Spirituality and the True Path

Our study has shown that the Vedas talk of nothing else but identify the Ahlebayts and the time when they would take birth on this earth. Not just the Vedas, but the Upanishads and Gita too endorse this view. Even Buddha, Jesus and Moses foretold of their coming on earth. And Quran confirmed that the Ahlebayts were the pious and truthful ones who are worthy of all respect. This was very important because it were the Ahlebayts who ceaselessly showed the shortest path to attain salvation or, in other words, the path to get united with the Absolute God, thereby attaining freedom from the continuous cycle of rebirth, about which we will talk a little later. As far as the role of Ahebayts is concerned, it has been made clear by the Holy Quran that they were purified by none but God, thereby further confirming what had already been said in the Vedas, as the true path to God can only be given by one who are not only free from all kinds of sins but are also absolutely pure. Moreover, at the time of Ghadeer, you have seen, the verse from Quran explicitly told Mohammad that if the information regarding Ali was not given, it would be akin to as if Mohammad gave no information at all. This also confirms the role of Ahlebayts in the scheme of God’s plan as per which they are the representatives who show the Straight Path as against the other representatives of Forces of Darkness who are working to lead us astray. We have given countless other examples from the Holy Quran, which talk of the lofty position of Ahlebayts.
In Gita, the talk is mostly on the subject of self within us, its relationship with the Manifest Self, which we have proved is the noor or light of the devatas or Ahlebayts, and through them, with the Absolute God who is the Creator of Manifest Self as well. The Holy Quran as well as the sacred books of Christians and Jews talk of God’s desire to create and hence the creation came into being. The only difference is that the Vedas and Upanishads go deeper into this process of creation and identifies the various phases of creation as per which the noor or light of devatas or Ahlebayts were created first and all things living or non-living were made out of the noor or power given to the devas. We have also seen in this BOOK how Prophet Mohammad talked of his noor being earliest to all things and at other place he talks of Ali’s noor and his own noor as division of the one noor. This and several other examples given in this BOOK confirm that the devatas, created at the beginning of the creation were none other but the 14 who took birth on earth as the Ahlebayts. They are the Imams or Guides for the entire creation; their role being to show us the path and lead us to salvation, which is freedom from the cycle of rebirth and also attaining union with the Absolute God. Just as the Upanishads and Vedas describe all things to be reliant on the devatas, Surah Yaseen of the Holy Quran confirms this when it says that God has confined or collected each and every thing of the Universe in Imam-e-Mubin. Unable to understand the true meaning of the word Imam-e-Mubin, the commentators tried to interpret this verse differently in spite of the fact that they know that the Holy Prophet used the term Imam time and again for none but the Ahlebayts.
Gita clearly states that once a person attains unity with the Absolute God, there is no rebirth for him. The subject of rebirth is one that cannot be easily digested by the Muslims as all of them have been brought up disbelieving it. We have said earlier that there is no verse in the Holy Quran that refutes the fact that there is rebirth. In fact, there have always been a few scholars who have maintained that the smell of there being rebirth can be perceived from some of the verses of the Holy Quran; this is another matter that such scholars are only few and the remaining larger mass of the Muslim scholars across the world consider them as deviated. Leave alone the perceived smell, we will show here how the Holy Quran confirms the points raised by Krishna in the Gita in this regard as well.
All Muslims are of the belief that there was a time far before the creation of Adam when God created all the spirits and extracted a promise from them. We ask them, if there is no rebirth and if your spirit has taken birth for the first time, what was it doing during thousands of years that have passed since the spirits were created and it took birth inside your body. No Muslim can give a convincing answer to this. To refute the argument regarding rebirth, Muslims say that if there is rebirth, why is it that we do not remember the incidents of that life. Our reply is that we do not remember those incidents just as none of those taking birth remember the promise that was extracted from their spirits at the time of their creation.
Why is it that two children brought up under identical situation show different nature? Why is it that even Mohammad confirmed the loftier position of Syeds, when he was preaching equality of all Muslims? The reason is exactly the same as given in the Gita as per which a person who performs extremely good acts in his life but fail to reach the level of salvation take birth in the house of the devatas. It is stated clearly that it is very rare and a great honour indeed if a person takes birth in the house of the devatas. However, we should remember that while the Syeds are worth being respected because they have taken birth in the family of the Ahlebayts by virtue of their good deeds in the previous birth, we must remember that their deeds were not good enough and they have taken another birth only because they were unable to attain salvation in the previous birth and are being given another opportunity. Though salvation has been facilitated for them by virtue of their birth in the house of the Ahlebayts, there is still a chance that they would not be able to attain salvation and might perform acts, in their life as Syeds, which would give them a lower birth in the next life. The same was the case with Brahmins as per the Hindu scriptures.
Let us see another point! Barzakh, as per the Muslims, is the period from death of a person till the Day of Judgment when all souls will arise from their graves once again. They believe that all souls that have taken birth on this earth, right from the time of Adam, will rise up from their graves and will be rewarded or punished as per the acts done during this life. This belief is based on the following verses from the Holy Quran:
Hum yaqeenan murdon ko zinda karte hain, aur unkee aglee pichlee kar guzarion ko likh rahe hain.
The entire Muslim world believes that all souls born on this earth will rise up on the Day of Judgment. If anybody says he does not agree to this, a great majority will call him a Kafir.
But what if I prove from the Holy Quran itself that the aforementioned statement is not universally true and there are certainly exceptions among men who will not rise up on the Day of Judgment. Will you accept that your understanding of the Holy Quran is not complete if I prove my point from the Quran itself.
Surah Yaseen says: (Ai Rasool) unhen missal ke taur par us bastee walon ka qissa sunao jis mein rasool aaye. Jab hum ne unkee taraf do rasool bheje aur unhon ne donon ko jhutla diya phir hum ne unkee madad ke liye teesra bheja aur un sab ne milkar kaha hum tumhare liye rasool bankar aaye hain to bastee walon ne kaha tum kuch nahin siwae hum jaise chand insanon ke. Aur khudae rahman ne hargiz koi cheez naazil nahin kee hai tum mahaz jhoot bolte ho’. Un rasoolon ne jawab diya ‘hamara rab khoob janta hai ke hum tumhare liye rasool bana kar bheje gaye hain. Aur hum par saaf saaf paigham pohunchane ke siwa koi zimmedari nahin hai” bastee walon ne kaha ‘hum to tum ko manhoos samajhte hain agar tum baaz na aaye to hum tumhen sangsar karenge aur dardnak azaab mein mubtila karenge. Rasoolon ne kaha ‘tumhari nahoosat to tumhare hee saath hai. Kya ye baten tum is liye kar rahe ho ke tumhen nasihat kee gayee hai. Haqeeqat ye hai ke tum had se guzre hue log ho. Itne mein door shahar ke kone se ek shakhs bhagta hua aaya aur kaha ay meri qaum ke logo tum un rasoolon kee pairwee ikhtiyar karlo unkee pairwee karo do tum se koi ajr nahin chahte aur hidayat paye hue hain. Aakhir mein kyon na us hastee kee bandgi karon jo mera paida karnewala hai aur jis kee taraf tum sab ko palatna hai? Kya main use chor kar doosre maabood bana loon? Halanke khudae rahman mujhe koi nuqsan pohunchana chahe to na unkee sifarish mere kaam aa saktee hai aur na who mujhe chura hee sakte hain. Agar mein aisa kar loon to sareeh gumrahee main mubtila ho jaoonga. Pas main to tumhare rab par iman le aya. Ab tum bhee meri baat maan lo. Phir jab us shakhs (ko un logon ne shaheed kar diya to khuda wande aalam kee janib se us) se kaha gaya ke tum jannat mein dakhil ho jao to us ne kaha kaash meri qaum ko ye baat maloom ho jaate ke mere rab ne meri maghfirat kis wajah se kee aur kis wajah se mujhe baizzat longo mein dakhil kiya. Us ke baad hum ne uskee qaum par aasman se koi lashkar nahin utara aur humen unkee taraf koi lashkar bhejne kee hajat bhee na thee. Bas ek dhamaka hua aur who sab achanak (chiragh-e-sahree kee tarah) bujh kar rah gaye.
Does not Quran talk of someone – a common man and not a Prophet – who was sent to Jannat (Heaven) right at the time of death? Quranic verse confirms that the punishment to those who killed this man happened later and he was sent to heaven earlier. Will there be another Day of Judgment for this man? The aforementioned verse from Quran also confirms that there were several others in Heaven when this man went there. Does this not confirm the viewpoint mentioned in the Gita as per which there is one more level, higher than the level of those who will rise up on the Day of Judgment. This level is that of the one who has attained salvation or mokhsa, called Shahadat by Islam. These people attain union with God and hence get freedom from rebirth.
Quran also confirms that spirit needs food for sustenance. Upanishads too have claimed that we all are being eaten all the time and have related the Paramatma or the Manifest Self, comprising the devatas, as ones who eat all the time. That is why it is essential for the spirit to remain in a material body at all times. You will ask where this has been said. We remind you of the Quranic verse which takes the guarantee of Divine sustenance for that person who dies a shaheed.
“Jo Allah kee raah mein mar gaye unhen murda na samjho balke who zinda hain aur allah kee janib se rizq paate hain.”
This verse from Quran confirms that there are those who do not get sustenance from God. What happens to them who do not attain the level of Shahadat? No answer has been given! But when it is confirmed that the spirit needs food for sustenance, you will have to agree that the spirit that does not attain salvation will have to take other bodies due to its requirement of food. The devatas play a role here as well, assigning good or bad wombs, good or bad lives to those spirits depending on the level at which the spirit of that particular person was at the time of his physical death.
The view of the Gita and Upanishads is that the Absolute God created the Manifest Self, which divided to create fourteen powers. All spirits were created out of that Manifest Self or Paramatma – the Supreme Spirit. The aim of all these spirits is to attain union with the Manifest Self and hence the Absolute God. This confirms the belief of the Muslims as per which a promise was extracted from all spirits at the time of their creation. Now the spirits have been sent to the earth. Those who attain the aforementioned union get free from the repeated cycle of rebirth. Those who are unable to do so have to continue remaining in this earth owing to the need of the spirit for food.
Another tradition of the Holy Prophet supports this view. As per it, he said:
Jo apne zamane ke imam ko pahchane baghair duniya se chala gaya uskee jaheliat kee maut hai.
This confirms that anybody who identified the Imam of his period and then died attains salvation. This would amount to saying that all those who died fighting for Rama attained salvation and all those who died fighting for Krishna too must have attained salvation. But the Imam of this period is neither Rama nor Krishna? The Imam of this period is the last of the Ahlebayts – the Mahdi.
If all this is correct, what is meant by Qayamat or the Day of Judgment? Surely, it is not possible to refute it.
Surah Yaseen says: (47) Ye kahte hain ke aakhir qayamat kee dhamkee kab puri hoge. Agar tum sachche ho to (batao) darasl ye log jis cheez kee rah dekh rahe hain who ek khofnak dhamakahai jo unhen aan e wahid mein dhar le ga jab ke who aapas mein jhagar rahe honge. Ye us waqt wasiyat tak na kar sakenge. Aur na apne gharon ko palat sakenge us waqt ek soor phoonka jayega aur ye log yakayak apne parvardigar ke huzoor mein pesh hone ke liye qabron se nikal parenge.Aur (ghabrakar) kahenge are ye humen kis ne hamari khwab gahon se utha khara kiya. Pas ye wahi cheez hai jis ka khudae rahman ne waida kiya tha aur rasoolon kee baat bilkul sach hai. Pas ek hee zordar dhamaka hoga aur who sab ke sab hamare samne hazir ho jayenge. Us din kisi par zarra barabar zulm nahin kiya jayega aur tumhen waisa hee badla diya jayega jaisa tum amal karte the.
The Day of Judgment is for those who will be unable to attain the level of Shahadat till the end of this world. They will be taken out of their graves. Rewards or punishments will be decided for them. Certain Islamic books that have described the happenings of the Day of Judgment have clearly said that the people will come with faces that will be a mixture of various different types of beasts. These books say that these persons wont have to speak; their hands will be witness, their legs will be witness and so on. Why this? This will be so because of the several births they had gone through as animals or human beings in order to fulfill the requirement of spirit for food. The spirit will take the body as per its status. Clearly, inability of the spirit to attain salvation didn’t enable it to get Divine Sustenance.
Verse 54 of Surah Yaseen confirms that those who have to go to heaven will reach there even prior to the Day of Judgment. Read:
Bas aaj (qayamat) ke din jannati log lutf andozi mein mashgool honge. Woh apnee beewiyon ke saath ghane saye mein masnadon par takye lagaye baithe honge. Wahan unke liye phal aur mewe maujood honge aur who jo talab karenge milega. Unke parvardigar mehrban kee taraf se unko salam ka paigham ayega aur aye mujrimon tum aaj unse alag ho jao. Aur aye aulade aadam kya main ne tum ko us shaitan kee bandgee na karne kee hidayat nahin kee thee jo tumhara khula hua dushman hai? Aur tum meri hee ibadat karo ke yehi rahe mustaqeem hai.
Quran confirms once again that the punishment and rewards or salvation for that matter depends on the extent man engrosses himself in the worship of God and cuts himself from Shaitan – the devil. Identifying the Imam and following his path is prerequisite for this.
Verse 61 again talks of shaitan who digressed a great number of people, who were unable to attain salvation, and consequently were thrown in the Hell.
Magar is sab ke bawajood usne tum me se ek girohe kaseer ko gumrah kar diya. Kya tum aqal se be bahra ho? Ye hai who jehannum jis se tum ko daraya gaya tha. Magar tum phir bhee kufr par are rahe. Pas ab tum (us ka eendhan bano).
Thereafter, in verse 70, the Holy Quran talks of animals as well. This is significant because a little later something else is said which will again give a hint that rebirth, even in the form of animals is being suggested.
Verse 70 says: Kya unhen nahin maloom ke hum ne apne dast (e-qudrat) se banai hui cheezon mein maweshi bhee banaye hain jin ke aaj who malik hain. Aur phir (hum ne) un janwaron ko istarah unke bas mein de diya ke who kisi par sawari karte hain kisi ka gosht khate hain. Unke andar tarah tarah ke fawaid aur mashroobat hain. To kya ye log phir bhee shukr nahin karte.
Our view is that this verse is a suggestion that the animals, some of whom are eaten and some ridden, are those who had been made so because of their evil deeds in their lives as humans. If you wish to see the hint of this, see the verses preceeding the verse 70 described above.
Ye to sirf ek nasihat hai aur saaf samjha jane walal Quran hai take woh har us shakhs ko khabardar kar de jo zinda ho. Aur munkireen par hujjat qayam ho jaye.
The very fact that the word hujjat for munkireen has been used immediately before the description of creation of animals clearly suggests that the subject of rebirth in the form of animals for munkireens is being described here.
Verse 73 says that in spite of all these hujjats, they have made others other than Allah as their maboods (gods). See:
Aur (is sab ke bawajood) unhonne Allah ke bajaye (buton ko) apna mabood bana liya hai aur unse madad kee aas lagaye baithe hain. Ye to unkee koi madad nahin kar sakte balke ye tamam to unke mukhalif lashkar kee haisiyat se hazir honge. Unkee banai hui baton se ranjeeda hone kee koi zaroorat nahin kyonke hum unkee zahiri aur batni tamam baton ko jante hain.
Thereafter, in order to quell any doubts regarding how God will give birth in the form of animals after we have taken birth as human beings, Quran says in verse 76:
Kya insane nahin dekhta? Ke humne unko ek haqeer nutfe se paida kiya aur who phir bhee khula hua jhagralo ban kar rah gaya. Aur hum par misalen chaspan karta hai. Aur apnee paidaish ko bhool kar kahta hai ke who kaun hai jo haddiyon ko zinda karega jabke who gal sar gayee hon. Unse kah do tumhen wahi zinda kare ga jis ne pahle paida kiya tha. Aur woh har tarah se paida karna janta hai.
This last line is an indicator that birth of humans in the form of animals is being talked about. Don’t doubt, He knows how to create in all forms.
Woh wohi hai jis ne tumhare liye hare bhare darakhton se aag paida kee jis se tum aaj apne cholhe jalate ho. Kya woh asmanon aur zameen ka paida karne wala is par qadir nahin hai? (ke tumhe janwar kee shakal mein paida karde. Akhir pichlee hee ayat mein to aya hai ke who har tarah se paida karna janta hai.) Kyon nahin jabke woh mahir khallaq hai. Jab woh kisi kaam ka iradah karta hai to use hukm deta hai- ho ja- aur who ho jatee hai. Pak hai woh zaat jis ke qabze qudrat mein har shay hai. Aur tum sab usi kee taraf palatne wale ho.

The end of the BOOK

Those who say spirituality is saying no to materialism in all its form are on the wrong. This material world has materialism surrounding us. From a sense, the food that we eat, our wives and children, are all material things. Islam, the religion that till now preached only of an abstract God too could not be conceived without material objects like the Kaaba and the Quran. Hence our concepts regarding materialism are all wrong. Even if we go to the remotest parts of jungle, it is not possible to do away with material things as we are totally dependent on them for survival.
Where should we fix the limit? Just as it is wrong to see materialism only in negative sense, it is also not correct to see spirituality in certain asanas and japs (chantings) of a few shlokas or verses from Vedas or Quran. Spirituality in true essence is keeping the remembrance of God alive at all times. The more we remember Him, not by physical chanting, but in our deeds, while enjoying the benefits of material things that have been created for us, the greater will we become elevated in spirituality. Spirituality is nothing but the relationship which each individual builds with his or her creator.
Gita has truly explained this paradox when it says that one has to gain control of his organs of senses and actions and then, keeping in mind the path shown by the devatas, should elevate his self so as to attain union of his self with the Manifest Self (Paramatma) and perform all necessary action keeping aloft the remembrance of Absolute God. Such a person alone is the pursuer of true path, the one who will achieve salvation.
Path is clear. Through the Noor or Spirit of God one has to attain spiritual union with others rather than physical relations. Now our focus should be that God never wanted to create religions through sending various messengers and Prophets. Through the revealed books and through the life of Imams the focus was to reveal the True Path that through their grace leads us to that level where an everlasting heaven becomes prerequisite. If one continues to tread the path of Truth, like they did, steadfastly and patiently, even if that path is one shown by the earlier Prophets and Messengers, it all relates to the True Path of God. The second path was of injustice and evil owing to its relation with the Forces of Darkness epitomised by Satan that leads to a permanent stay in hell.There are followers of this path in all regions and religions, whose spirits have acted against the dictats of God at all times and who keep trying to trample the true path and adhered to the 'rosy' path shown by Satan. Such spirits are far off from the Straight Path.
The Day of Judgment is not far now, about which the munafiqeens of Arab used to ask Prophet Mohammad. Owing to their lack of faith, the munafiqeens were not aware that none but God - the Almighty - alone is All-Knowing and Mohammad and the rest of Masooms know only what has been told to them by God, which God wants all of us to understand now. Nobody can tell when the Day of Judgment will occur but the conditions that we are saying it is evident that the Day is not far off.
When this Day will come, those who have performed good deeds will enter on their own foot to Paradise but in a manner as if sleep-walking, where the Masooms owing to their relationship with the Noor of God, will welcome him. Those jinns and humans who have performed bad deeds will be thrown in the fire of hell. If only he had done good deeds then they too would have been written in Loh-e-Mahfouz. If one loves one or few of the Prophets and do not see their message from spiritual point of view and does not build a spiritual relationship with them, and the person creates religions or sects because of this, then he is actually weakening the cause of God. Even love with the Prophet or Imams without having a spiritual relationship with them and their message is sure to cause trouble. If you weaken the truth in this manner then you yourself will become weak due to the displeasure of God and Satan will reign control over you.
This is what we are doing in name of religion and sects. This is cause of discomfort to the devatas or Noors. It is time to keep in mind at all times that these Imams and Prophets are not to seen due to physical relationship with some religion or sect. They should be seen from the depths of faith as it is they who has relationship with all the Prophets and rest of Masooms.
You have an example in front of you. Abu Lahab was Prophet's real uncle. But he saw the Prophet by worldly relationship and didn't recognize the spirituality behind Prophet's message. Consequently, he was ridiculed even in Quran. On the other hand, through showering respect on his daughter, Fatima, the Prophet showed that all his acts were not governed by physical nearness with someone but due to the acceptance of path that he brought for all of us. The Prophet used to stand up in respect when Fatima used to come. This respect was because of Fatima's link with the same Noor. When this relationship with Noor comes to forefront, then other relationships are not seen, age is not seen, and only God's teachings are seen, only Noor of God is seen and those who do so are only worthy of salvation.
Shade prior to the Day of Judgment, these revelations are being made because we have loved the physical bodies of Messengers dear to us since a long time. Ponder over, now is the time to build relationship of our self with these representatives of Divine Self. Because the Day of Judgment is near therefore all the hidden treasures of knowledge are being brought forth and Divine acts are being revealed by the grace of God. Now is the last opportunity for Jinns and Humans to come to the Right Path. This path has been presented before you with proofs. Hasten towards the path before it is too late. Jinns and humans have to give the test once again. The doors of repentance are still open. If His message is not accepted now, then the doors will surely close. More chances cannot be given as the world has reached a stage where man is spilling the blood of other men. In spite of all the scientific progress, man has still not changed much from the time of Habeel and Qabeel (sons of Adam). This is in spite of the fact that so many Messengers have been sent, Books have been revealed and the Straight Path shown on countless occasions. And this is in spite of presenting the sacrifice of Husain for the guidance of mankind. In spite of all these, the world has gone from bad to worse each day.
Consider these devatas or Masooms as miracles of the power of God. They are the grace of God on us. Otherwise God is enough to deal with us. He is the God of the worlds and the only Lord and Ruler of all the creation. Without Him, even air won't blow.
Ya man hova ala kulle shayin qadeer.
All of us should believe on God's Power to this extent. Those who think that they are controlling the world are in fact treading Satan's path. They tried to trample the truth and followers of truth. They tried to subdue truth and weaken it. Due to this, it is not easy for the world to survive anymore. The Doomsday, about which promise had been made long back, has to come. This is so because the conditions have reached a stage where it is not easy for the Spirits to sustain and run the affairs of this world. That is why attempt is being made to make us remember the promise of Doomsday and the meaning of Oneness and Unity of God being highlighted once more. The Divine Noor of God has come openly to guide you. Believe it or do not believe it. This has been done so that prior to Doomsday, man seeks forgiveness of God for his bad deeds through helping the Truth or performance of good deeds. If he treads the True Path from the core of his heart, or perform acts that endears him with noor, then he will become clean as he was at the time of his birth. This is the way to get united with the Noor of God.
Remember, religious deeds cannot be forced. Just as one night's time was given to Hur to realize whether he wanted to be with Husain or Yazid, consider this time as time given to Hur and all the forces of Yazid. Forces of evil show you the charms of material forces of this world. On the other hand, there is abstract promise of a permanent stay in Heaven. Hur got united with the Noor owing to coming on the side of Husain and remaining steadfast in assistance whereas the rest of Yazid's men failed. A common man became an important person. God elevated his spirituality to such an extent that Hur was included in the list of those who tread on the path of Truth. He became worthy of heaven by sacrificing his life for Husain. First he got Husain, and as consequence of this got God. Hence he became united with the Noor of God.
Husain sacrificed the life of all his near and dear ones. Karbala is a message for eternity. But what are his followers doing today? Those who consider him as Imam have forsaken the spiritual relationship with Husain. Worldly relations have no place in spiritual pursuits. All the worldly relations have been given by Him. He is the One who Created all the creation. Imam's example is in front of us. He didn't turn to see what would happen of Sakina, the 4 year old daughter. He didn't think what would happen of his wives and sister and the rest of his family. This was because he had faith on God. It is God who takes care of all of us and not us. All of us say so but our actions are against what we say. That is why those with faith have weaken to such an extent that Satan has built his empire. There are only few righteous men remaining in this world who follow the path of God. World may be calling them as fools but they have complete faith in their God. They remember Him in good and bad times. They seek His forgiveness even in hours of calamity. They never complain to God. They are steadfast in deeds and acts of faith. Seeing their steadfastness,God tests their patience. This is God's gameplan. And in this manner He identifies the good-doers from the rest.