Imam Al Ghazali Advice on Knowing Yourself - #SpiritualPsychologist

inkofknowledge

18 Jan 201505:14

Summary

TLDRThe 'Alchemy of Happiness' guides the transformation of humans from baseness to an angelic state through self-knowledge and understanding of God. It explains the body's components and their roles, emphasizing the heart as the kingdom's king. The heart must master predatory, bestial, and demonic qualities with angelic intellect for spiritual happiness. The script details the heart's nobility, its pursuit of divine inspiration, and the struggle to discipline the soul, ultimately elevating humans above beasts to attain spiritual fulfillment.

Takeaways

🔍 The journey to happiness is a process of self-discovery and spiritual transformation, aiming to elevate one's essence from baseness to angelic purity.
🧘 Self-knowledge is the foundation for understanding God, and it begins with recognizing the existence of the spiritual heart as distinct from the physical body.
💖 The heart is central to seeking happiness through the knowledge of God, which is acquired by understanding God's creation.
🤝 The body is a kingdom with various roles assigned to its parts, such as appetite as a tax collector and intellect as the chief minister, with the heart being the king.
🛡️ The body and its components are in a constant struggle, with the heart needing to control anger and appetite to pursue spiritual fulfillment.
🧐 Intellect is the heart's servant, providing light for the heart to see the divine presence, and is crucial for spiritual enlightenment.
🌿 Appetite and anger serve the body, but they must be kept in check to prevent them from becoming destructive to the heart and the path to happiness.
🧬 The senses gather intelligence for the intellect, and the intellect in turn serves the heart, creating a hierarchy of service within the human being.
👑 The heart's nobility is what distinguishes humans from beasts, and it is achieved through knowledge and divine inspiration.
📚 There are two ways the heart acquires knowledge: through the senses and through divine inspiration, with the latter being a higher degree of knowledge.
💧 The heart is likened to a well, with knowledge as water, and the senses as streams. To access divine inspiration, one must clear the well of the dirt that blocks it.
🌱 The process of spiritual happiness involves the Angelic quality of the intellect mastering the predatory, bestial, and demonic qualities within, leading to a higher state of being.

Q & A

What is the primary goal of 'The Alchemy of Happiness' according to the script?
-The primary goal is to transform the essence of a person from baseness to the purity of the Angelic state through increasing knowledge of God.
What must one understand before knowing God, as per the script?
-Before knowing God, one must first know themselves, starting with an understanding of the human being's two distinct components: the body and the heart (or the spiritual heart).
What are the five steps to understand the heart mentioned in the script?
-1. Recognize the existence of the heart. 2. Understand that the heart seeks happiness through knowledge of God. 3. The heart acquires this knowledge through knowledge of God's creation. 4. The body is described as a kingdom with various roles for its parts. 5. The heart must manage anger and appetite with the advice of the intellect to attain spiritual fulfillment.
How are the roles of different parts of the body described in the script?
-The body is described as a kingdom: the limbs and organs are its workers, appetite is the tax collector, anger is the policeman, intellect is the chief minister, and the heart is the king.
What happens if the intellect becomes a prisoner of anger and appetite?
-If the intellect becomes a prisoner of anger and appetite, the kingdom (body) will become desolate, and the heart will be destroyed.
What are the four types of qualities of the heart listed in the script?
-The four types of qualities of the heart are: predatory attributes (happiness in rage and destruction), bestial attributes (happiness in eating, sleeping, and copulating), demonic attributes (thrive on evil, treachery, and deceit), and angelic attributes (seek happiness in the contemplation of the divine presence).
What is the relationship between the heart's nobility and human beings according to the script?
-The heart's nobility elevates humans above the rank of beasts. This nobility is acquired through knowledge, both from external senses and divine inspiration.
How does the script describe the process of attaining spiritual happiness?
-Spiritual happiness is attained when the angelic quality of intellect masters the predatory, bestial, and demonic qualities of the heart.
What metaphor is used in the script to describe the heart and knowledge?
-The heart is likened to a well, with knowledge as water. The five senses are streams that fill the well, and beneath the well is a pure spring blocked by dirt (veils).
What must be done to access the 'pure water' beneath the well of the heart?
-One must block the streams (external senses), empty the water, and remove the dirt at the base of the well (struggle of disciplining the soul) to access the pure water, representing divine inspiration and knowledge.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Self-Knowledge and Spiritual Transformation

The script introduces the concept of 'alchemy of happiness' as a journey to elevate human nature from its base state to a divine, angelic one. It emphasizes the importance of self-knowledge as the foundation for understanding God, which is achieved through recognizing the existence and function of the heart as the spiritual center. The heart's role in seeking happiness through divine knowledge is highlighted, along with the metaphorical roles of the body's components in a kingdom, where the heart is the king and the intellect is its chief minister. The struggle between the heart and the base qualities of anger and appetite is described, with the intellect as the key to controlling these and guiding the path to happiness. The script also discusses the qualities of the heart, categorizing them into predatory, bestial, demonic, and angelic, with the angelic attributes being the ultimate goal for spiritual happiness. The nobility of the heart through knowledge and its distinction from the animalistic nature of humans are underscored, concluding with the idea that understanding the heart and its nobility is the beginning of the alchemy of happiness.

05:05

📝 Continuation of Spiritual Journey

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Mindmap

Keywords

💡Alchemy of Happiness

The 'Alchemy of Happiness' refers to a spiritual transformation process aimed at elevating human nature from its base instincts to a higher, more divine state. In the video, this transformation is achieved through self-knowledge and understanding one's relationship with God. The concept is central to the video's message, as it outlines the journey towards spiritual fulfillment.

💡Heart (Spiritual Heart)

The 'Spiritual Heart' is the core of a human being, representing the seat of consciousness and the center of spiritual life. In the video, the heart is described as the king of the body, responsible for seeking happiness through the knowledge of God. The heart's qualities and its struggle to attain purity are crucial to achieving the alchemy of happiness.

💡Intellect

The 'Intellect' is portrayed as the chief minister of the body, guiding the heart with wisdom and light. It is the faculty that allows the heart to perceive the divine presence and to discern right from wrong. The video emphasizes that the intellect must dominate the baser qualities like anger and appetite to maintain the heart's nobility and achieve spiritual happiness.

💡Appetite

'Appetite' in the video represents the bodily desires for physical pleasures such as food and comfort. It is described as a tax collector in the kingdom of the body, and its control is essential for spiritual growth. When unchecked, appetite can dominate the intellect, leading the heart away from spiritual fulfillment.

💡Anger

'Anger' is depicted as a policeman in the body, a force that can either protect or harm depending on how it is managed. The video suggests that anger, like appetite, must be controlled by the intellect for the heart to remain pure and focused on the divine. Unchecked anger can lead to the heart's destruction.

💡Kingdom of the Body

The 'Kingdom of the Body' is a metaphor for the human body, with its organs and faculties represented as workers or officials under the rule of the heart. The video describes a hierarchy where the heart is the king, intellect the chief minister, and emotions like anger and appetite are subordinates. This structure emphasizes the need for order and control to achieve spiritual success.

💡Nobility of the Heart

The 'Nobility of the Heart' refers to the heart's ability to rise above base desires and attain a higher spiritual state. In the video, this nobility is what distinguishes humans from animals and aligns them closer to angels. The heart's nobility is gained through knowledge, both from the external senses and divine inspiration.

💡Predatory, Bestial, Demonic, Angelic Attributes

These attributes represent different qualities within the human heart. Predatory attributes are linked to aggression and destruction, bestial to physical desires, demonic to evil and deceit, and angelic to contemplation of the divine. The video suggests that the heart must cultivate angelic attributes to overcome the lower ones and achieve spiritual happiness.

💡Divine Inspiration

'Divine Inspiration' is the direct knowledge or insight received from a higher, spiritual source. In the video, it is contrasted with knowledge gained through the senses and is considered a purer form of understanding that fills the heart when the lower desires are disciplined. It is essential for the heart's journey towards witnessing the divine presence.

💡Disciplining the Soul

'Disciplining the Soul' refers to the process of controlling and purifying one's base desires and emotions. The video emphasizes this as a necessary struggle to remove the 'dirt' blocking the heart from accessing divine knowledge. By disciplining the soul, one can clear the path for the heart to be filled with divine inspiration and attain spiritual happiness.

Highlights

The alchemy of Happiness is a guide to transform the essence of man.

This transformation is through increasing knowledge of God.

Knowing yourself starts with understanding the human being's two distinct components: the body and the spiritual heart.

The heart works to seek happiness through knowledge of God.

The body is a kingdom, and within it, the limbs and organs are its workers.

Appetite is the tax collector, Anger is the Policeman, Intellect is the Chief Minister, and the Heart is King.

The body is in a constant spiritual struggle between being held captive by Anger and appetite and using them to attain spiritual fulfillment.

If the heart acts on the advice of the intellect and keeps Anger and appetite under control, the path to Happiness will be accessible.

If the intellect becomes the prisoner of anger and appetite, the kingdom will become desolate, and the heart will be destroyed.

Appetite and anger were created to nourish and protect the body and are its servants.

The body was built to bear the senses and is their servant.

The senses were created for intelligence gathering and serve the intellect.

The intellect was created as the lamp of the heart, through its light, the heart may see the divine presence.

The heart was created to witness the beauty of the divine presence and is its servant.

The heart has a number of qualities which can be grouped into four types: predatory, bestial, demonic, and angelic attributes.

To attain spiritual happiness, the Angelic quality of intellect must master the predatory, bestial, and demonic qualities.

The heart's nobility elevates humans above the rank of beasts.

Nobility from Knowledge has two degrees: one is gathered through the five external senses, and the other is acquired directly by the heart through divine inspiration.

The heart is like a well, and knowledge is like water; the five senses are streams that fill the well.

To fill your heart with the pure water beneath it, you must block the streams, empty the water, and remove the dirt at the base of the well.

The struggle of disciplining the soul removes the dirt at the base of the well.

Only then will the fountain of never-ending knowledge burst through and fill your heart.

The heart is constantly struggling to subjugate the body's base qualities to the intellect.

This is done through the knowledge of God and the knowledge of oneself.

The heart's nobility elevates man from the rank of beasts to that of angels.