Note: Part one at the bottom.
-----
Original Message -----
From: Jusuf
Achmad Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 9:14 AM Subject: Spiritual Stages and Paths (2) Greetings
with Love (Rahman) and Light (Rahim) from the One Infinite Creator In
paradise time is irrelevant (what matters is NOW) One of the
sign of enlightment is when we feel time begins to be irrelevant. When
time is not relevant then space is not relevant as well, that is why we feel
one with all. At this state it is possible to access
information about the past and future at any place, because time and
space is irrelevant. The time and space is totally irrelevant when we
reach the seventh density/heaven, our original habitat, the infinite worlds
(just remember God is much greater than Infinity, beyond our wildest
imaginations). At the lower level time and space is not totally
irrelevant. Those who are graduating from the current third density
reality and entering the fourth density/heaven reality will begin to feel
Oneness in All (the ultimate Oneness is in the sixth density/heaven, so don't
worry if we do not fully understand about Oneness Ibn Arabi is talking about,
we will fully understand it (haqqul yakin) in the upper level later on). Look at
verse Quran 2:112 below "on such shall be no fear, nor shall they
grieve" are signs of those who enter paradise (including those
who can enter it right now, can enter fourth density reality right now).
"Fear" is usually associated with future events and
"Grieve" is usually associated with past events. When we
have no fear and no grieve that means the future and the past becoming
irrelevant. We are in peace, we are happy with what we have NOW, not
worrying about the past and future - what really matters is NOW.
So concentrate on our current lessons. Current
lessons The fourth
density/heaven main lesson is Unconditional Love for the path of man, to
reflect fully the Ar-Rahman - the feminine attribute of God, always giving with
love and expect nothing in return. In the fifth density/heaven, the main
lesson is Wisdom or Light, to reflect fully the Ar-Rahim - the masculine
attribute of God, always compensating with just and wisdom. In the
sixth density/heaven integrating both main attributes of God, the density
of unity, becoming One with All "physically". The seventh
density/heaven lesson is beyond femininity and masculinity, the "neti,
neti" worlds, returning to the infinite worlds - point of no return,
understanding that God is actually beyond our imaginations - everything that we
can understand/imagine is not God. God is actually beyond
comprehension (from the finite entities perspectives). Now is the
very beginning of fourth density/heaven (third density reality is still
dominant, but will gradually vanish in the near future), so it is very
important to finish the first three lessons below first (clearing the three
lower chakras). We all have finished the first and the second density
lessons, but when the third density lesson is not cleared (finished) it will effect
the lower lessons (chakras): See the
verse Quran 2:112 below, "whoever submits himself entirely to Allah and he
is the doer of good" is the third density lessons. The "No
fear, nor grieve" indicates the lessons are fulfilled. Surrender to
the Creator is reflected in accepting His creations, acceptance of
All. Doer of good is the inclination trying to reflect
both main attributes of God, Ar-Rahman - always giving with unconditional
love and Ar-Rahim - always compensating with just and wisdom. At
this stage the most important aspect is the orientation not the reflection it
self, because the reflection will be perfected in the next two realities.
The inclination / orientation will set the path for our next
reality. When we
accept all the way they are, we will have no fear of what ever we or
others will encounter in the future and we will have no grieve of
what has happened to us and others in the past. We can
accept all because "withersoever you turn, there will be the face of
Allah" Quran 2:115 below. The opposite conditions
of in acceptance of All are those: In the
verses attached below, when Al-Quran mentioned the "Jews" please see
it as a symbol of those who are too masculine. And when mentioned the
"Christians" please see it as a symbol of those who are too
feminine. It is only symbols, of course not all Jews and Christians have
those kind of "portraits" (the Muslims might have also those kind of
portraits). Practically all chapters (Surah) in Al-Quran begin with
"In the name of Allah the Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim", strongly suggest
we reflect both feminine and masculine attributes of God. If we were to
follow the path of man, the feminine side should be more dominant as
reflection of the saying "My Mercy (Ar-Rahman) comprehending the
entire Universe". The face of
God is shown to us firstly through our parents. We saw the
"unconditional love" face when we were still new born babies.
When we get older we could see the "just" face as
well. Our parents would rewarded us when we follow their
"orders" and punished us when we did not, but not always because
their "unconditional love" would seems to be more
dominant. This is an ideal portrait, and the ideal condition usually will
not last long. Through our siblings, relatives, friends, teachers,
co-workers, superiors, others, even our own parents, spouse and
children we would be shown the distorted face of love and
justice. All the faces we have seen will affect our perception of
God. We expect
our superior at work to be just and have heart as well, although most companies
would be most concern with the "just" part. More
recently more companies are also interested in the "heart" part
when EQ (Daniel Goleman) and SQ (Danah Zohar) introduced
to companies, because the executives see that the "heart" part
could also increase their bottom line (profit). Those who follow the path
of Jinn would naturally have "as if as they have heart". So the
"heart" and "just" attributes are actually a very
common these days. Just as common as orientation towards "Servicing
Others" in companies, such as attitude towards seeing Customer
First (the attitude of being His Servant), but without losing their
masculine sides (vitality, competitiveness, endurance, etc). Just keep
remembering that our daily lives are not separated from our spiritual
lives. Try a meditative live style (always try to be in the middle,
not too masculine and not too feminine, always with love/heart and
just/wisdom). Focus to the path we want to follow, in the end
all paths will lead to the One, because All is One. Truth is
everywhere if we can see the perfection in the imperfections. We are One we are
Infinite. God is much greater than Infinity, He created the finite and
infinite worlds, God is beyond our wildest imagination. The infinite
worlds is our natural habitat, this finite worlds is our temporary playground
to understand what is the opposite meaning of Infinity. The most added
value is not the answer to the question itself, but the different experience in
each one of us in leading to the answer - the answer itself is already
long known for billions of years. If we see
paradoxes in the statements above, that is very natural in this finite
world, because we are dealing with the Most Seen as well as the Most Unseen,
spirituality is always about dealing with paradoxes. May we
always be in peace, Jusuf
Achmad. Website: http://www.geocities.com/jachmad/English.html AL-BAQARA: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/002.qmt.html 002.111 002.112 002.113 002.114 002.115 002.116 <<<<<<<<<<<<
PART ONE
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greetings with Love and
Light from the One Infinite Creator Spiritual Stages
/ States of Consciousness in this reality +-------------------------Spiritual
Stages / States of Consciousness Summary----------------------------+
Beginning
of Beginning to
act (not just believing)
duality
mode
in Oneness (Tauhid),
ending of duality mode
Don't no Can see simple
Can see relativity All is perfect the way they are, Don't
care Good &
Evil in Good &
Evil accept all the way they are
+---------------+----------------+------------------+ Limited
found. | Beginner | Intermediate
|
Advance | Developed foundation of of
fem.and
mas.+---------------+----------------+------------------+ femininity and
masculinity
0 1 2 3
Very Low SQ
Very High SQ
Most
of
the Swinging
from one side to Always in the middle,
in stillness
time limited in: the other from
time to time: Always in peace, always have:
-Vitality
Paranoid/Fearful-Brave/Angry -Vitality
-Cheerfulness &nnbsp; Deep
Sadness-Euphoria
-Cheerfulness
-Conditional love Hatred-Conditional
love -Inclination towards
unconditional love,
or Hatred no
conditional love, no hatred +-------------------------Spiritual
Stages / States of Consciousness Summary----------------------------+ Beginner
State I'll try to
explain the stages in a very simple way. At this stage say the
person is lazy, don't want/lazy to help the self and others. Don't care
and don't no about "good" and "evil". Have you seen
cats or dogs having sex, very little cheerfulness shown, right? Have you
seen .... never mind? Those are some clues, I will not further discuss
this state, because it is irrelevant to most of us / my target audience. (We can
still see humans in this category in some parts of the world but I will
not exposed them explicitly). Intermediate
State The person
can differentiate simple "good" and "evil". But
still in many occasions can not understand why something is
"good" for one condition is "bad" for other
circumstances. Still trying to understand why helping others is not always
ends up in good results, and why others not helping the self
sometimes ends up in good results or vice-versa. Always promoting
"goodness" in their view, many times too forceful without
realizing it. Their view is too black and white, too dogmatic. Can
not see holistically, globally, universally, short sighted. It is quite
a struggle or "A Great Jihad" to move on from this
state. There is some sort of tick barrier separating this stage
and the next. This barrier is illustrated beautifully in Al-Quran in the
interactions between Moses, may peace be upon him, and his
"virtual" teacher (most Sufi called him Prophet Khidr, I think
the reader are quite familiar with the story). Moses had trouble understanding
the lessons that what seems
"bad" is actually "good" and
vice-versa. He kept asking questions, even he had promise not
to. He was not patient enough. The problem was that he
was actually still teaching the Jews who were mostly slaves and still in the
beginning of intermediate state or trying to get into this state.
The advance teaching would be counter productive to Jews at the
time. They were lacking of masculinity at that point, because of a
prolong slavery by the Pharaohs. That is why they were
taught "An eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth". At another
point in time when the Jews became too masculine and lack of femininity then
came Jesus, may peace be upon him, and taught "If somebody slap your face
on one side, give the other side to be slapped" as well as love, love,
love ..... love even your enemy. (Do you think President Bush love his
"enemy"? Of course, I think he "loves" his
"enemy" in his own way. You don't have to answer this question,
of course. Am I being sarcastic?). The Holy
Prophet Muhammad (the Indonesian way of spelling), may peace and blessing be
upon him, tried to teach both femininity and masculinity as the reflection
of the two main attributes of Allah, Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim. He surely
tried to reflect the feminine side of God, Ar-Rahman attribute, to be more
dominant as shown after the falling of Mecca to the Muslims by
forgiving his "brutal enemy". Just as Prophet
Yusuf, may peace be upon him, forgave his "brutal brothers".
But because of the circumstances, most see his masculine side to be
more dominant (Not to mention what happened to the Muslims after he
died). The Sufis tried to balance this out by love, love, love ....
following the path of love .... and some would put more wisdom to
balance it. So at
this stage the person develops both sides the foundation of femininity and
masculinity. Developing only one side (usually only masculine
side) might lead to become the "one eye dajjal/antichrist",
becoming a smart/wise person but without love/forgiveness (a more complex
character is: with pseudo love). Femininity and masculinity will be
further developed in the next realities. (Most
common category). Advance
State Not only
he/she knows "good" and "evil"
but also understand its relativity. Simple example, fire
and water can be good or bad, it depends. Most of the time knows when/how
to act or not act in a certain circumstances. Always can accept
end results, when things are not coming up as expected AS IF AS THE
PERSON DOES NOT CARE ABOUT "GOOD THINGS" AND "BAD
THINGS". Ambition is
good or bad? Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is bad. Good for some,
bad for others, it depends. Those ambitious Shopping Malls builders can
creates thousands of jobs, so this must be a "good" thing. But
of course there is always the downsides. So there is no such thing
absolute "good" or "bad"? Sometimes
the person feels superior (the experience of being His Khalifa), and at other
times feels inferior (the experience of being His servant). Sometimes the
person knows exactly this is good or bad, at the other times he/she has no
idea. Not sure or confuse is the hallmark of the finite realities, so
this at stage the person can accept all reality the way they
are. At the end,
can see perfection in all, acceptance of all, because by knowing "His (our
own) scenario" the person can see perfection in the imperfections.
The way the person can love all humans is similar to most human can love
all animals even though the animals fight/kill/eat each other - all
in a perfect environment cycle. Although the person do not have
all the answer to many questions "why is this way and not the
other way around", the person firmly believe that all is in harmony
because all good and bad things are just catalysts or lessons to be
learned by all in this temporary finite world. Furthermore the
person looks others as teachers as well as his/her students, because the
person believe it is always a learning-teaching experience. In
teaching we are learning and in learning we are teaching. There is no
such thing as one way learning or one way teaching. We are all teachers
as well as students. This is the true spirit of unity and equality, the true
democracy. Unlike in the path of Jinn, no one have authority over others
in the path of man. Near the
end of this state, the person will have "virtual private
teacher" who will always guide him/her. In the New
Age term the teacher is called the
"Higher-Self". This "private teacher" seems to be the
same person to all because the teachings are very similar. The
reason is that all "teachers" were taught directly by God
(see Surah Al-Kahfi), consciousness from the 7th density/heaven. (Insya
Allah, in the near future millions upon millions of people will be graduated
to continue learning in the next reality, the fourth density/heaven, the
density of love, the density of understanding. Earth is destined
to be fourth density/heaven service to others orientation, heaven for the
path of man as promised to Adam, may peace be upon him. It is very
important to remember that we do not make the same mistake as Adam. So
try to concentrate on our current lessons (keep our three lower chakra clear)
not on lessons too far above (such as lessons in 6th and
7th density/heaven which associated with "Eternity", the
tree/knowledge that can make us eternal). Spiritual Paths In this
regard, my view actually more in line with traditional Muslim views. I
believe there is Hell, but is not exactly the same view (interpretation /
tafsir). "Alhamdulillahhirabbilalamin". All praise is
belongs to Allah, Lord who creates, develops and maintains all the worlds, the
seen and unseen, in perfection. His beauty is reflected in His creations,
that includes HELL. Paradise or "Jannah" is an ideal place, so
Hell is the perfect place for those following the path of Iblis/Satan in
learning their lessons. In general
all spiritually mature (or should I write "mature") humans will
choose a path. So basically when a person arrives in the next reality,
the person will say "Ooo I am entering Heaven". But Heaven for
some are Hell for others depending ones perception. Those who firmly
believe that terror is allowed by God will enter their own version of
paradise. In their "heaven" terrorizing others is allowed and
in this way it will make them smarter/wiser (how not to be terrorize by
others). Each paths have their own different worlds, so they will not
distract each other. All paths will merge In the sixth
density/heaven, the density/heaven of Unity/Oneness.. See
also: http://www.geocities.com/jachmad/E2004-10-22-Al-Faatihah-TheObjectives1.htm There are
several paths leading to Oneness / Infinity. Just like climbing a
very high mountain. Some like the more comfortable ways (but
there is no easy way), and others like the hard ways - through steep / vertical
hills, heavy forest etc. Although all can share their different journey
stories at the top of the mountain, all see the same view, the same "FACE
OF GOD". Do we prefer the shortest and more
comfortable journey? That is up to each of us. At the top, space
and time is not relevant anymore, so it is irrelevant comparing between
those who arrive earlier and later. One thing is sure, is that
all paths in the end, will lead to surrendering to the will of God, FULL
ACCEPTANCE OF ALL, because ALL is ONE. The
Path of Man In the next
reality one of the main path is the path of man. This is the
continuation of those in the advance stage who constantly inclined in
reflecting both main attributes of God, Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, with Ar-Rahman
- always giving with unconditional lovee, His feminine side, more dominant
as a reflection of "My Mercy (Ar-Rahman) comprehending
the entire Universe". Even rahim derived from the same
root word “rahma” meaning he showed mercy; he was kind and good; he
forgave. Unlike other paths, the path of man can reflects the widest
range of God attributes. See
also: http://www.geocities.com/jachmad/E2004-10-22-Al-Faatihah-TheObjectives1.htm The
Path of Jinn The other
main path is the path of Jinn. The path of Jinn and Man has its own
separate paradise as explained in Surah Ar-Rahman. Humans who seems
to follow the path of man, but actually deep inside only incline in
reflecting mostly the masculine side of God, Ar-Rahim - always give
rewards (and punishments) with just / wisdom. From the outside seems to
be in "Acceptance of All" but deep inside it is actually
about Controlling the self ("Those who can control the self, can control
others" - the opposite of: "Those who can accept the self,
can accept others). Deep inside they like excitement much
more than peacefulness. So what is "perfectly" hidden in
Jinn? Their personal hidden agendas. So hidden even the self could
not easily accessed it. Just beware, actually those who are in the
advance stage can switch between paths as fast as a blink of an eye,
just by our hidden intension alone. In deep meditation we can
"see" which path we are following. This heaven is also called
Pseudo Heaven by some (so actually called Hell by some), depends on ones
perception. The
Path of Iblis/Satan Those human
who are following the path of Jinn but become out of control will follow the
path of Iblis. That is why both of them was made of fire (Ambition?
Masculinity? Power?). The main difference with the path of Jinn is that
in this path they openly show their masculine agenda. Although they
do not have His Wisdom yet, they consider their "twisted" views as
absolute truth. Masculine agenda without True Wisdom, is actually a
"Dark" agenda. For example, when ones consistently believe that
terror is permitted by God to win "God's religion", he/she is
following the path of Iblis. The person "sees" that God as
heartless, without the feminine side, without the Ar-Rahman attribute. So
in the next reality he/she will deal with his/her own perception. In this
path/world all the members are heartless, they will learn their lessons by
terrorizing each other endlessly, because they see their own views as absolute
truth. They will
feel as an endless path, although painful but exciting to them. The feel
pleasure in pain (self or others; orgasm in pain?), a heaven in their
view. (I think we all have seen this in a rated R movie or
two, reflected in characters with very sadistic and unusual sexual
behavior, I don't mean average homosexuality, most of us will
call the environment Hell). At the end slowly but sure they
will learn His Wisdom and become wiser and at last become One with All, finally
accepting All, finally following the way of acceptance (that is why it is
called the only religion in the Universe). "My Mercy (Ar-Rahman)
comprehending the entire Universe" applies to all, no
exception. This path
has a close relation with the path of Jinn, there is an overlapping part
between the two paths. The
Path of Angel This is an
unusual path for mankind, but if ones consistently insisting on following this
path he/she can switch to this path as well. This path has a close
relation with the path of man. The
Repeaters Those who
are not sure of which path to follow will repeat this third
density/heaven reality/lessons (some call this reality the same as Hell,
depends on ones perception). Most people in this world are
repeaters. We can not expect middle high students enter a University or
can we? Other
views on paths Some will
argue if there is a path at all. It seems that some lumped together
the third density up to the sixth density as one finite reality. The
next reality is the Infinite reality or Nirvana - the world/point of no
return. Some new age teaching (channeled materials) views there are only
two main paths. The service to others - STO orientation, the Unity
path orientation. And the service to self orientation - STS orientation,
the Separation path orientation. Although they distinguish the path
of Man from Angel (Diva), they consider the path of Jinn and Iblis as
one path. Basically it is true, but not fully merge - there is
an overlapping part. Whatever our perception is, we have to deal with it
in our next reality. Everything we do or think (or don't do or
think) has its own consequences. We are One
we are Infinite. God is much greater than Infinity, He created the finite
and Infinite worlds, God is beyond our wildest imagination. The infinite
worlds is our natural habitat, this finite worlds is our temporary playground
to understand what is the opposite meaning of Infinity. The most added
value is not the answer to the question itself, but the different experience in
each one of us in leading to the answer - the answer itself is already
long known for billions of years. May we
always be in peace, Jusuf
Achmad. Website: http://www.geocities.com/jachmad/English.html
YUSUFALI: And they say: "None shall enter Paradise unless
he be a Jew or a Christian." Those are their (vain) desires. Say:
"Produce your proof if ye are truthful."
PICKTHAL: And they say: None entereth paradise unless he be a
Jew or a Christian. These are their own desires. Say: Bring your proof (of what
ye state) if ye are truthful.
SHAKIR: And they say: None shall enter the garden (or
paradise) except he who is a Jew or a Christian. These are their vain desires.
Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful.
YUSUFALI: Nay,-whoever submits His whole self to Allah and is
a doer of good,- He will get his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no
fear, nor shall they grieve.
PICKTHAL: Nay, but whosoever surrendereth his purpose to Allah
while doing good, his reward is with his Lord; and there shall no fear come
upon them neither shall they grieve.
SHAKIR: Yes! whoever submits himself entirely to Allah and he
is the doer of good (to others) he has his reward from his Lord, and there is no
fear for him nor shall he grieve.
YUSUFALI: The Jews say: "The Christians have naught (to
stand) upon; and the Christians say: "The Jews have naught (To stand)
upon." Yet they (Profess to) study the (same) Book. Like unto their word
is what those say who know not; but Allah will judge between them in their
quarrel on the Day of Judgment.
PICKTHAL: And the Jews say the Christians follow nothing
(true), and the Christians say the Jews follow nothing (true); yet both are
readers of the Scripture. Even thus speak those who know not. Allah will judge
between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differ.
SHAKIR: And the Jews say: The Christians do not follow
anything (good) and the Christians say: The Jews do not follow anything (good)
while they recite the (same) Book. Even thus say those who have no knowledge,
like to what they say; so Allah shall judge between them on the day of
resurrection in what they differ.
YUSUFALI: And who is more unjust than he who forbids that in
places for the worship of Allah, Allah's name should be celebrated?-whose zeal
is (in fact) to ruin them? It was not fitting that such should themselves enter
them except in fear. For them there is nothing but disgrace in this world, and
in the world to come, an exceeding torment.
PICKTHAL: And who doth greater wrong than he who forbiddeth
the approach to the sanctuaries of Allah lest His name should be mentioned
therein, and striveth for their ruin. As for such, it was never meant that they
should enter them except in fear. Theirs in the world is ignominy and theirs in
the Hereafter is an awful doom.
SHAKIR: And who is more unjust than he who prevents (men) from
the masjids of Allah, that His name should be remembered in them, and strives
to ruin them? (As for) these, it was not proper for them that they should have
entered them except in fear; they shall meet with disgrace in this world, and
they shall have great chastisement in the hereafter.
YUSUFALI: To Allah belong the east and the West: Whithersoever
ye turn, there is the presence of Allah. For Allah is all-Pervading,
all-Knowing.
PICKTHAL: Unto Allah belong the East and the West, and
whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's Countenance. Lo! Allah is
All-Embracing, All-Knowing.
SHAKIR: And Allah's is the East and the West, therefore,
whither you turn, thither is Allah's purpose; surely Allah is Amplegiving,
Knowing.
YUSUFALI: They say: "Allah hath begotten a son"
:Glory be to Him.-Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth:
everything renders worship to Him.
PICKTHAL: And they say: Allah hath taken unto Himself a son.
Be He glorified! Nay, but whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth is His.
All are subservient unto Him.
SHAKIR: And they say: Allah has taken to himself a son. Glory
be to Him; rather, whatever is in the heavens and the earth is His; all are
obedient to Him.