The human soul is like a seed buried in the ground, and thus, enveloped in the dense matter, it falls asleep, loses consciousness of its origin and nature, but after gathering enough experiences, a higher consciousness begins to flash in it gradually.
A person in a certain phase of development almost always experiences a profound upheaval, an internal crisis, an internal storm.
Until then, a person has lived quite unconsciously without asking about the purpose and meaning of Life, but at a certain moment when they feel emptiness and realize that the previous life has no basis and no direction they go through a dark period of searching…possibly experiencing great inner suffering.
And in times of the greatest internal storms, a small light flashes in them, which begins to grow and which fills them with previously even unsuspected Peace and Joy.
This” light” is the idea of the Reasonable principle that works throughout the universe and within each person.
This is precisely the first stage of human awakening - Conversion.
Until then, they had kind of blind eyes to the Divine, to the great center of Life, and at particular Conversion moments they suddenly turned their face to the “Source”.
Why, at a certain stage in one's development, does one come to the idea of the Great Reasonable Beginning?
Because this idea is innate , every human comes with it to Earth, it lives in the depths of each soul.
The Conversion phase is a deep inner, mystical process. It is an illumination of the human soul from a ray that comes from the Great Reasonable Principle.
The same idea is expressed in the following words: "God has drawn you with the threads of his Love." …
The Path to Truth: the seven makam (steps, degrees of development) that the Self (ego) of each climbs to achieve Atonement:
***Arab. النفس), in Islam — the essence of a person, the "I", the ego.
Nafsom also means passions, all negative traits of one's conscious being.
Nafs (نَفْس) is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran, also literally meaning "self", and has been translated as "psyche", "ego" or "soul". The term is cognate with the Hebrew word nephesh, נֶפֶשׁ.
1. The first is the Corrupted Nafs ("self" or ego), the lowest and most common stage in the soul's being, when it is ensnared by all the earthly desires.
Most people are stuck on it, struggling and suffering as they serve their own self-love, ego, and very commonly blame others for making them feel miserable.
2. If and when one begins to work on Self, and so realizes what a miserable condition their ego is in, they can ascend to the next step, and in a sense begin to do the exact opposite of what they were doing on the previous step.
Instead of placing blame on others the person who has reached this stage blame themselves sometimes to the point of self-destruction.
Thus the ego becomes the Accusing Nafs and takes the path of inner purification.
3. At the third stage, one is more mature and the ego has risen to the Inspired Nafs.
Only on this step and never before can One understand the true meaning of the word "to give up" and walk through the Valley of Knowledge.
If One has climbed this step, they already possess and display patience, perseverance, wisdom and humility.
The world seems new and full of inspiration.
However, many who reach the third step feel the urge to stay there and lose the will and courage to continue.
Therefore, as beautiful and blessed as the third step is, it is also a trap for one who aims higher.
4. If One manages to continue further, they enter the Valley of Wisdom and know the Tranquil Self.
Here the ego is no longer what it was before, because it has transformed and reached a high level of awareness.
The main distinguishing features of anyone who has come this far are generosity, gratitude and an unshakable sense of contentment, no matter what hardships life throws at them.
5. Beyond this step stretches the Valley of Atonement.
He who is here is content, in whatever circumstances Life places him. He does not pay attention to everyday things because he has reached the nafs of Contentment.
6. On the next step - nafs of Service,
a person becomes a beacon for others and inspires strength to anyone who wants it, teaches and brings light like a true teacher.
It happens almost always that such a person also possesses true healing abilities.
Wherever they go, they transform the lives of those around them. Whatever they do, whatever they strive to do, the primary goal is to serve the Divine by serving others.
7. Finally, on the seventh step, one reaches the Purified Nafs and becomes a “perfect person”.
But few know anything about this step, and even if they do, they refuse to talk about it.
As easy as it is to summarize the steps on the Path, it is so difficult to climb them.
The following is added to the obstacles that arise in front of each one, each day: no one could even promise that one will climb all the time…
The path from the first to the last step is by all means not all Up…
There is always the danger of tripping and returning to the lower steps, sometimes from the upper ones many fall on the first one…
No wonder, with so many pitfalls, just very few in every century reach the true Divine Essence.
Shared with joy
A.A.
Stob, Bulgaria