Earth is not Earth without Heaven. The two must be connected. If they are left to themselves, if they are not connected, then what happens in heavens happens only there and what happens on earth, only happens here. People on earth usually don’t know that whatever happens here is connected to heaven. It is recorded. Every movement on earth affects heaven and everything in heaven is connected to earth. What is the purpose of religion? The word religion means to link or connect. To connect what? To connect earth and heaven, to tie the two together. To make a link so that there is a free flow from heaven to earth and vice versa. They are neighbors to each other, not enemies. They must be neighbors. But if there is no one to connect the two, then they are not neighbors. What happens then? They will be enemies to each other. Therefore Allah has sent to mankind ways and means to connect the two. He has sent his religions to mankind. For each time a suitable way to connect heaven to earth was sent. The origin of religion is not from earth. It is from heavens. But its function is to connect earth and heaven and make them one. If man would live in a world where earth and heaven are neighbors, we would live a life of happiness and contentment. This good neighborhood must not only be outside in the universe but also within everyone. Within every human being there is heaven and earth. And we must strive for these two to be in good neighborhood within us. Then within us there will be peace. But it cannot be achieved by oneself. The way to achieve it must come from heaven. We must listen to heavens and look for that which was sent to connect heaven and earth. We must look out for those messengers. Those sent to mankind to connect heaven and earth within and amongst ourselves. Mawlana Sheikh Nazim says that it is the function of any murshid, any true sheikh of a tariqa, to connect people within themselves. He is not adding anything or taking anything away. Everyone has everything they need within themselves. You don’t have to replace anything. No spare parts. Everything is as it should be. Fi ahsani-t-taqwim (the best condition). Good ones or bad ones, they are in the best condition. As you see, all these people here, they are all different, but within himself or herself they are perfect. There is no need to be jealous because you have everything. Don’t look at others. Islam says, “Don’t try to be like them.” It will never make you happy. You must not become someone else, you must become yourselves. Allah gave everyone its particular creation, in completeness. Then He ordered that each one should be guided according to his creation. What does guidance consist in? It consists in connecting the parts. Right now very few are connected within themselves, most are not. If you ask yourself sometimes, “How could this thing happen to me?” that means you are disconnected within yourself. When you are connected within yourself there is no such questioning. The purpose of tarbiyya (training) is to connect all the parts that make up the khalq (the creation) of a particular person. And the murshid knows what each one’s khalq is and knows how to guide them. So the guide has been given the capability of connecting, and mainly connecting Heaven and Earth. There was once a woman, a journalist, who visited the Sheikh and asked him what his purpose, his mission, was. He said, “To bring all of mankind together in one point.” That is to collect them, connect them. Not disconnect them or drive them apart. To bring all of humankind together in one point. All of them, in One. If you look around, if you look at us here, you will see how difficult it is. Now, we are listening and it seems we are in one point. But when we stop speaking everyone will go into different directions. So you see how difficult it is. How can these people be brought together in one point and how can they be kept together? How can even one person be brought together within himself? The Sheikh said in his humility, “It is my intention, but I am too weak for it.” And we can only repeat what he said. Maybe, through his help, his meded, we may be given such a chance, too, that we come together in one point. That heaven and earth within us will be united. You see, it is easy to speak about Earth herself, it is also easy to speak about Heaven itself. But it is not the ultimate point. The important thing is to bring Heaven and Earth together. You must speak about both, and that is very difficult. That can only be done by one who has come together. That is why we repeat to you some of the things we have heard, from one in whom Heaven and Earth are connected. What connects them? Through what do they come together? Through love. Love connects heaven and earth. And the opposite, that which drives apart, is hate. There is no way to connect heaven and earth within and without other than through love. Therefore, one of the great awliya, Sidi Yussuf al Hamadani, said, “This world, every atom of it, is only another Yacoub asking for his son.” Every particle of this universe is only another father asking for news about his son. That is the power, the main energy of this universe? Everything in it asks for the One whom it has lost. “Have you any news?” That is the only question we ask, in everything we do. The whole world does nothing else. Everyone asks that question. Every cell, every thought, every sight asks that question. Do you have any news about Him ? Have you heard of Him? This is the power of love. Love is not something that may happen or not happen, something we may meet in our life or not, no. Our whole life and world is made from it: looking for the One that makes us complete or whole. Therefore, it is clear that the force that binds heaven and earth is love. Without it they will not be neighbors. Sometimes one hears people say they are looking for love, but they don’t need to look. It is right here. But there is something that does not want love to speak, something that hides it. For, if love were allowed to speak, the whole universe would be One. The Sheikh says you can only burn from two things: from fire or from love. And we ask, “Where is love?” and we do not realize that most of us are burnt children. And so we say, “I don’t want to come close again. I was burnt by love.” And at the same time we are looking for that love, because it is the reality of this life. What was it that burnt you: fire or love? If you don’t approach love because you have been burnt, then you are either dead or you are playing dead. Like children, who say, “I don’t hear, I don’t see, I don’t exist.” Playing dead. Why are we sitting here? Because we have been playing dead. Because we want to be awakened. But we must know that we cannot be awakened unless we are burnt. Either by fire or by love. Both burn, both hurt. But there is no other way to bring Heaven and Earth together. Faridudin Attar in The Conference of the Birds wrote and described the spiritual path. He said you must travel through several valleys. The second valley is the valley of ishq, or longing, the valley of fire. And he says, you can only live in fire, if you are fire. The way to live in the valley of love is to be love. We may not be able to understand this with our minds. But it doesn’t matter, for our minds are only smoke, they are not fire. And when the fire burns, smoke disappears. When the fire dies, smoke appears. When love comes, reason goes. And when reason comes, love goes. That is the wisdom of love. 
|
||
 |
|