Remembrance and Meditation

Dhikr and muraqaba (meditation) are two interrelated practices that produce an experience of timelessness free of the change and talwin (variegation) which are the effect of time. This experience is described by the following verses of Rumi's Mathnavi (III, 2072-2076):

At the time when in the company of that selected group I began to meditate,
Stepping out of myself,
The soul got rid of all time that turns youth into age.
All change arouses out of time:
He who gets rid of time gets rid of change.
Oh, my heart, for a while be out of time, get rid of change.
Oh, my heart, for a while be out of time to be free from "how" and "why."
Time does not know the nature of Timelessness,
Because only Wonder can lead to it.

Repeated experience of the timeless and spaceless dimensions through dhikr develops a realization, intrinsic to any mystical experience, that there exist more planes or spheres of being than the ordinary mind can recognize. Such an awareness explains why in the literature of most mystical traditions one finds an abundance of visions and poetic descriptions of the ascent of the soul through heavenly spheres, or its descent into the depth of the underworld. These visions and images reflect the wonder and awe with which mystics have experienced the timeless travel through the manifold planes of existence.

and yet...it leaves behind no cognitive traces...


Subhana'Llah




Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 8:37am
SOURCE: The Taste of Hidden Things by Sara Sviri pages 129-131

Doorway

In my dreams, for many years now there has been an open doorway. Every dream, it’s the same door revealing many truths left unexpressed ‘til now. Where in my aloneness I can see what has always been there. The door ajar, entices me to explore the splendors beyond the stone gray wall. Dare I go? Lest I lose myself out there in a strange and unknown world? I catch whiffs of scents and hear sounds muffled in the distance, I do not recognize them but the door beckons me, ’Come hither, child.’ In each dream, I end up walking past this threshold; I wander its streets, long and narrow…cobblestone paths caressing my bare feet. I encounter familiar faces, yet I do not know them. They radiate smiles and a light glows from their chests. They speak without words, yet I understand. They speak of love and I feel a joy that enwraps me like a blanket. A white wool blanket, it’s so soft, so fluffy and so comforting. I wander further, caressing my white wool blanket…I catch the scent of the sea…alluring…a gentle breeze on my face…there it is…in all Its Magnificence. The Endless Sea, waves touching the shore…the moon so bright, illuminating this vision before me. Someone calls my name from behind me, there is no one there, but the open doorway awaits me. I kiss the air that I breathe and slowly make my way back to the doorway.


I have always thought that door led to the world outside; instead I find that it leads to the world within.



Jagakarsa, Jakarta.
September 24, 2011