FROM THE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

As the Quran tells us, “Prostrate yourself and draw near.” (96: 19). For God is always close to us—closer than the life blood in the jugular vein (50: 16). By total surrender to God, the soul can attain nearness to God. Similarly, according to this Hadith, ‘Worship God as if you are seeing Him’ (Sahih al-Bukhari), when man engages himself in true devotion, he is linked with God at a sensory or psychological level. He comes close to God. Through an invisible cord he comes in contact with God; God’s light passes through him. His entire existence comes to be pervaded by this indescribable feeling, which is called spiritual experience. This has been termed as Rabbaniat in the Quran (Be people of the Lord.) (3: 79). Rabbani means, one whose thinking and actions are God-oriented, who has placed God at the centre of his attention. When an individual attains spirituality, his state becomes like a lamp lit all of a sudden. He undergoes spiritual experiences. His heart becomes an ocean of spiritual waves. He appears to live in this world, but he has found another far superior world for himself. These spiritual experiences cannot be explained in words. Everything in the universe seems to convey to him a divine message. The leaves of the tree become a thrilling experience. A waft of air gives him a message of truth. He can hear divine music in the waves of the sea and the chirping of the birds. Due to his high state of receptivity, he reaches the stage where the wavelength of God and man become one. And he is enabled, in the words of the Prophet: “to see with God’s eye, to speak with God’s tongue, to walk with God’s foot, to hear with the ear of God.” Then all limitations vanish and his day and night are spent in God’s neighbourhood. All this can be felt, not described in words. This can be explained with the example of a child who has limitless love for his mother. He knows it himself in the full sense but cannot fully describe it in words. The same is true of spirituality. When a person is linked with the source of spirituality, he undergoes such spiritual experiences as he himself fully understands, but has difficulty in conveying to others. He may describe some external signs but he cannot describe the inner reality. Although it is difficult to describe the inner reality of spirituality, its method of attainment can be described to a certain extent and followed by others. First of all, man has to free his mind from confusion. It is difficult for a confused mind to undergo spiritual experiences. The basic reason