THE ALCHEMY OF SOUL
WHERE THERE IS A MAN, THERE IS A GOD.
No one tells you this. No one will tell you this. Not even your father. Not all mothers are known to have told this to their children. Only Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, is known to have told her son: You are a God!
There is one more person who is on record to spoken this – the Sufi, The Mystic, The Godman. He tells you a little less. He speaks in metaphors, allogories, similes and symbols. The mystics are humble. Humility is their hallmark. Thereofore, muystics and Sufis stop a little short of what Olympias told Alexadnder the Great. Instead of saying: You are a God; mystics say: Go! Search for God. At the most, they tell you in a very circumlocutory way, adding lot of ifs and buts, ‘If you have intent, if you purify your innerself, if you observe the necessary discipline, you might be able to locate God in your proximity, when you are at the best of your enlightened moments. Sufis, mystics, and Godmen, not for the fear of God but fearing for you don’t tell you in simple, comprehensible terms: “God in within you.”
A Sufi doesn’t say straight away ‘God lives in me’. He lives it. He fears that man on the street may not be able to handle the truth. A mystic, through his lived experience, has learned: Not all bodies are accalmatised enough to bear the heat of the sun god from the close proximity, and not all the souls are trained enough to grasp, with their limiting senses,the omnipotence, the omnipresence, and the omniscience of the Absolute, the Master, the Lord, and the Sustainer of the universe.
I am not sure whether to thank or not to thank the great mystics for sharing in such an elaborately round about, paintakingly allegorical, and systematically symbolic way, their experiences with us in their well-sung and occasionaly written word.
Mavlana Jalaludin Rumi through his Masnavi and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai through his Risalo-Shah Jo Risalo (The Message of Shah)-are known to have taken pains to make it easy for us to know, to understand and to grasp the realtity: God is not outside us, it is within us. God is not in the temple of Hindu, the mosque of Muslim, the Gurdwara of Sikh, the church of Christian, the synagogue of Jew or any other place that you call place of worship. God is within you.
Sufis and mystics like Shah Abudl Latif Bhittai of Sindh, stop short of saying: ‘You are the God.’ Yet, Shah and likes of him urge us to discover God in ourselves. They hint, “He in inside You.” They invite and insist “You have to reveal Him.”
To know God, you have to recognise yourself. He may be there, near around you, but you fail to see him because you are not trained, disciplined and lessoned properly. Rumi and Shah revealed the truth of godliness in us only after they discovered God within themselves. They shunned external search, they abandoned rites and rituals and embraced divinity within themselves. And it sung with an ecstacy that no one has.
Shah Latif and Mavlana Rumi celebrate their divine proximity and saintliness, in their poetry, song, trance and dance. Their poems are as alive as God’s words even after centuries. Shah Abudl Latif was able to say in a state of trance: “What you assume poetry is, in fact revelation. Imbibe from it and you will achieve reunion with the Beloved.’ Result? Older in time the verses of Shah Bhittai get, richer their meaning gets. Thanks to Shah Latif, thanks to Mavlana Rumi, we now have path, to find out our divine and our divinity. They have clearly charted out the path. Follow the road map and meet the God within you.
This book, ‘The Alchemy of Soul’, before your eyes, is antidote to your distractions. This book invies you to shun pettiness in life. This is a transformative journey, a course, a plan, a path, and a roadmap to find god in us. It is designed to guide you on a sacred journey from the confines of the self to the boundless realm of the Divine. This is a roadmap to your highest potential—a call to rise above the beast within and awaken the god living in our soul.
Over the course of 30 days, you will embark on a profound exploration of timeless wisdom, drawn from the mystical verses of Shah Jo Risalo, to transform your life and align your soul with the Divine.
Journey in search of God is not for the faint-hearted. It is for those who dare to dream of becoming the best version of themselves, for those who yearn to transcend the ordinary and touch the extraordinary. Each day, you will engage with a single unit, each day of a month, reflecting on its teachings, pondering its deeper meanings, and performing actionable exercises to internalise its lessons. By the end of this journey, you will have shed the layers of ego, embraced the agony and ecstasy of divine love, and taken bold steps toward union with the Ultimate that resides within you. This path will help you wake up the Divinity slumbering in your soul.
The journey is divided into 30 units, each inspired by a verse from Chapter, or Sur, Kalyaan (The Peace) of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, taken from ‘Shah Jo Risalo’. These units are not just words on a page but invitations to transformation of the self. They will challenge you, inspire you, and guide you to:
i. Reflect Deeply: Ponder the teachings and connect them to your own life.
ii. Rise Above the Self: Let go of ego, attachments, and limitations.
iii. Embrace Divine Love: Surrender to the Absolute will and find joy in both trials and blessings.
iv. Become One with God: Realise your oneness with the Divine and embody your highest self.
How to Walk on This Path:
a. Commit to Daily Practice: Dedicate time each day to read one unit. Read and absorb the message and THE INSPIRATIONS. Take THE ACTIONS suggested in each unit. These through practical steps lead you to God. Finally, THE REFELCTIONS. Reflect, meditate on your learning and adopt it in your life, whole-heartedly. Consistency is the key.
b. Engage Fully: Approach each unit with an open heart and mind. Allow the teachings to penetrate your soul and guide your actions.
c. Journal Your Journey: Keep a journal to document your reflections, insights, and progress. Writing will help you internalise the lessons and track your growth. ‘The Alchemy of Soul’ offers you opportunity to transform yourself by every day inspirations, actions and reflections.
d. Be Patient and Persistent: Transformation is a process. Some days will be easier than others, but every step brings you closer to the Divine in you.
‘The Alchemy of the Soul’ is not a passive reading experience; it is an active expedition of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. These inspirations, actions and reflections, based of the Sufi philosophy of Ahah Abdul Latif Bhittai are intended to purify your soul in search of god.
THE INSPIRATIONS, THE ACTIONS AND THE REFLECTIONS, contained herein, are not optional—they are essential, if the intent in communion with the Absolute. They are the tools that will help you dismantle the barriers between you and the Divine, allowing you to rise above the self and become the best version of yourself, meet the God in you.
By the time you have committedly done 30 units, immersed yourself truly into the 30 inspirations, reflected deeply, performed the action faithfully and surrendered yourself totally to the Divine will, be assured day 31, nay much before that, you will not be the same person who began this journey. You will have touched the divine within you, awakened your highest potential, and taken your first steps toward becoming Alexander the Great in the sphere of life of your own choice.
Finding god and the path to divinity are not easy. This all is, however, worth every step. It requires courage, commitment, and an unwavering trust in the supreme wisdom. As you embark on this journey, remember that you are not alone. The divinity walks with you, guiding you, testing you, and loving you every step of the way.
May this journey from near-beast to the best self be your companion, your guide, and your inspiration. May it help you rise above the small within and awaken the god within. And may you emerge from this journey transformed, radiant, and one with the Divine.