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6/26/2025, 3:49:01 AM
>>24496736
> Our visits to the Sheikh became regular thereafter. He spoke to us at length and was especially keen to point out that only the importunate who have time to waste in personal and futile talk believe that he confines himself to solitude. We were flattered to hear him say that, having perceived in us a sincere desire to understand, we could come to see him at any time.
>
> Subsequently, we managed to draw him out of his home and accompany him to the mosque of Sultan Abul-Ala, where we organized ceremonies for the recitation of the name of Allah. During these gatherings, one would see him first murmuring unintelligible words, seized by slight tremors. Then the words he pronounced would become clearer and the tremors stronger, before giving way to a profound recollection. When I happened to remind him that the time for departure had come, he would start, as if returning from faraway regions.
>
> Time passed. The minister left Egypt, and the Sheikh died, leaving me with the most beautiful memories.
>
> — Sheikh Abd al-Halim Mahmoud
This account demonstrates the reality of the man. His silence was not empty, but a state of spiritual gravity. Finally, his state during the *dhikr*—the tremors, the words, the profound absorption—is direct evidence of a *realized* metaphysical doctrine, a world away from the theoretical posturing of occultists and the baseless slanders of the unqualified shudras.
I shall conclude here. These two firsthand testimonies from authoritative sources should be more than sufficient to put the matter to rest.
They demonstrate, for any with the capacity to understand, that the Sheikh was not merely a theorist but a man of profound spiritual virtue, unwavering in his principles, and—most importantly—a genuinely realized being. Any further debate on this point descends into the realm of profane slander, which has already been addressed.
Namo Guru Jñānakāyāya !
> Our visits to the Sheikh became regular thereafter. He spoke to us at length and was especially keen to point out that only the importunate who have time to waste in personal and futile talk believe that he confines himself to solitude. We were flattered to hear him say that, having perceived in us a sincere desire to understand, we could come to see him at any time.
>
> Subsequently, we managed to draw him out of his home and accompany him to the mosque of Sultan Abul-Ala, where we organized ceremonies for the recitation of the name of Allah. During these gatherings, one would see him first murmuring unintelligible words, seized by slight tremors. Then the words he pronounced would become clearer and the tremors stronger, before giving way to a profound recollection. When I happened to remind him that the time for departure had come, he would start, as if returning from faraway regions.
>
> Time passed. The minister left Egypt, and the Sheikh died, leaving me with the most beautiful memories.
>
> — Sheikh Abd al-Halim Mahmoud
This account demonstrates the reality of the man. His silence was not empty, but a state of spiritual gravity. Finally, his state during the *dhikr*—the tremors, the words, the profound absorption—is direct evidence of a *realized* metaphysical doctrine, a world away from the theoretical posturing of occultists and the baseless slanders of the unqualified shudras.
I shall conclude here. These two firsthand testimonies from authoritative sources should be more than sufficient to put the matter to rest.
They demonstrate, for any with the capacity to understand, that the Sheikh was not merely a theorist but a man of profound spiritual virtue, unwavering in his principles, and—most importantly—a genuinely realized being. Any further debate on this point descends into the realm of profane slander, which has already been addressed.
Namo Guru Jñānakāyāya !
6/23/2025, 12:14:27 PM
>>24489553
>Why is there no really explicit doctrine of "Descending Realization" (baqa) in Shankara's corpus?
It's not a lacuna in his understanding. As Guénon (PBUH) clarifies, this was a deliberate and necessary omission. The teaching on the "descent" is a truly esoteric matter, a "secret of the king," reserved for those who have completed the ascent.
Shankara's work is overwhelmingly focused on the ascending path (fana)—the difficult, preparatory work of negation and discrimination required to realize the Self. Why? Because if you dangle the concept of the "descent" (reintegration with the manifold, the state of the jivanmukta) before the aspirant has even begun the climb, you create a fatal spiritual loophole.
The neophyte will inevitably attempt to skip the arduous ascent. He will rationalize his attachment to the world as a form of "divine play" or a "Bodhisattva's duty." This is the genesis of the modern spiritual larp, where individuals who have not achieved any degree of non-attachment claim the station of a Tantrika, deluding themselves and others. It’s a complete inversion of the traditional order.
Shankara’s silence is a filter. He presents the strait gate, and only after passing through it can the full scope of the landscape be understood. We are immeasurably indebted to the Master (PBUH) for illuminating these finer points of doctrine, which connect the inner heart of all traditions.
P.S.: Note that the ideas in "Ascending and Descending Realization" closely align with the Trika tradition.
>Why is there no really explicit doctrine of "Descending Realization" (baqa) in Shankara's corpus?
It's not a lacuna in his understanding. As Guénon (PBUH) clarifies, this was a deliberate and necessary omission. The teaching on the "descent" is a truly esoteric matter, a "secret of the king," reserved for those who have completed the ascent.
Shankara's work is overwhelmingly focused on the ascending path (fana)—the difficult, preparatory work of negation and discrimination required to realize the Self. Why? Because if you dangle the concept of the "descent" (reintegration with the manifold, the state of the jivanmukta) before the aspirant has even begun the climb, you create a fatal spiritual loophole.
The neophyte will inevitably attempt to skip the arduous ascent. He will rationalize his attachment to the world as a form of "divine play" or a "Bodhisattva's duty." This is the genesis of the modern spiritual larp, where individuals who have not achieved any degree of non-attachment claim the station of a Tantrika, deluding themselves and others. It’s a complete inversion of the traditional order.
Shankara’s silence is a filter. He presents the strait gate, and only after passing through it can the full scope of the landscape be understood. We are immeasurably indebted to the Master (PBUH) for illuminating these finer points of doctrine, which connect the inner heart of all traditions.
P.S.: Note that the ideas in "Ascending and Descending Realization" closely align with the Trika tradition.
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