Spiritual Letter 47 - Original Version About Spiritual Letter 47 Title: - "Are You Really Ready To Start Again?" Date: March 24, 2003 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Written to: Ms. Susan Sontag - author (see Web Site: www.SusanSontag.com) Home Page - Spiritual Letters Go To Spiritual Letter 48 Letter 47: Expanded Version Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Letter 46 Letter 47: Related Material Page 2 of 2 Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Letter 47 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter: 5. A Little Bit About Bawa - about Bawa as the "Name of the Reason" we are here, as the "Name of the Gift of God" within us, about Bawa as the "Name of our Wisdom", of our higher levels of consciousness, that can if we like, reveal the truth of our lives, hidden by God within the wisdom of our life, about Bawa as the Shaikh or Teacher of God within us for our age, joined as One with God within us, that can if we like, "teach us what we do not know", and bring to an end what we in our ignorance have started within us, which is "us" as "separate from" God within us, and can complete what God in His understanding has also started within us, which is "us" as "One with" God within us, and about Bawa as the "Name of How" we become successful in our life, before we die, as the "Name of How" our wisdom can successfully "reason over our fate" within us, before we die, before we are dragged off to the angel of Death within us, by our karma, fate, and false destiny, and then must experience the suffering of the grave, Qiyamah (the Standing Forth; the Day of Judgment), and eventually an eternal life of "separation from" God, all occurring within each of us both before and after we die 6. A Little Bit About Our Current State - about what has happened to us, and what is just waiting to happen to each of us, both if, and if not, we fail to awaken to our own reality, before we die, and having awakened to "who in truth we really are", if we truly let it happen within us, if we truly realize, understand, accept, and join with the reality of our own life, and disappear within it, before we die, as an apple seed that realizes, understands, accepts, and joins with the "truth that emerges from within it, joins with the earth, germinates, and then disappears within the apple tree hidden within it, before it rots in the earth, before it dies to its "false life" buried in the earth, forever breaking its connection to its "true life", to the story of the apple tree that it came to the earth, to join with the earth, to tell 7. A Little Bit About Us, About Each of Us - about "us" as the "Seed of True Man" within us, as the "Seed of the Tree of God" within us, as the Light of God to the world within us, within the Creation of God within us 8. A Little Bit About True Man - within the Creation of God within us 9. A Little Bit About God - within the Creation of True Man within us 10. Closing Comments & Prayer - get God to do it again, to reveal True Man within the Creation of God, but this time within you, and get True Man to do it again, to reveal God within the Creation of True Man, but this time within you. Then we will be successful in our life. Anything less than this, is less than this, is less than "who we are". Know this now, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, and start to act accordingly, and join with your "own life speaking to you", join with your loving brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), to just get out the word to all of our brothers and sisters, to let them know about "who they already are", to let them know about what True Man and God has given them for this age, which is "True Man and God happening" within them, in order to be successful in this age, in this age where "In ignorance man thinks that he is god, while in truth He is." Text of Spiritual Letter: 5. A Little Bit About Bawa - about Bawa as the "Name of the Reason" we are here, about Bawa as our wisdom, our higher level consciousness that can if we like, reveal the truth of our lives, hidden with the wisdom of our life, about Bawa as the Shaikh or Teacher of God within us, that can if we like, finish what we in our ignorance have started within us, which is to reveal us as "separate from" God within us, and complete what God in His understanding has started within us, which is to reveal us as "One with" God within us, about Bawa as the "Name of How" we become successful in our life, before we die, as the "Name of How "our wisdom reasons over our fate" Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, what a wonder is this God of ours, what a joy is His grace, and what a blessing is His clarity, that He has personally, and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, even before we came here to this earth world, to His "School of Contrasts". So through this contrast, this contrast of "who we are" which is the soul, and of "who we aren't" which is this life of "separation and differences", that we in our ignorance have allowed to grow over the soul, to have literally crucify our true life with our false life, to have crucify our soul with the "enemy of the soul", so we can live separate from our soul, from our true life. And having done all this, having allowed all of this to happen within us, in our ignorance, then if we like, if we can awaken to this reality of our own life, if we can truly let our wisdom awaken within us, if we can let the wisdom surrounding our soul awaken and do battle with the "enemy of our soul", which is us "separate from" our soul, allowing our true self to do battle with our false self, and at the same time, if we can truly become peaceful "about our own ending", before our own end, if we can truly let ourselves die before we die. If we can truly join with our wisdom, and the truth of God within our wisdom, becoming the Oneness of the "Three of Us" within us, of the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within us, if we can truly do this "Heart's Work" before we die, if we can truly join with our wisdom against our own falsehood, and through this battle between the contrast within us, between the good and bad within us, come to understand "who we are", then having reached this understanding, we can return to our Source, as our Source, return to God as the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. So in the process of having come to live here, of having come to live as we are currently living here, as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, and as "separate from" the Creation of God within us, we have literally crucifying our true self, our reality, our soul, which is Jesus (peace be upon Him) on the cross of our elemental body with the 5 nails of desire for earth, fire, water, air, and ether. So in the process of leaving here, of returning to our Source, we get God within us, as the Guardian of our soul, as the wisdom or consciousness surrounding our soul, we get our wisdom to remove our soul from its cross, by pulling out these 5 nails of "desire to live here", we get our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, to remove Jesus (peace be upon Him) within us from His cross, so in the process, we can learn about, "Who we already are". 6. A Little Bit About Our Current State - about what has happened to us, and what is just waiting to happen to each of us, both if, and if not, we fail to awaken to our own reality, before we die, and having awakened to "who in truth we really are", if we truly let it happen within us, if we truly realize, understand, accept, and join with the reality of our own life, and disappear within it, before we die, as an apple seed that realizes, understands, accepts, and joins with the "truth that emerges from within it, joins with the earth, germinates, and then disappears within the apple tree hidden within it, before it rots in the earth, before it dies to its "false life" buried in the earth, forever breaking its connection to its "true life", to the story of the apple tree that it came to the earth, to join with the earth, to tell Such is our current state, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, keeping Jesus (peace be upon Him) crucified on the cross of our body, so we can sin, so we can live a life of "separation and differences" with our brothers and sisters in the world that we collectively see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, all the while ignoring what has happened to us, that we have become the "enemy of our soul", and we have literally "stopped God" from completing what He has started within us, which is to tell His story within us by telling the story of True Man within the Creation of God within us. And the completion of the story of True Man within the Creation of God within us, is True Man within God within us, and the completion of the story of God within the story of True Man within us, is God within True Man within us. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So we can learn that in truth "we are of Him", and "He is of us", that in truth we are One, One within the other as One, One revealing the other within it, as One hides itself within the One being revealed, with the faith and trust that the One being revealed will then do the same, will then hide itself within the other as it reveals the other, will then hide the One that was revealed within the One that is being revealed. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. In this way, we only live, we only life within God because God has given up His life within us, because God has given up His life within us so we can live within Him, and He did this with the faith and trust that True Man within us, having come to maturity within us, within the Creation of God within us, will do the same, will give up His life within God so God can again live within Him. In this way, and only in this way, we live by keeping our soul, by keeping Jesus (peace be upon) within us, captive within us, so we can sin, so we can continue to live our current lives of "separation and differences" in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us. And in this way, we have broken the agreement between us and God, that allowed us to live, and that will allow us to truly find peace in our life, if we will but honor that agreement, the agreement between True Man and God within us, that allowed us to have a life, the agreement to, "Willingly and freely give up our life within Him, so He can again live within us." One day His Holiness, our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), explained all of this beautifully to us, when He looked at us "In-the-room" and asked us the following question, "Why does an apple seed germinate? 7. A Little Bit About Us, About Each of Us - about "us" as the "Seed of True Man" within us, as the "Seed of the Tree of God" within us, as the Light of God to the world within us, within the Creation of God within us So, one day "In-the-room", which is what we all came to call the room Bawa lived in at the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, on 5820 Overbrook Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in America, Bawa asked us the question, "Why does an apple seed germinate?" And we all had answers to His question, and all of our answers had something to do with the 5 elements, with earth, fire, water, air, or ether, which is what we have all been taught in school, that everything happens because of what we see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, because of what has been explained to us by science, like you plant an apple seed in the earth at the proper time of the year, in the spring, and then water it repeatedly, and give it the proper air and sun light, and then some time, and it will germinate and become an apple tree. This is what we all knew to be true, from our mother and father, from our school, from our teaches, and from our personal experience. This is how it worked. Right? The apple seed germinated if we did the right thing with it, and as such it was under our control, and as such, we determined if the apple seed germinated. Right? In a sense, we were the cause behind the apple tree, as we were the cause behind babies, and progress, and life and death, and famine, and war, and poverty, and peace and prosperity, and "America invading Iraq". Right? And Bawa, sitting in His brown "Little body", on His neat "Little bed", in His clean "Little Room", looked at us and said, "No, my dearest loving children, that is not why an apple seed germinates, not because of any combination of the 5 elements, of earth, fire, water, air, and ether." "An apple seed germinates because it becomes aware that it is an apple seed, that it is buried in the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple seed to grow." "Then the earth becomes aware that the apple seed is now aware that it is an apple seed, that it is buried in the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple seed to grow." "Then out of this mutual awareness, the earth surrenders to the apple seed and the apple seed surrenders to the earth, and the apple seed germinates." Like this, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, we are the "Seed of True Man" that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within the Creation of God within each of us, which is where in truth we really are, and when we become aware of this truth of our own life, without the slightest doubt, before we die, then the earth we have been buried within will become aware of our awareness. And out of this mutual awareness, the earth surrounding us will surrender to us, and we will surrender to what we are in truth buried within in, and "us" as the "Seed of True Man" will germinate, destroying the "Seed of Us" and revealing the "Tree of Us", the "Tree of God" that in truth is True Man within the Creation of God within us, which in truth is the "Oneness of God and His Creation", and our life will have become successful. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. And if we don't do this, and continue to protect ourselves from what we find ourselves buried within, rather than embracing it as our liberation, then like the apple seed that fails to germinate, we will rot in the earth of us, die in the earth of us, and become absorbed into the earth of us, only to be born again, and again in the earth of us, but never again to be born as the "Seed of Us", never again to be born as the "Seed of True Man" within us, forever breaking our connection to the story of True Man within the story of God within us, and the story of God within the story of True Man within us, which has all been hidden by God within each of us, as the truth of "Us Within God" within us, and the truth of "God With Us" within us. Such is the only true loss of our life. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. And all of this is happening within us, within the Creation of God within us, which in truth is the heart of our Shaikh within us, the heart of the True Human being for our age within us, as the Prophets Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), and Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him) were the divine consciousness or wisdom of God, and the purified heart or earth, for each of the previous ages, where everyone in the previous ages truly lived, where truly buried within by God, which all flowed out of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him), in the following times: A. The 2000 year Cycle of Abraham to Jesus (peace be upon Them) 1. Abraham (4000 BC) 2. Moses (1400 BC) 3. David (1000 BC) 4. Jesus (0 BC) B. The 2000 year Cycle of Jesus to Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (peace be upon Them) 1. Jesus (0 AD) 2. Muhammad (600 AD) 3. Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (1000 AD) 4. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1886 to 1986 AD) C. The 200 year Cycle of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) and The Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) 1. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1886 to 1986 AD) 2. The Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1986 to 2086) (Note 3: for more on these time lines, and their significance, please click on the following: Spiritual Letter 26, "The Three Testaments of God, Spiritual Letter 27, "The Three Judgments of God", and Spiritual Letter 09, "The Theme Is Freedom". To access Spiritual Letter 09, first click on the following: Spiritual Letters. Once there, scroll down, and then click on: Spiritual Letter 09. Also, click on "Outline & Summary Version" for easier navigation around Spiritual Letter 09) In this way, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, the Shaikh within us is in truth the divinely awakened consciousness or wisdom of God within each of us, and the heart of our Shaikh within us is originally the purified earth know as Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, that God placed within each of us even before we came to this world, and the Light of our wisdom, or the truth of God within our wisdom, known as the Nur Muhammad, is what God placed on the forehead of Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, also before we even came to this earth world. This is the truth our life, nothing less and nothing more, for in truth we are the "Seed of True Man" known as the Nur Muhammad, the "Seed of Iman", the seed of absolute faith, certitude, and determination in God, and each of us as this "Seed of True Man" have been buried within the earth know as Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, and that earth contains everything necessary for True Man to grow within us, if and only if, we will let it happen within us, if and only if we will let the "Seed of True Man" buried within the "Earth of True Man" within us, germinate within us. Only if we let this "Seed of True Man", this Nur Muhammad on the forehead of Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, germinate within the "Earth of True Man" within us, within the heart of our Shaikh, within the purified earth of Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, only if we let this "Divine Intention of God" within us, to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, germinate within us, will True Man ever be revealed within us. And we do this by letting what is covering the Nur Muhammad within us come to an end within us, by letting the covering of the Nur Muhammad, which is our current life of darkness, of "separation from" God, come to an end or die within us, before we die, so True Man within us, as our true life of "Oneness with" God within us, as the life of Light within the Creation of God within us, as the Light of God to the world within us, can be revealed within us, can live within us. The Choice is ours, not God's, because God has already made His choice, and He chose "Oneness with" us. That is why we are currently living, why we are currently living "separate from God, but within God. And we must realized this truth about our life, with our wisdom, without the slightest doubt, that even though we are currently living "separate from" God, we are still living within God, whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, because God, and God alone, is the true Source of our life. For as Bawa teaches us, "God is the Power within the Essence of Everything. And as Bawa teaches us, "The path of God is as the Disciple to join with your Shaikh within you, and with God within Him, with your wisdom, and with the truth of God within your wisdom, to move from being One with Everything within you, One with the Creation of God within you, to being One with the Essence of Everything within you." "And then as the Shaikh of the Disciple within you, to join as One with God within you to move from being One with the Essence of Everything within you to being One with the Power within the Essence of Everything within you, and to do all of this, before you die." That is the reality of our life, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, and because of the choice made by God, to give up His life within us so we could live within Him, we are now living, "separate from" God but within God. Such is the true paradox of our life. Now we have to resolve our paradox, before we die, we have to choose, we have to choose either an eternal life of "Oneness with" God, or an eternal life of "separation from" God. Now we have to decide to either continue living selfishly within Him, as "separate from" Him, and gradually move further and further away from Him within us, taking on 105 million rebirths within us until we finally end up as a worm in hell within us, with only one level of consciousness within us, having moved as far away from Him as we can, all the while living within Him, and all of this occurring within us. Or willingly give up our life of "separation and differences" within Him, give up our life of "separation from" Him within Him, before we die, willingly give up our selfish life within Him, our life of "separation from" Him within Him, as we are currently experiencing it, so He can now live a life of selflessness within us, a life of "Oneness with" us within us. There is no other choice. And "no choice" is a choice, a choice of eternal "separation from" Him. Know this now, my dearest loving sister. My dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, this is what it means for any of us to be "Really Ready To Start Again", to give up our life of "separation from" God within God so God can now live as "One with" us within us. This is what it means for us to "Really Start Again", for us, before we die, to willingly go from movement within God to stillness within God so God can now go from stillness within us to movement within us. May we both think about this a little. It is very, very important for all of us. This is why Bawa teaches us, that, "A Sufi is one who settles into stillness through the realization that everything is perfect." And this is why Bawa teaches us, that like the humming bird, God has incredible movement so He can stand perfectly still, and take the nectar from His flowers, that, "God has incredible movement outside, so He can stand perfectly still inside, and take the 'ilm or divine knowledge from His Creation, for the benefit of all of His Creation." In this way, may we all come to accept this truth of our lives, before it is too late, and join as One with our wisdom, and with the truth of God within our wisdom, may we all learn to join as One with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, becoming in this way, the Oneness of the "Three of Us", the Oneness of the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within us, within the "Three of God" within us, within the Triple Flame of God within, within - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us. Becoming in this way, the understanding of the Triple Flame of God within us, the understanding of the Nur Muhammad within us, the understanding that allows the "Three to become One" within us, that allows the Nur Muhammad, as the "Seed of True Man" within us, as the "Seed of Iman" within us, to come to maturity within us, becoming True Man or Allah Muhammad within us, which is the "Seed of God", the "Seed of Islam" within us. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. In this way, allowing "us" as "separate from" God within us, joined as One with our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, as the Oneness of the "Three of Us", to plant and germinate the Nur Muhammad within us, to germinate the "Seed of True Man" within us, the "Seed of Iman" within us, in order to complete God's intention within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us. And in this way, allowing "us" as "One with" God within us, which is True Man within us, joined as One with God within us, which is True Prayer within us, to plant and germinate Allah Muhammad within us, to germinate the "Seed of God" within us, the "Seed of Islam" within us, in order to complete True Man's intention within us, which is to reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us, and in this way, revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. May God help us all. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) 8. A Little Bit About True Man - within the Creation of God within us One day about a year ago my loving sisters, Mrs. Rages Ganesan, asked this child, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Mrs. Ganesan, or Mrs. "G" as we have affectionately learned to call her, is the wife of Dr. Ganesan, and has three daughters and one son, and they all live at or near the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, established by His Holiness, at 5820 Overbrook Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, which is where His Holiness lived most of the time when He was in America. Dr. Ganesan, is one of the principle translators of the life and teaching of His Holiness, who, along with his family, lived with His Holiness in Jafna, in Sri Lanka, for many years before coming to America to be with His Holiness, after civil war in Sri Lanka made living in that country very dangerous. Dr. Ganesan, along with Mrs. "G", as devoted disciples of His Holiness, faithfully served His Holiness in America for many years until His death in 1986, and continue to live in America and lovingly work on the publication of the many songs and discourses of His Holiness, and among their many duties while His Holiness was alive, acted as two of the "spontaneous English translations" of the songs and discourses given to us by His Holiness, which were originally sung and spoken by His Holiness in Tamil, a very old language that is still used both in Sri Lanka and in India. So the question that Mrs. "G" asked this child, asked Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) was, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen?" And the answer to this question that came at that time from this child to Mrs. "G", and to the other Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) who were present for that answer to that question, provides all of us with a very beautiful glimpse, if we will accept it, into what has happened to each of us, since around the age of 2 years old, when we started on the journey that has now ended with what we in our ignorance understand as "who we are". And by contrast, a glimpse, again if we will accept it, into "who in truth we really are", and who in truth the True Man hidden within each of us, within the Creation of God within us, really is. Therefore, using this little question and answer session at the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship in Philadelphia as a backdrop, lets take a shot at answering the larger questions of our life, 1) Who are we? 2) Who is True Man? 3) Who is God? 4) What is our relationship with God and True Man? For when the 6 of us came together at that time, in the name of God within us, in the name of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him, so They could, "Teach us what we do not know", we were all once again given the opportunity by Them, by True Man within us, and God within Him, to join as One with Them within us, as the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within us, within the Triple Flame of God within us, within - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us, to move forward what They are always doing within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, and to reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us. And in this way, by picking up and join in this truth of our life, to bring to a permanent end the falsehood in our life, to bring to an end what we in our ignorance are always thinking that we are doing "outside" of us, which is "us" living a life that is "separate from" God, is "separate from" each other, and is "separate from" the Creation of God within us. For as His Holiness teaches us, like it is reported that Jesus (peace be upon Him) taught His disciples, "If two of you come together in My Name, I will be there." So in response to the question by Mrs. "G", the question, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him)?", this child, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), handed the question to Them within him, to the Shaikh within him, and to God within his Shaikh, with the intention to become One with what They are doing within Him, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within him, and to reveal God within the Creation of True Man within him, and the following answers came. "Who Is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)?" "If we point at an apple tree and ask someone what it is, what do we think they will say? Naturally they will say, "It is an apple tree" But that is not a correct answer." 'Such is the problem when we point at Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) and ask, "Who Is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)?", or point at any of us and ask, "Who are we?". Let us explain. To call an apple tree an "apple tree" is to miss the point of the apple tree, and ever more importantly, is to miss the point of each of us. For what we call and see as an "apple tree" is not in truth an "apple tree", but is in truth a reflection of our own ignorance about "who we are", about where "we are buried", and about what is "happening in our life", is but a reflection of the dream life that we have become a victim of, through our acceptance of the passing of time, which in truth is happening within us, not "outside" of us, and in truth is only leading us to the Angel of Death (peace be upon Him), to the suffering of the grave, to Qiyamah (the Standing Forth; the Day of Judgment), and to an eternal life of "separation from" God. For in truth being an "apple tree" is but one facet of being something that is much larger than being an "apple tree", is much larger than the snapshot in time that we call an "apple tree", being an "apple tree" is being all of the following, and much, much more than all of this: 1) An apple seed buried within the earth, without an understanding of "who it is". Causing it to live in the earth, not knowing it is buried in the earth, not knowing it has a higher purpose, not knowing it has the "seed of an apple tree" hidden within it, that can only be realized by understanding the "truth of itself", and by letting itself germinate, by letting itself end within the earth it is buried within. Forcing it in its ignorance of itself, and its true purpose, to protect itself from being destroyed, by being destroyed by what it perceives as existing "outside" of itself, by the earth, fire, water, air, and ether surrounding it, by drawing upon and using what it perceives as existing "inside" of it, forcing it to protect itself from the form of the 5 elements that surround it, by the form of the earth, fire, water, air, and ether that surrounds it, by drawing upon, and becoming one with, the energies of the same 5 elements that it experiences as existing within it, by using and identifying with the energies of the earth, fire, water, air, and ether within it. And in this way, trying to make sense of itself and of its surroundings by creating a boundary between its "outside" and its "inside", identifying with the energies of the things within it, in order to protect it from the form of what is within it, that in its ignorance is experience as existing "outside" of it. In this way, living "outside" of itself, within the form of the 5 elements that surrounds it, while nourishing the energies of the 5 elements within it, all the while living in ignorance of the truth of its life buried in the earth, of the "seed of the apple tree" hidden within it, and of life of the earth that it has been buried within, all for the sake of a higher purpose for its life, a higher purpose of which it currently has no awareness. Such is the state of an apple seed that it buried within the earth but has failed to germinate, has failed to awaken to the reality of itself, the reality of what is hidden within it, which is the apple tree, the apple flowers, the apple fruit, the sweet taste within the mature apple, and again the apple seed hidden within the apple, and the reality of what it is buried within in, which is the vehicle for transforming the apple seed into an apple tree. Such is the state of an apple seed that is buried within the earth that has failed to realize, understand, accept, and join with the reality of its own life, that has failed to realize the truth that naturally emerges from within it, when it is ready to hear, accept, and embrace the truth of itself. And in truth, such is the current state of each of us, in ignorance of "who we are". 2) An apple seed buried within the earth, with an understanding of "who it is". Causing it to re-evaluate everything in its life, up till then, and open itself up to a new and expanded understanding of itself, of what is hidden within it, as an apple tree, an apple flower, and an apple fruit, and of the earth surrounding it, as the vehicle of transformation, all of which collectively explains and moves forward the purpose of its life buried within the earth, and of the earth that it has been buried within. Such is the state of an apple seed that is ready to germinate, and such is the state of each of us, when we have realized, understood, accepted, and joined with the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) that God has personally and every so lovingly placed within, and "outside" of each of us. And such is the answer to the question asked by our loving sister, Mrs. Rages Ganesan, of this child, of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), the question, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)?" 9. A Little Bit About God - within the Creation of True Man within us Now if the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) is what God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, in the Children of God for this age, which is each of us living in this age, in order for the "Seed of True Man" within us, the "Seed of Iman" or absolute faith, certitude, and determination that "God is One", can germinate within us, so God can complete His intention within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, if that be our intention, if "we intend as God intends" within us, so True Man within us can then reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us, then "who is God?". One day "In-the-room" one of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) asked His Holiness a question. (Note: The term, "His Children", is what Bawa calls all of us, is how He refers to those who have gather around Him, no matter what their physical age, which includes all of us in this age, whether we physically met His Holiness or not, which included all of us who were and are in various stages of accepting Him as our Father, our Shaikh, and our Guru, as the "Three of God" or Triple Flame of God within us, as - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us, that has come in this age to establish the "Three of Us' within the "Three of God" within us, within the Triple Flame of God within us, as the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within the Triple Flame of God within us, as the Understanding of the Triple Flame of God within us, so the "Three of God" within us can become the "One of God" within us, which is True Man within the Creation of God within us, so the Guru of God for our soul, that has come in our age, can awaken the wisdom surrounding our soul, so the wisdom surrounding our soul can do battle with the "enemy of our soul". And when this child asked Bawa who the "enemy of my soul" was, His Holiness looked right at me and said, "you are) And the question asked of His Holiness by one of the Children of His Holiness, by one of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), was the following: Disciple: Could His Holiness please explain the relationship between us, the Prophet of God, and God. Shaikh: Think of yourself as an orange, and the Prophet of God as the juice of that orange, and God as the taste. So my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, we are the Creation of God that in truth God has personally and every so lovingly placed within each of us, even before we came to this earth world or dunya, and each of the 124,000 Prophets of God, including the eight main Prophets of God who were most clear, are the Essence of the Creation of God, which are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), 124,000 Prophets of God which if our life becomes successful becomes the Crown on the head of Adam (peace be upon Him) in the first heaven of God within us. And God is the taste of the Creation of God, and that taste of Oneness, is the Oneness of God and the Creation of God, the Oneness of God and this earth world or dunya, and of the essence of this earth world or dunya, which is the Sirr or Secret of God, which is the "Secret World of Allah" hidden within this earth world or dunya, hidden within the 18,000 universes within us. And that Oneness of God and His Creation is True Man within us, is God in this world, is God in this earth world or dunya, is the Light of God to the world, is the Light of the 7 heavens of God within the dunya or earth world within us. But there is also the next world, which is referred to by His Holiness as akhirah or the hereafter, as the Kingdom of God, as the 8th heaven of Muhammad (Sal.), which is ready to occur within each of us, when True Man within us, when the Oneness of God and His Creation within us, is revealed within the Creation of God within any of us. This is the Creation of True Man within us, this akhirah within us, this 8th heaven, this Kingdom of God, this hereafter within us, hidden within the Sirr of the dunya or earth world within us, hidden within the Essence of the 18,000 universes within each of us, as the Power within the Essences of Everything, this is the Creation of True Man, that True Man builds within us while living as the taste of God within the Creation of God within us, and as the Prayer of God to God within the Essence of the Creation of God within us, within the Sirr or Secret World of God within the Creation of God within us. This is True Man within us, as the Oneness of God and His Creation, as the taste that is God in the dunya, as the reflection of God into the Creation of God within us, into the earth world or 18,000 universes within us, as Islam within the Creation of God within us, which is the duty performed by True Man within this world, as the taste of God to the world, as the reflection of God to the world, while True Man prays as God praying to God in the Sirr, in the Secret World of Allah, which is the Essence of the Creation of God within us, and in this way, through this True Prayer, build the Creation of True Man within us, reveals akhirah, the hereafter within the Sirr or Secret World of Allah within us. This is akhirah, what True Man reveals as hidden within the Sirr or Secret World of Allah within us, within the Sirr or Secret that is hidden within the 18,000 universes within us, what True Man as Allah Muhammad, as the "pillar of the sukun of the mim", reveals as hidden within the Sirr of the Creation of God within us, through His prayers and devotion to God, as hidden within True Prayer, as hidden within God praying to God, as hidden within the One praying to the One who is. And God is what is revealed by True Man in akhirah, in the hereafter, as the Oneness of True Man and the Creation of True Man, as the taste of God within the Creation of True Man, which is God, which is Islam, bringing to completion the Cycle of God-Man/Man-God, and preparing the way again for the same cycle to occur again, if that be God's intention. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, may we both reflect on these beautiful words of wisdom a little. It is very, very important for all of us. May God give us the grace and clarity of His wisdom to do this Divine Work, to do this "Heart's Work", and to get our brothers and sisters to do the same, if that be their intention. 10. Closing Comments & Prayer - get God to do it again, to reveal True Man within the Creation of God, but this time within you, and get True Man to do it again, to reveal God within the Creation of True Man, but this time within you. Then we will be successful in our life. Anything less than this, is less than this, is less than "who we are". Know this now, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, and start to act accordingly, join with your "own life speaking to you", join with your loving brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), to just get out the word to all of our brothers and sisters, to let them know about "who they already are", to let them know about what True Man and God has given them for this age, which is "True Man and God happening" within them, in order to be successful in this age, in this age where "In ignorance man thinks that he is god, while in truth He is." "In Process. Please come back later. Thank you." End of Page 2 of 2 of Spiritual Letter 47 - original version - ......................... or Go To Spiritual Letter 47: Table of Contents Expanded Version Related Material or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
Spiritual Letter 47 - Original Version About Spiritual Letter 47 Title: - "Are You Really Ready To Start Again?" Date: March 24, 2003 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Written to: Ms. Susan Sontag - author (see Web Site: www.SusanSontag.com) Home Page - Spiritual Letters Go To Spiritual Letter 48 Letter 47: Expanded Version Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Letter 46 Letter 47: Related Material Page 2 of 2 Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Letter 47 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter: 5. A Little Bit About Bawa - about Bawa as the "Name of the Reason" we are here, as the "Name of the Gift of God" within us, about Bawa as the "Name of our Wisdom", of our higher levels of consciousness, that can if we like, reveal the truth of our lives, hidden by God within the wisdom of our life, about Bawa as the Shaikh or Teacher of God within us for our age, joined as One with God within us, that can if we like, "teach us what we do not know", and bring to an end what we in our ignorance have started within us, which is "us" as "separate from" God within us, and can complete what God in His understanding has also started within us, which is "us" as "One with" God within us, and about Bawa as the "Name of How" we become successful in our life, before we die, as the "Name of How" our wisdom can successfully "reason over our fate" within us, before we die, before we are dragged off to the angel of Death within us, by our karma, fate, and false destiny, and then must experience the suffering of the grave, Qiyamah (the Standing Forth; the Day of Judgment), and eventually an eternal life of "separation from" God, all occurring within each of us both before and after we die 6. A Little Bit About Our Current State - about what has happened to us, and what is just waiting to happen to each of us, both if, and if not, we fail to awaken to our own reality, before we die, and having awakened to "who in truth we really are", if we truly let it happen within us, if we truly realize, understand, accept, and join with the reality of our own life, and disappear within it, before we die, as an apple seed that realizes, understands, accepts, and joins with the "truth that emerges from within it, joins with the earth, germinates, and then disappears within the apple tree hidden within it, before it rots in the earth, before it dies to its "false life" buried in the earth, forever breaking its connection to its "true life", to the story of the apple tree that it came to the earth, to join with the earth, to tell 7. A Little Bit About Us, About Each of Us - about "us" as the "Seed of True Man" within us, as the "Seed of the Tree of God" within us, as the Light of God to the world within us, within the Creation of God within us 8. A Little Bit About True Man - within the Creation of God within us 9. A Little Bit About God - within the Creation of True Man within us 10. Closing Comments & Prayer - get God to do it again, to reveal True Man within the Creation of God, but this time within you, and get True Man to do it again, to reveal God within the Creation of True Man, but this time within you. Then we will be successful in our life. Anything less than this, is less than this, is less than "who we are". Know this now, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, and start to act accordingly, and join with your "own life speaking to you", join with your loving brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), to just get out the word to all of our brothers and sisters, to let them know about "who they already are", to let them know about what True Man and God has given them for this age, which is "True Man and God happening" within them, in order to be successful in this age, in this age where "In ignorance man thinks that he is god, while in truth He is." Text of Spiritual Letter: 5. A Little Bit About Bawa - about Bawa as the "Name of the Reason" we are here, about Bawa as our wisdom, our higher level consciousness that can if we like, reveal the truth of our lives, hidden with the wisdom of our life, about Bawa as the Shaikh or Teacher of God within us, that can if we like, finish what we in our ignorance have started within us, which is to reveal us as "separate from" God within us, and complete what God in His understanding has started within us, which is to reveal us as "One with" God within us, about Bawa as the "Name of How" we become successful in our life, before we die, as the "Name of How "our wisdom reasons over our fate" Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, what a wonder is this God of ours, what a joy is His grace, and what a blessing is His clarity, that He has personally, and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, even before we came here to this earth world, to His "School of Contrasts". So through this contrast, this contrast of "who we are" which is the soul, and of "who we aren't" which is this life of "separation and differences", that we in our ignorance have allowed to grow over the soul, to have literally crucify our true life with our false life, to have crucify our soul with the "enemy of the soul", so we can live separate from our soul, from our true life. And having done all this, having allowed all of this to happen within us, in our ignorance, then if we like, if we can awaken to this reality of our own life, if we can truly let our wisdom awaken within us, if we can let the wisdom surrounding our soul awaken and do battle with the "enemy of our soul", which is us "separate from" our soul, allowing our true self to do battle with our false self, and at the same time, if we can truly become peaceful "about our own ending", before our own end, if we can truly let ourselves die before we die. If we can truly join with our wisdom, and the truth of God within our wisdom, becoming the Oneness of the "Three of Us" within us, of the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within us, if we can truly do this "Heart's Work" before we die, if we can truly join with our wisdom against our own falsehood, and through this battle between the contrast within us, between the good and bad within us, come to understand "who we are", then having reached this understanding, we can return to our Source, as our Source, return to God as the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. So in the process of having come to live here, of having come to live as we are currently living here, as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, and as "separate from" the Creation of God within us, we have literally crucifying our true self, our reality, our soul, which is Jesus (peace be upon Him) on the cross of our elemental body with the 5 nails of desire for earth, fire, water, air, and ether. So in the process of leaving here, of returning to our Source, we get God within us, as the Guardian of our soul, as the wisdom or consciousness surrounding our soul, we get our wisdom to remove our soul from its cross, by pulling out these 5 nails of "desire to live here", we get our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, to remove Jesus (peace be upon Him) within us from His cross, so in the process, we can learn about, "Who we already are". 6. A Little Bit About Our Current State - about what has happened to us, and what is just waiting to happen to each of us, both if, and if not, we fail to awaken to our own reality, before we die, and having awakened to "who in truth we really are", if we truly let it happen within us, if we truly realize, understand, accept, and join with the reality of our own life, and disappear within it, before we die, as an apple seed that realizes, understands, accepts, and joins with the "truth that emerges from within it, joins with the earth, germinates, and then disappears within the apple tree hidden within it, before it rots in the earth, before it dies to its "false life" buried in the earth, forever breaking its connection to its "true life", to the story of the apple tree that it came to the earth, to join with the earth, to tell Such is our current state, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, keeping Jesus (peace be upon Him) crucified on the cross of our body, so we can sin, so we can live a life of "separation and differences" with our brothers and sisters in the world that we collectively see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, all the while ignoring what has happened to us, that we have become the "enemy of our soul", and we have literally "stopped God" from completing what He has started within us, which is to tell His story within us by telling the story of True Man within the Creation of God within us. And the completion of the story of True Man within the Creation of God within us, is True Man within God within us, and the completion of the story of God within the story of True Man within us, is God within True Man within us. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So we can learn that in truth "we are of Him", and "He is of us", that in truth we are One, One within the other as One, One revealing the other within it, as One hides itself within the One being revealed, with the faith and trust that the One being revealed will then do the same, will then hide itself within the other as it reveals the other, will then hide the One that was revealed within the One that is being revealed. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. In this way, we only live, we only life within God because God has given up His life within us, because God has given up His life within us so we can live within Him, and He did this with the faith and trust that True Man within us, having come to maturity within us, within the Creation of God within us, will do the same, will give up His life within God so God can again live within Him. In this way, and only in this way, we live by keeping our soul, by keeping Jesus (peace be upon) within us, captive within us, so we can sin, so we can continue to live our current lives of "separation and differences" in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us. And in this way, we have broken the agreement between us and God, that allowed us to live, and that will allow us to truly find peace in our life, if we will but honor that agreement, the agreement between True Man and God within us, that allowed us to have a life, the agreement to, "Willingly and freely give up our life within Him, so He can again live within us." One day His Holiness, our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), explained all of this beautifully to us, when He looked at us "In-the-room" and asked us the following question, "Why does an apple seed germinate? 7. A Little Bit About Us, About Each of Us - about "us" as the "Seed of True Man" within us, as the "Seed of the Tree of God" within us, as the Light of God to the world within us, within the Creation of God within us So, one day "In-the-room", which is what we all came to call the room Bawa lived in at the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, on 5820 Overbrook Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in America, Bawa asked us the question, "Why does an apple seed germinate?" And we all had answers to His question, and all of our answers had something to do with the 5 elements, with earth, fire, water, air, or ether, which is what we have all been taught in school, that everything happens because of what we see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, because of what has been explained to us by science, like you plant an apple seed in the earth at the proper time of the year, in the spring, and then water it repeatedly, and give it the proper air and sun light, and then some time, and it will germinate and become an apple tree. This is what we all knew to be true, from our mother and father, from our school, from our teaches, and from our personal experience. This is how it worked. Right? The apple seed germinated if we did the right thing with it, and as such it was under our control, and as such, we determined if the apple seed germinated. Right? In a sense, we were the cause behind the apple tree, as we were the cause behind babies, and progress, and life and death, and famine, and war, and poverty, and peace and prosperity, and "America invading Iraq". Right? And Bawa, sitting in His brown "Little body", on His neat "Little bed", in His clean "Little Room", looked at us and said, "No, my dearest loving children, that is not why an apple seed germinates, not because of any combination of the 5 elements, of earth, fire, water, air, and ether." "An apple seed germinates because it becomes aware that it is an apple seed, that it is buried in the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple seed to grow." "Then the earth becomes aware that the apple seed is now aware that it is an apple seed, that it is buried in the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple seed to grow." "Then out of this mutual awareness, the earth surrenders to the apple seed and the apple seed surrenders to the earth, and the apple seed germinates." Like this, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, we are the "Seed of True Man" that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within the Creation of God within each of us, which is where in truth we really are, and when we become aware of this truth of our own life, without the slightest doubt, before we die, then the earth we have been buried within will become aware of our awareness. And out of this mutual awareness, the earth surrounding us will surrender to us, and we will surrender to what we are in truth buried within in, and "us" as the "Seed of True Man" will germinate, destroying the "Seed of Us" and revealing the "Tree of Us", the "Tree of God" that in truth is True Man within the Creation of God within us, which in truth is the "Oneness of God and His Creation", and our life will have become successful. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. And if we don't do this, and continue to protect ourselves from what we find ourselves buried within, rather than embracing it as our liberation, then like the apple seed that fails to germinate, we will rot in the earth of us, die in the earth of us, and become absorbed into the earth of us, only to be born again, and again in the earth of us, but never again to be born as the "Seed of Us", never again to be born as the "Seed of True Man" within us, forever breaking our connection to the story of True Man within the story of God within us, and the story of God within the story of True Man within us, which has all been hidden by God within each of us, as the truth of "Us Within God" within us, and the truth of "God With Us" within us. Such is the only true loss of our life. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. And all of this is happening within us, within the Creation of God within us, which in truth is the heart of our Shaikh within us, the heart of the True Human being for our age within us, as the Prophets Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), and Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him) were the divine consciousness or wisdom of God, and the purified heart or earth, for each of the previous ages, where everyone in the previous ages truly lived, where truly buried within by God, which all flowed out of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him), in the following times: A. The 2000 year Cycle of Abraham to Jesus (peace be upon Them) 1. Abraham (4000 BC) 2. Moses (1400 BC) 3. David (1000 BC) 4. Jesus (0 BC) B. The 2000 year Cycle of Jesus to Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (peace be upon Them) 1. Jesus (0 AD) 2. Muhammad (600 AD) 3. Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (1000 AD) 4. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1886 to 1986 AD) C. The 200 year Cycle of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) and The Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) 1. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1886 to 1986 AD) 2. The Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (1986 to 2086) (Note 3: for more on these time lines, and their significance, please click on the following: Spiritual Letter 26, "The Three Testaments of God, Spiritual Letter 27, "The Three Judgments of God", and Spiritual Letter 09, "The Theme Is Freedom". To access Spiritual Letter 09, first click on the following: Spiritual Letters. Once there, scroll down, and then click on: Spiritual Letter 09. Also, click on "Outline & Summary Version" for easier navigation around Spiritual Letter 09) In this way, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, the Shaikh within us is in truth the divinely awakened consciousness or wisdom of God within each of us, and the heart of our Shaikh within us is originally the purified earth know as Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, that God placed within each of us even before we came to this world, and the Light of our wisdom, or the truth of God within our wisdom, known as the Nur Muhammad, is what God placed on the forehead of Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, also before we even came to this earth world. This is the truth our life, nothing less and nothing more, for in truth we are the "Seed of True Man" known as the Nur Muhammad, the "Seed of Iman", the seed of absolute faith, certitude, and determination in God, and each of us as this "Seed of True Man" have been buried within the earth know as Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, and that earth contains everything necessary for True Man to grow within us, if and only if, we will let it happen within us, if and only if we will let the "Seed of True Man" buried within the "Earth of True Man" within us, germinate within us. Only if we let this "Seed of True Man", this Nur Muhammad on the forehead of Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, germinate within the "Earth of True Man" within us, within the heart of our Shaikh, within the purified earth of Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, only if we let this "Divine Intention of God" within us, to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, germinate within us, will True Man ever be revealed within us. And we do this by letting what is covering the Nur Muhammad within us come to an end within us, by letting the covering of the Nur Muhammad, which is our current life of darkness, of "separation from" God, come to an end or die within us, before we die, so True Man within us, as our true life of "Oneness with" God within us, as the life of Light within the Creation of God within us, as the Light of God to the world within us, can be revealed within us, can live within us. The Choice is ours, not God's, because God has already made His choice, and He chose "Oneness with" us. That is why we are currently living, why we are currently living "separate from God, but within God. And we must realized this truth about our life, with our wisdom, without the slightest doubt, that even though we are currently living "separate from" God, we are still living within God, whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, because God, and God alone, is the true Source of our life. For as Bawa teaches us, "God is the Power within the Essence of Everything. And as Bawa teaches us, "The path of God is as the Disciple to join with your Shaikh within you, and with God within Him, with your wisdom, and with the truth of God within your wisdom, to move from being One with Everything within you, One with the Creation of God within you, to being One with the Essence of Everything within you." "And then as the Shaikh of the Disciple within you, to join as One with God within you to move from being One with the Essence of Everything within you to being One with the Power within the Essence of Everything within you, and to do all of this, before you die." That is the reality of our life, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, and because of the choice made by God, to give up His life within us so we could live within Him, we are now living, "separate from" God but within God. Such is the true paradox of our life. Now we have to resolve our paradox, before we die, we have to choose, we have to choose either an eternal life of "Oneness with" God, or an eternal life of "separation from" God. Now we have to decide to either continue living selfishly within Him, as "separate from" Him, and gradually move further and further away from Him within us, taking on 105 million rebirths within us until we finally end up as a worm in hell within us, with only one level of consciousness within us, having moved as far away from Him as we can, all the while living within Him, and all of this occurring within us. Or willingly give up our life of "separation and differences" within Him, give up our life of "separation from" Him within Him, before we die, willingly give up our selfish life within Him, our life of "separation from" Him within Him, as we are currently experiencing it, so He can now live a life of selflessness within us, a life of "Oneness with" us within us. There is no other choice. And "no choice" is a choice, a choice of eternal "separation from" Him. Know this now, my dearest loving sister. My dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, this is what it means for any of us to be "Really Ready To Start Again", to give up our life of "separation from" God within God so God can now live as "One with" us within us. This is what it means for us to "Really Start Again", for us, before we die, to willingly go from movement within God to stillness within God so God can now go from stillness within us to movement within us. May we both think about this a little. It is very, very important for all of us. This is why Bawa teaches us, that, "A Sufi is one who settles into stillness through the realization that everything is perfect." And this is why Bawa teaches us, that like the humming bird, God has incredible movement so He can stand perfectly still, and take the nectar from His flowers, that, "God has incredible movement outside, so He can stand perfectly still inside, and take the 'ilm or divine knowledge from His Creation, for the benefit of all of His Creation." In this way, may we all come to accept this truth of our lives, before it is too late, and join as One with our wisdom, and with the truth of God within our wisdom, may we all learn to join as One with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, becoming in this way, the Oneness of the "Three of Us", the Oneness of the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within us, within the "Three of God" within us, within the Triple Flame of God within, within - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us. Becoming in this way, the understanding of the Triple Flame of God within us, the understanding of the Nur Muhammad within us, the understanding that allows the "Three to become One" within us, that allows the Nur Muhammad, as the "Seed of True Man" within us, as the "Seed of Iman" within us, to come to maturity within us, becoming True Man or Allah Muhammad within us, which is the "Seed of God", the "Seed of Islam" within us. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. In this way, allowing "us" as "separate from" God within us, joined as One with our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, as the Oneness of the "Three of Us", to plant and germinate the Nur Muhammad within us, to germinate the "Seed of True Man" within us, the "Seed of Iman" within us, in order to complete God's intention within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us. And in this way, allowing "us" as "One with" God within us, which is True Man within us, joined as One with God within us, which is True Prayer within us, to plant and germinate Allah Muhammad within us, to germinate the "Seed of God" within us, the "Seed of Islam" within us, in order to complete True Man's intention within us, which is to reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us, and in this way, revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. May God help us all. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) 8. A Little Bit About True Man - within the Creation of God within us One day about a year ago my loving sisters, Mrs. Rages Ganesan, asked this child, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Mrs. Ganesan, or Mrs. "G" as we have affectionately learned to call her, is the wife of Dr. Ganesan, and has three daughters and one son, and they all live at or near the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, established by His Holiness, at 5820 Overbrook Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, which is where His Holiness lived most of the time when He was in America. Dr. Ganesan, is one of the principle translators of the life and teaching of His Holiness, who, along with his family, lived with His Holiness in Jafna, in Sri Lanka, for many years before coming to America to be with His Holiness, after civil war in Sri Lanka made living in that country very dangerous. Dr. Ganesan, along with Mrs. "G", as devoted disciples of His Holiness, faithfully served His Holiness in America for many years until His death in 1986, and continue to live in America and lovingly work on the publication of the many songs and discourses of His Holiness, and among their many duties while His Holiness was alive, acted as two of the "spontaneous English translations" of the songs and discourses given to us by His Holiness, which were originally sung and spoken by His Holiness in Tamil, a very old language that is still used both in Sri Lanka and in India. So the question that Mrs. "G" asked this child, asked Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) was, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen?" And the answer to this question that came at that time from this child to Mrs. "G", and to the other Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) who were present for that answer to that question, provides all of us with a very beautiful glimpse, if we will accept it, into what has happened to each of us, since around the age of 2 years old, when we started on the journey that has now ended with what we in our ignorance understand as "who we are". And by contrast, a glimpse, again if we will accept it, into "who in truth we really are", and who in truth the True Man hidden within each of us, within the Creation of God within us, really is. Therefore, using this little question and answer session at the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship in Philadelphia as a backdrop, lets take a shot at answering the larger questions of our life, 1) Who are we? 2) Who is True Man? 3) Who is God? 4) What is our relationship with God and True Man? For when the 6 of us came together at that time, in the name of God within us, in the name of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him, so They could, "Teach us what we do not know", we were all once again given the opportunity by Them, by True Man within us, and God within Him, to join as One with Them within us, as the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within us, within the Triple Flame of God within us, within - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us, to move forward what They are always doing within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, and to reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us. And in this way, by picking up and join in this truth of our life, to bring to a permanent end the falsehood in our life, to bring to an end what we in our ignorance are always thinking that we are doing "outside" of us, which is "us" living a life that is "separate from" God, is "separate from" each other, and is "separate from" the Creation of God within us. For as His Holiness teaches us, like it is reported that Jesus (peace be upon Him) taught His disciples, "If two of you come together in My Name, I will be there." So in response to the question by Mrs. "G", the question, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him)?", this child, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), handed the question to Them within him, to the Shaikh within him, and to God within his Shaikh, with the intention to become One with what They are doing within Him, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within him, and to reveal God within the Creation of True Man within him, and the following answers came. "Who Is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)?" "If we point at an apple tree and ask someone what it is, what do we think they will say? Naturally they will say, "It is an apple tree" But that is not a correct answer." 'Such is the problem when we point at Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) and ask, "Who Is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)?", or point at any of us and ask, "Who are we?". Let us explain. To call an apple tree an "apple tree" is to miss the point of the apple tree, and ever more importantly, is to miss the point of each of us. For what we call and see as an "apple tree" is not in truth an "apple tree", but is in truth a reflection of our own ignorance about "who we are", about where "we are buried", and about what is "happening in our life", is but a reflection of the dream life that we have become a victim of, through our acceptance of the passing of time, which in truth is happening within us, not "outside" of us, and in truth is only leading us to the Angel of Death (peace be upon Him), to the suffering of the grave, to Qiyamah (the Standing Forth; the Day of Judgment), and to an eternal life of "separation from" God. For in truth being an "apple tree" is but one facet of being something that is much larger than being an "apple tree", is much larger than the snapshot in time that we call an "apple tree", being an "apple tree" is being all of the following, and much, much more than all of this: 1) An apple seed buried within the earth, without an understanding of "who it is". Causing it to live in the earth, not knowing it is buried in the earth, not knowing it has a higher purpose, not knowing it has the "seed of an apple tree" hidden within it, that can only be realized by understanding the "truth of itself", and by letting itself germinate, by letting itself end within the earth it is buried within. Forcing it in its ignorance of itself, and its true purpose, to protect itself from being destroyed, by being destroyed by what it perceives as existing "outside" of itself, by the earth, fire, water, air, and ether surrounding it, by drawing upon and using what it perceives as existing "inside" of it, forcing it to protect itself from the form of the 5 elements that surround it, by the form of the earth, fire, water, air, and ether that surrounds it, by drawing upon, and becoming one with, the energies of the same 5 elements that it experiences as existing within it, by using and identifying with the energies of the earth, fire, water, air, and ether within it. And in this way, trying to make sense of itself and of its surroundings by creating a boundary between its "outside" and its "inside", identifying with the energies of the things within it, in order to protect it from the form of what is within it, that in its ignorance is experience as existing "outside" of it. In this way, living "outside" of itself, within the form of the 5 elements that surrounds it, while nourishing the energies of the 5 elements within it, all the while living in ignorance of the truth of its life buried in the earth, of the "seed of the apple tree" hidden within it, and of life of the earth that it has been buried within, all for the sake of a higher purpose for its life, a higher purpose of which it currently has no awareness. Such is the state of an apple seed that it buried within the earth but has failed to germinate, has failed to awaken to the reality of itself, the reality of what is hidden within it, which is the apple tree, the apple flowers, the apple fruit, the sweet taste within the mature apple, and again the apple seed hidden within the apple, and the reality of what it is buried within in, which is the vehicle for transforming the apple seed into an apple tree. Such is the state of an apple seed that is buried within the earth that has failed to realize, understand, accept, and join with the reality of its own life, that has failed to realize the truth that naturally emerges from within it, when it is ready to hear, accept, and embrace the truth of itself. And in truth, such is the current state of each of us, in ignorance of "who we are". 2) An apple seed buried within the earth, with an understanding of "who it is". Causing it to re-evaluate everything in its life, up till then, and open itself up to a new and expanded understanding of itself, of what is hidden within it, as an apple tree, an apple flower, and an apple fruit, and of the earth surrounding it, as the vehicle of transformation, all of which collectively explains and moves forward the purpose of its life buried within the earth, and of the earth that it has been buried within. Such is the state of an apple seed that is ready to germinate, and such is the state of each of us, when we have realized, understood, accepted, and joined with the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) that God has personally and every so lovingly placed within, and "outside" of each of us. And such is the answer to the question asked by our loving sister, Mrs. Rages Ganesan, of this child, of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), the question, "Who is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)?" 9. A Little Bit About God - within the Creation of True Man within us Now if the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) is what God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, in the Children of God for this age, which is each of us living in this age, in order for the "Seed of True Man" within us, the "Seed of Iman" or absolute faith, certitude, and determination that "God is One", can germinate within us, so God can complete His intention within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us, if that be our intention, if "we intend as God intends" within us, so True Man within us can then reveal God within the Creation of True Man within us, then "who is God?". One day "In-the-room" one of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) asked His Holiness a question. (Note: The term, "His Children", is what Bawa calls all of us, is how He refers to those who have gather around Him, no matter what their physical age, which includes all of us in this age, whether we physically met His Holiness or not, which included all of us who were and are in various stages of accepting Him as our Father, our Shaikh, and our Guru, as the "Three of God" or Triple Flame of God within us, as - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us, that has come in this age to establish the "Three of Us' within the "Three of God" within us, within the Triple Flame of God within us, as the - Disciple, Shaikh, and God - within the Triple Flame of God within us, as the Understanding of the Triple Flame of God within us, so the "Three of God" within us can become the "One of God" within us, which is True Man within the Creation of God within us, so the Guru of God for our soul, that has come in our age, can awaken the wisdom surrounding our soul, so the wisdom surrounding our soul can do battle with the "enemy of our soul". And when this child asked Bawa who the "enemy of my soul" was, His Holiness looked right at me and said, "you are) And the question asked of His Holiness by one of the Children of His Holiness, by one of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), was the following: Disciple: Could His Holiness please explain the relationship between us, the Prophet of God, and God. Shaikh: Think of yourself as an orange, and the Prophet of God as the juice of that orange, and God as the taste. So my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, we are the Creation of God that in truth God has personally and every so lovingly placed within each of us, even before we came to this earth world or dunya, and each of the 124,000 Prophets of God, including the eight main Prophets of God who were most clear, are the Essence of the Creation of God, which are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), 124,000 Prophets of God which if our life becomes successful becomes the Crown on the head of Adam (peace be upon Him) in the first heaven of God within us. And God is the taste of the Creation of God, and that taste of Oneness, is the Oneness of God and the Creation of God, the Oneness of God and this earth world or dunya, and of the essence of this earth world or dunya, which is the Sirr or Secret of God, which is the "Secret World of Allah" hidden within this earth world or dunya, hidden within the 18,000 universes within us. And that Oneness of God and His Creation is True Man within us, is God in this world, is God in this earth world or dunya, is the Light of God to the world, is the Light of the 7 heavens of God within the dunya or earth world within us. But there is also the next world, which is referred to by His Holiness as akhirah or the hereafter, as the Kingdom of God, as the 8th heaven of Muhammad (Sal.), which is ready to occur within each of us, when True Man within us, when the Oneness of God and His Creation within us, is revealed within the Creation of God within any of us. This is the Creation of True Man within us, this akhirah within us, this 8th heaven, this Kingdom of God, this hereafter within us, hidden within the Sirr of the dunya or earth world within us, hidden within the Essence of the 18,000 universes within each of us, as the Power within the Essences of Everything, this is the Creation of True Man, that True Man builds within us while living as the taste of God within the Creation of God within us, and as the Prayer of God to God within the Essence of the Creation of God within us, within the Sirr or Secret World of God within the Creation of God within us. This is True Man within us, as the Oneness of God and His Creation, as the taste that is God in the dunya, as the reflection of God into the Creation of God within us, into the earth world or 18,000 universes within us, as Islam within the Creation of God within us, which is the duty performed by True Man within this world, as the taste of God to the world, as the reflection of God to the world, while True Man prays as God praying to God in the Sirr, in the Secret World of Allah, which is the Essence of the Creation of God within us, and in this way, through this True Prayer, build the Creation of True Man within us, reveals akhirah, the hereafter within the Sirr or Secret World of Allah within us. This is akhirah, what True Man reveals as hidden within the Sirr or Secret World of Allah within us, within the Sirr or Secret that is hidden within the 18,000 universes within us, what True Man as Allah Muhammad, as the "pillar of the sukun of the mim", reveals as hidden within the Sirr of the Creation of God within us, through His prayers and devotion to God, as hidden within True Prayer, as hidden within God praying to God, as hidden within the One praying to the One who is. And God is what is revealed by True Man in akhirah, in the hereafter, as the Oneness of True Man and the Creation of True Man, as the taste of God within the Creation of True Man, which is God, which is Islam, bringing to completion the Cycle of God-Man/Man-God, and preparing the way again for the same cycle to occur again, if that be God's intention. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, may we both reflect on these beautiful words of wisdom a little. It is very, very important for all of us. May God give us the grace and clarity of His wisdom to do this Divine Work, to do this "Heart's Work", and to get our brothers and sisters to do the same, if that be their intention. 10. Closing Comments & Prayer - get God to do it again, to reveal True Man within the Creation of God, but this time within you, and get True Man to do it again, to reveal God within the Creation of True Man, but this time within you. Then we will be successful in our life. Anything less than this, is less than this, is less than "who we are". Know this now, my dearest loving sister Susan Sontag, and start to act accordingly, join with your "own life speaking to you", join with your loving brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), to just get out the word to all of our brothers and sisters, to let them know about "who they already are", to let them know about what True Man and God has given them for this age, which is "True Man and God happening" within them, in order to be successful in this age, in this age where "In ignorance man thinks that he is god, while in truth He is." "In Process. Please come back later. Thank you." End of Page 2 of 2 of Spiritual Letter 47 - original version - ......................... or Go To Spiritual Letter 47: Table of Contents Expanded Version Related Material or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
This page was last updated on: April 24, 2003
