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Knowledge of God
Summer 1997


Sheikh Din teaches that there are two types of knowledge - to know about something or to know something directly. You might say the difference between reading the menu and eating the meal. Our Murshid addresses these differing approaches in the following of course, "The Practice of the Knowledge of God," delivered to his students on December 8, 1995.

     Among the most important ethics of our spiritual path is to seek the "knowledge of God." We are encouraged to constantly pursue more and more of this type of knowledge. We are instructed again and again to study, learn, observe and investigate for its sake. We are directed to go to the bottom of the ocean, the farthest reaches of the world and even beyond this world to seek the knowledge of God. Therefore, it is important for us to understand what "knowledge" is and how we practice realizing it.
     "Knowledge" can be looked at in two ways. The first way is to know about something. The second is to know it directly. On the spiritual path, people generally believe that to learn or know about something prepares them or makes them ready to know it directly. Or . . . does it? This question is illustrated in the teaching story of the two types of spiritual disciples, scholars and mystic lovers, who visit a mango grove.
The grove is full of fruit trees loaded with mangos. The scholars come to observe the trees. They analyze the big trees and the small ones. Which are the healthy trees and which are the sick ones? They determine which trees are holding just how many mangos, and estimate their mango carrying capacity. Then they inspect the mangos themselves. They study the mangos. How big? How small? How ripe? How green? Are they well formed and pleasingly shaped? The scholars take measurements. Then they discuss and debate the subject, all for the purpose of choosing the "best" mango. After all, they want to have the experience of the "perfect" mango. They focus their work and study for this purpose ... the perfect mango.
     Meanwhile, the mystic lovers, the devotees have been to the grove and already eaten all of the mangos. They didn't wait or debate. They went and ate . . . sweet ones, sour ones, ripe ones, green ones, big ones, little ones, fat ones, skinny ones, tall ones and short ones. By the time the scholars return for the "perfect mango," all that is left are mango peelings on the ground. The mystic lovers experienced them all!
This is the difference between "knowing about something" and "knowing it directly." Knowledge, even spiritual guidance, without love and devotion can leave us bereft to such an extent that there may not too many "mangos" left to come back to.
     We must also face the reality however, that we are living in form, a human life, that require thought, effort and action. It is not only us humans living here, but others as well ... minerals, plant; fish, birds, animals. Life is a complete "society" of creation. Life requires us to practice balance in our respective efforts for knowledge.
     We would all like to "know" God. We all long for a direct, mystical experience that fills us with God's Love and Light, and we long to be surrendered completely to God's Will. We know that the realization and submission to God's Will is not something out of a book, or from a cassette tape, nor is it in anyone's words, nor does belong to someone in particular. Allah is in the Heart. In other words, we want to eat the mangos of God's Love and leave the peelings on the ground. There is no language for this beyond the language of the Heart, and there is no philosophy or religion of this other than Love.
     Yet, while we are in this world, we are responsible for and subject to the relativity and practicality of practicing it within our form. Therefore we must face our duty to understand true knowledge, how it works and the process of attaining it. What is our position? How are we to become mystic lovers and at the same time undertake the disciplines and obligations of this life? What is the balance between the discipline of study and the abandonment of experience?
     If we are merely involved in religion through the taking of measurements, the study of statistics and the rote memorization of scriptures, but have no direct experience of God, then the religion, philosophy and study become our God instead. God is no longer God; the study about God is God. Yet, if we never apply ourselves to the task of learning Allah's "ways" through discipline, obedience and study, we will not be ready or able to experience that which is beyond our own limitations.
     If we get stuck in the rigidity of academic religious fanaticism, we will find our Hearts stricken, barren like a desert. The ego mind cannot fully grasp something that it has never known directly, and even worse, most often tries to "protect" itself from the experience of the unknown. It is like opening a "map of spirituality," looking at all the various "spiritual cities," studying, fantasizing but never actually visiting. What good is it to know about how enlightened people live, speak, wear their clothes and the dishes they like to eat, but never have the direct experience of visiting them or being one? What does chocolate taste like? What does a rose smell like?
    If you're a farmer, no amount of study of the weather predictions from the "Farmer's Almanac" will produce rain during a drought. You can study all day long. If there is no rain coming, your almanac is worthless. You can storm out into the dry field with your book and wring it as hard as you can between your hands. See if even one drop of water will come out of that book. Nothing.
     On the other hand, if we want the direct experience but haven't prepared ourselves with organization and discipline, then we've abandoned our responsibility in the world. We have deserted the structure that gives us the moral integrity and personal and emotional strength that allows for true experience!
     I am constantly amazed by how many people loudly proclaim, "I want to know and have the direct experience of God," but their lives are a mess. They can't even keep their room clean, do the dishes or maintain a healthy relationship. Their bodies and/or their minds are dirty and unkempt. They have little manners and live without common courtesy. They are selfish and self-centered. Their nervous systems are weak. They don't have the ability to pay attention and cannot seem to stay awake. Yet they want to "know God." They believe that somehow, as if by magic, they are going to have a realization of the Beyond, while hard work and effort are not required. All with no pain, and oh, by the way, they will accomplish this all by themselves without any help. They don't need help on this subject. They do not believe in joining a path or following a teacher because they are, of course, their own teacher.
     The guidance of the scriptures, codes of conduct, as well as the disciplines of the spiritual path have not just fallen out of the sky. God realized people did not just dream them up a long time ago simply for the purpose of manipulating others. The guidance that has come over time, and has been revealed through the scriptures, gives us structure and direction. Without good structure, there is less of a chance to know God directly. It makes good sense to develop an optimal environment in which to stimulate the direct experience. This approach is basic ground work.
     I have used the example of the garden and the gardener before. If a gardener wants the most fruits and vegetables possible to come from their garden, they work diligently, consistently and follow a structured plan. An intelligent gardener doesn't just walk outdoors with a bunch of seed packets and think, "Let's see . . . here's some watermelon, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant seeds, and there's the dirt. I'll just throw these seeds on the ground and get fruits and vegetables." No. A good gardener follows a structural code of conduct and discipline, a gardening shariat (Arabic - sacred law), if you will. When should the seeds be planted? How deep do I put them in the soil? How much water do they require? How much sun do they need? When do you expect the appearance of the blossoms? When do you expect the appearance of the fruit? When is the fruit ripe enough to pick? With Grace, and if the gardener has done a good job of gardening, the fruit and vegetables come. The "direct knowing" of the gardening is in the eating!
     Currently, we are in the month of December. Last night we ate fresh carrots that came from Wali and Sumitra's garden. I guarantee those carrots did not become available for our eating pleasure without the gardeners having followed a structured discipline and a structured environment from which we could have the experience of eating. As people were eating the carrots they exclaimed, "Wow, these are really sweet!" Ask the gardeners what it took to be able to offer sweet carrots in December. You will find that they followed certain laws, regulations, rules and disciplines of gardening. They will tell you that these things make a difference in gardening. You will find that in order for us to have the experience of eating these sweet carrots now, they had to be protected then.

SHEIKH DIN: Wali, didn't you say that you had them buried?

WALI: They were buried under about twenty bales of straw.

SHEIKH DIN: They were buried under about twenty bales of straw, so they wouldn't freeze in winter. These gardeners didn't just throw seeds on the ground, and poof, we have fresh carrots in December! However, we cannot be confused to think that the twenty bales of straw and the planting of the garden is the carrot itself. This is where we need to keep our balance.
     The final experience of God/Allah, like the carrot, is in the tasting. No one can come between you and that. No one can ultimately direct you all the way to it. Once the taste is had, everything else seems totally insignificant. The taste is that which makes us realize that God is beyond religion. God is beyond nationality. God is beyond political ideals and aspirations. God is beyond geography. God is beyond gender and sexual identification. God is beyond philosophy. Yet all of these philosophies and approaches, if sincere, are humanity's attempt to build a structure to poise us for the most optimal position to realize our goal. Until such time that we have the direct knowing of something, we must do our best to learn about it, regardless of the subject. Take any subject.
     There are very few examples in history, if any, where without any kind of preparation someone comes to know God. If you look at the lives of all the Prophets (may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon them all), they were prepared and tested throughout their lives. These great beings may have commenced their life's work from a higher spiritual station than most, but nonetheless, they went through radical preparations in order to be able to realize and deliver their message.
     Once a person comes to knowing God/Allah directly, the knowing about things comes automatically. It is said that for the Friends of God, God provides them everything they need and all they need to know. The way that we learn to become "God's Friend" is the same way that we learn to become each other's friend. We go through a preparation of learning and trust. If you want to be my friend, and I want to be yours, I will get to know you. I learn your likes and dislikes, how you do your work and what's your rhythm. It would be stupid of me to think I could become your best friend and be insensitive to your ways. Of course, this is a metaphor, a symbol God has all likes, and God has all dislikes! What I am referring to is Allah's principles, laws and the rhythms, nature and harmony of al life interwoven together. What is the natural order? That order is likened to God's likes. This natural order is Sufism is called the Din al-Fitrah, the natural way.
     Your body has a natural order. If you indulge in the dislikes of the body, its natural rhythm, by exercising bad habits and putting bad food in it, what happens? It becomes interrupted. Diseased. You won't be able to sit quietly. You will not have Peace and all that goes with it.
     When enlightened people speak to the disciplines and manners that "please" God/Allah, it is this natural order that being referred to. We make the subject personal, so we know what it feels like to have a personal experience. God is beyond personality of course. This is the reason for the study. The study is the making of our intention to have the direct experience. The study is not a substitute for the direct experience. The study is the preparation of the environment so that the direct experience will have the most optimal chance of taking hold. We do not drink water from a cup that has a hole in it, for example. It has no capacity to hold it. Therefore, the direct experience is supported on an ongoing basis by the structure of the knowledge. One knowledge about; one is direct knowing. They have a hand-in-hand relationship. As we become more inspired over time, we should learn what the disciplines, approaches and structures are that create the most optimal conditions for human beings to realize God, the True Self.
     At the beginning of practice on the spiritual path, it is not necessary to be so overly concerned with all of the so-called "rules and regulations." However, as in the case of the gardener, if a "junior" gardener meets a "senior" gardener and complains, "You know, I tried to put in my own garden last year, and all I got was zucchini. Zucchini took over everything, and I didn't get any other crops!" The senior gardener will listen and ask, "How did you prepare the soil? How far apart did you plant things? How did you weed? How did you mulch? How many zucchinis did you plant?" After going through different questions, the senior gardener may offer instructions from his experience. "Let me make a recommendation to you. Plant your seedlings a little farther apart so they have some breathing room. Prune back the zucchinis, so they won't choke out the rest of your plants. Mulch and then water. The ground will hold moisture longer. And, don't plant so many zucchinis. They're practically unmanageable!"
     At first the junior gardener thinks, "Oh God, this seems like so much work. I don't want to do all this work, but I also want more than just zucchinis. I'll try to follow the senior gardener's recommendations . . . just a little bit." The junior applies himself a little bit more to the advise of the senior the following year The new gardener witnesses, by their own experience, "Yes! My garden is even better." Now, there's the relationship between study and work! They studied, they tried and they had a direct experience. Through the appreciation of a better garden, the junior gardener will develop a love for the discipline of gardening, because the result of the discipline is more fruits and vegetables.
     As a person has direct experience of Spirit, God/Allah, the spiritual senses are refined. The "spiritual" eyes, ears, nose and mouth open more. There's more direct contact with God, so that person starts wanting more. This is the longing of the Heart. The Heart longs for more, wants to long for more and continues to long for more. The spiritual aspirant becomes more ready to ask, "What else can I do to help create the optimum environment inside of me, my family and my community to know and serve Allah?" A Love develops for those tools, disciplines and guidelines that provide for a greater environment.
     We are not confused. We don't actually think that those disciplines are God. We recognize that when we have to finally "face" Allah, all else but Allah will be abandoned. By the time you are sitting at the table eating the zucchini and the carrots, you're not mulching anymore. You are not out there hoeing. Now you're partaking. We have no confusion in this school that the laws, regulations, disciplines and study are a substitute for Allah. These disciplines are part of our work for getting organized. As glimpses of the reward increase, we want more of those disciplines.
     When we first started getting together for food after prayer and meditation, people would go over to the buffet table, take food for themselves and start eating without waiting for or serving another. Over the course of time, we established that it would be better, rather than to take food for myself, to serve someone else. It would be even better, if there's a small enough group, to start eating together.
     Since then, I've heard a number of the murideen (students) tell me that this simple practice has helped to create a sensitivity and love for the serving and eating of food. When these students are in another environment where people are grabbing for themselves, like at a party or some other gathering, it feels jarring and abrupt. It doesn't feel sensitive; it's without the Heart presence. The students often say, "When we come back to the Tekke, it feels so good to serve someone else." There's an example. It is just a small one, but we have a love for that particular adab (courtesy). We now have a love for the discipline that brings a feeling of love. "Here, please take." It feels civilized. It feels like being a human being.
     We must maintain our flexibility, because one of the rules is: There is always an exception to every rule according to time, place and person. It's important that the "exception rule" is an exception rule and that the exception rule doesn't become the "standard rule." If we always let the exception be the standard, then it becomes our standard rule. It is no longer an exception. Will it ever happen that we miss a prayer? Will it ever happen that we'll make a mistake? It's not such a big deal. But, we must continually build our strength and aspire to rise above the complacency that drives the lower self.
     Then we look to our Beloved to come to us . . . to come to us . . . to come to us . . . so that we can have the direct experience, the direct knowing.