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.
