Age of Consciousness

Next week I am running a workshop on the Age of Consciousness and our place in history. I wrote about it if you fancy a read. In the workshop we will look specifically at how each one us has the potential to move humanity forward. How we do that is our choice.

Tea Stories: AgeofConsciousness

'Consciousness is the state of being aware of and responsive to the world around you, including your thoughts, feelings, memories, and sensations. It's a subjective experience that's unique to each person.' And each person matters.

Our collective journey as a Muslim community here on this earth has followed a particular trajectory. It's like the journey of the soul of one, can also be used to predict the collective journey of mankind.

Consider this -

When a child is born, they have a need to understand themselves and their surroundings. They learn the names of things and the meanings behind things. (Consider Surah Baqarah v 31 when God taught Adam AS the names of all things). They also try to figure out their relationship with the objects and forces around them. It's such an exciting time and early humans were busy discovering.

We were creating tools and using them in the environment in which we found ourselves. With curiosity we had an awareness that the world was to be explored. We made discoveries and great thinking minds such as Jabir ibn Hayyan were born, he is still considered the father of chemistry. Mathematician Al Khwarizmi was also born, and he developed modern Algebra.

They forwarded our understanding of the world.

Once the child has begun to understand that pushing an object causes it to move forward and if the force is increased the object will go further, the child then begins to establish ways in which they can use that information to manipulate their environment. It's a golden time of learning and centres of excellence are created. We begin organising ourselves and our communities. In 691 building of the Dome of the Rock started so prayer could be established in Jerusalem. King Offa ca730(of the Mercians in Britain (buried in Bedford)) minted a gold coin to allow trade. Caliph Harun Al Rashid established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad to deepen our knowledge. Banu Musa brothers published their book 'ingenious devices' to share with others and help them. Fatima al-Fihri opens Al Qarawiyin university to create excellent thinking giants. Ahmad ibn Toloun opened a hospital that has a department for mental diseases to extend kindness to all. And Al Zahrawi studied and wrote the first illustrated surgical book to teach others medicine.

There is so much more that happened at this stage and all of it is really quite brilliant.

Once that toddler has learned clever ways to apply their knowledge and understanding they feel very proud of themselves and their confidence increases. They naturally start wanting to separate from the parents and assert their own authority. It's a time where part of the toddler wants to adhere to what is loving and familiar (with the parent/s) and wants to be productive.

At the same time there is a development of the ego and a drive to serve oneself and expand one’s own resources and power. In 1096 the first crusades began. In 1258 the Mongols devastated and ruled over Baghdad and conquered Syria. Knowledge can make us create advancement for ourselves and others or it can make us advance ourselves. We see that in individuals and we see that in communities and we can see that as we step back and look at human history.

At this point the young person, in many circumstances, can choose whether or not to adhere to the guidance given by the parents. If they do, then their trajectory is different than, if they do not. If they do not, then there are likely to be more mistakes and blunders before the child is able to learn through their own mistakes.

Failing to adhere to the advice of cleanliness and careful consumption we found ourselves at the mercy of 'the black death', the bubonic plague, syphilis, malaria and much more. Failing to reign in our vices of wanting more we see the Napoleonic Wars across Europe, 7-year war considered the bloodiest battle of the 18th century was fought between Europe, North America, Asia, and West Africa.

If the teen learns through their own mistakes, then it is often through trial and error. This leads to a very scientific understanding of their world and their place in it. Although this brings with it the dawn of scientific inquiry and the pushing of boundaries; it often omits the power of the unseen. We leave God (Parents) behind. The world becomes 2D and we do not accept as truth what we cannot see and cannot measure. We are happy and secure in our knowledge of the seen and the measurable. Lagari Hasan Celebi flies the first manned rocket over the Bosporus. In 1678 John Greaves publishes a paper on Egyptians use of large ovens to hatch thousands of chicken eggs at the same time. We are discovering and we are competing to discover more.

The young adult now is excited about the prospect of manipulating their environment, gathering resources to ensure their own survival, creating ease and exercising their power. Sometimes that power leads to transformation and saves lives and creates happiness and harmony for everyone. Sometimes that power can leave in it's wake discarded human life, destruction and disaster. At this point in our history we found breakthroughs in medicine and health care. Created communication channels that brought the world together. We saw the dawn of Capitalism and the continued greed for power, control and gathering of resources.

There are usually forces out there that channel these human instincts in ways hitherto not seen and that's when we see the largest and most extensive land grab in history with western colonialism stretching from the Americas to Australasia. This brings with it misery and humiliation in this world and creates an opportunity to reflect (which is itself a blessing). Some take that opportunity and reflect. They develop empathy and seek to alleviate the pain of others. They become healers and light workers on this earth. Others carry the entitlement, arrogance and justification of the actions of their ancestors and become riddled with more isolation and disease.

The adult who had previously sought power and control then realises the loneliness and folly of having simply yielded power and gathered resources. The power and the resources cannot love them, and they are indeed fickle. The power and the resources also cannot buy love. What transpires is that they have imprisoned themselves into a world of greed.

The realisation of one’s own folly takes over at this point and the adult goes looking for the parent. A parent. Any parent. Anything to bring themselves back to source. Anything to bring themselves back to themselves.

An awakening occurs. (This can be linked to the wider al nahda Al islamiyyah from Abduh onwards) The age of consciousness is then thrust upon us. The realisation of how much we have isolated ourselves. The dawning of a new way of beginning that is uncompromisingly committed to love, humanity, harmony. Uncompromisingly committed to the spirit, to the movement of all mankind into a new era. An era of peace. An era of conscious being.

Consciousness. God is consciousness. God said he breathed of himself into us. Therefore, we are capable of consciousness. Therefore, we know ourselves by knowing God.

15:29 "And when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My created soul, then fall down to him in prostration"

Al-Ghazzali said, “the gnosis (knowledge of spiritual mysteries) of yourself is the key to the gnosis of God”.

The Prophet Muhammad is quoted as saying, "He who knows himself knows his Lord".

49:13 'O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.'

Perhaps we neglected ourselves in the pursuit of 'things'. Perhaps now it is time to settle for ourselves who we truly are. What is our role in moving mankind forward? What is our role in creating a better world? What is our role in leading ourselves and others? What is our role in leaving this beautiful planet of ours better (for others) than how we found it? Perhaps now what we can see is that we are moving as a collective, into a conscious ummah. Finally. One ummah.