27' January

Friends, come, let us speak of the beloved:

The month of January has come before as well, with all exquisiteness, its joy, its happiness, its sadness and sorrow, and its shock of separation, and thus will it continue to repeat in the future also.

The universe forever in motion, if ever stopped for even an instant, would dissolve with all its colour and fragrance into the expanse of its surroundings. In the last ten days of January, there was not a single eye that was not tearful, and there was not a single heart that had not lost its beat momentarily. The material world was in a state of trance, while the heavens carried on a celebration.

On 27"' January 1979, when darkness of the night was eager to dissolve into the light of day, Qalander Baba Auliya" went into the heavenly embrace of his eternal Creator.

Once again from the radiance and purity of holy persons by remembering them. A moment's companionship with them is greater than a hundred years of sincere obedience, and after II WI t ascendance into the heavenly world, their remembrance is greater than a thousand years of sincere devotion. This is because the remembrance of such divinely acquainted people Colours the entire being of a person with the realization of closeness with Allah the Exalted.

The Eternal Being, in order to continue and spread His beneficence, creates such servants who preach of the transitory nature of this world. It is their mission to maintain a relationship with the eternal Creator, and to introduce mankind to Him.

In today's sitting, let us talk of that beloved — that kind soul Kindness towards humanity demands that the sound waves of the friend who cared for humanity be spread on the pages of "Voice of a Friend," such that a collective picture emerges before us.

So said Qalander Baba Aulia RA:

"Among mankind, all men, women, children, and the elderly, by virtue of their relation to Adam, are all creative secrets of the Creator of the universe ­they are brothers and sisters; none greater than the other. Only he is worthy of greatness who has a comprehension of the immensely vast divine knowledge of Allah's attributes; he in whom Allah's attributes reflect with prominence; and he who is of benefit to Allah's creatures, and at whose hands, none suffer."

The one who preaches goodness is good within himself first. Just like a person with bad character whose heart is corrupt in itself, destroys others or commits other evil because of his own corruptness.

The fire of anger first causes irritation in the blood of the one who is angry, so that his senses are affected and lose their energy, or in other words, his life energy is destroyed and causes harm to others. Allah the Exalted does not like any Harm to inflicted on mankind. Allah Almighty states:

"Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in

adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men;-for

Allah loves those who do good"

[Holy Quran, chapter 3: verse 134]

A candle burns itself first, and when it thus forsakes every moment of its life, moths gather around and give their lives at this sacrifice of the candle.

How can one who does not posses intimate knowledge of the ill yaw impart that knowledge to others? How can one who is penniless and destitute himself, bestow charity on others?

How tragic and horrifying is the act of being happy at causing others harm, whereas, according to our relation with Adam and Eve, this act is tantamount to cutting our own roots. There is only one tree, with countless branches and leaves. If a branch strikes at the root of its own tree, how foolish an act that would be, as it thus places itself in harm's way. If happiness is what we ultimately desire, then how can we ever gam happiness by causing harm to those of our own species!

Every person is related to every other person. Every person is acquainted with every other person because there is an ongoing exchange of "life-giving waves" among them. In a festive gathering where hundreds of people, oblivious of all problems, are joyful and happy, a single person's tragedy can bring sadness to the entire gathering. Why is this so?

This is because all individuals of the species are attached to other like links on a chain. When one link weakens, the entire chain weakens; when one link breaks, until the other link draws close and joins the chain, it can no longer be called by name. The Holy Quran states:

Unity and brotherhood make for a graceful past, a joyous present, and a bright future.

When an artist draws a picture, at first he himself enjoys all the details of that picture. If an artist is not satisfied with his own creation, how can one expect others to be impressed by it? Not only will others not be impressed, they may start to ridicule the unworthy work of art, causing frustration, anxiety, and sorrow to the artist. Do such works which satisfy your own selves, lest your conscience die out. This is the secret by which you can be a source of guidance for others.

All should try and struggle their utmost in their everyday affairs, but without concern for the desired outcome. The outcome should be left to God, since man is a mere pawn in the game of circumstances. Man is forced to live as his circumstances dictate. Indeed Allah is omnipotent and has power over all. He has control over circumstances, and when He wishes, and however He wishes, circumstances change.

If someone causes you pain, forgive him without hesitation because revenge itself is a calamity. The desire to take revenge weakens one's senses.

If you have caused someone pain, seek forgiveness from him, regardless of whether he is young or old. This is because greatness lies in humbling one's self. In light of the Holy Quran:

"Man was an unmentionable thing...Allah breathed into
him of His spirit...thus he turned into a hearing, seeing,
[and aware human being]."

[Holy Quran chapter 76; verses 1-2; chapter :32: verse 9]

What is spirit? Spirit is Allah’s work. Allah’s work is that when He intends for a thing to happen He says, “Be,” and it is.

A person who has doubt in his heart can never be an Aarif [‘one who has intimate divine knowledge’] because doubt is Satan’s biggest weapon, with which he moves man away from his spirit. This distance from spiritual traditions closes the doors of knowledge, awareness, and insight of the divine, on man.

On Godly people, ascends the heavenly rain of His mercy and His manifestations. The pure light of their blessings and benevolence illumines a world around them.