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Zikr
Zikr
Exerpted from the Esoteric Papers of Hazrat Inayat Kahn
Number 6 Zikr (1)
Zikr is the process of repeating the sacred word with concentration, that it may impress on the entire self of the one who repeats it the meaning of the word. The Vedantists have called this process Mantra Yoga or Japa. The Sufis have in all times given great importance to this, for it is not only the mind, but the word with a motion in every part of the body which makes a perfect concentration. For a sincere worker, it does not take more than six weeks to see its effect upon oneself. It is wonderful in giving power and realization.
There are hints in many places in the Qur'an. "Repeat the Name of thy Lord" or "Cry in the Name of thy Lord," and "There are our worshippers, who move like the branches of the tree in the air, when they repeat Our Name." Shamsi Tabriz says in this respect, "Allah, Allah, say, and Allah thou wilt become; again I assure thee, that surely Allah thou wilt become." The most wonderful people in the spiritual cult that are known to the world have always given this the greatest importance, for Zikr is a sure method of spiritual progress.
Number 7 Zikr (2)
The value of repetition has been known and realized by the ancient mystics of various cults in the East. Therefore, today, the Brahmins repeat their mantra, which they call Japa; the Parsis their Gathas; Jews repeat the names and verses from the Kabala. Sufis have always understood the importance of repetition of the sacred words (kalma, kalam), which they have named Zikr.
Many consider it very monotonous to see the same thing, to repeat the same word, to think the same thought, but they are utterly unaware of its benefit. Every time that a kalma is repeated, it has added power or illumination for whatever it may have been meant. The importance of repetition may be seen in the success of a singer and in the skill of an artist. As many times the former sings, so much the song is mastered; and as much time the artist gives to his work, so much better result he produces in this art.
There are people who have repeated kalmas for forty or fifty years in their life, and every year the word has brought a new power, a new realization, and every year it has increased. First, progress is realized year by year, and if it is continued patiently, the progress is realized month by month; and the continuance of the same shows the earnest zakir a progress day by day and hour by hour. There are souls who have realized the progress through Zikr every moment of their life. It is like the nature of capital and commerce; when there is less capital, it takes a long time for the commerce to flourish; as the capital increases, the commerce develops, and in the end, every moment brings enormous interest and benefit, when the capital is sufficient.
Number 8 Zikr (3)
Zikr has one great advantage over all other practices. That is, in the body and mind both, the re-echo of Zikr is produced, and both planes of the zakir's being are set to rhythm. Music constitutes rhythm and tone; and if they are both produced by the means of Zikr in one's body and mind, the very being of the zakir becomes musical. It is therefore that the music makes a great effect on the zakir in the assembly of Sama (the musical assembly of the Sufis.) It is therefore that the music of Sufis is fitted in emphasized rhythm and composed in ragas (modes) that produce the desired effect on the physical and mental being of the zakir.
The Sufi is not only responsive to music but to all nature's music -- in other words, all that is beautiful -- for he is living. He who is not responsive to love and admires all the beauty that is around one is as dead. And the reason why he is not, is that he is unmusical; not in the sense of music that is played by musicians, but in the sense of the sublimity of nature, which is itself music. The Sufi, therefore, names music Ghiz -i-Ruh, meaning "the Food of the Soul."
The simile of the zakir, the living man, in comparison with the unmusical, the dead man, is as a rock and a tree. The rock is stiff and steady and without progress, while the tree is bending, moving, and delightful to look at. It is said in the Qur'an, "When Our true worshippers repeat Our Name, they move just like the branches of the tree." For in motion is life; the motionless is lifeless.
By Zikr, the expression of the countenance becomes harmonious, the voice becomes melodious, the presence becomes healing, and man spreads his magnetism in the atmosphere. There is nothing that by Zikr cannot be accomplished, either an earthly or a heavenly thing. Some by Zikr have liberated their souls from all bondages and attained ideal perfection, which Sufis call Najt.
Number 9 Zikr (4)
The physical mechanism of the body is so arranged that its health depends upon the regularity of its work, and regularity depends upon the soul, which possesses the body as its vehicle. The clock is so arranged that it goes on for the time it is meant to, but then it requires someone to wind it; if it is not wound, it goes our of order. The mechanism of the body requires winding, too. Generally, irregularity of sleep, or food, or activity or repose sets the whole mechanism of the body in disorder. All illnesses comeowing to lack of rhythm. Zikr is a rhythmic suggestion to the heart, which at once sets it to rhythm when the zakir is repeating Zikr, and the circulation of the blood that runs throughout the body from this center runs in rhythm, the pulsation becomes rhythmic, and the development of every muscle becomes rhythmic. In other words, the physical body becomes rhythmic in every way, which is the first necessary step towards spirituality.
Number 10 Zikr (5)
The mystics of the East have experienced and realized for thousands of years the importance of the power of sound and the mystery of repetition. When Murshid gives to his mureed a word to repeat so many hundred times or so many thousand times, the mureed does it, without thinking that once repeated and understood was enough. There are adepts who repeat one single sound or a sacred word for years, and sometimes for all their life, without being tired of doing the same thing again and again. The result proves to them its value; every month and every year, by repeating the same word, the power becomes increased.
Zikr has two aspects of its being, one its spirit and the other its body. The spirit is the breath, which is naturally prolonged through every repetition of Zikr. The body of Zikr is its words. The word produces the fire element, and the breath is life. When fire is produced, the heart naturally becomes warmer, and coldness, which is the common disease of every heart, begins to vanish.
Then the word, voice, atmosphere, glance, and touch, all express warmth; and the presence of the zakir radiates warm vibrations. The zakir, in time, begins to respond to everything and every being. This warmth in time makes the fire blaze up, and from it a flame springs forth that lights the path of the zakir. Zikr is of special importance in the course of a Sufi's spiritual advancement, and by this a Sufi attains everything on earth and in Heaven.