A Student's Notes and Comments on
Sufism: The Reality of Religion
Molana Salaheddin Ali Nader Shah Angha ("Pir Oveyssi")
M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi Publications, 1998

Caveat

These are notes taken (and comments occasionally added) by a student (albeit an aging one). I am not a scholar of this complex subject. But if you find these notes of use, feel free to browse.

Contents

• My Preliminary Commentary
• Background on the Author
• Introduction by Udo Steinbach
• Preliminary material
• Concluding material

My Preliminary Commentary

• a good book
• the essential message seems to be that one must experience revelation for oneself -- but after effort and discipline and purification
• as in the Fragrance book I'm a little concerned about the anti-rationalist stuff
• I'm left a little uncertain as to the degree of guidance (if any) that is considered relevant

Background on the Author

• Hazrat Pir, Molana Salaheddin Ali Nader Shah Angha ("Pir Oveyssi" is the 42nd Spiritual Leader (Pir) of the MTO School of Islamic Sufism (Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi) -- the line of succession goes back 1400 years to the time of Mohammad -- actually to the seventh Imam of the Shi'a, a direct descendent of Muhammad, as well as to the Safavid Dynasty of Iran
• born in Tehran, Iran in 1945 he received the leadership of MTO from his father in 1970 (when he was only 25)
• note that "Pir" in Persian is the traditional title of the head of a Sufi order (tarighat)
• his great-grandfather (Molana Jalaheddin Ali Mir Abolfazl Angha -- known as the Glorious One) "began the current Renaissance of Sufism, introducing Sufism from a scientific perspective and became known as the king of the gnostics"
• Sufism has various orders -- the great-grandfather was not only the leader of the Oveyssi Order but also was given the succession of the Maroufi, Nematollahi, and Zahabieh Orders
• the author took degrees in both physics and mathematics in the U.S. before returning to Iran
• worked at the Atomic Energy Commission in Iran and then returned to the U.S. with his father in 1978
• since then has been training "people from all walks of life and religious backgrounds in the reality of religion -- his students include professors, researchers, and scientists in the various fields of the arts, humanities, and sciences"
• it is his "conviction that unless each person's inherent goodness, talents, and abilities are excavated, he or she will not know the true meaning of stability, security, freedom, and human dignity"
• "internationally recognized as the eminent Sufi Master" -- "the global network of centers which he directs serve some 400,000 students"
• author of 50 books of poetry and prose "focusing on the knowledge embedded in the discipline of Sufism" -- only a few have been translated into English

Introduction by Udo Steinbach

• [RJA comment: Steinbach makes a good case that some inner examination (whether it be mysticism, Sufism, or something else) is an important antidote to the downplaying of intellectual and spiritual issues in a materialistic, consumerist world and can lead to a unity which political borders tend to negate]
• Prof Steinbach is the Director of the German Institute for Middle East Studies in Hamburg and a Professor of Islamic Studies at Hamburg University
• "In constrast to this phenomenon of economic and social globalization, political life in many countries is becoming increasingly focused on the separation of states and nations by strict and unchangeable borders. Nevertheless, political decisions in any one state inevitably affect us all."
• "Particularly in the West, materialistic thinking has led to a greatly diminished focus on the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of human existence."
• talks of seeking an escape from this dead end - "They seek a path that can satisfy the undeniable material needs of a swiftly growing human population while also providing the space and freedom for people to recognize themselves in the fullness of their being. In other words, all humans need to realize their existence as individuals, as part of the human race, and as an element of a universe in which the true senses transcend the mere fulfillment of material needs."
• "If there is one quest that will determine the future fate of humanity, then it is the searching for this path toward self-realization. The question remains as to whether the major global religions will be able to take on the challenge of guiding humanity toward this goal. . . . Unfortunately, the world's dominant religions are giant structures, separated from one another by dogmatic systems and often competing for new followers. They have seemed more concerned with these issues than with the interests of their individual members."
• talks of a reality in which human and humanity, creature and creator, diversity and oneness, become one - "Knowledge of this reality does not come through blind adherence to written texts or to the traditions of people or institutions. It begins with that which is nearest to a person: one's self. Although this self is very close, the realization that it offers can only be acquired through a long journey. Is at the end of this journey that the individual recognizes that the true 'Self' is one and the same as Absolute Existence."
• argues for a new world order transcending established state and religious systems - "In the insightful treatise you are about to read, Hazrat Pir explains how the path to cognition of one's true 'Self' is the only way to overcome the tension between the development of human beings and their fear of being destroyed by their own striving."

Preliminary material

• starts by arguing that each person's credibility depends on "presenting what belongs to them and not repeating or reformulating what others have discovered, said, or done"
• argues that "no one can inherit religion" (whether Catholic, Protestant, or Jew)
• his explanation of his experience of Sufism as the reality of religion: "By this I mean experiencing God in one's inner self, submitting to Him, and loving Him with one's mind, heart and soul, until no other but the Beloved remains"
• irfan means knowing God and being rfeplete with divine knowledge or mysteries
• "Those for whom the quest for the ultimate Reality is the most important goal in life, and who do not give up their search until they discover the answer, are generally regarded as 'mystics'" [RJA question: but isn't this a little self-serving -- as in 'my way is the right way'?]
• "Mysticism is the belief that union and absorption into God is possible through self-renunciation, contemplation and meditation. The mystical experience is considered to be one in which human reason has no part, being beyond human thinking or comprehension. In other words, it can only be known through personal experience." [RJA comment: here again (as in 'The Fragrance of Sufism') is this anti-rationalist bias -- why were we given reasoning ability if it is irrelevant? -- I can quite believe it is limited and one must transcend it -- but why belittle the trappings of this life and be so quick to escape into Nirvana?]
• says should take others' mystical accounts merely as "a signpost to persevere in his or her personal search for knowing the undknown. The seeker of God does not follow religion blindly, but searches for the truth within until the desired result is obtained." [RJA comment: and yet elsewhere seems to talk about the need for guidance from spiritual leaders (someone to come and lead you from your chains in Socrates' cave)?]
• in Islam the quest for one's truth is called qiyam
• "The personal discovery of the 'mystery', which was the core of the Prophets' beliefs and teachings, remains unknown to those who follow their words blindly."
• makes reference to quantum theory's view of the relevance of the "observer" (vs simply objective reality) -- referring to Paul Davies and then to David Bohm (his concept of an 'implicate reality' lying beyond the limits of our 'explicate' senses)
• "A key aphorism of the Oveyssi School is 'words do not convey the meaning'. Words, without the validating experiences behind them, are at the heart of all dogma, excesses and misunderstandings plaguing humanity down through the ages."
• draws analogy of Socrates' cave in the individual being a prisoner of his senses and of his brain -- says we are all cave dwellers
• quotes a lot of scientific writers (particularly about quantum mechanics) but seems to draw the conclusion that science admits it does not know reality and can therefore be ignored [RJA comment: again this anti-rationalist bias]
• argues that heaven and hell are simply present states of interior existence which will continue after death -- "Life on earth is a minuscule, and yet very important, part of the infinite life of each human being. It is minuscule when compared to the infinite, and it is important because all the tools needed for becoming infinite and eternal are provided in the human form." [RJA comment: but this seems to imply that the whole purpose of the universe, galaxies, solar system, our Earth, ourselves is to provide a short 70-year test, which if you fail, will condemn you to your own self-created hell for eternity -- I find it hard to see the sole purpose of the universe and our finite life in it as a test -- it reminds me of one of Vonnegut's short stories where the whole of human history was intended as a signal to certain extra-terrestrials to 'send more supplies']
• talks of death as passing from one room to another -- "When you leave one room and enter another, you still take with you your knowledge, likes, dislikes, hatreds, anger and all the other attributes that you have, as well as your wealth, family and all other possessions. None of these cease because you have entered another room. . . . All that ceases to exist is your current molecular form which slowly starts to change, distinegrate and integrate with nature again." [RJA comment: and yet so many of our attributes our tied to our physical lives (a tall person habitually stooping to pass through a low doorway) -- surely many of these attributes are as temporary as the body?]
• "The serious seeker distinguishes between experiential religion and institutionalized religion, and is bent on discovering the inner experience of religion."
• "Islam means submission, but not to an unknown god. Rather, it is based on certainty, which is the result of seeing and knowing. Submitting to a god of our imagination is just as fatal as submitting to a dictator and is the best way for innocent and ignorant minds to be manipulated in the name of religion." [RJA question: but then is there no hope for generous, compassionate people who have had no mystical experiences themselves?]

Concluding material

• "A Sufi analogy says the banquet is already before humanity, but we simply do not experience it because we are looking the wrong way."
• "To attain the state of 'hearing' and 'seeing' you must be elevated from the lowest state of your existence, which is your physical level, to your most elevated state, which is called adamiyyat -- the chosen of Creation -- as created in the image of God." ('adamiyyat' refers to Adam-ness and implies, in Persian mystical literature, the quintessential positive attribute of humanness)
• "Faith must be based on certainty which comes from direct cognition or knowing."
• "The human system has a built-in mechanism capable of receiving revelation." -- but it requires readiness and harmony on the part of the recipient [RJA comment: a bit like 'when the student is ready the teacher appears']
• goes into a long biological argument about the importance of the heart and its pre-dating the brain in development in utero -- from this argues that Western medicine is wrong in viewing the brain as the control centre of the whole body and that it really is heart --> brain --> body [RJA comment: I do not find this very convincing physically but metaphorically it is apt -- and reminiscent of Delmasio's book ("Decartes' Error") arguing that reason alone is insufficient to cause rational beings to make decisions; they also need will arising out of an emotional centre in the frontal lobe of the brain]
• quotes Jung as saying "If I were one with the Self, I would have knowledge of everything" but then comments "Unfortunately, Jung died without cognizing what he deemed to be the centrality of his existence" [RJA comment: but I would hope that any compassionate God would have compassion on this wonderful man whether he cognized or not]
• "Survival and submission go hand in hand. The instinct to survive, or to 'live', is innate in each creature. . . . The human being has been given the gift of eternity which is born of submission to God. Annihilation in God results in eternal existence." [RJA comment: 'creature' presumably includes more than human beings -- personally I find dogs and cats to have a nobler nature than humans -- I would hope they will not be disbarred from any gift of eternity merely because of lesser intellectual skills]
• says "I don't teach people to be followers, but to be masters of themselves."
• "freedom is not something that can be given to us, but rather it is a state we must create for ourselves"