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Sufi Grand Master

Our group is visiting a place located between two clear brooks in a birch forest. Along the brooks, willow bushes grow thickly together. The forest is filled with the moist aroma of autumn morning and with the odor of birches.

We build a fire of dry branches and fallen birch trunks. The smell of birch smoke from the fire enhances the feeling of tender forest coziness…

Apart from us, no other people visit this place. But it is inhabited by snipes and woodcocks, displaying in spring. In winter, one may come across traces of hares, wild boars, and foxes. Along the banks of the larger brook, one may see beaver teeth marks on the trees.

Today we have come not to them but to the Divine Teacher; He calls Himself Sufi Grand Master — Grand Master of Sufism.

He says that He is one of the founders of Islam, the creator of its main — Sufic — branch. In the first century of the Muslim calendar, living in Arabia He accepted fully the Teachings about God given through prophet Muhammad and fulfilled them.

“I cognized Allah and became His Integral Part. In that sense, I am Allah,” He says about Himself.

This is true indeed: the Consciousness of Grand Master comes out immensely from the Creator’s Abode, remaining inseparably connected with the Creator.

Inside the Mahadouble of Grand Master, the space is filled with Divinely subtle energies. This is one of the remarkable places of power for cleansing the chakras and meridians, for crystallization of the consciousness and further growth of the developed consciousness into the Creator.

The Tenderness of Allah dominates here.

We ask Him to tell about the methods which He used to attain the state of Divinity and which He imparted later to His disciples.

He begins narration:

“My Path is the Path of Heart. Allah taught it to Me. I accepted this Path and under Allah’s guidance developed it and imparted it to others.

“The Path of Heart implies embracing the principles of Love and Quietness.

“… He taught Me to listen to the quietness…

“First, one has to learn listening to the sounds around: the sound of the wind, the lapping of waves, the calls of birds, the crackle of a fire… After that, one can start listening to the quietness.

“I came to know that all various sounds are local and transient, while the quietness is omnipresent and eternal. Beneath all sounds existing in the universe, there spreads infinitely the Great Quietness.

“For hours I could listen to the sounds of the world — beautiful and diverse, and then I would ‘release’ Myself and ‘sink’ into it — into the quietness. There I could see the clear transparence of the quietness, hear its silence. I could freely and easily swim in it, submerge to the very Depths of it… Gradually the Great Quietness became My home…

“From there, I saw that all sounds of the worlds are as if created by the Great Quietness. I saw how its breathing fills from within all forms of life — and they sound as a well-trained choir of various musical instruments. Like flowers, sounds unfold for a moment in the eternity of the Great Quietness…”

“Why did You listen to the world? Were You born blind?”

“This, of course, would be a beautiful version, but no — I was sighted. Someone is born a painter, someone is born a musician. Someone sees and someone hears the world. I heard it.

“By the way, for beginners it is more beneficial to listen to the space around. By listening, you can embrace a much larger volume of space, you can even hear that which you cannot see.

“The one who has learned to listen can become the Master of Quietness.

“The quietness gives you calm.

“The peculiar feature of the quietness is that it gets filled with you.

“The quietness — as a result of studying and cognizing it — becomes filled with you and with God…

“Allah suggests cognizing Him through this method.”

“But You have missed an essential point: one has to listen to the quietness not with the ears which are on the head, but with the hearing of the spiritual heart…”

“Yes, you understand it correctly. But I told about this in the beginning of My story…

“Indeed, I developed anahata earlier: before the incarnation among Arabs. And earlier yet, I was one of the first Christians-Hesychasts*… It is then that I learned to listen to the quietness.

“Moreover, by the time of incarnating among Arabs, I was a sufficiently developed soul, and thus I could choose where to incarnate. I became not a nomad, who breeds cattle, but placed Myself in an oasis.

“Peach trees among date palms, wheat fields, and an abundance of other boons… — all this provided Me with adequate nourishment. And this is an essential condition for retaining and developing further the best qualities of the soul. Every one of you knows this very well: formerly your Master received this information from Me…

“… Thus I began My service on the Arabian Peninsula. Among the deserts of Arabia, I had to create one more spiritual hearth on the Earth.

“… In the West, the way of life is quite different from the one in Arabia. In Arabia, most of the population were free nomads whose life was not bound by a certain place of living. They bred cattle and moved with their herds from one place to another… This way of life made them freer compared with the people of the western world. They less willingly accepted any power over themselves, the very idea that some person can hold power in their lands was strange to them…

“To make them listen to Me, I had to capture their interest, to propose to them an idea that would captivate their free minds.

“I captivated them with ideas about the Higher Justice. I taught them about walking the path of good towards the Supreme, Which represents the Higher Justice.

“The Supreme is the source of all ideals, the origin of every virtue. The Supreme does not depend both on anyone and anything; no power has a hold on It. Therefore, It is the Foundation of the true justice.

“The Higher Justice, taught I, will always prevail. Somewhere among people there is injustice, but it cannot last forever. The Supreme will set a limit to it and judge: what was just and what was unjust.

“I said that the Supreme shines like the sun. In Its Light, everything is seen in its true nature. Thus, no tricks can help untruth appear as truth, when it comes to the judgment of the Supreme.

“I taught not to seek revenge on offenders, not to search for the thieves in order to punish them and to return the stolen items. I taught not to judge others, because such a judgment is but an illusion of justice: it is only the Supreme that can judge justly — and in due time It will judge everyone and everything. I said that no court on the Earth can judge on behalf of the Supreme, and no ruler has a right to declare that his judgment is the judgment from the Supreme. A virtuous heart aspiring to the Supreme can directly perceive the Higher Justice — and then such a person will live according to Its laws and under Its protection.

“… But the most confidential thing which I taught and which alone opens the gate to Allah’s Abode is what the anahata chakra is, how to develop oneself through it, how to learn to go outside of it in order to settle and live in the new Home — in the Abode of Allah. I have shown all this to you already during the years of work of our common School — the School of Allah, the School of the Creator. Now I spread your knowledge — using your bodies — throughout the planet.”

“Could You tell us more details about Your childhood? This would be useful from the pedagogical standpoint: how to educate children in order to create the most favorable conditions for developing in them qualities which are important for their evolutionary growth?”

“Well, listen.

“… Once My father took Me, a little boy, with Him on a caravan journey to Mecca. It was the strongest impression of My childhood! The awareness of the soul awakened! And I looked at the world around not with the eyes of a child, but beheld the Earth as a Creation of Allah! Since that moment, He became real for Me!

“… Once we stood on the edge of a high plateau; it seemed to Me that I could see the whole world from there! I could look down from a bird’s eye view!

“The sun was rising. Caravans in a valley below looked as tiny figures of people and camels. Flocks of birds were passing below Me…

“At that moment I felt how Great is the One Who created all this! For the first time, I realized: ‘Allah is Great! There is no one superior to Him! His Power is unlimited!’

“Allah, Who created this world, filled then My being with wonderful joy of experiencing His Greatness!

“I praised Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

“… Seeing My rapturous devotion to Allah, which was growing from year to year, My father sent Me to one of the first madrasahs for studying.

“It was not only about religious education. I received an opportunity to become acquainted with the heritage of many centuries of Arabian wisdom…

“… When reading the Quran, I felt as if Allah Himself was present with Me, reading it with Me, and explaining the meaning of every word…

“Yet sometimes… I was just looking through the lines and could not feel His presence…

“I asked the preceptors:

‘Why does it happen like this?’

“They answered that Allah willed so…

“Then I began asking Allah and studying Myself. I understood that when My heart is full of love for Allah — He comes to Me, He stays with Me, He fills My heart with Himself. And then the words of the Quran sound like Celestial hymns!

“Then I started learning to enter the state of exalted love for Him, the Lord of the worlds! At that, My chest would fill with warmth, and tears would spring to My eyes — so great was the joy of feeling Him, so immense was the gratitude to Him for His Love, for His being with Me!

“This adolescent experience allowed Me later to create zikr: a meditative method that creates a field of love and attunes all the participants to openness to Allah. I studied its mechanisms later, but at that time, it was the first occasion when I felt the power of meditations performed from the spiritual heart — and the Joy of Allah filled My life!

“… I was already a big, crystallized consciousness by the time of coming to this incarnation. Thus when I read or talked to others, it had a profound effect: people would fall in the state of love and feel God. Seeing this power in Myself, after completing My education I went to preach the Teachings of Allah, and I felt that He blessed Me to walk this Path! I preached and taught that which I knew at that time…

“… But once an unexpected delay happened to Me on this path… It taught Me a lot…

“I met a girl… She was filling a jug with water… I asked her for a drink. She gave Me some water… I felt flame enveloping Me. Tenderness filled My hands, and My tongue began to speak in verse… Her joyful laugh was like a purling brook, her figure was grace incarnate… In her eyes, behind the long thick eyelashes, was an ocean of tenderness… When a flick of these eyelashes opened for a moment her look, I saw shining of stars in its depth… I touched her hand. The flame of love flared up in Me and reddened her cheeks. Her lips opened towards the feeling, which captivated us both…

“I thanked Allah for this love! I cognized the greatness of love between two souls!

“… We got married and were happy together.

“… Time passed by… I got a home… My life became more and more filled with worldly cares, and… I had less and less time for God…

“I got two more wives, as is customary in the East…

“Had it lasted a little longer — and My life would have become completely subject to worldly concerns…

“… And then Allah sent Me an illness. Death was looking Me in the eyes and telling Me that I had not fulfilled that which I made the purpose of My life when I decided to come — with Allah in My heart — to people after completing the madrasah…

“Then I began to realize the truths about monasticism. I realized that a servant of Allah has to be always turned with the soul, that is with all the attention and aspiration, towards Allah and strive to cognize Him! And I understood that… I realized this too late!…

“… They sent Me in a stretcher to a famous healer… On the way, our caravan was attacked by warlike Bedouins… They counted Me dead, other people were killed…

“An Indian, who was travelling with another caravan, picked Me up… He took Me, half-dead, to a village nearby and stayed there with Me for some time. He healed Me partially and then began to teach Me about the human organism, about the chakras and meridians… He taught Me the basics of meditation — about working with the consciousness. It is from him that I learned about the ethics of killing-free nutrition.

“… I did not use bodies of killed animals for food from childhood: I pitied them. Yet, I violated this principle once, and this caused My serious illness…

“I realized My mistakes, and repentance helped Me to cleanse the soul. Thanks to the methods learned from the Indian, I could continue healing My body…

“He left before I recovered. He told Me that I would recover Myself and that great service to God awaited Me…

“… And then Allah filled with Himself every day of My newly obtained life — a life with Him!

“I was allowed to touch again the Light which I felt in Myself formerly as Allah’s presence — and to touch, beyond the limits of the body, that Depth of multidimensionality where He abides!

“Then it was easy. Allah could lead Me: now I was able to hear and comprehend His Will very clearly!

“I submerged into His Depths in His Great Quietness! I cognized Him!

“Now I was able to see Him — My Beloved!

“The hands of the soul touched His Light, and His Shining in Me became brighter and brighter!

‘Enter into Me, submerge in the Ocean of My Light deeper! What you feel now is but My surface, go deeper into Me!’ He was telling Me.

“And, full of reverence, I submerged into Him — and He embraced Me from all sides! We merged together! I was in Him, and He was in Me, We were One!

‘O Allah, O My Lord! How can it be that I am merging with You, yet I do not burn down of love, which overfills Me? How can it be that I submerge My arms into Your Depths to embrace You? How can it be that I see Your Light with the eyes of the soul, and yet I remain alive?’ I was asking Him in the ecstasy of love.

‘You know now very well that I exist! And I love you! I let into My Depths those who love Me! I live in them, and they live in Me!’ He was answering Me.

“… Since that moment, I did nothing without Him. He was in Me. He manifested Himself in everything around; He filled everything with Himself!

“I started to teach people and to create methods that would allow one to become closer to Him, to cognize Him. I did it by combining all the best that I had learned in the course of My life. They were the methods of the Straight Path, which were shown by Him. I had disciples striving for cognition of the Supreme. The Teachings became known to more and more people. Among My disciples, there were young as well as mature men… Their number was growing…”

“Tell us please, how did You teach Your disciples to work with the chakras?”

“The methods of this work are well known to you. But it makes sense to tell about them once again, because there is a great confusion in the minds of people about this matter.

“In total, the chakras are seven. The chakras of a successfully evolving person — healthy and harmonious — are developed and full of pure energy. In weak or sick people, or in those indulging in vices, the chakras can be undeveloped or, if developed, full of coarse dark energy.

“It is designed by Allah that the chakras are a part of the human organism. Emotions are born in them. They are regulators of the activity of the consciousness inside the body. The chakras are also passages to the depths of the multidimensional universe. But in order to enter these subtle worlds, one has to develop the chakras, cleanse them and fill them with pure, subtle light. Yet, such work can be done provided one observes killing-free nutrition and actively works on the ethical transformation of oneself.

“The main one of all the chakras is anahata. It is from this chakra that one has to start developing oneself as a consciousness.

“The Light of Allah enters souls of people only through the cleansed and developed chakras.

“There are only seven notes — yet there is no measure to the number of beautiful musical compositions! There are only seven chakras — but what a wealth of various subtlest states of the consciousness the Light of Allah can give us when it enters the chakras!

“Allah, as a Great Musician, can play the Divine melody of Love on this ‘instrument’ created by Him — on the human organism. Yet this Divine melody can sound only if the ‘instrument’ functions properly.

“… But let Me continue My story…

“Once I sent one of My disciples to My former home to find out what had happened to My wives. He came back and told Me that when the wives came to know about My death, two of them got married again, but My first beloved went to search for Me and since then no one had seen her…

“… I traveled and taught a lot. In an oasis, a center of the School was established… My disciples went from it to various parts of the world describing to people the Path to Allah illuminated by His Love.

“Once a man eager to study came to Me… And when he lifted his eyelashes, in the depth of his eyes familiar stars flared up and looked at Me. I recognized her… — My first beloved…

‘I knew that Allah would bring me to You!’ she said. ‘He told Me that when I would go to seek Him, I would meet You too. I thought that it would happen after death, when Allah allows the loving souls to meet in paradise!… He is truly omnipotent, our Lord! I even did not dare to believe that I could meet You before death! Allow me to stay and to learn that which You teach!’

“Great was My joy! The design of Allah was marvelous! I asked her to change her men’s clothes: Allah had never forbidden women to cognize His Love!

“She became My first female disciple. And she cognized Him in all fullness!

“She wrote wonderful poetry devoted to the Great Beloved. She helped many people realize that God brings us closer to Him not on the basis of sex but on the basis of the aspiration of the heart. And women’s hearts, with their natural tenderness and subtlety, are capable of coming to the Heavenly Beloved and merging with Him even more quickly than the hearts of men. And after crossing the threshold of His dissolving Love — both men and women become equally One with Him!

“… I disclose neither My nor her name here, so that no one of those who worship only names begin to worship the names of Ours…”

“What would You like to tell people through us?”

“God wants to speak in the soul of everyone! And then everyone can and has to listen to Him!

“Yet God begins to speak only when one listens with the ‘ears’ of the spiritual heart, rather than with the ears on the head.”

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