=kit022.txt

KIT 22 - Attaining Peace

There is no doubt that desire brings one down into the body, mind,
and personality, wreaking upon one, dependence and uncertainty
which are negative to peace. One cannot reach one's higher self
without having found 'rida', a satisfied state, that is, a state
free from longing, pining. Otherwise, one is pulled In two
directions: turmoil and ambiguity.

The circumstances in life in the world reinforce desires,
especially bodily desires, modern comforts, permissiveness. One
becomes addicted, whereas the wilderness has a decongesting,
detoxifying effect. with peacefulness comes the recognition that
it takes time to mature spiritually, just as It takes time for a
plant to grow or a fruit to ripen. It cannot be forced.
Furthermore comes the forbearance to painstakingly unravel the
knots in relationships.

Where there is truth, there is peace of mind, giving one serenity,
whereas if something is not quite right, much as one might justify
it, somehow one gets sapped from within and feels uneasy and
jittery. If you agonize over your problems. it is as though you
were pulling on a knot instead of unravelling. Unravelling
requires patience, perseverance and an Indomitable spirit.

There is a Greek legend according to which a village treasured a
mysterious knot. It was predicted that whoever was able to unravel
that knot would conquer the East. Alexander tried but In
desperation, cut the knot. This was the famous Gordian knot. He
showed the same precipitation in penetrating the East without ever
conquering It, though governing the countries he crossed.

Slashing a problem, mutilating its niceties will not resolve It
any more than tugging on the knot. The knot is relationship,
actually part of a tapestry, a network of Inter-relationships,
each related to each other. It is easier to tie than untie. When
the knots become tangled, one easily becomes devastated,
frustrated, or angry. In one's Impatience, one makes a hash of
something, which, if dealt with painstakingly, would carry the
portents of beauty. (When one's hair is combed, the strands run
parallel to each other, oriented meaningfully, in concert. They do
not cross one another. The strands of hair are still relating; the
relationship has become harmonious.) One does not have to forego
or abandon a relationship. It is still there, transformed,
pacified, maybe transfigured.

Pir-o-Murshid once said, "The relationship between two people is
like a bridge through which God meets God, like the hands of a
child trying to clasp the arms of a doll through the windows of
the doll's house."

As one finds peace within oneself, especially during a retreat,
one gains trust in the power written in all life. This power can
right, restore, even redeem, and ultimately resurrect the crises
or collapses which foster fluctuations within situations that
might have become sclerosed in us, or remained mental binds. One
learns passive volition at a soul level. That is why the Prophet
Mohammed said, "Return pacified." Therefore, in order to reach the
eternal cosmic vortex of one's being, one needs to sort out one's
situations in life.

How can one reconcile the absence of desire that makes for the
peace that enables one to grasp one's eternal being with Murshid's
teaching in Sufism, that every desire originates in the divine
desire for fulfillment in manifestation?

The soul in its human condition is like a bird. Most have to
descend to the earth to fulfill their bodily needs. Some foul,
(turkeys and chickens) are so earthbound that they hardly can fly
at all. Hawks catch their prey on the ground, falcons in mid air,
then perch to consume it. Some, like the stormy petrel, will stay
on wing for weeks, perhaps months. only diving briefly for food.
If one exhibits the features of the legendary Simurgh by
identifying with one's real being, after having passed through the
death of the ego, one can dwell within the haunts of men and
communicate to them something of the states and spheres one has
experienced. Those witnessing this will be inspired and
illuminated to their own sense of dejavu. Every person has the
capacity of intuiting existence beyond body, mind and personality.

The knot may have resulted from having tried to pull in two
directions, pursuing objectives that are incompatible. One is
trying to reconcile the irreconcilables, a set of terms I often
use. What this stands for needs redefining. It blows the trumpet
of a challenge. It reflects the attitude of someone who is
pursuing mastery at all costs. One of the dangers with mastery is
overstress. The danger lies in displaying reckless optimism. One
forces the issue by a tour de force, rather than letting the
natural forces flow unflustered, only to find that force was
unrealistic. Some irreconcilables cannot be reconciled. It could
be like throwing a wager at fate, involving others irresponsibly.
Of course, it could feature genuine heroism and stoicism, but one
must guard against the temptation of an ego trip. To allay this,
Pir-o-Murshid teaches balance. Do not overstress, but with the
power gained by one achievement or obstacle overcome, you may test
yourself with something a little more stressful.

The terms I so often use refer to words of St. Augustine:
'conjunctio oppositorum', the union of the opposites. Scientists
call it complementarity. For St. Thomas of Aquinas, God is static
and dynamic at the same time. The present day holistic view is: we
are both transient and eternal, part of the totality and carrying
the totality potentially in us. Pir-o-Murshid says, "We are divine
perfection suffering from human limitation."

We can have at the same time. the greatest pride in our divine
inheritance, together with the greatest humility because of the
limitation that we impose upon that perfection. It is difficult to
reconcile these in ourselves, therefore, it certainly is a
challenge. But the acceptance of the limitation, which is a
surrender rather than a challenge, brings us into balance. First a
little pride and a little humility, then a little more on both
sides as one gains the power to handle the dichotomy.
    
==================================================================
