The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship

A short talk given by Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen in September 28, 1986.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Such are the billboards of the world. Whatever our mind sees and desires in this world, Satan places before us as a billboard. Satan is within us. Our bad qualities are Satan There is darkness in our life, and there is also light, which is the good part of our life. This world is the darkness of our mind and desire. On the other side lies the light which is unity, love, and purity. We must think of each of these. Unless we realize this state, we are in hell. We create our own hell. The advertisements, the billboards, are within us. Our own mind displays them. Satan entices us through these billboards. If we are fooled by them, we fall into the deep pit of hell.

All the advertisements we see in the world are satan's magic. If we regard these as precious or valuable, if we have pride believing that we are learned and think, "I am a teacher, a great guru," then we fall into that pit of hell.

If we say we want to go to heaven, where is heaven? After all, heaven is inside us. Heaven is not somewhere else. Hell is also inside us. Where does God dwell? God is within us. We are within God, and God is within us. If we have God's qualities, actions, and wisdom, then God resides within us. But if we are in the state of Satan, then both Satan and hell are inside us. Your qualities, your state, and your good deeds are heaven for you.

Instead of understanding this, if we live under the impression that heaven and hell are elsewhere, we are wrong. What you see now while you are alive is the magic of hell. If you want to go to heaven while in your body, you must look within. If you develop the light side, you will see heaven within you while you are still alive. This is why we need a sheikh. But, we must be humble; we need to be a slave to learn! One who becomes proud will end up like the sheikh in the story. One must be humble and always remain a slave to God. One must be a slave. That duty is heaven. The station where God dwells is within us. That is heaven. That is God's kingdom.

Without discovering this kingdom within himself, if a person thinks he can find heaven elsewhere, that will only cause his destruction. We do not need to look elsewhere. The separations are within us. These are the thoughts that bring forth murder, vengeance, evil, differences of race, religion, and color within us. These are the magics that adorn and decorate us inside. This is the work of Satan We are deceived when we see this and we turn toward evil.

My children should not become vain and proud because they are a sheikh, or a learned one, or one who preaches. You must always be a student to a student. You must be a child to your Father. A father must be a child to his child and feed him milk. To a father, we must be a father and give care. To God, we must be His child. If we want to teach wisdom, we must play like a child among the children and teach. Vanity and pride are not things we should learn. We should think about this, all of it, otherwise we will not be able to attain that state.

Each and every child, in your lives, no matter how great you may become, do not think that you are great and therefore you must go here or there. Everything is inside you. Becoming great or becoming small is within you. When you look correctly you will know.

When Satan comes and tries to deceive you, you must realize that it is Satan When darkness approaches, you must recognize that this is not the light. You must know the difference between these two. And for that you need the appropriate qualities, actions, and wisdom.

Studying, learning, and understanding are one thing, but the most important accomplishment is to firmly establish His qualities, His actions, and His state within you. To do so you must have faith, certitude, and trust in God. These are not to be found in race or religion, but in God's compassionate qualities, God's actions, and God's unity. It is from within God's state, from within His ninety-nine attributes that you can receive these treasures. You cannot receive these treasures, this wealth, in any other way. Every child must imbibe the knowledge of wisdom, and step by step find the clarity of God's state. We must research that. This is the greatest blessing we can ever hope to receive.

When we perform duty, we must have unity and exalted ideals. If a piece of flesh were to be severed from our body, how much it would hurt! Like that, when a thorn pricks another child, we must feel that child's pain as if it were our own. We must make sure that we do not prick or hurt any life. We should not punish anyone. We must embrace them with our love, comfort and kiss them with our wisdom, treat them as our own life, treat them as our brothers and sisters, and protect and comfort them. This is the duty that we must perform. But we cannot go and embrace a snake. We must use our wisdom. We must subdue it with our love and send it away. Any evil beings you come upon, you must treat with love and send them on their way.

Similarly, when anger, pride, and egoism enter us, the sheikh of wisdom will pour the water of his grace upon us and reduce the flames to charcoal. With his wisdom and qualities, he will pour his qualities and destroy this evil. He will reveal what is good. For this we need the faith and certitude of iman. If we can learn this state, it will bring good results. The learning we receive on the inside and the outside, without vanity, without pride or envy, will be the most useful. Then we can attain our victory in this life.

My brothers and sisters, may God help us and give us His compassion. Then you will work to help the rest of the world, all lives, without any selfishness or pride. That is God's work. It is God who resides within you and does the work. When you become a slave ('abd) to Him, He will be a slave to you and perform your duty. Just as water and earth join to bring forth a rich harvest, God and insan must join to bring forth the praise of God and the growth of the wisdom and good qualities within man. God cannot do this by Himself. He must enter insan and give the explanation. Just as earth and water unite to bring forth a good harvest, similarly, through an insan or man, God explains what is good and bad and bestows what is beneficial. We must understand this. Amin. Amin. As-salamu 'alaikum. May the peace of God be with you.

M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen