translated & edited by G.N. Jalbani and David Pendlebury (Octagon Press 1982)
The Manifest Faculties
We shall now discuss the purification of the manifest faculties according to the requirements of practical wisdom.
The human faculty may be subdivided into three branches: the heart, the self and the intellect:
... desire and the pursuit of pleasure are the attributes of the self.
Forming the intention to carry out a particular action, entertaining feelings of love and hatred, showing courage or cowardice, etc-- these are the characteristics of the heart.
Understanding and knowledge and the capacity to decide what has to be decided-- these are the qualities which are attributed to the intellect.
The faculties of the rational soul have been divided by the wise into three cateogries: natural faculties, animal faculties, and intelligent faculties. These have been located respectively in the liver, the physical heart and the brain.
..................
The basic function of the self is to look after the carnal needs and to
pursue whatever is pleasurable. In addition, it has to maintain the
constitution of the body in accordance with the latter's requirements. And
it has to repell what the body by its nature requires to be repelled. Hunger
and thirst, fatigue and pain, the sexual urge, excretory needs , all of
these are connected with the self and form the absolute necessities for the continuance of life. However, by dint of hard exercise, the nature of the self can be changed and it can be extricated from its own inherent constitution.
The function of the heart is to show anger, shame, fear, courage,
generosity, avarice and hatred. Everyone knows for certain why he dislikes a particular thing, and why his heart all but bursts with the particular desire to repell it, and why his spirits seem almost on the point of leaving his body, and why his veins dilate and his skin becomes red. Similarly, in times of fear, he knows why his heart trembles and his spirits seem to retreat within his body and why his face becomes pale and his mouth goes dry. It is in this way that the characteristics of the heart may be assessed.
The function of the intellect is to recollect the things of the past and
plan for things of the future.
Each one of us personally experiences all of these realities. In one sense
these three categories are separate from each other, while in another sense they are united together. The cause of their differentiation is the fact that the rational soul which has penetrated the airy and the natural souls at one and the same time, both directs and depends on them. These souls have different locations, constitutions and faculties.
Basic Human Types
There is a type of man whose natural powers-- his digestion, his power to
catch and hold, his sexual energy-- are all extremly strong. but as far as
the qualities of the heart and the perceptiveness of the intellect are
concerned, he is nothing but a dull minded idiot. Anger, courage, fear and
shame are slow to appear in him and disappear in no time. His recollection of the past is extremely feeble, as is his capacity to plan for the future and decide what is good or bad. Such a person may be likened to the vegetables.
Then there is the man of courage and zeal, generosity and authority, and in these qualities he surpasses his fellows, but in his natural and intellectual powers, he hardly possesses a tenth of what others possess. He is like the stable animals and the wild beasts.
Again there is the type of man who distinguishes from those around him by
his capacity to retain what he has heard and his ability to adopt the right
course. But he has no share whatsoever in the natural energies of those of the heart , hence he is comparable to the lower angels.
When we examine the condition of various individuals , we find that they
are deficient in certain types of energy and strong in others. The different
locations of these energies, and the varying forms of disorder to which
different individuals are subject, lead necessarily to the conclusion that
there are different kinds of energy.
We have already discussed the cause of their differentiation; the cause of
their unity lies in the fact that, although the rational soul directs these various categories, it is itself fundmanetally a single undivided entity. These three types of energy are like fountains, gushing forth from a single source, or streams belonging to a single river. However , the action of one would not be complete without the support of the others.
Unless the self obeys the heart, the veins of the throat will not swell, nor will the spirits be aroused. And unless the intellect displays to the heart the image of some threat, hatred and the desire for revenge cannot arise.
Similarly, knowledge which is not accompanied by the firm intention of the heart can simply be called talking to onself. If a mental perception lacks the conviction which sense perceptions can lend to it, it is bound to be lame and distorted. Likewise, the self without the suppoirt of the intellect or the heart is as helpless as a three month old baby. Such a person is unable to muster confidence, firmness and strength from within himself.
And so, in order to effect a combination of these disparate yet unified
parts, a sort of lymphatic system extends between them and links them all
together , with the result that each one communicates its influence to the
other. In this way a whole variety of charcteristics and qualities are
created.
A full exposition of this point would call for a major elaboration. However,
the following considerations are all that is necessary for the purposes of
this present discourse.
If both the heart and the intellect are subservient to the self , then a
great many vices will result. The self in that state is generally known as
the animal self. Such acts, for example, as indulging sexual pleasures,
gazing at and caressing one's beloved, cause the heart to follow suit; they
arise an inclination for the loved on and fill the heart with love. At the
same time they compell the intellect to summon up the image and memory of the beloved and to find ways and means to affect a union. All of this is called love.
In the same way , indulgence in delicous food and drink causes the heart and intellect to follow suit.
With a little attention, such patterns are easily recognized.
If both the self and the intellect happen to obey the heart, a number of
different vices will appear. The self in that condition is called the
aggressive self. Besides violent anger, a whole array of other vices arise in the aggressive self.
For example, if the heart has an underlying spirit which is coarse without
being evil then the man possessing such a heart will seek to dominate those around him. This characteristic is innate in the heart which is why the self lends its support. In an activity such as wrestling, it summons up fresh strength and rouses the man's inborn spirits to lend assistance.
Supposing it is necessary to abstain for a period from eating or drinking or marriage, the heart rasies no objections and does not rise in revolt. The intellect, too, shares in the action of the heart, and for its sake, hits on many an elegant strategem and plan for the future.
If both the heart and the self are governed by the intellect, then praiseworthy qualities will result. The self in this condition is known as the serene self.
For instance, when a man comes to realize through his intellect that his
happiness lies in performing good actions while bad actions will only bring
him misery, then his self no longer goes against or objects to the command of the intellect and his heart to begins to show love and desire for what reason requires.
It often happens that a man of abundant intellect thinks of some
desirable wordly or religious objective. Then, however much his heart may
dislike certain aspects of it, and even though sweet pleasures may meanwhile be slipping through his hands, still his heart and self do not disobey his intellect.
There is a type of man who is so strong in his heart that when he beomes
angry or jealous, or is overtaken by worry or shame, his self ceases to
function. He feels neither hunger nor thirst, and lacks even the strength to
digest and evacuate, no matter how much his intellect may chide him and
tell him thate there is no point in showing anger or worrying, it is impossible
for him to escape the dictates of his heart.
Then there is the type of man whose self is strong and who is given over to sexual indulgence and eating delicious food. Even though the fear of punishment meted out for such action may occur to him and his intellect may vividly portray the abuse, humilation and hatred which await him, he is just like a male ass falling upon a female, or one that is bent on fodder; and he takes no account of lash or cudgel, so engrossed is he in what he is doing.
All of which makes people of sense realize that every part is busy
dominating as well as supporting the other.
The intellect may occasionally understand the baseness of the action and
its evil consequences but it cannot put its orders into effect. Sometimes
the intellect may absorb knowledge calculated to further the drive for
conquest. To this end it then begins to think out beneficial contingencies
and effective plans, thus retreating from its former convictions. This is a
vice which is extremely hard to eradicate.
It sometimes happen that the heart is filled with desire for a sweetheart,
and yet the necessary sexual energy is lacking. Or the heart may be filled
with contemptuous and vengeful thoughts, and yet the arm is bereft of all
strength. Occasionally in such cases, the self comes to the aid of the heart and pours in renewed vigor which was lacking before. This vice is also extremely difficult to eradicate and avoid.
Such characteristics as these are like natural bodily needs whose total
eradication is absolutely impossible.... they may be temporarily concealed
while severe excercises are being performed; but no sooner are these
exercises discontinued than they appear once more. ...
... the purification of these characteristics can only consist in this: that
one uses them in their proper place, contenting onself with what is
necessary and avoiding excess.
from The Altaf al-Quds of Shah Waliullah
Shah Waliullah of Delhi
TRANSLATED BY G. N. JALBANI
REVISED AND EDITED BY David Pendlebury
The Sacred Knowledge is regarded as a fundamental text in both East and West by students of Sufi thought. Through Professor Jalbani’s rendering, the book shows how the 18th century mystic of Delhi discharged his task. In Waliullah’s own words, ‘The purpose behind writing this discourse is that only those problems pertaining to perception and the mystical unveiling are mentioned.’
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