Original Poem
Transliteration
Khabi maqsood-e-Khaliq Adam ko nigah-e-ishq seekhana
Khabi imtehan-e-Adam aatish meh baagh milaana
Tumhare manzar ko dekh kar shujaat bhi heraan hai
Aye be-khabr, teri nigahon meh sar-e-ishq chuppa hai
Agar phir bhi bhaag se sarshar ho, to sukoon ko barbaad kar
Kainaat abh bhi intezaar meh hai, tum khud ko aagah kar
English Translation
The will of the creator is to teach
Adam to see with love
The test of Adam is to see the garden
amongst the flames
Upon viewing your outlook on life,
courage itself is amazed
Oh unaware, in your sight hidden
is the meaning of love
Still, if you fancy the garden then
destroy your peace
The universe awaits, you become
aware of yourself.
~
In the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate,
The question of our meaning here on this earth comes up again and again throughout human history. In Greek mythology, the anthropomorphic representation of earth, named ‘Gaia’, was considered merciful and kind toward her children, whilst being capable of great acts of evil. Through this paradoxical juxtaposition of attributes, the ancients voiced the inherent duality of this world and understood this duality through the lens of their own humanity. Indeed, this goal of understanding cosmic balance appears in most of the established religious traditions of the world, and so it is safe to say that this is one of the perennial quests of mankind. The Abrahamic religions have different ways of addressing the mystery.
In Christianity, debates have long been held over the nature of original sin (in the western churches) or ancestral sin (in the eastern churches), represented in the Book of Genesis by Adam and Eve being cast out the garden for seeking to “be like gods”. Though arguments continue over the exact rubrics, especially in light of recent discoveries in human evolution and anthropology, Christians believe that every soul is marked with the condition of sin which leads to disordered inclinations and actions. As a result of this darkness of intellect and weakness of will, there is a chasm between the perfection of God and the imperfection of Man which Christians believe can only be bridged through a messiah (the saviour, one anointed with oil) who bears the weight of sin upon his own shoulders and breaks its power so the people may be redeemed and drawn into the communion with the divine outlook on life.
Anointing is a process and a symbol of beautification through self sacrifice and, at its heart, is a call to tame the fire of the world with one’s own garden. Brought to fruition for the Christian faithful through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), there is an idea here that one must learn to sacrifice his/her view of the world (as anointing is) in order to reach a point where he/she can see the world as it is, with both sides of morality. This subsequent understanding leads one to reach the secret to himself, as well as the nature of all things. “Putting on the mind of Christ ”, for a Christian, means holding disparate parts together and grafting them at the root. To quote Sister Ilia Delio, “We are to be Wholemakers of Love in a world of change.”
According to my own Islamic tradition, the answer to questions about our position on this earth has to do with the very meaning/nature of love. Within the tradition, there is an understanding that God intended for Adam (peace be upon him) to learn the secret of love, and through it to know himself and his creator. God creates man, but it is nature by which he can understand who he is and his position within the wider cosmos, similar to how the artist moves the pen in order to manifest his vision. Nature is the paper and meaning is the ink, which once written become fused together to the point where the two cannot be separated from one another. This means that everything you experience out there, as well as inside you, holds meaning.
We are compositions of ink; letters and words that are able to read ourselves as well as the world around us. However, paper is temporal and so what lives must die and this is true in the case of nature itself. Everyday we are urged to observe the movements of day (life) giving way to night (death). Every year, the story of life is played out as we are born and develop (spring), reach full maturity (summer), become custodians of the next generation (autumn), and then pass away in order to be reborn in the next life (winter). The human being can then be understood as a microcosm, where being, life and passion exist as a reflection to whatever is ‘out there’. Whatever morality and passions exist out there, they also exist within us and so the secret to understanding love is rooted in the relationship of the self and the world around it.
Within human relationships, real love flourishes where you understand and accept the flaws of the other without any desire of reciprocity or material gain. If one claims to love, but expects any gain whatsoever, then in reality it is a superficial claim. Calling such a thing more than a contract would not be beneficial to the claimant as he/she would, in rendering the term of love meaningless, make it harder to express what he/she feels, if and when it does occur. The one to whom false love has been professed, will also be deceived as the term was thrown in their direction without any substance behind it. The flower of real love then stems from reliance (Tawakul) but is rooted in acceptance (Taqabal). Complete acceptance means having no expectations from life, and recognising that the world will one day show its deceit when material death shows its truth. So one of the tests of Adam (peace be upon him), and his progeny, is whether he is able to see the fire (the struggle of life in this world) and transform it into a garden (a just, moral life).
This idea materialises in all Islamic teachings, such as the importance of etiquette (adab) in day to day life, the rights of creation, the strong emphasis on justice, etc. To overcome the self, in service of others, takes a certain courage and is referred to as the Jihaad Al-Nafs (struggle against the lower self). One must be able to see and accept this world with all of its obstacles but continue to persevere. Imam Al Ghazali (may God be pleased with him) likens the trials and tribulations of this world to a grain of sand getting stuck in a clam. The creature becoming irritated by the sand secretes a fluid that it then moulds into a beautiful sphere as it hardens. Only through perseverance is the grain of sand turned into a pearl. Rumi (may God be pleased with him) likens this effect to a reed being cut from the reed bed and then made into a ney (wind instrument). The reed suffers in its cutting away but then marvels at the sounds it can now produce. Far from desiring inner peace, there is an understanding here that we should welcome the waves of life for they are what chisel and sharpen us into better humans.
In reality, this perseverance is at the heart of human endeavour and is only made possible through the faculty of love. Love is the process of self abandonment in the pursuit of meaning. Life will eventually give way to death, with meaning being the only thing that remains, and so the overarching endeavour of life becomes one of love. Thus the highest form of love, divine love, is deeper than a feeling. It is the understanding and acceptance of the world and our situation in it and thereby functions as a choice that we are free to make at every moment. It is felt in the brief moments of bliss before the next 50ft wave crashes onto our lives. It is in recognising that the beauty of the fire is equal to the beauty of the garden and that the fire and the garden are inseparable, until you make the choice to separate them by becoming aware of your own selfhood and determination. It is through this self separation that we can recognise the polar opposites of heaven and hell, the garden and the fire. Love is a choice, to burn what you think you know and enter the inner self, to connect with the fitrah (original disposition of innocence and submission to the divine will) and achieve an outlook that is not affected by anything external to one’s fitrah.