Potentially, it was the night of power (in Arabic, Laylat al-Qadr) and I was sat with a group of Sufi mystics. It was around 2 a.m. and the topic turned to the mysteries. The discussion turned to another night of significance in the Islamic calendar Lailat al Miraj (or the night of the ladder or ascension).
It is a fascinating account of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s journey from the Mosque of al-Haram in Mecca Saudia Arabia to (the first stop) the Mosque of Al Aqsa (the furthest mosque) which, in Judaism is the holiest of holy places, the Temple of the Mount and then onward and upward to the seat of Allah (denoted by a tree, Sidrat al-Muntaha, where even Angels are forbidden to tread).
Curious how such faiths are connected in profoundly sacred (site) ways and yet divisive in the people of the faiths.
The conversation around the gathered mystics was concerning the path that the Prophets mystical (quite literally, heavenly) mount had taken on its journey heavenward. It is said that the Milkyway was formed from the wake of his journey. I found it amusing that this gathering was considering the part of the tale that no one bothers with i.e.
- How can it be that the Milkyway. which is basically our view towards the centre of our own galaxy and hence why the stars are brightest and so must have been in existence (and indeed visible) prior to the Prophets journey be the wake of a journey that took place a mere 1400 or so years ago?
- Rather than the mystical connotations of a journey into other dimensions (as I see it) that brought knowledge and illumination?
Just goes to show you, what strange puzzles occupy strange minds. As I listened to talk unfold I began to understand the deeper purpose for this discussion. The core was directed at a central paradox. How can reconcile the evidence of the physical with the belief of the divinely inspired?
In this blog we have on many occasions encountered this very same paradox which is encapsulated by the question, Is what we experienced really real? Or is it just our over active imagination? What we do throughout our experiences is to take the something from the real world and turn it into something magical via our perception.
It reminds me of a paragraph from Carlos Castaneda’s adventures…Carlos’s tutor Don Juan was telling his apprentice of the ability of Shamans to vanish or transform into animals at will. Carlos (with whom I am relating too often lately) asks his inevitable western rational question, “If the Shaman was in the middle of Mexico City on a busy Saturday, what would the people see when he transformed?” I’m laughing as I type this because I have the experiential answer. Often I look across at Gwas when he is in the midst of his work and see him sat motionless, head bowed, on a rock. Then he returns from his journey to reveal gems of experience and insight. Yet, surely he was just sat on a rock?
What is it to be then? Is the Milkyway the remnants of a prophetic journey or the densely populated stellar centre of our universal home?
When I am sat with a group of mystics on a clear star filled night it is the wake of a heavenly beast. When I sat looking through the powerful lense of an astronomical observatory, then it is a stellar marvel.
Kal Malik – squaring the paradox
