Tuesday, March 29, 2022

MOHAMMAD AL-GHAZALI -- REFLECTIONS ON REALITY AND INDIAN MYSTICAL TRADITIONS


REVIEW  OF REFLECTIONS ON "ALCHEMY OF HAPPINESS" (KIMIYA-YI SA'ĀDAT)

WITH INDIAN SAINTLY TRADITIONS

MOHAMMAD AL-GHAZALI

(BASED UPON TURKISH TRANSLATION OF HENERY. A. HOLMES)

 

LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY OF AL-GHAZALI IN BRIEF

 

BRIEF ON THE LIFE OF GHAZALI AND HIS BELIEFS

Islamic tradition considers Imam Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD) to be a  Mujahid[1], a re-newer of the faith-- who, according to the prophetic Hadith, appears once every century to restore the faith of the Ummah ("the Islamic Community"). His contemporaries so highly acclaimed his works that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" (Hujjat al-Islam).

THOUGH it is not intended to relate or compare Ghazali to an incarnation, conceptually, it is apparent that that message of Truth (God) gets diluted in this material creation which needs correction from time to time through the intervention of the custodian of faith.

Ghazali inherited the life profile of a Sunni (path of Koran and Hadith-- though Muslims use Hadith to the sayings and living habits of the Prophet Muhammad)

However, he realized later on that God could be experienced through the mysticism of Sufis, which originated from Ali (son-in-law of the Prophet) as Shias's Wali—that "requires an emphasis on" four significant steps- Sharia, Tareeqat, Marfatt, and Haqeeqat, culminating into states of Fnaa and Baqa. Sufis engage itself in the Murshid-Murid relationship of Love to eliminate the ego, I-ness, Duality.

 Sufi dervishes consider the imperativeness of the guidance and assistance from a living Murshid of their current space and time for spiritual progress. They contend that the True Gurus, Pirs, or Prophets of previous eras and times have completed their mission in the world. They have merged back into God. They are as far away from us today as God himself is.

Had it been possible for us to get assistance and direction from spiritual persons of the past who were already immersed in God, then it would have been feasible to get the same assistance from the Lord directly. But we can't receive direct guidance from any past Master or Murshid, nor was it possible for people of earlier ages to receive direct guidance from God. Should such an arrangement be a real possibility, there would never have been a need for any Guru or Pir-o- Murshid or Prophet to manifest in the history of the world. Thus, people of all times and ages require a living Pir or Saint or Kamil-Murshid of their time. A sick person cannot seek treatment from a Doctor, Vaidya, Hakeem of the past, nor can a person take the help of any Guru-Pir, etc., that is not living anymore. God-realization is not feasible without the Grace of the Kamil Murshid of current space and time.

Allama Iqbal, the most prominent mystic poet of current times, says:[2]

For once, O awaited Reality, Oh God; I am yearning to see you in physical form.   Would you please reveal yourself in physical form? And if this happens, then I will honor you with prayers of thousands of prostrations of my forehead. 

Only a human being can explain to another person(s). We cannot identify and understand the Ultimate Reality until God wears a human cloak. In other words, man cannot gain the glory of God-realization unless God appears in the human body to bless and guide its seekers.

 

THREE EVENTS IN GHAZALI'S LIFE

The first incident was when Ghazali (age 30 years, around 1088 AD) was a Vice-Chancellor of Bagdad University (Nizamiya Madrass –Bagdad) and a scholar of Koranic Jurisprudence (fiqh).

He was speaking to His students /pupils in Bagdad. He felt his tongue and speech choked as if God advised him to seek Reality rather than merely preach the interpretation of scriptures. He felt as if he was plagued by doubts in religion and needed certainty. He realized that the high ethical standards of a virtuous spiritual life are not compatible while in the service of sultans, viziers, and caliphs. The military and political elite's riches imply complicity in their corrupt and oppressive rule, benefiting from the positional reputation. These might jeopardize his prospect of redemption in the afterlife. He left Bagdad for about five years from 1095-1100, lived a wanderer's life, and devoted his time to intensive meditation and self-realization. He spent some time in Jerusalem and Syria too.

The second incident was when Ghazali lost his books by theft, in which he made notes of his learning. He pleaded to the thief to return those precious books as all his knowledge was penned in those papers. The thief laughed and replied—"Ghazali –what is the use of the knowledge that disappears by the loss of books?" (क्या इलम चुराया जा सकता है)  Ghazali instantly realized the difference between alphabetical knowledge (Gyan) from understanding or Sojhi of Self- Realization.

The third incident relates to the power of craving and loving yearning. During wanderings as a fakir, Ghazali was caught in heavy rain and storm. He needed shelter. He sought it from a nearby house—but that was denied. Then he walked into an inn- the owner—yet again refused due to lack of room. Later he approached a Masjid, where the Maulvi scolded that this is a place of "Ibadat" and not of overnight shelter.

Finally, he found a home of an elderly older adult, who allowed him to stay with him for that night. In the morning, that older man was saying his morning Namaz when Ghazali heard him crying and sobbing loudly.

On being asked by Ghazali about his predicament, the older man said that he had heard of an enlightened Sufi by the name of Ghazali, and he was praying that he might see him. Ghazali embraced him, saying that he was Ghazali. 

A little while later, Ghazali realized the reason for denials last night from three different places as one of his yarners was helplessly seeking him, which dragged him down to the house of an older man. Love truly moves the mountain.

BEYOND INTELLECT [3]

Beyond the stage of intellect, there is another stage. In this, another eye is opened, by which man sees the hidden, what will take place in the future, and other things, from which the intellect is as far removed as the power of discernment is from the perception of intelligible and the power of sensation is from things perceived by discernment. And just as one able only to discern, if presented with the things perceptible to the intellect, would reject them and consider them outlandish, some men endowed with intellect have rejected the things perceptible to the prophetic power and considered them wildly improbable. That is the very essence of ignorance! For such a man has no supporting reason except it is a stage he himself has not attained, and for him, it does not exist: so he supposes that it does not exist in itself.

 

But God Most High has brought the matter within the purview of His creatures by giving them a sample of the unique character of the prophetic power: sleeping. The sleeper perceives the unknown that will take place, either plainly, or in the guise of an image, the meaning of which is disclosed by interpretation.

 

GHAZALI SAYS REASON IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO EXPLORE THE UNVEILED REALITY—UNLESS MYSTICALLY RATIONALIZED.

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INTRODUCTION

The soul's inclination is always toward its Real Self, and there is always an inner yearning to experience the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul. Such a longing, either in the manifest form of dormancy, consummates most of us because we are brainwashed in various religious profiles by parental upbringing and societal influence since birth without our knowledge and consent. The soul has no religion, but the mind and body get anointed with some faith, belief, and reasoning. Humans thus forget their flawless and immaculate state of being, which gets suppressed by programmed family values that guide their psyche. 

 

A child born through Hindu parentage is prone to abide by Hindu scriptures, worship in temples and rituals; a Christian will follow Biblical testaments and Church; a Muslim will live by five pillars of Islam, Quran and praying in Mosque and so on. A Sikh will bow before Guru Granth Sahib and worship in a Gurdwara.  

 

Religious labeling gets stamped in our thinking and behavior. Individuals' likes and dislikes have a bearing on how their minds have been tutored by historical events of the past and their artificially imbibed belief systems. Many a time, nationalism is sermonized and defined by the line of thought described by the past incarnations of gods-goddesses or mystic masters in various holy books. Individualistic veneration is more for the sanctity of the books or idols and fulfillment of our wishes of material or mental comforts than for any perceptive inner experience of the unveiled Reality. We see the relationships and the world with the colored prism of distorted transparency. Priestly classes and clergies provide a self-styled interpretation of their convenience for extending the borders of each religion. Ancient history testifies that religious imperialism has been carried out by the successors of past mystic masters in defiance of their teachings' essence.

 

It is also true that mystic masters of current time and space (call them Gurus, Sufis, Saints, etc.) invoke the religious teachings of old scriptures. They provide very introspective implications based upon their inner revelations to the seekers keen on experiencing Divinity within the human body.

 

At the same time, the world has always been full of philosophers, thinkers, theologians, scientists who revealed their wisdom by applying logic to understand the cosmological metaphysics of God, world/creation, and man—--which is usually described as ONTOLOGY. Even though the ontological experience is of elevated state of mind which rational reasons of known parameters can testify –it "may" not be deemed compatible by mystic masters who are or were blessed with the inner working of metaphysical mysteries. The unknown domain at a human level is incomprehensible to what is known. Imam Al-Ghazali, an Islamic mystic of the 11th century, differed from many Greek, Christian, and Islamic theologians. That reason cannot be the determining factor for explaining the origin of God and the working of His Creation. His views were-- Unless reason is consistent with inner revelation, it cannot testify to the litmus test of the Truth. Some of his books –"The Revival of Religious Sciences and "Incoherence of Philosophers" have challenged the supremacy of the narrative of ancient logicians.        

        

CREATOR, CREATION, AND MAN

Since time immemorial, men have speculated about the Creator, the Creation, Nature, and the very complexity of the existence of human beings and other creatures. At the human level, this riddle remains unresolved. Still, from time to time, the mystics have revealed certain truths that are either incomprehensible to the mind or remain a perpetual puzzle.    At the same time, many philosophers, theologians, and scientists have attempted to decipher reasons and co-relate millions of ambiguities of relationship of the Creator and His Creation for the benefit of the human mind. Yet there are still countless unknowns to what is deemed known.

Mystics say that discovering the inner dimension through self-abnegation and self-annihilation in the human laboratory is essential for experiencing Divine cosmological mysteries and what lies beyond human life. Other thinkers of mind region believe that reason and logic that can be proved on the anvil of perceptible Reality should be the criteria to determine God's existence and manifestations.

GHAZALI'S VIEW

Ghazali's treatise "Tahafut al-Falasifa" (Incoherence of the Philosophers ) had the aim of showing that "reason" is not self-sufficient in the field of Metaphysics and is unable itself to produce a complete world-view. The principle of cause and effect limits neither God nor something is required for the following condition to be fulfilled—e.g., food is needed to satisfy hunger or water is needed to quench thirst. God is eternal and self-sustained. He wills the existence, de-existence and re-existence of the world. Nor is the world pre-eternal.

Nevertheless, the "governing law of the world is cause and effect" and depends on other conditions while the will of the Lord governs such conditions. Miracles are programmed into God's plan for His Creation, so to speak, from the very beginning and do not represent a direct intervention or a suspension of God's lawful actions. Belief in Miracles is thus human ignorance of the working of the Creator and the Creation. 

No.

Greek/Christian philosophers' ideas 

Ghazali's view— basis Quranic decrees

1

God's existence is subject to cause and effect

For God--- connection between a cause and its effect is not necessary.

2

The existence of God requires another source of energy.

God is eternal and self-sustained. The effect can exist without any particular cause.

3

World/creation is subject to cause and effect.

World/Creation is subject to cause and effect, but by the will of God, even effect in the world can be without a cause. 

4

World/creation is working based on rational and logical reasoning.

God's Creation follows prior decision or taqdir or Hukam or pre-destiny. Unless reasoning is compliant with revealed transcendental Reality, logic will not suffice.

5

Events occur in the Creation as a natural reaction to action.

God creates two events (multiple events) concomitant, side by side, that may not be rationally understood.

6

God ceases to exist upon dissolution and dissipation of Creation.

Dissolution of Creation is at the will of God. Divinity is eternal, and so is God.

7.

If Creation is imperfect, then God is also imperfect.

Perfection or imperfection can be reasoned out by the One who has attained perfection.

8

Fire will burn cotton to black because that is the function of the fire.

Fire will burn the cotton if so willed by God.

9

Morality and ethics are essential for human beings.

Only those morals and ethics supportive of salvation—which is the prime purpose of human life—are essential for human beings.

10

There is a difference between action-inaction and Divine will.

There is NO difference between action-inaction and Divine will.

11.

Miracles are the direct intervention of God in the working of the Creation.

Miracles are programmed into God's plan for His Creation from the beginning and do not represent a direct intervention or a suspension of God's lawful actions.

 

Al-Ghazali lays out four significant conditions (1) the connection between a cause and its effect is unnecessary, which applies to God. (2) the effect can come to exist without this particular cause. They are not incapable of separation, which applies to the world or God's Creation, (3) God creates two events (multiple events) concomitant, side by side, and (4) God's creation follows a prior decision (taqdîr)—also called Hukam in eastern metaphysics.

 Two or more events being created concomitant {as per (3)} implies that with seed, the production of fruit is also conceived. Or a human being's journey in life as a child, young man, student, adult, father/mother and son/daughter, etc., start taking place simultaneously, which are predestined as per (taqdir) or the Divine will.

The mystic aspect of Ghazali was supportive of the experience of the Unveiled Reality in the transcendental state of Love with the Divine than what is felt in the limitations of the human mind by theologians of that time. Revealed understanding (or naql) is blessed by Reality, while intellectual interpolation ( or aql) is an exercise of a higher mind.  

WHAT IS MEANT BY REVELATIONS, REASONING, AND FAITH ( WITH SELECT EXTRACTS FROM WIKIPEDIA AND QUORA)

REVELATION –In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of Truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural phenomenon. Muslims believe that every Prophet received revelation in their lives, as God sent each Prophet to guide humanity. All mystics confirm inner revelation directly or intermediation of their Masters/Murshids in a transcendental state. Islamic theology states that God (Allah) revealed his final message to all of existence through Muhammad's angel Gabriel. The Qur'an is word by word, and letter by letter is the revelation of the Haq (unveiled Truth). There is mention of the Holy Spirit dawning on Jesus for the grace of the Truth. Likewise, Shamz Tabriz, Rumi, Moinuddin Chishti, Kabir Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and other Sufis like Hazrat Sultan Bahu, Baba Bulle Shah, and their successors were blessed by the experience of inner unveiled Reality by Kun, Word, or Shabad by the "Word made flesh" or the True Gurus of their times –also called as Satgurus or Pir-o-Murshid.  

REASON— Reason is the capacity to consciously make sense of things by human beings, establish and verify facts, apply logic, and sometimes refer to as rationality. A distinction is often drawn between "logical reasoning" (reason proper) and "intuitive reasoning", which, even if valid, could be personal and subjectively opaque.

A cloud can be configured in any shape by the reasoning of mental imagination. The reason is often called "self-correcting" when new sources of knowledge, science, and logic are discovered. A Reason can thus be unreasoned, re-reasoned, and even explored de-novo. From a theological perspective, the reason is thus a "veiled reality" of the mind region that has not been verified by "Unveiled Reality".

FAITH – Faith begins where logic or reasoning ends. Faith considers something to be honest--or true--or will be confirmed or accurate in the future--without any evidence or reason--and often in the presence of confirmed contradictory information. Faith that God exists includes a firm expectation that your God exists. But the faith that trusts Ram as God and Allah, another distinct reality, is deceptive because the faith of God cannot be compressed into a labeled narration. Nevertheless, 99% of our life is determined by faith, even if that faith is factual or counterfactual. We survive on faith for our existence in the present and future. The absence of faith can be very depressing in the performance of daily chores. Faith is enriching when rightly affirmed but highly counterproductive if applied blindly.  

For example--If someone tells a congregation that tomorrow there will be rain, and an individual buys an umbrella in anticipation. If there is no rain, then purchasing an umbrella is naivety resulting in a loss of faith in the person who predicted rainfall.     Faith is not knowledge—but could be a pathway to knowledge when post-faith evidence is ascertained.

Faith, trust, belief, reasoning are generally understood as the same or different evolution of an individual's consciousness or intuition.

Can there be a precise unadulterated experience of "reasoning" and firm "faith" that can bless "revelation" of the Truth? Not likely-- except if He so wills with Graciousness. Such an immaculate string of reasoning, faith, and revelation is gifted on the rarest of rare. 

PERPLEXING PUZZLES --

Who created God? Is God eternal? Whether the world is pre-eternal or originated in time by an act of God? Is God a Soul? Are there an infinite number of souls? Why is God considered eternal and self-sustained while the rest of the Creation is subject to manifestation and dissolution? Does God disappear when the Creation dissipates? If God is perfect, then why does imperfection persists in the world? 

 

ISLAMIC FAITH-- 

1.     CREATOR- Islamic faith is of eternity, self-sustenance, and Omni-presence of God represented in the Kalma—"La Illah illilah"—as revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) is of Unveiled Reality. The Kalma is the genesis of One Reality in which the so-called non-reality also exists. It may also be true that God has assigned duties to numerous regents or ministers as per His decree or will to function the Creation. All such deities, regents, gods, goddesses are empowered by Him as per His will. A person or a mystic, having experienced the working of these regents, may argue or claim superior understanding –but that is characteristic of veiled or semi-veiled Reality.

Allah or Haqq (the Truth) is the sole power that needs to be acknowledged, accepted, and adored. Any imagination to the contrary or refutation of the totality of One Unity is all "ghair Allah" (गैर अल्लाह)— or Nafi  (denial of all that is not God) but is also a projected by the mind—created by God.

2.     CREATION- God and His Creation are always unified, though to the human mind, which is injected with the virus of ego-self or Hoame, there is a perception of differentia that multiplies different forms, time and space (Guru Nanak Sahib says—आपीन्ये आप साज्यो आपीन्ये रचिओ नाओ// दुई कुदरत साजीयो कर आसन डिठओ चायो // He himself created His own self and the He also produced the power of Nam, with which He fashioned the Nature and with great pleasure He is relishing His own play.) That the picture is in the painter's mind before it is painted on the canvas-- is an apt metaphor of the Divine and the world—in which the painted canvas or the world has a limited period and has no relationship with the painter's life and understanding. Likewise, some mystics have given the paradigm of the Dancer and the Dance being in a unified format—wherein even when the Dance ends, the Dancer survives. This understanding can come by direct mystical experience alone.

3.     THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE  is to attain the soul's salvation from the cycle of 84 –or the cosmic Creation also called annihilation of self or Mukti or liberation from the compulsion of reincarnation in different life forms -- also called Fnnah-Fi-Allah.

WHAT GREEK AND CHRISTIANS THINKERS REASONED

 

On the contrary, contemporary ideas prevalent at Ghazali were primarily influenced by Greek logicians ( who believed in the finality of senses and intellect of the human mind)  like Plato, Aristotle, and Christian academicians Augustine and Aquinas. One such reasoned belief was that of "ex-nihilo” "–nothing can come out of nothing". Thus there must be a creator or producer of God. Who was the creator of God that needs to be discovered? If the creator of God is unknown, then the exactitude of the origin of Creation cannot be traced. Were there multiple Gods which existed in tandem? Such a thought process is bordering irrelevancy any way, though such speculative ideas exist in the limitations of the mind. According to Guru Nanak Sahib too, "तिथ वार जोगी जाने रुत माह कोई // जा करता सिरठी को साजे आपे जाने सोई" (Even the evolved souls cannot fathom the timing of the Creation—only the Lord knows, who created this Creation.) The second contra-idea endorsed by other religious philosophies was that God could not be eternal if this Creation is temporal. The third assumption was that if this Creation is imperfect, the creator cannot be perfect. Fourth there is no proof of reincarnation, and life has no connectivity with the past.

 

LIMITATIONS OF THE HUMAN MIND  

Human beings are accustomed to the mind's game of cause and effect while they remain under amnesia that daily affairs of life cannot be reasoned out rationally or logically. Often, the reason is an evolution from feelings and beliefs rather than facts and findings. At elevated states of the human mind, perception varies widely. We may not be aware of the reason for specific durations of day and night; or cyclic interchange of seasons – but more profound knowledge reveals that the rotational cycle of earth vs. sun and other planets are the causative factors. But why the earth is simultaneously moving around its axis or circling the sun in 24 hrs is hard to decipher. The answer to why the grass is green may be due to the presence of a chemical called "Chlorophyll", but why there is "Chlorophyll" can have no logical response. 

 

1.     MYSTERY OF KARMA

For example, our efforts do not yield "desired" results; why? We cannot precisely define the rationale for that mystery of "unknown results," though the Karmic concept of eastern mystics justifies that. For humanity, "As shall you sow, so shall you reap" has to be understood in an unlimited period and space; and not in the absolute terms anticipated by the doer. In the context of human beings, good Karma may not fructify in a manner desired or done by the entity but could shape another destiny. Natural disasters like earthquakes and floods may be good or bad depending upon the class of beneficiaries and losers.

The soul is eternal, but it enters the bodies to live, quit, and re-enter. This process is called reincarnation. If there is the soul's reincarnation in different bodies, how is that decided? If Karma is defined as the reason for reincarnation, who is responsible for regulating the manner of reincarnations in different species?

2.     OTHER UNKNOWNS

Our dreams cannot be reasoned out. Reasons for falling in Love cannot be defined. What is the basis or reason for the birth of beings by the mingling of two drops of seminal fluid or any other contrived method? Why a seed contains a tree, fruit, and seed for which soil and essential environments are mandated? There can be countless analogies of similar Nature. Mystically seed, the tree's trunk, branches, leaves, fruit and then seed are all wrapped and unified; but are exposed differently in the domain of time, space and egotism as they seem to exist physically, grow and perish. The rational belief of any thinker will defy this understanding that nothing exists except Him.

3.     FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS CAN BE MISLEADING

Human feelings can also be sometimes non-conceptualized thoughts of misconceived conclusions. Some of the analogies are—the moisture of air on our skin is not felt. Thus the presumption that air is dry is misleading. Unless verified through some instrumentation, understanding of hot and cold objects depends on our body temperature. A straight line or a long straight road is a curve on the circular curvature of the earth. Heavenly bodies of stars, galaxies, and planets in the sky are not random formations but are objects that harmonize gravitational forces and keep the cosmos in balance. We cannot feel or hear many audio frequencies, nor can we experience a large part of the visual spectrum. We forget that we are perpetually revolving—sitting, sleeping, walking—due to the rotational nature of the earth. We do not feel that earth's gravity is the causative factor in our walking, running, etc. Had our feelings or thoughts been perfect, life would have been free from problems.

 

4.      IMPONDERABLES GALORE             

In the 21st century, scientists have practically scanned many aspects of life and Nature and viewed that they can only "measure" the effect in Nature; the "cause" of the effect or the reason thereof cannot be known or manipulated. Neither the effect can be altered by human intervention. For the illustrative purpose, here are three scientific phenomena: the speed of light is 300 million metre/sec; gravity is proportional to the object's mass; matter and energy remain intertwined. Neither the reason for such a pre-determined speed of light can be inferred, nor this speed can be modified, nor can the basis of energy in that light be altered. Why the law of gravity operates in that manner cannot be questioned? Nor do we know why energy and matter are in constant flux. Then there is quantum physics that matter and energy can be present simultaneously in more than one place because of the nature of sub-atomic particles. There are many other imponderables – Why earth, moon, sun, and stars are spherical? Why distance between the sun and earth is approx. 150 million km? Why does the earth rotate at 23 degrees to its axis? Can man alter such fundamental facts?   

 

One of the most famous quotes of Planck, who discovered the energy in photons or light particles, says--science ( read reason and logic) cannot solve the ultimate mystery of Nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we are part of the mystery that we are trying to solve. An experiment is a question that science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer. We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed until now, they will continue to exist similarly in the future".

For example, the natural law is that seed will yield seed after the formation of plant, leaves, and fruit. In the last thirty years or so, there has been technological innovation and revolution in the production of Genetically Modified (GM) crops, where seeds are produced in factories for cropping corn, soybean, and brinjal (eggplants), etc., which have identical edible characteristics but are seedless. New seeds have to be sourced from companies that "manufacture" them in a factory. The physical law is prone to mutation with time, and God wills that too. Similarly, medical science and intervention procedures have discovered new remedies for diseases that were earlier said to be incurable. 

Man is subject to change from day to day and from age to age. Hence his consciousness is ever in flux. Says Mystic Mirdad, "And hence his word, which is his consciousness expressed, is never clear and definite of meaning. And hence his understanding is in a fog, and hence his life is out of balance. It is confusion thrice confounded".

Man consists of three entities—soul, mind, and body. At the soul's level, man is boundless, infinite, eternal, the Truth; at the mental level, man's judgment is relative to time and space. At the physical level, it is totally bound by the limitations of the temporal body. Pulled by the forces of three dimensions, man is a confused being in the world's wilderness. He is therefore incapable of expressing himself with absolute certainty.  

GHAZALI'S VIEWS ON REASON

Had reason, logic, or human intelligence been sufficient to know the Reality? None of the logicians or scientists would have encountered any painful circumstances in daily life, or none of their decisions would have gone wrong. It is not that mystics have or had no issues in their lives, but the difference is that mystics have never claimed to state things that are verifiable with instruments of the outer dimension. They speak of inner experience by exploring the human body and advise others for similar awareness.

Al-Ghazali argued that "reason" could not be the premise for questioning the existence of God as eternal, self-sustained, or Omnipresent because of the contrarian view of God having another source of origin or His dependency on another socket of energy are also not demonstrable by reason or logic. According to the mystical experience of inner Reality, food is not required to satiate hunger, nor is water needed for quenching the thirst. In astral and causal planes, the physicality of matter disappears. Since God is not physical, astral, and causal, dependency conditions lose logic and relevance.

Since the understanding of the mind is not absolute and varies with time and space and at various levels of consciousness. Human comprehension of life in the 21st century is much different from what 500 years back because of demographic mutations and technological interventions. Applying the same diagnostic and medicinal remedies in current times is inconceivable to what was done even a century ago. Therefore, the reason is a hostage of time and space and has finite applicability. That is what justifies Ghazali's "rejection of reason alone" for defining the eternity of God.

IS THE DOMAIN OF REASON VOID IN GHAZALI'S UNDERSTANDING? No. He stressed that logic could not be the sole yardstick of conclusive evidence unless reason satisfies the revealed or blessed Truth of the inner dimension. The revelation should be of the individual who has been blessed with the experience of the process of liberation of the soul himself and carries the Divine mandate for guiding others for salvation. If any reasoned experimentation or explanation defies what is experienced mystically, then the blame rests with the reason. This also implies that the basis of faith should be the inner realization of the highest order and not that of memorization and interpretations of scriptures or holy books. Scriptures relate to the inner experience of the mystics that defies comprehension by senses and the realm of mental capabilities of an ordinary individual. Scriptures also teach how life is to be lived for attaining that supreme awareness. But neither the experience nor the readers' awareness can capture that introspective phenomenon of the mystic at the level of mind and senses.  

In a widespread sense, Vedanta means the end of the Vedas or the end of "vidya" (knowledge) –"anta" means the end. Therefore, Vedanta means the end of knowledge or knowing. What is the end of knowledge? This is the end of scriptural knowledge and the beginning of transcendental knowledge, which is beyond the mind and the senses. Understanding the Self or God's realization or both leads to liberation. In Hinduism, liberation is the highest goal of human life. The Vedas facilitate it by providing the proper knowledge and methods to achieve it.

In Vedic times, students spent about 25 or more years studying the scriptures and memorizing all the knowledge of the Samhitas, Brahmans, and related subjects, which would prepare them for the life of householders. However, what they learned was lower knowledge (avidya), which would help them achieve name and fame, but not liberation from the cycle of births and deaths. For that, having mastered all the ritual knowledge, they had to go back to study again from a spiritual master, in a forest or a secluded place, and learn from him the utmost secrets of the Vedas, whereby their knowing would come to its logical and spiritual end. Most people did it later, during Vanaprastha, as forest dwellers, after retiring from the active duties of a householder.

Ghazali also wrote that getting knowledge of the world was to learn and imbibe moral values for salvation or realization of Oneness with Divinity. Should education defile moral values or induce habits that impede the path of morality, it is of little use in experiencing salvation.

 

WHAT ARE MORAL VALUES AND SALVATION

Moral values in mystic terms imply that a balanced life is lived, with a preference for the higher realization of the Creation and the Creator. A man should neither neglect his essential worldly obligations nor be a total recluse. Should morality be dedicated to material acquisitions alone, or does morality mold the mind towards infatuation of physicality, flesh, and remarkable temporal life? These are inconsistent with the primary objective of human life of attaining an elevated level of consciousness-- then the course correction to the ethical matrix has to be applied.  

 

Salvation or Mukti or liberation from the cycle of 84 is the highest state of consciousness for attaining Oneness with the Divine by eliminating duality and negation of ego. As long as man remains in the karmic domain of good and bad karmas or three Gunas (Sato, Rajo, Tamo), the cycle of 84 continues. Man must seek "freedom from action" rather than be an aspirant for "freedom of action". That is feasible if the mind attains an experience that its existence must cease willingly and merges with the Universal mind—thereby releasing the soul to ascend to its true abode. 

 

Now puzzling questions can be somewhat answered—

 

Ø WHO CREATED GOD? IS GOD ETERNAL? –God is self-created and self-sustained, eternal without the concept of time and space. This is an inner revelation of the mystics. At the same time, philosophers and scientists have either expressed diverse opinions or are still exploring the subject. They have not proved contrary to the metaphysical understanding of the mystics. God is not subject to cause and effect because of its inherent eternity.

 

Ø WHAT IS A SOUL? God is a "Universal soul" that can "fractionalize into infinite soul" for projection of the Creation without undergoing any intrinsic change. A part of the infinite is infinite. Says Gurbani-आतम में राम राम में आतम चीनस गुर बिचारा // Again this is a blessed understanding of inner dimension and cannot be verified physically at a human level. The soul in its purest form is also not subject to cause and effect because of its inherent eternity

 

Ø WHETHER THE WORLD IS ETERNAL OR ORIGINATED IN TIME BY ACT OF GOD? The world is not pre-eternal but originated in time as temporal Creation as the will of God. Guru Nanak called that will Hukam, Christ called as "Thy will be done". Islam calls that "God –willing or "Insha Allah". The temporal Creation may cease to exist when "He so wills". Had this world been eternal, it would have never come to dissolution. Scientifically, the Creation is converting or condensing of God's energy into matter, wherein matter can dissipate itself and convert itself to energy. That is why constant change is going on in physical and metaphysical planes.

 

Ø THE CREATION IS SUBJECT TO THE LAWS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT WITH ABSOLUTE PRECISION. Human beings are unaware and oblivious of it. God's basis of cause and effect is "The Will of the Lord,"—also called Hukam. (For example-- even a stone, when pushed, will roll —according to His will. When lighted, a piece of cloth will catch fire because of His will. In the case of stone and cloth (the reaction of rolling or burning) are logically justified but subservient to Divine will.) This means that in exceptional circumstances, neither the stone might not move nor the cloth may burn.   Similarly, the condition of specific or mutual dependency that is necessitated in this material creation is also subject to the unlimited will of the Lord. If He deems fit, the Lord may waive such a condition, and none can question Him for this exemption.

 

Ø "Divine Will" vs. "Action-Inaction"

Ø There could be a simple question at the human level--Should Hukam or Raza or Bhana or the "Divine Will" be considered the operating principle of life, then what is the role of action? Then human inaction could be the way out. God will act of His own Will. 

Ø No!! Says Al-Ghazali. He explains as below--

Ø For example, when we lift the glass of water to drink, then the causative factor is the "thirst" created by the will of the Lord. The action of lifting a glass of water is not in non-conformity or non-compliance with Divine will. The One—Lord-- Who has initiated the sensation of thirst has also produced water to quench that thirst. Thus there is no divergence between the Will of the Lord and Divine Grace—that enables action. The notion of devotion is that man is an instrument of compliance with the soul's requirements as ordained by the Lord.

Ø There is no concept or idea of inaction in understanding the working of Divine will. The Hukam OR WILL is -- man must act according to the best of his physical and mental capabilities (Vivek) and accept the outcome with gratitude, whether it is consistent or inconsistent with his wishes or desires. The rational perspective is that what appears to happen physically and mentally is a veil of His will.

 

Ø HAD GOD BEEN SUBJECT TO CAUSE AND EFFECT? Then with the dissipation or dissolution of Creation, God should also cease to exist. And another God would have been required, which is inconsistent with Kalma. Mystics speak about the revealed understanding rather than the mind's logic that is grossly limited and fickle.

 

Ø PERFECTION AND IMPERFECTION OF CREATION-- Ghazali sometimes raised questions and answered them himself. One of the issues that he raised was whether God is perfect. He said that if God was perfect, this Creation should have been perfect. Since this Creation is imperfect, God would be imperfect. Then he questioned his perfection and imperfection—how can he judge God's status—when he knew nothing of himself.  Guru Nanak Sahib says—एवड ऊचा होवे सोये तिस उचे कोई जाने सोये//

To bolster the above narration, quotes from other mystics can be given. Kabir/ Guru Nanak Sahib and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) state the following revelations about God.

Ø कह कबीर हम धुर के भेदी हुकम हजूरी लायेकबीर 

Ø जैसे में आवे खसम की बानी तेस्ड़ा करूँ ज्ञान वे लालोगुरु नानक 

Guru Nanak Sahib in Jap Ji declares  सोचे सोच होवई जे सोची लाख वार –by thinking, he cannot be reduced to thought, even by thinking hundreds of thousands of times.  That is why Baba Bulle Shah says— इल्मों बस करीयोंओ यार इको अल्फ तेरे दरकार//

WHAT IS MEANT BY THE "WILL OF THE LORD" OR "HUKAM"?

In Arabic, "Hukam" or "Will of the Lord means--- the power to govern, rule, control, dominate; command, decide, judge, pass sentences, rule arbitrarily, etc.). In mystic understanding, words like Haq (हक)-the Truth, Haqeeqat (हकीकत), Hakeeki (हकीकी), Hu (हू)  Hukam-Nama (हुकम नामा),  are allegorical or, derivatives or inter-related to Hukam.

Hukam (Divine Will) is one of the more common names for the Kun or Word or Nam or Shabad (एको नाम हुकम है नानक सतगुरु दिया भुजाये जिओ page 72 //)of the Lord's Creative power or Command or Law of the Power that is. It has willed the Creation and is the unspoken unwritten resonating word, which cannot be contained in any language and cannot be construed within the parameters of any religion or philosophy.

Mystically, "Kun" also refers to the "Word" of the Bible, which cannot be written in any alphabet. Kun is identical in meaning with Kalam-e-Allah (Speech of God)--(Voice of God), or "al-Ism al-Azam" (the Greatest Name). Holy Quran says, "When He decrees a matter, He says to it (Kun Fa-yakunu) --- "Be– And it is"-- The term appears as part of the 117th verse of the 2nd Quranic chapter, Surah Baqara** (Holy Quran 2:117).

"Word" of the Bible is akin to Kun or Hukam is also represented as light ( नूर खुदा ).   And God said, "Let there be light, and there was light". Genesis 1:3. The array of words has little meaning except that they all allude to the concept of Monotheism which is the cause of "many and multiplicity" (माया) reflected in the Creation.

**Al-Baqarah (Arabic) "The Heifer" or "The Cow") is the second and longest chapter sūrah of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses (āyāt)   

In Guru Nanak's "Jap” first and second verse—the following two lines may be understood with the most profound introspection and not merely for superficial interpretation"हुकम रजाई चलने नानक लिख्या नाल" and "हुकमी होवन आकार हुक्म कह्य जाई". The primary commandment is to live by the will of the Lord willingly and that all that is manifested is through Hukam or Divine Ordinance cannot be described in words.

The metaphysical idea of Hukam or Kun is a pointer to the power responsible for the origin, sustenance, and destruction of this Creation. Both theological thoughts (Islam and Gurmat) endorse that the Will or Hukam of the Creator is the fundamental foundation of Creation.

Adi Granth is replete with verses that state-- Hukam cannot be said or explained; Hukam is universal for all; Hukam is all pervasive, all powerful, fearless and without any rivals and therefore without any enemies or foes; Hukam is eternal and the only Truth; through Hukam all stages and states of creations and their beings are governed; through Hukam Karmic principle and law of salvation are applied; blind are those who lack awareness of Hukam and therefore suffer consequences depending upon their ignorance; Hukam is the only instrument of elimination of ego; the pinnacle of mystic Love, devotion, knowledge and understanding can be gained by abiding with Hukam.

This centrality of Hukam is used as a fundamental pledge of abiding allegiance to the One Lord to realize the Truth.  

CONCLUSION—

GHAZALI apportions supremacy to the highest mystical experience but attempts to harmonize it with the reason of the day and age, which is variable. Even if scientifically a rationalization is found at a particular point of time by intelligentsia (aql), if that may be inconsistent with the (naql) or realization of inner unveiled Reality, then such a rationalization will still be found wanting in the realm of the Truth. The purpose of human life and its pursuit should be to attain high moral values that assist the soul in the experience of salvation and liberates it from the cycle of 84.  

 



[1] MUJADID---In India there is the idea of the Incarnations (avtaras—अवतार) of God. One of the great Incarnations, Krishna, in the Bhagavad-Gitâ, says, "Though I am unborn, of changeless nature, and Lord of beings, yet subjugating My Prakriti, I come into being by My own Mâyâ. Whenever virtue subsides and immorality prevails, then I body Myself forth. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of Dharma, I come into being, in every age." Whenever the world degenerates into lack of faith in God, He comes to help it forward; and so He does from time to time and place to place.

 

 

[2] कभी हक़ीक़ते मुंतज़र नज़र लिबासे मजाज़ में।

कि हज़ारों सिजदे तड़प रहे हैं मेरी जबीने नियाज़ में।

 

[3] AL-GHAZALI Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-Dalal) Translated, with related works, by Richard J. MCCARTHY, (Para 108-109)

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