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Our Book Corner
Based on the book "How to Pray a Good Prayer" by Ali Reza Panahian
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The link for the book "How to Pray a Good Prayer," written by Ali Reza Panahian:
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Sins of the Mind
Friends, there are some sins, which are forgiven quickly. There are some sins, which aren’t even counted, to need to be forgiven. There are some sins, which if counted, will be forgiven very quickly. There are some sins, which they are very hard about! At least for those sins, deeply ask for God’s forgiveness! Sins of the mind.
I said they are not easily forgiven. But, some of the sins of the mind aren’t forgiven at all! A tradition says, “God forgives all sins except for one sin, which is done in the mind.” What is that sin? Adultery? Stealing? Killing? No, He forgives these. A sin, which God doesn’t forgive, is the sin of being suspicious about God.
This person is unable to control his mind. It constantly comes into his mind that God won’t forgive him or her. God will say, “Ok, so no way! I won’t forgive this apparently little sin! You could have controlled your mind! You’re unable to control your heart! Whatever you did in the past! But, you can control your mind!” God, every moment that I became suspicious about You, You became very angry. I was wrong. Forgive me.
The Almighty God told the prophet David, “O David! The daughter of ‘so and so’ is at your level in Heaven.” The Prophet David (‘a) said, “I want to see who she is that she is at the same level with her prophet!?” He went and asked her about her actions. She talked about them. He asked, “How do you live? How do you worship?” Her answers were very normal! He asked, “How do you feel when doing these? What do you think about God? What is your intention?” See her answer. She said, “Any changes that God made in my situation, I never became suspicious about God at all. I said, ‘This was surely better for me.’” The Prophet David (‘a) said, “Your good thoughts about God have caused you to be at the level of the prophets.”
“I never thought badly about God. If I want to state this simply, even when God brought hardships for me, I didn’t think badly about Him. I said, ‘This was surely better for me.’” “Your good thoughts about Almighty God have caused you to be at the same level of the prophet of your time.”
No one should think badly about God! Some of the sins of the mind aren’t forgiven at all! A tradition says, “God forgives all sins except for one sin, which is done in the mind.” No one should think badly about God!
[From the series of speeches under the topic of, “Controlling One’s Mind on the Path to Getting Closer to God”]
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Imam Khomeini strongly addressed people who think human beings’ ultimate goal is to eat the blessings available in Heaven! He attacked them very strongly! He said something like, "You're insulting God and the world of creation you people who are such and such!" He addressed them very firmly.
How will we be entertained in the Hereafter? We'll constantly go to the pool or dive into a river of honey - eat honey, drink milk, sit together with fair ones, eat fowl and so on. Really?! How many billions of years? When we are told this, we say, "What will be next? Won't we get tired? How long can a person swim?!” We are human beings, and we will become human beings of a higher level there. We’ll get bored. Will we keep jumping into a pool filled with milk forever?! [Some answer,] “God’s creation is unique, and there will be a new milk in it each time!” What are you saying?!
Yes, Heaven is an awesome hotel. But our goal in going to this hotel is to visit. That which entertains a person eternally is meeting God Himself. This is a continuation of the same meeting that starts with meeting the Qur’an in this life. “Won’t a person get tired of God?” No, God is infinite. It is said in the traditions that each time people meet God, they will think they didn’t know who God was before this! This is the meaning of God being infinite. They say, “We are just starting to know Him!”
Only God Himself is like this. Nothing in the world is like this. Everything will eventually seem boring to a person. Even when they describe Heaven, he/she imagines, “This will become boring for me.” Even if you say, “God is very creative, and this is for an eternity! An eternity! An eternity means how many years? Even if our house in Heaven is awesome, for how many years?! The main part of Heaven is visiting God Himself and knowing Him. This meeting and knowing God starts with the Qur’an.
I pray that we will be able to see God by looking at the verses of the Qur’an so that we can see Him Himself, and God Himself will become manifest for us. It will be wonderful if He manifests Himself to us! Isn’t the Damavand Mountain beautiful and great?
When you drive toward Poloor, you can see the Damavand Mountain and it’s outstanding. It’s truly amazing. One should signal, move to the side of the road, pause a little and look at this awesome summit. Consider all the beauties that we can see in nature, and realize that the God Who has created all these is even more beautiful. But one should feel this with his heart.
That which is eternally entertaining in Heaven is meeting God Himself. This is a continuation of the same meeting that starts with meeting the Qur’an in this life. “Won’t a person get tired of God?” No, God is infinite.
It is said in the traditions that each time people meet God, they will think they didn’t know who God was before this! They will say, “We are just starting to know Him!”
The Best Technique for Us to Control Our Minds
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To strengthen the powers of our soul, the most important exercise is to control our mind. Psychologists did a very interesting test. I mean they evaluated something. They studied the behavior of people who didn’t want to do a particular action. Which people are successful in not doing a particular action, even though they like to do it?
They put a few sweets in front of some students, placed a camera, and left the room. They told them, “If you don’t eat these, we’ll reward you when we return.” It was a good reward too. They wanted the reward. On the other hand, the sweet was flashing and saying, “You have to eat me!”
They studied who was successful in not eating it, and who wasn’t successful. They saw that the people who constantly looked at the sweets and said, “No, I shouldn’t eat it,” ate it in the end. Who didn’t eat it? Those who didn’t look at the sweet. They looked somewhere else. This means they controlled their inclinations by controlling their minds.
They did this test on hundreds of cases. They saw that the people who didn’t think about the subject could control themselves. Wherever the mind goes, the heart will follow. You can’t control your heart. But, you can control your mind. When you control your mind, you’ll control your behavior too.
Some factors exist in the culture and lifestyle of our society, which work against controlling our minds. Leisure time has increased in city life. The means for entertainment. They entertain! Its meaning is obvious. Entertainment! It means making a person’s mind busy. The means for entertainment have increased. There weren’t so many entertainments in the past. There are thousands of games in his mobile. There is entertaining news in it. Different types of new applications and software come up. “Shall I show you something interesting?”
“Shame on you. You want to ruin my mind?! You want to gradually take away my ability to control what I pay attention to.” “No, it’s very interesting!” “I know that darned thing is interesting.” “It’s not religiously forbidden!” “Fine, but my mind will wander.” One magnet pulls from this side, and another from the other side. I don’t want to look at something interesting at all.
My mobile is holding reins and is pulling me to this side and that side. If you behave with an animal like this, it’ll get upset. It’ll say, “What is it? I’m walking. You keep pulling me that way?” Let go of the reins and let him go! What’s the matter with someone else controlling my mind?!
Aha! If that is the Lord of the Universe, that is good. If you give the reins to God and recite the Qur’an, you’ll see what He does with you! He’ll attract your attention to this topic. He takes to the Hereafter, to that topic, to this topic, then to that topic. He holds a person’s chin and says, “Look at this. Look at that.” Think what will happen!
A person will become a real person after a while! Look at it this way. You know that the Qur’an is not easily divided into different topics. There is a beautiful variety in it! A special music! It takes a person to the peak of Heaven and to the bottom of Hell. It takes us to see the bad people and the good people.
Let’s be entertained with the Qur’an. Let the Qur’an attract our attention to this and that. The techniques for us to control our minds using our religious teachings are very interesting.
Prayer is repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, and repetitive! Why? O God, you could have put some variety in it. For example, recite Fatiha on Saturdays and the chapter Nas on Sundays. Put a variety in the number of repetitions of the prostration and bowing. Two bowings and one prostration this time. Now two cycles. Later three cycles. Three cycles on Tuesdays. Four cycles on Wednesdays. Give variety. Good taste is a good thing. We start praying and when we come to ourselves, we see it’s finished. We have memorized it!
He says, “Poor person. I have put this for you to control your mind. I don’t want other factors to attract you attention. Pay attention to something with the power of your own mind.
Controlling our minds is based on our internal behavior. Its result is spiritual power. If a person controls his mind and gains spiritual power, he will become knowledgeable. He will become creative in action. He will experience special enjoyments.
[From the series of speeches under the topic of, “Controlling One’s Mind on the Path to Getting Closer to God,” Session No. 1]
I want to enjoy more.
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What is your purpose in practicing religion? We can mention other reasons for our religiosity. They are right too. But it's not suitable to word it like that. It’s not nice or pleasant to say it like that. [We can count them,] “One, two, three, four.” Usually the reasons mentioned are not accurate. It’s more accurate to say, “I want to enjoy more.”
Why do you want to enjoy more in this world and in the Hereafter? Because God has created me to enjoy, not to suffer. God is kind. He has allowed me to experience pleasures and has created me in a way that I pursue enjoyments. He doesn’t say, “Don’t touch it! I want to bother you.” Is God like this?! One doesn’t understand God if he thinks he hasn’t been created to enjoy.
Have you seen how some fathers are a little grudging? God forbid, I don’t want to insult fathers. Or some employers or bosses. For example, a father sees his child is playing. As soon as he sees his child playing, he says, “Shouldn’t you be studying now?!” [The child says,] “You can’t tolerate me playing? You have to remind me now?!” Some people think the same way about God. They think God likes to see us suffering!
What is your purpose in practicing religion? Don’t say, “So I won’t go to Hell.” Don’t say, “I’m forced to.” Only a part of this is true! Don’t say, “This is God’s right.” What will happen next after you carry out God’s right? Will you enjoy it? [You’ll say,] “No, I’m not after enjoying.” You force me to say something! I have to tell you, “Kiddo! You’re not at that level! You’ll go astray with one small pleasure. And now you’re talking about carrying out God’s right?!”
Human beings have been created to enjoy. “Why do you practice religion?” To enjoy. “Is practicing religion the way for us to enjoy?” Yes! Now the second part of the discussion starts. Yes, no one else knows how to show the way. [One might say,] “No, God is showing us how to stay away from sins.” God is not that boring! God has created me to enjoy. Is it rational for Him to not let me enjoy? [He won’t say,] “I’ve created you to enjoy, but don’t touch anything! Go away!” This is a misconception about God! Such a God is not kind.
We say, “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” God Who is kind has created me to enjoy. We can’t deny this. Wouldn’t this be unkind for Him to tell me to move away [from pleasures]?
What is your purpose in practicing religion? We can mention other reasons for our religiosity. They are right too. But it's not accurate to word it like that. It’s more accurate to say, “I want to enjoy more.”
Compare these two.
This is the way we’ve been created.
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Human beings don’t seek to achieve anything unless they have an inner knowledge of it. People don’t start with learning and experiencing. People start every action and their life with a kind of restlessness. What does being restless mean? They understand something is within themselves and they look for it. There is some obscure asset, but we don’t know exactly what it is and we don’t know why we’re restless. So we try to find it. It’s the same when people are choosing a goal. They constantly think, “What goal is better for me?” An inner knowledge helps them in choosing their goal. When you reach this goal, you say, “You are what eases my restless heart.”
More than trying to choose our goal, we must try to find our goal within ourselves. We ourselves must discover what our goal is, not what our goal should be. We have an inner knowledge within us for choosing our goal. God hasn’t created us without a goal. So choosing a goal is not in our hands. Our goal in life has been chosen for us from before. “O human beings, surely you must strive (to attain) to your Lord, a hard striving until you meet Him.” [Qur’an 84:6] You will eventually meet God, but you will suffer on this path. This won’t be easy. It’s complicated and difficult. [God says,] “I’ve created you in this way. So go wherever you want.”
This is the only suitable goal for a person. Not being suitable doesn’t mean being valueless. It means it’s impossible. [So we’re not saying,] “Try not to choose any other goals!” No, you aren’t able to choose another goal. Other things can’t be your goal. They won’t set you on fire. This is our nature. “The nature made by God in which He has made men.” [Qur’an 30:30] We have been created in a way that this is what we want.
How did the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (as), choose his goal? One is surprised at this. What was the Imam’s feeling about his goal - getting close to God? Imam Husayn (as) said, “Whenever I saw my father, the Commander of the Faithful (as), he was crying.” O Imam, what is this goal doing to you? We know in general that this goal is probably God and getting close to Him. We don’t have Imam Ali’s (as) wisdom. We can’t imagine, “O Imam, you constantly cried for this? You cried for it every night. What had this goal done to you?! Tell me a little so that it may affect me some too. Why am I so unfeeling?!”
In the story narrated by Nauf, he said the same thing. He saw Imam Ali (as) was restless as he was moving away. He asked the Imam, “Where are you going?” See what Imam said. “I’m going toward my longings.” O Imam, may I be sacrificed for you. What are your longings? Nauf asked the Imam, “What are your longings?” He knew the answer in general but wanted to know more.
Do you know how the Imam responded? What innocence! What glory! He said, “The One Who should know my longings, knows.” He didn’t answer. He wanted to talk to God Himself. Imam, so you have a longing, but you can rest now. God knows you. You love Him. And He loves you. So why do you want to go and cry?! You’re friends with God! One cannot understand this. The fact that we can’t understand Imam Ali (as) shows that we haven’t yet found this goal and it hasn’t set us on fire yet.
We should be calm, like a still water in which the bottom of the pond can be seen. O goal, pull us to you and captivate us. Introduce yourself to me.
So choosing a goal is not in our hands. Our goal in life has been chosen for us from before. “O human beings, surely you must strive (to attain) to your Lord, a hard striving until you meet Him.” [Qur’an 84:6] You will eventually meet God. We have been created in a way that this is what we want. [So we’re not saying,] “Try not to choose any other goals!” No, you aren’t able to choose another goal.
Other things can’t be your goal. They won’t set you on fire.
Be like chivalrous people!
Have you heard they say that a certain ruffian, Teyyeb for example, repented in a moment and became one of the good people? I studied these kinds of people, who were very bad and then suddenly became good. They have a common point. A person drinks alcohol, is a ruffian and does all kinds of bad things. He repents in a moment, and his repentance is accepted. Why?
Everyone has experienced something in his or her life. They had power over someone, but they didn’t use their power and didn’t harm the person. They said, “Go kiddo! I won’t harm you.” They are chivalrous. Such a person is not afraid of anyone. He’s chivalrous and sometimes has forgiven big things.
Since he himself is chivalrous, he thinks, “God is chivalrous too. He is powerful, but I asked Him not to beat me and He won’t. He said He’ll forgive; so He has!” He says this so firmly and gets up! God says, “I’m with the good thoughts of My servant.” He says, “God! Forgive me. You can beat me. But don’t.” Then he says, “God has forgiven me.” “How do you know?! I doubt whether God has forgiven me. I torture myself when worshiping!” He replies, “Don’t torture yourself. God is not worse than I am. Me, a chivalrous-ruffian, when I say I won’t beat someone, I won’t! He has said He won’t beat us. So He won’t!”
I’m afraid when you leave here, you won’t count on God acting chivalrously. When you want to leave here, don’t doubt if God has forgiven you. Say, “God has forgiven me! He told me to come on the 23rd of the month of Ramadan, and I came! What did I have to do?! He has forgiven me! I came! What did I have to do?! God says, ‘I’ll convert your sins into rewards.’ (Qur’an 25:70) So, I’m one of the ‘Friends of God’ now!” Then, if I ask, “So why are you still crying?” say, “Because I’m indebted to Him till the end of my life.” Say, “God has forgiven me!” God says, “I’m with the good thoughts of My servant.” Don’t doubt if God has forgiven you, or not.
[From the series of speeches under the topic of, “How should we believe in God’s Kindness?”]
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