Why I chose to act when I know life is an illusion
In this world I am Sufi. I love many mystical traditions and study and practices various teachings and disciplines from Buddhism and the Chinese mystical arts to modern and esoteric psychologies. But first and foremost I am a Sufi. I am Sufi because I know I am. I could say this or that about how I came to be a Sufi or why but they would just be words not the reality. It is like explaining why I married my wife. Impossible, you would have to be me and even than you would not know.
You can find links to explanations of what a Sufi is and if you desire go right ahead. I say I am a Sufi to explain how I can take part in a political, and material struggle and yet know that everything is Goddess playing with me in the form of the world around and within. Why fight for or against anything if I know that there is no world the way it seems to be but an incredibly complicated Illusion created by Goddess. Life is like a dream that seems so real that we forget that it is not and go through a gauntlet of emotions and reactions only to wake up one day and see that nothing we thought happened was real. So why act as if an illusion is real?
My all time favorite mystical book is the Bhagavada Gita. The Gita is a story about a civil war in ancient India. Arjuna is a prince on one side of the war and Khrisna is the driver of his war chariot. Both sides of the waring families and friends are drawn up in battle formations facing each other. The battle will start soon but there is a pause.
Arjuna tell Khrisna to pull his chariot out of formation and drive to a place between the two lines. When they arrive Arjuna confesses that he is bummed out about having to fight and kill his family and friends who joined the other side. He says that maybe he should renounce all violence and go into the woods and become an ascetic. Krishna reveals that he is not what he appears to be. Krishna proclaims that He is God in human form who has befriended Arjuna because well He just did. Who can say why one is a lover of another, remember?
At any rate Krisna shows Arjuna that the world is a Illusion created by Him for reasons beyond comprehension and that there is not birth or death and you cannot kill what was never born and can never die. What is important is reaching the place where you can know the illusion and be in it and act within it to honor it. We all have our roles to play according to the nature of our consciousness or karma. It is better to live your own karma badly than to live another perfectly. Arjuna is not an ascetic and if he went into the woods he would just upset the animals and kill many of them. He is a warrior and his karma is to fight. But to fight with awareness and honor and to transform through his actions into another form of being within the illusion.
Arjuna is stunned by all that Khrisna said but especially that his best friend is actually not a man but the Godhead. Arjuna asks a favor of Krishna. He asks Krishna to let him see the reality of God. Khrisna tells Arjuna that he could not handle seeing the true reality of God. Arjuna persists and says something like, “Come on Khrisna I am your best friend, please, please, please. I can handle it, honest I can.”
So Krishna reveals himself. Arjuna freaks out because the experiences is so overwhelming that he begs Krisna to recreate the illusion. Krishna does and smiles.The story goes on from here and if you want to read it or hear it you can click the link above this entry.
The reason I told you about the Gita is that it helps explain my actions. I know the world is not as it appears. I know that there is no reality except Goddess and that what appears to be separate and ugly is not. I know that it is OK to do nothing about the conditions of the social world. I also know it is not my karma to sit back and not act as my karma compels me. I understand that my actions are vehicles for my evolution not to do anything real. I have come to this planet to take part in the illusion-play and my intention is act in a way that makes Goddess smile.
So now you might understand a little why I am acting to fight against injustices that are illusions. Are they illusions or real? They are both. I fight the illusion and struggle within myself to deepen my experience of the Real.
There is a famous Sufi story about a battle that Ali fought way back in the day. Ali was the son-in-law of the Prophet and a man who is considered to be one of the first Sufis. He was the best warrior in the Prophets army, and was fighting the best warrior in the enemies army. After a long bloody fight Ali had the other warrior on the ground and was about to kill him. Before Ali could strike, the enemy spit in Ali’s face. Ali stopped, paused and than sheathed his sword and walked away. The stunned fallen warrior rose to his feet and ran after Ali. He caught up with Ali and begged to know why Ali did not kill him. Ali looked at the man and said something like,” I was going to kill you in the name of God. But when you spit on me I became angry and would have killed you because of that anger. I will not kill because of selfish reasons, but only with the awareness that I am doing it in the name of Allah.”
Now do not get your self in an uproar if you can help it. I know that some people
say they kill in the name of Allah when in fact they are killing because they are deep in illusion. It is the nature of the illusion that this happens. I can do nothing about that. They have their own part in the play. I reject killing for any reason. Killing and violence to transform the self or society only creates ugliness and more trouble.
Violence does not work for the good and has never worked to bring good or beauty in any form to this planet and never will. Its only value is to help transform the people who indulge in it by their later realizations and regrets. I believe that in the depths of my heart and being. If violence was the only path of social transformation I would walk another path. I believe that the way of social transformation is a mystical adventure to find the Holy Grail within the heart of each person and situation we confront. I believe that we must find the Friend within each illusionary enemy and situation and than the illusion will become a beautiful play and the Mother will smile and applaud.
So I am going to end this entry here. Namaste.
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