Loh o Qalam [30]

Lecture 30

Conscious Vs Insinuated Knowledge

When a baby is born, family members emphasize the need of covering the body so often that hiding the body becomes the second nature of the child and gradually it takes the form of an urge to keep the body under covers. This urge mixes up with the feeling of hiding the mistakes and bad things from others. Man wants to present himself as an ideal person by hiding the mistakes. This very urge of secrecy gives rise to the evolution in the life whereas, opposite to this animals do not have any privacy in their lives and they do not pose themselves as something what they are not because the life of one animal is no secret for the other.

Man’s effort to present himself in a better way causes him to discover new ways and invent new things. It is such an attempt on the part of man that enables him to pass the limits of the Acquired Knowledge and to enter the range of the Presented Knowledge. This very effort enabled man to collect all the knowledge of the physical sciences. Searching the new ways and exploring the new discoveries resulting into new philosophies and doctrines are all evolutionary factors and the process of evolution is known as the Acquired Knowledge. But, this must not be overlooked that most of the discoveries and philosophies expounded on the basis of Acquired Knowledge are based upon assumptions and conjectures. The knowledge where assumptions and conjectures have no role to play is known as the Presented Knowledge, which is explored in the depths of thinking. The Acquired Knowledge follows the physical laws, which in turn have to follow the spiritual laws.

Life of every person is a secret for the others; therefore, every person is ignorant about the life of other person. This very ignorance is the secret of man’s life, which causes him to hide his mistakes from the others. Everybody tries to present himself as a better person before the others and that his mistakes and shortcoming are not exposed upon the other people. Everybody knows that nobody knows about his life, it means that this secrecy is the cause of evolution and progress in the life. Life of animals is devoid of this element of secrecy.

The distinction of having the Conscious makes the mankind to learn arts and sciences. Mankind is familiar with two types of knowledge. One is founded upon fiction, assumptions and conjectures whereas the other type is based upon factual realities and there is no room for fiction, assumption or conjectures in it. Whatsoever is offered by this knowledge is nothing but reality, a reality that is invariant and unchanging. The origin of both types of knowledge is the Presented Knowledge, which also bridges in between them. The facts of the Presented Knowledge are traced in the depths of the Acquired Knowledge. For instance, when we ponder upon the signs of God and take water into our consideration then the features, composition and characteristics of water, it usage, it properties like flow etc. are come within the purview of the Acquired Knowledge. But, when the structural formation of water is explored then the knowledge obtained from this search and the resulting conclusions are the Presented Knowledge. This is the reason that God has invited us to deliberate upon His Signs in His Books time and again.

All the laws concerning the physical world and all the sciences presently prevalent in this world follow and obey the spiritual laws. For example when we mention the properties of water, we know that water flows downstream towards lower planes. And, when this thing is deliberated upon that why the water always flows downwards and how the different forces are hidden in the water, we are lead towards the spiritual laws operative in the nature. The more deeply we ponder, the newer discoveries are made that finally take us to the reality of the spiritual laws. Having access to the spiritual realities is acquainting with the Presented Knowledge. We can distinguish between the Acquired and the Presented Knowledge only when we are familiar with the Insinuated Knowledge; the Prophets of God enjoyed this knowledge hence it is also known as the Vatic Knowledge. And, when the Auliya are blessed with this knowledge, it is named as the Insinuated Knowledge (Ilm-e-Ladunni). This knowledge is given to the prophet by means of Revelation (wahi) and it is bestowed upon Auliya by way of Inspiration (Ilham).

The universe is composed of four circles. Every angle of these circles has different meanings. These circles are dihedral, one aspect is the ascending and the other one is the descending movement. From this point of view these four circles are named as follows; Rah (Draught), Rooh (Soul), Roya (Vision-Dream) and Royat (Appearance). All these four angles belong to the Unconscious. The spatio-temporal distances are non-existing in this sphere. The person having an access to this state does not see any features in there. When a movement takes place in Rah, it is named as the Soul (Rooh) and the spatio-temporal distances are found here.

If the word ‘sun’ is uttered in an audible voice, the image of the sun flashes in the mind of the listener. The sun appearing in the mind of the listener, in fact, is the sun with which he is familiar in his physical world. He does not recognize any other sun except the one with which he is familiar mentally. Let us assume that the person is a point that has no form and features. When a movement occurs in this point, the features are produced in that point. The state in which the features are produced in the point is known as soul (Rooh). When the point takes the form of the soul, Conscious is produced in it. Movement in this Conscious is the Vision (Roya) and when the vision deepens enough and reaches the level of sight it becomes the Appearance (Royat).

The Insinuated Knowledge is an agency that clearly demarcates the limits of the Presented and the Acquired Knowledge. Besides defining the limits of both types of knowledge the Insinuated Knowledge enables us to know the physical laws and tells that the spiritual laws govern all the laws of the physical world.

Perception and the Conscious

The four circles mentioned earlier are also classifiable as The Unconscious, Perception, Vision and the Object, respectively. The first circle is situated in the inner most recesses of the universe and the individuals of the universe. Identification of characteristics of this level is almost impossible. The Will of God is directly operative in this depth, therefore; only those who are versed with the Will of God can have the knowledge of the characteristics of this level. The people versed with this level are taught the Knowledge of the Pen (Ilm-ul-Qalum).

At the next stage, new characteristics are included in the first circle and this stage is collectively known as Perception. When movement takes place in the perception the conscious of the individual grasps it. This grasping of the conscious is termed as concept or the vision. And, when the vision emerges before a person, he starts seeing things before him.

In short, existence of everything in this universe has to pass through these four stages. An object cannot exist unless it has passed through all these four stages. In other words, the initial structuring of an object is completed in the first three stages, only then it is exhibited in form and features in the fourth stage of its existence.

Movement of an object, in the universe, is of two types. One of them is the linear movement and the other one is the rotational or the revolutionary movement, which is subject to the linear movement. A distance known as period ties both the movements with each other. Both the movements keep on revolving simultaneously and together these two movements create the consciousness continuously. These two movements can be seen together in an example of a spinning top.

When a top wrapped in a string is made to spin, it represents the spatial and temporal movements simultaneously. It spins around its axis and at the same time it advances with linear movement. Linear movement of the spinning top is the Space and its rotational spins are the Time. The top stops after few minutes and in this period it covers some distance as well from its original position on the surface. We are familiar with the linear movement in the form of seconds, minutes, hours, days, nights, weeks, months, years and centuries etc. and know the rotational movements as the space in the form of celestial body and the world around us. Both these states in their united form are called Period or Interval.

When we look towards the sky, the sequence of periods felt as seconds and minutes breaks away and the distance of millions of miles is seen without applying any particular effort whereas in our conscious senses we cannot see more than a couple of hundred yards. Witnessing the moon, sun, stars and other heavenly bodies is only possible because we are traveling in the rotational movement as well as in the linear movement. Period of the linear movement is the space. The rotational movement is devoid of space. When the sun that is at a distance of about ninety million miles from us, is seen, we transfer into the rotational movement.

After passing through the stages of Fantasy, thought and vision a person enters into the state of sensual feelings which are centered at the material world around that is solid and is a combination of elements.

Scholars and Prejudices

The physical world is a composition of the elements. Creation of the elements is the fourth stage of the individual conscious. Perception of this conscious is very shallow. Its solid state and stay is short lived and for the very reason senses of this conscious are not reliable. Because of its solidness this conscious suffers continuous gaps in it.

His Divine Grace, Qalander Baba Auliya says: -

Conscience is the inner Light. God imposed laws through the prophets so that the people could learn to have an access to their conscience or the inner light. When the teachings of the prophets of God are taken into consideration, it is observed that the overall purpose of the creation of the mankind is that God is acknowledged as one and the only. This secret was revealed upon the prophets of God by way of Revelation (Wahi). Since this fact is revealed upon the prophets as Revelation therefore, their teachings remain free from conjectural conclusions. Contrary to this, the people who do not believe the prophets of God tend to resolve the unity of Godhead using their conjectures. In order to acknowledge the rule of one single power they seek guidance from their conjectures and try to explore the unity of Godhead into their own speculation, which mislead them towards Non-Unitarian ideologies that usually happen to be in clash with the ideologies of the other factions and groups. Any conjectural theory may correspond to some extent with other ideology but eventually fail to reconcile with them in the long run whereas the Unitarian ideology preached by the prophets of God is not based upon any speculative work or conjectures.

If we are sincere in our efforts for the welfare of humanity and mankind we have to unite mankind on a common ideology of monotheism or the Unitarianism that is the preaching of the prophets without having any difference of thoughts amongst them. Monotheism makes us believe that the whole mankind is a family and God the most Beneficent is the Supreme Lord of this family. There is no other way of uniting mankind on a common ideology except through Unitarian approach of Monotheism. All the various systems invented or devised by the people on their own proved to be fallible at one stage or another. History is evident that all doctrines other than monotheism and Unitarianism have either become extinct or are in the throes of invalidation. Almost all the old doctrines transmitted to the present age either stand annihilated or after having undergone considerable changes and taking newer names are at the verge of disappearance. Although followers of such doctrines are desperately trying to make them a source of guidance for the whole of mankind, their efforts did not yield any results in the past and will remain futile in future too.

The present generations are much more frustrated than those of the past while the generation of future would even be abjectly worse. Eventually, mankind would be constrained to returned to Unitarianism as this would be their one last hope for solidarity otherwise they would never be able to rally at one central point.

Qalander Baba Auliya advises the thinkers of today that they are required to understand and follow the thinking approach of the prophets of God and Revelation (Wahi) instead of their conjectures and abstain from misleading the mankind.

Admittedly, the habits, customs and life-styles vary from nation to nation and country to country and unification of physical functioning and life-styles of singular pattern the world over is simply not possible. But, the spiritual functions that emerge only from the Unity of Godhead can be deemed as the only left out possibility in this regard. When the inner is explored, we observe that despite having variety in physical functions every individual of the mankind has common approach towards the spiritual functioning because the provider of the sustenance to the creatures is one God who is catering the needs of all His creatures. All the advancements claimed by man are only a token of His bestowals. No science could have existed if knowledge in that regard is not inspired upon the human mind. Similarly no discovery or invention was possible if God did not make its resources available. And to top it all, if the mankind did not exist, who could have made any progress and advancement. And after its existence if an idea is not inspired they could have not been able to do anything. This is the correlation that is functional in all the species and their individuals and its source is not other than the Unitarianism of God as preached by the prophets of God.

Thinkers of the world are required to struggle effectively to correct the misinterpretations of the diversification of the physical functions and to unite the nations of the world in one single bond of the unified system of spiritual functioning. And the only practicable spiritual system, as prescribed in all the Divine Books, is unequivocally monotheistic by all reasoning. We have to rise above our biases and prejudices otherwise the human conflicts and animosities of the future, whether economic or ideological, will force mankind to do something for its survival at any cost. And, he means of survival cannot be found in any philosophy, ideology or doctrine except the Unitarianism preached by the Holy Quran.

When the features of the Prophetic Knowledge will become known to our conscious, our thinking would automatically reject any conjectural knowledge and eventually embark on the journey of the knowledge based upon realities and not on assumptions, speculations and fictions.