Who is a Dervish?
Haroon Khan
from Goa, India asks a question:
Assalamu Alaikum, how are you?
What is a Dervish?
I would love to hear the explanation from you.
May we be showered with the blessings of His Divine Eminence Imam Mehdi Gohar Shahi, amen.
The word Dervish comes from the Persian language.
Urdu speakers pronounce this word incorrectly when they say 'Durwaish'.
Those who speak Persian pronounce this word as 'Darwaish'.
How do they say it?
Darwaish.
Darwaish comes from 'dar' which means 'house'.
Darwaish - one who goes from house to house.
This is the literal translation.
But the actual meaning of this -
There is the literal meaning, the dictionary meaning and then the actual meaning of something.
So the actual translation of this
is that he does not have a home of his own.
You understand?
That's where it comes from.
However, this word was then added to the terminology of Sufism.
So according to the terminology of Sufism
a Sufi is known as a Dervish.
Who is a Sufi?
One who is novice seeker of the knowledge of Sufism.
One who? [Audience replies].
A novice seeker of the knowledge of Sufism
is known as a Sufi.
What is Sufism?
The cleansing of the heart is known as Sufism.
'Tasfiya e Qalb'
Meaning to cleanse and purify the heart.
This is where it is derived from.
This terminology comes from the cleansing of the heart
but the essential meaning of Sufism is to cleanse the entire body.
The inner and outer cleansing of man.
I frequently read the Quran
and I came across a particular verse
last week when I was in America.
God said in that verse - now I don't know which chapter it is in
the exoteric ones or the esoteric ones.
But I came across that verse
I read what God said
and I was shocked
because I had never come across it before.
The verse states:
O' Messenger of God, tell them
that the purification of their Lower Selves is not by their own virtue
but rather because I intended to purify their Lower Selves.
And I began to wonder
that since permission is required to obtain the Activation of the Spiritual Heart
then one must also obtain permission for the purification of the Lower Self.
It will only happen when God approves of it.
The verse states that the purification of your Lower Self has nothing to do with you but rather the grace of God.
Now, it is due to the grace of God
that despite there being many who undergo spiritual austerities, who offer Salat and recite the Quran
there are but a few whose Lower Selves are purified.
If the purgation of the Lower Self was a result of worship then everybody's Lower Self would be pure.
Many people worship, don't they?
Countless people!
The mosques in Pakistan are full of them.
So the purification of the Lower Self is
also a great achievement.
It is a great achievement because for the Lower Self to become pure is nothing short of a miracle.
Baba Bulleh Shah said, 'The Lower Self made us impure for we were not impure originally'.
It is the filth of the Lower Self which made us impure otherwise we were not predestined to be impure.
The greatest milestone in spirituality is the purgation and purification of the Lower Self.
And that is when the Esoteric Sharia is required.
But the Esoteric Sharia is not to be found in books.
However, I have found an easier method for people.
In this method, we have put three of His Divine Eminence's images together
and told people to look at this image in the morning and at night
as this will notify His Divine Eminence
and the process of purgation will begin.
Q: How do we give Sadaqah (alms) to HDE Gohar Shahi?
This is technically incorrect
because there is no Sadaqah for Imam Mehdi.
There is a Sadaqah for Panjtan Pak and Moula Ali
People give Sadaqah in the names of these personalities
so as to ward off any problems or calamities they are facing.
Right?
But this cannot be done for Imam Mehdi.
There is no Sadaqah for Imam Mehdi.
You can, however, earn the blessings of Imam Mehdi.
That is available.
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