THE SEARCH

Where do the relationships between human to human, human to the realm and human to God begin?

Who can lift humans from the place that the religions drop them to? Which science can unite the human beings at the place philosophy splits into two?

What kind of therapy process can help them choose the right in the endless possibilities driving the soul into chaos?

What can extinguish the exciting flame found in stories of ambition and success in modern life?

Moreover, which set of values can restore the dignity of being human? A value must correspond to each and every experience and of every desire.

How could this chaotic existence transform into a melodic harmony of opposites in the way of knowing life?

God - Human - Realm. The human is in the middle of everything. It is the only creature who knows that s/he was created and who thinks continuously. In the field of philosophy, human beings are defined as the talking animal (living), thinking animal. Examining the human subject from only one dimension is a faulty reductionism because it is incomplete. Accordingly, we can say that the greatest injustice that is done to human beings is to distort their reality. The same also applies to our relationships.

Therefore, we need to witness all dimensions of the human being and comprehend his/her as a whole to guide our orientation to the world and God. Yes, the human being is a creature who laughs, cries, talks, thinks, makes tools, builds and destroys things. The definition regarding the human cannot be reduced into “either-or” concepts, rather; it should be expanded to its widest meaning with sentences formed as “both-and”. It is never one-dimensional, not even two-dimensional, but it is infinite-dimensional.

On earth, many sacred traditions manifest themselves in different ways. People of the age of reasoning are currently despising these holy traditions. However, these traditions are their home, where they can experience spirituality.

The important thing when experiencing the said spirituality is to decide on a specific tradition and act with its set of rules shaped by the sacred message. In our opinion, this center is the center where the message of Islam spreads into and throughout the universe. At the same time, the heart of this center which is the way of living by the sacred love constitutes the inner core of Islam and it is called Sufism.

Thus, Islam appreciates human beings with their infinite dimensions and raises them up from where they have fallen. It puts the infinite manifestations into a system of values connecting the beings’ variety to a unity with circular cycles under Allah’s existence. In relation to this, Ibn Arabi’s Wahdat Al Wujud concept describes the systemized form of the Islamic Sufism tradition. The manifestating body of Islam is Sharia (Islamic rules and laws), and its heart is Sufism.

If the concept of religion, which is stripped from its true meaning in today’s world, were to be considered as opium, which is mostly accurate, then we can certainly say that it is the place of the same opium explosion which greatly suppresses the feeling of the VOID!

Truth cannot be found by seeking, but those who find it are always the seekers, says Bayezid Bastami the great Sufi of 9th Century.

All belief systems present the notion of a Divine Creator, a God or gods that are superior to us. Since the beginning of humanity, “Who is the Creator?” has been a common question for many philosophers and theologians. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are divine religions in the sense that they all are based on divine inspiration and revelation. On the other hand, the belief systems based on anthropic principles are based on nature and humans. However, barbarism, wars and savagery prevail on the earth despite the fact that all religions teach sympathy, mercy, kindness and unconditional love.

Let’s take a look at Christianity. Jesus (Isa) said, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other,”; but his followers around the world are trying to overtake humans and nature. Islamist radicals are in a meaningless demolition race because they misinterpret their book: “...if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.”

(Qur’an, Surah al-Ma’idah, verse 32)

Even Buddhists, who reject the concept of reactance, are trying to destroy everything they marginalize. But why? Have you ever thought that religions may be the cause of all conflicts, wars, or massacres? Don’t we all witness people taking advantage of religion throughout history?

Don’t you think societies will be at peace if we leave God and religion aside?

We have talked about religions so far. However, if you don’t have a concept of God in your life, you have to turn to the rules and principles of nature to define your principles on which you will build the notions of your life. You will center your life on this solid ground, not only from a spiritual perspective but also in an intellectual manner to be able to decide what you will accept or reject. In other words, you will need these rules and principles of nature to find your values!

Let us take a look at nature and see how it works. What kind of cycle do we observe in nature? What can we learn from nature? There is a food chain from worms to lions, a series of organisms that eat one another! This chain is based on the principle of big fish-eating little fish, so if there is no God in this system, why can’t the same principle be applied for human beings? I can almost hear you saying that we have values of morality and conscience, which prevents us from going wrong. That would mean that our conscience is the thing that makes us help the little fish instead of eating it. However, wild animals lack empathy. And when we remove the God concept human beings will find it easier to act freely and there will not be any restrictions to hinder hedonism and vulgarism. If one has the power to get whatever he wants from the other, why would s/he stop? Imagine a lion eating a deer. In nature, we accept this action as expected, as something normal. However, as humans, we do not take somebody else’s food just because we are hungry. As it can be seen, our judgments on what is just and what is not is very controversial and depends on the situation. So, we can be honest and simply say that the rules of ethics are the ones that are stopping us.

Let’s have a look at how the concept of God is perceived and how believers develop their belief system.

Once, a Sufi was asked if he accepts God’s existence, and he replied, “Of course,”. When they asked him, “How do you know that?”, he answered, “We have been fighting for 40 years, and He always wins,”.

In this example, the Sufi addressed himself to a supreme Creator.

What about us? Probably most of you have memorized religious information from your grandparents and your family members. Assigned belief system of someone or a community has been transmitted to you and you have accepted it as an accessory in your life, without questioning;

How do you describe your belief about your Creator?

What does He look like?

How do you communicate with Him?

Haven’t you ever fought Him or denied His existence?

Most of the spiritual disciplines like Sufism tells us to follow the path within ourselves to reach God by saying “There is a (higher) Self within myself.”

If I am going to search for God within me, isn’t it necessary that I have to know God’s clues, attributes, adjectives or characteristics?

Do you know who your God is? What does He like and dislike?

If you do not know the answers to these questions, how do you pray to your God?