Det er sent på natta, og jeg har akkurat blitt ferdig med bønnen. Jeg fikk en trang til å skrive likevel, nå som jeg har kommet overens dette, intervjuet. Jeg satt og leste intervjuet til en av de få mystiske forfatterne som eksisterer på vår tid, i dag ja; mystisk, filosofisk, og holder (sterk) tro på Gud. Jeg har lest mange av hans bøker, i flere år, og har en liten samling. Ikke så stor, men den kan likevel kalles en samling. Første boka jeg leste var Alkymisten, som en lidenskapelig undrer på 15 år.

Jeg husker ikke mye fra første gangen jeg leste hans ord. Det var nemlig enda flere år tilbake. Ifjor fant jeg en gammel takkekort som jeg fikk fra min lærer på barneskolen. Siste dag på skolen før sommerferien. Den fikk jeg omtrent 10 år siden. Jeg var nok 10-11 år gammel.  Hun het Anne-Carina. Hun som skrev, ordene.

Fem år senere dette, satt jeg og leste Alkymisten.

Tilbake til poenget: intervjuet har jeg lest nå. Den var dyp, like dyp og enkel som bøkene hans. Denne mannen har gjort og opplevd langt flere ting i livet enn meg, men jeg ser og føler mye ved det han sier. Jeg har plukket ut de sitatene jeg likte mest (old good habit to pick quotes from books and stuff), og markerte det som står nærmest meg. Utrolig nærme.

Artikkelen har kjempe fin flyt, den kan du lese her.

- I livet har jeg færre enn 20 nære venner. Som jeg kan snakke med om alt. La meg si færre enn femten. Tolv har vært med meg de siste 25 åra, og tre er kommet til de siste ti åra. Har du mange venner?

- Vil du bli verdensberømt, må du ha noe viktig å dele, du må ha kvalitet i arbeidet og dersom du ikke lykkes, må du ikke skylde på noen. Og når du får suksess må du takle sjalusi og misunnelse.

- Du kan ikke være en stor forfatter uten å være en stor forteller.

- Jeg skriver én bok annethvert år. Altså, har jeg 23 måneder til å tenke. Jeg tar ingen notater, men har mange ideer. Og så setter jeg meg ned, og da er all min energi konsentrert om boka. Jeg skriver og spiser, og det er alt. Det kan gå en dag, to dager, og på den tredje dagen har jeg trengt gjennom alle disse lagene av ikke-bøker, og der er boka. Jeg begynner på begynnelsen og skriver til slutten. Og stanser.

- Jeg er alltid meg selv. Hvis jeg begynner å late som jeg er en annen, blir jeg en annen, og da vil jeg miste meg selv.

- Jeg har ikke svar på hva meningen med livet er. Det er et komplett idiotisk spørsmål. Alt jeg kan si er at meningen med livet, er meningen du selv gir til ditt liv.

-  Noen ganger kan jeg begynne å gråte, ikke av sorg, ikke av glede, men av en kraft som jeg ikke forstår, som jeg ikke kontrollerer. Det kan være i naturen eller på en trikkeholdeplass. Der alt er rettferdiggjort, der jeg ser meg rundt, og tenker: Min Gud, dette er livet. Ja, helt siden jeg var et barn, har jeg følt det slik. Hvis det er lykke, så, ja, da er jeg lykkelig. Jeg har mange, mange, mange slike glimt i løpet av et år.

Paulo Coelho

- Albert Schweitzer

Yumna, din ro, klokskap og inderlighet er inspirerende. Du hviler trygt i deg selv uten å være arrogant. Du forstår at noe er større enn deg selv, samtidig som du krever ditt eget rom. Slik håper jeg at mine tenåringsdøtre vil være om noen år. Kudos til deg, dine søstre og ikke minst din mor!

- Elin Margrethe Brodin (Norwegian author)

Excerpt from Rock ‘n’ Roll Jihad by Salman Ahmed

Sufism is one of the great influences in my life. Most basically, Sufism is about seeking truth and knowledge. It focuses one’s attention on knowing God through knowing oneself. Using music, poetry, dance, and meditation, Sufis tune out the interference of the ego and merge with the divine. Sufis believe that in order to love God you have to love His people as well. The Sufi poet Bulleh Shah said:

You can destroy the mosque, tear down the temple, break all that can be broken. But never break anyone’s heart, because that’s where God lives.

Sufis oppose violence and war and promote love, devotion, and social service. Many Sufi singers, poets, and scholars are women. Akbar himself was an ardent devotee of Sufism,  and the activities in his time demonstrate that he practiced the tolerance that the Sufis preach. Hindus and Muslims in Akbar’s court engaged in intensive dialogues and collaborations.  They generated poetry, music, and dance that drew freely from the cultural traditions of all of the kingdom’s people. 

Excerpt from ’Love is the Wine’ by Sh. Muzaffer Effendi

Sufism is not different from the mysticism of all religions.  Mysticism comes from Adam (God’s Peace upon him). It has assumed different shapes and forms over many centuries, for example, the mysticism of Jesus (God’s Peace upon him), of monks, of hermits, and of Muhammad (God’s peace and Blessings upon him). A river passes through many countries and each claims it for its own. But there is only one river.

Truth does not change. People change. People try to possess truth and keep it for themselves, keep it from others. But you cannot own the truth. The path of sufism is the elimination of any intermediaries between the individual and God. The goal is to act as an extension, not to be a barrier.

To be a dervish is to serve and to help others, not just to sit and pray. To be a real dervish is to lift up those who have fallen, to wipe the tears of the suffering, to caress the friendless and the orphaned.

Different people have different capacities. Some can help with their hands, others with their tongue, others with their prayers, and others with their wealth.

You can get there by yourself, but that is the hard way. Our personal goals all lead to the same end. There is only one truth. But why deny the thousands of years of experience found in religion? There is real wisdom available from so many years of seeking and trial and error.

A great mistake is to have only half a religion. That keeps you from real faith. It is a terrible mistake. Seeing someone who is only half a doctor is terribly dangerous. Someone who is half a ruler is a tyrant.

Many struggle in the maze of religion and religious differences. They are like dogs fighting over a bone, seeking their own selfish interests. The solution is to remember that there is only one Creator, who provides for all of us. The more we remember the One, the less the fighting….

God has said, ”I, who cannot be contained in all the universes upon universes, fit into the heart of the believer.” Now God does not actually fit into human hearts. God cannot be limited to a place. God’s expressions fit into all people’s hearts. We are not “part” of God, because God is indivisible. Humanity is God’s creation. God’s expression in our hearts is that we are God’s regents, God’s representatives. We are the expression, the visible example of God. And so, God’s Mercy is expressed through the thoughts and actions of one person, God’s Compassion through another, God’s Generosity through another.

There is the essence of God and there are the attributes of God.  The essence is impossible for us to understand. We can begin to understand the attributes. In fact, part of a Sufi education is to understand those attributes in yourself.

God has said, ”My servants will find Me as they see Me.” This does not mean if you think of god as a tree or as a mountain that God will be that tree or mountain. If you think of God as merciful, or loving, or as angry or vengeful, that is how you will find God.

It is permissible in Sufism to talk about all of God’s attributes.  Finally, the Sufi reaches the stage of submission, and then ceases to ask questions.

There is electricity everywhere, but if you have only three light bulbs, all you will see is those three bulbs. You have to be conscious of yourself. That is the  beginning and the extent of it. Only by knowledge of yourself will you understand certain attributes. The connection to the attributes is through self-understanding. Outwardly you will find nothing.

All of creation is God’s manifestation. But, as some parts of the earth receive more light than others, some people receive more light.  The prophets received the most Divine light. Besides quantity there is quality. There is the question of what attributes are being manifested. Some people are manifestations of different Divine attributes.

The prophets manifest all of the Divine attributes. The moon reflects the light of the sun. The sun is Truth; the moon is each prophet.

- Bulleh Shah

- Rumi

Merely, these are the paths we strive for internally
and this is the true Jihad we long for when we feel empty
despite having everything, but not inner peace.