The Discovery of Self and the Spiritual Wisdom

Lessons from the Quran and Mysticism

Through a journey that transcends material satisfactions, the true aspiration of the soul is explored: the discovery of self and spiritual understanding. The article highlights how spiritual transformation is accessible to those willing to explore the hidden parts of themselves, likening this process to a radical metamorphosis. It also discusses the significance of spiritual wisdom in an era dominated by science and how spirituality can harmonize thought, feeling, and action into a unique reality. Lastly, it emphasizes that the key to uncovering the most intimate secrets of existence lies within us, inviting a spiritual awakening that reconnects with our deepest essence.

The Light of the Quran: Connection between Man and the Divine

فَاِذَا سَوَّيۡتُهٗ وَنَفَخۡتُ فِيۡهِ مِنۡ رُّوۡحِىۡ فَقَعُوۡا لَهٗ سٰجِدِيۡنَ

The Quran tells us in chapter Al-Hijr (15 : 29) that Allah breathed into man of His Spirit. So there is an inner connection between our deepest being and the Essence of God. strong>Tasawuf ( Islamic Mysticism) calls that the secret(سر) and it represents the deepest level of spiritual realization. Hope that clarifies for us what has long been a puzzling issue for us.

The greatest hunger in life is not for food, money, success, status, security, sex, or even love from the opposite sex. Time and again people have achieved all of these things and wound up still feeling dissatisfied - indeed, often more dissatisfied than when they began.

Beyond the Material: the true hunger of the soul

The deepest hunger in life is a secret that is revealed only when a person is willing to unlock a hidden part of the self. In the ancient traditions of wisdom, this quest has been likened to diving for the most precious pearl in existence, a poetic way of saying that you have to swim far out beyond shallow waters, plunge deep into yourself, and search patiently until the pearl beyond price is found.

The pearl is also called essence, the breath of the Merciful ( نفس الرحمن ) the water of life, holy nectar-labels for what we, in our more prosaic scientific age, would simply call transformation ( اصلح ).

Transformation means radical change of form, the way a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. In human terms, it means turning fear, aggression, doubt, insecurity, hatred, and emptiness into their opposites.

Can this really be achieved?

Spiritual Transformation: Metamorphosis of the Human Being

One thing we know for certain: The secret hunger that gnaws at people's souls has nothing to do with externals like money, status, and security. It's the inner person who craves meaning in life, the end of suffering, and answers to the riddles of love, death, God, the soul, good and evil. A life spent on the surface will never answer these questions or satisfy the needs that drive us to ask them. Finding the hidden dimensions in ourselves is the only way to fulfill our deepest hunger.

After the rise of science of AI, this craving for knowledge should have faded, but it has only grown stronger. There are no new "facts" to discover about life's hidden dimensions. Nobody needs to peer at more CT scans of patients undergoing a near-death experience or take more MRI while sitting deep in silence. That phase of experimentation has done its work: We can be assured that wherever consciousness wants to go, the human brain will follow. Our neurons are capable of registering the highest spiritual experiences. In some ways, however, you and I know less about the mystery of life than our ancestors.

The Ubiquitous Presence: Mystery and Unique Reality

That presence, which is found in every particle of creation, suffuses our life, too. We are a book of secrets waiting to be opened, although we probably see ourselves in totally different terms. On a given day, we are a worker, a father or mother, husband or wife, a consumer combing the mall stores for something new, an audience member waiting impatiently for the next entertainment.

When we are living the truth of one reality, every secret reveals itself without effort or struggle. It comes down to the age-old choice of separation or unity. Do we want to be fragmented, conflicted, torn between the eternal forces of darkness and light? Or do we want to step out of separation into wholeness? We are a creature who acts, thinks, and feels. Spirituality fuses these three into a single reality.

Unity versus Separation: The Dilemma of Existence

Thinking doesn't lord it over feeling; feeling doesn't stubbornly resist the higher brain; doing occurs when both thought and feeling say, "This is right." The one reality can be recognized because once we are there, we experience the flow of life without obstacles or resistance. In this flow, we encounter inspiration, love, truth, beauty, and wisdom as natural aspects of existence. The one reality is spirit, and the surface of life is only a disguise with a thousand masks that keeps us from discovering what is real.

A thousand years ago, such a statement would have met with no argument. Spirit was accepted everywhere as the true source of life. Today, we have to look with new eyes at the mystery of existence, for as proud children of science and reason, we have made ourselves the orphans of wisdom.

Therefore, this article must work on two fronts. First, it must persuade us that there really is a mystery lying in the hidden dimensions of life. Second, it must inspire us to feel the passion and dedication required to get there. This isn't a project to postpone until we are ready. We have been ready since the day we forgot to keep asking who we are and why we are here. Sadly, most of us keep shutting out thousands of experiences that could make transformation a reality. If it weren't for the enormous effort we put into denial, repression, and doubt, each life would be a constant revelation.

Recognition and Acceptance: The First Step Towards Wisdom

Ultimately, we have to believe that our life is worth investigating with total passion and commitment. It took thousands of tiny decisions to keep the book of secrets closed, but it takes only a single moment (a blink of eyes ) to open it again. Finding ourselves is a call to stop relying on all outside factors and begin to rely on oneself.

I take it literally when in Matthew 7:7-8 the New Testament says, "Ask and you will receive, knock and the door will be opened." It's that simple. As in the Quran Chapter Ghafir (40 : 60 ) says" And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you.

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ

We will know every secret about life when we can truly say we must know. We can't wait a moment longer. Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree and Jesus wrestling with demons in the desert are symbolic of the same drama of the soul that We were born to repeat. Never doubt this: We are the most significant being in the world, because at the level of the soul we are the world. We don't have to earn the right to know. Our very next thought, feeling, or action can begin to uncover the deepest spiritual wisdom, which flows as pure and free as mountain waters in spring. It isn't possible for the self to keep secrets from itself forever, no matter how thoroughly we've been trained to believe otherwise. The locked door is inside you, and so is the key. The first step to finding it is acknowledging that no one is hiding any knowledge from us except ourselves. No one else knows the answers either.

Yusuf Daud
Founder SophiaCitra Institute PhiloSufi centre for Interfaith and Intercultural dialogue Surabaya-Indonesia