From Talab to Ma'rifat, the glorious journey to God

Time of India

09-05-2025

Affan Yesvi is a Sufi scholar, columnist, and entrepreneur. As a descendant of the 11th-century Sufi saint, Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi - a mystic, poet, and founder of the Yasaviyya Sufi order in Central Asia - Affan carries a rich spiritual legacy. LESS ... MORE
Ma'rifat, the profound recognition and direct experience of the Divine, has been one of the most coveted pursuits of the Sufi mystics. The deep realization of ma'rifat comes with humble acceptance of one's own ignorance, and awareness and surrender towards the Almighty's omniscience.
For the seeker, ma'rifat or the knowledge of the divine does not come easy. It is only a chosen few who receive the Grace of the Almighty and become vessels through which His divinity flows to humankind. Many others toil hard for years to overcome the nafs (ego or lower self).
Even the greatest of spiritual seekers have consistently warned against nafs. The feeling of accomplishment on the journey to find the divine can swiftly decline into stagnation or regression. The mushrooming of subtle pride within the Self can be far more difficult to discern than other flaws. This is because the seeker can misconstrue his subtle pride to be his spiritual progress.
Few mystics have dealt with subtle pride as forcefully as Baba Bulle Shah, the beloved Sufi saint of 17th century. Thousands of followers flocked to him in Kasur, where he lived, but Baba Bulle Shah remained rooted in his spiritual vision of oneness of the Creator, love that transcended all boundaries and his compassion for humanity. While devotees celebrated and sought him, the mystic sang in sublime simplicity that dogs were better than him because they served their Master better:
Bulleya raati jaage dine peer sadave, raat nu jaagan kutte, tai thi utte.
Ratti bhaukno bass nahi karde, dine ja rora wich sutte, tai thi utte.
khasam apne da, yaar apne da, darr nahi chhadde
Bahve sau-sau maaran jutte, tai thi utte.
Uth Bulleya chal yaar mana lai, nahi ta bazi lai gaye kutte, tai thi utte.
You keep yourself awake at night, to pray
The dogs stay awake all night; they are better than you
They never leave the doorstep of their master
Even if they are given a hundred beatings
Come, oh Bulleya, woo your Beloved (Divine Almighty) in all ways that you can, lest dogs are considered better than you…
Over and over again, the Sufi masters have taught us the many ways to overpower the nafs, which is one of the major pitfalls that a seeker may face. Many other tests await the true seeker, but he remains steadfast in his search for the Almighty. There is an old Sufi tale about a man who was so devoted in his search for God that he became devoid of all desires and only wanted to be with his Maker.
The story goes that this man worshiped God constantly, through the day and at all times. He danced and he sang the praises of his Maker. His every step, his every breath was devoted to God. His love was so deep that he did not care for himself, and he cared for God only.
God wanted to reward this faithful man. God blessed him and said, 'Ask for anything!'
The man wanted nothing that would distract him from his Maker. He humbly told God, 'I have everything. I only seek you, I do not seek anything else,' the man replied.
'Ask not for yourself,' God suggested.
'I will ask, but on one condition,' said the man.
'Name it,' God told him.
The man humbly asked God, 'Let my shadow behind me work miracles, so I neither see it nor know it. My shadow, not me. That way I will not fall into the trap of ego from which love has freed me.'
The Sufis often delivered deep messages by way of stories and parables. Through this story, the wise masters gave the message that one must stay detached from one's actions. Any attachment towards the action may trap man. Nafs may draw the self towards the feeling of arrogance or self-importance and hence must be avoided.
In different languages, through different times, the Sufi mystics showed the way to seekers to enable them to reach the higher spiritual self. In the 12th century, Persian Sufi mystic Hazrat Faridoddin Abu Hamed Mohammad Attar Nishapuri, popularly known as Attar of Nishapur, wrote a collection of lyrical poems that had significant, abiding influence on the philosophical traditions of Sufism. Among his most celebrated works was Manṭiq-uṭ–Ṭayr, also known as Maqāmāt-uṭ–Ṭuyūr (The Conference of the Birds) – a foundational epic Sufi text which was completed in the last quarter of the 12th century. A constant motif of Manṭiq-uṭ–Ṭayr was that the journey to the Almighty is an inner quest.
The book highlights the journey of the seeker and illuminates the science and the essence of Sufism (tasawwuf).
The hoopoe is the central guiding character of the book. He serves as the spiritual guide and leader of the birds on their journey to seek the mythical Simorgh, their true king. The book is deeply metaphorical. Through parables and anecdotes, Hazrat Attar takes the seekers through the seven symbolic valleys that they must cross to reach their glorious destination.
These seven valleys that the seeker must traverse are as follows: Seeking (Talab), Love (Ishq), Gnosis (Ma'rifat), Detachment (Isteghnâ), Unity (Tawhîd), Wonderment (Hayrat), and Poverty (Faqr). Significantly, poverty does not refer to material possessions here. The Valley of Poverty signifies the complete renunciation of the ego and all attachments, so that one may rely fully on the Divine Provider – the Almighty. Each valley represents a stage of spiritual growth on the path to the Almighty.
It is paramount for all seekers to be cognizant that they march on their own path to the Divine. The path which may be right for one may not be the path for the other. As Hazrat Rumi, the globally loved 13th century Sufi mystic said, 'In the world there are invisible ladders, leading step by step up to the summit of heaven. There is a different ladder for every category, there is a different heaven for every traveller's way.'
To each his own path, to each his own glorious journey to the Almighty.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.