What is Suluk? sohbet

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Transcript

What is Suluk?

Shaykh ibrahim Ansari

From a Sufi perspective, we are all on our way to Allah - whether we acknowledge it or not. 

The Sufi tries to put this information into context. We know that each of our situations is unique  - as is everyone’s. There are so many variables that make up our life: family, religion, culture, language, rituals, habits, sports, arts, schooling, friends… Each one of these massive institutions affects us in millions of ways. 

How we deal with the choices defines us every moment. As we grow, we will become entrenched in specific methods of dealing with our annoying  sister, the demanding father, the angry teacher or the bully online.

When we reach a certain realization about our life, we shall see that we have put artificial limits on our life. We’ve boxed ourself into a corner. Our potential journey is unfulfilled. We may become depressed, stressed, or repressed looking back at the choices we made. This is wonderful. This needs to happen so you can make a change. An objective perspective at a critical moment may lead us to wonder, “How can I make my life better?” “Where did I go wrong?” and, “What the Fu…?”

Your critical moment may come from a dream, a crisis, a life and/or death event, a movie, a book… whatever and whenever you have to take stock of where you are, what you are doing and where you are going. This one moment will help you choose a new direction, to begin using your knowledge and experiences more wisely.

Learning to make better choices is what we begin to understand is our real responsibility. Sufi training gives us a guideline about how to follow the path to Allah. That path is yours and yours alone. That is Suluk. No one else has experienced and lived your life, and made the decisions you have. 

The greatest part of the journey to Allah is this moment, when you and Allah work together to remove the bags of nafs interfering with your closeness to Him. 

We all come from His Love, and we swim through these universes with His Mercy, and we grow in understanding and wisdom through His Time. 

With this kind of body, we are able to learn more about Allah through exercises, practices, study, making mistakes, being curious… Then this journey, your Suluk, becomes your school with the Friend. You see that your heart, where the Creator is alive and observing, will guide you and protect you. When you can learn to trust your heart, life becomes full of purpose and meaning. You are learning to read the nuances of interactions, to get a better grasp on the flow of energy, consciousness and direction.

This all happens when you realize that you have very little control or power over external forces. Whether it is an interpersonal situation or a work difficulty, you discover that it is more important to choose your own attitude rather than trying to change others’. You have the power to choose how to express your reactions when you have tamed the Nafs enough to obey you. 

You will never be able to remove all the Nafs because they are necessary for life. For instance, you have to make mistakes… AND learn from them. That is part of the job of being a Human Being. 

Everything that happens to you is part of the teachings. If you pay attention, you will see that there is an inherent instruction at play. You can choose to observe the lesson or ignore it. When you are ready to see, you will be able to decode today’s lesson - sometimes it takes months, other times, an instant. There are several tools to help with this:

Adab: If your heart does not give you an insight into the problem, default to Adab, that is: what is the best words or actions that bring peace and comfort to this moment? 

Trust your Heart: The heart is quiet and will not argue nor defend itself. If you want to follow your heart, you have to learn to trust it. That means…

No Expectations: You will miss all the good stuff if you think Allah is going to talk to you in a certain way; or that your heart will say what you want it to say. Nope. Shut up. Learn how to LISTEN to the heart by becoming quiet, still, at peace, and tune in to just the heart.

This is how your Suluk becomes rich with purpose and fulfilling. When you ask, “What am I learning with this situation?” you will start to see how your journey has just turned into the Hero’s Quest. It is what all the myths and legends are about. They are metaphors for your Suluk. 

So, put aside your expectations and let go of trying to control everyone and everything. Your responsibility is to attend to your path, and make each step count. 

And don’t forget to ask for help when you need it.