SUFI TEACHING AND YOGA IN ME.

Reading the article Seven Sufi Teaching to Light Your Way written by Azriel ReShel I felt sense of belongings to oriental teaching of Sufi Masters which is unknown to me.  No matter what is happening in a global awareness now, even my head wants to turn me to different direction, my heart is drawn to wise and gentle words of Rumi and a path of Sufism.  Therefore, I am going to follow my heart to discover my  Sufi Teaching and Yoga in Me.

“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder” ~ Rumi

ANCIENT PATH OF SUFISM

The ancient path of Sufism, or Tasawwuf as it is known in the Muslim world, is the inward dimension of Islam, essentially Islamic mysticism. Sufi practitioners seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of the Beloved. It is a rapturous, deeply devoted and often arduous path, but one with enormous rewards.

Sufism, or Tasawwuf  is essentially Islamic mysticism. Sufi practitioners seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of the Beloved. It is a rapturous, deeply devoted and often arduous path, but one with enormous rewards. They celebrate the intimate relationship of the seeker with Good.  So, as I am, they are Divine Seakers, who are looking for divine within.

 HEALING ARTS and SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

I am a YOGA and HEALING ARTS practitioner, therefore,  I can easy to relate their ancient mystical teachings and practice. Nowadays,  Sufis have great relevance for seekers , and can help us to deepen your spiritual practice or elevate it to a new level.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” – Rumi

A NEW WAY of MEDITATION

As a yoga teacher, I am using many techniques that are focus on cooling down fire in you to clear the mental state, tame thoughts and attain a calm equilibrium. As a result, many yogic teachings can bring equanimity, tranquility and clarity of mind. I see difference in approach here: “The mystical practices of Sufism are hot practices in that they are working with the heart, and igniting the fervour of passionate, wild love.

HIGHER LOVE to see “Face of God.”

I studied in a person with, Andre Harvey, scholar and modern mystic who describes the Sufi path like this: “It is a way to the heart of hearts, to the utmost direct intense experience of one’s sacred identity.”

It is LOVE that lies at the core of the Sufi tradition. LOVE is the reason we are all here. Really at its simplest, we are all on earth to learn about love. As we experience HIGHER LOVE and learn to open ourselves to giving and receiving love, it is said we see the ‘face of God’. We see the many faces of the Divine in all we meet and in ourselves. Ultimately, we reach a stage where we do not see the ‘many’ anymore, and instead, only see the ‘one’. . Dr. Javad Nurbankhsh discourses that human love can be classified into three basic categories: friendship, families and transedent (divine).

SURRENDER TO LOVE

Sufis talk about annihilating themselves in the Beloved through the path of love. Dr. Javad Nurbankhsh of the Nimatullah Sufi Order says, in one of his discourses, that human love can be classified into three basic categories. The first form of love is friendship based on social conventions where two people behave in accordance with the principle:

I for myself, you for yourself; we love each other, but we have no expectations of each other.

This form of love is that of ordinary people, whose love relationships tend to be of this nature. The second form of love is based on a more solid foundation, and those who live together usually experience this kind of love:

“I for you, you for me; we love each other, having mutual expectations of each other.”

This form of love includes profound love, as well as the love found within most families, and involves emotional give and take on more or less equal footing.

Sufism speaks of three forms of human love with differing levels of expectations.

The third kind of love transcends all conventions based on mutual expectations, being founded on the following principle:

“I am for you, you are for whoever you choose; I accept whatever you want without any expectations whatsoever.”

The Sufi responds with loving-kindness towards those who harm him, for he sees everything in himself and himself in everything, and because of this it is said that the highest form of human love is ‘SUFI LOVE’.

CHANTING TO DIVINE

Many spiritual traditions include chanting of the divine name as a part of spiritual practice, for attaining divine qualities and purifying the mind. Like in my yoga classes, we keep practicing mostly chants from Hindu religion. Perhaps you are familiar with the practice of chanting the 108 names of the divine  which is hailed by ancient scriptures as the best way to deal with challenging times.

ECSTATIC CHANTING and A RITUAL DANCING.

Devotees become absorbed in the rhythmic repetition of the name of God or his attributes. This remembrance of the Divine fills your life with sacredness and keeps the focus on higher wisdom, away from the small-minded concerns of the self. Some beautiful Sufi mantras are: La ilaha illa’llah and the mantra: God is love, lover and beloved: Ishq allah mahbud lillah.

Sufis practice Dikhr, the devotional practice of the remembrance of God. It is performed by the repeated invocation of the names and attributes of God, and is based on the Qur’anic verse in which God says: ‘Remember Me and I will remember you’. It is practiced either individually or in groups. God is love, lover and beloved. Ishq is the word for this fervent devotion and love that the seeker has for the Divine, and Sufis talk about becoming drunk on divine love.

 SACREAD DREAM WORK

A dream work as a part of healing arts in not new to us, in the west. Both of us, the West and East, we are reflecting on  dreams for guidance, clarity, and wisdom. It was an important tool to help them on their spiritual path. The Sufi tradition has a well-developed philosophical psychology, which includes dream interpretation.

“When we sleep we return to where we came from. We rest in the arms of inspiration. It is a potent time for spiritual growth, healing, and restoration. We become innocent once more and when we awaken, may have clear answers to many of life’s challenges. Take some time to remember your dreams when you awaken and, through sharing them with others, deepen your understanding of the wisdom that is coming through in your dream state. The dream world is an important portal to the Divine and to higher guidance. The Sufi approach to dream science is to share your dreams with a spiritual teacher who can give a divine interpretation of your dreams, rather than relying on commonplace interpretations.”

Personally, I love working with subtle power of poetry, chanting, dreams and dancing.  It is like soothing elixir for my soul during these shaky time of life.

Andrew Harvey believes Rumi is our sacred guide for today’s troubled world and is the one who can deliver us from the evils of capitalist materialism. He sees Rumi as: “an essential guide to the new mystical renaissance that is struggling to be born today. He is the spiritual inspiration for the 21st century.”

“Sufi is a lover of God, and like any other lover, he proves his love by constant remembrance of his Beloved. This constant attention to God has two effects: one outward and the other inward.”– Dr. Javad

KNOWING HOW TO DIE WELL

It is a similar teaching to the Tibetan teachings on life and death. Sufis believe that God may give us the power to kill our ego and make ourselves ‘die before we die’. Essentially, this is a teaching on honoring life and living with gratitude and humility.

SUFIS ARE LOVERS OF LIFE and do not choose which aspects of life to celebrate. Everything in life gives reason to celebrate. Like a Sufi, all of us we don’t know each moment could be our last. So it’s important to be present in all of life and to live as if you could die in this moment, with your heart pure, your actions good and your relationships at peace.

 DIVINE MOTHER

Woman is the radiance of God; she is not your beloved. She is the Creator—you could say that she is not created. – Rumi

Sufism has always honored the Divine Feminine. It is an esoteric aspect of an outwardly patriarchal religion, in fact, the Divine Feminine resides at the center of Islam, some saying she is the compassionate heart of Islam. The Divine Feminine in Islam manifests metaphysically and in the inner expression of the religion. When we honor the Divine Feminine, we open ourselves to receiving higher wisdom.

Sufism cherishes the esoteric secret of woman, even though Sufism is the esoteric aspect of a seemingly patriarchal religion. Muslims pray five times a day facing the city of Makkah. Inside every Mosque is a niche, or recess, called the Mihrab – a vertical rectangle curved at the top that points toward the direction of Makkah. The Sufis know the Mihrab to be a visual symbol of an abstract concept: the transcendent vagina of the female aspect of divinity. – Laurence Galian

FROM A HEART TO HEART

“Wake up your Heart! Because when the heart is completely awake,
Then it needs no Friend. “– Rabia Basri

In a yoga class, we bring awareness to and from our hearts, always. In spite of few differences between yoga and sufi practitioners, I rather celebrate our similarities =  love in our hearts.

“Listen to your heart to find your way HOME! ” ~Veronika

Personally, I love working with subtle power of poetry, chanting, dreams and dancing.  It is like soothing elixir for my soul during these shaky time of life. Born in a diffrent part of a globe, I can see myself growing into this healing arts with ease.

At the end of my micro self-quest, I believe in religion of Love. Like sufi followed saying: “ I follow the religion of Love: whatever way Love’s camels take, that is my religion and faith. – Ibn Arabi…..and what is your?

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Refrence: http://upliftconnect.com/sufi-teachings-light-your-way/

Image credit: Google image database