An Emerald Earth

AN EMERALD EARTH

by Sharifa Norton and Muinuddin Smith

“When the eyes and ears are open the leaves of the trees become as holy
scripture”. Hazrat Inayat Khan

Is it possible to cultivate a spirituality that affirms the sacredness
of the Earth, of Nature and Her elements?   Instead of discounting the
world around us, can we realize that it is imbued with profound beauty
and intelligence, and is literally a seedbed of All-Possibility?  Can
we realize, within our own life, the awakening of a Divine Artist, an
unfolding and evolution that is millions upon millions of years in the making? 

In the 1920's Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan used the term "planetary consciousness” and the need to realize the interconnectedness of all life.  He saw that we would literally become a part of the very intelligence of the planet, and become able to address the many crises that are now in front of us, especially with respect to the ecology of the natural world.  It is these dimensions of consciousness and identity that the
Sufi tradition of Ziraat calls us to.

Not only can we have access to these dimensions of consciousness; this time on Planet earth requires it.  The spirituality of our time must serve the suffering, must acknowledge the damage that we are doing to our planet, and the tremendous inequality in the access to and use of resources of the people of earth. It asks that we honor the interdependence and sacredness of all life.

The way to an "Emerald Earth" is surprisingly simple and, at the same time, profound.  It has to do with the practice of cultivation which requires of us a tremendous responsibility.   We are the seed of Divine Reality which must be nurtured and cultivated in order to bring forth fruitfulness and the fullness of life. We nurture and cultivate this seed first by a profound practice of purification, and then by listening and discovering how we can best serve the world around us.


What is Nature Saying?

“We will show you our signs on the horizons and within yourselves”. Quran Sharif

 Hazrat Inayat Khan saw nature as animated, as passionate, as itself
expressing a sacred song.  He felt that that spirituality was much
more than a religious sentiment or emotion, but had to do with being
in tune, in harmony, with one’s own natural state, one's "natural
pitch".  In his view, every part of creation expresses a cosmic and
sacred song:

 “ Even birds have their moments of exaltation.  At the setting
of the sun, the rising of the sun, the breaking of dawn, or in
moonlight….. They sing and dance and sit on branches of exaltation.
Every day this exquisite joy they feel.  And if we go further and if
we have eyes to see… we find that there are times when even the trees
are in a complete state of ecstasy”.   Hazrat Inayat Khan

Nature, taught Inayat Khan, is a sacred manuscript, the ultimate
living scripture that is before us, guiding us.  As we open to Her,
communication becomes communion, removing the illusion of seeing
nature as separate object.  Ultimately, we gain what Martin Buber
called an I/Thou relationship with all of life and a sacred intimacy.

And it is from this relationship that we can glean a spirituality that
does not separate us from our embodied being and our connection with
the earth.  No longer can we look at nature as a storehouse of
commodities to be exploited.   The difference comes from a heart that
has been moved, that finds within nature the ancient voice of Sophia,
of Wisdom, who wishes us to singing and dance with Her, to know life
as the sacred celebration and temple of awakening for which it was
created.

 

The Path of Freedom Through Service

“…in whose Service is perfect freedom”.   Ziraat Teachings

We cannot really take up the challenge of contributing wisely to the
well being of our planet and its inhabitants until we realize that
these are inextricably parts of our own being. To open to this level
of identity, to realize ourselves not merely as a fragment of life but
as a microcosm— a micro-cosmos -- in which the intelligence,
challenges and problems of the entire creation exist and must be
somehow assimilated and addressed, is the challenge of service as
found in these particular Sufi teachings.

Our communion with life culminates is the realization that Divine
consciousness longs for a home in this world, and that home can be no
where else but within the temple of our own being.  We are free when
we truly participate in this awakening.

This sacred temple needs, most of all, our willingness.  Otherwise, no
intermediary is needed to receive the inspiration and guidance both
from the Earth and the Unseen, a downpouring of divine bounty and an
upwelling of the wisdom of the Earth, joining and informing each
other.
 

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