7 Levels of Happiness in Sufism

7 Levels of Happiness in Sufism
Date: February 15, 2017
Author: sufismjim

We are all seeking happiness but true lasting happiness eludes most yet the Sufi appears so grounded that he seems unperturbed by the vicissitudes of life. With his heart anchored in the Beloved, he seems to radiate love, joy and light that vivifies all it touches.His love and joy overflows and awakens joy and laughter in others.He is kind, generous and friendly. He does not endure life, he enjoys it in spite of the location and circumstances. He is thankful for where he is, who he is and who he is with. He does not postpone his happiness for some future event or objective. Happiness is a choice and he always chooses joy over sullenness, bitterness and sadness. He is content with his lot everyday.

What is the source of this quiet seemingly endless fountain of Joy.

Secret of Sufi’s Happiness

A Sufi immersed in love is pleased with his Divine Beloved no matter what the circumstance and is content in the knowledge that his Beloved is in turn pleased with him. He abides in Perpetual Ceaseless Joy in the Gardens of Endless Delights every moment of every day.

The secret to his happiness is seven-fold:

Love of God creates Ceaseless Joy in his heart of Hearts: He does not just have faith in God but a deep abiding love and God always comes first in his life. A Sufi does not just love God, He is in love with Him. This soul deep love (Muhibba and Ishq) is the source of ceaseless joy in his life. He knows that the Eternal Bliss is his or her birthright not just in this life but also in the Afterlife. As his awakening proceeds, he is able to tap into the Unceasing Joy in the depth of his soul that is impervious to the circumstances he may be in.

Submission to God’s Will creates Perennial Optimism: Abiding Love leads to complete obedience and Conviction which mature into full-fledged Submission (Islaam). He has completely submitted to his Beloved and takes both the good and the bad as his Beloved’s Wish and Will. He knows that all that happens is for his best in the long run even if he may not realize it at that particular moment.

With Faith and Love in his heart, this love and submission leads to God Immersion and God Consciousness. His heart seeks joys of His Presence through Prayer, Reflection, Meditation, Supplication and Remembrance. He is in ceaseless Inner Communion with Him no matter what his external pursuits at any given time. He can lose himself in prayer and forget about the circumstances.

Submission makes him a Perennial Optimist. People who have very high expectations of success in every aspect of their life become very disappointed and unhappy if those expectations are not met while those with very low expectations fail to achieve much in life. A Sufi is a Perennial Optimist and has high expectations of his Beloved, he always has a positive outlook on life as he knows that the Script writer of his life will bring only good in his life. He faces pains, tribulations and suffering head on with equanimity and surrender considering them necessary for his growth and purification.

He is eternally grateful to God for what has been given him. He is thankful for the good things and he is thankful for the not so good things that may happen to him. He patiently perseveres any rough patch in life content in the knowledge that in the end everything will work out. He is also grateful to people in life.

God Source of his Worth and Authenticity: Source of his worth (Izzah) is his Beloved and he does not need approval, ovation or validation from others in his life. Praise and approval of others heartens him but God suffices him enough that their absence does not depress him.

Disapproval of others neither disheartens him nor makes him question himself. Since his self-worth is on sure footing of the Creator of the Universe, he is fully authentic and does not have to put up a false facade of personality to make himself more acceptable to others. He obviously welcomes honest feedback on his flaws and is constantly improving himself but he does not depend on them for his sense of worth.

Love of Creation and Good Companionship: He is a firm believe in Unity of all Creation and loves all the Creation as the family of his Divine Beloved. He knows the importance of being connected with people in his life through love and service. He seeks and loves to spend time in the company of good people and lives a rich life connected with his family, friends and community. A Sufi is not a loner but seeks company of lovers of God. He remembers the importance of amassing good words and good deeds through Love and Service. There is a joy in good companionship with family and friends and even greater joy in loving and serving them in His Love.

Pursuit of Excellence Ehsan: He knows that his Beloved wants the very best words, the very best thoughts, the very beat feelings, the very best attitude, the very best actions and the very best conduct in his worships, relationships, transactions and every facet of his life and nook and cranny of his existence.

Overcoming Fear of Death, Sense of Personal Accountability and Good Deeds: He is convinced of the Eternity of Life and knows that death is just an interruption. He also firmly believes in personal accountability of his behavior and conduct. All he says and does has consequences for him in this life and in the Hereafter. He therefore shuns gossip, backbiting, lust, greed, arrogance, belittlement, lying and envy. He sows love, beauty, honesty, generosity, humility, encouragement, truth and good will. He practices Virtue (Birr) and his a righteous person within and without and living a virtous life is a joyour life free of fear and negative baggage.

Asceticism and Self-Growth leads to Self-Actualization: When the aspirant begins to live Love of God in his daily life, his heart is no longer distracted by the glitter and glamor of this world. The Face of the Beloved looms high on the horizon of his consciousness. He is focused on actualizing his Soul and awakening his heart.There is great joy in every success he achieves in taming his lower self and great joy in ascending the Staircase of Light that leads to the Heart of the Beloved. He knows that he is imperfect and in the presence of the Highest of the High, he is next to nothing so in this humility he seeks to actively dismantle all flawed and dysfunctional parts of his personaity and character and rebuilt them in light of the Divine Revelations.

Seven Levels of Happiness and Seven Personality Types

There are 7 Levels of personal growth and corresponding levels of happiness. First five are accessible to all but the last two are only available to the lovers of God. Most people are involved at many of these stages but there are personality types that get stuck on one of these planes. Some are stuck on hedonistic pleasures stage, others on ego comparitive, others social approval, others content with moral rectitude, others

Level 1 to 5: Available to All

Level 1: Hedonistic Pleasures – Nafse Gaa-ib – Hedonist
These are simple pleasures of good food, great car and sensual experiences. This happiness is acquired when our physiological and physical needs and wants are met and when our need for safety, shelter and security are met.

Some people live only to maximize their physical and material pleasures and their self-awareness is so rudimentary that they are not even bothered by this selfish desire-centered living. This is rooted in our instinctual and animalistic desires but it is not limited to folks in tribal cultures with diffuse sense of self.

Both material and security needs must be met for one to be happy.A person with all the material comforts would still be unsatisfied if he and his family members are living in a city ridden with crime or in a country with few freedoms.

Most of us need these two kinds of happiness but there is a personality type where his purpose of life is limited to sating of these physical and security needs. Since happiness derived from physical delights is momentary leading to an emptiness, this person is stuck in an endless loop of seeking ever greater pleasures to assuage his deep hunger. He may turn to alcohol, drugs, gambling and other such pursuits to maximize his increasingly unsateable sensory gratification.

Fear of Insufficiency and a sense of insecurity haunt people stuck partially or fully in this stage.

Antidote: The way to get unstuck on this stage is to practice asceticism and cultivate Inner Renunciation. This lessens the love of material things in favor of spiritual things.

Level 2: Relationships, Ego Gratification, Comparison. Self-esteem – Nafse Ammarah – the Ego-centric

Here the person gains a sense of self and self-esteem through comparison with others in his life and seeks pleasure in gaining upper hand in athletics, status, power, fame, appearance, wealth and possession. It is easy to get stuck in this stage as very hard to say when once had enough power, fame or money and also hard to win everyone’s approval.

Here our animalistic and instinctual self Nafse Ammara dominates. It is unencumbered by rational, moral or spiritual considerations. Here selfishness, greed, anger, jealousy, miserliness, lust and fear of insufficiency have free rein. Darwinian Survival of the Fittest is the norm. Here the relationships are based on self-interest or on group think if the person becomes involved with a cult, gang or tribe.

Fear of Inadequacy haunts people stuck in this stage and they are continually seeking approval and ego stroking.

The Antidote: As long as our self-worth is based on opinions and feedback of others we will remain stuck. The cure is to root one’s identity and self-worth in Approval of God

Level 3: Friends, Family and Community – Nafse Ijtimaiyya – the Altruist

We all have an inner need to belong and we feel inner satisfaction and happiness when we are a part of something bigger be it our family, community, tribe, organization, society, race, nationality or religion.While in Level 2, relationships are superficial and only for comparison and self individuation, here fulfilling relationships with family and friends bring a lot of joy in one’s life. Good friends can span decades and bring happiness and security to each other. Spouses, siblings, parents and children all bring net happiness to us.

Level 4: A Life of Virtue – Nafse Lawwamah – the Righteous

These are the joys when the Moral Compass is awakened and one lives in accordance with the Nafse Lawwamah or Conscience. Conscience for a religious person is rooted in the values while the primary locus of a secular person is the societal norms. This person is also engaged in relationships. As Aristotle observed life of virtue is happiness itself.

Supplemented by: A Sufi conquers fear of death develops an ever=present consciousness of personal accountability for all his words and deeds and is therefore strongly motivated to extirpate all negative thoughts, negative words and negative deeds from his life

Level 5: Spiritual Pleasures : Gatway to Soul – Nafse Mulhima

Nafse Mulhima (Inspired Self) is the Gateway to the Human soul. Ego is meditating three aspects of our being: (1) Our instinctual and animalistic self Nafse Ammara, (2) our Conscience Nafse Lawamma and (3) Our Soul mediated through Nafse Mulhima.

Level 6: Self-Growth and Character Building – Nafse Zakiyya – Nafse Mutmainna – The Self-Actualized

Soul Deep Joy results when person begins journey of Self Actualization through Self-Purification and Character Building. The self undergoing the process of Tazkiya is known as Nafse Zakiya and as it is purified it is transformed into Nafse Mutmainna – The Satisfied Self where

Level 7: Abiding in God Consciousness Nafse Taqiyya – The God-conscious

The self goes through God-Consciousness Taqwah. Nafse Radiyya emerges when the person personifies Love and Knowledge through Certitude via Eyewitness (Aynul Yaqeen) and by submitting his whole beings and life before God. God is sufficient for him. Nafse Radiyya is transformed into Nafse Mardiyya where lover incarnates God’s Emulable Attributes and as this alchemy further transforms him into Nafse Safiyya