Theory of Consciousness
Isn’t life the most annoying? Especially when it suddenly decides to spin out of our control sucking us into a whirlpool of helplessness, panic and sadness? We desperately thrash our arms trying to restore things back to what we believe is normal but more than often we just have to learn to live with the fact that life experiences that are fed to us are just not in our control. Sooner or later we begin to discover how our life events are interconnected to the people around us. How a mishap for one becomes an advantage for other and vice versa. Admitting this makes us realize the insignificance of our being but at the same time be in awe of this grand storyline where each of us has been handed a character to play. When things go out of control in our little lives, it actually has an influence on the whole story. So even if the character chosen for you is that of the background performer in the last row, you know in your heart that the grandeur of the group is incomplete without you. And then when it dawns on you that your position at the very back is actually an opportunity for you to observe and learn from the performers in front of you, one fine day you do make it to the front row. This is the point where for a brief moment you begin to live under the illusion that things finally are in your control. But that again is actually only a temporary phase in the plot written for your character where the role is now to be a guide for the back row performer. The performer who starts believing that success is a result of her hard work very soon finds herself disappointed on the day she is asked to step down from the stage altogether in an instant dismissal of all her talents and years of hard work to some flaw ridiculously beyond her power such as her lack of control over her fading physical beauty. Nothing is permanent in this world and more importantly nothing is in our control. So we are left with no choice but to surrender to this meticulously perfected grand storyline that makes us feel like a puppet at times but is so beautifully written that, despite all, each one of us secretly keeps on nurturing a blind faith in our hearts that we alone are the protagonist of this story fated to eventually conquer the entire world. Unfortunately, this is also where we get stuck. It becomes difficult to entertain the following two thoughts in our heads at the same time:
1. My life events are not in my control,
2. I was born to conquer the world
So here is a third thought. What if this deep desire to conquer the world is very much valid but not for this temporary physical world? What if there is another dimension which is eternal and where we are given complete control? Doesn’t it make more sense to strive to conquer such a world? This is the world where we are the boss because in this world we thrive or wither depending on the way we control our emotions, how we choose to behave while interacting with others, and what values we hold deep within our hearts. It is up to us to choose if we want to water positive emotions or negative ones, whether to show compassion and kindness to others or to treat them with indifference and malice, or whether to keep on holding grudges and selfish desires or to let go of resentments and become a giver. Important thing to note here is that any action taken in this dimension will not only have an effect here in this spiritual world but also in our temporary physical dimension. For example in a situation where we have a choice between being angry and controlling our rage, every time we choose to lose our temper not only do we lose a little bit of our peace of mind, maturity of soul and a fraction of our love for our self, but also simultaneously in the physical world we lose a bit of the integrity of our character and ties with loved ones. Whereas controlling your spiritual world well almost immediately improves your physical world and sets it on autopilot where everything starts to sort itself on its own.
So just like in this physical world where we have scientific laws such as ‘for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction’, this other dimension is also governed by certain laws. One of it is the famous Law of Attraction which says that if you truly seek something, the universe conspires to bring it to you. This blog is about another one of such laws. I would love to call it the Law of Consciousness but despite all my certainty, I must be humble and call it the Theory of Consciousness. So this theory goes something like this:
If you keep doing good deeds consistently for a long period of time and make an effort to refrain from bad deeds simultaneously, you will eventually raise your consciousness to a frequency that begins to resonate with that of God. This is when you no longer require logic and proof to have belief in the unseen. This is when you initiate a communication with God Himself.
Therefore, if you are seeking God but are not able to find Him, chances are that you have not purified yourself enough through good deeds to initiate that communication.
I would like to explain this theory taking references from the Holy Quran. Before I proceed I must mention that the word used in Quran for wrong doings is ‘kufr’. Kufr, in a more diverse sense, can be described as:
کفر kufr (inf. n. of کفر ‘to be unbelieving, or ungrateful,’ &c.), s.m. Unbelief, infidelity; incredulity; skepticism; ingratitude; paganism, idolatry; impiety, blasphemy (Ref. 1).
(The verses below are picked from the first 100 verses of Surah Baqarah: the second chapter of the Holy Quran.)
The theory begins with the fact that human beings are born with an inner innocence and a deep sense of right and wrong. But as we grow and interact with our society we see people around us fighting tooth and nail for survival in this world that has evolved to become extremely competitive. We begin to believe that that is how it is and that is what we must also do to survive. In the struggle to be better than others, slowly this inbuilt sense and innocence begins to fade away as we set aside our ethics and try to achieve this superficial success by hook or by crook in this limited time before our death. But every time we decide to do a wrong deed we are at least once jerked back to our true nature reminded that what we are about to do is not right. If we go ahead with doing it, we lose a piece of goodness in us. And if we choose to keep ignoring this instinct and continue doing wrong, there will come a time when we will lose this instinct completely.
Verse 6 talks about people who openly commit evil:
Indeed, those who disobey– it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them — they will not believe.
As a consequence of this disobedience, In the next verse 7 Allah says:
Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. And for them is a great punishment.
Then there are some people who pretend to be doing good but deep within their hearts, evil prevails. Even their good actions are motivated by evil intensions. For those as well, Allah says:
Verse 8: And of the people are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” but they are not believers.
Verse 15: Allah mocks them and prolongs them in their transgression [while] they wander blindly.
Such people are shown a glimpse of guidance but due to their two-faced nature, they do not deserve to behold this sight for long enough. So it is taken away from them.
Verse 17: Their example is that of one who kindled a fire, but when it illuminated what was around him, Allah took away their light and left them in darkness [so] they could not see.
Both these people who do wrong openly and implicitly are warned of a severe punishment as a result of their lack of faith as a consequence of their disobedience.
Verse 39: And those who disobey and deny Our signs — those will be companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.
When Prophet PBUH felt sorrowful that some of the people did not respond to his message, the Almighty says:
28:56 Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.
(This, by the way, is also a clear indication for the rest of Muslims as well that our duty is just to ensure justice, equality and harmony in the society by preaching good and forbidding evil in a very subtle manner. Because eventually it all comes down to whether at the receiving end the consciousness has been raised high enough to be able to decipher the message within. For the one with low consciousness, the words are mere text. For the conscious one, however, it is pure wisdom)
Now two questions arise here:
1. How can Allah be biased in providing guidance to people. Why would he deliberately hold guidance from some people when he loves each of us equally?
2. What is the criteria and pre-requisite of getting guidance?
So clearly, there had to be some rule by which it will be decided who will receive guidance and who will not. Allah has explained openly in the following verse how one situation can be interpreted in two different ways by people depending on their deeds. From the same situation one person can receive guidance whereas another can be led astray. Only people who do evil deeds, and that too persistently, are the ones from whom guidance is withdrawn.
Verse 26: Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example — that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it. And those who have believed know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, “What did Allah intend by this as an example?” He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby. And He misleads not except the defiantly disobedient,
And this makes sense because this sets a reasonable criteria for the ultimate success and also seems like a fair deal. Moreover there is no question of biasedness now because that sense of right and wrong that was to lead us to guidance was given to all of us at birth. Now it is up to us which part we choose to act upon.
The other thing to note is that consistency in doing good or evil deeds also matters. Doing good consistently makes your heart soften whereas continuing to do wrong, one bad deed after the other will close your heart to guidance. Allah talks about how the hearts of Bani Israel were hardened because they disobeyed time and again.
Verse 74: Then your hearts became hardened after that, being like stones or even harder…
Verse 61: And they were covered with humiliation and poverty and returned with anger from Allah [upon them]. That was because they [repeatedly] disbelieved in the signs of Allah and killed the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and were [habitually] transgressing
Verse 88: And they said, “Our hearts are wrapped.” But, [in fact], Allah has cursed them for their disobedience, so little is it that they believe.
Verse 89: …so the curse of Allah will be upon the disobeyers.
On the other hand, doing good makes us feel good and gives us inner peace. When you set aside your own wishes and chose to not step on the rights of another person to achieve your desires, in that very moment you are acting on that true nature that you were born with.
Verse 25: And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow.
Verse 82: But they who believe and do righteous deeds — those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.
Prophet Muhammed PBUH, before declaring prophethood was openly known for his piousness. But two special qualities were famously associated with him. One was sadiq (the truthful) and the other was amin (the honest). He practiced and exhibited these qualities in his personal and business dealings and by the time he was forty he was acknowledged for these two traits even by people who later became his enemies (Ref. 2). It was only then, after forty years, that the Prophet PBUH had purified himself so much so, consistently practicing piety, that he was able to make that connection with God and made himself worthy of receiving revelations.
Therefore, one must not expect to receive guidance unless one has fulfilled the criteria for a certain period of time. One must practice patience and keep performing good deeds with complete faith that this is a path that will lead him to God. We humans tend to run after things that come quick and easy. Even when it comes to faith we always seem to be in a hurry.
70:19 Indeed, man has been created impatient and anxious.
21:37 Man has been created hasty.
17:11 And man is very hasty.
What we eventually need to realize from various examples in our lives is that things that come easy are not real or permanent. On the other hand, things that take time and are achieved after a struggle are more long lasting, cherished and make you a better person in the process. During this test of patience, feelings like happiness, respect and love are the gifts that we receive as a reward of performing good deed just to keep us encouraged that we are on the right path. Anything that messes with your inner peace and causes sadness must be abandoned immediately as it is only a warning sign on your path directing you away from God’s displeasure. On this path, soon one begins to realize that all along the mere purpose was to just be on the path rather than reach the destination. When you keep following the guiding signs of true, eternal and permanent happiness, one day you find yourself to have evolved into this beautiful, characterful, ethical, selfless, powerful, strong and happy individual. That is the day when you fall in love with the person that you are from inside. And the day when you become lovable in your own eyes is the day you make yourself worthy of communicating with God. This communication may seem subtle to others but only you feel this certainty within you that you are actually fully connected to the Higher Being.
This connectivity, if one has to put it in words, can be experienced in the following ways:
1. Understanding the text of the revealed books in its true essence
Raising one’s consciousness expands the capacity to understand the wisdom behind the text of the Holy Books. All your past life experiences will begin to make sense. You will begin to relate how every single event in the life of the character given to you gave you some lesson that helps you now to relate to the guidance in the Holy Book. Everything seems interconnected and your belief in the unseen becomes so strong that you are compelled to find meaning behind each and every ayah or to simply follow with blind faith if it has not yet been unveiled before you.
2. Love for nature
You love being outdoors and find peace, charm and sacred ecstacy in observing nature. The beauty of the perfect balance and aesthetic pleasance between the living and non-living creation of Allah leaves you mesmerized. You begin to feel that there can be no art greater than nature and (funnily enough) that God personally creates something new every single day just for your eyes only. As if you, as a single individual human being, are His only creation who is important enough to be shown His signs. Everyday at sunset God paints the canvas of skies, grows from a crescent a full moon and makes you witness the innocence of a child offering pure joy.
3. Having epiphanies
You begin to go deep down within yourself, talking to yourself, listening to yourself and most importantly understanding yourself. And during these introspective moments, you begin to have epiphanies. Something you experienced or read long ago is suddenly recalled by your mind making complete sense bringing you one step closer to God.
4. Attracting miracles
You begin to attract miracles like true love, respect, success etc in this material world. And the best part is that all this comes to you as a consequence of you just being you. No pretense, no faking. Beautiful things that you had lost faith in, out of thin air, begin to show up in abundance and you are left wondering how you got so lucky and what you did to deserve all these blessings.
So, concluding with the words of a genius:
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