sat nam ( True Identity)

The send storm two days ago was only just a sneak preview to a major sand storm that was howling and swirling for hours yesterday. The air was dense with send particles, and everything turned yellow.

Bhind the curtain

The beginning of Ramadan, synchronised with my own fasting, and the deep inspiration that I have received from the Sufis, makes me ride the Sufi sound currants as I listen to recordings of ecstatic Zikr ceremonies, and in a way, enter a vast field of devotion, beyond my own.

For a night, I’ve had a glimpse of the blissful state that sparkles behind the curtain.
My heart was running into this field.

By the next day, the curtain was closed again, and I was back on earth.
No longer breathing starlight, but breathing sand.
I have been forced to return.

Back and Forth רצוא ושוב

Since I couldn’t go into the storm, I’ve sat in front of the large window in my room, observing the non-stop, ever-changing movement in the air.
A bit frustrated, I was reminded that this movement of the Heart: Running Away (from the mundane, earthly reality, into the heights of the spirit) and Returning Again - this is the movement that allows a healthy balance and a steady progress.

הרצוא הוא מצד הרצון להיות דבוק באור ה' הממלא כל עלמין והמורגש על ידי כלות הנפש בחינת רצוא, והשוב הוא מבחינת ההתבוננות באור ה' הסובב כל עלמין, מצד הידיעה כי מציאותו יתברך נמצאת בכל העולמות בשוה

Zikr

“One of the most treasured practices of the Sufi path is zikr, the remembrance of Allah. To be in unity with Allah is to be in a constant state of remembrance of the source of all creation. In the sense that unity is the deepest state of surrender to Allah, this is the true zikr, and is the goal of the Sufi path. As a means to achieve that state, zikr as a ritualized practice was bequeathed to students of tasawwuf (Sufism) by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)…
The ritual ceremony of zikr is traditionally held in a Sufi gathering-place known as the dergah or tekke. In this setting the members of a Sufi tariqa (order) together intone certain Names of Allah, thereby invoking the characteristics represented by those Names into the hearts of the congregation.”

- from the website of: Ansari Qadiri Rifai Tariqa- Sufi Order

ואם רץ ליבך שוב למקום

And if your heart Escapes,
Bring it back to the place

The following sentences are from “Sefer Yetzirah” - the book that forms the foundation of Jewish mysticism:

משנה ט

יצר ממש מתהו, ועשה את שאינו ישנו. וחצב עמודים גדולים מאויר שאינו נתפס

משנה ח

עשר ספירות בלימה, בלום פיך מלדבר ולבך מלהרהר, ואם רץ לבך שוב למקום (נ.א. שוב לאחד), שלכך נאמר והחיות רצוא ושוב. ועל דבר זה נכרת ברית:

“From the empty void He made the material world, created something out of chaos. He carved vast columns out of the intangible air”

“Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth; seal up thy lips lest thou speak of them, and guard thy heart as thou considers them; and if thy heart escape from thee bring it back to the place; even as it was said, “running and returning” (the living creatures ran and returned) and hence was the Covenant made.”

מתוהו ממש

יצר מתוהו ממש ועשה את שאינו ישנו”
וחצב עמודים גדולים מאויר שאינו נתפס

“ואם רץ לבך שוב למקום

-אוהד אזרחי ערך מתוך ספר יצירה

Sefer Yetzirah (Hebrew: ספר יצירה Sēpher Yəṣîrâh, Book of Formation, or Book of Creation) is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish mysticism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to Kabbalah. Yetzirah is more literally translated as "Formation"; the word Briah is used for "Creation". The book is traditionally ascribed to the patriarch Abraham, although others attribute its writing to Rabbi Akiva. Modern scholars have not reached consensus on the question of its origins. According to Rabbi Saadia Gaon, the objective of the book's author was to convey in writing how the things of our universe came into existence.

-Wikipedia

Water in the Heart Chakra

makes me think of a Rose and a Song

the Rose of Jericho

is a beautiful desert plant that could stay dry and look as if it is dead for a very long time, and when it meets water again, it becomes green and opens up, like returning from death. That’s why they call it: The Resurrection Plant.

Narayan Shabd

“Narayan” is one of the many different names for the Divine. It relates to the quality of water.  As a plant needs water for its flowers to blossom, in the same way chanting Narayan nurtures the Divine Identity within you so that your soul can bloom into its full beauty and grace.

Narayan is the quality that allows life to be restored and become fresh, lush and green again.  You can take your heart, bruised and battered by the storms of life, and sing it the Narayan Shabad.  If your happiness has been through a period of draught, this soothing combination of words can bring the rain.

It is also written in the holy scriptures that the Narayan Shabad can protect against death.

Restore what has been lost! Defend what must be preserved!  Chant along with the Narayan Shabad and see how its energy flows with yours like two streams traveling towards the sea of the Divine.

Here is the complete mantra:

naam niranjan neer naraa-in.
rasnaa simrat paap bilaa-in. ||1||
rahaa-o.
naaraa-in sabh maahi nivaas.
naaraa-in ghat ghat pargaas.
naaraa-in kahtay narak na jaahi.
naaraa-in sayv sagal fal paahi. ||1||

naaraa-in man maahi aDhaar.
naaraa-in bohith sansaar.
naaraa-in kahat jam bhaag palaa-in.
naaraa-in dant bhaanay daa-in. ||2||

naaraa-in sad sad bakhsind.
naaraa-in keenay sookh anand.
naaraa-in pargat keeno partaap.
naaraa-in sant ko maa-ee baap. ||3||

naaraa-in saaDhsang naraa-in.
baaraN baar naraa-in gaa-in.
basat agochar gur mil lahee.
naaraa-in ot naanak daas gahee.

- from spirit voyage.com

NARAYAN

The Name of the Immaculate Lord is the Ambrosial Water.
Chanting it with the tongue, sins are washed away.
|| The Lord abides in everyone.
The Lord illumines each and every heart.
Chanting the Lord’s Name, one does not fall into hell.
Serving the Lord, all fruitful rewards are obtained. ||1||

Within my mind is the Support of the Lord.
The Lord is the boat to cross over the world-ocean.
Chant the Lord’s Name, and the Messenger of Death will run away.
The Lord breaks the teeth of Maya, the witch. ||2||

The Lord is forever and ever the Forgiver.
The Lord blesses us with peace and bliss.
The Lord has revealed His glory.
The Lord is the mother and father of His Saint. ||3||

The Lord, the Lord, is in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy.
Time and time again, I sing the Lord’s Praises.
Meeting with the Guru, I have attained the
incomprehensible object Slave Nanak has grasped

“The Lord abides in everyone”

Nourish your heart with the nectar of divine love

Sending Love,
Simrit- Sarit Maor

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