SPEAKER_00 0:02

Asala Asalam Alaykum Arahmatula Wabarakat. If one begins to think about the sub-universe, that which we cannot see the atomic world, the sub-atomic world, one can begin to understand that there is a great mystery to existence. If one looks out at the stars and looks into the universe, that which we can see, again one becomes cognizant, recognizes the fact that there's a great mystery in this world. The extent of that mystery is beyond our understanding. The extent of that mystery has not been revealed to us and will be revealed to us, inshallah, God willing, in the next phase of our existence. But it's enough for us to be cognizant of the fact that what is going on in this creation is of such magnitude and of such majesty and of such splendor that what the Creator did is beyond our words, is beyond our thought, is beyond our understanding. And if we can settle into this state of awe in reverence of the majesty of our Creator, if we can settle into this state of being overwhelmed by the reality of existence, which is beyond our comprehension, we can get more of a hold on our place in this world and our own unique self in this world. Imagine, Allah created all of this splendor that's beyond what we can comprehend, yet He also took the time to create us, each one of us. And he told us that in all of creation, in all that he made, in all that he put together, we are the penultimate creation that he brought into being. So we should never underestimate our importance, and we should never underestimate our worth. We should know that there is a direct connection between ourselves and our creator. And this is purposeful on our Creator's part. He created this direct connection. He created a communion between ourselves and him, where he is constantly watching over us, protecting us, giving to us, and taking care of us. He has created all that we know, all that we see, and all that we can't see, all that the scientists conjecture about the subatomic world, all that the scientists conjecture through their telescopes about the world that surrounds us with the galaxies and the various universes. But with all of that going on, he is still cognizant of each and every one of us. Imagine the immensity of our Lord that he juggles all of this and still stays in contact with each and every one of us. Now, we don't usually conjure in our minds this entire creation, the entire universe, the entire sub-universe, the subatomic universe, we go about our daily lives on a mundane level, interacting with other lives. And in this world, not everyone is cognizant of their Lord, nor is everyone cognizant of the relationship between man and God, nor is everyone cognizant of the rules and regulations that have been placed into this world for us. We are told that we should be kind. We are told that we should not harm other lives. We are told that we should have mercy and compassion. But in this world there are degrees of mercy and compassion. A soldier was walking with a Brahmin. The Brahmin was a kind, holy man, wouldn't harm an insect. And as he was walking, and the soldier was next to him, he was repeating, Grant me kindness, O Lord, grant me kindness, O Lord, grant me kindness, O Lord. And the soldier who was standing next to him said, Kindness, kindness. I once had a moment of kindness. I was in a battle, and somebody was badly wounded, and I killed him to put him out of his misery. Different people have a different idea as to what kindness is. Different people have a different idea as to how they should interact with others. Often, people don't see the benefit to themselves of being kind. Also, people have different degrees of empathy in this world. They cannot necessarily feel the pain of others andor the joy of others. They are absolutely, totally enwrapped in themselves, and their sensitivity is great, but their sensitivity is centered in their own being. In other words, they're very sensitive about themselves, but they're not very sensitive about anyone else. One of the trademarks of a true human being, an Insan Kamil, a guru of wisdom, is he sees all other lives as he sees his own. There is no separateness. There is no separation. He understands the difficulties, the foibles, the faults of everyone, the things that are lacking, and the things that are great. And he tries to nurture them in a way that he buttresses them where they are weak, and he gives them aid and assistance to help them overcome their own shortcomings. As we walk through the world, people in their interaction with other people say things that they shouldn't say. Do things that they shouldn't do. Create situations that cause pain and harm. A young man got married, and they had a big wedding celebration, and the brother of the bride was blind. And the husband asked his wife, he seems to be so graceful, he seems to go through this world so easily. Everything seems in order for him. How does he do it? And she said, he hears through his, he sees through his ears. And the husband heard this, but it didn't mean anything to him. And it was a day for the hunt, and the blind brother asked to go along on the hunt. He refused because he didn't want to be dragged down by the blind man following him. So he went on the hunt and got a big animal, a gazelle, brought it back, and was able to feed the entire village. A couple of days later, the brother asked him again if he could go on a hunt with him. And having felt very good about the fact that he supplied the entire village with meat, he said you could come with me. And they went. As they were walking along, the blind man said to the hunter, he said, There's a camel, I'm sorry, a lion around the corner. And the hunter said, How do you know? He says, I can see with my ears. But the lion was satiated because he had food in front of him and had eaten all he wanted. Later, the they also had another experience where the blind man said, There's an elephant, but he's found a watering hole and we're safe. And sure enough, as they went along a little way, they saw the gray elephant. Finally, they came to the place where they were going to hunt, and they were going to set traps for birds. So they set the traps, they went back to the village, and then the next day they came back, the blind man and the hunter. The hunter had set one trap for his brother-in-law and one trap for himself. And he found that in his trap there was a little gray bird, and he put that into his satchel, and then he saw that his brother-in-law had in his trap there was this magnificent bird with very bright plumage that was quite extraordinary. And he was jealous that the other one had caught this bird. So quickly he snatched the beautiful bird, put it in his satchel, and gave the brother-in-law the uh small gray bird. As they were walking along, he uh asked his brother-in-law, who was known to be wise, why is there so much strife in the world? And the blind man said, Because of the thing that you just did, that's what causes strife in the world. The hunter felt ashamed, and he took and chained, exchanged the birds and gave uh took the one out of his satchel and gave it back to his brother-in-law, and put the small bird in his own satchel. And as they were walking along further, he said, And how do we cure these things? And he said, By doing what you've just done is what cures these things. And from then on, when anyone asked him about his brother-in-law, he said, he sees with his ears, but he hears with his heart. We will find people who do things to us that will cause us pain. Sometimes they're highly emotional pains, the same as being stuck by a knife. And it takes time for a wound to heal. If someone sticks you with a knife, the wound has to be tended, it has to be stitched, and over time it heals. Well, emotional pain is not a lot different than that. But to handle emotional pain depends on the state that we are in. If we understand the nature of existence, how many people there are in this world, and understand that some people have no empathy, have no understanding, are quick with words, are quick with actions, do we take personal offense to that, or can we forgive them? Pain that we hold on to often has to do with the status of our transcending the everyday situations in the world. Once in Sri Lanka, my Sheikh was walking down the street, and one of his disciples was watching this interaction, and he saw the Sheikh walk across the street and give somebody fifty rupees, which was a sizable amount of money at the time. Now, the man that the Sheikh gave the fifty rupees to had been slandering the Sheikh all over town, had been saying very nasty things about him, had been degrading him and trying to cause people to think less of him. After he gave him the money, he went walking again. And the disciple who related this story saw the Sheikh and said to him, You know who he is, you know what he does. Why did you give him money? He responded that anybody who slanders you takes on your karma. Anybody who does anything towards you that is inappropriate takes on your karma and lessens the amount that you have to answer for. I thought I would pay him for doing this good deed for me. Well, there you are. It's a matter of attitude and it's a matter of the way that you perceive things. If you begin to understand the flow of things in creation, how there is a harmony in creation, how there is a reciprocity in creation, how things go out and how things come back, and how other people take on your difficulties by causing you difficulties. If you can understand that, then you can forgive and you can forget and you can do away with these things. Amongst the highest of the sheikhs, amongst the most who are the most elevated, they say to each other, any discussion other than that about Allah is gossip. So any talk that is done about the world is done with a minimum of understanding. The mystery is so great. The creation is of such enormous complexity that for us to talk about it and to understand it is a very difficult task, an almost impossible task. So all of these things should be left aside. All of these things should be taken to a place where we lose our attachment to them. And the more we are involved in the world, and the more that we take on in the world, and the more that we interact in the world, the more we have to protect ourselves from our own sensitivities, the more we have to protect ourselves from the slings and arrows that are going to come because that's what happens when people interact in the world with people who are worldly. It is the nature of the world and it doesn't stop. Why are wars going on all the time? Why are great difficulties between nations going on all the time? For the same reason that difficulties go on amongst individuals. They now just happen on a national level. They now Happen because of borders, they now happen because of wealth, they now happen because of so many different reasons that it's impossible to count them and it's impossible to explain them. People don't even know sometimes why they do things. When somebody cuts somebody off in on the highway, and the person cut off reacts violently, are they reacting violently because they were cut off? Because nothing happened, they just got cut off, or are they reacting violently because their mother smacked them across the head when they were three years old and they felt that pain when they were being cut off? Why? Yesterday, in traffic, my wife was driving and I was sitting in the passenger seat, and we had a constant array of people doing bizarre, strange, and dangerous things on the highway. All of them happening right in front of us. My wife just slowed down and let it all pass each time and never reacted. And she basically said, Nothing happened, nothing to get excited about. We are in situations where we feel pain. Even though we can go on with our lives, we didn't lose a leg, we didn't lose an arm, we can move forward, but we hold on to the insult, we hold on to the pain. And I'm not saying that it's easy to let go of it, but we are on a path where we are claiming to detach ourselves from the world. We are on a path where we are attempting to cleave to our Creator and let go of our attachments to the world. We are on a path where we understand that everything that we see is an illusion and illusory and passes, that everything that we are involved with will disappear. Yet we treat these things as if they had permanence. To be clear thinking with clear vision is always easier when we're talking about somebody else's problems. It's not as easy when we're talking about our own problems, it's not as easy when we are the ones who were insulted, or when we are the ones who this stain was thrown at. It's always easier when it happens to someone else. But the great test for each of us is how do we handle the situation when we're in the midst of it? Praise and blame are two aspects of existence that people constantly are involved with. Everyone tries to avoid blame, and they're very happy when praise comes. The great Saint Rabia was walking with a torch in one hand and a pitcher of water in the other hand, and she was asked what she's what was she doing. She said, The fire is to burn down heaven, and the water is to put out hell. I'm not interested in either. I am only interested in getting to know the Lord. Now, that's a very high level to look at and to try to contemplate and to become involved with. She didn't fear punishment, and she wasn't looking for reward. In the world, punishment and reward are the lowest level of obeisance to the rules of creation. Can we be involved with obeying the rules of conduct because of our love for God? Because of our love for the prophets, because of our love for the rest of humanity? Can we forgive because of our love for humanity? Can we avoid judging and allow Allah to judge? Can we become healed because of our love for God? And is that powerful enough to take us over all of the hills and valleys and dips of the torture that we go through in this world? The Buddha said that life is suffering, and his solution was to move away from the worldly existence, to become ascetics who lived on very little of anything, who had very little involvement with anyone. We live in the world, yet we are taught to live within the world, but not be of the world. We're taught to live in the world yet not believe in the world. We are taught to live in the world, but only believe in God and recognize the illusion of this place that we live in. Recognize the impermanence of this place we live in. Recognize the temporary situation of this place that we live in. When we see the bubble that we ride on, and we understand that this bubble can burst at any second, and then everything that we have accumulated up to this moment dissipates and disappears. Doesn't it make more sense for us to be in a place of peace? Doesn't it make more sense for us to be in a place of ease and forgiveness? Doesn't it make more sense to detach from every difficulty we've known? Satisfaction and contentment are things that all of us strive for. Satisfaction and contentment are qualities that all of us want to have. If we have difficulties with certain situations that bring about in us pain and resentment and a need to rectify things, it's difficult for us to be content. If we can't be content, Allah can't come to know us. So for our own sake, we have to find peace and repose in our being. We have to find contentment for our own sake. If we don't, then we are doing the will of the others who wish us ill will. We are allowing them to bring us to a place that isn't any good for us. And until we get to the point where forgiveness comes into our being, we stay in that place. So they become the arbiters of our station. They become the arbiters of our being, and we can't allow that to happen. No man is worthy of bringing us down. Our allegiance is to Allah alone. Our cleaving is to Allah alone. Our focus is to Allah alone. And if we can reinstitute this understanding constantly within ourselves, we will cleanse ourselves of all of the difficulties that are in our life. The understanding that God is all that exists and we are an imagination is a very powerful understanding. If we truly understand that, then what is it that we're holding on to? What is it that we're allowing to upset us? It's all imagination, it's all the work of the mind through the influence of the satanic influences, which are constantly working in this world to take us away from the truth and to repoint us in directions that are away from Allah. So each of us has to be constantly conscious of the fact that our attention to our Lord can wane, can go down, and we have to reinvigorate it. So we have to put forth effort constantly, over and over and over again, every day, to focus ourselves towards reality and to relieve ourselves of our attachment to illusion. And we do this through surrendering and asking for help to allow us to understand truth and to be brought closer to our Lord. And who brings us closer to our Lord? Our Lord brings us closer to our Lord. So who do we ask for help? We ask our Lord. Who responds to our requests? Our Lord responds to our requests. Who created us? Who gives us sustenance? Who protects us? Our Lord. And this is a constant, ongoing struggle. This is the great unseen warfare that goes on in this world. There's plenty of wars outside, but there's also these wars inside. These wars where we feel pain as opposed to joy. These wars where we feel difficulty as opposed to repose. These wars where we feel a need for striving in the world as opposed to being content with God. This war is going on inside of us all the time. This is the great conflict between ourselves and Satan, between ourselves and the ones who want us to be pulled away from the truth. We have to persevere and make a stand that nothing will pull us away from the truth, that no one can alter our course, and that the straight path is our path. And then we have to ask God continuously, keep me on the straight path, keep me in the state of devotion, keep me in the state of contentment, keep me detached from the world, keep me close to you, Allah. Protect me and keep me close to you, Allah. Show me the truth. Make the truth evident to me. Make all the lies and falsehoods disappear. Don't make me give allegiance to them. Let me not have false idols. Let me only believe in you. This is our constant prayer. This is our constant request of our Lord. And may Allah take us all on that straight path, and may He relieve us of everything that doesn't belong to Him. May this happen for each and every one of us. Amin, Amin. Ya Rabbilal Amin. Asalam Alaykum Rahmatu Awa Barakatu.