ZIKR OF THE DIVINE

Khwaja says that the fastest way a murid can develop yearning for the Divine is by (remembrance of the Divine) Zikr. An aspirant must always extoll God through Zikr of the Divine names such as Rauf, Rahim and Aziz among others. In Zikr the act of contemplation and meditation assisted by invocation of the Divine results in spiritual puberty. The aspirant here recites and repeats :

La illa ha illal lah

Ya Allah

Ya Hoo Ya Haq

Ya Hayyi Ya Qayyom

No God but God O God

O He

O Just One O Living One O Existing One

La illa ha illal lah (There is no God but God), this affirmation is the beginning of Shariat and the conclusion of Tariqat. In Zikr there is affirmation of the existence of God and negation of all else. Zikr means to absorb one's consciousness in the remembrance of God. you can remember God in any language. He understands all languages but likes most, the language of love.

To reach the level of perfect Zikr requires perfection in the practice of Habs I Dham (breath regulation techniques) and withdrawal of senses is attempted in Khilvat with Fikr (concentration on the Divine) Zikr generates energy and if renunciation of desires is not undertaken then it is possible that the urge to gratify lust will predominate. The aspirant here has to be careful for unless the energy generated is not harnessed, the consciousness will remain fluctuating. Therefore it is very important that the Murid (Aspirant) is guided by the Murshid (Spiritual mentor) who while observing purity of the physical body aspires for purification of the Consciousness. This purification of the consciousness is attained by following moral injunctions and fixed observances with perfection in Muraqaba attained through perfection in Fikr (concentration on the Divine) with Zikr (remembrance on the Divine). Each of these in itself may have to be mastered in isolation before the aspirant is allowed to try permutations and combinations of the esoteric science. Khwaja says that Zikr Allah is a very powerful mantra for Marifat (communion with the Divine). Initially Zikr Nasooti is prescribed by the Murshid. Through perfection in Habs i Dham (breath regulation techniques) Zikr Nasooti is practised by the murid (disciple) till the disciple has thorough concentration on the vibrations of the Zikr and is able to undertake Zikr Malkooti (in thought). Evolution from Zikr Nasooti to Zikr Malkooti is a very refined process and is only possible through perfection in Fikr (concentration on the divine). In Zikr Malkooti the aspirant has achieved considerable success in Muraqaba and therefore effortlessly is able to undertake Zikr (remembrance of the Divine).

The Tranquillity in the consciousness is attained at Zikr Jabrooti . Here the consciousness is conditioned to be in zikr. This is a very advanced level of Zikr not attainable by millions of the aspirants as to maintain tranquillity in the self requires great mastery in the withdrawal of senses possible only through the grace of the Murshid (spiritual mentor) aided by the tools of Zikr, Fikr and Muraqaba. It is at this level of zikr Jabrooti that the aspirant is aware of the subtle differences between the mind, ego and the intelligence. For only when the aspirant has experienced the effect of each of these singularly as well as in combination that the consciousness of the disciple is flooded with ecstasy of pure joy as experienced during the climax of sensury pleasures but now this ecstasy is experienced for a couple of minutes at a stretch rather than the few seconds of the sensual gratification of the biological needs. In Zikr Lahooti the aspirant has reached the spiritual puberty level of Marifat (union with the Divine) and from this platform projects Muhabbat for the All Pervading Divine. The aspirant has now experienced the ecstasy of the spiritual climax and is not moved by impulses governing the fluctuations in the ordinary human beings. The disciple has already activated the Khafi (Ajna Chakra) and these disciples have stilled the consciousness which has been gradually weaned away from the gratification of desires through the senses of perception and organs of action are fully under the control of these aspirants. These aspirants have heightened perception of the para-normal field and these disciples of God maintain equipose in both pain and pleasure.

In Zikr i pas o Anfas, the disciple has reached the advanced level of Habs I Dham (breath regulation techniques), with every inhalation of the breath the disciple remembers Allah and Hu is repeated with every exhalation. The Murshid (spiritual mentor) may prescribe the practice of this technique 101 times at each sitting. This repetition is known as Jaroob i Qaib. For spiritual conditioning this process of remembrance is very effective for the disciple over the years develops the required intensity to worship the Divine and as the disciple progresses spiritually, they are able to regulate the gratification desires of the physical bcdy about which Khwaja said :

"Ever fed ever hungry, Never fed never hungry"

This process enables the disciple to isolate the urge from the more mundane thoughts occupying our mind and therefore is able to regulate stress and mental fatigue to a great extent. This process of repetition assisted by contemplation on the Divine is able to create the required environment for the disciple to undertake advanced practices. When God is remembered with every breath, the mundane thoughts of physical desires take a back seat and therefore the disciple is able to focus on the foundation building by indulging in moral injunctions and the disciple now appreciates the purpose of fixed observances. For when the disciple's actions compliment their thoughts, we can say that a step in the right direction has been taken by the aspirant who now becomes more careful of the pitfalls which will retard the process of the consciousness exit from the physical body.

Most of the people in our society find comfort in the trend set by the masses whose physical body perishes like any other creature on this planet without knowing the truth behind the amalgamation of chemicals (the physical body). Fear is a great manipulator, when we are seriously scared to die like other animals the urge to commune with the conscious entity is aroused and this urge has to be fed by the fuel of meditation to finally attain Marifat, which will for ever remove the delusion of death. Murshid sometimes recommends Allah and Ho to be substituted by the following words which develop the contemplation powers on the Divine :

" La illala, illalahu, Ya Hu, Ya hai Qayyum, Ya Haqq"

This is a more advanced form to attain mastery over the practice of Fikr (concentration on the Divine). With this required concentration it is possible to undertake thought projection during the Ashgal practices. Spiritual conditioning of this type is recommended by the Murshid depending on the spiritual evolution of the disciple depending whether the aspirant has been able to wean away effectively from the urge of greed been the motivating force in their life. For the consideration of material comfort makes a human being perform atrocities on society without for once realising that tomorrow at the time of exit of the soul from the physical body, these very disciples future trajectory would depend on their actions of this life time.

First, lose yourself :

one who annihilates oneself will attain Him; Turn your face within,He is in you.

In Zikr i Isma i Rabbani the remembrance of God is practised from 101 to 1,24,000 times. This increase in repetition enables the disciple to flood their consciousness with pure ecstasy of intoxication without using the substitutes such as alcohol to achieve pleasure in the consciousness. When Zikr is undertaken for a hundred thousand repetitions a day, this aspirant who practices Zikr for this many times as a prescribed dose is only able to keep up their efforts of remembrance of the Divine because of this dominant urge for the Divine which surpasses all other duties and responsibilities of sense gratification. The perfect combination of Zikr and Fikr and Muraqaba and Habs I Dham and Khilvat depends on the spiritual evolution of the aspirant. Zikr of this type releases energy which if not channelled would result in gratification of the sensual desires, that is why with the practice of Ashgal surrender of one's will to the will of Murshid (spiritual mentor) is a must.

Relentless practice and renunciation of desires is the key to Marifat (para-normal union with the Divine). The difference between renunciation and suppression must be understood by the disciple for when suppression is misunderstood as regulation of the desires leading to renunciation then we find that the aspirant suffers from increased urges for gratification of the sensual desires. The key to success is to seek the grace of the Murshid (spiritual mentor). When the aspirant needs freedom from the fear of death of the physical body that the urge for the Divine can be cultivated. God can be remembered by any of the following names:

Allah Rahman Rahim Malik Quddus Salaam Mumin Muhaimin Azim Jabbar Muktabbir Khaliq Bari Musawwir Ghaffar Qahhar Wahhab Razzaq Fattah Alim Sari Basit Khafiz Rafi Muhizz Muzill Sami Basir Hakim Mutlaq Wadul Majid Shadeed Shahid Haqq Wakil Quawily Matin Wali Hamid Badi Muhit Haiy Muhyi Mumit Qaiyum Yuid Wahid Samad Qadir Muqit Qarib Muakhkhar Awwal Akhir Zahir Batin Wali Mutaal Tauwab Ghafur Affuw Rauf Malikulmulk Zuljalal walkram Ghalib Ghaniy Mughniy Maula Nuafi Nasir Nur Hadi Raziq Azaliy Rashid Malik Ghfoor Dhil Fadli Rabbul Alamin.

Rosary is also used in Zikr as is the case of remembrance of God in many a other religions. The question here that plagues the mind of the aspirant is how many times is sufficient remembrance of God. This actually depends upon the intensity of the urge. When a certain number is quoted, the purpose also signifies the duration it would take a disciple to repeat x number of times of repetition of the name of God would enable the aspirant understand that perfect Zikr (remembrance of the Divine) with perfect Fikr (concentration on the Divine) would take very great effort on the part of the aspirant for it is not easy to achieve perfect Fikr without cessation of the thoughts in the form of worries and stress forever tormenting the human. mind seeking protection against the risk of being bankrupt or without any social affiliation in terms of being desired by a spouse or a group of friends.

Hazrat Imam Ali remembered God as "Ya Hayyo o Ya Qayyoom".Hazrat Abu Bakr remembered God as as "Ya Rehman o Ya Rahim". Murshid Abubabaji mentioned that the greatest Zikr is through sincere devotion to the All Pervading Divine by following the moral injunctions and fixed observances with withdrawal of senses achieved in Khilvat with perfection in Muraqaba and Fikr. It is only when the aspirant becomes a receptor by attaining the spiritual puberty that the aspirant is able to receive esoteric knowledge which has been passed of by society as mere philosophy.

In Zikr i Zarbi, the aspirant has already conditioned the consciousness by becoming a receptor to the subtle thought projections of the God Realised Saints. Therefore we find that the disciple's consciousness is for ever in Zikr. The aspirant here is able to undertake perfect Fikr on the Qalbi (Anhata Chakra) with the right combination of Muraqaba and Habs i Dham . With the tools of Baiyyat and relentless practice of the Ashgal techniques under the guidance of the Murshid (spiritual mentor) resulting is harnessing of the energy through effective inner renunciation of urges, by effective channelisation of the urge for gratification of lust to the urge of Muhahbat for the All Pervading Divine.

In Zikr i Ara the focus is on achieving perfect withdrawl of senses practiced through three dimensional Zikr of the renounciation of desires practiced under the guidance of the Murshid during Khilvat. During the practise of Ashgal it is very important that Zikr I Ara has been perfected. Again we must remember that Zikr I Ara is just a tool to aid in the process of remembrance of the Divine to unlock the para-normal corridor of the esoteric universe.

Khwaja says that by perfect concentration on the Divine (Fikr) and perfect contemplation on the Divine (Muraqaba) and Marifat (para-normal union with the Divine) at the Khafi (Ajna chakra) the Murshid is able to know the cousre of destiny and has visions of the God Realised Saints.

By perfect concentration on the Divine(Fikr) and perfect contemplation on the Divine (Muraqaba) and para-normal union with the Divine (Marifat) on the Sirr (Vissudhi chakra), the Murhid overcomes hunger and thirst.

By perfect concentration on the Divine (Fikr) and perfect contemplation on the Divine (Muraqaba) with Marifat (Paranormal union on the Divine) at Qalbi (Anhata chakra), the Murshid achieves the secrets of Tasawwuf.

By perfect concentration on the Divine (Fikr) and perfect contemplation on the Divine (Muraqaba) with Marifat (Paranormal union with the Divine) on Rohi (Manipura chakra) the Murshid acquires knowledge of the physiological body.

In Zikr I Sultan ul Ajkar, the use of perfume and incense sticks at the time of Zikr is to enhance concentration on the Divine (Fikr). Hazrat Pir Dastigir said that it is essential for the Murid to keep their speech clean by refraining from slander, purify the consciousness by keeping it clean by Zikr, to keep hands and feet clean by allowing them to rise in supplication and walk the path of Truth of God Realisation.