Envisage Your Supreme Being As Boundless Compassion; Don't Personify Him
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
1 December
2022
This I read
years ago but the impact is still verdant and intact:
My religious life has been taken over by
professionals. To learn to pray, I need a Spiritual Director; to find god's
will for me, I consult an Expert in Discernment; to understand the Bible, I
consult a Scripture Scholar; to know if I've sinned or not, I need the Moral
Theologian; and to have my sins forgiven, I kneel before the Priest.
A native
king in the South Sea Islands was hosting a banquet for a distinguished Western
guest. When the time came to praise the guest, His Majesty remained seated on
the floor while a professional orator, engaged for the occasion, eulogized the
visitor. After the panegyric, the guest stood up to speak. His Majesty gently
held him back. " No, no," he said, " I've hired an orator for
you too. In our island, we don't leave public speaking to amateurs."
I wonder,
would god appreciate it if I became more amateur in my relationship with him?
Namazein Padheen, Roze Rakhe, Darta Raha Khuda
Se Main
Kaash Ke Ibadat Mein Meri Zara Betakallufi Hoti
(I offered Namaz,
observed Rozas and remained fearful of Khuda / Wish I were a tad
less formal with him).
Urdu poet
Nooh Narvi's lamentation is indeed very honest and almost everyone's rueful
acceptance towards the fag-end of life. Our rapport with the god is usually
that of a slave and his master. A slave is forever flattened before his
draconian master. But your god/Allah or Bhagwan is not a martinet. "Khuda
Se Bhi Chuhal Karna Seekh" (Learn to banter with god). A famous Misra
(line) penned by Urdu poet Naubatrai 'Nazar' comes to mind. Intimacy
dwindles and finally disappears when a relation becomes too professional.
In Bhakti
Marg of Hinduism and Mysticism of Islam, the bond with the Supreme Being is not
just friendly, it's brotherly (Sakhya Bhaav). There's not much place for
unnecessary scruples and qualms.
Rumi's
Allah says, " Your one rose of pure love for the beloved is more than the
whole garden you try to offer without being able to afford. " Let your
prayers be untimely, even unstructured. Let your worship be erratic, even flippant.
Don't worry, because god knows your intent. If there's any god and if at all
there's this imaginary, Last Day of Judgement, rest assured, your god or Allah
will not ask how many times did you offer Namaz on earth? He'll ask you, "
Did you do things according to your conscience? " Because, to quote Allama
Iqbal, " Apne Man Mein Doob Kar Paa Ja Suraagh-e-Zindagi / Tu Agar Mera
Nahin Banta, Na Ban, Apna Toh Ban " (Dive into the depths of your
heart and find the key to existence / I've no problem If you cannot be mine, at
least, be true to yourself).
Envisage
your Supreme Being as boundless compassion and don't personify him / it as
Daavar-e-Hashra (The judge on the Last Day).
-----
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/envisage-supreme-being-compassion-/d/128537
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