"R.J.: In your introduction to the two volumes of Islamic Spirituality, you explain that there are two dimensions to the meaning of spirituality as used in Islam. One, it is mentioned, is expressed by the word ruhaniyyah in Arabic and ma'nawyyat in Persian, both of which deal with the nature of the spirit and inwardness as opposed to the outward aspect of things; and the other, barakat, which evokes the grace of God. So, how do you think that the esoteric dimension relates to the exoteric aspect of spirituality?
S.H.N.: The way I look at it is that there is an element of spirituality even to the exoteric dimension of religion and also of virgin nature, because there is nothing in the world which by the very that it exists does not reflect the Source of all existence. The perfume of spirituality can be found everywhere, especially in sacred rites and institutions even of the outward kind; but when it comes to man's life, especially religious life, I identify more than anything else with the inward dimension, with the esoteric dimension of being. As I said, there is an element of spirituality even in the exoteric dimension of religion. When a person prays, whether he be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, or follower of another religion, he does good works or helps the poor, there is a spiritual element that is present. There is no doubt that the fact, but the heart of spirituality, I identify exactly with how we understand it in Persian, the word ma'nawiyyat.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr with Ramin Jahanbegloo, In Search of the Sacred
This exchange, drawn from the wonderful In Search of the Sacred, cuts right to the heart of my own personal struggle with faith: the relationship between the external aspects of the faith and its more internal dimensions. A couple summers ago I took part in a weekly discussion group with my friends David, Chuck and Eric. When discussing my own faith I remember making the point that I had never had that "come to Allah" (to paraphrase a popular saying from my Christian friends) moment, but instead found myself operating more on the more tangible levels of the faith. That is, as I've discussed too much already, I focused on the things I can control, my relationship with the people and things I touch every day. Can we truly understand God or what happens when we die or the greater existential questions? No, I can't imagine we can. However, I can understand how I should respond to all the people I come into contact with every day; again, always return the worse with the better. That said, it's the more esoteric aspects of the faith which interest me, even if they're the ones I can't grasp (it probably explain why baseball is still my favorite sport - I could never play it for a damn, and would misplay every fly ball and jump out of the way of every hard hit grounder; there's a metaphor here somewhere). At the same time, I'm often dismissive of the more exoteric aspects of the faith, even though, by my own definition, aren't they the ones I can grasp? I guess by this I mean that I never fret over starting my daily fast during Ramadan a half-hour late, but instead focus on what I'll be doing that day (more on my daily struggles during Ramadan starting on Monday, naturally). In this passage Nasr is saying that he's more focused on the internal quest, as one would expect from such a devout person and expert on Sufism, but that the "perfume of spirituality can be found everywhere, especially in sacred rites and institutions even of the outward kind . . ." Too often I think of the more external aspects of the faith as either a) a path to the internal dimensions, or b) a communal mechanism for bringing the ummah together. Rather, I should be thinking about all of it as sacred, and not parsing it out (probably in ways that make my life easier). Like everything else in my life, I'm bad at faith.
S.H.N.: The way I look at it is that there is an element of spirituality even to the exoteric dimension of religion and also of virgin nature, because there is nothing in the world which by the very that it exists does not reflect the Source of all existence. The perfume of spirituality can be found everywhere, especially in sacred rites and institutions even of the outward kind; but when it comes to man's life, especially religious life, I identify more than anything else with the inward dimension, with the esoteric dimension of being. As I said, there is an element of spirituality even in the exoteric dimension of religion. When a person prays, whether he be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, or follower of another religion, he does good works or helps the poor, there is a spiritual element that is present. There is no doubt that the fact, but the heart of spirituality, I identify exactly with how we understand it in Persian, the word ma'nawiyyat.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr with Ramin Jahanbegloo, In Search of the Sacred
This exchange, drawn from the wonderful In Search of the Sacred, cuts right to the heart of my own personal struggle with faith: the relationship between the external aspects of the faith and its more internal dimensions. A couple summers ago I took part in a weekly discussion group with my friends David, Chuck and Eric. When discussing my own faith I remember making the point that I had never had that "come to Allah" (to paraphrase a popular saying from my Christian friends) moment, but instead found myself operating more on the more tangible levels of the faith. That is, as I've discussed too much already, I focused on the things I can control, my relationship with the people and things I touch every day. Can we truly understand God or what happens when we die or the greater existential questions? No, I can't imagine we can. However, I can understand how I should respond to all the people I come into contact with every day; again, always return the worse with the better. That said, it's the more esoteric aspects of the faith which interest me, even if they're the ones I can't grasp (it probably explain why baseball is still my favorite sport - I could never play it for a damn, and would misplay every fly ball and jump out of the way of every hard hit grounder; there's a metaphor here somewhere). At the same time, I'm often dismissive of the more exoteric aspects of the faith, even though, by my own definition, aren't they the ones I can grasp? I guess by this I mean that I never fret over starting my daily fast during Ramadan a half-hour late, but instead focus on what I'll be doing that day (more on my daily struggles during Ramadan starting on Monday, naturally). In this passage Nasr is saying that he's more focused on the internal quest, as one would expect from such a devout person and expert on Sufism, but that the "perfume of spirituality can be found everywhere, especially in sacred rites and institutions even of the outward kind . . ." Too often I think of the more external aspects of the faith as either a) a path to the internal dimensions, or b) a communal mechanism for bringing the ummah together. Rather, I should be thinking about all of it as sacred, and not parsing it out (probably in ways that make my life easier). Like everything else in my life, I'm bad at faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment