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
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