Secrets of Judas
I have long had an interest in the figure of Judas Iscariot and have a few posts about him here in the drafts section which have yet to see the light of day. Thankfully, this will remain so as a real scholar has written a new book exploring the position of Judas in the Christian paradigm and featuring an in-depth analysis of the Gnostic ‘Gospel of Judas’.
James Robinson’s Secrets of Judas
April 05 2006 in Esoteric Christianity | Read More | Comments [21]
Seeker after Truth
Thanks to my old friend Eric, I have been alerted to a great new site which deals with our field of interest Seeker after Truth.
It has some very interesting articles - take a look.
March 01 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [9]
Uways al-Qarni
This is the first post in the series on Sufi Masters I spoke of a while back. I don’t know so much about a lot of these people (and info is hard to come by in some cases) so the idea is that anyone who has any data will contribute with stories, references or any other material via the comments.
Uways al-Qarni is an interesting figure for several reasons. He was a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad and lived in Yemen during Muhammad’s time in Mecca although the two never met. His date of birth is not known but he died in 657 CE during the battle of Saffein.
He is traditionally regarded as a follower of Muhammad but despite never meeting him, is held to have been instructed psychically and to have been in telepathic contact throughout his life (and in some sense, after death). As such, Uways is the progenitor of the Sufi ‘Uwaysi’ tradition which is a method of instruction by a Sheikh who is not physically present.
Many Sufis are said to have been taught in this manner - perhaps the most acknowledged in this regard is Najmuddin Kubra who we will write about later - and there are numerous classical works which refer to this tradition. Ostensibly the tradition holds that Muhammad is the teacher of the Uwaysi disciple (at whatever time period) but in practice it can apply to any Sufi Sheikh living or dead.
Classical references to Uways and this tradition can be found in Hujwiri’s Kashf al-Mahjub
Perhaps the most useful modern work on this subject is Julian Baldick’s Imaginary Muslims
February 25 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [15]
More Bits and Bobs
Am adding a couple of sites to the blogroll. All great (obviously or they wouldn’t be here!), check them out:
Tantra
Badaliyya
Musings of a Philosopher
Contemplative Spirituality
It is quite rare to find sites of this quality on our subject and I would encourage anyone to support them. I shall definitely be a regular reader of all of them.
On another note, thanks to reader Doug (and Panther Zero) who has pointed out some embarrassing and glaring errors that I made some time ago and have now changed before anyone else notices.
February 25 2006 in General Stuff | Read More | Comments [0]
Yezidis
Just discovered an excellent travelog piece on the Iraqi Yezidis at Michael J Totten’s excellent Middle East Journal.
The whole site is always well worth a read but this article is particularly excellent and there are some awesome photos. I have long had an affection for the Yezidis since first encountering them in Gurdjieff and later studying Sufism with Professor Kreyenbroek of Goettingen University who is probably the foremost authority on the Yezidis.
Although they have a bad reputation and have long been reputed to be ‘Devil worshippers’ their philosophical system is essentially a Sufic derivation and derives from the teaching of Sheikh Adi Ibn Musafir. They are a very interesting area of study, there are many in Syria also.
February 25 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [1]
Sufism Overview
I’ve been asked some questions via email about what Sufism is. Quite a tricky question and one probably best not addressed to me but it got me thinking about ways of addressing it and the only appropriate way would seem to be to let the Sufis themselves answer it.
But rather than just post a string of quotes I thought we could do something a bit more ‘organic’ so I’ve come up with an idea. Basically it is to attempt an ongoing chronological overview from the time of Muhammad to (say) the 16th century CE, through individual appraisals of specific Sufi masters.
It would be an ongoing series where each post would be devoted to a brief biog of the Sufi in question, some historical data, quotes and an overview of their teaching. Also they could be placed in relation to other Sufis and reference data could be added - weblinks, academic references etc. The idea is that it would be like a mini Wiki (we could even make it a real one if it took off) and people could add impressions, data and quotes on the Sufi in question via the comments. Also perhaps some sort of discussion may evolve around aspects of an individual’s thought or teachings.
Anyway, here is my preliminary list of 25 teaching Masters - dates are date of death. I will kick off in the next few days with Uways as he is certainly the starting point being a contemporary of Muhammad, but I welcome suggestions of individuals I have forgotten or left out - even feedback as to whether we should extend this past the 16th C to the present day. Let me know what you think:
1. Uways al-Qarni (657)
2. Hasan of Basra (728)
3. Jabir al-Hayyan (790)
4. Rabi’a al-Adawiyya (801)
5. Dhu’l Nun al-Misri (860)
6. Bayazid of Bistam (875)
7. Junayd (910)
8. Mansur al-Hallaj (922)
9. Ali al-Hujwiri (1072)
10. Abudaillah Ahrar (1089)
11. Al-Ghazali (1111)
12. Omar Khayyam (1131)
13. Yusuf Hamadani (1140)
14. Hakim Sanai (1150)
15. Abd’al Qadir Gilani (1166)
16. Najmuddin Kubra (1221)
17. Farid’ud-din attar (1221)
18. Shahabudin Suhrawardi (1234)
19. Ibn Arabi (1240)
20. Jalaludin Rumi (1273)
21. Saadi (1291)
22. Bahauddin Naqshband (1389)
23. Hafiz (1389)
24. Hakim Jami (1492)
25. Muhammad Gwath Shattar (1563)
February 16 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [10]
Submission
I thought I’d talk about submission - in both the religious sense and in a developmental one. In fact the two senses are in essence exactly the same but in religions the emphasis on it has been misunderstood.
What is the aim of esoteric developmental systems? Quite simply to subdue the lower nature and rise to something higher. In different conceptions this practice (ie the mystical training) is given differing names and has slightly different emphasis: in Zen the practice is conceived of as achieving ‘no mind’, in Sufism it is the ‘Commanding Self’ (which is seen as a false self - ie the personality - masquerading as the real) which must be overcome.
Based on these conceptions there are widely different methods used to achieve this: stilling the body in unusual postures, contemplation on certain themes or even as in the Malamati tradition the deliberate bringing of unjustified condemnation on oneself (ie to rein in the false self). By the way, this is often why debate is not useful as a tool in this area as it is essentially a platform for the Commanding Self. Abstinence from debate - especially when one feels most like shouting ‘Prepare For the Hammer of the Righteous’ - can be useful in this regard and things like this are things we can all do as duties to ourselves (if we wish - or should I say, if our real self wishes) without having necessarily following any specific path or teaching.
February 14 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [6]
Grapes and Wine
With all the hoo-hah going on at the moment about religion, free speech and debate, I thought I’d try to open up some more positive discussion about what’s at the root of it all: ie God. Or perhaps more precisely, perceptions of God.
I’ve said this before - and I know people disagree with me because they have been kind enough to mail me and tell me - but imo, all human endeavour is an attempt to ‘find God’.
We can look at this closer but I’ve a feeling we should clarify two points beforehand: firstly, I am not saying that all such enterprises are a conscious effort in this direction, nor that ‘God’ is conceived of (even subconsciously) in a spiritual/religious sense or even as a being. Secondly, I am absolutely not saying that all such endeavours are legitimate ways to this end or capable of succeeding: just that this is the intent behind them.
February 13 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [10]
Islam or Sufism?
Hot on the heels of the cartoon brouhaha and my recent descents (deeper) into ludicrous satiricality, I feel compelled to come up with some more heat-seeking invective. Yes, I’m going to rant on interminably about extremists again.
Nobody (no sane reasonable person with the smallest scintilla of rational though remaining anyway) these days denies that there is an extremist movement within Islam. Nobody.
So no problems there - I am not denying it either. In fact I oppose it more than anyone who imagines they are on a ‘crusade’ or ‘mission’ to enlighten people at to the ‘facts’ , and there are not a few of this type. I yield to no-one in my opposition to the Wahabis and the Salafists - groups who comprise almost the totality of Islamism, extremism and human rights abuse in the world today. These groups are running amok - and at least in the case of Saudi, bolstered by oil revenue and the support of the US, they have a license to do whatever they will with impunity. And they do.
As I say, I utterly oppose the abuses of these extremists. Yet I still am under fire from others who also oppose ‘extremism’. Why? It is an interesting question and one which is worthy of investigation.
February 08 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [39]
Those Cartoons: Drawing The Line…
Islamophobia, like the poor, will, it seems be always with us and as the cartoon fracas splutters and fizzles beneath the ever-decreasing attention-span of Joe Public (translation: maximum vilification has been achieved and the chance of blowback is disproportionately high) it is probably a good time to attempt a summation as well as to round-up the last dying embers before they sink beneath the waterline.
So let’s nail this bad boy down once and for all. What exactly happened here? Let’s break it down into bite-sized chunks:
February 07 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [12]
Stegosaurus
Time for some Fortean light relief, although I WILL be returning to the fray over the increasingly lame cartoon issue with a devastating coup de grace imminently - don’t touch that dial. Meanwhile, back in the world of ‘consensus reality’.......
It seems that over in Cambodia at the temple of Angkor Wat they have discovered a carving of a Stegosaurus.
Why (or how) it is there and how it has remained undiscovered until now are issues I will leave readers to contemplate as I have to do some work. But here are some pics. I’m sure the esteemed Mr Loren Coleman will have the full low-down on any further developments at the blog linked above for any of you who are crypto-zoologically inclined.
February 07 2006 in Fortean | Read More | Comments [0]
Extremists
As someone whose field of academic study is Islam, my interests, unfortunately for me as I prefer the ivory tower, have been thrown into the spotlight over the past few years. Normally this might not be such a bad thing but one finds oneself having to explain things over and over again. Simple things. The same thing. And then it makes no difference at all.
For example, I have written interminably on Islamic extremism, jihadis, the reasons for the rise of intolerance in the Muslim world but the general perception (and I’m talking about people I have had ongoing dialogues with) is unchanged. Never mind those facts: we know that the terrorists are terrorists because they are Muslims. We know that Islam is the problem. Not extremists within Islam but Islam.
Now I cannot take this approach for two reasons: firstly it is not true and if I somehow managed to catch this contagion I would be thrown out of my University should I be foolish enough to commit such statements to academic scrutiny and secondly, as a student of Sufism it is not a view that it is possible to hold.
February 05 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [9]
Speech: free or expensive?
Ok, looks like I’m going to have to talk about the cartoons, (thanks Paul for the galvanizing comment!).
Ho-hum, so where to start? I suppose as Charlie Fort said “one measures a circle beginning anywhere” so let’s kick off with “Free Speech”. I don’t usually wade into politics as such but I guess that my areas of interest and the political have finally converged (been sequestered?) so may as well embrace it.
Free Speech: this is apparently the root of the issue. Only it isn’t really is it? It’s just been spun that way because, as Paul suggested in his comment on my last post, Free Speech is a species of sacred cow and invoking it here has the desired effect of blocking the roadway. Which is strange really because one could construct a fairly coherent argument that we do not in fact possess free speech at all.
February 03 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [32]
Root Of All Evil
I recently watched a programme on Channel 4 (UK) fronted by the evolutionist Richard Dawkins and entitled The Root Of All Evil.
As might be expected, it is a platform for Dawkins to rant against what he sees as the ‘superstition’ of religion. Unfortunately in doing so, he merely exposes his own shallowness of thought. For example, in a Sunday Herald article he states the following:
I pretty much knew what I was going to find when I started making the films, which didn’t make it any more palatable or acceptable, of course.
Which is hardly an objective rational viewpoint and of course, as most balanced people realise, one often finds what one looks for if even only on a subconscious level. But this is my main criticism of Dawkins - he seems utterly unaware that there is a subconscious level, to him (as to the fundamentalists he decries) everything is black and white. With him being the one who knows which one is the absolute truth.
January 12 2006 in Sufism/Islam | Read More | Comments [7]
Tapioles 53
On Thursday night we went with some friends for the first time to Tapioles 53, a new restaurant in the Poble Sec area of Barcelona.
Tapioles 53 is the baby of designer Ricardo Feriche and Sarah Stothart (who used to be Rupert Murdoch’s personal chef) and is beautifully designed and situated in an old umbrella factory. The restaurant almost always requires reservations and people are no booking from New York months ahead - which is understandable when you taste the food!
There is no menu as such (which I found a bit daunting at first but it is a fantastic touch and really makes the experience) and Sarah comes to talk to you at your table, explaining what is on the days menu. All the ingredients are sourced locally from markets or personally imported (she hunts mushrooms locally and uses produce from her parent’s garden in the Penedés region). On our visit for starters we were offered a choice of carrot and ginger soup with cardomom and roquet and parmesan salad with poached egg which was absolutely sensational.
Entrées offered a choice between Sarah’s homemade Gnocci with sage and spinach and a Moroccan tajine of lamb and sultanas with couscous - Sarah procured the spices for this dish from Morocco I believe and it was perhaps the best example I have tasted outside the region or perhaps in a restaurant in Paris.
This was one of the best dining experiences as a whole that I have experienced anywhere, let alone in Barcelona, and the food was excellent which is something that you can’t always say in Barcelona, regardless of how cool the restaurant is. It was very reasonably priced too although I can’t remember how much it was or I’d post a guideline. Not expensive I think. I’m going back - soon.
I think something interesting is happening on the Barcelona food scene at the moment. There are some good-looking places springing up and it’s about time. Food is still dire in way too many places and your chances of getting a curry that is anything remotely approximating what you might expect of something going under that name are virtually zero. In fact, actually zero in my experience. But forget slumming it, if you are in Barcelona then treat yourself and check out Tapioles 53 - while it is still relatively unknown. It’s definitely going to be massive.
December 17 2005 in Foodism | Read More | Comments [1]
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