, are

and the self-evi-

dent signs that knowledge has no boundaries to limit

Where can you look

in this universe that

you

it.

will not see the

manifestation of knowledge?

Why don't peace, tranquility, and knowledge prevail in

human societies? Do you

prevailed in

human

think

if

societies, there

wisdom and knowledge would be

hatred, wars,

and unrest?

The signs and symptoms of disease, disorder and aster are manifest in all aspects of

human

life

— from the

individual, to the family, the community, the national international infrastructures.

The globe

is

dis-

characterized

and

by

a

pervasive fear and mistrust, as well as by greed expressed in continual struggles for acquisition of possessions and power.

We

live in a

time of immense change, turbulence, violence

and chaos.

14

On

the individual level, people feel unloved, inade-

quate, lonely,

and

and anxiety are

alienated. Fear, depression

everyday experiences. Stress levels are high as people react to external pressures.

The American Medical Association

more than 80%

states that

for stress-related illnesses.

of visits to physician's offices are 1

Alcohol and drug abuse

pant, as people try to escape the pain

day

life.

apart.

and pressures

is

ram-

of every-

Relationships have deteriorated, families have split

Men and women neglect their children. Single women

with children have become a children are abused

new poverty class. Women and

and molested. And suicide

is

on the

increase.

On have risen 1993, the

14 to 17,

to

alarming

it

of violent crimes

rates. In the U.S. " Between

murder rate in young men 18

On lives

numbers

the local level, the

more than doubled/' the global level

we

to 24 doubled. In

see the devastation of

ural environment

is

children.

4

Around

being destroyed. The

increasingly polluted, crops

human

conflicts. In the

wars since 1945, 60% of the casualties have been

women and

boys

3

through increased tensions, wars, and

primarily

1983 and

civilians

—

the world, the natair

and waters are

and animals adulterated with

poisonous chemicals, and oxygen-giving trees cut down.

As

national budgets are depleted to fight crimes,

drugs, build prisons, increase the police force, develop sophisticated arms,

and so on, people are put under further

15

pressure to there

is

work harder and pay more

no end

all

symptoms

of

has not been diagnosed. With so

see

and psycho-social

improvements

At

deterioration.

seems that

an underlying

illness that

to this vicious cycle.

These are

sciences

It

taxes.

much advancement

disciplines, not only

human behavior

in

least

Since the rest,

see their

twenty years ago there was no need

have armed guards patrolling hallways

and children did not

do we not

we

patterns,

in the

kill

human

to

in public schools,

children.

being

is

the cause behind this un-

the subject of study in the various scientific, social,

and

psychological fields, as well as the experimenter and the executioner of see

all

him from

the laws in

human

societies,

a different perspective than

is

it is

important to

commonly done.

Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha has

"Man

is

a complete being, consisting of the earth

heavens, the

first

endowed with

fierce, beastly,

and the second with divine

attributes,

knowledge, cognition, and wisdom; and the totality of creation/

7

all

objects

and thus he

is

and the

and

satanic

attributes, that

and

is,

man encompasses

called the chosen of

5

In the natural dimension consisting of sensual ers

said,

instincts, the

pow-

human being is a mass of cells, moving

and reacting through the stimulation of

insatiable needs,

wishes and desires, and false appetites. As he endeavors to satisfy these

needs and desires to

16

their

optimum, he

creates

an imbalance in himself and for

power, money, prestige,

in his surroundings.

etc.

wants, since natural appetite often spurred

beast ruled

On

by

strives

The more he has, the more he insatiable. All these drives,

is

by environmental fierceness

He

factors,

make him

like a

and savagery.

this level of natural existence, like other living

organisms, he follows the natural laws of absorption, assimilation,

accumulation and repulsion. But because he

he does not control his appetites and

true balance,

and contrary

to

most other

creatures,

rejects

desires,

he does not refrain

from destroying and abusing natural resources, as well as personal and social relationships. In this dimension of thought

human being is

and tendencies, the

a slave to his desires, with

to follow his destructive master,

insatiable desires

whose ends

no

alternative but

each desire leading to other are

unknown.

Is

this

the

human being who is supposed to be the chosen of creation created in the image of

—

God?

An important principle in Sufism is that although the human

being

identity

is

is

manifested in the natural world, his true

other than the

sum

of his natural appetites

and

behaviors. Just like other organisms in nature, the physical di-

mension of the human consists mostly of water, and the remainder

is

minerals, chemical,

salts, etc.

This

isn't a being.

Apiece of wood, rock, a flower, an animal and the human are

17

all

similar in the composition of the various elements in their

physiology. However,

human from

the

other

who

The Prophets

make up

that

which distinguishes

forms on earth.

life

the "being"

the Prophets.

7

It is

the "being"

human.

that has created the It is

his "being'

it is

the subject of the message of

is

are not addressing the elements

the various organs including the brain, the

memory and

the senses.

iors learned

through the various socialization processes.

They the

They

are not addressing the behav-

are addressing the "being

77

who

baby was born, and continued

—

hood. Everything changed

mained

etc.

— but the is

has been through time: is

and

all

Know

7/

until

reached adult-

it

the body, ideas, ideals,

being

77

called

7

T

everlasting the action

the "being

what the message

always

re-

Know

and not

who

is

Know

the

peace and balance, so you

time

how

being

77

that takes place continuously.

your true

identity, the source of

may know your

Having discovered and cognized the Prophets (peace be

7/

restricted to the body, to desires,

and reaction 77

yourself.

of all Prophets

your becoming, the source of knowledge, so you

their

7

constant.

In essence, this

who

be constant throughout

underwent

the changes that the child

thoughts, goals,

to

has existed ever since

eternity.

their true identity,

upon them) announced

they had arrived at such a

to the

result.

say follow us blindly. They said, put to the

28

may live in

people of

They did not

test of

personal

experience what

know

we say. Be like the scientist who endeavors to

to the fullest the subject of his

experiment and study.

For example, the Buddha, after having seen suffer-

and embarked on the path

ing, left his life as a prince

how one

covering the cause of suffering and released from

it.

He did not stop

until

of dis-

could be

he had discovered the

answer.

Abraham's discovery was idols, so

through leased of

one can know and submit this cognition all

one must shatter

to the

and submission

that

one God.

all

It is

one can be

re-

attachments and desires.

Moses

said,

earthly appetites live in

that

by obeying

the ten

and impulses are

commandments,

controlled,

and one can

peace and tranquility, which will result in residing

with peace and tranquility in the Promised Land. Jesus said,

you must be released

earthly traits before

He

called to

this child,

him

you

And,

a child

and

Mohammad self.

the

kingdom

said, unless

will never enter the

cognize one's true self

you can enter

of all your acquired

you become

kingdom

gave directives as

He

said,

of heaven. like

of heaven. to

how one

"Whoever cognizes

can

his true

has cognized God." To attain this state one must be sub-

mitted to God. will

It is

through submission that one's actions

be founded upon knowledge and wisdom, and not on

ignorance, superstition, and blind best

amongst you

is

faith.

He

has said, "The

he whose actions manifest his wisdom."

19

Every single duty step

ordained by God,

is

a

and a method toward self-knowledge. Each and every

duty has a

reality

behind

in each person. In Islam, its

in Islam, as

reality is

it

any

act of devotion

which

is

void of

considered as null. Anything that comes between

and God

the believer

is

duality.

God commanded

O

which must be experienced with-

Ahmad,

if

my

the Prophet of Islam, servant keeps his prayers as

those of the world and heaven, and keeps his fast as those of the earth

and heaven, and

he ab-

if

from nourishment as the angels, and if he be naked of garment, and if he sees in his heart stains

love for the world, hypocrisy or pride,

turn his heart until he withdraws, and give

If

him

the sweet taste of

one looks

I

I

shall

shall not

my affection. 6

at the life of the Prophets,

one cannot

but see a stable security, self-control, humanity, compassion,

and determination

shaken by the most

that could not be

midable events. The law that has governed the

lives of the

Prophets has been the law of submission, and their

and knowledge

is

for-

wisdom

rooted in this law.

Unfortunately, the majority of people think that to be

submitted means you are subservient to someone. No, that blind faith, and not worthy of the dignity of the as ordained

by God. Submission

is

is

human being

the vitality of Islam,

because of the dynamic evolution and revolution that takes place from the core of the believer,

20

where

all

boundaries of

separation and duality cease to exist, and in truthfulness the believer attests to the oneness of illa'llah"

— there

is

no other but God. Attestation

verbal, but the believer's body,

being

God, by saying,

mind, and heart

is

"\a-i\aha-

not only

— his entire

—must resonate with the presence of the one God. God Almighty has

My

said:

servant endlessly seeks closeness to

through

sacrifice so that

I

Me

may love him; so when

I love him, I shall be the eyes with which he sees, and the ears with which he hears, the tongue with which he speaks, the hands with which he holds, the steps with which he endeavors; thus he shall see by Me, and he shall hear by Me, and he shall speak by Me, and he shall hold by Me.

This

ed

is

the law of submission,

where the

to earthly attachments ceases to be,

The message and about

he or she really

is.

person

bound-

and only God

instructions of Islam are

this revolution in the

self

meant

who wants

to

exists.

to bring

know who

The School of the Prophets is the School

of

Self-Knowledge. If

we

look at the

balance. In the dently, for

human body we

human body

see

harmony and

each organ functions indepen-

and yet works in harmony with the rest of the system,

one purpose, the good of the whole which ensures the

survival of the part. This law governs verse.

hand

We

all entities in

the uni-

see that the fingers are submitted to the hand, the

to the brain,

and so

on.

They work

21

as one unit.

From

the molecules, to the cells, to the organs, they

munity and

in

harmony with each

reason for this vast cooperation small to the large)

among which

even though they

entity are

own

its

is

first

composing elements.

the

inherent knowl-

one and the same.

For any system to be formed,

tive field

com-

that each entity (from the

is

submitted to

is

Knowledge and

attraction

a

law which governs each individually. The

live the cellular

edge.

other,

work as

must be

there

It is the attrac-

transformed into either energy or matter.

For example, although Albert Einstein discovered his

famous equation E=mc 2 he did not conclude ,

that matter

is

o

energy or vice versa. equivalent

(i.e.

ery, scientists

He

only spoke about the two being

of equal value). Ever since Einstein's discov-

have endeavored

matter, but as of yet they

to find the ultimate nature of

have not been successful. The con-

version of matter to energy and energy to matter

through

From

is

emitted and the total mass

we

the foregoing explanation,

always

two hydrogen atoms,

attraction. In the fusion of

example, energy

is

is

for

reduced.

can conclude that the

attractive field converts to the released energy.

For the formation to actually take place, the ing elements

system that

must converge

to function at its

into a state of

optimum,

all

attract-

harmony. For that

elements composing

system must be in harmony. In the definition of a single

cell, it

has been said that

tational

and universal

when

the physical, chemical, gravi-

forces act in

22

harmony, the

cell

appears

(or is formed). This cell contains all the physical aspects of

the universe

and

also contains all the forces, or power, or

energy which has enabled state.

I

have called It is

it

and

to act

react in

its

current

"The Principle of Harmony".

this

mathematically

shown

that the energy distribu-

tion of the proton in space determines

how much

energy

should be invested by the electron. In other words, the

elec-

tron follows the field of the proton to determine the energy distribution of the total

This

hydrogen atom. The part with the smaller

energy submits to the part with bigger is

total energy.

"The Principle of Submission." Finally, the electron invests as

allowed

to.

The

negative fields

result of

is light.

light is twice as

much energy

That

The energy

distribution of the shared

much as that which each particle would have

"H" atom. I have the result of

is,

another

is

it is

matching these two positive and

in space. Half of this shared light leaves this "united"

of the

as

called this,

system

"The Principle of Unity".

harmony and submission

of a system to

"Unity".

Thus, the "attractive" force between the electron and proton results in their "unity", that

is,

atom. The off product of the "attraction" father,

point,

tion

is

"light".

As

Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha has

"Attraction

is

he has

light

and

light is attraction."

said, "Gravitation is actually

between the trapped

To explain

my

said, this

nothing but attrac-

light of the atoms,

23

"H"

the birth of the

i.e.,

the shared

radiation

between the electrons and protons/' And we read

in the Holy Qur'an (24:35):

God

the Light of the heavens

is

The parable

And

Niche

in Glass: Lit

within

The

it

glass

from a blessed

and the

earth.

were a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed as it were a brilliant star:

of His Light

is

as

there

if

a

Tree,

an Olive, neither of the

Nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, Though fire scarce touched it: Light upon East

Light."

From

the foregoing examples,

we

anything to come together there must

can see that for

first

be

attraction.

Then, harmony, submission and unity are possible. The result

the

is light.

power

This

is

the key to the teachings of Islam,

of attraction creates an internal revolution in the

believer, until his entire

mately he but

God

where

is

being

is

submitted to God, and

annihilated in the Absolute,

— the

There

light of the

is

ulti-

and none remains,

heavens and earth.

only one law in the universe, and that

is

the

law of "Oneness". Knowledge, balance, and harmony are inherent in this law; that in the universe.

ment laws, and

is

why we

Humanity has

see

tried to establish

to devise ideologies

democratic to communist

—

harmony and peace

that

and systems

— from

would make people

behave with the same order and balance that fest in the universe.

and imple-

we

see mani-

But unfortunately humanity has not yet

been successful. Peace and tranquility do not prevail in

24

human

— from the smallest

societies

unit, the family, to the

global level.

Peace and tranquility can never be realized unless

human being

each

educated to discover the laws govern-

is

ing his or her being.

By education

I

do not mean "acquired

We do

knowledge", but "innate endowed knowledge." educated people

who

are abusive,

who fight and

kill.

and order mass executions.

leaders plan wars

see

World

Scientists

knowingly and intentionally design weapons of destruction,

and so

on.

Knowledge manifest bility

and peace. The essence

stability in their

of the

how

has been to teach people

and

in the universe results in sta-

own

message of the Prophets

lives.

However, instead

ticing these instructions as indicated

ple have

made

same peace

to arrive at the

of prac-

by the Prophets, peo-

religion a matter of inheritance, ritual,

and

what the

blind faith, which are totally the opposite of

Prophets have said. If

tion will

have I

you do not have knowledge

be of no value. People repeat what the Prophets

said, thinking that they too

may know God, and

that

God, but

what I say is

I

may

you can see God, and

tion with

of something, repeti-

this is

have the same knowledge.

tell

that

you

that

God

you can be

my experience.

in

Even

is real,

communicaif

you repeat

a million times, the experience remains

not yours.

25

and

mine and

If

you keep repeating

the

word knowledge,

will

it

not give you the vast experience contained in the word. Similarly, quility,

if

you

you repeat

the

therefore, they will not

have any

Repetition of any

political,

memory "God"

to a

try or family or

etc.

who

word

creates

images in the mind

factors

which have shaped the if

you say

has been reared in a Muslim coun-

environment, his image of

from that of someone

who

God

will differ

has been brought up in a Jewish

or Christian environment. For the Buddhist, the

"God"

will

"Existence"

have virtually no image. Whereas, it

tran-

reality for you.

each individual. For example,

person

and

to the cultural, social, environmental,

economic, files of

stability,

have gone through the experience,

will not

which are linked

words peace,

will bring

images

to the person's

if

word

you say

mind which

are directly linked to his or her social, cultural, etc. environ-

ment.

Because

all

inputs to the brain are a result of the

interaction of the senses with the external environment, the

information system in the brain, using in the

its

data bank stored

memory files, continuously evaluates incoming infor-

mation. Based on this process, the brain decides what to do

with the incoming information, and then issues the rest of the organs as to

what they should

its

order to

do.

If

the

incoming information does not evoke any response in the

memory,

it is

not recognized as valid, unless more detail

26

is

provided for the incoming information, thereby making possible to connect with forced,

it is

what already

exists. If

it is

it

not rein-

not filed in the long term memory, and eventu-

ally dissipates. In general,

whatever

we

are not familiar

with requires more detail so that connection and recognition

may

take place.

knowledge based on the inputs

Therefore,

senses

is

limited

and not

of the

constant. Because the senses are in

a state of change, they cannot provide stability

and peace.

Knowledge based on personal experience and absolute cognition results in peace

since our "being'

7

not match our ''being flict

and causes

tranquility because

harmony with

in

is

and

7

'

or reality

becomes

repeat

what they have

has no reality for you, therefore

it

is

tion

is

illusion.

People

say,

I

am

Jew because they have been born or Jewish family.

and

it

a source of con-

Since imagina-

illlusion,

have a stable foundation and will create Religion as practiced in most

illusion

it is

is real.

not based on knowledge, but

If

Whatever does

a source of con-

becomes

Anything based on knowledge

gion?

real,

based on knowledge.

said,

flict.

more than

is

stress.

What the Prophets have said

When you

reality.

it

it

does not

stress.

human

societies is

no

a Muslim, Christian, or

into a

Muslim, Christian,

Did the Prophets say you can

inherit reli-

the parents' schooling, research, life-experiences can

be inherited, so can

religion.

Can you

27

inherit

your parents'

experience of love? Or, can you inherit what they had seen in their travels?

words, see

it

When we

speak about

sounds absurd. But,

if

it

you pay

such tangible

in

you

attention,

will

how absurd it is when people say I am Christian, Jewish

or Moslem, because they

had parents who were

Christian,

Jewish or Moslem. Just as

any action brings with

own

it its

so does religion. Your thirst will not be satisfied ine that

you or your parents drink

water, your thirst

is

this to all the facets of

reality for you.

is

you imag-

released of

is

You can apply

the reality of religion.

same It is

reality.

This

based on the

is

It is

not imaginary,

forced, nor enforced. ty in

your

ative

and

life at all

it

cannot be inherited,

Having

religion

must

it

why

reality of

your "being", the stable and constant center of your tence.

drink

life.

Religion must have the

Sufism

if

When you

quenched, your system

and then water has a

stress,

water.

experience,

exis-

cannot be

result in stabili-

times, just like the Prophets.

It is

not

rel-

subject to cultural, environmental, political, etc.

interpretations.

Each of stability.

entity in this universe has

If

of the fetus

you look

you

its

at the evolutionary stages of

and the mass

becomes the

growth

will see that shortly after conception

approximately after twenty-one days beat,

source and center

of cells begin to

life-link

and source

28

—

there

is

—

a pulse

form into a heart which

for the

development of the

organism.

rest of the

It is

from the heart that the nerves

begin to branch out and then the brain and the rest of the organs are formed. The brain and

on the heart throughout the heart that

works

the brain ceases to

The point the

human

phets, the heart

the

gateway

and so to

is

is

Even

moments

as soon as

of stability

being. This

organs are dependent

their life-cycle.

until the last

work

all

it is

of

whereas,

is

the heart in

in the teachings of the Pro-

so significant. The heart

to the unseen, the

life,

it is

cut off from oxygen.

and knowledge

why

at death,

is

referred to as

heavenly kingdom, the Ka'be, people have taken the heart

forth. Unfortunately,

be only a symbolic reference to something beyond.

Whereas,

it is

the physical heart

which

is

the gateway to the

realm of God. Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha, Pir Oveyssi has called this luminous point, the source of the heart. his

He

life in

has spoken about this extensively in most of

books including, The Mystery of Humanity, The Hidden

Angles of Life, and Al-Rasa'el which are available in English

and French. To emphasize

this point,

I

would

like to

quote a few

passages from the Scriptures and the Holy Qur'an which point to the significance of the heart in the teachings of the Prophets:

And

every wise hearted

and make

all

among you

the Lord hath

35:10)

29

shall come commanded. (Exodus

"Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try and my heart/' (Psalm of David 26:2)

my

reins

Have they not

traveled in the land, so that they

should have hearts with which to understand or ears with

which

to hear?

For surely

it is

not their

eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts

which

The Prophets

and

it is

is

to

are in their breasts. (Holy Qur'an 22:46)

centrality of the heart in the teachings of the

important, because

it is

the source of our being,

our source that the return must be made. From the

time of the Upanishads the wise have said: It is

in

knowing yourself

limitations,

and the

that

you

will

"Know yourself."

be freed of your

fears,

boundaries you have created be-

false

tween yourself, others and Existence.

The human being

book he must

learn

read our "book",

its

is

alphabet.

we must

of our being. Hazrat

a complete "book". To read this

The Prophets have

said, to

return to our origin, to the source

Mir Ghotbeddin

Mohammad Angha, Pir

Oveyssi has said:

only the alphabet of the one spiritual book were revealed to man, and the secret of the soul discovered, he would need none of the words sealed in silent books, and yet would know the If

story whole.

The above Prophets.

is

the essence of the

message of the

Read your "book", so you may know

you may know where you came from,

30

yourself, so

why you

are here,

and what

lies

beyond your

stress, disquiet

and

life

on earth. All unknowns bring

instability in

said that each person

is

our

lives.

The Prophets have

capable of discovering the un-

knowns, and has the knowledge and the means

The source of life can

make

in

your heart is the

do

this.

way through which you

this discovery.

Thus, the true meaning of education alphabet of the book of one's the hidden lives

to

own being,

so

is

learning the

we may discover

and unknown dimensions of our being, so our

may be founded upon knowledge and

result in stability

and peace. In

my opinion, thinkers and leaders of the world, in-

stead of persisting in designing ry idea

known

to construct a

know

one person are

illuso-

as society, should put aside their past techni-

ques and endeavor guide him to

and implementing an

balanced

human being and

When

the true values of

his true values.

totally

known,

it is

possible to design

and im-

plement other laws of action that are built upon those values.

where individuals

In a society

are trained to

their self- worth, that society will enjoy prosperity,

and

equality,

and

unfounded ideas

its

at

and

happiness

members will stand against baseless and any

cost.

ing of prosperity for the structive ideas

know

They

human

shall

know

society,

the true

mean-

with sound, con-

action.

The happiness and prosperity that mankind has envisioned and aspired to for

human

31

society will prevail only

— irrespective of personal disposition, but while enjoying physical well-being — will also attain when all

individuals

and benefit from an elevated

human

society

is

spiritual state.

attained through the

harmony of each of its members, and

A prosperous

outward and inward

their

harmonious

exis-

tence in a unified system.

We must not umental projects

think that

The human being

is

to

undertake mon-

The solution

to attain this goal.

cover the stable truth which ity.

we need

is

to dis-

common throughout humansystem of

in the universal

God

evol-

ved from one source. The differences we see among the

members

individual

human being's pure

of

humanity are

factors

and

the essence

manifestations.

sacrificed for

To have

to the

essence during the course of his evolu-

tionary development in nature is

added

stability

its

society.

The

result

and peace we must return

is

that

to

our

Source, our Origin. The teachings of the Prophets have pro-

vided

human beings

unknowns which instability

may be

May God

with a blueprint for

are the source of our uncertainties

book

being;

grant you the resolve to endeavor on the

of the soul so

may He

and

resolved.

path of self-knowledge; the

this return, so the

may He

teach

you

the alphabet of

you may read the book

of your

grant you patience and perseverance to cul-

tivate

your being

ers of

your

to its fullest so

societies;

you

may He open

32

will

be the peacemak-

the gate of the City of

Knowledge unto your by the

light of

soul, so

your actions

knowledge and wisdom.

33

may be guided

Endnotes

1.

Stark,

F.

(1992, Dec.)

American

Institute of Stress.

American Health, pp.

42-47.

2.

Sapiro, V. (1994)

Women

in

American

Society.

Mountain View, CA: May-

field.

3.

"Gun Ownership

Doubles", (1995, Jan.

Rises Steadily, 3)

And Murder

The Washington

Rate for Young

Men

Post. Health, p. 12.

Haas, Michael. (1992). A Paradigm of Community for the Post-Cold In Tehranian, Katharine & Majid. (1992). Restructuring for World Peace. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

4.

War World.

5.

Angha, Molana al-Moazam Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, p. 14.

(1988).

Al-Rasa'el.

6.

Al-Rasa'el. p. 16.

7.

Al-Rasa'el. p. 21.

8.

Barnett, Lincoln. (1961). The Universe and Dr. Einstein.

William 9.

New

York:

Morrow & Company.

Angha, Molana al-Moazam Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh

&

Aryainejad, Sirus. (1994). Professor Sadegh Angha's Theory of Particle Structure and Its Applications (The Epic of Life). New York: Vantage Press.

35

********************** Genealogy of Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi (School of Islamic Sufism)®

Prophet

Imam

Mohammad

Ali

Hazrat Oveys Gharani*

Hazrat Salman Farsi Hazrat Habib-ibn Salim Ra'i Hazrat Soltan Ebrahim

Adham

Abu Ali Shaqiq al-Balkhi Hazrat Sheikh Abu Torab Nakhshabi Hazrat

Hazrat Sheikh Abi Amr al-Istakhri Hazrat Abu Ja'far Hazza Hazrat Sheikh Kabir Abu Abdollah Mohammad-ibn Khafif Shirazi

*

Hazrat Sheikh Hossein Akkar Hazrat Sheikh Morshed Abu-Isshaq Shahriar Kazerouni

*

Hazrat Khatib Abolfath Abdolkarim Hazrat Ali-ibn Hassan Basri Hazrat Serajeddin Abolfath Mahmoud-ibn Hazrat Sheikh

Abu Abdollah Rouzbehan

Mahmoudi Sabouni Beyzavi

Baghli Shirazi

Hazrat Sheikh Najmeddin Tamat-al Kobra Khivaghi Hazrat Sheikh Ali Lala Ghaznavi Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Zaker Jowzeghani Hazrat Noureddin Abdolrahman Esfarayeni Hazrat Sheikh Alaoddowleh Semnani Hazrat

Mahmoud Mazdaghani

Hazrat Amir Seyyed Ali Hamedani Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Khatlani Hazrat Seyyed

Mohammad Abdollah Ghatifi

al-Hasavi Nourbakhsh

Hazrat Shah Ghassem Feyzbakhsh

Hazrat Hossein Abarghoui Janbakhsh Hazrat Darvish Malek Ali Joveyni Hazrat Hazrat Hazrat Hazrat

Darvish Ali Sodeyri Darvish Kamaleddin Sodeyri Darvish Mohammad Mozaheb Karandehi

(Pir

Palandouz)

Mir Mohammad Mo'men Sodeyri Sabzevari Hazrat Mir Mohammad Taghi Shahi Mashhadi Hazrat Mir Mozaffar Ali Hazrat Mir Mohammad Ali Hazrat Seyyed Shamseddin Mohammad Hazrat Seyyed Abdolvahab Naini Hazrat Haj Mohammad Hassan Kouzekanani Hazrat Agha Abdolghader Jahromi Hazrat Jalaleddin Ali Mir Abolfazl Angha Hazrat Mir Ghotbeddin Mohammad Angha Hazrat Molana Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha Hazrat Salaheddin Ali Nader Shah Angha

Ac

* ************************ *The conventional Arabic transliteration

is

Uways al-Qarani

i

*********************************1

irir±**iric**'**'**********************-

ISBN 0-910735-94-8 50600>

9 '7809 10" 735940'