Salman Spiritual
Towards the Inner Vision of the Truth
"Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believe. He bringeth them out of darkness into light." — Holy Qur'an 2:257
:: Post No. 31: Timeless Batini-Noorani Didar Preparation Gems for the Global Jamat ::
Monday,
Mar. 3, 2025
Ya Ali Madad! This post has two parts.
Part 1. Knowledge Section
This post is a resource for preparing for Batini-Noorani didar of Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam.
We believe in the zahir and batin aspects of our being. The search for higher spiritual enlightenment is a package deal. This means that a number of Tariqah practices have to undertaken and integrated. For example, just performing bandagi (meditation) or just performing unconditional volunteer service is not enough. In my opinion, ten different activities have to be integrated.
In order to understand this, let us take an analogy of building a house. Since kindergarten, we have been drawing diagrams of houses. As we grow up, we understand how houses are built and how different systems get integrated. Now let us think of a different type of a house. How about building a spiritual house? It is spiritual but not physical. It is a house in which Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam can spiritually visit and/or stay. This has stimulated a chain of thoughts and insights, and has led to integration of a body of knowledge. For the spiritual house we need: (1) a foundation; (2) a structure consisting a frame, walls, doors, etc.; (3) a roof; and (4) a potential for a future expansion. All the associated systems have to be integrated in each of these components.
The foundation of the spiritual house is based on the first four items in the list. These are (1) staunch faith in the Holy Imam, (2) sincere repentance, (3) submission of dasond in full and on time, and (4) reciting Dua at sacred times in the morning and the evening, preferably in Jamat Khana. We need to be certain that our foundation is strong and if there are any cracks in it, then this is a good time to fix them.
The walls of the spiritual house are based on the next five items in the list. These are (1) bandagi (luminous mediation), (2) giriyah-u zâri (supplication), (3) dhikr (Divine remembrance), (4) Performing Seva (Voluntary Service); and (5) Being Imam Conscious & Ethical. We need to be certain that the walls of our spiritual house are strong and of even height so that a roof can be placed on the structure. This raises the question of balance and the need of a multi-prong approach so that all the five walls get built simultaneously.
Our day has to be organized according to an Ismaili lifestyle in which bandagi gets performed first and then the remaining activities follow. As the walls of spiritual house can have doors and windows, it is possible to experience happiness, inner peace and get rays of light inside our spiritual house (personal world). The walls also permit us to have a sacred space within ourselves. As we intensify our preparation for a Holy Batini-Noorani Didar, it is important to check and fix for any cracks in the 'walls'.
As the final destination of our spiritual journey is the recognition of the Light of Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam in our foreheads, it is important to think about the transparent, colored glass roof with a dome for our spiritual house. This design would fully absorb the luminous rays of the Noor of Mowlana Hazar Imam from all directions.
Spiritual experiences such as tears of love for Mowla, goosebumps, shivering, shaking and fragrances are signs that the soul is being purified. Let us hope some or all of these happen in our personal search. In addition to this, for the perfected ones, there will be the didar of Light in the forehead. Let us hope and pray that this also happens at the advances stage of our personal search.
Now let us reflect deeply on the following wish of Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam:
| "I give to you once again, each one of you, my most affectionate blessings, my most affectionate blessings. Take them with you for yourselves, your families, your Jamats and I hope you will have sunshine in your hearts. Khanavadan, Khanavadan, Khanavadan." |
The fully expanded hearts of the Holy Prophets and the Holy Imams are full of spirituality and luminosity because the whole universe in a subtle form in present in their personal worlds as explained in Enlightenment Post No. 20. If a mu'min follows in the footsteps of the Holy Prophets and Holy Imams, then the treasuries of spiritual and luminous worlds also open up. Therefore, a person with an expanded heart experiences a Golden Noorani Didar in the forehead and gets numerous opportunities to present spiritual and luminous nazranas (gifts) to his beloved NOOR Mowlana Hazar Imam. Let us hope that this also happens during the Diamond Jubilee year.
In his firman to the Bombay Jamat on November 27, 1973, NOOR Mowlana Hazar Imam said:
"...That you should have pure souls and clean hearts is fundamental to you, but it is also as fundamental to the Jamat – fundamental in the sense that you will live cleanly, properly and as you should in relation to your families, your Jamats and the country in which you are living. And if you fulfill your material responsibilities and you are ethical in your material lives, it will improve the general condition of the Jamat and it will improve yourselves. Because he who cheats, he who lies, he who behaves in an immoral manner, what is he doing? He is harming not only himself but also the Jamat. And I want you to be well aware that in fulfilling your spiritual and your physical or material responsibilities as you should, you are not only improving your own personal condition but you are improving that of the Jamat as a whole."
In preparation for the many Batini-Noorani Didars, let us practise our faith with conviction by attending Jamat Khana regularly; submitting dasond; saying three Duas on time; practising bandagi because it is a luminous prayer; reciting angelic salwats, Holy Ginans, Qasidas and Geets; performing abundant dhikr; performing volunteer service; balancing din and duniya; being Imam conscious and ethical; and by accumulating material, spiritual and luminous nazranas in our personal worlds. The search for Light, with the foundational pillar of dhikr, is and should be our primary objective. May Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam fill our spiritual hearts with his NOOR and nothing else! Ameen.
Part 2. Angelic Salwat
Let us recite angelic salwats to invoke Divine grace and mercy.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad:
O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants
or
Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil 'alamin.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!
Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)
Forty Deeper Spiritual Insights