The Universe - The Nothing Residing in The Everything

“Thank you for coming Ayushya; it seems like a long time since we’ve last talked.”

“Yes Mera, a long time, and at the same time, no time at all.”

“Indeed, my dear friend, indeed.”

“The tea is wonderful and your garden, as always, is beautiful.”

“Grandfather has such an attentive eye; he attends to all the details.”

“And will he be joining us today Mera?”

“Possibly later; he has a few things to do today, but you know he always welcomes the opportunity to sit with you.”

“And I enjoy being in his company as well. So, in your note you mentioned you had been pondering something?”

“Yes Ayushya, I have been re-reading the Meher Baba book, Infinite Intelligence, and on page 73 there is a statement—may I read it to you?”

“Of course.”

“‘The universe is nothing but darkness residing in Light; nothing but imagination residing in Intelligence; nothing but ignorance residing in knowledge; nothing but the Nothing residing in the Everything; nothing but the utmost finitude residing in the Infinite; nothing but the shadow residing in the Paramatma. Itself most finite, the universe resides as a drop in the infinite Ocean of Paramatma.’”

“I too have read this statement, actually a number of times, and find it quite remarkable also; what strikes you about it Mera?”

“I’m sure that the most remarkable thing for me, and this applies to all of Meher Baba’s statements as well, is that they emanate from Baba’s own direct experience. I think I can feel that.”

“Words that proceed from the Source of Truth have real meaning…”

“Yes, exactly Ayushya, and I think also that Baba’s constant reminder that, as Hafez said, ‘The universe and all its affairs are truly nothing into nothing.’”

“The words of Hafez, another fully God Realized soul, proceed from the Source of Truth.”

“Indeed.”

“Something that affects me deeply in Baba’s statement, and I wonder if it does you as well Mera, is the way he uses the word resides? ‘…darkness residing in Light… imagination residing in Intelligence… nothing but ignorance residing in knowledge…’”

“Yes, at first I even wondered if, perhaps, Baba could have said, light residing in darkness… intelligence residing in imagination.., etc.”

“That would be something quite different indeed!”

“I agree, but please don’t ask me to explain why! And what about you Ayushya, do you have some thoughts about it?”

“Yes Mera, I have thoughts—and  thoughts and thoughts—about everything!

“And I’m glad you do, as I find your thoughts to be unique and inspiring!”

“Thank you Mera, you’re too kind!”

“More tea Ayushya?”

Yes please.”

“So regarding Baba’s statement; the word residing also captures my attention because it subtly implies an impermanent or passing state—of the universe, of imagination, of ignorance, of the shadow…”

“Of everything our human consciousness takes as real and ever-lasting.”

“Exactly! It’s like my name, the name you and your grandfather suggested to me years ago, Ayushya—a period of time—a period of time defined not so much by what it is, but by the Reality that exists on either side of it—of the nothing residing in the Everything!”

“Ah Grandfather, I’m so happy to see you. Please have a seat and I’ll serve you some tea. I believe that the conversation has only just begun.”

“You were talking about the Nothing and the Everything?”

“Yes Grandfather, we were considering Meher Baba’s words in the book Infinite Intelligence—that the Nothing resides in the Everything.”

“The Nothing resides in the Everything—yes, that is very interesting.”

“Exactly, that is exactly what we were talking about. Ayushya was saying that the way in which Baba said it suggests the impermanence of illusion with regard to Reality.”

“Will you be so kind as to re-read Baba’s words?”

“Of course:

 “‘The universe is nothing but darkness residing in Light; nothing but imagination residing in Intelligence; nothing but ignorance residing in knowledge; nothing but the Nothing residing in the Everything; nothing but the utmost finitude residing in the Infinite; nothing but the shadow residing in the Paramatma. Itself most finite, the universe resides as a drop in the infinite Ocean of Paramatma.’”

“Grandfather, what were you thinking just now when you had your eyes closed?”

“I was remembering that in the ghazal I was reading the deer first approached the hiding place of the hunter and called out; ‘Why are shooting at me? I am your friend.’ But as time went on and the hunter, still hidden, continued to shoot arrow into the deer, the deer called out again; “You continue to shoot your arrows at me, yet refuse to show yourself to me. Over time, you and your arrows have taken everything from me. I have no life anymore; I have no desire for anything of this world or the next; all I have are these wounds. So, I implore you, either show yourself to me, or continue to shoot your arrows, because it has come to pass that in each wound I see the image of your face and long for you more and more and still yet more!’ That is was I was thinking Mera.”

“The beauty of that ghazal is beyond all words, but why Grandfather, did Baba’s words inspire that ghazal in you just then?”

“Because, my dear, for me, Baba’s words are those arrows he sends to us to remind us to remember him until the time determined by him to reveal himself to us as our own most-beloved Self.”

 “And are we to conclude from your story of the deer and the hunter that you experience Meher Baba’s words as the hunter’s arrows?”

“My dear, do you remember Upasani Maharaj’s description of the Jivatma (embodied soul) as, ‘that pure celestial soul identified with the projections of the mind.’?”

“Yes.”

“So as a way of answering your question, it is my jiv in the state of experiencing imagination as reality that experiences Baba’s words as arrows, while my atma simultaneously experiences Baba’s words to be like water is to a thirsty man, or a raft is to a drowning one.”

“That is your experience?”

“Yes, but only sometimes, and always only more or less.”

“May I see the book?”

“Of course Ayushya.”

“I would enjoy discussing with both of you these words from Meher Baba regarding the consciousness of the sixth plane.

‘The Infinite Intelligence as sant, akmal, or pir creates the universe infinitely and knows and understands this. It feels that the universe has come forth from Itself and, moreover, feels the universe to be its own imagination or shadow. It realizes the universe for the benefit and salvation of others, to draw others from the low material plane to the higher spiritual planes. It does not take Self-realization and does not enter into Nirvikalp Samadhi, knowing that if It did so, It would not be able to come back to the planes, as the Sadguru does, but would become a Majub, unable to serve the world for its salvation.’”

“How beautiful! Yes Ayushya there is so much in this statement, where shall we begin?”

“The first thing, for me, is the statement that on the sixth plane, the highest and final plane before Realization, one is actually aware of oneself as the creator of the universe! To my knowledge, Baba has not revealed this fact before?”

“Indeed, although he does say as much in God Speaks, I don’t recall seeing exactly this formulation in any of his other written teachings—Grandfather?”

“Nor I.”

“And Grandfather, does something strike you about Baba’s statement?”

“Yes, you know that in the various forms of Buddhism there is the Bodhisattva vow—where the practitioner dedicates his life and future lifetimes to working for the emancipation of all sentient beings from the grip of samsara.”

   

“Yes, Grandfather, I was thinking the same thing—that Baba’s words bring great clarity to the subject.”

“Of course not all who take this vow are on the sixth plane, I’m quite sure that most are not, but I believe the vow is rooted in the striving to be able to live such a life of service as does the real six-planer—the sant, akmal, or pir.”

“Yes, and also that Baba reminds us that when the sant, akmal, or pir does enter into Nirvikalp Samadhi (Realization), he does not take another birth in creation—his connection to the planes is severed forever.”

“Except for those very few who take that next divine journey to become a Sadguru.”

“Indeed!”

                                                                     

 “Ayushya, you had an interesting expression on your face just now?”

“I was thinking about our conversation, how it began—can you please read the quote again from Infinite Intelligence?”

“Of course; ‘The universe is nothing but darkness residing in Light; nothing but imagination residing in Intelligence; nothing but ignorance residing in knowledge; nothing but the Nothing residing in the Everything; nothing but the utmost finitude residing in the Infinite; nothing but the shadow residing in the Paramatma. Itself most finite, the universe resides as a drop in the infinite Ocean of Paramatma.’”

“Mera, you mentioned that Meher Baba’s words help you to remember—your grandfather said as much, and it is the same for me also. I was just now considering how I work with Baba’s words regarding the nature of the universe and the reality of my Self. 

“You know, Baba gives us so much; not only does He tell us that the universe is but a shadow, is  but imagination, is but Nothing, He also goes into great depth about the mechanics of the expression  of this shadow, this, imagination, this Nothing. For example, He tells us that mind creates the universe and mind takes the experience of the universe.

“He tells us that the nature of the mind is to think and that the universe is thought imagined by the mind. He explains that it is also thought in the form of gross and gross and subtle bodies that take the experience of its own imagination which is the universe.

“The reason why Baba’s words have such power is because His words are not ideas that He has come up with or read somewhere, they are the expression of His direct experience. Baba truly experiences the universe and all its affairs as truly nothing into nothing.

“Of course there is a vast difference between my state and Baba’s state, and therefore I don’t experience mind—its imaginings and its thoughts—in the way that Baba explains. 

“And also, of course, no amount of thinking on my part can bring me to Baba’s experience, but I do find the attempt to reconcile Meher Baba’s experience with my own experience is like a meditation for me, and I sincerely enjoy the activity, but most importantly, it is a way that I can remember Baba.”

“And Ayushya, can you give us an example of what you do?”

“I will try, although it is always different. Now, the other day I decided to take a walk. I left my apartment in Istanbul and began walking down the street. As I walked I tried to bring myself into the state of presence. It was a cold rainy day, but the street was still full of people. I began to consider; ‘How much of this ‘reality’ that I am experiencing do I feel that I am creating?”

“There seemed to be two possibilities; the first was that I definitely, through my own decision, had decided to take the walk and decided to find the state of presence. I could have decided to stay home and not walk. That seemed clear; I was the creator of my walk. 

“The second possibility had to do with that which I could not take credit for. I had decided to take the walk, but I had not decided that it would be cold and rainy or that the street would be crowded with people.”

“Are you speaking about the question of free will versus predestination?”

“In a way yes, and I do recall when the question was once asked of Meher Baba, He asked the questioner, ‘Can you pick up your foot from the ground?’ The questioner stood on one foot. Baba then asked the questioner to pick up the other foot. Of course, he couldn’t, and that was Baba’s answer to the question—and it is also was my answer to my question; the first foot was taking the walk but the second foot, the foot I could not lift  through an act of will, was the cold rainy day and the people I encountered along the way.

“On one level these two possibilities, or states, seemed clear to me, but I wanted to experience them as I walked. Of course, I could not experience them as Baba does, but there was a clarity to my state—another dimension to my experience—do I dare say that I was just a little more awake?  Mr. Salih, do you happen to recall that poem you once wrote for Mera on her thirteenth birthday?”

 A Sip of Wine

“Inscribe these words in your heart. Nothing is real but God, Nothing matters but love for God!”

Oh Lord, my eyes believe that all they see is real —

Are not these stones and trees and birds and bees

and creatures of the earth and sky and sea real?

My lover, they are not real,

the Self within them is what’s real.

Their forms are only shadows cast

 that come and go

from nothing to nowhere.

See them, love them,

but upon them do not depend.

And my Lord,

what of men who speak and walk and love and hate,

who laugh and cry with joy and pain,

and grow from babes to live and die —

are they not real — like You and I?

My lover, they are not real,

nor is the pain and pleasure that they feel.

The Self within them is what’s real,

while their forms like clouds that cross the sky

appear as shapes that dance and cry.

Know them, love them,

but upon them do not depend —

the Self that is real has no beginning or end.

But my Lord, I am a man.

Am I not real,

or my thoughts and what I feel?

Who is it then that seeks for You

and in my heart what voice speaks to You?

And are You real or just a dream?

It seems that nothing’s what it seems!

My lover, you are not real,

the Self within you is what’s real —

that Self and I are really one.

When you experience this, my work is done.

You say that nothing’s what it seems,

and that’s because your life’s my dream,

though in this dream my life’s displaced

and found again when you’re effaced.

Know Me.

Love Me.

Upon Me alone depend.

Within you I will awaken in Bliss,

beyond beginning and without end.

Remember, dear one, these words I say,

‘Nothing is real but God.

Nothing matters but love for God.’

 “Grandfather, I have always treasured that poem you wrote for me. In its most sweet way it brings me back to what Baba always comes back to—always reminds us of—that God alone is real!”

“Yes, Baba is so very consistent. The more and more I read His words, the more and more I realize that He is always saying the same exact thing—He is always showing us who He is, who I am, and what is the true nature of His creation—He is always revealing the nature of the relationship among all of the various expressions of the same one Infinity.”

“Indeed Ayushya, indeed! I remember a talk in Beams From Meher Baba called The Whim from the Beyond, in which Baba states, ‘In the Beyond-Beyond state of God there is unconscious inaction; at the goal of man there is conscious inaction; and in the intermediate state there is conscious action which is established in illusion.’”

“Indeed, conscious action is the goal of the man-state in creation. Did not Baba say that conscious action in the man state brings about a fusion point which becomes the medium for effecting harmony among the gross, subtle, and mental bodies?”

“I believe that is accurately put; and did He not say also, that the fusion point also brings all three bodies under the control of what is sometimes called the Universal Body, which is the seat of the Universal Mind?”

“Yes, all that ran through my mind when Ayushya was talking about his walk through the streets of Istanbul and how he worked to establish a state of presence from which to observe, as it were, the world through the eyes of Reality rather than the eyes of Illusion.”

“Indeed, I believe that the very effort creates the fusion point—whether the effort to see the world through the eyes of reality is actually successful or not.”

“True, I cannot claim to have actually seen the world through the eyes of Reality—through Baba’s eyes.”

“Conscious action, it appears in so many teachings;

‘Be awake, do not sleep!’ (Jesus in the New Testament).

‘Remember, be here now.’ (Ramdas—from the book of the same name).

‘Remember yourself!’ (Gurdjieff).

"And grandfather, can you repeat the Sufi saying about the son of the moment?”

“Indeed, ‘Think not about the past or the future; become the son of the moment; and take death as the target before your eyes.’”

“More tea Ayushya?”

“Yes please.”

“So while listening to grandfather and you talking about Baba’s words, I began to remember a school friend of mine when I was just a little girl. Her family was Christian and she used to repeat this affirmation in church:

‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.’

“Even at the time, I used to think that many of these words were generally consistent with some of the things that Baba said, but some others seemed, well, a bit off.”

“And did you talk to your friend about this?”

“I thought about it, but I didn’t, for what did I know… The affirmation was about belief, but belief is not experience, and for me belief is not enough. For me, I wanted to experience for myself—know for myself— the reality behind these assertions.”

“Indeed. Why sit on the shore and argue about the ocean without having ever experienced the ocean and its depths?”

“Indeed Grandfather! What is the good of sitting on the shore and arguing about the nature of the ocean when the ocean is right there for all to experience?”

“Yes, my dear, there are those who hear about the ocean and the shore but never go to the ocean and the shore. Then there are those who go to the ocean and the shore but only sit on the shore and gaze at the ocean. Then there are those who venture to the water and dip there feet. A few might also venture a little further, but only a very very few will dive so deep into the ocean that they lose themselves totally in the ocean only to find themselves as the Ocean.”

“Yes, while the All Merciful One continues to remind us that at one time or another all will acquire that longing to experience the ocean—each and every one—each in their own time—like the seed that eventually sprouts, and grows into a plant, and flowers, and opens fully to the sun.”

“While in the meantime, Meher Baba also reminds us, ‘Live not in ignorance. Do not waste your precious life-span in differentiating and judging your fellowmen, but learn to long for the love of God.’”

 “More tea Grandfather?”

“Yes my dear; you know I was just thinking about tea.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I was imagining that there was nothing else—only tea.”

“Please go on.”

“Yes, just tea—Infinite tea—tea without beginning and without end—nothing above it or below it or around it—just tea everywhere, nothing except tea.”

“Are you saying tea leaves?”

“Yes, exactly, Ayushya, and that tea gets the whim to experience itself—to know itself.”

“And for that experience, for that knowledge of itself, the tea leaves need to become tea.”

“Yes, the tea leaves need to become tea and then the tea needs to drink itself!”

“Amazing! But how is that possible?”

“Exactly Mira, that is what I was considering; for to become tea to drink it needs water, a way to heat the water, and a pot for steeping.”

“And then it needs cups to drink the tea and a form to taste it.”

“Exactly, but none of these exist because tea leaves are the only reality—the only thing that exists.”

“A dilemma! What’s the way out?”

“Well the only way out is for the tea leaves to imagine the water and the pot.”

“And even imagine itself as someone who can drink the tea.”

“Yes, the tea leaves needs to imagine that it is the pot, the water, the cup, the brewer of the tea, and the drinker of the tea.”

“Indeed, the tea needs to be the imaginer and the one who experienced that imagination.”

“And so we are talking about Infinite Intelligence as teas leaves.”

“Exactly, that is what I was thinking.”

 “Ayushya, I understand you have been doing some traveling these days…”

“Yes Mira, it’s been very enjoyable. You know, a vacation is a great metaphor for reincarnation.”

“How so?”

“Well, where one goes on vacation is determined by the plans one puts in place to go somewhere, and this is determined by sanskaras accumulated during one’s lifetime—places one visited or heard about, the amount of time one have for the holidays, one’s financial situation too…  In other words, as Meher Baba has taught us, one’s current lifetime is the consolidated mold of the sanskaras gathered in one’s previous lifetime.”

“Indeed!”

“Then, as the time of the vacation approaches, one begins to get his affairs in order—like the arrangements one makes at the end of one’s lifetime…

“The journey begins with travel and this is like the death state between lifetimes.

“One eventually arrives at his destination and what happens? He begins to establish patterns and habits consistent with his previous lifetime. For me, I begin to establish those things—those activities—which ‘at home’ were important to me. I find a place to do my music; I establish a time and place for my meditation and prayers. I stock my kitchen with the food and wine that I enjoy. In other words, I create my new life—my vacation life—consistent with the habits and patterns that I am familiar with. This is very much as it is with the taking of a new life—a new incarnation.”

“Yes, I can see that—very interesting.”

“These habits and patterns may take some time to establish, because in each new incarnation one needs to go through a kind of orientation process in which one begins to ‘find oneself’ again. This is similar to the ‘relearning’ or ‘remembering’ that one goes through during the transition from infant, to child, to adult—and the timing of this relearning or remembering is also consistent with one’s experiences in their previous lifetime(s).”

“And when the vacation is over?”

“In fact, it is just one vacation after another—one lifetime after another— until, as Maulana Shabistari said, “He returns to the door from which he first came out, although in his journey he went from door to door.”

“Thank you Ayushya, your explanation is as enjoyable as it is enlightening.”

“Thank you Mira, and so now to return to our initial conversation, is there anything more you wish to add concerning Meher Baba’s teachings found in the book, Infinite Intelligence?”

“I’m sure I could talk about it endlessly—every page is so interesting.”

“For example?”

“Yes for example, Baba’s statements regarding pran and akash. Originally they were one, but with the onset of the thinking (imagination) of Infinite Intelligence, they became split, and then in their attempt to reunite, pran (as energy), began to work on akash (as space), to fill that space, and the result of this action was the production, through thinking, of infinite subtle and gross forms that could experience the imagination of the thinking of Infinite Intelligence’s Infinite mind.”

“Yes Mira, there is for me also, something unique in Baba’s explanation of this topic—the expression of a kind of coherent dynamic that reconciles all of the various states of God. Mr. Salih?”

“I am reminded that before the beginning and after the end there is Unity, but in-between, there is duality which expresses itself everywhere and in everything. I wonder if Baba’s teaching regarding pran and akash is what is being expressed the ancient story of Adam and Eve? The garden is the imagination of Infinite mind and Adam and Eve represent the embodiment of pran and akash respectively. Their children are the result of their attempt to reunite.”

“And the snake? And the forbidden fruit?”

“Indeed, Baba’s explanation can be found in Bhauji’s book, The Nothing and the Everything, in which He explains that Adam entered creation in a state of ignorance—meaning without consciousness—and that illusion—the snake—working on ignorance—created the appetite in Adam for more and more fruit—fruit being knowledge—knowledge being consciousness.”

“Consciousness at first being of the imagination and only in the end freeing itself to be of its Real Self—Reality.”

“Exactly, as was said earlier, “‘He returns to the door from which he first came out, although in his journey he went from door to door.’”

© copyright Michael Kovitz, 2019  

 

All Merciful and Eternally Benevolent

"You are all merciful and eternally benevolent!” – From the Parvardigar Prayer by Meher Baba.

Call them words, teachings, messages, etc. Meher Baba gave us so much that I sometimes find myself taking these precious gifts far too lightly—not really hearing them—not really taking them in—and so, from time to time, I choose something, some word or words or a short phrase and make efforts to remember it, to ponder it, to feel it, to appreciate it…

Addressing God in the state of Parvardigar—the preserver and protector of all—Meher Baba says, “You are all merciful and eternally benevolent!”

All merciful and eternally benevolent—what does that mean when considered against what appears to be the cruelty, injustice, and destruction in the world, from its ancient past to its passing present?

The two words, and the heart of this assertion, are mercy and benevolence. Mercy responds to need, not to merit, and benevolence is a state of impartiality that is denied to no one. Neither sinner nor saint has a corner on the market of mercy and benevolence. Benevolence does not take sides because it knows that duality in any of its manifestations is the unnecessary necessity of the evolution and involution of consciousness. Listening to the joys and sorrows of those who approached him, King Solomon used to turn a ring around and around on His finger. Inside the ring was engraved the words, “this too shall pass!”

In the book, The Unveiling of Secrets, translated by Dr. Carl W. Ernst, under the heading, “The Merciful One is Sitting on the Throne” the great Sufi master Ruzbihan Baqli (d.1209) revealed;

“Then I saw the Most High in the form of greatness and eternity and divine presence, repeatedly, then I saw him in the majesty of intimacy in the form of holiness where no station remains. I dived into the oceans of eternity and pre-eternity and post-eternity. Then I was annihilated of all my attributes and I descended to the world of the angelic realm. I saw all existing things, compared to his power, smaller than a mustard seed. 

Then I went to the fields of pre-eternity intoxicated and raving, and he clothed me in the clothes of his loveliness and his beauty. Here I was the beloved of God most high, and he (glory be to him) loved me and was kind to me with kindness that none of the creatures of God most high could bear to hear of if I mentioned it to them, except as God wills…” – The Unveiling of Secrets, Ruzbihan Baqli, translated by Dr. Carl W. Ernst

What to make of this quote?  It speaks of experience far beyond our ordinary human experience. Ruzbihan sees God clothed in His attributes of greatness and eternity and divine presence. Pondering this statement in light of Meher Baba’s words, “You are without color, without expression, without form and without attributes.” – Parvardigar Prayer by Meher Baba, sentence three, I consider the fact that God has infinite attributes and God is free of all attributes. Also, in sentence thirteen, Bana states,  “You are the Soul of souls, the One with infinite attributes.”  

The greatness of God is beyond all and any boundaries and limitations, let alone understanding! There is nothing greater than the greatness of God—this greatness does not have any opposite counterpart—it is beyond all duality—all conception!

What did Ruzbihan see when he saw the Most High in the form of greatness?  What did Ruzbihan see when he saw the Most High in the form of eternity? What did Ruzbihan see when he saw the Most High in the form of divine presence? And, what does it mean to see? Again, in the Parvardigar Prayer, “…and none can see you but with eyes divine!” Eyes divine is more about consciousness than vision as we understand it. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gave Arjuna the eyes to see His Infinite form. What did Arjuna see?

“Oh Almighty God! I see in You the powers of Nature, the various Creatures of the world, the Progenitor on his lotus throne, the Sages, and the shining angels. 

I see You, infinite in form, with, as it were, faces, eyes, and limbs everywhere; no beginning, no middle, no end; O Lord of the Universe, whose Form is universal!

I see You with the crown, the scepter, and the discus, a blaze of splendor. Scarce can I gaze on You, so radiant You are, glowing like the blazing fire, brilliant as the sun, immeasurable.
Imperishable are You, the Sole One worthy to be known, the priceless Treasure-house of the universe, the immortal Guardian of the Life Eternal, the Spirit Everlasting.

Without beginning, without middle, and without end, infinite in power. Your arms all—embracing, the sun and moon Your eyes, Your face beaming with the fire of sacrifice, flooding the whole universe with light.

Alone you fill all the quarters of the sky, earth, and heaven, and the regions between. O Almighty Lord! Seeing Your marvelous and awe-inspiring Form, the spheres tremble with fear.
The troops of celestial Beings enter into You, some invoking You in fear, with folded palms; the Great Seers and Adepts sing hymns to Your Glory, saying "All Hail."

The Vital Forces, the Major Stars, Fire, Earth, Air, Sky, Sun, Heaven, Moon, and Planets; the Angels, the Guardians of the Universe, the divine Healers, the Winds, the Fathers, the Heavenly Singers; and hosts of Mammon-worshippers, demons as well as saints, are amazed.

Seeing Your stupendous Form, O Most Mighty! With its myriad faces, its innumerable eyes and limbs and terrible jaws, I myself and all the worlds are overwhelmed with awe.
When I see You, touching the Heavens, glowing with color, with open mouth and wide-open fiery eyes, I am terrified. O my Lord! My courage and my peace of mind desert me.

When I see Your mouths with their fearful jaws like glowing fires at the dissolution of creation, I lose all sense of place; I find no rest. Be merciful, O Lord in whom this universe abides!
All these sons of Dhritarashtra, with the hosts of princes, Bhisma, Drona, and Karna, as well as the other warrior chiefs belonging to our side;

I see them all rushing headlong into Your mouths, with terrible tusks, horrible to behold. Some are mangled between Your jaws, with their heads crushed to atoms.

As rivers in flood surge furiously to the ocean, so these heroes, the greatest among men, fling themselves into Your flaming mouths.

As moths fly impetuously to the flame, only to be killed, so these men rush into Your mouths to court their own destruction.

You seem to swallow up the worlds, to lap them in flame. Your glory fills the universe. Your fierce rays beat down upon it irresistibly.

Tell me then who You are that wear this dreadful Form. I bow before You, O Mighty One! Have mercy, I pray, and let me see You as You were at first. I do not know what You intend.

Lord Shri Krishna replied:
I have shown Myself to you as the Destroyer who lays waste the world, and whose purpose now is destruction. In spite of your efforts, all these warriors gathered for battle shall not escape death.
Then gird up your loins, and conquer. Subdue your foes and enjoy the kingdom in prosperity. I have already doomed them. Be My instrument, Arjuna!

Drona and Bhishma, Jayadratha, and Karna, and other brave warriors — I have condemned them all. Destroy them; fight and fear not. Your foes shall be crushed.

Sanjaya continued:
Having heard these words from the Lord Shri Krishna, the Prince Arjuna, with folded hands trembling, prostrated himself and with choking voice, bowing down again and again, and overwhelmed with awe, once more addressed the Lord.

Arjuna said.
My Lord! It is natural that the world revels and rejoices when it sings the praises of Your glory; the demons fly in fear and the saints offer You their salutations.

How should they do otherwise? O Supremest Self, greater than the Powers of creation, the First Cause, Infinite, the Lord of Lords, the Home of the universe, Imperishable, Being and Not-Being, yet transcending both.

You are the Primal God, the Ancient, the Supreme Abode of this universe, the Knower, the Knowledge, and the Final Home. You fill everything. Your form is infinite.

You are the Wind, You are Death, You are the Fire, the Water, the Moon, the Father and the Grandfather. Honor and glory to You a thousand and a thousand times! Again and again, salutation be to You, O my Lord!

Salutations to You in front and on every side, You who encompass me round about. Your power is infinite; Your majesty immeasurable; You uphold all things; yea, You Yourself are all.

Whatever I have said unto You in rashness, taking You only for a friend and addressing you as "O Krishna! O Yadava! O Friend!" in thoughtless familiarity, not understanding Your greatness;

Whatever insult I have offered to You in jest, in sport, or in repose, in conversation or at the banquet, alone or in a multitude, I ask Your forgiveness for them all, O You who are without an equal!

For You are the Father of all things movable and immovable, the Worshipful, the Master of Masters! In all the worlds there is none equal to You; how then superior; O You who stand alone, Supreme.

Therefore I prostrate myself before you, O Lord! Most Adorable! I salute You, I ask Your blessing. Only You can be trusted to bear with me, as father to son, as friend to friend, as lover to his beloved.

I rejoice that I have seen what never man saw before; yet, O Lord! I am overwhelmed with fear. Please take again the Form I know. Be merciful. O Lord! You who are the Home of the whole universe. 

I long to see You as You were before, with the crown, the scepter, and the discus in Your hands; in Your other Form, with your four hands, O You whose arms are countless and whose forms are infinite.

Lord Shri Krishna replied:

My beloved friend! It is only through My grace and power that you have been able to see this vision of splendor, the Universal, the Infinite, the Original. Never has it been seen by any but you.

Not by study of the scriptures, not by sacrifice or gift, not by ritual or rigorous austerity, is it possible for man on earth to see what you have see, O foremost hero of the Kuru clan!

Be not afraid or bewildered by the terrible vision. Put away your fear and, with joyful mind, see Me once again in my usual Form.” – Bhagavad Gita, Chap. 11

And this was only the beginning of Ruzbihan’s experience! Then he saw God “in the majesty of intimacy in the form of holiness where no station remains.” Usually, majesty implies something beyond—something to be gazed upon from afar—distance is implied when we say, the majesty of God; and yet intimacy implies just the opposite—closeness, connection, personal relationship…

Both majesty and intimacy can be found in ordinary human experience, but the majesty of intimacy  is the realm of the miraculous. Ruzbihan experienced both, simultaneously, truly by the grace of his beloved God.

And he saw his beloved God in the form of holiness where no station remains. Station here is much like a literal train station in the sense that people go to a station to get to somewhere else, but once they get to where they want to get, they have no more need of stations. The form of holiness in which Ruzbihan saw God was beyond all stations—was the final stateless state of perfectly conscious God—the state to which all souls aspire and ultimately all souls attain!

Then I went to the fields of pre-eternity intoxicated and raving, and he clothed me in the clothes of his loveliness and his beauty. Here I was the beloved of God most high, and he (glory be to him) loved me and was kind to me with kindness that none of the creatures of God most high could bear to hear of if I mentioned it to them, except as God wills…” – The Unveiling of Secrets, Ruzbihan Baqli, translated by Dr. Carl W. Ernst

I am drawn to this word, pre-eternity. Though eternal means without beginning and without end, because of creation consciousness, it is very difficult to consider eternity outside of the lens of time;  but the eternal is really beyond time altogether. Time only exists for the creation and the creation is only a dream. Dreams begin and dreams end, but God is eternal.

John 1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word…” This is is a reference to the beginning of creation.

But then, what to make of pre-eternity? Pre-eternity must refer to something other than eternity. We use the prefix pre to suggest the state of before, but Ruzbihan means something quite different. Here, pre-eternity is a state—a station—a consciousness—in which all of time—past, present, and future—is experienced as being in the same moment, the moment of the eternal now. What would that experience be like? No doubt, it is a great theme for meditation and contemplation!

Ruzbihan said that intoxicated and raving, God clothed him in his loveliness and beauty. The three bubbles that connect the soul to creation are the gross physical body, the subtle body of energy, and the mental body of mind. Ruzbihan’s God intoxication was so powerful—so complete—that he had no consciousness at all of his gross, subtle, and mental bodies. He way naked and raving and God clothed him in his loveliness and beauty. And in that state Ruzbihan was the beloved of God. Ruzbihan was the beloved of God!

I remember, many years ago, Eruch Jessawala told us this story about a close disciple of Krishna who was troubled by the fact that Krishna said prayers. “To whom does God pray?” he wondered,  until one day he entered Krishna’s prayer room and saw little models of Krishna’s disciples. Krishna prayed to His own disciples! How impossible it is to fathom the love of the Lord! To even hear of it, let alone to witness it unveiled, would be unbearable—unbearable in the sense that all the illusion and delusion that the un-realized soul associates with and identifies with, would be annihilated in the Truth of that love!

 “Then he bestowed upon me his attributes, and he made me assume his essence. Then I saw myself as though I were he, and I remembered nothing but myself. I halted at that point and descended from lordship to servanthood. Then I desired the station of passionate love until I saw myself in the abode of majesty. I saw the Truth (glory be to him) arrayed in the form of divinity, and I remained in the station of intimacy for an hour, hidden from all that is other than him.” – The Unveiling of Secrets, Ruzbihan Baqli, translated by Dr. Carl W. Ernst

Every line of this description is worthy of meditation and contemplation. The Lord bestowed upon Ruzbihan his attributes. God has infinite attributes—“You are the Soul of souls, the one with infinite attributes,” – The Parvardigar Prayer of Meher Baba, and God is also without attributes—“You are without color, without expression, without form and without attributes.” – Ibid.

Attributes are qualities and characteristics; we all have attributes and characteristics, but they are all finite: God’s attributes, however, are infinite. What was it like for Ruzbihan to be clothed in his Lord’s infinite attributes—was there any Ruzbihan even there?

And the second part of this sentence, “and he made me assume his essence.” To Ruzbihan, a Sufi, essence is related to self, but when speaking about God, essence is related to Self. So, when he was made to assume God’s essence, Ruzbihan’s self must have been effaced.

Though this gross sphere, with all of its beings, planets, stars, universes, and alter universes seems so vast—so endless—yet on an angel’s tongue is infinitely less than a single mustard seed on one’s own tongue. Rumi said that it could be swallowed and the angel would not even notice its passing. And do not all embodied souls not sense this at some deep unfathomable level—sense that all this apparent vastness of time and space we experience is nothing—literally Nothing; and is this not why all creatures in creation consciously or unconsciously long for something that is beyond—something that is everything—is literally Everything? Or, as Kabir once said, “Because you have forgotten the Friend, everything that you do, all failures and successes have a strange sense of failure.”

When Gurdjieff’s father gazed quietly at the stars at night, was not something real inside of him longing to remember? And are not all of the teachings and messages of the Avatar and the Perfect Masters not constantly reminding us that the brightest light of the world is merely a dark shadow of the subtle and mental worlds beyond, and that these worlds themselves are totally effaced by the effulgence of God?

“Then I saw myself as though I were he, and I remembered nothing but myself. I halted at that point and descended from lordship to servanthood. Then I desired the station of passionate love until I saw myself in the abode of majesty. I saw the Truth—glory be to him—arrayed in the form of divinity, and I remained in the station of intimacy for an hour, hidden from all that is other than him. Many ecstasies overwhelmed me, with agitation and weeping for the station of intimacy, and applause for witnessing with the eye.”— The Unveiling of Secrets, Ruzbihan Baqli, translated by Dr. Carl W. Ernst

The average person regards the question of slavery from the perspective of the practices of the historic periods of slavery in the east and in the west, when men and women were bartered and bought as commodities. But the idea of slave and master also has an esoteric meaning; Eruch Jessawala put it so well when he said that he chose of his own accord to be the slave of the Master who is free in order to be free himself. He explained that for the average person of the world there is no question of freedom, only a question of who or what to be a slave of.  In fact all humanity, rich, poor, power possessing and powerless, are slaves—slaves to their own desires, slaves to their own minds, and slaves to the illusion that sustains reality.

Eruch recognized that he wasn’t free and came to the realization that his only real choice was to choose the master to which he would a be a slave and he choose to be the slave of the One who is eternally free—for who else but the One who is eternally free can bestow upon the fortunate slave the gift of eternal freedom?

“I am the slave of the Master who has released me from ignorance; whatever the Master does is of the highest benefit to all concerned.”—Hafiz

Ruzbihan was given the experience of both Lord and servant.  In the spiritual realm, both the states of Master and slave are divine states that are embodied and experienced simultaneously and demonstrated perfectly in the divine incarnations of the Lord as Rasool, Christ, Avatar, Messiah, and Buddha. Over the threshold of Meher Baba’s tomb/shrine in India is inscribed these words; Mastery in Servitude.

Ruzbihan then went on to say that he began desire the station of passionate love. Again, this term should not be confused with worldly passionate love which is inspired by lust. The word Ruzbihan used that is translated as passionate love is the Arabic word ishq. Like all Arabic words, ishq has multiple and subtle meanings. Ishq is closely associated with the word ʿašaqah which is the word for a kind of ivy. Ivy climbs on things; it cannot support itself, nor climb nor rise by itself! In the station of passionate love, the lover is totally dependent on the Beloved—even for his very breath…

 

“Then I desired the station of passionate love until I saw myself in the abode of majesty. I saw the Truth—glory be to him—arrayed in the form of divinity, and I remained in the station of intimacy for an hour, hidden from all that is other than him. Many ecstasies overwhelmed me, with agitation and weeping for the station of intimacy, and applause for witnessing with the eye.” – The Unveiling of Secrets, Ruzbihan Baqli, translated by Dr. Carl W. Ernst

In the state that Ruzbihan described, only he, arrayed in the form of divinity, existed and Ruzbihan was hidden from all that is other than him. But what is it that is other than him? The answer is that in Reality nothing is other than him—that nothing was other than him—that nothing ever will be anything other than him. The key word here is nothing, for this nothing was, is, and always will be latent in the everything!

“EVERYTHING by virtue of being everything embodies even ‘NOTHING’ or else Everything can never mean everything. This Nothing is latent in the Everything. But Nothing, being literally nothing, the very being of being nothing is nothing at all.” – God Speaks, by Meher Baba, 2^nd edition, page 81.

Or, as Hafez said; “There is no barrier between the lover and the Beloved; Hafez, lift yourself aside, you are yourself the covering over Self.”                      

Oh what a game it is that the all merciful and eternally benevolent one plays in which the greatest tender—perhaps the only tender—is love!

“He called me repeatedly and I prostrated myself then and saw on my back the weights of the lights of magnificence. I said, ‘God, what is this?’ He said, ‘The lights of the sitting.’” – Ibid.

 What is God’s magnificence? Ibn al’ Arabi, the great Sufi saint, quotes God as saying, “Magnificence is my cloak!”  

Why does God even need a cloak? Because if God ever manifested His radiance un-cloaked, all of creation would be extinguished in that light. God manifests His magnificence out of compassion for His creation; it is an expression of His mercy and benevolence.

“I said, ‘God, what is this?’ He said, ‘The lights of the sitting.’”

There is not much commentary to be found on this expression in the usual traditional sources for Sufism, but I offer these points given by Meher Baba to Bhau Kalchuri for his book, The Nothing and the Everything, regarding the state of consciousness that is represented as a celestial throne called Ars-e-Maula:

Bhau Kalchuri writes:

“The Seventh Heaven is Ars-e-Maula, the Seat of God or the Throne of God…

“In the beginning of time Infinite Consciousness Itself was established as the divine state or Seat of Impersonal God Who had no consciousness of illusion…

“In the beginning of time this throne remained to be filled until Infinite Consciousness was gained through the medium of Infinite Unconsciousness…

“The first to occupy that throne, who eternally remains enthroned, is none else but the Nameless Ancient One…

“By occupying that vacant seat filled by Infinite Unconsciousness, He established the eternal aspect of Personal God when His Infinite Consciousness filled the Vacuum of Impersonal God’s Infinite Unconsciousness…

“Ars-e-Maula represents the vacuum that was filled by the First Soul when He realized God, and when He realized Himself to be Infinite Consciousness.”

This helps me to understand the statement, “the lights of the sitting,” though as Kabir once said, “Until you experience it, it is not true!” Ruzbihan experienced the lights emanating from the state of God sitting upon the throne called Ars-e-Maula which is located in the vastness of consciousness at the divine junction between reality and illusion. To occupy this throne eternally is the responsibility of the Avatar—the Christ—that Nameless Ancient One. It is His responsibility, but it is also His joy—and our joy as well—the joy of man’s desiring!

“He took on the responsibility for each creature in creation. He became responsible for each drop-soul that was pouring out of the ocean of Infinite Unconsciousness to help make them merge with the Ocean of Infinite Consciousness through the very processes that He Himself had to pass through—that are evolution and involution.

“Thus He became, and is, the only One who is responsible for each soul from its beginning in evolution to its end in involution; and though He is eternally free as the Infinite Consciousness, He is also bound eternally as the Infinite Unconsciousness by this responsibility.” – Bhau Kalchuri, Ahmednagar, 1982

He is indeed, “All Merciful and Eternally Benevolent!”