I went to visit an American Sufi Community and met Murshid. Murshid is the name everyone in The Community calls their Spiritual Teacher/Leader of The Community. I visited for 10 days and stayed in the Community's Tekke. During my visit, including me, there were 8 residents. I joined with them each morning in Salaat in the Masjid, which is located in the basement of the Tekke. Going to worship God, pray, and meditate with everyone each morning was my favorite part of my visit.
I didn't get a whole lot of time to speak with Murshid privately, but feel extremely blessed with the time I did receive. Murshid said that it was the student who was in control of the student/teacher relationship, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me at the time. This morning I had my first inclination of what Murshid meant.
My hubby and I are reading the Quran together, talking about it and comparing it with the Bible. We're reading a large print English translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. What I didn't realize previously is how much Biblical information, with which I am already familiar, is actually included in the Quran. But that will be another blog post at another time.
Today I want to comment on Quran Surah 2. Are we like the Israelites? Do we say we believe in God as our Everything, and then do we worship a golden calf that we ourselves have created? What is our golden calf? What have we worshiped and relied on instead of God? The Bible says, "I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me."
Do we say we have faith in God, rely on other things, then complain that we are not receiving God's Grace? Are we without faith when we rely on ANYTHING other than God? Are we as
the Pagans when we do? Do we miss God's special mercy and His Grace
abounding when we rely on ANYTHING other than God? Sura 2:105 "It is never the wish of those without Faith, nor the Pagans, that anything good should come down to you from God. But God will choose for His special mercy whom He will for God is The Lord of Grace abounding."
I found Surah 2:111-113 very powerful. We must look to God and surrender to God. There is only One God. Why do people waste their time quarreling about which religion is the true religion? Satan gets people quarreling about which is the true religion, skillfully taking their eyes off God. "Whoever submits his whole self to God and is a doer of good, he will get his reward with his Lord . . ."
The book, "The Daughter of Fire" on page 229 says, (my paraphrase) Lord Mohammed (PBUH) was once asked which religion he belonged to. It is said that Christ was asked the same thing. The fact is that all Saints and all Prophets belong to the same Religion, The Religion of The Lovers of God.
Almost my entire adult life has been spent in search of God. I love God, want to merge into God's very essence and disappear completely. How does one do this? Can a Sufi Spiritual Teacher who is Self Realized show the way? This morning I had the first inclination of what Murshid meant when he said it was the student who was in control.
Bismillah hir-rahman nir-rahim
In the name of God, most Merciful, most Compassionate
Alhamdulillahi rabil 'aalamin
All praise is due God the Lord of the worlds
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