Spiritual Letter 53 - Original Version About Spiritual Letter 53 Title: "Winning The War On Terrorism" Date: November 8, 2003 Written by: Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler) Written to: George W. Bush, President of the United States of America Go To: Outline of Spiritual Letter - Page 2 & 3 Go To: Text of Spiritual Letter - Page 2 Go To: Summary of Spiritual Letter Home Page - Spiritual Letters Spiritual Letter 54 Letter 53: Expanded Version Page 2 of 3 Go To Table of Contents for Spiritual Letter 53 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Al-salam 'alaykum wa-rahmat Allah wa barakatuhu kulluhu. Wa 'alaykum al-salam 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 loving brothers and sisters - Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler). Outline of Spiritual Letter - Page 2 & 3 Page 2 of 3 - the page you are currently reading 3-0. The Wealth of Our Age - needs to be applied to the problems of our age 4-0. A Little Bit About Louie Beutler - who is probably a lot like you, Mr. President 5-0. Suggestions From The Heart - which in truth is where we all live as One 5-1. Recognize & Believe That There Is A Real Answer To Terrorism - and that answer is God, that answer is the power or grace of God in each of our lives 5-2. Make The "Road Map" Their Problem, Not Your Problem - but make "them", make the Israelis and the Palestinians your problem 5-3. Fix The U.N., Fix What Was Not Right From The Start - by realizing and accepting that a strong U.N. is really what is needed in the world today 5-4. Specific Recommendations For Changing The U.N. - make the U.N. a powerful democratic model for the world Page 3 of 3 - click HERE to go to Page 3 5-5. Taking A New Look At The U.N. - and perhaps develop an entirely new part of the U.N., whose focus is mainly on the citizens of the world, forming perhaps a United World Community, a New Virtual Nation for all of the citizens of the world 5-6. Let Democracy Evolve In America - by seriously taking into account direct citizen participation at all levels of government in America 5-7. The Enemy Within - is the real terrorist, who we must join with God within us to defeat. Only then will we truly bring peace to the world 6-0. Closing Prayer & Comments - let those who are knowledgeable correct any fault. Forgive me the wrong and accept the good. So I request Text of Spiritual Letter - Page 2 3-0. The Wealth of Our Age - needs to be applied to the problems of our age My dearest loving President, George W. Bush, please know and look into the fact, that during His brief time with us, from 1971 to 1986, His Holiness, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), gave us more than 10,000 discourses and songs about God, about the 124,000 Prophets of God, about the religions or paths of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), as well as about the life and teaching of Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him), who came into the world around 1000 A. D. and triumphantly entered Baghdad by melting the hearts of all of the wise men of Baghdad at that time, by looking into their hearts and seeing God. (Note: the word "Shaikh" means teacher, the word "Muhammad" can be literally translated as one in whom "the perfected light of God in his heart is reflected in his face", or using terms from the "Tamil" language spoken by His Holiness, one in whom "the Aham is reflected in the Muham", the word "Rahim" is one of the 99 names or attributes of God, "The Most Compassionate", the word "Qutb" can be literally translated as the power of the essence of God, or in Arabic, as the grace of the Dhat of God, the word "Abdul" is slave, the word "Qadir" is also one of the 99 names or attributes of God, "The Powerful", and the world "al-Jilani" is the name of the town in which Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir (may God be pleased with Him) was born and raised, around 1000 years ago, right outside of the city of Baghdad) And most of this teaching by Bawa, as we all affectionately called His Holiness, is on audio tape, and a lot of it is on video tape, and all of it has been digitally archived and stored away, just waiting for the generations to come, who will make it available to all of the people living in the world today, and in the future, if there is a future, and if new generations still do come. And a very small percentage of this material has been made into books and pamphlets, which are available at the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, a community set up by His Holiness, first in Ceylon, then in America, in Canada, and in several other countries in the world, like in England, with the main branch of the fellowship being located at His residence in Philadelphia. To learn more about the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship and Bawa you can access their web site at www.bmf.org, by clicking HERE or above. Also, they have provided us with the following two on-line books which provide a beautiful sample of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), which you can access and read on-line by clicking on the titles below: 1) Islam and World Peace: Explanations of a Sufi My dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, this is truly the wealth of our age, the likes of which has never come into the world before. It would be like finding a detailed audio and video record of the original teachings of the Prophets Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and of Muhammad (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets), and of Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him), demonstrating to everyone who took the time to read it, listen to it, and study it, with an open heart, that they are all One, that all of the Prophets & religions are One, they are all the same, that there is only One God, One truth, One prayer, One family, and One religion or path to reach God. And that One religion or path to reach God is to place our faith and trust in God, and in God alone, and to live in unity and compassion with each other, helping each other, in the name of God, as best we can, realizing at all times that it is God who is great, not us, or our country, or our race, or our religion, and striving at all times to be patient with each other, and with God within us, and knowing that the purpose of our life is to reveal God within us, before we die, is to become One with the "presence of God' within us, before we die. And to understand, as His Holiness Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) taneaches us in the beautiful book of Wisdom, The Pearl of Wisdom, on page 111, in Chapter 30, The Mystical Meaning of Man's Body, that, "After a man is born, it is said by everyone that his life is controlled by fate. But, Son, it is not so. Life is the victory of wisdom reasoning over fate." And as Bawa teaches us in the first of the two on-line books listed above, Islam And World Peace: Explanations of a Sufi, "Other than God all else will change. Everything in this world changes; only God remains the same forever." "If mankind will realize this truth, then we can avert disaster, by coming together with faith in God, and by living in unity and compassion. Do not be divided." "With compassion for each other, live in unity and truth, in the presence of God. Live according to justice and conscience, respecting the lives and bodies of others as your own, and knowing the hunger and the suffering of others as your own." "(In this way), have patience, contentment (and gratitude), trust in God, and live praising God at all times, and peace will be easy." 4-0. A Little Bit About Louie Beutler - who is probably a lot like you, Mr. President My dearest loving bother, President George W. Bush, let us share with you a little bit about Louie Beutler, who is probably a lot like you. We are 64 years old and counting, living for the last 28 years of my life at the feet of a wise and holy saint, His Holiness, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). So who am I? Who is Louie? A worldly answer is very easy. I have lived in America all my life, as did my parents, and I am of German and Irish ancestry. I was raised Catholic and I graduated from Villanova University in 1962 with a BS Degree In Electrical Engineering. I also graduated from Temple University in 1972 with a Masters Degree in Special Education, and again from Villanova University in 1987 with a Masters Degree in Computer Science. I was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, and served my country during the John F. Kennedy administration, and participated in the successful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Thanks be to God. I have worked in America for 36 years as an Engineer, Salesmen, Teacher, Computer Programmer, Manager, and then as a Computer Specialist for Unisys Corporation for 18 years, finally ending up as the "Road Man" for a local house painter, gradually becoming a mother to 25 house painters, attending to their every need, which turned out to be the best job of my life, a job where "Lou" again became "Louie". And now I have retired, and I devote all of my time, when we are not doing housework, since my wife is still working, and her mother who is 94 lives with us, in the pursuit of a better definition of "who I am", of "who God is", and of my true relationship with God within me, just as you are my dearest loving brother. As for a spiritual answer to "Who is Louie", the answer is also very easy. I met His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), in the summer of 1975 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in America, when I was 36 years old, and have been absorbed in His life and teaching for the last 28 years, a life and teaching that fits so beautifully with the life and teaching that you share with us each time you speak to us, Mr. President, and thanks be to God, also a life and teaching that goes beyond it, goes beyond what you have shared with us. That goes beyond it in a way that only one who has gone beyond it could share. Such was and is the wonder for this child of living at the feet of His Holiness, at the feet of our Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him). Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. All praise and praising belong to God and to God alone. Only God is great. 5. Suggestions From The Heart - which in truth is where we all live as One May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessing of God be upon us all. May God help us all. In closing, Mr. President, we would like to humbly offer the following suggestion. Please try to take advantage of the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) and of His Children, in conducting your own life, and as President, in the pursuit of our war on terrorism. It would be very helpful. For example, the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) and of His Children can be directly applied to your Presidency in the following ways: 5-1. Recognize & Believe That There Is A Real Answer To Terrorism The only real answer to terrorism is God, is the power or grace of God in each of our own lives. This is the only real answer to the problem of terrorism, which in truth is the problem of "separation and differences" that each of us is personally experiencing in our daily lives, and as President, that you and your administration are experiencing in the pursuit of its goals. My dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, we must both realize at all times that only the One who Created us truly understands us, and truly understands the world we live in. Only God truly understands what is happening to each of us and what is happening in the world around us. Only God truly knows its significance, knows its significance to what we are trying to do in our own life, and in the world, and its significance to His purpose for having created us, and having created the world. Nothing else but the will of God, the power or grace of God, His wisdom, and the divine knowledge of God, applied to both us and to the world, will provide a lasting solution to the problem of us, and to the problems we are all facing in the world today. This is what we must learn how to do in this age, this is our true work, to focus God upon our problems, both within us and outside of us. Then we will find peace, both within us and outside of us, but not until we learn to do this, and then join God within us to do it. We must realize, understand, accept, and join with this truth about each of us, that we are of God not of the animal, and about the world around us, that the world belongs to God not to us, if we are ever to become successful in our own life and in the world around us, especially for someone like you, Mr. President, who is trying very hard to properly lead our country through these very difficult times, perhaps the most difficult time that America and the world has ever faced. Nothing but God can solve the problem of us, and the problems of the world, and bring peace to us and to the world. Nothing "man-made' can do that, because when man plays it is always "win-lose", someone wins and someone loses, whether it is in our personal relationships, in the business world, or on the world stage. But when God plays, it is always "win-win", everyone wins. Only God can truly play "win-win". In this age, we are all capable of focusing God from within us on whatever God has placed before us, in front of us, in order to correct our own life, and the lives around us, because God has set it up that way for our age, because that is our true birth right, our true heritage from God in this age, which in this way, makes this age like no age before it. And we can all learn how to do this, how to draw upon God within us, in order to move our life and the lives around us in the correct direction, to make our life and the lives of others One with the life of God within us, by accepting and using the gift of God for our age to the Children of God for our age, which is everyone living in this age if we but want it. A gift that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, even before we were born, even before we came into this world of earth, and that God has also placed outside of us in this age, as the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), to point to, to awaken us to, what God has already placed within each of us. The life and teaching of God for our age for the Children of God for our age, that God has loving placed within each of us, has also come into the world in our very own life time, as the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), that has come to America, to the modern cradle of democracy, to bring that democracy to completion, completing in this way the teaching of all of the Prophets of God in previous ages, as prophesied in all of the religious scriptures of all of the religions of the world. In this way, through the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) and of His Children, we must learn how to draw upon the power or grace of God from within us, as well as upon His wisdom from within us, and His divine knowledge from within us (which is called 'Ilm in the Islamic tradition), and focus it upon our life, and upon the world around us, using God in this way to conduct our own life, to raising our own families, to conduct business in America and throughout the world, and to lead and administer our country and the world, in a way that is truly fair, just, and equitable to all, before it is too late. Before the "beast" that is growing within all of us, comes out of at least one of us and destroys the world "outside" for all of us, sending all of us to the Angel of Death, to the suffering of the grave, to the Day of Judgment, the Standing Forth (which is called Qiyamah in the Islamic tradition), and to an eternal life of "separation from" God. In this way, allowing "True Man", who is growing within all of us, to come out of at least one of us, before the "beast" appears from at least one of us, in this way destroying the "beast" when he does eventually appear from within one of us, and he will most certainly appear, and guiding all of us that truly want a life of "Oneness with" God, of "Oneness with" each other, and of "Oneness with" the Creation of God, to the next world, to the hereafter, to the kingdom of God, that God has placed within each of us, to an eternal life of "Oneness with" God, as prophesied in all of the religious scriptures of all of the religions of the world. My dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, you and your administration must recognize and believe that any goal of your administration that is trying to divide or separate people or groups of people from you, and from your administration, so you can get on with the business of America, will only create an equal and opposite goal to divide or separate you and your administration from them, from what they are trying to do in the world, resulting in a world further and further separated and divided. However, the other side of the coin is also true, any goal of your administration that is trying to include people or groups of people as one with you, and as one with your administration, like making "them and their problems" the business of America, the business of your administration, will create an equal goal to include you and your administration with them, making "you and your administration and your problems" the business of their group or country, resulting in a world more and more united and together. This is how His Holiness Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us things really work in the world, my dearest loving brother, George W. Bush, which is just the golden rule of Jesus (peace be upon Him), which is, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." So please Mr. President, try to minimize divisiveness and increase inclusiveness as much as you can in your personal life, and in your administration. At all times, try to be inclusive rather than divisive, and where necessary teach the members of your administration to do the say, lead them in this truth, make this golden rule one of the pillars of you administration, of the George W. Bush Presidency, and you and your administration will be successful, both within your personal lives, and in your political life, and America and the rest of the world will prosper and find peace. This is God's guarantee. His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), summarized all of this beautifully in the following simple teaching, "Stop working for wages to get into heaven, you will be very disappointed, and instead join in partnership with God within you." In this way, we must join God in what He is already doing within us, which is revealing the Oneness of God and His Creation within us, which is True Man within the Creation of God within us, so True Man can reveal God within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation within us. His Holiness Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us that this is the true meaning of Islam, of Judaism, of Christianity, of Hinduism, and of all of the great religions of the world, that each of the Prophets of God brought over and over again, to all of the people and races of the world, in all of the languages of the world. The "Universal Teaching" that we must stop acting like we are "separate from" God, or "separate from" each other, or "separate from" the Creation of God, when in truth we are all One, we are all One people, One family, One race, and there is only One path or religion, and One prayer, and that is trusting in God and in God alone, trusting in God both within ourselves and within everyone else, and treating each other as we would want to be treated. Everything else is just some form of avoiding this truth, of trying not to do this, of trying to keep going, of trying to keep alive, our "separation from" God, our "separation from" each other, and our "separation from" the Creation of God, for some personal or private reason or benefit, like power or wealth or influence or pride or prestige, all the while saying that we are trying to remove our "separation and differences", all the while preaching that we are trying to bring peace to our family, to our community, to our state, to our country, or to the world. Such is the rule and life of the hypocrite, the saying of one thing and the doing of another, the saying of one thing as true on the outside while holding the opposite belief as true in his or her heart, with the resulting disconnect between our words and our actions, with the resulting disconnect between us and God, between us and each other, with the resulting disconnect between us and the Creation of God. This is why Bawa teaches us, that, "What destroys the children of God in the world is always the hypocrisy of their parents." On the outside they tell their children one thing but do the opposite. On the outside that tell the children that they believe and trust in God, but their actions say just the opposite, their actions say to the child that they really believe and trust in themselves, in their family, in their community, in their institutions, in their science, in their military, in their weapons and atomic bombs, in their country and history, and in their race, religion, or caste. On the outside they teach their children about democracy, equality, the rule of law, free speech, and the sharing of things equally with others, but their actions teach the child just the opposite, their actions teach the child to view and treat themselves as "separate from" others, to view and treat their family as "separate from" other families, to view and treat their community and country as "separate from" other communities and other countries, and to view and treat their religion as "separate from" other religions, and in most cases, as both "separate from' and as "better than" others. In this way, the parents raise their children to also be hypocrites. And His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), teaches us that hypocrisy is the worst of all sins, destroying one gradually from the inside out, like a growing cancer, gradually replacing what God originally placed within each of us, which is everything that is "God-made", that God personally and ever so loving placed within each of us before we were born, before we ever came to this earth world, in order for us to learn all the lessons that we came here to learn, and having passed our exam, to return as One with God, from whom we have come. But instead of this, our hypocrisy gradually replacing all that is "God-made" within us with everything that is "man-made" outside of us, replacing it with the ideas, beliefs, intentions, qualities, actions, and behavior that grows out of man having forgotten God, of man becoming "separation from" God, "separate from" each other, and "separate from" the Creation of God within us. In this way, forever breaking the direct connection between us and God, between God and the most exalted of His Creation which is man, between God and the one Creation of God who can understand Him. Who can understand Him by first understanding His Creation and then himself as the Oneness of God and His Creation, which is True Man, transcending each in turn, ending as the understanding of God within God, revealing and then becoming in this way the "Oneness of God and True Man", which in truth is God and True Man, for the benefit of all Creation. Through that understanding of God returning to God, becoming again One with Him, before we die, completing in this way, God's reason for having created us, which is to reveal God within us, first in this world as the "presence of God" within each of His Children in this world, first in this world as True Man within the Creation of God. And then in the next world as the "presence of True Man" within each of His Children in the next world, then in the next world as God within the Creation of True Man, for the benefit of all of the Creation in this world and in the next world. Amen, Amen, Ya Rabil Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahman Alameen. Amen, Amen, Ya Rahim Alameen. Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. So be it, So be it, O Ruler of the Universes. So be it, So be it, O Most Merciful One. So be it, So be it, O Most Compassionate One. All praise and praising belong to God and to God alone. Only God is Great. May we both think about these beautiful words of wisdom, my dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, from the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) and from His Children, the gift of God for our age, for the Children of God for our age, which is all of us living in this age, if we but want it. That would be very good. 5-2. Make The "Road Map" Their Problem, Not Your Problem Make the "Road Map" their problem, not your problem, but make "them", make Israel and Palestine your problem, make "them and their problem" truly "your problem", and stop trying to keep something that you are doing "separate from" them as "your problem", like waging a global war on terrorism My dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, we must both realize without the slightest doubt that this war on terror must be won first within our own heart, and then within the hearts of each person, of each group, of each country, that surrounds us, one at a time, face to face, as we would gradually resolve the conflicts in our own family, our own neighborhood, our own town, our own state, our own country, our own world, gradually treating each member, within our family, our neighborhood, town, state, and country, as our own life. There is no other way to do it, because treating them as "separate from" us, as "separate from" our own life, and from our own family, our own country, will only build a "wall" between "them" and us, as the Israelis are now trying to do with the Palestinians. And we all know in our hearts this will never work, just as the Soviet Union found out with their "Berlin Wall". In this way, you must join with the Palestinians and Israelis in love and unity to solve "their problem" not your problem, join with them as your younger brothers and sisters of the same mother and father, of Adam and Eve (peace be upon Them) to solve "their problem", and lead them by example to do the same, to join with you in love and unity to solve your problems. In this way, as Jesus (peace be upon Him) has taught us before, and as Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) has taught us in our age, and as His Children are teaching us now, join with them, join with the Israelis and the Palestinians, face to face, eating off of the same place, not treating them as someone who is "separate or different" from you, and help them solve "their problem", and if you and your administration can do it this way then "your problem", the problem of global terrorism, will be solved, and you will have solved it person by person, country by country, which is the only way it can ever truly be solved for the next generation to come. That is the way to conduct the business of America, as taught to us by all of the Prophets of God, by Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (may God be pleased by all of His Prophets), and now in our age, as taught to us by Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and now with the passing of His Holiness, by the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us), which is all of us living in the world today, if we truly want it. For example, in the "Road Map", instead of only imposing the "Road Map" from the "Quartet", and getting them to agree, or most likely, to only "agree to agree", get both the Israelis and the Palestinians to publicly come up with their own version of the "Road Map", as you are now telling Iraq's Governing Council to come up with their own time table for writing a constitution, and for holding elections, and then publicly get together, the "Quartet", the Israelis, and the Palestinians, and work out the differences, gradually diminishing the role of the "Quartet" and enhancing the role of the Israelis and of the Palestinians as much as possible as you work on "their problem" with them. The trick is that you have to truly see the "Road Map" as their problem not "your problem", but the subtlety is that at the same time you have to truly see "them and their problem" as "your problem", no longer making "your problem" as something separate from them, no longer making "your problem" as being something else that you are doing "separate from" them, something that you will be able to solve once "there problem" is out of the way. For in truth there is only one problem, and that is our "separation and differences", the belief that we are "separate from" them, that we are only really helping them because of some selfish reason we have, some hidden agenda, like "allowing us to get on with solving our problem". And in truth there is only one solution, which is "Oneness with" them, making their life our life, making their suffering our suffering, making their happiness and success, our happiness and success, because in truth it is. But we cannot do this kind of "Hearts Work", as His Holiness calls it, without God, without our direct relationship with God, without awakening the wisdom surrounding our soul, without joining with our wisdom against the "enemy of our soul". This is why His Holiness Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) told us one day, "I have not come for you. I have come for your soul. I have come to awaken the wisdom surrounding your soul, so the wisdom surrounding your soul can do battle with the enemy of your soul." And when this child heard His Holiness say these words, we looked right at His Holiness, and said to Him, "Bawa, who is the enemy of my soul?" And His Holiness looked right back at me, smiled, and said, "You are!" This is the real work of our life, my dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, to join with our wisdom against the "enemy of our soul". To join with our wisdom against the life of "separation and differences" that we are currently living in the world that we see in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, to join with our wisdom against the life that we are currently living that is "separate from" God, that is "separate from" our bothers and sisters, and that is "separate from" the Creation of God within us. In order to give life to God within us, in order to give life to the life of "Oneness with" God within us, to the life of "Oneness with" each other within us, and to the life of "Oneness with" the Creation of God within us, in order to give life to the lives of light that lie hidden within our current life of darkness, just as the apple tree and its apples lie hidden within the apple seed buried within the earth, just waiting for the apple seed to realize, understand, accept, and join with the truth about itself that rises from within it. Just waiting for the apple seed to realize that it is an apple seed, the seed of the apple tree and its apple, to realize that it is buried within the earth, and that the earth contains everything necessary for the apple tree hidden within it to grow, and having realized and accepted this truth of itself, just waiting for the apple seed to germinate, just waiting for the apple seed to join with the earth to tell the story of the apple tree and its apple hidden within it, just waiting for the apple seed to germinate. Such is the true destiny of our life, the destiny of our soul, Mr. President, if we will only but realize, understand, accept, and join with it, which is the seed of True Man within the Creation of God within us, and within that, the soul within the soul within us, which is the seed of God within the Creation of True Man within us. In this way, as much as possible, my dearest loving President, George W. Bush, we need to try and approach the road map, and the lives of the Israelis and Palestinians, as within us, as our very own lives, and if we do, success will come our way, and when it doesn't then peace will be ours. Either way we win, and either way they win, because by coming together as one life, not as "separate lives", we will have both won on the inside, no matter what happens on the outside, because we will have learned to stand in the "presence of God" together. Please try it this way. Instead of the frustration that you and all of your administration, as well as the Israelis and the Palestinians, and everyone living in the Middle East, and throughout the world, are currently experiencing about this situation. A situation that will only get worse, and then begin to multiply throughout the Middle East, and throughout the world, if we don't change our approach, if we don't get God to do it for us because we have made it His problem, because we have started to treat everyone concerned the same way that God treats them, as our own life, giving up our own life and happiness so they can have a life and happiness. Then we get God, when we give up our "separation from" God, and they get "us", when we give up our "separation from" them, and God provides His Creation, God provides all of us, with His love and mercy and compassion, when we are no longer standing in God's way, when we are no longer acting as if we are "separate from" God, as if we are"separate from" each other, and as if we are "separate from" the Creation of God. A truly win-win approach. What do you think, Mr. President, my dearest loving brother? Can we truly give God a chance to fix what we in our ignorance have all broken, and if not fixed soon will destroy us all, no matter where we live on the earth? Can we truly get out of God's way and let His grace, and wisdom, and help naturally flow into the lives of all of His Creation, into the lives of all of His Children, and into the lives of all those around His Children in this age? And can we all realize and accept that this way of believing and acting is but the "Sermon on the Mount" that was given to us by Jesus (peace be upon Him) 2000 years ago, as well as the same teaching that we received from Abraham, Moses, David, and Muhammad (may God be pleased with Him), over the last 4000 years, and from Qutb Muhaiyaddeen Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani (may God be pleased with Him) over 1000 years ago, and that we have again receiving in our age from Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and that we are now receiving from His Children. His Holiness, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), summarized all of this beautifully in the following simple teaching, "What separates you from God is what separates you from each other, and what separates you from each other is what separates you from God." So if we want to see what is separating us from God look at our brothers and sisters and feel and see what is separating us from them. That is what is separating us from God, and will forever separate us from God, unless we get God to separate it from us before you die, because if we die in that state of "separation and differences" we will get that state, but this time for eternity, for as all of the Prophets have taught us, and as Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and now His Children, just remind us, "The house that you build is the house you will get." And His Holiness Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) summarized all of this in the following simple teaching, "The justice of God is that whatever you intend is what you will receive." So, if we intend unity, equality, and peace with our brothers and sisters, and work toward that end, until we die, without hypocrisy, then that is what we will received, both here and for eternity, guaranteed. And if we intend Oneness with God, and the completion of what God has created us for, which is to reveal God within our very own life, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God within us, and work toward that end, until we die, without hypocrisy, then that is what we will receive, both here and for eternity, guaranteed. But if we intend "separation and differences", if we pray to God as Christians "separate from" the Muslims, the Jews, and from all other groups that pray to God in some way "different from" us, or if we pray to God as Muslims "separate from" the Christians, the Jew, and from all other groups that pray to God, or if we pray to God as Jew "separate from" the Muslims, the Christians, and from all other groups that pray to God, then while we are alive in this world we will experience a life filled with "separation and differences", and when we die, when the Angel of Death (peace be upon Him) finally embraces us, then that very same "separation and differences" is what we will receive as the suffering of our grave, as our final judgment, and as our hell for eternity. In this case, receiving for eternity a life of "separation from" God, of "separation form" each other, and of "separation from" the Creation of God, experiencing it first as the "suffering of the grave" where we experience for the first time what truly lies behind our life of "separation and differences" in the world, which are the lives of darkness within us that we have given birth to in our ignorance, and that we have been nourishing all of these years through our life of sin, through our life of "separation and differences", through our every look and act of "separation from" God, of "separation from" each other, and of "separation from" the Creation of God within us. And then at Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment; the Standing Forth), where each part of our body, including our hands, our feet, our legs, our stomach, our eyes, our tongue, our mouth, our nose, our ears, our mind and our heart, each part of our body tells God what we have made them do while we lived in the world, explaining to God how we repeatedly surrendered them over to the lives of darkness within us so we could blissfully continue to enjoyed our life of "separation and differences" in the world, a life of sin with our brothers and sisters, with our wives and children, with our family, our friends and co-workers, in the world that we collectively saw in our ignorance as existing "outside" of us, all the while being forced by God to endure all of this judgment in silence, forced by God to stand before God in silent, prevented by God from speaking in our own defense. Such is the fate of all of us who die in the state of "separation and differences", my dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush. May we both think about this a little. It is very, very important. So instead of spending all of our energy fighting over who said what, fighting over which Prophet of God is the real and true Prophet of God, and which one told us the truth, or which religion is right, we must quickly realize in this age that They all said it, that all of the Prophets and Lights of God told us the truth, over and over again, throughout the ages, in every language, to all people and races, and in this way, all religions are right, and then get on with it, get on with implementing what we have been told by God to do, that we have been told over and over again by God to do, before it is too late. For example, before one of us, before one or more of the leaders in the world does something really stupid, because they feel alone, persecuted, threatened, isolated, abused, or misunderstood, by the rest of the world leaders, or by particular world leaders or countries in their neighborhood, like what happened in 1940 in Germany, in Italy, and in Japan, by the "Axis of Evil" of that time, when Germany became really upset with certain world powers, like Britain and France, because of their treatment after losing the 1st World War, or when Japan became really upset because their oil supplies were being systematically cut off by America. Currently you are trying to "impose" a solution on others, a solution that they will have to live with, not you, so you, in this case the "Quartet", can get on with what you are trying to do, "separate from" their problem, which could be "winning the war on global terrorism", or "building a united Europe", or "building a prosperous Russia", or "satisfying the needs of the U.N. members", and that is not correct, and will never work. Deep down we all know that to be true. The Palestinian and Israeli leadership and people have to see and believe that you, that the "Quartet", are helping them solve their problem because you love them, because you care about them, because you see what is happening to them as truly happening to you, to all of us living in the world today, not as something that you have to do, under pressure, or because "their problem" is in the way of something you are doing, or because of some new policy toward the Middle East that better protects American interests. And having realized this, that you truly love and care about them, even as much as you do about your own family, and your own friends, and country, then, first on a very subtle level, and then openly, they will join with you to solve your problems, first without even telling you, because now they love you too, and care about you too, as much as they love and care about their own family, friends, and country, now they have made "you and your problems" their real problem. This is the way it works, my dearest loving President, George W. Bush. This is the secret weapon that you have at your disposal to win the war on terrorism, this is the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) that has been growing in the heart of this child for 28 years, in the heart of your brother, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), a name which Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) gave to this child in 1980, this is the life and teaching of God that has come for the Children of God for our age to successful deal with the problems of our age. This is God's solution to our problem, and by our acting in this way toward both our friends and enemies, this is how we make "our problem" into "God's problem", because that is the way God acts, He treats all lives the same, allowing the power of God, the grace of God, to flow into the hearts of all of His Creation, changing them forever, transforming this world into the next world, transforming the "here" into the "hereafter". This is what Jesus (peace be upon Him) told us earlier, and now what Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) told us again in our age, and now what the Children of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with each of Us) are telling us today. This is God's guarantee. And this is the life and teaching of God for our age, for the Children of God for our age, which is all of us living in this age, if we truly want it, that came to America in 1971, to the city of "Brotherly Love", a two hours drive from the place you now call your home, my dearest loving brother. Something to think about, Mr. President, don't you think? Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar. All praise and praising belong to God, and to God alone. Only God is Great. 5-3. Fix The U.N., Fix What Was Not Right From The Start By realizing and accepting that a strong U.N. is really what is needed in the world today, even if it means from one perspective a less powerful and influential America. That is the sacrifice we and other strong countries must be ready to make, and to lead, just like the leaders of each of the original colonies had to give up some of their sovereignty to form America. In this way, we must willingly transfer some of our sovereignty, power, wealth, and influence over to the U.N., making it strong and financially self sustaining, even profitable, and capable of leading the world in all international issues, if the world is ever to become more democratic and equitable and secure My dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, we both must accept that many of the current problems in the world are due to a broken, or inadequate, United Nations, and if not fixed, the problems of the U.N. will continue to plague us in the future, tearing down, piece by piece, all of the good things we may occasionally accomplish unilaterally. In this way, we must transform the U.N. into a place when the highest ideals of democracy are on display, for all to see and use, not give up on it as an inadequate or outdated institution that needs to be abandoned or subverted, or even worse, treated as irrelevant. That would be a big mistake. As America was the cradle of democracy as we now know it in 1776, so the U.N. must become the cradle of democracy in 2003, realizing that the same problems that almost destroyed the birth and growth of America, and of other democratic countries in the past and even today, could now destroy the transformation of the U.N. into a truly democratic and powerful harbinger of a world where world concerns take precedence over all parochial, provincial, or narrow views of the world, and of the restrictive motives of some self-interest groups, of some powerful countries, as well as some large economic institutions and profit driven companies. And what was the major obstacle to the birth of democracy in America? It was the existing powerful countries of the world, like England, who didn't want to share their power and wealth and influence with others, and who were always fighting with the other powerful countries of the world, like France, Germany, Spain, in the West, and with the Ottoman Empire in the East. And what is the major obstacle to the birth of true democracy at the United Nations? Again it is the existing powerful countries of the world, like America, China, Russia, England, and France, the five permanent members of the Security Council, who didn't want to share their power and wealth and influence with others, and who are always competing with each other, and with the other powerful countries of the world for power, wealth, and influence. In truth, my dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, not much has changed, only the cast of characters and the terminology for fighting wars of aggression. Now America is the "Worlds Only Super Power" and we call our acts of aggression against other countries competitive advantage and market share. However, the world is not stupid, and they know when the food that they are being fed is spoiled, when our words and our actions are not the same, and gradually all of the underdeveloped nations of the world, and there are many of them, will unite against us and the other more powerful nations of the world if we are not careful, or start to align themselves with one or more of the more powerful nations that have something that binds them together, like religion, or place, or race, or skin color, so they too can successfully compete for a shrinking market place. May we both think about this a little, my dearest Mr. President, it is very, very important. What a difference the world would be today if any of the empires that have ruled the world over the last 2000 years had became truly magnanimous, openhanded, and kindly, before their decline, truly making the effort to pull up all of those less fortunate to their own level of wealth, power, influence, and status. Just think of the Colonial period that we have just left with the Empires of England, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Russia in the West and of the Ottoman Empire in the East, and of the Japanese Empire in the Far East, and of the rape of Africa, of South America, of India, of Indonesia, of Indochina, of Korea, and of China by all of these Empires. And all the while representatives of each of these Empires were openly coming together and talking about world peace, scientific and technological progress, prosperity for the whole world, and even in some cases, about human rights, democracy, and the rule law. Can America, the new kid on the block, truly succeed where all of these other Empires failed, or will our failure just be bigger and more deadly, will our rape just be more devastating to the world. Without learning to rely on God within us, and on the stuff "Made-by-God" within us, like the grace, the wisdom, and the truth of God that can flow into the world from within us, from within the heart of each of us, when we truly stand in the "presence of God" within us, rather than just relying on ourselves, on each other, on our institutions, and on all of the stuff "made-by-man" outside of us, without learning to connect our own life to the Power or Grace of God within us, and without learning to manifest all of this stuff of God inside us into "Loving and Compassionate Communities of Human Beings" outside of us, such as a strong, truly democratic U.N., the answer will be no. The answer will be no, no we cannot truly master the demons within our own hearts any more than those who have come before us could, because without God we are just animals, ready to destroy our own kind in order to survive, or even worse, in order to win, and always doing it with a endless supply of beautiful words that we have learned from others but are completely disconnected from the reality of our behavior or actions. May God help us all. Amen. Please forgive me, my dearest loving brother, if all of this sounds to "Preachy", that is certainly not the intention. This is just what this child has learned from his Father, from Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and we are sharing it with you, as two brothers would naturally share with each other the most important things that had happened to them in their life. That is really the only purpose of this letter to you, Mr. President, to lovingly share with you what your older brother has learned over the last 28 years, not to preach to you or anyone else. At least this letter is certainly something to think about and consider, my dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, don't you think? In this way, we must empower the U.N. to become the watch dog and police man of the world, holding down all who would harm any of us, any of the citizens of the world, and any of the groups of the world that would do us harm, both in the name of terrorism, of religious fanaticism, and of ethnic cleansing, but also in the name of sovereignty, of a global economy, of economic and scientific progress, and GNP. And we must empower the U.N. to also become the best friend, the loving mother and father, the devoted brother and sister, of everyone living in the world today, providing a place where all people, and all groups, can come for powerful and balanced help in dealing with other people, groups, and countries who are trying to harm them, both physically, emotionally, spiritually, and economically, even if those other people, groups, and countries are members of their own family, community, and country. In this way, my dearest loving brother, President George W. Gush, as the most democratic, powerful, and influential country of the world we must stand guardian over the U.N., to help it stand guardian over us and our excesses, as well as over all of the powerful countries of the world and their excesses, and help it become the "Democratic Goal of the World", help it become what every country and organization in the world strives to become, help it become the "Ideals of Democracy", and never do anything to weaken it, or let it become or stay any thing less than that, even if taking on this role makes America, less powerful, less influential, or less wealthy. We must strengthen and then use U.N. to help America, the only Super Power currently in the world, and all like minded countries in the world, to pull up all of those less fortunate countries in the world to our own level of wealth, power, influence, and status. We must empower the U.N. to not only protect emerging individual countries from abuse by other more powerful countries but we must also empower it to help and protect groups of countries (e.g., ASEAN, the Arab League), groups within countries (e.g., labor unions, poor people, illegal immigrants, woman), and even individuals within counties (e.g., The SPDC confinement of Aung San Suu Kyi to her home in Myanmar). We must work with all of the powerful nations of the world to make the U.N. stronger, collectively, than any individual nation, including America, and to expand its charter to help resolve a much wider range of conflicts in the world; between different countries, between groups of countries, but also between groups within a country and its host country, and even between individuals living within a country and their country, that is, between a country and its citizens. And we must strive to make the U.N. a living example of how all countries, groups, and people in the world should live, worship and pray, and work together, in order to remove our ignorance, our "separation and differences", both within our own hearts, and in all of our relationships in the world "outside" of us. And yes it must be done maintaining a separation of state and religion, but not a separation of God and state, there is a difference, it must be done "In God We Trust" as was America. Only this expansion of the U.N. to protect groups and individuals within a country from its own country, from the corruption, and the resulting disenfranchisement, by its own country, only this type of empowerment of the U.N., by the most powerful countries of the world, will truly take the U.N. to the next level of intervention in the world that will break the current logjam in the U.N. And we must do all of this through our faith and trust in God, not in each other, or in our institutions or governments or military, but in God within each other, in the Power or Grace of God present within each of us, if we will but learn to use it, if we will but join with the life and teaching of God for our age, to learn to use it, if we will but join in partnership with the life and teaching of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), and of His Children, to learn to use it, to learn to use God to get to God. His Holiness, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), summed it up beautiful in the following simple teaching, "In all of my travels and study, in all of my experiences in the world, we have learned that there is only one thing valuable on the path of God, and that is God. We must use God to get to God. We cannot use what God has discarded to get to God." In this way, my dearest loving brother, President George W. Bush, to become truly success in our life, each of us individually, and America and all of the other countries of the world, collectively through their individual citizens, must learn to use God to conduct our life, and our countries. Only then will we become successful in this world, and eventually in the next world. We all must learn to use the "Things of God" that God has personally and ever so lovingly placed within each of us, even before we were born, which we can all access, like our grace, our wisdom, and the truth of God, to deal with the problems that face us. And we can do this, any of us can do this, anyone living in the world can do this, and collectively any country in the world through its citizens can do this, whether they are currently a country that is big or small, rich or poor, powerful or weak, advanced or primitive, they can still do this, if we will but join again in partnership with God within us, and stop faking it, stop working for wages to get into heaven, stop acting like we exist "separate from" God, and "separate from" each other, and "separate from" the Creation of God within us. Stop acting like it is our responsibility to go it alone, in order to get back to God, or to become successful in our life in the world, all the time continuing to live as "separate from" God, as "separate from" each other, and as "separate from" the Creation of God within us, using this very same "separation and differences" and our need to remove it, as the justification for our brutality, our wars, our excessive wealth, power, and influence. When in truth the only one we are truly fooling, the only one we are truly exploiting, raping, and killing, is ourselves. In this way, we must join as One with God within us to support what He is doing within us, which is revealing Himself within us for the benefit of all of the Creation of God within us, so He can join in partnership with us in what we are doing "outside" of us, which is revealing the qualities and actions of God "outside" of us, revealing True Man "outside" of us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God both inside and "outside" of us. And in this way, we fix the U.N. by realizing, understanding, and accepting that the problems of the U.N. are not political but rather institutional, that is, they are inherent in the current institution we call the U.N., they are inherent in us, in those who set up the U.N. in the first place. They occurred as part of our setting up the UN, because we failed to sufficiently place our faith and trust in God, and in the inherent fairness and goodness of the people living in the world, when setting up the U.N., and as a result, we have set it up to fail, by the current way we have organized the U.N., in order to protect our selfish interest or to protect us from "the other people of the world" who would do us harm, or who might interfere with what we are doing or with our national interests and our security. First we must change our own hearts, first we must stop fearing "others", we must stop fearing them and what they could do to us and to the world, and we do this by trusting in God within us and God within them, we do this by strengthening our faith and trust in God within us, we do this by joining in partnership with God within us, and with God within them, and then by example, after our hearts have changed, and have become peaceful, then and only then, we set out to change the hearts of others. But we can only do this "outside" work after our "inside" work is complete, after we are peaceful and content with our life, and with the life of everyone else, just the way it is, and praise God for our life, and for all other lives, and for whatever comes to us and to them, saying, "Al-hamdu lillah. Allahu Akbar.", all praise be to God, and only God is great, realizing that everything is within God's responsibility, and that only God can do anything of value with what He has placed before us, and before anyone else. Then, and only then, after we have changed, after our heart has opened to all other lives, can we do this work of changing the hearts of other. This is true spiritual leadership. Realizing as Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us, that, "Not a blade of grass moves without God's permission." And realizing as Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) teaches us on page 141, in the Epilogue of one of the beautiful on-line books listed earlier, "Islam and World Peace: Explanations of a Sufi", that, "Our entire life, and everything that happens to us, is conducted by Allah, not us. He is the One who carries out everything. He is responsible for the cause and the effect." 5-4. Specific Recommendations For Changing The U.N. We must make the U.N. a powerful, democratic model for the world, a super-enterprise that is politically and financially independent, whose business is the world, both the sovereign nations in the world and the citizens living in them, by monitoring the behavior of all sovereign nations and their care and feeding of their citizens, by monitoring the business transactions both within and between sovereign nations, redefining these transactions as necessary in order to increase the support that each sovereign nation provides to its citizens, to its groups, and to the world community, and in order to decrease its burden on the same community, in the process assigning each sovereign nation a Support/Burden Index, that is recalculated each year at the start of the U.N. session, using it to assign a weight to its vote in the U.N. according to its relative position on the Support/Burden Index (SBI), as compared to other nations (More to come - in process. Please come back later. Thank you) End of Page 2 of 3 of Spiritual Letter 53 - original version - .................... or Go To Spiritual Letter 53: Table of Contents Expanded Version 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: November 13, 2003
