Respected Teacher,
In the programme on reflection, when we begin to reflect on a subject, a kind of duality arises: the spirit moves towards God, while we try to pursue the subject through thought or reasoning. Which of these should we follow in the programme on reflection?
In a programme on reflection that you held in the Kandoo group, you spoke of reflecting through thought. I am attaching the question I sent about this. In an earlier programme on reflection in the group, when discussing the verse about people looking at their food, reflection was accompanied by a spiritual journey. Please clarify which means we should use to pursue the programme on reflection. Is it possible to reflect using worldly faculties such as thought and reason, or not?
Please forgive me for asking so many questions. As I study these subjects, I find myself with questions that need answers.
May God reward you.
...
Respected Teacher,
I am sending you an example of reflection. Please let me know whether we should continue reflecting in this way, or whether we should use only worldly faculties.
An example of my reflection
Hello. The earth prostrates. The earth’s prostration is immense; it encompasses the whole universe. Accordingly, all the earth’s inhabitants and possessions prostrate as well. The earth’s prostration arises from a great spirit, and all its prostrations are of one kind: continuous, successive prostrations. Does the earth receive its prostrations from somewhere? One long prostration takes place across the earth, but whose prostration is it? The earth’s prostrations are continuous and successive. It is as though the earth is always prostrating.
The heart’s bowing
In bowing, the heart is neither standing nor sitting; between these two states, it finds a way towards God. How can the heart bow before God’s greatness? Does the heart bow with the very beat it has? I see every part of a heart in the act of bowing. When the heart bows, it takes flight through the realms of Malakut and Lahut, carrying the spirit with it. The parts of the heart cannot help it, but the spirit takes the heart along and leads it on a journey through all the realms. What a beautiful journey through all existence! Bowing in the realm of Malakut is so beautiful: the heart joins its voice with the angels, and this bowing leads it towards prostration.
The heart’s prostration
Of all the prostrations I see, the heart’s prostration is the most beautiful.
I see all the prostrations, and I can see the differences between them. When the heart prostrates, is it still on earth? No.
The heart’s prostration takes place in the realm of Malakut. In the earthly realm, only the body is prostrating, while its effects are seen in the realm of Lahut. The gates open upwards, and in prostration the spirit and the heart marshal all their powers to ascend to the higher realms and visit the Lord of the worlds. The heart’s prostration passes through light after light until it connects to the Primordial Light: O Light of Light, O Illuminator of Light, O Creator of all light.
From one of our dear friends
Hello.
When you prostrate before the boundless sky, you feel its infinity. Only then do you understand who you are. When I placed my forehead on the earth in prostration, to prostrate before the sky, the earth flowed with shame and made everything ready for the sky to become sky. The sky is stirred by the passion of divine love; at times it rises as water, at times as rain, and at times as wind. The sky has placed the generous sun within itself. So what is the sky itself? When I bowed my head in prostration before the sky, I heard the heart’s voice in harmony with the earth’s turning and the voice of the heavenly Throne, for all are giving life to existence. O God, make my heart heavenly.
The prostration of the earth
When I placed my forehead in prostration on the earth, I felt the harmony and unity between sky and earth, and sensed the close bond between them.
Both give life. When you place your forehead on the earth, you come into being anew, because we all come from earth. The earth, which gives life, has also shaped our being; human beings, too, have become life-giving and can create. Yet the earth gives life with great humility and makes no claims, while human beings walk proudly upon it. And in the end, that same earth on which they walk with pride enfolds them after death, with all the stench arising from their base qualities, as well as their mortal bodies, and brings love to its summit. Oh, the heart of the earth: how much blood has been spilled upon it, including the blood of Imam Husayn! How has it endured and borne it all without a word?