Spiritual Letter 50 - Summary & Text Version About Spiritual Letter 50 Title: "And The Truth Will Set You Free" Date: August 25, 2003 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Written to: Mr. Thomas L. Friedman, Columnist for the New Your Times, and our dearest loving brothers, Sayyid Iyad Jamaleddine and Sayyid Hussein Khomeini in Iraq Page 1 of 3 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa barakatuhu kulluhu. Wa 'alaykum al-salam wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter: Page 1 of 3 - the page you are currently reading 1. Introduction - to Spiritual Letter 50 2. The Essence - of the four religions & of man is Oneness 3. The Great Battle - within the four religions and within man is movement from "separation and differences" to Oneness, is becoming the essence of our form 4. An Introduction - to the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.), from one perspective, from the perspective of moving from our "separation and differences" into our Oneness, is becoming the Oneness of God and True Man within us, is becoming "God happening" within us, by letting True Man happen within the Creation of God within us 5. What Is Truly Happening In The World Today? God is happening, that's what's happening 6. The Life And Teaching of God For Our Age - is provided by God in our age both within us and outside of us, as it has been provided by God for all previous ages 7. Why Does An Apple Seed Germinate? - because it becomes aware of the truth of itself, that it is an apple seed, that it is buried within the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple tree within it to grow Page 2 of 3 - click HERE to go to Page 2 8. Comments - To Our Dear Brothers In Iraq 8-1. In Truth We Are All One - One within our faith, wisdom, and truth 8-2. The True Meaning of Islam - and of all other religions, is joining with God within us, not joining with each other "outside" of us 8-3. God Alone Is Sufficient - now we can really live this way 8-4. What Separates Us From God - is what separates us from each other Page 3 of 3 - click HERE to go to Page 3 8-5. The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship - plus 2 on-line libraries 8-6. Lets Get Together - in the name of God, and let Wisdom teach us "What we do not know" 8-7. Why Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral)? - because God loves us, that is why 8-8. The True Significance of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral) - to the followers of Muhammad (Sal.), is God completing the last request of Muhammad (Sal.) 9. Closing Prayer & Comments - "Forgive me the wrong and accept the good." 10. Copy of Articles - By Thomas L. Friedman, Columnist for the New York Times: 10-1. "Dinner With The Two Sayyids"- written on 8-08-03 10-2. "Telling The Truth in Iraq" - written on 8-18-03 Summary of Spiritual Letter: 2. The Essence of The Four Religions And of Man Is Oneness The essence of the four religions and of man is Oneness, and within that Oneness is what God is doing, which is revealing Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation, which He does by moving between two states, the states of Stillness and Movement, by moving between the Stillness and the Movement of God, the two states of God we call God and True Man. And movement between these two states occurs through the Sound of God, the sound of the One becoming the Three, and of the Three becoming the One, three times, in awwal which is the world of souls, in the dunya, which is this world, and in akhirah, which is the next world, which collectively are in truth "God happening" within us, by revealing True Man within the Creation of God within us. 3. The Great Battle Within The Four Religions And Within Man The great battle within the four religions and within man is making the transition from "separation & differences" to Oneness, which is but a reflection of what God is doing within us, which is making the transition from stillness to movement, which is how God reveals Himself for the benefit of His Creation, by first revealing True Man within His Creation, if we will only join Him, and give up what we think we are doing for what He is actually doing, which is revealing Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation within us. And in order for God to be successful within us, we must be successful within Him, in order for Him to move from His stillness to His movement within us, to move from what we call God within us, from stillness within us, to what the wise and enlightened men of each age call True Man within us, within the Creation of God within us, to movement within us, we have to move from our "separation and differences" outside of us to our "Oneness and Unity" outside if us, treating all lives as our own, treating our outside and our inside as one. In this way, we have to support Him, we have to join in partnership with God within us, and make what He is doing within us, what we are doing within Him, which means "us" putting down "us" outside of us, and "us" picking up God within us, which means "us" letting "us" as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, and as "separate from" the Creation of God within us, end. In this way, to support God we must let what we are currently doing "outside" of us come to an end, and we must become peaceful with our ending, so we can have a fresh start within God, as "One with" God, as True Man within the Creation of God, as the Oneness of God and His Creation. In this way, we have to stop moving on the "outside" of us, allowing our movement to become our stillness, allowing our movement to become His Movement, allowing our state of "false man" within our mind and desire, allowing "our presence" in the illusory world that we see in our collective ignorance as existing "outside" of us, to become His state of True Man within the Creation of God within us, to become "His presence" of movement in the 18,000 universes within us. This is our work, when we join with God within us, when we let Him transform "our presence" outside of us into "His presence" within us. This is why His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us, "If you are there God is not there, and if God is there you are not there." and, "Never have the thought that there is something that you have to do." 4. An Introduction To The Life And Teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) From one perspective, from the perspective of our "separation and differences" becoming our Oneness, an introduction to the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him, is about becoming the Oneness of God and True Man within us. It is about becoming "God happening" within us, it is the personal journey of each of us within ourselves, to the true us, of each of us awakening to who "we already are", and if we like, of joining with God in what He is already doing within us, allowing Him to finish what He has already started within us, which is revealing Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation within us. And it is most certainly not an outside thing at all. 5. What Is Truly Happening In The World Today? Suppose what is happening in the world today is all about what God is doing, not really at all about what we are doing, about what we in our ignorance, and especially, in our arrogance about our ignorance, think is happening. Suppose what is happening in the world today is "God is happening", not "us happening" as "separate from" God. 6. The Life And Teaching of God For Our Age The live and teaching of God for our age is something God has personally and every so lovingly placed within the hearts of all of His Children for this age, which is all of us living in this age, and God also given us a finger pointing to this truth of God within us, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). From one perspective, from the perspective of life lived on the outside of us, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) is the Holy Man of God for our age, who has come in our life time, in 1971, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, to teach us about what "we already have", and about who "we already are", giving us over 10,000 discourses about God, and songs to God, until His dearth in 1986, all of which have been recorded on audio tape, and many on video tape, just waiting for us to hear and see, to understand, accept, and join, if that be our true intention. What more can God do? 7. Why Does An Apple Seed Germinate? An apple seed germinates through awareness, through the realization of the truth, about "who it already is", that naturally emerges from within it, which it can either understand, accept, and join, or reject, because not all apple seeds germinate, not all apple seeds join with their own truth. Some apple seeds rot in the earth, never germinating, forever breaking their connection to the story of the apple tree, that they have come to the earth, to join with the earth, to tell. And so it is with each of us, the choice between our truth and our falsehood, between the story of "us" as" separate from" God, and the story of "us" as "One with" God. Which are we going to tell? 8. Comments To Our Dearest Loving Brothers In Iraq May the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon you, your families, and all of your friends. Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) loves you very, very much 8-1. In Truth We Are All One In truth we all One, One in God, One in our faith in God, in our Iman, One in our Wisdom, in our Consciousness of God and of the Creation of God within us, and One in the Truth, the Truth of the Kalimah, which is the affirmation of our faith, of our Iman, in everything that we do 8-2. The True Meaning of Islam, of Judaism, & of All Religions The true meaning of Islam, of Judaism, and of all religions is to stop working for wages to get into heaven, stop living as if we are "separate from" God, as if we have to go back to Him, if we become worthy of Him. We will be very disappointed. Instead join in partnership with God within us, realizing as His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), teaches us, "God is the Power within the Essence of Everything" within us. In this way, realizing, understanding, accepting, and joining this truth of our life, that we, and True Man, and God are One, as the orange, the juice of the orange, and the taste of the juice are One. In this way, allowing God to finish what He as already started within us, which is to reveal True Man within the Creation of God within us. 8-3. God Alone Is Sufficient His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us that, "God alone is sufficient, if we believe with our Iman, with absolute faith, certitude, and determination, without the slightest doubt, that this is true. If not, then we must take responsibility for our actions." And now is the time to realize this, now in this age, because we all have been given everything by God that we need to live in this way, to live loving and trusting in God alone, because it has all been placed within us by God, because for this age God has made it so. And God has also given us the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) on the outside of us, as a finger pointing to this truth of God within us, if we will but realize, understand, accept, and join with it, as the life and teaching of God for our age, becoming in this way one of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) for this age. So now there is no excuse for not living this way, now there is no excuse for not loving and trusting only in God within us, for no longer loving and trusting in the world outside of us. 8-4. What Separates Us From God What separates us from God is what separates us from each other, as what separates us from each other is what separates us from God. So this is the work, my dearest loving brothers, to remove our "separation and differences", and when we do, then quite naturally we will become "One with" God, "One with" each other, and "One with" the Creation of God within us. Please know this now with your Iman, without the slightest doubt. Please do this now, my dearest loving brothers. 8-5. The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Plus Two On-line Libraries In addition to the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), on the outside of us, God has also given us the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), on the outside of us, which His Holiness formally organized into the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, with branches throughout the world, and in America, with the main branch in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. In this way, God has provided all of us with help in establishing the "presence of God" within us, allowing "our presence" on the "outside" of us to sit down, perhaps for the first time in our life, at least since we were very young. This is why His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us, "In order for the mind and desire of your lower self to sit down, the wisdom of your inner self must stand up." And to make this happen, to make our wisdom stand up, His Holiness teaches us that before we do anything, call our wisdom, say the word, "Bawa", or "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen" or "Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen" or "Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen" (may God be pleased with Him), and our mind and desire, our lower self will sit down. This is the experience of this child, my dearest loving brothers of the One Open Heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased Him). Please try to conduct your life in this way. This child has been living his life in this way for 28 years and has found joining with my wisdom within me, with our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), before doing anything, always moves my life forward correctly and allows me to avoid accidents, both within and outside of me, which is so very important on the path of God. Also, we now have the following two on-line Web Sites to help us stay together in love and unity and learn more about the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him): (www.bmf.org) (www.BawaMuhaiyaddeenLibrary.homestead.com) 8-6. Lets Get Together In the name of God, my dearest loving brothers, lets get together, for as Jesus (peace be upon Him) told His followers, and as Bawa has also told us, "If two of you come together in My Name, I will be." And in this way, let our Wisdom teach us, "What we do not know." 8-7. Why Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral) And His Children? Why has God given us something more outside of us, why has God given us the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), and the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship and Library, after all that has come before outside of us, after He has sent 124,000 heavenly beings and lights of God to teach us for the last 200 million years? Why now Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) and the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)? Because God loves us, that's why. 8-8. The True Significance of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral) And His Children The true significance of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral) and of His Children to the followers of Muhammad (Sal.), is that the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) and of His Children is God completing Muhammad's (Sal.) last request of God before Muhammad (Sal.) died. The request by the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessing of God be upon Him) that God provide someone, after the life of Muhammad (Sal.) in the world, that would save the followers of Muhammad (Sal.) from hell. And in truth, all of us living in the world today are the followers of Muhammad (Sal.), of the first and last Prophet of God in the world, whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, once we openly look into it. Because Muhammad (Sal.) is the true birthright, the true heritage of our life, the destiny of our soul, because God wrote the Kalimah of God on the forehead of each of us, before we came into this world, before God's Pen or Qalam, wrote the destiny of our life in this world, because God wrote the following on each of our forehead, "La il la ha, iIl Allahu, Muhammadar Rasulullah - There is nothing other than God, You Are Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God". So if we join with our wisdom to remove the destiny of our life in the world, which is what the Qalam wrote on our forehead, which is our connection to our parents and to the place of birth, then the destiny of our soul will prevail, which is what God originally wrote on our forehead, which is our connection to God and to our soul, then "God's will be done" within us, as "One with" God, not "our parents will be done" as "separate from" God. Then God will finish what He has started within us, He will reveal True Man from within the Creation of God within us, from within the dunya or this world within us, which is the 18,000 universes within us, and True Man will reveal God from within the Creation of True Man within us, from within akhirah or the next world within us. Then God will reveal the 99 wilayats or powers of God, the 99 qualities of God, and the 99 duties or actions of God, from within the 18,000 universes within us, which in truth is the "Three of Us" - the Disciple, the Shaikh, and God - within the "Three of God" within us, within the Triple Flame of God within us - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen -, which in maturity is the "Three of God" that has again become One with God within us, has become True Man within the Creation of God, as the Oneness of God and His Creation, as the One within the 99, as Allah Muhhammad within the Nur Muhammad. Which His Holiness teaches us at the bottom of page 31, in Chapter 2, "The Wondrous City", in the book, A Mystical Journey, occurs when, "The alif becomes the pilar of the sukun of the mim." Then True Man will reveal the One within the One, which is the Oneness of True Man and the Creation of True Man, which is God within the Creation of True Man, in this way revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man", which in truth is God and True Man within us. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Summary & Text of Spiritual Letter: 1. Introduction - to Spiritual Letter 50 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa barakatuhu kulluhu. Wa 'alaykum al-salam wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brother - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brother Thomas L. Friedman, you are a very good brother and child of God, and your work to bring together people of all religions and beliefs has certainly been and continues to be a comfort to my heart, and we are sure, to the hearts of many other people who you have never met, just like this child. This letter to you is specifically in response to your article, "Dinner With the Sayyids", published today in the on-line version of the New York Times, 8/9/03. However, we have been reading your "stuff" for the last year, and have seen you on TV several times, and am again moved to write you, to thank you for your good work. (Note: we have become so inspired by your work in Iraq, that after reading your article today, 8/18/03, "Telling the Truth in Iraq", we immediately sent our love and salams to the staff of Iraq-Today, the new on-line publication in Iraq, that you discussed in your article, which has the Web Address or URL of: www.Iraq-Today.com, and offered to help them in their new project. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar). And to share with you something that may be new to you, about the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), who came to America in 1971 and taught us for over 15 years, until His death in 1986, about the Oneness of God and Man, a life and teaching which from one perspective is all about transcending the 4 major religions of the world by finding the common essence within them, and moving on. Which is all about understanding the common essence, the Principle Tenet, of the Hindi, Zoroastrian, Christian, Islamic and Judaic Religions, and scriptures, and moving on. And in this way cutting the Gordian knot of religion, so to speak, allowing us to focus again, or perhaps for the first time, on how we accomplish what the 124,000 Prophets of God have brought to us from God, over and over again, throughout the ages, to every race, people, and to every corner of the world, rather than trying to re-establish and defend the validity of what we today call religion, which seems to have become more and more the exact opposite of what the Prophets of God have brought to us. And lastly, the purpose of this letter is to ask of you a favor. If it is at all possible please send this entire letter to the two brothers you recently interviewed, Sayyid Iyad Jamaleddine and Sayyid Hussein Khomeini in Iraq, along with my brief comments to them, at the end of this letter to you, my dearest brother. Thank you very much, and God bless you. 2. The Essence of The Four Religions And of Man Is Oneness Summary of Topic: The essence of the four religions and of man is Oneness, and within that Oneness is what God is doing, which is revealing Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation, which He does by moving between two states, the states of Stillness and Movement, by moving between the Stillness and the Movement of God, the two states of God we call God and True Man. And movement between these two states occurs through the Sound of God, the sound of the One becoming the Three, and of the Three becoming the One, three times, in awwal which is the world of souls, in the dunya, which is this world, and in akhirah, which is the next world, which collectively are in truth "God happening" within us, by revealing True Man within the Creation of God within us Text of Topic: One day His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God pleased with Him) gave us a riddle to answer, His Holiness said to us, "What has incredible movement so it can stand perfectly still?" None of us had a clue, and we all sat in front of His Holiness in silence. Then His Holiness looked at us and said, "A hummingbird. A hummingbird has incredible movement so it can stand perfectly still, and take its nourishment from deep within a flower." "Like this, God has incredible movement outside so He can stand perfectly still inside, and draw His Divine Knowledge or 'ilm from His Creation." In this way, my dearest loving brother Thomas L. Friedman, we are all One, God and man and the Creation of God are all One, and the difference between man and the Creation of God, is that God has given man the 6th level of wisdom or consciousness that allows man to understand "who he is", and "who God is", and through that understanding to join with God within him to complete what God is doing within man, within the Creation of God within man, which is to reveal Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation, by first revealing True Man within His Creation. But if man fails to realize his exalted birth, as a human being, before his death, then he is reborn again and again, again and again within himself, each time losing more and more of his divine consciousness, gradually becoming one with the Creation of God within him, rather than realizing his birth right, his true heritage, which is becoming One with God as True Man, in this way, becoming the Oneness of God and True Man, which in truth is God and True Man. This is the message that all of the 124,000 Prophets of God, including the Prophets Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets) brought to all of the people living in the age when they came into the world, to the level that the people living at that time, and to the level the Prophets who came to them, could or were instructed by God, to explain. So our life, and all life, is all about "God happening", not about "us" as "separate from" God happening. It is all about our joining in partnership with God within us, so God can complete what He has started within each of us, what He started within us even before we came to this earth world, which is to reveal Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation, by first revealing True Man within the Creation of God, like the apple seed reveals the apple, and the sweet taste of the apple, by first revealing the apple tree from within the apple seed that is hidden within the earth. In this way, our life is not truly about us living "separate from" God, "separate from" each other", and "separate from" the Creation of God within us, our life is not truly about "us" as "separate from" God working for wages to get into heaven. This idea, intention, and effort of "selfishness", of "self focus or worship", rather than of "selflessness", of "God focus or worship", is but the falsehood covering the truth of us, and will only lead to our destruction, to our becoming one with the Creation of God within us, leading us to an eternal life of "separation from" God, rather than of Oneness with God within us, rather than an eternal life of "Oneness with" God. 3. The Great Battle Within The Four Religions And Within Man Summary of Topic: The great battle within the four religions and within man is making the transition from "separation & differences" to Oneness, which is but a reflection of what God is doing within us, which is making the transition from stillness to movement, which is how God reveals Himself for the benefit of His Creation, by first revealing True Man within His Creation, if we will only join Him, and give up what we think we are doing for what He is actually doing, which is revealing Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation within us. And in order for God to be successful within us, we must be successful within Him, in order for Him to move from His stillness to His movement within us, to move from what we call God within us, from stillness within us, to what the wise and enlightened men of each age call True Man us, within the Creation of God within us, to movement within us, we have to move from our "separation and differences" outside to our "Oneness and Unity" outside, treating all lives as our own. In this way, we have to support Him, we have to join in partnership with God within us, and make what He is doing within us, what we are doing within Him, which means "us" putting down "us" outside of us, and "us" picking up God within us, which means "us" letting "us" as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, and as "separate from" the Creation of God within us, end. In this way, to support God we must let what we are currently doing "outside" of us come to an end, and we must become peaceful with our own ending, so we can have a fresh start within God, as "One with" God, as True Man within the Creation of God, as the Oneness of God and His Creation. In this way, we have to stop moving on the "outside" of us, allowing our movement to become our stillness, allowing our movement outside of us to become His Movement within us, allowing our state of "false man" within our mind and desire, allowing "our presence" in the illusory world that we see in our collective ignorance as existing "outside" of us, to become His state of True Man within the Creation of God within us, to become "His presence" of movement in the 18,000 universes within us. This is our true work, to know His work within us, and to join Him in His work within us, handing "us" and our work outside of us to Him, making "us" and our work outside of us His responsibility, no longer our responsibility, letting Him bring our work outside of us to an end, letting Him bring "us" outside of us, to an end. This is our true work, when we join in partnership with God within us in what He is already doing within us, which is revealing Himself for the benefit of all of His Creation within us, when we let Him transform "our presence" outside of us into "His presence" within us, for the benefit of all of His Creation within us. This is why His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us, "If you are there God is not there, and if God is there you are not there." and, "Never have the thought that there is something that you have to do." Text of Topic: My dearest loving brother Thomas L. Friedman, what we are doing is also movement, movement between Oneness and Separation. This is the great battle within religion, as it is the great battle within man, which is transcending our "separation and differences". And we do this, by transcending the four separate religions or paths outside of us, and becoming the one religion or path of God within us, by transcending our life of "selfishness" outside of us, and becoming God's life of "selflessness" within us, by joining in partnership with God within us and with what He is doing within us, by becoming One with the Creation of God within us, and letting God reveal True Man from within us, and in this way, naturally and ever so gradually becoming True Man within the 18,000 universes within each of us, and the "Oneness of God and True Man" within all of us. 4. An Introduction To The Life And Teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) Summary of Topic: From one perspective, from the perspective of our "separation and differences" becoming our Oneness, an introduction to the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him, is about becoming the Oneness of God and True Man within us. It is about becoming "God happening" within us, it is the personal journey of each of us within ourselves, to the true us, of each of us awakening to who "we already are", and if we like, of joining with God in what He is already doing within us, allowing Him to finish what He has already started within us, which is revealing Himself for the benefit of all of His Creations within us. And it is certainly not an outside thing at all. Text of Topic: In the introduction to this letter we stated that the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), from one perspective, is all about understanding the common essence of the four religions, of the Hindi, Zoroastrian, Christian, Islamic and Judaic Religions, and scriptures, and moving on. Lets explore this a little more by presenting an brief overview of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) from this perspective, of moving from "separation and differences" to Oneness. First, His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), groups Judaism and Islam together as one, as two reflections of the same thing, of the One thing that is God and True Man, of the "Oneness of God and True Man", as two facets of the same gem. In addition, His Holiness describes the four religions that we currently see outside of us as representative of the four main parts of our body, with Hinduism being the section below our waist, or creation, the section of earth and water, Zoroastrianism as our stomach or the section of fire, Christianity as our chest or the section of air, and Islam and Judaism as our head, the section of light or ether. With the path of God within us, our spiritual awakening, moving from the womb through the stomach to the heart, and from the heart, to the head, eventually closing within us the world that we see and support through the current 7 openings in our head, by opening within us the 18,000 universes that we see through His eye of wisdom on our forehead, eventually joining with God in the next world within us, by becoming One with God within us, as the throne of God on the top of our head. In addition, His Holiness speaks of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon Him) as our wisdom or higher consciousness, the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon Him) as our soul or purity, and the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessing of God be upon Him) as our heart or true form or body, in this way, making us and the 124,000 Prophets of God one, with the 4 religions all defining "who we are" before we overcome them, before we overcome what is separating us from God by understanding them, one by one, as we journey back into the Oneness that is God, from which we have come. Using this as a brief introduction to the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), from one perspective, lets take a look at what is happening in the world today. 5. What Is Truly Happening In The World Today? Summary of Topic: Suppose what is happening in the world today is all about what God is doing, not really at all about what we are doing, about what we in our ignorance, and especially, in our arrogance about our ignorance, think is happening. Suppose what is happening in the world today is "God is happening", not "us happening" as "separate from God". Text of Topic: Suppose we are all wrong, and nothing is happening the way we think it is happening, that instead there is an incredible beauty and perfection to everything, a beauty and perfection that we cannot see because instead we see "us" as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, and as "separate from" the Creation of God. Suppose we are much, much more than who we think we are, that instead of being what we are currently experiencing as "who we are", we are of God, and instead of being "where we think we are", we are within God, and instead of us understanding "what is happening", what in truth is happening is us. That we are what God is doing. And what if what God is doing is revealing Himself, for the benefit of all of His Creations. And what if He reveals Himself by first revealing True Man within His Creation, allowing True Man to then reveal God within the Creation of True Man, revealing in this way, the Oneness of God and True Man, which in truth is God and True Man. What if all this is the truth of "us", not what we are currently seeing as existing "outside" of us. And what if all we had to do to become this truth of us was to realize, understand, accept, and join with this truth of "us". That everything else naturally occurred, allowing True Man to appear within the Creation of God, and allowing God to appear within the Creation of True Man, revealing in this way the "Oneness of God and True Man." What if what is truly happening, in the world, within us, within everyone and everything is One thing, and One thing alone. What if what is truly happening is "God is happening", not "us" as "separate from" God. And what if for God to happen within us all we have to do is let it happen, not block it or prevent it from happening, by us holding onto the false idea of "us happening", of our life "separate from" God, but instead join Him, but instead realize, understand, accept, and join with the truth of us, which is "Him Happening" within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God within us. What if all we have to do for God to happen within us is for us to let "Him happen" within us, and to let "us end" outside of us, is for us to become peaceful in our own ending. And God will do everything else. From one perspective, this is the life and teaching of God for our age, which God has placed both within us, and outside of us, the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). 6. The Life And Teaching of God For Our Age Summary of Topic: The life and teaching of God for our age is something God has personally and every so loving placed within the hearts of all of His Children for this age, which is all of us living in this age, and God also given us a finger pointing to this truth of God within us, which is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). From one perspective, from the perspective of life lived on the outside of us, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) is the Holy Man of God for our age, who has come in our life time, in 1971, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, to teach us about what "we already have", and about who "we already are", giving us over 10,000 discourses about God, and songs to God, until His dearth in 1986, all of which have been recorded on audio tape, and many on video tape, just waiting for us to hear and see, to understand, accept, and join, if that be our true intention. What more can God do? Text of Topic: In truth, my dearest loving brother Thomas L. Friedman, this explanation is it, this is all we need, this Oneness of God, this transition of God from stillness to movement, this joining of our life with what God is already doing within us, this letting us end as "separate from" God so God can happen within us, so "us" as "One with" God within us, as True Man within the Creation of God within us, can happen within us, so God can complete what He is doing within us, within each of us, is all we need. This is the essence of Judaism and Islam, of Christianity, of Zoroastrianism, of Hinduism, of the four religions. This explanation is all we need, is what allows us to move forward, to move on to what lies beyond the four religions, if that be our true intention. This is the Principle Tenet of the four religions, the Affirmation of the Unity of God, which in Islam is called Tawhid, the Mystery of the Triple Flame of God - Ya Allah, Ya Rasul, Ya Muhaiyaddeen, which in truth is One, while in Christianity it is called the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Mystery of - The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, which in truth is One, and in the religion of Fire Worship or Zoroastrianism it is also referred to as the "Three Flames that are One", and in Hinduism it is referred to in many way. For example, His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him, on pages 72 to 76 in Chapter 21, "The Six Faces", in the beautiful book of wisdom, "The Pearl of Wisdom", lovingly explains the true meaning of the Hindu God "Kandan", who is always shown in the Hindu tradition on the outside as a statue or figure with six faces, and called "Aaru-Muham". His Holiness explains in Chapter 21 that in the Hindu tradition Kandan represents the transformation of "false man", who outside shows one face but secretly shows inside the six faces of evil, of lust, hatred, miserliness, delusion, bigotry, and envy, into "True Man" who in maturity show the one face of faith, wisdom, and 'ilm or Diving Knowledge, the face of Muhammad (may the peace and blessing of God be upon Him), to God within us, distinguishing in His reflection for all to see, who can see, the truth that surrounds God, becoming in maturity the six wisdoms, the six faces of clarity within us, that are beyond estimation, beyond imagination, and beyond pleasure. (Note: please forgive my, my dearest loving brother, but this child doesn't know how this concept of Tawhid or "Affirmation of the Unity of God" is described in the beautiful Judaic tradition, but we are sure that within the 10,000 discourses and songs about God from His Holiness, that Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) has given us, He has beautifully described it for us, but this child has not yet heard it. Please remember, that we have only scratched the surface of reviewing and making available to the public the life and teaching of His Holiness, a task that will fall on many generations to come, God willing. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar). This is the Principle Tenet of Judaism and of Islam and of Christianity, and of all the religions of God, the Affirmation of the Unity of Allah, that the 124, 000 Prophets of God brought to us, over and over again, to each race, to each people, from the beginning of time until now, to the level that the people could understand it, and that the Prophet could or were permitted by God to explain it. This is the essence of the 4 religions of God. And this is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) for this age, for the Children of God for this age, for the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), if we but accept it as coming to us from God for our age, coming to all of us living in the world today, coming as the life and teaching of God for our age, on the outside of us, to help us realize and accept what God has placed within each of us, which is the essence of the life and teaching of God for our age, which is True Man within the Creation of God within each of us. For as His Holiness told us right before He died, on December 8th, 1986, that when He died that He would go into the hearts of all of His children. So now we have everything necessary to be successful in our life. So now as His Holiness teaches us, "Our wisdom can reason over our fate." And this finger pointing to God for our age, this outside version of the life and teaching of God for our age, has come on the outside of us to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, consisting of over 10,000 discourses about God, and songs to God, which have all been recorded on audio tape, with many of them on video tape, just waiting for us to hear it and see it, understand it, accept it, and join with it, if we like. What more can God do?. We know this to be true, my dearest loving brother, and we firmly believe that if you look into it with the pure and open heart that God has given you, my dearest loving brother, so will you, and so will all of the Children of God for this age. This is my firm belief. Next let us share a beautiful explanation given to us by His Holiness, the answer to a very simple question, which summarizes so beautifully what this child has been trying to share with his dearest loving brother in this letter. Which is the answer to the question, "Why does an apple seed germinate?" My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brother Thomas L. Friedman - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). May God help us all, and may God open each of our hearts to the following beautiful explanation of wisdom. Amen. 7. Why Does An Apple Seed Germinate? Summary of Topic: An apple seed germinates through awareness, through the realization of the truth, about "who it already is", that naturally emerges from within it, which it can either understand, accept, and join, or reject, because not all apple seeds germinate, not all apple seeds join with their own truth. Some apple seeds rot in the earth, never germinating, forever breaking their connection to the story of the apple tree, that they have come to the earth, to join with the earth, to tell And so it is with each of us, the choice between our truth and our falsehood, between the story of "us" as" separate from" God, and the story of "us" as "One with" God. Which are we going to tell? Text of Topic: One day in the "room", which is what we affectionately called the room His Holiness lived in most of the time, when He was living in America, between 1971 and 1986, and is the room that He died in on December 8th, 1986, at His residence at 5820 Overbrook Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. One day in the "room" in the fall of 1986, during the Holy Month of Ramadan, which is the traditional month of fasting in Islam, a few months before He died, His Holiness, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), look at His Children, which is what He called all of us, and asked us a question. A question which changed the life of this child, and will change your life too, my dearest loving brother, and the life of all who hear His answer, whether they want to hear it or not, if we listen with our faith in God and with our wisdom, which is our original connection to God, that we all had in the world of souls, and for the first few years here, before we covered it over with what we now are and see. Such is the nature of truth and falsehood, my dearest loving brother. His Holiness asked the question, "Why does an apple seed germinate?" Now we all tried to answer the question, like all children will try to do when their father asks them a question, and all of our answer had to do with the elements, with the earth, fire, water, and air, and with the sky and colors, which His Holiness calls ether. His Holiness took in all of our answers, sitting on the bed where He spent most of His time, since He was well over 100 years old, and was very sick most of the time, though He told us that He was only sick because He was taking on all of our illnesses, not His. Then His Holiness looked up at us, with a smile that melted our heart, and said to us, "No my dearest loving children, that is not why an apple seed germinates." "An apple seed germinates because it becomes aware that it is an apple seed, that it is buried within the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple tree within it to grow. Then the earth becomes aware that the apple seed is now aware that it is an apple seed, that it is buried within the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple tree within it to grow." "Then out of that mutual awareness, the earth surrenders to the apple seed and the apple seed surrenders to the earth, and that is why an apple seed germinate." "That is why an apple seed germinates, my dearest loving children, through awareness, through the realization of the truth that emerges from within it, not because of any influence of the 5 elemental forces that it is buried within." "Like this, in truth man is the seed of God, and He is buried within God, and God contains everything necessary for that seed of God to grow into the Tree of God, which is True Man." "And when man comes to the point in his life when this truth of him emerges from within him, and if at that time he realizes, understands, accepts, and joins with that truth of him, then God within him will realize that man now knows "who he is", that he is the seed of God, and that man now knows "where he is", that he is within God, and God is within him, within the wisdom within him, like the apple fruit is hidden within the apple tree that is hidden within the apple seed that is buried within the earth." "And that man now knows "what it happening", that God is happening, by first allowing True Man to happen, first allowing True Man to be revealed within the Creation of God, first allowing the Tree of God to be revealed from within the Seed of God, so True Man can then reveal God within the Creation of True Man, so the Tree of God can then reveal the Fruit of God from within the Tree of God." "And that man now knows, that God contains everything necessary for that seed of God to grow into the Tree of God, into True Man within the Creation of God, and for the Tree of God to bear fruit, to reveal God within the Creation of True Man." "Then out of this mutual awareness, God surrenders to man and man surrenders to God, and True Man is revealed within the Creation of God, within the 18,000 universes within this world, and then God is revealed within the Creation of True Man, within the 99 qualities of God in the next world, and in this way revealing the Oneness of God and True Man, which in truth is God and True Man". Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So be it, So be it, O Ruler of the Universes. So be it, So be it, O Most Merciful One. So be it, So be it, O Most Compassionate One. All praise and praising belong to God and to God alone. Only God is great. End of Page 1 of 3 of Spiritual Letter 50 - summary & text version - .................................. or or Go To Spiritual Letter 50: or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
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