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Going Up The Mountain
Continuation of The Tenth Test
By His Holiness M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
(may God be pleased with Him, and with Us)
Selection: Chapter 3
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Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim - In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
His Holiness Teaches Us:
I give you my love, My children, My brothers and sisters, My sons and daughters. Yesterday we visited the city of the world and watched a huge, demonic beast destroy the city, terrorize the people, and kill and gobble up whomever it could catch.
We saw some people hiding in fear, and others trying to run away. Then we saw the beast burning in the fire of its own hell.
My children, you witnessed the suffering that the beast experienced in that hell, didn't you?
Both the fire and the beast are the four hundred trillion, ten thousand qualities of maya, or illusion, that burn within man. Like that demonic beast, man is burned by every bad quality and every evil thought or intention He has.
The flames of his own thoughts consume him, as he marks time, awaiting the sun or the moon, counting the days and months and years. He is burning in the very time that he so carefully records. This is what is called the world.
The huge mountain which towers over the city of the world is the hard rock of man's heart, the mountain of stubbornness, arrogance, karma, and all the evil qualities that he has gathered and nurtured within himself.
This hard rock grew out of the five elements of earth, fire, water, air, and ether, which are always operating within the form of man.
Yesterday we heard a voice calling from the top of the mountain,
"Son of so-and-so, come at once! Your time is up.Your rizq, the food and water
allotted to you in this world, has come to an end."
It was death calling.
To find out where this call is coming from we have to climb up the rocky mountain of our heart, and go beyond.
Children, there is only one path that will lead us upward, and it is so narrow that only one person can walk along it at a time.
You must come within me, and together we will go upward, holding onto the chain of faith, certitude, and determination. This chain of iman comes from inside my heart.
Hold on to it firmly, strengthen your faith, and climb with me up the mountain. This is how you must ascend the innermost heart of the qalb.
Look, we have come to the Zamzam well. From here we have to travel through another narrow passageway. Now we are at the level of the kursi, the eye of wisdom. Stand here and look down at the city. What you see is the world. Come, stay awhile and observe all that is there.
Now we must climb back down through this passageway and continue our journey. From this point on we have to travel by air. There are two air currents, one that goes up and one that goes down. If we follow the downward current, it will push us down, so we have to be careful to catch the upward current.
Now fly with me and ride this current to the top of the mountain.
Come, my children. Come to the 'arsh, to the throne of Allah. Standing here, you can look all around and see thousands of trees covering the mountainside. Do you smell the wonderful fragrance emitted by the sandalwood trees and other incense trees?
And look at the beautiful lime trees, and the orange, apple and jack fruit trees, all heavily laden with fruits.
Now look down at the animal we saw earlier gazing on the mountainside. They cannot appreciate the beautiful fruits that grow there. Do you see how they take one bite, then throw them aside and trample on them?
It is true that their outer forms are those of human beings, but inside they have changed. This can be clearly seen and understood when you observe them from the top of this mountain.
Now, my children, from here let us go out into the space beyond. Do you see any human beings here? No, there is nothing but a beautiful, green wide-open space.
Ah, it is so lovely.
There are four kinds of cooling breezes blowing here, carrying with them the sweet fragrance of flowers. This air, which arises from God and the truth, blows freely and is so very cooling and comforting. We have come to the first heaven.
Lets move on now. Look, do you see that smooth, shining square of green? It glistens like a brilliant gem. This is where that call was coming from.
Listen! The voice is calling once more.
"O men,"
It says,
"Creations of God! According to your destiny, the food and water that was kept on
earth for you has now come to an end. Come!"
Look down again at the city. Although only one call went out from here, forty thousand people are racing frantically up the mountain in answer to it.
Once again, relatives and friends are running to the foot of the mountain, clutching at those who were called, trying in vain to hold them back.
Listen to them weeping and crying out.
"Come back, my son! Oh, my father, don't go. Mother! Don't leave us! Oh, wait my
brother! My sister! Stay!"
In so many ways they are trying to hold back those who were called. But nothing can stop them.
Look how they push the others away and come running, with their hair disheveled. As soon as the call is sounded, all of them dash up the mountainside and rush wildly toward this green square.
It is only twelve feet by twelve feet, but it swallows up all forty thousand of them. The moment they step onto it, they disappear. They came to this world, and now they must leave it. All who are born will one day die.
My children, we must learn how to cut our connection to death.
Two things exist in this body. They are light and earth. The light belongs to the soul. It is God's treasure. The earth belongs to the body; that is karma.
What is known as the world was made out of one fistful of earth. All creations belong to the earth and will one day be called back and returned to the earth.
This call will not come for us if we return what we owe during our lifetime. But if we keep within us the things of the world, then we will be called to return them.
Look how the people come running when they are called. Only those who die before death will not hear the call.
If you do not have a connection to the earth, you will not be pulled by death.
But if you have desire, then desire will pull you. If you have attachments, attachments will pull you. If you have blood ties, blood ties will pull you. If you have illusion, illusion will pull you. If you have treachery, treachery will pull you. If you have fire, fire will pull you.
Whatever you have a connection to, that same thing will pull you. One magnet pulls another. This is death.
But if you have no connection to worldly things, you will not be pulled. Your connection to this world is the thing that must die. Do you understand this?
Now, my children, you wait here and I will go closer to that square of green. See how it shines like an emerald? Its surface is very smooth, without a ditch or a furrow.
Look, I am walking on it, and it did not swallow me. I can walk around the whole square, but it does not pull me into it. Only those whose names have been called will disappear into this square. That is destiny.
Now my children, let's go in a different direction. Look, a man is seated under the tree over there. His face is so beautiful, more radiant than the full moon, and lovelier than a lotus flower.
The resplendence of His face fills the whole world. On His head He wears a crown inlaid with 124,000 gems. His face, hands, and feet, and clothes are all so exquisite.
Let us go closer. His hands are outstretched, and He is calling to us. Listen, can you hear what He is saying,
"O slaves of God, my children, God created you. He has undiminishing love for
you. He has given you food and limitless wealth and grace."
"My children, at one time I was earth, and God took that earth and made it into a
form. When I understood Him and praised Him, He made Me beautiful and gave
Me this station."
"First, Allah created Me, and then through Me He created all of you. Everything
that appears from Me came out as forms, as shapes, and as lives."
"Then He sent the 124,000 prophets, the olis, who have realized absolute faith
(iman), the qutbs, who can explain divine analytic wisdom, the auliya, who are
the favorites of God, and the gnanis, who have grace-awakened wisdom."
"They were all sent here as children who had received Allah's wealth. And God
made the joy of these children into a crown and gave it to me. Do you see the
crown I am wearing?"
"My children, give me your joy, and the goodness you have found. Turn it into a
permanent wealth and come to me. Do not waste this fistful of earth that was
given to you. Do not destroy your birth. Search for and realize fulfillment."
"Your Father, Allah, your Rahman, is watching you."
"He has entrusted you with His property (the form of the Nur Muhammad), and
you must return to Him all that He gave to you."
"Return the wealth and the truth that came from Him, return His good qualities,
and return His duties and actions, His wilayats."
"In the form of Nur Muhammad, God has given these to you as trusted property,
as the wealth of grace, the wealth of the soul, the wealth of truth, and the wealth
of divine knowledge, of 'ilm."
"If you return this trust to Him in its original form without destroying it or spoiling
it, He will give you His wealth, just as He gave it to me. You too must know this.
Do not waste that which was given to you."
"This is my prayer,
'O God, save my children! Do not let them go on the wrong path. Bring
them back to the good path, as You brought me back.'"
My children, do you know who this being is? He is our original Father, Adam (may the blessings of God be upon Him). He is Bawa Adam (A.S.).
God took one fistful of earth and made it into a human form, and gave it a radiance (the form of the Nur Muhammad). That form (of earth) was our Father, Adam (may the blessings of God be upon Him), and from Him, Eve (may the blessings of God be upon Her) was created.
Come, my children, let's go closer to Him. He is speaking again,
"Have all of you come to me?"
"Precious jeweled lights of my eyes, your joy and your wealth have become
my joy and my wealth. They belong to me."
"And you yourselves have come here to meet me."
Now wait for a moment, my children. Adam (A.S.) is speaking to me.
"O my son, come to me. And just as you have come, bring along your
brothers and sisters.
"Tell them that they must return to Allah the property which He entrusted to
them."
"Take my children on the right path, in the primal beginning, in this world,
and in the hereafter, in awwal, dunya, and akhirah."
"Cut away whatever is bad in them and help them accept what is good
(within them), so they will conduct themselves in that way."
"Help them to return the truth to Allah."
My children, did you hear what Adam (may the blessings of God be upon Him) told me? Did you see how he kissed me and embraced me with love? He praised me and told me many secrets of God.
Come closer, children, he is giving us his blessings, and his permission to go.
"As-salamu 'alaikum. May the peace of God be with you, children"
"Wa 'alaikumus-salam. And may His peace be upon you also, Father."
Let us go now. We have to continue on our way and see some more.
My children, next we have to walk along this slope, were there are one thousand and one wells lined up in a long row.
Fires of suffering are blazing within the walls of these wells, and insects, worms, and snakes are crawling out of them. Look! There are dead bodies on the ground all around the wells. How did they die? What killed them?
My children, these wells are the one thousand and one energies of illusion, filled with the poisons and sufferings of hell. Do you know who these corpses are? They are the people who drank that poisoned water and died.
They boasted,
"My race, my religion, my philosophy",
And endlessly recited different mantras and prayers.
They practiced mesmerism, and performed magic and cunning tricks or tantras, and elemental miracles or siddhis. They made gods out of the sun, moon, and stars; out of earth, fire, water, air, and ether; and out of rats, cats, horses, donkeys, lions, tigers, foxes, dogs, snakes, scorpions, eagles, and vultures.
They put their faith in these created things, and toiled for all these false gods of their own making. They even made demons, ghosts, and satans into gods. Instead of worshipping God, they worshipped His creations.
Understand this, my grandchildren. There is no God other than the One God. There is no equal or parallel to Him.
Never put faith in anything but Allah.
Every one of these dead people produced his own energy, and believed in it, devoted his time to it, and died from that very energy. That was what they searched for in this world, and that was the state they lived in (and died in).
My children, you and those born with you must not partake of even one drop from these wells. Such water is not good for a human being. It comes from the wickedness of hell, and those who drink it die.
Of their own free will they drink that poisonous water which oozes out of the seven hell, and then they perish in illusion.
Look the earth will not consume these corpses. Not even the demons will eat them. Only the worms and scorpions and snakes that are crawling out of the wells will devour that flesh.
And now the fire has also come to consume them. They are burning in the very flames they started, perishing in the energy of the maya arising from the wells. Can you smell the foul odor of the burning bodies?
Even when these people were alive, they had an evil stench about them, that came from eating the murdered things of karma and drinking the poison of the thousand and one wells.
They were diseased from this poison when they were alive, and even now in death it is following them, and causing them great suffering. Their actions are all being engulfed in the fire (of hell).
My children, you must realize that no matter how long a man lives, one day he has to go, and he will go either to the right or the wrong side, to good or to evil.
His good deeds will bring merit, but his evil deeds will bring him to hell. Whoever keeps the things of hell within him while he is in the world, he will know the suffering of hell, and in the hereafter, he will suffer from illusion and from his base desires, or nafs.
Such a man will have no peace or tranquility, here or in the hereafter.
However, even though some people experience illness, difficulties, and the suffering of hell while they are in the world, they have the determination to search for the help of that One and only Great One.
During their lifetime they try to rid themselves of evil. And with God's help they are cured of many of these illnesses and sorrows. They are the ones who will find peace in the hereafter.
Other people may appear to be happy in the world, but inside they are burning in the fire of hell. They may smile on the outside, but on the inside they are suffering and crying.
They dress well and say that they are enjoying life, but inside they are filled with worry and sorrow. Even though they appear to be peaceful, a terrible disease is tormenting and killing them. Not even for a second do they find any peace.
There is no peace for a man who has the world within him, whether he is a king or a beggar, a rich man or a poor man, learned or unlearned. Even the poets and those who call themselves swamis and wise men, or gnanis, have no peace, if they have kept the world within them.
For such men, there is no comfort either in this world or in the hereafter, because they carry over with them what they have gathered here. In the world they are lured by the advertisements of hell, and in the hereafter they suffer from the results of that hell.
But the one who does not accept the world will have joy in the hereafter. We must understand this clearly.
My children, let us travel still further on our journey. Oh, look at that shining crystal!
Do you see the many different colors emanating from it? And within it is a small amount of water, in which you can see fish and crabs and other beings. Look intently at the beauty of this water. It is not at all like the water in the wells (we just saw). Do you see the resplendent light coming from it? It is even brighter than the sun.
The water in this crystal has seventy thousand different tastes. If you can drink just one drop, your whole form will change into a form of beauty.
My children, gaze into this water. Look! The fish and crabs have become like precious gems, like gold and shining emeralds. Do you see those tiny insects? They too look incredibly beautiful.
Whatever falls into this water keeps changing and changing until it becomes a form of great loveliness. How subtle this water is! Within it you can see the resplendence of God and the beauty of each of His qualities.
My children, Allah's greetings of peace and supplications, His salams and salawats,
resonate there in that water of divine knowledge.
There you will find His representatives, His prophets, His olis, qutbs, auliya, and all those who know Him.
Whoever falls into this water of divine knowledge ('ilm) will keep changing, until the taste of Allah is within him and he becomes the beauty of Allah.
Do you understand what this shining crystal is, my children? It is the innermost heart of a true human being.
Hidden within that heart is a secret place, and within that place is a tiny piece of flesh which is the throne of the true believer (mu'mim), the arshul-mu'mim.
That small piece of flesh cannot be destroyed by anything. Neither earth, nor fire, nor water, nor air, nor ether; neither maya, satan, hell, nor the world can touch it or destroy it.
On the Day of Questioning when man is called back, at the time of Qiyamah, this is what will be raised up, this piece of flesh which never perishes. This is the ka'bah, the place within the heart to which each man must make his pilgrimage, or hajj.
He must enter within this piece of flesh to receive the wealth of the three worlds, (awwal, dunya, and akhirah, and the wealth of these three worlds is the Triple Flame of God - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen).
There within that piece of flesh he will find light, and within that light is the soul, the ruh. Within that soul is the wealth and grace of Allah, His Rahmat. And within that grace is Allah's power and His qualities.
Flowing forth from those qualities and from that innermost heart, known as Ahmad, is the water of divine knowledge ('ilm), and Allah's ninety-nine duties and actions, His
wilayats.
When the heart of a true human being has reached the state of perfection, you will find within that heart a most exquisite beauty and seventy thousand different tastes.
My children, so that we might understand all this, God has shown us the place of the Shining Crystal. Look at the small creatures that have fallen into the water and been transformed. How beautiful even they have become!
But they are only animals, and you are a human being. If you fall into this water of divine knowledge ('ilm), how much more beautiful you will become.
God has said, "Become like this." If you do, you will know endless joy and grace. You must understand this.
I give you my love, my children, sons and daughters, my brothers and sisters.
Now once again, it is time to move on. Look we have come to a huge, beautiful well make of shining marble. It is forty feet square and surrounding it are six beds.
Look, one of the beds is richly decorated and far more beautiful than the other five, and above it is spread out an exquisite canopy, providing cooling shade.
My children, there are many wonders concerning this bed. Not everyone can sit upon it. Only the one who has the necessary qualifications is entitled to rest here, where he will be sheltered and given an abundance of grace. If anyone else sits on this bed, he will be burned.
Come we must enter the well. You have to walk down five steps that lead into the water and then immerse yourself in it.
Now watch as I go into the well. From where you stand, you cannot see that three of the walls have something written on them. But you can only read what it says if you go under the water.
"O human beings, slaves of God, children of Adam (A.S.), come. You have arrived
here as six people, but you must leave behind five of these people and come
alone, for only one person can enter this well and bathe."
"If all six people try to enter, this water will turn into fire, and instead of bathing,
you will be burned to ashes in the flames of the sufferings that you bring with you.
Remember this and come alone. Tell those who came with you to sit on the other
five beds. Only when you become one with Me can you bathe here."
"Now enter and receive My beauty, My light, and My grace. Once you have fallen
into this water and emerged again, you will understand the secret and the grace
of the beautiful canopy covering the sixth bed. Then you will know what happens
here."
This is what is written beneath the water on the first wall of the well. Now look at the writing on the second wall.
"Come alone as one. Bathe and then sit on the sixth bed. There you will receive
your rizq, the nourishment and sustenance from Allah."
"The food and honey and drink that comes for you will be a wondrous taste. It is
the taste of My divine knowledge and grace. Once you know that taste you will
know Me."
"Sit on this bed and read. Later the canopy will fold, and then you must leave this
place and go beyond. You will have to walk about five hundred miles until you
come to a big ocean."
"Listen and I will tell you the secrets of this ocean."
The writing continues on the third wall:
"The first ocean is the ocean of silver. If you touch that water, you will change into
a silver statue. But if you praise Me without touching it, a boat will come for you.
No one will be aboard that boat, but your food will be there. You must climb into
that boat and it will carry you across the ocean of silver."
"Next you will come to the ocean of blood. Step carefully onto the shore, for if you
touch that water, you are finished."
"All the beings in that red ocean have bloody forms. The snakes, the other
creatures, and the water itself are all made of blood. The stench is so foul that
you cannot bear it."
"If you touch even one drop of that water, you will become a clot of blood. But if
you stand on the shore and pray to Me, a boat will come with your food and
water. No one will be steering it, but climb aboard anyway and continue on your
journey."
"Once you have crossed the ocean of blood, you will come to the black ocean,
which is filled with pitch black darkness. You will not be able to see anything.
Again, you must be very careful, for even if one drop of this water touches you,
your whole form will darken, and you will become a statue of darkness."
"But if you stand there and pray to Me, once again a boat with no one aboard will
come with food and water for you. You must climb into that boat and continue on
your way."
"Next you will come to the blue ocean, where everything is poison. Poisonous
blue snakes and scorpions and all sorts of evil creatures will crowd around you
from all four sides."
"But if you pray to Me and do not touch the blue water, then another boat will
come carrying bread and a pitcher of water for you. Climb into that boat and
cross the blue ocean."
"Then you will come to the ocean of gold. Wherever you look, everything will be
gold. Do not touch a single drop of that water, for if it touches any part of you,
your whole body will be turned into a statue of gold!"
"Stand on the shore until another boat comes for you, carrying your food and
water."
"Finally, once you have crossed that ocean of gold, you will come to a wide-open
space filled with nine kinds of precious gems."
All this was written on three of the marble walls of the well.
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My children, to proceed on this journey, you must go alone. Before I could enter the well to bathe and to read what was on the walls, I had to leave behind the five that I came with.
After that, I sat on the bed in the shade of the canopy, waiting until the food and water from God and the fruits of the heavens came to me.
Now, my children, you must discover for yourself the wondrous flavor of this food. Come, taste it. Do you see how delicious it is? This is the food of Allah's qualities, and His divine knowledge ('ilm) and the wealth of His daulat. You must understand this.
I give you my love, my children. On this journey, sometimes you will have to walk, sometimes you will have to fly, and there will be times you will come to places you cannot cross without entering within the Shaikh.
At those times you must enter his wisdom and go as one, uniting with the one of wisdom, good qualities, and 'ilm. Leave behind everything in this world and enter the Shaikh. Enter his soul as soul. Join his wisdom as wisdom. Acquire his qualities and mingle with them.
You and he must act as one. Only in this way can you cross these oceans and travel on the journey of your soul, the journey from the world to your Father's house.
Children, you came from your Father to the world, and from that world you must return to Him. When you came, you came in the form of an atom, and when you go, you must go in the same form.
It is necessary for you to understand this and return to your original state, for as long as you do not establish this state, you cannot complete the journey of your soul.
My love you, my children. Come, let us leave this well and go beyond to the oceans we read about on the wall. Let us cross the five hundred miles to the ocean of silver.
As-salamu 'alaikum.
End of This Selection
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