New Series
Spirituality and Mysticism as explained in the Masterpiece Sufi text “Garden of The Secret”
Introduction
I’ll be writing some translations and commentaries on this great and less known work (in the west)
Gulshan-i Raz (also spelled Gulshan-e Raz and Golshan-e Raz; (Persian: گلشن راز, “Rose Garden of Secrets”) is a collection of poems written in the 14th century by Sheikh Mahmoud Shabestari
Shabestari was a realized Sufi mystic, unlike many Sufis, he didn’t write many books
Short Intro to Sufism
Sufism unlike what many people think, doesn’t have roots in Islam, but it goes way older than Islam or any religion back to Yogic mysticism, Just like Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion) , it is a purely devotional practice for realizing truth or becoming united with “The Beloved” (Cosmic consciousness, God, etc.)
Although there are many elements of Islam in some Sufi works, it’s just an adaptation for survival. In fact, many elements of Sufism disagree with Islamic beliefs, for example in Islam, just like Judaism, there is a practice of “eye for eye” if someone harmed you, harm them back, But Sufis strictly believe in love and forgiveness, Just like Jesus said “turn on the other cheek) it’s very much in line with the compassion concept in Buddhism and many other true spiritual traditions, this is not being dumb and not standing for your rights, but has a much deeper meaning.
Sufis don’t believe in forcing any belief into anyone or converting anyone, they believe if someone joins the tradition, God has called her/him, and not many are called and those who are called, a few will realize the goal. It’s very much like the Daoist Master Lao Tzu said:
“Wise men don’t need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren’t wise.”
Also, Sufis don’t care about going to paradise, When they die! They want to realize the truth Here and Now, paradise is just a trap for them, just Like in Yogic and Buddhist mysticism, going to paradise, means rebirth and suffering, but becoming united with Truth/God is the ultimate joy and freedom.
“Nothing-ness” Just like in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Yogic mysticism, and many others. Sufis believe that in order for someone to become united with truth, he/she has to become “Nothing or No one” , In Buddhism and Yoga this is called “Shunya” in fact, the highest state realization in these traditions is Nothingness, Emptiness, or Zero!
Also all of these traditions Sufis, Yogis etc., they believe you can’t realize the truth by “doing” but by “becoming” or better say realizing who you already are. So, some Sufis said there are two things: “Sahriat” and “Haqiqat” Or “Rules” and “Truth”
Sahria in Islam, just like “Halakhah” in Judaism, meant codes of conduct, like how to wash your hand, or what to eat etc.… and all realized masters say these doings won’t make you realize the truth, in fact Rumi the great Sufi mystic, when he wanted to explain this said “I took (learned) the core from Quran, and left the skin for idiots”
Just like when Jesus appeared and told people that if you want to become free and realize the ultimate, you have to make your heart pure, forgive, love, destroy your ego, serve and have devotion, and grace will get you there, not rules
What he and all other great masters meant is that you have to change who you are not necessarily what you do
This misunderstanding of religion existed on other religions also, such as Hinduism, for example, Adi Shankaracharya the great Saint/Master fought to free people from such misunderstandings. There’s a line in his famous work “Bhaja Govindam” when he says
“Oh fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death.
Give up your thirst for material belongings, devote your mind to thoughts to the Truth”
It is also very worthwhile to mention that there are two kinds of law in this universe, “Universal Laws” and “Agreement Laws”
Universal Laws are written into the fabric of the universe, it applies to everyone, whether someone is an atheist, Jew, or Hindu, it applies to them. Whether they believe it or not, it applies to them.
For example, Law of Karma, or Cause and effect, doesn’t care who you are, if you do good or bad, in any form, it will come back to you, sooner or later.
Universal laws are scientific, just like laws of physics. Law of gravity applies to anyone on earth, whether they are good or bad, male or female, religious or atheist! So are Universal Laws
But what I labeled as “Agreement Laws” are either man-made laws, based on a misunderstanding of certain things, or created for different purposes. or sometimes is an agreement between certain beings, and may only affect you if you choose to follow and believe in them. It’s out of the scope of this writing, to get into this deeply, so let’s move on.
Certain things are only wrong or sinful depending on what system you choose to follow and believe, Drinking alcohol is a great sin in Islam, but part of religious ceremonies in Judaism and Christianity. This reminds me of a great movie “PK” played by Amri Khan, which is a meaningful comedy, I suggest you watch it.
Garden of The Secret is a comprehensive work that explains the majority of important spiritual concepts for realizing the universal truth.
In the next sections, I will be going over the text and explaining some parts of it, I’ll try to cover it deeply but I won’t bother about providing an exact word-to-word translation, rather I focus on the meaning and message of the text.