"There are no words we can read that will convince us of the allness of this now-consciousness," "there is no one to whom we may listen or talk who can do more than persuade us intellectually. We know - and we know, we know - only when we find it and feel it in our heart."
"Reader, this will happen for you much sooner than you expect. Your "awakening" is inevitable, irresistible and certain, because the fact is - as you shall see and have been told many times - you are not sleeping to be awakened now. Despite the appearances on the world's stage, you are already all you could ever hope to become."
"The nearly unanimous pronouncements of classical theology and education to the contrary," you are not a prodigal acting the profligate and wandering in the pigsties of a far country. The Identity you are this instant is Hamony's Now-Awareness being aware. Our heritage, effortless and divine, is to acknowledge this fact."
"Right now, bring yourself from an overconcern with things within Awareness to Awareness itself. Here you will find that all bodies, all images, and everything Awareness includes, are aspects of your own Identity! Here you will find that you are happiness, completeness and joy itself."
What opens inside you when you’re willing to entertain the possibility that things may be different than you thought they were is what I call the “great internal space”: a place where you come to know that you don’t know.
This is really the entry point into the end of suffering: when you become conscious of the fact that you don’t really know. I mean that you don’t really know anything—that you don’t really understand the world, you don’t really understand each other, you don’t really understand yourself.
This is such an obvious thing when we really take a moment and look around. When we look at the world that human beings have created and how we relate to each other, it’s so obvious that we don’t really know anything at all.
This is one of the things that I saw when I was a little child: This adult world has an insane quality to it. Everybody’s going around pretending like they really know things, pretending like they know what’s real and what’s not, pretending they know what’s right, pretending they know who’s wrong, but actually nobody really knows. But this is something we’re afraid of. We don’t really want to admit that nobody really knows.
Again, we can see that there’s a great unwillingness in most of us to be disturbed in this way. But if you’ve suffered enough—and I imagine that you have suffered plenty—then maybe you are willing to be disturbed. Maybe your suffering has created a longing for this great internal space.
Pathless Path? Many traditions have a
"pathless path"--some even capitalize the p’s. The phrase turns up in
Catholicism, Buddhism, Zen and otherwise, in Hinduism and in other
capitalized –isms. On Google, that archive of 21st century collective
wisdom and folly, I found numerous book titles, a CD track in a new
music genre called Vedic Metal, as well as an interview with a
professional climbing guide and pilot which explores the meaning of
"adventure." It seems this trackless domain is, in fact, quite
well-populated, there being no dearth of paths through pathlessness.
In a nutshell, like the farmer said to the lost tourist, "You
can’t get there from here." Clearly, if there is a path, it must lead
somewhere. If it leads somewhere, there must be a destination other than
here. On the other hand, if the territory is pathless, then there is no
destination. So where is there to go from here?
Here is where the adventure begins, the adventure of not
knowing, of not going, but of simply standing still. Even here is not
the destination, but it is a start. And if there is a start, there must
be an end. Who knows how long it would take to get from the start to the
end? But if standing still is what’s happening, then there is no way to
get to the end, no matter how long it does or does not take. So
standing still for a long time isn’t it either, since the time it takes
to get from here to here is zero. So much for here and now. Having
eliminated even here and now, what remains is the pathless path, this
timeless moment, unfathomable.
‘A’ishah al-Bācūnīyah (d. 923/1517) was one of the greatest women scholars in Islamic history. A mystic and prolific poet and writer, ‘A’ishah composed more works in Arabic than any other woman prior to the 20th century. Often, she expressed her great devotion to God and His prophet Muhammad, and spoke of love and longing on the mystical quest for union. She also alluded to her extensive education and mystical training, and her own particular life experiences, which are often reflected in her verse. Her many writings were read and copied by later generations of admirers who preserved her substantial literary and mystical legacies. Though many of her works are lost today, several still exist in manuscript including her poetic collection Fayḍ al-Faḍl wa-Jam’ al-Shaml: “The Emanation of Grace and the Gathering Union.” The selection of poems from this volume, edited and translated into English here for the first time, recount A’ishah al-Bācūnīyah’s remarkable story of devotion and mystical illumination.
The sun and moon appeared on the horizon of my spirit, and the heart beheld what eyes could not see, And sheer beauty revealed itself in guises to insight’s clear vision.
These are the opening verses to a poem by the Muslim mystic ‘A’ishah al-Bācūnīyah, in which she speaks of her love for God and union with Him. Living a life of devotion, meditation, and prayer, A’ishah experienced moments of ecstasy marked by a sense of timeless unity and illumination:
I behold beauty with eyes lined by His light, and His splendor was the eyes’ sight. My love’s beauty is my vision, His presence my gardens, and their fruit is His love talk devoted to me. Here, 'Ā’ishah likens her mystical state to a life of everlasting happiness in the gardens of Paradise where God will reveal Himself to those who are saved. There, too, faithful believers will drink the purest wine, and ‘A’ishah often compares God’s love to an intoxicating wine that causes her to forget herself in rapture:
This is the tavern of joy where the glasses are full, aglow like the sun and the moon. These choice cups are a portion of what comes to me as their quiet intimacy takes hold. This is the wine of leisure, and I received from it perfect fulfillment from an endless source, A wine taking me to the fountain of bliss, as I attained peace without anxiety or fear. ‘A’ishah’s mystical experiences enabled her to pass away from a life of selfishness in order to see the divine within her heart and so live an enlightened life of love:
My mind, my spirit, my faith-- all of me sees clearly without a veil or screen. So I received the greatest joy and wish, and grace to me is limitless!
As ‘A’ishah’s spiritual life progressed, she became a Sufi master in her own right, and she composed a guidebook to lead others on the mystic path. Following a centuries old Sufi tradition, ‘A’ishah advises the seeker to repent of selfish ways and turn to a sincere life of love for God and all of His creation. Essential to this transformation is meditation on human limitations and God’s limitless love. In her poems and other writings, ‘A’ishah often recounts her own states and stages on this quest for union with the hope that others, too, might receive an emanation of grace.
“I see no one but my love, when I’m here or when I’m gone. I see him always with me, for he’s my destiny!”
‘A’ishah al-Bāʿūnīyah was one of the greatest women mystics in Islamic history. A Sufi master and an Arab poet, Ā’ishah wrote of her great devotion to God and His prophet Muhammad, and spoke of love and longing on her mystical quest for union. Though many of her works are lost today, several still exist in manuscript including her poetic collection Fayḍ al-Faḍl wa-Jam’ al-Shaml: The Emanation of Grace and the Gathering Union. The selection of poems from this volume, edited and translated into English here for the first time, recount her remarkable story of devotion and mystical illumination. — Th. Emil Homerin, Professor of Religion, Department of Religion & Classics at the University of Rochester; Instructor of Islam, classical Arabic literature and mysticism
This beautiful collection of poetry fills an important gap in Sufi Studies. Although there have been many Sufi women poets, it was difficult before the modern period to hear their own voices because their poems were transmitted by men. ‘A’ishah al-Bā 'ūnīyah was a rare exception. Her words of lyric beauty and piety will resonate across the centuries. This work will become a major contribution to the study of women’s spirituality in Islam.” — Dr. Vincent J. Cornell, Ph.D., Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies Chair, Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Emory University
This remarkable book presents for the first time the poetry of the eminent woman Sufi, ‘A’ishah al-Ba`uniyah, in an eloquent new English translation. Homerin’s achievement is both the discovery of a major mystical author and the convincing rendition of a powerful literary voice. -Carl W. Ernst, William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
I see no one but my love when I'm here or when I'm gone. I see him always with me, for he's my destiny. O my joy and happiness faithful love has graced me With passing away in abiding and abiding in passing away, For I have met my fate, and fate is my reunion. So my heart savor union with my love. I see him always with me, for he's my destiny. He's my attributes, my essence; I see him and nothing else; He's my effacement, my endurance when I pass and then return. He's my union and dissolution in my aim and way of life; He's my substance and my meaning far away or near. I see him always with me, for he's my destiny. Here, by God, and in my heart God made my bliss complete. I loved my lover and my lord, spring of my soul and being. So life was good, I was always near, and God made my vision last. So his brilliant flash, no other, appeared to me unbroken. I see him always with me, for he's my destiny. My life was all delight, my separation sweet in love with beauty's lord. My union came, division left, my wide expansion stayed. My illusions gone, my truth proved true and unadorned appeared. 40 A handsome moon beguiled me; he held all wondrous things. I see him always with me, for he's my destiny. By my life, he is my highest goal! My art is passing away in him, passion, my food and drink. He's my reason, my religion, my doctrine and devotion. 50 Wherever I turn my face, I see him alone with no one watching. I see him always with me, for he's my destiny!
