From Traditional Spirituality to Natural Spirituality

Introduction

One may wonder how it is possible to live in accordance with the most demanding spirituality in a modern social context without feeling torn by the notion that the two are incompatible and that one can flourish only at the expense of the other. Ostad Elahi’s own spiritual development is both outstanding and edifying in this respect. Considering the vast scope of this subject, I can only briefly touch upon this development and attempt to show how on the basis of a mystic sufi education and practice he has laid the foundations of an approach that brings the quest for the divine into modern times.

Some Basic Elements of Ostad Elahi’s Spiritual System

If we were to summarize Ostad Elahi’s purpose in a few words, we could say that he was above all concerned with "the soul and its quest for truth." The subjects he discussed, whether metaphysical, theological, or every day practical spiritual questions, all revolved around this central idea of quest. This quest, as he often repeated, boils down to a few essential questions:

"For all men Truth consists in the knowledge of who we are, where we come from, what we must do, and where we must go...Once this quest has become the guideline of our conduct, and we have put it into practice and found answers, then we attain truth." He adds: "The essence of spiritual knowledge is in man’s understanding of why he has come into existence, what his duties are as an existing being and what his final goal is." Also, "Our goal must be to act according to the divine principles in order to achieve perfection."

In order to better apprehend what this goal is and what the path that leads us there might be, we will introduce a bit of spiritual cosmogony. According to what we can draw from Ostad Elahi’s research, creation is made up of numerous universes arranged in a succession of concentric spheres such that each sphere entirely encompasses the preceding one, much like the layers of an onion. The first and most elevated of these universes is the metacausal universe. The metacausal universe is, as its name indicates, beyond causality, and is consequently immaterial and infinite. Therefore freedom, knowledge, and consciousness are unlimited, and well-being is perpetually renewed. It is the place of divine proximity, and not the paradise that has been described by all the religions. At the center of the metacausal universe, as a dot, is the causal sphere. The causal sphere is made up of permanent spiritual worlds at the center of which lies our cosmos. The cosmos is represented by hundreds and thousands of galaxies, the earth being nothing but a minute dot in one of these galaxies. Lastly, we see that in this spiritual cosmogony, the Earth is surrounded by a spiritual world – the interworld. The interworld itself is immense and of hierarchical construction; it is where we go when we die and leave this physical world. This vision of the whole gives a general idea of the quite relative place we occupy in creation as well as of the currently inconceivable vastness of our purpose.

The entire causal sphere is material, though matter is of a subtler kind that grows ever so more subtle as we approach the metacausal world. Between the different worlds there is hence no spatial continuity, but one of gravitational and material subtleties. This means on the one hand that the soul is of a material nature, therefore having substance, and on the other hand that we evolve within spiritual worlds, the immensity, richness, and complexity of which only the limitations of our physical perceptions prevent us from conceiving. These worlds are held together and connected through a force of attraction and regulation exerted by the metacausal world onto the causal sphere. To conclude this brief overview, Ostad Elahi mentions that the whole causal sphere, both physical and spiritual, is governed by a handful of major principles. Among these are the principle of causality (all phenomena have a cause, all effects must be obtained through the appropriate means), the pair matter/form, and the principle of perfection.

Let us return to our Earth. Ostad Elahi reminds us that our human condition, although it comprises its own spiritual challenges and responsibilities, is necessarily part of a much vaster process of perfection that concerns all of creation.

"The process of perfection that begins with the mineral element and leads to the vegetal, the vegetal to the animal and the animal to man (as an animal) is predetermined. Minerals, plants and animals do not have the ability to reason, and their evolution takes place in a natural and automatic fashion."

All creatures, from the most rudimentary to the most complex, are endowed with a vital essence - a form of spirit. It is the accumulation and the process of perfection of the vital essences of these creatures that engenders the vital essences of the creatures belonging to the next superior level, all within a scheme of development pre-established by the Creator. The material bodies of creatures, from minerals to man (in his animal dimension) are merely temporary physical vehicles necessary for the process of perfection of these vital essences.

This is equally valid for human beings, with the exception that: "Man’s process of perfection obeys other rules (he is not predetermined), for man has a celestial soul. He is therefore endowed with reason and free will, and it is only by his own efforts that he may achieve perfection."

According to Ostad Elahi, "Human beings possess a visible and an invisible dimension." His visible dimension is his physical dimension, the biological body. Considered in his physical dimension, man is a mere primate. His invisible dimension, however, is exceptional since it is formed of two elements: the celestial soul and the terrestrial soul. The celestial soul (also known as the metacausal spirit) is directly passed down from the divine Source. Individualized, it carries the "divine spark" and harbours in particular free will, reason, transcendent reason, as well as a certain number of potential characteristic ingredients and faculties. At his creation, in a border world between the metacausal universe and the causal sphere, the celestial soul is pure yet ignorant and unipolar. This means that it cannot develop on its own. As in the physical world, no movement or action is produced without the interaction of two opposite poles; the celestial soul lacks an opposite pole without which it remains incomplete and unable to engage in the process of perfection. This opposite pole is the human terrestrial soul that is the result of the process of perfection of the mineral, vegetal and animal essences aggregated to the human body in a unique and equally individual combination. This terrestrial soul ensures the biological functions of the body just as the vital animal essence does for the other animals, manifesting in particular all the peaceful and harmful instincts of the animals within its composition.

A fundamental point is that these two opposite poles - these two souls - are equally important in the process of the self’s spiritual growth. To illustrate, we can say that the body’s physical development is dependent on both the male and the female gametes and is the result of their fusion. Likewise, the constitution of our spiritual self cannot do without the celestial or the terrestrial soul, and is the result of the fusion of these two souls. This analogy is not trivial, for the adult human body is compared to the two microscopic gametes from which it originated ; this hints at what a mature and accomplished soul might be: perfect in relation to the two spiritual gametes it has sprung from.

The encounter and the combination of the celestial soul and our animal self is manifested at a conscious level in what we call our character traits, which are, as we know, unique and infinitely varied. For Ostad Elahi, the body then is not a sort of trap from which we must escape. On the contrary, it is precisely this complex combination that creates the unique terrestrial situation through which the celestial soul, using the corporal instincts, becomes gradually capable of developing itself until attaining its total spiritual fulfillment and acquiring consciousness. This fulfillment generally necessitates several (perhaps even numerous) terrestrial stages within a system of ascending successive lives, of which Ostad Elahi has given a precise definition - but that would surpass the limits of this presentation.

What does using one’s corporal instincts to perfect oneself spiritually mean? To reach perfection it is necessary to develop the potential faculties of the celestial soul so that the substance of the self becomes divine which is the unique condition that enables us to unite with God. It is, roughly speaking, a question of transmuting this complex mixture of the characteristics of our self into divine virtues. How must we go about this? Just as the fetus resulting from the fusion of the two gametes develops by metabolizing the food it obtains, the spiritual fetus that we are develops by metabolizing food which is of a spiritual nature. According to Ostad Elahi, the food that is adapted to the nature of our self is none other than the fundamental authentic divine principles. That which enables our spiritual self to transform this spiritual food and obtain optimal growth is the practice of these principles.

Moreover, this practice is not to be carried out in just any manner, but must be performed with the unique intention of drawing closer to God. This can be called metacausal intention, which is pure and disinterested. We can also call this the quest for divine satisfaction, which excludes all other intentions or causal aims, whether material or spiritual. Practicing ethics, for example, in the sole hope of gaining paradise will not transform the substance of our self into a divine substance, for the goal in this case, while indeed spiritual, remains causal. In the spiritual dimension as in the material dimension, every transformation of substance requires a source of energy, and this pure intention enables us to capture the necessary divine energy to gradually transform the substance of our self into a divine substance.

What are these authentic fundamental divine principles? According to Ostad Elahi, "All the divine prescriptions are founded on this single principle: respecting the rights of others," which is also, as he says, "the keystone of life in this world." Is it necessary to say that respecting the rights of others, and the ethical principles revolving around this notion, are common to all the revealed religions and all human societies worthy of the name. This formula, then, calls us to our duties as human beings. Knowing one’s duties, which is in itself quite a task, and respecting them with the disinterested intention of divine satisfaction, is what enables our self to receive a diet adapted to our nature, and the necessary energy for its transformation and optimal growth.

There is then, as we can see, a very close link between theory and practice in the process of spiritual growth. This link is summed up in the following saying:

"The more we manage to distance ourselves from the desires and passions of our terrestrial soul, and to draw closer to the stages and feelings of a human being in the full sense of the word, the more perfect we become [...] A 'perfect' being is one who acts towards others as he would want others to act towards him, and refrains from acting towards others how he would not want others to act towards him. This is easy to say, but difficult to practice. [...] He must watch himself twenty-four hours a day and be his own judge. A human being worthy of the name is someone who rejoices in the happiness of others and feels sincere compassion for their misfortune."

To further elaborate: "When man reflects upon his origin, his destination, and the reasons for which he finds himself in this world, he is at the stage of self-knowledge. The indispensable condition of self-knowledge is to become a true human being; in other words, to want for others the good we want for ourselves. Putting this principle into practice takes us to the point at which all the qualities inherent in humanity emanate from us. Reaching self-knowledge is an indispensable condition for reaching knowledge of the Creator." And he adds: "You can know God only to the extent of the divine spark in you. But in knowing God, you will know all of creation."

According to Ostad Elahi, self-knowledge is the object of a true science that has objective laws. He calls this science "the medicine of the soul." What would be the best laboratory in which our fellow human beings could be the pivot of our self-knowledge and spiritual advancement? Nothing other than society. An active life within society is the best auxiliary to self-knowledge, for through the multiple constraints, confrontations, and choices it imposes on us, society plays the role of a mirror reflecting our image.
"Living isolated from society is not right. One must live in society and all the while preserve oneself (from society’s damaging effect). He who chooses isolation, avoiding the temptations and the trials that ensue from society, and who says he is virtuous is mistaken. What counts is to be virtuous while living in society, and in particular by participating in social life."

His experience then brought him to develop a method for himself that could be qualified as natural spirituality. It is natural in so far as it conforms itself both to the spiritual nature of man and can be practiced within the framework of everyday family and social life.

It is now perhaps easier to understand that it was not out-of-the-blue that Ostad Elahi decided to break from traditional spirituality. Having experimented with a contemplative and ascetic life, and having perceived its limits, he has expressed the fact that the true spiritual nourishment that can enable one to reach one’s divine goal is to be found at the heart of society. This is how he summed up this commitment: "My twelve years of asceticism had the same spiritual value as just one year spent in society."

Conclusion

Ostad Elahi has said: "What is piety, altruism, and love of God but to do our utmost to benefit society." He himself tried to serve society by defining the characteristics of what could be a contemporary spirituality. He defined a global vision of humanity’s spiritual heritage that is based on his profound understanding of our religious heritage and the novel situation of the modern world. This path is based on absolute tolerance: "On the 'Path of Truth'," he says, "all religions are but one, race and color are irrelevant, and there is no difference between men and women."