Saturday, February 23, 2013

Purpose of Life=Hayatin Amaci


Bir fetusun ana rahminde gecirdigi 9 aylik hayatinin amaci, bu dunyadaki ortalama 70 yillik hayatina hazirlanmaktir. Bu dunyadaki ortalama 70 yillik hayatimizin amaci ise, sonsuz ahiret yasamina, Yaraticimizi taniyarak hazirlanmaktir, o Yaratici ki, O'nun Ilahi (Tanrisal) Mukemmeliyet (Kusursuz) Isim ve Sifatlari (Asma-i Ilahi, Asma-i Husna)'nin yansimasi Evren'dir.




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The purpose of the 9 months life of a fetus in the womb is to prepare for her avg 70 years of life in this world. The purpose of our avg 70 years of life in this world is to prepare for our eternal after-life by the means of getting to know our Creator whose reflection of Its Divine Names and Attributes of Perfection is the Universe.

Objection from MM: There's no predefined purpose for how things work in our lives. We give them their purpose, and considering that this is the only life supported by scientific evidence, we'd do well to make this one count as much as possible.

Answer to objection: What is constant in the universe is the transience of everything. Every moment a new universe comes into existence, every moment a new me and a new you is being brought into existence. Each one of these universes are in perfect unison and cohesion. Human emotions and mind and the analysis of revelation in the form of both the universe and the messages of prophets all suggest that it would be illogical for a perfect universe to be created at each moment only to perish immediately and without any other purpose than its mere existence for an instant. However when one sees the universe as pointing to the Attributes of Its Creator by its qualities that cannot originate from within the universe and by its transience and re-existence, and when one takes into account that humans are given a curious mind and a questioning spirit searching for meaning, than the universe suddenly comes to life, it has meaning and purpose and our mind and emotions are not in vain or for the purpose of our suffering (as in existentialism) but they are all flashlights guiding us to find our purpose. However much pain or pleasure we may get in this world, every moment is transient and it vanishes into nonexistence becoming void and meaningless upon our death, were we not to observe the necessity of an afterlife. A man who lives a 100 yrs of something of a Disneyland life and a woman who lives 20 yrs of slavery all become dust after death, thus becoming equal. But whatever either human have done for the sake of their spiritual development, their understanding of the meaning of the universe and where they come from, that, they take with them beyond the grave. Whatever either human does of good deeds and of following their conscience in humbly helping and serving others in the name of the Creator of us all, that, they take with them to their eternal life. They either take their regret and guilt or their recognition and love of the Creation and its Creator.

Also relevant to mention in this context, and I hope I'm able to explain myself: 
-My existence now doesn't necessitate my existence in the next moment. So what prefers my possible existence in the next moment to my possible non-existence? 
It is only 
a "Necessarily Existent Absolute and Essential Being" that can prefer the existence of "possibly existent beings" (any thing or being we observe in this universe) to their non-existence.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Community of Muhammad, Muhammed ummeti

I was listening to this hymn from Yunus Emre (1240?–1321?)
http://pan-cck.blogspot.com/2010/12/sordum-sari-cicege-by-yunus-emre.html and this part that I couldn't previously give much meaning to, caught my attention:
"I asked the yellow flower:
Whose community is yours?
She replied: Father Dervish,
My community is that of Muhammad.
Truth is there is no deity but The One God."
Today finally this thought was given to my mind: Yunus means that any creation that proclaims the oneness of the Creator belongs to Muhammad's community.
Even tough one says they don't believe in the existence of a Creator, their body and heart and conscience and mind all witness and continuously point to the Oneness of God and thus they all belong to Muhammad's community.
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Yunus Emre'nin "Sordum Sari Cicege" ilahisini dinlerken daha once pek de anlam yukleyemedigim su sozleri dikkatimi cekti:
"Sordum sarı çiçeğe,
Sen kimin ümmetisin?
Çiçek der derviş baba,
Muhammed ümmetiyim.
Hak lâ ilahe illallah. (Hakikat o ki, ilah yoktur Allah'tan baska)"
Bugun shu dusunce aklima indirildi: Yunus demek istiyor ki, Yaradan'in Birligini ilan eden tum yaratiklar Muhammed'in ummetindendir.
Birisi bir Yaratici'nin varligina inanmadigini soylese de, bedeni ve kalbi ve vicdani ve akli, hepsi Tanri'nin birligine sehadet ediyor ve devamli O'nu gosteriyor ve bu nedenle hepsi Muhammed'in ummetindendir.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

NYC vs nature

When I go to downtown New York all I see is greed and egotism in the form of tall towers reaching for the sky. I see Wall St sucking on the blood of millions of abused and killed humans like the Count Dracula. I see no mercy, no compassion. I see victims and perpetrators, I see exhaustion, unrest, hatred, jealousy, injustice and inequality. I see masses of death concrete suffocating the liveliness of Earth.






Yet when I go to a forest or a lake, I find peace, rest, love and goodness. I see the constant transformation of death into life in the mouths of animals and roots of plants. I see beauty and bounty coming out of mud.

I see every leaf of every tree and every grass and drop of water proclaiming the Oneness of God, pointing to their Creator who creates everything out of nothing, who designs and adorns nature in a new form at every new moment, each form more appealing and eye pleasing than the other.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Sehitlik-Martyrdom

Belki de sehid olmak baskalarinin uzerine basarak uzun ve onursuz bir yasam yasamaktansa, aza ve hatta olume Adil olan Yaratici'nin adina razi olabilmek.

Fenaya (esyanin fani yonune) dusmeden, o esyadaki Baki'ye sahit oldugumuzda, o animiz sehit olur. 

Perhaps being a martyr is to be able to settle for less and even for death in the name of the Creator the Just, in place of living a long and dishonorable life at the expense of stepping on others.

When we witness the aspect of things looking to the Permanent Everlasting Creator, without being constrained by the transient aspect of things, that moment in our life becomes a martyr.

"Kimlik bunalimi" "Identity crisis"

"Kimlik bunalimi". Kimlik bunalimi yasamamak kanimca patolojiktir. Kimlik bunalimi yasamayan insanlarin miras aldiklari varsayimlarin her birini, ince ince, delik desik sorgulamalidir insan, kabuklarini birer birer soymali. Sormali insan kendine: kimdir, nereden gelmistir, neden hayattadir, amaci nedir ve ne olmalidir, prensipleri nelerdir, neleri dogru neleri yanlis bulur, neleri sever neleri sevmez, neye inanir neye inanmaz, insanlarla ne esaslara dayanarak iliski kurmalidir, ne yemeli ne icmeli neyi neye gore giymeli. Her dusundugunu, inandigini uygulayamayabilir, ama illa ki dusunmeli, bir daha bir daha dusunmelidir. Olene kadar yine yine sormalidir. Bir gunku cevabi bir onceki gunun cevabindan biraz olsun farkli olmalidir. Teker teker soyundugu kabuklarinin yerine kendisine en uygun olanlari takinmalidir. Ogrendiklerini okuduklarini tecrubelerini dusuncelerini vicdanini duygularini gozlemlediklerini, hepsini icine katip ta yeniden diktigi libaslari. Ve bir omur kimlik bunalimindan cikamamalidir insan, ta ki tekamul edebilsin ve umulur ki bir gun anlasin, her kabuk ve libas soyulur, geriye 'abdullah ve habibullah, "Tek Yaratici'nin kulu (vatandasi) ve sevgilisi" kalir.


NOT: Neden "vatandas" kelimesi?
Dusundum de, kendini bir devletin vatandasi olarak tanimlayanlarin devlete karsi olan tavirlari ile, bir kulun Allah'a karsi olmasi gereken tavri arasinda cok paralellik gordum. Bu nedenle de kendimi ne dogdugum Ingiltere, ne ana-vatanim Cezayir, ne baba-vatanim Turkiye, ne de koca-vatanim ABD'nin vatandasi olarak gormuyorum. Bir seyin, bir kavramin, bir varligin vatandasiysam eger, bu ancak Yaraticimin vatandasligi olabilir. Devlet babaya vergi kutsalligi yerine (ki genelde bu vergilerden fakirlerden cok zenginler faydalanir hele de ABD gibi kapitalist sistemlerde), Allah adina fakire verilen zekatin kutsalligini kabul ederim. Mutlak, mantikli ve adil olan devletlerin basinda birilerinin cikarlarina gore yazdiklari kanunlar degil, Rabbimin bana ogrettigi yasam bicimidir. Bizi koruyan, kurtaran, kollayan devlet, asker, polis degil (nitekim onlar daha cok kendi halkini ya da baska halklari ezme, kontrol etme, somurme, onlara zulum yapma ve dahasi onlara iskence ve olumu reva gorme araclaridir benim gozumde), Hafiz olan ancak Rabbimdir, Velimdir. Bizi her yerde goren devletin polisleri ya da iletisim araclarina girip ozel konusmalarimizi yazismalarimizi dinleme cesaretinde bulunan gizli servisler degildir, Basir olan bizi her an yeniden yeni bir bicimde yaratan Yaraticimizdir. vs vs vs.


"Identity crisis". Not experiencing an identity crisis is in my opinion pathological. A human should question the assumptions the people who don't experience an identity crisis inherit, one by one, in every minute detail, they should peel their shells one by one. A human should ask herself: who is she, where did she come from, why is she alive, what is her purpose and what should it really be, what are her principles, what does she find right and what she finds wrong, what she loves and what she doesn't, what she believes in and what she rejects, on which grounds does she base her relationships, what should she eat and drink and what should she wear according to what. She may not apply everything she thinks or believes, but in any case she must think and then think again and again. She should ask over and over until her death. Her answer one day should differ by at least a little from her answer the day before. Instead of the shells she peeled one by one, she should wear what suits her best. The clothes she has sewn anew with all of what she learned and read, her experiences and thoughts, her conscience and observations. And a human should spend all her life in identity crisis, so that she may grow and one hopes she may understand one day, every shell and every clothing can be peeled, what remains is 'abdullah and habibullah, "the ('abd/person/child/human/mortal/slave/servant) citizen and beloved of the One God-Creator". 
PS: Why the word "citizen" for " 'abd"?


Once I thought about it I saw many similarities between the attitudes of people against their states when they identify themselves as the citizen of a certain state and the attitudes " 'abd"s should carry towards their God. This is why I don't see myself as the citizen of England where I was born, or of my motherland Algeria, or my father-land Turkey or or my husband-land USA. If I am the citizen of a thing, a concept, a being, this can only be the citizenship of my Creator. Instead of the "sacred" tax given to Uncle Sam or the Father State -one should consider in many cases the rich make more use of these taxes than the poor, especially in capitalist systems like that of the USA-, I acknowledge the sacredness of the zakat/alms given to the poor in the name of God. What is absolute, logical and just are not the laws written by some heads of states in self-interest, but it is the lifestyle taught by our Sustainor Lord. Who protects, saves and watches us are not the state, military and police -in fact in my eyes they are more often tools of oppression, control, abuse, tyranny, exploitation against their own people and other peoples and even regard torture and death as befitting for peoples-; it is my Sustainor Lord, Rabb who is The Protector, al-Hafiz, The Friend, The Guardian, al-Wali. Who sees us everywhere are not the police of states or the secret services that have the audacity to secretly listen or read our private conversations using communication technologies; it is our Creator who creates us at every moment in a new form who is the All-Seeing, al-Baseer. so on and so forth.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Ruhu ne doyurur? What satisfies the soul?

Karsilikli asktan guzel ne olabilir? Hele ki bu, sonsuz sevgi ve merhametini bize her an sunan Wadud (seven ve sefkat eden)'un askina verilen karsilik ise. Ruhu bu sevgiden baska ne doyurabilir gercek anlamda? Dans partileri mi? Pahali arabalar mi? Kocaman evler mi? Yatlar mi? Cinsel hazzin dorugu mu? Dunya turuna cikmak mi? Parayla satin alinabilecek (kopuklu jakuzi keyfi haric ;) ) herhangi bir sey mi? Arkadaslarinla sehir disi gece klubu gezilerine cikmak mi? Diplomalar ya da is teklifleri mi? Kariyerinde bir basamak daha ileri olmak mi? Her gun bir baska partiye davetli olmak mi? Istedigin her erkek ya da kadina sahip olabilmek mi? Ne doyurur ki ruhu gercek anlamda?

Ruhu "Hu" "Hu" diye zikretmek doyurur. Sifa veren doktor ya da aldigim ilaclar degil, "Hu"(O)dur. Beni hapsirtan kara biber degil, "Hu"dur. Yumusak olan yun battaniyem degil, "Hu"dur. Tatli oyuncu olan kedim degil, "Hu"dur. Aciya katlanma sabri benden degil, "Hu"dandir. Zulmu sevmeyen ben degil, "Hu"dur. Haksizliga isyan eden vicdanim degil, "Hu"dur. Hindistan cevizli hurmadan lezzet alan dilim degil, "Hu"dur. Yuruyen bacaklarim degil, "Hu"dur. Yemegi pisiren ben veya ocak degil, "Hu"dur. Bu sozcukleri yazan aklim degil, "Hu"dur.

Her seyi arindirip ilahlik kisvelerinden, la ilaha (ilah yoktur) diyerek ve her seyden "Hu"ya irtibat kurup, illa Allah (Allah'tan baska) diyerek, hayatimin her aninda, her yerde, her hareketimde, her gozlemimde Sevgili'yi hatirlayarak "Hu" "Hu" diye zikretmek, Sevgili'nin adini zikrettikce O'na olan askinin ve rabitanin arttigini hissetmek doyurur insan ruhunu. Oyle ki muptelasi olur, sorar durursunuz, ruhum acikti, ruhum Sevgili'nin adini anmaya muhtac, ne zaman tekrar kardeslerimle bir araya gelip hep beraber zikir nidalarimizi yukseltecegiz gok yuzune ya da caminin kubbesine, diye. Sevgili'ye kavusmanin numunesinden aldigim hazzi ne zaman tekrar alabilecegim diye iple ceker olursunuz yeniden zikre gitmeyi. Dilin zikreder, aklin tefekkur ederken, kalbinin yumusadigini hissetmeyi.

Ve umulur ki, Rahman (tum canlilara merhamet eden) ve Mumit (olumu yaratan)'in lutfuyla, bir gun bu ask piser olgunlasir ve Sevgili'ye kavusmak icin olum ucagina binmeye hazir oluruz.




 


What can be more beautiful than reciprocal love? Especially if this is the reciprocation to the love of the Wadud (the One who loves and has compassion) who offers us Its infinite love and compassion at every moment. What other than this love could truly satisfy the soul? ..(translation upcoming)....What does really satisfy the soul?

What satisfies the soul is to remember and invoke (dhikr) "Hu" "Hu". The medications I take are not what heal me, nor the doctor, it is "Hu" (It personable or He gender-free). What makes me sneeze is not the black pepper, it is "Hu". It's not my fleece blanket that is soft, it is "Hu". The cute player is not my cat, it is "Hu". The patience to endure pain is not from me, it is from "Hu". I am not the one who doesn't love oppression, it is "Hu". It is not my conscience revolting against injustice, it is "Hu". It is not my tongue that takes pleasure from coconut covered dates, it is "Hu". My legs aren't walking, it is from "Hu". I'm not the one cooking the food, nor the stove, it is "Hu". My mind isn't writing these words, it is "Hu". 

To purify all from deifying garments by saying "la ilaha" (there is no deity) and to connect all to "Hu" by saying "illallah" (save God), to remember the Beloved at every moment of my life, every where, in every action, in every observation and to invoke "Hu" "Hu", to feel your love and connection to It increasing the more you invoke the name of the Beloved is what satisfies the soul. To the point you'll become addicted to it and will keep asking, my soul is hungry, my soul is in need of invoking the name of the Beloved, when will I come together with my brothers and sisters for our exclamations to reach the sky or the dome of the mosque? You'll be counting days until you go to dhikr again and taste the pleasure of the sample of meeting the Beloved. To feel your heart softening while your tongue invokes and your mind contemplates. 

And one hopes, with the beneficence of the Rahman (the One who shows compassion to all living things) and the Mumit (the Creator of death), one day this love will mature and we will be ready to mount the plane of death in order to unite with the Beloved. 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Vefa booooza

Vefa booooza

Cocuklugumun aci bagirisi inleten sokaklari yoksullugun, caresizligin, zorluk icinde ailesine yemek kazanmanin cigligiyla yirtan gecenin karanligini. 
Testlerin veyahut bir macera romaninin icine bikkinlik veya heyecanla dalmis beynimi uyandiran, kalbime inceden bir cizik atan, vicdanimi hafiften acitan, tahayyulumu Istanbul gecelerinin islak, soguk, karanlik, dumanli, upuzun mahalle arasi sokaklarina yonelten, bozaci uzaklastikca sesi de uzaklasan, gecenin ilerleyen saatlerinde boguklasan o bagirti.
Ve sesi artik duyulmaz oldugunda kimilerinin zaten hic duymamis oldugu, kimilerininse yankisini omur boyu unutamayacagi o haykiris.