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