The following article develops a favourite and important theme found in the work of Dr Zahurul Hasan Sharib.
The Cultivation of Positive Thinking
The nature of positive and negative thought
Dr Zahurul Hassan Sharib (1914-1996) gave great importance in his writings to the
power of positive thinking - but positive thinking can be easily misunderstood. It is not
enough to be optimistic and focused on our goal, if our goal is not itself worthy.
Tyrannical dictators can be 'positive thinkers' in the sense of being single minded in their
pursuit of power, but evidently this does not have good results - in fact for many, including
the person themselves, it can lead to destruction. The war, rape, pillage and murder that it
brings in its wake invoke negative thoughts of revenge, hatred, malice etc. There are
many instances in old and recent history to provide more than ample evidence of this.
For Dr Sharib real positive thinking was inextricably intertwined with that unfashionable
thing - a moral frame of mind. The development of a positive mental attitude means that
the individual must not only have qualities such as determination, patience, and firm
resolve, but must focus these qualities on, and integrate them fully with, noble aspirations
for the benefit of mankind. Further they must realise them in actions in daily life. The holy
Qur'an reminds us again and again of the need to believe in the oneness of God and to
do good.
Entertaining negative thoughts, without any doubt, tends to bring on the person concerned
the very things they fear or dread, or on which they have focussed their attention. Negative
thoughts often arise from fear, or from insecurity, or as the result of some bad
experiences, they bring gloom and a loss of quality of life. The individual in this situation
ceases to live, he or she becomes content with merely existing, with seeking his or her
own animal comfort, which is really to wallow in self-pity. Life becomes an intolerable
burden for the individual, and that person makes life intolerable for others. In severe
depression even the body itself becomes unbearable. The environment seems grey and
without colour and it seems to be something seen at great distance, having no contact
with the individual and bringing no surge of joy at its beauty.
Rembrandt, the great painter, had the ability to invest even a lump of meat with a sense of
life and beauty, the depressed person sees even the most beautiful forms and shapes of
nature as if they were lumps of old meat.
Sometimes people ask can God have really made hell for us if we do not heed Him, can it
really exist? But the person who is really depressed and distressed does not have to ask
this question, he or she has a taste of the reality. The fact is that thoughts and actions
have consequences in this life and beyond the grave.
Now the question is can positive thinking really help us to avoid our life becoming a
wasteland of depressive thoughts and destructive impulses? Can it help us out of such a
bad situation?
If by positive thinking we mean just, so to say, 'bucking up', this is hardly enough. No!
Positive thinking means to build for ourselves a beautiful inner life, to landscape an inner
garden, complete with pavilions and cool places, replete with gentle sunshine and cooling
showers, and good company, and with birds singing, and bees collecting honey.
Surrounded by strong and secure walls within which we feel safe, happy and content.
The next question is how can we build such a beautiful inner place? Positive thinking is
one of the tools to help us in this, along with prayer, good reading, good company, a
simple outer life, meditation, charity, high standards of integrity, modest expectations,
honest labour, the remembrance of and gratitude to our Creator, and above all love.
We need to have a planned and systematic approach. 'Rome was not built in a day'. We
have to be prepared for a long haul, tackling one task at a time but having an overall plan.
It is real work pure and simple, and it is the work of a lifetime, and it is work worthy of
man. Kipling reminds us that 'Adam was a gardener'.
Laying the foundations
Work of this kind means to begin by reviewing our situation. We must take some time out
to look honestly at our own condition, at our would be 'inner garden'. What are the most
pressing needs? What can wait till later? We need to be brutally honest with ourselves
and see what our real state is without self deception. If we later want roses we must begin
by taking off the rose-coloured spectacles. We must see clearly how things really are
now, and then start to think how we want them to be eventually. But to dream is not
enough, we must also act.
Maybe we want to start with small things, or maybe it is better to be more drastic and dig
out the big weeds right away.
Either way delay is not an option. By themselves the weeds will grow and the would-be
garden deteriorate. We must move forward or go backwards - remaining as we are
cannot be an option. There is a passage in the Mesnevi of Hazrat Jalaluddin Rumi where
he tells the story of a strong young man who decides to delay pulling out some small
weeds, day-by-day he puts it off, always saying he will do it tomorrow. Eventually he
reaches an old age and finally he tries to pull out the weeds, but the weeds have grown
strong and virulent, and he has grown weak and aged. What would have been a simple
task has become a Herculean labour of formidable proportions.
After this stage of self evaluation and the resolution being made to do something, we now
have to construct a firm moral framework that will provide the protective walls and the
base on which to build our inner garden.
Shah Wali Ullah of Delhi, the great 18th Century sufi saint, says there are four basic
virtues into which all other virtues fit. They are purity, humility, generosity, and (the highest
of all) justice. We must aim to foster a love of these within ourselves.
Purity of the body merely implies keeping it clean - a simple enough thing but a good
place to start and move on from. Inner purity implies the establishment of good mental
habits of watching our thoughts and noting when they become negative. When we find this
to be the case then we must replace such thoughts with their opposite. If they are
focussed on selfishness then we must change them to thoughts of altruism. If they are
cowardly thoughts then replacing them with thoughts of courage and so on. This is what
Dr Sharib called the law of substitution. Just as with habits of bodily cleanliness the
process of purification is frequently repeated. We do not wash our body once and then
assume it is done - we know we have to maintain our hygiene daily and it is the same with
our inner hygiene.
For the sufis the inner purification is carried out by the grace of the spiritual guide who
cleans the mirror of the disciple's heart again and again from within. This cannot be
understood by everybody but is well known to disciples. In sufism this relationship is the
cornerstone.
Humility, it is said, attracts the favourable attention of the angels. By this you may
understand that a flow of goodly thoughts and energies occur where real and genuine
humility shows itself.
We must empty ourselves of pride in our own achievements and understand that we can
do nothing, but that there is a continuous flow of mercy towards mankind from its Creator.
We must be empty of our self-importance to receive this flow. Our ego is a tiny
insignificant particle in a vast universe of particles - each absorbed by its own business
and wondering why it comes into conflict with other egos. When we realise this inwardly
then we come to know our soul as vast enough to contain what appears to be an infinity of
such universes.
Generosity is ranked even higher in the good opinion of the souls that Almighty God has
given the administration of His creation to. To be generous with money or goods is a
small though beneficial thing, to be generous hearted is something much greater. When
we give money or goods we are advised to give the best, not merely to give away that
which we do not want. Generosity of heart and spirit implies we give the best of ourselves
for the benefit of others - for the benefit of all. Of course it implies forgiving and forgetting
both real and imagined hurts, and covering the faults of others. There is a story that
Hadhrat Ali the foremost leader of all the sufis was given a robe by the holy Prophet
Mohammed under instruction from God, because when asked what he would do with it he
said he would use it to cover the faults of of the people.
True acts of generosity draw the attention of the saints of God.
Greatest of the four virtues is Justice. God is just, and when one acts with justice to others
and seeks justice for them one becomes identified with this quality of God. Sometimes
justice must be fought for on behalf of the poor and the oppressed and downtrodden, and
no quarter given. We should always begin by being sure our own behaviour to others is
always just and fair.
All the aforesaid virtues must be entirely subsumed and absorbed by the individual. When
these become an integral part of a person then the foundations of the beautiful garden
can be said to have been well and truly laid.
Tending and nurturing
Now the flowers and trees we have planted begin to grow. We water them from the
continuous flow of Divine grace. We must tend them of course, remove the weeds, prune
and so on but the waste land has become fertile and our work has become that of tending
and shaping, of cultivating and enjoying. We now know we cannot make the things grow
ourselves but we can maintain and shape the garden so that its natural beauty becomes
enhanced.
If we continue to be assiduous in our efforts we may for a while feel content and happy
with our garden. We walk in it at will enjoying the perfumes, admiring the colours, relishing
the change of seasons and the different states this produces in the garden.
Then something strange begins to happen - we begin to feel something is yet missing-
we don't know exactly what it is! Everything has been made in good proportion, and all
the elements are there, but still something remains and we don't know what it is! We are
baffled, puzzled, and disappointed. We feel frustrated that our work seemed to be for
nothing after all.
The transformation
Then one day when we have all but given up wondering what it is that is missing, our
Friend comes by.
Is He attracted by the beautiful smells, colourful flowers, or the luscious fruits? Is it the
tears of anguish that our labours seemed for nothing that attracted Him? We may not
know - but when He comes it is as if we had never really seen the garden - every rose
glows, every leaf dances, every fruit ripens and the water gurgles with the contentment of
a baby being fed at its mother's breast.
But the surprising thing is that we have eyes for none of it, for our eyes, and our ears, and
our being, are only for our Friend, our Beloved.
Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi says: 'There are flowers and pomegranets in the garden
aplenty, but when the Beloved is not there these do not matter, and when the Beloved
comes these do not matter'.
Now, in the words of Khawaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishti, the turbulent river has reached
the ocean, mingled with it, and become calmed forever.
Jamiluddin Morris Zahuri (Southampton, July 2001)
Published by The Zahuri Sufi Web Site July 2002