The Message of Sufism The essential message of Sufism, a message holding true for all sufis, is this; to remember God and serve others.   Remembrance of God The purpose of remembering God is to focus the sufi solely on Divine Unity. To achieve such constant consciousness of God or Absolute Being, the sufi strives to let go of the consciousness of other things, to gradually forget anything other than God, until one can exclaim: All that I’ve read and known I have forgotten:      Only awareness of the Friend now remains constant. Bayazid had a disciple who had remained with… Read More »The Message of Sufism

Who is a Sufi? The sufi is a lover of God, and like any other lover, he proves his love by constant remembrance of his Beloved. This constant attention to God has two effects: One outward and the other inward. The inward effect is that the sufi’s remembrance distances him from the domain of ‘I and you’ and joins him with the realm of Unity, where the poet says: I’ve thought of You so much      that I’ve become You head to toe; Little by little ‘You’ arrived and ‘I’ departed. Or Like the moth I fixed my eyes on Him;… Read More »Who is a Sufi?

Sufism Today At first the fire of love was but      a flickering flame. But many have come along since then      to add to its intensity – Hajj Mulla Hadi Sabziwari In view of the common misunderstandings that exist today regarding Sufism, Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh decided it would be appropriate to provide some clarification of certain fundamental points. People should be aware that Sufism today differs considerably from that of a thousand years ago. Moreover, it is undergoing constant evolutionary developments in accordance with the changing conditions of society. Let’s cite three such developments: Quietism and Seclusion In sufi practice, quietism and… Read More »Sufism Today

Sincerity The capital of the Path is, in truth, nothing other than sincerity. Sincerity has been defined as ‘showing yourself as you really are’ and ‘being inwardly what you show yourself to be’. One may speak of three stages of sincerity: sincerity with oneself, sincerity with the master, and sincerity with God. Sincerity with oneself If we say that Sufism means ‘attaining unity’, then ‘sincerity with oneself’ signifies ‘unifying one’s outward being with one’s inward being’ and thereby establishing unity in oneself.If there is no unity of the outward with the inward, there can be no unity of character. This disharmony… Read More »Sincerity

Love All human beings during their lives experience love and friendship to some extent. Human love can be classified into three basic categories according to its intensity, quality and limitations. The first form of love is friendship based on social conventions where two people behave in accordance with the principle: “I for myself, you for yourself; we love each other, but we have no expectations of each other.” This form of love is that of ordinary people, whose love relationships tend to be of this nature. The second form of love is based on a more solid foundation, and those… Read More »Love