On compassion  and forgiveness

Sheikh  Nazim  was visiting  a Centre dedicated to spiritual endeavour  but  where there were two groups at odds!       The Sheikh said:

The Lord – our Lord,  your Lord,  their Lord – is One.

 HE created them and planted His Divine Love in the very yeast of their being.

 You must know that, although that Love may be temporarily covered, it is running through their hearts as a river runs to an ocean.   Along the course of that river love may manifest only as temporary, human love,  and that love current may even seem to disappear completely, like a river that flows under a mountain.  But there can be no doubt that our Lord has placed in every heart a current that flows irresistibly to His  Love  oceans in the Divine  Presence.  Therefore don’t imagine them to be cut off from Divine  Love -  it must be with them, whether that is now apparent to you and to themselves or not.

 As our heart current flows toward that ocean, the main difference we notice is that our love is not tied to physical beauty.  Everyone loves nature, greenery, rushing waters, youthful forms, beautiful people - but what about the others?  The Lord gave of His Love to people in general, not only to the young and beautiful.   And the  One Who implanted  His  Love in our hearts says;  “Oh  My servant, as I have given you from  My  Divine  Love,   so have  I given it to all creation;  so spread your love to everyone, that you  may be in harmony with  My  Will.”

 In reality everything that contains  His Love is green and beautiful, but to perceive the beauty in all creation you must transcend outward forms and penetrate to the realm of spiritual reality oceans.   First of all it is important to pass from forms to meanings, from fleeting shapes to eternal spiritual realities.   Forms are limited and limiting, whereas spiritual realities are oceans, endless oceans of contentment.  To arrive at those oceans will bring you inner peace.

 Therefore I am trying to love everyone.  It is easy to say to a person, “I love you” as long as that person has never harmed you but according to our Grandsheikh  such is not the measure of real love.   He used to quote a famous Daghistani sufi poet who said;  “I don’t  accept the love that you claim to hold for me to be real until I have tested  you.  What is my test? If I put you through a meat grinder and you came out the other end as minced meat -  --- and if then  I returned you to your original form, would you  still love  me?”

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 Therefore as I have said there are levels of Love along the way differing in quality according to their nearness to the goal,  the Absolute Love oceans of our Lord.   When one has reached that goal he may take any amount of harm from others and still love.  He may say “I love you for the sake of my Lord  not for any other reason. That love will never change or diminish because, no matter what you do, your Lord’s  Love is with you. -- --  For you even to exist my  Lord’s Love must be with you;  and therefore I am loving you, too.”

 Only the highest and most select of mankind are ever on such a level;  and we are trying to reach that point; but it is so difficult.

The usefullness

You must know that this is a test for you and an opportunity to gain spiritual ranks.  Now you are in a situation where you must be patient with people who may not be upholding the same level of decorum that you are accustomed to.  Here is an opportunity for you to advance.   Holy  People have advised us that, rather than avoiding all ill mannered and badly educated people, we should mingle with them and establish contact with them that they may benefit, and that you may test yourself and gain thereby.

They are servant’s of the Almighty’s  Will;  and we too are  His servants.  Our Lord  is their  Lord  and their Lord is ours.  We must be patient and little by little we will gain.  Cherry trees first yield bitter fruit but you must wait – little by little the tree starts to yield sweet and tasteful cherries.

 the results

The  Holy  Masters  have promised me that whoever sits with us and listens with his heart full of love must come to that same level;  their hearts must open to  Divine  Love.   The Masters are not going to abandon us, and we are not going to turn from them because our hearts have been bound with the strongest of bonds, the bond of Divine Love, the strongest Love relationship, that which exists between the  Creator  and  His  creatures.   That relationship is the ultimate goal of existence and we pray that it may grow stronger always.

Those with whom we sit and whose hearts are receptive to  Divine  Love will attain that Love. ---- I ask my Lord for permission to spread His permanent Love  to the hearts of all people – and the time is approaching when we hope that permission will be granted.

 (shortened version of  “The absolute love  oceans of our Lord “ from  Mercy Oceans of the Heart)