The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship
Online Library
The Ultimate Peacefullness
A short talk given by M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen from Questions of Life, Answers of Wisdom Volume 2.
Sonia Gilbert: I wondered-in the quest for
the ultimate peacefulness which does not come or go-is a human being entitled to
seek situations from which he is relatively free of distress? Or should he
subject himself continually to that which comes to attack his peacefulness,
accepting that even though the work is harder, it should nevertheless be pursued
in that fashion? What would be wisdom's understanding of this?
M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen: When the rain falls,
all the rainwater flows toward the sea. Some of the water may collect in ponds
or lakes. As more rainwater continues to flow into these ponds, it pushes out
the water already there, and the new water remains in its place. The water that
was there earlier is very happy as it makes good its escape, saying, "I am free!
I have escaped from the stench and the dirt. How much I had to suffer! Dogs'
urine, jackals' urine, cows' urine-I had to endure so much filth and smell! Now
I am free from all that!" So saying, the pond water runs toward the vast
ocean.
On the other hand, the dry earth feels very happy and comforted as
it soaks up the rainwater. It goes on drinking and drinking that water, until
finally, when it cannot drink any more, it turns into muddy sludge, filled with
decaying leaves and debris. Earlier, people could lie on that earth, cows and
goats could sleep on it, but now no one can even walk on it. Its beauty is gone.
And what of the fresh rainwater that displaced the stagnant water in the
pond? Worms, insects, reptiles, and odors will come into that water all too
soon, and it too will lose its beauty and take on a stench. This fresh water
that helped the old water to escape from its suffering, soon will suffer the
same fate-to become stagnant, dirty, and smelly. When it was on its way, it was
joyful in anticipation, and when it first arrived it was still happy. But as it
experiences being in the pond, it will begin to understand the difficulty and
suffering that goes with it.
There is a Tamil story about a quarrel
between two sisters-Moodevi and Seedevi.
One represents right, the other represents wrong. Now, both right and wrong must
exist in this world. Darkness and light are also necessary. But even though
darkness and light both have to exist in the world, neither one need suffer or
cause pain to the other.
These two sisters, Moodevi and Seedevi, were involved in a violent argument as to who was greater. "I am the elder, so I am greater," said Moodevi. So, one day the two went to the Qutbiyyat (RAL.) who asked them, "What is the argument about? Why are you fighting?" Moodevi said, "Am I not prettier than my sister? To all the world, I am the elder. After all, I am the one connected to karma, creation, and everything. So I am more beautiful, am I not?"
Now, since ignorance comes before wisdom, it is older. And since wisdom develops later, it is younger. In the same way, karma and arrogance are there before goodness develops.
The Qutbiyyat (RAL.) then looked at the two and saw that they were different. And yet he had to give an answer that would not hurt either one. So he said, "Both of you are beautiful, but in order to decide between you, I need to observe you coming and going. Please walk over that way." After they walked a short distance away from him, he asked them to turn around and come toward him. Then he told Moodevi (the elder), "You look beautiful when you are going, and you, Seedevi, look beautiful when you are coming." So both went away happy, shaking their hips. The meaning of this story is that it is beautiful when ignorance leaves us, and it is beautiful when wisdom and truth come to us.
Similarly, in the world, good and bad do come and go. But when our older quality of ignorance leaves us, it is both good for us and beautiful. And when truth and God's qualities come to us, it is truly beautiful. There need be no pain to either. Without hurting the older one (ignorance), you must tell it to go away from you. And without causing any pain to the younger one (wisdom), you must invite it to come to you. If you can be like this, if you can treat each one appropriately, you will be at peace.
So, whenever trouble comes toward you, you should say, "I surrender to the
will of God (tawakkul-'alallah)." Then it will not stay. It will go away. And
when no trouble befalls you, when things are fine, you should still hand it over
to God, saying, "All praise be to God (al-hamdu lillah)." Then there will be no
need to hold on to either. Neither will stay. Let them come and go. Once the
older one goes and the younger comes, only one will be there, and there will be
no fighting. Not two, only one. In that state, only God is there. The 'I' is
gone. Karma is gone. Arrogance is gone. Illusion (maya) is gone. If nothing is
retained, then That will come. Once That comes, there will be no suffering, no
sadness, no 'I', no differences. Only That will remain. Nothing else. That is
how you have to be. If you can understand this state, there will be no bundles
to tie up, no burdens to carry along, nothing to hold on to inside, nothing to
show. Only That will remain.
1. Moodevi is said to be the goddess of misfortune,
bringing bad luck, poverty, sickness, unhappiness, and depression. Seedevi is
the goddess of fortune, bringing happiness, wealth, and health to the house
where she chooses to stay.
2. Qutbiyyat (ral.) (A)
Divine analytic wisdom, the sixth level of consciousness, which explains the
truth of God; Qutb is also a title used for the great holy men of Islam.