Today I’ve been thinking about Sufism when I should have been thinking about Property and Constitutional Law. I’ve been at least mildly interested in Sufism for a long time, but a comment made by Cricket on my Mysticism post reminded me to take another look.
While Sufism is interesting in general (mysticism is always interesting, and so are all things exotic), it has the same accessibility problems that Islam in general does. That is, I’m just not an Arab. And for those of you for whom that is some kind of nonsequitur, what I mean is that Islam comes from a cultural context that is alien to mine and thus is extremely inaccessible (in addition to not being an Arab I am also not a Persian, Turk, Indonesian, or Mongol). Plus, I really like pork. And I don’t know that I’m quite ready to give up on Christianity altogether.
Maybe some of my antipathy is basic goold old-fashioned 21st-century American ansi-Muslim prejudice, but I’ve been hearing horrible things about Islam for years, and while I intellectually can compartmentalize that stuff, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. furthermore, I have specific problems with Islam that intend to articulate in a future post.
Plus, maybe this is lame of me, but I don’t know if I’m really up to the more extreme forms of religious practice like fasting and trances and such. And in Sufism, it seems that those kinds of relatively extreme practices are not only the order of the day, but they are specifically the means of attaining mystical experience. That dredges up the skeptic in me: the more you have to contort and hurt and excrucuate yourself to experience God, the more likely I imagine that the mystical experienceyou’re having is not God at all, but rather the natural result of putting yor body and/or mind through such an intense obstacle course.
I also read today about Universal Sufism, which is supposed to be Sufism divorced from a specifically Islamic context, but there I find the same problem I find with all universal or syncretic religions: it seems so watered down that it loses all real impetus and spiritual power.
That’s kind of a problem for me in general. Religions that claim to be universal (like Christianity and Islam) usually turn out not to be universal at all, but instead they’re full of cultural assumptions and prejudices that make them look like national religions with the “universal” tag sewn on. On the other hand, religions that really strive for some kind of true universality seem watered down and ineffectual, and ultimately not objectively real in any meaningful sense.
Sailing to Byzantium 
My humble advice is to not get caught up in these details. Don’t worry about pork, don’t worry about trances or fasting. There is still value in studying Sufism, whatever your background.
But don’t miss poetry like this, from Rumi, 13th century.
Art as Flirtation and Surrender
In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that there’s nothing of value in Sufism!
The thing is, I’m basically looking for a religion right now, and I’m pretty sure Sufism isn’t it.
“The thing is, I’m basically looking for a religion right now”
And a tall order it is – especially to find a pre-made one that fits perfectly. I think that personally it’s hard for me to imagine finding such a organization. But good luck to you, and I hope you don’t mind these comments on such a personal search…
I think Sufism is interesting in the cultural context, in so far as it sometimes seems lmore ike Hinduism wrapped in Islam. Like Zen is a more clear cut case, where Taoism becomes wrapped in Buddhism, and you get something new and intellectually exciting.
And I find it interesting, too, in the context of of mysticism, a branch of which seems to exist in so many religions.
But I really haven’t read very much either. I know I too, do not plan ever to be Islamic (any more than I plan to be a Christian), but I do think, of all branches, Sufism has some of the most interesting things to offer.
By the way, I’ve been browsing though your posts and have really enjoyed your exploration. It’s always nice to follow the thought process of someone going so thoughtfully through these ideas.
You need not be an Arab or Persian in order to adhere to Sufism. Millions of people in South Asia (India and Pakistan) converted to Islam because of Sufism. The largest population of sufis live in China. Just thought I’d mention that.
Most people are what I term Sufi Sympathizers. Its an inaccurate term that I’ve come up with but it’ll do for now. These Sufi Sympathizers adhere to the tenents of Sufism but do not call themselves Sufis. One doesn’t need to label themselves a Sufi in order be part of it. There are some that say Sufism is an inherant part of “mainstream” Islam.
Your point about putting your body into harmful state in order to experience God, I believe to be false. The Sufism I know does not advocate harming the body in order to experience God. That is contradictory to the teachings of Islam and therefore Sufism. There are extremes in Sufism but those are practised by a very small number of people. And those practises are generally considered to be Un Islamic. The Sufism I know is simple. Love of God results in love of your fellow human being. Constant rememberance of God results in constant love of people. Different orders of Sufism deviate from one place on the spectrum to the other but the base of Sufism is the same.
Having said that, one doesn’t need to be a Sufi in order to practise Sufism. However, one DOES have to be a Muslim if they do want to call themselves a Sufi. The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is an essential part of Sufism as are Hazrat Ali, Hussan and Hussien. Without these individuals (among many more) to suppliment God, there is no Sufism.
Just my two cents…
I’m basically looking for a religion right now
Let me reiterate part of what I said in my response to the “should I be looking elsewhere” post, in case you missed it (I posted late to that thread and it seems to be dead now – mine is the last response)…
I would encourage you to keep seeking within Christianity for your spiritual home, until you are absolutely certain it is not where you belong. There is a lot of goodness in Christianity, and a lot of truth (and even some Truth), and it’s certainly easier in our culture to be Christian than not. I would add that as long as you even occasionally still love Jesus, it might not be time yet to jettison the whole Christian package.
FWIW, from one seeker to another…
Erik
I understand your point Erik (having returned to the original thread where your full context is clearer). I am reminded, however, of a Unitarian minister I once heard talk who said the came back to Christian-rooted Unitarianism after years exploring many other religions. And this was what made her feel more firm and grounded in her choice of beliefs.
I realize kullervo isn’t interested much in Unitarianism (which is only vaguely rooted in Christianity annyway), but might the same experience hold true with a return to any different form of Christian rooted religion (or whatever root you are originating from, if not Christian)? Might the exploration make your choice stronger and more confident?
I realize this would only be true for a certain type of person. I don’t think it would be helpful for an uncritical person who is happy not asking questions. For them the exploration would dredge up more doubts than it would be worth (to the individual, I’m not addressing what’s best for society).
I guess there are different routes for exploration. To start close, to throw the net wide, or too throw wide, always with an eye on likely staying close.
Blue Athena,
(Love the name, BTW – Athena is our family’s favorite Goddess!)
Might the exploration make your choice stronger and more confident?
It may be, and obviously I don’t know Kullervo well enough to answer that question for sure… but it can work that way, certainly. In fact, that happened for me – in reverse, if you will – in my own journey. I left the Lutheran church when I was 14, and spent a long time trying various things and nothing and being all unresolved and angst-y 🙂 about it; I did try returning to Christianity as an adult (I was received in the Episcopal church when I began dating my wife), and a few years of sincere prayerful effort confirmed for me that I am absolutely NOT a Christian.
I do wonder whether, if I had had the option to explore other Christianities at 14, it would have cemented that fact for me then, and allowed me to pursue my explorations from a more fruitful mental place, but I’ll never know for sure – that is part of what’s behind my feeling that he shouldn’t be too quick to abandon his native faith context.
This is somewhat off-topic of this post specifically…but I wasn’t sure where to put it:
(1) Have you read “Misquoting Jesus?” I highly recommend it.
(2) Have you looked at all into the Jewish roots of Christianity. I’m not saying you should convert to Judaism at all. However, I do think that there is a lot of support for questioning in Judaism and I think that anyone trying to find the foundation of their Christian beliefs might do well to examine the people of the old Covenant.
“You are a Christian because you believe in Jesus. You are a Jew because you believe in all the prophets including Moses. You are a Muslim because you believe in Mohammed as a prophet. You are a Sufi because you believe in the universal teachings of God’s love. You are really none of those, but you are all of those because you believe in God. And once you believe in God, there is no religion. Once you divide yourself off with religion, you are separated from your fellow man.”
-Sufi Master Bawa Muhaiyadden