We Are All Interconnected!

 

By Jamal Rahman, New Age Islam

15 May 2021

At A Deep Level, Our Souls Get Connected'

Main Points:

1.    All humans are interconnected.

2.    The soul in all is sacred.

3.    All of creation is interconnected.

4.    Nature is a sacred manuscript.

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A wonderful revelation in the Quran (2:115) states:

          Whichever way you turn, there is the Face of God.

One level of meaning of this sentence is that all of us humans are interconnected. Now, someone might say, “Wait a minute! There’s this person who is adversarial, who despises me. I don’t like him. I don’t feel connected with him.” But the truth is that if I don’t like someone, if someone feels like an enemy, I am angry with some aspect of that person’s behaviour that I find unacceptable. But, their soul is sacred : it is their Buddha nature or their Christ nature or their God nature, or however you want to term it. This aspect of their being is holy, no matter what their behaviour might be. In that sense, all of us are connected. Just by making this discernment in our heart and mind—that one is angry at their behaviour, not at their being or essence—as one deals with a person one finds it difficult to relate with, has the power to shift heaven and earth, as it were. At a deep level our souls get connected.

Another level of the Quranic verse cited above is that not only are we connected to all fellow humans, we are also connected to all of God’s creation—with Nature, with animals, with plants, and so on. In the Quran, dozens of verses extol Nature. Again and again, the Quran says there are signs of God in Nature.  Spiritual masters say that Nature is a very sacred manuscript. Everything about life that you want to learn about, you can learn by observing Nature.  And the Quran (6:38) says that animals are communities just like us:

All living beings roaming the earth and winged birds soaring in the sky are communities like yourselves.

A Buddhist story resonates deeply in me. It beautifully illustrates the teaching wisdom of Nature and our interconnection with creation. A monk is about to give a sermon in the open. Hundreds of disciples have gathered in the forest to hear him. He is just about to step up on the podium to speak when, suddenly, a bird in a tree begins to chirp. Everyone falls silent. Then, after a while, the bird stops chirping. The monk steps down, saying, “The sermon has been delivered”!

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Based in the USA, Jamal Rahman is a popular speaker and author on Islam, Sufi spirituality, and interfaith relations.  Along with his Interfaith Amigos, he has been featured in The New York Times, CBS News, BBC, and various NPR programs.  Jamal is co-founder and Muslim Sufi Imam at Interfaith Community Sanctuary and adjunct faculty at Seattle University.  He travels nationally and internationally, presenting at retreats and workshops.  Jamal’s passion lies in interfaith community building and activism.

URL:   https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/interfaith-sacred-soul/d/124830

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