A Reflection on Humility as the Key in the Quran, Beatitudes, and Socrates' Apology.
حادثه
The Event
گفتم تو چرا دور تر از خواب و سرابی I
asked, “Why are you farther than dream and mirage?”
گفتی که منم با تو ولیکن تو نقابی You said, “I am with you but you are the mask.”
فریاد کشیدم تو کجایی تو کجایی I cried, “Where are you? Where are you?”
گفتی که طلب کن تو مرا تا که بیابی You said, “Yearn and call me to find me.”
چون همسفر عشق شدی مرد سفر باش When you are the sojourner of love, be the man of journey.
هم منتظر حادثه هم فکر خطر باش Be prepared for both the event and danger.
هر منزل این راه بیابان هلاک است Every station of this path is a fatal desert.
هر چشمه سرابیست که بر سینه خاک است Every spring is a mirage in the chest of soil.
در سایه هر سنگ اگر گل به زمین است If there is a flower in the shade of a rock,
نقش تن ماریست که در خواب کمین است It is the pattern of a snake coiled up to bite.
در هر قدمت خار هر شاخه سر دار In each step there is thorn and every branch is a hanging noose.
در هر نفس آزار هر ثانیه صد بار Agony in each breath, hundreds in each second.
گفتم که عطش می کشدم در تب صحرا I said, “thirst is killing me in the fever of desert.”
گفتی که مجوی آب و عطش باش سراپا You said, “Don’t seek water and be all thirst.”
گفتم که نشانم بده گر چمشه ای انجا ست I said, “Show me, if there is a spring over there.”
گفتی چو شدی تشنه ترین قلب تو دریاست You said, “When you become the thirstiest, your heart is the ocean.”
گفتم که در این راه کو نقطه ی آغاز I asked, “Where is the starting point in this path?”
گفتی که تویی تو خود پاسخ این راز You said, “You yourself are the answer to this mystery.”
گفتی که منم با تو ولیکن تو نقابی You said, “I am with you but you are the mask.”
فریاد کشیدم تو کجایی تو کجایی I cried, “Where are you? Where are you?”
گفتی که طلب کن تو مرا تا که بیابی You said, “Yearn and call me to find me.”
چون همسفر عشق شدی مرد سفر باش When you are the sojourner of love, be the man of journey.
هم منتظر حادثه هم فکر خطر باش Be prepared for both the event and danger.
هر منزل این راه بیابان هلاک است Every station of this path is a fatal desert.
هر چشمه سرابیست که بر سینه خاک است Every spring is a mirage in the chest of soil.
در سایه هر سنگ اگر گل به زمین است If there is a flower in the shade of a rock,
نقش تن ماریست که در خواب کمین است It is the pattern of a snake coiled up to bite.
در هر قدمت خار هر شاخه سر دار In each step there is thorn and every branch is a hanging noose.
در هر نفس آزار هر ثانیه صد بار Agony in each breath, hundreds in each second.
گفتم که عطش می کشدم در تب صحرا I said, “thirst is killing me in the fever of desert.”
گفتی که مجوی آب و عطش باش سراپا You said, “Don’t seek water and be all thirst.”
گفتم که نشانم بده گر چمشه ای انجا ست I said, “Show me, if there is a spring over there.”
گفتی چو شدی تشنه ترین قلب تو دریاست You said, “When you become the thirstiest, your heart is the ocean.”
گفتم که در این راه کو نقطه ی آغاز I asked, “Where is the starting point in this path?”
گفتی که تویی تو خود پاسخ این راز You said, “You yourself are the answer to this mystery.”
(The Event, by Ardalan Sarfaraz)
Everything Will Perish But the Face of God
When I was blind to God, when I was an
atheist—my attention was directed at the void as I assumed there was nothing
permanent within me and without me but atoms and the law of conservation of
energy. I was in agony, I was in darkness, because this picture
didn’t and doesn’t quell anyone’s existential angst—why am I here and why do I
die? I compensated for this loss with the principle of pleasure.
Thus, I fell and hurt myself and my family. Years of studying philosophy couldn’t
satisfy me either, as I got lost into the nihilism of atheism, moral
relativism, and contingency of existence. So, I turned to God and asked for
help and received help and guidance. I can’t be more grateful to God for
coming to guide a broken nothing. This is pure divine Mercy and nothing
else. We can’t fathom it but its seed is already within us.
“Do not call out to any other god
beside God, for there is no god but Him. Everything will perish except His
Face. His is the Judgement and to Him you shall all be brought back.”
(28:88) The most real and permanent is God. When I was blind to God,
this notion was alien to me. I couldn’t connect with or understand those
who believed in God, to me an illusory and human made notion. The
illusory turned into the most real for me, in my pleadings and receiving—when I
turned my face to God. When I turned to God, everything around me
turned and the only real things—atoms, conservation of energy, electromagnetic
fields, quantum vibrations, and dark energy -
became a shadow, signs of the most Real and Lasting. After years
of inquiry and being careful not to deceive myself, I found my way. The
void within me was not fully removed but shattered. Now it was time to step
on the path. The seed of faith grows and the shattered void will
gradually be removed. God entered my heart, whose longing was set by God,
and God will occupy the whole space of my being—this is my wish. And if
God so wills, my wish will come true. Am I ready now to enter the
Room of Wishes?
The Room of Wishes is
here and now and always inside my heart. I ought to be able to see,
endure, and integrate all my pain and weaknesses within my strength and
faith. Seeing myself as is, rather than fashioning myself
to my delusion and vanity, will teach me love. When I become capable to
meet myself and see the depth of my depravity and flaws and introduce them to
my strength and faith, then the satanic ghost of Dionysian despair and pride
will depart in the name of God.
This humbles me. The key seems so
clear and accessible to me now. I woke up from my narcissistic slumber
and the delusion of absolute autonomy, which oxymoronically drowns itself in
the wine and weed of contingency of existence. I woke up from sleeping
all my life with the snake of pride and sad pleasure. And the light is
too strong to let me fall back asleep into the darkness of ego.
The key seems so clear and accessible
to me now: it is to exorcise the evil spirit of will-to-power, the venom of
separation and desperate pride in my vices and devices, in my sciences and
technology or my self-made spirituality. This pride is desperate as this
all-knowing groundlessness is a manifestation of despair and will end in the
same. The venom is not only a mode of understanding but also a state of
being, a ghostly presence with the glassy eyes of vanity. When I come
down from the delusional dizzy heights of ‘as if I am somebody’, the evil
spirit departs. When I prostate myself with understanding, the door will
open. Then I will understand what God means by “Do you not realize
[Prophet] that everything in the heavens and earth submits [literally
prostate] to God: the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the
trees, and the animals?” (22:18) and the fact that "[t]he seven heavens and the earth and everyone
in them glorify God. There is not a single thing that does not celebrate His
praise, though you do not understand their praise: God is most forbearing, most
forgiving." (17:44). Then I am attuned to understand the
simplicity and clarity of God’s words that: “[Prophet], give good news to the
humble whose hearts fill with awe whenever God is mentioned, who endure
whatever happens to them with patience, who keep up the prayer, who give to
others out of Our provision to them.” (22:34-35)
Socrates' Apology
It is an absolute awareness of the
poverty of my existence that opens my eyes to God. However, this
understanding is also a venue to understanding my essential connection to
God. So, this “poverty” does not imply “contingency and nihilism”.
I won’t be lost and blind in seeing my life as an accidental conglomeration of
atoms and particles. In this state of humility in front of God, my
philosophy, sciences, and technology can find their footings on firm ground and
will reveal the divine ground more clearly. Spiritual striving and
pleading to God, with knowledge and understanding, bring me back to what
Socrates said in his Apology (defense in the court before
taking the hemlock in 399BC):
“[T]he truth is, O men of
Athens, that God only is wise; and in this oracle [God inspired the Delphi
Temple oracle to say, “Socrates is the wisest man in Athens.”] he means to say
that the wisdom of men is little or nothing; he is not speaking of
Socrates, he is only using my name as an illustration, as if he said, He, O
men, is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in
truth worth nothing. And so I go my way, obedient to the God, and
make inquisition into the wisdom of anyone, whether citizen or stranger, who
appears to be wise; and if he is not wise, then in vindication of the oracle I
show him that he is not wise; and this occupation quite absorbs me, and I have
no time to give either to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my
own, but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the God.”
And again these words of
Socrates, after his death verdict was issued, are consistent with that
knowledge of poverty of our existence:
“Men of Athens, I honor
and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and
strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy,
exhorting anyone whom I meet after my manner, and convincing him, saying: O
my friend, why do you who are a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city
of Athens, care so much about laying up the greatest amount of money and honor
and reputation, and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest
improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? Are you not
ashamed of this? And if the person with whom I am arguing says:
Yes, but I do care; I do not depart or let him go at once; I interrogate and
examine and cross-examine him, and if I think that he has no virtue, but only
says that he has, I reproach him with undervaluing the greater, and overvaluing
the less. And this I should say to everyone whom I meet, young and old,
citizen and alien, but especially to the citizens, inasmuch as they are my
brethren. For this is the command of God, as I would have you know; and I
believe that to this day no greater good has ever happened in the state than my
service to the God. For I do nothing but go about persuading you all,
old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons and your properties,
but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the
soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from
virtue come money and every other good of man, public as well as private.”
And Socrates ends his
defense this way:
"Wherefore, O
judges, be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth - that no evil
can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not
neglected by the gods; nor has my own approaching end happened by mere chance.
But I see clearly that to die and be released was better for me; and therefore
the oracle gave no sign [Socrates’ daemon (spirit) used to
give him signs of what not to do]. For which reason also, I am not angry with
my accusers, or my condemners; they have done me no harm, although neither of
them meant to do me any good; and for this I may gently blame them.
Still I have a favor to ask of them. When my sons are grown up, I would ask you, O my friends, to punish them; and I would have you trouble them, as I have troubled you, if they seem to care about riches, or anything, more than about virtue; or if they pretend to be something when they are really nothing, - then reprove them, as I have reproved you, for not caring about that for which they ought to care, and thinking that they are something when they are really nothing. And if you do this, I and my sons will have received justice at your hands.
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways - I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.”
Still I have a favor to ask of them. When my sons are grown up, I would ask you, O my friends, to punish them; and I would have you trouble them, as I have troubled you, if they seem to care about riches, or anything, more than about virtue; or if they pretend to be something when they are really nothing, - then reprove them, as I have reproved you, for not caring about that for which they ought to care, and thinking that they are something when they are really nothing. And if you do this, I and my sons will have received justice at your hands.
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways - I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.”
Beatitudes
And now the eight Beatitudes of
Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount make sense to me:
"Blessed are the poor in
spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
(Gospel of
St. Matthew 5:3-10)
********************
“There are also some who serve God
with unsteady faith: if something good comes their way, they are satisfied, but if they are tested, they
revert to their old ways, losing both this world and the next– that is the
clearest loss.
Instead of God, they call upon
what can neither harm nor help them– that is straying far away– or invoke one
whose harm is closer than his help: an evil master and an evil companion. But God will admit those who believe and do
good deeds to Gardens graced with flowing streams. God does whatever He wishes. Anyone who thinks that God will not support
him in this world and the next should stretch a rope up to the sky, climb all
the way up it, and see whether this
strategy removes the cause of his anger. In this way, We send the Quran down as clear messages, and God guides
whoever He will.” (22:11-15)
“As for the believers, those who
follow the Jewish faith, the Sabians, the Christians, the Magians [Zoroastrians], and the idolaters, God will judge
between them on the Day of Resurrection; God witnesses all things. Do you not realize [Prophet] that
everything in the heavens and earth submits [prostate] to God: the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, and the
animals? So do many human beings, though for many others punishment is well
deserved. Anyone disgraced by God will have no one to honor him: God does
whatever He will.” (22:17-18)
“We showed Abraham the site of the
House, saying, ‘Do not assign partners to Me. Purify My House for those who
circle around it, those who stand to pray, and those who bow and prostrate
themselves. Proclaim the Pilgrimage to
all people. They will come to you on foot and on every kind of swift mount,
emerging from every deep mountain pass to attain benefits and celebrate God’s name, on specified days, over the livestock He has provided for them– feed yourselves
and the poor and unfortunate– so let the pilgrims perform their acts of
cleansing, fulfill their vows, and circle around the Ancient House.’ All this [is ordained by God]: anyone who
honors the sacred ordinances of God will have good rewards from his Lord.”
(22:26-30)
*********************************
گفتم تو چرا دور تر از خواب و سرابی I asked, “Why are you farther than dream and mirage?”
گفتی که منم با تو ولیکن تو نقابی اما تو نقابی You said, “I am with you but you are the mask.”
فریاد کشیدم تو کجایی تو کجایی I cried, “Where are you? Where are you?”
گفتی که طلب کن تو مرا تا که بیابی You said, “Yearn and call me to find me.”
چون همسفر عشق شدی مرد سفر باش When you are the sojourner of love be the man of journey.
هم منتظر حادثه هم فکر خطر باش Be prepared for both the event and danger.
هر منزل این راه بیابان هلاک است Every station of this path is a fatal desert.
هر چشمه سرابیست که بر سینه خاک است Every spring is a mirage in the chest of soil.
در سایه هر سنگ اگر گل به زمین است If there is a flower in the shade of a rock,
نقش تن ماریست که در خواب کمین است It is the pattern of a snake coiled up to bite.
در هر قدمت خار هر شاخه سر دار In each step there is thorn and every branch is a hanging noose.
در هر نفس آزار هر ثانیه صد بار Agony in each breath, hundreds in each second.
گفتم که عطش می کشدم در تب صحرا I said, “thirst is killing me in the fever of desert.”
گفتی که مجوی آب و عطش باش سراپا You said, “Don’t seek water and be all thirst.”
گفتم که نشانم بده گر چمشه ای انجا ست I said, “Show me, if there is a spring over there.”
گفتی چو شدی تشنه ترین قلب تو دریاست You said, “When you become the thirstiest, your heart is the ocean.”
گفتم که در این راه کو نقطه ی آغاز I said, “Where is the starting point in this path?”
گفتی که تویی تو خود پاسخ این راز You said, “You yourself are the answer to this mystery.”
گفتی که منم با تو ولیکن تو نقابی اما تو نقابی You said, “I am with you but you are the mask.”
فریاد کشیدم تو کجایی تو کجایی I cried, “Where are you? Where are you?”
گفتی که طلب کن تو مرا تا که بیابی You said, “Yearn and call me to find me.”
چون همسفر عشق شدی مرد سفر باش When you are the sojourner of love be the man of journey.
هم منتظر حادثه هم فکر خطر باش Be prepared for both the event and danger.
هر منزل این راه بیابان هلاک است Every station of this path is a fatal desert.
هر چشمه سرابیست که بر سینه خاک است Every spring is a mirage in the chest of soil.
در سایه هر سنگ اگر گل به زمین است If there is a flower in the shade of a rock,
نقش تن ماریست که در خواب کمین است It is the pattern of a snake coiled up to bite.
در هر قدمت خار هر شاخه سر دار In each step there is thorn and every branch is a hanging noose.
در هر نفس آزار هر ثانیه صد بار Agony in each breath, hundreds in each second.
گفتم که عطش می کشدم در تب صحرا I said, “thirst is killing me in the fever of desert.”
گفتی که مجوی آب و عطش باش سراپا You said, “Don’t seek water and be all thirst.”
گفتم که نشانم بده گر چمشه ای انجا ست I said, “Show me, if there is a spring over there.”
گفتی چو شدی تشنه ترین قلب تو دریاست You said, “When you become the thirstiest, your heart is the ocean.”
گفتم که در این راه کو نقطه ی آغاز I said, “Where is the starting point in this path?”
گفتی که تویی تو خود پاسخ این راز You said, “You yourself are the answer to this mystery.”
(The Event, by Ardalan Sarfaraz. Singer: Dariush)
