A still from Aryana Farshad's documentary: "Mystic Iran: The Unseen World"[/caption]We make the mistake of believing that intellectual content of spiritual texts linearly lead us to a spiritual state and therefore if the texts are casteist/misogynist/communal, it consequently reflects on the quality of spiritual life.
But it is not a whole book or even a full para that leads to the connect. Sometimes it is just a word or a phrase or a hovering feeling or a sudden unnamed draw as you read them that trampolines you into a inner universe, a strange hand-holding, or fingertip-touching with some beyond.
Folks say the Holy Quran has anti-women texts and others, then, point out the compassionate pieces in defence. I did posses the Book once but never read it cover to cover. But let me juxtapose whatever you know of the Book with this image:
Many years back, I had a Turkish friend, a young mother of two. She wore the hijab and covered her feet with socks and occasionally even wore gloves. She was little and lithe and fragile like a flower on a creeper in rain. We were good friends. During the Ramadan month, we were invited by another Muslim family to share post-fast dinner. Before breaking fast, the ladies went inside for prayers. I got to sit nearby and watch.
My Turkish friend laid out her mat and went on her knees as if her body was soft butter collapsing. As she moved into the prayer ritual, her hands sometimes on her lap and sometimes before her face, sometimes on it, as she moved her head from side to side like a song, her entire being peaceful, absorbed and lost in that ritual, there was this unbelievable grace and a weird compassion that pervaded the room; a heavy silence that mutated into serenity. I had never seen something so beautiful and my heart leapt to connect to my Mother. There was no question that this was a profound spiritual moment and that I had witnessed something magical.
Islam or any other religion may be a practice, a way of life, a reading or any other social thingy. But more importantly, it is leaving that social thingy. The spiritual is not a linear progression of the social. It doesn’t matter what you follow; what matters is when and how you leap.
Beautifully said!
ReplyDeleteIt is not the texts, the clergy or the rituals which makes us feel the divine. It's an experience so beautiful as you've described your friend's prayer. Not only did you have a spiritual moment, Bhavana, but I can't imagine the positive vibes and experiences your friend must have been experiencing.
Let's focus more on the essence of spiritual and religious practices, instead of getting caught up in the superficially-seeming rituals, religious texts and social events.
The feeling of inner peace that transcends during any experience, religious or otherwise is worth cherishing, Bhavana!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, religion is not a personal choice. It is imposed on us by the society.
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