Sufi Technical Terms

From the Annotations to Idries Shah's THE SUFIS (1964):

ASCENT

There are four major "conditions" of man. All mankind is in one of these. In accordance with these conditions, the individual has to have his progress planned. He will behave in a different way, may appear a different person, will take decisions, according to the condition and the degree of that condition which he has attained. Not everyone reaches every stage of every condition, according to Sufi doctrine. The difference in Sufi formulation will depend upon the existence of conditions of this kind, their completeness, and their relationship with all humanity. Shah Mohammed Gwath, in Secrets of the Naqshbandi Path, expresses the conditions in religious terms:

1. Humanity (nasut), the ordinary condition.

2. On the Path (tarika), equated with "angels" in the cosmic sense.

3. Force, equated with what is called "power" (jabarut), or real capacity.

4. Absorption (lahut), referring to the condition of "divinity" in another sphere.

The individual Sufi is concerned with passing from one stage of conditions to another. The teacher is responsible for making this possible through the training which he offers. The Guide is responsible for relating the individual progress to that of the total needs of humanity. Innumerable techniques and activities of the Sufis ultimately relate to the application of this concept.

CONSCIOUSNESS

The communication between minds which is established by
Sufism has several aspects. By means of the tasarruf exercises, which "clear" the individuality, there is an interaction of minds. This is used by Sufis for purposes of healing, and it is through this technique that most of their inexplicable cures are effected, aside from the application of simpler techniques. (See J. Hallaji, "Hypnotherapeutic Techniques in a Central Asian Community," International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, October, 1962)

Jung's theory of the collective unconscious is expounded by the Spaniard Ibn Rushd (1126-1198). It was also often referred to by Rumi, and its meaning and force are subjects of Sufi specialization. Rumi notes that this phenomenon is one of a higher consciousness: "Animality has division in the spirit; the human spirit has one soul." This is generally referred to as the "great soul."

DEATH AND REBIRTH

The theme that man must "die before he dies" (Mohammed) or that he must be "born again" in his present life is to be found in very many forms of initiatory observance. In almost all cases, however, the message is taken symbolically, or is commemorated by a mere mime or ritual. The Sufis, believing that they preserve the original sense of this teaching, mark the three main grades of initiation with a "death" process. In this, the candidate has to pass through certain specific experiences (technically termed "deaths"). The actual initiation ceremony merely commemorates this happening, and does not simply dramatize it as a symbol. The three "deaths" are :

1 . The White Death

2. The Green Death

3. The Black Death

Leading up to the spiritual experiences referred to as "deaths" are a series of psychological and other exercises which include three outstanding factors:

1 . Abstinence and control of physical functions.

2. "Poverty," including independence from material things.

3. Emotional liberation through such exercises as overcoming avoidable obstacles, and "playing a part" in order to observe the reactions of others.

Discipleship under a master follows a special pattern in which the Seeker is given opportunities for exercising his consciousness of these three stages. Since Sufism uses the normal organization of "the world" as a training ground, the three "deaths" always involve specific enterprises carried out in human society, leading to the spiritual experiences marked by the three "deaths" and successive "rebirth" or transformation which results from them.

ELEMENTS OF SUFISM

The Ten Elements of the Sufis refer to the framework of individual effort within which the Seeker gains the potential to become awake, or alive, in the greater dimensions which lie outside familiar experience. El-Farisi has listed them thus:

1 . Separation of unification.
2. Perception of audition.
3. Companionship and association.
4. Correct preference.
5. Surrender of choice.
6. The rapid acquisition of a certain "state ."
7. Penetration of thought, self-examination.
8. Traveling and movement.
9. Surrender of earnings.
10. Lack of acquisition or covetousness.

Sufi exercises and training are based on these Ten Elements. In accordance with the need of the disciple, the teacher will choose for him programs of study and action which give him the opportunity of exercising functions summarized by these Elements. These factors are therefore the basis of preparing the individual for the development which he could not otherwise sustain or perceive, let alone attain.

LATAIF

The activation of the special Organs of Perception (lataif ) is a part of Sufi methodology analogous to, and often confused with, the chakra system of the Yogis. There are important differences . In Yoga, the chakras or padmas are conceived as physically located centers in the body, linked by invisible nerves or channels. Yogis generally do not know that these centers are merely concentration points, convenient formulations whose activation is part of a theoretical working hypothesis. Both Sufism and Christianity of an esoteric sort preserve a similar theory, combining it with certain exercises. The succession of colors seen by the alchemist in the Western literature can be seen as referring to concentration upon certain physical localizations if we compare it with the Sufi literature on exercises. This is surprisingly easily demonstrated, though it seems that nobody in the West has noticed the connection.

In Sufism, the lataif are located thus : Mind (qalb), color yellow, location left side of the body . Spirit (ruh), color red, location right side of the body. Consciousness (sirr), color white, location solar plexus. Intuition (khafi), color black, location forehead. Deep perception of consciousness (ikhfa),color green, location center of chest.

In Western alchemy, the "succession of colors manifested" is of very great importance. Among the Christian alchemists the succession black-white-yellow-red is very common. It will at once be noted that this succession, transposed into physical equivalents, forms the sign of the Cross. The alchemical exercises therefore aim at activating colors (locations = lataif) in the form of crossing oneself . This is an adaptation of the Sufi method which is thus, in order of activation : yellow-red-white-black-green. In alchemy, again, the succession is sometimes given as black (subsidiary gray = partial development of the black faculty, the forehead)-white (solar plexus, the second point of the sign of the Cross)-green (a Sufi alternative for the right side of the chest)-citrine (left side of the chest, "heart")-red (right side of the chest). Sometimes, as the second stage, the "peacock" (variegated colors) appears in the consciousness. This sign, considered important to the alchemists, is known by the Sufis as a special condition, not invariable, which occurs in the mind when the consciousness is flooded by changing colors or photisms. It is a stage before stabilization of the consciousness, and can in some ways be compared to color illusions produced by hallucinogens. The Sufis wear clothing (often turbans) of the color corresponding to their development in this special system. Literary students of alchemy are left fumbling with a mystery which is thus not complicated if understood in its real meaning.

 QALB

The Arabic word QLB is not confined in meaning to the form QaLB (heart), which is one of its most familiar forms .
In the Sufi sense, QLB is considered to have the following meanings, all straightforward dictionary derivations of this triliteral root: 
QaLaB to turn a thing upside-down . A reference to the Sufi dictum: "The world is upside down."

QaLaB = to extract the marrow of a palm tree . The palm tree, as noted elsewhere, is the Sufi term for baraka and the magic square of fifteen, which contains Sufi diagrammatic and mathematical material . The "marrow" is used in the sense of the essence, vital portion .

QaLaB = to become red. Applied to dates, the product of the palm. An allegory of a Sufi process, later associated with the alchemical idea of the "red elixir."

AQLaB = to be baked on one side. Used for bread, and in a special Sufi sense, denoting a part of a developmental process of transformation, analogized with turning one thing (dough) into what seems to be another (bread).

TaqaLLaB = to be restless . Used of a sleeper, turning in his sleep . Used as a Sufi technical term to describe the uncertainty felt by the ordinary man who is, according to the convention used by the Sufis, "asleep."

QaLb = reverse ; invert; wrong side . This is also associated with "molding" and a matrix (QALiB), the formative apparatus.

QaLB = heart, mind, soul ; intimate thought; marrow, pith; best part. Also used in the compound phrase qalb el-muqaddas, literally "the Sacred Heart," meaning the part of mankind which partakes of the essence of divinity.

The letters Q + L + B add up to 132, equal to the name Mohammed (M + H + M + M + D), the Logos or essence of Mohammed. Thirty-two plus one hundred (Q) make up one third of the total of divinity, the "ninety-nine names of beauty."

QUTUB

This is the reputed invisible head of all the Sufis. The word literally means the Magnetic Pole, Pivot, Polestar, Chief. Transposed into figures, it totals 111-the thrice-repeated unity, the threefold unity, the threefold affirmation of truth, which is a unity. If this is split up into 100, 10, 1, and substituted, we get the letters Q, Y and A. The word QYAA, spelled from these letters, means "to be vacant, voided ." It is the vacant, voided, purged "house" into which the baraka descends (the human consciousness) .

REMEMBERING

The word dhikr (pronounced in non-Arab countries as zikr) refers to certain exercises carried out from the beginning of dervishhood . Basically the word means "remembrance," and the sense is of remembering, commemorating, invocation . "Remembering" is now also defined as the basic term for the religious activity of dervishes. The first stage is remembering oneself, after which the function shifts to one of harmony with the greater consciousness. The disciple has to remember or recognize himself in various ways, shedding this exercise in this form very early, or it becomes an "undesirable cause." Some imitators of Sufism, seeing Sufi assemblies, have copied this technique . The great Hakim Sanai warns against too much remembering, pointing out that it is used only at the early stage...

"Remembering exists not except in the way of struggle; Remembering, repetition is not to be found in the assembly of experience." (The Walled Garden of Truth) 

ROSE; ROSICRUCIAN; ROSARY

The Christians adopted the rosary from the Saracens . In so doing, they translated the word el-wardia (literally the reciter) by another word, almost the same in the original sound, a word standing for "roser," or "rosary." The full Arabic term for the rosary is el-misbat el-wirdiat (the Praiser of the Reciter or of the Drawing Near). This term (WRD) is a special technical term for the special exercises of the Sufis or dervishes. The Catholic rendering into Latin is not so much a mistranslation as an adoption of the Sufi poetic (or almost heraldic) method of using a similar word to create a picture. Hence the word wird (dervish exercise) was used by the Sufis poetically as WaRD (rose). A similar development took place with the term "Rosicrucian." This is a direct translation of the root WRD plus the word for "cross" in Arabic, SLB. In its original meaning, the phrase means WRD (exercise) plus SLB-"to extract the marrow .."

Hence it is only incidentally that SLB (which also means "cross") occurs in the phrase "Rosicrucian ." Taking advantage of this coincidence or poetic juxtaposition, the Sufis do, however, say, "We have the marrow of the Cross, while the Christians only have the crucifix," and similar phrases. This loses its meaning in translation .

A whole dervish Order (that of Abdul-Qadir el-Jilani) is formed around the idea of Rose in this initiatory sense, and its founder is called the Rose of Baghdad. Ignorance of this background is responsible for much useless speculation about such entities as the Rosicrucians who merely repeated in their claims the possession of the ancient teaching which is contained in the parallel development called alchemy, and which was also announced by Friar Bacon, himself claimed as a Rosicrucian and alchemist and illuminate. The origins of all these societies in Sufism is the answer to the question as to which of them did Bacon belong, and what the secret doctrine really was. Much other Rosicrucian symbolism is Sufic.

Martin Luther used the Rose, Cross and Ring (Sufic halka group) in his emblem. This must have been supplied to him by an initiate Sufi.

SEVEN MEN

Sufi development requires the Seeker to pass through seven stages of preparation, before the individuality is ready for its full function . These stages, sometimes called "men," are degrees in the transmutation of the consciousness, the technical term for which is nafs, breath. Briefly, the stages of development, each making possible a further enrichment of the being under the guidance of a practiced teacher, are:

1. Nafs-i-ammara (the depraved, commanding nafs)
2. Nafs-i-lawwama (the accusing nafs)
3. Nafs-i-mulhama (the inspired nafs)
4. Nafs-i-mutmainna (the serene nafs)
5. Nafs-i-radiyya (the fulfilled nafs)
6. Nafs-i-mardiyya (the fulfilling nafs)
7. Nafs-i-safiyya wa kamila (the purified and complete
nafs)

The nafs is considered to pass through processes which are termed "death and rebirth ." The first process, the White Death marks the initiation of the disciple, when he starts to reconstruct the automatic and emotional nafs, so that it will in turn provide an instrument for proceeding to the activation of conscience, the second nafs. The adjectives "serene, fulfilling," and so on, refer to the effect upon the individual, as well as upon the group and society in general, functions most marked at each stage.

Significant phenomena of the seven stages observed during Sufi exercises include these:

1. The individual out of personal control, believes himself to be a coherent personality, starts to learn that he, like all undeveloped individuals, has a multiple and changing personality.

2. The dawn of self-awareness and "accusation," in which automatic thoughts are seen for what they are.

3. The beginning of real mental integration, when the mind is becoming capable of operating on a higher level than was its previous futile custom.

4. Serene balance, equilibrium of the individuality. 

5. Power of fulfillment, new ranges of experience not susceptible to description beyond approximate analogy .

6. A new activity and function, including extra dimensions of the individuality.

7. Completion of the task of reconstitution, possibility of teaching others, capacity for objective understanding.

SIMURGH

The simurgh (thirty birds) is the code phrase which means the development of the mind through "China;" "China" standing, in both Persian and Arabic, for the concealed concept of meditation and Sufi methodology. The great Attar clothes this teaching in an allegory:'

"Once, from darkness, Simurgh showed himself in China. One of his plumes fell to earth : a picture of it was made and this is still in the Chinese gallery. This is why it has been said, `Seek knowledge, even unto China.' If this feather of Simurgh had not been seen in China, there would have been no acclaim in the world of hidden things. And this small indication of his reality is a sign of his glory. All souls carry the picture of the outline of that plume. And the matter of his description has neither beginning nor end. Now, People of the Path, choose this way, and start your journey."
(Parliament of the Birds, ch. II)

This is merely a concealed way of saying : "There is a potentiality in the mind of man . On one occasion it became activated, through a certain form of deep concentration, and was emulated . Without this there is no potentiality for development. Everyone has the faculty, in an embryonic form. It is something connected with eternity. Come, start upon the Way."

SPIRIT AND SUBSTANCE

According to Sufism, what is generally referred to in religious terminology as the Spirit (el ruh) is a substance, with physical characteristics, a subtle body (jism i-latif ). This substance, as conceived, is not considered to be eternal . It existed before the corporealization of man (Hujwiri, Revelation of the Veiled). After physical death, the substantial spirit continues to exist, in one of ten forms, each corresponding to the formation which it has attained during ordinary life. There are ten stages in this sense-the first being that of the "sincere," the tenth being that of the Sufi who has been transformed in nature by his earthly development. The ruh is at times visible.

THE SUFI TEACHER 

Within mankind is a "treasure," and this can be found only by looking for it . The treasure is, as it were, inside a house (fixed thinking-patterns) which has to be broken down before it can be found. In his "elephant in the dark" house, Rumi teaches that "if there had been a light in the house," multiplicity would be seen to be in fact unity. Man sees only pieces of things because his mind is fixed in a pattern designed to see things piecemeal .

A function of the teacher is to establish this fact to the disciple. Rumi has made this a subject of a poem:

Destroy your house, and with the treasure hidden in it
You will be able to build thousands of houses.
-- Mathnawi, Bk . IV . (Whinfield's translation)

The treasure lies under it ; there is no help for it;
Hesitate not to pull it down; do not tarry!
That prize is the wages for destroying the house :
"Man gets nothing he has not worked for."
Then you will bite your finger, saying, "Alas!
That bright moon was hidden under a cloud.
I did not do what they told me for my good;
Now house and treasure are lost and my hand is empty ."

TARIKA, TARIQA

The Sufi wayfarer belongs to a tariqa (TaRIQa), the word meaning more than Path or Way :

Tariqa = course; rule of life; line, streak ; chief of a tribe; means; Order of dervishes. The nearest approximation to the sense of this word is "way" in English-the way of doing a thing, the way upon which a person is traveling, the way as an individual ("I am the Way," in a mystical sense).

As with other Arabic triliteral roots, the TRQ root and its derivatives contain elements associated with Sufism and the esoteric tradition :

TaRQ = sound of a musical instrument
TaTaRRaQ Li- = to aim at, to wish, to draw near
to
ATRaQ = to remain silent with downcast eyes
TaRRaQ Li- = to open the way to
TaRaQ = to come to anyone by night
TuRQaT = way, road; method; habit
TaRIQAt = lofty palm tree

The use of this word is explained thus in dervish lore:

"The tariqa is the Path and also the leadership of the group, in which resides the transmission. It is a rule of living, a thin line within ordinary life, sometimes maintained through the note of music, expressed visually by the palm tree. The tariqa itself opens the Path, and it is connected with meditation, silent thinking, as when a man sits in prayer during the silences of the darkness . It is both the aim and the method." [Nishan-Nama (Book of Symbols) of Sufi associations, by Emir Eddin Shadhili, "The Ardent"]

The Dervish Orders (I)

From Idries Shah's THE SUFIS (1964):
THE DERVISH ORDERS ... The Order, for the Sufi, is not a self-perpetuating entity with a fixed hierarchy and premises, forming a training system for the devotee. The nature of Sufism being evolutionary, it is by definition impossible for a Sufi body to take any permanent form as rigid as this. In certain places, and under individual masters, schools appear and carry out an activity designed to further the human need for completion of the individual. These schools (like that of Rumi and Data Ganj Bakhsh, for example) attract very large numbers of people who are not Moslems, although Sufi schools have always, since the rise of Islam, been presided over by people who originate in the Moslem tradition.
Again, while Sufi Orders have specific rules and set forms of dress and ritual, these are not invariable, and the extent to which the Sufi adheres to these forms is determined by his need for them, as prescribed by his master...

... Sufi Orders may be organized in a monastic form. On the other hand, the Sufi monastery or school may consist of a linking of people and activities spread over an immense area and invisible to the outsider. Hence there are Orders -- and especially branches of Orders --with some members in India, others in Africa, some in Indonesia. Collectively they constitute the organism of the school. Since the Sufis believe in the possibility of communication without physical presence, such a concept of a diffused Order is easier for the Sufi to accept than it would be for people familiar with more conventional views about human society and purpose.

Branches of Orders exist in guilds, in student bodies, in military formations. In more modem times the kind of unit represented by the conventional monastery has become the exception. The Sufi monastery, outwardly similar in many ways to that of the Christian, Hindu or Buddhist, is in reality the product of economic and political conditions, not of any esoteric necessity. According to the Sufis, "the monastery is in the hearts of men." This, again, is in line with the dervish idea that Sufism is a developing entity, and cannot remain a system for reproducing forms, however attractive they may be.

In places where a feudal type of life still continues, Sufi monasteries, tied to the produce of the land, continue to flourish. In urban life, Sufi centers are more yoked to the tempo of town living, and derive their income from shops donated to the community, or from a levy upon the earnings of the members of the Order... The Sufi Order, then, stands for the body of people who are specializing in the acceptance, using and transmission of Sufism. It has no traditional shape, and its outward appearance will depend upon local conditions and the necessities of the "work." ... The central factor in the Orders is, of course, the production of the human exemplar of the teaching, as distinct from the propagation of the Order or any mechanical promotion in terms of identifiable rank. Sufis have no bishops.

This is not to say that the hierarchy of Sufis is not well defined. But a Sufi is known by another, insofar as rank is concerned, by methods other than the displaying of insignia. A certain degree of development of the individual, in spite of its having to be confirmed by a master, is held by Sufis to be perceptible to others of similar attainments.

It is within the school of the Order that the initial acceptance and development of the candidate takes place. Unlike other systems of instruction, there is nothing of the nature of conditioning. The aspirant must be attached to the principles of the Order and to the person of the teacher, but before this can take place he has to be tested. The testing is carried out with the intention of shedding those individuals who are unsuitable. Rejected are those who feel the desire to attach themselves to an organization or individual because of their own weaknesses. People who have been attracted by the repute of Sufis and the desire to attain miraculous powers are weeded out. The initial tasks given to a probationary member have two main functions-- the first is to determine his suitability, the second to show him that he must desire Sufihood for its own sake.

Very often the teacher in whose charge the candidate is placed will do all he can to deter him-- not by persuasion, but by playing a part which may seem to reflect discredit upon himself. The Sufis believe that only by these methods can they communicate to the essence awaiting to be awakened the fact that the Sufi impulse is available. The nominal communication with the outward personality of the candidate is relatively unimportant. When the mind is not yet capable of grasping Sufism coherently, the Sufi will not attempt to persuade it. He has to communicate at greater depth. People of this sort, who could be convinced by conventional means of the importance of Sufism, would not be genuine converts. Many of the reports of absurd and unacceptable behavior of Sufis stem from the working out of such plans.

Many of the main Orders have been nicknamed. The Rifa'i are called the Howling Dervishes; the Qalandari "Shaven"; the Chis(h)ti "Musicians"; the Mevlevi "Dancing"; the Nagshbandi "Silent."

These Orders are generally named after the founder of the specialization which they represent. Rumi, for instance, organized his "dances" in accordance with what he considered to be the best way of developing in his disciples the Sufic experiences. This was done, as ancient records show, in accordance with the mentality and temperament of the people of Konia. Imitators have attempted to export the system outside of this cultural area, with the result that they are left with what amounts to a pantomime, and the original effect of the movements has disappeared.
The rhythmic (and arhythmic) movements called dance are used in many Orders, always in response to the needs of the individuals and the group. Sufi movements can thus never be stereotyped, and do not constitute what is elsewhere called dance, calisthenics or the like. The using of movements follows a pattern based upon certain discoveries and knowledge which can only be applied by a teaching master of a dervish Order...

The dervish Order may be looked upon as an organization with the minimum amount of regulation. Like any other body of people associating for a purpose, the rules of the Order cease to be operative when this objective has been attained.


The schematic diagrams used by the Orders help to convey this idea. The chain circle of the Orders shows how the groupings stem from the schools which surrounded certain classical teachers. These schools took their inspiration from the private assemblies of Mohammed and his close companions. Hence, in one such geometrical chart, the center shows the companions Abu Bakr, Ali and Abdul-Aziz the Meccan in a circle. Arranged around this are seven smaller circles, each one containing the name of a great master. The seven main Ways of Sufism, the specializations of teaching, emanate from these individuals.  

The dervish Orders all claim the spiritual transmission (baraka) from one or more of these masters. It must be remembered that since Sufism is not static, the total baraka of the founders of Orders is held to interpenetrate all the Orders.

The circular format and interlinking of circles indicates this interdependence and movement. In poetry, such authors as Rumi have emphasized this by saying: "When you see two Sufis together, you see both two and twenty thousand."

The objective of the temporary organism called an Order, agreed by all masters, is to provide circumstances in which the member can attain the stabilization of his inner being comparable or identical with those of the early transmitters.


The motive for creating an Order around a group of words, chosen to illustrate certain activities or characteristics of the Order, is obvious. All members know that the format is not mystical, but arbitrary. They are, in consequence, unable to attach their emotional side to the emblems of the Order. The concentration is thus held upon the chain of transmission (the individuals whose substance is being contacted). Again, since it is believed that the Complete Man (Insan-i-Kamil) is both a real individuality and also a total part of the essential unity, it is not possible for the Sufi to attach himself to a personality alone. He knows from the start that his interior powers are being guided from one objective to the next. Hence, in the austerely pious dervish Orders, there is a fixed succession of progress through one individual. The disciple has first to attach himself to the teacher. When he has reached the maximum development possible, the teacher transfers him to the reality of the founder of the Order. From here he transfers his consciousness to the substance (the "foot") of Mohammed, the originator of the doctrine in contemporary form. From here he is transferred to the reality of God. There are other methods, whose application depends upon the character of the school and especially the qualities of the personality dealt with. In some exercises the disciple has to immerse himself in the consciousness of various other teachers, including Jesus and others considered by the Sufis to be of their number.

One of the objects of pilgrimages to the burial places or former residences of teachers is to make a contact with this reality or substance. In neutral phraseology it could be said that the Sufis believe that Sufic activity in producing a Complete Man accumulates a force (substance) which itself is capable of alchemicalizing a lesser individual . This is not to be confused with the idea of magical power, because the power exercised upon the Seeker will operate only insofar as his motives are pure and he is purged of selfishness. Further, it will act in its own way, and not in a manner which can be anticipated by the Seeker. Only his teacher, who has traveled the way before, will be able to judge as to what effect such an exposure will have.

Within the Orders, when the disciple has been accepted for a training course under a master, he has to be prepared for the experiences which his unaltered mind is incapable of perceiving. This process, which follows the dissipating of conditioning, or automatic thinking, is termed the "activation of the subtleties."

There is no word in English which can be used as a true equivalent of the technical term "subtlety." The original word is latifa (plural lataif). It has been rendered "purity spot," "place of illumination," "center of reality." In order to activate this element it is assigned a theoretical physical situation in the body-- generally considered to be the center where its force or baraka is most strongly evidenced. The latifa is theoretically considered to be "an incipient organ of spiritual perception."

The root in Arabic is from the triliteral grouping LTF. From this the terms used in Arabic include the concepts of subtlety, gentleness, kindness, gift or favor, delicacy. Hence, in the phrase "the gentle sex," the word rendered as "gentle" is in Arabic derived from this root.

The disciple has to awaken five lataif, receive illumination through five of the seven subtle centers of communication. The method, presided over by the instructor (Sheikh), is to concentrate the consciousness upon certain areas of the body and head, each area being linked with the latifa faculties.

As each latifa is activated through exercises, the consciousness of the disciple changes to accommodate the greater potentialities of his mind. He is breaking through the blindness which makes the ordinary man captive to life and being as it ordinarily seems to be.

In more than one sense, therefore, the activation of the centers is producing a new man. Lest the reader unconsciously link this system with others which may resemble it, we must note that the activation of the lataif is only a part of a very comprehensive development, and cannot be carried out as an individual study.

The five centers are named Heart, Spirit, Secret, Mysterious and Deeply Hidden. Another one, strictly speaking not a latifa at all, is Self, composed of a complex of "selves." This is the totality of what the ordinary (raw) man or woman considers his personality. It is characterized by a shifting series of moods and personalities whose rapidity of movement gives the individual the impression that his consciousness is constant or a unity. It is not in fact so.

The seventh subtlety is accessible only to those who have developed the others, and belongs to the real sage, the repository and transmitter of the teaching.

The illumination or activation of one or more of the centers may take place partially or accidentally. When this happens, the individual may gain for a time a deepening in intuitive knowledge corresponding with the latifa involved. But if this is not a part of comprehensive development, the mind will try, vainly, to equilibrate itself around this hypertrophy, an impossible task. The consequences can be very dangerous, and include, like all one-sided mental phenomena, exaggerated ideas of self-importance, the surfacing of undesirable qualities, or a deterioration of consciousness following an access of ability.

The same is true of breathing exercises or dance movements carried out of correct succession.

The nonbalanced development produces people who may have the illusion that they are seers or sages. Due to the inherent power of the latifa, such an individual may appear to the world at large to be worthy of following. In Sufi diagnosis, this type of personality accounts for a great number of false metaphysical teachers. They may, of course, themselves be convinced that they are genuine. This is because the habit of self-deception or of deceiving others has not been transmuted. Rather has it been supported magnified by the awakening but still undirected new organ, the latifa.

The areas which are involved in the activation of the lataif are: Self, under the navel; Heart, at the place of the physical heart; Spirit, on the side of the body opposite the heart position. The Secret latifa is exactly between the Heart and Spirit Positions. Mysterious is in the forehead. Deeply Hidden is in the brain .

The actual meanings of these locations is something which comes as a special realization to the Sufi when the latifa in question is being activated. It is only at the outset of the study that they are given these locations.

In the dervish schools there is a special interchange between the teacher and the learner-- something which cannot take place unless there is a real teacher present in the community, and until other conditions are ready for the interchange. In this, of course, Sufism differs from a philosophy or a practice which can be learned at second hand .

The special interchange includes the technique called tajallii-irradiation. Tajalli influences and affects everyone, though it is perceptible only to a few. A person, for instance, may find that he is "in luck" or "does just the right thing," or that he "cannot put a foot wrong." This may be a consequence of accidental tajalli. Not realizing the source of the phenomenon, the individual will attribute the cause to something else, say to luck. He feels well because someone has said something complimentary to him; or because he has had a raise in pay. These are the reasons, the rationalizations. This, too, is the wasteful form of tajalli; because its operation has a content which far exceeds in importance and even usefulness the secondary advantages which warm the heart of the unconscious recipient.

Being unconscious of the mechanism, however, he cannot proceed further in acquiring the advantages of tajalli.

The ecstatic condition, when the human being feels himself at one with creation, or a Creator, rapture, something like intoxication; when he feels that he has entered paradise; when all senses interchange or become one sense -- these can be the inability to accept and participate in tajalli. What is considered by the individual to be a blessing is in fact a flooding-out of potentiality. It is as if a flood of light has been shone into the eyes of someone who was until recently blind. It has a glory and a fascination. But it is of no use, because it dazzles.

There is a further stage, when the blindness has been removed, and when the personality is wakeful and versatile enough to accept tajalli. Then there is the illusion of tajalli, sometimes a foretaste, sometimes a reflection, which is useful for artistic creativity or self-indulgence, but is--for the Sufi-- a fictitious state. This can be easily discerned because it is not accompanied by an access of knowledge. It counterfeits the true state by giving merely a sensation of knowledge or fulfillment. In this respect it resembles a dream in which a wish is fulfilled, thus enabling the disturbed dreamer to continue with his sleep. If he had not provided out of his own mind a happy outcome to his problem he would have woken up and delayed the rest function.

The false tajalli experienced by those who do not carry their development along in a balanced way may give rise to a conviction that it is a true mystical state, especially when it is found that supranormal faculties seem to be activated in this condition. Sufis discriminate between this experience and the true one in two ways. Firstly, the teacher will at once identify the counterfeit state. Secondly, as a matter of self-investigation, it can always be discerned that the gains of perception are of no exact value . There may be, for instance, an access of intuition. One may know something about someone-- thought reading is an example. But the actual function, the value of the ability to read thought, is nil. The person suffering from false taialli will be able to report some fact or series of facts about someone else, indicating a breakthrough of the limitations of time and space. The test of the tajalli for anyone who cannot instantly recognize that it is genuine is whether the "supernatural" perception is accompanied by a permanent increase in intuitive knowledge--the seeing of things as a whole, for instance; or the knowing of the course which one's self-development will take; or the course of that of another; or performing "wonders." Abdul-Qadir Jilani explains that miracles, which are so often reported of Sufis, are not due to any sort of power as generally understood : "When you acquire divine knowledge, you are merged with the intention of God. . . . Your internal essence admits no other thing. . . . People attribute miracles to you. They seem to originate with you, but the origin and intention is God's." (Muqala VI of the Futuh el Ghayb)

As with other branches of Sufi action, many different things have been said and written about the tajalli of the subtleties. These only serve as guides, and may be completely wrong when applied without regard to prevailing conditions. For the Sufi, every situation is unique, and there are no textbooks as generally understood.

In spite of this shortcoming, which would deter many people from what they consider to be an investigation of Sufi illumination, the practice of activating the lataif is essential if real progress is to be made. The real teacher is he who can nurse his disciples in such a way that the awakening of the subtleties takes place concurrently and in accordance with what the individual can bear. Give a child one sweet, the saying runs, and he will be happy. Give him a large box of sweets and he will be sick .

In the stage of activating the lataif the student must first recognize the effects of the Self in its myriad facets upon his personality. This is something which his teacher introduces to him. Then, almost parallel but a little behind this development, he finds the activation of his lataif encouraged by the efforts of the teacher. This is something which he cannot start by himself if it is to be successful .

His first Sufic experience will be associated with the illumination of a latifa. Before that stage has been reached, he will find that he has to work on himself in the area of Selfhood. If he concentrates too much and too long on the problem of Selfhood, the master will have greater difficulty in encouraging the latifa illumination. In communities where this factor is not properly understood, the struggle with the Self becomes almost the be-all and end-all of the effort. The attachment to the teacher remains, and the liberation of the personality cannot be effected.

It is in this field more than any other that occultists and fragmented schools, as well as lone experimenters, go astray and in the end peter out or merely become self-propagating systems for the self-struggle, without the benefit of the experience, the tajalli, which tells them that they are capable of the development which they seek. In accepting a disciple, the master is always careful to assure himself that the former has the capacity to progress from self-concentration to latifa release.

Generally speaking, Sufi doctrines are both studied and practiced concurrently in the schools of the dervish Orders. This means that there must be a balance between the intellectual presentation and understanding of a doctrine, and its application. Further, there must be a balance between one set' of ideas and another. Concentration as a method of doing an exercise is one thing; but it must be balanced by the use of nonstruggle absorption of impacts. How this is done is a part of the intimate and very effective methodology of the dervish Orders.

Some Orders specialize in certain varieties of technique. When a disciple has been taken as far as possible in the school of one Order, he may be sent to another one in order to give him the elements which are the specialization of that school. This, again, has to be done with extreme care, because there can be no question of a one-sided development. If certain faculties are to be developed, this must be done in such a way as to leave room for correct and parallel development at a later date in another school.

Among the specializations of the schools are the qif or ist exercise, when a teacher calls out "Halt!" and all physical movement is frozen until he allows the students to relax. The exercise is carried out by teaching masters of the Naqshbandi Order, and it is the Ninth Secret Rule of the Order, being a method which has been found to be effective in breaking through the web of associative thinking and making possible the transmission of baraka.

The Dervish Orders (II)

From Idries Shah's THE SUFIS (1964):
THE DERVISH ORDERS
Something of the atmosphere in a dervish Order's school can be felt by this statement, which is a verbatim extract from a preliminary discourse by Sheikh el-Mushaikh (Sheikhly Sheikh), addressing a number of candidates for admission to the Azamia (Greater) Order recently: "The object of the Sufis is to refine themselves to such an extent that they attain the irradiation [anwar] of what we call the several attributes of God, or Beautiful Names. No Sufi can become a part of the 'texture of God' by such an ultimate refinement. Yet only by getting rid of his material slough can he enliven his true essence, which can be called the soul [ruh]. "In [Sanai's Walled Garden of Truth] he shows that the superficial perception of religion is inaccurate, so that when I speak of God and Soul and so on, you will have to remember that these are things, as Ibn El Arabi stresses, which have no correct parallel to you, and which have to be perceived, not merely named and associated with emotionalism...
"To continue. Inasmuch as the accretions weigh down the inner spark [ruh] of the Seeker and thus prevent his progress toward completeness, for the scaling off of these accretions certain exercises have to be performed. They have to be in accordance with the needs of the Seeker. Exactly how this is done is dependent upon the action and knowledge of a Special Guide [murshid or pir, Guided One or Ancient, Wise One]. Some have the impression that this enlightenment can be attained by a Seeker (salik) by reading books on Sufism, and by practices of his own. This is neither theoretically sound nor borne out by experience, quite apart from our inner cognition of its falsity. A Guide is absolutely essential. "Certain terms have to be noted. Nafs in Sufic terminology is both ego and 'breath.' How the word is used is important and comes through attention to its use in actual fact, not by a study of dictionaries. It is often said that the nafs-i-ammara (Commanding Self) has to be subdued. This may mean that certain cravings and physical and mental attitudes have to be seen for what they are and treated accordingly. In this usage, the word is seen to mean self or ego. In another usage, it simply means breath . For example, in the exercise known as habs-i-dam it means 'imprisoning the breath,' under the strict supervision of a Guide, who uses this exercise for a specific and limited purpose.

"The word bayat means taking the pledge, pact engagement or undertaking, and it signifies the occasion when the Seeker places his hands between those of the Spiritual Guide for the dual pledge. One, on his part, binds himself to seek the Way indicated by the Guide. The other, on his own part, undertakes to guide the Seeker on the Path. This is a special, solemn, meaningful moment. There is a dual mutual interaction in the pledge; a contractual relationship is formalized by it. It is at this juncture that the may be allowed to call himself murid (disciple), Direrected One. "The term muragiba covers forms of concentration. In it the disciple strives to remove certain thoughts from his mind and concentrate upon things which will make possible his illumination and lay a basis for his permanency. The term also corresponds with sitting with the head down, chin on knee, the correct Sufi posture.

"The word zikr (dhikr in Arabic) literally means repetition or recital. It conveys the action of the disciple repeating as many times as directed that which he has been given to repeat. It is also, in another sense, called wird.

"The technical term tajalli, luminizing, and the word nur (light-plural: anwar) are both associated with process of activating which is carried out on the way toward independent reality through the force contained in the power of Love. In this we work with the Beautiful Names. Generally considered to be ninety-nine in number, corresponding to the number of beads on a Sufi rosary, they are in another sense limitless. In active 'work' they are limited at first to the names or concepts which are needed to help activate the special organs of perception and communication.

'There is no point at all in activating special new organs of perception and communication unless the individual at the same time is able to keep up with the realization of what is being communicated, to whom, and why. The improvement of communication in itself is best limited to spheres where it belongs--among intellectuals who assume that they have something to communicate. For the rest of us, present methods are adequate to ordinary purposes. "The word qalb (heart) may be considered an anatomical localization of the organ which has to be awakened. Its position is where the pulsation of the physical heart is normally to be determined on the left breast. In Sufi belief and action, this organ is considered to be the seat of the main, initial inner perceptiveness involved in the `search' `work.'

"The total illumination of this and certain other organs precedes the walayat-i-Kubra (major saintship), which is the goal of the Sufi and which corresponds, in other systems, with illumination. At this stage there are certain powers available, powers which seemingly control natural phenomena. It must be remembered that miraculous powers belong to a sphere in which they are coherent and meaningful and cannot be examined from the viewpoint of the sensation monger.
"The unification which the Sufi attains is termed fana (annihilation). Self-mortification is not permitted, and the proper physical upkeep of the body is essential.

"Before the exercises can take place, either the Greater Balance or the Lesser Balance must have been achieved by the candidate. This balance is connected with the fact that ordinary humanity is not able, except for very short periods, to concentrate at all. Rumi, in Fihi Ma Fihi, stresses this, a matter of first importance in any teaching situation:

"'Innumerable changes of mood are yours, and they are uncontrolled by you. If you knew their origin, you would be able to dominate them. If you cannot localize your own changes, how can you localize that which farmed you?' A great deal of Sufi poetry, in addition to its formal content, refers to degrees of wholeness or ability to concentrate the mind and as a result find a way to the place where truth is not fragmented. When Shabistari in the Secret Garden speaks of a spark being whirled and giving a mere illusion that it is constituting a circle of light, he is speaking of a Sufi experience, known to all dervishes, of a certain stage of 'collection.'" *********** The dervish belief, as affirmed in the practices of the working Orders (as distinct from repetitiously devout ones which specialize in saint worship), is that there is a special state which has to be activated. This is not emotional, certainly not intellectual as ordinarily experienced. The frequent references to refining, purifying and discriminating are connected with this. The dervish refines his consciousness so that he can become aware of states of mind and conditions of reality which are only crudely grasped by the ordinary mind. It might be said that people are normally aware of intellect only in terms of quantity; of emotion as a quantity. The quality, a subtler side which is nonetheless essential to completeness, is difficult to train or elicit, hence abandoned by most people, who make do with very rough approximations of their total capacities.

And, of course, perception of these infinite subtleties is not possible to the ordinary individual. Just as a child has to learn to distinguish between objects in terms of coarse and fine, so has the unregenerate human perception to be trained in this respect.

The full dynamic of the Organ of Evolution becomes operative only when something akin to detachment has been attained. This happens only when certain educational preparations have been made. Before the stage of conscious development, various indisputable experiences mark certain stages of advance. These give the individual both proof of his progress and strength to continue to the next stage. Unless he receives these illuminations in correct succession, he will stay at a stage of partial awareness or occasional concentration power. One of the least desirable results of such out-of-sequence development is when the candidate is not weaned from dependence upon his instructor.

When what we have called the Organ of Evolution is developed and working, the functions of instinct, emotion and intellect are transmuted and work in a new key. A fresh and ever-widening series of experiences is open to the dervish.

Infinite possibilities and intricate mechanisms are now seen in things which formerly seemed inert or of limited use. A dervish example is found in the teaching reference to the permissibility of listening to music. The great Shibli says: "Hearing music deliberately seems outwardly to be a disruptive thing; internally it is a warning. When the Sign is known, such a person may listen, for he hears the warning. Unless he has the Sign (awakening of the Organ of Evolution), he is submitting himself to the possibility of danger." The sensual nature of music is here referred to, as well as the mere emotional and limited intellectual value of music. These are dangers, both because they may lead to sensuality and because, through producing a taste for the secondary indulgence (music because one enjoys music), it veils the real usefulness of music, which is to develop the consciousness.

This is a sense of music which is not only unknown in the West, but energetically denied by many people in the East. Because of the peculiarities of music, some dervish Orders, especially the powerful and highly adaptable Naqshbandi Order, refuse to employ it.

Also a specialization of dervish schools is the real value of poetry, employed as a mystical exercise. All poetry has several functions. In accordance with its "reality," so will it be meaningful for the Sufi. All Orders allow on theological grounds the hearing of poetry, because Mohammed the Prophet approved of it. He said, "Some poetry is wisdom;" and "Wisdom is like the lost she-camel of the devout. Wherever he finds her, he still has the best right to her ." He actually used an Arab rhyme to assert what is the Sufi theme of a complete reality which is God: "The most true Arab statement is in the rhyme by Labid that `Everything but God is unnecessary, for events change."

When he was asked to comment on poetry, the Prophet replied, "What is good of it is good, and what is bad, is bad." This is the dictum followed by Sufi masters regarding the permissibility of hearing, reading or writing poetry.

But, according to the great teacher Hujwiri, poetry must in its essence be real and true. If there is unreality or untruth in it, it will contaminate the hearer, reader and writer with its faults.

The manner in which poetry is heard, and the ability of the hearer to benefit from it, is important to Sufism. The dervish teachers will not allow that the real essence of poetry can be appreciated by those who are not correctly prepared for its full understanding, however much an individual may believe that he is extracting the whole from hearing a poem.

Hujwiri passes on the dictum from dervish schools that those who are stirred by the hearing of sensual music are those who are hearing in a sense which is not real. Real hearing, of poetry as of music, is of development value, giving a range of experiences far more varied and valuable than fleshly or ecstatic ones. This, however, can only be enunciated in the present context as an assertion. It is not susceptible to verification outside a Sufi circle.

For the Sufi there are four journeys. The first of these is the attainment of the condition known as fana, sometimes translated as "annihilation." This is the stage of unification of the consciousness, in which the Sufi is harmonized with objective reality. It is the production of this condition which is the objective of the dervish Orders. There are three stages after this. Niffari, a great teacher of the tenth century, describes the Four Journeys in his Muwaqif, written in Egypt nearly a thousand years ago. After he has reached the stage of fana, the Sufi passes into the Second journey, in which he truly becomes the Perfect Man by the stabilization of his objective knowledge. This is the stage of baqa, permanency. He is now not a "God-intoxicated man, but a teacher in his own right. He has the title of qutub, magnetic center, "point toward which all turn."

In the Third Journey, the teacher becomes a spiritual director to each kind of person in accordance with that person's individuality. The previous kind of teacher (of the Second Journey) is able to teach only within his own immediate culture or local religion. The third kind of teacher may appear to be many different things to different men. He is operating on many levels. He is not "all things to all men" as part of a deliberate policy. He can, on the other hand, benefit everyone in accordance with that person's potentiality. The teacher of the Second Journey, in contrast, is able to work only with selected individuals.

In the Fourth, and last, journey, the Perfect Man guides others in their transition from what is generally considered to be physical death, to a further stage of development which is invisible to the ordinary person. For the dervish, therefore, the apparent break which takes place at conventional physical death does not exist. A continuous communication and interchange exists between him and the next form of life.

In a dervish community, as in ordinary life, the spiritual attainments of an individual Sufi may not be apparent except to those who are in a position to perceive the emanations of a higher order which truly characterize the dervish...

Although Niffari's book is well known and much studied by scholars, the practical application of his method, and the real use of the technical term waqfat which he uses, is not to be gleaned from reading alone. Although waqfat is associated with the Divine Pause and the Halt exercise which enables a man to break through time and space, it is a highly complex factor which is only roughly indicated by the word used. For example, it also has the quality of a luminosity which removes the darkness caused by multiplicity. Multiplicity is caused by accepting secondary phenomena as primary ones, or differentiation as difference. In the earliest stages of dervish training it is made clear by examples and exercises that when one is, for instance, working with the concept of "fruit," one must not concern oneself with the immense variety of fruit, but with the essential concept.

The dervish schools, whether they exist in a monastery or in a cafe of Western Europe, are essentials to Sufism because it is in the school situation that such materials as those of Niffari are studied and experienced, in accordance with the peculiarities of the student and the needs of the social clime in which he operates. This is why the Sufi development has to take root in a certain way in various societies. It cannot be imported. Neither can the methods of working suited to tenth-century Egypt or Yogic India operate effectively in the West. They can naturalize themselves, but in their own way. The lure of mystery and of the colorful East has for centuries obscured for the Western mind the fact that it is the human development which is aimed at, not the trappings.