It is interesting to note that each religion gives a different name to this event. The Koran calls it Resurrection and the reward takes the form of “gardens watered by running streams“. The goal of Hinduism is “self-realisation” and that of Buddhism “nirvana”, where the being feels a rain of bliss upon him. Christians call it “baptism” or “entry into the kingdom of God”. There too, the symbolic gesture of John the Baptist uses the element of water on Christ’s fontanel. In the same way the Pentecostal wind which descended upon the heads of the disciples marked their entry into a new dimension, the enlightenment of their awareness through the perception of vibrations, an experience which is in every way similar to the awakening of the Kundalini today.
Are not streams, rain and wind the metaphors used by the different traditions to refer to the event of self-realization? Hindus, Jews, Christians and Muslims experience their union in the light of the same source, that of Allah.
The Hindu has no choice but to acknowledge the cool showers of bliss descending on his brain devoid of thoughts, drenched in the absolute silence of the Eternal. The Jew enjoyed the same well-being and feels the burning bush which was revealed to Moses vibrating within him:
…lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, through fire scarce touched it: light upon Light! (Sürah an-Nür (The Light) v35
For the first time, the Christian feels the “breath” of the Holy Spirit on his head, face and body in the same way Christ’s Apostles did on the day of Pentecost. He understands symbolic and somewhat enigmatic paintings of the classical period: the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove onto the heads of the chosen ones is often accompanied by a beam of light descending from the bird’s beak to the head of the elected, surrounded in its turn by a golden halo.
This ray is none other than the omnipresent Primordial Energy filling the human brain which its Holy Spirit and the golden halo the vibrations issuing forth from the fontanel.
axinia
1000 petals by axinia 
Mother told many times and it is true also but one can not understand its essence before self realization
great collection of quotes and pictures, thanks for sharing them.
ahhh, I guess you forgot about Sufi’s.
“Rumi” had the experience that he felt that the fontanel bone is being opened out by a tremendous inner force, but as a result he became just absolutely thoughtless. He wished to be a “non-being”, which he describes it as the epitome goal for human being. Read his poem here :
http://janan.eu/english/?p=9
Thanks 😉
indeed, pooyan… but this was a quote, not my words..surey, Sufis are sharing the same expereince, thank your fro this excellent reminder!
you are the most welcome 🙂
We start our lives trying to be teachers; it is very hard to learn to be a pupil
When one begins to feel that there is something behind the veil, and that one wishes to make every possible effort to discover that mystery, one then takes the first step
Everyone’s Pursuit is according to one’s evolution….reasoning often holds one back from taking an initiative which could have been successful; although it is the reasoning power which helps one to accomplish one’s purpose, it is often just that same reasoning power which holds one back from taking an initiative.
being able to rise above oneself. I guess we cannot know the true purpose of our lives unless we are connected to the power that created us
Mirel,
Reading your post reminded me of this following Sufi quote:
Do not says that theBeloved has left
and the city of Love is empty
The world is full of perfect masters
but where are the sincere disciples.
-Kamal Khujandi
Mirel and Pooyan,
Both your thoughts got me thinking and helped me ‘remember’. Hopefully with all those gears turning there will be a more comprehensible comment to come, but both your comments made someting I read and heard recently recorded by some Nimatullahi dervishes. It is a translation of a poem in farsi by a sufi master of course accompanied by a setar.
Maybe you both will enjoy it
Dave
Dear Dave,
I see a deviation from what Rumi said and these Nimatullahi dervishes are doing; cause Rumi said that a real saint should live like other people, marry from his people, earn his life, but at the same time his attention should not deviate from God even for a second. But these Nimatullahi dervishes or other dervishes, I am sorry but they lead a life of complete sanyasa, means they are away from people, and even worse than that, I have seen my self that some of them use horrible drugs to go to that mode of playing Setar. I see no sign of dignity in this kind of behavior. Don’t wanna condemn any special person, as I don’t know them all, but generally my experience tells me that this not that real “Ultimate happening” which has been described by all great prophets, saints and seers.
thanks a lot Dave, wish you all the best.
Hey Pooyan,
How are ya? Very valid comments. Rumi says fools gold exist because there is the real thing there are many imitation sufi groups and practices that generally ruin the name for the sincere practictioners. Nothing is a greater hindrance to seekers as imitation groups
I am a Nimatullahi darvish. I am married have two jobs sometimes three, write, blog, play basketball /video games (I am a beast with Gears of War lol) on the weekends and live what I call a normal life. Aside from meditation, zekr and all that jazz, I engage in charitable acts when I have time and am not working. Also aside from some recreational beer or cocktails with the wife I don’t and never have used drugs in my life.
To live a life of withdrawal is a bit crazy to me because I feel the world was given to us to enjoy, so much beauty. As long as I am healthy and not incapcitated I am out there doing my responsibilities and enjoying every sec in style as only I can do :-). As has been said, It’s easy to do it in a cave, but in the Bazaar things get bizarre 🙂
In my time being a Nimatullahi Darvish I have yet to see the type of behavior you mentioned, and I have thoroughly looked for it. If you are interested you can see some of the ethical and social rules of this particular branch of the Order on this site: http://www.nimatullahi.org/nimatullahi/nimatullahprinciples
The first rule is “Rejection of seclusion, with preference for inward retreat in the company of others (This is in reference to Khilwat dar anjuman and Safar dar watan of which Shams Tabriz’s mentions in his Maqalat ). “There are, however, certain exceptions, such as when an individual may be asked to spend time in retreat by way of therapy, in order to regain his or her psychological health.” The second rule is “the stern disapproval of the use of hashish and addictive drugs of this nature.”
If there are dervishes or others who do these type of things bearing the name of a darvish of this or that order then the problem is with the person I believe, not really sufism or that order. This has been a perrenial problem and some of the Masters of the past and current teachers have had this to say of such occurences:
“If you see a Sufi who is a demon that person was but a demon masquerading as a Sufi – fault is not to be found with Sufism.” – Nurbakhsh
“The Name Supreme shall do its work: do not wory O Heart; dissimulation and deceit can’t change a demon into Solomon.” -Hafez
“In Fihi ma Fihi we find the allegory of the jacket. ‘In Winter, says Rumi, ‘you look for a fur garmet, but when summer comes you have no time for it, it is an encumbrance.’ So it is with imitations of real teachings. They keep people warm until time comes when they can be warmed by the sun. So like the fur garmet, people will cleave to cults and imitations because these things suit them, respond to something within them which calls for cults and imitations. At the same time, of course they imagine all sorts of things about themselves, such as they are genuine, sincere, unconcernd about themselves and concerned about others or about truth. -Idries Shah
happy to hear all that dear Dave, cause once upon a time, I was also so much interested in Sufism, but then I found Sahaja Yoga which changed my life, and basically it gave me the real “Ultimate happening”. Now, I am fully satisfied with practicing it.
But what you described from your life and ideas, looks like a enjoyable nice life, and is far away from a cave life 😉
So wish you all the best dear friend.
visit me @ http://janan.eu/english/
pooyan, congrats! what a wonderful blog!!! 🙂
I think i will boorrow a post on Enstein if you don’t mind.
Thanks Axinia, and for sure you can, jsm.
Pooyan,
Cool site. Thats great about Sahaja yoga. I practiced Kriya yoga for a while and some other things. It was a great preparation for me for tasawwuf. I found an inherent unity in both Sufism and Yoga that I coulod really place my finger on till I read the words from Hazrat Inayat Khan on Yoga and sufism that I posted on my blog, but pasted here for you:
Sufis and Yogis can respect each other as the only difference between the Yogi and the Sufi is that the Yogi care more for spirituality and the Sufi more for humanity. The Yogi thinks that it is better to be God, the Sufi thinks that its better to be man because if one is only spiritual there is always the danger of a fall…. Yet there is no inner difference between the Yogi and The Sufi.
-Hazrat Inayat Khan
I really like your blog post Didar. It reminded me of something from Mevlana translated by Coleman Barks as the Gazing House.
On the night when you cross the street
from your shop and your house to the cemetery,
you’ll hear me hailing you from inside
the open grave, and you’ll realize
how we’ve always been together.
I am the clear consciousness core
of your being, the same in ecstasy
as in self-hating fatigue.
That night, when you escape the fear of snakebite
and all irritation with the ants, you’ll hear
my familiar voice, see the candle being lit,
smell the incense and the surprise meal fixed
by the lover inside all your other lovers.
This heart tumult is my signal to you igniting
in the tomb, so don’t fuss with the shroud
and the graveyard road dust. Those get ripped
open and washed away in the music of our meeting.
And don’t look for me in a human shape!
I am inside your looking. No room for form
with love this strong.
Beat the drum and let
the poets speak. This is a day of purification
for those who are already mature and initiated
into what love is.
‘Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I will meet you there’.
Say ‘I am You’:)))
outstanding.
(Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.)
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense.
Thanks Dave, & liked the piece from Hazrat Inayat khan about Sufi and Yogi very much, but deep in my heart, I do agree with Axinia ! 😉
wish you all the best, and hope to visit you more often on web.
Hi Dear, great quote, but our beloved saint said it 100 years back! (Sufis and Yogis can respect each other as the only difference between the Yogi and the Sufi is that the Yogi care more for spirituality and the Sufi more for humanity. The Yogi thinks that it is better to be God, the Sufi thinks that its better to be man because if one is only spiritual there is always the danger of a fall…. Yet there is no inner difference between the Yogi and The Sufi.
-Hazrat Inayat Khan)
Today to be a yogi (at elast a Sahaja yogi) is different, and means just the same as to be the Sufi! My personal life proves it :).
Axinia,
Through a lot of your blog posts I have always felt that despite all minor outer difference in the vessel, we drink the same thirst quenching ‘water’. The reality of the experience of the Divine we share is so far beyond labels and language that is has no name really.
Dave
I agree Dave. There are no need for labels. Unconditional love is unconditional love, no matter how we describe it.
There is no fall if one lives with the body as they do with the spirit, a life not lived separate but as One.
Like your blog by the way. Having a look around. Thank you for stopping by earlier.
Peace is not only better than war.We are complex.Belongs to the people who inhabit it.