Spiritual Letter 37 - Expanded Version About Spiritual Letter 37 Title: "The Most Important Thing On The Path of God Is Faith" Date: December 31, 2002 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), to: Aziza Weiss Home Page-Spiritual Letters Go To Spiritual Letter 38 Letter 37: Original Version Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Letter 36 Letter 37: Related Material Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Letter 37 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 brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter: 1. Introduction - to Spiritual Letter 37 2. Ask Him, Join Him, and Let Him - these are the three steps that this child has learn to use each day in order to return to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us 3. See The Path of God As An Endurance Race - and learn to "hang in there" no matter what happens, by joining in partnership with your Shaikh within you, and with God within Him, handing everything that comes to you to Him, with the faith and trust, with the patience, contentment and gratitude, that everything is Ok as it is, saying to God, "It is Your Property, Your Duty" 4. The Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is "faith and trust" in God, & in the "stuff of God" within us 5. The Next Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is to correctly "let go" of what we have incorrectly learned in our ignorance to hold onto, which is the world "outside" of us, and to correctly "hold onto" what our Shaikh within us is holding onto, which we have incorrectly learned in our ignorance to let go of, which is God within Him, which is our Shaikh within us, and God within Him 6. Starting Each Day By Re-establishing Our Connecting To God - and True Man within us, by joining with Bawa to say the, "Invocation To The Guru" us, step by step, back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us 8. Knowing The Difference Between Salat and True Prayer - as the beginning of the journey back into God, and as the ending of the journey back into God, of the journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man", which was hidden by God within our wisdom within us 9. Learning The Lessons of Truth - while we walk the path of God with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him 10. Closing Comments And Prayer - learning to become the "Common Wealth" of God, and how to do "Heart's Work" Text of Spiritual Letter: 1. Introduction - to Spiritual Letter 37 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. 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 sister Aziza (Bitsy Weiss). Thank you for your note, and for sending your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) the following beautiful prayer or Dua', "May God Protect us always, and remove the outside, and reveal the inside." 2. Ask Him, Join Him, and Let Him - these are the three steps that this child has learn to use each day in order to return to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us My dearest loving sister Aziza, your beautiful prayer or Dua' says it all, "May God Protect us always, and remove the outside, and reveal the inside." That says it all. And God will most certainly do that Divine Work within us, if that be our true intention. We are all very good Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), and our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, will most certainly do this Divine Work within us, within each of the Children of God for this age, which is each of us living in this age, if we but properly ask Him to do it, then join with Him to do it, and then let Him do it, let Him destroy us and reveal Himself in the process, let Him destroy us as "separate from" God within us, and reveal us as "One with" God within us. And He will do this Divine Work within us, within us buried within the love and compassion of God within the heart of our Shaikh, and within the truth of God within Him, in the same way that an apple seed is destroyed to reveal the apple fruit hidden within the apple tree hidden within it, when the apple seed having realized, understood, accepted, and joined with the truth of itself, that naturally emerges from within itself, the truth, as Bawa teaches us, that, "It is an apple seed buried within the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple tree hidden within it to grow". And having realized, understood, accepted, and joined within this truth, then joins with the earth to reveal the apple, to reveal the sweet taste of the apple hidden within the beautiful apple tree that is hidden within it, joins with the earth to tell the story of the apple fruit hidden within the apple tree that is hidden within it. My dearest loving sister Aziza, may we never doubt or forget this truth of our life, of each of our lives, of each of us living in the world today, the truth about us that Bawa teaches us, the truth that, "We are the seed of God, hidden within the seed of True Man, hidden within the Creation of God within us, that we are the seed of the sweet taste of God's fruit, hidden within the seed of the beautiful Tree of True Man, hidden within the wisdom of God within us, and that wisdom of God within us contains everything necessary for the Tree of True Man within us, and then the Fruit of God within It, to be revealed within us, within the Creation of God within us." For it has all been lovingly hidden by God in this way within each one of us, within each of the Children of God for this age, which is each one of us living in this age, just waiting to be reveal, when having realized, understood, and accepted this truth of our life, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), both "inside" and "outside" of us, we join as One with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God and of the Creation of True Man within us. In this way, my dearest loving sister Aziza, what happens to us is completely in our hands, not God's hand, because God has already given us everything that He has, and He is just waiting to see how we will use it. And how we will use it, before we die, is even a mystery to God, how we will ultimately decide to use what He has given us, to use our true heritage, our true birth right, is indeed even a mystery to God, either giving up our life for His, so He can live within us, as He gave up His life for ours, so we could live within Him, either surrendering to the wisdom and truth within us that is Him, so He can be revealed within us, as He surrendered to the Oneness and Unity within Him that is us, so we could be revealed within Him. Or selfishly deciding to have our "own thing", our "own life" separate from Him, eventually becoming of no value to us or to anyone else, like the apple seed that fails to germinate in the earth, in the earth that it was placed in, to join with the earth, to tell "the story", to tell the story of what is hidden within it, which is the story of the apple fruit hidden within the story of the apple tree hidden within the apple seed buried within the earth, and when all of these stories have been told, revealing again, the apple seed hidden within the apple, which then becomes buried within the earth. Now each of us must decide how to use it, how to use our true heritage, our true birth right, that was given to us by God, how to use the true destiny of our soul, which is the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, now we must decide how to use what God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each one of us in this age, even before we came here to this earth world, to this "School of Contrasts" created by God, to "teach us what we do not know". Each of us must decide how to use what God has given us, to use what God has given us both on the "outside" of us, and on the "inside" of us, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), to use it to either reveal "us" as "separate from" God within us, which is our current life of no true value, a life of "separation and differences", a selfishly life that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters in the world that we collectively see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, a false life, which when we die in that state, in that temporary state of "separation from" God, we get, we get a false life for eternity, we then get that temporary state of "separation from" God for eternity, we then get an eternal life of "separation from" God, which is our true hell. Or we decide instead to go for the "gold", we decide to give up our selfish temporary life of "separation and differences" for the life of God within us, we decide to put down our life on the "outside" of us, our life of "separation from" God, that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters on the "outside" of us, and instead join with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, to reveal "us" as "One with" God within us, within the Creation of God within us, to reveal "Us" as The Three within the Three, to reveal "Us" as the True Disciple, True Shaikh, and God within the Triple Flame of God within us - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen, which is the understanding of the Triple Flame of God within us, allowing the Three to again become One within us. And in this way, allowing God to complete what He is doing within us, which is revealing God to God within us, and to do all of this before we die, and before the world "outside" of all of us is prematurely destroyed by one of us, for all of us, and when we die in this temporary state of "Oneness with" God, to get that state of "Oneness with" God for eternity, which is true heaven, the true 7 heavens within us, and within that the 8th heaven, and within that the soul of man, the Arsh al-mu'mim, the Throne of the True Believer. In this way, the choice is ours, my dearest loving sister Aziza. May God give us the grace of His Wisdom to make the right choice, to again become One with God and True Man within us, to again become One with the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 3. See The Path of God As An Endurance Race Overview of Topic: In this race called our life, we have to learn to hang in there, no matter what happens, until God and True Man within us complete Their intention within us, until our Shaikh within us reveals True Man within True Man within us, and God within Him, reveals God within God within Him, which They can only do within us when we willingly and voluntarily put down what we are doing "outside" of us, as "separate from" Them, before we die, and pick up what They are doing "inside" of us, as "One with" Us, also before we die. In this way, allowing Us joined as One with Them within us to become the "Three of Us" within us, the Disciple, the Shaikh, and God within us, within the Triple Flame of God - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us, allowing the Triple Flame of God within us to again become One with the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, and in this way, completing the intention of God and True Man within us. Text of Letter: May we always keep in mind that the path of God is like an endurance race, as long as we don't let go of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him, we will be successful, then They joined as One with Us, and Us joined as One with Them, will do everything else. Then Us as "One with" God and True Man within us will join together, with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, to complete God's intention within us, which is to reveal God to God within us, by first revealing True Man to True Man within us, for the benefit of everything within us, by allowing God to answer the question God asked of God within us, the question, "Who am I?, that God asked of God in anathi within us, which is God's time of darkness or lack of understanding within us, which in truth is our current life of "separation and differences", that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters, in the illusory world that we currently see in our collective ignorance as existing "outside" of us. May we both come to understand the beauty and simplicity of this truth within us, that our life is not about us, our life is not about us as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, or as "separate from" the Creation of God within us, our life is not about a life of "separation and differences" lived on the "outside" of us with our brothers and sisters, as we currently act like it is, but rather, our life is about God and True Man within us. Our life is about what God and True Man are doing within us, our life is about "God Happening" within us, about God revealing God within us, which is the understanding of God within us, and our life is about "True Man Happening" within us, of True Man revealing True Man within us, which is the understanding of True Man within us, which is how the "Cycle of God and True Man" moves forward within us, through the medium of the Seed of God and the Seed of True Man hidden by God and True Man within the Creation of God and the Creation of True Man within us. With this "Happening" of God and True Man within us, this "Cycle of God and True Man" within us, occurring within us in the same way that the "cycle of the apple fruit and apple tree" moves forward within the earth, through the medium of the "apple tree" seed being planted or hidden in the earth, and the "apple fruit" seed being planted or hidden in the apple tree. So God is hidden within True Man within us, within the Creation of True Man within us, which is akhirah, or the hereafter within us, while True Man is hidden within the Creation of God within us, which is the dunya or this earth world within us, within the 18,000 universes within us, within the sukun or circle on the top of the Arabic letter "mim" within us, which is Muhammad (Sal.) within us, which in truth can only occur within the 6th life within us, within the House of Wisdom within us, within the Palace of the Soul within us, which is the House of Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him) within us. Which is the life of Divine Analytic Wisdom within us, the wisdom that explains within us, the wisdom within us that steps forward to transform the story of True Man within the story of God within us, into True Man within God within us, and the story of God within the story of True Man within us, into God within True Man within us, to plant and nourish the seed of True Man within the Creation of God within us, and to fertilize the flower of God's Grace within the Tree of True Man within us. Such is His Divine Work within us. For as Bawa teaches us, "Unless this House of Light is built within you before you die, this Palace of the Soul, then your soul must stay with your temporary life of "separation and differences" in the grave after you die, and you will then have to experience the suffering of the grave, Qiyamah (the Standing Forth; the Day of Reckoning), and an eternal life of "separation from" God." Therefore, my dearest loving sister Aziza, it is only through the grace, the light, and the help of God within us, that we can be successful in our life, not through our own personal effort, in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, not through our personal relationships with our brothers and sisters in the illusory world "outside" of us, not through our prayers and our duty of "separation", and not through our thoughts and intentions, or our learning and understanding, as "separate from" God or True Man within us, because in truth "we" as "separate from" Them don't truly exist. For in truth, it is They within us that truly exist. It is They within us, and what They are doing within us, that is the only real thing within us, the only true thing within us, the only thing that is truly going on, either on the "inside" or the "outside" of us. Everything else is a temporary dream, which if we are not careful, becomes an eternal dream of "separation from" God. In this way, my dearest loving sister Aziza, it is only through the grace of our Shaikh within us, and the truth of God within Him, it is only through the light or wisdom of the 124,000 prophets of God within us, and the help or 'ilm or divine knowledge of God within us, that our life becomes successful, and in this way, it is only in our joining as One with Them within us, that allows our, "Wisdom to reason over our fate, making our life successful." In this way, allowing us each day to become more and more as One with Their understanding of God and True Man within us, allowing us each day to go deeper and deeper into the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), the gift of God for our age, for the Children of God for our age, which is all of us living in this age, allowing Them within us to pull us deeper and deeper into Themselves, into the One True Self within us, from which we have all come, like the rain water falling into the ocean from within it has come, becoming again the "oneness of the ocean and the rain water", no longer the rain, no longer existing as the rain "separate from" the ocean. 4. The Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is "faith and trust" in God, & in the "stuff of God" within us Overview of Topic: This is what causes the grace of God from the Primal One within us to flow, as the Master Guru's wondrous "Pearl of Wisdom" within us, reviving the pure light of truth within us, by awakening the wisdom surrounding our soul, which if we continue to nourish with our faith & trust in God, and with the life and teaching of God for our age, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), both "inside" and "outside" of us, will become the Deen within the Deen within us, which is the understanding of the Deen within us, revealing Muhammad (Sal.) within us, and Muhammad (Sal.) within Muhammad (Sal.) within us, which is the understanding of Muhammad (Sal.) within us, which is the Nur Muhammad of God within us, and in this way, permanently opening the eye of wisdom on the forehead of Adam within us (peace be upon Him). Allowing Adam within us (peace be upon Him) to recover from His fall from Grace, from the spit of satan, which is the sperm of man, and from the dog of desire, which is the ovum of women, and complete His part in completing the intention of God and True Man within us, which is for Adam (peace be upon Him) to become the house of wisdom, the palace of the soul within us, the house of Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him) within us, and to receive from God as His reward, the crown of the 124,000 prophets, and to so sit in the first heaven within us as God's first prophet, pointing the way to Muhammad (Sal.), to God's last prophet in akhirah, in the 8th heaven, in the kingdom of God within us, and to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within Him Text of Letter: For example, one day this child was sitting on our front porch of the house of Crisi and Louie, with Muhammad Sulaiman (Curtis Wahlgren), who had come over for a visit, and after handing "us", to our Shaikh within us, and to God within Him, this child asked Muhammad Sulaiman the following question, "What is the most important thing on the path of God?" And Muhammad Sulaiman said that it was wisdom, clarity, understanding, and the qualities of God, and things of a similar nature, all of which seemed to be very important things when he said it. But then this child handed his answer to Bawa within this child, and to God within Him, which is the way this child has learned to live, living as a slave at the feet of His Holiness, and of God within Him, and the following answer came back. "No, none of these things are the most important thing, because nothing can move forward in our spiritual life without the flow of God's grace, and this grace of God can only begin to flow within us when we start to trust in God, more than we trust in "ourselves", in the "world" that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, in our "brothers and sisters" who are living in this illusory world with us, and in our personal relationships with them, like mother and father, brother and sister, friend or lover, husband or wife, children, play mates, work mates, or pray mates." In this way, we sometimes get into all of the things that "we can do" for God, like praying, doing duty, and trying to speak and act with the qualities of God, that we forget this most important thing, this "faith and trust" in God", instead of "faith and trust' in all of these other things that are all connected in one way or another to "our" life of "separation from" God on the "outside" of us, and not really connected to God, to our Shaikh within us, and to God within Him, are not really connected to "our" life of "Oneness with" God within us, which is where all the real action in our life is occurring, within our very own hearts. 5. The Next Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is correctly "letting go" and correctly "holding on" Overview of Topic: The next most important thing is letting go of what we are currently holding onto, which is the world, and our brothers and sisters, that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, and holding onto again what we let go of a long time ago, holding onto again our wisdom and the truth of God within us, which is our Shaikh within us, and God within Him. Allowing our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, to separate us from all that separates us from God and True Man within us, and joining us again with all that is "One with" God and True Man within us. Text of Letter: Then this child asked Muhammad Sulaiman what was the next most important thing, after "faith and trust" in God, and he said "something", and this child handed his "something" to Bawa within us, and to God within Him, and the following answer came. "No, the next most important thing, after faith and trust in God, is letting it happen, is letting our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, joined as One with Us, and Us joined as One with Them, finish what They have started 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, revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us." 6. Starting Each Day By Re-establishing Our Connecting To God - and True Man within us, by joining with Bawa to say the, "Invocation To The Guru" Overview of Topic: In each age God provides the Children of God for that age, with everything that they need to be successful in their life, making God sufficient for each age, without having to depend on anything or anyone who came before their age, even if it was stuff that came directly from God for some earlier age, because everything provided by God for a previous age is always gradually changed and destroyed by those who did not truly accept what God gave to His Children in a previous age. In this way, everything that we need for this age, to be successful in this age, for our wisdom to reason over our fate, for the qualities of our inner selves to be victorious over the qualities of our outer selves, has been personally and ever so lovingly provided by God for this age, as the life and teaching of God for this age, as the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), both on the "outside" and on the "inside" of us living in this age. This is our true birthright, our true heritage in this age, for everyone living in this age. Therefore, to re-establish what we have lost in this age, which is our direct connection to God within us, and to the Stuff of God within us, we have but to use what God has already given us, or has already started within us, that God has given all of His Children for this age, which is all of us living in this age, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), that God has personally and every so lovingly placed both within us and "outside" of us, both within our heart and within our dream life on the "outside" of us. In this way, the battle of the Children of God for this age is to regain what they have lost, and to properly use it to return to God within them, to regain their direct connection to God, which is their wisdom, and to use it to return to the truth of God within them, which is the "Oneness of God and True Man" within them, as the grace, the wisdom, and the 'ilm or divine knowledge of God within them, as the Triple Flame within the Triple Flame of God within them, which is the understanding of the Triple Flame within them, that allows the Three within us to again become the One within us, that allows the Nur Muhammad on the forehead of Adam within us (peace be upon Him), as the dunya or earth world within us, to become Allah Muhammad or True Man within us, as akhirah or the hereafter within us, as firdaus or the 8th heaven of God, as the kingdom of God within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God, and the Creation of True Man, within us. In this way, we must use God to get to God, not keep trying to use what God has discarded to get to God, we must stop trying to get to God using our life of "separation and differences", and the life of our brothers and sisters, in the world we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us. All of this stuff of the world is what God has discarded. Therefore, instead of using "ourselves" or of using "our relationships" in the world to get to God, we must try to directly use God within us, and directly use the stuff of God within us, to get to God. In this way, each day we must try joining with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, to get to God within us. And one way of doing this, that this child has learned to do each day, is to join with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, to recite the "Invocation To The Guru" that Bawa has given us. In this way, He gave it to us "outside" of us, from God within us, and we join with Him within us, to return it to God within Him. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Text of Letter: Then this child reminded Muhammad Sulaiman about the beautiful prayer or Dua' that Bawa has taught us to say, on page 11, in the beginning of the book, "The Pearl of Wisdom", which we call, "Invocation To The Guru", which seems to summarize this whole process of strengthening our faith and trust in God within us, and joining with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, to bring our faith to maturity as Iman, as absolute faith, certitude, and determination in God. For as Bawa teaches us in the "Kalimah Song", about the importance of our faith and trust in God, and about transforming our faith and trust into Iman, "If you do not have the Iman of Kalimah, you cannot follow the Causal Muhammad. You will have to stand alone and cry." And following this most important step of faith transformed onto Iman, by this letting go, of "our" letting our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, joined as One with Us, and Us joined as One with Them, finish what They have already started 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. In this way, this "Invocation to The Guru", is a prayer or Dua' which this child has been saying for the last 2 years, since a copy of the book, "The Pearl of Wisdom" literally fell into my lap in the summer of 2000, a prayer this child says everyday as part of our prayers, especially our morning prayers, as part of our first attempt during the day to sit at the feet of our Shaikh, and of God within Him, so They can "teach us what we do not know". For this Dua' beautifully sets the tone for the whole day, and for our whole life, and has proven "invaluable" for this child trying each day, and especially each morning, to get on, and stay on, the path of God within us, the path of Iman within us, the path of unshakable, absolute faith, certitude, and determination that in truth, "God alone exists". 7. Coming To Know The Manner of The 28 Letters of Life Within Us - that lead us, step by step, back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us Becoming the form of the Iman of Kalimah, which is the form of the 24 letters of life within us, which then expands to become 25th letter of life within us, the Nur Muhammad within us, opening within us the path of Wisdom or Light, of a direct connection with God within us, of the 25th letter joining as one with the 26th letter, which is the soul, by liberating the life of our soul, which is Jesus (peace be upon Him) from the cross of our elemental body, by pulling out the 5 nails of desire for earth, fire, water, air, and ether. Then becoming the 27th letter by going on Mi'raj, by finding and joining as one with God within us, with the Primal One within us, with Allahu in the open space within us, in our innermost heart, becoming the Nur Muhammad within the Nur Muhammad, which is the understanding of the Nur Muhammad, allowing the Nur Muhammad to commune with Allah directly, singing the Love Song of the 6,666 verses of the Holy Qur'an to Allah, becoming in the process, Allah Muhammad or True Man, having becoming again One with the "Oneness of God and True Man". Re-establishing in this way, the 28th letter of life as Insan Muhammad within us, that had been previously lost to the dog of desire within us, when the Angel Gabriel (A.S.) plucked out the spit of satan from Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, allowing the 28 letters of life to reveal the Essence of the Qur'an, the Suratal Fatihah within us, the Cause within us, the eye of the Qur'an, the Umm al-Qur'an, the Mother of Man's wisdom, justice and faith within us, and revealing the form of the Suratal Fatihah within us, the 5 letter form of Alhamd, of Alif, Lam, Meem, Hay, and Dahl, which Bawa teaches us in the Kalimah Song (4/26/72) is the "Secret form of the truth of Allah", and in this way, allowing us to, "Open our wisdom, stand in the center, and look intently at ourselves". For as Bawa teaches us, "My son, you must never find fault with any of God's Creations. You must realize that the Center is within you. You must open your wisdom, stand in the Center, and look intently at yourself. Then you will understand the point." "Do not waste your time looking at other people. If you do, everything will go wrong, because each person sees his own faults in others." [Note: for more on the mystical nature of man's body, and the role of the 28 letters of life in our journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, please read Chapters 27 (The Story of Creation), 28 (The Tree in the Desert), 29 (The Lotus Pond), 30 (The Mystical Meaning of Man's Body), and 31 (The Twenty Eight Arabic Alphabets in Man's Body), all in the book, "The Pearl of Wisdom", but remember not to read any of these Chapter alone, without first becoming One with your Shaikh, and with God within Him, which is really easy to do, just "Intend as God Intends", and then say the word "Bawa" before you start to read, inviting Him to "teach you what you do not know"] 8. Knowing The Difference Between Salat and True Prayer - as the beginning of the journey back into God, and as the ending of the journey back into God, of the journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man", which was hidden by God within our wisdom within us My dearest loving sister Aziza, this is the path of True Prayer within us, of swimming in the Ocean of 'Ilm or Divine Knowledge within us, in which true Unity with God can occur within us, not performing salat with our brothers and sisters in a Mosque. We must realize that salat, the traditional formal 5 times prayer practiced in Islam, and True Prayer are very, very different, and reflect two very different things within us, one is a demonstration of unity between the brothers and sisters, and the other is become One with the One that is God, becoming the "Oneness of God and True Man", which in truth is God and True Man within us. For as Bawa teaches us, "Salat is not about prayer, it is about unity, for true prayer is an entirely different section." And as Bawa teaches us in the "Kalimah Song" (4/26/72), "He alone may worship Him. No one else can do this." "You cannot worship with the body. It is the Life and Wisdom united with each other, in a state of propriety mingled with the Nur, and in the concentration of that Light, that One must worship. The One has to worship the One who Is." "That state of worship will become Him and That will be understood as That. It is this state that is deathless for which there is no rebirth." "In that state the Word and the Worship become Him, and the Continuous light and the Wisdom and Nur become Him. That will become the Resplendent Rahman in this world and the next. Other than This there is no other way to be the Ruler over here and there." My dearest loving sister Aziza, may we all come to appreciate the difference between salat and True Prayer, both are important, but salat does not in itself fulfill our obligation to pray to God. It is a first step that teaches us about the necessary unity that we must have with our brothers and sisters, in order to eventually become One with "God and True Man" within us, a journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, that begins with salat as a prerequisite to going on the journey that ends as True Prayer. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 9. Learning The Lessons of Truth - while we walk the path of God with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him And as a way to learn all of this, all of the lessons of truth that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, before we even came to this earth world, which is really within us, not "outside" of us, before we even came to God's "School of Contrasts" within us, the lessons of truth required to successfully walk the path of God with God within us, with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, so our faith will correctly mature into Iman, and so our salat will correctly mature into True Prayer, may we all start and end our day, and may we all break our day up into little pieces, by saying the following prayer or Dua', that Bawa has given us to say, may we all say the "Invocation To The Guru". That would be good. That would be very, very good. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Invocation To The Guru: Disciple: "To let Grace spring forth, To let darkness vanish, To let the love of Guru grow, To let qualities be purified, O Graceful Guru, give me a remedy." Disciple: "Swami, show us a way to dispel the darkness in the world." Guru: "O Son, I shall sing a song, and then answer your question. "For the Silent One to appear as Grace, To find the world as a tiny thing, To destroy sorrow, which is a maiden, With help from the Master Guru's graceful way, Seek and learn, standing on the path, And ask with a melting heart." "Let the body become the true mystery, Dominant with grace. Let the seed be destroyed, blinding both eyes. Enshrine in thy heart, the lamp of Guru's graceful words. With a heart of love, see Aathi as a thing. "Spread the Guru's words with delightful heart, Unfurl the flag of Guru's words everywhere. Then the fate that accompanies thee, Shall turn into dust." "My true and perfect pupils, gems of my hearts, Ask for the remedy, in order to shine everywhere." Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 10. Closing Comments And Prayer Please give my love and salams to your wonderful husband Elliot, and to your two beautiful sons, God has certainly blessed my sister Aziza with a wonderful life, the life that she exactly needs to complete her intention, as God has also done for your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). It is all, always perfect. This is why Bawa teaches us, "A Sufi is one who settles into stillness through the realization that everything is perfect." May we both settle into stillness in the same way, and become an example to all of our brothers and sisters of the Straight Path of God, the Suratal Mustaqueem, the path that leads us directly back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, from which we have all come, like the rain falling back into the ocean, from which it has come, becoming again the ocean, becoming again the "Oneness of the ocean and the rain", no longer just the rain, no longer existing "separate from" the ocean. Please also give my love and salams to all of our brothers and sisters, and tell them that Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) loves them very, very much, and that they are always in my prayers. And please share this sharing with them, for only then will these words of wisdom go into our heart, penetrate deep into our heart, into our innermost heart, as the "Common Wealth" of God for our age, as the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), of our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased within Him), the gift of God for our age, and of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), the Children of God for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). 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. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) End of Spiritual Letter 37 - expanded version - ......................... or Go To Spiritual Letter 37: Table of Contents Original Version Related Material or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
Spiritual Letter 37 - Expanded Version About Spiritual Letter 37 Title: "The Most Important Thing On The Path of God Is Faith" Date: December 31, 2002 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), to: Aziza Weiss Home Page-Spiritual Letters Go To Spiritual Letter 38 Letter 37: Original Version Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Letter 36 Letter 37: Related Material Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Letter 37 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 brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter: 1. Introduction - to Spiritual Letter 37 2. Ask Him, Join Him, and Let Him - these are the three steps that this child has learn to use each day in order to return to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us 3. See The Path of God As An Endurance Race - and learn to "hang in there" no matter what happens, by joining in partnership with your Shaikh within you, and with God within Him, handing everything that comes to you to Him, with the faith and trust, with the patience, contentment and gratitude, that everything is Ok as it is, saying to God, "It is Your Property, Your Duty" 4. The Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is "faith and trust" in God, & in the "stuff of God" within us 5. The Next Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is to correctly "let go" of what we have incorrectly learned in our ignorance to hold onto, which is the world "outside" of us, and to correctly "hold onto" what our Shaikh within us is holding onto, which we have incorrectly learned in our ignorance to let go of, which is God within Him, which is our Shaikh within us, and God within Him 6. Starting Each Day By Re-establishing Our Connecting To God - and True Man within us, by joining with Bawa to say the, "Invocation To The Guru" us, step by step, back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us 8. Knowing The Difference Between Salat and True Prayer - as the beginning of the journey back into God, and as the ending of the journey back into God, of the journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man", which was hidden by God within our wisdom within us 9. Learning The Lessons of Truth - while we walk the path of God with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him 10. Closing Comments And Prayer - learning to become the "Common Wealth" of God, and how to do "Heart's Work" Text of Spiritual Letter: 1. Introduction - to Spiritual Letter 37 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. 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 sister Aziza (Bitsy Weiss). Thank you for your note, and for sending your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) the following beautiful prayer or Dua', "May God Protect us always, and remove the outside, and reveal the inside." 2. Ask Him, Join Him, and Let Him - these are the three steps that this child has learn to use each day in order to return to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us My dearest loving sister Aziza, your beautiful prayer or Dua' says it all, "May God Protect us always, and remove the outside, and reveal the inside." That says it all. And God will most certainly do that Divine Work within us, if that be our true intention. We are all very good Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), and our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, will most certainly do this Divine Work within us, within each of the Children of God for this age, which is each of us living in this age, if we but properly ask Him to do it, then join with Him to do it, and then let Him do it, let Him destroy us and reveal Himself in the process, let Him destroy us as "separate from" God within us, and reveal us as "One with" God within us. And He will do this Divine Work within us, within us buried within the love and compassion of God within the heart of our Shaikh, and within the truth of God within Him, in the same way that an apple seed is destroyed to reveal the apple fruit hidden within the apple tree hidden within it, when the apple seed having realized, understood, accepted, and joined with the truth of itself, that naturally emerges from within itself, the truth, as Bawa teaches us, that, "It is an apple seed buried within the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple tree hidden within it to grow". And having realized, understood, accepted, and joined within this truth, then joins with the earth to reveal the apple, to reveal the sweet taste of the apple hidden within the beautiful apple tree that is hidden within it, joins with the earth to tell the story of the apple fruit hidden within the apple tree that is hidden within it. My dearest loving sister Aziza, may we never doubt or forget this truth of our life, of each of our lives, of each of us living in the world today, the truth about us that Bawa teaches us, the truth that, "We are the seed of God, hidden within the seed of True Man, hidden within the Creation of God within us, that we are the seed of the sweet taste of God's fruit, hidden within the seed of the beautiful Tree of True Man, hidden within the wisdom of God within us, and that wisdom of God within us contains everything necessary for the Tree of True Man within us, and then the Fruit of God within It, to be revealed within us, within the Creation of God within us." For it has all been lovingly hidden by God in this way within each one of us, within each of the Children of God for this age, which is each one of us living in this age, just waiting to be reveal, when having realized, understood, and accepted this truth of our life, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), both "inside" and "outside" of us, we join as One with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God and of the Creation of True Man within us. In this way, my dearest loving sister Aziza, what happens to us is completely in our hands, not God's hand, because God has already given us everything that He has, and He is just waiting to see how we will use it. And how we will use it, before we die, is even a mystery to God, how we will ultimately decide to use what He has given us, to use our true heritage, our true birth right, is indeed even a mystery to God, either giving up our life for His, so He can live within us, as He gave up His life for ours, so we could live within Him, either surrendering to the wisdom and truth within us that is Him, so He can be revealed within us, as He surrendered to the Oneness and Unity within Him that is us, so we could be revealed within Him. Or selfishly deciding to have our "own thing", our "own life" separate from Him, eventually becoming of no value to us or to anyone else, like the apple seed that fails to germinate in the earth, in the earth that it was placed in, to join with the earth, to tell "the story", to tell the story of what is hidden within it, which is the story of the apple fruit hidden within the story of the apple tree hidden within the apple seed buried within the earth, and when all of these stories have been told, revealing again, the apple seed hidden within the apple, which then becomes buried within the earth. Now each of us must decide how to use it, how to use our true heritage, our true birth right, that was given to us by God, how to use the true destiny of our soul, which is the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, now we must decide how to use what God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each one of us in this age, even before we came here to this earth world, to this "School of Contrasts" created by God, to "teach us what we do not know". Each of us must decide how to use what God has given us, to use what God has given us both on the "outside" of us, and on the "inside" of us, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), to use it to either reveal "us" as "separate from" God within us, which is our current life of no true value, a life of "separation and differences", a selfishly life that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters in the world that we collectively see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, a false life, which when we die in that state, in that temporary state of "separation from" God, we get, we get a false life for eternity, we then get that temporary state of "separation from" God for eternity, we then get an eternal life of "separation from" God, which is our true hell. Or we decide instead to go for the "gold", we decide to give up our selfish temporary life of "separation and differences" for the life of God within us, we decide to put down our life on the "outside" of us, our life of "separation from" God, that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters on the "outside" of us, and instead join with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, to reveal "us" as "One with" God within us, within the Creation of God within us, to reveal "Us" as The Three within the Three, to reveal "Us" as the True Disciple, True Shaikh, and God within the Triple Flame of God within us - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen, which is the understanding of the Triple Flame of God within us, allowing the Three to again become One within us. And in this way, allowing God to complete what He is doing within us, which is revealing God to God within us, and to do all of this before we die, and before the world "outside" of all of us is prematurely destroyed by one of us, for all of us, and when we die in this temporary state of "Oneness with" God, to get that state of "Oneness with" God for eternity, which is true heaven, the true 7 heavens within us, and within that the 8th heaven, and within that the soul of man, the Arsh al-mu'mim, the Throne of the True Believer. In this way, the choice is ours, my dearest loving sister Aziza. May God give us the grace of His Wisdom to make the right choice, to again become One with God and True Man within us, to again become One with the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 3. See The Path of God As An Endurance Race Overview of Topic: In this race called our life, we have to learn to hang in there, no matter what happens, until God and True Man within us complete Their intention within us, until our Shaikh within us reveals True Man within True Man within us, and God within Him, reveals God within God within Him, which They can only do within us when we willingly and voluntarily put down what we are doing "outside" of us, as "separate from" Them, before we die, and pick up what They are doing "inside" of us, as "One with" Us, also before we die. In this way, allowing Us joined as One with Them within us to become the "Three of Us" within us, the Disciple, the Shaikh, and God within us, within the Triple Flame of God - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen - within us, allowing the Triple Flame of God within us to again become One with the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, and in this way, completing the intention of God and True Man within us. Text of Letter: May we always keep in mind that the path of God is like an endurance race, as long as we don't let go of our Shaikh within us, and of God within Him, we will be successful, then They joined as One with Us, and Us joined as One with Them, will do everything else. Then Us as "One with" God and True Man within us will join together, with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, to complete God's intention within us, which is to reveal God to God within us, by first revealing True Man to True Man within us, for the benefit of everything within us, by allowing God to answer the question God asked of God within us, the question, "Who am I?, that God asked of God in anathi within us, which is God's time of darkness or lack of understanding within us, which in truth is our current life of "separation and differences", that we are currently living with our brothers and sisters, in the illusory world that we currently see in our collective ignorance as existing "outside" of us. May we both come to understand the beauty and simplicity of this truth within us, that our life is not about us, our life is not about us as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, or as "separate from" the Creation of God within us, our life is not about a life of "separation and differences" lived on the "outside" of us with our brothers and sisters, as we currently act like it is, but rather, our life is about God and True Man within us. Our life is about what God and True Man are doing within us, our life is about "God Happening" within us, about God revealing God within us, which is the understanding of God within us, and our life is about "True Man Happening" within us, of True Man revealing True Man within us, which is the understanding of True Man within us, which is how the "Cycle of God and True Man" moves forward within us, through the medium of the Seed of God and the Seed of True Man hidden by God and True Man within the Creation of God and the Creation of True Man within us. With this "Happening" of God and True Man within us, this "Cycle of God and True Man" within us, occurring within us in the same way that the "cycle of the apple fruit and apple tree" moves forward within the earth, through the medium of the "apple tree" seed being planted or hidden in the earth, and the "apple fruit" seed being planted or hidden in the apple tree. So God is hidden within True Man within us, within the Creation of True Man within us, which is akhirah, or the hereafter within us, while True Man is hidden within the Creation of God within us, which is the dunya or this earth world within us, within the 18,000 universes within us, within the sukun or circle on the top of the Arabic letter "mim" within us, which is Muhammad (Sal.) within us, which in truth can only occur within the 6th life within us, within the House of Wisdom within us, within the Palace of the Soul within us, which is the House of Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him) within us. Which is the life of Divine Analytic Wisdom within us, the wisdom that explains within us, the wisdom within us that steps forward to transform the story of True Man within the story of God within us, into True Man within God within us, and the story of God within the story of True Man within us, into God within True Man within us, to plant and nourish the seed of True Man within the Creation of God within us, and to fertilize the flower of God's Grace within the Tree of True Man within us. Such is His Divine Work within us. For as Bawa teaches us, "Unless this House of Light is built within you before you die, this Palace of the Soul, then your soul must stay with your temporary life of "separation and differences" in the grave after you die, and you will then have to experience the suffering of the grave, Qiyamah (the Standing Forth; the Day of Reckoning), and an eternal life of "separation from" God." Therefore, my dearest loving sister Aziza, it is only through the grace, the light, and the help of God within us, that we can be successful in our life, not through our own personal effort, in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, not through our personal relationships with our brothers and sisters in the illusory world "outside" of us, not through our prayers and our duty of "separation", and not through our thoughts and intentions, or our learning and understanding, as "separate from" God or True Man within us, because in truth "we" as "separate from" Them don't truly exist. For in truth, it is They within us that truly exist. It is They within us, and what They are doing within us, that is the only real thing within us, the only true thing within us, the only thing that is truly going on, either on the "inside" or the "outside" of us. Everything else is a temporary dream, which if we are not careful, becomes an eternal dream of "separation from" God. In this way, my dearest loving sister Aziza, it is only through the grace of our Shaikh within us, and the truth of God within Him, it is only through the light or wisdom of the 124,000 prophets of God within us, and the help or 'ilm or divine knowledge of God within us, that our life becomes successful, and in this way, it is only in our joining as One with Them within us, that allows our, "Wisdom to reason over our fate, making our life successful." In this way, allowing us each day to become more and more as One with Their understanding of God and True Man within us, allowing us each day to go deeper and deeper into the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen within us (may God be pleased with Him), the gift of God for our age, for the Children of God for our age, which is all of us living in this age, allowing Them within us to pull us deeper and deeper into Themselves, into the One True Self within us, from which we have all come, like the rain water falling into the ocean from within it has come, becoming again the "oneness of the ocean and the rain water", no longer the rain, no longer existing as the rain "separate from" the ocean. 4. The Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is "faith and trust" in God, & in the "stuff of God" within us Overview of Topic: This is what causes the grace of God from the Primal One within us to flow, as the Master Guru's wondrous "Pearl of Wisdom" within us, reviving the pure light of truth within us, by awakening the wisdom surrounding our soul, which if we continue to nourish with our faith & trust in God, and with the life and teaching of God for our age, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), both "inside" and "outside" of us, will become the Deen within the Deen within us, which is the understanding of the Deen within us, revealing Muhammad (Sal.) within us, and Muhammad (Sal.) within Muhammad (Sal.) within us, which is the understanding of Muhammad (Sal.) within us, which is the Nur Muhammad of God within us, and in this way, permanently opening the eye of wisdom on the forehead of Adam within us (peace be upon Him). Allowing Adam within us (peace be upon Him) to recover from His fall from Grace, from the spit of satan, which is the sperm of man, and from the dog of desire, which is the ovum of women, and complete His part in completing the intention of God and True Man within us, which is for Adam (peace be upon Him) to become the house of wisdom, the palace of the soul within us, the house of Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him) within us, and to receive from God as His reward, the crown of the 124,000 prophets, and to so sit in the first heaven within us as God's first prophet, pointing the way to Muhammad (Sal.), to God's last prophet in akhirah, in the 8th heaven, in the kingdom of God within us, and to the "Oneness of God and True Man" within Him Text of Letter: For example, one day this child was sitting on our front porch of the house of Crisi and Louie, with Muhammad Sulaiman (Curtis Wahlgren), who had come over for a visit, and after handing "us", to our Shaikh within us, and to God within Him, this child asked Muhammad Sulaiman the following question, "What is the most important thing on the path of God?" And Muhammad Sulaiman said that it was wisdom, clarity, understanding, and the qualities of God, and things of a similar nature, all of which seemed to be very important things when he said it. But then this child handed his answer to Bawa within this child, and to God within Him, which is the way this child has learned to live, living as a slave at the feet of His Holiness, and of God within Him, and the following answer came back. "No, none of these things are the most important thing, because nothing can move forward in our spiritual life without the flow of God's grace, and this grace of God can only begin to flow within us when we start to trust in God, more than we trust in "ourselves", in the "world" that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, in our "brothers and sisters" who are living in this illusory world with us, and in our personal relationships with them, like mother and father, brother and sister, friend or lover, husband or wife, children, play mates, work mates, or pray mates." In this way, we sometimes get into all of the things that "we can do" for God, like praying, doing duty, and trying to speak and act with the qualities of God, that we forget this most important thing, this "faith and trust" in God", instead of "faith and trust' in all of these other things that are all connected in one way or another to "our" life of "separation from" God on the "outside" of us, and not really connected to God, to our Shaikh within us, and to God within Him, are not really connected to "our" life of "Oneness with" God within us, which is where all the real action in our life is occurring, within our very own hearts. 5. The Next Most Important Thing On The Path of God - is correctly "letting go" and correctly "holding on" Overview of Topic: The next most important thing is letting go of what we are currently holding onto, which is the world, and our brothers and sisters, that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, and holding onto again what we let go of a long time ago, holding onto again our wisdom and the truth of God within us, which is our Shaikh within us, and God within Him. Allowing our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, to separate us from all that separates us from God and True Man within us, and joining us again with all that is "One with" God and True Man within us. Text of Letter: Then this child asked Muhammad Sulaiman what was the next most important thing, after "faith and trust" in God, and he said "something", and this child handed his "something" to Bawa within us, and to God within Him, and the following answer came. "No, the next most important thing, after faith and trust in God, is letting it happen, is letting our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, joined as One with Us, and Us joined as One with Them, finish what They have started 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, revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us." 6. Starting Each Day By Re-establishing Our Connecting To God - and True Man within us, by joining with Bawa to say the, "Invocation To The Guru" Overview of Topic: In each age God provides the Children of God for that age, with everything that they need to be successful in their life, making God sufficient for each age, without having to depend on anything or anyone who came before their age, even if it was stuff that came directly from God for some earlier age, because everything provided by God for a previous age is always gradually changed and destroyed by those who did not truly accept what God gave to His Children in a previous age. In this way, everything that we need for this age, to be successful in this age, for our wisdom to reason over our fate, for the qualities of our inner selves to be victorious over the qualities of our outer selves, has been personally and ever so lovingly provided by God for this age, as the life and teaching of God for this age, as the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), both on the "outside" and on the "inside" of us living in this age. This is our true birthright, our true heritage in this age, for everyone living in this age. Therefore, to re-establish what we have lost in this age, which is our direct connection to God within us, and to the Stuff of God within us, we have but to use what God has already given us, or has already started within us, that God has given all of His Children for this age, which is all of us living in this age, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), that God has personally and every so lovingly placed both within us and "outside" of us, both within our heart and within our dream life on the "outside" of us. In this way, the battle of the Children of God for this age is to regain what they have lost, and to properly use it to return to God within them, to regain their direct connection to God, which is their wisdom, and to use it to return to the truth of God within them, which is the "Oneness of God and True Man" within them, as the grace, the wisdom, and the 'ilm or divine knowledge of God within them, as the Triple Flame within the Triple Flame of God within them, which is the understanding of the Triple Flame within them, that allows the Three within us to again become the One within us, that allows the Nur Muhammad on the forehead of Adam within us (peace be upon Him), as the dunya or earth world within us, to become Allah Muhammad or True Man within us, as akhirah or the hereafter within us, as firdaus or the 8th heaven of God, as the kingdom of God within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God, and the Creation of True Man, within us. In this way, we must use God to get to God, not keep trying to use what God has discarded to get to God, we must stop trying to get to God using our life of "separation and differences", and the life of our brothers and sisters, in the world we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us. All of this stuff of the world is what God has discarded. Therefore, instead of using "ourselves" or of using "our relationships" in the world to get to God, we must try to directly use God within us, and directly use the stuff of God within us, to get to God. In this way, each day we must try joining with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, to get to God within us. And one way of doing this, that this child has learned to do each day, is to join with Bawa within us, and with God within Him, to recite the "Invocation To The Guru" that Bawa has given us. In this way, He gave it to us "outside" of us, from God within us, and we join with Him within us, to return it to God within Him. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Text of Letter: Then this child reminded Muhammad Sulaiman about the beautiful prayer or Dua' that Bawa has taught us to say, on page 11, in the beginning of the book, "The Pearl of Wisdom", which we call, "Invocation To The Guru", which seems to summarize this whole process of strengthening our faith and trust in God within us, and joining with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, to bring our faith to maturity as Iman, as absolute faith, certitude, and determination in God. For as Bawa teaches us in the "Kalimah Song", about the importance of our faith and trust in God, and about transforming our faith and trust into Iman, "If you do not have the Iman of Kalimah, you cannot follow the Causal Muhammad. You will have to stand alone and cry." And following this most important step of faith transformed onto Iman, by this letting go, of "our" letting our Shaikh within us, and God within Him, joined as One with Us, and Us joined as One with Them, finish what They have already started 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. In this way, this "Invocation to The Guru", is a prayer or Dua' which this child has been saying for the last 2 years, since a copy of the book, "The Pearl of Wisdom" literally fell into my lap in the summer of 2000, a prayer this child says everyday as part of our prayers, especially our morning prayers, as part of our first attempt during the day to sit at the feet of our Shaikh, and of God within Him, so They can "teach us what we do not know". For this Dua' beautifully sets the tone for the whole day, and for our whole life, and has proven "invaluable" for this child trying each day, and especially each morning, to get on, and stay on, the path of God within us, the path of Iman within us, the path of unshakable, absolute faith, certitude, and determination that in truth, "God alone exists". 7. Coming To Know The Manner of The 28 Letters of Life Within Us - that lead us, step by step, back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us Becoming the form of the Iman of Kalimah, which is the form of the 24 letters of life within us, which then expands to become 25th letter of life within us, the Nur Muhammad within us, opening within us the path of Wisdom or Light, of a direct connection with God within us, of the 25th letter joining as one with the 26th letter, which is the soul, by liberating the life of our soul, which is Jesus (peace be upon Him) from the cross of our elemental body, by pulling out the 5 nails of desire for earth, fire, water, air, and ether. Then becoming the 27th letter by going on Mi'raj, by finding and joining as one with God within us, with the Primal One within us, with Allahu in the open space within us, in our innermost heart, becoming the Nur Muhammad within the Nur Muhammad, which is the understanding of the Nur Muhammad, allowing the Nur Muhammad to commune with Allah directly, singing the Love Song of the 6,666 verses of the Holy Qur'an to Allah, becoming in the process, Allah Muhammad or True Man, having becoming again One with the "Oneness of God and True Man". Re-establishing in this way, the 28th letter of life as Insan Muhammad within us, that had been previously lost to the dog of desire within us, when the Angel Gabriel (A.S.) plucked out the spit of satan from Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, allowing the 28 letters of life to reveal the Essence of the Qur'an, the Suratal Fatihah within us, the Cause within us, the eye of the Qur'an, the Umm al-Qur'an, the Mother of Man's wisdom, justice and faith within us, and revealing the form of the Suratal Fatihah within us, the 5 letter form of Alhamd, of Alif, Lam, Meem, Hay, and Dahl, which Bawa teaches us in the Kalimah Song (4/26/72) is the "Secret form of the truth of Allah", and in this way, allowing us to, "Open our wisdom, stand in the center, and look intently at ourselves". For as Bawa teaches us, "My son, you must never find fault with any of God's Creations. You must realize that the Center is within you. You must open your wisdom, stand in the Center, and look intently at yourself. Then you will understand the point." "Do not waste your time looking at other people. If you do, everything will go wrong, because each person sees his own faults in others." [Note: for more on the mystical nature of man's body, and the role of the 28 letters of life in our journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, please read Chapters 27 (The Story of Creation), 28 (The Tree in the Desert), 29 (The Lotus Pond), 30 (The Mystical Meaning of Man's Body), and 31 (The Twenty Eight Arabic Alphabets in Man's Body), all in the book, "The Pearl of Wisdom", but remember not to read any of these Chapter alone, without first becoming One with your Shaikh, and with God within Him, which is really easy to do, just "Intend as God Intends", and then say the word "Bawa" before you start to read, inviting Him to "teach you what you do not know"] 8. Knowing The Difference Between Salat and True Prayer - as the beginning of the journey back into God, and as the ending of the journey back into God, of the journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man", which was hidden by God within our wisdom within us My dearest loving sister Aziza, this is the path of True Prayer within us, of swimming in the Ocean of 'Ilm or Divine Knowledge within us, in which true Unity with God can occur within us, not performing salat with our brothers and sisters in a Mosque. We must realize that salat, the traditional formal 5 times prayer practiced in Islam, and True Prayer are very, very different, and reflect two very different things within us, one is a demonstration of unity between the brothers and sisters, and the other is become One with the One that is God, becoming the "Oneness of God and True Man", which in truth is God and True Man within us. For as Bawa teaches us, "Salat is not about prayer, it is about unity, for true prayer is an entirely different section." And as Bawa teaches us in the "Kalimah Song" (4/26/72), "He alone may worship Him. No one else can do this." "You cannot worship with the body. It is the Life and Wisdom united with each other, in a state of propriety mingled with the Nur, and in the concentration of that Light, that One must worship. The One has to worship the One who Is." "That state of worship will become Him and That will be understood as That. It is this state that is deathless for which there is no rebirth." "In that state the Word and the Worship become Him, and the Continuous light and the Wisdom and Nur become Him. That will become the Resplendent Rahman in this world and the next. Other than This there is no other way to be the Ruler over here and there." My dearest loving sister Aziza, may we all come to appreciate the difference between salat and True Prayer, both are important, but salat does not in itself fulfill our obligation to pray to God. It is a first step that teaches us about the necessary unity that we must have with our brothers and sisters, in order to eventually become One with "God and True Man" within us, a journey back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, that begins with salat as a prerequisite to going on the journey that ends as True Prayer. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 9. Learning The Lessons of Truth - while we walk the path of God with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him And as a way to learn all of this, all of the lessons of truth that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, before we even came to this earth world, which is really within us, not "outside" of us, before we even came to God's "School of Contrasts" within us, the lessons of truth required to successfully walk the path of God with God within us, with our Shaikh within us, and with God within Him, so our faith will correctly mature into Iman, and so our salat will correctly mature into True Prayer, may we all start and end our day, and may we all break our day up into little pieces, by saying the following prayer or Dua', that Bawa has given us to say, may we all say the "Invocation To The Guru". That would be good. That would be very, very good. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Invocation To The Guru: Disciple: "To let Grace spring forth, To let darkness vanish, To let the love of Guru grow, To let qualities be purified, O Graceful Guru, give me a remedy." Disciple: "Swami, show us a way to dispel the darkness in the world." Guru: "O Son, I shall sing a song, and then answer your question. "For the Silent One to appear as Grace, To find the world as a tiny thing, To destroy sorrow, which is a maiden, With help from the Master Guru's graceful way, Seek and learn, standing on the path, And ask with a melting heart." "Let the body become the true mystery, Dominant with grace. Let the seed be destroyed, blinding both eyes. Enshrine in thy heart, the lamp of Guru's graceful words. With a heart of love, see Aathi as a thing. "Spread the Guru's words with delightful heart, Unfurl the flag of Guru's words everywhere. Then the fate that accompanies thee, Shall turn into dust." "My true and perfect pupils, gems of my hearts, Ask for the remedy, in order to shine everywhere." Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 10. Closing Comments And Prayer Please give my love and salams to your wonderful husband Elliot, and to your two beautiful sons, God has certainly blessed my sister Aziza with a wonderful life, the life that she exactly needs to complete her intention, as God has also done for your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). It is all, always perfect. This is why Bawa teaches us, "A Sufi is one who settles into stillness through the realization that everything is perfect." May we both settle into stillness in the same way, and become an example to all of our brothers and sisters of the Straight Path of God, the Suratal Mustaqueem, the path that leads us directly back into the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, from which we have all come, like the rain falling back into the ocean, from which it has come, becoming again the ocean, becoming again the "Oneness of the ocean and the rain", no longer just the rain, no longer existing "separate from" the ocean. Please also give my love and salams to all of our brothers and sisters, and tell them that Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) loves them very, very much, and that they are always in my prayers. And please share this sharing with them, for only then will these words of wisdom go into our heart, penetrate deep into our heart, into our innermost heart, as the "Common Wealth" of God for our age, as the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), of our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased within Him), the gift of God for our age, and of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), the Children of God for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). 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. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) End of Spiritual Letter 37 - expanded version - ......................... or Go To Spiritual Letter 37: Table of Contents Original 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: December 31, 2002
