Spiritual Letter 42 - Expanded Version About Spiritual Letter 42 Title: The Life and Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the Age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) Date: January 9, 2003 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Written to: Muhammad Lateef (Kelly Hayden) Home Page-Spiritual Letters Go To Spiritual Letter 43 Letter 42: Original Version Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Letter 41 Letter 42: Related Material Page 2 of 2 Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Letter 42 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter: (continued) 8. Observations About The Publishing Department - we need to move from analog publishing methods to digital publishing methods 9. Suggestions For Improving The Publishing Department - we need to create and maintain a secure database and internet publishing environment 10. More On The Children's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" - it is the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for this age, for all of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) for this age, which is everyone living in this age 11. The Life And Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for This Age - it is in truth, at a deeper level within us, the birthright, the heritage, and the nourishment of the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them) within us, the Children of God in the next age, who will truly take us, the Children of God in this age, to the Shore, to the hereafter, to akhirah within us, if we will but let Them, let Them come to maturity within us 12. Closing Comments And Prayer - please forgive me Text of Spiritual Letter: 8. Observations About The Publishing Department - we need to move from analog publishing methods to digital publishing methods To help you in your responsibility, my dearest loving brother, as Manager of The Publishing Department, the following observations are offered by Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen to Muhammad Lateef, from my heart to your heart, from within the One heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Please take these observations as merely suggestions that came into my heart from Bawa while reading your letter and writing this reply. And always remember, my love you (anbu), my dearest brother. First, we are quickly moving into a time when all of the published material by Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) can be placed on 1 CD, and using a variety of search techniques available today, would allow someone to ask the following questions, and immediately be able to read what is currently published about His Holiness that addresses each of these questions. For example, 1) Who is God? 2) Who is Man? 3) What is the relationship between God and Man? 4) Who is the Shaikh? 5) Who is the Disciple? 6) What is the relationship between the Shaikh and the Disciple? 7) How do these two relationship, between God and Man, and between the Shaikh and the Disciple, interact, and eventually become One. With this technical revolution facing us today, we must be constantly re-considering the format and techniques that we are currently using to publish the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and always be ready to change formats and techniques to better serve the needs of the Fellowship, the needs of all of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), which from a larger perspective is everyone living in the world today. The current format and techniques for publishing the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), as you referenced in the initial guidelines, includes things like books, and pamphlets. However, there are many problems associated with these tried and true, but ancient, methods of publishing. For example, they are static or paper oriented, very labor intensive (they must be both Tamil and English edited, over and over again, and then manually printed), very place oriented (people must come to them to work on them), resulting in a system that, by its very nature, can only slowly publish books and pamphlets, which then are not easily corrected, or distributed, or re-published into another language. Add to this the fact that the original discourses or songs are spoken in Tamil and only some of them are translated into English, and that the initial translations are most of the time spontaneous, and not performed in a detailed or systematic way, and you have a very complicated, and slow process. And after they are published they are usually distributed using a standard marketing "Push" and "Pull" approach, which means we send them to book stores, and re-supply them when they ask for more, or we wait for people to ask for them. This was perhaps fine in a single culture, with a relatively closed environment, but it is certainly "not the way to go" today, in the multicultural communities of the world today, with large open and even transparent environments, such as the Spanish and Arabic speaking people in America, South America, and in the Middle East, as well as the young people in America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, as well as Australia, who are all in desperate need "today" of what Bawa has given us "yesterday", in order to even survive in the world we are all quickly moving into, let alone becoming true human beings, a world where, as Bawa teaches us, the beast "within all of us" will finally come out of "one of us" to destroy the world "outside" for all of us, destroying any chance for any of us to get it right before we die. For example, a world where we patiently wait while "America prepares to invade Iraq". In this way, it is strongly recommended that we start to use the digital alternates to our current analog methods of publishing, which this child will gladly help implement, in order to help my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef in his "Bawa given job", to make the publishing of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), by the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), more successful. 9. Suggestions For Improving The Publishing Department - we need to create and maintain a secure database and internet publishing environment My dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, with this in mind the following initial suggestions for improving the Publishing Department of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship are humbly offered for your consideration. 1) Scanning the textual archives of all of Bawa's discourses and songs into a database, and making them available for on-line access over the Internet, in order to work on them, to study them, to cross reference them (like all references to the Suratal Fatihah), and to publish them in a secure on-line environment, with people signing onto the Fellowship Publishing Internet (FPI), and the Fellowship Publishing Database (FPD) with secure passwords. Everyone will really love this new open computer based publishing environment, both the "old dogs" and the new recruits. 2) Opening the publishing process to more skilled people of the Fellowship, who want to help but are not currently involved in the process, like computer engineers, marketing people, linguists, and managers, and people who speak other languages, like Tamil, Arabic, Spanish, and other foreign languages, and not just waiting for them to show up, but to actively go in search of them, to recruit them in the way a young entrepreneur would eagerly go in search of young talented people to make his bold new ideas a reality. This is what we really need. 3) Setting up the publishing process so it is database and internet oriented, not paper oriented, so people anywhere in the world, like down the street in Ardmore, or in England, or in Sri Lanka, can easily gain access to unpublished Bawa discourses and songs in a secure computer environment, and quickly bring them to a point where they can be Tamil and English edited, reviewed, approved, and published, first on the internet, and then through books, and pamphlets. This is the proper sequence for publishing today. 4) Breaking the publishing process into different groups, rather than having everything under one person, all within one group, or setting it up with one person who manages several separate groups, like the "Book and Pamphlet Publishing (BPP) Group, the Database Publishing (DP) Group (putting everything we have in written form on a database and making it available through the Internet with limited and secure access), and the on-line Internet publishing (IP) Group (like you did with the two books, "Islam and World Peace: Explanations of a Sufi", and "The Book of God's Love"). 5) The development of a "Three Tier" approach to publishing Bawa's discourses and songs, such as an "Initial English Edit" (IEE), an "Initial English and Tamil Edit (IETE), and a "Final English and Tamil Edit" (FETE), and making each level of the three tiers available through the internet, for working on, for studying, and for publishing, all within a secure computer environment. My dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, we need to vigorously pursue these alternatives, so that people who are willing to help, and there are many of them, can be applied to the current publishing bottleneck, created by the current publishing format and methods, so more of Bawa's material can be made available. May we both think about these suggestions a little, they are very good ideas and they need to be discussed with the appropriate people at the Fellowship. Also, implementing these simple suggestions in a timely fashion would take some of the pressure off those of us currently on the sidelines (of the Publishing of Bawa's material) who are concerned about the slow process of "getting the word out", and end up trying to "go it alone". 10. More On The Children's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" - please don't try to change it, instead, protect it as you would a growing child, and trust in God to bring it up properly The Children's part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" is the experience of One Child of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), of this child, of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), living at the feet of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) for 27 years. It contains no outlines of Bawa's material, or comments about Bawa's material, or summarizing of Bawa's material. It is a "work in process", of the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Please don't try to change it. It is one of the great treasures of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, for us, and for the children of God yet to come. Please don't try to change it. Instead, protect it as you would a growing child, and trust in God to bring it up properly. Trying to change it would be like asking for the hot tea back after the "Sugar Milk Tea" has been made. Instead, if you are so inclined, please join with this child to explore this treasure of the Fellowship, and invite others to join with us to explore it too, by presenting and discussing it at Fellowship meetings and at the various branches of the Fellowship, as it is most certainly full of incredible grace, wisdom, and 'ilm or divine wisdom, for all of us. None of us are in competition my dearest loving brother, all of us have been blessed by God in so many different ways, and each of us have a unique and valid perspective on the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), which will change as we change, that is the great blessing of the "Flower Garden" of God's Grace, which is our clear and pure heart, this gift of God for our age, like the 99 wilayat of God, each of us has its own flavor and beauty. There is certainly room for all of us in this shop in the world of Illusion called the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship", letting each traveler who comes to visit this shop freely taste the different fruits according to one's own fancy, whether it be Shari'at, Tariqat, Haqiqat, Marifat, or Sufiat, permitting them to buy them or reject them accordingly to their individual needs. There is room for all of us, my dearest loving brother of my heart. After sitting at the feet of our loving Shaikh for 20 some years, we know there is room for all of us. And also, if you are so inclined, join with your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen to get some of this material published, as Mitch Gilbert published his material. This tree of grace is quickly coming to maturity and should be preserved for future generations, and there is no way of knowing how long God will keep your brother in the world. In this way, we most all come together to address this need to document the life and teaching of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), and to store it in some computer based format so it is available to the members of the Fellowship, both now and in the future, as well as to the public. This is true for all of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.), not just for this child, just as it is true for our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), perhaps even more so for us, since we are the Children of this age, and Bawa came to show us the way, and remind us of what we have lost, in becoming civilized, and who we truly are, which is the Children of God for this age. This is something we should perhaps have set up a long time ago to clearly document the different perspectives of many of the older brothers and sisters of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.). For example, of those who have already died, like Professor Ajwad Macan-Markar, Dr. M. Z. Markar, as well as some of our senior citizens who are still living, like Kjaja Muhaiyaddeen (Bob Demby), and Sonia Klein, What do you think, my dearest loving brother. Wouldn't this approach be best for all of us, rather than trying to change what has grown in my heart, and force it to conform to some standard. Please think about it a little. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brother of my heart, Muhammad Lateef. Please think about it a little. May we both reflect on these wisdom points a little, they are very, very important. Not only for us, and for all of the current Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Us), who may wish to take advantage of the treasures in this open heart, but especially for all of the future Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Them), who will most certainly take the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) to new and higher levels. This work of the One heart, of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) joined as One with Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and with God with Him, is mainly for Them. Finally, the "Children's Part of the Library" is made up of the following 11 Topics, each of which have one or more documents or Items in them. Please check them out. Topics In The Children's Library a) Testimonials b) In-the-room Stories c) Spiritual Secrets d) Spiritual Questions and Answers e) Wisdom Stories f) Spiritual Analysis Topics 1 thru 5 can be accessed directly using their own URL or Web Address, by just clicking above while the rest of the Topics (a thru f) can only be accessed after first accessing the "Children Library", by clicking on Topic 6 above. The goal is to give each Topic in the Children's Library its own Home Page, which is what we have done for the first five Topics above and to make each Item in each Topic also have its own URL or Web Address, which is also what we have done for the first four Topics above, with the exception of Spiritual Insights, Topic 5, which has all its Items still bundled within that Topic. Currently we can access a specific Spiritual Letter, Chat, Topic, or Prayer, directly by using its own URL or Web Address, not needing to first go to the Topic Home Page. For example, you can directly go to Spiritual Letter 41, "The Greatest Gift of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Rad.) Is "The Pearl of Wisdom", which was recently written by this child to Ameena & Noor Cader, the wife and daughter of the recently departed brother Mahammadali Sultan Abdul Cader (Ral.), who translated the Tamil version of Bawa's book, "Guru Mani" into its English version, "The Pearl of Wisdom", by either clicking above, or by typing the following URL or Web Address into the address line of your computer: www.SpiritualLetter041.homestead.com. It is just that simple, to get to most Items in the Children's Library. To access the Bundled Topics above, Topics a thru f, those still Bundled within the Children's Library, click HERE or on Topic 6 above. Once there either scroll to the bottom of the Web Page or click the following: Bundled Children's Material. As a guide to all of these individual URLs we have created a "bottom up" version of the Library Home page, which we have called, the "Library Navigation Tree", that lists all of the individual URLs for both the Topic - Home Page, and for the individual Items within a Topic, both in the Father's and the Children's Part of the Library. To go to the "Library Navigation Tree", either click HERE or above. For more on the history of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" click on the following: Spiritual Letter 15, "About The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", that was written by this child to Asma'el Muhaiyaddeen (Rick Hacket) last February. Once there click on "Outline & Summary Version", for easy navigation around the letter. Enjoy. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 11. The Life And Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for this Age - it is in truth, at a deeper level within us, the birthright, the heritage, and the nourishment of the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them), the Children of God in the next age, who will truly take us, the Children of God in this age, to the Shore, to the hereafter, to akhirah within us, if we will but let Them, let Them come to maturity within us My love you my dearest brother, Muhammad Lateef, we are both very good Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us). We must never forget that, and that the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) is our birthright, our heritage, which God has sent into our life to move our lives forward, as only our wisdom and the truth of God within us can move it forward, as only our Shaikh within us, and God within Him can move it forward. May we both realize, understand, and accept this truth of our lives without the slightest doubt, and join with it as the reality of "who we are", of "where we are", and of "what is truly happening" in our life. In this way, the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) is "who we are", is "where we are", and is "what is really happening" in our lives. We are in truth what He is doing within us, which is revealing True Man within True Man, through the true Shaikh-Disciple relationships, where we surrender to the will of God within Him, where we live our life at His divine feet, accepting what He says as the word of God for our age, accepting what He does as the actions of God for our age, becoming in this way the word of God for the next age, the actions of God for the next age. In truth this is what the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, what the "Children's Part" of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", is all about, it is the word of God, the actions of God for the Children of God in the next age, not in this age, but for it to reach them within us we must be tolerant of it in our age, we must allow it to exist with us, without necessarily having to understand it, joining it or not joining it as we wish, but not going to war with it, or trying to destroy it, or hide it, or do anything with it, that would prevent it from reaching the shore within our inner most hearts. In this very beautiful way, as you treat the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen so are you treating the life of your soul, and the wisdom surrounding your soul, and the light of your wisdom, which collectively is the Nur Muhammad within you, that God has placed on the forehead of Adam (peace be upon Him) within you. This is why Bawa starts many of His discourses by gives greetings to three groups of people, His grandchildren, His sons and daughters, and His brothers and sisters. If we become true Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of us), then we have successfully become the Children of God for this age, moving from the status of His brothers and sisters, of those who have been born with Him, to the status of His sons and daughters, as those who have been born from Him, from His union with God within Him, as the lights of God for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). And if we allow Him to become our soul, and we become His form, as Bawa so beautifully explains to us in the discourses "How To Merge With The Guru", and "How To Reach And Merge With God", and in "The Kalimah Song", as beautifully translated by our loving sister Usha Balamore, all of which Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) has lovingly given to His Children on April 26, 1972, as the gift of God for our age, as the "One good day in a 100 years", then and only then will we have become successful in our life.. Then and only then, as Bawa so beautifully explains to us on page 111, in Chapter 30, "The Mystical Meaning of Man's Body", in the beautiful book of wisdom, "The Pearl of Wisdom", will, "Our wisdom reason over our fate." Then we will become Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen and give birth to the next generation of God's Children within us, which are then His Grandchildren, the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them), the Grandchildren of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), who are then nourished and brought to maturity by the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen in the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). [Note: we have left these 3 "unpublished" materials from Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) in the Father's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" only for the publication of this letter, of Spiritual Letter 42. Per our agreement we will remove them from the Father's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library". However, this example points out the need to get this type of material from Bawa published as soon as possible, material that is pivotal to our understanding of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), material that needs to be put in front of His Children, in front of His Children throughout the world, so they can at least learn to survive in this very difficult time, until the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) can physically join with their lives, published at least through the Internet, as formally approved Fellowship "Internet Publications of the Life and Teachings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)", as soon as possible] My dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, such is the importance of the "Children's Part" of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", the very, very small beginning of the next gift of God to us, and the main gift of God to the Children of our heart, to the next generation of the Fellowship, to the Children of the One heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) within each of us, the gift of God to the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them) within us, the gift of God know as "The Life and Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for This Age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen". Only in this way will we ever reach the shore, which is the hereafter, akhirah, firdaus, the 8th heaven of Muhammad (Sal.), the kingdom of God, within the hearts of our Children, within the hearts of the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Them). Please, please, please, my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, let the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) have their heritage, their birthright, and their nourishment. Protect the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen from being changed or destroyed, as you would protect your very own life, as you now protect the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) from being changed or destroyed. In truth they are the same, they are One. This is why we were born, this is why we are here, this is why Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) gave birth to us, as the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), so joined as One with Bawa, with our Shaikh, and with God within Him, we could give birth to Them, to the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Them), and to the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen that is their nourishment, in this way, allowing Them to come to maturity within us, as a mother suckles her child with the fluids of her own body. Allowing God to nourish His Children of the next age with His wealth of grace, wisdom, and 'ilm in this age, as contained within the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, which is what, in a very, very small way, is beginning to appear in this world of illusion as the "Children's Part" of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship". Please give it a chance to come to maturity, please protect it from those who would destroy it. And to those who would find fault with what is contained in this material, please treat them the same way that the Prophet Muhammad (Sal.) treated His followers who complained about those who were just standing outside of the Mosque, and did not enter it to do salat, as the Prophet of God (Sal.) had instructed them to do. And as Bawa teaches us, the Prophet Muhammad (Sal.) said to them, "You should leave them alone, they are fine, they are properly doing their duty to God." And we know who they were, don't we, my dearest loving brothers, because Bawa tells us that they were the true Sufi's of the age of Muhammad (Sal.). In this way, my dearest loving brother, we must also make room for the true Sufi's of the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him.), and also leave them alone, realizing that they are fine, and that what they are doing is their proper duty to God, and not interfere in their work, but instead protect them, give them the respect and space that is their due, and try to help others to be tolerant of them, even if what they are doing, and saying, and writing does not seem to correspond with "our" understanding of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and "our" duty to Bawa and God. Thank you my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, we know you will do the right thing, the proper thing, the wise thing. My love you (anbu). You are certainly a blessing to the life of this brother, to your brother of the heart, of the one open and clear heart of this age, the heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), you are certainly a blessing to your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, as Abu Bakar (A.S.) was to the Prophet Muhammad (Sal.) We await your pleasure. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 12. Closing Comments And Prayer - please forgive me (Note: there are two versions of the "Closing Comments & Prayer", an Initial Version, which is what follows, and another, slightly longer and revised version, the Final E-mail Version, which has some additional material and provides an ending to this letter that has a little different tone, and flavor to it. Please read both versions. To access this other version please chick HERE or above) Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon all of us. May God help us all. Please forgive me my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef if anything within this letter of the heart is wrong or upsets you, or upsets any of the other members of the Executive Committee of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, or any of the other brothers and sisters of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, or of any othe r religious groups, or anyone else living in the world today, or in the future. Please forgive this brother for everything that he has done knowingly, and not knowingly, to harm the heart or mind of any of our wonderful brothers and sisters, who in 1975 accepted this child "Louie Beutler" into your "Funny Family", a child who in his 36 years before coming to the Fellowship had been rejected by the world in every adventure that he undertook, whether it was family life, school, sports, the military, business, husband-ship, and fatherhood, and yet you my dearest loving brothers and sister took this orphan of God's grace, this wondering soul, into your hearts, first as "Maintenance Louie", then as "Crisi's Husband", and finally for some of you as, "Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen". For those of you who have not felt it in their hearts to love this child as "Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen" we can certainly relate to your distress, for there is nothing of "Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen" within Louie Beutler, for that is another section within this child that only our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and God within Him, can truly see, love, and embrace within this child. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So your rejection of Louie Beutler as Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen is completely understandable, and we lovingly accept it, and we hold no malice toward any of you in this regard, and realize that only my own "separation and differences" are truly at fault, not any of you. For as God told the Prophet Jonah (peace be upon Him) when his whole congregation rejected him, after he had "agreed with God" to destroy them, after he went on his mystical journey into the belly of the whale, ending up on a desert island, with the milk of a deer as his only food, and the shade of one tree as his only comfort, having lost everything, including his wife and children, and only through the grace of God, and his repentance, did he return to his congregation to find that everything was still as it was before he had left, before he left on his "journey of awakening", for God had protected them from him, and then God said to the Prophet Jonah (peace be upon Him), "O Jonah (peace be upon Him) the only reason the people of your congregation did not listen to you initially was because of your differences, because you treated them as separate from you, as separate from your own family, as separate from you own wife, and children, not as your true family, as your true wife, and your true children, as the family, wife, and children of the open heart, of the one heart of God, as I do." "This is why they rejected you as their leader, not because of anything that they did, or failed to do. Know this now, my Prophet (A.S.) and start to act accordingly." In this way, my dearest loving brother and sisters, this child is a fool and doesn't know anything, so you must forgive me the way you would forgive a little child who with his first step thinks that he can walk, and with his first sound thinks that he can speak, when in truth he has just started his journey to walking and speaking. But with this said, what is contained within the heart of this child, of your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) is reflected in a very, very small way in this letter to Muhammad Lateef, and in the many letters and conversations of love and wisdom that we have all had over the last 27 years, and is also reflected in a very, very small way within the Children's Part of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", as but one small speck, one very small part of the incredible legacy of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased Him) for this age, which is the gift of God for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), to all of the Children of God for this age, which is all of us living in this age. As in truth, each of your hearts, and your words, and your letters, and your conversations are a part of this same wonderful thing that God has done in this age, this "Thing of God" called "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship". Never forget that, and never doubt that. In this way, and only in this way, though small and relatively insignificant, this legacy of this version, of the "Louie Beutler" version, of the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), as reflected in this letter, and as reflected in the rest of the "Children's Part" of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", all of it is yours, not mine, for this child has already received it, and its blessings. All of this "outside" stuff is only how this child has joined with Bawa within this child, and with God within Him, to share with his brothers and sisters, to share what has and is occurred within the heart of this child, of your brothers Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, living at the feet of our Shaikh, of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and of God within Him, for 27 years. It is no big deal. It is just a little thing. But it is for you, my dearest loving brothers and sisters, and my dearest loving sons and daughters. And please stay alert, for most certainly other versions of the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) will soon come to your attention, like the Ahamd Muhaiyaddeen version, the Kjaja Muhaiyaddeen version, the Sultan Muhaiyaddeen version, the Asma'el Muhaiyaddeen version, as well as all the other versions of the "Muhaiyaddeen" of God, the "Giver of life back to true belief", that Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), the Father of all the many facets of the "Muhaiyaddeen of God", told us about, and demonstrated for us, day after day, in Ceylon or Sri Lanka from 1886 to 1971, and in America from 1971 to 1986, until his physically passing on December 8th, 1986, a time period of 100 years with His Children of the world, with His Children who are still living in the world, who have yet learned how to live in their hearts. May we all learn to move into our hearts before we die, before it is too late, and before the "beast" within all of us comes out of one of us to destroy the "outside" of all of us, destroying any chance of any of us getting it right before we die, and learn to do our duty "here" from "there", not "here" from "here", as Bawa did, and showed us how to do, for 100 years. May we all do it this way, my dearest brothers and sisters of the heart. And please stay alert, as well as, for all the versions of Muhammad Abdul Qadir, of Muhammad Abdul Raheem, of Muhammad Abdul Rahman, of Muhammad Abdul Malik, of Muhammad Abdul Jabbar, of Muhammad Abdul Razzaq, of Muhammad Abdul Baseer, of Muhammad Abdul Hakam, of Muhammad Abdul Lateef, of Muhammad Abdul Khabir, of Muhammad Abdul Kabeer, of Muhammad Abdul Jalil, of Muhammad Abdul Kareem, of Muhammad Abdul Mujib, of Muhammad Abdul Majid, of Muhammad Abdul Haqq, as well as all the versions of the other 99 Muhammad Abdul's of God, of the Lights within the Slaves of the Asma'ul Husna, of the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, as well as all of the female versions of these names of God, that Bawa has blessed his Children with by so naming them. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Please stay alert for all of the manifestations of the Mercy and Compassion of God in the world, in the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and learn the wisdom and qualities of God, the duties and actions of God from them. That is the gift of God for this age. Please do it like that. That would be good for all of us. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So please treat it carefully, please treat the Children's Part of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", very carefully, it is part, a very, very small part, but still a part of your legacy, your heritage from God, for the Brothers and Sisters of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral,.), and for the Sons and Daughters of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.), and for the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.). And if you find things in it that are wrong, please forgive me, please forgive Louie Beutler, and if you find things in that make your heart melt and open, that make your love and trust in God grow, and that awaken the "wisdom surrounding your heart", and begin to reveal the truth of God hidden by God within the Creation of God within you, which is True Man within you, which is the hereafter or akhirah within you, and begin to reveal the truth of True Man hidden by True Man within the Creation of True Man within you, which is God within you, which is the dunya and awwal within you, which is this earth world and the world of souls within you, then praise God, and thank Him for the gift of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) for this age, and for the gift within the gift of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) also for this age, and for the next age to come, which is the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Please do it like that. That would be good. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. For as Bawa told us at the bottom of page 7, in the "Forward" to the wonderful book of very, very deep wisdom, "The Pearl of Wisdom", that was recently rendered into English, through the love and grace of God, and by the dedicated devotion and very hard work of our dearest and loving recently departed brother Muhammadali Sultan Abdul Cader (Ral.), with the loving support and help of his loving wife and family, "Forgive me the wrong, and accept the good. So I request." And if there are things in it, in the Children's Part of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", that you don't understand, then be patient with it, and as Bawa teaches us, "Don't throw it away. Instead, put it on a shelf for later." And if at some point you want to look into it further, and this child of your heart is still with you in the world, then we can join together to discuss these words of wisdom and truth as much as you like, for in truth we belong to each other, we are one family, we are in truth One. My life is your life, and your life is my life. You are my love. This is what Bawa is always telling us when He says, "My love you." And if this child is no longer "of the world", then that is also Ok. For all you ever have to do is say the word "Bawa", or "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen", or "Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen" (may God be pleased with Him), and your wisdom, and the truth within it, will be "present", ready to answer any question, or solve any problem that you may have, and that your brothers and sisters may have. Never forget that, never doubt that. Al-hamdu lillah. Allah Akbar. My love you (anbu) my dearest loving brothers and sisters of the One Open heart, that is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), your brother of the same heart - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Finally, my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, please give my love and salams to your wife and to your friends, and to all of our brothers and sisters of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship. Please tell them that Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen loves them very, very much, and that they are always in my prayers. Also, please share this letter with them, as it is very, very important that we all learn to do our "Bawa given jobs" together, respecting each other, but always ready to surrendering to the will of God within us, that is, to the will of our Shaikh within us, and to God within Him, ready to sacrifice everything to stay loyal to His will within us, ready to sacrifice our life, our family, our brothers and sisters, and even the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship to stay within His loving embrace. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Only in this way can we learn to live and work together properly, within the loving embrace of our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and of God within Him. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Go To: Final E-mail Version, of "Closing Comments & Prayer", by clicking HERE. (Note: there are two versions of the "Closing Comments & Prayer", an Initial Version, which is what follows, and another, slightly longer and revised version, the Final E-mail Version, which has some additional material and provides an ending to this letter that has a little different tone, and flavor to it. Please read both versions) End of Page 2 of 2 of Spiritual Letter 42 - expanded version - ......................... or Go To Spiritual Letter 42: Original Version Related Material or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
Spiritual Letter 42 - Expanded Version About Spiritual Letter 42 Title: The Life and Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the Age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) Date: January 9, 2003 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Written to: Muhammad Lateef (Kelly Hayden) Home Page-Spiritual Letters Go To Spiritual Letter 43 Letter 42: Original Version Library Navigation Tree Go To Spiritual Letter 41 Letter 42: Related Material Page 2 of 2 Go To Table of Contents - Spiritual Letter 42 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. My love you (anbu), my dearest brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter: (continued) 8. Observations About The Publishing Department - we need to move from analog publishing methods to digital publishing methods 9. Suggestions For Improving The Publishing Department - we need to create and maintain a secure database and internet publishing environment 10. More On The Children's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" - it is the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for this age, for all of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) for this age, which is everyone living in this age 11. The Life And Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for This Age - it is in truth, at a deeper level within us, the birthright, the heritage, and the nourishment of the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them) within us, the Children of God in the next age, who will truly take us, the Children of God in this age, to the Shore, to the hereafter, to akhirah within us, if we will but let Them, let Them come to maturity within us 12. Closing Comments And Prayer - please forgive me Text of Spiritual Letter: 8. Observations About The Publishing Department - we need to move from analog publishing methods to digital publishing methods To help you in your responsibility, my dearest loving brother, as Manager of The Publishing Department, the following observations are offered by Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen to Muhammad Lateef, from my heart to your heart, from within the One heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Please take these observations as merely suggestions that came into my heart from Bawa while reading your letter and writing this reply. And always remember, my love you (anbu), my dearest brother. First, we are quickly moving into a time when all of the published material by Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) can be placed on 1 CD, and using a variety of search techniques available today, would allow someone to ask the following questions, and immediately be able to read what is currently published about His Holiness that addresses each of these questions. For example, 1) Who is God? 2) Who is Man? 3) What is the relationship between God and Man? 4) Who is the Shaikh? 5) Who is the Disciple? 6) What is the relationship between the Shaikh and the Disciple? 7) How do these two relationship, between God and Man, and between the Shaikh and the Disciple, interact, and eventually become One. With this technical revolution facing us today, we must be constantly re-considering the format and techniques that we are currently using to publish the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and always be ready to change formats and techniques to better serve the needs of the Fellowship, the needs of all of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), which from a larger perspective is everyone living in the world today. The current format and techniques for publishing the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), as you referenced in the initial guidelines, includes things like books, and pamphlets. However, there are many problems associated with these tried and true, but ancient, methods of publishing. For example, they are static or paper oriented, very labor intensive (they must be both Tamil and English edited, over and over again, and then manually printed), very place oriented (people must come to them to work on them), resulting in a system that, by its very nature, can only slowly publish books and pamphlets, which then are not easily corrected, or distributed, or re-published into another language. Add to this the fact that the original discourses or songs are spoken in Tamil and only some of them are translated into English, and that the initial translations are most of the time spontaneous, and not performed in a detailed or systematic way, and you have a very complicated, and slow process. And after they are published they are usually distributed using a standard marketing "Push" and "Pull" approach, which means we send them to book stores, and re-supply them when they ask for more, or we wait for people to ask for them. This was perhaps fine in a single culture, with a relatively closed environment, but it is certainly "not the way to go" today, in the multicultural communities of the world today, with large open and even transparent environments, such as the Spanish and Arabic speaking people in America, South America, and in the Middle East, as well as the young people in America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, as well as Australia, who are all in desperate need "today" of what Bawa has given us "yesterday", in order to even survive in the world we are all quickly moving into, let alone becoming true human beings, a world where, as Bawa teaches us, the beast "within all of us" will finally come out of "one of us" to destroy the world "outside" for all of us, destroying any chance for any of us to get it right before we die. For example, a world where we patiently wait while "America prepares to invade Iraq". In this way, it is strongly recommended that we start to use the digital alternates to our current analog methods of publishing, which this child will gladly help implement, in order to help my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef in his "Bawa given job", to make the publishing of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), by the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), more successful. 9. Suggestions For Improving The Publishing Department - we need to create and maintain a secure database and internet publishing environment My dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, with this in mind the following initial suggestions for improving the Publishing Department of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship are humbly offered for your consideration. 1) Scanning the textual archives of all of Bawa's discourses and songs into a database, and making them available for on-line access over the Internet, in order to work on them, to study them, to cross reference them (like all references to the Suratal Fatihah), and to publish them in a secure on-line environment, with people signing onto the Fellowship Publishing Internet (FPI), and the Fellowship Publishing Database (FPD) with secure passwords. Everyone will really love this new open computer based publishing environment, both the "old dogs" and the new recruits. 2) Opening the publishing process to more skilled people of the Fellowship, who want to help but are not currently involved in the process, like computer engineers, marketing people, linguists, and managers, and people who speak other languages, like Tamil, Arabic, Spanish, and other foreign languages, and not just waiting for them to show up, but to actively go in search of them, to recruit them in the way a young entrepreneur would eagerly go in search of young talented people to make his bold new ideas a reality. This is what we really need. 3) Setting up the publishing process so it is database and internet oriented, not paper oriented, so people anywhere in the world, like down the street in Ardmore, or in England, or in Sri Lanka, can easily gain access to unpublished Bawa discourses and songs in a secure computer environment, and quickly bring them to a point where they can be Tamil and English edited, reviewed, approved, and published, first on the internet, and then through books, and pamphlets. This is the proper sequence for publishing today. 4) Breaking the publishing process into different groups, rather than having everything under one person, all within one group, or setting it up with one person who manages several separate groups, like the "Book and Pamphlet Publishing (BPP) Group, the Database Publishing (DP) Group (putting everything we have in written form on a database and making it available through the Internet with limited and secure access), and the on-line Internet publishing (IP) Group (like you did with the two books, "Islam and World Peace: Explanations of a Sufi", and "The Book of God's Love"). 5) The development of a "Three Tier" approach to publishing Bawa's discourses and songs, such as an "Initial English Edit" (IEE), an "Initial English and Tamil Edit (IETE), and a "Final English and Tamil Edit" (FETE), and making each level of the three tiers available through the internet, for working on, for studying, and for publishing, all within a secure computer environment. My dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, we need to vigorously pursue these alternatives, so that people who are willing to help, and there are many of them, can be applied to the current publishing bottleneck, created by the current publishing format and methods, so more of Bawa's material can be made available. May we both think about these suggestions a little, they are very good ideas and they need to be discussed with the appropriate people at the Fellowship. Also, implementing these simple suggestions in a timely fashion would take some of the pressure off those of us currently on the sidelines (of the Publishing of Bawa's material) who are concerned about the slow process of "getting the word out", and end up trying to "go it alone". 10. More On The Children's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" - please don't try to change it, instead, protect it as you would a growing child, and trust in God to bring it up properly The Children's part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" is the experience of One Child of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), of this child, of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), living at the feet of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) for 27 years. It contains no outlines of Bawa's material, or comments about Bawa's material, or summarizing of Bawa's material. It is a "work in process", of the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Please don't try to change it. It is one of the great treasures of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, for us, and for the children of God yet to come. Please don't try to change it. Instead, protect it as you would a growing child, and trust in God to bring it up properly. Trying to change it would be like asking for the hot tea back after the "Sugar Milk Tea" has been made. Instead, if you are so inclined, please join with this child to explore this treasure of the Fellowship, and invite others to join with us to explore it too, by presenting and discussing it at Fellowship meetings and at the various branches of the Fellowship, as it is most certainly full of incredible grace, wisdom, and 'ilm or divine wisdom, for all of us. None of us are in competition my dearest loving brother, all of us have been blessed by God in so many different ways, and each of us have a unique and valid perspective on the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), which will change as we change, that is the great blessing of the "Flower Garden" of God's Grace, which is our clear and pure heart, this gift of God for our age, like the 99 wilayat of God, each of us has its own flavor and beauty. There is certainly room for all of us in this shop in the world of Illusion called the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship", letting each traveler who comes to visit this shop freely taste the different fruits according to one's own fancy, whether it be Shari'at, Tariqat, Haqiqat, Marifat, or Sufiat, permitting them to buy them or reject them accordingly to their individual needs. There is room for all of us, my dearest loving brother of my heart. After sitting at the feet of our loving Shaikh for 20 some years, we know there is room for all of us. And also, if you are so inclined, join with your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen to get some of this material published, as Mitch Gilbert published his material. This tree of grace is quickly coming to maturity and should be preserved for future generations, and there is no way of knowing how long God will keep your brother in the world. In this way, we most all come together to address this need to document the life and teaching of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), and to store it in some computer based format so it is available to the members of the Fellowship, both now and in the future, as well as to the public. This is true for all of the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.), not just for this child, just as it is true for our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), perhaps even more so for us, since we are the Children of this age, and Bawa came to show us the way, and remind us of what we have lost, in becoming civilized, and who we truly are, which is the Children of God for this age. This is something we should perhaps have set up a long time ago to clearly document the different perspectives of many of the older brothers and sisters of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.). For example, of those who have already died, like Professor Ajwad Macan-Markar, Dr. M. Z. Markar, as well as some of our senior citizens who are still living, like Kjaja Muhaiyaddeen (Bob Demby), and Sonia Klein, What do you think, my dearest loving brother. Wouldn't this approach be best for all of us, rather than trying to change what has grown in my heart, and force it to conform to some standard. Please think about it a little. My love you (anbu), my dearest loving brother of my heart, Muhammad Lateef. Please think about it a little. May we both reflect on these wisdom points a little, they are very, very important. Not only for us, and for all of the current Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Us), who may wish to take advantage of the treasures in this open heart, but especially for all of the future Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Them), who will most certainly take the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) to new and higher levels. This work of the One heart, of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) joined as One with Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and with God with Him, is mainly for Them. Finally, the "Children's Part of the Library" is made up of the following 11 Topics, each of which have one or more documents or Items in them. Please check them out. Topics In The Children's Library a) Testimonials b) In-the-room Stories c) Spiritual Secrets d) Spiritual Questions and Answers e) Wisdom Stories f) Spiritual Analysis Topics 1 thru 5 can be accessed directly using their own URL or Web Address, by just clicking above while the rest of the Topics (a thru f) can only be accessed after first accessing the "Children Library", by clicking on Topic 6 above. The goal is to give each Topic in the Children's Library its own Home Page, which is what we have done for the first five Topics above and to make each Item in each Topic also have its own URL or Web Address, which is also what we have done for the first four Topics above, with the exception of Spiritual Insights, Topic 5, which has all its Items still bundled within that Topic. Currently we can access a specific Spiritual Letter, Chat, Topic, or Prayer, directly by using its own URL or Web Address, not needing to first go to the Topic Home Page. For example, you can directly go to Spiritual Letter 41, "The Greatest Gift of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Rad.) Is "The Pearl of Wisdom", which was recently written by this child to Ameena & Noor Cader, the wife and daughter of the recently departed brother Mahammadali Sultan Abdul Cader (Ral.), who translated the Tamil version of Bawa's book, "Guru Mani" into its English version, "The Pearl of Wisdom", by either clicking above, or by typing the following URL or Web Address into the address line of your computer: www.SpiritualLetter041.homestead.com. It is just that simple, to get to most Items in the Children's Library. To access the Bundled Topics above, Topics a thru f, those still Bundled within the Children's Library, click HERE or on Topic 6 above. Once there either scroll to the bottom of the Web Page or click the following: Bundled Children's Material. As a guide to all of these individual URLs we have created a "bottom up" version of the Library Home page, which we have called, the "Library Navigation Tree", that lists all of the individual URLs for both the Topic - Home Page, and for the individual Items within a Topic, both in the Father's and the Children's Part of the Library. To go to the "Library Navigation Tree", either click HERE or above. For more on the history of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" click on the following: Spiritual Letter 15, "About The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", that was written by this child to Asma'el Muhaiyaddeen (Rick Hacket) last February. Once there click on "Outline & Summary Version", for easy navigation around the letter. Enjoy. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 11. The Life And Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for this Age - it is in truth, at a deeper level within us, the birthright, the heritage, and the nourishment of the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them), the Children of God in the next age, who will truly take us, the Children of God in this age, to the Shore, to the hereafter, to akhirah within us, if we will but let Them, let Them come to maturity within us My love you my dearest brother, Muhammad Lateef, we are both very good Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us). We must never forget that, and that the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) is our birthright, our heritage, which God has sent into our life to move our lives forward, as only our wisdom and the truth of God within us can move it forward, as only our Shaikh within us, and God within Him can move it forward. May we both realize, understand, and accept this truth of our lives without the slightest doubt, and join with it as the reality of "who we are", of "where we are", and of "what is truly happening" in our life. In this way, the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) is "who we are", is "where we are", and is "what is really happening" in our lives. We are in truth what He is doing within us, which is revealing True Man within True Man, through the true Shaikh-Disciple relationships, where we surrender to the will of God within Him, where we live our life at His divine feet, accepting what He says as the word of God for our age, accepting what He does as the actions of God for our age, becoming in this way the word of God for the next age, the actions of God for the next age. In truth this is what the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, what the "Children's Part" of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", is all about, it is the word of God, the actions of God for the Children of God in the next age, not in this age, but for it to reach them within us we must be tolerant of it in our age, we must allow it to exist with us, without necessarily having to understand it, joining it or not joining it as we wish, but not going to war with it, or trying to destroy it, or hide it, or do anything with it, that would prevent it from reaching the shore within our inner most hearts. In this very beautiful way, as you treat the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen so are you treating the life of your soul, and the wisdom surrounding your soul, and the light of your wisdom, which collectively is the Nur Muhammad within you, that God has placed on the forehead of Adam (peace be upon Him) within you. This is why Bawa starts many of His discourses by gives greetings to three groups of people, His grandchildren, His sons and daughters, and His brothers and sisters. If we become true Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of us), then we have successfully become the Children of God for this age, moving from the status of His brothers and sisters, of those who have been born with Him, to the status of His sons and daughters, as those who have been born from Him, from His union with God within Him, as the lights of God for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). And if we allow Him to become our soul, and we become His form, as Bawa so beautifully explains to us in the discourses "How To Merge With The Guru", and "How To Reach And Merge With God", and in "The Kalimah Song", as beautifully translated by our loving sister Usha Balamore, all of which Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) has lovingly given to His Children on April 26, 1972, as the gift of God for our age, as the "One good day in a 100 years", then and only then will we have become successful in our life.. Then and only then, as Bawa so beautifully explains to us on page 111, in Chapter 30, "The Mystical Meaning of Man's Body", in the beautiful book of wisdom, "The Pearl of Wisdom", will, "Our wisdom reason over our fate." Then we will become Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen and give birth to the next generation of God's Children within us, which are then His Grandchildren, the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them), the Grandchildren of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), who are then nourished and brought to maturity by the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen in the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). [Note: we have left these 3 "unpublished" materials from Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) in the Father's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library" only for the publication of this letter, of Spiritual Letter 42. Per our agreement we will remove them from the Father's Part of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library". However, this example points out the need to get this type of material from Bawa published as soon as possible, material that is pivotal to our understanding of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), material that needs to be put in front of His Children, in front of His Children throughout the world, so they can at least learn to survive in this very difficult time, until the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) can physically join with their lives, published at least through the Internet, as formally approved Fellowship "Internet Publications of the Life and Teachings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)", as soon as possible] My dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, such is the importance of the "Children's Part" of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", the very, very small beginning of the next gift of God to us, and the main gift of God to the Children of our heart, to the next generation of the Fellowship, to the Children of the One heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) within each of us, the gift of God to the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Them) within us, the gift of God know as "The Life and Teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for This Age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen". Only in this way will we ever reach the shore, which is the hereafter, akhirah, firdaus, the 8th heaven of Muhammad (Sal.), the kingdom of God, within the hearts of our Children, within the hearts of the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Them). Please, please, please, my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, let the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) have their heritage, their birthright, and their nourishment. Protect the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen from being changed or destroyed, as you would protect your very own life, as you now protect the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) from being changed or destroyed. In truth they are the same, they are One. This is why we were born, this is why we are here, this is why Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) gave birth to us, as the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), so joined as One with Bawa, with our Shaikh, and with God within Him, we could give birth to Them, to the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Them), and to the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen that is their nourishment, in this way, allowing Them to come to maturity within us, as a mother suckles her child with the fluids of her own body. Allowing God to nourish His Children of the next age with His wealth of grace, wisdom, and 'ilm in this age, as contained within the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, which is what, in a very, very small way, is beginning to appear in this world of illusion as the "Children's Part" of "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship". Please give it a chance to come to maturity, please protect it from those who would destroy it. And to those who would find fault with what is contained in this material, please treat them the same way that the Prophet Muhammad (Sal.) treated His followers who complained about those who were just standing outside of the Mosque, and did not enter it to do salat, as the Prophet of God (Sal.) had instructed them to do. And as Bawa teaches us, the Prophet Muhammad (Sal.) said to them, "You should leave them alone, they are fine, they are properly doing their duty to God." And we know who they were, don't we, my dearest loving brothers, because Bawa tells us that they were the true Sufi's of the age of Muhammad (Sal.). In this way, my dearest loving brother, we must also make room for the true Sufi's of the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him.), and also leave them alone, realizing that they are fine, and that what they are doing is their proper duty to God, and not interfere in their work, but instead protect them, give them the respect and space that is their due, and try to help others to be tolerant of them, even if what they are doing, and saying, and writing does not seem to correspond with "our" understanding of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and "our" duty to Bawa and God. Thank you my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, we know you will do the right thing, the proper thing, the wise thing. My love you (anbu). You are certainly a blessing to the life of this brother, to your brother of the heart, of the one open and clear heart of this age, the heart of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), you are certainly a blessing to your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, as Abu Bakar (A.S.) was to the Prophet Muhammad (Sal.) We await your pleasure. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. 12. Closing Comments And Prayer - please forgive me (Note: there are two versions of the "Closing Comments & Prayer", an Initial Version, which is what follows, and another, slightly longer and revised version, the Final E-mail Version, which has some additional material and provides an ending to this letter that has a little different tone, and flavor to it. Please read both versions. To access this other version please chick HERE or above) Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa-barakatuhu kulluhu. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon all of us. May God help us all. Please forgive me my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef if anything within this letter of the heart is wrong or upsets you, or upsets any of the other members of the Executive Committee of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, or any of the other brothers and sisters of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, or of any othe r religious groups, or anyone else living in the world today, or in the future. Please forgive this brother for everything that he has done knowingly, and not knowingly, to harm the heart or mind of any of our wonderful brothers and sisters, who in 1975 accepted this child "Louie Beutler" into your "Funny Family", a child who in his 36 years before coming to the Fellowship had been rejected by the world in every adventure that he undertook, whether it was family life, school, sports, the military, business, husband-ship, and fatherhood, and yet you my dearest loving brothers and sister took this orphan of God's grace, this wondering soul, into your hearts, first as "Maintenance Louie", then as "Crisi's Husband", and finally for some of you as, "Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen". For those of you who have not felt it in their hearts to love this child as "Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen" we can certainly relate to your distress, for there is nothing of "Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen" within Louie Beutler, for that is another section within this child that only our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and God within Him, can truly see, love, and embrace within this child. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So your rejection of Louie Beutler as Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen is completely understandable, and we lovingly accept it, and we hold no malice toward any of you in this regard, and realize that only my own "separation and differences" are truly at fault, not any of you. For as God told the Prophet Jonah (peace be upon Him) when his whole congregation rejected him, after he had "agreed with God" to destroy them, after he went on his mystical journey into the belly of the whale, ending up on a desert island, with the milk of a deer as his only food, and the shade of one tree as his only comfort, having lost everything, including his wife and children, and only through the grace of God, and his repentance, did he return to his congregation to find that everything was still as it was before he had left, before he left on his "journey of awakening", for God had protected them from him, and then God said to the Prophet Jonah (peace be upon Him), "O Jonah (peace be upon Him) the only reason the people of your congregation did not listen to you initially was because of your differences, because you treated them as separate from you, as separate from your own family, as separate from you own wife, and children, not as your true family, as your true wife, and your true children, as the family, wife, and children of the open heart, of the one heart of God, as I do." "This is why they rejected you as their leader, not because of anything that they did, or failed to do. Know this now, my Prophet (A.S.) and start to act accordingly." In this way, my dearest loving brother and sisters, this child is a fool and doesn't know anything, so you must forgive me the way you would forgive a little child who with his first step thinks that he can walk, and with his first sound thinks that he can speak, when in truth he has just started his journey to walking and speaking. But with this said, what is contained within the heart of this child, of your brother Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) is reflected in a very, very small way in this letter to Muhammad Lateef, and in the many letters and conversations of love and wisdom that we have all had over the last 27 years, and is also reflected in a very, very small way within the Children's Part of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", as but one small speck, one very small part of the incredible legacy of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased Him) for this age, which is the gift of God for this age, for this age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), to all of the Children of God for this age, which is all of us living in this age. As in truth, each of your hearts, and your words, and your letters, and your conversations are a part of this same wonderful thing that God has done in this age, this "Thing of God" called "The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship". Never forget that, and never doubt that. In this way, and only in this way, though small and relatively insignificant, this legacy of this version, of the "Louie Beutler" version, of the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), as reflected in this letter, and as reflected in the rest of the "Children's Part" of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", all of it is yours, not mine, for this child has already received it, and its blessings. All of this "outside" stuff is only how this child has joined with Bawa within this child, and with God within Him, to share with his brothers and sisters, to share what has and is occurred within the heart of this child, of your brothers Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, living at the feet of our Shaikh, of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and of God within Him, for 27 years. It is no big deal. It is just a little thing. But it is for you, my dearest loving brothers and sisters, and my dearest loving sons and daughters. And please stay alert, for most certainly other versions of the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) will soon come to your attention, like the Ahamd Muhaiyaddeen version, the Kjaja Muhaiyaddeen version, the Sultan Muhaiyaddeen version, the Asma'el Muhaiyaddeen version, as well as all the other versions of the "Muhaiyaddeen" of God, the "Giver of life back to true belief", that Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), the Father of all the many facets of the "Muhaiyaddeen of God", told us about, and demonstrated for us, day after day, in Ceylon or Sri Lanka from 1886 to 1971, and in America from 1971 to 1986, until his physically passing on December 8th, 1986, a time period of 100 years with His Children of the world, with His Children who are still living in the world, who have yet learned how to live in their hearts. May we all learn to move into our hearts before we die, before it is too late, and before the "beast" within all of us comes out of one of us to destroy the "outside" of all of us, destroying any chance of any of us getting it right before we die, and learn to do our duty "here" from "there", not "here" from "here", as Bawa did, and showed us how to do, for 100 years. May we all do it this way, my dearest brothers and sisters of the heart. And please stay alert, as well as, for all the versions of Muhammad Abdul Qadir, of Muhammad Abdul Raheem, of Muhammad Abdul Rahman, of Muhammad Abdul Malik, of Muhammad Abdul Jabbar, of Muhammad Abdul Razzaq, of Muhammad Abdul Baseer, of Muhammad Abdul Hakam, of Muhammad Abdul Lateef, of Muhammad Abdul Khabir, of Muhammad Abdul Kabeer, of Muhammad Abdul Jalil, of Muhammad Abdul Kareem, of Muhammad Abdul Mujib, of Muhammad Abdul Majid, of Muhammad Abdul Haqq, as well as all the versions of the other 99 Muhammad Abdul's of God, of the Lights within the Slaves of the Asma'ul Husna, of the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, as well as all of the female versions of these names of God, that Bawa has blessed his Children with by so naming them. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Please stay alert for all of the manifestations of the Mercy and Compassion of God in the world, in the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and learn the wisdom and qualities of God, the duties and actions of God from them. That is the gift of God for this age. Please do it like that. That would be good for all of us. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So please treat it carefully, please treat the Children's Part of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", very carefully, it is part, a very, very small part, but still a part of your legacy, your heritage from God, for the Brothers and Sisters of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral,.), and for the Sons and Daughters of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.), and for the Grandchildren of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.). And if you find things in it that are wrong, please forgive me, please forgive Louie Beutler, and if you find things in that make your heart melt and open, that make your love and trust in God grow, and that awaken the "wisdom surrounding your heart", and begin to reveal the truth of God hidden by God within the Creation of God within you, which is True Man within you, which is the hereafter or akhirah within you, and begin to reveal the truth of True Man hidden by True Man within the Creation of True Man within you, which is God within you, which is the dunya and awwal within you, which is this earth world and the world of souls within you, then praise God, and thank Him for the gift of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) for this age, and for the gift within the gift of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) also for this age, and for the next age to come, which is the life and teaching of Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen for the age of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Please do it like that. That would be good. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. For as Bawa told us at the bottom of page 7, in the "Forward" to the wonderful book of very, very deep wisdom, "The Pearl of Wisdom", that was recently rendered into English, through the love and grace of God, and by the dedicated devotion and very hard work of our dearest and loving recently departed brother Muhammadali Sultan Abdul Cader (Ral.), with the loving support and help of his loving wife and family, "Forgive me the wrong, and accept the good. So I request." And if there are things in it, in the Children's Part of the "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Library", that you don't understand, then be patient with it, and as Bawa teaches us, "Don't throw it away. Instead, put it on a shelf for later." And if at some point you want to look into it further, and this child of your heart is still with you in the world, then we can join together to discuss these words of wisdom and truth as much as you like, for in truth we belong to each other, we are one family, we are in truth One. My life is your life, and your life is my life. You are my love. This is what Bawa is always telling us when He says, "My love you." And if this child is no longer "of the world", then that is also Ok. For all you ever have to do is say the word "Bawa", or "Bawa Muhaiyaddeen", or "Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen" (may God be pleased with Him), and your wisdom, and the truth within it, will be "present", ready to answer any question, or solve any problem that you may have, and that your brothers and sisters may have. Never forget that, never doubt that. Al-hamdu lillah. Allah Akbar. My love you (anbu) my dearest loving brothers and sisters of the One Open heart, that is Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), your brother of the same heart - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Finally, my dearest loving brother Muhammad Lateef, please give my love and salams to your wife and to your friends, and to all of our brothers and sisters of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship. Please tell them that Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen loves them very, very much, and that they are always in my prayers. Also, please share this letter with them, as it is very, very important that we all learn to do our "Bawa given jobs" together, respecting each other, but always ready to surrendering to the will of God within us, that is, to the will of our Shaikh within us, and to God within Him, ready to sacrifice everything to stay loyal to His will within us, ready to sacrifice our life, our family, our brothers and sisters, and even the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship to stay within His loving embrace. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. Only in this way can we learn to live and work together properly, within the loving embrace of our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and of God within Him. My love you (anbu) - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Go To: Final E-mail Version, of "Closing Comments & Prayer", by clicking HERE. (Note: there are two versions of the "Closing Comments & Prayer", an Initial Version, which is what follows, and another, slightly longer and revised version, the Final E-mail Version, which has some additional material and provides an ending to this letter that has a little different tone, and flavor to it. Please read both versions) End of Page 2 of 2 of Spiritual Letter 42 - expanded version - ......................... or Go To Spiritual Letter 42: Original Version Related Material or ( a top-down version of the Library Home Page) (a bottom-up version of the Library Home Page) |
This page was last updated on: January 16, 2003
