By Ahmed Kamal Khusro
Interplay of Formal and Informal Spirituality
Formal
religious rituals are meant to discipline the soul, body and mind. They are not
rites into which we move blindly. Regular meditation or spiritual exercises are
meant to purify the heart and the soul. The heart is the nexus of the spiritual
light that comes from the Maker and the universe.
Once
the heart is purged of negative and toxic emotions as well as base desires,
greed, vengeance and overweening pride and possessiveness, then the vacuum
becomes filled with love, understanding, tolerance and faith. When darkness is
dispelled, light comes in and things appear to us in a new aspect. We realise
the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things in the universe.
Then
conscious actions mimic the unconscious obedience of everything to natural laws
from the flow of blood in the body to the geometry of time and space. Since man
is given free will he should consciously follow the dictates of the Almighty in
a display of obedience just the natural world is unconsciously bound to follow
the pattern laid down by the Almighty. This obedience is immanent in all
universal forms of existence. Except for slight aberrations, the whole universe
is ordained by the Maker to follow natural laws and conform to an intelligent
design. We are free, but we should choose to be unfree, as far as our obedience
to Almighty Allah is concerned.
Formal
prayer is only five times a day but the efficacy of the prayer should be
registered in the in-between timings and its glow should pervade our activities
for the rest of the day. This is, in fact, establishing prayer. Just as a
flower blooms in one place, but its perfume is wafted by the breeze everywhere,
in the same way the open and hidden effects of the prayer should inform all our
actions and reinvigorate our relationships with family, friends and society at
large. This behaviour outside of formal prayer is informal spirituality.
If
our actions are shorn of the vestiges of humanity and goodness, then it is
clear that our formal spirituality in prayer is devoid of the true spirit. We
are conscious of the Almighty when we stand in prayer, and in the same way we
should be conscious in our everyday actions that the Maker is watching our
every move and it is being recorded. A heightened sense of consciousness in
prayer results in a deep sense of accountability and restraint in our actions
outside prayer.
When
we discipline ourselves to a marked extent we show our obedience to the Maker
and the pattern of the universe fashioned according to natural laws. The acts
of free will are not for personal licentiousness but to subjugate our will to
the greater good, arriving at inclusivity rather than exclusivity. Exclusivity
thrives on creating barriers of class, culture, nation, and ethnicity.
Does
not the sun shine on rich and poor, white and black and coloured alike? Does
not the rain benefit all—plants, animals and human beings? So why this
egotistical and selfish exclusivity that makes us blind to the needs and
feelings of all but our own selves, or
at most, our kith and kin.
Some
years back, I was working as a journalist in Saudi Arabia. I would meet people
from India at some gathering. Someone would ask “Oh, so you are from Mumbai?”.
Then he would ask “Which part of Mumbai?” When he came to know that I had a
house in one corner and that he was from another, his interest would flag a
little. So I used to think that if I told him “I stay in the next building to
your house”, would his interest in me increase?
Or if I told him that I was his long lost brother would he be perked up?
This
shows the ridiculous extent to which we carry our personal and parochial
leanings. We wear our regional and national colours on our sleeves. To what
end? To fight and show off our jingoism and superiority in any way we can. But
the nearest to the Maker is he who renders his full due and shows pure
thanksgiving for the uncountable gifts He showers us with. We feel humbled and
beggared by the bounties He bestows on us.
Formal
spiritual discipline is for conditioning the heart and the soul to face the obstacle
race that is life. Formal spiritual exercises if done the right way, give
meaning to life’s informal moments. When you think of the Almighty, say,
several times in a day, formally, then in the intervening period its light is
shed and suffuses those hours with radiance. If we do not have such a spiritual
undertow, then we are swept away like flotsam and jetsam by every passing wind
of whim and fancy.
The
author can be reached at akkhusro@rediffmail.com
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