Dayemi Tariqat is an intentional spiritual community; but what does that really mean? How does the Community and its members function? What are the ties that bind these individuals with their incredibly diverse personalities, desires, and propensities? In the following article entitled “Community and Commitment,” Sheikh Din addresses the human dilemma of doing what is necessary to accomplish what it is we say we really want.

There are certain fundamental issues in life that are so key, so important, that they have caused us to undertake spiritual practice for the purpose of Self-realization. As well, we apply a tremendous effort in our daily actions that serve for the building of our intentional spiritual community. The issues that bind us together include, but are not limited to: Who am I? How and why did I get here? What is the purpose of life? Where am I, as well as the rest of the world, going? Why is there pain? What is the reality of good and evil? What is the process for alleviating suffering? Is it possible to heal, and if so, can I be healed? What is the true nature of my longing to love and to be loved? What are the best and most appropriate actions for one to take in this world? What is the best way to live?

In order to answer such questions, our Community’s way of life calls upon us to make a commitment. To be truly committed to the spiritual path and what it requires is not effortless, and therefore, a commitment to do the Work is not an easy commitment to uphold. A commitment to a whole spiritual life requires that we learn to balance the desires and demands of the personal with the interpersonal as well as the interests of the individual with the collective.

On a personal basis, we have all felt called upon by a radiant light. We are attracted to a vision that allows us to believe that we might become complete and realize the fulfillment of ourselves as human beings. Enlightenment. This is the very reason that we have come together in this Community.

We have also learned that our thoughts, words and actions, and how we feel, directly affect our world. This is another reason, that along with our desire for personal growth and well being, our vision includes the concrete action of living in community. The community is the outer expression of our inner personal longing. Just as we want our inner world to be a better place, so we want an outer world that is equally better for all.

The performance of personal spiritual practice is essential for a human being to grow. We have found that to the degree an individual is able to commit to one’s respective spiritual practice, one’s degree of enlightenment and Self-realization follows. Yet, as this Community grows, we are also faced with the practical reality and worldly pressures of going to our jobs, paying bills, feeding hungry kids, putting our children to bed on time to be ready for school in the morning, dividing time between personal spiritual practices, group functions and volunteer work, while still having enough personal time for friends, dates, lovers, spouses and individual interests. It is worth stating again, “To be truly committed to the spiritual path and what it requires is not effortless, and therefore, a commitment to do the Work is not an easy commitment to uphold. A commitment to a whole spiritual life requires that we learn to balance the desires and demands of the personal with the interpersonal as well as the interests of the individual with the collective.” This is a difficult calling. 

Real commitment brings about mysterious consequences. I have often reiterated that to be committed is the key to freedom. Making a commitment also catalyzes all the forces that challenge it. Isn’t that ironic? No sooner than we fully commit ourselves to something, we       are confronted by everything that opposes us to live up to the commitment. Often times, this phenomenon seems especially exaggerated when it comes to spiritual commitments or commitments that pertain to changing individual attitudes and habits that are key to personal growth.

Anyone recognizes the feeling of being tremendously inspired. Great inspiration causes us to want to rush in the direction of the inspiration. Attraction. Ultimately, we feel as if we want to give ourselves to the source of the great inspiration, but only later, it occurs to us what being committed really means. The “honeymoon period,” followed by reality setting in, doesn’t only happen between attracted lovers; this same realization takes place to all comers on the spiritual path. After you fall in love, you fall out of love before you fall in love again. This means that you are faced with doing the Work!

Our Community is a very small and humble attempt to live into a noble vision. Personal and Social Enlightenment. The Community is so small, and the vision is so huge, that one might wonder whether or not we could completely accomplish such a thing. As shocking as it may be, I am certain that we cannot! As our vision is also a matter of evolution, we will never accomplish or attain the completion of our vision within the limit of our lifetimes.

So, you can take this news is one of two ways. One: let yourself off the hook. Why bother working and struggling so hard, if you are not assured of getting everything you want within your timeframe? Or two: commit yourself fully to the Work, and struggle with the demand that you ultimately will have to die into the process that compels you. This second option makes you face every single thing about yourself.

This decision is a spiritual matter. The burden of charting out one’s life course is on the spiritual oriented people. It is the “spiritual” people who have claimed to hear a calling from the heart. They have recognized and responded to the unfulfilled human longing for the unlimited – limitless love. The heart wants to soar as if it remembers freedom. It knows the difference between good and bad, and it longs for, believes in and hopes for perfection even in the face of a seemingly imperfect world. 

Commitment calls us out of the closet. With it comes all of the challenges of why we should not. Should we love only for love’s sake, for its nobility, for its truthfulness, even when we’re not feeling loving and are unsure of getting anything in return? Should we continue to make the enormous efforts to commune in cooperation with others, and come together in unity, even when there is ongoing interpersonal conflict, and we want to withdraw? Is it always necessary to be fair and giving, when we are not guaranteed that others will respond fairly to our intentions or actions? Should we share in the charity of our personal resources, while still being afraid of not having enough for ourselves? Idealistically, we all know the answers to these questions.

The obligation of this Community, and to being in this Community, is a commitment towards living a fully righteous life. Yet, we are faced with a battle against all of the endless tendencies that want to lead us away. This is the jihad al-akbar (the great inner struggle) that the Prophet Muhammad (saws) referred to as the “most difficult of work.”

The world, with its rampant materialism, uncontrolled consumerism, techno-greed and endless stimuli, utters many voices, and offers much sympathy for remaining hopeless and stuck. This is an ongoing, negative reinforcement for being uncommitted. Most often, the world teaches us that if you can’t have what you want, when you want it, exactly how you want, within the timeframe that you want it, and if the results of what you want aren’t immediately apparent and easily accomplished, then it is not worth any long-term effort. The voices of the world have driven most people into horrifying selfishness, a selfishness that has made people so self-centered that they can no longer perform the work of Self-realization. The meaning of the word “self” becomes confusing. “Selfish” and “selfless” have the same root, but they’re very different in their orientation.

Two years ago at our Community’s Annual Planning Session, I announced, “I want to work with people who want to do the Work.” What does the Work mean; what does it require? Egos start to squirm when they are being cornered to make a commitment. “What does it look like to be committed?” everyone asks. A commitment to a whole spiritual life requires just that  –  total commitment; whatever is required. There are no contingencies, back doors or back out clauses in fine print.  I am fully aware that this sounds abstract, vague, unending and scary. It has one think that the work on the spiritual path never ends. It doesn’t end, nor will it ever be finished. A whole spiritual life, that integrates both personal and collective enlightenment, can only be attained in the spirit of the late Malcolm X’s words, “By any means necessary.”  True spiritual commitment requires that you will forever face whatever you must do to become complete, leaving no stone unturned.

The word “commitment” is by and large a synonym for “surrender.” Surrender. That’s it! That’s the one that makes us squirm, especially if it means that I must really change – change myself.

The teachings of all the Illumined Prophets (upon them be peace) have been exactly the same message. According to the era, culture, language and certain personal peculiarities, their styles may have differed. The Universal Message, although inherently One in Spirit, is laced with two meanings. Firstly: “Oh humanity, awaken to Reality. There exists a singular Reality. God is One.” This part of the message is an inspiration that reminds us that we are in this world for something more than this world. There is a greater Reality than a mundane life of material survival. We are greater than the narrow focal points of our limited personalities, our small selves.

Secondly: “Oh humanity, be warned. It is your own self, and how you live that makes you either healthy or ill.” This part of the message is an instruction that illustrates the principles of cause and effect that are the essence of the teachings of “heaven and hell.” The warning aspect of the message dictates, “Do this, and don’t do that.” Undertake the activities that are beneficial, and let go of the behaviors and attitudes that perpetuate suffering.

Reading through the tales of the Prophets gets down to the bottom line. It is apparent that few want to let go of their small selves and what makes them ill, because they believe that the small self is their true Self. People don’t want to be told how to live, even if it’s making them sick.

Try to imagine the absurdity of a family who had built their house on a toxic waste site, like the Love Canal. Even though their whole family had become ill, the neighborhood was polluted, their kids were being born with birth defects and the environment was poisonous, they still refused to move. The EPA shows up and announces, “My God, you’ve built your house on a chemical waste dump. It’s making you and your whole neighborhood sick. The way you’re living, and where you are living, is making you sick! You need to not live here. You need to move.” All the while the arrogant family remains adamant to stand their ground and insists, “This is our house. You can’t tell us to move! We like it here. We want to and will continue to live here.”

St. John of the Cross prays, “Oh Lord, please kill in me that which is killing me.” Why is it that nobody – I’m using the word “nobody” in exaggeration – wants to heed the warning message that says, “Change how you are living, because the way that you’re living is out of balance.” Well, in order to change, one must be committed. One must surrender, and let go of the attachments that they are holding. To commit means to become radically different.

“New Age” and liberally minded people often have problems reconciling their particular projections about God. They remain comfortable so long as God is only depicted as the all-loving, all-merciful, all-forgiving and, ultimately, the all-compassionate, under any circumstances. This is the limit of how they want their “God” to be. When God is also depicted, in the ancient scriptures, such as the Bible and the Qur’an, as punishing, angry or wrathful, people get disturbed. They protest, “God is not a ‘punishing’ God. God is all-loving.” 
These people are so lost in their adolescent projections of God that they don’t realize that they are already living the punishment by the consequences of their thoughts, words and actions. Separation, disease, alienation and suffering. Within the means of how people live is what causes misery, which is the punishment.

Material affluence has provided tremendous privilege for primarily the white people of Europe and America. Material affluence has promoted such attachments to wealth, privilege and power that people fight against one another, because they are afraid to let go even of the things that perpetuate hatred, disease and suffering. What is the real condition of the great mass of humanity in the world?

Even after facing the realization that we will die, as will all material things, we are hooked! I, me, mine. My life, my world, my taste, my preferences, my likes, my dislikes, my misery, my opinions, my family, my company. Yours? Better yet, people do not want to take personal responsibility for their thoughts, words and actions. They love to be reinforced with positive strokes and kind words, “Oh, you’re a good boy, and you’re a good girl.” As if they shouldn’t have to worry about accountability or personal responsibility. No pressure, no blame. Do what you need to do. Just go where you think your heart calls you. Come and go as you like, and as you please. You’re free. No pressure. No problem. Be free.

The problem remains that in this condition, people still do not experience freedom, well being and enlightenment. Unending fear, the cloying need for reassurance, and the gnawing longing for something greater and more meaningful doesn’t stop. The battle between needs, wants and lifestyle, the apparent reality, hides the fact that it is the lifestyle that is making you sick. It takes tremendous courage to step out of a lifestyle that makes you sick, because you must admit that it is your life that is sick and separated from love.

In the words of the Holy Qur’an, the community and its Teacher represent the  “trustworthy handhold.” The social forces around us, and how we’ve come to expect how life is supposed to be, are so alluring and seductive, regardless of the Truth. They are disorienting, and they create illusion.

It should be apparent by now that the sum total, the result, of all too many interesting people’s life experiences does not produce the happiness and lasting peace they seek. If lasting peace and happiness was attainable through all of the ways suggested by the world’s offerings, why aren’t most people fulfilled?

Without personal discipline and spiritual practice, it is next to impossible to become content and at peace. One needs a personal standard in order to resolve the issues and the forces inside oneself. By in large, we are so lazy. The commercialized, consumer culture of greed conditions us with relentless impressions. We are tantalized to consume products and live a lifestyle without having to earn it. Endless applications for credit cards fill our mailboxes with junk mail. We are offered other people’s money to consume things we could not possibly afford for ourselves with the promise that more is better. Is it really possible that we could realize inner peace, God-realization and an unending sense of happiness without having to apply ourselves to the Work?

Humanity is sick, but refuses to take the medicine. The Earth has become some kind of global hospital ward for wayward spiritual beings, yet when the hakiim(s) (spiritual doctors) come to this Earth to offer the “medicine,” the patients argue with the prescription. The “spiritual doctors” offer the remedy for becoming individually and socially well, satisfied and at peace.

Personally, I’ve often felt that I could drag people by the arm directly to the medicine chest, line them up and point out, “You see! There’s blue pills, yellow pills, white pills, red pills, purple pills, green pills, etc. You need a green pill,” only for them to begin equivocating and resisting having to take the appropriate medicine. Resistance to the remedy comes in an amazing array of forms. “You can’t tell me what to do. I’ll take it when I want to. Okay, I’ll do it later. Why do I have to take the medicine anyway? All right, already. I heard you. Get off my back!” The spiritual and social sicknesses that are upon us as a society are coming with disastrous consequences. We need to wake up.

The external forces of social pressures around us as well as the internal forces of ego conditioning within us are great. These forces prey upon fear. Your fear to feel, change and grow. To make a commitment to a whole spiritual life will inevitably force you to confront all of your fears. You will never ultimately know what your fears are until you commit to something greater than yourself. Then you find out what has been lurking inside you and unconsciously controlling you all along. Not to be committed is the game of “shucking and jiving” and ducking to avoid your fear. When you commit, that’s when you discover the true nature of your fear. Fear is designed to drive you away. The illusion is that if you keep moving and stay noncommittal, you are free. But you are not free. You remain a slave to fear. And, that is the lifestyle that makes you sick.

As our community continues to go through dynamic fluxes and changes, its quality will be evaluated based upon the collective commitment. I am not suggesting that each participant must become committed exactly in the same way, at the same time or exactly in the same amount. No, this is a big subject. People arrive along the path of commitment at different times in different ways according to different degrees. But the degree of our collective commitment, as a Community, is the sum total of each other’s commitment to our vision. According to the Holy Qur’an, we need to “enjoin what is right and eschew what is evil (wrong).”

The enthralling thing about the stories of the great Prophets, no matter how long ago they might have lived, is the admiration that is inspired by hearing about their unparalleled commitment to the Truth. Even when all others turned away from them or when the consequences of their commitments seemed fatal, these great souls would not turn away from the “face of their Lord.” History recognizes the vast greatness inside of a human being of this caliber, and we’ll continue to write and tell stories about these types of individuals and their commitment to the Truth for thousands of years to come.

As you do whatever is necessary to make a commitment, and then honor it by following through, you become stronger and healthier. If you back off and become distracted, you will fall back into the behaviors that initially made you sick to begin with. It is safe to assume that this principle applies to every part of life. If you should have a heart or liver condition, a weight problem or a nutritional deficiency, there is a diet that is meant to match your health needs. If you follow it, even when it’s difficult, you become healthier. When you become distracted, what happens? You fall back into the patterns that created the illness.

It’s the same thing in the spiritual, personal, interpersonal, cultural, environmental, political and economic spheres. We must stand and face ourselves. We must become disciplined and committed to that which restores health and well being. As a result of death’s inevitability, there is no escaping the fact that everyone will be eventually committed. We must stand and face ourselves, and not wait until death’s doorstep. Utilize each moment to awaken your spiritual nature. Become committed and situated before the majesty of your own true Self. I am sure that we will have many more opportunities to examine our commitment and to be tested by it. That test is assured.

 Do you think that they shall proclaim their belief in Me and not be tested?  [Holy Qur’an]

May Allah give us increasing vitality and courage. May Allah bestow upon us the grace of greater Remembrance. May God help us through our own actions and efforts to remove the shackles and the burdens that keep us slaves to the lower self. May our eyes be opened so we can see. May our ears be opened that we might hear. May the intelligence of our minds and hearts become clear, that we commit to and follow our deepest vision.