Chapter 2: Origination of the Soul, The Life within Life, The Light Unseen
The States of "Muhammad"
Ana'athi Muhammad (Primal, Effulgent, Formless Consciousness, Grace)
Muhammad of the aeons before the Beginning - the unmanifested Magnificent Beauty within Allah
A'adhi Muhammad (Emergence of Magnificent Beauty)
The Magnificent Beauty came forth, became manifest
Awwal Muhammad (Emergence of Effulgence)
All that was within that Power, Allah came forth
Hyatt Muhammad (Muhammad of Life)
The origination of what we call life - life at this stage is a light form
Annal Muhammad (Muhammad of Sustenance)
The light which is charged with the provision of sustenance
Noor Muhammad (Muhammad of Pure Light)
The most Perfect Light - Allah's Enlightening Wisdom
Allah Muhammad (Merging)
Other than Allah, there is nothing - nothing exists without Him
In the unimaginable, inestimable aeons before the Beginning, (A'hdi kimun Ana'dhi), God says, He has kept within himself His Treasure (Porul) (His own Consciousness of His Grace). That Treasure was within Him. That is His Grace (Rahmath).
In that period, aeons before the beginning, when He spoke, he spoke with "That", the Aq, which was within Himself. And the Aq which was within Himself "spoke".
Let us consider a concept - that Ana'athi Muhammad - the Sufistic conception of the non physical Primal Grace conceived as Light of Allah. Let us call this primal, effulgent, formless Consciousness, Grace, to which we give the term Ana'athi Muhammad, the Muhammad of the aeons before the Begining. Here, the Muhammad we refer to is His Magnificent Beauty which lay unmanifest within Him.
Subsequent to this stage of Ana'athi, there was the age of A'adhi, when the concept of Ana'athi Muhammad gives way to A'adhi Muhammad. It is only a concept to help us to understand and have the perception of that Power, Allah. That is to say, the Age of A’ahdi that Magnificent Beauty came fourth. This is the concept of A'ahdi Muhammad.
The next era is that of Awwal Muhammad, when all that which had lain within that Power, Allah, came forth. This was the era of the out flowing manifestation of that Power, the era of Awwal, the emergence of Effulgence. We call this outward manifestation, the concept of Awaal Muhammad, when He becomes the source of the out flowing Grace.
The next in the order of the evolution of the Light, is the concept of Hyat Muhammad. That Muhammad is signified as the Light of life or Hyat. This is the stage of the origination of what we call life. Everyone of such life being created and certainly coordinated had a central core called the Qualb. Life at this stage is a Light form with a central core, the Qualb of unmanifested Light, the Qualb being the nucleus of that Light.
Consequent to this stage, we define the next concept, Annal Muhammad - the Light or the Muhammad of sustenance. It is that Light charged with the provision of sustenance, succor, of satiation and contentment to every life and to every Qualb in that life, for every form of life. It marks the era of Annal (Food) the evolutionary creation of distinctive types of Food or sustenance for the inexorable, inexhaustible array of life forms.
Next, we have the concept of the Qualb, Aham-ed; "Aham" in Tamil means the Heart, Ahamed is the House of the Qualb (Heart). It marks the life of the Qualb (Heart).
Then we have the era of Muham - ad; "Muham" is the Tamil word for Face. This signifies the emergence of the incomparable Beauty of the Face of that Light, called Muhammad, the Light as the Face of that Light.
Thereafter we come to the era or the state of the Noor (Sheer Light), the Noor Muhammad - the Light, the most perfect, the most complete, the fulfilled, which is God's Enlightening Wisdom, conceived as sheer light. That is the Perr arivu, the Enlightening Wisdom, Perfect and undiminishing. This is Allah's Grace in every life form.
Finally, we have the concept Allah Muhammad. Its significance is that other than that Power, there is nothing - everything is Him. At this stage, nothing exists without Him. In Sufi understanding, this is called the Ninth Muhammad, the final stage of the Light, also called the merging. Some have called this stage or state "Muhammad".
Thus, we have the physical Muhammad. He is Muhammad, the son of A'mina by Abdullah. The world at large saw the colour of this Muhammad, the son of A'mina and Abdullah. But the Light, the Noor, was not seen by those who saw him. And the face was like a veil or mask. But the body excretions were not seen, the private parts were not seen. Neither did Khadija see when she married him, nor did his mother in his infancy. The heart was not seen. This is according to the traditions.
Then again, there were no footprints left in the sand when he walked. Clouds appeared as a canopy to shield him from the burning sun. He was gifted with sight to see in front of him and behind him. He had vision before him and behind him. Like these there were several signifying signs borne by him, the most important of which are fifteen in number.
This physical Muhammad of form and body has existed in this way. But if we should want to understand the inner significance of this Muhammad, the Light within, one must have the constant awareness of that - "none is worthy of worship, save Allah. He Alone is entitled to all worship". But the Light, however is not worshipped. For instance, if the switch is put on, then the current comes into the bulb to light it. The light therefore is subservient to the switch. The light comes from a point which can be put off at will. The light originates from the battery which provides the current.
Likewise our point of origin is Allah. It is He Who is Allah. Concerning Allah, there are so many facets of knowledge. It is Allah's intent that we come to know. The Cause is Him and the Effect is Him. But the light only reveals to us what we need to know. It gives us indications about what is right and wrong. If the Light has come forth from Allah, then He does not have that Light which came out from Him. Therefore we have to respect that Light, honour it, but not worship it. That is why Allah in this context of the Light says, "To My Muhammad, give all honour and respect, because I have placed him above all the Prophets and the Angels".
Therefore it is immensely good for these reasons to respect and honour Muhammad and render Salaams and Salavat in his name. So when his name is heard, we say "Sallallahu ala Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihiwa Sallam". It is incumbent on us to utter the salavat in any of its form to that Light, in reminder of that Light.
If one asks, "Where is that Light" - one is directed to the saying "He who sees Muhammad is like one who sees Allah". Conversely, if it is intended to see Allah, Muhammad must be seen first. That is, in the form of the Perfect Primal Archetype encoded within man. Allah is within it. This is the Secret, the Paradox and the Mystery.
We cannot be identified as depicted on the outward physical mask of ours, the physical mask of man.
Allah is the Almighty, whom we say is the most worthy of worship, none but He. Therefore subdue and focus your mind unto Him. His Prophets of yore are all qutubs (guides, mentors) unto us. It is therefore incumbent on us to respect them, honour them and cherish them. They guide us on our path and lighten our path and lead us on our path. So we have to recite our salaams and salavat unto them. This must be our normal perception. Emplace Allah before you, to lead you and guide you. You are also obliged to recite salaams and salavat unto the Rasool - the intention being to meet the Rasool.
We on our part do not know what shall befall us - when, where, how and why. The Rasool is for you and for me too, whoever you may be, whatever the religion you and I profess; only the name, the label differs but the subject matter remains the same. You must not think of the Rasool merely because I say so. What ideas you have of the Rasool I know not and what Allah hath in store for me I know not either.
Even the Rasools whom He has brought forth in the past, in what manner He invoked them, how He made them appear are matters which He has caused and authored. This is the point which we must consider. He it is who is Allah, the Almighty and the One who Alone is worthy of every worship. It is His Name that we shall turn to, His Prayer. That is why we utter salaams and salavat in His name unto the Rasool out of respect and honour. It is for this purpose that we do so. Do you understand?
Next we convey our greetings by saying salaams to Angel Gabriel (Jibreel). We say "Jibreel" alaihi wa salaathu wa salaam". We address it to Gabriel (Jibreel) as if we are with him. He is one of God's creations, an expression of His Power and his standing is an elevated one and is positioned between Allah and His Prophets. We then have the other Angels - Mikayil, Israfeel and Israeel, each of whom have the hegemony over Earth, Fire, Water and Air.
It were these Angels who brought the meanings and the Knowledge from Allah and conveyed these to all the prophets of yore. They too, therefore merit our Salaams and Salavats. You are aware of how the Rasools said salaams to Gabriel. That was to honour him. We on our part utter their names and praise and honour them.
Such then is the power of our own Quthubiyat, our deeper faculty of Arivu (Wisdom). This is the innate and deep Power of Arivu (Wisdom), to which we must pay heed. For the Zikr too Salaam is said, because the Zikr in an invocation to that Power, Allah and it merits the Salaam of Allah.
Next we must affirm that our worship shall be only Allah, none but He, in the morning, the noon, the night and in between and have this intention fixed firmly in place in our waking hours. By such means we must intend to take upon ourselves His Gaze upon us in our worship of Him. Further we have to extend our intention to rid ourselves of the base qualities of satan within us. We try to accomplish this by the Zikr.
So that our most intimate and our most fundamental intention must be to return Pure and Perfect our Qualb, our Life, our Being, our Soul to our point of origin - Allah.
Next our intention must be to seek at every moment, forgiveness from Him for our every sin.
Next, in order to keep open our qualb we have to make Qurban (sacrifice) of our own Qualb (Heart). It is never the spilling of sacrificial blood that is needed. This is known as the Surrender by which we mean the Sacrifice of the Qualb (Heart) to Allah so that it reverberates in praise of Allah (Al hamdulillah), in gratitude and surrender. The Zikr - Ya Lathif is also appropriate - the sacrifice of the self to Allah by the power of will alone.
If these are done with purpose and determination, surely then you will have grown in you the faculty and the capability to know and perceive all things through your Qualb (Heart). You must be aware of that inner Wisdom which the Qualb is capable of. Every conceivable thing can be perceived and understood. God Almighty has so fashioned the Qualb (Heart) and vested in it that intuitive faculty (in the manner of so many mysteries and miracles within our very own body). He has fashioned our Qualb (Heart) is such a manner in order that it will derive us on the correct Path. That then is the significance and the meaning.
Ya Khabeer - The Owner of Grace, the Almighty Power, the Most Merciful - it is such who is Allah, whether in the depths or in the heights, here or there or anywhere, in the now or in the eons past or in the aeons of the future - it is He who slaughters the baseness within and directs us on the correct path.
Ya Saboor - Restraint, Patience, Forberance. He is the Protector and the Preserver of all things and forms. This diminishes our pride, our sufferance, our petty mindedness.
Ya Kudhoos - when you say this Zikr, you will address Him - "Thou art everything, you are Him, Allah", "You are the Most Gracious", "Absolute Purity is Thee", "The strength of my belief is Thee", "Thou are the Hyat (life) within my life (Hyat)", "Thou art the strength within the strength of all flesh", "Oh Ya Kudhoos, manifest Unseen everywhere".
But nothing can be understood or discerned without the assistance of the Quthubiyat. No, nothing will be descerned! So, we invoke that Power of the Quthubiyat, that is invoke Him, by Zikr, Allah Quadireen". We come to the term, Quadiriya. We do not mean the other Quadiriya, which refers to a partiuclar order or Thareeka, or the Quadiriya path. This is not the context in which I use the word Quadiriya. When this word is used, we speak of the virtuous , the gracious (Salihana, Saliheen). It is a matter of saying - "Thou art the possessor of Ninety Nine Names - Thy own Qualities, Thine own Miraculous Powers". It is Thee Who is Quadireen. It is Thee who is Malikeen (Sovereign). It is Thee Who is Saliheen (Most Gracious). Such then is the affirmation by this Zikr. In this way, proceed along with these affirmations.
It is then that we have Allah in our constant concentration - Allah and His Rasool. For our worship, there is none other, none better than Allah. But for such worship of Him, there are so many different diverse ways. Plead with Him, beseech Him to accept you, to receive you unto Him. This is said to be the Merger, the Finality of Merging.
I have spoken in this way day in and day out, so many times to you, but one could say that this is also His way, His Nature of constantly reminding you - so many are His Miraculous Powers. These He Manifests everywhere else, but keeps back only one. And these are ever undiminishing however much they flow out and are expended because that Perfection never diminishes. And that one remaining Power is enshrined in the Kalima "La Ilaha IllAllah", meaning "Except Thee, there is none other, Oh Allah", "There is nothing, none whatsoever except Thee". We end with the final affirmation "Thou, Thou art Allah".
You see I do not know of any other meaning. If I knew of any other meaning then I would not be here with you.
Supposing (like other religious notables), I wore a flowing robe and piously intoned my beads, and if I went about like this, pretending to know the meaning and go around, then I will be looked upon as a great religious teacher.
If there is a genuine inner urge to understand God you must first understand as to who is God. You have to seek that answer yourself from your own conscience within your conscience, Reason within Reason. Take your mute religion, any religion and probe within it and strip it. You will find that you will have to go beyond it. You will understand Him only in your Qualb, after using your Qualb. At that specific time only, you will come to know, to understand your Soul, only with this Conscience within your reason, through that effulgent Grace. It is then that your Soul can be perceived by you. It is with that, that you must come to understand your Soul. For instance, to understand the wind, the wind must be perceptible to you. But this is only a point of view. It remains only as a mere name to you.
Now, if we keep on probing and probing, training and training in this way all along, we come to the point where the Zat becomes evident. What lies beyond this point are the signs and the significant mysteries of life. You will come to know this. This is the point of insight, which is reflected there. Until this point is discernible there, you will have to pursue that point here. To reach this point of understanding and insight, it needs considerable training and exercise in the way I have spoken. One must continue this practice with Him only as the Guide.
It is this particular introspective study of the self or shall we say, the study which we say is the study to achieve the state of the Perfect Man or Insan Kamil, and this study is made available to any one who has matured and has arrived at this point of understanding.
This study does not depend on the different names and labels in different languages and religions which are used to describe the one and the same thing. This study is the study of the Essence and the Grace that flows from it. We say that it is His Essence, that from that Essence are the sounds. The sounds proceed from it.
It is this kind of study, which I speak of, as The Study, to which one is committed on the Path. It reveals to you the evolutions by way of birth and existence of the Essence within, and what the future holds for it. There must be a time set apart for this intense study and for a thorough deliberation by one for oneself. It is such a study, which has as its object inner peace and happiness at peace within Essence. That is the state of birthlessness, when one escapes from this birth. It marks the termination of a cycle of manifestation which the Essence has been subjected to and never more shall it be cast in any of the myriad moulds. It is this study which is the basis of the Learning and the Wisdom which I speak of.
This singular, particular Study is founded on a singular, special Technique for attainment. It is for this reason that in every religion in whatever places there appears to be a Teacher, a guru to each one, for this purpose. A living teacher or guru becomes vital for this Study and its technique, who is a living exponent of it, if one can find such a one on this earth. But then every one who is seen and heard is not such a guru, sheikh or teacher.
From the very bones, from every cell in the body, from the very core, the perceptions of the Essence, begin to flow. At this point of concentration within, the surroundings, the tress, the shrubs and everything else around, remains non-existent to your senses. When in such deep concentration, the leaves, the fruits, the shrubs and everything else, the sun, the moon, the stars, the world, the day, the night, the birds, the beasts, everything else remains unperceived unknown and unseen to you. This is when you grasp and embrace the reality within you, such must be the degree of intense concentration.
This transition or transformation will be reflected in your nature, your conduct and your habits. That is, you undergo a change, a complete transformation.
Yet, all these are needed in this exercise. These are your teachers. Take the very trees - they are also your teachers, your guru. Everything else you can see, everywhere else you look - they are all your teachers, teaching you incessantly.
But all those teachers are not like THIS teacher. All those are not important. What is most important is what you yourself are, the phenomenon, the miracle, that is you. The nails on your fingers, they teach you what they are and so they converse with you. Your ears are all there to teach you. All the languages teach you the same thing. But this is not what I speak of. It is THIS which must be known. 'THIS' is something hidden, an unseen potential. It is an inner Guru and inner Teacher and inner Sheikh, for your present phase. 'THIS' acts independently and on its own, impervious to your mental image or the thoughts proceeding from the mind.
Thus, when this learning which I speak of, which is derived from this particular STUDY using this technique, combines with the Ruh or Soul, if we join these together, then we call it the Perum Shodara Arivu which emerges (the emergence of Light, the enlightening wisdom, conceived as the innate light).
Consider another notion. Birth is an inevitable truth. From the point of birth, the learning process is initiated. It occurs and then departs. Inquiry and analysis assist in gaining knowledge and study, This study is given staying power. This can be scrutinized. But this learning and this very life are starkly imprisoned. It is the utter darkness of the prison. In such darkness of the prison, nothing can be discerned, nothing can be seen, nothing can be known. One has therefore to emerge from the darkness of this prison to walk on the Path. Never must one succumb to this darkness of ignorance. Experience must teach us this and twenty four hours is barely enough for this. This is a very big issue. If you consider how many prostitutes there are in the world, then such many are the lures around. How such lures engage you, would depend on your ability and your power to resist. From whatever that is seen, you shall escape and protect yourself from that which you see, after which do unto yourself that duty incumbent upon you. To tap foreheads and your minds in despair is of no use to that life within you.
This is because to seek that life within your life is the purpose of this life. It is this and nothing else but this.
Consider Air (the reference to the Soul), which is emplaced in the darkest of the dark prison (in a continuing process). But we as such have life only once here. Inevitably then our permanent attachment whilst here would be to a single span (our one span stomach). It appears to be that one factor which appears to dictate our life (hyat), at every turn. In this sense and in this way too, it (stomach) is a dark prison for the life (hyat). Hunger imprisons the life.
In these circumstances one is faced with utmost difficulties. But if we learn to overcome one obstacle, all others become easy to overcome, as they occur. If your own Arivu (wisdom) is grasped, all other obstacles can be grasped with it. Then he will come to know what obstacles can be grasped with it. Then he will come to know what obstacles lie before him and which of them he is capable of overcoming.
There is the thinking that if you feed a man with the cooked brain of a goat, he will increase his Arivu (wisdom). Also, there is the thinking that if you feed a man with all sorts of vegetables and meat, it will no doubt increase his physical strength, although it was to make him intellectually strong. Immediately greater strength and vigour comes, so that the man gets a sense of well being and comfort and as a result lives in torpor. The question then in these circumstances is, will that Wisdom, which I speak of then come to him?
Whether you feed him with the cooked brain of the bull or that of the goat, or any other brain, or their meat continuously for a long period you will observe that the man becomes more and more like those animals whose flesh he devours and their characteristics begin to appear in him, in so many ways, his thoughts, his habits, his attitudes, his behaviour, his thinking. He comes so close to the animals he devours. You can if you wish try it out yourself, if you eat it for forty days. So much so, that we call such a person goat brained, mutton head or bull head. There are such types, so many and so varied. There are also several other types though they do not eat the flesh of this or that animal, but having so many characteristics of animals. How then can Arivu (wisdom) come to them, when it is blanketed by such animalism?
It is the Noor (the Light of Enlightening Wisdom) alone, which when it comes can transform this state, break down these obstacles and change your course and destiny. It is the Noor which gives you from within, that understanding, that knowledge, and the true perspective of the Essence (Zat). Thus man who is superior to the animal, suffers the death of the animal; and so he determines his outcome in the hereafter.
This STUDY, which I have spoken of, is concerned with the Zikr, how you use it, how you purposefully utilise it, how you conceive it, with what conception and intent you say it and how and with what concentration and will you apply it. Sometimes, it is done by a person insane, like a mad man with zeal, but without purpose or intent. The world considers such a man as one gone crazy, mumbling the formula.
On the other hand, the intention must be focused to obtain the Ilm (knowledge) innate within. The Qualb (heart) must have the strength to reveal, "speak". It must develop the power to make you learn and study. It must teach you right conduct. It must give you that right understanding of that immanent Wisdom. So that you can live by that understanding and discover your place and your state.
Thus, when you come to the stage of gathering this flower, the sections of your body become transfixed and immobile (because the concentration is focused on the qualb (heart)). So many things like the circulation of the blood, the nervous system, the intentions, the thinking process, the ideas, the ascertainment through speech, answers to questions like what are your qualities or the merits of a thing or from what did it originate, what is its state, what is going to be in the future, or any matter you focus your attention on are given. Such is that state of autonomous understanding, which emanates from the Qualb (heart). Such is the gift of Allahu tha'ala Nayan.
In explanation, the answers to your every inquiry silently made, such as how to inquire into a matter, how to study it, what needs to be done, what are the consequences, what is its nature and so on, and in this way a thorough scrutiny is done though this, the power of intuitive insight, or how this or that relationship developed, who are the parents, or the cause of a dispute, how it arose, all those are perceived.
This state cannot be understood or studied by a brainy intellectual assisted by his book learning. He is incapable of ever experiencing this state at any stage. His intellectual attainments are a hard barrier to such inner experience. That is the basic law or rule of insight.
This is what I have studied, learnt and what I have experienced.
If however, one tries to speak of this state after gathering information from books then one is looked upon as an insane person, a mad man, and one turns others also into madmen arguing and talking about this which one has never experienced or learnt by one's own research and experience.
You must study and understand both the world and your body. It is then that you come to know their architect, their creator and the stupendous intelligence and knowledge contained in them both. The Arivu (wisdom) must be concerned with Allah.
We say that for this state, one must evolve higher and higher in Four stages. There are several branches of knowledge, sciences in their hundreds, and their several branches. There is True Knowledge and False Knowledge, beliefs, faiths, religions, philosophies, theories, but these do not come under the definition "Ilm". This "Ilm" is entirely another phenomenon.
There are four religions concerning this phenomenon, this one branch of Knowledge, "Ilm", and these Four religions fall within the confines of "Ilm" (not vice versa). These are all within this "Ilm".
But remember that what I speak of is beyond this “Ilm”. This is what gives meaning to the world, to life, to the state beyond life. It concerns the Soul, and the aspects of the Perfect Man (Insan Kamil). The Zikr is the absolute and fundamental basis; a deep understating of it is part of this study.
On the termination of suffering, a new kingdom emerges. That is the point when the Kingdom of God unfolds itself for you, if necessary, in a split second. Yet, even in a thousand years, it may not come to pass, though you may have done your duty. Know well then that One Point, manifests only at that specific ordained time, and that time depends on each individual’s readiness and maturity.