A Quarterly Journal
Vol 1 Issue 1 Jan-March 2011
International journal OF TO RISE ABOVE NARROWNESS LEADS TO TRUTH
Truth is Existential. Truth is beyond Time and Space! Know this as Spirituality!
SHRINE SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND (Q) A Production Of Naqshbandia – Mujaddadia – Mazaharia – Ramchandria Tariqat
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat
The International Journal Of ©
Naqshbandi Tariqat The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat and Taoshobuddha Meditations
All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the original publisher TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONSTM and TAOSHOBUDDHA. Printed and Published by:TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS
Managing Editor Anand Neelambar
Cover design and graphics: Anand Neelambar
Assistant Managing Editor Lars Jensen
CHIEF EDITOR: ANAND NEELAMBAR, TRINIADAD
JNT EDITORIAL OFFICE: 66, College Street, St Augustine, Trinidad W.I. Phone: 1-954-381-1227 1-8680683-8587
ASSISTANT EDITOR: LARS JENSEN, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN ADVISORY EDITOR: MAULWI JALALUDDIN AHMAD AR-ROWI, MALAYSIA Editorial Staff Sheikh Taoshobuddha Anand Neelambar Lars Jensen, Stockholm, Sweden Maulwi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi, Malaysia Professor Rattan Lal Hangloo, Proctor and Head of History Dept, Hyderabad Central University, Hyderababd
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Skype.Com: Taoshobuddha1 Website: http://dhyan-samadhi.webs.com/ Email: mailtaoshobuddha@gmail.com
mailtaoshobuddha@yahoo.com avatar411@gmail.com Jensen@gmx.at Rowi_naqsh@yahoo.com
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Contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Photo Gallery Profile Sheikh Taoshobuddha Editorial Message from Sheikh Taoshobuddha Message from Maulwi Jalaliddin Ahmad Ar Rowi Origin of Naqshbandi Tariqat Golden Chain Naqshbandiyah–Mujadadiyah-Mazahria-Ramchandria Naqshbandi Tariqat The Way or Tariqat of Sufis What is Naqshbandi Design Naqshbandi design – Parable of Bahauddin Always choose to be happy Tariqat in Post Naqshbandi Era From “me” to “God” - a change within by Lars Jens Books of Taoshobuddha on Amazon.com and Create Space.Com Naqshbandi Uwaisiyah Tariqat by Maulwi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar Rowi Book Reviews - Essence of Sufism Book Reviews Maraqba – I – Rumi
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4 17 19 20 23 24 25 28 36 37 42 43 48 57 68 80 83
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Photo Gallery
SHRINE SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND (q), BOKHARA
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SHRINE SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND (q), BOKHARA
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat
SHRINE SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND (q), BOKHARA
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SHRINE SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND (q), BOKHARA
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SHRINE SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND (q), BOKHARA
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SHRINE SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND (q), BOKHARA
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SHRINE MOHAMAMD BAQUI BILLAH (q), NEW DELHI, INDIA
The first Naqshbandi Sheikh send to Indian Subcontinent
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SHRINE SHEIKH AHMAD ALI KHAN (KHALIFA SAHIB) (q)
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SHRINE SHEIKH FAZAL AHMAD KAHN (q)
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SHEIKH RAMCHANDRA (LALA JI) (q)
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SHRINE SHEIKH RAMCHANDRA RA – LALAJI, FATEHGARH, INDIA
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SHEIKH TAOSHOBUDDHA
bujugR gujrte hE bujugIR kI rah se bujurga gujarte hain bujurgi ki rah se Master follows the path laid by masters
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kaz #sI trIk pe Ada merI nmaj hae, yar ke paynaj pe mera sre inyaj hae. KAASH ISI TAREEQ PE AADA MERI NAAMAJ HO YAAR KE PAYANAAZ PE MERA SARE NIIYAZ HO
May all my prayers be for this gesture and Countenance of the master And my salutations be at the holy feet of my master!!!
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Profile: Naqshbandi Sheikh Taoshobuddha Taoshobuddha is born in India in a family of Naqshbandi Sufi Masters. He comes from the tradition of Naqshbandi Sufi Ram Chandra RA – Lalaji, Naqshbandi Sufi Raghuber Dayal RA – Chachaji, Sufi Brij Mohan Lal RA, and Sufi Onkar Nath RA. A the age of eight months his Nana Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Brij Mohan Lal transferred the nisbet and thus prepared him for what he represents the Naqshbandi Tariqat in its pristine clarity. The Sheikh says, “I am here for all that existence wants me to be. Therefore I go on allowing happening all that existence has sent me for. And whatsoever the existence does not want to happen I will not allow to happen. My being is absorbed in God. This is totality. And this, the word „God‟ means to me. This is flowing in God or cosmic harmony. And the moment this happened, I became suddenly allinfinite-OCEANIC... AND NOW SOUR IN INFINITE SKY EFFORTLESSLY....” On the meaning of the name Taoshobuddha the Sheikh said: Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
“The word Taoshobuddha comes from three words, „tao,‟ „sho,‟ and „Buddha‟. The word Tao was coined by the Chinese master, Lau Tzu. It means, that which is and cannot be put into words. It is unknown and unknowable. It can only be experienced and not expressed in words. Its magnanimity cannot be condensed into finiteness. The word Sho implies, that which is vast like the sky and deep like an ocean and carries within its womb a treasure. It also means one on whom the existence showers its blessings. And lastly the word Buddha, implies the Enlightened One; one who has arrived home. Thus, Taoshobuddha implies one who is existential, on whom the existence showers its blessings and one who has arrived home. The Enlightened One. Scores of his videos are available on various paths and masters on you www.youtube.com - taoshobuddha; and many other sites. He has worldwide meditation in Trinidad, Florida, Boston, New York, Sweden and many other cities of the world. Scores of his books can be purchased at major sites worldwide and book stores. List of books: From Sterling Publishers, New, Delhi, India Page 17
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Meditation The Way to Self Realization The Secrets of Bhakti The Essence of Sufism
Books published from www.http//I.proclaim.Com Pittsburg PA
Haripath-The Hidden Splendor Fruits the Essence Of Life Vigor Meditation the Ultimate In Healing Leaves from a Sufi Heart Vol 1 Leaves from a Sufi Heart Vol 2 Shah Bahauddin Naqshband - Life And Works Maraqba-I-Naqshbandi Maraqba-I-Rumi Japji Sahib Songs of Nanak Sri Rama Gita Om Ganeshyah Namah Quest For Birth And Death In Savitri Of Sri Aurobindo Savitri - Review by Taoshobuddha Tasuwware Sheikh Srimad Bhagwad Purana Introduction Parables - Naqshbandi Design For Transformation The Secrets Of Spiritual Life (Talks Of Taoshobuddha) By Lars Jensen
Haripath-The Hidden Splendor Parijaat – the Celestial Flower Know your Samskaras Meditation the Ultimate in Healing Leaves from a Sufi Heart Vol 1 Leaves from a Sufi Heart Vol 2 Shah Bahauddin Naqshband - Life and Works Maraqba-I-Naqshbandi Maraqba-I-Rumi Japji Sahib Songs of Nanak Sri Rama Gita Quest for Birth And Death In Savitri Of Sri Aurobindo Tasuwware Sheikh The Secrets of Spiritual Life (Talks Of Taoshobuddha) By Lars Jensen Parables - Naqshbandi Design for Transformation
Several of his documents are available free for download on: www.docstoc.com; www.scribd.com and www.issuu.com E MAIL: mailtaoshobuddha@gmail.com mailtaoshobuddha@yahoo.com
and more books are in publication.
PHONE: 1-954-381-1227 WEB SITE: http://www.dhyan-samadhi.webs.com
The following Titles are published from www.http//CreateSpace.Com and simultaneously available on www.http//Amazon.com
BOOKS AVAILABLE FROM www.http//i.proclaim.com; www.http//createspace.com www.http//amazon.com
Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
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Editorial
It is indeed a rare opportunity to be blessed by a Sufi Master – Sheikh Taoshobuddha. Masters are not bound by time or space. Masters exist in a realm beyond dimensions and their subtle vibrations resonate throughout eternity. The message of all the Masters is the same. It assumes various forms for the climate in which the message is to be delivered. Very few are the seekers who can discern the central message of all the masters and see the underlying oneness. This Journal seeks to deliver the message via a Naqshbandi Tariqat. It is by the grace of the Masters that I am allowed to write a brief editorial for this our first publication. A humble servant can but merely echo all what the masters have said. The words are not mines, the punctuation are mines….but the force which directs my pen is of the masters.
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I am an innocent child frolicking in the garden of the Sheikh. I have gathered the coloured pebbles and oddly shaped stones. Sitting with the Sheikh revealed many hidden treasures. It is my intention to bring these rare gems in a continuing series of journals – under various titles. In the request for truth one must be open, vulnerable and receptive. Any fanatism, bigotry and prejudice shall not only hinder the sojourn but verily make it impossible to attain an iota of the masters‟ barkat (grace). And without barakat, realization is a far cry if not an impossible dream. Our effort in all such endeavours is merely to share an opportunity with the seekers to celebrate with us. Ours is a caravan in which many travellers have gathered to sojourn. We rest and listen to stories of ancient lore – stories of the Naqshbandi Tariqat and the hidden patterns in existence that intertwines all creation in one cosmic universe.
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Message from Sheikh Taoshobuddha Sufism is the path of Love! It is the path of Trust! Trust your Love! Trust your being! A new meaning will certainly arise in life. Life will be a benediction. This is my Certitude or Yakeen. Beloved friends on the path I welcome you all now and ever. It does not matter who you are or what is the particulars. The most important thing is that you are on the path. This is what matters to a Sheikh. And your spiritual journey begins from where you are. It is from there alone the Sheikh starts working on you. It is the occasion of joy as we are launching the International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat. The purpose of this publication is to make you familiar with the Tariqat and present the Tariqat, life and works of various sheikhs Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
of the Golden chain of Naqshbandi Tariqat in authentic way. IT happened once. There was a conference of the learned ones. Somehow a master happened to reach there. In that conference he read a couplet. imla jae maEka tae raek dU<ga mh;r ihsab tera pF<Uga muhBbt ke vae ksIde sun ke h<s prega Aajab tera IF I EVER GET THE OPPORTUNITY, CERTAINLY I WILL STOP THY DAY OF JUDGMENT! WHY? I WILL RECITE THOSE COUPLETS OF THY LOVINGNESS AND GRACE. LISTENING TO WHICH YOUR ANGER SHALL VANISH!! He recited the first line, which meant, “If I ever get the
opportunity, certainly I will stop the day of judgment.” It was customary belief among the people then and even today as well that on the Day of Judgment Allah will punish all those who have deviated from the path. Listening to these words everyone in the congregation got very angry. But then a silence descended. Everyone got quiet when he recited the second line, which meant: I will sing the glories of Thy Love! Also I will chant Thy magnanimity! I will overflow of Thy compassion! I have lived those moments. Listening to these words Thy anger will certainly vanish. Such is my certitude. My trust! This is my love! This is my being. This is my presence. Page 20
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat No one could escape this energy field of the master! All those who had gathered there now drowned within the mystical energy field or Tawwazjoh of this master. No word! Just an indrawn mystical stillness and tranquility! A stillness that is alive! A stillness that is pulsating! A state of meditativeness descended. Everyone got quiet because it was TRUTH echoing. It was Love overflowing. Both truth and love are synonymous. And when Truth manifests itself there can be no better song! No better melody! It was the song of the being! The pulse of cosmos! The very essence of the master! This is Sufism. The path of Love! It is the path of Trust! Trust your Love! Trust your being! A new meaning will certainly arise in life. Life will be a benediction. This is my Certitude or Yakeen. Sufism evolved as the inner kernel of Islam. It is the fragrance of the Holy prophet. If Islam is alive today it is Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
because of the Sufi path. And shall continue erelong, as long as human heart is alive with love! Sufism evolved in the deserts of the Middle East. Inflicted by intense heat and the dearth of greenery it flourished amidst the desert of life. It evolved within the inner sanctum of the Sufi masters. The breath of the cosmos, the inner light of the Holy Prophet, the soil of trust, and the waters of the separation with the whole, all provided a congenial environment for the growth of this eternal tree of mysticism as SUFI PATH. Later the awareness, intuition, and trust of the various masters of the following Orders nourished and nurtured the path with their love as the energy field and their understanding through various upheavals of life and living. 1. Chishti Order (India) (11431223 AD), 2. Suhrawardi Order (India) (1234-1335 AD), 3. Mevlevi Order (Turkey) (1273),
4. Naqshbandi Order (Afghanistan and India) (d.1642 AD), 5. Nimatullahi Sufi Order (Iran) (at the end of the 14th century AD), 6. Shattari Order (India) (d.1485 AD) 7. Quadriyah Tariqat - S. Abdul Qadir Gillani (Iraq) (14301517 AD), This process still continues unabated in the name of an ecstatic Naqshbandi master Sayyidina Abul Qasim Gurgani who chants erelong: YA ILAHI TA ABAD KAYAM RAHE YAH SILSILA! Yaa #lahI ta Abd kaym rhe yh islisla, MAY THIS PATH OF TRANSFORMATION OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS CONTINUE TILL ETERNITY! AMENâ&#x20AC;Ś. After the departure of the Beloved Page 21
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Prophet Muhammad from this world in 632 C.E., those who were closest to him passed on his teachings to the sincere seekers of the next generation, who in turn became the perfected guides, or Sheikhs, for the generation after them. This process has continued down to our present time by the Mercy of Allah. In this way, every authentic Sufi guide has a chain of Masters who leads directly back to the Beloved Prophet Muhammad. Such a chain of Masters is known in Sufism as a "Silsila" or a “Shajarah". Often, one of the Sheikhs may be so prominent, or become so wellknown, that his students will identify themselves by saying they follow the way of such-and-such a Sheikh. The Arabic word for way is 'tariqah'. (Plural: 'turuq'). So for example, students of the great Sheikh, Abdul-Qadir alJilani, and his successors down to the present day are said to follow the Qadriya tariqah. Similarly, Bahauddin gave his name
Naqshband to the
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Naqshbandiya tariqah. Khawaja Muin al-din Hasan Chishti gave his name to the Chistiyya tariqah. Abul Hasan Shadhili gave his name to the Shadhili tariqah. Ahmad Faruqi Sirhindi gave Mujaddid to the Mujaddidi tariqah. Sultan Makhdoom Ashraf Jahangir gave his name to the Ashraf ya tariqah. Mirza Mazhar Mir Jane Jana gave his name to Mazaharia tariqah. Sheikh Ahmad Faruqi and Mirza Mazhar Mir Jane Jana belonged to the tradition of Bahauddin Naqshband. As a result the path came to be known as Naqshbandiya MujaddadiMazaharia.
other influences from Indian sub continent. This did not mean the Tariqat is Hindu or Islamic. Beyond the narrowness of caste creed and religion is the realm of Haq or Truth or Spirituality. Lalaji said: betaSsubI sdakt kI jan hE In Indian Sub continent the streams of Tigris and Euphrates merged with Ganges and Yamuna to emerge as the path for inward journey. In English language each of these 'tariqah‟ is known as a „Sufi Order‟. Ultimately, all of these orders lead directly back to the Beloved Prophet Muhammad. And thus continues the path and the process of transformation.
To this Tariqat Naqshbandi Sheikh Ramchandra (q) – Lalaji added a new dimension by bringing Hindu element. The Tariqat that was so far considered Islamic in texture merged with Page 22
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Message from Maulawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi Hadhzrat Sufi Naqshbandi Taoshobuddha, Wa‟alaikumussalam wabarakatuh
warahmatullahi
Alhamdulillah, this faqir feels very happy deep inside the heart when I received your email along with all the good news from you, launching the International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat. Congratulations for all the books that you have already published and distributed in the west under your pen name – Sheikh Taoshobuddha. May Allah Ta'ala bless all the great effort to establish the Awliya Allah community in this world to strengthen the religion of Islam and to protect the secrets of Iman and Ihsan of how to attain the Gnostic Ma'rifat of Allah's essence, actions, qualities and pure love of his Mahabbat and pure servitude of his Ma'abudiyat, the lord of the heavens and earths, the educator of the entire creations, the sustainer of the
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entire universe. All praises and glorifications belongs to Allah, Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'Alamin. Thank you very much for the great opportunity and the invitation that you offer me to become as one of the editors and contributors in the International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat. With the purpose to bring awareness about Naqshbandi Tariqat and its advent in the Indian sub continent. It is a great service especially to our Hadhzarat Khwajagan and Piran Naqshband Mujaddidan, because they are the illuminating lights that brightens throughout the universe, who prepared themselves to become attracted by the attractions of Allah and attract other people to get attracted by Allah. Our Khwajagan Naqshband Mujaddidan precedes the Jazbah attractions before travelling in the Suluk spiritual journey vertically towards his divine presence.
I have read the excerpt of the journal. May AllahTa'ala shower us with his blessings and may he take some efforts from us to strengthen the Shari'at, Tariqat, Ma'rifat and Haqiqat of our Hadhzrat beloved Muhammad al-Mustafa Rasulullah wa Ahmad Al-Mujtaba 'Abdullah wa Habibullah. Peace be upon him, his family, his companions and those who follows him with sincere obedience. Wassalam Hadhzrat faqir Maulawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi Al-Amani 'Afa 'Anhu Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Uwaisi Khanqah Khaliliyah Naqshbandiyah Mujaddidiyah Naqshband academy of Quran Sunnah and Hadiths Gua Damai Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia
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Origin and Evolution of Tariqat A Sufi path or tariqat began from the Noor of Allah Subhanhu Taala via His Prophet, Hadhrat Sayyidina Wa Maulana Muhammad Mustafa Rasulullah Sallallahu Ta‟ala 'Alaihi Wa Alihi Wa Ashabihi Wa Barik Wa Sallam!
Naqshaband the Tariqat came to be known as the Naqshbandiyya Tariqah. And from then onwards this remains as Naqshbandiyah Tariqah. However with the passage of time many other additions were made but its original design remained.
In the beginning this Tariqat was called “Siddiqiya” because of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiqui RA. The Tariqat continued to be recognized as Siddiqiya until the emergence of Sheikh Tayfur Bayazid Bistami RA. After Hadhrath Bayzid Bistami the Tariqat came to be known as „Tayfurian‟. The Tariqat continued to be known by the name Tayfurian until the advent of Hadhrat Abdul Khaliq Gajadwani R.A., who died 12 Rabbiyul Awwal 575AH – in Bukhara where his Shrine exists as a source of Noor. There after the Tariqat emerged as „Khazaganiah‟ and continued as Khazaganiah until 1318 when the noor of Allah Subhan wa Taala emerged as Shah Bahauddin Naqshband.
Of the Naqshbandiyah Tariqah Shah Naqshband said,
With the advent of Shah Bahauddin
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Our Way is very rare and very precious. It is the curwati-l-wuthqa -„Firm Handhold‟. It is the way of remaining firm and steadfast in the footsteps of the Prophet and of his Companions. They brought me to this Way from the door of Favors, because at its beginning and at its end, I witnessed nothing but the Favors of God. In this Way great doors of Heavenly Knowledge will be opened up to the seeker who follows in the footsteps of the Prophet. To follow the Sunnah of the Prophet is the most important means by which the door will be opened to you. He said, „Whoever is not coming to our Way, his religion is in danger.‟ He was asked,
„How does someone come to Your Way?‟ He replied, „By following the Sunnah of the Prophet.‟ He said, „We have carried in this Way humiliation, and in return Allah has blessed us with His Honor.‟ Some people said about him that he was sometimes arrogant. He said, „We are proud because of Him, because He is our Lord, giving us His Support!‟ Bahauddin said, „To reach the Secrets of Oneness is sometimes possible, but to reach the Secrets of Spiritual knowledge (marifat) is extremely difficult.‟ He continued, „Spiritual Knowledge is like water, it takes the color and shape of the cup. Allah's Knowledge is so great, that however much we take, it is like a drop of a huge ocean. It like a vast garden, however much we have cut it is as if we had cut but one flower.‟
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Golden Chain Naqshbandiyah – Mujadadiyah-Mazahria-Ramchandria 1. Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Wa Maulana Muhammad Mustafa Rasulullah Sallallahu Ta‟ala s.a. (d.12 Rabbiyul Awwal 11 AH) Medina 2. Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddique r.a. (d. 22 Jama‟dil A'lhar 13AH) - Medina 3. Hadhrat Salman al-farisi r.a. (d. 10 Rajjab 35AH) - Medina 4. Hadhrat Imaam Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr r.a. (d. 24 Jama'dil ( Awwal/A'khar) 107AH) – Medina 5. Hadhrat Imaam Ja‟far al-Sadiq r.a. (d. 15 Rajjab Murajjab 148AH) – Medina 6.
Hadhrat Bayazid Bastami r.a. (d. 14/17 Sha‟ban 261AH) – Bastam
7.
Hadhrat Abul Hassan Khurqaani r.a. (d. 15 Ramda‟n 425AH) – Khurqan
8.
Hadhrat khwaja Abul Quqsim Ghurghani r.a.
9.
Hadhrat Abu Ali Farmadi r.a. (d. 4 Rabbiyul Awwal 477AH) – Mashad
10. Hadhrat Yusuf Hamdani r.a. (d. 27 Rajjab 535AH) – Turkistan 11. Hadhrat Abdul Khaliq Gajadwani r.a. (d. 12 Rabbiyul Awwal 575AH) – Bukhara 12. Hadhrat Muhammad Arif Riwkari r.a. (d. 1 Shawwa'l 615AH) – Tajikistan 13. Hadhrat Mahmood Injir Faghnavi r.a. (d. 17 Rabbiyul Awwal 715AH) – Bukhara Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 14. Hadhrat Azizane Ali Raamitni r.a. (d. 718/721AH) – Bukhara 15. Hadhrat Muhammad Baba Samasi r.a. (d. 755AH) – Bukhara 16. Hadhrat Sayyed Amir Kulaal r.a. (d. 772AH) – Bukhara 17. Hadhrat Kwajah Bahauddin Naqshband r.a. (d. 2 Rajab al-Murajjab, 791AH) - Qasr-e-Aarifan (Bukhara) 18. Hadhrat Alaa‟uddin Attaar r.a. (d. 20 Rajab 802AH) - Jafaaniyan (Mawralnahar) 19. Hadhrat Ya‟qoob Charkhi r.a. (d. 5 Safar, 851AH) - Charkh (Bukhara) 20. Hadhrat Ubaydullah Ahraar r.a. (d. 20/29 Rabi al-Awwal, 895AH) – Samarqand (Mawralnahar) 21. Hadhrat Muhammad Zaahid r.a. (d. 1 Rabi al-Awwal, 936AH) - Wakhsh (Malk Hasaar) 22. Hadhrat Darwish Muhammad r.a. (d. 19 Muharram, 970AH) - Samarqand (Mawralnahar) 23. Hadhrat Muhammad Waaqif Amkanki r.a. (d. 21/22 Sha'baan, 1008AH) - Akang (Bukhara) From here on the Naqshbandi path enters the Indian Sub – continent via Sheikh Baqui Billah through the capital city of New Delhi 24. Hadhrat Khwajah Baaqi Billaah r.a. (d. 25 Jumaad al-Aakhar, 1012AH) - Delhi (India) 25. Hadhrath Imam Rabbani, Mujaddid Alf Thani, Hadhrat Shaykh Ahmad Farooqui Sirhandi r.a. (d. 28 Safar, 1034AH) - Sirhind (India) 26. Hadhrat Muhammad Ma‟soom Farooqui r.a. (d. 9 Rabi al-Awwal, 1079AH) - Sirhind (India) 27. Hadhrat Sayfuddeen Bin Ma‟soom Farooqui r.a. (d. 19 Jumad al-Oola, 1095-1096AH) - Sirhind (India) 28. Hadhrat Noor Muhammad Badyooni r.a. (d. 11 Dhul Qa‟dah, 1135AH) – Lodhi Road, Delhi (India) Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 29. Hadhrat Mirza Mazhar Jaan-I-Jaanan r.a. (d. 10 Muharram, 1195AH) - Khanqah Mazharia Turkman Gate Delhi (India) 30. Hadhrat Abdullah Shah Naimullah r.a. (d. 22 Safar, 1240AH)Bahraich U.P. (India) 31. Hadhrat Mawla‟na Muradullah r.a. (d. Dhul Qa‟dah, 1248AH) - Lucknow U.P.(India) 32. Hadhrat Sayyed Abul Hasan Sa‟eed r.a. (d. Sha'ba'n, 1272) - Rai Bareli U.P.(India) 33. Hadhrat Mawla‟na Khalifa Ahmad Ali Khan r.a. left on 04.11.1904(AD) Kaimganj, Distt. Farrukhabad (Uttar Pradesh) India 34. Hadhrat Mawla‟na Shaah Fazl Ahmad Khan r.a. (1857-1907 A D) Qusba- Raipur Distt. Farrukhabad (Uttar Pradesh) India 35. Hadhrat Mawla‟na Abdul Ghani Khan r.a. (1867-1952 AD) Qusba-Bhogaon, Distt. Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh)India From here the Hindu influence became predominant in the Tariqat. Almost one hundred years ago a forecast was made by the 33rd Naqshbandi Master Hadthrath Sayadina Kutub-i-alam Abul Hasan Naseerabadi. He mentioned of this to his Khalifa Sufi Ahmad Ali Khan (Khalifa Sahib) Kayamganji. It was he who had predicted the advent of Hindu Influence in the Tariqat. 36. Mahatma Sufi Ramchandra (Lalaji) Ji Maharaj (1873-1931 AD) r.a. Fatehgarh (Uttar Pradesh) India 37. Mahatma Sufi Raghubar Dayal (Chachchaji) Ji Maharaj (1875-1947 AD) r.a. Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh India 38. Mahatma Sufi Brij Mohan Lal (1898-1955 AD) r.a., Lucknow Uttar Pradesh, India 39. Mahatma Sufi Onkar Nath (1941-2008 AD) r.a. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh,India After Shah Bahauddin the Tariqat got divided into many sub paths and each considers itself to be the authentic one. These evolved as many new streams arising from the main stream of Shah Bahauddin Naqshband r.a..
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat
Naqshbandi Tariqat – The Way or Tariqat of Sufis Tariqat means the path, the method. The journey from the outer to the inner! The outer is the circumference, the haqiqat the inner is a centre and tariqat is the radius proceeding from the circumference to the center.
PARABLE OF SHAH FIROZ:
The initiative path that leads from outward observance to inner conviction, from belief to vision, from potency to act, from dream to reality is TARIQAT or method, technique, path, way, Tao, or Dhamma. This is the whole science of religion. The circumference is there, the centre is there, but one has to move from the circumference to the center. We have to use a certain radius to move from circumference to the center. Only a radius can join the circumference to the centre. What is the radius that Sufis propose? They are the people of the path because they have devised many techniques. They have the most potential TARIQAT – Techniques.
HE SAID, „BECAUSE EVEN THE MOST DEDICATED WILL, UNTIL A CERTAIN POINT OF UNDERSTANDING, NOT IS TEACHABLE AT ALL. HE IS HERE IN THE FLESH, BUT ABSENT IN EVERY OTHER WAY.‟
Now first this parable of Sufi Shah Firoz; Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
SHAH FIROZ, WHO IS REMEMBERED AS THE MASTER OF MANY VERY DISTINGUISHED SUFIS, WAS OFTEN ASKED WHY HE DID NOT TEACH THEM FASTER.
HE ALSO RECITED THIS TALE. THERE WAS ONCE A KING WHO WANTED TO BECOME A SUFI. THE SUFI WHOM HE APPROACHED ABOUT THE MATTER SAID, „MAJESTY, YOU CANNOT STUDY WITH THE ELECT UNTIL YOU CAN OVERCOME HEEDLESSNESS.‟ „HEEDLESSNESS‟, SAID THE KING. „AM I NOT HEEDFUL OF MY RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS? DO I NOT LOOK AFTER THE PEOPLE? WHOM CAN YOU FIND IN MY ENTIRE REALM WHO HAS A COMPLAINT AGAINST ME ON THE GROUNDS OF
HEEDLESSNESS?‟ „THAT IS PRECISELY THE DIFFICULTY,‟ SAID THE SUFI. „BECAUSE HEEDFULNESS IS SO MARKED IN SOME THINGS, PEOPLE IMAGINE THAT IT MUST BE A PART OF THEIR TEXTURE.‟ HOWEVER, „I CANNOT UNDERSTAND THAT SORT OF REMARK,‟ SAID THE KING, „AND PERHAPS YOU WILL REGARD ME AS UNSUITABLE BECAUSE I CANNOT FATHOM YOUR RIDDLES.‟ „NOT AT ALL,‟ RESPONDED THE SUFI, „BUT A WOULD-BE DISCIPLE CANNOT REALLY HAVE A DEBATE WITH HIS PROSPECTIVE MASTER. SUFIS DEAL IN KNOWLEDGE, NOT IN ARGUMENT. BUT I WILL GIVE YOU A DEMONSTRATION OF YOUR HEEDLESSNESS, IF YOU WILL CARRY OUT A TEST AND DO WHAT I ASK IN RESPECT TO IT.‟ THE KING AGREED TO TAKE THE TEST, AND THE SUFI TOLD HIM TO SAY „I BELIEVE YOU‟ TO EVERYTHING WHICH SHOULD BE SAID TO HIM IN THE ENSUING FEW MINUTES.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat „IF THAT IS A TEST, IT IS EASY ENOUGH TO START BECOMING A SUFI,‟ REPLIED THE KING. NOW THE SUFI STARTED THE TEST. HE ASKED: „I AM A MAN FROM BEYOND THE SKIES.‟ „I BELIEVE YOU,‟ SAID THE KING. THE SUFI CONTINUED: „ORDINARY PEOPLE TRY TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE, SUFIS HAVE SO MUCH THAT THEY TRY NOT TO USE IT.‟ „I BELIEVE YOU,‟ SAID THE KING. THEN THE SUFI SAID: „I AM A LIAR.‟ „I BELIEVE YOU,‟ SAID THE KING. THE SUFI WENT ON: „I WAS PRESENT WHEN YOU WERE BORN.‟ „I BELIEVE YOU,‟ SAID THE KING. „AND YOUR FATHER WAS A PEASANT,‟ ASKED THE SUFI. „THAT IS A LIE!‟ SHOUTED THE KING! THE SUFI LOOKED AT HIM SORROWFULLY AND SAID: „SINCE YOU ARE SO HEEDLESS THAT YOU CANNOT FOR ONE MINUTE REMEMBER TO SAY “I BELIEVE YOU” WITHOUT SOME PREJUDICE COMING INTO PLAY, NO SUFI WOULD BE ABLE TO TEACH YOU ANYTHING.‟ Before I go into the parable certain things need to be explained first. RELIGION exists in three Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
dimensions. That is the original source of the concept of Trinity, or the Hindu idea of Trimurti the three faces of God. Or we can say that religion exists on three planesbecause man also exists on three planes. Man exists in the body, in the mind, in the soul. Religion also has a body, a mind and a soul. If you only exist in the body you cannot relate to any other religion except the outermost. If you exist as a psychology - as a mind, as a psyche - then you can relate to the second layer of religion, otherwise not! And until you exist as a soul, there is no possibility of coming to encounter the innermost core of religion or Tasawwuf, the ultimate. This is what the Sufis are searching for. The Sufis have three names for these three planes. These have to be understood as they are very significant. The first is called Sharia. Sharia means the body of religion. It may be alive, it may be dead. Both possibilities exist. When a Buddha is alive, sharia is alive. When a Mohammed is alive, sharia is alive. Holy Prophet breathes life into it. But when Holy Prophet is gone there will be a corpse. The corpse resembles the real body but it is not. It only resembles the original. When life
leaves you, your corpses will just look life you. But it is not you. The real has left. The subtle has left. Only the gross is lying there on the ground. That creates trouble because people become so much acquainted with the face that they go on believing that the corpse is alive. Islam is fragrance of the Holy Prophet. When Holy Prophet was there to breathe life into it, it was a totally different kind of religion. That is called sharia. Sharia means exotericism or the ritual, the formal, the Sunday religion. It does not affect you at all. It gives you certain respectability in the society. It is more social than spiritual. And it is more political than religious. Islam without Holy Prophet and Hinduism without Krishna and Buddhism without Buddha are nothing but garbed political standpoints alone. In the name of religion politics breads in! When God is not there to breathe into the body, the Devil starts breathing into it. So a dead body is not only dead, it is very dangerous as well. It can be possessed by the Devil, your mind and its negativities. The politician is the Mind. When the master is no more the body is there. Page 29
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Anyone can enter into it. Somebody can start having that body. It resembles the real. When the master is gone the priest will use it, the politician will use it, and many will be deceived by it because they know only the face. Think of it in this way. When you look at another human being, do you know anything more than the face? Even your beloved, even your child! Do you know anything other than the face? Have you ever penetrated farther than the face? Your acquaintance remains very superficial. It is not even skin deep. It remains formal. Only of the form! But the face is not the person; the personality is not the person. The outer shape is not the inner reality. Will you be able to recognize your beloved as a spirit? You will not be able to. Will you able to recognize your own child if the child comes as a spirit, not as a body? You will not be able to recognize it at all. You will get frightened. You will think that a ghost has come. We know people only by their faces. Why? Because we know ourselves only by our faces as seen in the mirror! You would not recognize even your own head if you had not seen it in a mirror before. If you had never seen yourself in the mirror, Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
and some day somebody brought your head in front of you, would you be able to recognize it? You would not recognize it at all. Your acquaintance with yourself is also very superficial. It is okay with the others. You look at them from the outside. But at least with yourself you are not outside, you are inside. Why cannot you look at yourself from the inside? No, even to look at yourself you need the help of an outside mirror. So the mirror reflects, and you become an outsider to yourself even. Only then you can see. Only then you know that face, that body, that form. Our so-called knowledge of ourselves and others is very much bodyrooted. Hence we never enter deeper into any dimension other than the body. That dimension is called sharia. Sharia is the outer dimension of religion. When a Mohammed walks on the earth, or a Buddha, or a Mahabir, you simply watch the body. You watch his behaviour. You watch how he sits, what he eats, what he wears, how he talks, and his gestures. You watch these things. And out of these things you create a certain discipline and you start following that discipline. This is a
dead religion. religion.
This
is
a
corpse
All so called religions exist at this level. The crowd believes in sharia. This is the reason the crowd always remains non-religious. The crowd as such is not religious. You can find only individuals religious. Religion can never exist as a crowd. A crowd, by its very nature, is insane. A crowd, by its very nature, is political, but never religious. In fact, if you are alone you cannot be political. Have you ever thought about it? If you are left alone on the earth you cannot be political at all. For politics the other is needed. If you are left alone on the earth you can be religious. There will be no obstruction. But you cannot be political. Politics needs the crowd, the collective mind. Religion needs only you. You are enough unto yourself. Your very aloneness becomes the passage towards religion. That is why when a person wants to be religious he goes into aloneness. He seeks solitude. He goes to the mountains or to the desert. He wants to escape from the crowd because the crowd is basically mad.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Kierkegaard, one of the most perceptive thinkers of the West, has said: „The crowd is the untruth.‟ Truth is always individual. A Buddha has it, a Mohammed has it, and a Jesus has it. Truth is always a flowering of the individual consciousness, but the crowd never has it. The crowd always has the untruth. Even from a Buddha or a Christ or a Mohammed the crowd gathers the superficial. Crowd understands what he eats, when he goes to sleep etc. What I eat is meaningless. What I am is meaningful. What I do is irrelevant. What I am is relevant. Man is not equal to his behavior. He is more than that. And the greater the man, the bigger will be the difference. Ordinarily a man is exactly like what his behaviour is. What you do, that you are. But when a Buddha is there then he is very, ordinary and what he is, is tremendously extraordinary. The distance is so vast that you can never fathom his being through his behavior. But the modern mind suffers from this disease. You can go and see B. F. Skinner or Pavlov and others. Psychologists watch the behavior of rats to decide what the human mind is. Watching the behavior of a rat to Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
decide about man! A rat is just his behavior. He has not yet grown individuality. He has not yet grown a self. But one thing has to be said in favor of Skinner and others of his kind. About the crowd they are right. The crowd has the same state as the rat. But they certainly miss the exceptional. Remember the exceptional is the essence of humanity. They can explain your behavior through the study of rats. But they cannot explain a Buddha or a Mohammed. But they still go on trying. And there they go berserk. The sharia is created by watching the behavior of the enlightened person. And it is okay when the enlightened person is in his body. But when he is no more in the body then what will you do? You will start worshipping the body, the clothes. And sometimes it happens that when a great man like a Mohammed or a Buddha is no more alive for a few days something hovers around him, as if he is still alive. That also creates trouble. You must have heard the famous Greek story. The story is told that the runner of Marathon was dead an hour before he reached Athens. He was dead yet he still ran. And as a
dead man he announced the victory of the Greeks. It is a beautiful myth. It shows that the dead Masters act for a while as if they are still alive. But only for a little while! Maybe one year, ten years, fifty years, perhaps! Yes, this happens. When a Mohammed disappears from the body, the body has tasted so much joy. The body has known a different celebration. The dance goes on. That myth is really beautiful and meaningful. At least about the great Masters it is true. For a few years things go on happening as if they are still alive. This happens because of the tremendous energy released by the dying Master. His very place becomes a sacred place for pilgrimage. That is how a Mecca is created. That is how mount Kailas becomes of great significance for Hindus. That is how Jainas have Gimar and Shikharji. On the mountains of Shikharji, twenty-three Jaina teerthankaras have died. Out of twenty-four great Masters, twentythree Masters have died on a small hill. The whole hill has become overflowing with the vibe of the Page 31
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat beyond. But that continues only for a while. This creates a problem. Then the disciples think that the corpse is still alive because things go on happening. Naturally, they will think that everything is as it was before. But that is a fallacy. Once the man is gone, within a few years time those vibes that were created, and the echo of those vibes that were created, will disappear into nothingness. The sharia is the superficial core of religion or the body. Beware of this. The second layer is called Haqiqat. The sharia is the circumference of a circle whose center is Haqiqat. The word Haqiqat comes from „haq‟. Haq means truth. Just pure truth! Haqiqat! That is why Mansur declared, an-el-haq! I am the Truth. Haqiqat means the truth, pure, uncontaminated by anything. Haqiqat means the centre of the circumference, the very soul of religion. At the point of sharia Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism exists. At the point of Haqiqat there is Sufism, Zen, Hassidism, and Yoga. Remember it. To become a Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
Mohammedan is not of much use. But to become a Sufi is immensely beautiful and valuable. To become a Buddhist is just changing your clothes. However to become a follower of Zen is really moving towards transformation. To remain a Jew is nothing, but to be a Hassid is great splendor and benediction. This is the second point, the innermost core. At the first, sharia, there is politics, society, morality and a thousand and one things. Because of sharia the Quran is so full of social rules. Only few and far between will you find real statements about religion. They are there even in Manusmriti, in the Vedas and in the Quran as well. However such statements are not only few but far apart as well! Only if you are really in search of them will you be able to find them, otherwise the diamond is lost in the mud. The mud is sharia and the diamond is Sufism. Always rush towards the centre. Never be too attached to the body. Create this continuous awareness of looking into depth. Instead of looking into the circumference be at the centre not on the circumference. And the circumference is big, the centre is very small. Islam is a great crowd,
so is Hinduism, so is Christianity. Sufis you can count on your fingers. Yogis you can count on your fingers. Hassid or Zen Masters you can count on your fingers. They never exist like the crowd. You will have to search for them. And if you have a real desire to find them, only then you will find them. Otherwise you will go on missing. For the Sharia you need not go in search anywhere. The sharia comes in search of you. The Sharia comes to convert you to Islam. The Buddhist monk comes to convert you to Buddhism. But if you want to search for a Sufi or a Hassid you will have to move. You will have to discover a sincere seeker in you. And you will have to learn many things on the way. Remember for one real Master there are ninety-nine false Masters. And the false will appeal to you more because you are false. The false will appeal to you more because you understand the language of the false. The real may not appeal to you at all. The real may sometimes create fear in you. You will resist the real Master and you will fall and become a victim of the unreal. Beware of that! You are unreal. So naturally you are attracted by the unreal. The unreal Page 32
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat promises you things that you want. He will say, „If you follow me, you will have more wealth, you will have more power, more prestige, this and that.‟ That is what you are seeking for lives. The real can only promise one thing. If you come close to a master, you will die. The real can promise only death. The real can promise only one thing. „I am going to destroy you utterly‟ because only after death is the resurrection is possible. The real Master is a cross. The real Master is a door into death. You disappear into him. Yes, you will come out, but you will come out as a totally new being. The real Master is a fire. One gets frightened. One feels very much afraid. One remains aloof. From far away one watches a real Master. I have heard. A man lived a very religious life. Religious in the sense of sharia! He followed all the rituals of his religion. Also he followed the moral precepts that his religion prescribed. He followed a Master. And yet both were in the same boat. He followed the Master because the Master was very, very perfect in following the same principles that he was following. He was ahead. The Master was an extremist. He was Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
absolutely devoted to his understanding of the religion. The scripture was his soul. He would not move an inch on his own. He was already a dead man. But he was perfect as far as ritual was concerned. You could not find a single fault in him. He was faultless. And this man followed him. Then one night he dreamed. He dreamed that he died and went up to meet St. Peter, asking, „Can I come into heaven?‟ He was very confident about it because he had followed perfectly whatsoever had been told to him. He had followed all the commandments mechanically. And never committed a single error! So he was very certain. He asked, „Can I come into heaven?‟ That was just to be polite. Good heavens, said Peter. „This is not heaven.‟ Peter then explained that the Pearly Gates were much higher up and could only be reached by a long ladder. He showed him a ladder which went up and up and disappeared somewhere in the clouds. The man looked at the ladder and became frightened. The ladder seemed to be endless. The man said, „When will I reach? This ladder seems to be endless!‟ St. Peter said,
do not be afraid. It depends how long it is. For each person it functions differently. I will show you the way. You take this chalk and start climbing. For each sin of adultery, fornication, lechery, or whatever you have committed or you have thought of committing; go on marking with your chalk. Each sin has to be marked on one rung. When you have finished and you have made a mark for every single act or thought, you will come to the end of the ladder and the gate of heaven will be in front of you. So it depends. If you have committed numerous sins then it will be very long. If you have done very few it will not be that long. This ladder is flexible. It changes with the person who is climbing on it. The man was very happy. He took the chalk and started climbing the ladder. He kept on going for ages. His legs ached, his arms ached, yet he met no one. And no sign of any gate! And the ladder was still the same, going farther and farther. Then one day he got very fed up with the whole journey. But now he was stuck because to go back would take the same time again. „It is better to go on. Some day! Perhaps! Page 33
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat There is a possibility, a hope!‟ And he was surprised because although he had not committed any sins he had thought of committing all kinds of them, endlessly. The ritualistic religion makes a man repressive. This is SHARIA the body, of a religion that makes you crippled in the body. And your mind becomes very, very imaginative about all kinds of wrongs. You fantasize! You commit them in the mind. Your consciousness becomes more contaminated when things move in your mind than when you actually do them. When you actually do something, there is a possibility of getting rid of it by seeing its meaninglessness. If you are angry, sooner or later anger itself will make you aware that it is useless. Not only useless, it is poisonous, destructive and suicidal as well. But if you go on only thinking of being angry, murdering people, destroying people, you will never come to any understanding. You will never be able to get rid of anger. If you go into sex, sooner or later you will lose all the fantasies that you have been creating about it. Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
Sooner or later it becomes a very ordinary thing. Sooner or later you start getting bored by it. But if you simply imagine, then you will never be bored. Then you are never going to become disinterested in it. One day or other sinners can drop it, but the saints, the so-called saints, they cannot drop it. They are sitting on a volcano. This man was surprised because he went on marking those rungs on the ladder for ages and still they were coming and still he went on remembering. It was as if he had never done anything except commit sins in his mind. Then one day, all of a sudden, he saw his master descending the ladder. He was very happy to see his Master. Ah, my Master! He said, „Are you by any chance going back for more disciples to bring to heaven?‟ „No, you fool!‟ said the master. „I am going back for more chalk!‟ Beware of the false masters. They are not only many but go on mushrooming as well. The false one will promise you things of this world even if he is promising them in the other world he is promising the same things. He will promise you beautiful women in Paradise or firdaus. He will
promise you streams of wine in paradise. But he is promising the same thing. He may promise you golden castles, palaces studded with diamonds in paradise, but diamonds and gold and silver and women and wine they all belong to this world. He is simply fooling you. The real Master only promises one thing your death. So wherever you move death awaits you. You have to gather courage. You have to disappear for God to be. This is the second dimension or plane of religion Haquiqi. The third dimension is called tariqat: Tariqat means the path, the method. The journey from the outer to the inner! The outer is a circumference, the Haquiqi the inner is a centre and tariqat is the radius proceeding from the circumference to the center. The initiative path that leads from outward observance to inner conviction, from belief to vision, from potency to act, from dream to reality is TARIQAT or method, technique, path, way, Tao, or Dhamma. This is the whole science of religion. The circumference is there, the centre is there, but one has to move from the circumference to the center. We have to use a certain Page 34
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat radius to move from circumference to the center. Only a radius can join the circumference to the centre. What is the radius that Sufis propose? They are called the people of the path because they have devised many techniques. They have the most potential TARIQAT. It can transform you. It can transform you utterly. They are not concerned with theology at all. They are only concerned with methodology. They are not worried about whether God is or is not. They say, do not talk nonsense! Here is a way. Go through it and see for yourself. This is the way to develop your eyes. And once you have eyes then see whether God is or are not. There is no need for argument. They never try to convince. Their way is that of demonstration. They say, „Come with me. I know a window from where you can look into the open sky. When you are closed in this dark room, how can I convince you that there is open infinite sky?‟ It will be as difficult as it was for the frog you have heard about, who lived in a small well. It is also a Sufi story. One day it happened that a frog from the ocean came to the well. He must have been a tourist. He came into the well. Introduced himself to the Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
frog of the well, and said, „I come from the ocean.‟ Naturally, the frog asked, 'Ocean? What do you mean by ocean? What is it?‟ And the frog from the ocean said, „It is very difficult to describe, because you have never left this well it seems. It is so small. But still I will try to explain.‟ The frog of the well laughed. He said, „Nobody has ever heard about anything bigger than this well. How big is your ocean?‟ And the frog of the well jumped one third of the space of the well and said, „This much?‟ And the frog from the ocean laughed. He said, „No, sir.‟ So the frog from the well jumped two thirds of the space and said, „This much?‟ Then he jumped the whole space and said, „Now it must be exactly like this well.‟ But the frog from the ocean said, „It is impossible to describe. The difference is not of quantity, it is of quality. It is vast! It is not circumscribed!‟ The frog from the well said, „You seem to be either a madman or a philosopher or a liar. You get out from here! Do not talk nonsense!‟ Such is the story of all those who are on the first plane.
know what they are really like, you have to eat them on the spot, just after they have been picked. And I have always considered bananas a dead fruit whose real taste escaped me. The books that pass from one period to another are dead fruits too. In another time they had a different taste - sharp and tangy. We should have read Emile or the Persian Letters just after they were picked.‟ I like this passage from Jean-Paul Sartre. Exactly so is the case with Masters. When they are alive they have a taste, sharp and tangy. When the fruit is right from the tree it has a totally different quality to it. A dead Master is like tinned fruit. You can open the tin and you can eat the fruit, but something will be missing. Be courageous and always trust in life. My love towards you or your love towards me should never become a hindrance. Love liberates. Love makes you free. Refer to Parables – Naqshbandi Technique for Transformation by Sheikh Taoshobuddha, Amazon.com for further reading.
Jean-Paul Sartre has written something that I liked: 'People have often said to me about dates and bananas- you cannot judge them. To Page 35
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What is a Naqshbandi Design? The Naqshbandi way is a unique path of transformation of human consciousness. Nothing is said, nothing is done yet still something happens. Just as the aspirant lives within the energy field of the master, something begins to grow and evolve from deep within the aspirant. The word Naqshband comes from two words: Naqsh and band! Naqsh literally implies impressions or designs, and band refers to the one who makes those designs. Naqshband therefore means the designer. Naqshband is the designer! Designer that makes the design. Such designs are not the designs of an ordinary one. These are the designs that a master makes on the inner being of the aspirants. Thus a master carves out the design or the path of the journey for the aspirant. The design is like the yantras of Hindus. These contain within the entire scheme or the design of transformation. Shah Naqshband Bahauddin was a potter by profession. He used to make beautiful designs on the pots that was his profession. On these he used to carve intricate spiritual design. He poured his entire energy in the profession that he was involved for his sustenance. Such is the way of the masters. Kabir remained a weaver throughout his life. He weaved his design or the scheme into the cloth he was weaving for sustenance. When his master Amir Kulal came to know of this he said you are indeed Naqshband. You are designing the path for individual seeker. The path from now on will be known as NAQSHBANDI-the DESIGNER. What is a Naqshbandi design?
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Naqshbandi Design – Parable of Bahauddin This is why Bahauddin is NAQSHBANDI – the designer. Each design is unique in itself. Bahauddin is not creating murids on an assembly line. Instead he is creating something Unique and Extraordinary. The Naqshbandi silsillah derives its name from Shah Bahauddin Naqshband. He is an Ocean of Knowledge that has no shore visible. Its waves were woven with the pearls of Heavenly Knowledge. He cleansed humanity with his unwavering Innocence and Piety. And thus he quenched the thirst of souls with the elixir of his being. The whole world, including its oceans and continents, were within his grasp. He is a star decorated with the crown of Guidance. He sanctified all human souls without any exception with his holy breath. He adorned even the remotest corner with the secrets of Muhammadun Rasul-Allah. His light penetrated every dark layer of ignorance. His outstanding proofs cast away the least whisper of doubt from the hearts of humanity. His miracles brought life to hearts after their deaths and provided souls with their provision for the spiritual realm. He was nursed as the ArchIntercessor when he was a child in Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
the cradle. He sipped the nectar of Unseen Knowledge from the cup of Reality. If Muhammad were not the last of the Prophets, he would have been a prophet. All Praise to Allah for sending such a Reviver of Religion (mujaddid). He uplifted the hearts of humanity causing them to soar in the sky of spirituality. He made kings to stand at his door. He spread his guidance from North to South and from East to West. He left no one without heavenly support-even the wild animals in jungles. He is the greatest Ghawth, Arch-intercessor, the Sultan of Saints, and the Necklace of all the spiritual Pearls that were bestowed on this world by the Divine Presence. By the light of his guidance Allah caused the good to be the best and transformed evil into goodness.
the Best of those who carried this lineage from the Khwajagan.
There is nothing more sublime and sacred than the words of the masters and subsequent introspection. Introspection on the words of the masters or fikr forms an important part of Sufi tariqat. As a result these Parables are explained to bring a deeper understanding. BAHAUDDIN, GREAT TEACHER OF THE NAQSHBANDI DERVISHES, ONE DAY MET A CONFRERE IN THE GREAT SQUARE OF BOKHARA. THE NEWCOMER WAS A WANDERING KALENDAR OF THE MALAMATI, THE „BLAMEWORTHY‟. ONCE BAHAUDIN WAS SURROUNDED BY DISCIPLES!
He is the Master of this Tariqat and the Sheikh of the Golden Chain and Page 37
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat „FROM WHERE DO YOU COME?‟ HE ASKED THE TRAVELER, IN THE USUAL WAY. „I HAVE NO IDEA,‟ SAID THE OTHER, GRINNING FOOLISHLY. „WHERE ARE YOU PERSISTED BAHAUDDIN!
GOING?‟
„I DO NOT KNOW,‟ SHOUTED THE DERVISH. „WHAT IS GOOD?‟ BY NOW A LARGE CROWD HAD GATHERED. „I DO NOT KNOW.‟ CAME THE REPLY „WHAT IS EVIL?‟ WAS THE NEXT QUESTION „I HAVE NO IDEA.‟ REPLIED THE KALANDAR „WHAT IS RIGHT?‟ ASKED MEDITATIVE BAHAUDDIN
A
„WHAT IS GOOD?‟ BY NOW A LARGE CROWD HAD GATHERED. „I DO NOT KNOW.‟ REPLIED THE KALANDER „WHAT IS RIGHT?‟ „WHATEVER IS GOOD FOR ME.‟ „WHAT IS WRONG?‟ „WHATEVER IS BAD FOR ME.‟ THE CROWD, IRRITATED BEYOND ITS PATIENCE BY THIS DERVISH, DROVE HIM AWAY. HE WENT OFF, STRIDING PURPOSEFULLY IN A DIRECTION WHICH LED NOWHERE, AS FAR AS ANYONE KNEW. „FOOLS‟ SAID BAHAUDIN NAQSHBAND. „THIS MAN IS ACTING THE PART OF HUMANITY. WHILE YOU WERE DESPISING HIM,' HE WAS DELIBERATELY DEMONSTRATING HEEDLESSNESS AS EACH OF YOU DOES, ALL UNAWARE, EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIVES.‟
„WHATEVER IS GOOD FOR ME.‟ CAME AS THE REPLY
MAN IS UNCONSCIOUS, ALTHOUGH HE BELIEVES HE IS CONSCIOUS.
„WHAT IS ENQUIRED
That very belief protects his unconsciousness. Man is ignorant, although he believes he knows. That very belief keeps the ignorance intact. Man is just the opposite of what he thinks he is. To understand this is the beginning of a great revolution.
WRONG?‟
BAHAUDDIN
„WHATEVER IS BAD FOR ME.‟ WAS THE REPLY „WHERE ARE YOU CONTINUED BAHAUDDIN!
GOING?‟
„I DO NOT KNOW,‟ SHOUTED THE DERVISH. Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
To see where you are, what you are in reality needs courage. It is nice to believe in beautiful ideals. All ideals work only for one thing: they hide your reality; that is why we go on creating beautiful ideals. Not that we are really interested in those great ideals; our real interest is how to hide the ugly facts. People go on talking about nonviolence, and all that they do in their lives is violence, sheer violence and nothing else. The more violent they are, the more they talk about nonviolence. The talk about non-violence becomes a camouflage. People have talked about nonviolence for centuries, and it has not happened. And it is not going to happen because the very talk creates an illusion. Because then slowly and slowly, you are not only capable of deceiving others, you start deceiving yourself as well. When you have talked for centuries about nonviolence you start thinking that you have become non-violent. That is really the purpose of talking about non-violence. This is how man is: very deceptive, very cunning. Those who are moving on the path have to be aware of this ideological Page 38
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat camouflage. It is very easy to have beautiful ideals. And you will be surprised if you watch people: and know their ideals you can be certain that they will be just the opposite of their ideals. Knowing their ideals, you can deduce logically that their life must be the very opposite of it. The ideal only proves that there is something that they are hiding behind it. A man of awareness has no ideals at all. A conscious person lives through his consciousness. He is one. His inner and outer are in harmony no more divided. But all idealism divides the reality between outer and the inner. It does not allow you to be natural, and spontaneous. It forces you to be something other than you is. It gives you many should. You should do this, you should do that. Because of those „shoulds‟ you start believing that you are aspiring very high, that you are soaring very high: „pause for a moment to observe all beautiful ideals you have got and behind those empty talk your reality is just the opposite. The greedy person wants to become non-greedy. The angry person wants to become compassionate. The unloving person Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
has the ideal of love. All the religions talk about love. And all that they do on the earth is creating hate. All the nations of the world talk about peace, and on the contrary they go on increasing war arsenal. Man is reduced to a pseudo, hypocrisy. No nation prepares for peace. All nations talk about peace and prepare for war. War remains the reality and peace remains just smoke around it, to hide it. Unless we see it through and through there is no way to get out of it. Whenever you want some ideal to be fulfilled in your life, watch why. How can angry person practice compassion? How? It is impossible. If the angry person practices compassion he will be, at the most, repressing his anger, and nothing else. What else can he do? He has been angry with others, now he will be angry against his own anger. Now the anger has taken a new form, a new shape. The violent person wants to become non-violent. What will he do? He has been violent with others, now he will become violent with himself. This is what you call asceticism? Asceticism is basically masochism. It finds joy in
self-torturing. And these people are considered great mahatmas. They are worshiped. But all that has happened is that their violence has turned inwards. You torture others, they torture themselves. But the torture continues, and so the pleasure in torturing continues. The man who lies on the bed of thorns do you think he is religious? What is so religious in it? He is simply torturing his body, but you will find people worshiping him. He is neurotic, but he will be thought of as a saint. If it is cold and snow is falling and somebody is standing naked under the skies, what is he doing? He is simply torturing the body, but people will think, „What a great soul.‟ He simply needs a few electric shocks. He seems to be psychiatrically ill, he is mad, he is suicidal. It is very easy to catch hold of the murderer, it is very difficult to catch hold of the person who is suicidal, but both are murderers. They both enjoy violence. If you keep somebody else hungry for many days, that will be violence, but if you keep yourself hungry and call it, fasting, then this becomes Page 39
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat something religious. It is not. It is the same game, and even more dangerous, because when you keep somebody else in a state of torture he at least can defend, but when you start torturing your own innocent body, the body cannot defend. No defense is possible. Your own body is utterly helpless. A meditative person cannot be angry; that is impossible. As awareness grows anger, violence etc. slowly and slowly dissolve. And when someone attains to total awareness or annihilation or enlightenment then he becomes totally innocent. This why Sufis have chosen wool or the animal as their symbol! This is why Buddha looks so innocent and feminine. Meditation means you are so conscious of whatsoever you are doing; in that very consciousness the quality of doing changes. You need not have ideals. Ideals are simply postponing the revolution, the mutation, the change. All intellectuals go on hiding their stupidity behind words, knowledge, and information. If a stupid person tries to be intelligent, how can he become intelligent? In the first place, he will be doing everything out of his stupidity. And when something is Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
evolving out of your stupidity your stupidity will be strengthened. But he can do one thing now. He can now gather information. He can gather knowledge. He can start having an illusion of knowing through knowledge. This is how people become pundits, scholars, and learned professors. This is how it happens, but the stupidity remains there lurking from behind. Then what to do? How to get out of stupidity? The only way is, watch your stupidity. If you are violent with others the law can defend, the police can defend, but if you are violent with yourself there is no law against it. In fact even the magistrate and the lawyer and the policeman will come and worship you: you are doing something beautiful. Man has remained in darkness because of such stupid ideas. The first thing to be remembered is: the violent man cannot become nonviolent by any effort. Non-violence is a happening. It is the outcome of meditation. Then is there no possibility? Yes, there is a possibility. However it is does not happen through effort, or will, or through practicing being other than you are.
The possibility becoming aware.
exists
only
by
Instead of trying to be non-violent, become aware of your violence. See the roots of violence. Go deep into it. Be aware how it arises, how it permeates your being and your activities. Watch violence, and in that very watching, becoming aware of it, you will be surprised: it starts dissolving. And then one day when you are totally aware you will realize it is no more. Nobody can be consciously violent. This is a fundamental law, the secret. Nobody can be consciously violent; so all that is needed is to bring consciousness. To become more conscious, to be more meditative! Nobody can be meditatively angry; that is impossible. At the most, you can act. This is what Jesus did when he took a whip and went into the temple and threw out the money-changers, started beating those moneychangers, turned their tables. This is what Sufis do. Their anger is an act for transformation. Go into its working, its mechanism. Go into how you act. Watchfully enter into it. See it, how it is there, how it affects your Page 40
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat behavior. Watch it in its multidimensionality and in that very watching you will become intelligent. Watching is intelligence. Intelligence is a function of awareness. And if you become really alert about your stupidity, the one who has become alert is no longer stupid. Stupidity is left out. You have become awareness. You have become a witness. And out of this witnessing another kind of life arises which has beauty, which has benediction. It has a grace of its own. But it is arduous to be watchful. It is easier to have ideals. Drop all ideals. Do not try to become somebody that you are not. On the contrary, just watch whatsoever you are. Watch the fact; do not create a fiction against it. Otherwise you will always be divided. You will remain the fact and you will start believing in the fiction. This is hypocrisy. Your reality goes on persisting in the same way, and just on the surface you have a painted mask. That is not going to help at all. That has not helped humanity up to now. And certainly will not. The new man is possible only if we drop all kinds of idealisms. Hindu, Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
Christian, Mohammedan, Communist, Gandhian etc., have to be dropped. All these are ideals. The moment you drop all kinds of idealism, suddenly you have dropped your schizophrenia. Then you are not divided, instead you are one. You are simply whatsoever you are. Then you have the innocence of a tree, or the innocence of an animal, or the innocence of a bird, and something more. You are the consciousness of a human being. And the meeting of the innocence of a bird and the consciousness of a human being creates the Buddha. Buddhahood is nothing but innocence plus consciousness. But the man who carries great ideals can never be simple and innocent. It is impossible. He is always cunning, trying to be somebody, trying to reach somewhere. All that he can do is pretend then. And when I am saying this, I am saying it to you and you alone. To be with me means you have to drop all kinds of idealisms. This is my meaning of initiation or bayat. You have to forget both past and the future. You have to forget what should be. Only watch that which is.
And that can be done right now. You need not postpone it. At any moment you can watch what you are. Never condemn. Remember if you condemn then you cannot watch. Do not judge either. To judge means you have already taken a prejudice. Do not be in a hurry to conclude. Life never comes to a conclusion. Life never concludes because there is no death. It goes on and on. It is an eternal process that never comes to a conclusion. Only stupidity comes to conclusions. The intelligent person goes on moving, flowing, growing. There is no end to it; even the sky is not the limit. The intelligent person goes on learning. He is a learner and a learner forever. He never becomes knowledgeable. This story is beautiful. BAHAUDIN EL-SHAH, GREAT TEACHER OF THE NAQSHBANDI DERVISHES ONE DAY MET A CONFRERE IN THE GREAT SQUARE OF BOKHARA. Why a „the great teacher‟? The ordinary teacher only indoctrinates you. He gives you information. In the Page 41
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat school, college, the university, that's what the teachers go on doing. They simply feed you with information. They stuff you with knowledge. Their whole function is to transfer
knowledge from the older generation to the newer generation. They function as mediators between the going generation and the coming
generation. They are agents of the past.
ALWAYS CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY It was Naqshbandi master Abdul Khaliq Gijadwani who coined the following phrases which are now considered the principles of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order as spiritual commandments. Over the period of time certain principles are added to it. Bahauddin Naqshband added three. Another one „Always Choose to be Happy‟ was introduced in this category as the works of another Naqshbandi master Shakuntala Devi. Thus there are twelve such commandments.These form the basis of meditation techniques.Each moment life presents different situations, circumstances and conditions. Certain are acceptable to human understanding while others are not. In all circumstances you choose to be unhappy. And to human understanding this is normal while to a meditator it is not. In all circumstances you choose to be unhappy. And slowly and slowly this becomes your musculature. And your entire life centers on this unhappiness. To be happy is your choice and right. To be happy is a conscious choice only you can make. But in all situations you choose to be unhappy. Remember a happy heart is the door to the beyond, or door to the inner, or door to the being. You tend to be happy or unhappy because of the other or the circumstances. No one chooses to be happy for no reason. A happy heart is filled with gratitude towards the WHOLE. To be
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happy is the greatest blessing. It unfolds a totally new unknown and unknowable realm. One Sufi Naqshbandi master Shakuntala Devi, always used to bless any one bowing to her by saying “BE ALWAYS HAPPY”. If you really decipher these simple words, these will manifest a totally new realm. When a master says something, the seeker needs to introspect on these words. The master can never be wrong or unconscious. The very fact that he or she is a master implies now something has changed within. A master may look like you, but in reality he differs in his understanding of the cosmic phenomena and awareness. None of his actions are ever guided by unconscious. Even when he moves his hands he is totally aware of this. Let this be your meditation each moment. A new meaning will unfold in life. Serenity, blessedness will engulf you. Only then it can be said that you are living in the image of a master. Then something of the master, his awareness, his understanding, will be part of you as blessing. [LINK: YOU TUBE.COM TAG TAOSHOBUDDHA 9 „AUDIO MEDITATION – CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY 2 PARTS
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Tariqat in Post Shah Bahauddin Era As long as the sheikh is living vested interest dare not do anything against his wishes. However the moment the sheikh is no more physically present vested interest begins to mushroom. Something like this happened with the Naqshbandi Tariqat. What is really significant is that with Sheikh Shah Bahauddin Naqshband the path attained a new direction. Bahauddin used to give bayat to people even in the first sohbat. Because of this Sheikh Hazrat Amir Kulal said this tariqat is now becoming Naqshbandi. Therefore from Bahauddin Naqshband, the silsillah branches into several sub-orders. One of the most important and widespread is the Naqshbandi-Mujaddadi branch founded by Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi. The golden chain between Bahauddin Naqshbandi and Ahmad Sirhindi continues as here under: 1. Khwaja Alauddin al-Bukhari al-Attar 2. Khwaja Yaqub al-Charkhi 3. Khwaja Ubaydullah al-Ahrar 4. Muhammad Az-Zahid 5. Darwish Muhammad 6. Khawaja al-Amkanaqi 7. Muhammad al-Baqi Billah
SUB-ORDERS There is no single authority for the Naqshbandi order today. Rather, there are numerous sub-orders which operate in autonomy. Among them are the Sardaria, Owaisiah, Haqqani, Aslamiya, Hijazi, Mujarradiya, Mazaharia and Tauheedia branches. Hazrat Shah Wali Ullah has stated in his book „Al Intibah Fi Salasil e Awliya Allah‟ that the most effective of all is the Naqshbandia Owaisiah. Naqshbandi Tahiri In Pakistan, Naqshbandi Order is mostly prevalent under this branch. Previously known as Ghaffari branch, the Naqshbandi Tahiri order belongs to a famous Sheikh of Pakistan, Sheikh Muhammad Tahir Abbasi Naqshbandi Mujaddidi, who is more famous with the name Sajjan Saeen. The headquater of this branch is at Dargah Allahabad, near Kandiaro, in the province of Sindh. This order is prevalent in all provinces of Pakistan, and many other countries such as U.K, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, USA, etc. Sheikh Muhammad Tahir Abbasi belongs to the previously known as Ghaffari branch of Naqshbandi order; His lineage goes back to Sheikh Fazal Ali Qureshi, the great Naqshbandi Sheikh of Twentieth Century.
8. Ahmad Sirhindi Mujaddid Alf-thani
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Naqshbandia Owaisiah
The Reviver Sheikh
[Refer to the next chapter Introduction to Naqshbandiyah Owaishiyah silsillah by my beloved brother Maulwi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar Rowi of Malaysia]
Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh „Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual grace. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan‟s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence.
Naqshbandi Order has another famous branch called Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. The method of spiritual instruction is quite close to Mujaddidya order. However, there are two main differences. First Naqshbandia Owaisiah order uses the ‘Pas Infas’ method of dhikr. Secondly, the method of spiritual instruction is „Owaisee‟, which means that the Sheikh can impart spiritual instruction regardless of physical distance and even difference of time period. Seekers of Naqshbandia Owaisiah can obtain spiritual blessing from their Sheikh regardless of their location in the world. Owaisiah connection is also useful in obtaining spiritual blessings from Sufis of the Past. Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is based in Pakistan and its modern founder was Sheikh Allah Yar Khan. Current sheikh is Maulana Muhammad Akram Awan. Headquarters for this sect is Dar-ul-irfan, Minara, and Chakwal, Pakistan. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of dhikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the holy Prophet without a formal physical meeting. The dhikr employed by the Naqshbandiah is ‘dhikr-e Khafi Qulbi’ or remembrance of Allah‟s Name within the heart and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which in Persian means guarding every breath. By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandiah Owaisiah Order is the honour of Spiritual Bayat or Oath of Allegiance directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad. Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
Naqshbandi-Haqqani Golden Chain The Naqshbandi Golden Chain is a lineage of KhalidiyyaNaqshbandiyya. It passes from Iraq under Khalid alBaghdadi to Daghestan, where it remained through seven generations of Sufi masters. It then returned to the Middle East in Damascus with the emigration of Sharafuddin ad-Daghestani and his spiritual inheritor Abdullah al-Fa'iz ad-Daghestani. Later on finally to Cyprus under Nazim al-Qubrusi, who is now the leader of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani order worldwide? Notable scholars who are Naqshbandi Haqqani, thus under the spiritual guidance of Sheikh Nazim, include Sheikh Hisham Page 44
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Kabbani, Sheikh Adnan Kabbani and Sheikh Gibril Haddad to name but a few. Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi, leader of the NaqshbandiHaqqani order worldwide was born in Larnaca, Cyprus, on the 23rd of April 1922, Sunday, the 26th of Shacban, 1340 H. His lineage from his father's side traces its roots to Sayiddina Abdul Qadir Jilani, founder of the Qadiri Order. While his lineage from his mother goes back to Sayiddina Jalaluddin Rumi, founder of the Maulwi(Mevlavi) Order. He is Hassani-Hussaini, related to the Prophet through the lineages of his grandfathers to the Family of the Prophet. From his father‟s side he received the Qadiri Tariqat. From his mother‟s, side he received the Mevlevi Tariqat. During his childhood in Cyprus he sat with his grandfather, who was a Sheykh of the Qadiri Tariqat, to learn its discipline and its spirituality. Extraordinary signs appeared early in him. His conduct was perfect. He never fought nor argued with anyone. He was always smiling and patient. His grandfather from his father's side and his grandfather from his mother's side trained him for the spiritual path. Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi is a beautiful sheikh of the tariqat. May Allah Subhan wa Taala give him long life so that he continue to spread the nisbet and tariqat of ancient masters. Alham-dil- allah! Tauheedia Naqshbandia In 1955 Hazarat Kawajah Abdul Hakeem Ansari along with his only khaliph Hazarat Abdul Sattar Khan accompanied by Kawajah Sattar's wife and daughter Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
founded a new branch of the Naqshbandia Mujadidiah Order. He named it 'Tauheediah', with a focus on unity or Tauheed, truthfulness and love and making it more practical for modern Westernized society aiming towards unification of ummah... and development of humanity. It has a base in Lahore, and disciples throughout the world. Naqshbandia-Mujaddadi-wa Mazaharia This is another important branch of Naqshbandia silsillah. Unlike Naqshbandiyah Haqqini this Tariqat is basically established in India with sporadic work outside. However since 1981 the work has intensified in the western world when Naqshbandi Sufi Onkar Nath frequently visited United States but could not attain impetus. Now with the settling of Sheikh Taoshobuddha in Trinidad since 1981 the work has intensified in the western world. In this process the modern technology is playing a major role. Taoshobuddha has regular meditations in various cities world wide which he himself conducts. Taoshobuddha though from the lineage of Naqshbandi Sufi Brij Mohan Lal and Sufi Onkar Nath does not hold the golden chain. Yet still the flower has blossomed and its fragrance is spreading through his works in leaps and bounds. About Taoshobuddha a forecast was made by a sheikh Sufi Brij Mohan Lal that he will continue the work in the western world. It establishes a connection between Shah Bahauddinn the original designer, Sheikh Ahmad al Farooki Mujaddadi Alif Thani, one who set the trends of the second millennium, and Hazrat Mazhar Mir Jane Jana who gave a new direction to the path. The following is the golden chain of sheikhs from Sheikh al Ahmad Mujadaddi Alif Thani: Page 45
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 1. Imam Rabbani, Hadhrat Sheikh Ahmad al Farooqui Mujadaddi Alif Thani, Sirhindi 2. Hadhrat Khawaja Muhammad Ma'soom Farooqui 3. Hadhrat Sheikh Sayfuddeen Bin Ma'soom Farooqui 4. Hadhrat Noor Muhammad Badyuni 5. Hadhrat Mirza Mazhar Mir Jaan-I-Jaana 6. Hadhrat Abdullah Shah Naimullah 7. Hadhrat Sayyed Abul Hasan Sa'eed Naseerabadi 8. Hadhrat Mawla‟na Khalifa Ahmad Ali Khan 9. Hadhrat Mawla‟na Shah Fazl Ahmad Khan 10. Hadhrat Mawla‟na Abdul Ghani Khan 11. Hadhrat Sheikh Ramchandra (Laalaaji) 12. Hadhrat Sheikh Raghubar Dayal (Chachchaji) 13. Hadhrat Sheikh Brij Mohan Lal 14. Hadhrat Sheikh Onkar Nath From the family of each of the Sufi Sheikhs there are others as well who are carrying the flame in their own way as part of the main stream. These are Sufi Devendra Nath, the second son of Sufi Brij Mohan Lal, Sufi Naqshbandi Lakshmi Sahai, son - in law of Sufi Brij Mohan Lal, Sufi Sheikh Taoshobuddha grandson of Sufi Brij Mohan Lal from his daughter‟ side. Of these Sheikh Taoshobuddha is based in the west and is very active. Also Dr Sharad Saxena the son in-law of Sheikh Onkar Nath is part of the main stream. Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
From the family of Sheikh Ramchandra his son Sheikh Jag Mohan Narian continued to do the work until the last as part of the main stream and thus followed the wishes and commands of Sheikh Lalaji as thr shadow of Sheikh Brij Mohan Lal. However the two sons of Sheikh Jag Mohan Narian Sheikh Akhilesh Kumar and Sheikh Dinesh Kumar strayed from the main stream for various unforeseen reasons and did not understand the message of Sheikh Lalaji. Also the other two sons of Sheikh Raghuber Dayal and their extended families also continued to do the work but not as part of the main stream. When I said a particular person is not part of the main stream I imply this person is not in harmony with the current Sheikh. When a master is alive there is light and fragrance. And after the master is no more the organization begins by the vested interest who is only interested in politicizing the silsillah. Almost everyone begins striving for his own shop. Thus many sub orders mushroom. Some still maintain connection with the main source. Such people do not care for inner development and transformation. Their main emphasis is on business like activities functioning out of ego. These sub orders look more real than the real itself. However there is no fragrance of transformation. Organization is very easy. But to bring about transformation is an altogether different process. What is more important is bringing inner transformation. And when the lamp of awareness or noor is lit within its light is bound to spread in the outer world. And thus evolves the way of transformation. This happens spontaneously.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Whenever in deep silence, a flowering happens one knows that the beauty and the fragrance of this flower are not going to last forever. Whatever happens to the flower is momentary; bees gather around the flower and begin to experience its beauty, fragrance, aliveness, presence, and its fragility. This is the experience in the end, of all those who are thirsty of something emanating from deep within the flowering of the Being; and the flower continues to share its presence, its being, its silence, and its wholeness.
those who are thirsty, will start moving towards the flowering of this Buddha. Just like, when a flower blossoms, the magnetic pull of the fragrance attracts many bees â&#x20AC;&#x201C; only bees! No dog will ever be attracted to this magnetic pull of a flower. Or when the lamp is lit moths begging to dance around the lamp! A Buddha and a commune exist only for those who have the sensitivity, the perception, the availability, the search, and the openness. Many will pass but will go on missing the Master and the commune.
The flower need not make any publicity. Once inner flowering has happened its beauty and the fragrance will engulf the atmosphere. Those who are near such flowering, begin to experience their own inner flowering. This is the Secret of the Golden Flower of a Zen master, Lu Tzu. Such is the milieu. Out of this flowering, a commune is born. A Buddhafield! Commune refers to a deep union between Meditation and Love. An oasis in the desert of the world! In such an environment of deep lovingness, one grows in awareness, understanding, and meditation. For this one need not make any effort. Just allow the flowering to happen. And the rest happens on its own accord.
When many individuals with openness and a deep search within, are completely dissolved and merged into one another, what is created there is a Buddhafield, a Sangha, a sanctuary of the master. Individuals with complex diverse potentials gather around the Buddha. Everyone works wholeheartedly in his or her own way without any dictatorship or leadership. Through the Buddha or the Enlightened one, Godliness starts overflowing and consciousness creates a commune or Buddhafield.
Communication between heads was replaced by the communion of hearts! Whenever so many hearts open, many flowers blossom! Fragrance is released. This fragrance that surrounds a Buddha is the fragrance or the energy of the Being or the noor of Allah. We may call this as Buddhafield. If someone has attained this flowering or the noor has descended within, a commune is bound to happen. No one can prevent this. This is the law of the existence. All Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
In the absence of this inner flowering pseudo masters mushroom. Prompted by ego and ego-centric desires many open their own shop after the master is no more. In many cases after the master is no more this happens. This is what happens in most of the cases. And this is the reason for so many sub-orders. The post Naqshband era flows through the Volume 3 of Leaves from a Sufi Heart, and beyond as well. I will continue this era. Only this much for now!
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From “me” to “God” a change within Lars Jensen, Stockholm, Sweden The true way of life starts from within and it can never start from any other place. Even so you control your outer behavior and actions, the emotions and thoughts are still alive inside you. How can you say that you have changed, if the fire of negative emotions and thoughts is still alive within you? You are only changed if you have no fire within you, regardless of what happens outside you. Then you have become a master of your own being In the process of transformation or Tariqat the aspirant journeys from “me” to “God” a change within. Of this Sufi Ram Chandra – Lalaji was aware and he made an end to this outer show. He never converted to Islam; even so people of the Muslim community could not accept a Sufi master that had not converted to Islam. Instead he changed his inner being and followed the real path leading to self-realization. Everything else is just a play of mind at the level of mind, leading nowhere on the spiritual path. So the true purpose of a spiritual Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
life begins with a change from within, at the very core of the heart of the aspirants. The only question that remains is “How to change from within?” and “What should be removed and what should be attached?” There is only one thing to understand – how to remove the separation between “me” and “God”. Among all Sufi saints of the past Sufi Ram Chandra Ji maintains a truly unparalleled spiritual prominence among Naqshbandi masters. The outcome is that after 137 years of his emergence on spiritual horizon the effect continues
to sour to unprecedented heights. He was the first Sufi saint that crossed all the barriers of religion, caste, and creed. Lalaji was a Sufi saint who never converted to Islam. Even so when the people around started muttering and Lalaji made a plea to his Sheikh Maulana Fazal Ahmad Khan to convert into Islam should that be the requirement for the Sufi Path. Hearing this Sheikh went inside and returned with a dagger type knife, and said, „Tell me the name I will pass this dagger into the chest of that man. They are defiling the sacredness of Tariqat. Roohaniat is beyond all narrowness.‟ Page 48
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Later on life Lalaji made these words his guiding principle. An ecstatic Lalaji condensed the solemnity of the message of his Sheikh into his lifelong teaching. betaSsubI sdakt kI jan hE To rise above spirituality!
narrowness
is
What is the need of changing the outer labels of life, since it has nothing to do with your inner spiritual life? Lalaji‟s emergence is the confirmation of the statement that: )kIrI beNyaj hE Spirituality is encumbrances!
free
from
all
Belonging to an outward religion creates just one more barrier between people. Jesus the Christ was not a Christian, but born a Jew. Buddha was not a Buddhist, but born a Hindu. These outer religions were never created by any master of the past. It was created first after they had left the scene, by the so-called follower of the faith in order to Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
uphold the teaching. The natural consequences of that people belong to different religions are that it creates otherness and narrowness. Of this Sufi Ram Chandra was aware. That is why he never changed his outward appearance and label, instead changed his inner being. This is the real secret of spirituality, to change your inner appearance and not the outer appearance. Changing only the outer appearance is not more than a show, since nothing has changed from inside. Just like you are changing your clothes, but you are still the same person inside. Nothing has really changed only your outer appearance. The true way of life starts from within and it can never start from any other place. Even so you control your outer behavior and actions, the emotions and thoughts are still alive inside you. How can you say that you have changed, if the fire of negative emotions and thoughts is still alive within you? You are only changed if you have no fire within you, regardless of what happens
outside you. Then you have become a master of your own being. The purpose of adopting a master is not to adopt his outer appearance. To dress like him or to get a beard like him, it will never take you anywhere on the spiritual path. Instead it will drag you back on the way, because it has become a fake show. Still some people act like this. Why? They only want to become a master themselves, and never want to become a true disciple. If you just copy the outer appearance of a master, people will look upon you as a master or a spiritually developed person. You don‟t even have to be one, you just need to look and behave like one. It is very easy and with some training anyone can to it. It gives you respect in front of other, but in the eyes of God you has disgraced Him. And you have missed the spiritual treasure that could be yours. Instead of adopting the outer appearance you should adopt the inner qualities of the master. However difficult it may be. It is much easier to copy the outer way of appearance than the inner aspect of life. And that is what people generally do. People dress in Page 49
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat accordance to the belonging to their religious faith and to their lifestyle and beliefs. Just look at your own self. Look at children how they try to dress and behave like their idols and rock stars. And you have not changed since you where a child, you are still copying the outer aspects of life instead of the deeper side of the religion you belong to. Honesty has you adopt the higher value of life of the religion you belong to? Have you become like a Buddha or like a Christ, if that is your religion? Or have you only adopted the outer rites and traditions of the religion? In that case you are not alone. But how many have become a Buddha or a Christ? It is told that such a person is not to be found even in a million of people, maybe one in a billion. So the true purpose of a spiritual life begins with a change from within, at the very core of the heart of the aspirants. And when the inner being is transformed the outer appearance adjusts to the inner change. The only question that remains is “How to change from within?” and “What should be removed and what should be attached?” Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
There is only one thing to understand – how to remove the separation between “me” and “God”. Your ego thinks itself being separated from the Lord. Just as a drop is separated from the ocean and the island is separated from the land, your ego also thinks itself having a separate existence on its own. Therefore you have declared yourself as a unique being that is separated from all other beings and also from the Lord. This is the ego the false identity - in you speaking. You also believe yourself to be the doer of all your actions and the only cause of all your happenings in your life. This is also the ego in you speaking. You think you are the doer, but you are only a dreamer. The Scriptures say there is only one doer in the whole creation. All happening is due to scientifically arranged circumstances that originate from a higher controlling Power, but you see yourself as the only doer. Just take the example of making a cup of tea. You say you have made a cup of tea. Even so there were millions of other scientific circumstances that
resulted in the process this cup of tea was made. First someone planted the tea plants, the sun and rain made the tea plant grow, someone was collecting the tea from the tea plant, and someone else was packing it and sends it to your country. It was transported by someone else and put in the shop where you finely bought it. Even the sugar you put in the tea has a similarly story and the water in the tea also has its own story and depended on millions of other scientific circumstances before it came into this cup of tea. The electricity power used for heating the tea is also depended on a million of similar scientific circumstances before it come into your house. It was the cooker that heated the water, but the cooker does not say it was making a cup of tea. It is only your ego claiming the doer ship of this cup of tea. Do you see the hypocrisy of this statement made by your ego? Nobody else from the long line of bringing the tea, water and sugar to you is claiming the doer ship of this cup of tea. It is only you. Even so without their help and all these scientific circumstances you could never make this cup of tea. Still you claim you made it. Know this as your ego Page 50
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat speaking. All Holy Scriptures say there is only one doer in the whole creation. There is only One Power, no second one. God is one. That Higher Power is the Controlling Power of the whole creations and universes. That higher Power is controlling all planets in its position and controlling you in the body. You are in the body as long as this Power is controlling you in the body. The spiritual process entails harnessing the power within you that unites all discordance into oneness. The power within knows beyond our knowing. Remember we are not aliens nor as stranger join. We are bound to each other by a causeless force. This is the ESSENCE of SUFISM or the SECRETS of SPIRITUAL LIFE. It is called as Rooh, soul, spirit, Atma – the indestructible, unknown and unknowable, the formless in you. When this Power withdraws it is called death. So He is the cause to your existence and He is in you and you are in Him. As the rays of the Sun light in every corner, so does God permeates every being. But even though He is the nearest Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
approach to you and lives within your own body, you cannot say that you have seen Him. Being identified with the ego and the false identity (with the body, mind and intellect) is the barrier itself. This has to be removed. Where ego is there God is not. There is only space for one in your heart. Sufi Ram Chandra very beautifully declared that: “God has hidden himself inside your hearts and exposed you. Hide yourselves and expose God! This is the real spiritual practice.” Without losing your ego you can never reach God. The whole cause of coming and going in an endless cycle of transmigration is your ego. When ego does not remain, who will come and go? This separation between “me” and “God” is the cause of duality and the primary obstruction in oneness with God. When you have completely surrendered yourself to God, no questions or doubts remain. Everything becomes serene, calm, and quiet and awareness springs forth. Then the flower of inner beauty blossoms and takes form of a Spiritual Life. Know this as the Secret Of A Spiritual Life.
Therefore make a total transformation of your false identity (with the body, mind and intellect) and to merge with the ocean of totality - the God Power – at the level of soul. Your false identity thinks you are the body, intellect and mind. These are the levels, which are always subject to changes and therefore at the level of illusions of ups and downs. But you are not the body, intellect or mind. You are the spirit or the soul – which is eternal. You have to merge with the God Power at the level of consciousness in order to develop the same attributes as God. Like knows the alike. The ocean of consciousness can only be known by the soul, which also is made of consciousness. You have to rise above the false identity of the body, mind and intellect or narrowness as Sufi Lalaji has summed up in one word BETASSUBI - NARROWNESS to know God, at the level of soul. The droop (your false separate identity) has to merge with the ocean of unity (God). The river has to lose its own identity as the river water mixes with the water of the ocean there is no more trace of the river water. Only the ocean exists. Page 51
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Only consciousness of God exists. This was the way Sufi Ram Chandra followed and practiced. This is the same way all saints of the past have followed. This is very easy to talk about, but very hard to practice. However there is a natural approach to make the transformation easy. Get in contact with a true and prefect Master. It is the only catalyst that is needed to get the process of inner transformation started within you. The catalyst acts without being consumed itself, as it is in constant contact with the supreme and unfathomable reservoir of Divine consciousness. This is the true and universal Religion, which has never changed and will never change. It is as ancient as mankind and created by the Lord Himself, and so it is confirmed in the Holy Scriptures: „No man cometh unto the Father, but by me (Christ Power or Master power)‟ Bible, John 14:6 „Without a perfect Master none has neither found the way nor can one do so‟ - Guru Nanak „Adopt a Spiritual Master if you want Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
to know the Truth.‟ Bhagwad Gita 4:34
Conscious Co-worker of the Divine Plan.
„Devotion to God keeps one entangled in this (physical) life just consider gravely, But devotion to the Master carries one back unto God.‟ - Kabir
Even all our Competent Masters of the past went to a master themselves since the Lord has ordinate this way. Jesus the Christ went to John the Baptist and Kabir went to Ramananda. They themselves were more developed then their own masters, but they went to a master as an example for us to follow. If such high personalities had to go to a master, why do we think that we could find the way back to God by ourselves? God is the unseen Power over all working. God needs a human pole through which He can speak. Without such a pole, how can He speak - with us at our level?
„Without a Master Soul we can neither know nor experience the true nature of the Self.‟ Chandogya Upanishad „No one can cross the ocean without a Master, even if he is an ascetic like Shankar.‟ Ram Charit Manas of TulsiDas Sufis say to witness God in human being - a Master Soul is the essence. The Hindus believe that without true Guru a man can never attain salvation. The Koran says that God has sealed our eyes and ears, but comes Himself in human form to break these seals. So Muslims of the Sunni sect also believe that there is no salvation without a Master. In all religion a man is worshipped whether it is Buddha, Christ, Krishna or any other being. So definitely we need the help of some living person of our time who is commissioned by God, whether it is a Master or a
This connection with a spiritual Guru or Master is necessary. But who is the Master? This subject is very misunderstood. Guru Nanak says: „God is the true Master and the soul is the true disciple.‟ The Master is always one and all human beings are having one and the same Master, because there is only one Doer and that is God. God is one, He is not two. It doesn‟t matter if He comes in different Page 52
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat human forms like Jesus, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Maulana Rumi and so on. The Master remains the same. It is the God Power in them who is the Master, not the body, and this God Power is always one and the same. So Jesus and Christ were two. Jesus was the human pole in which the Christ power, Master Power or God Power manifested itself. Everything is revealed in our Holy Scriptures, but we do not understand them properly. So it is the God Power or the consciousness in them who is the Master and not the body (the human pole). And that God Power is not limited to manifest itself only once in the history or in only one body instead it is eternal beyond time and space. So that Power has manifested itself in all God-realized soul of the world. So there may be many different lamps, but the light from them remains the same. If a friend of you comes in different dresses, would you not recognize him? So a God-realized soul never says he is the Master for it is the God Power who works through him who is the Master. He says he is a Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
servant of this God Power. If he claims himself as a Master, he can never be a Master. Never so far a true God-realized soul has claims himself as a Master. The one, who really has seen that God Power controlling and working through the whole creation, can never claim himself as the doer or as the master, it is impossible. And so is confirmed in our Holy Scriptures.
beyond. So God have sent you to this world, but He has also sent someone to take you back home, through whom He is saying: „Come children, come back Home.
Jesus the Christ never said that he was the doer, but the Father in Heaven. Guru Nanak and Kabir stressed the same thing and Guru Gobind Singh even told: „Whosoever calls me God will fall into the pits of hell; I am but His lowly servant.‟ Prophet Mohammed also claimed that God is the only doer: „There is no God except God‟, „I myself am only a servant and a prophet witnessing of Him.‟ So no true Master ever claimed himself as a Master.
Sufi Ram Chandra used to say: “If you sit by a fire, you feel warm. If you sit by ice, you feel cold. Why then will you not get transformed if you sit with a person who is perfect in spiritual discipline (have developed the same qualities as God)”
So God Power is the only one who is Competent to help us. But he comes to us in the human form and meets us at our level. He is the one who can drag your attention up. He can take you above the body consciousness, the five senses, the intellect and the mind, into the
So Master is the touchstone. By a touch alone iron is transformed into Gold. And the barrier between “me” and “God” can slowly begin to brake and dissolve.
Master is the touchstone, which can transform you from within. So being in the company of a spiritually developed soul is essential for your own spiritual development. But masters are of different degrees. Kamal, the adopted son of Kabir once told that there are four kinds of masters: 1. The first kind is like my father Kabir. Whoever touches Kabir‟s feet becomes a Kabir himself. Page 53
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 2. The second kind is known to be like a touchstone. If it touches iron it turn into gold, but the iron do not turn into a touchstone. 3. The third kind is like the sandalwood, which imparts scent to any tree, which grows in its company provided it is receptive. If is not receptive then the sandalwood tree cannot impart its fragrance to it. 4. The fourth kind is that of gold, which though golden in it texture, cannot make other things golden. 5. There is yet another fifth kind who is neither competent themselves nor can they import competence to anyone else. They are the so-called masters making a show of their mastership and collect disciples. So just being in the company of a true master you are transformed. The radiation or the energy field of the master penetrates and transform all being within his Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
energy field. The energy field of Master radiate to all who are around him, just as the sun is shining equal to the sinner and the noble people, but it is a matter of receptivity, that makes the difference. It is only the one that are receptive that will get the benefit of the Masters Company. The best way to be receptive to the master is to develop love for master. Love is like a magnet that captures your attention to the beloved and the master‟s attention as well. Therefore you love males your love makes you more receptive to the master‟s radiation. One of the beloved disciples of Sufi Ram Chandra speaks form hisown practical experience. Dr. Sri Krishan Lal Ji, a close disciple of Sufi Ram Chandra, speaks about the importance of love for the Guru in the process of transformation. He has revealed the secret of transformation with these beautiful, simple and practical words (as translated by B.K. Saxena): “Take the help of such a personality who has already trodden the path…This is to accept or adopt a Guru (as an idle of Love). …Love of Guru does not develop at once in the beginning. However, it develops
gradually. In the beginning just as much as we love our parents, brother and relatives, we may love Guru to that extend only. Then gradually, as we understand his greatness, love and faith in Guru develops. Thus faith increases gradually. This is called awakening of consciousness. First of all the disciple loves the Guru in the physical form and likes to render service at physical level, such as messaging his holy feet, arranging for his bathing and washing his clothes etc. With this type of physical service his mind begins to get purified and tends to attain subtle state. He starts to receive pure thoughts of Guru. The disciple starts conceiving whatever positive thoughts are aroused by the Guru. This is love of mental level. When the love deepens further, then the consciousness of the disciple tends to unit with that of Guru and at times it merges with the consciousness of Guru then despite being two different physical bodies, the pure consciousness of the Guru flows within the disciple, Page 54
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat i.e., from within disciple becomes one with the Guru. At this level the intellect of the disciple gets absorbed with the intellect of Guru and there after he starts to love God. He considers only God as all in all, but duality still prevails. After this as the love become further intense, then it is called love of soul with God. This is culmination of love of soul. Then he sees his own self (soul) in all the living beings as well as in non-lining things and loves everyone to the equal extent.” This is the process of removing the barrier between “me” and “God”. This is the process of inner transformation with the help of the outer touchstone (the master), as described by one of Sufi Ram Chandra‟s own disciples. When a dirty stream (“me”) joins the secret river Ganges (Master Power or God Power) it too becomes secret. When you lose the self you gain God. This gives us a real life and first hand witnesses description and evidence of the greatness of Ram Chandra. This is a real life event and first hands witness or description of the greatness of Sufi Ram Chandra. Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
In the remembrance of the true master your false identity will vanish and your true identity with the soul and God Power begin to appear. Just like the sculpture is hidden in the stone of marble even before the artist (the master) have removed all the unnecessary marble from the stone. Just like an unpolished diamond that is polished to a diamond. Everything was already there in the beginning, but it is covered by your false identity. In the remembrance of the true master you become more like the master and like your true self (the pure soul). Master is the engine and love is the fuel in the process of transformation. Master is the sandalwood and love is the sweet fragrance emerging from the sandalwood. No true aspirant can miss the smell of true sandalwood. The true aspirants feel the smell of fragrance and will flock around the flowering of a true master. But only true aspirants will be attracted, no socalled seekers. Taoshobuddha has written in his book “Mediation – the way of
self realization”: “Just like, when a flower blossoms, the magnetic pull of the fragrance attracts many bees – only bees! No dog will ever be attracted to this magnetic pull of a flower. A Buddha and a commune exist only for those who have the sensitivity, the perception, the availability, the search, and the openness. Many will pass but will go on missing the Buddha and the commune. When many individuals with openness and a deep search within, are completely dissolved and merged into one another, what is created there is a Buddhafield, a Sangha.” This is the rose garden where inner flowering is possible. This rose garden is under care of the gardener, which is the master. The rose garden is within the energy filed and protection of the master. Once you come there, your inner growth will start. This is the process of transformation. You have become a flower in the rose garden of the master. Sufi Ram Chandra belonged to the Naqshbandi Sufi order, which is known to put the utmost emphasis of the role of the master. Before Page 55
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband (the saint of the order from whom the order got its name) the disciple was supposed to do all the work. But Shah Bahauddin Naqshband emphasized that from now onwards the responsibility of inner transformation is the joint one of the sheikh (master) and the murid (disciple) together. Sheikh Hadhrath Abdul Gani Khan the Uncle Sufi masters of Sufi Ram Chandra got even further and declared that the system followed in this line needs no effort on the part of the disciple. It is the master who through his grace does everything for the disciple. Effort on part of the disciple does not lead him anywhere. A real Guru or a Sat Guru knows how to mould the disciple from deep within, just by mere sight. Sufi Ram Chandra always used to transmit the divine energy to his followers up to 2 am in the morning. The true master is the servant to his Sangat (his followers). And not the opposite as in the so-called holy places under the protection by a socalled Guru. Sufi Ram Chandra used to say that his work was that of a sweeper or washer man. He used to Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
transmit, clean and transform his disciples. His motto was that no undesirable should be initiated, but if one had come, he must not go back. Such was his grace. So spirituality is like an infection that can be caught but not taught. Once a God-realized soul is met; spirituality is caught like an infection going from one heart to another heart. The ultimate goal of spirituality is to establish this connection with the Source at level of soul and have nothing to do with any lower level of mind, intellect or emotions. True Spirituality is only to be found at the level of soul. So how can it be found if search is made at another level where it is not? So a connection at level of soul is essential in spirituality. This connection is only possible to establish with the help of one who already has this inner connection with the Source. Only when such a God-realized Soul is met, you can be colored in the color of spirituality. To find a true Guru is therefore a must. Once a spiritual Sun (the Master) is met, you will get the light from that Sun. It is your inner preparation that attracts the
master. It is the receptivity of the electrical appliance that allows the electrical energy work through the equipment. Once Ramakrishna the guru of Swami Vivekananda had one plate full of honey and said, “Well, look here, Vivekananda, if you were a bee, from which side would you eat this honey?” Vivekananda replied: “Well, I would eat from the corner.” “Okay, but Ramkrishna.
why?”
enquired
Vivekananda responded: “I'm afraid my wings would get entangled and would get stuck. Then I would drown.” Ramakrishna told him: “Well, it is a sea of immortality; plunge headlong into it. You won‟t die.” In the game of love, you can only become one with the beloved, by losing your own self. There is no other way to win in the game of love. So don‟t be afraid of lose your own ego. By losing your ego, you win God.
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Books of Taoshobuddha on Amazon.com and Create space e store Books will teach you something of the outward aspects of the inward, and so will Meditation Talks. Without them you will make really no progress in inward journey. Remember the outward is the conductor to the inward. But why should we not be able to do so without books? For the same reason, remember you cannot think without words. I have to give you words so that your thinking pattern can change. Once your thinking pattern is changed then one day I will take away the word from you and then I will connect you to your inner silence. This is journey from WORD to WORDLESS. This is the work of a MASTER. Whenever the darkness of ignorance, despair, and disappointment stare in your face, a passage from here and there will certainly revive the inner cords of your being and thus will continue the inward journey. This is my certitude. Someone asked why do I go on writing so many books, almost an inconceivable number and go on giving talks not only on Sufi Path instead on all conceivable Paths of Spiritual Attainment? Books will teach you something of the outward aspects of the inward, and so will meditation talks. Without them you will make really no progress in inward journey. Remember the outward is the conductor to the inward. But why should we not be able to do so without books? For the same reason, remember you cannot think without words. I have to give you words so that your thinking pattern can change. Once your thinking pattern is changed then one day I will connect you to your inner silence. You have been reared on books. Your mind is so altered by books and talks, by hearing and speaking, that the inward can only speak to you through the outward. Whatever you pretend you can perceive! Man ultimately becomes what one pretends to be. However the tragedy is that you are not interested in books. I have to create designs for interest in books again. This is Naqshbandi Design. Books are the Tawwazjoh or the energy field that the master creates as Designs for Transformation. Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 1. Meditation the Ultimate in Healing: Meditation and Healing Series Authored by Taoshobuddha, List Price: $10.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 156 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456344788 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456344781 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality This is an investigation how healing can happen. It begins with a passage from Sri Aurobindo‟s Savitri‚ The fathomless zero occupied the cosmos and your world of finiteness. Your physical body is mere showcase of all that happens at other planes or bodies. Then the question comes, from where can healing really happen. Since physical body is mere showcase definitely it cannot be the beginning. Regular medicine begins here but not meditation. Can you start at bio-plasmic level? Or you still have to go a step beyond. There are so many unresolved issues in each one of you that need to be addressed before the healing can really begin. All these issues are stored in the fathomless zero that occupied the world. The journey of healing has to begin from this point. Through these meditations I am creating inner balance between body and the mind. Only then you can attain to meditativeness. This process will continue until new man, one who is beyond body, mind, and intellect, is born out of you.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 2. Shah Bahauddin Naqshband - Life and Works: Naqshbandi Tariqat Authored by Sheikh TaoshoBuddha List Price: $65.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Full Color on Color paper 304 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456346799 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456346792 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality SHAH BAHAUDDIN NAQSHBAND â&#x20AC;&#x201C; LIFE AND WORKS I am ecstatic that once again I have the occasion to speak to you. However this time the overflow is of Hazrat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband, one whose very essence pulsates through the entire Sufi path. Spiritual awareness is like water, it takes the color and shape of the cup. Allah's Knowledge is so great, that however much we take; it is like a drop of a huge ocean. It like a vast garden, however much we have cut it is as if we had cut but one flower says an ecstatic Bahauddin. Yet still the fundamentalists try to cage this sublime awareness of eternal oneness within narrow boundaries of religion and beliefs. Spirituality begins when you cross the narrow boundaries of religion and religious beliefs. The entire ummat or creation is the responsibility of the one who has attained spiritual awareness. But very rarely you find someone who is versatile to speak of various paths and masters with authenticity and thus brings out truth in its sublimity. Sufism is such overflow of love a great experiment in human consciousness: how to transform human consciousness into ishq. It is alchemy. And through this work and others my effort to bring about the alchemical change in consciousness that be possible!
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat This is what I am doing here with you. You may be aware, you may not be aware of it, but this whole experiment is to create in you as much love energy as possible. Man can be transformed into pure love energy. Just as there is atomic energy discovered by physics, and a small atom can explode into tremendous energy, so too each cell of your heart can explode into tremendous love. That love is called ishq. It is atomic in nature. No one can destroy this. You may call this Love or Awareness, or Consciousness or God matters not. What really matters it to be with this energy. Even more significant is to imbibe it into your being. And then let it overflow your being. Also let it surround your life, your living. Sufism is the path of the overflow of energy. This is Naqshbandiyah Nisbet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Tariqat. 3. Leaves from a Sufi Heart Vol 1: Naqshbandi Tariqat Authored by Sheikh Taoshobuddha List Price: $30.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 608 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456343620 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456343629 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality AN INSIGHT INTO NAQSHBANDI TARIQAT When truth manifests itself there can be no better song or melody than this. Truth is an experience. And Sheikh or a master is the embodiment of truth on the earth. This is why when a Sheikh looks into a Tariqat it is Truth or Haqiqat itself. Naqshbandi tariqat underwent through various periods of growth and development. Taoshobuddha takes you through this journey. In the present classic Taoshobuddha looks into Naqshbandi tariqat. With a crystal clarity and understanding he presents various masters along the path and the tariqat. The present classic pauses before the beginning of the second millennium with Sheikh Ahmad Al Farookhi Mujadadi, Sirhindi in the Leaves from a Sufi Heart Volume 2. And the Third volume will begin with Hazrat Mazhar Mir Jane Jana.
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4. Secrets of Spiritual Life - Talks of Taoshobuddha: Talks of Taoshobuddha Authored by Lars Jensen List Price: $25.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 238 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456348168 (CreateSpace-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456348167 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality So I say: My beloved ones, I love you. And I would like you to fill the whole world with love. Let that be our religion. Love is simply love. In love you can be a Christ. In love you can be a Buddha. But there is no Buddhist love or Christian love and there is no Hindu or Muslim Love. In love you disappear, your mind disappears. In love you come to an utter relaxation. I call you a Buddha. Yes indeed you are that. And I speak to you of Buddhas. Because they have come to know a different space within themselves! A space which cannot be confined by the mind and which cannot be defined as part of the functioning of the mind! That silent space when thoughts are no more! No ripples arise! This is the beginning of the psychology of the Buddhas. This is the realm to which master belong. To this realm I want to take you to. This is just the beginning. Know this as „The Secrets of Spiritual Life‟. This is my message as my gift to you. The celebration of „Enlightenment‟ as the „Ultimate Flowering of Your Being‟ NOW AND EVER AND ANON! As „The Secrets of Spiritual Life‟ Do not think of Enlightenment just as an inner experience alone. In the beginning it is an inner experience. Then slowly bring it into your outer life. This is what I have been telling you every day. Remember whatever you experience in meditation sessions never think the work is over. The experience that happens in meditation has to be relived and present in your day – to – day affairs and life. Know this as „The Secrets of Spiritual Life.‟ … TAOSHOBUDDHA Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 5. Tasuwware Sheikh: Insight into Sheikh Brij Mohan Lal (q) Authored by Sheikh TaoshoBuddha, Authored with Sufi Lakshmi Sahai List Price: $68.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Full Color on Color paper 322 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456348304 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456348302 BISAC: Religion / General TASUWWAR-E-SHEIKH – INSIGHT INTO SHIEKH BRIJ MOHAN LAL This work is NAQSHBANDI CLASSIC BY SHEIKH TAOSHOBUDDHA DIFFICULT TO PUT DOWN ONCE STARTED. In this work Taoshobuddha explains the methodology that a master uses to bring about transformation in the disciple. His way and means are unique, beyond human comprehension, he says. When truth manifests itself there can be no better song or melody. Tasuwware Sheikh is such a moment to moment journey through the remembrance of the sheikh in the process of inward journey. Tasuwware Sheikh has been coined by Shah Bahauddin Naqshband in 13th century. And since then it has been recommended by the sheikhs as an essential dhikr for the murids. This present classic on Tasuwware Sheikh is the journey of a Fana-fe-ul-Murid of Naqshbandi Sheikh Sufi Brij Mohan Lal. Riding the wings of the reminiscence of Naqshbandi Lakshmi Sahai Sheikh Taoshobuddha has woven a classic presentation through his command on language, understanding of the tariqat, and Nisbet-E-Illahi. Whatever be your faith and whoever be your sheikh one thing is certain this classic will certainly connect you to your sheikh, tariqat and in the process will become a dhikr-e-qulb in the process of transformation. Various chapters Like „What is a Sheikh ‟ and „Master appear w hen Disciple is ready‟, explains the inner state of a sheikh and inner preparation on part of the murid is essential. The moment disciple is ready Master appears. Various other chapters have been Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat designed to bring an insight into life and works of Sheikh Brij Mohan Lal and Naqshbndiyah tariqat and its advent in Indian sub-continent, As you move through the pages feel Nisbet-e-Illahi deep within. Subhan Allah!!! 6. Maraqba-I-Naqshbandi: Insights into Naqshbandi Tariqat Authored by Sheikh Taoshobuddha List Price: $15.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 172 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456348502 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456348507 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality INSIGHTS INTO NAQSHBANDI MARAQBAS Though maraqba begins in the mind, it is not real maraqba. Begin with the mind. One day you will attain maraqba. When the mind ceases, you are beyond it; only then real maraqba begins. Even to go beyond the mind you have to use the mind itself. However, use the mind negatively. You will certainly attain maraqba. To me the most distinguished Naqshbandi Order is the way of the Companions of the Prophet, the sheikh and those who follow them and thus the tariqat. Sheikhs follow the path laid by the sheikhs. This is tariqat. The designation of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain has changed over the period of time. Only outer apparel changed not the outer. Many new tributaries and substreams developed. As a result the way of teaching saw changes in the techniques of maraqba. The change was to suit the murid however there was no change in tariqat and its inner understandings. With changing mind patterns and social and cultural values that have bearing on mental capabilities of the murids each Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat sheikh has made certain changes. This current classic looks into these aspects. Sheikh Taoshobuddha has created certain techniques of maraqba for Nafs and the modern man. This will remain a classic for all those who seek Naqshbndiyah Nisbet and also seek inner transformation. May this work of Sheikh Taoshobuddha be accepted to the Sheikhs and Allah Subhan wa Taala. 7. Leaves from a Sufi Heart Vol 2: Naqshbandi Sufi Tariqat Authored by Sheikh Taosho Buddha List Price: $68.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Full Color on Color paper 436 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456345853 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456345850 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality Sufism is great celebration. I invite you to celebrate it with TAOSHOBUDDHA. The Volume 1 of Leaves from a Sufi Heart paused at Bahauddin Naqshband. I thought enough has been spoken. No, yet still much has been left unspoken of his methodology. So when I began the Volume 2 of Leaves from the Sufi Heart I had to begin with Bahauddin Naqshband. After Bahauddin the path developed many off shoots. From Rasulallah Salallah Allahe Wassalam to Bahauddin the path was single tracked. From him the main stream had developed many tributaries. Therefore it was essential to begin with Post Bahauddin Era. However before I could do this his methodology the unique way through parables needs to be explained. This has not yet begun something else was knocking the consciousness. When I looked deep within it was the entire Sufi Doctrine - the explanation of various terms.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Thus the journey of the Volume 2 of Leaves From a Sufi Heart began. This work is the outcome of the grace, the nisbat, the faiz, or the inayat of Allah S u bh an wa Taa‟la and the Khawajans that this volume is now in your hands as the Makhtoobats of the masters. Without the faiz or the nisbat it could not be possible and the effects that it is creating within the readers. May Allah shine His Noor along the path of every aspirant whom I have met and also those whom I have not yet met? Maybe I may not meet physically, kindle their path through the Gaibana Tawajjoh each finite moment. Kudrat-E-Illahi is beyond human comprehension. ALHAM DIL ALLAH, SUBHAN ALLAH, ALLAH HO AKBAR. „I think your books are highly recommended for the true seekers , especially for the seekers of the highest spiritual order Naqshbandiyah Mujaddidiyah in English language. „I pray to Allah Ta'ala may your book „THE LEAVES FROM A SUFI HEART‟ is acceptable to Allah Ta'ala, His Prophet and the whole Ummah‟. 8. Parables - Naqshbandi Designs for Transformation: Naqshbandi Tariqat Authored by Sheikh Taosho Buddha List Price: $25.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 372 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456354671 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456354671 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality PRODUCT ID 3502897 PARABLES - NAQSHBANDI Designs for Transformation A parable is neither a lie, nor a truth. It is a design, a NAQSHBANDI. Maps have been invented to help you. They are arbitrary. Never become too obsessed with a map. Use it if you can; if you cannot, forget all about it. It has nothing valuable in it beyond its use.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Why parables? Just as a Ladder is a design or a devise to reach to the top and once you reach to the top the use of ladder is finished. So too a parable is a design for transformation. Parables have been designed by Naqshbandi Masters as devise based on the teachings or the sayings of the past masters as a unique way to Tariqat. Someone asked why do I go on writing so many books, almost an inconceivable number and go on giving talks not only on Sufi Path instead on all conceivable Paths of Spiritual Attainment? Books will teach you something of the outward aspects of the inward, and so will meditation talks. Without them you will make really no progress in inward journey. Remember the outward is the conductor to the inward. But why should we not be able to do so without books? For the same reason, remember you cannot think without words. I have to give you words so that your thinking pattern can change. Once your thinking pattern is changed then one day I will connect you to your inner silence. You have been reared on books. Your mind is so altered by books and talks, by hearing and speaking, that the inward can only speak to you through the outward. Whatever you pretend you can perceive! Man ultimately becomes what one pretends to be. This is Naqshbandi Design. Parables are the sayings of the past Sheikhs that are used by current Sheikhs as Designs for Transformation. 9. Maraqba-I-Rumi: Sufi Maraqba Series Authored by Sheikh Taoshobuddha List Price: $20.00 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 280 pages
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat ISBN-13: 978-1456338565 (Create Space-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1456338560 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality MARAQBA-I-RUMI BY SHEIKH TAOSHOBUDDHA There is something mystical in these compositions of Jalaluddin Rumi for which I have no words to explain. However certainly there is something. Through these compositions and meditations Taoshobuddha has created such level of beauty through the use and mastery of musical rhythm and rhyme with the play of words, that the reader and listener not only can appreciate the wisdom contained in these compositions, but also reach levels of ecstasy and mystical energy that is seldom found in other such compositions. Certainly these connect to your being. Taoshobuddha calls these as Maraqbas. The mastery of rhyme and rhythm is such that very often he creates a new vocabulary, using the same old words, yet creating new feelings that are associated with the insights of Rumi. Furthermore, often he has such mastery of play on words or at other times he uses the same word with a different accent or vowel twice or even thrice in the same composition, with a different meaning each time. One cannot help but marvel at the linguistic mastery that Taoshobuddha displays through various compositions and meditations that he has created. One can simply drown in the essence of it and thus get connected to your being. In any case, the end result is the same. The experience of artistic beauty of these compositions, voice modulations, rhythm and ecstatic energy, and alpha brain wave patterns all combined together with the mental understanding of the wisdom conveyed take the listener to the state of meditation. This is as close as one can get to the mystical experience itself, without actually being present with Taoshobuddha.
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Naqshbandi Uwaisiyah Tariqat By Naqshbandiyah Maulwi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar Rowi, Malaysia Human beings climb the ladder of egotism, But in the end everyone must fall from this ladder, The higher you climb, the more foolish you are, For your bones will be more badly broken When you die to yourself and come alive through God, In truth you have become one with God, in absolute unity. RUMI MASNAVI IV: 2763-7 We praise Allah! And we pray to Him! May His blessings be upon His Beloved Prophet, Hadhrat Sayyidina Wa Maulana Muhammad Mustafa Rasulullah Sallallahu Ta'ala 'Alaihi Wa Alihi Wa Ashabihi Wa Barik Wa Sallam! And may Allah's blessings also be upon the Prophet's family, his companions and to those who follow him with good presence till the Day of Qiyamah. AMIN…. This humble and poor slave of Allah, Jalalludin Ahmad has been requested Hadhrat Naqshbandi Sheikh Taoshobuddha to write some words regarding the Naqshbandiyah Uwaisiyah Sufi path which, according to Hadhrat Shah Waliyullah Ad-Dehlawi Rahmatullah 'Alaih was the most distinguish Sufi order in the Muslim world. As Hadhrat Syeikh Maulana Abu Anees Muhammad Barkat Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
Ali Qaddasallahu Sirruhu mentions in his book Virtues of Hadhrat Khwajah Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, „The Uwaisiyah Order in Tasawwuf provides directly the reflexes of ENLIGHTMENT without apparent contact thus rendering meaningless the barriers of time, distance and space.‟ It is beyond my capacity to explain it in detail but let me share some of the knowledge and understandings regarding this rare path with all my readers in the light of the Prophet hood and ME from the sayings of the Masters who has passed through this sacred path. HADHRAT 'ANHU
UWAIS
AL-QARANI
RADHIYALLAHU
In a Hadits Qudsi recorded by Hadhrat Abu Hurairah Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, May Allah be pleased with him, the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said speaking from his Lord: „Allah, Exalted and Mighty is He, loves of His creation the God-fearing, the pure in the heart, those who are hidden, and those who are innocent, whose face is dusty, whose hair is unkempt, whose stomach is empty, and who, if he asks permission to enter to the rulers, is not granted it, Page 68
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat and if he were to ask for a gentle lady in marriage, he would be refused, and when he leaves the world it does not miss him, and if he goes out, his going out is not noticed, and if he falls sick, he is not attended to, and if he dies, he is not accompanied to his grave.‟ The Companions asked him, „O Messenger of Allah, how can we find someone like that?‟ The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „Uwais Al-Qarani is such a one.‟ The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam once said in his Hadith, „There is a man at Qaran called Uwais, who on the Day of Resurrection will intercede for a multitude of my Ummah (community), as many as the sheep of Rabi'ah and Mudhar.‟ In another Hadith, the Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „Amongst my Ummah, there is a man whom his intercessions will benefits a large amount of people from my Ummah as many as the hairs of the sheep from the tribes of Rabi'ah and Mudhar.‟ The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam once said regarding that person who will intercedes this Ummah, „He is a slave amongst the slaves of Allah.‟ Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
The Companions asked, „We are all Allah's slave, but what is his name?‟ The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „His name is Uwais Al-Qarani.‟ The Companions again asked,„Where is he now?‟ The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „He is in Qaran.‟ The Companions then asked, „Has he met you before?‟ The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „Not with his physical eyes but he has already seen me with his spiritual eyes.‟ Then, the Companions asked the Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam what had prevented Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu from joining the group of Sahabah? The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „There are two reasons, firstly because of his highly intoxicated condition in love with Allah and secondly due to his following of my Syari'ah (religion) i.e. the responsibility to serve his mother. His mother is a believer and too old with blind eyes. He works as a shepherd and with his earnings he spents for his mother.‟ The Companions asked, „Is it possible for us to see him?‟ Page 69
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said to Hadhrat Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, „You will never see him but 'Umar and 'Ali will see him. His entire body is covered with hairs. On his left palm there is a sign as big as a Dirham that looks like leprosy but it isn't. When you meet him, send my salutation from me to him and tell him to pray for my Ummah. Amongst the Awliya (saints) of Allah there are the Atqiya (the most pious), and he is the best.‟ Addressing to Hadhrat 'Umar and Hadhrat 'Ali Radhiyallahu 'Anhuma, the Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „You will see him. He is a lowly man of medium height and hairy, on his left side there is a white spot as large as a Dirham which is not from leprosy, and he has a similar spot on the palm of his hand. When you see him, pass on my greeting and ask him to pray for my Ummah.‟ The name Uwaisiyah is related to Hadhrat Sayyidina Uwais Ibni Amir Ibni Jaz Ibni Malik Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu (died 37 AH/ 657 CE). He was the pioneer of the Uwaisiyah spiritual system which focuses on having a spiritual connections with the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam or other prophets and saints who had passed this worldly life, or the saints who are still alive but residing very far and difficult to reach without meeting them physically. In many occasions, the Uwaisi Sufi has no living Syeikh to guide his journey but he is guided by Allah Ta'ala or His ProphetSaint Hadhrat Nabi Khidhr 'Alaihissalam. This kind of spiritual connection has no limitations in time and space and it is well known as Nisbat Uwaisiyah. Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
Anyone who is a true believer can practice this system but only a few people who really know and understand about it. He lives during the Prophethood era but due to some responsibilities to serve his mother, he could not spend most of his time away from her. Even though he had not seen the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam physically, but he has seen the light of spiritual reality of Muhammad in his insight. The scholars have categorized him as the greatest Tabi'in i.e. the greatest follower of the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam but the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam himself had treated Hadhrat Uwais as one of his Sahabi (companion). He does meet with some of the companions such as Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Umar Ibni Al-Khattab and Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Ali Ibni Abi Talib Radhiyallahu 'Anhuma. Due to his love and strong intention to meet the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam, his name entered the list of the companions. The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam was informed about his strong desire to see the Holy Prophet but since his mother need his full attention and constant care, he could not get much opportunity to visit the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam in the Holy City Al-Madinah AlMunawwarah. His mother was a blind old lady and need supervision by him. Once he requested his mother for a leave to go to the Holy City Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah to visit the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. She permitted him to go to the Holy City but warned him to come back quickly. She said, „You have my permission to go, see him once and come back straight. If the Prophet Page 70
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam is at home, you may meet with him and if not, come back without delay.‟ Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu made a journey of three months on foot, from Yemen to the Holy City Al-Madinah AlMunawwarah. When he reached the Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam house, he knocked the door and Hadhrat 'Aishah Radhiyallahu 'Anha, the Prophet's wife and Mother of the believers opened the door. She told him that Hadhrat Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam was in masjid. Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu remembered his promise to his mother and therefore could not stay for the return of the Prophet. So he said to her, „Please convey my salutations to my Beloved Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. Kindly inform him that Uwais came from Yemen but did not find him at home and is returning back to Yemen, since he does not have permission from his mother to meet him in the masjid.‟ When the Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallhu 'Alaihi Wasallam came home from the masjid, he found the radiance of Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu in his house. Hadhrat Aishah Radhiyallahu Anha explained, what had happened and thus conveyed the salutations of Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu Anhu. The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam asked Hadhrat 'Aishah Radhiyallahu 'Anha „Did you see Uwais?‟
companions reached the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam, he asked them to look at his face. So, everyone looked at the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam face. Then, the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said ‚'Aishah Radhiyallahu 'Anha has seen Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu and therefore, she has been forgiven. As I see 'Aishah Radhiyallahu 'Anha, I have been forgiven. And you have seen me, therefore you are all forgiven.‟ Subhanallah, what a dignity Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala had bestowed upon Hadhrat Uwais Al- Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu that the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam himself gave his respect to Hadhrat Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu. The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam look towards Yemen and said, „The fragrance of our friend is reaching us.‟
Hadhrat 'Aishah Radhiyallahu 'Anha replied, „Yes.‟
The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, „Uwais will come back to Al-Madinah AlMunawwarah to meet me, but we will not meet physically, for I shall then be united with my Lord.‟ The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam had mentioned his name many times before he passed this worldly life and had instructed his companions to find Hadhrat Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu present his blessed cloak to him and to request prayers from him for the forgiveness of his Ummah.
After hearing this, the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam went out of the house and called his companions to come at him quickly. When the
It is mentioned in the stories of the companions that the search for Hadhrat Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu has been made since the time when the Holy Prophet
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam mentioned about his name and dignity but he could not be found. Even during the Caliphate of Hadhrat Abu Bakar As - Siddiq Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, there was no traces of Hadhrat Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu.
They said, „We do not ask you about your tending of animals, or about your being a hired worker, but what is your name?‟
Only during the last days of the Caliphate of Hadhrat 'Umar Al-Khattab Radhiyallahu 'Anhu he was found. According to the Hadits, when people from Yemen came to the Holy City Al-Madinah Al- Munawwarah, Hadhrat 'Umar Radhiyallahu 'Anhu will asked them if they know about Hadhrat Uwais Ibni 'Amir Radhiyallahu 'Anhu? Some of the people from Yemen know about him and his whereabouts. Hadhrat 'Umar Al-Khattab and Hadhrat 'Ali Ibni Abi Talib Radhiyallahu 'Anhuma set out a search to find Hadhrat Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu and they went to Yemen accompanied by Hadhrat Bilal Radhiyallahu 'Anhu and finally they found him at the Mount of 'Arafat when someone told them about his location.
They said, „All the people of the heavens and the earth are the slaves of Allah, but what is the name in which your mother named you?‟
Hadhrat 'Umar and Hadhrat 'Ali Radhiyallahu 'Anhuma then went quickly to Mount 'Arafat where they found Hadhrat Uwais were praying under a tree with camels grazing around him. They approached him and greeted him, saying,
Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu then bared his left shoulder, and they saw a white mark. They then embraced him and kissed him and said, "We declare that you are Uwais Al-Qarani, so ask for forgiveness for us and may Allah forgive you."
„As-Salaamu 'Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.‟ Hadhrat Uwais cut his prayer short, and when he had finished it, returned their greeting. They asked him, „Who are you?‟
Furthermore, they said, „The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam had ordered them to pass on his greeting to you and to request you to pray for the forgiveness of his Ummah.‟
He replied, „A herdsman of camels and a hired workman for a tribe.‟
He answered, „I cannot even forgive myself or one of Adam's children. But there are on land and in the seas believing men and women, Muslim men and women,
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He answered, „Abdullah (Slave of Allah).‟
He said, „My name is Uwais. O you two, what do you want from me?‟ They said, „Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam once spoke to us about Uwais Al-Qarani. He gave us a description of the bluish-black colour of his eyes, and he told us that he has a white mark under his left shoulder. So please show us if you have this mark, for then it is you for whom we are searching.‟
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat whose invocations to Allah are answered. Indeed you are worthier than I am for this supplication‟ They replied, „Surely this is so. We certainly supplicate but please you pray as per the will of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam.‟ Then he said, „O you two, you know about me and I know about my state, but who are you?‟ Hadhrat Ali Radhiyallahu 'Anhu answered, „This is the Commander of the Faithful (Al-Amir Al-Mukminin), Umar ibn al-Khattab, and I am Ali ibn Abu Talib.‟ Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu stood up straight and said, „As-Salaamu 'Alaikum Ya Amir Al-Mukminin. And you, O Ali, May Allah repay you with goodness for this Community (Ummah).‟ They said, „May Allah repay you for yourself and your goodness?" Having received the blessed cloak, he went away to a corner at some distance, placed the cloak in front on the ground and prostrating, he prays, "O Allah the Almighty, I shall not wear this honourable cloak until You have forgiven the Ummah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam.‟ As he took long in prostrating, they thought he might have died. When they reached near him, he raised his head from prostration and said, "Had you not come here, I would not have raised my head from prostration until I had the glad tidings of forgiveness of the whole Ummah. Even then Allah the Almighty has promised to forgive as many sinners of the Ummah of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam as much as the hairs of the sheeps of the Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
tribes of Rabi'ah and Mudhar." Then Hadhrat 'Umar AlKhattab Radhiyallahu 'Anhu said to Hadhrat Uwais AlQarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, „Your place is here until I return to Al-Madinah and may Allah have mercy upon you. Then I will bring you help from my provision and some of my clothes. This has been the meeting place between you and me.‟ But Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'anhu answered him, „O Commander of the Faithful, there will be no other meeting place, in the knowledge of Allah, between you and me, but this one. So tell me, what should I do with your provision and what should I do with your clothes? Do you not see that I am wearing a woollen gown and a woollen wrapper, so when do you see me tearing them? Or do you see that my sandals are worn out and torn? When do you see me out wearing them? Between your hand and mine there is a higher barrier which cannot be crossed by a weighty person, so leave these things, and Allah will have mercy upon you.‟ When Hadhrat 'Umar Radhiyallahu 'Anhu heard these words, he struck the ground with his stick and shouted out at the top of his voice, „O would that Umar had not been born by his mother and that she had been sterile!‟ He had converted into Islam during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. He is well known amongst the Sahabah and the Sufis for his deep love and affection towards Allah Ta'ala and His Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam, the practice of Zuhud (ascetism) and piety. He is the Sultan of the hidden servants of Allah. He is the beacon light for the seeker of spirituality. He is the elixir of the intense devotion to the Holy Prophet Page 73
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. He is honoured with the title of Nafs Ar-Rahman (The Soul of the Compassionate). He reached the stage of the beloved of the Divine. He spent most of his time in solitude, fasting during the day keep awake the whole night. Normally he stood in Iqamah (standing posture) for Solat (prayers) one night, spent the next night in Ruku' (kneeling posture) and spent the next night in Sajdah (prostration). He often spent his day praying in addition to the compulsory worship. Hadhrat Rabi' Ibni Khathi Rahmatullah 'Alaih, a famous Tabi'in reports, „One day I went to meet Hadhrat Uwais AlQarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu. I saw him busy in his Fajr (early morning) prayer. I waited for him to finish in order meeting him. Having finished his prayer, he got engaged is Tasbih and Tahlil and remained so continuously until Zuhur (early afternoon) prayer. Likewise, this lasted further until 'Asar (late afternoon) prayer and from 'Asar to Maghrib (sunset) prayer. Then I thought he might have a recess in order to break his fast, but he remained busy in Zikir (remembrance) and litanies until 'Isha (late evening) prayer and then to the Morning Prayer. Three days passed by this way. He slept on the fourth night for a short while and ate a little. Then he occupied himself in Istighfar (litanies seeking forgiveness of Allah the Almighty) thus uttered this words, "O Allah the Almighty, I seek Your refuge against the sleeping eye and stomach full of food." When Hadhrat Rabi' Rahmatullah 'Alaih witnessed all this, he returned and said to himself, "This is enough for me.‟ He lives in a village called Qaran in Yemen. He was a noble and very pious person. He denied all kinds of worldly ornaments and always keeps himself far from the crowd of Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
people. Some of his people consider him as a mad man due to his appearance. He ate only a few dates for fasting during the day and if he has more dates than what he needed, he gave it to the poor as Sadaqah (charity). Physically, he was a man of weak physique, middle height, slightly off-white color, wide shoulders, heavy beard, black eyes, sights concentrated at the place of prostration, a domineering round face and unruffled hair often covered with dust. He wore a completely worn out khaki dress that consisted of two garments, a blanket made of the camel hair and a pair of trousers. He had on palm of his left hand a white mark of the size of a Dirham. His usual dress was a cloak with many patches of cloth on it. He also has a blanket made of camel's wool. His physical appearance looks untidy which makes him ridiculed by the children and the adults. That is why most of his time he keeps himself far away from the people because in that way, he could be near to Allah in solitude. The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam often said to his companions, „I receive the breeze of Mercy (Nasim Al-Rahmah) from the direction of the Yemen.‟ The Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam also said, „The most superior man amongst the generation of the Tabi'un is Uwais. Whoever amongst you meets him must try to seek his supplication for forgiveness.‟ His love towards the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam is so great that he always keeps himself practizing the Sunnah (ethics) and love to Page 74
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat follow the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam! He is extinct in the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulllah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. He was completely absorbed and drowned in the Light of Muhammadi. Let us see what he had done in proving himself as a true believer and unparallel follower of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. It was stated in the traditions that had he heard the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam injured his blessed teeth in the Battle of Uhud. Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu said, â&#x20AC;&#x17E;When I came to know about the two teeth of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam having been sacrificed, I broke and took out one tooth first. Having done this I realized that only Allah the Almighty knew it well, but perhaps that might not be the tooth that had broken. Hence I broke another, still another, thus breaking them all one by one." Thus Hadhrat Uwais Radhiyallahu 'Anhu broke all his teeth and was bestowed this martawa or the benediction as embodiment of his love for the Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam THE SAYINGS OF HADHRAT UWAIS AL-QARANI 1. I searched for honor; I found it in service to the creatures. I searched for leadership; I found it in the creatures' welfare. I searched for humility, I found it in truth. I searched for the source of pride; 2. I found it in Faqr (poverty). I searched for a valuable relationship in the Hereafter; I found it in Taqwa (fear of Allah). I searched for highness; I found it in Qanaah (contentment). I searched for peace; I found it in Zuhud (piety). Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
3. He who believes in three things has Hell nearer to him than his jugular vein; they are voluptuous meals, expensive dress and companionship of the rich. 4. Peace is in solitude. 5. It is imperative on you to guard your heart. 6. You need to safeguard your heart, that is, save your heart from the thought of everything else. Keep your desires under control of your heart and not vice versa. 7. When you sleep, regard death nearer to your head and when you wake up regard it in front of you. 8. Do not regard a sin something ordinary, rather regard it something extraordinary. This is the reason you commit sins. If you regard a sin something inferior, then you will also regard Allah the Almighty inferior. 9. It is regretted at the hearts that are in doubt and do not seek advice. 10.He who recognized Allah the Almighty, he recognised everything and nothing remained hidden from him. 11.Wahdat (Unity of Godhead) is nothing except Him comes in thoughts.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat 12.Allah the Almighty writes recompense as many times as Muslim men and women for he who seeks forgiveness of the true Muslim, men and women. 13.He who has no wealth to give away in Sadaqah (charity) should seek forgiveness of true Muslim, men and women. This is his Sadaqah. 14.Hadhrat Abu Darda Radhiyallahu 'Anhu reports having heard the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam as saying, "He who prays twenty five or twenty seven times daily for forgiveness of true Muslim men and women will be counted amongst the people whose prayers are met with and who are the means of livelihood of people on earth. 15.Hidden invocation is better than visiting and meeting because Riya (show off) might enter in the latter two. 16.My Rabb's remembrance is most exalted, His sayings are most true, His is the most truthful statement, His is the most beautiful writing of all. 17.My advice for you to follow is to emulate the Almighty Allah's Book, the Holy Al-Quran, the way of the good and to send Salawat (salutations) to the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. 18.I only wish that I start the prayer and spend the night in one Sajadah (prostration) and lost control Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
of myself, recite repeatedly Subhana Rabbiyal A'la (Glory be to our Lord Who is Most High). 19.If someone who is praying is hit with a bar and has not felt it at all, this act will be demonstrative of the humility of his prayer. 20.If someone worships Allah the Almighty to the extent of the Heaven and the Earth, Allah the Almighty will not approve of his worship until the worshipper has complete belief in Him. 21.O Allah, You created me when I was not worthy of mention; and You provided for me when I had nothing; and I wronged my soul and sinned and confess my guilt. If You forgive me, that will in no way augment Your authority. You can find others to punish besides me, but I can find no one to forgive me but You. Truly, You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy. 22.The best and blessed way of belief in Allah the Almighty: Leave alone and do not worry about that which has already been set aside for you and whilst praying turn your mind off the world just as he does so at the time of his death. This state is enjoyed only when the human being regards death nearer to him than his jugular vein. If this is the state, then the man would be the one who believed in Allah the Almighty completely. Then his prayers would be accepted and become one who would have the honor of nearness to Allah the Almighty.
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat The Uwaisis in the Naqshbandiyah Sufi Path The Masters of the Naqshbndiyah Sufi Order are Uwaisis because they received the Faidhz i.e. the overflowing of the spiritual blessings and the spiritual presence of Masters before them. Hadhrat Khwajah Abu Yazid Bistami Rahmatullah 'Alaih received the spiritual blessings from Hadhrat Imam Ja'afar Sadiq Radhiyallahu 'Anhu through the Uwaisi System by meditating the spiritual presence of Hadhrat Imam Ja'afar Sadiq Radhiyallahu 'Anhu at his shrine. Similarly, Hadhrat Khwajah Abul Hassan AlKharqani Rahmatullah 'Alaih took spiritual guidance from the spiritual presence of Hadhrat Khwajah Abu Yazid Bistami Rahmatullah 'Alaih. Hadhrat Khwajah 'Abdul Khaliq Ghujduwani Rahmatullah 'Alaih spirituality was raised up by the spiritual presence of Hadhrat Sayyidina Nabi Khidhr 'Alaihissalam, Hadhrat Sayyidina Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, Hadhrat Sayyidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Radhiyallahu 'Anhu and Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Ali Karramallahu Wajhahu. Hadhrat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband Bukhari Rahmatullah 'Alaih , the founder of Naqshbandiah path, was raised by the spiritual presence and guidance from Hadhrat Khawajah 'Abdul Khaliq Ghujduwani Rahmatullah 'Alaih, Hadhrat Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, Hadhrat Sayyidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Ali Karramallahu Wajhahu and from the Holy Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. Hadhrat Khwajah Ubaidullah Ahrar Rahmatullah 'Alaih was raised by the spiritual guidance of Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Isa (Jesus) 'Alaihissalam and Hadhrat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband Rahmatullah 'Alaih. Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
Hadhrat Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alif Thani Sheikh Ahmad Farooqi Sirhindi Rahmatullah 'Alaih received the spiritual power through the spiritual connection with Hadhrat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband and Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Ali Karramallahu Wajhahu. Hadhrat Syeikh Sharafuddin AdDaghistani Rahmatullah 'Alaih was raised through the spiritual guidance of Hadhrat Sayyidina Abu Bakar AsSiddiq Radhiyallahu 'Anhu and the Holy Prophet Hadhrat Sayyidina Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam. Hadhrat Sheikh 'Abdullah Ad-Daghistani was guided spiritually by Hadhrat Sayyidina Uwais Al- Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Abdul Khaliq Ghujduwani Rahmatullah 'Alaih, Hadhrat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband Rahmatullah 'Alaih and Hadhrat Sayyidina 'Ali Karramallahu Wajhahu. Hadhrat Sheikh Nazim received the spiritual guidance from Hadhrat Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi Rahmatullah 'Alaih and Hadhrat Syeikh 'Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani Rahmatullah 'Alaih of Chistiyah order. THE UWAISIYAH SUFI METHOD Uwaisiyah is a form of spiritual connection and transmission with any of the Prophets or Saints in past or present. The spirits meet in the world called 'Alam AlArwah (The World of Spirits) which is beyond 'Alam AlAjsam (The Material World). Whoever gains the spiritual connection and spiritual knowledge from the deceased Master, is called Uwaisi. The spiritual connection with the Friends of Allah is as powerful and effective as the physical connection. The Uwaisiyah spiritual system focuses on having a spiritual connections with the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam or other prophets and great saints who had passed this worldly life, Page 77
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat or the true saints who are still alive but residing very far and difficult to reach without meeting them physically. The Uwaisi Sufi has no living Syeikh to guide his journey but he is guided by Allah Ta'ala or His Prophet-Saint Hadhrat Nabi Khidhr 'Alaihissalam. This kind of spiritual connection has no limitations in time and space and it is well known as Nisbat Uwaisiyah. Reminiscents of Maulwi JalaluddinAhmad ar Rowi Once, this humble and poor slave of Allah was at the Khanqah Sirajiah, Kundiyan Sharif, Mianwali, Pakistan attending the Suhbah with my Syeikh, Hadhrat Khwajah Khwajahgan Pir Piran Maulana Khan Muhammad Sahib Mudda Zilluhul 'Ali in the month of Ramadhan in the year 1999. During that time, the elder disciples of Hadhrat Syeikh were reading the Malfuzat (Sayings) of Hadhrat Qutub Rabbani Shah 'Abdullah Ghulam 'Ali Dehlawi Rahmatullah 'Alaih and he mentioned that to establish the connection with any of the Masters in the spiritual path in Uwaisi method, one must take ablution perfectly and offer two Raka'ah Nafil or Hajat prayer. After completing the prayer by uttering Salam, one should pray to Allah, may He bless the intention to build the spiritual connection with His saints. After praying, one should recite Istighfar twenty five times, Surah Al-Fatihah with Bismillah once and Surah Al-Ikhlas thrice and send the rewards through one's intention to the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam and also send it's reward especially to the particular prophet or saint whom he want to establish the spiritual connection. Then one should sit still in Maraqba (contemplation) and focus on that particular spiritual personality with sincere love and affection. One should give his full concentration focusing on the abstract image of that particular spirit of the saint Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
or prophet and imagine that there is a flow of light coming from the upper side to that particular spirit, and then imagine that the light overflow from the heart of that particular spirit to one's heart and keep that vision in mind until one feels drowning in that condition. With the grace of Allah the Almighty, the spiritual connection will be established and he will gain the spiritual benefits from that particular spirit such as spiritual guidance, knowledge, power and blessings. When I heard about this, I think that it would be a great opportunity for me to try it and build the spiritual connection with all the Masters in the Naqshbandiyah Mujaddidiyah Silsilah. But first of all, I think maybe it will be good if I have the spiritual connection with Hadhrat Imam At-Tariqat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband Rahmatullah 'Alaih because I love his Naqshband Tariqat (Sufi Path). So, at that night, I did as what I have heard from the Malfuzat of Hadhrat Qutub Rabbani Shah 'Abdullah Ghulam 'Ali Dehlawi Rahmatullah 'Alaih. After I finished all the procedures, I put myself in Maraqba the whole night concentrating upon the blessed spirit of Hadhrat Shah Bahauddin. [SUBHAN ALLAH!] When I slept, a vision came to me in my dream that I saw the spirit of Hadhrat Shah Bahauddin Naqshband is focusing his Faidhz flowing upon me until I felt that all the cells and nucleus in my body is uttering the word Allah! Allah! Non stop! In that dream, I feel the whole part of my body is shivering while uttering Allah! Allah! It could not stop and then I cried out loudly in that dream, "O my Sheikh, what had happen to me? Why the whole part of my body couldn't stop uttering Allah Allah?" Suddenly the vision stops and when I woke up in the morning, I can still feel the vibration in my heart, Page 78
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat veins, muscles and cells are still sounding the word Allah Allah. At that time I was doing the regular Zikir on Latifah Nafs. After I finished my regular Zikir I went to meet my Syieikh Hadhrat Maulana Khan Muhammad Sahib and tell him everything what had happen to me from the beginning. Then he said, „Ma Sya Allah, May Allah Ta'ala bless you." Then he taught me how to do the Zikir in the Latifah Qalibiyah i.e. in the subtlelities of the four elements: Air, Fire, Water and Soil. It is also known as Sultan Az-Zikir. From that time, my understanding about the Uwaisi system had brought me to love and gain Faidhz from all the Past Masters of this highest Sufi Order and all the Masters from other Sufi Order as well, especially the greatest spirit of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam even though I am residing far in the East. Allah Taa‟la‟s qudrath is not confined to any place or time. This is nisbete gaib. Indeed, the Faidhz of spiritual light is from Allah Ta'ala that He bestows it to the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam and then to the Sahabah, and then to those who follows them till the Last Day. Anyone can try to establish this kind of connection if they intended to have the spiritual relationship with any prophet or saint spiritually. Give your love and attention to the saints and for sure they will love you and pay their attentions towards you.
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May Allah forgive this humble and poor slave if what has been written here is not appropriate for the public? My hope is that by understanding the life and sayings of Hadhrat Uwais Al-Qarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu will encourage us to love him and love the path he invented and thus, to develop the Uwaisiyah spiritual system in our daily life so that our spirit will always be guided by the true Spiritual Masters. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala forgive all my sins and all the sins of all Muslim men and women till the day of Qiyamah. Wallahu A'lam Bissawab Wa La Haula Wa La Quwwata Illa Billah. I, Sheikh Taoshobuddha Naqshbandiyah Mujadadiah wa Mazaharia confirm all that our brother Hadhrat Faqir Maulawi Jalalluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Uwaisi has written about the teachings, path and the Sheikh. It was at my request he had agreed to write this for the wider seekers along the path. He is the international contributor in the monthly e magazine „MEDITATION TIMES‟. This union has the blessing of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam and the sheikhs of the past and those who are yet to come. And now this is the part of this classic on Shah Bahauddin Naqshband because the post Naqshbandi era will remain incomplete without the contribution of Hadhrat Uwais AlQarani Radhiyallahu 'Anhu ALHAM DIL ALLAH WA RABBOOL ALMIM!
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Book Reviews Essence of Sufism by Sheikh Taoshobuddha ISBN 978 81 207 5694 6 Published by Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi India Tariqat prepares you as an individual along the way and Tasawwuf preserves your awareness. This work comes to you as a prelude to Leaves from a Sufi Heart, which is a comprehensive work on Naqshbandi Sufi masters, their lives, and the tariqat starting from The Holy Prophet. Because of the voluminous work the book has been divided into three volumes. Volume 1 signifies the pre-Naqshbandi era. Volume 2 signifies the post-Naqshbandi era with the advent of Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Al Faruqi. This was the beginning of the Mujadaddi era and the beginning of Naqshbandi nisbet in the Indian subcontinent. Volume 3 signifies the break in trend when the nisbet defied the narrowness or tasubbi and came to Sheikh Sufi Ramchandra who came from the Hindu tradition. This was the Mazaharia Era. The Mazaharia era began with Hazrat Mazhar Mir Janae Jana of New Delhi in India.
Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
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The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat )kIrI beinyaj hE. Faqiri beniyaz hai! SPIRITUALITY IS BEYOND ALL HUMAN BONDAGE DUALITIES AND CONFLICTS!!
This present work is the combination of the kalam of Prof. Rattan Lal Hangloo and other masters and composers like Taoshobuddha, Mirza Ghalib, Amir Khushro, Jalaluddin Rumi, Brij Narian Chakbas, Mahadevi Verma, Naqshbandi Sufi Ramchandra, Naqshbandi Sufi Brij Mohan Lal, and Lalleshwari. The essence of these compositions is blended with the Naqshbandi nisbet to create maraqba. It was just a coincidence that while sitting with Prof. Hangloo one evening, the foundation of this work was laid. No effort had been made in the past for such a venture. It is for the first time that this approach has been used to create the spirit of Sufism by this union between Sufi poetry and the energy field of a master to create Maraqba. And thus allow the journey of transcendence. This is way of the masters, so that the aspirant or saliq can continue his inward journey. This work will be remembered as a new beginning, now and in times to come. The beginning of a new era in Sufism! Poets sometimes reach to such a height of consciousness where even a master cannot reach. However, such a state is not a permanent happening. Therefore, this is an effort to create Maraqba around Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
such insights, so that in the process of inward journey the saliq can clear the states of nafs or ego and attain to inner harmony and oneness. Around each poetic composition a Maraqba is weaved by Sheikh Taoshobuddha so that the tawajjoh or the energy field of the master can envelop you along the path. And transformation may be possible. This is the way of tawajjoh or Tasawwuf of all the masters or nisbet to work in you so that you can journey through the realm of nafs and reach to the realm of ruh. This is the only way one can really attain to taqmeel. „Learning the path of the Sufis or the Tariqah is the key to reach the Ma’rifat (gnosis) of Allah‟s essence, qualities, attributes, names, and actions and by practicing on the path it will lead the seekers to reach the Haqiqat (reality). Practicing the path will enable the seekers to understand the sayings and utterances of the Sufis and to understand their poems or poetries by understanding their sacred path. The sayings are so beautiful that they touch the seeker‟s heart. Allah‟s words are the most high above all the words of the Creation that nothing can be compared to them and the Holy Prophet Muhammad Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam’s words are the best words amongst the Creation. Other than that, are the poets who express their love and affection towards Allah Ta‟ala, the sustainer of the entire universe! Their words contain greatwisdom and Page 81
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat teachings that have enlightened the hearts of seekers for hundreds of years. This book The Essence of Sufism is a great book for those true seekers who want to grasp the knowledge of the Sufis, and I am very thankful to Hadhrat Sufi Taoshobuddha for giving me this opportunity to write the foreword for this very valuable and precious book. May Allah grant him great reward for sharing the understanding of the Sufi poetries such as Hadhrat Maulana Rumi, Amir Khusroo, Kabir, Jigar Mooradabadi, Sufi RamChandra, Sufi Brij Mohan Lal, Janab Rattan Lal Hangloo, Janab Brij Narain Chakbas, etc. May Allah shower us with his blessings through these Maraqbas.â&#x20AC;&#x; Maulawi Jalaluddin Ahmad Ar-Rowi Mujaddidi Uwaisinm Malaysia
Naqshbandi
MARAQBA-I-RUMI BY SHEIKH TAOSHOBUDDHA Maraqba-I-Rumi: Sufi Maraqba Series Authored by Sheikh Taoshobuddha List Price: US$20.00
Vol: 1 Issue 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Quarterly Publication
6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 280 pages ISBN-13: 978-1456338565 (Create SpaceAssigned) ISBN-10: 1456338560 BISAC: Religion / Spirituality While traversing on the path for attaining the status of Sufi when the saliq undergoes certain transitions it acquires an ecstasy and the expression of that ecstasy is Tasawwuf. It is in that state Rumi became a mystical poet. It is candle that you hold while on your journey inwards or outwards ultimate reality. You can choose any Tariqa as the road but you cannot walk unless you see the path through the light of candle i.e., Tasawwuf. It is through this light that Rumi saw the creative essence of Allah Subhan wa Taala in everything and everywhere. Divan-I-Shams is such an expression of Tasawwuf. I am ecstatic because as a Sheikh of Naqshbandi tariqat I am now presenting the works of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi as the insights of a sheikh. Jalaluddin comes from Maulana or Mevlavi tariqat of Sufi Page 82
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat dervishes. Jalaluddin very easily becomes part of any Sufi tariqat. In the last decades of the Twentieth Century the light or the energy field of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi has been strongly felt by a wide cross – section of people throughout the Western world. He is being recognized in the West now even more than Iranian Omar Khayyam. There is a reason for this. Omar Khayyam coming from a tribal upbringing of Neshapur is poet first who has been touched by something of the beyond and in that state Rubiyats were composed. Rumi on the other hand is an Enlightened Sheikh. His compositions are insights for transformation. Jalaluddin Rumi is being recognized in the West as one of the greatest Sufi mystic and Sheikh of all time after Sheikh Bahauddin Naqshband of Bokhara, just as he has been recognized for seven centuries in the Middle East and Western Asia. Rumi is more recognized for his intellectual prowess in the west than as mystic. A time will soon come when he will be recognized as a mystic more than a mere poet. Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
Different qualities of Rumi have been brought out by a variety of writers and translators. All these have presented Rumi as an intellectual force alone. Many new translations that have appeared during the nineteen – eighties have focused on various aspects of Rumi. „He has been presented as refined and sensual, sober and ecstatic, deeply serious and extremely funny, rarefied and accessible. It is a sign of his profound universality that he has been so many things to so many people.‟ However no effort has been made to present Rumi as a mystic or as a Sheikh. Also no effort has yet been made to create Maraqba or meditation around the compositions of Rumi and thus bring about tremendous insights hidden deep within each and every syllable of Rumi. It is for the first time that a Sheikh of tariqat has used the compositions of Rumi to create meditations for the transformation of aspirants. As far as poetic genius of Rumi is concerned he differs from the rest of the other poets who used mysticism as the way. Rumi stand at the top of Parnassus. While many other poets have a mystical vision and then try to express it in a graspable language, Rumi on the other hand has never attempted to bring his visions to the level of the mundane. Instead he has always expected, nay, demanded the reader to Page 83
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat reach higher and higher in his or her own spiritual understanding, and then perhaps be able to appreciate what Rumi was saying. This is the difference between Rumi and other poets. This is the reason that Rumi stands at the Parnassus. Perhaps this is the reason that there are so many layers to his poetry. These layers are not so much because of his writing, instead because of your understanding you‟re and as your understanding transcends, you can grasp more and more of what Rumi wants to convey to you. Yet there is more. While many of the translations of Rumi‟s poetry have tried to convey the immense wisdom contained therein, often they overlook the musical and artistic beauty that they contain. Particularly in Divan – e – Shams, Rumi has created such level of beauty through the use and mastery of musical rhythm and rhyme, that the reader not only can appreciate its wisdom, but also reach levels of ecstasy and mystical energy that is seldom found in other poems or any translations of his poetry. The mastery of rhyme and rhythm is such that he often creates a new vocabulary, using the same old words, yet creating new feelings that are associated with them. Furthermore, often he has such mastery of play on words and puns, or at other times he uses the same word with a different accent or vowel twice or even thrice in the same verse, with a different meaning each time. One cannot help but Vol: 1 Issue 1 – The Quarterly Publication
marvel at the linguistic mastery that Rumi displays through these compositions. This is the work of sheikh to bring about transformation. Compositions of Rumi have been translated are part of churches, music, operas, consorts, and many such places throughout the world. Sheikhs have sung these compositions as part of discourses. But never before, have these compositions been used as the basic of Maraqba by and Sheikh. Thus this works sets new trend in Sufi tariqat. There is something mystical in these compositions of Jalaluddin Rumi for which I have no words to explain. However certainly there is something. Through these compositions and meditations Taoshobuddha has created such level of beauty through the use and mastery of musical rhythm and rhyme with the play of words, that the reader and listener not only can appreciate the wisdom contained in these compositions, but also reach levels of ecstasy and mystical energy that is seldom found in other such compositions. Certainly these connect to your being. Taoshobuddha calls these as Maraqbas. The mastery of rhyme and rhythm is such that very often he creates a new vocabulary, using the same old words, yet creating new feelings that are associated with the insights of Rumi. Furthermore, often he has such mastery of play on words or at other times he uses the same word with a different accent or vowel twice or even Page 84
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat thrice in the same composition, with a different meaning each time. One cannot help but marvel at the linguistic mastery that Taoshobuddha displays through various compositions and meditations that he has created. One can simply drown in the essence of it and thus get connected to your being. In any case, the end result is the same. The experience of artistic beauty of these compositions, voice modulations, rhythm and ecstatic energy, and alpha brain wave patterns all combined together with the mental understanding of the wisdom conveyed take the listener to the state of meditation. This is as close as one can get to the mystical experience itself, without actually being present with Taoshobuddha.
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All articles be addressed to the chief editor Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat via the email to mailtaoshobuddha@gmail.com Upon receipt the articles will be acknowledged. The editor holds the right to edit, delete or add any word or sentence as may be necessary All articles published in the International Journal Of Naqshbandi Tariqat shall remain the copyright material of the Journal It remains the responsibility of the writer that the articles does not violate the copyright infringement and does not contain any derogatory material. The journal is made available free of charge through various sites therefore no remuneration is possible for articles published.
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Anyone who wished to submit the articles for publication in his journal is free to submit articles as soft copy only. The following guidelines are required:
The International Journal of Naqshbandi Tariqat is the publication of Taoshobuddha Meditations. It is distributed free of any charge.
The articles must be related to Naqshbandi Tariqat Type on letter size format with border 1 inch on either side The header and footer need to have margin of one inch each The images can also be submitted if necessary
However we will not refuse and contribution or donation as without financial resources and support the work of such nature is difficult to undertake and continue. We are already publishing MEDITATION TIMES for the last three years free and its circulation has increased tremendously.
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