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Awakening: A Sufi Experience
"This book, drawing on the wisdom of an 83-year-old Sufi master, defines awakening and offers a clear map for the journey."— Personal Transformation magazine.
240 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 1999
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July 16, 2023
A PROMINENT SUFI TEACHER EXPLAINS THE ‘DIVINE POINT OF VIEW’
The inside cover flap of this 1999 book explains, “For readers encountering Sufism for the first time, [this book] is the perfect companion and introduction to the way of the dervishes---as well as a doorway to a direct experience of the divine. Pir Vilayat takes us step by step toward a new form of consciousness, integrating both age-old and more recent Sufi meditations and wisdom into our contemporary technological and physical understanding of the world. He explores the Sufi idea of ‘awakening’---the ability to view the world from an increasingly broad perspective so as to move beyond the routine concerns of our day-to-day lives…
“Pir Vilayat not only guides readers in specific practices and meditations---involving the breath, light, and the Divine qualities---but shows how they can seek out their own individual teacher from the pages of the world’s great religious and ethical teachings. In addition, he explores how we can make our home, workplace, and other daily settings not a ‘temple for the Divine Presence.’ Pir Vilayat shows readers how to use the passion of the dervishes and the modern-day pursuit of knowledge to create the awakened life. Like a spiritual alchemist, he combines the perfume of ancient Sufi mysticism with the consciousness-expanding theories of quantum science and the imperative of social conscience, thereby creating a contemplative practice uniquely relevant to today’s seeker.”
He states in the first chapter, “the secret of Sufism is to shift from the vantage point of our personal point of view to the Divine point of view. Very simply, our being is made up of two poles of consciousness: the individual, personal self and the Divine, higher self. It is at the pole of the personal dimension of consciousness: the individual, personal self and the Divine, higher self. It is at the personal dimension of consciousness that we experience constraint and limitation. While we may think that our circumstances are the cause of this frustration, the real source lies in not being aware of our higher self. Thus, the goal in meditation is to reconnect our personal self in this transpersonal dimension of our being.” (Pg. 4)
He explains, “Sufis … take into account the existence of a higher intelligence that… is embedded within humanity to creatively shape and reshape in an endless array of new images, patterns, and paradigms. This transcendent form is what some call God and what I also call the ‘Universe,’ which may be the word which will be used at the millennium… the Universe is constantly compelling us to break free of the conditioning of the past in order to transform and evolve… The planning of the Universe is affected by humankind’s free, creative participation; thus the goal for humans is to become conscious of their profound impact upon the unfolding of creation… Conscious evolution is humankind’s final frontier, the ultimate freedom sought by humanity since the dawn of time… it is the intuitive, radarlike quality of this transcendent faculty that will help guide us through the darkness of the unknown---illuminating our minds and awakening our hearts to the splendor of a new consciousness.” (Pg. 8-9)
He says, “The task at hand… is to find a way to bring those perceptions that are mired in petty narrowness and shortsightedness into alignment with the broader, more inclusive vision struggling to be born in our time… How is this awesome task to be accomplished? To the Sufis, the answer lies in the transformation of consciousness that occurs as the result of a shift of perspective from the personal point of view to the Divine point of view---what I call ‘thinking like the Universe.’” (Pg. 11)
:
He outlines, “In the following chapters, each of the themes I have mentioned so far will be taken up and explored in greater depth and detail, along with accompanying guided meditations, the repetition of names of God, and breathing practices. This book is arranged in such a way that it follows a pattern repeatedly emphasized in all my teachings: the journey of awakening BEYOND life---or experiencing a spectrum of altered states of consciousness---is followed by that of awakening in life, or applying these states of consciousness to one’s personal circumstances. This twofold process mirrors the classic retreat in which the seeker turns away from the demands of the world in order to undergo an alchemical process of transmutation, then returns to the world renewed and with a radically altered perspective.” (Pg. 33-34)
He states, “The illumined dimension of human nature has been eclipsed by contemporary humankind’s narrow vision of reality. Stripped of the memory of the hierarchies of light from which we originated, we are bereft of the memory of that other dimension---or true home. We have lost, as well, the luminous insight that derives from seeing life through the ‘eyes of God’---the Divine Glance that penetrates the secret of the mystery of life. Thus like orphans denied knowledge of their birthright, most people remain ignorant of the transcendent dimension of their being. Sundered from a sense of their heavenly inheritance, they suffer despair and limitations. How can we break the chain of our way of thinking, re-establishing our link to the heavenly hierarchies of beings of light?... The answer lies in contemplating the miracle of the phenomenon of light itself… The first step in reclaiming our Divine heritage is to question those conventional conceptions of reality that close our eyes to the luminosity interlacing all of creation.” (Pg. 99-100)
He states, “awakening beyond life must be followed by awakening in life. At this level of realization, you are able to cast the light of the intelligence of the Universe upon your problems instead of judging things the way they appear from your personal point of view. This decent is called ‘tanzil’ in Sufism, or the way in which the Divine Thinking expressed itself in the phenomenal world… the problems that once seemed insurmountable now appear in an entirely different light.” (Pg. 128)
He notes, “now that you have reached a point in your meditation when you feel that something has really clicked---the feeling that this is the ‘real me’ and this is the quality that I embody---it may seem perplexing to be told that you are continually changing. Confused, you might then wonder, ‘Now do I know this is really ME?’ … you could think of your personal self as a medium through which the Universe is particularized---God become human. The theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called this ‘hominization’; in other words, it is all One Being, but that Being is particularized by fragmenting Himself into a multitude of beings who are like endless variations of a theme. In the Jewish Bible… the voice of Yahweh speaking from the Burning Bush doesn’t say ‘I am who I am,’ but ‘I am that I become.’” (Pg. 156-157)
He concludes, “I have tried, in all my teachings, to bring forth a message of light. I sincerely hope that it will help you in some way. Especially if you are going through a dark night of the soul, remember that it is because you are not aware of your own light---and it is light that will show you the way. And while I hope that some of the skills and meditations that I have presented will be helpful to you, they are useful only as a ladder in attaining the essential objective---awakening consciousness and conscience in everyday life.” (Pg. 221)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Sufism, or contemporary spirituality.
The inside cover flap of this 1999 book explains, “For readers encountering Sufism for the first time, [this book] is the perfect companion and introduction to the way of the dervishes---as well as a doorway to a direct experience of the divine. Pir Vilayat takes us step by step toward a new form of consciousness, integrating both age-old and more recent Sufi meditations and wisdom into our contemporary technological and physical understanding of the world. He explores the Sufi idea of ‘awakening’---the ability to view the world from an increasingly broad perspective so as to move beyond the routine concerns of our day-to-day lives…
“Pir Vilayat not only guides readers in specific practices and meditations---involving the breath, light, and the Divine qualities---but shows how they can seek out their own individual teacher from the pages of the world’s great religious and ethical teachings. In addition, he explores how we can make our home, workplace, and other daily settings not a ‘temple for the Divine Presence.’ Pir Vilayat shows readers how to use the passion of the dervishes and the modern-day pursuit of knowledge to create the awakened life. Like a spiritual alchemist, he combines the perfume of ancient Sufi mysticism with the consciousness-expanding theories of quantum science and the imperative of social conscience, thereby creating a contemplative practice uniquely relevant to today’s seeker.”
He states in the first chapter, “the secret of Sufism is to shift from the vantage point of our personal point of view to the Divine point of view. Very simply, our being is made up of two poles of consciousness: the individual, personal self and the Divine, higher self. It is at the pole of the personal dimension of consciousness: the individual, personal self and the Divine, higher self. It is at the personal dimension of consciousness that we experience constraint and limitation. While we may think that our circumstances are the cause of this frustration, the real source lies in not being aware of our higher self. Thus, the goal in meditation is to reconnect our personal self in this transpersonal dimension of our being.” (Pg. 4)
He explains, “Sufis … take into account the existence of a higher intelligence that… is embedded within humanity to creatively shape and reshape in an endless array of new images, patterns, and paradigms. This transcendent form is what some call God and what I also call the ‘Universe,’ which may be the word which will be used at the millennium… the Universe is constantly compelling us to break free of the conditioning of the past in order to transform and evolve… The planning of the Universe is affected by humankind’s free, creative participation; thus the goal for humans is to become conscious of their profound impact upon the unfolding of creation… Conscious evolution is humankind’s final frontier, the ultimate freedom sought by humanity since the dawn of time… it is the intuitive, radarlike quality of this transcendent faculty that will help guide us through the darkness of the unknown---illuminating our minds and awakening our hearts to the splendor of a new consciousness.” (Pg. 8-9)
He says, “The task at hand… is to find a way to bring those perceptions that are mired in petty narrowness and shortsightedness into alignment with the broader, more inclusive vision struggling to be born in our time… How is this awesome task to be accomplished? To the Sufis, the answer lies in the transformation of consciousness that occurs as the result of a shift of perspective from the personal point of view to the Divine point of view---what I call ‘thinking like the Universe.’” (Pg. 11)
:
He outlines, “In the following chapters, each of the themes I have mentioned so far will be taken up and explored in greater depth and detail, along with accompanying guided meditations, the repetition of names of God, and breathing practices. This book is arranged in such a way that it follows a pattern repeatedly emphasized in all my teachings: the journey of awakening BEYOND life---or experiencing a spectrum of altered states of consciousness---is followed by that of awakening in life, or applying these states of consciousness to one’s personal circumstances. This twofold process mirrors the classic retreat in which the seeker turns away from the demands of the world in order to undergo an alchemical process of transmutation, then returns to the world renewed and with a radically altered perspective.” (Pg. 33-34)
He states, “The illumined dimension of human nature has been eclipsed by contemporary humankind’s narrow vision of reality. Stripped of the memory of the hierarchies of light from which we originated, we are bereft of the memory of that other dimension---or true home. We have lost, as well, the luminous insight that derives from seeing life through the ‘eyes of God’---the Divine Glance that penetrates the secret of the mystery of life. Thus like orphans denied knowledge of their birthright, most people remain ignorant of the transcendent dimension of their being. Sundered from a sense of their heavenly inheritance, they suffer despair and limitations. How can we break the chain of our way of thinking, re-establishing our link to the heavenly hierarchies of beings of light?... The answer lies in contemplating the miracle of the phenomenon of light itself… The first step in reclaiming our Divine heritage is to question those conventional conceptions of reality that close our eyes to the luminosity interlacing all of creation.” (Pg. 99-100)
He states, “awakening beyond life must be followed by awakening in life. At this level of realization, you are able to cast the light of the intelligence of the Universe upon your problems instead of judging things the way they appear from your personal point of view. This decent is called ‘tanzil’ in Sufism, or the way in which the Divine Thinking expressed itself in the phenomenal world… the problems that once seemed insurmountable now appear in an entirely different light.” (Pg. 128)
He notes, “now that you have reached a point in your meditation when you feel that something has really clicked---the feeling that this is the ‘real me’ and this is the quality that I embody---it may seem perplexing to be told that you are continually changing. Confused, you might then wonder, ‘Now do I know this is really ME?’ … you could think of your personal self as a medium through which the Universe is particularized---God become human. The theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called this ‘hominization’; in other words, it is all One Being, but that Being is particularized by fragmenting Himself into a multitude of beings who are like endless variations of a theme. In the Jewish Bible… the voice of Yahweh speaking from the Burning Bush doesn’t say ‘I am who I am,’ but ‘I am that I become.’” (Pg. 156-157)
He concludes, “I have tried, in all my teachings, to bring forth a message of light. I sincerely hope that it will help you in some way. Especially if you are going through a dark night of the soul, remember that it is because you are not aware of your own light---and it is light that will show you the way. And while I hope that some of the skills and meditations that I have presented will be helpful to you, they are useful only as a ladder in attaining the essential objective---awakening consciousness and conscience in everyday life.” (Pg. 221)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Sufism, or contemporary spirituality.
September 21, 2014
Awakening: A Sufi Experience by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan gives a good overview of the beliefs and ideals of Sufism. Admittedly there was some material that was over my head, but a surprising amount of what I read was familiar to me. This is because Sufism draws from many different religions and cultures and there were concepts discussed in this book that closely resembled things I had learned when studying new age spirituality. There is a lot of emphasis on meditation in this book and it describes many different meditation and breathing exercises. Some of these I was already familiar with, but many of them were new to me. One thing that I thought was really cool about this book is that scientific principles are often used to help explain metaphysical and spiritual concepts which certainly made them easier for me to understand. I thought this was an excellent book and I'd highly recommend it to anyone new to the subject. I really enjoyed reading it and just the act of reading this book helped me to feel more peaceful.
July 13, 2013
This book was a wonderful read, started it after I started going to Sufi Dances of Universal Peace- I loved their take on the creator.
November 12, 2013
Although parts of this book were a bit boring, overall I enjoyed it. It wraps up beautifully at the end. I only gave it 3 stars because it wasn't extremely riveting, although I definitely learned a lot from it.
February 27, 2016
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan creates a Retreat-in-book-form in Awakening. The stories, methods, exercises, and meditations offer seekers experienced, gentle, loving guidance on the path. Highly recommended.
November 28, 2007
breath--working in multiple worlds
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews