THE VIRTUES OF THE PERFECT AND UNIVERSAL HUMAN
Sufism considers that as the spiritual pilgrim advances on the mystical path that culminates in divine unity, they must acquire the necessary virtues for the transformation of their soul. This is achieved through submitting to the discipline of one of the paths (tariqa) that exist in Sufism. Each of these paths is the result of the experience of a great historical master, the initiator of a brotherhood, who guides them—through spiritual stations—to see the things of this world as superficial and “heals” them from many ordinary behaviors. Among the most important virtues, humility comes first, followed by others such as patience, compassion, trust, and the highest of all, truthfulness.
For Sufis, virtues are not artificial acquisitions of the will, but ways of being. They are attributes of the perfect human and, therefore, have their origin in the divine reality. These virtues correspond to the stations or degrees of being, which will be discussed later.
However, Sufis point out the presence of a risk constantly faced by disciples who tread the path: self-satisfaction. Clearly, practicing a virtue for its own sake and for what it can bring, outside of its context, as well as reciting prayers or leading an ascetic life to feed personal satisfactions, is more harmful than beneficial. This is precisely the trap of clear veils, one of the traps into which ill-prepared students easily fall, relying more on appearances than on the purpose of things. Disciples lacking a solid foundation and, above all, a competent guide, believe they are acting rightly and take pleasure in their “righteous actions.” And it is precisely because of this that they deviate completely from their real objective: to attain divine unity.
The virtue of truthfulness, as mentioned earlier, is considered the highest and one that characterizes Sufism in general, as it opposes all dark tendencies of the soul. Truthfulness is the virtue that naturally emanates from spiritual poverty. Spiritual poverty consists of isolating oneself from forms, distancing oneself from their multiple appearances to see in them only their unique and divine essence. It means seeing things in their true nature, completely forgetting personal opinions. In short, it is abandoning the multiplicity of perceived objects to see only the One and indivisible in them.
Truthfulness is embedded and merged with each and every other virtue. Compassion and love, for example, are only fully experienced when one reaches the realization that we are all One, that “only God is.” And this experience of the unity of the whole becomes possible only with truthfulness, in a state of spiritual poverty. As Sufis would say, “We must see the world and ourselves with the gaze of the Lord. Only when we see the world and ourselves as He sees us do we access the consciousness of the truth that is His.”
THE STATIONS AND THE STATES
Sufi masters teach that a person progresses through successive stages on their spiritual journey towards attaining divine unity. In this progress, Sufism distinguishes between two types of experiences: those that are permanent achievements, called “stations” (maqamat), and those that are transient, called “states” (hal).
What essentially characterizes the states is that they consist of experiences that, to be lived, depend solely on God. They are gifts, whereas the stations are acquired through sustained practice. The states originate from divine generosity, while the stations are obtained through human effort and personal merit.
The stations and the states represent two distinct types of experiences delineated by the way they arise in the life of an individual, constituting two stages of the path until reaching the highest degree of the spiritual journey. By their nature, with their dual character of impermanence, the hal should be considered as a spark of light that illuminates the heart of a person for a certain time and then disappears. It can affect both beginners and more advanced Sufis at any level of the path they may be in. However, by illuminating the part of the being that is hidden behind the veil of the soul, it incites individuals to make an effort to reach the nearest permanent station.
Among the states, there are love, hope, spiritual aspiration, tranquility, trust, and certainty, among others. However, some of these states are presented as stations in later treatises.
On the other hand, the stations should be considered the fruit of personal practice, marking the progress that a human being makes throughout their life, from the moment they enter the path until the ultimate realization. This continuity implies that the maqamat are interconnected in a hierarchical order.
There are numerous ways to describe and enumerate the stations. Nevertheless, in general, the masters adhere to the seven degrees of being or sanctity, which will be explained later, although in various texts, these seven stages were further divided into a larger number.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the separation between stations, states, and virtues is not usually very strict, and their goal is solely the elimination of any psychological coercion that hinders individuals in their approach to divine unity.
Source: Shiva Shambho