Çilingir Sofrası 6 / İradi ve Gayr-i İradi Sistemler, Tevhid (with english subtitles)

0:00----translated by Prof.Dr. Nükhet Kardam----

0:02Let’s continue along the way Along the straight path

0:06We talked about Kelam (Word) The kind of word we are talking about does not originate from the mind

0:13But from the heart Words that come from the mind belong the mind

0:17But words that originate in the heart Cause a ‘wound’

0:24If a person is wounded Then he or she always remembers it

0:30And that pain never leaves him/her until it fulfills its aim

0:39Arifler (People of Marifet) say that if you are searching for God That process ultimately ends in God

0:47Those that are in search of God don’t have any other desire What we are doing here is that we are trying to understand this process, this phenomenon

0:54From the perspective of the arts, of science of philosophy

1:02So what did I say? Kelam (Word) is not an ordinary word Because it creates a wound

1:09In other words, one aspect of it is spiritual The other is intellectual. One aspect of it is about consciousness

1:15And the other is about the subconscious realm It has both an external and an internal aspect.

1:21As you may remember, we called it the Word or Symbol, not Sign (Simge) at the beginning of our sohbets Not a Simge (sign) but a symbol

1:27That means something that brings together two things Not just any two different things, but two opposite things

1:33For example, consciousness and the subconscious Are opposite of each other, but what brings them into unity is

1:38called ‘coincidentia oppositorum’ There are experts who write about this

1:43Such as Mircea Eliade and James Frazer. So opposites work together and constitute a unity

1:51For example, the subconscious realm is the opposite Of our conscious awareness.

1:57So what is the basis of this concept - the unity of opposites? There must be a scientific basis to this claim

2:02It is not a myth. Yes, there is a scientific basis. Where? Inside our body

2:09When we look at the human body Dear Sinan, we know that

2:14Although it has not been explained In this particular way before but

2:20We have a sympathetic nervous system in our body that is Based on our will and we also have a parasympathetic nervous system that is not based on our will.

2:29Now

2:33What we call the sympathetic nervous system Is based on our will. For example, I can move my hand

2:40I have muscles that I can move when I want to Right, for example, I run and then I can

2:47Will my body to stop, I can move my neck

2:51There is a story about this But I will save that for later

2:56I can do all of this,

3:01I can open my eyes and close them

3:08My breath, I can control my breath, but it is very interesting that There are also bodily functions that are the opposite

3:14Of all of this which are not under my willpower.

3:18For instance, my liver. My liver keeps functioning on its own. I don’t tell it to function

3:26I can’t stop its functioning and start it. Same with my kidneys The kidneys know their function

3:31They are angels, they are ordered to work in a particular way I can’t stop

3:35or start my kidneys, I can’t make them go faster

3:40Another example is our brain or heart muscles These organs function on their own, without our will

3:48This means that the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, work together in our bodies even though they are opposites

3:55Our bodies, the human being constitute the unity of these opposites So clearly there is a scientific basis to the unity of opposites and human beings exist as the unity of these opposites

4:00It is a reality. We can see its reflection in philosophy and

4:05In psychology, the scientific basis of this concept is the existence of the sympathetic and

4:12parasympathetic nervous systems, even though they are opposites, they work together in our bodies

4:16There also religious explanations of this phenomenon But let’s not go into that right now

4:20I am just giving you some examples To clarify what I mean.

4:23This is what I mean by Sembol (Symbol) That our will and and the areas where we can’t exercise our will constitute a unity

4:31By the way, this same phenomenon is called Yoga in the far east.

4:34Yoga is not about what everyone assumes, Such as sitting this way or that way, or doing gymnastics

4:39No, Yoga means Vahdet (Unity)

4:45But the unity of opposites.

4:48Greeks called it Symbolon or ‘Coincidentia Oppositorum’

4:54Arabs, or actually Sufis in the Muslim World

4:57Call it ‘Tevhid’ The unity of opposites

5:02Celal (Majesty) and Cemal (Beauty) are opposites but their unity is Kemal (Maturity)

5:08Kemal is Tevhid

5:11Celal (Majesty) and Cemal (Beauty are opposites

5:16When they come together, that’s when They constitute Kemal (Maturity or Perfection)

5:22Now remember we talked about ‘barzakh’

5:27We said that two seas meet but do not merge One sea is sweet water and the other is salty water

5:32One sea symbolizes the light of Guardianship (Velayet) which comes with Imam Ali

5:38And the other symbolizes the light of Prophethood (Risalet) which comes with Prophet Muhammed

5:42Between them is Fatima al Zahra who symbolizes the barzakh Because she gave birth to Hz. Hasan and Huseyin uniting the two lights

5:48This is true not just in this particular case but in all cases. It is the unity of plurality, of multiplicity.

5:56For example, let’s look at our bodies

5:59The parasympathetic nervous system And the sympathetic nervous system meet,

6:04But they don’t merge

6:06Why? Because there is ‘barzakh’ in between What emerges from this barzakh? We said before that what emerge from the barzakh are the Pearl (Hz. Hasan) and the Coral (Hz. Hüseyin), right? (Referring to Çilingir Sofras› Sohbet No. 2)

6:13What does this mean?

6:15So, let’s take our body which has both salty and sweet water. What we mean by salty water is that which is not controlled by our will and sweet water is what is controlled by our will.

6:19There is a barzakh there as well The salty water is not under our control

6:26But the sweet water is

6:29There is a ‘barzakh’ where they meet but don’t merge.

6:31What can that be? There must be a ‘barzakh’ there

6:36Barzakh (Berzah)

6:38So that what manifests, the pearl and the coral, may be ‘Kelam’ (Word)

6:45Could it be our consciousness?

6:49It is the Nefes (Breath)

6:52Our breath is controllable by our will

6:57We can hold our breath or breathe faster

7:01Such as people who engage in sports We can slow our breath down

7:06Like the Yogis. But suppose I am not controlling my breath. What happens?

7:10Do I die? No, we continue to breathe Let’s say I fell asleep.

7:16I continue to breathe. It just continues by itself. The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems

7:24The parasympathetic system takes over The sympathetic system receives it and uses it when the person is awake

7:29Therefore, the barzakh that connects the sympathetic And parasympathetic system is our breath!

7:38The breath (Nefes) is where these two systems meet The word Nefs (Self)

7:45comes from ‘Nefes’. For example we say: control your ‘nafs’ (self)

7:50What is that? The ‘barzakh’! What Emerges from our breath? The words we utter

7:59‘Kelam’ (the Word) comes out of our breath (Nefes) What emerges from the word? Pearl and Coral - Pearl is Peace and Coral is Love

8:05Our breath controls the words that come out of our mouths, in other words, they are controlled by our will But where do we get the energy to utter those words?

8:12From our instincts, from our nature.

8:17This is what ‘Tevhid’ is about. A person is in ‘Tevhid’ with his/her self, not with his/her spirit (ruh) Spirit is the ‘meaning’ that is attributed to the words one utters

8:27Sinan: The Prophet once said that he turned his nafs Into a Muslim

8:30We could go much deeper, there is much to be said about this

8:33But for now, let’s talk a little more about this topic, to finish this episode

8:35Later we will investigate how this phenomenon is understood and

8:43Manifests in different parts of the world So we talked about ‘Simge’ (Sign)

8:49I have a small book about this topic I signed it and gave a copy to Serhan

9:00It is called ‘Simgesel Düşünme’ (Symbolic Thinking)

9:09It is not really a book yet, Even though I designed it as a book

9:13It is more like an article There is still a possibility that it might turn into a book

9:20Here I explore basic concepts in this article connected to ‘Simge’ (Sign) My intention is to investigate this concept

9:24This can be done through ‘sohbets’ Others might contribute to such an endeavor

9:31By writing It is an objective endeavor and no one owns it

9:36Let me now discuss some different definitions of Simge (Sign) or Sembol (Symbol)

9:40So we said that Simge has the ability to project. Now if we understand Simge (Sign) as a concept that unifies, as a symbol, rather than a straightforward sign,

9:45then the two words (Simge and Sembol) can be used interchangeably. I am using these words interchangeably

9:49I see Simge as a concept, as a symbol that unifies

9:53We can think of it as ‘Tevhid’ As such, ‘Simge’ is no longer just a sign

9:58But if you prefer, we can call use the word ‘Symbol’ for clarity’s sake I can also call it ‘Yoga’

10:05But we need to understand it and find the right word in our own language

10:12So Symbol (Sembol) is something that both conceals And reveals to be able to reveal while at the same time to conceal.

10:20hiding while showing.

10:26This Is a very interesting concept

10:29People of Marifet know this topic well

10:34When God manifests, that manifestation happens simultaneously with the existence of veils that conceal.

10:39In other words, when anything manifests, it manifests behind veils.

10:44This Veil called "Libas", "dress" in other words.

10:47God manifests in different dresses

10:50For example

10:52God may manifest as a rose or as a thorn

10:55The rose both manifests and conceals God

10:58Every being is a Word

11:03For instance, the flower ‘violet’ is a Word So God is showing us the violet

11:09While concealing others What is concealed determines the thing that is revealed

11:16This may be difficult to understand or to appreciate

11:21But this is the most basic characteristic Of ‘Symbol’ so it is very important to understand

11:24I just remembered a good example That might explain Symbol more clearly

11:31There is a law of physics regarding colors

11:38Now let’s say We look at an object

11:42And claim that it is a particular color

11:49For example, I have this mug in my hand And I say it is the color of cream

11:54It looks like it is cream, I am a bit color blind but let’s assume it is cream So we look at it and can say

12:01Ok its color is cream Now let’s investigate it

12:06In terms of the law of physics

12:08Light projects on this mug

12:12And what we see is the reflection of this light on the mug We don’t see any object directly

12:19We can’t know the ‘zhat’ (essence) of any thing.

12:24We can’t see it But we can know an object’s attributes through what it projects

12:31So we see the projection of light In this particular case. Remember that we said Symbol is about projection

12:36So in this projection I perceive this mug as cream colored

12:43In a rainbow we see seven colors Right?

13:04Now when light reflects on rain drops We see all seven colors

13:10But here we see this mug only as cream colored Where are the other colors?

13:15We know in physics that an object holds those vibrations That it absorbs

13:22And only shows The ones that it reflects

13:25The reason we see this mug as cream colored is because it absorbs all other colors and only reflects the color cream. That’s why we see this mug as cream colored

13:35So if we say that this mug is only cream, This doesn’t sound quite right

13:43Because in reality, it is reflecting the color that It does not want. The ones that it absorbed

13:48And held are the real mug. The mug is metaphorically saying, I don’t want this cream color

13:54But all the rest is mine. It says: this one can be yours

13:58So the colors that it absorbs or hides are invisible to us

14:03We don’t see them because they are hidden Bravo! So let’s ask: what color is this mug?

14:09Cream. It is only cream It is not red, it is not brown

14:13It is not pink, it is only cream After learning about the law of physics, what we can really say is

14:18That it is not cream but in fact, it is all the other colors it is hiding

14:20Is this clear? I am not joking It absorbed all the other colors except cream

14:28Okay, so let’s continue There is more

14:33Between this mug and my consciousness There must be some kind of communication

14:39If there wasn’t any communication, how could I know anything about this mug?

14:43So there must be a relationship here Is this relationship possible, with those colors that it holds?

14:47No, they are absorbed by the mug, we can’t see them The mug must reflect something so that

14:54I can communicate with it The mug held all colors and reflected

15:00Cream. It said: I sent you the cream color So that you know that I am holding all the rest!

15:05Wow, this became a kind of language The mug is ‘talking’ and introducing itself to me

15:11But it doesn’t introduce itself as ‘cream colored’ But says that I have held all these other colors so that I reflect cream to you

15:18That’s fine but what do you want from me? I want you to work hard to understand, to know what is behind, what

15:22I am holding behind the color cream The color cream conceals me

15:32But at the same time it creates An imagery, a kind of relationship through imagery.

15:38So the mug says: My external aspect is cream and my internal aspect is all the other colors

15:42That’s what we mean by Symbol (Symbolon) So consciousness is the cream color and the subconscious is all the other colors that the mug holds.

15:49And the unity of both is Symbolon. So all things are Symbolon after all.

15:55--translated by Prof.Dr.Nükhet Kardam--